Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ Rejected ❯ Fragments of Pink ( Chapter 18 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

OFF: Chapter 18 is done!... well, that's that.

I would like to thank those who keeps on reading and reviewing... and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter.

Well, guess it's time to start working on Chapter 19... have a nice day!

Comments and suggestions are welcome, as usual.

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REJECTED
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CHAPTER 18: FRAGMENTS OF PINK
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I am... never alone. Ever since I begun my existence, I always felt a presence...

Whenever I felt lonely, sad, or depressed... I knew that all of my pain would be washed off by my dreams... by... the presence... that blinding light...

This inner light always healed my soul... in it's protective light, I recollect my thoughts and overcome the horrors... it is in the light that I accepted my nature and embraced it.

No matter how dark my form is... no longer how vile an Undead I am... this light will always counter-balance it.

This light... is pure kindness, pure love... the love of a mother for her child... of a brother for his sister... of a mate for her lover... it is a calming remainder that as long as I will feel, as long as I will remember... there will always be a positive side to me... and a reason to live.

There is a lot of pain and despair in this world... but I am completely and totally convinced that nevertheless, the innocence of the world's inhabitants remains... I have faith in this. It is worth it to live for yourself... and it is worth it to die for others.

The Poison... I am not scared of it, whatever it may be. Mewlt... I am ready. I will find you and once we will be back together, we will take care of it together...

But... where are you? I need to know where I should go first... else, I'll be wandering forever...

... huh?

ding!

Yet another strange golden sphere. I wonder if it will give me a strange vision like the other one did... I bent down and gripped it...

FLASH!

I heard footsteps... footsteps on a metallic surface...

Then, lights were activated and... this is unbelievable... a room so large it seems to stretch in all directions, beyond the horizon, the ceiling going way above the sky...

Everywhere, gigantic towers of wires, tubes, steel plates... and on these towers and inside as well, thousands of glass containers, like fruit, containing... Pokemon. Each of those towers must contain at least thousands of sleeping Pokemon... but as I stared at them, I could see various scars, burns, and wounds... and the few Pokemon who had their eyes opened had black, empty, pupil-less eyes...

A figure that looked a lot like Mewlt stood before the endless field of towers, trembling for Ho-oh knows why. He was grasping some kind of remote with all of his strength...

"So... it exists..." looks like Mewlt... sounds like Mewlt... This figure must be Mewlt himself!

He stepped forward, advancing toward the first tower and then, he stroked the glass of the cold prison... "Wounded and stripped of their souls... the soulless horde of Dark Vortex was indeed hidden in this prison. Those fools were right after all... Now... this is all nice but those bodies are dying, the souls trapped at their very last moment just before death, only cold sleep standing in the way between them and the Emptiness... but something can heal them and cause them to rise... Hatred... pure, sheer, raw Hatred..."

Mewlt's eyes widened and then, I frowned. His face... was deformed by pain and distress. He looked so... pathetic. As his eyes glowed, his body became all tense, his movements stiff like those of a machine... he looked so... different from how I remembered him...

Then, I saw the dark flames erupt all over his body... and while I recognized those flames... there was something else in those flames that was not there before... something that made the flames look dirty, ugly, menacing... and I realized that the flames were no longer purple... but black.

The scream that came out of Mewlt's throat shattered both my courage and my heart. Such an other worldly roar of rage and suffering... This... this couldn't be the Mewlt I knew... the one I loved... the one who, despite his powers, would never let his Hatred control him.

The flames, they spreaded... and overwhelmed everything... and as Mewlt stood in the darkness, thousands of horrific pairs of empty eyes opened, thousands of lost souls staring at him, all thirsting for blood... he stood in the middle, his eyes glowing with the same savage obsession...

FLASH!

The... the golden sphere crumbled in my hand. Well... that was weird. Such an unique vision... Mewlt, standing in a prison where the famed Dark Vortex army had been sealed? His Dark Power used to awaken it?

Very funny... Only the power of pure, sheer Hatred could awaken the Dark Vortex hordes... the power of a being of pure Darkness and Evil. Mewlt is much too good-hearted to awaken Dark Vortex.

... and anyway? How could Mewlt know where the heck the prison is? I'm not even sure anyone knows where it is...

I stood there... and realized that I had no idea where to go... no idea where Mewlt was. I am down... to wander aimlessly, endlessly... well, so be it. The decaying of time cannot claim my soul and my body can be fed life forever. I have all the time in the world...

I stepped forward, toward the horizon... toward the north... toward wherever Destiny will lead me... and as I walked, I daydreamed...

...

"Sniff... sniff... father..." cried a small creature...

The creature stepped toward a taller one. Both were of the same specie and both were males. Both also stood in the middle of a garden that seemed familiar to me for some reason... and both stood before a monument...

"Why? Why don't you stand up to him?" asked the small creature, seemingly a child...

"It is not the place of Pokemon to question the way of humans... least of all, the ways of the Champion." replied the other creature, which I assumed to be the smaller one's father.

