-The surprises aren't over yet! As the real enemy shows his face, Nightslice must confront the truth about himself. Sixth in a series.

"Another one?" I wondered, examining the stone tablet in my hand. As if I hadn’t had enough surprises for one day.

"Something about this one doesn’t feel right." Said Firestorm, poking his head over my shoulder. The other Pokemon, Ivysaur, Wartortle and Jolteon, all made similar remarks.

"Almost as if…" Firestorm reached out to touch it.

There was a sudden flash of purple light. Some unseen force threw Firestorm to the other side of the cave. I dropped the tablet with a surprised yell. The image of a growling dragon briefly appeared on the tablet. It vanished as suddenly as it had appeared.

"Ow! Grrrrrr…" moaned Firestorm, staggering to his feet.

"Hey, did everyone see that?" I asked, referring to the dragon’s image.

"Saur!"

"War!"

"Jolt!"

"They’re all saying ‘yes’." Firestorm added in. He kept a significant distance away as I picked up the tablet again.

"I recognized the image from all the drawings I’ve seen. It was an image of Kaiser, the dark dragon." I told everyone, "So this probably contains one of his forbidden skills, hidden in the same manner as the sacred skills. And that…"

I stopped short. Nightslice? No, it couldn’t be!

"Kris? Something wrong?" Firestorm looked worried.

With the tablet grasped under my arm, I stood up and grabbed the Charizard by his shoulders. I noted that I now had to reach up in order to do that.

"Apparently the descendents of the two dragon gods aren’t able to touch the other’s tablets. Since you’re a descendent of Harasalt, the tablet of Kaiser wouldn’t let you touch it. And when Nightslice tried to touch Harasalt’s tablet, it threw him off. So that can only mean that…" I let that sentence hang. They’d gotten my point.

There was a sudden, ominous silence among all of us. One by one, Ivysaur, Wartortle and Jolteon quietly walked over to the pile of our bags. They opened their Pokeballs and disappeared inside. I realized I was still grasping onto Firestorm and quickly let go.

"I’m sorry, I…"

"I understand how…how you feel." He gave me a hug, throwing his powerful wings and claws around my back.

I stepped back and found a comfortable spot to sit down on.

"We’ll wait for him to come back before we discuss this further." I said, "In the mean time, we should get some rest. Everyone needs it more than ever now."

Firestorm nodded and curled up on the floor beside me. He was extra careful to keep his face turned away from me. Probably, he didn’t want me to see his expression.

I leaned my head against the cave wall. Just when I thought there couldn’t possibly be anymore…

Furthermore, how would Nightslice himself feel if he discovered that the blood of a dark god that had almost destroyed the world flowed through his veins?

The troubling part was that, despite the years we’ve been together, I couldn’t imagine how’d he react. Not one single bit.

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When I came to, I was aware that I was on my back, being dragged. Some cold hand was grasped around one of my ankles. Next thing I noticed was that I was blindfolded. Third thing was that my ‘kidnapper’ hadn’t even bothered to tie me up.

Feeling the damp grass beneath me and hearing the distant cries of bird Pokemon from the trees above, I reached the conclusion that we were in a forest. Probably the same one I’d been in when I had the sledgehammer thrust into my face.

Now was the time to make my move.

Mentally, I pictured the scene. In one swift motion, I brought my free foot up and kicked the hand. There was a brief gasp from the kidnapper. I flipped up onto my feet and threw a flying kick.

There was a loud thump as he hit the ground. It didn’t really matter as I was already running and at the same time, trying to rip off the blindfold without cutting myself. With scythes as ‘hands’, it’s quite a task. I was also listening for any sounds of pursuit or weapons being drawn.

None at all.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get very far because I ran straight into the attacker’s weapon. To be more specific, it felt like a metal bar. Not to mention the ‘clang’ when my neck connected with it. Imagine running at full speed and suddenly being smacked by someone swinging a baseball bat. It’s not a pleasant experience.

The impact knocked me over. I landed on my back, roaring in pain and gasping for breath. What the?!

"Not as good as you think, now are you?" a voice laughed.

How? I wondered, I should’ve been able to hear him!

Even with my sensitive hearing, there hadn’t been a sound. Either this guy was extremely good, or I had let my guard down way too much. Or maybe it was both.

"You’ve got a lot to learn." The voice sneered. A kick connected directly with my lower jaw and sent me rolling onto my chest. Pain shot through my whole body.

Despite all the pain, I noticed something both odd and familiar about the voice. There was a slight hiss or snarl in every sentence he spoke. A low, deep voice. In fact, it sounded a lot like…me?

Yes, like a much older version of myself.

However, I didn’t have much time to think about it. His third and finial blow sent me back to dreamland.

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I awoke with a start. The midday sun was streaming in through the hole in the roof of the cave.

I’ve slept the whole morning! I realized.

