A/N: I originally published this one-shot on December 27th, 2015 on SPPf. Like everything I've written, this one-shot will be revised eventually during one of my Rewrite Months (Februaries).
When I participated in the Second Annual Serebii Yuletide on SPPf, I finished my story for my assigned recipient surprisingly quickly, so I volunteered to be a pinch-hitter. My pinch-hitter assignment was ChloboShoka, who asked for a PendragonShipping fic with the prompt "Crazy" by Seal. I added the challenge of writing an M-rated fic, because I've never written an M-rated fic before. Since this is my first attempt at writing an M-rated fic, any feedback would be appreciated.
Not gonna lie, this was hard to write at first. But as I wrote down some random ideas I came up with something that I think is pretty decent. In fact, it ended up being a lot longer and more interesting than I expected it to be. So enjoy. :)
This one-shot is rated M for graphic violence, sexual content, strong language, and incestuous themes. I'd also like to add the warning that I wrote a decently heroic character in the Pokemon canon as a major villain.
"Wonderful job, Salamence," Lance said, tossing a Berry to his blue-and-red dragon. He smiled at his Pokemon. "Your moves are looking sharp. We are almost certain to overpower our opponent tomorrow."
A low purr rose in Salamence's throat as it chewed up the Berry it had caught in its mouth. The branches above its head rustled as a Noctowl landed on the oak tree. Salamence glared at the brown bird, and the Noctowl, daunted, took off silently into the moonless sky.
Lance gently petted his Salamence and sat down against the trunk of the oak tree. The forest was silent, save for the gentle rustling of the leaves. Lance could barely see his surroundings, and wondered if his Salamence was faring any better. The Dragon-type had a curious affinity for the night, and focused more on training during the nighttime, so Lance often chose the late hours to have training sessions with his Salamence in secluded areas.
"I wonder who we'll be against tomorrow," Lance murmured to himself, looking up at the night sky. "Hopefully it won't be one of the Ice-types specialists. But even if it is, we'll give our best, right, Salamence?"
The dragon nodded, and Lance smiled. He was glad that his Pokemon shared his enthusiasm for the World Champions Cup. For the past several days, Lance had been in Kalos, participating in the tournament. The organizers of the World Champions Cup had invited sixty-four current and former Gym Leaders, Elite Four members, and Regional Champions of the Pokemon World to participate in the Pokemon battling tournament. Lance enjoyed the event because it allowed him to connect with old friends and make new ones. His cousin and fellow Dragon-type specialist, Clair, was participating in the Cup. So were Iris of Opelucid City, and old friend of Lance's, and Candice of Snowpoint City, whom Lance had recently made friends with thanks to the tournament.
"I wonder how Ethan's doing with that Egg," Lance mused. "He would have been a great Champion. If he had decided to keep his post he might be competing in this tournament as well. But he's happy as a Pokemon Breeder, and that's great."
Ethan, an optimistic and kind thirty-year-old, was Lance's husband. Ethan was technically a Champion - he had defeated Lance several times - but a few months after beating Lance Ethan had decided to focus on his true passion, Pokemon breeding. The Johto Region was quite astir when if found out that Lance was bisexual and was in a loving romantic relationship with a Trainer ten years his junior. Clair found it especially hard to swallow Lance and Ethan's marriage. But eventually the waves died down when it became apparent that Ethan and Lance genuinely loved each other.
"Speaking of Ethan," Lance said, rising and petting his Salamence on the neck, "we'd better get back to our hotel room." Lance took out his Salamence's Poke Ball. "It's about time we all took a nice rest to be refreshed for tomorrow."
The large dragon nodded, and Lance pressed the center button of the Poke Ball. His Salamence turned into transparent red energy and returned to its Poke Ball.
Lance walked silently under the moonless sky back to his hotel, which was just a few minutes' walk from the forest. The night was unusually quiet - Lance couldn't even hear any nocturnal Pokemon calling, although he was so tired that he didn't pay much attention to this fact.
