-23: The holy night has come, but for the split group there will be no celebrations this time.

 

Pokemon and all related trademarks belong to Nintendo. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author's permission.

 

The Chimera Saga and the Legendary Dragons belong to Theo 'Blitz' Leung and are used with permission.

(http://www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=23675)

 

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Eve of the Storm    

By Gregory Stephen nightdragon0@hotmail.com

 

 

Nigthslice

  "Hazuki, you there?"

  I walked over to where she was sitting, beside the fire. We'd camped at the foot of a small mountain, just at the start of a dirt trail leading up.

  After pulling ourselves out of that river, we’d basically just kept on running from town to town, but keeping a low profile at the same time. It had worked so far and we’d had no encounters from Team Rocket lately. 

  Hazuki had been unusually quiet for the past few weeks, but I understood what she was going through. You suddenly find out your parents weren’t who you really thought they were and that you’re a part Pokemon, part human Chimera and I guess you’d be pretty hard struck.    

  "I still can’t believe they lied to me." She sighed, referring to her parents. "They were more than just mechanical engineers."

  "If you look at it from their point, it was probably to protect you." I said, sitting down next to her. "Besides, since you’ve inherited the skill, I think at least one must’ve been genuinely in the field. Since they were husband and wife, I guess they sort of got into each other’s work."   

  I’d told her several variations of that phrase, but she seemed to enjoy every time I comforted her like that. As I stood up, I felt the ground shake slightly.

  "Hazuki! Move!" I yelled pulling her away.

  "What the?!"  

  The ground near us burst open. The creature that popped out was another of the Legendary Dragons, I practically felt it. He was massive and slivery, somewhat like a much longer version of a Dragonair. And also much larger. His dark brown skin was mostly covered by rock-like scales.

  Rock type! I realized. That would mean he’d be susceptible to water and grass attacks.

  "Ahsura!" I called, seeing all three Pokemon rushing towards us. "Razor Leaf!" 

  The Ivysaur fired, only to have the Rock dragon dodge and burrow underground.

  "Riptide!" I gestured towards the hole, intending for the Golduck to fire a water attack down it.

  He’d hardly taken two steps before the snake-like dragon burst out from the ground beneath him, tossing Riptide into the air. The dragon then used his tail to give Riptide a smack, sending him into a tree, unconscious.

  [He’s fast for a rock type!] Luminair exclaimed.

  The dragon reared back his head and sent a bunch of rocks flying.

  "Scatter!" I ordered, shifting to my Scyther form as I ran.

  Hazuki let out Kyle, who sent an Ice Beam towards the dragon. Once again, the dragon burrowed and re-emerged to attack, wrapping his long body around the Lapras. 

  [Gark! Hey! Take … it easy!] Kyle gasped. [I’m not a melon!]

  "Luminair, we’ll Dual Tech him!" I declared, leaping up and preparing for a Sky Attack.

  [Here, go!]

  I saw the flash as the Reflect technique was applied on me.

  "Counter Rockets!" Readying my wings, I descended.

  The dragon turned and attacked with his Rock Slide, which bounced off my barrier. I smacked the side of his face with my wings, sending him topping over, and letting go of Kyle. I rolled away as he hit the ground with his tail, rocking the area with his Earthquake.

  Charging my powers, I used my Disintegration skill. It was similar to the Faint Attack’s 'flash in and out', and I rushed by, slashing at his body. I held my pose there, with my claws outstretched, as he collapsed, with some of his rock-like scales flying off.

  "Ow … hmmm … nice of you to use Issui’s ability on me." He moaned.

  "Don’t mention it." I laughed.

  "Anyway, my name is Gyzem, the Rock Dragon."

  "Yeah, you got the looks to match it." Hazuki said, walking over and brushing his side. "Wow, this scale looks like a star."

  "Hazuki …" I begun.

  "Can I have it Gyzem-san? Please?" 

  "What do I look like? A gift shop?!"

  "Please?" Hazuki gave him the teary-eyed look.

  "Oh, all right. Since you’re so cute. But you have to give me a kiss first."

  "Excuse me?! Don’t you have a Forbidden Skill to give me?" I interrupted, annoyed.

  "Ah yes receive this, Stone Prison. An amalgam of Rock Slide and Whirlwind. A Rock elemental move that swirls up rocks in a tornado like attack, used to form a cage of stone around target."