Nightslice should’ve been back by now. I searched the cave, but couldn’t find any signs that he’d come back. All of our equipment was untouched. Maybe he’d come back, seen us fast asleep and left to go hunting or something. But I suddenly had this odd feeling. I don’t know, something that made me feel rather queasy…

"Firestorm, wake up." I shook the sleeping Charizard.

"Five more…minutes…" he yawned and rolled over to his other side.

"Hey, I’m serious here! It’s been half the day and our Scyther pal isn’t back yet!"

Firestorm instantly sat up.

"What?! Uh oh! I‘ve got a very bad feeling about this."

"You think he’s in trouble?"

"Possibly," Firestorm muttered, a concerned look on his face, "or perhaps he’s figured out his lineage for himself. He could’ve …like run away or something."

"NO!" I shouted, causing Firestorm to jump back. I regained control of my emotions. "I’m sorry, I just…"

"It’s not you’re fault," Firestorm out a claw on my shoulder, "I’m the one jumping to conclusions. I apologize."

"So, can you…"

"Yes, I’ll got look for him." Firestorm turned his back to me, but I could still see him furiously shake his head in frustration. The dragon opened his huge wings and took off in a cloud of dust.

I stayed back only long enough to gather up our equipment, then followed.

Two hours later…

"Storm, did you find him?"

"Negative." Firestorm landed, shaking his head. "I couldn’t find any signs of an attack either."

"Sneak attack?" I suggested.

"Possible, but the guy would’ve to be darn good to do so."

"True." I nodded. I particularly trained Nightslice to watch his back and even taught him a few of my ninja tactics. And a well-trained ninja is very difficult thing to sneak up on.

"Keep searching from the air," I ordered, pulling out a Pokeball at the same time, "I’ll have Jolteon check out the area. Go Jolteon!"

Firestorm took to the air again as Jolteon appeared and started sniffing.

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I felt like I was floating. I shook my head, trying to clear out the stars. Yeah, water or some kinda of liquid. Bubbles were all around, floating up past me.

I was fully awake now and struggling to reach the surface. My head only hit a barrier, some kind of lid.

Help! I’m drowning! My mind went into a state of panic, limbs flapping wildly, until I realized I was breathing. I felt it now, a rubber mask over my mouth and nose, supplying me with oxygen. At least they weren’t trying to drown me.

Yet…I reminded myself. I blinked, taking note of my surroundings for the first time. The blindfold was off and I could see, despite the murky liquid, I was locked in a small tank. Cylindrical-shaped, just like the ones where they put aliens in the movies. I immediately tried shaking that thought out of my mind, but couldn’t after noticing the room outside. Anyone would recognize it as a laboratory. Computers, blinking lights, bottled chemicals, piles of papers.

I was creeped out. I just didn’t know why. I wanted out. I pulled back a foot and gave the glass wall a kick, but it was like hitting a reinforced steel wall. My sore foot made me furious and I lashed at it with my claws. They barely made a dent and I had to stop, realizing I’d break them if I continued.

"So, awake at last." The same, eerie voice came out of nowhere. I saw a figure shrouded in the shadows outside, but it took me a moment longer to realize that there were speakers on the mask strapped around my face.

The horrible feeling in my gut was confirmed by sight of figure walking into the light. I jumped back in shock.

"You…!" I hissed. Speaking through the mouthpiece in the mask, it didn’t come out as intimidating as I hoped.

Still, there was no mistaking his identity. This was the enemy I’d come to know as Aaron’s Scyther. Or he’d once been that. He was now a cyborg; the upper right half of his body replaced by a set of robotic components.

It was like an imaginary line had divided his two aspects. I carefully looked him over, from the half of his metallic face and his glowing red eye, to both his metal wings coupled with a pair of jets, to his single razor-sharp metal claw, down to his chestplate with numerous lights blinking. The armor ended at his torso, leaving the rest of the lower body normal.

I was horrified, yet somehow awed at the same moment.

"Surprised?" he grinned, "Well, quite a sight for sore eyes, aren’t I?"

"You’re supposed to be dead!" I found my voice.

"Almost…" he leaned closer to the glass wall. I backed off as far as I could, but it still wasn’t very far. "Your friend thought I was down for good when that Arbok nailed me with its acid spray. I admit, it was torture dragging my half-dead body down here, but well worth the effort indeed."

"So, what do you want with me?" I asked.

"I just need have a friendly little chat."

"I wouldn’t consider locking me in here a rather friendly gesture."

"If there weren’t a wall between us, you’d be attacking on first sight."

"Yeah, you bet I would!" I kicked the wall to no avail. "Let me out of here right now and I’ll show you, you fu…."

He calmly used a claw to flick a switch at the base of the tank. Immediately, I began to gag and choke. The air supply had been cut off. It took every ounce of my willpower to resist ripping the mask off my face. Suffocate or drown---not a choice you’d like to make.

