Dosakusa no Suuka - The Valence of Turmoil

by Synathidy

Reason to live... meaning to suffering... Many search out these things as a means of finding peace with existence. For some who are unable to find them, however, irrationality and suffering themselves become the only sustenance. In this final conclusion, Sean, Gwyn, and their friends continue to unravel their fates as they're drawn into a web of mortal insanity and immortal horror.

Dosakusa no Suuka ~ The Valence of Turmoil

Chapter 1

"… Why am I doing this…?"

A tall, thin trainer with a mop of long, curly brown hair and wearing a loose white T-shirt and jeans withdrew a hovering Beedrill that was surveying the fainted Dugtrio slumped in the earth before it.

"Tch… I never knew Beedrill could be so powerful…" the dark-haired young man in black across from him withdrew his defeated Pokémon as well and took out another Poké Ball, releasing an immediately soaring Pidgeot. "Let's see how you handle this one!"

In response, Sean chose to release his most powerful Pokémon. "Ganymede…" he called out with a quite a bit less enthusiasm than the average trainer. The Seadra that took form before him balanced skillfully on its curled up tail, adeptly adjusting its elegant, wing-like fins for further stability.

"Ha…a Seadra… just one of those generic water-types you see all over the place, and out of its element, too! Quick attack!"

The Pidgeot swiftly dive bombed the seemingly prone Seadra, but didn't make contact with its target. Without Sean uttering a single command, Ganymede precipitated the attack, using its curled tail as a spring to eject itself out of the way and high into the air. From this dynamic, air-born position, it contorted its body to take exact aim at the flying Pidgeot and its golden-scaled core began to radiate a blue glow. Then, in no more than a fraction of a second, it shot a hyper-pressurized blast of water from its long snout, which hit the Pidgeot with intense force, knocking it out and causing it to fall to the ground trailing feathers from the blast's impact. Ganymede landed gracefully, assuming its original position as Sean withdrew it.

"Damn... I didn't expect a Hydro Pump like THAT, so sudden and without warning," the Pidgeot's owner withdrew it and approached the Seadra's trainer, ready to hand over the victor's earnings. Reaching into his pocket for money, he hesitated.

"Hang on. Do I know you? I feel like I've seen you somewhere before…"

"I don't know anybody. And put your money away. You need it more than I do."

And with that terse comment, not unlike something he had once been told by someone, Sean walked away with his hands in his pockets, consumed in his own thoughts, as he usually was. His dark-haired opponent looked on dumbfounded as his cash-filled hand was left hanging in the air, ignored.

"Pff... What an idiot! Turning down a winner's cash pot… Whatever. His loss. What a weirdo. I swear I've seen him before, though..."

Sean kept on walking, churning reflective thoughts throughout his head. What ever made him think this life was right for him? What meaning was there in it? Even if he carried through with his journey and was lucky enough to qualify for the Pokémon League and become champion, what would be the point? Being the best? Becoming famous? He never cared about such boastful accomplishments… Yet still he continued on the path of a Pokémon trainer with an automated arduousness, like a zombie.

Companionship. That was the one thing he thought fueled him. Forming bonds with his Pokémon partners, who by now had grown much stronger than they had ever been. All of them had evolved at least once, and had proven their abilities repeatedly in the battles that had earned seven badges now. Since the incredible incident which had led to Weiku evolving into a Ninetales, Fracture had become a Marowak, Harlequin was now a Haunter, and Ganymede had most recently evolved into Seadra. Sean cared deeply for them all, but it wasn't just Pokémon he had formed bonds with in his travels.

Sean stood still.

"Rayf… What ever made me think I could actually be someone's friend…?"

Chapter 2

The sun was still rising over the hill-side trail overlooking a lush valley, on which Sean walked until finally nearing a compact campsite where another young man in a long-sleeved black shirt with tied back raven black hair sat on a log before a small fire, his seemingly meditating Hypno, Traumellow, sitting cross-legged beside him.

"Hey, I missed you this morning," he hollered at Sean as he came up the trail. "I made some coffee, if you're interested. Where'd you hike off to so early?"

"Just to pick up a few groceries at a little country store," Sean answered plainly, putting a bag away in a tent behind them before joining Rayf at the fire, using a flat boulder as a chair. Noticing the worn metal coffee pot on the ground and the empty ceramic mug left so considerately beside it, he poured himself some coffee and sighed deeply while staring out over the expansive valley. As usual, he had a somewhat perplexed, serious expression, and, also as usual, Rayf appeared tranquil and relaxed.

"Nice morning."

"Yeah…" Sean responded strangely, almost with the rising pitch of a question.

Rayf focused his attention on his somewhat dazed friend, by now a well-practiced expert at studying Sean moods. In truth, he found an endearing amusement in observing and trying to figure out the trainer's vexing broodings. But his deeper motivation was a desire to unravel and break through his friend's perpetually distant nature. Despite how close they were, he couldn't help but feel like Sean was still always keeping part of himself hidden or bottled up. This kept Rayf curious and always trying to open up their relationship more if he could.

"Bet we'll get to Viridian by tonight if we start out early enough," he tried to coax more talk out of Sean.

"Maybe so…" Sean continued his vague and abbreviated speech.

Time to dig deeper, Rayf thought to himself. "Okay, what's got you so serious and aloof THIS time?" Rayf began the familiar investigation. "Something corporeal? Something intangible? Spiritual? Astral? Cryptic? Esoteric…?"

Sean couldn't help but smirk at the tongue-in-cheek implication of how pretentious and complicated he sometimes came off as being.

"Don't those last two mean kind of the same thing?"

Rayf raised an eyebrow at Sean. "There could never be too many different words to describe YOU, my eccentric friend."

They both laughed lightly, causing Traumellow to squint at them before returning to her close-eyed meditative state. After a moment of silence, Sean's expression began to revert to a serious one again.

"Rayf… back when we first met, you helped me through a terrible time when I thought I wasn't going to make it… your compassion was like a life vest in the ocean of my depression…"

Rayf looked more intently at Sean, who was gazing at the embers of the little fire as he spoke.

"… I'm glad I was able to help during such a trying time, haha… but you know, finding you was kind of a blessing for me, too. I haven't really met that many friends throughout the life I've led…"

"…"

"Is something wrong?"

"…Don't think I'm not grateful. You're the only person since I can remember who I've actually been close to, but… it's not a good thing, ultimately."

"What? What do you mean?"

Sean finally raised his vacant eyes to meet Rayf's. "Your saving me wasn't a good thing… because it just delayed the inevitable decay inside me that keeps me drifting toward oblivion…"

"What's gotten into you? I haven't ever heard you talk like this! Or… not in a long time, at least…"

"You can't save me. No one can."

"Just what are you talking about?!"

"I'm sorry… really I am…"

"Sean… please…"

"There isn't anything that can stop this… way I feel. I was never meant to be saved. Hell, I was never meant to live."

"Oh, come on now, stop talking like you have a terminal disease and are guilty for it! You've got your Pokémon to live for… and me? I really care about you!"

Sean turned his cold blue-gray eyes back to the valley. "… I wish I could know what it feels like…"

"Huh?"

"… I'm sorry, Rayf. I don't think I've ever felt any meaningful connection to anyone. It felt nice to be cared for by someone for a while… but like so many things with me, it's faded. I don't know why I was ever so… enchanted… so naïve thinking I ever had any handle on my own nature."

"…What are you trying to say…?"

"That I need to be on my own again, like before."

"But… don't—?"

"I'm thankful to you, Rayf. I really am. But your brilliance was wasted on me. In the end, I'm still unresponsive to any kind of sociality. We'll both be better off if we just part ways."

"But what is it that's making you say these things?! It's like something in you has changed suddenly…"

"Changed…? Hah… no, I've always been this way… Meeting you just made my old self go dormant for a while… for which I'm grateful. But Rayf… you brought me back to life at a time when I hated living… and unfortunately, that feeling still hasn't totally left me… It was only suppressed."

"What?!" Rayf took a tone of frustration and confusion, surprising Sean with sudden intensity. "So what are you saying?! That I saved you for nothing? You're just going to go off and let yourself give up on life again and act like I was just an insignificant bump on the road to your self-pity-soaked oblivion?! Have you just been leading me on, conveniently using me to lean on until your whim to self-destruct came back?!"

"No, it's not like that!" Sean uncharacteristically allowed his voice to rise for once. "It's not like any of it's on purpose! Don't think I have any control over it… Then again, if I can't understand myself, how can I expect YOU to…?"

Rayf's anger subsided as he saw the helplessness in Sean's expression.

"Tell me, just what's the point of living…? Of any of this?" Sean spread his hands in irritation. "Meaningless distractions as we all proceed down a road that leads to a universal and unavoidable death… I guess some people are more able to ignore it than others… but not me."

Rayf's voice now softened. "I don't think you know what you're saying… Regardless of the bad times… Sean… don't take for granted the moments of joy you've been able to experience in your life."

"…" Sean held his head in his hands, averting his eyes to the ground as a few sobbing sniffs could be heard from under his mop of curly hair. "… Joy… but what comes after the ecstasy of joy fades? What pervades and keeps persistently bashing against me, draining all of… everything away, until life itself becomes a hollow burden? It never changes! No matter how happy I am in temporary intervals, it all reduces back to that unbearable sensation of pointless, bland existence that simplifies my life to nothing more than an empty shell!"

Rayf was now eyeing Sean with considerable concern, which he soon noticed.

"I know what you're thinking… that I'm gonna turn all suicidal again, right? But you'd be mistaken. I'm past that now… I might still get depressed, but… I don't want to just run away from it and take the easy way out, like before."

"That's a good thing…" Rayf stated simply, but with emotion. He was finding it a bit hard to cover up the sadness in his voice after listening to his friend basically tell him that he felt no meaningful connection between the two of them, even after all they had been through together. "But... do you really think it would have been better if we had never crossed paths…?"

Sean sighed once again. "… No… I shouldn't have put it like that. It's not like you're nothing to me… it's just... I don't really know how to explain this… I was so completely alone before I met you that I… kind of adapted to living that way... Not ever having anyone around to care about, so I never learned how to care about anyone else and be a normal friend to anyone. It's sort of my default, natural state. And I feel like I need to go back to that now in order to find something out…"

"And what's that?"

"My life's… purpose and meaning… The reason I'm talking like this is that… this life… as a trainer… it hasn't meant anything to me. I don't feel any fulfillment in it, even after earning seven badges. It's time I went off on my own to figure out a different path… something I can find meaning in that'll give me reason to live."

Rayf was surprised initially, but then just smiled faintly. "Huh… and just one badge away… but that's just the way it goes sometimes, isn't it? It's okay. Sometimes one just has to drop everything and be alone to be able to reflect on and realize these kinds of things… one thing, though."

"Hm?"

"Despite not ever having learned how… you've been a good enough friend for me. I can't lie. I'm going to miss you a bit. "

There was a long silence as the two of them sat and listened to the dying fire, distant birds singing, and the rustling leaves of trees being swayed by the wind.

Chapter 3

"So this is farewell, huh?" Rayf reflected as the two stood at the edge of the camp, Sean with his backpack slung over one shoulder.

"Yeah, until the next time you rescue me from some new terrible situation I've gotten myself into, anyway… There're a lot of caves out there, ya know?"

"Heh… You didn't always have that sense of humor. And don't think that's the only way you've changed since I've known you!"

"Ah, spare me…" Sean waved a hand at Rayf.

"Hey, I'm serious!" Rayf gave Sean a hard pat on the shoulder. You've grown up a lot. You're a stronger person than you used to be, even if you won't admit it."

"Yeah? Well I owe a lot of it to you… I'll never forget you…"

"Now YOU spare ME!" Rayf quipped. "Just who's the sentimental one, here—?"

Before Rayf could say another word, Sean had embraced him in a tight hug, which Rayf soon returned.

"You sure about this?" Rayf asked softly. They finally parted as Sean let go.

"Yeah… I've thought it through. I need to do this."

"Well, then… I wish you all the luck in the world, old friend."

"Thanks. Same to you… See ya, Rayf."

And with that, Sean departed down the trail, leaving behind the only person he ever called a friend, to find a purpose he could live for.

Sean walked through the forest with an odd sense of peace, following an obscure, root-strewn trail that branched off the main one that most people followed. Any alternate routes that were less-traversed always held preference with him.

He didn't have the faintest clue of what to do next, or where to go. Despite that uncertainty, he felt relieved in a way. Relief that he still had his Pokémon with him and had abandoned the violent trainer life of making them battle. Still… the struggle to find himself would persist. At least he knew one thing he DIDN'T want to pursue now. Ruling out one thing was better than nothing.

The part of the forest he now found himself in had an especially thick tree canopy and there was dense foliage on both sides of the narrow trail. This made it dim, despite it being the middle of the day, and Sean noted the dank, close air and the old moss and fungi growing on huge, weathered tree trunks and splintered stumps.

At some point, he began to feel his muscles growing increasingly weary of the simple motion of walking. Even at the slow pace he kept, his legs felt unusual strain after each step, and a light-headed haze began to engulf and dull all of his senses. He could swear that everything around him looked fuzzy somehow, as if there was something in the air obscuring everything, but he felt far too sapped of energy to inspect any strange things in the area that could be related to this development. An exponentially increasing urge to just lie down where he was and go to sleep was becoming almost impossible to resist. This was the last conscious thought he had before his body gave in and he was knocked out, falling to his knees, and then collapsing, face flat to the forest floor, as a deep sleep finally overcame him. A few moments later, a previously unseen woman, dressed formally in a gray suit, stepped out of the thick bushes onto the trail and stood over him. She was of average stature, with hazel eyes and sandy blond hair that was neatly tied back, save for a few strands left loose.

"Well, his decision to travel alone certainly simplified our errand. Come down, Tendrear."

An also previously unseen Tangela began to descend from the thick tree canopy where it had been completely hidden, using two vines attached to branches above to lower itself down to the forest floor like an elevator. Once on the ground, it reeled in the incredibly long, prehensile vines back into the tangled mass of blue vines that seemed to make up its entire body, save for two eyes obscured in the tangles and the two feet it stood on.

The woman smiled faintly at the Tangela. "I think we may have chemically perfected your sleep powder, finally. Remember back when it didn't take effect so stealthily?"

The odd creature responded with an indescribable, high-pitched trilling noise that seemed to echo out of the vines.

She then kneeled down to turn Sean over and search his pockets, pulling out six Poké Balls. "Okay, start on your way back with him. I'll be right behind you after I make sure we aren't being followed."

Tendrear then extended several long vines which slithered and grasped around Sean's body and limbs and proceeded to raise him up above its self before walking off into the woods with him, leaving its master behind.

The mysterious woman cradled an elbow in one hand and thoughtfully held her chin in the other. "I'll do anything I can to assist you in your work, but… I do wonder sometimes…"

Stage 1: Roots

"Honey… why did you do that to the Rattata we gave you? Did it bite you…? Or was it an accident?"

A young boy stood in front of his kneeling mother, looking up at her with innocent eyes.

"No… nothing like that… I just… I just felt like it!"

His mother flinched in disturbance. "Wha… What? You felt like it?!"

"Yeah! I just wanted to see it dying. So I did it!"

His mother stood up and turned around, hiding her expression. "Oh, I see… you felt like it… so you did it…" Her voice was dazed and hollow.

The boy cocked his head in confusion. "Did I do something bad…?" His mother turned around, her composure regained.

"No… no, don't worry about a thing. Go on and keep playing now. It's a beautiful day!"

"Okay!" The boy ran off without a care in the world to continue playing, as his mother suggested.

...

"Paging student Shamus Inkina… Shamus Inkina, would you please report to the principal's office at once…" The monotone voice resounded all over the school via the intercom.

"Inkina again…?"

"What's wrong with that kid?"

"I heard he's, like, mental or something…"

The voices of gossiping students surrounded the one called to the principal's office as he walked calmly on his way to a place that wasn't unfamiliar to him, the white dress shirt of his school uniform casually untucked and the top buttons left open. His dark, shoulder-length hair was left messy and wild, and had an odd natural brown highlight running through it. Completely unconcerned with his informal appearance, he even wore a confident smirk as he walked into the room and eased into the chair facing the principal's desk, crossing his legs. The principal regarded him with an odd mixture of familiar boredom and wary alarm.

"… Inkina… as always, I'm sure you know why you're here."

"Yeah, I guess," the student answered without the faintest bit of repent. "That kid had it coming, though. Too bad what I started on him is frowned upon in this institution. I really think I could have been on to something big…"

The principal stood up suddenly and loudly slammed his hands on the desk. "Inkina! I've seen some outrageous and egregious pranks and stunts pulled by blockheads attending this school in my time here, but this is unprecedented! And from a student whose academic performance has been unparalleled by the rest of his peers!"

The scolded student barely showed any reaction.

"Your fellow students are NOT to be used as subjects in your dangerous, perverse, and sadistic experiments, young man!"

"Yeah, yeah… look, this isn't the first time I've been lectured like this. Let's get to the point already. Are you going to expel me, or not?"

"Ugh… in this case I don't think I have a choice," the principal was taken aback by the student's complete lack of regret and guilt. "Such a waste…why would such a brilliant mind choose to misuse science in such a manner…"

Inkina stood up and placed his hands on the principal's desk, peering over at him until he was uncomfortably close.

"Because science doesn't have a thing to do with 'misuse,' heheheh!" he laughed with frivolity. "It's all about the resultant discovery of the experimentation! What else could matter?"

The principal hung his head in his hand in futility. "… In any case… I don't think you'll be able to get out of this one… you'll likely have to leave this school for good…"

Inkina was completely unaffected by this judgement. "Pshh… So what? I've already been through three schools before this one. I'll just get enrolled someplace else, like always."

"Oh… I see…"

The student turned around and walked out of the office with the same indifference he had upon entering, not humbled or unnerved in the slightest.

...

A soft knock on the door attained the attention of the suit-clad man within as he was perusing some extensive paperwork.

"Come in," he granted entrance in a distracted tone. The woman who entered wore a white lab coat and angular glasses, and her long blond hair was held up in a bun.

"Ah… Prof. Shiare. Can I assume you're come on behalf of your dear colleague, Dr. Inkina?"

Shiare walked up to the man's desk with reluctant purpose.

"Y… yes… I've come to defend his recent… antics. I know he's been pushing his luck with the latest unauthorized expiriments, but…"

"Ms. Shiare, it's quite clear to everyone here that you've been an avid admirer of his research for some time now," the man answered her with foreboding awareness. "Do you really think my handling of this matter could be swayed by such a biased person?"

The woman who stood before him collapsed her stare to the ground in desperation. "Please… don't just cut him off from everything he's been working on… there's so much more he has yet to discover!"

The man held his head in one hand in regret, but was ultimately unmoved. "Believe me, it grieves me to have to cut ties with such a brilliant scientist who has made so much progress for this company… even more so considering how far we go back…"

"Then why-!"

"He's a loose cannon. We can't have tolerance for the wild actions of a sociopath, no matter how progressive his work may be."

"… I… see…"

"Don't fret, Shiare. After all, we'll still have you. You've learned quite a lot under Inkina's wing, haven't you? His genius can live on in you. Make it your mission to carry on his research if he himself is unfit to do so." There was an unnerving easiness in the man's calm tone.

"But… it won't be the same…"

"No matter. We'll have to make due without him. But I have confidence in you. You should have more opportunistic ambition, Shiare. This is your chance to achieve what could have been Inkina's glory, had he not lost his mind… or rather, had he EVER had control of it…"

"… Very well, sir… I won't let you down."

Chapter 4

All was blackness.

Then it returned. After such a long absence, it came back.

But this was different than before.

The shapes didn't come in a sudden rush and leave just as suddenly, as they always had.

No.

They faded insidiously into his mind, taking their time, as if they could sense a comfortable security in their newly-allowed presence.

Sean had almost forgotten the way the dreaded fabric of jagged, intertwined shapes had grated against his very consciousness.

"… Hng, hng, hng, ngf…" An otherworldly laughter began to echo throughout the horrible space he was trapped in, trickling into his head like a poisonous liquid.

"What?!"

