How To Hold A Katana

by Ajay46

"You have three days." I told him coldly, boring into his eyes with my own. "You have three days before I kill you. Try to run, try to convince me otherwise – I don't care. You have three days…"

Contains slightly graphic scenes of a sexual nature, violence, and bad language.

Telepathy

Thoughts.

(Pokémon speech)

"An appropriate name, I guess. It fits you. The Katana is a one-edged blade. One side sharp, one side not. One side is viciously sharp and bites like the jaws of death on attack, while one side is smooth and gentle and defends. From the side, the Katana is a thing of beauty. The flat of the blade captures the light like a facet of a diamond, and the entire form is sleek and elegant like a moonlit snake."

My name is Katana.

*How to hold a Katana*

My body was numb.

I had only been outside for an hour, and the soaking chill of snow had already crept up my legs and gripped my torso. I kept going through – snow had never stopped me before, and it wouldn't yet.

The snow broke under my feet with fresh, soft crackles as the crystals were mashed under my padded paws. Snow collapsed onto the front of my foot as I dragged it free of the five inch blanket, and I would kick it off as I set my foot down again.

I was already blind at that point. My aura receptors were so numb I couldn't feel my own, let alone anything else's aura. Only familiarity of the area would lead me home at the end of the day.

I plodded up the thickly-sprinkled snowy mountainside restlessly, giving my muscles no pause. I kept true to my upbringing and I walked on two legs, not wanting my forepaws to be soaked through as well.

"One day…" The barest telepathic whisper broke the ambient whistle of wind whipping past. My eyes narrowed on the distance ahead of me, focussing on the faraway summit of mount Silver. Snow flurries swept between us, but the peak couldn't escape my scope. "One day, Nate… one day I'll find you…" I felt my entire body shudder involuntarily. It wasn't the cold and it wasn't fatigue. My spirit was a scorching blaze that couldn't be doused, and my energy was a pool without bottom. No… it was rage.

The jolt shook down my arms to my jittering fists as they clenched. It rattled my core and rolled down my legs like an earthquake, collapsing snow around my feet as I staggered on through.

"I… will… find you!"

The snow around me fled the force of my words, exploding away from my feet and billowing up into the air around me and catching a passing gust. I paused for a moment as fire seared through my limbs, igniting me from the inside. My eyes drifted shut, and I upturned my head towards the sky.

The feeling… the sweet, warm feeling… a wan smile broke my stoic, blank face as my aura reared its head. Fury or joy alike, – however rare the latter was becoming – when my aura became roused, it became roused.

I stood still in a moment of perfect nothing. The chill of the wind shrunk away as my aura melted its touch, and the whipping wind was scared away by wicked, charged currents of aura encircling me. When I opened my eyes, a soft, buzzing azure glow danced at the edge of my vision.

It lifted an arm, observing the hand attached. Aura channelled down it too like a ravenous inferno, cloaking it in crystalline flames. The aura ran to the spike rearing from my wrist, and it converged as a little spark right at the point on the end, glowing like a star.

It hissed and burned, screeching that name that stirred it so. "Nate…" I growled a short "Lucar" as my aura jumped, like trying to break free. It didn't like that word. It hated that word. "Nate…" Again, it leapt from my skin, flaring up once more before gradually settling into a steady, pulsating flame. "Nate…" Each time I said it, it would jump more violently. With each time I said it, my teeth clenched tighter and my breathing sped. "Nate!" The snow around my feet exploded again as an aura shockwave shredded through, throwing another flurry into the air around me.

By that point I was panting, and I could feel my fangs dig into my lip. I took half a step forwards as a growl rose from my stomach, and leaned toward the uphill slope. I drew my head back, took my breath, and summoning every fibre of rage which fuelled my aura, bellowed at the top of my lungs. "(NATE!)"

… ario… rio… rio…

I stood upright again, my stomach heaving as I watched my echo shake the very mountain itself. I could literally see the snow stir and simmer at the sheer force of my voice striking it. It was only a matter of time.

I fell forwards and slammed my paws into the ground. My claws slid free, and smashed through the snow into the rocky mountainside beneath. I gripped tight to the terrain, and crouched low as I waited for the inevitable to happen. Fighting my breathing to calm myself. Fighting instinct which told me to run. Fighting every iotaof morality I was raised with – which all turned to dark, twisted lies in the end. Fighting my adversity! Fighting my abandonment! FIGHTING EVERYTHING!