"You really should learn to mind your language." He continued in his calm tone.

He waited until I was literally blue in the face before reconnecting the air supply. I took a few moments to recover, taking in deep gulps of oxygen before I faced him again and growled angrily.

"Listen to what I have to say and you’ll understand." He seemed slightly irritated, but otherwise remained as calm as ever.

"Alright, then." I said. Not like I had much of a choice for that matter.

"Look around you. Anything seem familiar?"

I took another look at what I could see of the room.

"I don’t know…"

"Harder. Focus your thoughts, the answers lie deep within yourself."

It had to be a trick! Why should I be listening to him? I thought, Still…could there actually be a chance that he knows something about me?

I concentrated. Searched my mind for anything about a lab or sorts. I suddenly realized something. I was shivering, not because it was cold.

It was fear.

What?! Why? I shook my head, trying to clear out my doubts. He’s lying! I’ve got no reason to…

The next thing I knew, a series of memories hit me like a tidal wave, flooding my mind and drowning out all other thoughts. And somehow, I felt that these were real.

I blinked. I wasn’t able to remember any of this…until now.

"Remember now, Nightslice?"

"Yes," I answered, "some of it. And…er…" I stopped short, realizing I didn’t have a name to address this mysterious figure by.

"I do have a name if you were wondering." He replied my unspoken question; "The humans gave it to me a long time ago. I am Alugard."

"So…Alugard, why show me all this?" I asked.

"Haven’t you seen how the humans have used you, disregarding the fact that you are a sentient being as well?" he posed another question without replying mine.

"Wh…?!"

"The humans regard us as being inferior to themselves when it is actually we who are superior! Pokemon have inhabited and ruled the planet for much longer than humans have!" Alugard roared.

"I’m touched by the speech pal," I said, "but it’s a fact. The humans are here, in charge, and they won’t be going anywhere anytime soon."

"It doesn’t have to be that way." He gave me a dark look. "Pokemon are far superior and it’s only befitting that we should rule."

"And what does that have to do with me?" I was almost afraid of the answer. Alugard had plans and he wanted something with me. Something big.

"It should be fairly obvious that the spawn of a dark god like Kaiser is the perfect candidate for this task."

I realized he was staring straight at me.

"No! That’s I lie! I’m not…"

"You know what you are. There’s no denying it."

I wanted desperately to say no. Deny the fact. But I already knew it was true. Even if he had used pretty harsh terms to describe it.

But why else would a scared stone throw me off when I’d tried to touch it? I’d suspected it earlier on, but now he had just confirmed my horrible feelings.

A spawn of a dark god. A descendent of the black dragon Kaiser. Was his all I was?! It was too much to take. I wanted to scream. To deny. To declare in the name of the gods that it wasn’t true.

However, not even the slightest sound left my jaws.

"…."

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Still nothing.

I’d circled the area at least half a dozen times without finding anything. I wondered if Nightslice had really run, or flown away.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

It was the mobile phone ringing. I fumbled for the pouch strapped across my shoulder and dug out the small phone.

"Firestorm, it’s me." Said Kris on the other end, "Below you."

I turned my eyes down and spotted her waving up at me.

"Get down here, now!"

"Right!"

I landed with a thud, stirring up piles of dirt as my feet dug into the soil. Folding my wings behind me, I walked over to Kris and Jolteon.

"You found something?" I asked.

"Yeah, Jolteon picked up Nightslice’s scent over here." She pointed to a pair of long, brown drag marks on the grass.

"What?!" I leaned closer to examine them. They were definitely drag marks. "I saw these from up there, but they didn’t look like drag marks to me."

"You just haven’t learnt to recognize stuff from up in the sky. I wouldn’t blame you since you only recently earned your wings, unlike Nightslice."

I was already feeling terrible about it. My mistake had cost us valuable time.

Jolteon continued sniffing, then suddenly growled and begun barking.

"Nightslice wasn’t alone." Kris understood what Jolteon was implying. "The marks definitely came from his claws dragging in the dirt. And that could only mean…"

I reached the same conclusion she had. Nightslice was in trouble.

"Jolteon," I called, "Lead on!"

"Jolt!" he barked and took off running. Kris and I followed closely.

Kris was at the rear when I heard her scream and fall. I spun round.

"Kris?"

"I’m ok!" she called, "I tripped over something in this bush and …what the?!!!"

Bzzzt! Bzzzt! Came an odd sound from the bush next to her.

Kris was backing away from it when an electric bolt suddenly shot out of it. Although startled, she still managed to dive out of the way.

"Kris!" I shouted.

"Bzzzt! Bzzzt! Voltorb!" Came a mechanical voice.

A spinning orb suddenly shot out of the bush and headed straight for Kris! I threw myself in front of her and had the wind knocked out of me.

"Grrrr!" Furiously, I unleashed the fire from my mouth, covering the Voltorb in searing flames.