The source of the laughing now took on a clear and terribly vivid tone. It wasn't a human voice, but still it could be understood. Sean felt paralyzed to do anything but remain frozen amongst the unnerving background the disturbing vision and listen.

"Oh, that's really heartwarming, isn't it? You really don't know what you're dealing with, do you? Senseless cruelty… pointless digression… when will you learn…? You don't have control anymore. Eyeryone and everything you thought was even slightly stable… it's all going to turn on you… the truth won't repent… you'll have to face it and come to terms with the impossible ideal once you leave your realm. Tear out your form and thread the real force that drove you here… then tell your story anew… something won't let you light a different torch, and its resistance grates in you like a thorn-studded gate. Bash against it and sip your blood… someday you'll taste a difference and savor the pain of delusion… there isn't any way to avoidance, the sanctuary that wards off the ever-flowing source… Come to terms with the delusion of hope, and you may find a temporal glitch that allows a vain route to ignorance. But you'll never escape the dour discovery that I am eternal, everlasting beyond your shallow husk… drawn to the ends of oblivion by a destiny that overshadows celestial bounds. You know nothing, yet host everything…"

"Aaiuughh!" Sean awoke from the nightmare of the unseen demon's speech with a stunned scream that startled himself. He had never had the experience of waking up screaming in terror, and the physical reality he woke up to did little to set his mind at ease.

Movement of his limbs was impossible, and he couldn't even raise is head from the thing he now rested on. Some kind of bands held his legs, arms, and neck fast to the hard surface, and the natural inclination to sit up and survey his surroundings was completely subdued. Opening his eyes, he was blinded by a sterile white light that was so bright he had to almost completely shut his eyes again. Considering the demonic speech he had heard in his mind a moment ago and the reality he had awoken to, only three words came to mind. "WHAT. THE. ^* $!"

"Hmhmhmph," Yet more laughter. But this sounded human. Albeit, animalistic in its wild, high-pitched tone.

"Already so unnerved. A bit premature, though, considering we haven't even done a thing… YET, hahah... But oh, I'm so glad! You've finally regained consciousness…" A brazen male voice reverberated throughout the space he was confined in, close to him, but from a source invisible to his restricted vision.

"Who is it? And why am I restricted like this?!" Sean quarried nervously.

"Who… No. What. What am I…? I am science. And you are the subject," the voice spoke with a malicious, calculating glee.

Unable to process this odd response, Sean remained silent.

"It's been so long since I've come across a subject like you. Or have I ever…? And I already had that impression before even seeing you. And now… oh, what a perfect specimen!" The voice exclaimed in an excitement that was now annoying Sean with its indifference to his current plight.

"Alright, cut the crap. What's going on here, and why the hell do you keep calling me 'subject' and 'specimen?'"

"Trying to gather information isn't your function, is it? No. Rather, it's mine. That is my purpose. My reason for being," the voice answered frivolously. "But don't worry. We'll begin soon. Very soon. Yes, I'm too anxious to wait much longer, anyways."

"…" Sean was now past the point of trying to reason with this person. It seemed like he was dealing with someone who was a bit mentally unstable, and he was in a position of total vulnerability. What could he do? And what was this person planning on doing to him? Then footsteps began to move closer. The figure finally hovered over his limited area of vision, partially blocking the light which had nearly blinded him, and he saw his captor. The man seemed to be wearing a worn white lab coat and had long black hair which extended well below his shoulders, highlighted with an odd streak of brown. But the most unusual trait was his eyes. They were a strange green color, and seemed to alternate between lighting up with a strange glow and then becoming dark and dim, like the flickering of some kind of malfunctioning machine.

"I do wonder what sort of results I'll get from you, my dear," the strange man mused, laughing in that strange tone once again.

"Who are you?!" Sean asked in a now somewhat frightened confusion.

The man's expression became even more amused and thoughtful. "Who… You know, I used to ask that, too. Who… hmph. It doesn't really matter that much, though, does it?"

"Huh?"

"In terms of science, I mean. Scientist and subject. Question and answer. Action and result. Sadist and victim. What difference does anything make? I gave up on such philosophical drivel a long time ago."

Sean was once again left speechless.

"Do you know how rare it is? A human surviving such psychological trauma as you have and being able to tell about it, or even recount it, in intelligible terms… Ah, but I digress into a field that's beyond you…"

"Huhngph?" Sean flinched in wonder.

"But enough of this. You've distracted me long enough, you clever little thing. It's time to get down to business."

The man then raised a hand which held a syringe, gradually moving it closer and closer to Sean's upper forearm.

Fears and negative feelings began to rush into his memory. He remembered the one and only time during his youth in which he had been terribly sick and had his blood drawn to flesh out his diagnosis. He remembered the sensation of a cold needle entering his arm, and of growing light-headed and uneasy, fainting as his blood was drained for the necessary analysis.

"No! Get that away from me! Keep all your needles away!" Sean exclaimed in sudden panic. His past experience with needles had made him especially afraid of them.

"Oh…?" his captor delayed the motion in delighted intrigue. "Dear me… is my little specimen really so fearful of my drawing of a little blood sample?"

"You... just keep that away from me… I can't… please, don't…"

The cruel man only cocked his head at Sean in entertainment before resuming his initial movement with the syringe. "It IS adorable, your begging. But I'm afraid this is necessary. Yes, quite necessary," he said while inspecting the syringe. Then he focused his attention on his victim, his expression taking on a demonic grin. "Though I do appreciate how easy it is to spot the vain of such a thin little waif as you! Here it comes, now! Ready or not!" The cold needle entered the clearly visible vain in the crook of Sean's thin arm.

"Ughph…!" Soon after the dreaded pricking sensation, Sean began to feel light-headed, and his limited vision began spinning and churning in a psychotic kaleidoscope of fading reality. All then turned black and he lost consciousness.

"Hahahahahaah!" The culprit of his fainting cackled whilst walking away with Sean's blood sample. "Such a fragile boy you are! But truly a remarkable specimen you'll prove to be, I think. What fun we'll have!"

Sean was left unconscious, still restrained, and deeply disturbed by being placed at the mercy of some kind of monster whose insanity he only had a shallow understanding of…

Stage 2: Intermediacy

Rays of light from the waning afternoon sun cast a partial spotlight through the window, shining on a pile of textbooks and notebooks on a table in the otherwise dim interior of a room in the Inkina mansion. The sunlight also illuminated an empty brown beer bottle and, next to it, a pint glass about a quarter-full of a pitch-black stout so dark that no sunlight penetrated through it at all. Sitting slouched back in a chair before the books and glass sat an unkempt young man with wild dark hair tied back messily, staring into space with strangely vacant green eyes.

A woman with blond hair and dressed formally in a gray suit entered the room quietly and stopped a distance from the young man, noticing his strange trance.

"Mori… I didn't see you there," he finally spoke. The woman now noticed that his vacant eyes were red and glistening with tears. "I was just thinking about something… that's been bothering me for a long time now."

"… Sir?"

"Do you know why I decided to go into science?"

Mori remained silent during his pause.

"Because I have a thirst for knowing why things are the way they are," he answered his own question in a shaky voice, grasping his glass and downing its remaining viscous, black liquid. "No, maybe it's not just a thirst. Maybe it's a critical deficiency. But you know what the real kicker is…?"

Mori again remained silent, wearing an expression of sorrow and concern as she listened.

"No matter how well I master all the sciences in the world that explain every little significant AND insignificant thing in this world… it seems the mystery that gnaws on me exponentially more than anything else is never going to be within the reach of my ability."

"Sir, you've been working in here since morning… Won't you—"

"Why am I here, Mori?" Inkina asked with a chillingly foreboding tone. Mori didn't know how to process the strange and vague question. "Why are any of us… HERE…?" he extended his fingers before his own eyes as if he was studying some strange alien artifact.

"Sir, I prepared dinner, if you'd care to—"

Mori was cut off as Inkina violently threw his glass to the floor, shattering it completely. "Why… I'm going to die someday. Everything that lives is going to die… SO WHY DO WE ALL EXIST IN THIS POINTLESS CYCLE OF EVANESCENT EXISTENCE!?"

His voice had escalated into a frenzied rave, and Mori couldn't say anything to calm him.

"I know…" he continued with a calmer but uneasy composure. "I know only what I can feel… utter torment. A flawless maze of mindless vexation. Divine, is it not? A madness stoked by the deceptively empty silence of total ignorance."

"Please, Shamus—"

"Shut up! How many times have I told you not to address me like that?!" Inkina held his head in his hands, seemingly withdrawing after lashing out at Mori. "It's not enough! This thing called 'existence,' this automated animation that people call 'life'… no… there has to be something more… WHAT IS IT?! WHY DO WE EXIST? WHAT IS LIFE'S EXCUSE FOR THIS PERPETUAL, TEDIOUS TRIAL OF TORTUOUS ENDURANCE?!"

"… I…"

"People, like all organisms, live, and then die. Their replicated offspring live, and then die as well. Life begets further life indefinitely, but death DEFINITELY. So why don't we all just walk off a cliff and save some time, hmn…?"

Mori had now suppressed her concern and confusion, taking on her usual collected composure. She knew from experience that there was no use talking to him when he was like this. As much as she hated seeing him in these nihilistic moods, she knew he would be more at peace if left alone. If there was one thing she had learned about him over the years, it was that he was socially incompatible with everything alive except himself, always bound to be appeased by the departure of anyone who happened to be in his vicinity. Solitude was his pacifier.

"Accept my apologies for the interruption, sir," she bowed slightly before exiting, leaving Inkina to continue seething away in the more reserved state he had been in before noticing her presence.

Chapter 5

Sitting in a swing on a deserted playground, a not quite human figure swayed slightly and slowly to and fro, deep in thought. A sharp horn on his forehead parted deep green hair, and spines lined down his spine poked out the back of his frayed shirt, which draped open in front, showing speckled violet skin. Gwyn had made up his mind about what path he would now take. This was just one last return to the nostalgic and untroubled past before the possibly fatal impending storm that was soon to be stirred up. That brash girl… always standing up for such a wimpy and unpopular kid like him… why would anyone…?

"I thought I might find you here if I checked every once in a while…" A familiar voice brought the person he had been thinking of surprisingly into the present. With incredible speed, he immediately sprung out of the swing and took a poised stance of action to face the voice's source, now accustomed to responding to any human presence with the instant preparation for combat or retreat. The person who had spoke stepped out of the thick bushes near the swing, stopping at a comfortable distance from where Gwyn had been sitting.

"You… So you came looking for me," Gwyn's alarm relaxed somewhat as he recognized the young woman's wild brown hair and heavily worn, frayed jeans.

"Gwyn… why did you take off on your own…? You know I would have done anything I could to have helped you."

"No… nothing is the same now, Iris. I'm not the same kid you helped all those times, and I've learned to get by on my own like this. I didn't have a choice."

"But…-?"

"But nothing! Don't try to involve yourself with me anymore! You can't just bail me out now. I'm an atrocity… and I'm ready to throw away everything to attain a shred of info about why this was done to me or even just to discover the culprit for it all! And to make them pay…"

"Stop that, Gwyn! Don't just forget about your own life and act like it's all over… you shouldn't be so reckless just for the sake of your current desperation!"

"Current…" Gwyn uttered with contempt. He looked down to the ground, his hair obscuring his eyes in darkness. "Don't you mean ETERAL desperation?! Just what kind of future do you foresee for a $^&#*! % freak like me, Iris?! Aside from becoming some kind of circus freak? You think I actually have a future!? No… Not any future I've an attachment to. I have nothing to lose, so don't question how I decide to throw it away!"

Iris stared at her old friend with a mixture of helplessness and pity. "Then… is there nothing I can do to help now...?'
Gwyn eyed her with a strange coldness. "I'm afraid not."

"I see… then just promise me one thing, Gwyn."

"Hmm…?"

"That you make whoever did this to you pay dearly for it. I feel sick knowing someone got away with…" clenching her fist, she sighed and paused to regain her composure. "You know you can always come to me if you need help with anything... Now just go and get on with it, you punk."

For the first time in years, Gwyn smirked slightly, moved by his childhood protector's words. He turned and walked away, more determined than before to carry out his original intent.

Chapter 6

"… hmphhmphhmphg…" An insidious laughter echoed throughout his mind.

"…?..."

"Hahhaah! Your ignorance… So innocent…"

Not again, Sean thought to himself as the familiar jagged scenery asserted itself in his mind once again. "Show yourself! I'm tired of not knowing who's doing this to me!"

"Oh?!" The inhuman voice echoed throughout his consciousness with more amplitude than ever before. "So you're finally ready to acknowledge my impending rule? You may know more than I thought. But I must ask you, my host and sacrifice… are you ready to throw your soul into an abysmal pit of razor-sharp thorns of respite and regret, all for the sake of reducing your own inevitable agony-soaked oblivion?!" the voice became increasingly fervent with a desperate rage as it spoke.

"What… What are you talking about…?" Sean had no inkling of what matters this strange being referenced.

"So I assumed too much. You really are still that ignorant and innocent. Then let me simply give you this one inquiry for the time being: if given the opportunity, would you condemn another soul dear to you in order to fend off an inescapable fate of unimaginable horror, if it meant freeing yourself of such a torment?"

Sean couldn't fathom the gravity of the strange question, but sensed an unspoken implication. "Who… who are you referencing? Is it Rayf?! Is it?! How do you know about him?! And what 'fate' are you trying to threaten me with?!"

"Hmhmhmph…" the voice sneered again. "Worry not. You'll find out. And when the truth reveals itself, a moment of clarity will engulf you before the end…" The voice echoed throughout the infinite space and faded into a disturbing silence.

Reality drew Sean back to his physical conundrum. He awoke groggily to his worrisome position, restrained in an unknown place and at the mercy of a madman. His movement and vision were still restricted, and everything was silent. But one thing was different. It seemed dimmer. He no longer had to squint in the harsh light that had nearly blinded him before. But the immediate anxiety of what his detainer had in store for him returned. Why on earth would someone be doing this to him? And how had he been abducted and taken to this place? Could it really just be the random coincidence of being victim to a total psycho? There were too many questions that were impossible to answer for. Then he heard the creaking of a door in the room opening. Deliberately gradual footsteps began moving closer to him, their source remaining silent.

"Ahhhh, so VERY interesting…" the person's voice exhaled in a relaxed serpentine, semi-whispered tone. "I understand… a little more now… but there's still more…"

Sean felt a strange sense of discomfort as the footsteps inched closer and source of the voice approached him.

"Who's there?! What do you want from me?!"

"… What I want… huh… as if desire ever had a thing to do with it all…"

"Huh?" Sean was growing increasingly uncomfortable with the situation. The steps then came within inches of him, but he still couldn't see anyone.

"Tell me, my specimen, are you… afraid?"

"… I… just want to know what this is about."

"It's about you. Don't you know? How special you are…?" The man speaking then leaned over Sean's ever-limited vision and he saw the same figure from before of a lab coat-clad man with long black hair highlighted by an odd brown streak. But his expression was different than earlier. He looked possessed with an anxiousness that was at once both excited and disturbed. "In due time, I'm going to show you what you really mean… and why this is all necessary…"

Sean looked both confused and fearful.

"You really don't know yet, do you? Oh, how I wish I could show you what's really inside you… maybe I can in some way…"

Sean felt his belt being loosened and his jeans sliding down his legs.

"Wait, what are you doing?!"

"Don't fret, now. This won't cause you any more discomfort than the blood sample I took earlier… or maybe that's just my perception of it, hahahah!"

What took place next was beyond anything Sean could have been prepared for. He could only scream to himself in his mind for the one person he had ever taken comfort in seeking solace in.

Chapter 7

Pokémon Tower cast a long, wide shadow as the sun set over the town of Lavender, two people meeting at its ancient base.

"Hey there, Rayf. It's been a while." A young woman with flowing red hair and dressed in a pale blue sweater and jeans greeted Rayf as he neared the tower's entrance where she waited.

"Raili! It's been so long! Hope you're doing well!" Rayf retained his usual cheer. "So what's going on? What did you want to talk to me about?"

Raili's initial smile faded. "It's about Sean."

"Sean? What about him?"

"There's something that's been weighing heavy on my mind lately… something I knew from the moment I met him, but which I kept to myself throughout that entire ordeal with the abducted Vulpix. You're the only one who has kept in touch with him since that incident, and so I decided it was important for you to know what I do. Besides that, something's changed since you two separated. He could be in danger."

"What… danger? What do you know about him?"

"Follow me," Raili said as she pushed open the heavy doors of Pokémon Tower and gestured for Rayf to follow her inside. "If you want to know of what I speak, then it goes in hand that you see what my clan has kept secret for centuries."

"… ungh… okay," Rayf followed Raili into the tower's dark interior with reluctant uncertainty.

The floor level's interior was dim, with only the waning light of the setting sun illuminating the large space through the few windows at the building's front. The damp, dank air could immediately be discerned from the fresh air outside. He walked after his host as she led him across the indoor Pokémon graveyard they now weaved through.

"So… your clan, huh? I don't remember you ever mentioning anything like that back then. Are you part of some special family or something?"

There was a moment of aloof silence before the response. "You could say that. Yes… a special family, I guess…" Her dazed answer trailed off as she stopped at what seemed to be a dead end across from the entrance, where a dark patch of ground stood bare of any of the graves which were scattered around the rest of the area. Then to Rayf's surprise, she reached down and grabbed an indent he hadn't noticed in the floor, lifting a square-shaped area to reveal a trap door with steep stairs leading down underground.

"Down here," his guide mechanically directed him as she descended down the stairs. "I'll explain everything down here."

"Uhh… okay…" Rayf continued to follow, curious to know what he had yet to be divulged of.

As they rapidly descended the equivalent of about two or three floors below Pokémon Tower's base level, a torch could be seen at the bottom of the stairs, lighting the way to a portal to some sort of chamber. The walls were bare dirt, and the musty smell was more prominent than above. Upon following Raili into the hidden chamber, Rayf stood in awe of what he beheld. The fairly small room was lit by two more torches at its far end which were situated in the corners to illuminate a massive stone tablet embedded in the earthen wall. Engraved in the stone was an elaborate relief depicting what appeared to be a human figure drawing a blade or spear into its own body, kneeling prostrate before some sort of demon-like monstrosity which the whole piece was centered on.

"… What… is this?"

"It's what I first feared has been responsible for Sean's… visions. The Gastly I gave him isn't ordinary; I had a special connection to it since youth, and through it, I've been able to psychically monitor the cause of his psychological trauma. I gave him that ghost because I feared that the worst had come to manifest itself… that my clan's nemesis had been unknowingly accepted by him… as a host."

Rayf was beyond confused. "Wait, what?! Clan? Nemesis?! I feel like you're leaving me seriously out of context here! Can you give me a shred of background?"

Raili was embarrassed for getting so ahead of herself. "Sorry… it's all been so familiar to me for so long that I take it for granted… My clan… I'm a descendent of a centuries-old people which struggled against a terrible demon which once terrorized all the ancient world, bringing chaos and ruin to every corner of this planet. Shadridine… that's the name my ancestors gave it. They were shamans, alchemists, and savants, my ancestors… Long trained and studied in the ways and methods of warding off evil spirits and entities. But Shadridine… was unlike anything any of them had ever encountered. Corporeal… spiritual… dread. All-ecompassing dread. That was all anyone could equate the being with. Legend says that in the mountains looming over what is now Lavender, somehow, a clan of shamans discovered a way to imprison Shadridine, skillfully detaining its raging spirit and destroying its physical presence on this plane by withdrawing its spirit from its body and completely locking it from manifestation on this earth…unless certain nigh-unfeasible conditions are met… "

Rayf was struggling to keep up with this fantastic story, but followed along as best he could. "Conditions… for the revival of this thing…?"

"Yes. When it was sealed away, its power was divided into two artifacts, one of which you see around my neck," Raili held up the strange obsidian claw that she had always worn at the end of her necklace."

"So that's what that thing is…"

"Yes. And the legend says that Shadridine can only once again take form in this world if the two artifacts are brought together at the site where its body was sealed, and united with the willing host of its manifestation. Only then can its full power be reunited and realized."