  I gasped, letting the energy flow into my body. 

  "I'm getting close to completing the set of 8." I noted. "What happens if I do?"

  "That choice is yours to make." Gyzem replied. "I'm sure you'll know it when the time comes to pass. It may even awaken Kaiser himself."

  "But what if I do? His spirit is within me ... "

  "Part of it at least." Gyzem said. "However, we are no longer bound to him, or the Holy Dragon Harasalt."

  "What will happen to you and the other dragons if the gods should awaken to battle again?" I asked. "Or something to that extent?"       

  "We shall see. After all, the future holds many possibilities, doesn't it?"

  "Yes, but you ... "

  "Haha, we are the legends long forgotten by time." He laughed. "However, yours is still being written, right now even. 'Follow the path of your heart', is what Grix would say."

  I nodded, backing away. The dragons were providing a background role, passing on their techniques, but not directly interfering. I felt that they wouldn't be fighting for the fate of the world anytime soon. 

  "Oh," Hazuki waved. "About that kiss ... " 

  She walked up to Gyzem and actually kissed him on the cheek. The rest of us were giving them odd stares.

  "Wow, I've never really been ... ahem, never mind. Here kid, you can take one."

  "Thanks." Hazuki grinned, pulling the rock-hard scale off his 'belly' area.

  "Well, I must be going now." Gyzem said. "Farewell then."

  With that, he burrowed into the ground and disappeared.

  [Ow, damn I got my tail kicked by a Rock-type.] Riptide groaned, unhappy about the battle.

  [You win some, you lose some, I'd say.] Kyle replied.

  [By the way, where were we headed again?] Ahsura asked.

  "Seeker Town." I replied, shifting back to human form. "It's somewhere Northwest of Pallet Town, along the Johto-Kanto border. We should be about four days walk away, since we have to get over this mountain pass."

  "Looks so much like those stars on the Christmas tree." Hazuki muttered, fingering the scale. "It'll be my first Christmas away from home."

  "Christmas? Oh man, it's five days away, isn't it?" I gasped. "I'm sorry. I've been so caught up in my own ... "

  "No, don't worry. I understand."

  "Well, we'll arrive on Christmas eve." I calculated. "I'm sure you'd like to go round the town for a bit."

  "Really? You're the best Yorukiru-san!" She smiled, giving me a hug.

  The ground stirred and Gyzem's head popped up, startling both of us.      

  "Whoops, sorry to interrupt folks, but I'd just like to let you know that deep underground, an old temple lies several miles away from that human settlement nearby. It holds one of our, 'darker' warriors. It's dangerous, but I suppose you'd have to go there eventually."

  "Thanks for the tip." I nodded. "Any other info?"

  "But sure to know thy partner."

  "Huh?"

  "You'll understand in good time." The Rock dragon replied. "And Hazuki?"

  "Yes?"

  "If you'll give me another kiss, I'll let you take a couple more scales." He winked. "Two for the price of one, what do you say? I'll give you more discounts for more kisses."

  Hazuki's face went red. She raised her foot and stomped his head back into the ground. The stunned dragon could do nothing but let off a muffled cry.

  (Everyone sweatdrops.)

 

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Firestorm

  "Yargh!" I jumped away from the Rollout attack of the legendary dragon known as Jintai.

  This dragon was like a rather large lizard with a dorsal fin down her back, and short and slithery legs. She had dark brown skin and fierce eyes to match those, which were now glaring at us.

  Dracia threw a Thunderbolt at her, only to stare in shock as the dragon simply shook off the attack like it had been nothing.

  "Ground type!" Aigul realized.

  As if on cue, Jintai dug a hole and burrowed underground. She swiftly emerged, using her Dig attack, right between Mirage and Serac. That sent both the Ponyta and Vaporeon flying.

  The terrain was pretty much to her advantage too. A dirt road between the sides of two mountains with nothing around in front ... but a lake behind us! The idea hit me, but I realized it would also be a dangerous one.

  "Hey, over here!" I yelled, throwing a fireball to get her attention. "Hargh!"

  Spreading my arms, I channeled my inner powers and felt the changes begin. My human skin changing to the rougher scales, my claws and fangs that shot out with swishing sounds, the wings and tail that emerged.

