A/N - Here they are! The one-shots to tie in with The End. If you've not read The End yet, I strongly recommend you do - At least up to chapter 61 for the majority of them - since these will be riddled with spoilers!

I hope to upload one a week (and hopefully also write one a week!) If there are any you'd like to see, please let me know either via PM or a review here or the main story. There may be characters I'm overlooking while writing!

A little warning that many of these stories are a tad angsty in parts.

Other than that, I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer - I do NOT own Pokemon or any of its critters! They belong to Nintendo, Game Freak etc.

Exiled

The little Absol raced through the Shadow Lands, his breaths coming quick and heavy as he fled the massacre behind him. Terrified cries were still fresh in his mind along with the scorn and hate calls from the Pokemon he passed by.

'Yeh, run! Run, you wretched harbinger!'

'Get out of here, you filth!'

'Look at the mess you've caused!'

'You brought this disaster on us!'

Tears flooded out of his eyes, stinging and blurring his view. He screwed them shut, running blindly through the stack of tumbled rocks that marked the end of the Shadow Lands and the start of the Border Woods.

Head for the borders. Those had been his father's last words before the Murkrow had descended on him. The little Absol hadn't waited around to watch. He'd turned his tail and ran, trying to shut out the horrified cries.

Everything was red. That's how he remembered it.

Red.

Red eyes filled with rage, hatred and blood lust.

A red sky streaked with black feathers which fell onto a sticky red floor.

The little Absol just ran.

Those frantic cries faded into the background as he fled deeper into the Border Woods, but they were still blaring through his mind, a rampant turmoil of trauma caused by death and betrayal.

Betrayal.

It was all his fault.

If he'd just stayed hidden...

His right paw caught under a large root and his leg was snatched out from under him. He fell face first into the dirt, his chin skidding over the tangled plants and hard, tiny stones.

Tears flooded freely from his eyes and he let out a long groan, broken up by sharp sobs as he tried to push himself back onto his feet.

He was exhausted.

He'd been running since sunset, and now the sky was pitch black.

He sat down and ran a paw across his eyes, then blinked them back open, clearing away the bleariness. His breath caught in his throat as a small figure came into view beyond the brambles and he scooted backwards, almost falling onto his back.

A small Zorua stood watching him. They didn't look to be much younger than he was, and didn't have much to their physique either. They were rather skinny with long, slender legs, their body hidden under a dull, shaggy coat of fur. But what struck him the most was the Zorua's colouring. Rather than red markings, they had blue ones, and they stared at him through a pair of bright blue eyes.

"Are you all right?"

The Zorua's voice was as ambiguous as his appearance. He inclined his head on one side and took a step towards him.

The Absol edged away and quickly gasped out, "Don't come near me!"

"I'm not going to hurt you."

The Zorua advanced towards him and he took another step back, keeping his tail close to the ground as his entire body shook.

"Don't you know what I am?" the Absol asked.

"Of course I do!" The Zorua laughed. He stopped in front of him and narrowed his eyes, giving him a somewhat quizzical look. "You have mud on your face."

The Zorua closed his eyes and burst into fits of laughter.

The Absol frowned and sat down, rubbing his paw across his nose to remove the dirt as he stared at the Zorua. This made no sense. Why wasn't he running away? Or chasing after him with cries of loathing?

Finally, the odd Pokemon regained his composure and gave the Absol a smile.

"I'm Harlequin. What's your name?"

The Absol looked away from him. "I don't have one."

"Of course you do. Everyone has a name!"

"I don't." He shot the Zorua a leer. "I disgraced my clan so I had it removed from me. I'm nothing."

Harlequin stared at him blankly. "Then... what am I going to call you?"

The Absol frowned. "They call me a harbinger. Does that count?"

Harlequin seemed to process this for a moment, then he grinned widely.

"Harbie! I like it!"

"What?!" The Absol felt his red eyes widen. Was this Pokemon serious? "You do know what a harbinger is... right?"

"They foreshadow things."

"Yes. And Absol are accused of foreshadowing disasters."

