Ash: 15 Misty: 16   Brock: 20   Todd: 16
Jamie: 16   Gary: 16    Jesse and James: 21
Richie: 17  Ashura: 15  Commander Slade Morton: 33

* * * *

"She's not here." Ashura whispered as he stood on the rendezvous point where Duplica was supposed to await pickup. "That can only mean one thing."

Richie and Sparky only lounged in the driver's seat, apathetic to a fault. Richie's feet rested on the dashboard. Sparky idly scratched at the leather upholstery. The commander snored softly in the backseat.

"Elites." the Tri whispered through gritted teeth. "She must have been captured by a Silph Elite. Only an Elite can take down a Tri member."

"So ... she's gone ..." he said softly, mostly to himself. He stared off into the road like a zombie. No, he thought to himself, DON'T CRY. You will never cry, NEVER!

"That's DEFINITELY not the case, Lekarian." a tired, low voice rasped from the darkness of the woods surrounding them.

The young Lekarian spun around in the direction of the mysterious voice. The voice didn't seem physical; it was like hearing it inside of his own mind. "Show yourself, coward!" Ashura shouted into the darkness, his Psionic aura flaring brightly. "Where are you hiding?"

"Show myself?" the strange mind-voice echoed. "And give my position away to a perpetually angry Tri member? I think not. I have learned that the hard way."

Ashura concentrated his Psi. "You're injured." he observed. "How did a great Elite such as yourself become injured? And how is it that I can't sense your position?"

"Mind block." the voice answered simply. "Quite a handy technique. I should've used it in the battle against that green-haired Tri."

Ashura's eyes widened. "You fought against my Duplica?" he asked angrily. "If you've hurt her in any way, I swear human, I'll ..."

"Relax, scum." the cold mental voice chided in a cruel tone. "I wasn't able to lay a finger on her. She is quite fast; faster than me, I might add."

"Of course she is." Ashura sneered with relish. "She is a Tri, human. A Third Class Elite such as yourself wouldn't stand a chance against a warrior like my Duplica."

"You say 'my Duplica' like you own the girl, Lekarian. I find that very ... amusing."

"She is my mate." Ashura answered proudly. "Now where has she gone? Answer me or I will destroy everything in a half-mile radius! I know that one must be close to the person in order to use telepathy. You are bound to be near."

"Before you kill me, Lekarian, I have some information that you might find, well, interesting." Todd told Ashura's mind. "It's about your 'mate' and the Ultimate."

Ashura was puzzled. He didn't like to be caught off guard, especially by a human. "What are you babbling about, Inferior?"

Todd gave an evil grin from his hiding spot in the branches as he continued with the telepathic conversation. "It struck me somewhat odd to find that 'your Duplica' was a tad bit too, how you say ... zealous about stopping me and my partner from killing the Ultimate."

"She was merely doing her duty, you stupid human." Ashura spat. "I'd act the same as well. He is my brother after all, and we DO need him to wipe your filthy race off the face of the Earth."

"Oh, was she?" Todd asked calmly. "Tell me, Lekarian, have you two Psionically bonded yet?" Todd's evil grin widened.

Ashura was confused, and angry. "What does that have to do with anything, human?" he snapped.

"Answer my question, please."

"Well, not that it is any of your damn business, no; we haven't bonded yet. Now why are you bombarding me with these stupid questions?"

Todd gave a knowing sigh. "Ah, then that explains it." he said sagely. "That explains why you can't sense it."

Ashura was a hair close to making good on his promise to destroy everything within a half-mile radius. What was this filthy human getting at?

"What are you insinuating?"

Todd gave a humorless laugh. "Humph, and you Lekarians say to be mentally superior to us, as your namesake dictates. Can't you see? Are you so blind that you can't see the forest for the trees? Your 'mate' is in love with the Ultimate."

Ashura snorted. "I don't have time for this nonsense, human. Now just sit tight and wait to be blown into a million pieces!" Impossible. Duplica would not, COULD not, fall in love with my brother! Absolutely ridiculous!