  I was Charizard once more. But I couldn't hold it for too long, not without getting Jade back first, so I had to make good use of it.

  I fired my Flamethrower, setting up a wall of fire in front of me, but also backing off towards the lake. The ground dragon did exactly as I'd expected. She burrowed under the firewall and attempted to emerge and surprise me from beneath. I jumped away, and took a few steps back, sending a fireball at her. It hit her in the face, enraging her.    

  She came in another Rollout, but this time I held my ground. I timed my attack as accurately as I could, and stepped to the side, grasping onto her once she got near. What I caught was her fin, which at her motion of spinning, cut deeply into my hands.

  Ignoring the pain, I pulled back, sending both of us into the water.

  Now in water, all Charizard and similar pre-evolutions have to worry about their tail flame. While unconsciously, the flame represents our physical condition, we can intentionally and temporarily dim down our tail flames in water, whether completely or just so there's a little left. Of course, doing this for a greatly extended period of time can be fatal.

  (Author's note: This just happens to be my personal theory, but I feel it sounds reasonable.)

  Kris had given me quite a bit of special training, so I was able to hold off my tail flame for longer periods of time. I'd really hated it, but she said it was to make up for our main weakness. Still, way back when we'd escaped the sunken boat, I'd probably made a Charmeleon (which I was then) swimming record. 

  While I wasn't too keen on trying to make the first swimming Charizard record too, the thought just hit me as we sank down underwater, wrestling vigorously.

  A ground type wouldn't like water much more than me and it was turning into a competition of seeing which of us could hold against our weakness the longest. I imagined the others yelling like crazy back on the surface.

  I was on the upper limits of my endurance when I finally felt her struggling slowing down. With a final burst of strength, I shoved her up and launched myself up after her. We ended up on the riverbank, coughing, spluttering and throwing up water.

  "Jeez, what did you do Storm? Swallow the whole lake?" Dracia asked, beating my back as I coughed.

  "Whew ... you just ... reminded me ... how much I hate water." Jintai panted. "Just like that time ... I was about to dissect Kioi and ... Issui came to his rescue by ... spraying me all ... over."       

  "War time memories?" Aigul asked, walking over.

  "This Sacred skill had better be worth the trouble." I gasped, reverting back to human form.

  "You won't be disappointed. Here, receive X-Strike. A dual ability involving Flamethrower and Quick Attack. One of your allies must charge your claws with the Flamethrower, allow you to perform a fire-based strike."

  "Hmmm ... we have auras and dual techs. What's next, triple techs?"        

  "You'll be surprised." Jintai grinned. "See you around."

  "Hey wait ... "

  Jintai burrowed underground and disappeared before I could even complete my sentence. 

  "I was gonna ask for your phone nu ... urgh!"

  Dracia smacked me on the head.

  "I mean, let's get back to what we were doing before that b**** interrupted us and head on to Violet City!"

  That was when the area shook and several boulders fell, blocking up the pathway that led between the mountains. Jintai had apparently heard me and wasn't too happy about it. And it so happened that it was the way we needed to go.

  "Jeez, girls are truly evil." I said aloud.

  That was when I remembered that every Pokemon we currently had WAS female. And they were all giving me nasty stares.

  "Hey, that was just a joke." I nervously giggled. "You know? Haha?"

  "Get him ladies!" Dracia ordered.

  "OH SH --- OW! OW! OW! OW!"

 

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Jade

  This was the place. I could feel it in my soul.

  I'd flown through the sharp twists and turns of the canyon and was now hovering in front of a huge metal door. It looked as if it had been built into the huge mountain itself. Decorating the river nearby were several Charizard statues.  

  I was wondering if I should go and barge through the door when it suddenly creaked open. Standing in it was a huge, old Charizard accompanied by a female human.

  "I think it's a wild one." The green haired female spoke to the Charizard. "You want to handle this yourself?"

  The Charizard nodded, spreading his wings and flying up to me.

  [I am the elder of the Charisific Valley.] He said. [Do you seek to train here?]

  [Yes.] I nodded.

  He nust've noticed I was looking down to the female human below.  

  [Human Theresa owns none of us, if that's what you're thinking. She and her family keep other humans away. She is a good friend to the Charizard. You have nothing to fear from her.]