Harlequin shrugged. "Then prove them wrong. Take the name and become a harbinger of good things."

The Absol closed his eyes in exasperation and stood up.

"You're insane."

He moved away from the Zorua, limping heavily on his right leg. He flinched at the pain in his paw. Great. He'd sprained it.

"You can't walk on that."
He grit his teeth. "Watch me."

"I saw you fall!" Harlequin pleaded. "You need to rest it."

The Absol looked back at him. "What do you know? You're younger than I am!"

Harlequin's expression was serious. He sat staring at him silently and the Absol wondered if he was struggling to come up with a retort. He was about to turn away when the Zorua finally spoke.

"I'm studying poisons."

The Absol felt his fur stand on end. He gave the Zorua a look that told him he really hoped he was kidding.

"They made me learn basic medical stuff first," he went on. "You can't treat a poison if you don't know what counters it. The same thing also applies to simple injuries. A broken bone was the example they gave me. It needs setting in place and resting."

"I've not broken it." The Absol was blunt.

"You should still rest it."
"I am not staying here," he growled. "The longer I wait around the the bigger a risk there is of that Honchkrow's flock of goons tracking me down. I have a price on my head! Hydreigon doesn't want Absol in the Shadow Lands, so I'm leaving! No one wants an Absol. No one. And you're foolish to even speak to me!"
Harlequin closed his eyes briefly and sighed.

"No. I think you're the foolish one."

The Absol blinked. "What?"

"You can't tell when someone's trying to be your friend," said Harlequin. "You're an Absol. So what? You're not hurting anyone."

The Absol snorted and looked away. "Yeh right. Not hurting anyone? I just brought disaster on my own clan."

Harlequin didn't say anything, but he could feel the Zorua's eyes still on him. He needed to push this Pokemon away, to make him realise how big of a mistake it was to be around him.

"Absol are solitary, but we're forced to live together for the sake of our own safety. We were hidden, forbidden to leave the boundaries of our home perchance we were seen. But I went too far." He paused and looked up at the canopy. "I tried to run back but the Murkrow followed me. Then the Gabite and Garchomp. The next thing I know, I'm disgraced, stripped of my name and running for my life."

There was a long pause, then Harlequin's small voice broke the silence.

"It's not your fault."

The Absol tutted. "I was the one who breached the borders. I got curious. I knew the risks and despite that, I did it anyway. I betrayed them." He looked back at Harlequin, but the Zorua didn't meet his eye. "Do you really want a friend like that? One who puts your life in danger?"

Harlequin looked up at him slowly, his expression solemn. "My life's in danger every day."

The Absol opened his mouth to reply but no words came.

Harlequin blinked back tears and looked away from him. "The thing is... we're not entirely different. We both want to get away from the Shadow Lands and we both don't have any friends."

The Absol closed his eyes and sighed. "You spoke to me because I was running... didn't you?"

"The only Pokemon that run that frantically through these woods are the ones who are trying to get away."

The Absol licked his lips and stared down at the ground, his mind reeling.

"You want to come with me," he said.

Harlequin shrugged, still looking away from him. "We could both use the company. It's safer in numbers."

"There'd be two of us. That's hardly high numbers."
"Two pairs of eyes is better than one." Harlequin flashed him a smile. "And my sense of smell is impeccable."

The Absol glanced away from him, his eyes moving left and right as he took this in. It wasn't a terrible idea. An extra set of eyes and ears was hardly anything to sniff at, but there was one small problem.

He frowned and sat down, fixing the Zorua with his crimson eyes.

"Okay, but... I still don't entirely trust you."
Harlequin grinned. "I can earn that."

The Absol snorted and looked away.

"I do have one small request, however," Harlequin added.

The Absol looked back at him and raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"I need to finish my training. I have about two days left."

"Hmm..." the Absol crinkled his nose. "Your poison training."

Harlequin's blue eyes sparkled and he gave him an enthusiastic smile. "Oh believe me, it'll be valuable!"
The Absol chuckled. "All right then. Do you want me to come back?"