It was slow to begin with, but I had done this enough times to know it always seemed slow when it happened. I spied the first signs just below the summit; a few rocks tumbling and a layer of snow crumbling and breaking free. Those rocks and that snow quickly washed over and collided with more rocks and more snow, dragging them too in their wake. Those rocks struck more, and that snow drew more and more in its wake, gathering and building into a rolling, roaring wall of white. And then it was substantial.

It seemed to have suddenly sped up. The slab of snow gliding down the mountainside was a thunderous, churning wall, charging down like a horde of Tauros. Charging right towards me.

I flattened myself against the ground, forcing the exposed point of my chest spike into the dirt and gripping tighter with my claws. I pressed my forehead into the ground and braced myself. The same routine every day for a year now.

What felt like a brick struck my head first. Before the pain even registered, it was everywhere. Tons upon tons of solid white raking across my back and neck and limbs like sandpaper against my fur, crushing me and bearing down on every side and angle. It pounded my shoulders and head like a barrage of stones, smashing and bashing endlessly against me as it tried to drag me away. But I held on. I had to.

I fought the burning pain searing every limb. I fought the pain pulsating through my paws, lulling my grip loose so it could carry me away. I held tight, bearing the stinging and the pounding smashing me time after time after time as if it would never stop.

Eyes, ears, nerves, aura – everything was blocked out. Everything but pain. Invisible, deafening, enclosing pain from every angle. Pain that didn't stop. Pain on every point of my body, beating mercilessly at me with such force, for a moment I forgot the pain I held inside… For a moment, it overwhelmed me.

It was heaven. Revelling in mortal pleasures and pains, and feeling nothing on the inside. The body so consumed by physical distractions that the conscious mind is victim to rapture and unfathomable delight in the absence of concern and doubt. Pain was a hallucinant; it wiped clean an entire section of my mind, and left only hurt. But I could ignore physical hurt. I didn't care about physical pain, and when I blocked that out too… nothing was left save the sweet, infinite euphoria of a blank mind…

But it didn't last. The avalanche grinded to a slow, and what was once an unstoppable menace was little more than a slipping sheet of snow. I didn't move a muscle. I let the slipping pain consume me – however weak it was becoming – and clung to my abyss of nothing for just a little longer. When my rue began to creep forth from the furthest reaches of my mind, I knew it had gone….

Even choked in my sarcophagus of snow, I managed to clench my fists. What I lacked in space to move my body, I made up for with something so powerful, all the movement in the world couldn't match it.

Rage.

My fangs clenched, biting down on a stinging mouthful of ice. My fists clenched around snow, quickly melting as fiercely flaring aura converged in my palm.

Rage…

I clenched my eyes, body beginning to shake.

Rage…

That image… the boy who betrayed me… destroyed me… a growl grew in my throat.

RAGE…

My mind crushed the image, trying its damndest to suffocate the thought, spewing aura into my palms.

RAGE.

My fists shook violently, crushing the gathered aura in my palm as I so desperately tried to do to the boy. Shockwaves of shaking and aura pulsed through my body. He left me! He abandoned me! After everything!

RAGE!

"It's you and me." His laugh sounded like a bubbling spring. With the hugest of grins, he placed a chubby finger on my nose. "You and me!"

"Riolu!" I chirped, licking at his finger with a likewise grin. Autumn-shed leaves flowed around us, and sunlight illuminated rusty hues of the season as it sunk towards the horizon, lighting the world in a peculiar gold.

He fell to his haunches, giggling as I crawled up his lap and nuzzled into him. His arms embraced me, and if felt his chin rest on my head. "Nobody's gonna separate us!" He vowed triumphantly. "Never, ever, ever, ever, ever!"

RAGE!

Darkness enclosing… I felt his words slither through my fur… the slick, sweet lies he told me… the way he made me feel… the warmth… all so he could turn around and destroy me… as if nothing he said really mattered. He never knew how special he made me feel... how I felt so important….and he just turned around and shattered everything I thought I was to him… destroyed everything I had been led to believe was true… robbed me of my life, covering me under the soft, warm blankets of his foul words…

My entire life was just some big joke to him.

RAGE!

I roared, expelling a mouthful of snow as aura exploded from my paws. The image set in the front of my brain burned – crumpling and disintegrating. Every speck of energy I expelled, it would crush him more and more for what he did!

The world around me moved at my will.

My tomb of snow gently rolled away, lifting and retreating from my body. It lifted up and away from me, freeing me of its grasp. I moved it out and away from me.

Standing on the mountainside again, I moved my arms forwards, forcing back the laws of physics as my aura and energy took hold of the mountainside, lighting every snowflake with blazing blue energy.