  The elder had said it in such a way that I immediately believed him. He was ages older than me and certainly did look very battle worn. It was intimidating facing a potentially more experienced opponent, but I had to hold my ground.

  [I have come to train here.] I repeated.

  [Very well. Come.] He led me through the doors and into the valley itself.

  It truly was a magnificent sight. The mountains, rocky valley, caverns and rivers all untouched by the human world. Except for a small house where the human female apparently lived. 

  Of course, it was filled with Charizard. Most of them were gigantic and all heads turned towards me as we flew to the center of the valley.

  [As with tradition, you will be tested before we allow you to join us.] The elder told me. [Who then, will challenge the newcomer?]

  He was answered by a series of roars, however one came flying over first.

  [I will battle.] Growled my opponent.

  The elder nodded in approval and landed on a cliff to watch.

  [A female?] I laughed.

  [Watch it tough guy, you don't know what you're getting into!] She roared.

  Doesn't she remind you of someone? A voice in my head asked. However, I quickly shook it away.

  My opponent attacked, sending off her Flamethrower. My response was to whirl myself around rapidly, using my Swords Dance to disperse the flames. I countered with my own flames and she imitated my technique.

  Realizing I couldn't win this with fire alone, I spread up wings and soared upwards. She followed behind me, firing several bursts of flames. I abruptly bent backwards, twisting my body and changing my direction.

  We ended up charging towards each other; only she wasn't as prepared as me. I slashed along her back, causing her to cry out in pain. Her wings flared wildly and gave me several cuts.   

  Angered, she turned back and charged again. I did likewise and our claws, teeth, flames and wings clashed multiple times. Both of us were getting scarred and charred from the battle, but she seemed to be wearing down.

  My chance came as I saw her flying towards me, claws outstretched. I held my position and waited until the last instant, then spun round to the side of her body, grabbing her left wing at the same time. I pulled back, redirecting her force and her momentum carried her forward ... face first straight into the mountainside, leaving an impression of her body in it.

  She then slipped and begun falling towards the water below. I reacted almost instantaneously, folding my wings and sending myself into a steep, nearly vertical dive. For a few breath-taking seconds, it looked as if I might not be in time.

  However, I made it, performing a spectacular midair catch barely meters above the water. I'd just changed my direction in time, sending water flying as I skimmed along its surface. I landed and put her down on dry land.

  [Why did you save me?] She asked once she had caught her breath.

  [It was the honorable thing to do.] I said. 

  [Well fought.] The elder nodded, landing beside us. [You are indeed a formidable warrior. We would be honored to have you join us.]

  [I'm sorry father. I have failed you.] The female Charizard said softly.

  [Wait, you're his...]

  [Don't be so surprised.] The elder laughed. [And you haven't failed.] He told her. [You merely need more training. If you're lucky, he might just want to help with that.]

  The last part had clearly been referring to me. I wouldn't miss this opportunity. 

  [I'd be happy to.] I grinned.

  I saw her returning my smile. 

  At last, I had come home. Not only that, a little more and I'd have myself a mate too.     

 

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Dracia

  Violet City was pretty much your average human city. Except for all the Christmas decorations that had been set up. Well, it was Christmas Eve after all and the streets were slightly more crowded than usual.

  I stood in the waiting area watching Firestorm speak to the tourist agency clerk. Aigul was sitting down on one of the couches with Serac curled up on his lap. They weren't doing anything much, so I turned and started looking around.

  My gaze fell upon an Indigo Pokemon League poster. Three months away, but registrations were open already. Serac walked to my side and looked towards the poster too.

  [You ever wanted to compete in the League?] I asked.

  The Vaporeon nodded.

  [Heh, so have I. Pity Jade was always the one who needed the training. You know that book we saw in the store window just now? The one titled 'The Complete Idiot's Guide to Pokemon Training'? That would suit him nicely.]

  Serac giggled softly.  

  [Then again, Storm could use that one too.] I made sure I said it loudly enough for him to hear it.

  Storm gave me an annoyed glance, but turned back to the attendant.

  "So, is there a way I can contact Mrs. Theresa?" He asked.

  "Not very easily. However, since it's Christmas Eve, her niece should be around town and ... oh Lisa! How fortunate!"

  "Hi Wayne!" A beautiful, green-haired girl had entered the shop. "Merry Christmas."