"So just where IS that? And where is the second artifact? And what do you mean by willing host? Rayf was just getting more and more confused.

"Hold on and just let me explain!" Raili seemed to show some rare impatience with her listener's anxious curiosity. "The place where Shadridine was sealed away is supposedly on a remote island to the north, across the ocean beyond the northern coast of Cerulean City. And the other artifact… was entrusted to my big sister… Renith."

"You have a sister?!" Rayf interjected in surprise.

"Yes. She and I are my clan's sole descendents. We were entrusted with the responsibility of guarding Shadridine's legacy… and with preventing its impending return. However… Renith, who was entrusted with the other artifact, has been missing for the last seven years. I've remained here since, honoring the duties of our family on my own."

"What a burden…" Rayf now began to comprehend the reason behind Raili's serious bearing.

"And regarding the matter of will…" Raili seemed to grow more uncomfortable as she continued. "It has long been believed among our order that Shadridine's spiritual body was drawn to the artifacts in which its power was sealed, and thus took occupancy in the mountains above Lavender, the hiding place nearest to the clan which held possession of those essential artifacts. An intermediate condition is required for the reunion of the monster with the power in those objects… the possession of a human host… specifically one who willingly renounces his or her claim to the gift of life."

Rayf was stunned as it all hit him at once. Sean's attack in the caves… his intention to throw his life away… what had he really done? "You mean… you think Sean invited this demon into himself? That such a being is what caused his nightmarish visions?!"

"… Correct," Raili actually seemed slightly relieved to have finally revealed the grave secret she had kept to herself for so very long. "As I said before, Harlequin isn't any ordinary ghost Pokémon. Besides sharing a deep psychic connection with me, she also has the power to suppress other spiritual entities. That's why I gave her to Sean… as a precaution in case I had finally come face to face with my family's ancient enemy. Seeing how helpless Sean was after the psychological trauma he suffered in Rock Tunnel… I wanted to do whatever I could to protect him and help him cope with his mental scarring… whether it was just from a Gengar, or something more… And the fact that his visions quieted so suddenly after I gave him Harlequin is evidence to me that he wasn't simply plagued by some post-traumatic, mental shell-shock; I believe he encountered a malevolence in those caves and that it took possession of his anguished mind. A devious entity that Harlequin was able to suppress… while it's dormant, at least."

"But… Harlequin's power to suppress…" Rayf was beginning to put things together. "Does that mean that without Harlequin guarding over him, a spirit within him could be let loose?!"

Raili smiled slightly at Rayf. "You catch on quick. Yes… if Shadridine is indeed within him, then its subtle presence within his mind could suddenly be allowed to run rampant in the case that Harlequin was ever separated from him. Think of a dam suddenly being breached by a raging river. There's no telling what the demon could do to his psyche when completely unleashed."

"No way…" Rayf was momentarily stunned, but then came to his senses abruptly. "Then we have to warn him! We have to make sure he knows, and do something about this! Raili!"

Raili sighed deeply. "I'm afraid it's too late for that. I've already sensed their separation. I don't know the circumstances, but I can tell you that Sean is no longer under Harlequin's guard. And without her, there's no telling how the demon within may terrorize him."

Rayf was in disbelief. "This can't be real… what's going to happen to him…?"

"It's my fault. I should have recognized this sooner…" Raili tried to shoulder the blame. "I wonder… Renith…"

Chapter 8

Long strands of wavy, dark crimson hair fluttered in the wind above the flowing fringes of a black trench coat. The tall woman to whom they belonged stared pensively with deep blue eyes out over the city from the building top, her hands in her coat pockets. Under the trench coat she wore dark, loose-fitting jeans and a violet blouse, and a strange blood ruby orb hung from around her neck.

"What do you think, Merix? I'd say we've given our dear professor enough time by now. Time to get on with seizing this world by the neck, don't you think?"

Her addressee stepped forward to her side. He was tall as well, thin and lanky, but fit, with fair, light blond, almost white hair that hung just over his ears. His eyes were an unusual dark red, and he was dressed somewhat simply in black leather pants and a sleeveless white shirt.

"Yes, I think we've provided ample time," he answered in an icy, airy voice that almost sounded like a loud whisper.

"Hmmph… I still wonder about that Inkina. Why would he have offered to capture and study that boy, and turn him over to us afterwards… all for free? I don't quite understand his motives. What's in it for him?"

Merix retained a stony expression and tone as he responded. "Don't forget, Renith… that there are those in this world that value… different, atypical things… unimaginable things that no one besides themselves can comprehend."

Renith let out a greatly amused chuckle. "Oh, how true! You really have a broad perspective, my friend. THAT one definitely gets his kicks by atypical means…"

Merix turned his cold gaze from the view to his partner. "I'm more concerned with the other artifact. Can you really be so sure that your sister will make her way to us at the temple when the time comes…?

Renith placed a condescending hand on his shoulder. "Now really, pal. Really? You still doubt me? Believe me… I know Raili like only a big sister can. There's absolutely no need whatsoever to seek her out and take her half by force," she looked down and took hold of the garnet orb at the end of her necklace. "If we take our sacrifice to the site, she'll follow and bring her piece right to where we want it, without fail."

"… I trust you… I just want to use the utmost caution. Concerning what's at stake, it would be foolish to do otherwise."

"Hahaah! You really haven't changed since you were a kid. Still a chronic worrier. You gotta get over it, though. When you get flooded with anxiety, it makes you screw up."

Merix seemed a little embarrassed. "Yeah… I know. Sorry."

Just relax, my dear Merix. Try to enjoy this elaborate game we're playing. You'll see by the time it's all over…" Renith got an unworldly look in her eyes. "… The inevitable and magnetic nature of power, to bring together its would-be detainers as well as its seekers."

Chapter 9

Gwyn crept quietly through the trash-strewn, deserted alley, as if he didn't even want to be noticed by a rat. It was past midnight, and a steady rain endlessly dampened the darkness that only an occasional city lamp out on the main street illuminated.

"The Ziraxis Building in Celadon," he mumbled to himself. "That's what that pathetic lackey told me… then again, he probably would have made up just about anything to remove my horn from his throat… heh… what a worm." Gwyn thought back to what his temporary hostage told him with both disgust and skepticism, but what choice did he have but to investigate the clue? Of all the people he had recklessly and relentlessly sought out and interrogated with violence and threats, this was his most feasible lead.

He didn't care about the trail of chaos and pain he left behind him. If he had to threaten, or even kill, to discover why his life had been stolen from him and mutated into an abomination, so be it. He would discover who was responsible. And he would demand to know the reason why it was done, and reap his vengeance. This was all he lived for anymore. What else COULD he live for? After the unimaginable pain and torture… after the measured grind of the scientific dissolution of his humanity, and being subject to the unmentionable, horrific inclinations of his captor for all those years, how could ANYTHING impede his search for a grain of reason… or even just a slight suggestion… for WHY this fate had befallen him? There was no need for this desire for vindication to consume him. The reality of what he had endured was enough on its own to consume him. He had long been past the point when trauma-induced numbness had rendered his morality null. NO one else in the world could possibly relate to him. His experiences of torment were exceptional, and no sympathizer existed who could temper his raging thirst for blood. Someone would answer dearly for the intensity of this one soul's suffering. He would throw all of his being at this one intent to avenge a virtual death that he had already accepted with bitter, long-dried tears.

Gwyn now approached the building his contact had directed him to: the headquarters of Ziraxis Research Industries, the company recognized by trainers as the main manufacturer of the drugs used to heighten the battle abilities of Pokémon. The building towered high into the rain-drenched night sky, the windows of its countless floors fading into the night as Gwyn stared up toward the top of the building.

"The creators of the drugs used to enhance Pokémon in battle," Gwyn thought to himself. "Seems you might have something else to answer for… Let's see if you have any nasty little company secrets that can explain the freak that's about to break in to your headquarters."

Gwyn snooped around the perimeter of the building like a predator studying its prey. He noticed a series of stairs in an alley zig-zagging up a good half of the building.

"Hmm… the fire escape, huh? It'll get me part of the way up there, but I know I'll need to get higher to get what I'm after."

Gwyn ascended the creaky metal-framed staircase with maximum caution, using all the careful stealth he could muster to minimize the noise of his trespass. Upon reaching the top, he was faced with a sturdy metal door which was securely locked from the inside. He was clearly going to have to break through the section of window to the side of the door if he was serious about infiltrating this place. He took a deep breath, preparing to undertake a decidedly illegal action which was quite unlike him to commit. But it was necessary now. No holding back. With a visceral, savage, but precise motion, he carved out a circular portion of the glass with the razor-sharp horn on his forehead. As the circle was completed, the encircled area of glass fell outward cleanly, and Gwyn caught it and lay it gently down on the grating he stood on. He slipped through the opening and surveyed the dim, shadowy interior: he had broken into an office cubicle; to his left was the main hallway, and above him he noticed a vent which likely circulated air throughout the entire building.
"Man, would I hate to be the ass-kissing prick who works in this cubicle and answers to some stiff, narcissistic boss," Gwyn thought to himself. He quickly dismissed the prospect of proceeding through the hallway, as a place like this undoubtedly was monitored day and night by surveillance cameras. No, his path was through the ventilation system above him. Balanced atop the computer chair that was at the desk, he removed the vent and jumped up into the ventilation duct, entering the tunnel which he hoped could lead him to the higher floors. Crawling through the duct on his chest, he was thankful that he wasn't claustrophobic.

After a lengthy stretch of tirelessly working his way through the compact square tunnel, he came to an end where it dropped downward again into another room, and quite a small room at that. Kicking out the vent below him and dropping down, he found himself in an elevator of all places. He observed a vast selection of floor numbers to choose from, and naturally picked the highest, pushing the button for the 40th floor. The elevator rose for a few seconds before coming to a stop and opening at his destination.

There was a narrow hallway before him, with a stunning rain drop-blotched, full-window view of the night-lit city-scape to his left, and a collection of offices to his right.

"Hmph. People working here sure do have it made, looking over this view on the world of naïve trainers scrambling around down there trying to make it..."

Gwyn treaded casually down the passage, now disregarding any obvious trace he may have been leaving. He stopped before an office door which read "President Van Grady." Yes. This was the person he had been directed to. The president of the Ziraxis company, the one who knew something of what had befallen him. The one who was at the center of this nightmare's origin. Surely there would be documents in this office that would provide him with some of the answers he was seeking. Gwyn grasped the doorknob deliberately, easing the door open slowly.

"Ahh, there you are, finally."

Gwyn froze. Who was this? No one was supposed to be here this late… how could there be someone waiting at the end of his careful trail of stealth, ready to render futile his mission for the truth?

A lamp switched on across the room, illuminating an office desk and the person whom spoke sitting behind it with his legs crossed and stretched out atop the desk. He wore a white suit with a casually open-collared crimson dress-shirt, and a matching wide-brimmed bowler hat. He wore orange-tinted glasses, had a bit of stubble on his chin, and straight dark brown hair just long enough to dangle slightly from underneath his hat. He cradled a snifter of some sort of spirit in his hand as he grinned at his strange intruder.

"What? Don't you have anything to say?" the man asked with relaxed confidence. "Took the trouble to come visit me, and can't even gather your thoughts to speak a word… I swear…"

Gwyn finally overcame his surprise and rushed the man without warning, swiftly vaulting over the desk and bringing his forehead horn to his throat. His hostage showed no resistance, and minimal alarm, as Gwyn grabbed his arms and snarled at him.

"What the hell is this?! Who are you, and why were you expecting me?!"

The man still seemed unperturbed. "The name's on the door. Surely you saw it? I'm the president of this company… the company whose headquarters you decided to illegally break into this evening."

"What…?! So… you're Grady, huh? And why would you be here at such a late hour, precisely when I decided to infiltrate your office?"

The man continued to speak with his peculiar, terse and confident tone. "Well, I was tipped off."

Gwyn flinched in distaste.

"Don't be surprised or feel bad. It's no fault of yours, my dear unusual intruder. I'm very used to threats on my life and on my company's assets. Naturally, I've taken measures to anticipate unexpected visits like this."

Gwyn's bearing hardened with cynicism. "So then Mr. President… do you know what I am and why I've come here? Speak up now, or your uselessness to my goals may just spur me to take your pathetic life."

"Huh! You really want to get straight to business, don't you? I like that. Admirable." The man finally became a little serious and seemed to show some concern for his current situation. "Alright… just withdraw that little horn of yours, and I'll loosen my tongue. Understand that I'm a simple business man at heart, and I don't want to lose my life over a faulty investment… I'll tell you whatever you wish to know as far as I can."

"Faulty investment?" Gwyn asked with no concealed suspicion. He released the man for the moment, taking a seat in the chair before the president's desk and watching him closely. As far as he could tell, there was no one else present who could interrupt their conversation, so he had nothing to lose by letting the man speak. "What do you know, then?"

The man propped his elbows on the desk and held his chin in his hands. "What I know… is that you are the result of an experiment conducted by a criminal organization which I funded for my own selfish gains, despite said organization's bad reputation for decidedly illegal and immoral activities…"

"Pff!" Gwyn was skeptical. "So you expect me to believe that you're an innocent businessman, huh? That you don't know anything about the sick b*!$#& who 'engineered' me, and that your hands are completely clean of the authorization of such a f*%$^& up little science experiment as what was undertaken in a hidden facility northwest of Lavender?!"

"… I know it's hard to believe that someone in my position could be so ignorant, but you have to understand… I don't have the time to personally investigate every little corner I throw my money at. That would be counterproductive. I admit that I funded Prof. Shiare's research into stone-induced Pokémon evolution, but I was never told about her side project conducted on a human subject. I would never willingly finance something that unethical and controversial. It goes against the values and economic interests of my company."

"Hngph?!" Gwyn flinched at this unexpected twist.

"Ziraxis is only concerned with solely Pokémon-related science. Seeing you in person confirms for me that it was a mistake for me to trust a criminal organization like Team Rocket, despite the brilliant scientist they had employed at the time. Until very recently, I hadn't the slightest idea that Shiare's experiments would lead to the eventual hostile visit of a Pokémon-human hybrid seeking vengeance for his creation… That IS why you're here isn't it? You're angry and want to find out why this was done to you…"

Gwyn was getting fed up with the banter. "Spill it, already. Tell me what you know, NOW. Don't think I won't kill you. I'm prepared to do ANYTHING to get my answers."

"Alright, don't lose your cool… I'll tell you." The man sat back in his chair and leisurely took a sip from his snifter once again. "I know that Shiare had a mentor; another scientist who profoundly influenced and inspired her secret and unusual field of study. It was brought to my attention that this peculiar scientist had intentions of somehow mixing Pokémon and human genes, but I had no confirmation that Shiare was in on that research. I only knew the rumor of her mentor's cryptic dabblings."

"And who was it?! WHO was the one responsible for this sick research?!"

"Hmphhmph…" Grady grinned with pity at his uninformed guest. "I wouldn't seek him out if I were you. He's… a bit odd, huhuh."

"TELL me!"

"Well, okay… but I'm not responsible for anything that happens to you if you pay him a visit. His name is Dr. Shamus Inkina. Used to work for me, although that was a long time ago now. He made some incredible headway for us, but I canned him when he went too far with his experiments, much as it pained me. See, I wanted to avoid the kind of thing that's happened to you. Unfortunately, that man's legacy, YOU that is, came back to haunt me when I least expected it…"

"And where is he now?"

"People say the guy lives like a hermit in a huge mansion in the sticks northwest of here. He was born into riches, see. Education… positions at top-of-the-line scientific organizations… it was all virtually bought for him by his well-reputed parents and his inheritance when they died while he was still young. Not that his genius wasn't enough on its own to accomplish such great things. However, he was too deviant and possessed with his own strange objectives. At the height of his career, when he couldn't find any other sponsors to help fund his self-indulgent research, rumor has it that he locked himself away in that place, and that he continues his work independently."

Gwyn was earnestly surprised, but also pleased to find out that his real answers were held by some retired, eccentric scientist. Getting answers from someone like that at a private residence would be way easier than trying to break into a company building like this.

Grady leaned forward and his tone became much graver and imposing. "But let me tell you, kid: no one dares go there to try and find out exactly what he's up to, no matter what business they may have with him."

"What?! Why?" Gwyn was irritated by the warning after the things he'd been through.

"That guy isn't any ordinary scientist. There are good reasons why he didn't last long in any one job and why he's a recluse now. Reasons why people avoid him."

"Thanks for your concern," Gwyn sneered, "but I really don't give a $* % about what kind of weirdo he is, Mr. Grady. He's going to have to answer to ME soon." He got up and began strolling out of the room without looking behind at the President. "Thanks for the info, Pres. I'll use the front door when I leave, if you don't mind."

"Have it your way," Grady responded with careless resignation. Once Gwyn was gone, he put on a big grin and began chuckling to himself. "What do you think, Levasse? Should I have shown more fright? It's really weird trying to act genuinely concerned about things."

A concealed door in the shadowy corner of the room opened and out stepped a decidedly unprofessional-looking young man wearing long black shorts and a baggy dark blue T-shirt. He had wild, shoulder length, sandy brown hair that partially obscured his brown eyes. Though he seemed laid back and lax, there was also a strange intensity in his eyes.

"Uh… jeez… I don't really know much about acting and all," he cracked a charming smile and spoke in a shy voice. "Aren't rich company heads like YOU supposed to know about all that cultured stuff?"

"Oh, Levasse… I'm not as sophisticated as you might think," Grady took a long sip from his snifter. "I'm just as much a kid as you are; I just play with different toys…"

Levasse smiled even more. "Man, you are so twisted! Anyway… about that Nido-guy. You want me to go after him or what?"

"Yes. How perceptive of you, Levasse. Follow him, and see if you can retrieve our target in all the chaos that's about to unfold."

"Sure thing. But, if I clash with that Inkina guy…?"

"The whole reason I'm sending you NOW is because we just got someone else to go and give Inkina a free distraction. If a situation were ever to arise in which YOU were face to face with him… well… you'd do best to say your prayers and savor your last moments of sanity in this world, my boy," Grady's speech tapered off in a cold indifference accented with a lax amusement.

Levasse's grin faded to a faint smile. "He's like that… huh?"

Grady intertwined his hands together and bowed his head in reflection. "You have no idea… and I speak only of the state he was in when I last saw him, several years ago. Understand, Levasse… monsters like him… no, infections like his… tend to continue growing without reason. Human consciousness is not a THING to him. Think of him more as a machine… an insidious machine of merciless cruelty that continuously strives to perpetuate and intensify its voracious but automated functioning."

"Woah… you're going over my head now. I get it. Don't mess with that guy. I'll try to follow through, though." Levasse turned to head after Gwyn. "See ya later, Grady-dude."

Grady chuckled lightly. "See YOU later, possibly as a corpse… dumb punk."

"I heard that…" Levasse trailed off playfully as he departed.

"Heh… I'm probably just as dumb for even attempting all this… but, I can't resist. Power like that's gotta land somewhere eventually, and if I stand a chance of of placing myself at the landing site, I'll risk everything. Why the hell not…"

Chapter 10

Beneath the red-streaked sky of the sunset loomed a gigantic mansion, its ancient architecture accented in places by elaborate arches and a host of stone gargoyles casting an imposing shadow on the lush grounds of the vast, hedge-enclosed gardens before it. The building was in a remote patch of woods quite isolated from any other signs of civilization. Only a rough, poorly groomed dirt trail paved a route to the place through the immense forest in which it was nestled.

Inside this mansion, Sean was still held hostage by his insane, sadistic captor. He had lost track of time since he had awoken in this place. He was sure it must have been longer than one or two days now… maybe three or four? Slipping in and out of consciousness between terrifying exchanges with a demon voice in his dreams and multiple real and horrific encounters with the fiendish Dr. Inkina, it seemed like he was trapped in a cycle of torment and torture with no end. A cycle he was thrust into without any warning or reason.

