Fire. Her greatest disadvantage.
 Like a devil, the flames laughed at her, like ghosts, as they licked the sultry air and challenged her strength in a brushfire that slithered toward the ice horse. The aura of blood red enveloping the inferno stung her ice blue eyes even though it wasn’t even hot near her, clouding them with a mist of chaos and anguish. Despite her Daemon powers, the arctic Rapidash flinched and recoiled from the victorious laughing of the fire, her mane of snowflakes bristling in fear like daggers.
 She knew that her fate, her destiny, depended on the wolf’s survival. If a single element of the prophecy were destroyed, her and the others’ ashes would litter the grass. If one died, they all did.
 And gazing uneasily into the roaring inferno that had consumed the Vision Daemon, the majestic horse flickered her eyes toward the dragon that loomed six feet high and demonic, adorned with Thunderbolts, razor sharp horns, claws, and wings of fire, next to her. Her mind inattentively drifted from the harsh grasp of terror, absently focusing on the dragon Daemon, and the icy, glittering blue coloring flashed to a furious red in anger. Her mane instantly transforming into a bristling, flashing blast of lightning with a dangerous roar of thunder, an impending blast of Thunderquake causing her body to hiss with electricity, the Ice/Thunder Daemon whirled her hooves at its head, rearing, and screamed, “You idiot!!”
 