  "You too. This gentleman here is Jade, and he needs to discuss some things with you."

  Firestorm had assumed Jade's identity. He'd also used Jade's e-mail to contact Professor Oak for some information about Charizard. Of course, he hadn't spilled anything to the researcher.

  "Oh, it's all right." Firestorm nodded. "I'll let you two catch up first."

  He walked over to us and waited until Lisa came over.

  "Jade was it?" She asked, shaking hands. "Pleased to meet a fellow Charizard trainer."

  "How did you know?" He asked, surprised.

  "There's that subtle scent of the ash on you." Lisa explained. "If you don't mind me saying that."

  "Well, that's what I wanted to talk to you about." Storm said. "You see, my Charizard had a little accident ... " 

  "Is he hurt?"

  "Not really. We were exploring this cave when there was a small earthquake. A rather large rock fell on his head, and after that, he wasn't acting like himself."

  "What do you mean?" 

  "He actually attacked me like he didn't know who I was. After that, he flew off. The knock must've affected his memory somehow. And ... " Firestorm stopped short, staring at the floor.

  "I'm sorry." Lisa said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "It's not your fault."

  "Thanks, but it probably is. However, I feel I can make up for it. I know he's headed for that Charisific Valley of yours."

  "What makes you think so?"

  "I don't know ... I just ... just feel that's where he'd go. He's always wanted to be the best and ... I know it's off limits, but please, just let me search there. I don't know what I'd do without him." Although he'd practiced that speech in front of us before, it was genuinely coming from his heart this time.  

  "Don't worry." Lisa nodded firmly. "It's too late now, but I'll take you to my aunt tomorrow. She'll know if any new Charizard have shown up or not!"

  "Late?! Oh no! Have I held you up?"

  "Nah, don't worry." Lisa winked. "I'm just gonna rent a room for the night. Why don't you come along and we'll all go together in the morning?" 

  "Thank you." Firestorm replied.

  "Yes, we greatly appreciate it." Aigul added in.

  "Say, I know this really great restaurant down the road. Would you like to get something to eat?"

  "Sure!" Firestorm beamed.  

  WHAT!? I nearly fainted, but reduced myself to making a vomiting motion behind his back.

 

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Swordia

  Why had I done it? I often asked myself that.

  For a while, it seemed I'd been going down a declining path to giving in to my raw instincts. It had gotten to a point where thinking had become a major pain. But that had been all in my mind. Psychology is not something I really understand, but it certainly played a part here.

  The memories had been painful. In particular was the armband I'd torn off, not wanting to think about how they'd forced another Pokemon to mate with me.

  And also that armored creature I'd fought. I still saw it in my nightmares. Alugard somewhat reminded me of it, and after that incident where I'd accidentally knocked him out, he decided he wouldn't be the one to wake me from my dreams.

  Mewtwo. I recalled the word in my mind that seemed it associate itself with that scene. Was it that creature's name? I don't really want to find out...  

  Time had healed me a little, but those memories still remained.      

  Now, I was part of this high-level, secret Pokemon organization. I'd formed an alliance with Alugard to fight Team Rocket.

  Alugard, Nightslice's father. Having been genetically modified and had several genes taking from Nightslice, it sort of made me his half sister. And looking at it that way, then Alugard was my stepfather.

  Damn, I had one messed up family.    

  I'd abandoned my former persona realizing I had to accept the fact I was no longer human. Accept the fact that there was no way for me to change that, just as Scantrix had.

  It really pained him to talk about his human past and I refrained from asking. But he was a great companion and not to mention a good teacher. Even on missions, we always worked as a pair. 

  It felt strange saying it was a good thing in a certain sense, but at least he now had someone who'd been through the same things he had. We ended up leaning on each other's shoulders for support.

  However as I stood on the rooftop of a building in Seeker Town, looking down at the Christmas decorations all set up, I felt a wave of sadness coming over me.

  "Brings back memories, doesn't it?" Scantrix asked, flying down and landing beside me.

  "Yeah." I sighed sadly. "Both good and bad."

  With his help, I'd regained my human language speaking abilities, but I admit it did rather odd on my tongue. 

  "We think alike then." He said, walking closer to me. 