Currently, he found himself in the middle of a different room than the first one he was kept in. This one was much smaller, and the walls, floor, and ceiling were all made of some uniform pale green material. The door must have been behind him, as he couldn't see it in the half of the room he faced. He was restrained from moving once again, but this time in a chair which at least allowed him the ability to turn his head enough to view his surroundings. Aside from the bands once again preventing movement, he also felt something attached to his temples. A dim light built into the ceiling cast a sterile light on the pale green surfaces, and on some strange electronic equipment that consisted of a computer and some other modules in one corner. Glancing at the floor, Sean noticed a tangle of wires which seemed to lead from where he was sitting to the odd equipment.

He was haunted by one word: WHY. Why did he have to live after entering that cave with the intent of abandoning life… why did he have to be brought back by Rayf and learn how to conquer his suicidal thoughts and find peace within himself, only to become imprisoned in this HELL? Why had his once dormant visions returned, intensified, and taken a vivid and intelligible demonic form? And why did he have to be subjected to such a sick reality now… It was all much worse than the death he had once wished for. No more suffering could be wrung from him. Was a quiet, voluntary suicide too much to ask for? There was no justification… no explanation… just a meaningless gauntlet of jarring disturbance and horror. It was a long time ago that he thought his death-wish was as sincere as it could be. But now, it had become a pathetic, desperate plead. What irony. Once plagued by numbness to everything, he was now forced to feel, both emotionally and physically, terrible things that his formerly naïve and inexperienced self couldn't have ever dreamed of. Hell was his punishment. Mere existence seemed to be his crime.

Sean felt uneasy in the uncomfortable silence, just waiting for that man to return with his next surprise. He hated how this whole ordeal had been stretched out over so long. At this point, he didn't have any feeling of assurance that he would ever live to escape this place, and an immediate death would have been much more merciful than what he had endured so far.

"… Perhaps this is the joke…"

Startled by the voice that was far too familiar, Sean nervously scanned his limited field of vision, but there was nothing. And yet the voice hadn't come from behind. It was almost as if he was hearing it through earphones, despite the fact that his ears were bare. There was no mistaking it; it was the voice of the unseen demon who spoke to him in his sleep. But why was he now hearing it whilst awake?!

"You remember, don't you? That time you told him how you felt like the whole world was playing a joke on you. Maybe it is."

Sean was stunned as he remembered the candid comment he had made to Rayf so long ago at the cabin Rayf had brought him to after rescuing him. But how could anyone else know about that? They were alone back then!

"Of course, that was just after you and I had met. I'd wager that your life WAS a joke up until that point, or at least the set-up for one. And this… this has to be the punchline!"

"Stop it!" Sean screamed aloud, despite the fact that no one else was physically present in the room. The demon's comment brought back feelings Sean had wanted to forget… memories that refreshed in his mind how pathetic he had felt, and BEEN, during those years of lonesome, self-pitying misery before he had met Rayf.

"Then stop yourself. We are one. But you already tried that, didn't you? Don't you dare cower in the shelter of your contrived doubt. This is what you desired. Attention wasn't enough. It couldn't be abuse. Now abuse… that betrays a different level of devotion…"

Every sentence the demon spoke irritated some dreaded detail in Sean's memory, and before he could attend to and pacify any one painful fragment which was brought up, the being immediately referenced some other insecurity which grated on him. It remained perpetually one step ahead of him, as if it knew his inner-most thoughts and feelings better than he himself hid. And the realization that some alien being had this knowledge was perhaps the most disturbing thing of all.

"Get out! I'm alone! I've ALWAYS been alone! You can't be here! NO one else can be here! I earned my seclusion! You can't take away the…" Sean stopped in sudden self-awareness. He didn't like the direction his desperate outcry had been driven.

"Yes, that's right," the voice echoed in his head with the utmost pleasure. "So it won't be hard, will it? Just remember that feeling…"

"AUUIGHHHGHHH!"

Stage 3: Divergency

"It's so strange seeing you like this now…"

Inkina was oblivious to this observation. "Well, it was a pretty easy choice of paths, considering the alternative…"

"And what was the alternative?"

"What was it…? Really simple, actually. To stop, or continue. It's like when you get 'game over' in a videogame. Do you choose 'continue,' or 'end'? Give up, or press the reset button? I fell back on the option I hadn't tested yet… and like the ricochet of a bullet, rebounded in the opposite direction of where I had been going up until that point. And now, I find myself surging upward with unforeseen momentum rising out of the pitch black oblivion I initially delved straight into."

"Hah… and you put it that simply?"

"Yes. It's like elementary physics, really."

"Unbelievable…"

"Unbelievable… or unlikely?" Inkina posed a question in response.

"Now that's a point. The horizons of your mind have expanded far beyond the limits of perceived 'believability'… but if that limit no longer exists, what can you say about anything?!"

"I can say anything I want about anything," Inkina answered arrogantly.

"But that won't solve things properly now, will it?"

"So what? Who cares HOW things are solved… actually… who cares if things are EVER solved?! The chase truly eclipses the catch in all ways…"

"Oh. So that's the way you think now…"

"It is."

"Wow… that's going to make things more fun…"

"Yes, won't it…?"

Chapter 11

"Jeez, what I would give just to be able to be able to stretch my legs…" Sean said to himself, thinking about how he had been almost completely impeded of movement for the entire time he had been in this place. In this rare moment of peace, he suddenly realized that he couldn't feel the familiar bulge of his six Poké Balls which he always kept in his right pocket. What had become of his Pokémon?! They must have been taken by the man who held him here, but when… and were they being subjected to things as bad or worse than what he had endured…? Now he felt selfish for forgetting about them during the shock of waking up in this hell…

He was interrupted out of his worry by the quick opening and closing of a door behind him followed by brisk footsteps leading around him toward the equipment in the corner. Inkina seemed anxious as he stepped behind the computer and began working furiously, typing in bursts and connecting various wires.

Sean wasn't going to attempt talking to him anymore. It was pointless, and he was afraid of saying something that would provoke the man's psychotic behavior even more. Besides that, he didn't want to even have to SEE this maniac. Even being in the same room with him filled Sean with dread and made his skin crawl. He couldn't stand it… not after what had happened that night…

The noise of Inkina's business came to an abrupt stop and he reached into his lab coat pocket to pull out a Poké Ball. Leisurely extending it outward in the grasp of long, thin fingers, it released a white stream of energy that accumulated into the form of a Kadabra standing a few feet directly in front of Sean. He noticed that this one held some kind of weird metal wand in place of a spoon, and had matching metal rings in its ears. It glared at Sean with cruel eyes and stood with its thin arms relaxed at its sides, ready for a command.

"It's been a while since I last got to use this set-up," Inkina mused as he attended to a few more things with the modules. "In fact… I think the last time was when I had you give ME a few jolts of psychic energy, Genus! Haa… remember that?" he fondly looked over at the Kadabra he was apparently addressing, which only glanced slightly at him in response. "Hmph, what a rush that was… some odd side-effects, but definitely worth the qualitative data I collected first-hand. Being the scientist AND the subject has its pros and cons, like anything…"

Sean was getting nervous about the situation that was shaping up. Just when it seemed this guy couldn't do anything worse to him, he did something new, and at least as twisted. Was he really going to have a Kadabra use a psychic attack on a PERSON? This would be the second such experience for him… that is, if what he had encountered back in Rock Tunnel WAS indeed a Pokémon. And what could this psycho have been thinking to have his own Kadabra use its psychic abilities on himself?! Maybe that explained why he was such a deranged freak now. A Kadabra's psychic attacks couldn't be all that healthy for one's psyche.

Inkina finally reached a stopping point and looked over at Sean in the familiar way that now made him shudder. "We're finally ready now, boy. It's time to see if there's more to you than meets the eye, as I've been led to believe. The moment of truth is nigh." His tone was calm, collected, and menacing in its hushed excitement.

"Why…" Sean found himself unable to remain quiet. "What could be gained from turning a Pokémon's psychic attacks on a person!?"

"I'm glad you asked," Inkina seemed to have an explanation ready. "Tell me, do you live for some… reason?" the unexpected question was asked in a surprisingly uncertain voice.

Sean was dumbfounded. "What…? Reason?! Why are you trying to rationalize things NOW?! As if I'd play along with your sick games…" he was truly caught off-guard by Inkina's candid tangent.

"Oh, you know…" the scientist insisted. "The whole point behind all THIS," he tapped his index finger against his temple. "Don't tell me you haven't wondered like I have…"

Sean was in no state of mind to attempt understanding what this freak was getting at. "I don't know what the $*%# you're talking about, and I don't CARE! Get on with whatever you're going to do to me! Quit dragging it out!"

Inkina seemed to shrug with an indifference that was disappointed, yet strangely satisfied. "Okay, okay. You'll get your wish. I was just interested…"

The man's awkward pause made Sean's skin crawl.

"…Interested to know why you seek love from another whilst drenched in self-hatred. We're half-related, you know?"

"Huh?!" The comment was disturbingly insightful.

"But let's not get into petty, personal things. Allow me to give you a little explanation to the question you so courteously posed. My objective..." the eccentric man rolled a computer chair out from behind the equipment and sat in it backwards, facing Sean like a nonchalant teenager. "… has varied quite a lot over my career as a scientist. But nothing has fascinated me quite so much as the effects of psychic energies on the mind. It's such an uncertain field of study… especially when one considers the impact on the HUMAN mind, in all its complexities."

Sean just grew more irritated. "Pff! Maybe you should have done some preliminary studies before you %^ #*& up your own mind, huh?!"

Inkina snickered with delight. "Hahahahaaa…! THAT's what I love about you. Still sassy, even at this point. I swear, I think I see a bit of my younger self in you!

"Then kill me already," Sean's anger hushed down to a dread-filled whisper.

"No, no… I'm afraid killing you isn't in the procedure of this experiment. Sure I might indulge a homicidal whim on a lesser subject, but you… you're special. There's something different about your mind, and what's more, there's something in there… something beyond just yourself, isn't there?"

This comment grabbed Sean's attention. This was the first time someone else had ever made direct or indirect mention of the demon which spoke cryptic riddles to him in his dreams.

"Yeeesss," Inkina giggled insidiously. I thought you'd be aware of it in SOME capacity by now. But you don't know what it is, do you? Nooooo, no one does. And that's where science comes in, darling. That's where I come in! Let me help us all to understand what's going on inside there with some psychic probing!" he hurriedly stood up and recklessly kicked the chair away into a corner, making his way back behind the modules. "Don't worry. I don't want you to think I'm using that word with the same definition it had the other night, hahaah!"

Sean couldn't muster any words to respond to this reference. He could only fester inside with a smoldering, consuming hatred.

"THIS is why I exist! I am the power that sheds light on these mysteries!"

Before Sean could gather his thoughts together for any more questions or comments, his captor went to work.

"Genus, give our subject a tiny taste of your Psywave. Don't overwhelm him, now. We're just testing the waters at first, after all…"

The obedient Kadabra raised its talon-like hands and extended them outward toward Sean. At first he felt nothing, but then a subtle ringing began echoing in his ears. However, as the psychic waves began to amplify, something within him pulsed in response. It seemed to send out some kind of counter-energy from within his body to his finger-tips, canceling out the aggressive Psywave attack. Then he felt a surge welling inside him with incredible speed and power, and some unkown force flowing forward to meet the psychic waves. A flash of black light emanated from his center and struck out like lightning at the source of the Psywave, knocking the Kadabra back and slamming it against the wall. Sean only watched this incredible development in disbelief, stunned that something within him had not only fended off, but countered the Pokémon's psychic attack. Then he became aware of the full damage caused.

Not only had the Kadabra been slammed against the wall and rendered unconsciouss, but some of the electronic equipment Inkina stood behind was left inactive and smoldering, seemingly short-circuited by whatever had just happened.

"In… Incredible!" Inkina uttered in amazement, hunched over his fried modules. So it's true! That superstitious folklore is based in reality! The ancient dread has manifested itself in our plane of existence!"

A moment of silence in the aftermath was broken by a phone ringing in Inkina's pocket. He took a cell phone out of his pocket and rushed it to his ear in annoyance. "What is it, Mori?! Didn't I tell you not to bother me while I'm working? … Oh… you don't say…" his irritation seemed to melt away upon hearing some particular piece of information. "It's alright. Allow him in. I'll meet him in the lobby." he ended the call and looked back at Sean. "It seems I have another guest to attent to. Our experiment's finale will have to wait. Seeya till then!" And with that flippant farewell, Inkina withdrew his Kadabra and strutted out of the room, leaving Sean alone to ponder what had just happened.

Chapter 12

Outside the mansion, at a deliberately far distance from the rough road which led to it, Gwyn lied in the brush, observing this ominous structure said to house the individual possessing the answers he tirelessly sought. Assessing the mansion to be unguarded after staking out his position for a lengthy time, he quickly moved in to begin skirting the perimeter of the hedge garden, inching ever closer to the building itself. He couldn't be too careful, not after his unexpected welcome at the Ziraxis building. There was no telling when some surprise would greet him. Grady could very well have been setting him up for some trap. Even when threatening the man's life, Gwyn had trouble reading him. Was he really just a greedy, shallow businessman after all? Did Shiare's actions not have any legitimate higher authorization? Was it all just the private lunacy of some demented rebel within the system? Gwyn couldn't decide what to believe.

He was shocked out of his thought as the figure of a blond woman in a gray suit suddenly stepped out before him from an entrance in the hedges hidden from his perspective. Gwyn froze as she eyed him without any disturbance whatsoever at beholding his form. He was more used to eliciting gasps, and the occasional expletive, from those who first saw him.

"You've been welcomed inside by the master," she spoke in a cold, mechanic voice. "Please enter the front doors," she gestured with one hand toward the mansion's main entrance.

Gwyn was only half surprised. Was Grady behind this? How did this scientist know he was coming? Oh, well, he thought. Might as well go inside and see. There was no way he was going to turn back.

He nervously walked past the strange woman toward the front entrance, keeping his guard up for any more surprises. Reaching the massive double doors, he grasped one of the handles and heaved the door open without hesitation, stepping into what could have passed for a haunted house if it was in just a bit more disrepair. He stood in awe of a large lobby furnished with antique chairs, couches, tables, all on exquisite carpets, with an elaborate staircase wrapping around the walls to the upper floor. The space was quite dim, lit very sparsely by only one lamp near the entrance and another at the foot of the staircase.

Gentle footsteps at the top of the dark stairs broke the silence and began to gradually descend, putting Gwyn on edge.

"My goodness… here you are…" the steps continued downward. "The illegitimate fruit of my initially futile ambition… once abandoned… now revived… and vindicated, but not satisfied…"

Gwyn felt a chill run down his spine. Whoever spoke to him was too self-assured… too confidant and brazen. How could this scientist speak to him with such ease upon being faced with such a monstrous creature? There had to be some deeper knowledge this person knew… something which trivialized this whole scene for him.

"Can I assume you're Inkina?" Gwyn finally let his voice echo throughout the dark lobby. He still couldn't see whom he was addressing.

"Yes. I am he… and you… You are beyond anything I could have ever imagined. I can't believe my protégé actually followed through with her ambitions… truly, you are a beautiful triumph of the art we paint on the canvas of science!"

Meanwhile, outside the mansion, the strange woman who had allowed Gwyn entrance was being studied from afar by a wild-haired young man wearing baggy shorts and a T-shirt.

"So… that's the guard, huh? Wonder why she let him in willingly... but still, there's gotta be some kinda clash at hand inside there… no way I'll miss my chance."

He jumped down from the tree he had been observing from and began walking toward the grounds which the woman patrolled, completely careless of being detected. The woman walked out of the hedge garden in front of the mansion's entrance and stood still before the his path. She stood still as stone before him, like one of the gargoyles which decorated the mansion's roof.

"The master isn't expecting any more visitors today. Please leave."

The young man had stopped at a comfortable distance from his adversary, listening to her with his hands in his pockets and a subtle smile on his face.

"Sorry… but I don't have an appointment with your master… it's with someone he's entertaining. I'm here to pick him up, see?"

The woman retained her resolute composure. "You seem to misunderstand, young man. I, Mori, am the sole caretaker of the Inkina estate, and I don't take my duties lightly. Punishing unwelcome trespassers is naturally one of these duties…"

The intruder seemed both amused and slightly embarrassed. "Gee, sorry, miss. Here I am, infringing on private property, and I didn't even introduce myself first. The name's Levasse. How about being a dear and letting me pass by, huh? Please?"

Mori was completely unmoved by the sarcastic request.

Levasse took on a mischievous grin upon seeing his opponent's unmoving resolve, and his usually passive brown eyes lit up with a maniacal excitement."Oh, $* & yeah! This is what I'm TALKING about!" He took a Poké Ball out of his pocket and struck a preparatory pose for battle. "So what's your specialty, huh?! Show me your true colors! Time for a good old-fashioned exercise in inhumanity!"

"You'll regret this, hoodlum…" Mori warned as she revealed a Poké Ball of her own. She released her Tangela in a flash of white light.

Levasse laughed aloud. "What? What is this?! Of all the intimidating monstrocities out there, you send out a Tangela. Damn disappointing. Well, whatever. I don't mind having an unfair advantage. Carnage is carnage." He raised his Poké Ball and released its captive, taking the form of a fearsome Scyther which dwarfed the Tangela, hissing at its enemy with malice.

"Did you know that a Tangela grows more and more vines, and STRONGER, LONGER, and FASTER ones, the older and more experienced it gets…?" Mori explained with exacting composure. "This one's been with me for 23 years. How many vines do you think it's developed?"

Levasse's own battle-hungry composure was noticeably shaken upon hearing this.

"Tendrear… release your whips. Don't hold back." The Tangela extended an impossibly thick mess of vines from its body, gathering them above itself in a brief moment of hesitation before rushing them with furious speed toward the unwary Scyther.

Unbeknownst to the fighters outside, another clash of personalities was taking place inside the mansion.

"What…?" Gwyn was already angered. "You talk just like HER… that psychotic $*!#&, Shiare. And I'll bet you're just as warped. Hurry up and get your ass down here! I have some pressing questions for you, professor!"

The man only laughed at this demand, retaining his leisurely pace down the long staircase. "Oh my. She didn't teach you manners, did she? Ah, but that's alright. You're here. That's what's important. You know, I never imagined you'd ever be possible; it was a fool's dream. That you're here before me now is… well," he let out an uncontrollable cackle. "It's just too perfect, my friend!"

The man's intolerable laughter made Gwyn's muscles tense up.

"But poor Shiare… she forgot the most important rule: to always make positively sure that you know how to handle the toys you create. As you can testify, her carelessness turned out to be quite costly. But I'm different. I never let my toys get the best of me, heheh."

"Shut up…"

"What a fantastic day this has proved to be! First I get to continue sinking my teeth into a brand new, fresh specimen of the most FASCINATING nature, and then I'm treated to a surprise visit by a living manifestation of my past work. I must be the luckiest scientist in the whole wide world."

Gwyn couldn't help but cock his head with interest at the mention of another 'specimen.' "WHAT other 'specimen'? Is someone else here?"

"Yes, a hapless but unusual young Pokémon trainer" the scientist answered in a bored tone, "but as interesting as he is, he's only human. Seeing you makes me realize how much I take 'inhumanity' for granted. I think I'll be able to have MUCH more fun with a thing like you…"

"SHUT THE %* & UP! You demented FREAK! TELL ME WHY YOU DID THIS!" Gwyn had lost both his patience and composure. "Why… why did you want to make it possible for a person to be TORTURED like I was?! What was the POINT? Do you have ANY idea of what I was put through? EXPLAIN YOURSELF!" the shout echoed throughout the space.

Inkina now descended into the light's reach, gradually illuminating himself to his host. "Still so innocent… still so deluded… shouldn't you have figured it out by now?"

"Huh?!"

The devious scientist stopped a few steps from the bottom of the stairs, looking down on Gwyn with cruel amusement. "There are no such things as 'justice,' 'reason,' or 'salvation' in this world. Only things like progress, ambition, and chaos are real; they engulf and consume all those frivolous ideals you seem to still hold onto."

"I don't give a DAMN about your philosophical crap! I only want to know why this was done to me! So TELL ME!"