It was slow to begin with, but I had done this enough times to know it always seemed slow when it happened. I spied the first signs in my immediate vicinity; a few rocks rising to the surface of the sea of white, and the mass of snow jittering and lifting. Those rocks and that snow slowly retreated, rolling back uphill, pushing the entire avalanche with it. The snow rolled and tumbled up and over itself, reversing in direction and pushing back up the mountainside again as it shook with raw power. I clenched my fists harder, fighting against the energy barrier bearing down on me, and I pushed back – forcing the mighty tidal wave of ice back up the mountainside. Every ton of it.

Soon enough, the uphill trickle had amounted, and it cracked and boomed as debris and ice folded and crashed onto itself. The slow rolling swell grew into a mighty wave, and soon enough it was thundering back up the mountainside as quickly as it had come down, forced back by my wrathful fury.

It was like watching the first scene if reverse – everything happening backwards. I didn't spare any thought to the novelty though – my entire focus was on forcing the avalanche back uphill to where it had started.

"(Hyyaaaaa!)" I quickly swung one paw forwards. As if my motion had been amplified uphill, the surface of the avalanche squashed itself into the side of the mountain – going up in a puff of snowflakes as a psychic surge compacted it down, fixing it tightly against the mountainside.

I lowered both arms finally, panting heavily. I nearly collapsed to my knees as my strength momentarily deserted me, but I kicked my strength into line and caught myself before I fell.

Wiping my bloody mouth with a paw, I glanced over my shoulder behind me.

It was destroyed. The trees I had passed, the rocks I had navigated around, the stray bushes and other minor landmarks I had noticed – they were all gone. Destroyed. Swept away. Wasted. Everything was destroyed, except me. Nothing had stood up against the mighty wave, except me. Because I was greater than them.

"(And so it should be.)" I nodded, staring with intense focus at where I had seen a tree on the way up. I remained so for another minute exactly, then began back down the mountainside again.

That was my training. Every day for a year. Fight everything life throws at you. Fight it all. Hold it tight, and let it rush at you. Then when it came – fight back. Fight back with everything…

The television was on when I returned to the hut. As I trudged down the mountainside again I could see the frost-glazed window pane illuminated with cheerful hues of blue and green. The odd emptiness surrounding the old lodge supported my theory, seeing as the others were so inexplicably drawn to that damn box.

As I neared the door, I noticed footprints surrounding the door nearly buried in snow. The faint grooves would be gone within the next ten minutes, but were still faintly traceable amidst the rise and fall of the irregular blanket of snow

Lazy fuckwits. I growled a little and cursed mentally. They were in for it now.

I didn't give anyone a warning. I grabbed the doorknob, twisted it and threw the rickety door inward. A group of over a dozen 'mon leapt right off the couch and the area surrounding the TV as the doorknob smashed into the wall, overwhelming the meagre speakers along the bottom of the TV with an almighty crash.

"(What the hell are you doing in here!?)" I barked, forcing everything in the room which could escape me against the wall opposite. I stormed in, leaving the door agape behind me and letting the blistering wind bluster through to snuff the warmth. "(Well?)" I demanded again, clenching my fists. The 'mon looked about one another, cowering against the wall still as none dared to speak up. "(What the hell are you all doing? You're supposed to be training!)"

A Charizard gulped, and stepped forwards sheepishly. "(We just -)"

"(You just slacked off! That's what you fucking did!)" I roared at them, pinning the Charizard against the wall again with my voice. "(Outside!)" I barked. "(NOW!)"

That removed any room for doubt. As soon as I stepped aside, every 'mon in the room cleared out nearly instantly – flushing out the double doors beside me like a tidal wave. I picked through them with my eyes as they ran, looking out for one in particular.

A Blaziken – paced at a brisk jog rather than a terrified sprint like the rest – hurried along with the rest of them. My paw shot out and caught his wrist before he could escape, and I dragged him out of the flow. "(Not you.)" I growled, pulling him aside. He glanced at the door momentarily, then back at me; he nodded.

I released his wrist to "encourage" an Infernape who was moving a bit slow. And when I say "encourage", I actually mean "put my foot up his ass and send flying". I encouraged him clear through the doorway and three metres out into the snow, where he landed with a painful squawk and scrabbled to his feet. I slammed the door shut behind him, and deadbolted it.

"(Fucking slackers…)" I growled, still facing the door. "(The lot of you…)" The Blaziken knew better than to answer me back, and simply glanced down a little to hide his face. "(Well, come on then.)" I sighed, stepping around him and heading for a doorway beside the TV.