 Ash was lost in dreams. Unconscious, they immersed him in what would be only distant memories of his perfect life. Storms raged in skies of hostile black. Sunlight drifted like dust from the sky; clouds loomed like white blossoms high above.
 But something was missing, like a piece out of a thousand piece puzzle. It was just a minor detail, dominated and hidden from obvious sight, but it existed. Every time he studied Misty’s eyes, their gleam of brilliant life was absent, and her azure irises seemed like a faded image, staring eternally through him but never truly seeing. The sun’s glare of summer never seemed to actually create the bliss it had before. And gradually, the dreams drifted away, drifting like flecks of gold in a world of shadow.
 Millions of golden flecks gathered in a mist, his memories, his world, and twisted like a snake of light. It lingered like a frost in the night, but, glinting once in a goodbye, vanished into the blackness instantly. Something inside him was tweaked with a flare of apprehension, and he vaguely lashed out his hand, as if to capture them and recover the fading memories. But the faint, ghostlike glow faded away was consumed by black. Suddenly, the gold glow flashed like a distant flashlight pointed straight at him, as if summoning him to his destiny, a minute dot of light.
 Ash interpreted this as a warning, but something in the dark hissed like an infuriated devil suddenly, causing him to lurch back from the hostile warning. But as he recoiled from the first sound, another furious screech emitted from the shadows behind him, scaring him back in another direction. But yet another savage animal made itself known with a deafening shriek of furious anger.
 Demons. Demons lurked and circled, hissing rabidly, in the dark. Their red eyes pierced the infinite shadows like blood red rubies, dancing as they darted around. Rare, faint glints of silver glistened on their formless bodies, like deathly gray moonlight. Drooling, gnashing jaws snapped ominously, and the air was alive with their vicious, bloodthirsty snarls and growls. But, somehow, they seemed… like… Pokemon.
 Dodging their jaws that missed him by inches, darting and twisting to avoid a fatal wound, Ash apprehensively yelped in surprise, gazing fretfully into the darkness adorned with venomously gleaming eyes of blood red. They seemed to light up at his fear, evilly grinning and snarling in wild abandon as they hissed and spat white embers at him, enjoying his terror and screams. The white sparks bitterly stung his eyes and skin, burning demonically in bloodlust. They seemed to melt through his skin, tearing ravenously at his blood, like rabid sprites of white fire.
 Wildly thrashing and quickly brushing of the embers that grew into flames, Ash suddenly detected an ominous, feral snarl from behind him, the ghastly growl causing his body to freeze in deathly fear. But as he refused to turn around, a rabid, infuriated bark fiercely ordered him to, and he quickly whirled to face his attacker.
 Venomous red eyes; a drooling mouth with an arsenal of fangs; a stocky body that sloped upward; and vengeance burning in those ruby, emerald, and gold eyes. The bloody hyena released a hysterical laugh from its jaws dripping with drool and blood, its brilliant eyes glittering devilishly. Curling back its dusky red lips in arrogant, silent laughter, it warned in a silky voice, “Destiny isn’t eternal… Revenge has come.” As it slunk from the shadows, coming into a pale, pastel glow of moonlight, the savage, vile creature proudly strutted and a glint of fire-colored light flashed from deep in its spotted, darkened fur. The object was concealed by a tuft of dark red fur, just a string of delicate gold showed, and then the pendant was released from the thick fur.
 Catching the light like a demon and absorbing it, as if the moonlight was a match that had just ignited a bonfire, the Fire Opal glowed as if on fire, and then it enveloped the hyena in a reddish gold aura. The glow left the darkness untouched, giving it a ghostly look.
 The gem suddenly danced with gold, ruby, orange, and black colors, as if it was laughing itself. It seemed to challenge him, kindling a tweak of anger and hatred in him, and, when the hysterically shrieking and laughing hyena ceased its laughter and lunged with savage intentions, those revolting, bloodthirsty eyes pushed him too far.
Revenge. Hah. Vengeance would be his.
Ash raised a clenched fist. But as it drew it back to gain enough momentum when he struck, a pulse of realization jerked him back to reality. What was he doing? Revenge – what was he thinking? He had never even seen that, that demon before. Confusion clouded his brain. Yet despite his logic, something inside him screamed to attack, to kill the traitor. NO! Ash screamed to himself, this was not logical; this couldn’t be reality. Yet, the burning pain in his face and arms from the ember was not a dream. The blood streaming down his cheek was proof of his pain.
Snapping back to ‘reality’, Ash screamed as the rabid hyena lunged with fangs bared and slashed with lethal claws and evilly shrieked in impending victory. And as the savage animal scored a deep wound from his bloodied cheek to the base of his neck as it whirled past, missing the essential veins by a hair's breadth, his anger grew.
Revenge agilely landed, Ash’s blood stained on its muzzle, and spun to attack again. Lavishly licking its lips in rapture, the hyena sneered at its victim now downed and restraining hot tears of pain, sprawled out on his stomach, “I AM Revenge.” It grinned. “Hear me roar.”
Ash still fumed with the sudden, mysterious fury the hyena inflicted, but his punished body collapsed in weak protest against any resistance. If this was a dream, those demons would vanish and he’d wake up. But what if he didn’t…
Revenge leaped.
Ash accepted his fate.
Vision snarled and leaped like a black comet in furious rage, its midnight blue eyes roaring silently and black fur glistening like sable silk. Whirling an arsenal of teeth just as deadly, the swift Daemon violently slammed its slim, powerfully built body into the hyena, snapping savagely in dangerous rage that flickered in its blue eyes. The wolf landed gracefully but with the lethal potency of a killer, its bushy black tail lashing the air like a furry cobra and snarled viciously, positioned protectively before Ash. Death was beckoning in those icily glaring eyes.
 Recovering, the repulsive hyena staggered drunkenly to its feet, clearly dazed and its blood stained back to them. Its ragged breath was ominously loud and labored, but gradually melded into laughter. The rough, evil and impending laughter from the demon caused the wolf to flinch in caution, unsure of what the crazed creature was planning. Glancing apprehensively around, the Vision Daemon searched the darkness for the hyena’s comrades, but the shadows were still and black.
This troubled the brave Daemon. Revenge was not a forgiving person, and this was not a good sign. The fact that it had been injured in the fire was not pleasing either.
Revenge released a snarl of fierce abandon, whirling around in a flurry of fury and bloodlust. Those maddened, multi-colored eyes were blazing in hellish rage and its jaws were gaping and dripping with blood and drool. With speed that seemed impossible for its bulky body, the hyena cackled insanely and lunged at the Vision Daemon. Tensing, the wolf prepared to counter the demon’s attack, rapidly forming an attack to block Revenge’s. Whirling its jaws once, thick foam frothed around its lips, snarling savagely as it lurched at the hyena as well.
The two demons, one evil and one good, clashed in midair, the very darkness flinching as a roar of thunder announced the anger of the wolf. Arrogantly grinning, the hyena gracefully landed on astonishingly swift and agile legs, watching its rival stagger at the force of its strike.
Stumbling, Vision yelped shrilly, abandoning its attack and staggering weakly to put some distance between it and its adversary. Its breath was labored and midnight blue eyes strained, the sable wolf defiantly stood tall as if to intimidate Revenge and swiftly glanced at the wound slashed into its flesh. The bloody gash was bleeding freely, painting a scarlet stripe horizontally across its black fur of shadow. Gnashing its teeth in frustration, Vision barked a courageous insult at the demon that was amazingly winning, and snorted to finish the insolent challenge. Then it formed a silent Spirit Spear that was leveled before it.
Revenge grinned arrogantly, slowly approaching the wolf with mocking compassion. Flashing egotistical, gruesome smiles of blackened and bloody teeth, it haughtily asked, “Don’t like what it feels like to be the inferior, Vision?” Its charade melted away to subtle rage and disgust, circling the bloodied wolf at a speedy, enraged walk. “No, of course not. You where always the big shot, weren’t you? Huh?” It quickly spat a stream of acid that instantly dissolved the weak Spirit Spear. “Of course. Why wouldn’t you, being the lead Daemon? Hero of the whole pack; stronger than Strength. The Wolf of Vision.” Its pointed muzzle gored with blood of its victims was jabbed into the wolf’s face for emphasis, those red, green, and yellow eyes gleaming dangerously. “Life was perfect, wasn’t it?? You had the strongest element, speed, power, intelligence – everything!! You had made the cut. *Superior* to the other Daemons. And a total bitch.”
 Ash watched in paralysis as the infuriated hyena circled the wolf, Vision’s face as impassive as stone. As the violent conversation progressed, the darkened demon stained with blood aggressively brushed the wolf, pushing it over not so subtly.
Shadows lurked like animate nightmares; a cage of blackness. Gazing at the mortal enemies with misty eyes, Ash flinched and scrambled wildly to his feet, shivering violently. If this was a nightmare, why didn’t he wake up? And why did those midnight blue eyes seem so familiar? They wrenched at his soul, dejectedly gazing at him as if to say, “I failed.”
Suddenly, the hyena flickered an eye toward him without turning its head, as if remembering an old vengeance, and grinned evilly, curling back its black lips to reveal rotten, lethally sharp fangs. “An now,” Revenge silkily taunted, ominously slinking toward Ash with devilish eyes, “Vision’s little master shall feel true pain.”
Vision flinched in surprise, its punished body paralyzed with shock, then quickly recovered itself and lunged to protect its destined master. But the swift wolf just didn’t have enough energy to keep the explosive sprint going, and it crashed to the ground in an heap of black fur, struggling to get up.
Grinning, the ravenously laughing hyena stalked the injured human, the Fire Opal stringed around its stocky neck glowing vibrantly. It whispered, “Destiny isn’t eternal,” smirked, and then pounced.