Lance yawned as he reached his hotel room. He swiped the room key and entered silently, not wanting to wake his husband. He turned on the dim hallway light. Then he saw what lay on the ground in front of the king-sized bed. He stopped dead in his tracks and wanted to scream in horror, but no sound came out.
It was Ethan, a large knife buried in his throat, blood flowing from the gaping wound and pooling around his limp body, his eyes glazed and lifeless but still wide with sheer terror.
Lance began to shake, and his jaw dropped open. Then the bedroom lights flicked on.
"Secrets never stay secret forever, Lance, darling," Clair purred seductively.
Lance simply could not believe what he was seeing and hearing. His cousin - his friend and relative - was lying sideways on the king bed in a provocative position, wearing nothing but a set of black lingerie and toying with a small, white, cube-shaped charm that she wore as a necklace.
Lance couldn't think. "E-Ethan… he's dead," he stammered, looking down at his husband's lifeless body.
"I know," Clair said coolly. "I killed him."
Lance felt as if his brain were paralyzed. "Why?" he managed to get out.
Clair moved slowly, walked towards Lance, placed her hand on his face, and leaned in until their faces were almost touching.
"Oh, Lance, of course you wouldn't know," she said softly, fondling Lance's body with her other hand. "After all, I've been wearing a mask for years. But as I said, secrets never stay secret forever. I want you. I want you so bad…" She whispered into Lance's ear. "Marry me, Lance."
In a sudden flash, Lance's mind was able to register everything that had happened in the past few minutes. He wrenched himself violently from Clair's touch, blood pounding in his ears.
"You sick fuck!" Lance screamed, punching his cousin on the jaw with all the force of his fury, disgust, and horror. Clair staggered backwards from the force of the blow, clutching her jaw and breathing heavily. She opened her mouth to speak, but Lance lunged forward and clamped his hand over it.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Lance yelled, hatred blazing in his eyes. "You're my cousin! You were my friend! I trusted you! I swear to Arceus, you will fucking pay for this." He shoved Clair roughly to the ground and pulled out a Poke Ball.
"Dragonite!" Lance roared, tossing the Poke Ball into the air. In a flash of white light, the large dragon materialized.
Lance pointed angrily at Clair, who was getting up from her fall. To his Dragonite he ordered, "Use Outrage on this bitch. And show no mercy."
Dragonite, seeming to understand the situation, roared loudly and began to glow with intense red energy. It charged speedily at Clair, who coolly held her hands outwards and yelled, "Vosotras hablamas zyzzixias!"
There was an intense flash of white light - so intense that Lance reflexively shut his eyes. Just as quickly as it came, the light disappeared, and Lance blinked several times in confusion, trying to clear the pain in his eyes. Then he noticed that his Dragonite had disappeared.
Lance looked around. The hotel room was untouched - the only thing that was gone was his Dragonite. Clair calmly leaned against the wall, her charm glowing with a white light.
"You!" Lance roared, storming up to his traitorous cousin. "You did it!" He grabbed Clair by the throat, shoving her head against the wall. "First you murder my husband, and now this? Tell me what you did to my Dragonite!"
"I sucked it into the Cube of Void," Clair gasped, squirming in Lance's grip. "And if you don't release me, you're going into the Cube too."
"What?" Lance said, releasing his grip on his cousin and glancing at the white, cube-shaped charm that dangled from her neck. "Dragonite is inside that cube you're wearing?" He shook his head. "That's crazy. That's impossible."
"You'd better believe it, Lance, darling," Clair said, picking herself off the ground and massaging her neck. She moved closer to Lance, who recoiled in disgust.
"Don't call me that," Lance growled. "You're disgusting."
Clair raised her eyebrows. "Fine, I won't call you 'darling'," she said smoothly, "and yes, Dragonite is inside the Cube of Void. There is nothing in the Cube. Absolutely nothing. And once you get sucked into it, there's no way out." She laughed softly. "The best part about it is that everything that gets sucked into it disappears without a trace." She glanced at Ethan's body, which was still laying in a stagnant pool of blood. "Vosotras hablamas zyzzixias!"
Once again, there was an intense, blinding flash of white light. When it disappeared, Ethan - blood, knife, and body - was gone as well.