The next room as a little smaller than the first. I didn't need much space. Then again – I didn't like a lot of space. I liked walls. Walls close around me meant I was on my own. Isolated and secluded in a place where I could think without concern.

There were two objects of significance. The first of these was a log fire at one end of the room, near the door. A flame crackled and popped in the mouth of the brickwork fireplace, like a devil's tongue. The next of these objects, was a seat. To say it was beautiful was an insult. It was breath-taking. It wasn't a chair; so much as it was a throne. Twice me wide easily with a back to it that reached well above my head, and the distance from seat to floor was well above my leg span. It was a seat made for someone who liked to look down at things. It was a seat for me.

And on top of that, the entire thing was pristine, pearly white. Like snow. Every curve and leg and surface was an intricate construct of bone. Human bones, Pokémon bones, animal bones alike – all picked clean by yours truly, and melded together by growing the bones with aura and fusing the ends together. The frame was primarily femurs and radiuses or ulnas, and those were decorated with all else. The front legs were constructed of the bones of a human's lower arm, and at the end a human hand lay palm-down on the floor as if – literally – holding it up. The back legs – likewise – were human legs, and feet at the ends held the throne up. At the top of the backing, spikes of fingers, horns and velvet rose up like a jagged crown of thorns. At the end of each armrest, a skull was attached for my paws to rest on. One a human's, one a Pikachu's. On the human one, there was even a cap tilted forwards.

It was a memento. A horrifically exquisite memento of how my life up on Mount Silver began. Of course, I didn't build the cabin. It was there already when I arrived. Eventually I took it from the owner – overpowering him and his Pokémon single-handedly. He never left, though… but he didn't live there anymore.

I smirked a little as I leapt into my throne. Standing on it, I took a moment to turn to face the Blaziken and look down on him, placing one foot on the human skull dressed in the cap. He didn't live here, anymore.

"(Will it be the usual?)" The Blaziken asked in a voice much calmer than I was used to from the others. He knew he was in my good books. Lucky, lucky bastard.

"(Yes.)" I sighed, and sat down in my throne. Around my shoulders, I caught a glimpse of braces of ribs sticking around from the backing of the throne, nearly encircling me.

I shuffled forwards to the edge of my seat, closing my eyes and taking hold of the skulls at the end of my armrests. I sighed once more and tried to calm myself – a task easier said than done. But I had my ways.

I jumped only a fraction as I felt a foreign touch just above my knees. Routine dawned on me immediately, and I eased up. I gripped the armrests and lifted my rump in the air, feeling the Blaziken's clawed fingers run up my thighs to my waist. His claws hooked around the waistband of my shorts, and he gently tugged them down. Once they reached my mid-thighs, I sat again and lifted my legs, allowing him to slip them off.

"(Go.)" I shuffled to the edge again, lay back against my throne, and spread my legs wide. I waited.

"(Yes, my lady.)" It took a second to happen. It always did…

"(uh…)" a small sound escaped my lips as I felt his claws touch me between my legs, just below my bellybutton. Out of instinct, I spread my legs wider and craned my neck back to where – if we did it properly - my mate could bite and hold me as he fucked me. But we didn't do it properly. We did it my way. We did it my way – we did it the way I wanted.

Just like always.

Just like it always had been.

Just like it always would be…

Until the day came…

I didn't know what time it was when I woke up. Normally I would have let myself doze on the edge of sleep for an hour, but the irritating dampness between my legs kept niggling at me until I sat up. I groaned and shuffled back in my chair, lifting one leg and looking between. Sure enough, the surface of my throne was wet. Bone gleamed and sparkled in the light as it struck the fluid.

Of course, I was the only one to get any release. He was there for my pleasure – never the other way around. I stripped, he pleasured me, he left as I fell asleep. The way it should be.

Of course, there were always side-effects. It turned out that falling asleep a post-orgasmic wreck also meant I woke up a post-orgasmic wreck, and my desire to move at all soon deserted me. I fell back against my throne with another groan, letting my legs hang loosely over the edge.

Damn my excellent taste in décor. Turned out that beautiful, glistening bone wasn't exactly a comfortable material, and there was always some part of it which didn't sit well. I grumbled a bit more, and reluctantly sat upright. Vertigo fought hard, but I fought back harder as I eased off my seat and stood up.

I stumbled into my shorts again and – still smelling of the arousal dripping down my leg– staggered towards my doorway. The next room full of 'mon all looked my way as fear wrapped their faces, but my condition quickly dawned on them. I was clearly in no condition to kick-asses or break their balls. But even after all the abuse and ass-kicking I dished out on a regular basis, an Empoleon in the middle of the couch stood up for me. He appeared at my side during a momentary lapse where I staggered forwards a little, and his wing appeared around my shoulders. He led me to his place on the couch, and sat me down.