 Fire dominated the ice blue beauty of those infuriated eyes as the screaming horse Daemon snorted and slashed steel hard hooves in anger. Lashing a razor sharp tail of ice shards that missed the dragon’s face by inches, she kept screaming and shrieking. “Idiot!!!!” The dragon Daemon recoiled and glared at the horse, despite the fact it was two feet taller and able to melt her with one breath. In a rage, the ice Rapidash continued to press forward, spitting arrows of ice that the Strength Daemon easily evaded. “You and your stupid rivalry!! You’re going get us killed!”
 The horse paused, worn out from the fiery surge of rage and speed, her ragged breaths coming in short snorts of frosty gray mist. Braced on shivering legs, she restrained another explosion of rage and bitterly hissed at the dragon, “Don’t just stand there; put the fire out.” Her ragged breaths melded into subtle snorts of anger, as her temper was barely controlled. The bickering between the two stronger Daemons had always pricked a nerve for her, and it had built up an ocean of anger at their foolishness. Despite their arguments, Vision and Strength had never really attacked each other, and the fight had finally pushed her over the edge.
 Stunned at the fury of Speed, the dragon gazed at her in shock, a new sense of respect for the fierce equine causing it to just gape in awe. Then suddenly jerking from its trance, the Daemon sulked, bitterly slinking to the brushfire’s edge as she watched with intent eyes.
In disgust, the horse spat a fleck of frost before drawing a deep sigh to subside her furiously drumming heart. A spark of pain kindled in her leg, alerting her that she had strained her right front leg. Great, she thought. Sighing, the sleek horse gradually collapsed onto her knees in the grass that brushed her skin in the wind, sealing her anguished baby blue eyes. It whispered to her in a language she wished she spoke, inviting into healing sleep, summoning her to a place of black peace. The Daemon knew that resting wasn’t an option, but her punished mind and body screamed in protest at the slightest twist of her head and her exhaustion engulfed her in burning pain.
Looking back, Speed wished she hadn’t killed Windy. He should of won, even if it meant being crippled and deprived of her swift grace. Then she wouldn’t be a demon. Tears streamed secretly down her ice blue cheeks as she asked herself, tilting her head toward the stars, why did I become a murder?

But as Revenge crouched and coiled for the attack, memories flooded his mind.

Tears were silent companions on his gruesome face as he hid his “filthy ugliness and worthlessness” from the world. They had said that he was a beast with not a speck of talent. They had shredded his dreams and scattered them around him like lost memories, swirling around him but just out of his reach. Blackness hung like shadows of his life, haunting him like ghosts, a heavy coat of grief pressing on his chest. His sobs were feral sounding; rapid intakes of breath, and the savageness of even his crying shamed him further.
The creature hunched over in the light of the moon, burying his face in the grass and staring at the silver-painted ground. Slowly, his sobs receded to occasional sniffs and mild burning in his eyes, the final tear trickling down his longish, blackened snout and weaving through his rough fur. The orb of pain stung his nose as it touched it, lingered slightly, and slid off. He watched the tear drift into the dark of the grass, glinting a moon ray in goodbye. Suddenly, he jerked his face from the ground, brooding in his brilliant and anguished eyes mutely.
“Daemons.” He bitter spat into the grass at the revolting word. “Who needs them?” Recovering his wind, the bloodied animal staggered up from the depths of the ghostly gray grass, intently gazing around. Moonlight glazed everything over with a silvery tint, the eternal moon gradually shifting to its new moon form and coating blackness in thin layers over the Shadow World. He was on a gently sloping plain that was edged with ominously still, looming trees that seemed to laugh as if they knew something you didn’t. About thirty feet away, on a steep hill glistening in frost and cut off at one end like the edge of a cliff, he detected a flash of icy blue movement agilely racing up the grassy side.
The creature he had observed gracefully slowed, its indefinite, misty form refining itself, and her beautiful mane was captured by the wind and drifted like silk. Silver light was absorbed by her silky blue fur and danced on her skin like sprites. Her brilliant blue eyes glimmered in the night as she paused, glanced back, and nickered impatiently to her unseen companions. The ice horse turned back to the moon’s ghostly gaze, as if chatting with the silver, disc-shaped satellite, smiling as if it were making a joke. Her eyes glittered with frost, but despite being an Ice element, the creature below felt his heart melt.
Sprint.
He lavished that name. Sprint, the swiftest spirit. A sweet, compassionate soul with the intelligence to shame an Alakazam. A sleek, beautiful creature. Sighing, he gazed on with anguish, at her, standing there with her majestic mane and tail gliding in the wind she raced. A sensation of affection arose when he looked at her, and he couldn’t deny that he loved her. She was perfect. Smart, fast, beautiful, strong… and a Daemon.
Despite the way he loathed Daemons, Poison knew she had dreamed to be the Speed Daemon, and her wish had been accomplished by her own endeavors. And when she had won that race, he had silently celebrated silently with her, although he had lost the chance to become a Daemon himself.
Poison found him drifting into a trance, but instantly was revived when those loathsome creatures dashed up on the frosted slope beside her, total ignorant of his presence. He hated, but couldn’t deny, their liquid grace and intense yet passionate eyes. Star, the revolting canine who had gained the position of leader; Shadow, the maddeningly cool and smart feline; and Roar, the potent, brilliantly colored dragon, the living arsenal. The four Daemons.
Poison gritted his lethally sharp fangs, in envy and extreme hatred. Restraining an urge to attack, he gazed on with fiery rivalry as they exchanged elated yaps and purrs and whinnies. Star trotted agilely up to the edge of the steep ridge, followed by the immense dragon and tabby-sized but potent cat. They all titled their heads to the glittering heavens, and began the ritual.
Shadow gracefully released a fierce yowl/roar into the eternal night sky, causing the midnight to light up with an ominous, dark gray tint. The minute Daemon soared his fearsome song into the darkness as Roar cocked his horned head to the heavens as well, caressing the night with his song. It was a savage, yet mysterious roar of furious abandon that flickered a sliver of apprehension into Poison as the serenade continued.
In her blue beauty, Sprint flicked her head up, her mane of ice glistening like diamonds. Her enchanting song teased the ears and soul of Poison as he gazed with awe at her stunning beauty. Instead of the shrill, wavering challenge of a horse, she released a sweet, incredible note that made the hidden creature below feel as if he could die right there and then. It was like a beautiful bird song, soothing and majestic.
And finally, Star had his entrance. On a mysterious, magnificent note, his prophetic song was like the melodic cry of a ghost. It sent a violent, ominous tingle of fear and awe down Poison’s spine, a haunting song of death, life, love, hate, light, dark and mystery.
Poison couldn’t stand it any longer.
The demon turned and sprinted like the wind down the plain, plunging into the ominous darkness he shunned and invited, crying madly. He didn’t even look back.