The buzzing sound became louder and it begun to glow with a bright light.

"Firestorm!" Kris yelled from behind me, "Bail! It’s gonna use explosion!"

In a flash, I tackled Kris and shoved her to the ground as a deafening blast drowned out all other sounds. When I got up, there was nothing there but a huge crater.

"Wow! That was some explosion." I muttered, then turned to Kris. "You alright."

"Yeah, thanks storm." She replied, brushing the dirt off her clothes. "This is why I choose to wear black and brown." She indicated her black, leather jacket. I again noted the Charizard drawing on its back.

I noted also, the slight stains of dried blood. The blood belonged to Nightslice. I was wearing the jacket at the time I was possessed and forced to attack him. I’d nearly killed him that night…

"We should go." I said, shaking the bad memories out of my head.

Nightslice, wherever you are, please be all right! I prayed.

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Alugard waited for me to calm down. I don’t know how long it was, but he just stood there with his scythes folded, an emotionless expression on his face.

"May I continue?" he finally asked.

I managed a weak nod.

"Join us. We can show you how to use your powers to their full potential. There is no limit to what you can accomplish. The world will be ours, to rule, to alter, shape in our own image!" he extended a claw out to me as if expecting a clawlock, that’s a handshake in human terms.

I had a decision to make. Yes or no. Believe or don’t. Accept destiny or break its flow.

"Never!" I growled. "If what you’ve shown me is true, then I’ve seen the dark side of things. But I’ve seen the other side too." I thought of Kris, Firestorm and the others. The things I’d seen and been through traveling with them. "The world has problems, I don’t deny that, but…" I caught my breath. Not very easy breathing in the stale air being fed to me by the machine. "…it deserves a chance."

Alugard had a rather annoyed look on his face. He obviously hadn’t expected that kind of retaliation from me.

"You’ve chosen. Obviously nothing I say is going to change our mind. So…."

I caught a brief glimpse of him holding something. I noted he had a hand on his robotic right side. It was built like a human hand, four fingers and a thumb and slid into the right claw like a human would wear a glove. He pushed a button with his thumb, then threw the small box across the room. It slid neatly into a computer terminal there.

Immediately, I felt something like a jolt of electricity shocking my body. I cried out in pain.

"It really does pain me do resort to this," Alugard continued, "but since you won’t willingly change your mind, I’ll have to change it for you."

His voice sounded more distant, probably because of the pain ringing bells in my head. Next was the numbness passing through my entire body.

In spite of all this, I felt something was not quite right. With both claws, I reached down to my ankles. What I felt there wasn’t flesh or bone.

It was metal.

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"Is this it?" I asked.

The sun was beginning to set. Half of the fiery sphere was still visible, casting orange streaks of light across the blue ocean waters.

We stood down below at the beach, facing a rocky cliff. The sea surrounded us of three sides, the cliff on the remaining one.

"They have to be here, somewhere." Firestorm said with a hopeful tone.

Jolteon walked up to a particular spot at the cliff and begun barking.

I was about to walk over when I heard a deep growl. Next thing I knew, I was face down on the sand. Something very large and heavy had pounced from behind.

Then, the weight was gone. Firestorm had pulled it off and thrown it several feet back. He was now snarling and struggling with it, stirring up clouds of sand.

Jolteon had already charged up his thunderbolt, but refrained from firing with Firestorm in the way.

Clearing the sand out of my eyes, I managed to get a decent look at it.

Basically, it looked like a robotic Arcanine. Except it was a lot bigger. Its eerie red eyes glowed like the monster out of some child’s nightmare.

Firestorm roared in pain was its dagger-like claws pierced his tough, dragon hide. The thing’s ominous jaws were just inches away from Firestorm’s neck. The Charizard had gripped both sides of its jaws with his claws, but looked like they were going to give out any second now.

Summoning my courage, I got a running start and leapt. Right onto its back.

The metallic Arcanine roared and jumped off Firestorm, nearly throwing me off in the process. I found a firm section beneath its neck and held on as the monstrosity of a Pokemon thrashed about wildly.

Firestorm was still too dazed to help. Jolteon held back in fear of hitting me. I was on my own.

With my free right hand, I reached for my belt and pulled out one of my ninja shurikens. The small projectile looked puny compared to the hellish machine, but I drove it into the back of its head.

The thing barely even felt it and continued to thrash about, more intensely now. I wondered how long I’d be able to hold on.

"Kris!" Firestorm sent an object flying towards me. I caught it with the precision of the ninja that I was.

It was the sleek, thin Japanese sword I carried at the bottom of my backpack. A memento my ninja master had left me before passing away.

I drove the blade down, through its skull and out through the bottom jaw. No living thing would’ve survived that blow. But this wasn’t a living thing.

I released my hold and was tossed off. I hit the sand hard, but barely felt the pain.