"But... you are a member of the Lightheart line! You are a descendant of Pikachu Raystar Lightheart! The other Pokemon stand silent before you! The humans bow in respect! Even the Legendary Pokemon know your name! As a descendant of Pikachu Raystar, shouldn't it be your duty to bring back the current Ketchum on the righteous path?" the child seemed despaired...

The larger being turned his back to the child, staring at the monument... "I... I may have his blood... but I am still nothing but a Pikachu. I can't communicate with him and the bond between him and me... well, is not. What can I do?" asked the father...

"You are such a wimp. Your refusal to do anything would make Pikachu Raystar frowns and look down in shame, seeing what we, who should be just as great as him, have became." answered the child.

Wait a minute... they speak of the great Pikachu Raystar, the first Pikachu that traveled with Ash Ketchum? The very one who ran into so many Legendary Pokemon? Are they... this means that...

This must means that the adult is probably Dynamo Volt Lightheart, the current descendant of Pikachu Raystar... and this child must be his child, the one they call Siryx Elect Lightheart!

Such a strange dream... it seems so real... I can't believe it... and this place... why is it so familiar? I feel... as if I had gone there before...

The two stood there, silent... and then... there were footsteps... and a human stood before them. Dynamo bowed down while Siryx, the child, stood tall in defiance... and then, red beams struck both of them, trapping them in Pokeballs...

"What an useless statue! If this wasn't considered of great historical value, I would have got rid of it years ago! HMPH! Anyway..." said the human, frustrated, before leaving...

...

Such a strange dream... huh? Where am I? I look around... and everything is so... unfamiliar...

This place... I... I can't recognize it.

This... this place... is it... a beach? Where am I?

I... huh? What? My ears rose... I stood silent, listening...

A faint whisper... I can hear a faint whisper...

I walked foward... the sand... is so cold... and it hurts... it feels... unnatural. I feel like walking on an ocean of ice blades... my feet hurts... the wind... it howls... the... the...

EEEEEEEEK!!!

Thousands... THOUSANDS of screams! MY ears!!! MY EARS!!! The screams... screams of pain and terror... sheer, raw pain...

I turned to the sea... and my eyes widened in horror. The water... there was no water... it was billions of faces, all melted and fused together, screaming lost souls, ripping each others and reforming endlessly... the sky... the sky is red... red like fire... the sun is black... black like the night...

The palm trees of this beach... are gigantic living worms disguised as tree! This place... is it... Vortex?

This can only be... no... not a vision of this place... why... why the Vortex? Why the Dark Vortex? Why am I standing here, my feet tortured by the blades of ice, my ears by the screams? Why am I standing before the endless sea of damned souls? What is the purpose of this vision?

The screams... they slowly decreased in volume... and totally stopped... and I realized that for some reason, my body had been forced into the seas. I... I... no... please...

Thousands... UGH! They're... they're touching me... dragging me down... Pulled from every side downward... NO! Not into the depths of this vile abyss! I refuse... I... please... help... somebody... I... I tried to open my mouth... but the half-decayed hands of the damned grabbed my head and forced me down under the surface...

... and everything became darkness... except... for this faint light... a light in the Darkness...

I'm... I'm freezing... so... so cold... lonely... where am I?... where... is this?

There's... there's something... the source of the wind... the sound of wings flapping... the freezing winds... something big is flapping three pairs of wings... and below it... the light.

I am just below the wings... and the harsh cold bites my skin. I feel my skin being peeled off me... and yet... what is this place?

But suddenly... my eyes widened. Two purple eyes... a cat-like shadow with purple eyes, three pairs of gigantic wings of dark energy hovering over the light, it's wings causing a permanent blizzard... and below... a crystal... and a single soul, chained to the crystal...

I could see the soul... I could see this being raise it's hand and turn to see me... it's face... was completely decayed. Only the skull remained, the flesh long gone, the bones almost completely reduced to dust by the winds... the being's glowing red, unnatural lights that serves as it's eyes... the horror opened it's mouth...

It... tried to speak... it tried...

"Only... you... can... save... him... and... his... loved... ones..." the words came slowly, the being struggling with unspeakable pain just to pronounce each word, the sounds coming faint and ragged out of his decayed mouth...

FLASH!

The... the vision ended...

I'm... I'm so happy the vision ended. I... I... I could just get down on my knees and kiss the ground. I never want to have any vision of that place ever again. I... I just don't want to...

That poor creature... chained to that crystal... how long has it been suffering? All those souls... how long have they been sealed there? How much longer will their pain last? This is so... unreal...

I... huh? What is... that? I seen someone... the colors... everything is going back to normal. The colors fade back into my eyes... the green swirled about in my eyes... but then... huh? Orange? Red? Black? Those colors... there is too much of them... I... I have a bad feeling about this... I... I feel something crushing my heart... I feel so sad... so distressed...

I... no... this... is... this is a joke...

Fire... fire everywhere... the flames rise up like towers, licking the sky... I can see the black smoke covering the sky, blocking the light of the sun... I can smell the ashes... and the dead.

The sound... I can hear metal... materials collapsing...