 Thunder roared in wild, savage abandon as it fissured the sky in half. The awesome, dazzling assaults of lightning flickered in unison with the blasts, raging a war of light and death. Clouds of shadow enveloped the midnight sky, casting a dramatic scene for the dejected, pitiful creature that gloomily walked with its blackish muzzle nearly brushing the grass that lashed in the vicious wind. Poison sauntered with no destination through the woods, their dangerous, ominous darkness and whispers not even being noticed.
 He considered suicide, but dismissed it with a single memory of Sprint’s captivation beauty. Death only would erase his single, happy thought, her.
 In the sheets of misty rain, Poison lost himself in anguishing memories, burning tears, and pain. The storm raged for hours, drilling deep into the blackness with lethal thunderbolts, before the blast of nature’s fury died away and revealed a dome of star-flecked midnight blue. He trudged onward, immersed in thought. The demon’s blackened paws scraped against the dew-flecked grass, thin and lanky. As he stared sadly at his feet, Poison gazed at his claws absently, and suddenly realized, with a jolt, just what they could do. Glistening and scythed but only an inch long, they were dangerous weapons. He suddenly thought of what would happen if he had attacked the four Daemons and had accidentally slashed Sprint…--
 “Ouuoouuuuuuuuuuooou………”
 Poison jerked up his blackened head darkened from the rain, intently scanning the thick screen of ominous trees with intense ruby, gold, and emerald colored eyes. His heart thumped in his chest wildly as the disheartening moan was followed by a pained yelp. It was echoed by a ragged, rough howl, a combination of hatred, anguish, and revenge. But in the fury of the storm, the moan was lost, making it nearly impossible to track down whatever was clearly injured.
 Uncertain of how to react, the confused hyena glanced warily around, intently studying its eternally dark environment. The shadows were easily pierced and it detected another cry from deep in the forest’s darkness. It was louder this time but more strained and anguished, painfully signaling for help. It was almost completely alien to him, like a new killer disease to a doctor, but yet he knew…

 Poison clawed his way through the gnarled mass of sharp thorns, snapping and violently ripping away the vines with bared teeth. The pricks of the thorns were easily ignored, but the hyena still felt their mild stabs of pain. He was grateful for his thick, tough coat that deflected most of them, and continued on without hesitation. Poison drew closer to his destination, a secluded, dark cave where the whimpers were coming from, glancing a dull black of stone though the thorn grove.
 He soon came to a thick wall of thorns, a painful barrier that protected its inhabitants, surrounding the cave. Like lashing whips, a wind boiled up suddenly, causing the vines to beat at the hyena, scratching him painfully just below his eyes, his nose and muzzle and tender ears. Poison yelped in pain, and then released his rage on the branches, snapping savagely at the thorns in a frenzy of anger. Despite his physical strength and toughness, he recoiled instantly as the sharp points found flesh in his mouth of fangs, drawing blood. But Poison was just stabbed by more thorns as he jolted back. And then realized, with anger and pain clouding his mind, he was trapped.
 Great, Poison bitterly spat to himself, trapped by killer daisies.
 The gnarled net of bushes reached about five feet above the ground, allowing only a bit of clearance for the 4’7” tall hyena to travel through. In frustration, Poison frantically, furiously snapped at random vines, ignoring the pain, in a fury. Thrashing and savagely ripping, he managed to tear a short clearing but needed to rest before continuing.
 Poison knew that blindly ripping a trail would just slash his mouth to shreds, but he couldn’t find a better solution and braced himself for the pain. Whirling down his fangs again, he charged into the thicket, ignorant of the eyes intently watching…
 Grab. Snap. Tear. Grab. Snap. Tear. Painfully, slowly, he crawled his way through the thick wall, relentlessly ripping at it. Vines cracked like tough wood in his mouth, coating his mouth with a bitter, dry taste of dead vegetation. Another snap. He lunged, expecting hard, brittle wood – and felt the warm, yielding softness of flesh. Startled, the hyena jolted back, gazing at the *vine* he had bitten with curious eyes.
 A thin, soft vine of greenish-blue color withered in pain, like a blue worm, twisting and thrashing. It clicked in his misty mind that it was familiar, but it still shocked him. The vine was pierced with two deep puncture wounds, and suddenly recoiled into its brother vines, as if it were an animal nursing its wound. Ominous silence echoed afterward, and Poison wasn’t sure of what to do. A throbbing fear screamed at him not to go closer, and a fear of what would happen to that creature in the cave.
 Hesitant, Poison tentatively stepped forward then paused, waiting for the reaction.
 Silence.
 He took another cautious step, and when no reaction was shown, barreled at the vines, ready to rip them away –
 Hsssssssssssssssss!!
 A furious hiss emitted from the tangle of weeds, soon followed by various angry shrieks, barks, and screeches. Poison leapt back, eyes wide with shock and terror, nervously crawling back and whimpering. And he was sent careening in mad terror as an unknown creature violently hissed and slashed at his rump. In his frenzy, the hyena furiously darted at the thorn barrier in sheer, blinding panic, searching for a way out of this death trap.  He found none, but discovered more hidden demons lurking in the darkness of the thicket, circling him stealthily like ghosts.
 Poison yelped as another assault landed on him, a tongue of fire scorching his fur. The hyena released an angry shriek, hissing and baring his gruesome teeth at his attacker, which instantly recoiled into the bush. A faint whisper of snickers and restrained laughter drifted in the thorn bushes, mocking his fear and apparent weakness. He glanced a few rare flashes of faint light reflecting off his tormentors’ bodies.
 Suddenly a flash of light he had detected darted toward him at a full dash, halting in a cloud of dust, twin, glowing yellow eyes piercing the smoke. The creature began to spark with electricity, and the dust was dissolved in a shower of sparks.
 Despite his poor Pokemon knowledge, Poison could clearly see this Thunder Pokemon was a renegade and wasn’t too pleased with his intrusion.
 The Raichu flicked its thunderbolt-shaped tail impatiently, agilely crouching on four legs, even though its limbs were stubby and round. Its menacing appearance came from its venomously glowing eyes, the dark, bloody fur, and the eruption of electricity forming around its cheeks. The Pokemon laid back its frilly ears threatening, emitting a grim, angered “RaaaaAAAI…” before collecting its voltage and producing a thin, white glow around its cheeks. “RAICHU!!”
 Suddenly, a glittering mist of electricity lashed at Poison, a massive and deadly Thunder Wave. The attack swept forward at a startling rate, like a tsunami of lightning, aimed lethally for his head. The attack washed over him like the waves at the ocean, slowly dusting his skin with lethal light, as he spun to escape its grasp. But his lanky legs tensed up, paralyzed, and he was halted like a statue before the renegade Raichu, bloodied and petrified. Poison strained against the potency of the Thunder Wave, but his legs stubbornly refused to even twitch.
 Grinning, the rugged Pokemon arrogantly strode up to Poison, its dark brown fur matted with dirt and blood blending in with the surroundings. The hyena flinched suddenly as the Raichu stood up on two legs, shooting up two feet, glaring straight into his livid but visibly panic-stricken ruby, emerald, and gold flecked eyes. Definitely a renegade. It had that air of power and confidence found in bullies, but this Pokemon had scars and ragged gashes to prove it had bullies of its own.
 The Raichu flicked its tail in Poison’s face to mock him, and he snapped at it in fury. The thunderbolt-shaped tail easily evaded his pathetic attempts, and the Raichu spoke as multiple Pokemon emerged from the brush. A Ninetails, Dragonair, a Bulbasaur with two wounds on its right vine, a Rapidash, Arbok, Arcanine, Umbreon, Houndoom, Charizard, Squirtle, Typhlosion, Skarmory, and amazingly, a hovering pink Mew. All renegades; slashed and scared from great battles they had survived, their fur dark and bloody, gathered around the hyena.