I waved him off with a weary nod – the closest thing to gratitude I offered anyone – and collapsed against the back of the couch.

The same Blaziken was sitting beside me, and leaned toward me a little. "(Are you okay?)"

"(Never… better…)" I waved him off too, staring at the TV. I didn't care what was on – I just needed something to draw my attention. I always needed something to draw my attention. Otherwise my mind always drifted back to… him.

My limbs were still numb and my body was still loose – clutched by the orgasm which had felled me and put me to sleep. The pulsing, pounding feel still worked through me as it lingered, determined to hold me in its clutches.

Fortunately, this gave me a non-Nate subject to dwell on.

I turned weakly to the Blaziken on my right, and a quiet whine barely left my throat. "(I fucking hate you…)"

For everything I could do… for all I was capable of… it only took that steaming hot tongue to shut me down. It only took his filthy fingers to bring me to my knees, gasping for air and whining like a helpless bitch… Nobody could leave me in such a state of ultimate weakness… except him… except him and his ways… and I let him do it.

"(I know…)" The Blaziken sighed. For a moment the edge of his softened eye glimmered, but with a blink it disappeared. It must have been a trick of the light. His head dropped more, trying to hide his face. "(I'll try to make it up to you…)"

For all he could do to me… for all the power he had over me and all the sway he had on my emotions, it only took my sharp tongue to reduce him to tears. It only took my dissatisfaction to shatter everything he hoped for.

And shattered he was. His eyes drifted shut between his gaze and his feet, and his clawed fingers trembled as they formed a fist, quaking with guilt and sorrow.

I sighed as I watched him. Once more I reminded myself – I wasn't a monster. I wasn't completely heartless. I didn't feel sorry for him and I didn't feel guilty, – that wasn't why I did it – but I knew it could affect his emotional state in the long run if I didn't repair the little tear between us sparked by my cold comment.

I reluctantly betrayed my intentions to do nothing, and I pulled myself out of the couch. I straightened up and clasped my paws behind my back, taking a single step away from the couch and stopping. As I did, someone hit "off" on the television.

My back was turned to them, but my voice struck them with crystal clarity.

"(Men.)" I commanded, lifting my head high as footsteps rose from behind me. "(Women.)" Fewer footsteps this time, but footsteps nevertheless. I turned around on the spot, finding every 'mon in the room on their feet. They stood tall, eyes full of awe and respect. I took in each and every one's face within a minute, letting their eyes silently meet mine."(Who are we?)"

From the back right corner of the room, a Samurott took an earth-shaking step forwards. "(The first!)" He bellowed, holding his head high. His mighty blade-like horn glimmered dully as light ran down its length.

"(That's right!)" I roared, clenching my fists at my sides and placing one foot forwards. I punched the air, chest rippling as I drew another mighty breath. "(Who are we?)"

"(We are the first!)" A roar rolled over top of the crowd, calling from right at the back of the room and shaking dust from the ceiling.

"(That's right!)" I roared even louder than he, punching the air again as my aura charged. "(And tell me! What are we?)"

"(THE BEST!)" A mammoth roar rose from the ranks, joined by every Pokémon who threw their head into the air.

"(THAT'S RIGHT!)" And I matched them, roaring even louder than they could together. My fist smashed the air and a stray pulse of aura burst loudly through the room, sprinkling a fine coating of aura dust across everyone. "(AND WHAT WILL WE GET!?)"

"(REVENGE!)" They chanted.

"(REVENGE!)" I echoed them, increasing their volume every time. "(My brothers…)" I stepped forwards, quickly pacing left. "(My sisters…)" I extended them an arm, coming to a stop. "(We were the first of many… we were those to whom promises were made… we were their first Pokémon! And what did they do?)"

"(They forsook us!)" A Marshstomp called loud.

"(They forsook us!)" I yelled, pacing the other way as my fist shook with a life of its own. "(They forsook us, and they abandoned us – after everything we did for them! We gave them our lives and they us – but they threw us away like trash!)"

"(Yeah!)"

"(Bastards!)"

"(But we are better than that!)" I yelled again, ignoring how my throat dried with every roar. "(We escaped those infernal "boxes", and now we are here! We will train, and we will grow stronger, AND WE WILL SHOW THEM HOW STRONG WE HAVE BECOME!)"

"(YEAH!)"