"Attack!" I shouted, "Go for the sword!!!"

My Pokemon unleashed their attacks. Being conducted by the metal sword, the thunderbolt went straight to its head, overloading its circuitry. With its systems already in overload, Firestorm’s flamethrower was simply too much for it.

The thing flopped over with a metallic screech. It lay perfectly still for a second, the exploded, metal shards and scraps littering the beach.

The three of us just stood there, panting, mostly still in shock.

I was finally able to walk over and retrieve my sword from the spot it’d landed. It was slightly charred, but otherwise repairable. Still, it wasn’t the least of my concerns.

The only thought that came to mind was: What the HELL have we gotten ourselves into this time???!!!!

I was trapped in a nightmare. Except there would be no waking up. Possibly never at all.

I watched helplessly as control of my own body was wrestled from me. And I had absolutely no way to fight back.

I’d realized what Alugard had planned for me. Turning each and every bit of my flesh and bone into technological matter. That had been the metal I’d felt. It slowly crept up, like a plague consuming my entire being.

Then he’d be able to control me at will. Not like I knew how it would benefit his cause, but I know evil when I see it.

Still, no amount of words could describe the horror that I felt. No amount of fighting or struggling would free me.

Each second passed like an eternity. Slowly, I loss control. Feet and legs, up to waist and torso, then chest, arms, claws.

I noticed Alugard was staring intently at me.

"I…w…will…still…fight!!" I spurted out with what strength I had remaining.

"Only a fool fights a lost battle." Alugard replied coldly.

I could no longer move my neck now, but I caught the glimpse of him pushing something in his hand. It made my claws move up and cross in front of my face. I got a very good look at them. Shinny, razor-sharp, like my entire body had been coated with a layer of sliver. They then came apart, the metallic ‘swish’ still audible underwater.

The metallic plague had now crept over my jaws. I couldn’t reply.

Only one last thought escaped my mind.

I was still gasping for breath when I noticed Kris bend over. Her eyes suddenly went wide with shock.

"Kris? Are you OK?"

"Nightslice," she muttered, not answering my question, "I know where to find him!" She dashed past me, straight towards the rock wall.

"Hey! What are you…"

Much to my surprise, that section of the wall spun open like the rotation door of a shopping mall. A long staircase could be seen spiraling down into the darkness.

"I heard his voice in my head," Kris explained, "sounded like he was in pain."

"Let’s hurry!" I nodded.

I led the way down the stairs, the flames on my tail illuminating the path ahead. It seemed to continue on and on. Finally, it opened to…a brightly-lit hall.

I squinted as my eyes adjusted to the brightness. A whirling sound caused everyone to look up. About a dozen guns emerged from their hiding places all over the room.

"Intruders detected. Intruders detected. Security systems online. Acquiring targets." An emotionless computerized voice announced.

"Run!" Kris ordered.

There was another staircase leading up at the right side of the room. Our trio sprinted and just barely ducked behind the corner before the auto-guns let loose with a burst of bullets. We crouched low as bullets ricocheted off the walls and ceilings.

"So you’ve come. But you’re too late." A menacing voice sneered.

I couldn’t believe it at first. But when I got a good look at the figure, there was no denying it.

"You!" I growled, "Impossible! You’re dead!"

"Hehehe, almost, but not quite."

This was the enemy Scyther I thought had taken a mortal blow back in the Pokemon tower. But here he was, alive as some half-machine, half-organic creature.

"Who are you?" Kris asked, "And what have you done with Nightslice?"

She’d also reached the conclusion that this was the bad guy.

"Call me Alugard," he replied with a laugh, "and as for your friend, well, actions speak louder than words."

Even with the noise of the firing machine guns, I could still hear the footsteps. The next thing I saw horrified me. A sight I may never forget for life (In my case that could be centuries).

"No!"

Like the Arcanine from earlier, the new figure was a robotic version of a Scyther. Claws sharper than swords. Two pairs of wings spread out like helicopter blades. A row of colored lights on its chest flashed in a rhythmic pattern. Joints and limbs that reminded me of the heavy machinery at factories and dams.

Somehow, everyone felt it. Everyone knew that this thing had once been our friend. But now…

I furiously shook my head to clear out all the negative thoughts. No point lamenting on what could’ve been. I had to correct it, no matter what the cost.

"Kris," I whispered, "Take Jolteon with you and disable the guns."

She was still stunned by the revelation, but nodded in agreement.

"And you?"

"I’ll take care of these two."

"But…"

"Please, trust me. I’ve got a plan." I insisted. Then I added silently, I hope.

She looked slightly reluctant at first, then she gave me an approving nod.

"Jolteon, let’s go." She said, pulling out one of her throwing stars. Running to the base of the stairs, Kris let it fly. Jolteon then followed up with a thunderbolt attack.

I waited till they had disappeared round the corner before turning and flying to the top to face my opponents. Alugard said nothing, but stepped back, leaving me face to face with the machine that had once been Nightslice.