The man smiled cynically at Gwyn. "Oh, I didn't mean to become philosophical. It doesn't suit me. I was just trying to tell you that your expectation of a grand reason for you suffering is vain and pretentious. Do you think that everyone who lives a 'normal' life understands their plights, torments and unbearable burdens?! Do you really think that your peculiar modification makes you so special that you must have some greater purpose or cause for suffering than everyone else?!"

These words doused Gwyn's rage with doubt and hesitation. Was it wrong to assume that what had happened to him should guarantee him an explanation for the pain he had endured?

"Take me for example," Inkina continued. "I don't ask WHY I do all the things I do… the things that I've so often been told are 'insane,' 'malicious,' and 'monstrous'… I've learned not to question the irrevocably cloaked, insatiable and merciless urges which tear at me until they are acted upon! Asking 'why' will not stop their infliction."

WAS Gwyn asking more than he deserved…? No… It was all too intense. All those years… There was no WAY any other person could relate to what he had been put through, or tell him it didn't warrant some kind of explanation.

"You can stop trying to mess with my head. I'll NEVER be satisfied until someone answers for what's been done to me."

"That's too bad, you poor thing. You won't get one. Not from me, the one you looked to as your last little hope for enlightenment in this cruel, indifferent world, heehee! You're stuck feeling aimless, helpless, and taken advantage of, and that's all you'll ever get, hahah! You really would be better off not trying to think of yourself as anything MORE than an experimental subject," Inkina sighed in resignation. "That's the trouble with kids these days… they all think they're special somehow."

Gwyn's temper flared up even more as Inkina continued his leisurely descent.

"But you KNOW… I'm really quite jealous of you, truthfully. It must be such a divine anguish, right? Ah, the fresh, grating perplexity of the struggle to match one's suffering to a purpose… so invigorating! Alas… my anguish isn't nearly as potent as yours at this moment. I've become increasingly numb to that delightful feeling over the years, but right now YOU'RE at the stage most sensitive to that euphoric rush of anxious vexation…"

Gwyn had had enough. He dashed toward the staircase, ready to shred this arrogant man to pieces. But his attack was anticipated.

"Oh, Genus," Inkina's eyes lit up like unnatural green flames as he confidently called out, and the imposing figure of a Kadabra instantly materialized in an eerie green flash of light before Gwyn, startling him into a halt and blocking his way up the stairs. Unlike other Kadabra he had seen, this one held an odd metal wand with an oval-shaped tip in place of a spoon, and on its large, fox-like ears were two matching metal earings.

No way, Gwyn thought to himself. Now he realized what Grady had meant. This nut wasn't only psychotic, but PSYCHIC and in possession of a Pokémon bodyguard. And of anything… it had to be one of the most feared psychic-types…

The psychic Pokémon's master grinned as he pinched a strand of his long, dark hair in between his fingers, fondling it playfully, clearly savoring the moment of just having drawn Gwyn into a dangerous trap.

"Genus… freeze him and give him… let's say a medium dose of psywave." The Kadabra extended its long fingers and wand out toward its target and its eyes began to glow the same green as the strange scientist's had.

Before Gwyn could react, his body was paralyzed. He felt unable to move, or even to TELL any part of him to move, like his mind itself was disabled. The force holding him still was so strong that he was sure even a hurricane wind wouldn't be able to move him an inch. Then the space between him and the Kadabra began to distort, some disturbance seeming to radiate through the air from the Pokémon's cold eyes. At first it was like staring through heat waves on a hot day in a city, or like trying to see through water, but then it intensified until he felt like he was looking into a kaleidoscope. With the increased distortion came waves of pain throughout his head and body. It was an unworldly pain unlike any he had experienced before, causing a horrible burning sensation from the entire surface of his skin to the bone, while simultaneously stimulating a sense of visceral fear and mental repulsion so terrible that his mind was being driven to panic beyond any limit he could have imagined.

"So just how bad is it?" Inkina grinned at the victim of the vicious psychic attack. "You know, it wasn't a coincidence that your DNA was integrated with the genes of a POISON-type Pokémon. My early work worked around this scenario, and inspired that woman to make you into what you are now… that is… a vulnerable test-subject that's already accomplished its purpose."

Gwyn heard these words and was enraged, but couldn't utter anything but cries of agony due to the hellish pain which gnawed on his body and soul. His vision, and nearly all his other senses, had been rendered blank by the torture.

"It's quite fascinating really… the peculiar way in which psychic waves interact with the chemicals found in the venom of poison-types…"

The pain was starting to surge throughout Gwyn's body with even more intensity.

Inkina casually continued his lecture. "An input of energy can catalyze chemical reactions, you know. And psychic energy interacts with your toxins in what is really quite an INSIDIOUS chain of reactions that… stimulate… the nervous system, among other nasty things."

Gwyn was now going into shock and unable even to scream.

"It's all a complicated, convoluted jumble of chemical processes… b tout put it more simply… something about your particular genetic make-up…" Gwyn was surprised to suddenly feel fingers contact his collar bone and run down his chest. "… interacts in the most intimate way with psychic energy patterns, and maximizes their destructive potential as well." The fingers stopped at Gwyn's hip and reached around his back. "Fascinating, isn't it?"

Gwyn's blood would have been boiling just by being this close to the man responsible for the ruination of his life and unable to do a thing, but the pain he was in at the moment made it feel as if his blood was LITERALLY boiling.

"You know, I've dreamt about this moment, my dear. About what I would do if I were ever privileged enough to meet you in person, face-to-face. Of course, there are all sorts of interesting ways I could choose to continue running tests on such an intriguing specimen, but then again, Shiare's experiments on you were largely completed. You've already served science, so I figure… Why not… indulge myself a bit… hnghngph…"

Gwyn was on the verge of passing out. He wondered if the this much pain meant he was going to die.

Suddenly a crash of shattering glass broke Inkina and Genus out of their focus on Gwyn, who collapsed to the floor, finally released from the hold of the psychic Pokémon's terrible powers. A tangled heap of bright green and purple had tumbled through one of the large windows near the entrance, knocking over furniture and coming to a stop on the floor in what was a mortal struggle between an angered Scyther and an unusually strong Tangela. The grass Pokémon had multiple vines wrapped around the Scyther's limbs and wings, attempting to restrain the razor sharp scythes which its opponent was intent on using to slice it apart.

With Inkina distracted by this cacophonous battle, it didn't take long for Gwyn to act. A bit dazed, but conscious, he made a stumbling dash past the fighting Pokémon to the portal of the shattered window, diving through it to the outside. Once out, he vaguely noticed the two owners of the dueling Pokémon, but continued to run away into the woods without hesitation.

He had underestimated his target. His only concern now was an instinctive urge to get as far away from that horrible scientist and his Kadabra as soon as possible. It had been a long time since he had felt pain anywhere near comparable to what he had just narrowly escaped. He never thought anything could be as bad as what had happened during those years… but that man… he sensed that remaining at his mercy would have brought back things just as bad if not worse than the memories he wanted to forget. There was a senseless malice in those green eyes, and the Kadabra's attack was unlike anything he could have imagined.

Back behind him, Levasse had watched in disbelief as his Scyther continued to struggle against its opponent, and as Gwyn made a hasty retreat out of the window the two Pokémon had accidentally careened through. After a bit of commotion inside, the scuffling Pokémon eventually tumbled back outside through the same window, still locked together in a mortal dual. Not far behind them, the menacing figure of Dr. Inkina appeared at the window sill, looking out directly at Levasse, his eyes alit with a sinister green light.

Seeing the fiend who had driven off Gwyn and now had his sights set on him, Levasse was ready to admit he had missed his opportunity. "$&^! That's him! Return, Scyka!" He withdrew his Scyther from its lethal embrace with the Tangela, leaving the grass Pokémon's vines awkwardly loose and empty of their former captive. Levasse dashed off in the same direction Gwyn had fled, leaving the mansion's master and caretaker alone.

Mori looked to Inkina with apologetic eyes. "I'm sorry, sir. I failed to detain the unwelcome intruder…"

Inkina leaned one hand against the side of the window sill as his seemingly perpetual, insane smile widened. "Oh, don't worry, Mori. I had a brief bit of fun with the most important visitor. That other one isn't worth either of our concerns."

"Yes… I see."

"But our current guest whom I had to so rudely leave unattended… HE is in fact the most important of all… MUCH more special than any other could ever be. I envy his remarkable mental capacities…" Inkina sighed. "They'll be picking him up any time now, those two crazy kids, hahah! I hope they know how to handle him…"

Chapter 13

Gwyn continued to run from that terrible place as long as he could, through the night, until the rays of dawn of the next day were barely breaking through the canopy of the lush forest he rushed through. He wouldn't have stopped if he hadn't came across the camp site of two of the party whom had saved him from the tortuous imprisonment he had endured not so long ago. There was no mistaking it. It was the other girl besides Iris who had come to save him back then, along with one of the two boys intent on rescuing the Vulpix from that accursed facility. Gwyn thought of just leaving them alone as they slept, but then he realized how alone he was in his struggles. He had no chance of accomplishing anything against that mad lunatic on his own, and those four people were the only ones he had ever received help from in his life. Running into them again was a miraculous stroke of luck that he would be a fool to ignore.

The two were lying fast asleep in sleeping bags on either side of a smoldering fire as Gwyn quietly approached. He decided to try waking up the girl first as she had been the first person other than Iris to find and free him from the prison that had made him into the monster he now was.

"Hey, wake up," Gwyn half-whispered as he gently shook her shoulder.

Raili stirred slightly, but didn't quite wake up.

Gwyn tried shaking a little harder. "Come on, wake up!"

Raili finally groaned in a groggy stupor and opened her eyes slightly, beholding a strange semi-human figure with purple skin, green hair, blood-red eyes, and a forehead horn hovering over her in anticipation.

"Yaaahhh! Demon! Stay away!" Raili nearly jumped out of her sleeping bag and clumsily stumbled away from Gwyn on her behind in shock.

Even as sound asleep as he was, this commotion was enough to wake Rayf up as well. He turned over and sleepily looked across the fire. "Hey, Raili… what're you doing up this early already…?" Then he noticed the odd figure who was staring at a terrified Raili momentarily cowering against the trunk of a nearby tree. "Wha… Hey, what's going on?!"

Gwyn perceived that he had obviously been more intrusive than he had intended to be. He remained squatting next to where Raili had been sleeping and breathed a heavy sigh.

"Hey, don't freak out. I'm just that weird Nidorino-guy you rescued before… remember?" Gwyn explained in some annoyance. He didn't enjoy reminding others, and hence himself, of what he was.

Raili finally stood up in amazement and approached the intruder. "Oh… it's… you! So you're alright! Thank goodness! Iris would be so relieved to know!"

Rayf seemed clueless for a moment, but then remembered who this strange figure was: the odd Nidorino-human hybrid whom Iris had freed during the struggle to liberate Weiku.

"Hey! Long time, no see, pal!" Rayf finally took on his usually friendly nature, pleasantly surprised to see the one victim of Shiare's experiments whom he had never had a chance to spend any length of time around.

Gwyn didn't quite know what to say. "Uh… Yeah. Hey. Thanks for saving me that time. You guys… you don't… you don't know how thankful I am that you came and broke me loose back then… I can't ever repay you for what you did…"

"You can save the thanks," Raili finally responded, now comfortably aware that she wasn't being assaulted by some demon from a nightmare. She finally seemed to have regained her usual collected composure. "What business do you have with us, Gwyn? Why did you finally decide to seek us out?"

Gwyn stood up with gravity as he thought of what he had been through. "… I spent a long time trying to track down a reason, and a culprit, for everything…"

Rayf crossed his arms and looked at Gwyn with a mixture of pity and curiosity.

"The trail I found led me to something I couldn't handle… and now I've been left without any real answers, after nearly getting myself killed."

"We might've been able to help you somehow… if you hadn't had to be such a loner, ya know?" Gwyn's tendency to cut himself off from others reminded Rayf of Sean.

"Yeah… that's why I woke you guys up just now instead of continuing on my way… Only now… I'm worried that getting you guys involved in this would put you in too much danger…" Gwyn went on to summarize his visit with Grady at the Ziraxis building, and his subsequent close call with the demented Dr. Inkina which had coincidentally led him to run into Raili and Rayf. Raili showed particular interest and worry when Gwyn detailed the psychic qualities of the dangerous man and his Pokémon.

"Well… that's a lot to digest… again." Rayf glanced at Raili as he emphasized the last word. He was becoming overwhelmed at this point with the complicated, dramatic developments he was becoming involved with. First Sean's disappearance and revealed possession by some ancient, evil Pokémon's spirit, and now the mess Gwyn had dug up. It was all too much.

"Your fate is unfortunate," Raili spoke with a bit of sorrow, but also resignation. "I don't know if we have the ability to aid you… Right now, Rayf and I are in the process of searching for Sean. He may be in an even worse dilemma than yours…"

It was now Raili and Rayf's turn to explain THEIR situation, enlightening Gwyn of the Shadridine legend, and its link to Sean. When Raili told him of how she had been able to psychically track down Sean's Haunter to the current vicinity, but that Sean's whereabouts were unknown, he suddenly remembered Inkina's mention of the other "specimen" he had in his mansion.

"A 'young Pokémon trainer'…" Gwyn quoted Inkina's now-troubling words aloud.

"Huh?" Rayf noticed a renewed concern in Gwyn's eyes.

"This is too convenient… I think it has to be him…"

"Do you mean Sean? Did you see him somewhere?!"

Gwyn kept his eyes downward, thinking of what that man might have done to Sean if he was indeed the other 'specimen' being held in that place.

"I didn't see him or anything… but considering all the clues, along with the fact that Harlequin was somehow separated from him in this area… I think it's highly likely that Sean was kidnapped by Inkina. $&*#! And I was right there, too!"

"But you were clearly in no position to rescue anyone, right?" Rayf tried to reassure Gwyn. "It's okay. We can all go back there together and save him."

Gwyn looked at Rayf with severity. "Did you not listen to a word I said?! This guy is DANGEROUS and WAY off the edge of anything that could be called ordinary or sane. He's DEMONIC. And you don't even know for certain that the other person he has is Sean!"

"I believe you're forgetting something, my friend."

"WHAT?!" Gwyn could only think of the idiocy of crawling back to someone who had just inflicted such intense pain upon him.

"Back when Raili, Sean, Iris, and I were saving Weiku, would you have preferred if we had just ignored the other specimen there that Raili and Iris happened to come across at the time…?"

Rayf's reminder suddenly made Gwyn feel quite selfish and cowardly.

"Even if it wasn't Sean, would you be just fine with letting this psychopath do whatever he wants with whomever?!"

Gwyn had become used to feeling sorry for himself and cancelling the concept of empathy out of his consciousness due to the utter absence of empathy which had transformed him into what he now was. But this wasn't just another case of some random person experiencing common misfortune. This was possibly one of the people who had rescued him, now placed in a very similar circumstance that he had once been imprisoned in: that is, at the mercy of an cruel, insane scientist. He sighed deeply, lowering his eyes to the ground.

"Okay. I'll take you there. But don't say I didn't warn you when you see this guy. We're going to have to do this carefully."

Chapter 14

Raili walked alone along the neglected path that led to Inkina's mansion, following the path that Gwyn had recommended. In a dense patch of trees and brush nearby, Rayf and Gwyn laid low, observing the grounds around the building. They watched as Raili drew closer to the front entrance, when, to everyone's alarm, one of the double doors opened, and a blond woman in a gray suit stepped out to greet her. She stepped forward with her eyes cast downward, seemingly discouraged.

"Please… your companions can come out. The master and his guest are gone. I am alone here. And I wish to…" the woman seemed to lose her composure. "I wish to request your assistance!"

To Gwyn's horror, Rayf slowly left his side in the cover of the brush to approach the entrance as the woman said they could.

"Rayf! Don't…!" Gwyn half-whispered fervently. "… Ah, damn it." Gwyn could see that their cover was blown, and he gave in to his slight curiosity to see what was going on. He cautiously stepped out behind Rayf, ever-vigilant of any sign of a trap set by the madman whom he had encountered before.

"Please come in," the woman invited them all inside. "I have some things to tell you all… and I may be able to aid you…" Rayf and Gwyn had reached Raili, and the three of them briefly conferred amongst themselves before following the strange woman into the mansion.

"Please, sit down, if you will," The woman invited them to take seats in the lavish lobby that was now bathed in the sun beams of the late morning. She sat down in a rather austere chair near a large clock, while Rayf and Raili took their places on an antique couch near an oddly shattered window. Gwyn refused to sit, nervously leaning against the wall with his arms crossed near the door, in fear of a trap.

"… So… Dr. Inkina is gone?" Raili somewhat nervously ascertained.

"Yes…" the woman answered a bit distractedly.

"And just who are you?" Rayf curiously asked of her. "If you don't mind me asking, that is. What's your connection to him?"

"Oh," The woman seemed to break out of her mild trance. "Forgive me. I am called Mori, and for the past sixteen years I have been the one and only servant of the Inkina family."

"Servant?" Gwyn questioned aloud from across the room. He couldn't help but take interest in someone who was on non-violent terms with that terrifying man.

"I pledged to serve and protect the Inkinas ever since they took me in as a child… at the time, I was a destitute orphan, destined for an early death at best, if they hadn't extended their compassionate branch of charity."

"You talk of a family," Raili interrupted. "… but this place appears completely empty without Dr. Inkina here…"

"He is all that remains," Mori answered solemnly.

"Then…-"

"The master's parents died in a tragic accident nine years ago, bequeathing him their fortune, this mansion, and my eternal debt to his family." Mori hesitated as tears began to well in her eyes. "He… had only his parents, and would have been all on his own without someone to fill the vacant role of his guardian back then…"

Neither Rayf, Raili, or Gwyn could say anything for the moment.

Then Mori looked up at them with desperation. "But the young master… the brilliant young man who grew up to become a successful scientist… He has become lost… I've watched in pain over the years as he has descended down a spiral of insanity and cold indifference… I saw him grow from a child of incredible potential… into a twisted monster, misusing his gifts for cruel misdeeds!"

The three now felt deep sympathy for this woman whose vow of loyalty had been betrayed by the disturbing evolution of the one and only person she cared for.

"Mori… surely you know why we came," Rayf referenced the reason for their coming to this place.

"Of course," Mori tried to regain her composure. "It is for the very same reason that I invited you all to have this discussion"

"You mean—"

"I have reached the limit of my capacity to continue facilitating the master's sadistic whimsies," Mori announced with conviction. "I've realized that my fealty to him is increasingly disregarded, and that my efforts to aid his goals only continue to fuel his insane transformation and cause suffering to innocent people. And… I want to tell you whatever I can to help save the young man he held here."

"Wait… HELD?" Gwyn asked with a hint of anger in his voice. "You mean he's not here anymore?!"

"I'm afraid not," Mori looked down in apology. "I'll tell you all that I've been able to gather from this kidnapping: You see, Dr. Inkina isn't that boy's true abductor. He was merely contracted to detain and experiment on him by two people who wanted the boy for some undisclosed purpose. My master turned him over to these two people last night."

"And where is your master NOW?" Gwyn asked with nervous anxiety. He was intent on avoiding another meeting with Dr. Inkina.

"The master departed early this morning, but he never divulges his destinations to me when he departs…"

While Gwyn sighed in relief, Raili seemed to focus in on Mori's explanation.

"These two people… did you see either of them? Can you tell us what they looked like?" she asked.

"Why of course. There was an odd white-haired man and a woman in a black trench coat with red hair not unlike yours, young miss, except a little darker."

Raili's eyes widened, to the notice of Rayf. "What's up Raili? You think you might know who they are or something?"

"This is BAD," Raili finally managed to say. "I know who they are. Or at least the woman. There's no doubt… it's Renith…"

"What…? You mean your sister?!"

"Yes… and I fear the worst has come true… that Renith is… that she's trying to use Sean to REVIVE Shadridine!"

"… And sacrifice him to bring the monster within him back to life?!" Rayf completed Raili's assessment of the situation.

"Exactly… but why…? Why would my sister betray our clan's very purpose, and in doing so unleash that ancient terror upon the world?!"