Harlequin looked away from him and rubbed his forepaws together.

"I... don't want you to leave."

"Well I can't hang around. They'll find me."
"Hide."

The Absol frowned. "For two days? You can't be serious!"
"Please?"

He gave an exasperated sigh and rolled his head back. "Fine. Fine, I'll hide."

With a huge smile, Harlequin led the Absol to a thicket of brambles. A slender tree was arched over them, its roots curling up from the ground with a thick climbing ivy trailing off it.

"This is where I come when I want to get away for a bit," Harlequin told him. "It's my little den."

The Absol was impressed. It was certainly a good hiding spot that would obscure him from the view of the patrolling Murkrow while also hiding him from ground patrolling Pokemon.

Harlequin gave him a nudge with his nose.

"You go on in. I'll see you later."

He looked back at the Zorua. "When?"

"After my lessons." Harlequin reversed away from him. "I have them every night. My last one should be tomorrow."

The Absol climbed into the thicket and looked back out at the Zorua.

"After lessons... are you planning on staying here with me?"

Harlequin blinked, not focusing on the Absol as he briefly considered this, then shook his head sharply.

"No, no I can't. I... have stuff to do."

The Absol shrugged and retreated into the leaves.

"Can't blame me for asking. I thought you were running away."

"I am." Harlequin looked away and stood up. "Soon."

With that, he skipped away from the thicket, leaving the Absol to process everything that had happened.

He curled up beneath the sharp branches and peered out at the woods. He couldn't see much, which reassured him greatly. If he couldn't see them, they couldn't see him. Before he knew it, he'd fallen into a deep sleep.

...

"Hey."

The Absol's eyes snapped open and he jerked back, his lips curling into a fierce snarl.

"Harbie, it's me."

A pair of blue eyes peered at him from the opening of the thicket.

He let out a relieved sigh and let his muscles relax. Then he tensed again as Harlequin crept through the branches.

"You weren't followed, were you?" the Absol asked.

Harlequin raised an eyebrow. "Why would they follow me?"

"You're a dark Pokemon living outside the Shadow Lands," he replied bluntly. "Don't they keep tabs on you outlaws?"

"I've never lived in the Shadow Lands. I was born in these woods, and I plan to leave them far behind soon."

"Exactly. You're a dark Pokemon living outside the Shadow Lands with every intention to run away from it. That makes you an outlaw."

"Fine. I'm an outlaw." Harlequin sat down and pulled a heavy satchel off his back. "I brought you a snack. I thought you might be hungry."

The Absol watched as Harlequin rummaged through the bag, pulling out chunks of dried meat and various berries. The truth was, he was hungry, but watching a strange Pokemon drop food in front of him sent his appetite retreating back inside him like a Sandshrew that had just spotted a blizzard.

Harlequin dropped a piece of meat beside him, causing the Absol to retreat back slightly.

"What's wrong?" the Zorua asked.

The Absol looked up from the meat and gave Harlequin a blank look.

"You said you study poisons."

Harlequin laughed, a light sound that had the Absol wondering if he'd guessed their gender wrong. He'd never outright asked Harlequin if they were a boy, and he'd never addressed him as such.

"I'm not going to poison you!" Harlequin gave him a playful smile. "Just take it. I'll have one too if it'll convince you?"

The Absol shook his head and sighed. It was obvious. It wasn't impossible, but Harlequin's boyish obsession with poisons had solidified his decision.

He sniffed the meat cautiously, the smell bringing his appetite back and causing his mouth to water. He took a bite out of it, then snapped it up in another two bites.

Harlequin laughed again. "I guess I was right! Help yourself, there's more."

The Zorua swallowed the piece of meat he was holding and rolled a berry over to the Absol.

The Absol eyed it for a moment and crawled across the ground to grab another piece of meat. Within moments the pair of them had finished the meal and curled up in the thicket, looking out at what could be seen of the dark woods.

"It'll be light soon," said Harlequin.

The Absol nodded.