I stand before a gigantic building burning inside out... and standing in front of me, just before the building... several figures...

A gigantic being, covered in a long cloak... a humanoid figure with long silver hair. The figure turned and...

No... this... this is impossible... you are dead.. gone... dead... DEAD! This is a nightmare... a nightmare... the... the... He... he... he is here... this cannot be...

Black slits as eyes... a maniacal, sadistic grin... this cannot be... you... you disappeared... you cannot be here and yet...

You... he... he is... he is here... the... the Dark Vortex... the Devil...

... Ice Mask...

Ice Mask... the Devil, the Darkness... he is standing there, carrying the disembodied head of the Defect Trainer who had kept me and Mewlt locked for so many years in his left hand. The head... I could see the blood slowly drip from the ripped off neck... his eyes locked in a state of pure, sheer terror... I could see on the forehead, the symbol of the damned... the symbol of Dark Vortex... the black Pokeball with a blood-red "M" on it...

Ice Mask... stole the life and soul of an innocent... and his mask is turned to me... I cannot know where he looks at... who he look at... his face is hidden... no... Ice Mask has no face. He is pure Darkness, pure Evil.

I can sense it... I can sense the pain... the suffering... I can hear the screams... I can sense all the death Ice Mask caused... all he destroyed. This building... the Defect Center... he murdered everyone. Humans... Pokemon... Defects... adults... children... males... females... all dead and damned to either walk the world as Ice Mask's slaves or to be sent to his vile, twisted world beyond the rift.

I can see an undead figure next to Ice Mask... an undead female Umbreon. Crimson eyes burn with pure evil... the rings on her fox-like yet also feline body glows with golden light... but her body is pitch-black. Those eyes... it can only be Illumina, one of the Arch-Demons of Dark Vortex... one of Ice Mask's Executives.

But... I thought Mew had killed them all! Years ago, before being caught, Mew destroyed the Arch-Demons and banished the evil Shadow Pokemon where they belong! The world was rid of the Shadow Plague! How... how can Ice Mask and all of his demonic Shadow Pokemon be back? Who brought back this terrible monster?

Ice Mask... you may look human... but you cannot be human. Even the most vile of humans cannot be as evil as you are... and neither can be any Pokemon. I do not know what you are... but I am afraid of you... and I hate you. If you ever touch Mewlt... Devil or not, I will hunt you down even to the deepest bowels of Dark Vortex.

Illumina... she stepped foward. I can hear her delicate yet strong paws crushing burnt bones as she walked foward. Her fur was silky smooth and clean, her flesh juicy and healthy... but I knew she was undead. I could sense it... I could sense her heart pumping black, dead blood...

She looked at me with such arrogance... such a nightmarish vision... "Look at that... looks like we forgot a Minun." Illumina's voice was kinda similar to that of regular Umbreons and yet... there was something... unnaturally feminine in it... something fake. Her voice was similar to Celebi's... way too much.

Ice Mask stood there, immobile... his figure not affected by the heat, by the flames. As the air was distorted and as Illumina was clouded from my vision, Ice Mask remained clear, distinct, impossible to miss. He stood tall...

"What shall we do with it?" asked Illumina, her pearly whites showing as she grinned... her teeth... white like snow... way too white...

"Nothing." Ice Mask spoke... and his voice was colder than the coldest blizzard, sharper than the sharpest ice blade, more cruel than the most cruel human, harsher than the most harsh of winters... his voice... inspired complete, raw fear and dread in me. I felt my knees knocking against each others... and I felt a chill up my spine... "Leave."

The two faded like if they were visions... and I remained there, staring at the horrific flames... when something broke the monotony of the destruction... a voice... a faint voice...

I saw someone... a humanoid figure lying down where Ice Mask once stood... my eyes widened. Someone... had survived such a horrific experience?

I rushed foward... and I saw the reptilian face of a Machoke... and that was the only detail I could recognize. His entire body... was basically so completely burnt... no chance that guy can still be living...

"Uuuuurgh... will... not... fall..." huh? Who said that? My ears rose up and I paid attention... and I heard the sound... something moving... really close... and just in front of me...

I turned to see the corpse again and...

"EEEEEEEEEEEK!!!" HOLY MILTANK!!! THE MACHOKE! IT MOVED!!!

"Cough! Cough! Stupid... Umbreon... I had... the advantage type... How... could... I lose..." getaholdofyourself! Get a hold of yourself! It's an undead... you seen undead before... ... humm... DUH! I'm undead, of course I seen undead before...

Such extensive burns... his inner, fried organs were visible and yet, that Pokemon... or was it Defect? With all those new Pokeballs, I lost track of what are Pokemon and what are Defects... anyway, it's undead, it's big, it got back on it's feet instantly.

Huh?

"Sorry my good girl... I need to regenerate and go teach that Dark Pokemon not to mess with me!... so I'm taking your blood, girl!" huh? What the...

...

AAAAAAAAACK!!! He... he... he bit me... right in the neck... His teeth... pierced my... oooh...