Todd ignored Ashura's threats. "Don't you find it strange that for all this time she has been hiding something from you? I know you can sense that much, but you can never tell what it really is. You can't stand it, it's driving you mad. I have just answered the question that you've asked yourself every night for the past three years."

Todd gave another humorless chuckle. "It looks like there's trouble in paradise."

Ashura was enraged. "SHUT UP!" he roared, firing an anger-filled Psi blast into the trees. "GET OUT OF MY HEAD, YOU FILTHY INFERIOR!" His chest was heaving, his pulse was pounding. He could feel the anger boiling up inside of him, not just of what he knew to be true, but of the one thing that he would never admit it to himself. But what really angered him was that a lowly human did what he couldn't do; face the truth. Or better yet, face the truth FOR him. His aura flared like a supernova, illuminating the forest in an angry blue light. Pebbles and fragments of broken pavement levitated and hovered all around him. Richie and Sparky cried out in surprise as the car windows shattered.

The commander jolted out of his slumber as he felt a shower of broken glass sprinkle over his body. Then a feeling of dread crept over him as he sensed Ashura's Psi.

Anger.

It pulsed and writhed through the boy's body, electrifying every one of his nerve endings with deadly need. Morton was terrified. "Oh God no, he breathed. "If he gets any angrier he will go into the ...

As if something snapped inside him, Ashura let loose a primal roar.

... Rage."

Ashura's aura exploded outward like a bomb. It changed from blue to red, giving the whole area the color of blood. His muscles bulged outward, pulsing with blood, the sinew stretched tight from underneath his skin. His eyes glowed red.

An invisible force, like that of a raging tsunami, filled the air, sending the car reeling over onto its side. Trees toppled over, the pavement cracked and broke just as the car windows had. The commander and the two others felt like their bones would shatter inside their bodies.

Ashura was caught in a maelstrom of primal fury. A feeling of hatred as deep as the darkness of his heart washed over him like corrupted water. It was agony, yet the pleasure was undeniable. Strangly, he didn't feel the expected urge to rip something apart. He felt a strange calm; he was at peace. Unfortunately, it was only the calm before the storm.

The boy grinned widely at his power. Such force, such energy; it surged through every cell in his body and seemed to ignite his very soul. He felt as light as a feather, yet at the same time knowing that he could crack diamond in the palm of his hand just as easily as talc.

Just then it hit Ashura with the shocking force of revelation. With such raw power at his disposal, who needs the Ultimate? Why wait another three years for a new living weapon and the destruction of the human race, when they, HE, could just do it right now? It was the perfect time, the perfect place.

The perfect one.

Morton was on the verge of wetting his uniform bottoms.It wasn't the Rage. Oh no; it was something else. It was the cause of all of the commander's nightmares for over ten years. The one thing that he feared the most. Ashura had just done something that no other Lekarian had done in over ten thousand years.

He had entered the Dark Rage; a mysterious counterpart to the Rage. Instead of being triggered by pure anger, it was brought upon by hate, hurt, and sorrow. Of course, this could only be done if the subject was one of extreme power.

Could it be true? Could Ashura have obtained more power than the Ultimate himself?

The commander knew of only one thing to do; to use the power of the Ragana. Only the Ragana could stop Ashura now. He pulled out the Ragana that he kept in a secret pocket of his uniform. The commander hated using it, but he had no choice.

The Ragana was terrible weapon of mass destruction. It didn't look menacing at all; merely a simple-looking silver rod-like object. Yet it had the power to destroy entire cities and control the elements. It locked on to the Psi of the wielder, bonded with it, then amplified the user's Psi a thousand-fold. Their were legends that the Ragana had a mind of its own, it chose its users, not the other way around.

The commander sighed. Thank God that the Ragana chose HIM.

He leapt out of the overturned car and in front of the shining boy. He held his Ragana out in front of him in terrified defiance.

"Ashura ..." Morton's shaking voice rivaled that of his legs. " ... don't make me use this ..."