"You see?" Clair said, wiping imaginary dust off her hand. "Gone without a trace. No one will suspect a thing. And that's just the beginning. I have greater ambitions than having you, Lance. With this Cube, nothing will stand in my way. I will become the most powerful, most feared person in the world."
"You're evil, Clair," Lance growled, shaking. "You're an evil bitch." His voice rose into a shout. "I swear to Arceus, I will not rest until I fucking kill you!"
"Hey!" a new voice shouted. Someone was pounding on the door. "Isn't that going overboard, Lance? What the heck is going on in there?"
"Iris!" Lance exclaimed in relief, recognizing the voice. He scrambled to the door and hastily opened it. Iris of Opelucid City was standing in the hallway, looking rather annoyed and sleep-deprived. The twenty-year-old woman was wearing a pink-and-white nightgown, and her voluminous hair was unkempt.
"I'm trying to sleep," Iris grumbled, putting her hands on her hips. "I'm right next door, y'know. What's all this commotion about?" She looked around, and her eyes widened in shock at the sight of Clair, who was still almost naked. "And Clair, why the heck are you dressed like that?"
"Iris, thank goodness you're here," Lance said, relieved. He pointed accusingly at Clair. "This bitch murdered my husband and imprisoned my Dragonite. Because she wants to fuck me. She's my cousin. Oh, and she wants to take over the world, too."
"What?!" Iris yelled. "That's crazy." She looked around fearfully. "Clair…" Her eyes widened. "It's the Cube of Void! Lance, don't tell me your Dragonite's in there?"
"It's true," Lance said. "And how do you know about the Cube of Void?"
"I'll tell you later," Iris said, her voice rising with urgency. "Get the Cube off Clair. I'll call the police."
"Got it," Lance said, nodding in understanding. He lunged towards his cousin, preparing to pry the necklace off her.
"Vosotras hablamas zyzzixias!" Clair yelled quickly.
There was another blinding flash of white light, but this time it did not go away. A very peculiar sensation enveloped Lance. He felt as if he was weightless, lifted off the ground.
Suddenly, pain seared in every corner of his body as he went uncontrollably limp, as if every bone in his body had disappeared. Lance gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to endure the pain. Then, though his eyes were still closed, his vision was met with a jarring clash of swirling colors. This vision was accompanied by a sudden feeling of giddiness, though the pain did not subside at all. The pain and the giddiness mixed together in a peculiar fusion of sensation that Lance desperately hoped would go away.
Suddenly, just as quickly as they came, the colors, giddiness, and pain disappeared. However, Lance still felt like he was floating in the air. Then a voice spoke. It sounded like nothing Lance had ever heard before. It sounded grated, whispery, and ancient, like the wind and the earth.
"One hint," the voice sounded. "You are never going to survive, unless you get a little crazy."
The the sensation of weightlessness lifted, and Lance hit the ground.
Lance breathed heavily, not daring to open his eyes. He still did not know what exactly had happened, but he suspected that Clair had sucked him into the Cube of Void. That was probably the explanation for everything that had happened, though to make sure, he slowly opened his eyes.
His vision was greeted by intense whiteness that was punctuated by a few splashes of color. Lance's Dragonite was lying with its stomach on the ground. Upon seeing Lance, it lifted its head, a bit of life returning to its eyes.
"Dragonite! It's you!" Lance exclaimed, standing up. Dragonite stood up as well, and Lance looked around. His heart lurched when he saw his husband's dead body, which Dragonite had been watching sadly over. Most of the blood had dried now, though the knife was still buried in Ethan's throat. So what he had suspected was true: He was now inside Clair's Cube of Void.
Though Lance could feel solid ground under his feet, nothing seemed to surround him and Dragonite but a seemingly endless white void. Then he saw Iris, who was still wearing her nightgown and was confusedly picking herself off the invisible ground a few feet away.
"Lance!" Iris exclaimed when she saw him. "You got sucked in too?"
"We've got to be in Clair's Cube of Void," Lance said, walking towards Iris. He was surprised when neither his voice nor his footsteps echoed. "Dragonite's here, and so is…" His heart ached. "Ethan."