"(NOW WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?)" I dived forwards, leaping onto the couch and standing with one foot on the back. I held my arms wide to the horde, taking in every one's rage and sorrow to fuel my words with it. To spur them on, to ignite their spirits. "(WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?)" I called again, voice booming down on their ranks.

Their fists filled the air, tensed around hatred and pale through the knuckles. "(TRAIN! GROW STRONGER! SHOW THEM OUR STRENGTH!)

"(EXACTLY!)" I called at the top of my lungs, summoning my last scraps of air and passion from the depths of my lungs and heart alike. "(SO GET OUT THERE, GET TRAINING, AND SHOW ME WHAT YOU CAN DO!)"

"(AYE! KATANA!)" They chanted in unison, punching to the ceiling again with their various forelegs and arms.

They left the room like a flood, overflowing with burning energy and radiant enthusiasm. They stormed through like a true horde – warcrys and all – and spilled into the day's blistering embrace. Of course as fate would have it, the last through was the Blaziken. I stepped off the couch and raised a hand as he left. "(Mjir.)"

He froze on the spot, halfway out the door. As he turned over his shoulder to glance at me, I saw an unfamiliar confusion rendering his face.

I smirked a little as I stopped in front of him. I crossed my arms. "(What? You didn't think I forgot your name, did you…?)"

"(I… uh…)" his rouge fur deepened across his cheeks. "(I didn't think you…)"

"(Of course I remember your name, idiot.)" I allowed him a friendly punch to the shoulder – but made sure not to spare him a little pain. He rubbed his shoulder a little, but a smile rose up under his confusion. "(You're my little pet… I remember your name.)"

"(Th-thanks…)" He stuttered. After a moment of embarrassment he had the good sense to snap to salute, nodding rigidly. "(Aye Katana!)"

"(Good boy.)" I nodded, satisfied. "(Now get out of my sight.)"

His smiled widened a fraction. "(Aye, Katana!)" He spun on his heel and dashed out into the snow, joining the others as they formed training groups.

Instead of retreating inside and laying on the sofa like I had planned, something encouraged me to stay in the doorframe. A kind of… reluctance to move filled me as I watched him leave, and I find I had to lean on the doorframe beside me to stay balanced.

I have to find a mate someday… I remembered as my train of thought rolled free. My eyes were trained on the Blaziken as he headed into the snow, admiring every toned muscle rippling with the slightest movement. The fur cloaking them shifted like a shining wave rolling across a sea of red. I can't just keep punching through heat like this… I need to be… mated…

As much as I braced myself for it, the word sent a shiver down my back. It was a shiver of shame, worming awkwardly down my spine from head to toe. It was no deal for me to let him play with me, seeing as that was fun. I was in control and it was for my pleasure… but the thought of him… Oh, god… I can't…

My fist tightened and smacked against the doorframe. I whirled around and stomped back inside, seething with rage. With a loud crash, the door was slammed shut behind me – closing me in. The gentle hum of the winter's wind slipped away under the door, and the sounds of training were an outside concern as I flopped across the couch, letting a long sigh. I fell limp on contact with the musty old cushions and sighed deeply, yet again.

"(Who would have thought…?)" I shook my head slowly, allowing myself just a little self-pity. Who would have thought after everything I had gone through and after all I had accomplished that I would end up here? Confined to a little cabin on top of a faraway region, overlooking the rest of the world. Who would have thought I'd somehow work up my rage to such a level that I'd find and recruit more Pokémon like me so I could achieve my goal? Who would have thought… that poor, sweet Carol… could turn into me?

"(No… enough…)" I told myself, rolling onto one side. I faced the TV, lying sideways across the couch's torn cushions as the buckled springs dug into my soft bits. "(Enough thinking like that. It's over now, so focus on the future.)"

What was the future, anyway? I had ideals, I had drive, I had a following – but so did Natural. He had ideals. He had drive. He had a following…

He had lies! I growled at myself, lurching forwards a bit. I sat upright quickly as my growling continued, but it quickly dawned on me that I was alone. Nobody would hear my growling. There was no point in wasting the energy. I lay down again and stopped. I put my head to the cushion and stared at the blank TV screen.

I stared back. By own face was a twisted black apparition in reflection, mocking my appearance. My face was skewed and distorted – my grace warped beyond recognition.

As I lay there, I felt my paw drift to my face. My balled fist uncurled one digit and placed itself against my cheek. In my reflection, I watched myself to the same. I placed the digit just on my cheek, just beneath an irregular stroke of silver amidst my blue fur. I had never seen another Lucario with silver patches of fur like me. Over the years I had been undecided if it was an ugly mutation or a beautiful birthmark. It really depended on my mood.