I slowly lied down on my back... hmmmm... why do Vampires get to have cool pain-killing drugs in their teeth while my victims always suffered? Ooooh...I had forgotten how those natural pain-killers felt... teehee... Oh... Reddy... this makes me think of Reddy. My physical feelings toward him were more than strong enough to make me forget about the emptiness of my heart, back then.

I used to drown into intense emotions, completely drugged from the outside and inside, his sharp teeth drawing out blood and replacing it with powerful drugs, more powerful drugs flowing into my veins coming from the inside of my body as we copulated like wild teenage Nidorans in heat, the opposite rituals of life and death mixing into a twisted dance of some sort...

How long had it taken me to lay off that toxin? I remember... for weeks, I clawed and bit myself... I thrown myself off cliffs, dived into rivers, hanged myself, smashed my head on rocks and trees... I felt sooo bad for such a long time... for although it may seem incredible, Vampire's toxins are very addicting...

I... I should tell him that he's wasting his time... that he won't regenerate off me... but... but the hormone... oh... That Machoke... the toxin... heeheehee... so dizzy... oh... I... you... You are high, aren't you, Cherlie? High on Vampire toxins... high on some kind of freaky drug. I can't believe it... so... good... must stop saying that... I... I must go see Mewlt... I must move on... but I can't move... pinned down... oooh... nice...

"OoooOOOOOOOOOooooh..." I... I moaned. I... I moaned from the sheer amount of drugs invading my body...

The Machoke... is not Reddy. He doesn't care about me. He doesn't care about anyone. Why am I letting him do that to me?... and more importantly, why am I allowing myself to let him do this to me?

Mewlt... you were sad... sad that you were simply answering my love instead of loving with your own heart... but in the end, your love turned out sincere. It didn't mattered where I was, with who I was... for your love was unconditional.

As for myself... I... I'm independent... right?

... I'm... I'm not so sure...

Reddy had warned me... warned me of the dangers of emotional love... of the dangers of the powerful drug that was fake love, emotional urges... he told me that to lay off of that drug is much harder, much more painful than laying off the toxin he had been injecting into my neck for such long weeks... and I believed him... but did not listen in the end.

Plusle... is the proof of my failure.

Mewlt... I disliked that you couldn't take care of yourself... but when in the end, you proved yourself, the annoyance had made a dent into my happiness already... and instead of accepting it and letting the wound heal, I abandoned him... I... I abandoned Mewlt.

I didn't gave him a chance... I have been led by my hormones so completely... I did not love him... I only loved the hormonal boost he gave me... and with the hardships I went through, when I ran into someone who would give me the same boost without giving me difficulties, I didn't hesitated... and I forsake my own heart.

I... I feel so guilty... I thought I was independent... but I'm the one who cannot live without hormones... and even then... I am even worse than he was... for at least, he was bound to only one person. I am bound to no one... I do not care for anyone... all that I care is whenever I have a male close and that's all.

I'm such a monster... I... I feed on those toxins and forget about myself, about him... about my real desires. This... this is much, much more destructive... what I do is much more destructive than his Shadow powers... for while his powers ruins bodies, his soul heal the mental wounds of people and drain negative feelings. I only cause discord, hatred, regret, sorrow...

I... I tremble in pleasure and guilt from the drugs... but I shall not let either feeling drown me into a trance. I will not accept this... I just won't.

"AAAAARG!" I screamed at the top of my lungs in protestation against myself while I kicked with all of my strength...

BAM!

He was sent flying, a line of red liquid following him as a vein exploded due to the awkward angle at such a flied... but I do not care... I do not care for the pain...

Slowly, I felt the excitement die down... much to my relief. That feeling... I never want to experience it ever again. Artificial pleasure... is not something I enjoy, deep down. The only drugs I ever want to feel ever again... are those of my own body, my very own mental and physical pleasure... not an artificial Silver Valley made up of injected liquids.

I slowly stood up and placed my right hand on my neck. The wound isn't bleeding that badly... so I'll recover. It still hurts... and I gritted my teeth in pain as the last of the effects caused by the vampire's toxin faded.

The Machoke slowly got back on it's feet after being sent flying. He wiped a bit of my blood off his lips and then stood there, standing high above me. Machokes are very tall... although not quite as tall as Mewlt is. Mewlt is huge... as huge as an adult human. Machokes are usually a few heads below a human... and this Machoke was not exception.

In fact, this Machoke was extremely common in terms of looks. Muscular body, that sharp, intelligent gaze, those strange black panties, that golden belt...

It was a well know fact that few Machokes evolved to Machamps... and few wanted to. Most Machokes lose all intelligence and dexterity when they evolve... and while they get enough strength to struggle with even a Psychic Pokemon... the loss of intelligence and dexterity is not worth it. Only trained Machokes will usually evolve, the others fearing that the ferocious instincts might wipe out their hard earned knowledge of fighting and survival skills... and furthermore, Machokes take great honor usually in their ability to control objects delicately despite their immense power.