Ashura blinked once, than grimaced. Morton flinched; it was the kind of grimace that made grown men scream for their mommies and hide under the covers. The glowing teen steadly advanced toward the shaking commander.  

The commander waved his Ragana. A wall of fire that seemed to erupt from the ground itself was erected between the two. Morton winced back and shielded his face with his hand. Even though Superiors had a high endurance for fire, the head was becoming unbearable. Morton was using most of his Psi to shield himself from combusting into flame. He looked down to see his black boots oozing and melting all over the pavement. The asphalt under the wall followed suit as well, going from a dirty black to a glowing, quivering orange.

Ashura cackled madly as he floated right through the fire that could melt rock. He lifted his arm and pointed his index finger at the shaking commander. A glowing red ball formed on his fingertip.

His lips opened. "Bang." he whispered, just before the Psi ball was released from his finger.

* * * *

A sick feeling suddenly surged through the group. All heads jerked towards the direction the feeling was emanating. In foolish negligance, the barrel of Gary's pistol wandered away from its target. Jamie quickly noticed this. He saw he chance.


Jamie focused his Psi onto the gun that Gary held. It exploded into shrapnel. Gary cried out in surprise and in pain as the metal shards lodged themselves into his hand. He clutched it in agony. His guard was down. Jamie struck.

He moved like lightning. Jamie ripped out an unstoppable onslaught of punches and kicks, all charged with Psi. Gary gave grunts of pain as blow after agonizing blow connected with what seemed to be every inch of his body. Not even a single nook or cranny was left untouched from Jamie's assault. With what sounded like a war cry, Jamie thrust a smashing palm strike into Gary's chest, slamming him against a tree. The tree trunk snapped and fell forward from the sheer force.

Jamie proudly dusted his hands off and gave a wide grin of satisfaction. With a wave of his finger, Ash's hat flew from Gary's hand into his. Jamie turned around and tossed it to the raven-haired boy.

"I believe this is yours." he said with his infamous Colgate smiles as the cap landed into Ash's hands.

Ash, Misty and Pikachu stared at him in awe. They never knew that Jamie could fight like THAT. His form made him look like an old pro. Abra danced behind them and chanted Jamie's name in Poke language like a cheerleader. Ash lovingly thrust his hat onto his head.

"How did you do that!?" the three demanded in their own tongue. Jamie grinned even wider.

"I can't help it." he boasted, double punching in the air. "I guess I just have mad skills."

His grin jolted into an expression of shell-shocked pain as he felt a foot smash into the back of his head. No one else saw it coming. A blow to his kidney, then a knee to his spine followed the kick. Suddenly he felt an extreme burning sensation as he was rocket-propelled into Ash and Misty. Gary had shot him in the back with a Psi blast.

Ash threw himself over Misty's frightened form. He knew that if he didn't, Jamie would crush her. He gritted his teeth and grunted loudly as he took the full brunt of the flying Jamie.

The three bodies crashed together, forming a tangled mass of arms and legs. Two of them were squirming to escape the pile; one lay still.

"Jamie?" Misty shook the brown haired boy by the shoulders. He didn't budge. "JAMIE!"

She looked up and glared daggers at Gary. "Why are you doing this?" she cried, in tears at seeing her friend being brutally assaulted.

Gary sneered as he softly nursed his wounded hand. "He was in my way." he said coldly. "The real target is sitting right next to you."

Misty's look of hatred became deeper. "How could you do this, Gary? I've always thought even YOU could never sink this low."

Jamie stirred. "Quit your fretting, Mist. The J-Man's okay." Ash and Misty's look of awe returned as the seemingly terminally injured boy flipped up into the air and onto his feet. He rubbed the back of his head. "Just caught me by surprise, is all." He crouched into his fighting stance. "You ruined my best shirt, ya dousche-bag!"

Gary smirked. "Sorry, Runaway, but right now I just don't have the time for you. Maybe later, though."

"Guys, stand back." Jamie ordered, his fighting stance deepening. "This won't take long."

"We'll see about that, Lekarian." Gary replied smugly.