Gwyn was listening to the discussion with only a mild interest. He had become so obsessed with reaping his personal revenge that even this world-threatening crisis had little impact on him. He thought of this realization and noted how inhumane he had become… was this really all that was left of him…? Rayf regained his attention when the talk turned to the next course of action.

"So they must be taking him to that temple on an island to the north, right?"

"Yes, if she really IS intent on reviving Shadridine. And as for the hiring of this scientist... perhaps she desired for Dr. Inkina to test his mind for the presence of that specter before she took him to the temple, as a means of ensuring that she had the right host…"

"That would make sense," Mori finally chimed in. "I once overheard the master referring to a 'guest within his guest.' It seems feasable that that boy could have the demon you speak of within him. Shortly before Mr. Gwyn's visit, I recall the master saying he was about 'coax out our most remarkable visitor from our guest.' I didn't know what he referred to at the time, but this terror you speak of… it would explain what he was so cryptically referring to."

"Thank you, Ms. Mori," Raili graciously thanked Mori. "We greatly appreciate your help, in spite of your master's wishes… Your cooperation may mean the difference between us stopping this madness, and the release of an unspeakable terror on this world…"

"Not at all," Mori insisted. "I only regret the role I played in this terrible play up until this point… I sincerely apologize…"

"Don't worry," Rayf consoled Mori with his usual comforting tone. "You've helped us a lot just by telling us all this. We can handle things from here."

"Oh!" Mori spoke up as if suddenly remembering something. She reached into her jacket pocket to reveal six Poké Balls. "I nearly forgot. These are that boy's Pokémon. Please take them, and reunite them with him if you manage to find him."

Rayf stood up to accept Sean's Pokémon, and Raili came over as well, hovering over the six Poké Balls he held in his open hand. Without hesitating at all, she reached for one of them and released its captive. The white energy that escaped flew in circles around Raili, taking the form of a rather ecstatic, cackling Haunter.

"Hmm, I missed you too," Raili returned Harlequin's feelings. "But the last time I saw you, you didn't have those hands… You've been putting them to use for mischief, I'm SURE…" Raili added as one of the hands tapped her shoulder, fooling her into looking opposite from where the ghost Pokémon actually was, to its great amusement.

"Our suspicions confirmed…" Rayf stated gravely. "Sean's the one at the center of all this. Part of me still didn't want to believe it…"

Gwyn was a bit sickened by all the banter and pleasantries. He knew what he really wanted was his personal vengeance, but at the same time, something deep inside him wasn't satisfied with just leaving Sean to the mercy of Shadridine and this 'Renith' person. He felt like he had a debt to pay to those who had liberated him. He could live with postponing his revenge until this was over.

"So I guess we're headed for that damn temple, huh?" Gwyn asked rather callously.

"It would seem so," Rayf agreed. "I'd try to rescue him even if he WASN'T possessed by the scourge of humanity. But, as crazy as it sounds, he apparently is…"

"We mustn't dally," Raili urged. "They're likely taking him there as we speak. We must depart for the temple as soon as possible to stop them. If we're lucky, we may be able to head them off, or at least interrupt the ritual before it's too late. Even with only one of the artifacts, I fear that…"

Stage 4: Transformation Complete

"So then… this feeling behind these episodes… tell me about it," the psychiatrist inquired of the strange long-haired young man reclined before her.

"Well… the feeling, as you put it. It's more of a way of life for me anymore."

"Way of… life, you say?"

"Yes. I'm just that used to it, I guess. It's a natural instinct to me. I see content, natural life, and an undeniable urge is then triggered… an impulsive desire to cause pain and observe the suffering, relishing in it… as if the infliction of agony is the only thing that can slake my peculiar thirst."

The psychiatrist struggled to restrain her unnerved response. "I… see… and when you're acting on the impulse, how would you describe your state of mind? Is it one of true appeasement? Intoxication? Do you remain numb to the victim's suffering?"

The young man stirred with disagreement in response to one particular word. "Numb?! No, never… numbness describes the exact opposite of what I feel. When I'm exacting intense pain… and anguish… everything heightens!"

"Heightens?!" The psychiatrist flinched in surprise as her subject continued in a dazed but strangely impassioned tone.

"Yes… All sensations intensify… everything rises to a state of euphoric sensitivity… every drop of blood becomes a richer shade of crimson… every cry of agony becomes a symphonic harmony… and it all exponentially feeds a ravenous ecstasy that exceeds my very imagination!"

His listener was slightly intrigued, but mostly disturbed. "… And… has carrying out the… subsequent actions… been the only way to appease this urge?"

"Well, now that you mention it… no. For some reason, I've found that reminding myself of my own mortality somehow retards the intent… maybe equating myself with the victim's common state of latent fragility holds back my sadistic hand… something about the universal mortality of all life…"

"Then you must try to focus on that feeling, Mr. Inkina! It's imperative that you zoom in on this realization and try to make it a substantial part of your consciousness. It may be the key to stopping this once and for all!"

"Hmm," the young man mused, continuing his train of thought as if the grave words had glazed over him. "Well, I know that used to be the case at some point."

"Hmm?!"

"But then, I have a hard time remembering a time when I genuinely cared about my own life… I've come such a long way since I began my precious studies, hahahaah…"

...

An unusual long-haired man in a worn lab coat swayed into the dark bar, dripping wet from the pouring rain outside. He carelessly threw himself onto a stool at the bar, his stare focused downward and unaware of the bartender or any others around him.

"Can I get ya somethin'?" The one behind the bar asked the stranger with shaky suspicion.

"Your strongest imperial IPA," the odd man stated with conviction.

The bartender was baffled. "We don't have anything like that. If you want a beer, we got the usual—"

"Then make it an imperial stout! Or a barley wine! Dammit! What kind of $&*%hole is this, not carrying a single ale that isn't piss!"

"Look, buddy. If ya don't like the taplist, ya can leave."

"%* $ it, then! Just give me a shot of whiskey!"

A couple of unsavory onlookers at the bar took notice of the strange man's outburst in drunken entertainment and one stood up and approached him, clearly possessing an instigative intention.

"Wha's the matter, friend? Havin' a bad night? Bad day at work? Or jus' tryin' to run and hide from some misfortune?" the drunk inquired cynically, taking a seat right next to the newcomer and placing his pint glass on the bar near the whiskey that had just been served up by the bartender.

"On the run…" the dark-haired man reflected more to himself than to the drunk. Then he suddenly looked up at the man and showed his unworldly eyes… emerald green eyes that glowed on and off in sporadic spurts like the indicative lights of some sort of dying machine. "Yes… an unfortunate departure from work mandated by innocent ignorance… And as for what I'm running from… It's myself! I RUN FROM MYSELF!"

As the green eyes began to glow in more frequent spurts, the beer in the pint glass which had been placed on the table began to swirl faster and faster. The glass then became engulfed in a green light which corresponded to the sporadic illumination in the eyes. The man who had set the glass on the table noticed this with sluggish disturbance. "What the…? "

"And you should be running from me as well!" Suddenly the glass exploded in tiny shards as the green light around it intensified and faded, its liquid contents spilling all over the bar. The glass's owner quickly stood up in shock, dumbfounded and disturbed by the one he had so unfortunately decided to pester, the one who now turned slightly to glare with those terrible, glowing green eyes filled with malice and cold insensitivity.

"Augghh…! What the hell'd you do?! What are you?! You ain't worth it!" The drunk uttered in fearful confusion before barreling out of the bar in panic.

"Hmmhmmph…" The one who caused of the panic laughed, sincerely entertained by the whole episode, looking back down at the now-soaked and glass-scattered bar. "What am I…? What a hilariously intriguing question, hahahaah…!"

Chapter 15

A veil of blue light dimly illuminated the grassy rise of land which extended as a point into the vast expanse of the dark ocean, the completely full moon casting a reflection of white shards over the water, diminishing toward the black horizon. At the top of the risen point, the land gave away completely, forming a sheer cliff that dropped straight down to the sea. Levasse stood at the edge with his hands on his hips, looking out over the sea and sighing.

"Aww, I can't believe this! A damn Tangela was winning against Scyka? What's WITH that?! And that guy… was clearly NOT just some helpless, meek scientist dude. There was something weird about those eyes." He sighed hopelessly. "And then that crazy boss of mine tells me to stake out this point all night to intercept that kid from some OTHER two people who apparently have him now and are supposedly taking him across the sea to the north for some reason?! How does he even know all this stuff…? Man, I wish I had a six-pack of suds so I could actually enjoy this little camp-out…"

"How about you keep talking to yourself, as long as I decide the subject!" A female voice surprised Levasse from a distance behind him, causing him to rapidly turn around.

"$ *&! I hate being snuck up on like that! Alright, who are you and what do you want?" Levasse asked a little nervously. He wasn't used to being on the defensive side of an ambush.

"I've been keeping an eye on you, because YOU'VE been following GWYN around, you sneaky punk!" the brash girl with a mop of dark brown hair and wearing tattered jeans and a violet shirt seemed quite angry. "Anyone who has business with HIM has business with ME. So spill it! Why're you after him?!"

Levasse was speechless for a moment, quite taken aback by the girl's attitude. "Uhh, y-, huh?" he managed to awkwardly say. "The hell is this?! I don't know any 'Gwyn,' and I've never seen YOU before, either, crazy girl!"

"Oh REALLY," Iris sarcastically remarked. "You've been tailing him from a cowardly distance to avoid being noticed for quite a while now, all through the woods northwest of Celadon, and now you say you don't know of him? Hmm… well unfortunately for you, you didn't realize that someone else, much more stealthy than you, was spying on the both of ya!"

"Hey-wha?! More stealthy?!" Levasse's pride had been hurt. "Maybe I'm SOOOO stealthy, that I was feigning ignorance to GET you to follow me, huh? And YOU didn't realize THAT!"

Iris was amused. "You're not fooling anyone, and you know it. You ARE pretty funny, though, I'll give you that. It was way too easy to sneak up and surprise you just now. You OBVIOUSLY didn't think it was a possibility that anyone else was going to find you here in the middle of night."

Levasse's somewhat comical pretense of cleverness had been shot down. He shrugged. "Aw, well. Can't blame me for trying to act like a super-cool and calculating secret agent." He then seemed to be hit by a sudden realization. "Wait… is Gwyn… a freaky-lookin' Nido-guy, by any chance…?"

Iris was looking downward, fuming. "Yeah. A 'freaky-lookin' Nido guy…" She looked up at Levasse with fury. "Call him that again, and I'll make you regret it DEARLY!" She was deadly serious, and Levasse couldn't hide the fact that he was a little intimidated by her livid bearing.

"Hey, cool it! I'm not after HIM. I'm after someone ELSE that he happened to be moving toward!" Levasse paused, realizing how this explanation sounded. $& %. That doesn't sound real convincing, does it?"

"You're damn right it doesn't!" Iris reached into her pocket for a Poké Ball. "And if you're gonna lie, then I'll be happy to have my Pokémon pry the truth out of you!"

"Oh-ho! A battle, huh?" Levasse pulled out his own Poké Ball. "Perfect. It was gonna be really boring sitting out here just waiting. How lucky that someone came along to entertain me..."

"First my Pokémon are gonna pulverize whatever pathetic Pokémon YOU might have," Iris malevolently announced, her eyes narrowed. "Then I'M gonna beat YOU up, real thorough-like, for insulting Gwyn. And THEN I'll ask you my question one more time. From there, your answer will determine whether you get further abuse." She released her Flareon in a flash that shone bright in the dim night, its red and white fur appearing soft shades of blue in the moonlight.

'I hope you don't disappoint me," Levasse released his Scyther, which stood poised and battle-ready, its wings and scythes glinting under the light of the moon.

"Let's not waste any time," Iris said nonchalantly. "Flamethrower."

Chilly immediately exhaled a focused, powerful stream of flames toward the Scyther, cutting a blazing path of illumination through the dark night.

"Ah-ahhh, too slow," Levasse teased as Scyka took flight to avoid the flame, its mantis silhouette appearing as an intricate black shape within the pale, glowing circle of the moon behind it. "Wing attack it, Scyka!"

The Scyther dive bombed its enemy with incredible speed, flying past and grazing the target with the edge of its rapidly-beating wings. The blow seemed light, however, and after being knocked to its side, the Flareon was able to stand again easily.

Iris nearly bursted out in laughter. "Pfffpff… are you serious with that attack?! You know, I trained my Pokémon to be able to withstand BREEZES stronger than that…"

Levasse seemed a little flustered. "… Oh, uhh, hey! We're just warming up! And YOU'RE the one who hasn't landed an attack yet!"

"Hmm…" Iris narrowed her eyes at Levasse in consideration. "Chilly, you know what to do when they make their next move, right?"

The Flareon exchanged a knowing glance at its trainer, much to the perturbation of Levasse.

"Psh. Like you could be ready for what we'll do next. AS IF," he remarked sarcastically. "Scyka, it's time for our special… SLASH!"

Scyka flew at Chilly again, this time with its razor-sharp scythes bared. But to its dismay, the Flareon was prepared for the attack, using a double team move to create an illusion that mislead its attacker. The scythes slashed an X-pattern through the illusion, slicing nothing but air.

Meanwhile, Iris took advantage of Levasses's distraction with this development, as he appeared even more dumbfounded than his Pokémon did. While he was focused on the dueling Pokémon, she quickly snuck around the edge of the dark battlefield, rushing at Levasse before he could know what was happening. One strike to his solar plexus, and he doubled over. But Iris caught him before he hit the ground, twisting his arm behind his back forcefully.

"AUGH… what the $&^ !" Levasse managed to say between coughing gasps. Scyka looked back at its trainer with alarm upon seeing his predicament.

"Call it back! OR, I can see how much more pain you can take," Iris threatened while twisting his arm even more.

"Urgh…" Levasse used his free arm to take out Scyka's Poké Ball and recall the confused bug Pokémon. Once this was done, Iris basically threw him down to the ground and stood over him with her arms crossed as he tried to regain his composure.

"WHAT… what the &%$ ... you can't just charge the other trainer like that in the middle of a Pokémon battle!" Levasse protested.

"Then how come I just did?" Iris asked with deadly gravity. She kneeled down and took a rough hold of his shirt collar. "Now, we're at the terminal point I described… from here you can choose to tell me what I want to know, or you can have MORE ABUSE. What'll it be, chump?"

"…Uhhgh… jeez, I'm gonna catch hell for this…"

Levasse thought of what Grady would think about him giving away information due to losing. But at this point, he doubted any punishment form his boss would exceed what this brutal trainer would do to him if he remained silent.

"Alright, I'll tell you what I know… but don't hit me anymore if I don't know what you're after!"

"Hmph. We'll see." Iris stated cynically. "So why have you been following Gwyn?"

Levasse was hesitant to answer, since Gwyn truly hadn't been his target. "… he… he was going to where my real target was being held, that Inkina mansion place. I was told to follow him and use his clash with that Inkina guy as a distraction to take the kid we're really after…"

"Hmm. I don't know if I should believe this or not. But while we're at it, who's this 'we' you speak of? Who's your boss?"

Levasse recoiled at this request. "No… please don't make me tell you that. He'll kill me!"

Iris pulled him closer by the collar. "You poor thing. Would you like ME to kill you before HE can?"

"Alright! Grady! His name's Grady. He's the president of Ziraxis, based in Celadon. That's all I can tell you!"

"Okay… and oh yes. Your real target would be…?" Iris's tone threatened with impatience. An impatience Levasse didn't want to test.

"Some kid named 'Sean'! And that's literally ALL I can tell you! Now you know just as much as I do, so go to my boss if you wanna know more!" Levasse had spilled everything in hopes of saving himself from Iris's wrath. She dropped him carelessly, allowing him to fall to the ground with a thud.

"I can't believe it… some kinda coincidence."

Iris stood up and recalled Chilly. "It's good that I didn't have to use my Pokémon on you to make you talk. I'm sure a coward like you wouldn't withhold anything from me… but still…" Iris looked out into the night over the sea.

"I don't have the full picture yet. Why would some corporation be after that hopeless loser Sean? And why's Gwyn hangin' around the same people who kidnapped him… there must be a connection…"

Stage 5: Illumination

Making her usual way through the mansion in her routine of maintenance and cleaning, Mori noticed a purple folder left on a table in the lobby. Inkina had obviously left it there, perhaps forgetting it in the midst of his frantic studies. But it was different than the binders and textbooks that constituted his typical academic materials. Walking up to the table, Mori couldn't resist the temptation to open the folder and glance at its contents. Inside was a loose sheet of lined paper, labeled simply with a date at the top, with a mass of frenzied writing below it. Mori started to read the text below the date:

I've graduated to a superior state of mind. The mental anguish that was once a detriment… is now my salvation. I now realize the true nature of my existence. Complacency is death. Boredom is death. ANY sense of mental PEACE is DEATH. In contrast, anguish is stimulation. Torment is life. Vexation is vigor. A point arose at which anxiety was transformed into excitement. Yes… the pain of confusion… that is enough to fuel and excite my existence now.

In some ironic way, I've come full circle. As before, pain is the only indicator of life. But now… it's transmuted itself to a higher realm… the mind… the intense anxiety and fear of misunderstanding is not a toxic wound, but fuel. Fuel for my persistence. I'll thus continue seeking out the vexation I crave and need… it is the only thing that can sustain me now.

And if it runs dry… if I can't find any more challenges to my restless mind… I will have achieved death. I will take any measures necessary to conquer this fate. Morality is null. Difficulty is null. Ability is null. After all, there is nothing left for me now but the stark divide between death and…

Mori struggled to decipher the angrily scribbled text that followed.

That I still refer to my own claim to this thing called 'life'… how ridiculous. I withdrew from it long ago, without thought. So my present challenge presents itself: the full banishment of the stubborn remnants of an obsolete self… But I will overcome, as always…

Chapter 16

Rayf, Raili, and Gwyn were making their way north to Cerulean Cape via route 25, following Raili's advice to attempt beating Sean's captors to their destination across the sea. However, it occurred to Rayf that there was a slight problem with this plan.

"So how are we going to cross the ocean to that island… if my Slowbro is the only water Pokémon any of us have?"

Rayf's question addressed an issue that neither Raili nor Gwyn had an answer for.

"Yes, that's troubling… it's because neither Gwyn nor myself are trainers," Raili regretfully remarked. "So we can only rely on the water Pokémon YOU have."

Gwyn appeared irritated by the problem. "Can't it get us all there? What's its person capacity?" Gwyn spoke of the Pokémon as if it was a sea vessel.

Rayf was offended. "Now look, Sedative is pretty strong, but it can't motor THREE people across the ocean to that island! It doesn't have the size or strength! We'd be better off trying to swim there ourselves…"

"Which is out of the question," Raili completed Rayf's sentence. "The water's too cold… we'd all get hypothermia."

Gwyn was tuned out of the conversation, focused on the figure of another person who was traveling in the opposite direction of their party, moving closer and closer to them. "No way… is that…?"

From a distance, Iris was easily able to recognize Gwyn's unique appearance before HE recognized HER. "Well, well… the old gang meets up again," Iris shouted out, gaining the attention of Rayf and Raili as well.

"Huh…? Iris? Wow! What a coincidence meeting up with you again, huh?" Rayf greeted Iris warmly.

"A little TOO coincidental, I think, actually…" Iris added as she came face to face with everyone. She paid extra attention to her childhood friend. "Hey, Gwyn! Did you give those suits a thrashing? Get any info out of them?"

"Not really…" Gwyn looked down moodily, reflecting on the lack of results from his humbling encounter with the mad Dr. Inkina.

"Oh…? Well, I'VE undertaken some intelligence-gathering myself, and have pieced together that our old pal Sean's been kidnapped!"

Rayf, Raili, and Gwyn seemed unaffected by this news. "We already know that," Raili explained. "And so much more… perhaps we should explain the full situation to you."

"Full situation…?" Iris asked puzzledly.

Once the lore of Shadridine and its unfortunate connection to Sean had been explained in full by Raili and Rayf, Iris stood still in a sort of perplexed trance.

"Rea… really? Out of everyone in the world, that hopeless excuse for a trainer is who it chose as a host?! Ha! That's pretty funny."