 “Tsk, tsk, tsk. What do we have here?” The Raichu circled slowly, eyeing their capture with malicious, evilly gleaming eyes. He continued with hatred, crouching on four legs before the hyena. “A spirit? A demon? – Or perhaps, a Daemon?”
 The metallic bird Skarmory inched forward, brandishing gleaming steel wings, as it hissed in a screeching voice, “Murderous Daemon! You came to destroy the *weak* Pokemon you love to torment and kill, didn’t you?! Well, this time, Pokemon strike back.” It gnashed its beak in anger, barely restraining its temper.
 Raichu glanced back and said, “Steel! Cool it! We’ll have time to get back at those backstabbing evolutions, but he isn’t a Daemon, are you?”
 Poison gritted his teeth in furious rage. He had been sore from the wounds of losing the chance to become a Daemon, to possess the powers of destructions, and now this. Wildly lunging his upper torso that had escaped effect, the hyena madly snapped at the Raichu, missing it by two wide feet. “You get over here and I’ll give you a piece of this *Daemon*!!” he challenged the creatures that had imprisoned him with his own body.
 “Tough one, aren’t we?” The Raichu laughed. “It makes you mad, doesn’t it, when you know you aren’t Daemon? You don’t have the power, don’t have the respect, but a mind to shame a million Daemons, and you can’t even defeat a couple of Pocket Monsters.” It laughed again at its own wit, folding his stubby arms and flashing a smug glance at Poison with its glowing yellow eyes. “The name’s Sparky.” He causally brushed a lock of wild fur that frilled out into the air. “What’s yours, Loser?”
 “Poison.”
 The Raichu smiled slightly, snapping his minute fingers. At the command, the blackish-blue dragonair slid up, a vial of fluorescent violet of, or what appeared to be, wisps of wind wrapped in the tip of its tail, and gave the vial to Sparky. The dragon Pokemon’s gems on its throat and tail glowed an ice blue ominously, it sparking an angry gaze at him before recoiling to join its brother Pokemon.
 Sparky causally removed the cork that constrained the living wind, and the antidote escaped. The purple wisps of wind cascaded down to the ground and crept along until they reached his frozen paws. Tentatively, they gently nipped at his fur, and then streamed up his leg. Almost instantly, Poison could feel his sore, rigid muscles relax gradually, and was able to take a step forward. The rest of his body loosened up, and the purple wind evaporated. Poison shook his head and body to get his energy flowing through his veins again, slowly stretching.
 The Raichu watched with the intelligent, deducing eyes of a practiced spy and killer, darkened, rounded arms folded. His once glowing eyes had been reduced to a dark gold, and his cheeks were now pitch black. And Poison saw that the darkness of his fur was from dirt and blood, probably not his normal coloring. In fact, he glimpsed a glint of golden-tan fur. But that would mean…
 “You’re a Golden?” Poison asked suddenly, looking at him with astounded eyes.
 Sparky smiled and brushed a bit of dirt off his arms and chest, revealing the glistening fur of a Golden, and said, “So glad you noticed.” His eyes sparkled mischievously, as if planning something. Golden strains of Pikachu and Raichu were extremely rare and only one Pikachu and Raichu before had been Golden. The rare strain was five times as strong and fast as a Raichu, and devious as well. Sparky was now a suspect and suspicious in the eyes of Poison.
 “Well, I might as well get to the point. No use to attempt to trick you. Your as sharp and alert as me, and I could never trick any one as smart as me,” Sparky suddenly said out of the blue. “Poison, I have a offer to make you.”
 Poison gazed on in shock, but false shock. He was acting to lull the Raichu renegade into a state of overconfidence so he could trick him if he turned out to be traitorous.
 “You know as well as I do that you hate Daemons as much as me and my gang. They have shamed you by not choosing you for the team, am I right? You desire vengeance but are too weak to attack their powers. Well, Poison, you are on our side. We Pokemon are sick of being claimed as the weaklings of the Shadow World. Spirits, demons, Daemons, everything in the Shadow World picks on us, able with their enhanced strength to kill an amateur battler. And now, the renegade Pokemon shall take the sweet revenge we so rightfully deserve by destroying the demons, spirits, and especially, the Daemons. Poison, what I am saying is, we can get you what you want, but you must swear to be loyal to our force. Or else,” – An aura of lightning enveloped his tail and his accomplishes narrowed their eyes, tensing, - “we will have to kill you.”
 Poison considered. The renegades were against the Daemons as well, and with training, could be as deadly as the four combined. Yet, they might kill Sprint… but still, he could save her. But the renegades might see him as a traitor and kill him, yet if he could have her…
 He jerked up his head, gazing into the Raichu’s eyes confidently, and said, “I agree.”
 Sparky smiled. He extended a bloody paw in acceptance. “Welcome to Revolt.”
 Suddenly, a weak, anguished yelp emitted from the cave only six feet from them, high and frantic. Poison, Sparky, and the renegades raised their heads to intercept the sound, all alertly scanning the surroundings. Confident that the creature was alive and would survive to make a good ally, the hyena demon trotted up to the thorn wall, slashing violently at the gnarled vines. Watching, and somehow understanding, the bloody Thunder Pokemon nodded and softly said, “Inferno, do it.”
 The Rapidash trotted up at the leader’s command, glancing at the wall, and charged it. Poison jerked out of the way as the horse came barreling down, ripping and whirling faster than lightning, sending vines flying. Working furiously, Inferno gradually cut a tunnel through the wall of thorns. The stallion stepped back cautiously, admiring his work and inspecting it for enemies that could be lurking anywhere.
 “Nice…” Poison muttered in a bit of shock, amazed at how fast the Pokemon could tear an orderly, large tunnel, compared to his slow, painful and meager progress.
 “Isn’t it?” Sparky smirked at him.
 Poison nodded, then the hyena sprinted in to the cave, trailed by the band of renegades.