"It's safer then," Harlequin went on. "There'll be no Murkrow out. They sleep during the day, like most dark Pokemon."

"I agree it's a better time to run away," said the Absol. "But the Outcasts are awake during the day, and they don't like us."

Harlequin stared at him for a moment, then laughed.

"I wasn't saying that! I was going to say we could go out and play!"

He looked down at the Zorua, aghast. "Are you serious?"

"Yep!"

Harlequin rolled onto his side so his head was resting on the Absol's ribs and pawed his nose.

The Absol frowned and raised his paw, batting Harlequin's smaller paw aside.

"How old are you?" he grunted.

"I dunno... seven seasons?"
"I'm older than you."

"Doesn't mean you can't play." Harlequin grabbed his paw in both of his and bit it playfully.

The Absol pulled his paw back, feeling himself smile slightly at the Zorua's ridiculous behaviour.

"I've not played these games since I was a hatchling." He gave Harlequin a grin. "And I intend to keep it that way."
"Well, I don't have any brothers or sisters so I don't get to play them often."
Harlequin wagged his tail against the ground, fixing the Absol with a pleading sapphire gaze.

The Absol rolled his eyes and looked away.

"Come on, Harbie! Don't be a spoil sport!"

Harlequin rose to his feet and nudged the Absol over with his nose. Before he could protest, the Zorua grabbed his ruff in his jaws and shook his head, letting out a little growl. The Absol shoved him off and stood up, watching as Harlequin poked his head out of the thicket. Seemingly satisfied, he turned back to him and grinned.

"Come on, the sun's rising."

Harlequin vanished outside. Cautiously, the Absol crept to the opening and peered out. It was indeed growing lighter, and there appeared to be no Murkrow in the tree branches. Harlequin was sat in the open watching him. When he caught the Absol's attention, he skipped backwards while wagging his tail.

The Absol decided against all odds to join Harlequin out in the open and play his silly games. He'd enjoyed them as a hatchling, and if a Pokemon Harlequin's age could still enjoy them then there was no reason he couldn't. He gave the Zorua a grin and lurched out of the thicket towards him.

Harlequin leapt back from him and skipped away behind the thicket.

The Absol galloped after him, following him along a narrow path through the woods, over thick shrubberies and roots. He managed to catch up to the Zorua and pounced at him. Harlequin looked back and ducked in time, sending the Absol flying over his head and crashing into a bramble bush. The thorns snagged at his fur as he rolled through it, coming to a stop on his feet at the other side.

Harlequin burst through the prickly bush with a light chuckle and struck the Absol in the side with a playful tackle. He toppled sideways and rolled, pinning the Zorua beneath him and grabbing his ruff in his teeth. Harlequin kicked out with his back feet, striking him in the stomach until he relinquished his grip and rolled off him in a fit of giggles.

They both lay on their backs trying to catch their breath.

"Okay," the Absol gasped out. "You were right, that was fun."

"Yeh!"

Harlequin laughed and closed his paws over his chest, staring at the sun leaking through the canopy.

"I think I need to get back," he said.

The Absol turned his head to look at him. "All ready? I thought we might as well leave this place while we have the chance."

Harlequin shook his head. "I can't. I still have something I need to do."

"Then... do it now."

The Zorua hesitated and looked away from him. "It... It'll take a while."

The Absol stared at him, but Harelquin kept his focus on the canopy, lost in whatever thoughts were racing through his head. With a sigh, the Absol stood up.

"In that case, I guess I'll go back to your den."

Harlequin flashed him a smile. "I'll walk you."

He flipped himself onto his feet and skipped past the Absol, retracing their steps through the woods. He came to a sudden stop and pawed at something on the ground.

"Isn't this yours?"

The Absol followed his paw. A clear stone with a black and white band running through it lay amongst the foliage attached to a thick black string. His eyes widened.

"Yes. It is. It must have come loose when we rolled through that thorn bush."

He picked it up in his jaws by the string.

"I've been meaning to ask what it is." Harlequin told him.

The Absol closed his eyes briefly as memories from his home surfaced.