"It's not funny at all, considering what's at stake," Rayf sought to break Iris's levity.

"Ah, relax. It's too tense around you guys! I'm only trying to loosen you all up! Don't you know that nervousness and anxiety only impede one's endeavors?"

Raili laughed lightly. "Hmph. Endeavors. We'll certainly have to endeavor to accomplish our particular goal…"

Gwyn, who had been silent up until this point, suddenly thought of something. "Heeeeyyy, Iris. Don't you have any water Pokémon?"

Iris was glad to answer. "Yeah, sure do! My Tentacruel, Majellan! The toughest gang-leader of all the world's seas!" she proudly referred to her pokémon's reputation.

"So we can cross the sea if we use Sedative AND Majellan, can't we?" Gwyn asked.

"Hmmm," Iris considered. "Majellan's got a pretty expansive jellyfish cap… it could PROBABLY accommodate two or three people."

"Then we're good!" Rayf interjected. "I can ride Sedative, while you three get ferried by Majellan!"

Iris seemed slightly skeptical. "And just HOW does one surf on a Slowbro? I just HAVE to know…"

"Huh?" Rayf thought it was obvious. "It's easy. The shell on its tail acts like an air-filled buoy that it drags behind it as it swims. I just sit on the shell and let Sedative swim wherever I want to go… kinda like a horse-drawn carriage, haha!"

Iris laughed as well. "Well, okay then! We're ready to go, right? Let's make our way to the cape and cross the ocean to that island!"

"It may be too late already," Gwyn pessimistically remarked.

Raili showed no hesitation. "We have nothing to lose, and everything to gain. We should proceed with urgency, regardless of… no… BECAUSE of the fact that we don't know how far behind we are."

Iris pointed decisively at Raili. "That's right! I like you're attitude! We've got business to take care of, so let's go!"

Chapter 17

"Cold… damn, it's cold!"

Gwyn complained from atop Majellan, sitting next to Iris and Raili. They had departed from the beach near where Iris had fought with Levasse the night before, and were now out in the open ocean, at a point farther north than any standard map of Kanto showed. A layer of overcast grey clouds covered the sky overhead completely, with the pure blue of clear skies visible below it on the horizon.

"Jeez, Gwyn, I never knew you were such a whiner," Iris remarked smugly.

"Psh. I was just commenting, not complaining," Gwyn tried in vain to disguise his discomfort. The others had put on sweaters or jackets to adjust to the cold, but Gwyn didn't have anything other than the ragged clothing he had worn since he was an experimental subject for all those years: his tattered dark jeans and frayed white shirt which didn't even button close anymore.

"Here," Iris dug out a spare sweater from her pack and handed it to Gwyn without looking at him. "We can't have any of us freezing before we even get there…"

"Uh… thanks," It still felt very odd to Gwyn to receive any sort of kindness from another person.

"Hey Raili! We getting close yet?" Rayf shouted from the shell of Sedative. The Slowbro was swimming at an even pace with Majellan a short distance away.

"I… think so…" Raili answered without much assurance in her voice.

Iris was displeased. "THINK so?! You better KNOW so! If we aren't nearing a destination here, we could reach a point where our Pokémon get exhausted, or when the weather decides to turn on us, and then we'll be sunk!"

Raili was shamed. "Yes… you're right. Sorry. It's just… I was made aware of this island's general whereabouts, but I've never been there, so knowing exactly how close we are isn't within my ability to say…"

At this point, Gwyn squinted as he seemed to focus on something in front of them. "Wait… is that… look there!" he pointed to a spec in the distance.

As they all got closer to the spec, it became visible as a huge island of rock jutting out of the sea. The top of the mass of rock extended upward into the cloud layer like a mountain, obscuring its true height. There was no way any landing on the surface was possible, as its sides were steep, jagged cliffs all around. However, as they got even closer, it became clear that there was a narrow opening at the base, forming a cave entrance that could be accessed by sea.

"Hahaaah!" Iris laughed triumphantly. That must be the place! We have to go in through that cave, right?!"

"Yes… I think that should be our destination," Raili wasn't so confident, but still agreed.

"Wonder what it's like inside," Rayf wondered.

"The temple…" Raili began. "It must be inside there. Now we find out if our assumptions have been correct…"

As the group neared the cave entrance, a few snowflakes began to fall delicately to the surface of the ocean, disappearing on impact. Then they entered the dark passage. Small waves lapped against the passage's walls, echoing throughout the cave. At first, it seemed to be an endless tunnel to the abysmal core of the mountain of rock, but after a long and nervous stretch of swimming through it, the space opened up to a huge cavern which was dimly illuminated by a reddish glow that seemed to come from one portion of the wall. Every movement of the water's surface was reflected in a red-tinted shifting kaleidoscopic pattern on the rocky walls of the spacious cavern.

"Incredible," Rayf commented in disbelief. "I wonder how OLD this place is… do you know, Raili?"

Raili seemed to be distracted out of an oddly dazed state. "Wha? Oh… no. I don't know. But everything my clan knows about the sealing of Shadridine was passed down through generations since before people recorded history in writing, so… probably REALLY old."

Iris snickered at this small lapse in Raili's usually formal tone.

"I don't get why that decrepit old %^*&!# monster is still around," Gwyn remarked derisively. "There's no such thing as immortality…"

"Immortality has nothing to do with it," Raili countered. "Understand… Shadridine isn't a living being in the sense that we understand that denotation. The true root of its essence is not flesh and blood, or a spirit even, but the primal sensations of fear and rage. It is a sentient embodiment of dread, and dread does not live or die. It exists in us all, as long as life exists. Asking why Shadridine has not died… is equivalent to asking why an emotion or sensation such as fear does not die."

This chilling clarification silenced not only Gwyn, but Rayf and Iris as well.

After staring at the light show on the cavern walls for a while longer, everyone noticed that there was a rocky shore within the cavernous interior, and that the slightly flickering glow was seeping through from a corridor on the dry rock.

"I'm afraid that light means we didn't get here first," Iris quietly warned as Majellan neared the shore. Once close enough, she stealthily jumped onto the rocky floor, motioning Raili and Gwyn to do the same before recalling the massive jellyfish Pokémon.

Riding a Slowbro, Rayf was naturally the last to reach the shore and join the others. Once they were all together and their Pokémon withdrawn, they proceeded cautiously to the corridor from which the light came from.

Once closer to the corridor, it became clear that this place wasn't just formed by nature. The corridor was more like a hall, with ancient stone columns on either side supporting an arched ceiling at least twice as tall as a person.

At this point, with the light becoming brighter and brighter the further the party walked, no one dared to talk. They didn't know if their presence had been detected by anyone or not, so they kept their noise to a minimum.

When they finally reached the end of the hallway, everyone came to a halt. At this end, the passage opened up into a another chamber where the light seemed to emit from, and stepping forward would doubtlessly expose them to anyone who might be inside. Everyone was tense.

"Well, why don't we go on…?" Iris whispered to Raili, figuring that she should defer to the one who knew the most about this place.

Again, Raili seemed to be broken out of a strange daze. "…Uh… oh, sorry. What was that?" she responded without whispering.

Everyone froze as her response echoed slightly throughout the hallway.

"Why don't you come on out little sister? After all, it's been so long…" An unknown voice suddenly echoed from the chamber before them.

None of them were as shocked as Raili upon hearing the voice. Without hesitating further, she ran forward into the chamber.

"Wait!" Gwyn tried in vain to stop her in a hushed shout. But it was no use. Their presence had been discovered, so Gwyn, Rayf, and Iris all ran after her. What they beheld in the chamber, however, stopped them in their tracks.

Similar to the initial cavern they had entered, this one was even larger, the corners of its high ceiling too dark to see. Looking at the site where the light radiated from, they saw two blazing torches, each set atop its own stone pillar. In between them was a larger pillar, carved with ancient patterns and indecipherable symbols engraved around its circumference from top to bottom. Carved in the stone atop the ancient pillar were two lengths of rock that wound together in a helix at their base, but separated as they flared outward and tapered into spikes at the top. Just below this a peculiar alcove was inset into the stone which resembled the mold of open claws with an empty spherical space below them, suggesting the placement of a spherical object there. Beneath all this, arms tied tightly behind him around the pillar, was Sean, who seemed more surprised to see his old friends than they were to see him.

Sean still couldn't fathom what Renith and Merix had told him before they took him to this place... that there was an ancient being inside him called Shadridine, and that they were going to sacrifice his life to obtain its power. It was too fantastic to believe… although the theory would explain the demon he had been tormented by when alone.

"Oh, Raili," Everyone looked to Renith, who was standing a little to the right of the pillars. She playfully dangled the spherical, garnet jewel that was attached to the necklace she wore, a somewhat demented look in her eyes. "You brought yours, yes? We've been waiting for it patiently, you know."

Raili nervously grabbed hold of the obsidian, claw-shaped pendant around her neck.

"Ah, look, Merix," Renith seemed to talk to someone off in the shadows. "She brought it just like I said. Now don't you feel silly for worrying…?"

Merix reluctantly stepped out of the shadows. "Yes… but we don't have it yet, do we?"

"And you think that's gonna be a problem?" Renith asked him in slight disbelief and annoyance. "Just look over there. Exactly what strong opposition are you seeing that I'm not?"

This insult was noticed, and not appreciated, by Iris in particular. "Um, excuse me…" she was fuming.

"Hmm?"

"We didn't come here to gift you Raili's little talisman, there. YOU are the ones who are going to be giving US that kid you've got tied to that freaky art piece over there."

"We know what you're trying to do," Rayf added. "That's my best friend you've got there. I'm afraid he's off-limits as a human sacrifice for summoning malevolent ancient monsters."

Sean didn't speak but exchanged a thankful glance with Rayf.

"Well, that's just as touching as it gets," Renith sarcastically responded. "But really, your sentimentality just served to bring all the components necessary for this summoning all together in the place they need to be for this to work. You all realize that, right? That your refusal to abandon this friend of yours is WHY he's gonna pay the ultimate price now?"

"Not until you take this by force," Raili assertively referred to the artifact around her neck which she still held tightly.

"And once we do, all that's left to be done is to place the two pieces in those spaces," Renith gestured to the alcoves above the pillar Sean was tied to. "I can't WAIT to see what'll happen then!"

"Why…" Raili asked quietly. "Why did you betray our clan? Why are you trying to completely undo the endeavors of our ancestors to seal the terror of Shadridine and release its fury on the world anew?!"

"Always so naïve," Renith began. "So sickeningly faithful to our family's traditions. Could it be that you're failing to recognize what our ancestors REALLY sealed away?"

"What do you mean…?" Raili suspiciously asked.

"Shadridine is still here." Renith walked over to Sean, casually leaning against the pillar he was tied to. "Still with us right now, inside this one. So what was sealed? Shadridine's POWER, that's what."

Raili showed distaste upon hearing this. "You can't mean…"

"You're after power." Gwyn suddenly spoke up in a sardonic tone. "It's pretty simple, really."

"Exactly," Renith confirmed. "When Shadridine's host is brought together with its original power sealed in the two artifacts, its being will draw out that power. But before that power fully reunites with Shadridine, Merix and I shall intercept it and claim it as our own by touching the artifacts as they release their power, drawing it into ourselves before it reaches Shadridine. You see, the presence of that terrible sentience in this boy is the necessary catalyst for this process to occur. Only Shadridine can draw out the power in those artifacts, and only here, through this ancient apparatus."

"And you call ME naïve?!" Raili protested. "How can you dare such a thing with such blind assurance…? Shadridine preyed on all that lives in this existence for eons before it was sealed… and you, who has only the knowledge and experience of one mortal lifetime, are about to give it a path to rebirth! Do you really think one mortal's greedy plan to steal its power away in that fated moment will triumph over Shadridine's restless and eternal draw toward the power that was separated from it? It's like dangling a mouse before a snake with the confidence you can move your hand away faster than it can strike!"

"Hmm, what an eloquent metaphor," Renith commented in amusement.

"Make that TWO greedy mortals," the standoffish Merix corrected Raili.

"Uh? That's right!" Raili pointed to the strange, white-haired man. "Just who is HE, Renith? Who have you corrupted into joining your misguided cause?"

"Don't point, little sister. It's RUDE, you know?"

Raili blushed a little in embarrassment for her lack of manners, despite the desperate situation.

Renith glanced at her partner. "Him? You could say he's… and old peer from school. Yeah, we went to school together, HA!"

Merix looked confused upon hearing this. "Well, in a way, I guess…"

"Anyway, don't get the wrong idea, Raili. We're equal coconspirators in this plot. We inspired and complemented one another's ideas every step of the way."

Iris, like everyone else, was getting a bit impatient with Renith's light demeanor. "Your little sister seems to make a pretty good point regarding the probability of Shadridine taking advantage of the opportunity you want to give it. Do you really mean to proceed with this?"

"Oh, that," Renith acted as if she was reminded of a minor detail. "I always found statistics boring. What if we DO fail? That outcome could also be a thrill to witness, no? Haven't you ever desired to behold the majesty of Shadridine's true, full manifestation? Aren't you at all curious? We sure are…"

"How can you be serious…" this frivolous explanation angered Rayf. "You talk like this is just a game to cure your boredom! But Sean's life is being put in jeopardy… no, not just him. The whole world!"

"So what?" Renith asked coldly. "We all have lives, and we're all going to die eventually. If I can't seize Shadridine's power, at least I'll cure my boredom and break up the monotony of eternity… If we all die here, then so be it."

"I see…" Raili sighed in resignation and no small amount of sorrow. She didn't want to believe her sister had become this way, so nihilistic and willing to throw even her own life away. "Then there's no use talking further."

"It'll have to be resolved violently," Iris completed her thought.

As Poké Balls were bared, there was an interruption.

"Excuse, me… can I join in, please?"

Chapter 18

Grady, the president of Ziraxis, came swaggering in from the arched hallway, in his usual white suit and matching bowler hat. He stopped at a comfortable distance from both parties, surveying the situation calmly from behind the orange-tinted lenses of his glasses. While everyone was stunned, only Gwyn knew who the man was.

"Hey there, Gwyn. Glad to see you made it as well."

"Ughrr… why, and HOW, are YOU here…?" Gwyn couldn't believe Grady had found this place.

"And you would be…?" Renith inquired with intrigue.

"Apologies. The name's Grady. I'm the president of Ziraxis Inc., and I've been trying my hardest to acquire the young man you have over there, but to no avail. (That damn Levasse…) You two have remained perpetually one step ahead of us. Well done in making me come all this way."

"We've stayed ahead, because we're experts about this whole Shadridine thing, guy." Renith disrespectfully explained, wagging her finger at Grady. "You probably don't know what you're getting yourself into. The power at stake isn't anything like the materialistic gains YOU'RE probably familiar with, Mr. President," She playfully mocked.

"Oh? I must disagree. I've studied the Shadridine legend quite a bit, actually. Fascinating folklore. And I believe it DOES relate to my corporate world… in some striking ways, haha…"

Iris had noticed Gwyn's immediate reaction to this man and was therefore suspicious of him. "You… did you have anything to do with what was done to Gwyn?"

Grady smirked crookedly at Iris. "I don't know why you'd ask… but no. Not directly."

The way Grady said the last words didn't sit right with Gwyn. There was a smugness in his tone that wasn't there back when Gwyn had interrogated him in the Ziraxis building. Perhaps he had been foolish to accept Grady's explanation back then. Maybe his excuses were an act…

"I don't believe you!" Iris exclaimed. "You want Sean for the same power-hungry reason as THEY do, right?" she gestured toward Renith and Merix. "Just that alone is reason enough not to trust you, crook!"

Grady laughed aloud upon hearing this. "Ha! 'Crook'… I don't get called that nearly often enough, you know that?"

This comment left everyone somewhat puzzled.

"Well, anyhow, you were all about to start a big brawl, right?" Grady refocused. "By all means, proceed. But permit me to make your brawl just a little bigger." He took a Poké Ball out of his suit pocket, releasing a flash of light that took the form of a fluttering Venomoth. "This is Phenol, who'll be more than enough to make this interesting, believe me…"

The release of Phenol set off a chain reaction of the others releasing their Pokémon. Iris sent out Schizoid, her Sandslash, while Rayf released Traumellow, his Hypno. Across the chamber, Merix sent out a Fearow which came to a rest on the cave floor, and Renith unleashed a rather devious-looking Gengar, to the dreaded notice of Raili.

"No… is that…?"

"You got it, Raili. It's the one and only Mortifume! Our clan's most powerful ghost Pokémon, the Gengar passed down to only the most worthy heirs of our order. Now you get to be on the receiving end of its fearsome powers. Get why I'm so confident yet?"

Now, when the battle lines were finally drawn and the clash was imminant, Gwyn picked up a hint of a stench in the air, which gradually seemed to be getting stronger.

"Hey… does anyone else smell something… weird?"

Everyone looked at Gwyn in confusion.

"Why, yes," Renith answered confidently. "I can smell your impending defeat as well, hahahah!"

Grady, who was closest to the entrance, began to move away into a corner, seemingly withdrawing from something. "That's no figurative stench," he brought his hand to his nose.

The others now noticed it as well.

"Jeez, what IS that?" Iris wondered.

"Wait, listen!" Gwyn, who had sharper senses due to his experimental modifications, was the first one to pick up on a growing noise as well.

As everyone fell silent, only the sound of the burning torches could be heard in the huge cave. Then they all perceived a faint sound of moving liquid, but lower pitched than the bright flow of water in rapids or a stream. The liquid sounded HEAVY, like it was thick or gooey. The smell became more potent the louder the noise became, until…

"Grady! It's been WAY too long!" An enthusiastic voice echoed from the hallway. A voice which made two of the people in the chamber cringe with particular unease. However, before any person could be seen, the slimy form of a Muk slithered sluggishly into the chamber, revealing the source of the smell and sound. Laxly shuffling behind this mass of sludge followed the source of the voice, an unusual man in a frayed white lab coat with long, unkempt dark hair with an odd brown streak, and piercing green eyes which seemed to glow in blinking, uneven increments.

"Hello! Mr. Grady! Bet you thought you'd never see me again, huh?" Inkina impishly addressed the first person he saw."

"Dr…. I-… Inkina!" Grady was indeed shocked to see the brilliant, but demented scientist he hadn't seen since firing. "How…?"

"Surfed over on Nadsokori, here," Inkina casually explained while petting his Muk, only to have his hand become embedded in sludge. Oddly, he didn't seem to mind this.

"You…" Gwyn stared at him in hatred. "We have unfinished business…"

As he shook off the sludge adhering to his hand, Inkina became even more euphoric upon seeing Gwyn, and Sean tied up a further distance away.

"My specimens! BOTH of them! Brought together again in the same place, waiting for me to come to them… It must be fate!" Inkina spoke with delirious cheer."

Even across the cave, Sean grew pale at the sight of this man.

"Cut the crap! You won't catch me off guard again!" Gwyn shouted in anger. "This time I'll kill you!"

"Oh…" Inkina tuned in to Gwyn's reference. "That's right, Genus and I didn't get to finish our experiment with you back then, did we? Don't worry, though. We can finish later if you'd like. But I came here first and foremost for some field research."

"Dr. Inkina," Renith began in a scolding tone. "Did you forget our agreement? You were to hand the sacrifice over to us after completing your tests, correct?"

"Which I did," Inkina answered calmly. "So what's the problem? I already met the conditions of our agreement. We no longer have any obligations to one another, do we?"

"True. We do not," Merix agreed callously.

"Then you'll be opposing us as well as this defiant group…?" Renith asked impatiently.

"Oppose? No," Inkina answered. "I came because I'm incredibly, irresistibly interested in the specimen you have tied up over there, and I want to know more than what the inadequate results of my tests provided me. You see, I can't resist a mystery. It's not every day, or every year for that matter, that I'm able to be vexed by such a delicious conundrum as the case of the possession of this boy…" He crossed his arms and grinned maniacally. "Anything I do here will be in an effort to better understand the specimen."

"Which means you want to see Shadridine's rebirth through this boy as we do, correct?" Merix inquired.

Inkina giggled slightly. "Maybe."