  Alugard had given us a break from all the missions involving sneaking around and battling Rockets with guns. There were generally a lot of preparations and planning involved, not mentioning my personal training, but we'd successfully raided and sometimes bombed several small bases belonging to TR and Sliph's Special Forces. We always made it look like it was an attack from the other one, thus further escalating their hatred at each other. The search for the Pokément metal hadn't been very successful through.              

  This small town happened to be along our path and, out of curiosity, we decided to stop by and take a look. We couldn't allow ourselves to be seen of course, but if we could sneak around a heavily guarded Rocket base, then a civilian town certainly wouldn't be much of a challenge. 

  Being Christmas Eve, there were many people about on the streets below, all going about their business. There were some Pokemon too, but these were domesticated ones of course.

  "Hey, want to see how to get free burgers?" Scantrix asked.

  "Lead on." I smiled.

  Perhaps there were some good things in my life after all.

 

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Hazuki

  "Wow, the lights here are pretty different from the ones I used to know back home in Fuchsia City." I told Nightslice was we walked. We'd recalled all the Pokemon to avoid accidentally losing them in the crowd. 

  "I admit, this is the first time I've actually seen this sort of thing." He replied. "Living most of my life in a lab and an isolated mountain does have its disadvantages."

  The street we were walking on was away from the central ones and thus, relatively quiet. That was, until we heard the screams.    

  "Here!" Nightslice led me around to corner.

  The street-level door of one of the houses had been thrown open and a man was standing in the doorway, pointing a gun into it. He wasn't in any Team Rocket uniform and was probably your average thug, but I knew Nightslice wouldn't stand for it. 

  "Hey you!" He growled, stepping towards the robber.

  "Stay back!" The thug yelled, aiming the gun at Nightslice.

  From inside the house came the panicked cries of the residents. There was apparently a party going on and it had been so terribly interrupted.

  "Holding poor frightened party goers at gunpoint on Christmas Eve. How low can you scumbags possibly go?" He continued.

  "I'm warning you!" The thug yelled. "I'm not afraid to use this!"

  "Oh really? Is that why you're trembling?" Nightslice's pace didn't change one bit.

  I backed around the corner to make sure I was out of they way, but continued to watch the showdown. I saw the man's hand move as he pulled the trigger.

  Time seemed to slow down as Nightslice dropped into a forward roll. The bullet passed inches above his back. He sprang up again and all at once, drew his sword and sliced the gun in half. That was when time sped up again.

  The thug cried out in surprised, but reached for his belt and drew a knife. He attacked with a forward stab. Nightslice spun round to the man's knife side and grabbed the thug's right hand with his own, pulling sideways. The motion forced the man to spin around and face Nightslice, who brought his palm to his opponent's face, slamming him to the ground.

  It was an Aikido technique for knife disarming, but Nightslice had also let go of his sword in the process. 

  Although he lost his knife, the thug quickly sprang up and tried to run. Nightslice was faster, grabbing his arm, spinning him round and slamming him chest first into the wall.

  "Is everyone all right?" I asked, running over to the house.

  The people there were gathered around a middle-aged woman on her knees, sobbing miserably.

  "I thought  ... he was ... an old classmate." She sniffed between her tears. "He knew the name ... of my college ... my class ... some of my other ... classmates ... and I though ... I'd forgotten him. I wanted to ... to be a ... good host ... that ... I ... I ... "

  I saw Nightslice go red with rage. He spun to thug around to face him.

  "Dirtbag! You very good at conning kind-hearted ladies, aren't you?!" He roared.

  "F*** you! That's how I do things! Deal with it!"

  "YOU DARE TO EVEN SPEAK?!" Nightslice drove his fist into the thug's face. Again, and again. He followed up by kneeing and kicking as well. "HEARTLESS MONSTER!!! YOU HAVE NO HONOR WHATSOEVER!!! SCUM LIKE YOU ARE WHAT GIVE THE HUMAN RACE A BAD NAME!!!!"

  The man was bleeding at the mouth, nose and from multiple wounds, but Nightslice didn't stop. He started banging the man's head into the wall. He was fully intent on beating the person to death.

  "Please, stop." The woman begged. "Stop. They've already called the police. Please ... stop."

  Nightslice stared the half-conscious thug in the eye.

  "Even after this, you victim shows you mercy. You would have gotten none from me." He slammed the thug into the wall, knocking him unconscious.