"Common buddy," I pleaded, "I know you’re in there! You can’t let him do this to you!"

He didn’t make a single sound. Snapping into a battle stance, he attacked. I deflected the first of his scythe blows with my claws, then the second as well. The third left a small gash across my left shoulder. He threw a kick that caught me squarely on my lower jaw, sending me straight into the nearest wall so hard that I left a dent in it.

Nightslice stood still and spread his metallic wings. I watched electricity crackle between them. I dove to the right just as an electric blast eradicated the spot I’d been on the previous second.

That wasn’t the end of it.

I heard a click, and watched in horror as a pair of sub-machine guns appeared from his legs. They hooked on to the ‘belt’ at his waist, and pointed straight at me.

I had another narrow escape. Only this time the shots jarred loose a basket of beakers on the shelf above me. They choose to fall and shatter right on my head.

I launched a fireball. In a flash, the guns disappeared and he made a neat forward flip. My attack left only a blackened mark on the floor. Still in mid-air, he brought his caws down on me. Gripping his arms at the wrists, I shoved back with all my strength.

"Please," I muttered, "snap out of it!"

Nightslice didn’t reply. He probably couldn’t have.

There was no way I’d win by fighting him. I then noticed Alugard slightly further away. He had a hand beneath the claw on his metallic right side. It was grasped around a rectangular object about the size of an adult human’s palm. He seemed to be constantly pressing something on it.

I just got a crazy idea, somehow or other. At least some idea was better then none.

I shoved Nightslice several feet away, then backed up towards the wall. He did exactly what I’d expected him to. Charge, claws outstretched.

I waited till the last possible second, then sidestepped, grabbed his elbow and drove his blade straight into the wall. The metallic claws penetrated the steel wall, and stayed there. Lowering my head, I rammed his back, driving his head and his other claw in as well.

I immediately went for Alugard. I tried out my new Sacred technique, Spin Slash, in which I curled up like a ball and flung myself spinning forward, claws and tail held out. Basically, it was slash with claws, burn with my tail flame and a somersault all in one. The Scyther was caught by surprise as I hit him head-on, sending us both tumbling across the room in a tangled heap.

My claws landed a long scratch across his chest. My tail strike missed though. He managed to throw me off. I rolled over and hit my head on a table, but what he didn’t realize was that attacking him hadn’t been my true purpose at all.

Alugard staggered to his feet and turned to Nightslice, who’d pulled himself lose.

"Quickly! Finish him!"

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Somewhere inside the depths of the metallic monster, my conscious mind surfaced.

Everything seemed like a dream; blurred vision, strange voices, unfamiliar things…

In a flash, everything came back to me. I remembered the position I was in. And I could do nothing about it.

"Quickly! Finish him!" Alugard’s voice.

My view turned. I realized I’d been facing the wall. My vision was still hazy, but I recognized the figure I was now looking at.

He seemed rather bruised and was just climbing to his feet. I was being forced to attack my friend. Would there be no end to this nightmare?

However, my body didn’t move.

Alugard seemed confused.

"What’s wrong! Come on! I have the…" he stopped short. I panicked expression swept across his face.

"You had the control." Came Firestorm’s triumphant voice. He held up something clutched in his claw. "But no longer."

I’d swear he was grinning at me.

"Nightslice, get ‘em! Slash attack!"

My body moved. I charged and attacked. Alugard guarded, but the force of he blow forced him to the ground.

Firestorm, you’re the best man! I smiled inwardly. I’d swear I could kiss you…if I…can ever move my own body again.

All my inner feelings had no effect whatsoever on my actions. Actually, they weren’t even my own, but what Firestorm was making me do.

"OK, let’s seen what this does." Firestorm’s voice came from behind me.

A pair of machine guns appeared at my waist. Alugard barely had time to look up.

A felt the vibrations as much as I heard the rattling of the guns. Alugard managed to keep one step ahead of them. Kicking up a table, he used it to block the shots.

"Grrrr! You’ll pay for this!" Alugard growled. He sprinted for a wall and hit a large red button on it. That section of the wall spun round to reveal a hidden elevator.

"Wait! Come back here!" Firestorm yelled.

He had me ram the hidden door. When it didn’t budge, Firestorm ran over and joined me, however to no avail.

The Charizard abruptly stopped and slowly walked over to a window. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed for the first time that the room was underwater. The deep, blue seabed spread out like a garden outside.

I caught the brief glimpse of a small submarine whizzing off into the distance.

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

I noticed the sounds of the battle had stopped. I was still under the influence of the adrenaline rush. Quickening my pace, I took the steps two at a time. Much to my relief, Firestorm and Nightslice were at the top. The other Pokemon was gone.