"Shouldn't waste yer time," Grady remarked to no one in particular. "Once I set my sights on something, I close in on it and start constricting on my target like a boa constrictor. You may have evaded me before, but now that I've found you, it's time I start constricting."

"So you're a snake…?" Inkina seemed to be quite amused in his own thought. "If you're a snake, then consider me… an ostrich."

This strange counter-metaphor left everyone who heard it completely befuddled, and even a bit humored.

"Gwyn," Iris directed a hushed whisper at him. "Don't get distracted by Inkina. We have to keep our focus on freeing Sean, regardless of how many enemies we have in our way."

Gwyn suppressed his rage with difficulty. "I know… but it looks like this is gonna get messy no matter how you slice it."

"We have to organize a joint attack," Rayf joined their discussion. "Otherwise we'll get crushed one by one."

"Mortifume, Confuse Ray!" Renith shouted out, startling everyone who had been waiting. The battle had begun.

Chapter 19

The Gengar dissipated and instantly reappeared at a height above the battlefield where it could oversee all its opponents. It then emitted a wide-flaring wave of a red-tinted energy-wave which engulfed Traumellow and Schizoid. Gwyn, who acted as a sort of trainer and Pokémon in one, managed to get out of the ray's radius in time to avoid it. After this, he made a dash for Sean's position.

"Not so fast," Merix intervened. "Dive, Wakurra!" His Fearow, which had taken flight moments before, dive bombed Gwyn, raking him with razor-sharp talons, ripping through his shirt to leave bloody gashes on his side and knocking him to his side with the impact.

Meanwhile, Schizoid and Traumellow were in disarray after the impact of Mortifume's Confuse Ray. Schizoid was slashing furiously at the air, and Traumellow seemed to be randomly emitting bursts of psychic energy.

"Damn it! Beaten to the first punch!" Iris bemoaned in frustration.

Just then, a strange wave of blue psychic energy emanated from another corner of the cave, causing Mortifume to wince in a bit of pain and disrupting the confuse ray.

"Amazing how a moth can generate such potent psychic energy, isn't it?" Grady bragged from across the chamber.

"You!" Renith looked over at an arrogant Grady in anger. "You don't know what you're dealing with. Mortifume, if you please."

The Gengar ceased its Confuse Ray, turning to the Venomoth and unleashing a black ray of Night Shade from its glowing red eyes. However, its target fluttered upwards with agility, retreating into the shadowy ceiling of the cavern.

"Psybeam," Grady called out, and a focused beam of multicolored psychic energy rained down from the darkness at the Gengar. However, this attack was easily dodged by the gaseous ghost Pokémon.

Meanwhile, Schizoid and Traumellow were still struggling to recover from the lingering effects of the Confuse Ray.

Gwyn was still trying his best to avoid the swift, swooping attacks of an extremely high-leveled Fearow. Each time it dove at him, he suffered another grazing wound either from its beak or talons, unable to dodge fast enough to avoid it completely. At one point Gwyn found he was too slow to recover for the next dive. He was sure he wasn't going to be able to dodge the incoming bird Pokémon, but to his surprise, a rather large clump of purple sludge hit him from the side, its force knocking him out of Wakurra's path and, less to his enjoyment, leaving him completely slimed. Wiping the viscous muck from his face and sitting drenched in it, he looked across the cavern to see Nadsokori and Inkina, who was happily waving at him.

"What the $^ %?!" was all Gwyn could say.

"Well I didn't wanna see you go out like THAT," Inkina explained. "Much too simple for you. Not TWISTED enough, you know?"

"…?..." As was often the case, Gwyn couldn't really process Inkina's strange words.

"Damn it, this is useless!" Rayf exclaimed in frustration. "I'm gonna do like Gwyn make a break for Sean. Maybe one of us can act as a decoy for that Fearow while the other gets to that pillar!"

"No, don't, it's too dangerous! You're not as fast as Gwyn!" Iris shouted after him. But she couldn't stop him from running off.

Raili was feeling somewhat useless as she nervously watched these struggles, but only until she realized that the deranged Dr. Inkina was shuffling toward her, Nadsokori slithering along with him, at which point she became more concerned for herself.

"My dear, could I ask a small favor?" Inkina began in a sarcastically coaxing tone. His eyes blinked their sporadic green glow eerily in the dim lighting of the cave. "Your artifact there, at the end of that necklace, could I have a closer look at it?"

Raili inched away until she was backed against a wall of the cave, but then suddenly remembered she had Sean's Pokémon with her! Able to psychically sense which Poké Ball was Harlequin's, she released it immediately to shield herself from any attack.

"Harlequin, I'm in trouble! And Sean too! Please help us!" Raili had never been a trainer, so she didn't have the intuition to command a specific attack to Harlequin, who whimsically started to float in circles around Inkina and his Muk. The ghost Pokémon appeared quite unconcerned with anything as it serenely orbited them.

"Uh… Harlequin?" Raili was slightly concerned.

"My, what a charmingly ridiculous Haunter!" Inkina remarked in admiration as he and Nadsokori watched it.

Just then a commotion near the middle of the cave attracted everyone's attention. What they saw was Rayf dashing toward Sean while Iris and Gwyn were frantically yelling at him to stop and turn back. At this point, Wakurra was soaring high in the dark space of the cave above them, in between swoops.

Still tied to the ancient pillar, Sean had watched these events unfold with a mixture of gratitude and guilt. He couldn't believe he had friends who were risking their lives for him. Just HAVING friends was something he hadn't been able to imagine for most of his life. However, the fact that they were in danger now because of his situation made him feel incredibly guilty. He knew he wasn't worth that kind of risk. He could never think highly enough of himself to believe he was worth saving. Especially by Rayf… not if it meant risking his life… Rayf had already saved his life once before… it was Sean who owed HIM, not the other way around…

Merix cocked his head in puzzlement at Rayf's reckless advance toward Sean. Then he smiled faintly.

"Drill Peck. Pick that one off," he commanded Wakurra simply.

Everyone in the cave watched as the Fearow dove on a collision course with Rayf, spinning its whole body in a furious twirl of feathers, its spear-like beak becoming a deadly, rapidly-spinning drill.

Sean saw what was about to happen. And in this moment, all that he could think about was how unfair it was. He had continuously found himself in danger, and even sought out death before. Rayf had continuously looked out for him, and even pulled him out of the jaws of death. And now the one who…

Wakurra made contact with its target, violently piercing Rayf through the heart with its spinning beak. As the beak drilled through him, his forward momentum was halted completely and the beak broke through his back, a spurt of blood shooting out of the wound. The brutal Fearow then pushed its talons against Rayf's chest to withdraw its beak, taking flight again and leaving Rayf to collapse to the cold cave floor.

Gwyn, Iris, and Raili looked on in horror as Rayf fell and a puddle of blood grew around him.

"Hmph, that's one down," Renith cruelly observed as she took a moment to look away from her battle with Grady's Venomoth. "Nicely done, Merix."

Rayf had just barely enough strength left to glance over at Sean before he succumbed to the bleeding wound. Sean, who was in a state of numb shock, saw his one and only best friend make eye contact with him briefly, smile faintly, and then fade away.

This was the result.

The result of a friendship.

That never should have been…

Why? Why wasn't his own death good enough back then?! WHY did it have to come to being saved, only so he could watch his savior die trying to prevent what could have been left alone to happen so easily back then?

Tears began to well, flow, and then give way to a stifling, tightening sensation inside his chest, like he was feeling the pressure at the bottom of the ocean. Then torment began to build. Sorrow. Frustration. Rage. Nothing unfamiliar. But so much more potent now… now that it wasn't just himself involved. After such a long time being alone… now to feel these poisons compounded by this new sensation of being attached to another… it was too much. The flood of sorrow, regret, and anguish was too great, even for the calluses he had built up during his isolation.

It was going to end now. It had to end now. No other path was feasible. Death screamed out to him like an intense gravitational pull. Oblivion was the only path.

Chapter 20

Sean had gone out cold. The inside of his mind was like the aftermath of an atomic bomb. His psyche had been decimated, and at the moment there was nothing but a cold, dark, empty space. He had felt a void like this before, in a similar circumstance.

"Well, it seems that your plan has been… derailed."

Sean tensed in further stress within his mind. There was no way. Not here. For that demon to return now…

"You know what this means, don't you?" the sinister voice asked. "It's just you and me now. Together to the end, partner."

Sean could say nothing to the thing.

"Hmm. Silent treatment. That's fine. You're used to what it's like to be dead, just like him now. You're a natural."

Sean still didn't converse with it.

"But I have to wonder… maybe it doesn't make a difference. In the alternative scenario, you still would have been the cause of his death. Not only a hopeless suicidal, but a persistent murderer. You've outdone yourself. You must've planned his death the whole time, just putting off the means…"

"I killed him…" Sean voiced a vacant thought in his mind.

"Indeed," the voice agreed. "But now what? Here at the end of the line… what will you do now that you're at the end of your rope?

"Killed… end… I…" Sean was floating in a haze of susceptible self-doubt and impressionable fragility. Every slight suggestion the demon made directed his thoughts in a particular direction.

"I think you're finally ready," the voice spoke again, startling Sean more this time, as it seemed to be speaking right next to his ear instead of just echoing throughout his mind.

The spectators watching Rayf's death were still arrested in awe when Sean stirred in unusual restlessness, his eyes glowing with a purple light. Oddly, Harlequin responded instantly to this development, ceasing her playful floating around Inkina and Nadsokori as a corresponding purple light shone in her eyes. Then, to Raili's shock, the Haunter made a beeline for her, using one of its hands to snatch the obsidian, claw-like artifact from her neck, snapping it off the necklace.

"Wha-, wait!" Raili shouted after her, but to no avail. From here, the seemingly possessed Harlequin flew directly to Renith, snapping off the spherical artifact on her necklace with its other hand before she knew what was happening.

Then, to no one's foresight, Harlequin brought the two artifacts directly to the pillar where Sean was tied and inserted them both into the alcove above him, fitting the garnet sphere into the grasp of the obsidian claw.

"No!" Renith shouted in horror. "Not yet! You can't initiate the summoning yet!"

But it was too late.

It began with the entire chamber trembling as if there was an earthquake. Then the obsidian claw began to glow with an unworldly purple light. Seemingly in response, the spherical garnet artifact in its grasp glowed an unworldly green, and as this happened Sean reacted in trembling terror. He became seized by an unseen force, his limbs hyper-extending in agony as something in the pillar began to drain what seemed to be his very life force. But not only his life. Something else was being drawn forth into the apparatus.

"Oh, good," Inkina was the only one insane enough to be able to speak at this moment, everyone else stunned by the unexpected and immediate initiation of the summoning. He approached the pillar fearlessly, opening his arms to the surge of energy that now coursed through it. "Now I can achieve a more intimate understanding of this cryptic being! Yes! Bring on your wrath! Your terror! Impose your thesis of eternity upon this world and lay low our vain perceptions of existence!"

Now the glowing energy drawn from Sean by the artifacts was transmuted to the helical statue of stone above the pillar, flowing through the rock until it terminated at the flaring ends. From there, it emitted from the pointed ends and began swirling into a tornado-like cyclone of purple and green energy in the cavern's lofty ceiling.

An unspeakable form arose out of this terrible cyclone, towering over all those who helplessly watched its grand emergence. Looming over them all, it uttered a deep, otherworldly, alien speech that penetrated the very substance of their mortal bodies. No one understood what was communicated by the sounds, but its menace was sensed by all. This being was Shadridine. It was the dread of all that lived, the primal embodiment of fear, anger, hatred, and blind malice. Its intensity was limitless, for there is no end to the perceptions of these feelings by those that live.

At first the energy of its emergence had appeared as a spinning twister. But at some undefined point the situation had somehow seemed to reverse. Now it was the entire chamber and everyone in it that seemed to be spinning around the pillar from which the being had arisen, as if it had become a center of power and gravity around which everything orbited. As if this alone wasn't enough to alarm everyone, the marbled swirl of purple and green energy that had initially been contained in the twister now flowed down the shaft of the pillar and swiftly spread like invasive roots and vines all over the cave floor, and eventually all up the walls until every surface in the chamber glowed and coursed with a dense, writhing mosaic of purple and green tendrils.

Considering this incredible development, the battles which had been interrupted had ceased completely as trainers and Pokémon alike stood in petrified awe. Raili had fallen to her knees, a hollow look in her eyes as she beheld the rebirth of the terror which had been her sole purpose to keep sealed. Gwyn was still on his side from the last of Wakurra's swooping attacks, and Iris had urgently rushed to Rayf only to find that life had already left him. Grady was curiously examining the strange network of glowing tendrils which coated everything, while Renith and Merix appeared as glazed over and paralyzed as Raili. The deranged Dr. Inkina, his usual madness only stoked by his witness of Shadridine's spectacular summoning, continued approaching the indefinite form of the being, below which Sean now appeared lifeless, still tied to the sacrificial pillar.

Here Inkina began to grin wider and giggle his hyena-like laugh with particular enthusiasm. His green eyes glowing in bursts through dark locks of wild hair, he was a sight nigh as disturbing as Shadridine. "I've been waiting for you… my eternal model of existence…"

Renith took sharp notice of this comment. "What are you up to, Inkina?! What do you know? Did you set this up for some secret reason?!"

Inkina glanced at her with a crooked smirk. "No, YOU set this up. Don't deny the credit you deserve, dear."

"Renith," Merix spoke with intensity. "That obscure theory. Do you remember? Look at the pieces before us, and those green eyes... we've overlooked something."

"Theory, you say…" Inkina held his chin in one hand. "I wonder what it could be…"

"No…" Renith couldn't believe what Merix was referencing. "NO! It CAN'T be that! I won't believe it! How could it have slipped by us?!"

"I'm in debt to you, Renith," Inkina thanked her with sincerity. "Really because we share such similar personal philposophies… that's why this was possible."

"What do you mean?!" Renith was irate.

Inkina seemed surprised. "You ask? Well, you were just as bored as I was with the world, were you not? However, I didn't expect anyone besides myself to carry that attitude this far. I'm really impressed. BUT, now that you've lost your little gamble, you seem to have lost your nerve. It seems that there was a conditional limit to your nihilism… so sad, too bad. Or is it so bad, too sad? Maybe both, haha."

"How dare you…" Renith seethed. "You don't know what you're interfering with…"

"Know?!" Inkina erupted with laughter. "Hah… 'know'… Yes, I really DON'T know, do I? Isn't it sublime? However, I don't NEED to know at this point. I can FEEL what I'm interfering with. It's much more intimate, I assure you."

The mass of seething energy that was Shadridine now uttered more of that chillingly alien speech, the spiral of eerie green and purple condensing and becoming more intense and vivid. Most of those left alive and conscious in the chamber were further disturbed by this development. Inkina, however, became even more hysterical.

"Question… question, everybody!" he blurted out with the excitement of a passionate teacher lecturing a class of students. "Why… whyYAyyyy…?" He asked vaguely, now with the tone of an impatiently curious child. "…would that specimen's own Pokémon bring about the summoning of a being that seeks to use his life force, theoretically killing him, to bring about its rebirth? Can anyone tell me why?"

The following vexed silence of all those attending reflected the chasm of insanity which isolated Inkina in his unimaginable state of mind. Nevertheless, he continued.

"No one knows? Well, that's okay. It turns out, everybody, that some Pokémon with psychic abilities can sense the inherent desires of their trainers. NOW. What would happen if that trainer's mind was, shall we say… taken over?!"

"Shadridine's influence is dominating and absolute…" Raili mechanically stated, still in a devastated daze.

"Yes, correct!" Inkina confirmed with enthusiasm. "And now, another question. Why… would an avid and eccentric scientist such as I be so thrilled and exhilarated to be here when all this stuff is happening?"

Shadridine's ethereal form stirred even more, it's deep, rumbling speech now repeating some sort of indecipherable chant.

"Oh, dear. We're running short on time. That's nothing new to me. You know, I used to be the kid in school that was last to finish every test," Inkina mused. "My teachers would say I had to learn to work faster, but it never made sense to me. Why would I want to rush through a mental challenge? It should be savored."

"I remember that," Grady added in, seeming to join Inkina in reminiscence about something in the past. "You were completely absorbed. With what, no one understood."

"Indeed!" Inkina agreed. "Not even I could understand. And my acceptance of that is what separates us, Renith," he now looked to Renith, who still hadn't recovered from the sudden turn of events.

"What is this, Inkina?! Stop playing ignorant!"

Not only Renith, but Merix, Iris, Gwyn, Raili, and Grady all listened anxiously as the oblivious scientist continued as before.

"Some people in this world hold fast to the foolish and comforting belief that everything happens for a reason, for reason offers the shelter of understanding and meaning for all that transpires. Some turn to religion, looking to fabricated, fantastic realities that simplify all the glorious perplexities of the world and reduce them to brainless mush. And yet others endeavor to manipulate and exploit the material world in accordance with their one-dimensional calculations, expecting results to follow reason without fail."

Inkina paused thoughtfully.

"And THEN there are those like me, who relish in the mysteries and don't turn away from them until their absolute truths are revealed in irrefutable totality. This is the infinite path of science."

"Get on with it!" Renith couldn't tolerate such casual banter considering the circumstances.

Inkina focused once again on Renith. "YOU… are one of those who believe everything happens

for a reason. You created a situation which led to one event after another, presumptuously assuming that each of your predictions would be confirmed based on your thought-out

REASONS. Never once did your plan account for chance, capriciousness, or insanity… and now look what that limited and rigidly-structured outlook has cost you…"

At this point, what had been a cyclone of purple and green energy was condensed into a column which was glowing with a strange black light that phased out the original pair of colors.

Gwyn was brimming with rage. Rayf, who had always been so friendly and helpful to him, was lying dead in a puddle of his own blood. Gwyn then looked over at the pillar above which this THING called Shadridine was looming, and saw the lifeless, thin frame of Sean, one of the people who had risked their lives to liberate him from his past prison. This monster did this. And the people responsible for its release were before him.

A beating vibration now shook the chamber, almost as if the tremors followed a heartbeat. And then the writhing green and purple tendrils, which had at first seethed randomly, sprang with a surge of energy, rapidly organizing into a cryptic and alien text which now covered every surface of the chamber.

"Raili…" Iris finally spoke with sober resignation. "Do you know what's happening?"

Raili seemed unresponsive at first. "… It's over…" she finally answered oddly. Iris wasn't shocked to hear this concise answer.

"I won't accept this… Inkina!" Gwyn shouted at the elated psychopath standing before the pillar. "Everything that's happened… to me, and now to Sean and Rayf… it was you! You're at the root of it ALL!"

Inkina was amused. "Oh? Flattery won't get you anywhere with me, you know…"

"Gwyn, don't do it!" Iris tried to stop Gwyn as he dashed toward Inkina in a mad rage.

"Nope," Inkina teased as he pointed to Shadridine. "Time's up."

Gwyn never reached Inkina. The column of inky blackness in the chamber's center suddenly radiated outward rapidly, engulfing the entire space and everyone in it in a wave of darkness that swallowed everything.

"Finally…" was the last word Inkina, or anyone, uttered before the black wave consumed them all.

Chapter 21

Gwyn couldn't see anything. Nor could he feel anything. It was almost as if the wave of darkness had put him to sleep, and he was dreaming. But it didn't feel like any dream he had ever had. There was nothing but black space, and his mind was too aware and conscious for this to be a dream. So what was it…?

An indeterminate length of time seemed to pass in this strange state. And then…

"Why hello there, Gwyn."

The voice, and the stark formation of the person to whom it belonged, set Gwyn in a panic.

"Didn't I tell you we could finish our experiment later? Well now… 'later' has already come."

"No… it can't be… WHY ARE YOU HERE?! WHAT IS THIS?!"

Inkina swaggered ever closer to Gwyn's baseless perspective in the darkness.

"This is your new eternity," Inkina answered in a tone that made Gwyn quiver. "I hope you're ready, Gwyn. We're going to have much SO much more fun now that there are no more restrictions…"

Inkina became seized with an uncontrollable and demonic laughter that echoed throughout the black void...

End