"It's an heirloom," he said flatly. "It belonged to my grandfather."
"Is it special?"
The Absol shrugged. "I've no idea."

They arrived back at the thicket and the Absol slipped inside. Harlequin poked his head in after him.

"I'll see you later?"

The Absol had fastened the string together and slipped it over his horn, letting the stone rest against his thick, white ruff. He gave Harlequin a smile.

"Sure. Later."

Harlequin vanished and the Absol glanced from side to side before poking his head back out of the thicket.

"Wait... Harlequin?"
The Zorua froze in his tracks and looked back at him.

"I..." the Absol faltered and glanced away. "I've never had a friend before..."

Harlequin was silent for a moment, causing the Absol to fear his reaction. Finally, the Zorua spoke up.

"Neither have I."

The Absol looked back at him. Harlequin gave him a reassuring smile then turned and skipped away out of sight.

With a heavy sigh, he retreated back into the thicket and curled up, keeping his eyes on the opening. He found himself wishing night would fall, which was something he had never wished for before.

Life had become a little less lonely.

...

Leaves exploded throughout the thicket as Harlequin burst through with such ferocity the Absol almost leapt to his feet. The look on the Zorua's face was frantic and he didn't once look at him. He was shaking from head to foot and couldn't seem to keep still as he paced back and forth, glancing over his shoulder, blue eyes wide and his breath coming in heavy, frightened bursts.

"Dawn," he gasped. "We're leaving."

"What?" The Absol glanced out of the thicket. He couldn't tell when at night it was, but he was almost certain this was much too early for Harlequin to be here. "Don't you have a poison lesson?"

"No... I... yes... later." He shook his head and reversed out of the thicket. "Dawn."
The Absol jumped up and looked out at the Zorua.

"Harlequin!"

"Dawn!" Harlequin didn't look back at him.

The Absol watched helplessly as he vanished into the shadows of the trees. Something was wrong. He could feel it. He retreated back into the thicket, his mind reeling. Was Harlequin coming back before dawn? He hadn't said. All he'd said was they're leaving at dawn.

And something was wrong. Harlequin had looked shaken, anxious, out of character. He'd only known him two days, but he'd normally had a cheerful, playful attitude. Not an anxious, fearful one.

He had to know what was wrong. He had to follow him.

The Absol grit his teeth and threw himself through the thicket. He bolted after Harlequin, kicking debris up from the floor as he ran. He hadn't got far when a large, black shadow flapped down from the trees above him, landing heavily on the ground in a rotund mass of feathers.

He came to a screeching halt, staring up into the red eyes of a massive Honchkrow, Yurlik, leader of Hydreigon's vast Murkrow army.

Yurlik clicked his beak and shook his head slowly.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" He laughed. "Turns out the little Zorua was right. There is an Absol here."

The Absol took a step back. The Zorua was right? What was going on?

"Oh dear." Yurlik wiped a wing feather across his moist forehead. "You seem surprised. Didn't you know that Zorua is one of Hydreigon's assassins?"

"Assassin?" The Absol shook his head, trying to find more words but none came.

"Yes. Assassin." Yurlik leant towards him, his beak mere millimetres from his face. "He sold you out. His job was to keep you here, to give you a false sense of security before we came to get you."

"No." The Absol shook his head. "He wouldn't do that..."

Yurlik threw his head back and laughed, then fixed the Absol in a wicked crimson glare.

"You are so naïve! No one wants an Absol around! You bring nothing but misfortune wherever you go! Even onto yourself!" He laughed again.

The Absol took another step back. Then another. He couldn't believe it. He'd been betrayed. How could he have been so foolish?
He closed his eyes tight, trying to block out the tears that threatened to flow. With a sharp twist of his head, he nicked the Honchkrow's body with his sharp horn. The large bird let out a shrill shriek, followed by a flurry of feathers from his Murkrow soldiers. The Absol bolted, taking off through the woods. He blinked back tears from his eyes as he became aware that the heavy stone he'd worn around his neck wasn't beating against his chest. He'd lost it...