Jolteon barked and caught up with me. He was licking his wounded right paw, which I’d tied a piece of cloth around. Firestorm had numerous bruises and scratches all over his body, but nothing major. My leather jacket had a pair of scratch from when the Arcanine had pounced on me, and a tear at the bottom where it’d gotten caught on a table. Otherwise, I was pretty much unscratched bar the aches and throbs from so much jumping around.

"Firestorm, you all right?" I asked.

"Yeah," he breathed, "fine."

There was a brief sharing of information, and I found myself staring at Nightslice. The now metallic Scyther stood upright and completely motionless.

"Nightslice…"

"I doubt he can hear you through all that and even if he could, he probably couldn’t answer."

I clenched a fist and turned away so he couldn’t see the tears forming up in my eyes.

"There has to be a way to reverse the process somehow," I gritted my teeth, "Wait here. I’ll go scout round the labs."

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Kris left and Jolteon followed her.

I was left alone with Nightslice. I just stood there, occasionally shifting my gaze between his motionless form and the schools of fish swimming outside. Finally, when I could no longer keep my feelings contained, I just had to get them off my chest.

"Nightslice," I said, swallowing a pang of regret, "I don’t know of you can hear me or if you’ll ever accept this, but…I have to say I’m sorry."

I took a deep breath.

"For a lot of things. If you don’t already know, you’re descended from the dark dragon Kaiser. I thought you’d found out, you’d really run away back then, otherwise I would’ve searched harder. If I’d come earlier, you wouldn’t have had to suffer like this…"

I turned and smashed a fist on the wall. I could feel the tears pouring from my eyes, but I didn’t care.

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I did hear every word he poured out. The discovery of my lineage, what I really was hadn’t changed their feelings towards me. It only made them care about me even more.

I wanted to cry too. Still, I could only remain motionless and watch. I then got an odd tingling at the back of my mind.

Think of it as a closed book. That’s how it was to me. Naturally, I ‘opened’ it. A flood of information hit me so suddenly and so quickly that I barely had time to comprehend it. Yet, I somehow understood every bit.

It’s because I’m mostly computer now, I realized, the real side of my mind is thinking one way, the computer side is doing its own. Wait a sec!

I had all the information needed to restore myself stored on my own data tracks! If only I could tell them…

As if he’d heard my thoughts, Firestorm beamed and stared at my ‘control’, which he’d been clutching onto the whole time.

"Kris! I’ve got it!" the Charizard took off running.

Dammit! I really love ya man!!

Kris didn’t seem as excited about the prospect, but they had me move up to the master computer and have it search my memory for the information they needed. Sure enough, they found it. And they were jumping around like excited little kids. Even Jolteon was happily jumping about.

This process seemed to be much shorter than the previous. I went back into the same tank, felt the shocks and jolts again, and lost consciousness at one point.

I awoke lying on a soft bed, looking down at my body…my real body. I yawned and stretched me limbs. I never felt so happy doing it. Kris practically jumped on me.

"Oh… I’m…so glad…to have you…back!" she muttered between sobs.

"Yeah I know." I gasped, "But you don’t have to choke me to prove it!" I was actually glad to hear my own voice again.

"Hey bro!" Firestorm pulled me to my feet. Kris gave me one last hug, then stepped back, rubbing her eyes.

"About what happened," Firestorm went straight to the point with a pained look in his eyes, "I want to say…"

"You don’t have to say anything." I interrupted, "I did hear your whole speech just now. I just couldn’t answer. Let’s simply put this behind us."

He didn’t answer at first, but took my right blade in his claws.

"Any injuries?" he finally spoke.

"Only my pride," I sighed, "I let Alugard use me against you guys."

"Same thing’s happened to me with Aaron."

"You could at least fight back. It saved my life. I couldn’t do a thing." I swallowed.

"Like you said, put it behind us." He reached up and squeezed my upper arm, "Now get some rest. Chief’s orders."

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A couple of hours later, everyone gathered in the main laboratory. All the Pokemon: Firestorm, Nightslice, Jolteon, Ivysaur, Wartortle and Gyarados, who had to curl up a little, stood before me.

"So, what is this place Kris?" Nightslice asked. I was glad that he’d recovered so quickly.

"Its some sorta secret research facility," I answered, "what they were studying is beyond me. All the files and records have been erased. Its been abandoned for at least fifteen years or so."

I shifted my gaze around the room. This was the main lab and computer room, which overlooked a carpeted hallway below. They were joined by two sets of stairs, one on either side. There was only one exit from the hallway: the long spiral staircase that served as the secret entrance to the lab.

Two doors also led off from the main lab. The left one was to a corridor with entrances to a series of sleeping quarters and a kitchen. The Researches had probably lived and slept there. The right one led to another corridor, this one with a series of smaller labs and storage rooms. The lower levels had been sealed off permanently.