  "Yorukiru-san ... " I muttered.

  Nightslice was facing away from everyone, clenching his fists in anger.    

  "Are you all right madam?" He asked.

  "Yes, thanks to you." The woman relied. "But you could've gotten yourself killed!" 

  "Con men like him prey on the kind-hearted and sadly sometimes gullible." He said fiercely. "They're always out there. It's a shame how people never think it can happen until it happens. You should be more careful in the future."

  As he begun to walk off, I noticed the blood dripping from his right hand. The knife must've cut him when he brought the robber down.  

  "Your hand!" The woman gasped. "It's bleeding!"

  "I'm OK." He insisted.

  "No. After what you've done for me, this is the very least I could do to repay you." She said, grasping his arm. "Come inside."

  Several other people stood around the thief to watch him while one ran and got a first-aid kit and some bandages.

  "Yorukiru-san ... " I put a hand on his lap.

  "I just so hate assholes like that." He said to me. His expression conveyed the rest.

  The was a lot of talk when the police arrived, but he soon found himself outside, shaking the Officer Jenny's hand.

  "The world could use more people like you." She smiled. "And so could the police."

  "It was just the right thing to do." Nightslice replied. 

  As the police left, we prepared to depart as well. However, the woman stopped us again.

  "Oh I forgot to say, my name is Jenna. I'm the manager of the Four Seasons Hotel in this town. And ... "

  "The Four Seasons?!" I gasped. "You mean that five-star hotel in the center of town?!" 

  "Yes. And I absolutely must insist on you staying the night there. Every expense on my personal account. Please, after what you've done for me ... "

  "I guess I'm obliged to accept then." Nightslice replied, smiling at me. I felt that he accepted it on my behalf.

  "You have a strong sense of justice son." Jenna spoke. "Those are the same qualities I saw in my own son, who's away on his own journey right now."

  Your son is very lucky to have a mother like you. I thought. Just like my parents ...

 

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Aigul

  Firestorm seemed to be enjoying his chat with Lisa, so I excused myself and left the restaurant with Serac. The streets were a little less crowded now, with people mostly at home celebrating. I walked down the street, lost in thought.

  "They'll have to know the truth soon." I told Serac. "I can't keep hiding it from them. It's already pushing the limits of what I can do."       

  [You'll work it out.] She assured. [I trusted that you could. That's why I came along all this time. But I...]

  "Please, just bear with me a while longer." I said. "Our part will be over soon, then you'll be free to do as you wish."

  [It's not that. Just ... I ... I don't know what I'll do without you. We've been through this for so long.]

  "You'll have to find your own path. Like I have to believe in mine."

  As we walked, I noticed a suspicious figure standing across the road. He was plain clothed with a jacket on, but I sensed it was a Sliph agent. He was probably armed too and was slowly approaching our position.

  I pretended to be looking at the display in a nearby shop's window as he came up to me.

  "Hey, it's you, isn't it?" He asked rudely. 

  "No, I'm not the one." I said, probing his mind.

  "No, you're not the one." He repeated.    

  "You're in the wrong location. The people you're looking for aren't here."

  "I'm in the wrong location. The people I'm looking for aren't here."

  "And you're going to report back to base now."

  "And I'm going to report back to base now."

  "In fact, you also want to go home and rethink your whole life."

  "I'm also going to go home and rethink my whole life." The man said before hurrying off.

  "The Jedi mind trick never fails on the weak minded." I commented, watching him go.

  [You do have a sense of humor after all.] Serac laughed. 

  "I suppose you'll pick up some things from being around a human society." I nodded. "But that may not be for much longer ... "

  I stared at my reflection in the window. My actual reflection. Others had described as a white and sliver feathered bird with blue ridges lining his back and a blue 'mask' over his eyes.

  "The time is approaches ... "

 

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Swordia

  Scantrix's idea of getting 'free burgers' was to wait at one of the drive through fast food outlets and order through the speaker when there were no cars around. Then, he'd wait below the window ledge of the counter until he was sure no one was looking, then grab the bag and fly off.

  "Rather dishonorable, isn't it?" I asked as he landed next to me on the rooftop.

  "Just once in a while, for fun." He grinned. "Besides, we deserve a break from searching through the trash bins for leftovers. Or going out and hunting." 