Machokes are among the most delicate creatures around, surprisingly. They train immensely to keep their power in check, trying to put their power to good use and in non-destructive chores... and this is the main source of their pride. Most Machokes regard Machamps as nothing more than mindless brutes... although they are tales of Machamps who could fight their own destructive instincts and keep all of the knowledge and dexterity they had gained while being Machokes... but such Machamps are rare.

As such, Machokes are, today, commonly used both physically-taxing labor and for delicate jobs requiring Pokemon. They are extremely useful to humans, that's for sure... just like the Pikachu, Plusle, and Minun lines are... we who serve as electricity storage.

Almost every Pokemon is put to good use by humans... but one thing is sure... I'm happy not to be a Miltank or even worse, a Spoink or Grumpig. The Miltank are raised for their excellent milk and juicy, tasty meat. I know... I... I'm ashamed but... I taste it and it was good. As for Spoinks and Grumpigs... they are raised solely for their meat.

Entire farms are dedicated just to this... they raise Spoinks and then, when they grow fat enough, they are placed in machines that immobilize them completely... and since the hearts of Spoinks is triggered by their bouncing... the fact of being immobilized is fatal. The fate of Grumpigs isn't much better. They are plunged into sub-zero liquid, freezing them instantly and killing them.

People may be shocked that Pokemon are killed in such a way... but I understand humans. Everyone needs to eat and those who says that it is cruel should just take the time to look at plants. Sure, unlike Pokemon, plants do not scream... but aren't plant Pokemon the living proof that plants are just as alive as Pokemon? Why should killing a Grumpig be more cruel than cutting down say, corn? Truly, the logic of the vegetarian humans and Pokemon elude me...

One thing I find strange is how some species, which do not look like predators, are actually predators... Pikachus, Plusles, Minuns are the best examples. We are terrible predators, traveling in packs and hunting down bird Pokemon and water Pokemon. At times, our species had bloody, very bloody wars with the Mightyenas and Houndooms for territory...

Humans are the only ones who know war... such stupidity. Humans are the only one who kill for fun... another idiocy. I remember seeing a Charizard playing with a poor, dying Squirtle he had caught, playing with it like a toy in sadistic pleasure. As for war... people say that Pokemon are much more clean than humans... well, excuse me but I seen Plusles rape Myghtyenas violently before breaking their necks just to demonstrate their superiority. I seen Houndooms devour the babies of Raichus to show them that they could do nothing. Nature... is savage. To kill or to be killed. Such is the only true law.

Humans are lucky... lucky to create and live in a civilization... but when I think about it... why don't Pokemon create their own civilizations? Why don't they break the cycle of death brought forth by the law of the jungle, like humans did? Why don't they rise to consciousness?

Holy Laws... they fear divine retribution from Mew, Ho-oh, Lugia, the Legendary Pokemon. Some others fear that the world might end if everyone turned conscious... and on a more realistic approach... if everyone became conscious, who would we kill for food?

I mean, executing Grumpigs is okay since they do not think... but if Grumpigs finally decided to stop denying their own intelligence and begun to build their own cities... how will people get their pig meat? Surely, through other species... but what if all species are equals? Will the world starve?... and what about population regulation? If it wasn't from the Pokemon predators and from the constant wars humanity went through, the world would be flooded with beings and then, we would run out of resources!

... Oh dear Mew... I'm confusing myself when I have a very real issue in front of myself. Oh the wonders of consciousness... but well, thinking is fun. Sure, those issues are very real and scare me at times... but between that and being a hormone-driven, soulless machine of flesh... I prefer to be thinking.

Anyway, back to reality...

This Machoke that stand before me... his gaze isn't so intelligent-looking when I think about it. It's more like... arrogance.

But then, that Machoke... he seems familiar... did I ran into him before?

He stared at me... and I could see the frustration in his gaze. He had not recovered or very little from my blood... normal since Undead cannot feed on Undead.

"HMPH! You are nothing but a rotting corpse..." why such arrogance?

He stood there, grinning as he looked at me as if I was nothing but an insignificant insect... and I decided that it wouldn't be wise to stand there and let him do as he pleases. First thing I did was place my right hand on my neck... and I felt the warmth of blood. He didn't missed me and knowing from experience, vampire toxins keep wounds from closing... so I placed my hand there and kept it there, applying much pressure while my body took care of that stupid toxin...

"You aren't much better, vampire." I said. The Machoke stood there, frowning and I seen his left eye twitches... and then he rushed foward, ready to deliver a powerful punch. Looks like a case of "Punch first, ask questions later"... but those are easy to get rid of.

I knew that if I was to shock him good with a Thunder Wave and then steps out of the way, he'll go around running in a single direction and will be unable to change direction... or if I'm lucky, he'll be left totally paralyzed. Either ways, I win... and as such, I gathered the electricity in my cheeks.

I could feel the static gathering... and in a second, I was ready. I placed both hands on my wound on my neck to keep bleeding to a minimum as adrenaline begun to pump through my body... I was ready to fight and wouldn't back down. You can't kill or faint an Undead Pokemon... but you sure can incapacitate it! People who says that Undead cannot be defeated lack in imagination, that's all.