He'd lost everything.

He didn't even look back. He couldn't. The woods were threatening. There was no place for him here. He picked up his pace as Yurlik's orders boomed out behind him.

"Get him! Make sure he's never seen near here again!"
Black feathers beat through the air above him as the Murkrow flock blocked out the light from the moon. Their threatening caws exploded through the woods like a war cry as they pursued their intended victim.

The little Absol ran.

...

The town that lay before him was in ruins.

Old embers danced across the charred wooden surface of what were once shoddy buildings, quickly thrown up by Pokemon who found no place in the woods. It was safer to be out of them, in hastily built huts than to be fearing the shadows from the close confines of the trees. That was the view of most Pokemon he came across.

The Absol's large feet crunched over the remains of the town, the soot and ash leaving a grey residue on his white fur.

This was once a town for Pawniard and Bisharp, but if any had escaped they were long gone. The bodies that lay amongst the burnt wood and ash were hard to spot at first, since they no longer resembled their former selves. Despite all the destruction he'd seen over the past several years, he couldn't bring himself to look at them for long. It was terrifying. These Pokemon's hard bodies are made of steel and blades, and the fires that had destroyed this town had destroyed their bodies as well. The Pokemon that had stormed this place were called the Wildfires for a reason. Their attacks were relentless. They showed up in a pack of howling flames, destroyed everything, then moved on to their next target.

He flinched and looked away, searching through the remains of the buildings for anything that was remotely salvageable.

None of them seemed to have anything. Everything had been burnt up.

He was about to give up when his ears twitched. Something was crying.

He turned back to follow the sound. One of the building's he'd looked in at first glance had been empty, with nothing but the former body of a Bisharp inside. But there, almost completely hidden behind a pile of fallen, smouldering wood, were two little Pawniard twins.

As he padded over to them, they looked up. Immediately their already large eyes widened at the sight of the Absol and they recoiled away from him, their bladed paws scraping across the floor.

The Absol looked down at the Bisharp's body then back at the two little Pawniard.

"You can't stay here," he told them.

The Pawniard exchanged glances, then one stood up and gave the Absol a brief look before staring down at his feet. The other rubbed his paws together nervously, the soft grating sound deceptively louder in the morbid silence.

"We... have nowhere to go," the first one told him. "Where do we go?"

The Absol thought about this. As much as he didn't want to look at the Bisharp he couldn't help but do so. This Bisharp had been important to the two Pawniard, important enough that they couldn't leave its side.

"This was your mother, wasn't it?" he asked.

The Pawniard twins nodded.

"I'm sorry. I can understand. I lost my family years ago." He looked at them. They were both still very young. Too young to have seen all this. "What are your names?"

"I'm Claw," the first one answered. "And this is Scratch."

The nervous Pawniard glanced up at him, still rubbing his claws together.

The Absol nodded and looked up at the sky. It was still night time. The sun would be rising soon.

"Come with me," he told them.

They exchanged glances again, and Claw stuttered for a moment as he struggled to find his words.

"Where... will we go?"

The Absol shrugged. "I don't live anywhere. I just wander. Do you want to come with me? Or shall I leave you two alone here?"

Claw moved over to him, but his brother jumped up and reached out to him.

"W-wait! We... we don't know him!"

"But we can't stay here." Claw looked back at his brother. "It's too dangerous and what if they come back?"

The Absol watched them. Pawniard... Bisharp... Absol... no one wanted them around. Pawniard and Bisharp are made of blades. Everything they touched became scratched up or destroyed. Just like Absol, the Outcasts didn't want them. The Heretics didn't want them. The Shadow Lands didn't want them. They were outlaws.

After thinking this over for a short while, Scratch seemed to meet the same decision as his brother. He plodded after him, his sharp feet clattering over the remains of the wooden floor.

Harbinger turned and led them out of the building, and away from the destruction.

"Sir," Claw spoke up. "What's your name?"

The Absol closed his eyes briefly and glanced back at the two little Pokemon.

"Harbinger."

...

Please R&R! =D