  "Well, I suppose ... "

  The smell of the freshly cooked cheeseburgers was just too tempting. Since neither of us had the proper 'hands' for unwrapping the burgers, we basically dug in and, and gulped down the wrapping and all. 

  Having had my fill, I looked up towards the huge building across the street from our location. It was apparently a hotel and through the windows I could see the guests going about all sorts of things. Parties and movies mostly.

  I just happened to be looking in the general direction when something caught my eye. It was in the room at practically the same level as me.   

  The curtain was partially drawn, but I could see a Jolteon, Golduck, Ivysaur and a Lapras in the room, munching away at something. The street wasn't very wide and I could see further into the room, but the ledge on my roof would make it difficult for the occupants to see me.

  Squinting, I could see a belt hung on the window. I was thinking that it looked a lot like the one I used to have when I saw one of the Pokeballs clipped to it. The one with the Marsh Badge design on it.

  Riptide?! I wondered. Were the Ivysaur and Jolteon my old comrades too? I knew that Sabrina didn't go round giving out those specially designed Pokeballs and the Pokemon combination seemed too coincidental. I knew Riptide wouldn't willingly go along with any stranger, but he was talking and laughing with the others.

  Could Jade be here too?! My heart raced as I scanned the rest of the room. I realized there was a connecting door that led into the adjoining room and checked that one.

  Two people were seated at a dinner table there, a boy and a girl, but the boy definitely wasn't Jade. However, I felt something odd about him. He looked like a Japanese and about 16 years. He was wearing a brown vest and blue jeans. He had black colored hair of ear-length, which was neatly combed back.

  There seemed to be nothing usual until he turned to look out the window. That was when I saw his eyes. They were blue, fierce and exactly like a Scyther's.    

  Nightslice!

  I didn't know how I knew it. I just felt it. Both his eyes and the three Pokemon in the other room. I watched more closely now and saw him stand up and show off some fancy kicking and dodging maneuvers. And the thing was, I recognized every single one of them as techniques we'd practiced together. I even saw some of the small mistakes he used to make, like not pulling his rear leg up to match the pace of the rest of his body.

  Nightslice ... it IS you!

  There was no longer any doubt in my mind. I'd turned into a Scyther, so was this why he'd turned into a human? Had we switched places somehow? I was wondering what I should to approach him when he sat down and started talking to the girl again. They were eating, drinking and distinctively moving closer to each other.

  Nightslice ... is this how you've been all this time? While my life was a living hell, you were ...

  Then, Nightslice kissed her.

   

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Nightslice

  "I'm ... I'm ... I just don't know what came over me." I staggered, backing away.

  We'd simply been eating and talking about some of our past experiences. I gotten somehow we'd gotten to a point where I'd said I really cared about her and promised to look after her no matter what. The, I just ... don't know. Maybe I shouldn't have drunk sake out of the bottle.  

  "No, no. It's perfectly all right." Hazuki blushed slightly. "I've just ... never been kissed by someone like you before. It's my first time ... but it was quite nice."

  "Does this ... make humans feel nice?" I asked, still slightly shocked.

  "Well, my mom used to say that's it's a natural thing that would happen." Hazuki said softly.

  "I see." I nodded shakily. I took a few steps closer. "Then, may I?"

  Our lips touched again ...     

 

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Swordia

  At that moment, something must've snapped inside of me. Perhaps it was jealousy, anger, frustration or something else. My whole body was trembling, but I couldn't find the strength to scream out loud. 

  You ... you ...

  I shook my head, desperately forcing it away. He was my half brother after all, not my boyfriend. He seemed so happy now, far away from his previous problems. Something I wished he could have had for a long time. Now that he did, why should I be jealous?

  "Swordia? You all right?" Scantrix asked.

  "Yes, no problem." I started, remembering that he'd been there the whole time.

  "You're sure?" He asked with concern.

  "Yes, really. Anyway, we should get moving. Don't think you want to spend the night in the city, do you?"

  "Yeah, we'd better find a safe spot in the forest outside." He nodded, spreading his wings and flying off.

  I hesitated only for a moment longer to look back. Silently, I bade Nightslice, my half brother, farewell and good luck with his new life. I had my own to deal with now.

 

 

 

Alas, Parting is such sweet sorrow ...