 Agonized whines echoed through the cave painted in a dim silver tint from the dying moon, like a child crying. The hyena focused his powerful night vision, scanning the cave and cautiously trotting deeper in. Guided by the moans of pain, he drew closer to discovering who it truly was. But suddenly they stopped, echoing silence into the shadows. Poison glanced around in the pale, dim moonlight, calling out, “Anybody here? Hello?”
 “Poison?”
 He jerked back. It couldn’t be! – Yet, it was. No ghosts could exist in the Shadow World thanks to the dark magic protecting it. So…
 The hyena suddenly detected slight, labored movement a few yards from him, bolting over to the wheezing animal with gleaming green eyes. Windy.
 The ruby fox was sprawled out over low, flattened boulders stained with his blood, Windy’s fur matted with gore. He painfully turned his head to face Poison, and those energetic, mysterious jade eyes still retained their fire as he gazed at him. Inspecting him quickly, the hyena saw his hind legs and his right side was mauled, his legs shattered and probably lame. Swiftly, he jerked his head away. Windy whined as he strained to sit up, but soon collapsed from the intensity of his endeavor. Windy had been supposedly killed by an irrepressible, devastating kick from Sprint during the final race. Windy could of won, but instead had been *killed*. And now, he probably would never walk again. But he was alive.
 The fox gazed up at him and said, “Hey Poison, what’s up?”
 Poison turned to Windy with grim but grinning eyes. “Windy, I’m not Poison. My name is Revenge, and that’s what I intend to get!”

 Revenge felt renewed vengeance surging potently through his body, immersing him in a rage that could have shredded a Rhydon. Snarling and baring his teeth, he lunged. The human yelped in fright, and strained to get out of the path of the attacking demon. But his attempts fell dead.
 Snarling and snapping, the hyena stood over the human, glaring at him with gleaming, devilish red, green, and gold eyes. Rabid with hate, the hyena bared fangs, jaws trembling with fury, which were drooling and gruesome. The Fire Opal was glinting brightly into Ash’s eyes, blinding him temporarily.
 “Any last words?” Revenge asked silkily. Panting, the demon grinned in his wild, savage eyes.
  Ash flinched in disgust, squinting in nausea. He instantly held his breath, but he had to breathe sooner or later so he tried to ignore that awful stench. “Yeah,” he said, resisting the urge to puke, “you seriously need a tic tac man!”
 The reaction was instantaneous. A trio of slashing scythed claws dug fiercely into his side and chest, shredding parts of his black shirt to reveal crimson. Revenge snarled and barked and screamed, ready to tear Ash to pieces in blind, infuriated rage, snapping his jaws forward. A scream from his victim announced victory as two fangs slashed a gash down his temple and cheek. Lavishly licking his teeth painted with fresh, hot blood for a moment, Revenge enjoyed the pleasure it brought, almost addicted to gore and killing.
 Dazed, Ash felt his own death ravenously clawing at his body and face. The hyena had struck with the intensity of a lightning bolt; one moment, nothing, the next, he was inching toward death. Like some Rhydon that had gone to far with a rage attack, it kept slashing, biting, snarling, drawing blood, it kept killing. The demon’s claws were hot stabs of pain kept burning for what seemed an eternity before subsiding. But hell started up again instantly as another, sharp and fresh gash dug itself into his flesh.
 But suddenly, the hyena paused after landing a powerful bite on his right temple and savagely slicing it down his cheek, sending hell into his mind and body. At first, the pain was dulled by the other punishment, but flared, and he began to fade. His glazed, dulled eyes weakly focused on the massive, rabid demon, realizing he was licking his teeth, lavishing the taste of his blood, and he was jolted back a bit with a wave of repulsion. Ash, surprisingly, decided that his fate was this. Revenge would turn back to him, preparing the final assault. Then he’d lunge forward and his jaws would find his throat, and black would ensue.
 He had never given in to anything in his life, but for once, he surrendered. Ash was too weak to attack, and didn’t really want to… The pain would end as did his life, and he would have peace. So as the hyena returned to the dying human, eyes aflame with impending retaliation, and lunged to inflict the final bite, Ash sealed his eyes and looked back on his memories one last time.
 His mom, baking cookies, and playing with him; Gary and him pushing each other off the dock and laughing; feeling Pikachu perch on his shoulder, nuzzling his cheek; having the time of his life with Misty and Brock; and one vague, faded image of his father, smiling as he handed Ash his first Poke Ball and smiled ruefully and ruffled his hair, then turned and left.
 Revenge was inches away from his victim’s throat he could see was pulsing with hot blood that must be spilt. He noticed that Ash had submitted and lay, bleeding all over, with his eyes shut, and a grin curled up his face. Suddenly, he could detect skin touching his fangs, and he tensed to dig in, then –
 A deafening roar blasted through the dark void, echoed by a terrified yelp. Instantly, Ash jerked his eyes open, and was nearly blinded by the attack he was witnessing.
 Defiantly standing, the black wolf was gritting his teeth and baring the pain as he formed a legendary attack. The canine started to glow an eerie, misty gray, and he braced his legs as a white spark from its aura was raised before him. The emanation flickered and danced like a flame, twisting and whirling as it formed into a vague shape of a gem.
 Vision raised his bloodied head; his midnight eyes suddenly a blank, gruesome white. Dead, devoid, and demonic. They seemed to pierce straight through you, as if you had already fallen victim to him and he was searching for another. Revenge, who had been knocked over by a blast of lightning, staggered halfway up, glanced at his rival, and froze in shock. Damn, he hissed silently. Not now! Why did didn’t he die ever?
 The wolf levitated the white flame, which flickered in a brilliant flash of light tentatively, and its blank eyes attained a black tint. Vision began a long, haunting howl, and the final piece was placed as the white fire formed a glowing white stone that was fastened to his forehead.  Vision stopped howling, slowly turned to face the demon, and his eyes glowed red once before the shadows lit up in a blinding white light. And the whole time, the wolf never stopped smirking.