"Lance," Iris said softly. "I'm so sorry."
"Don't be," Lance said quickly. "You had nothing to do with this. It's all Clair's fault. I can't believe she's been a bitch for years and nobody knew." He walked slowly back towards Ethan's body, crouched down, and reached out to touch him.
"Wait, Lance, you shouldn't touch him," Iris said. Lance looked up, surprised. "When we get out of here, the police will examine Ethan's body. If your fingerprints are anywhere on him you could be in trouble."
"Yeah, good point," Lance murmured, withdrawing his hand quickly. "Thanks, Iris. You probably saved my ass there. Did you say that there's a way we can get out of here?"
"Yeah," Iris said. "But just to make sure we are indeed in the Cube of Void, you felt it too, right? The weightlessness, the limpness, the pain, the colors, the giddiness, and the voice?"
Lance nodded. "What did the voice say to you?"
"You are never going to survive, unless you get a little crazy," Iris said. "Exact words. The voice said those words to me."
"Yeah, same here," Lance said. He sat down and sighed. "Lovely, we're trapped inside a crazy powerful artifact and, according to my psychotic cousin, there's no way of escaping it," he groaned. He turned to Iris. "But you said there's a way out of here?"
"There is," Iris said, just as Lance was about to climb onto Dragonite's back. Lance turned to her. "There's one way and only one way out of here. I know, because I know about the Cube of Void."
"How do you know about the Cube?" Lance asked. "You never told me. Tell me everything you know. It'll help us get out of here."
"Right," Iris said. "I first heard about the Cube of Void from the oldest elder in my village. He spoke of a white, cube-shaped artifact that, upon hearing the right ancient words from the right person, could imprison anything into itself at the person's will. However, the Cube was unpredictable and could suddenly and randomly turn against its master, killing him or her and teleporting itself back to where it came from.
"At first I didn't believe him, but then one day I came upon the town's historian. I told her what I had heard about the Cube of Void, just to make sure that it didn't really exist. To my surprise, Sophina - that's the historian's name - told me that archaeologists had recently unearthed an ancient book that contained information on the Cube."
"Go on," Lance said, and his Dragonite sat down, eyes bright with interest.
"Well," Iris continued, "I was curious about this book. I mentioned this to Sophina, who said that I could come to her house to take a look of the book. So I did, and found out quite a lot about the Cube of Void."
"Wait a second," Lance said, holding up his hand. "Why was Sophina so eager to give you information on an artifact that could potentially destroy the world?"
"Well, as I read the book, I found out that the Cube of Void can only be found by the evilest of hearts," Iris said. "I suppose Sophina trusted that I was too good-hearted to find the Cube. Anyways, the book said that the Cube of Void could be found deep in Dragonspiral Tower in Unova, but would only appear to the evilest of hearts. Clair must have learned about the Cube somehow and gone to Unova to get it."
"She told me that she was going to try to catch herself a Zweilous," Lance groaned, putting his palm on his face. "She did catch one, but I had no idea that she was planning something sinister." He sighed. "Okay, so how do we get out of here?"
Iris took a deep breath. "We need to have sex," she said.
Lance blinked, completely unable to register what he had just heard. "Huh?"
"Well, there are technically two ways out of here," Iris said quickly. "But the first way won't happen, because there's no way Clair's going to to say the spell that would release the Cube's contents. So that leaves the second option, which only works if more than one person in inside the Cube. We need to have sex."
Rage suddenly surged inside Lance. He furiously clenched his hands into fists, but he couldn't bring himself to punch Iris in the jaw.
Instead, he yelled, "You sick fuck! Are you shitting me?" Dragonite made a confused noise, but Lance ignored it. "First Clair, and now you? Does the whole world want to have sex with me? I thought I could trust you! My husband was just murdered, and now you're asking for sex? Fuck you."