"AH!" yelled the Machoke, getting in close.

I jumped to the side, sending myself flying using only my hind legs, firing a large blue bolt of electricity to the side... and Machoke struck air with his fist... and received a large shock. I seen him tremble and his eyes widened in pain... meaning that he was in a good enough state to feel pain and be paralyzed. Excellent!

I landed straight on my paws, crushing my hands painfully under the weight of my body and almost spilling all of my blood out of the wound on my neck... but it was worth it. The punch would have hurt a lot more and anyway, turning to the side, I saw Machoke, unable to move his legs, trip and slide all the way to a tree...

BANG!

He came to a sudden stop, banging his head on a tree... and I chuckled. They say that Pokemon of the Pikachu line are weak... but speed and electrical powers are not to be underestimated... well, DUH! If we are weak... then why would we be predators in the wild? Anyway... I stood there, Machoke grumbling swear words as he lied there, barely able to just squirm on the ground...

"So... had enough? You know... you seem familiar... do we met before or something?" I asked, now sure that this big Fighting Pokemon wouldn't smack my face with his fist.

"HMPH! I fought many Minuns and beaten them all! One day, I'll be one of the Champion's top Pokemon, I tell you!... and I won't let a little shock get in my way!" he stated loudly, trying to impress me. Nice try... dork.

Wait a minute... I think I remember that dork... "Hey! Are you the one who fought the large humanoid pink cat Pokemon with psychic powers?" I asked.

"That Shadow Mewtwo-wannabe thingy? Sure! A coward! He ran away while we were... wait a minute here! You're the cowardly Minun who escaped via the ventilation vents, all those years ago?!?" asked the Machoke, his voice turning from arrogance to confusion. HA! In your face, moron!

"Yep! I'm da girl!" I stated proudly, happy to see that idiot again. Oh great Ho-oh... look at this loser! Man!

"Heh... so you're that Cherlie girl Reddy has been talking about, isn't it?" I raised an eyebrow. Now what the Vortex was he talking about?

How can he know my name?... and Reddy died years ago. I remember it, I helped him, when he killed himself. I was the one holding the wooden stick when he impaled himself. He wanted to disappear like vampires do in fairy tales... Did he regretted his decision just before vanishing, thus allowing him to awaken years later rather than disappearing altogether?

Slowly, the Machoke got ahold of his body and stood up. Despite his body being severely burnt, it seemed like the muscles and bones under the skin were still in a good enough shape for him to stand up... "Heh... Reddy has been talking about you. Everyone thought that he had been dead... but the problem was that he remembered something as he impaled himself... he still had to do a little something... about a member of the Lightheart line."

About a member of the Lightheart line? What did the Lightheart line had to do with me? "Okay... you lost me. What are you talking about here? Reddy the vampire is alive?... and he wants to speak to a member of the Lightheart line?"

The Machoke slowly turned around, grinning... "It's just that... Reddy told me your secret. He knows about the Lightheart lines... about the two lines. There are two different lines of Lightheart, all with the same origin... the living Pikachu one... and the undead Plusle and Minun one."

The Machoke slowly walked toward me... and... I felt all my confidence vanishing. I felt pain, my hands trembling as I had difficulty maintaining the pressure on the wound on my neck... "I know your full name... Cherlie Lightheart."

I shook my head. What was that about? What secret? I had nothing to hide! My parents were nothing but common Plusles and Minuns... in fact, they were not even undead! Why would I be a descendant of the undead Lightheart line? "I can see your confusion. Psychic and Fighting Pokemon are much closer to each others than one may suspect... for we both have enhanced perceptions and use our mental strength to overcome foes... it's just that Psychic Pokemon infuse their mind into the energy around them while Fighting Pokemon infuse it in their inner energy. Our power is the same, at the origin..."

"HMPH! I know about Fighting Pokemon and I know that it is only true of the most advanced out there... not of common, muscle-brained morons like you!" I replied, not believing one second that he mastered the fighting arts enough to push his body beyond the physical limit.

The Machoke rolled his eyes... it was weird how quickly the situation had changed... "Oh Cherlie, Cherlie, Cherlie... Always so innocent... normal since you are Mew. Now... allow me..."

Machoke... bowed before me? I seen a golden sphere just at his feet and then, he turned to me and grinned... and it's then that I seen something that I had never seen before... a mark on his shoulder... this... !!! THIS MARK!!! It was... the same mark that they speak of, in legends! The mark that the Elite Four member, Bruno, carved in the flesh of his Pokemon! Could it mean that...

He took out... that strange stone... it couldn't be... "Ever Stone. Directed you since the beginning on your orders... or rather, on your sub-conscious's orders." he explained. "Now... hold the golden sphere... the one you are destined to touch..."

I slowly took my hands off my wound on my neck... strange... it's healed while it should have taken much, much longer... but I have no time to ponder this. I advanced and then, keeping an eye on the Machoke to make sure this wasn't a trick, I grabbed the sphere...

FLASH!!!

I... I stood before my parents... before my father, a Plusle, and my mother, a Minun.