"(It's beautiful…)" My own voice – mocking me as it took Nate's sound. "(You're beautiful.)"

A mutation. Definitely.

"(Beautiful. You used to think that, didn't you?)" And just like that, I answered myself. I snapped at myself, fangs bared at my reflection. "(Then you fell in love with that black thing…)"

My paw crushed a cushion in a choking grip. I suddenly jerked upright, roaring as I hurled the cushion at the TV. All the effort behind my throw went to waste, though, and the cushion meekly bounced off the screen to land on the floor at my feet. I had to grip the other cushion underneath me to keep myself from leaping up and smashing the TV through the wall. I had to bare my fangs and clench the cushion in my quaking fingers to restrain myself from doing the damage my throw should have done.

"(Fuck it.)" I grumbled to my feet and sluggishly made my way to the TV. I grabbed the remote from on top, then fell back onto the couch as I hit the power button. The screen fuzzed and buzzed slowly from the blackness as I shuffled about in my seat.

And there it happened. Like a crazy, unbelievable dream, the most impossibly insane thing happened. The tides of fate churned and rolled on my terms, and the winds shifted straight to my focus. The TV flashed on, and I couldn't believe what appeared.

"… plasma. Apparent leader of Team Plasma known only as "Lord N" will address the public of Viridian City tomorrow at midday in regards to Team Plasma's policies on human-Pokémon relationships. Despite criticisms-"

Some believe in fate.

On the first cannel I flicked to… at that very moment…

"(Nate…)" My aura flared like a wildfire as I watched. Blue light danced on every surface of the room, illuminating it with nothing less than sheer, raw power. Flames thick as tar smothered my entire being to the point where I could barely see the TV set through them. Every tongue of azure rose and rampaged, writhing like fiery snakes about me.

I could feel my face as cold as death. Even with the roaring aura consuming me, there was something about him that chilled me to the bone.

All this time… waiting. Waiting to see this image… Waiting to hear this news. Waiting for him to show up somewhere… and he turns up right on my doorstep…

A cruel smile tickled my lips – so grand I almost burst into maniacal laughter right then and there. I was upright and at the edge of my seat, leaned toward the glowing screen. Every word was like honey. Perfect, sweet and rich as it trickled into my awaiting paws. My fist clenched around the proverbial goodness – it was too perfect.

Everything had led to here. Everything had been for this opportunity… my existence's ultimate goal had come right to me.

Nate… I knew it was only a matter of time before I found you… My smile and brow furrowed, forming a grimace as the novelty wore off. As overjoyed as I was, it only took a moment for reality to sink in and remind me how I felt about him.

My aura engulfed my body, flickering high to the roof and stroking the exposed rafters. It wrapped around them, gripping them and lashing them mercilessly. The flames blurred through a spectrum of colour, deepening to a maroon and regal purple, then flaring up into a roaring red.

My skin prickled all over as the boy appeared at a microphone. The sound of his voice stirred my flames, billowing them like a gale of rage. The cushion under me was further torn as my claws took hold, clenching around the edge of it and crushing it with my strength.

Yet for all my rage, I then stood calmly. My grip relaxed and I rose to my feet without a sound. As I stepped towards the television, my flames of aura retreated – clinging close to my skin as I focussed on something other than my fury.

I crouched on one knee, making level eye contact with the flickering screen at only a foot's distance. My scalding breath condensed on the picture, smothering the image beneath a haze of blurred colour and marring the already miserable quality.

His face was a mess and his hair was an unidentifiable blur. He had grown it a bit since I had left him, but it was him.

My paw landed on the screen beside his face, tingling on contact and running an unsettling buzz down my arm.

Natural Harmonia Gropius. Lord N of Team Plasma.

Nate.

I was ready in the next ten minutes. After finally prying myself away from the television screen I headed into the storeroom. It was a small room, stacked high with boxes of various food items – but I wasn't there for them. I knelt at the foot of a smaller crate hidden away in a dark corner and picked it up. I blew a light sheath of dust from the lid, and pried it open.

There was a single piece inside. A small, perfectly clean finger. The three irregular bones were white as snow, but shone with the radiance of chrome in the dim light seeping through the boarded windows. Honed by hours of merciless polishing, it was a perfect piece. Each joint was fused together. Grown into one another by aura and fused. Right at the end of it, a single thread was tied around the end, forming a loop much like a necklace.

I tossed the box aside and stood, running my thumb across the immaculately planed surface. I looped the thread over my head and around my neck, tightening the loop to draw the finger to rest the top of my shirt and hang onto my bust. The finger rested on an angle against my chest spike which stuck between my breasts and through a hole in my shirt.