"Sweet Arceus, calm your tits!" Iris yelled, stepping back. More quietly she added, "Wait a second, you don't have any tits. I have no idea why I said that." She grabbed Lance's shoulders, and Lance was surprised by how much strength Iris had. "Listen to me, Lance. I'm not lying, I swear. Why would I ever lie to you? Please, Lance, you've got to trust me!"
"Trust you?" Lance growled. "How can I trust anyone, when my own cousin turned out to be the evillest bitch in the world?"
"Honestly, Lance?" Iris sighed. "Just a few moments ago you were literally thrilled to see me." She looked at Lance unflinchingly in the eye. "Look, do you want to get out of here or not? I'm dead serious when I say that having sex is our only way out. I know, it's crazy, but that's what I read." She released her hands from Lance's shoulders. "Please, Lance. I know that you want to get out of here as much as I do."
"There's got to be another way," Lance said determinedly. "Iris, stay right here. Dragonite and I are going to take a look around. Maybe we can get to the edge of the void and then find a way to break out of the Cube."
"Lance, we don't have much time," Iris said urgently. "I totally understand if you aren't comfortable having sex with me, but the longer we stay in here, the longer we're letting Clair loose. Just saying. We have no idea what she's doing now."
"Fuck," Lance murmured. He looked sadly at Ethan's body and took a few deep breaths to calm down. "I'm sorry I called you a sick fuck, Iris. I was just shocked, that's all. But I know you don't have any reason to lie to me. You're a good person. I don't know how I know, but I just know." He knelt down in front of Ethan's body, tears forming in his eyes. Dragonite bowed its head.
"I swear to Arceus," Lance said softly, "Clair is going to fucking pay for everything she's done." He took out his PokeGear, looked at it, and put it away. "Fuck. No signal. No surprise, though." He looked at Iris, who had knelt down in front of Ethan's body as well. "I don't suppose you have your Xtransceiver with you?"
"I don't, no," Iris said, shaking her head. "When I heard the commotion I came as quickly as I could. I was too tired to grab my Xtransceiver."
Lance eyed Iris steadily. "Are you sure this sex stuff works?" he asked.
"I'm positive. I promise it will work," Iris said. "And I swear, once we get out of here, I won't rest until the Cube of Void is destroyed and Clair is brought to justice."
"Are you sure?" Lance asked. "This doesn't have anything to do with you. You should stay out of this."
"Honestly, Lance?" Iris sighed. "There's no way I'm staying out of this. As your friend, I'm really sorry you had to go through all this. Besides, there's no way I'm going to sit by and let a bitch like Clair take over the world." Her eyes, which had been blazing with anger, softened. "I'm sorry about the sex thing, by the way. I know you're grieving for Ethan, and I swear, I only mentioned it to you because it's our only choice."
Lance sat cross-legged on the floor and pulled out Dragonite's Poke Ball. "You should return," he said to Dragonite. "Uh… don't ask me why. This day has been crazy enough as it is."
Dragonite nodded, and Lance pressed the Poke Ball's center button to recall Dragonite.
"Lance, listen," Iris said, sitting down and moving closer to Lance. "Whatever happens after this, I want you to know that I care about you, and I'm still your friend."
Lance smiled, his heart warmed by Iris's words. "Thanks," he said, gently touching Iris's thigh. Iris stiffened and blushed, and Lance quickly withdrew his hand.
"Uh, we should probably move," he said awkwardly, glancing at Ethan's body.
Iris blinked. "Oh. Uh, right," she said, picking herself up and plopping herself back down a few yards away. Lance followed her, and she said, "Look, you really don't have to do this if you don't want to."
"What the hell, Iris," Lance said with a small smile. "I want to survive. You heard the hint, it's our only way of getting out of here." He moved closer to Iris and put his hands on her shoulders. "Don't worry. It won't be that bad. After all, we've kind of had a thing for each other for a while, haven't we?"
Iris took Lance's face in her hands and looked down. "How did you know that I had a thing for you?"
Lance laughed gently as his hands travelled down to Iris's legs and, with a smooth movement, took off her nightgown. Iris blushed profusely but eyed Lance steadily.