 Vision died, and was reborn. A ghost that had lurked seemed to rise from the confinement of the Moonstone, his Daemon stone. The misty white gem was the chain that restrained the evil, potent power of Vision. Light melded with dark. Death and life intertwined.
 Hot, raging anger bubbled up in his throat like acid, and the wolf began to change. Brilliant white sparks teased at the Moonstone, erasing the ominous midnight blue eyes of the Daemon. Slowly, he could feel the wild fury awakening, causing his glossy black fur to gradually lengthen, fading to a stormy gray as if his body was a twilight sky. A ripple of savage power that he rarely used surged up in his body, causing his body itself to glow in ominous silver light, making Vision appear as if he was evolving.
 And in a way, he was.
 Vision fell away from the new power emerging from him, weak and dazed from the draining spell he had preformed, releasing his evil. Releasing death itself.
 Blinking once, he captured a glance of a white devil aggressively shaking and whirling in the light beside him. Silky white fur. Scythed claws. Swift, lanky legs tensing with speed. And, finally, the final touch. Twin, glinting red eyes aflame, ready to kill.
 Fear.

 Time slowed. Danger thickly swirled in the Shadow Void between the worlds.
 The blinding light emitted from Vision’s division faded gradually, like twilight melding into dusk. Silence was shattered by two haunting howls that twisted from the fading light, as the shell-shocked creatures gazed on in shock.
 Two sets of paws emerged from the white, one a midnight black and the other a snowy white. Four eyes pierced through the smoke, alive with fire. Vision and Fear. One the Daemon of prophet power, and the other, the devil’s reincarnation.
 Fear nearly identical to the black wolf. The same height, the same piercing eyes that stared straight through you, and the same aura of mystery and intensity. The white wolf had a jagged streak of black fur on his withers that drifted to the middle of his powerful legs. A shadowy blotch of dark gray between its dangerous red eyes gave it a majestic but deadly look that would of shaken an Onix. The canine flowed with the grace of liquid metal, and had the cold intelligence of a killer. Confidently striding beside the Daemon of Vision, the Devil of Vision maintained a vicious look as it clearly prepared to attack Revenge, who was now stumbling weakly to his feet.
 Crouching down, long, lashing tail flicking, he started to glow, then blurred into a vague, misty silhouette as the beginnings of its Sneak Attack formed. As Revenge finally recovered himself and was steadied on his feet, he realized how long he had before that devil hit.
 None.
 Pain burned like battery acid in the demon’s throat as he was violently smashed back by a comet of ghostly white fury that barely grazed him but still sent him ten yards in to the shadows. Skidding against the “floor” of the void suddenly spiked a jab of pain into his side, revealing a gash slashed halfway down his side. Revenge yelped shrilly, limply laying in shock, waiting for another attack. He could feel blood trickling down his neck, leaking from two slices clearly drawn by fangs, and he could feel laughter bubbling up in his throat. The bloodied hyena restrained his laughter. Not now. Too soon. It would give his secret weapon away if he so much as chuckled. Despite the brilliance of his plan, he knew that he could have never anticipated Vision dividing, and that things had already started to go wrong. Too many things. Vision appearing so suddenly, the human actually surviving longer than a minute, and Fear.
 Revenge smiled.
 He would finally kill that Daemon and he would have vengeance, even if Sprint died. He would finally be superior, on top.
 And it would be their blood this time. Not his.