The Minun was not pregnant... but I could feel the pulse of life within her... I could feel it...

The two... stood there, staring at a gigantic figure wearing a cloak... under the hood, a pair of glowing purple eyes... Mewtwo...

In his right hand, one half of a glowing pink sphere... the same half I had seen him with in the vision where he had killed and revived his own lover...

"It is painful for all of us... but it is the only way to prevent the fulfillment of the Prophecy." he stated.

"Will... my daughter remains herself?" asked the mother, crying.

"Your daughter's soul will not be overwritten... it is a fusion, not a replacement." explained the large cat Pokemon.

Wait a minute... what are they talking about? What are they about to do?

"What... will happen to my daughter once the fusion is completed?" asked the Plusle, trembling... and the big cat frowned. "She will die..." he answered.

Everyone stood there and then, my mother broke the silence... "Die? Then why bothering if it's impossible for the fusion to succeed?" she asked.

I'm... confused...

"No... she will not die like this." explained the Legendary Pokemon of Darkness. "She will rebecome what your line used to be... undead."

The Plusle frowned and stood foward, burning in anger. "NO! I refuse that my daughter may become a monster like..."

Mewtwo stepped foward, pointing at the male in an accusing way, his eyes burning with anger. "SILENCE!!! It is because of intolerant monsters like you that such a case is now happening! Do you really believe that I ever wanted for all those people to die? For this horrific Prophecy to be pronounced? You are a fool! You may be the actual descendant of the Lightheart line... but it is your mate, not you, who is worthy!... so you will SHUT UP!" he boomed in anger.

The Plusle stepped backward, grumbling angrily... and the Minun turned to him, crying. "Please understand... please..."

"NEVER!" screamed the Plusle as a reply. "I will NEVER accept such heresy! Mew would never accept this! This is counter-nature!"

Mewtwo went to do something... but my mother stepped toward Plusle instead. She grabbed his head. "Counter-nature? Monsters? Then... tell me why I can do THIS?!?" she yelled, rage taking over her as well.

CRAAAAAAACK!!!

Plusle's eyes widened as my mother spun his head, performing a full circle... and she stopped, Plusle grasped his neck, gasping for air... and still being alive... WAIT A MINUTE HERE! My father... was undead?

"I'm sick of you denying what you are! Why do you judge people on their nature? Why do you claim that everyone hates you? I love you... I love you with all of my heart... and you still complain! Then, Mew's mate comes to us for help... and you still whine?" she was crying, almost begging him...

Plusle curled into a ball and whispered... "Monsters... infamy... heresy... monsters... infamy... heresy..." he just kept on whispering over and over again, rocking back and forth, crying for a reason... and I felt angered by him. Every fiber of my soul hated him... hated him for what he stood for... for he stood for nature determining whenever someone was good or not instead of actions.

The Minun turned to Mewtwo. "I will do it. I accept to be part of your plan... do of me as you will." she said sadly... and yet, in her sadness... she sounded so full of defiance and courage...

Father jumped in front of mother. "NO! I REFUSE! MEW CAN DIE AND SO CAN YOU! It was about time a successor rose to replace that pink whore, anyway!... and anyway, Ho-oh's word is Fate! We must obey him!"

Plusle screamed as mother shocked him again... and again... and again... and then, he fell down, completely fried yet alive... and slowly, Minun kicked him in the sides, shoving him out of the way... and then, she stood before Mewtwo... "The Ketchum line has fallen... the Mew line is doomed... and as such, only the Lightheart line remains. As the mate of one of the two current Lightheart family members... I will accept this. To prevent the fulfillment of the Prophecy... the second Lightheart line shall return to the state of Undead... and accept once again, the power of the Sins."

Plusle's eyes widened in horror as Minun was slowly raised to eye level by Mewtwo's psychic powers... and then, he slammed the pink fragment into her chest and then, there was a flash of blinding light...

FLASH!

I awoke and stared at Machoke... and he grinned. "I can see it on your face... that you now know that the undead Lightheart line... has been revived in you. I have outlived my usefulness... but know that many memory spheres still await. In order to prevent the Prophecy... you must hunt these down and slowly undo the binds of Destiny. The fate of your lover rests on your shoulders, Cherlie Lightheart."

Huh? What?... where are you going? What is it all about?... HUH?!?

"What are you doing?!?" I asked, panicking as the Machoke thrown the Ever Stone at me and then slowly walked back into the flames of the burning Defect Center... "When I die... the Ever Stone will vanish and a memory sphere will appear. Use it... use it... and learn. Power won't win the fight against Fate... only knowledge and actions will reveal the hidden paths... and remember that when you are offered two paths... choose the third path."

The Machoke dived into the flames whole and engulfed in flames, vanished... and the Ever Stone turned into a sphere...

This is all... going... so fast...

FLASH!

I... So fast... I'm... I'm a Lightheart?... Undead because of a pink fragment? What was this pink fragment that Mewtwo extracted from Mew? My father... was undead? This Machoke... was he Bruno's Machamp that used an Ever Stone to revert down to the form of a Machoke?