"You're always about as subtle as a sledgehammer, Iris," Lance said, taking off his cape. "That's part of why I've had a mild thing for you for ages." He eyed Iris steadily as she took off his jacket and inner shirt. "Nothing huge, of course. Nothing huge enough for me to leave the man I loved the most. But you're quite cute, to be honest."
"Cute?" Iris said, a mischievous glimmer in her eyes. "I'll show you cute."
Lance gasped as Iris tackled him to the ground with a surprising amount of strength and removed her underwear quickly. She was now completely naked, though Lance was only topless.
"By topping me?" Lance asked, raising his eyebrows.
Iris rolled her eyes and smiled. "Duh."
"Wait," Lance said suddenly as Iris began to remove his pants. Iris stopped what she was doing and listened.
"If I get you pregnant, I'm sorry," Lance said.
Iris laughed hysterically and kissed Lance quickly. "Fuck that shit," she said. "Between getting pregnant and dying, I know what I'd pick."
Lance smiled. Hastily he added, "Once we get out of here, let's wait a few months before even considering doing this again, okay? I wasn't that thrilled about having sex with you because Ethan had just been murdered. I like you, and you like me, but I think we should wait for things to settle down."
"Fair enough," Iris said, nodding.
"That's all I wanted to say," Lance said, pulling Iris down towards him in a gentle kiss. A shiver went down Lance's spine as Iris kissed back passionately and pressed her body against his.
"Come on, let's do this," Iris murmured against Lance's lips as she pulled off Lance's pants along with his underwear.
"Yeah," Lance said, nodding. "Let's get out of here."
They were now both naked, and they began to have sex, with Iris on top. She was gentle at first, but gradually became more passionate. Lance was surprised at the amount of energy she had. It had been a long time since he had had sex with a woman. It felt good.
When they finished, Iris kissed Lance gently. Then the white void began to shake, and Lance felt like an earthquake was shaking the Cube. He held Iris close to him and shut his eyes when his vision was met by a blinding flash of white light.
Lance was aware of a cold breeze blowing on his naked body and grass under his feet. Slowly, he opened his eyes.
He was still holding Iris, who was looking around as well. It was still very dark, though Lance could see that he and Iris were behind their hotel. They were free.
"FUck, we should put our clothes back on," Iris said, looking around quickly. "I hope no one's looking."
"Yeah," Lance said, laughing. He located his clothes, which were strewn around the ground around them. As he picked them up, he saw two unmoving bodies near himself and Iris. One, with a knife still buried in its throat, was Ethan's. The other, clad in black and motionless, was Clair's.
Lance and Iris put on their clothes quickly. Then they approached Clair's body. Lance squatted down and felt Clair's wrist. It was deathly cold, and there was no pulse.
"She's dead," Lance said, surprised and relieved at the same time.
Iris nodded. "She brought it upon herself. It was the Cube, which I mentioned would sometimes kill its master," she said, pushing up Clair's shirt. Lance recoiled in surprise and disgust at the sight of a jet-black stain on the skin over Clair's heart.
"The Cube of Void leaves a black stain over its master's heart after killing him or her," Iris continued. She pushed Clair's shirt back down. "I have no idea why we're here and not Dragonspiral Tower, but one thing's for sure, the Cube has killed its master and gone back to where it came from. Either Clair didn't know this, or she didn't care."
"That doesn't matter right now," Lance said, standing up and looking around. "What matters is that Clair is dead, Ethan is dead, and the two of us have a lot of explaining to do to the authorities. Also, we need to find the Cube and destroy it so that no one can get their hands on it ever again."
Iris stood up, faced Lance, and nodded. "We won't be found guilty for anything, I promise," she said. "The knife still has Clair's fingerprints on it, and there's literally no explanation for the stain over Clair's heart aside from the Cube of Void. Speaking of the Cube, you're right, we need to find it and destroy it ASAP."
"I wonder what happens next," Lance sighed as he looked up at the moonless night sky. "Nothing will ever be the same again."
"Hey," Iris said, taking Lance's hand in hers. "I'll be with you through all this. I promise."
"Thanks," Lance said earnestly, pulling Iris close to him in a sincere, warm hug.
-END-