 Fear gathered dark particles from the Shadow Void, causing the wolf’s white fur to bristle with energy. Grinning, the demon spat out at Revenge, “Night night,” and gathered the power into a focused glow that enveloped his body in darkness. He could feel the deadly power that had been dead for so many years jerk to life, slowly warming, as he could feel the prophetic power of Vision rise again. It surged through his veins like fire, making Fear tingle with elation as he regained his senses; the vivid, striking scent of blood lulling at his nose. He loved that sensation of blood, the thrill of the hunt, the screams of prey, and the memories of before when he and Vision had divided sparked a thirst for his old hobbies. Before, he had been just a ghost trapped in that Daemon stone, seeing nothing but blackness and hearing silence while you knew their was so much to see, so much to hear, so much to kill.
 The white wolf glanced around with energetic eyes, searching for prey, and sniffing. His red eyes pierced through the dim battle area, focusing on the injured human. He could see the human staggering to his knees, balancing himself with shaky arms until he recovered his equilibrium, and his right hand was tightly clutched to his mauled, bloody side as a few crimson streams flowed over his already dark red fingers.
 Fear pried deeper into his mind with his potent psychic abilities the power of Vision was based on, searching for info. Something about this thrashed creature made him wary, knowing that he was definitely a major element of the prophecy. Suddenly, as his psychic powers finally broke the mental barrier, memories and information flooded his mind. Ash Ketchum. Ten years old. Striving to be a Pokemon Master. And……… Vision. Fear jerked back almost in shock, realizing that his prey he had been hunting almost was the human Daemon of Vision. So, he had to find different blood.
 And flickering his eyes toward the hyena, the venomous white wolf grinned then pounced, eyes blazing and body glowing as his Rage attack was completed.
 Beside the demon, the black wolf was barely keeping conscious. Performing such a high power spell had drained the critical energy that had been keeping him afloat. Each ragged breath sent him swooning further and further into darkness. Vision staggered dangerously, finally finding his balance before he glanced up. Despite the haze clouding his eyes, he could see the white demon forming an attack and lunging forward. He knew that releasing Fear was dangerous, but not as dangerous as facing Revenge alone. Fear had been traitorous before, but that was a risk he had to take.
 Vision couldn’t maintain this. He began to tip. His paws scraped at the ground, but gripped nothing, and he felt his body loosen in exhaustion, almost limp. Time seemed to thicken and decelerate, but he fell nonetheless.

 After slamming into the hyena, Fear jerked back from the impact, agilely springing off his side and landing again, hardly a hair misplaced. He was an acrobat of death, swift, smart, deadly, and lithe. His claws were dipped in red, making it appear as if he had nail polish, but anyone could see that blood wasn’t a good polish. The white wolf ignored the collapsing of his twin and quickly put in motion a strategy. Panting laboriously, the hyena lay still on his side, recovering from the blow. A long slash inflicted from his claws was gored into his side, the bleeding slowly decreasing. But in the tangle of bloody fur, he saw the defiant red, green, and yellow eyes smiling. The wolf began to lope causally around Revenge, studying him carefully.
 He expected nothing from the injured hyena, so when the furious blaze of pain tackled him and threw him to the ground violently, Fear was shocked. But instantly, he was back on his feet, dodging another whitish-gold streak of speed and lightning. A crackling knife of electricity singed his fur as it grazed his heels, sending him tumbling again. The demon/Daemon yelped in shock. Never before had he ever been knocked down twice without launching an attack. And without noticing the attacker at all? – That seemed impossible, but denial was stupid. Fear had to face it. He was slipping.
 Glancing up, the wolf flinched in shock. A Raichu? A Raichu had defeated him??!
 Yet, there it was. A golden, sleek Pokemon with long, frilly ears and ominous white eyes that challenged him stood before him on four legs. It had a long, snaking tail and short and dagger-like claws extending from its hind paws, giving it the impression of a killer teddy bear. The Raichu must have been hiding in the shadows and just attacked, and by the way Revenge’s eyes were smiling, he knew that it had been a trap.
 Fear staggered up with less energy than he expected to have. Puzzled, he glanced down to check for wounds. Another jolt of amazement was added as he spotted a long burn on his flank, which was shadowed by a long slash. It must have used it tail to injure him. But now that he could see how dangerous this nearly cute creature could be, that would be the last attack it landed.
 He snapped savagely, and the white wolf suddenly dissipated, as if smoke in a breeze. A trace of silver dust was drifting in the air, just to prove that Fear had been there, but the demon was vanished completely.
 Sparky glanced around for his opponent. Shivering in apprehension, the Pokemon nervously sparked at his dark cheeks, his long, whip like tail teasing the air. It was silent around him. His opponent had disappeared into thin air. This could not be good. Apparently, this was a tougher assignment then Revenge had let on. That scheming bitch! He had said it was a piece of cake! More like piece of poison cake… That fool was just to chicken to take on Vision himself! Speaking of Revenge, he glanced around again to spot that trickster. But instead of finding the hyena, the agile mouse found himself staring straight into fury.
 Fear smashed directly into his target, blurring into an agile Mega Kick as he was released from his teleportation attack and jumped back to attack again.
 Caught totally off-guard, the Pokemon Renegade leader was bloodied and knocked down, but he refused to give up. Quickly, the Golden Raichu leaped back up, gritting his teeth and straining from the intensity of the battle. This wolf was strong. Stronger than he could predict.
The wolf’s fur bristled into a jagged coat of spines, and he snarled. He lunged forward, quickly found the ground, pivoted, and swung his legs over like a bat. But Sparky easily evaded that attack and smirked, waiting, as if he was waiting to mock him by dodging him again. As graceful as silk, the white wolf’s body melded to his will like clay and he was able to position it for a flip. He faced Sparky, planted his feet, coiled his muscles, then leaped backward in a backwards summersault, slashing his clawed paws up in an uppercut “punch.”
 One word could of described the next moment in time.
 Chaos.
 Sparky was sent tumbling backwards in a furious serious of twists and rolls, releasing a pained “Cha…” as he drew to a stop, exhausted. But stubbornness and determination gave him the energy to stand back up, and he brushed the lock of wild fur from his eyes. A certain fire that hadn’t been there before blazed in the Pokemon’s eyes. Anger burned for vengeance in his throat, like a knife of fury. The Raichu turned his gaze toward Fear.
 Fear returned the glare.
 The battle began.
 
 
 

***Author’s Notes***

 Okay, okay, so I lied. But I couldn’t help it. I was starving for ideas and revealing who the character was in ch. 1 seemed like a good idea. Next chapter, I hope to get to what I thought I would in this chapter, but as usual, I got off track. I planned to have the battle a lot shorter and never thought of including Fear just yet, and would of gotten a lot farther in the story. But, oh well. It took such a long time cause I write kinda slow, and with school, homework, writer’s block, and forgetting time to time to write. Sorry.
 Next chapter, the rest of the human Daemons come to life, and Sparky vs. Fear.

  Chustang