... what is this vision?

Jirachi... the Nightmare... I remember the Nightmare... back when this mysterious power had arose within me...

Jirachi was consumed by a ray of gigantic crystal-blue tears. Consumed by pure sorrow and love mixed together... I was there, veins completely open, my blood running out of my body and forming large crimson wings behind my back... I floated in the air, eyes empty, veins emptying, the red liquid forming a strange symbol under me...

Mewlt... Mewlt... oh Mewlt... I suffer remembering your shape back at the battle... your chest had been splitted open, shoulders and head barely remaining attached to the lower part of your body. The heart, the organs, the bones were all sticking out in a bloody mess, barely connected to the body. Your heart... was not beating... your lungs... completely opened and not working.

Still, you stood there, before me... had you turned undead? No... I felt a power running through my body, forcing life into your own body. You were not dead... although you should have been.

I stopped bleeding... which was normal since not a single drop was left in my body. I stood there, floating in the air, my heart not beating like his... and yet, power flowing out of me... a power which I had never sensed or even suspected I had before.

Then, as I stared into his eyes... I seen a bright flash of light... and in his eyes, I seen a reflection of myself.

I stood there, completely changed... my tail had stretched to impossible proportions and was incredibly thin and articulated, the tip oval a bit like Mewlt's. My ears had shrunk, my eyes had became larger, my head became triangular, cat-like... My legs became stronger... MUCH larger and stronger while my feet stretched, taking a rabbit-like form...

Blood Sin... the Blood Sin... I had used the Blood Sin... which meant that... that...

FLASH!

"Meeew..." I meowed... or rather, my reflection did.

I saw her, pink-furred and everything... and I bowed down before her... her who had been living inside of me ever since I was born.

"Why... why did you hid all of your love, all of your hopes in me?" I asked my reflection.

It was not really Mew... Mewtwo had killed her and hid only her positive feelings in me. She had no memories, no thoughts of her own... only the pure, raw emotions and the power... why giving me this power? Why did Mewtwo hid the power of his wife inside of me?

Slowly, the reflection disappeared... and I stood there, standing immobile before the flames of the Defect Center. Who am I really? Why was I given all this? Who created those spheres... to what purpose? What is that famous Prophecy which Mewtwo is trying to prevent? What became of Mewlt? What is so unique about Mewlt?

This makes no sense... this is so incredible... I... I have the power of a Legendary Pokemon... half of her soul living within me... how? How could I never notice it? Why? Why would Mewtwo do this?

I... I don't know anymore. Jirachi's attack... the humans running after Mewlt so much... Death herself intervening... what was the point of this?

...

There is no point in standing there... the memory spheres... they will help me, isn't it? That's what Macho... I mean, Machamp meant... and I have to find out... how could Machamp have been alive after such a long time? Am I sure this was really Bruno's Machamp?

A clue... I need a clue...

Those spheres... is it possible that other people might find them?... and what would happen if humans found them? They're so nosy, searching everywhere in their quest to enslave all Pokemon... it is probable they found many of them...

There I have it! Derlank taught me the human language and although I bet I am a bit rusty, I still think I could access a human's computer... and I happen to be on the outskirts of Pallet Town, where Professor Maple lives... and since she is the authority on all Pokemon-related stuff, I'm sure that if the humans found any memory spheres... then their locations will be recorded in the computer there or even better, the spheres will be in the lab!

As such, I turned toward the depths of the city and begun to walk. It was obvious that I would run into Pokemon trainers and thus, problems... but I am sure that everything will turn out fine...

...

"What do you mean, the cloning process failed?"

"I'm so very sorry... but it seems that for some reason, the DNA is incompatible..."

"Fix that!"

"No... you didn't understood... it's INCOMPATIBLE. It cannot be fixed. The project is a failure."

"Then... can a Mew clone be made at least? I mean... you didn't TOTALLY failed me, don't you?"

"Oh... oh no... ple... please believe us... It's not because Mewthree doesn't survive that the new Mew cannot survive... in fact, although out of the twelve we created. only one survived... the fact still that it survived."

"Any unusual points about it?"

"Well... it's fur is white... but apart from that, identical to the original."

"Perfect... perfect... Now, I have my new best Pokemon. Good thing, too. I was lucky that this challenger had not used Rayquaza... I'm not sure I could have defeated it without a Legendary Pokemon of my own. Anyway... once I have my Mew, I want you to prepare a helicopter. I've stood there and done nothing for long enough. Eliza was foolish... receiving the Pichu through PC and then grabbing Mewtwo's Pokeball before running away with him? Truly... foolish... but she can't hide. No one runs from me. I will make her understand what it means to be a Pokemon trainer and she will accept and like it... whenever it may be her original desire or not!"

"I think you should just let her be... she will realize it by herself."

"You forget that she has the GS Ball and Mewtwo in it. I doubt she has the skills to control him... and I would hate it to see her being hurt by a stupid Pokemon... so just hurry up, don't you? I don't have all day!"

"Oops... so very sorry, boss..."

=TO BE CONTINUED