Gary lifted both of his hands and began to fire small, weak Psi blasts at Jamie. The other three behind Jamie leapt out of the way as Jamie began blocking the surprisingly feeble shots.

Jamie laughed as he effortlessly blocked the blue streams of light. "HAH! What the hell kinda weak blasts are THOSE!?"

Gary only grinned. The weak shots were merely a distraction. Just a little diversion for the Inhibition Collar.

"EAT THIS!" Gary shouted as he hurled a crescent moon-shaped object with his good hand at the defender. Jamie never saw it coming.

In the midst of trying to defend himself from the harmless yet stinging shots, Jamie failed to notice the Inhibition Collar. It latched onto his neck with a loud 'SNAP!' Immediately, Jamie began to notice just how rapidly his energy was leaving him; he felt sluggish, weak. He attempted to focus his Psi, but only tapped an empty well; it was as if nothing was there. He tried in vain to break the collar off his neck, only to find that his vast amount of strength had left him as well. His legs felt like jelly, his head felt twice as heavy than it once was. Finally he couldn't stand any longer; he collapsed.

Jamie mentally kicked himself as he dropped to the ground. Dammit, Jamie, why couldn't you see it coming? You shouldn't have been worrying about defense, should've gone for the offensive again! Great, now I'm helpless, up shit creek without even a paddle! Oh man, so sleepy ... NO! Gotta stay awake ... eyes are so heavy ... maybe just a little nap ... dammit STAY UP!! Can't move ... can barely breathe ... feel like I weigh a ton. Sorry Misty, Ash, Brock ... gotta sleep now ...

Jamie lost consciousness.

* * * *

The trees whizzed by her as if she was in some kind of time warp, her hair blown behind her. To the naked eye one would only see a shining blue blur. It was, in fact, Duplica, running faster than she ever had in her entire life.

Duplica raced through the woods like a bullet. At this point, she had devoted most of her Psi to her speed, and had a small amount reserved for sensing Ash's Psi. She had to be careful of her Psi management, lest she keeled over and dropped dead.

I have to find Ash, she thought, before the Elite gets to him first. Thoughts swirled through her mind as she sped through the forest. What will Ash think when he sees me like this? Does he already know what he is? What about the Runaway?

<You think too much.> Ditto remarked telepathically from inside its Pokeball.

<I think because I worry.> Duplica replied.

<It's not going to matter. When Aries learns what he truly is, he will hate you for telling him. You know, the whole kill-the-messenger rule?>

<You're not helping, Ditto.> she thought fiercely. <Ash will NOT hate me. He's better than that.>

<How many times do I have to remind you that that's not his real ... HOLD IT!>

Duplica nearly tripped over a root as she skidded to a halt. She had put up so much momentum that she almost flew forward. <What is it?>

<Widen your Psi range, Duplica. Don't you feel it?>

Duplica calmed herself and focused. A horrible feeling then jolted through her. She gave a loud * UGH! * and vomited all over the ground.

<... disgusting. But then again, I'd throw up too if I wasn't in this Pokeball.>

<Oh God, what WAS that?"> Duplica mentally screamed.

<I don't know, Duplica.> Ditto replied, wishing it could provide a better answer. <But whatever it is, it's powerful ... and evil.>

Duplica shuddered as she felt the feeling getting stronger and more intense. "Oh shit, it's getting closer!" she yelled, this time out loud. She crouched into her fighting stance.

Ditto suddenly flashed out of its Pokeball and Transformed into Duplica. "Then we best start running!"

"What are you doing out?" she demanded.

"There's no way that I'm going to kick back and relax in my Pokeball while you're out here being in danger! Don't you see, you can't take it on by yourself, not even both of us can take it on together! We're leaving."

Duplica brought herself back to reality. Of COURSE she couldn't just wait for this unimaginably powerful force to just come and get her. Fighting it would be like a Pichu trying to tackle a Ursaring. She HAD to run.

Duplica turned to her Pokemon. "Let's go." she said.

Ditto nodded and raced off with her into the darkness, knowing deep down that tonight was going to be a night full of terrors.