"From my investigations, there was apparently some accident here which caused everyone to abandon the lab." I continued. The evidence was clear. Personal belongings, books, newspapers dating fifteen years ago and journals had hastily been left behind. The only legible journal hinted some sort of incident had occurred, but neglected to mention the purpose or type of research conducted.

Nightslice stepped up to the computer.

"Hey, mind if I try a few things?"

I nodded. He instantly went to work, rapidly hitting the keys with the tips of his scythes.

Jolteon barked out a worried comment.

"Don’t worry! I know what I’m doing." Nightslice gave us that weird Scyther smirk, "Being a computer myself wasn’t all that bad, you know. I learnt quite a few things without even lifting a claw!"

He acted rather light-hearted about the incident, but I could tell he was hiding his true feelings.

"The systems pretty outdated, but enough for me to work with." He then stopped and turned to us. "We could make this our secret base! The equipment’s sufficient, but with a few upgrades, I could make this place practically impenetrable!" he beamed. "How bout’ it guys?"

I thought over it for a moment.

"It’s a great idea," I smiled, patting him on the shoulder, "I’m counting on you!"

"Yeah! Oh storm, would ya mind putting that black control device onto the slot over there?"

Firestorm held up the small, rectangular object that Alugard had used to control Nightslice.

"Here?"

"Yes, there."

Ivysaur inquired about our next course of action.

"For one thing, I want to go after Alugard," Nightslice looked up from the computer. "I have questions. And he’s got answers. I may not like the answers, but I still want to know. I have to know."

"And don’t forget Team Rocket," Firestorm added in, "we still don’t know what their big plan is. Additionally, there’s still the thing about the dragon gods of light and darkness."

Gyarados said, actually roared out something, which roughly translated to "Grrrr! We go now! Hunt them down! I crush them!"

<But we don’t know where to look! > Wartortle protested, in his own language of course.

"Actually, we do." I said, "The last time we tangled with TR, I saw Aaron holding a particular rose. This flower wilts within the hour of plucking. And the only place it grows in is Celadon City."

<Celadon rose! > Ivysaur cried excitedly, <Its very sweet smelling. My old master grew them in his garden. >

"It’s the only lead we have." Firestorm said. "If we follow it, I’m sure everything will fall into place."

"I do recall hearing about a base in Celadon City," I added in, "although I’ve never been there. My operations group was based in Viridian City."

"Kris, I’m done." Nightslice carefully pulled the black device out with his out with his mouth and tossed it to me. I turned it over and examined it. It was rectangular in shape, about the size of my palm. There was a small screen on its surface with a number of colored buttons.

"What’s it for?"

"I did a little reprogramming," he answered, "you hit the green, white and orange buttons in that order and I’ll be able to change into the form of the Metallic Scyther. This time, I’ll be able to control myself. I’m not too enthusiastic about the prospect of becoming a walking arsenal, but it might just save our lives one day."

I was speechless for a second.

"You never cease to amaze me." I finally managed to find my words.

<Then our next course of action is clear. > Jolteon barked.

"First, we’ve got to go back to the cliff. A tablet with one of the Forbidden techs in there," I nodded to Nightslice, "then, we’re off the Celadon City!"

Everyone roared in agreement.

"One thing before we leave," Nightslice added in, "you just have to set a few access codes to make sure no one else can get in. And we need a user id too."

I looked up. From Nightslice to Firestorm and all the others.

"Dragon Riders." I smiled, "Let it too be the name of our team, our identity!"

Everyone cheered, roared and barked in approval. Firestorm let loose a stream of his fiery breath. Jolteon let loose some electrical charges.

It’s amazing, I thought, how similar Pokemon and humans are. We can work together, share ideas, plans thoughts and dreams. Accomplish our common goals together.

It was later that night.

The Pokemon had picked various rooms in the sleeping quarters and were out like rocks.

I was still awake, lying on the bed, trying to sort out my thoughts, feelings and everything that had happened.

That was when I noticed a large desk in the corner. I had a hunch. Walking up to it, I took a good look. I straightened a painting, which hung on the wall, stacked a pile of encyclopedias, and arranged the writing materials in the wooden pencil holder.

I then pulled out my wallet and opened the section with the photograph of my parents. The parents I never knew. They’d both been scientists and had died in a lab accident when I was 3 years old. This was the one and only photograph I had of them.

It showed both of them, in white lab coats, carrying me as a baby. They were standing in front of a neatly arranged desk with a painting hung on the wall.

I now held the photograph up to the desk in front of me. The background matched perfectly. Everything right down to the position of the wall lights, wires and power sockets.

I dropped the photograph and felt around the desk. There was only one drawer just below the table, which was locked with a four-digit lock. I could’ve easily broken in, but instead I entered my birth date, 18^th January or 1801.

With a click, the drawer came open. Inside was only one thing…the very same photograph I had.

I just stood there and stared. I don’t know for how long. Finally, I managed to find my voice.

"Now, the real journey begins." I said to myself.