My personal quarters were my next stop. I strode out the storeroom door and quickly turned into my own, making a beeline for my throne.

For all its grace and disturbing beauty, I didn't even touch it. I stopped in front of it, and I took the cap hanging on the armrest.

With everything in check, I headed straight back into the living room where the TV still blared. I threw a snarl at it as I circled around the back of the couch, holding the finger-bone in my free hand.

Irksome box! You've enraged me for the last time!

I dashed a quick step forwards and raised a leg, then kicked forwards with all my might. My attack hit the couch square in the back of it, launching it across the room and buckling the frame. It arced on a perfect trajectory and smashed through the TV screen, crushing it against the wall as a shower of sparks and glass exploded from it.

This brought a pale smile to my lips. I had finally removed myself of the box which annoyed me so.

There was no time for joy, though. I turned away from my minor conquest and strode for the front door. Instead of opening it, my foot flicked forwards and I effortlessly removed it from all hinges. The wood splintered and cracked, but the door ripped free of its frame and flew out into the snow outside.

The cold splashed across my face as I emerged into the outside chill. A grin played on my face as I tittered out into the wind's embrace – knowing it was likely my last chance to feel its wonderful, ghostly touch. My eyes drifted close, my head drifted up; the wind kissed my throat.

"(Katana?)"

I snapped my eyes open, throwing a glare to my right. My now-anxious troop gathered around one spot, murmuring and glancing about unsurely. Their eyes drifted from me to the displaced door and back again, prying for an answer.

The Samurott chanced a step forwards, taking charge. "(What are you doing?)"

"(We're going.)" I decided, nodding deftly. I turned my attention to them and walked to meet them, holding up the cap in my right paw. "(Myce. Fire.)"

As soon as I had issued the order, a Charizard leaned over top of the Samurott and drew in a sharp breath. He blew a precise and steady flame across my hand – missing it by inches, but lighting the hat in my grip.

I turned and moved back to the doorframe, cap ablaze in my fingers. Without a second thought, I tossed it in at the couch and walked back to the group.

"(We're leaving.)" I clarified, seeing their gazes fall upon the building they knew as home. "(We're going to join Team Plasma in Viridian City.)"

Their expressions shifted at the mention.

"(Team Plasma?)" The Blaziken slipped around the charizard's bulky body, moving to the front of the group. "(The pro-Pokémon group?)"

"(Yes.)" I nodded. Behind my back, acrid smoke curled over the lip of the doorframe and into the crisp air. "(They're in Viridian City. That's not far from here. We can reach them by nightfall…)" I lowered my head and coughed a little. A haze of icy smog slithered down my throat, stinging my tastebuds and lungs alike with a sickening mix of cold and heat. The fire was spreading quickly. "(We'll be there by nightfall. We will work alongside them to free our kind.)"

The Pokémon exchanged their thought on this, gauging one another's reactions. Uncertainty quickly grew to confirmation as heads bobbed, and they one-by-one turned back to me. They still nodded.

I smiled. "(Good.)"

"(We'll join them.)" The Blaziken nodded earnestly, his own coy grin similar to mine. "(But I think I speak for all of us when I say this – my loyalties lie in one place only.)" A quick murmur of agreement passed between them – whispers scratching beneath that mutter.

I lifted any eyebrow. "(Where?)"

"(With you.)"

One thing that guy did well was please me. He knew how to please me in just about every way – physically when I needed attention and mentally when I enjoyed appraisal. He knew how to make a girl feel satisfied.

"(Aye Katana!)" A skilfully unchoreographed cry rose from the ranks before me, each member forming his or her own salute. Seventeen starter Pokémon (and one Porygon) stood in formation before me – tall and at attention. Their eyes were all traced on me and me only.

"(Heh… Mjir…)" I shook my head a little, smirking secretly under my muzzle "(– I should kick your kiss-ass hide down the mountainside .)" I chuckled, watching his face fall from grace as my partial threat clicked with his tiny brain. I turned towards the cabin – now smoking and throwing smoke into the air like a bushfire – and took one step away from the group. I spun on one heel with military precision, landing with a solid stomp into the snow. "(Alright then!)" I barked, jerking all to rigid attention again. "(We leave now! You all know the route down the mountainside, right?)" I paused only fractionally – not long enough for anyone to answer. "(Well if you don't, too fucking bad! Follow someone else! Hurry down and meet me at the bottom.)"

I disengaged with a sweep of my arm, dismissing them. I only got a step, however, before someone shot a question after me.

"(Why are we burning the cabin?)"

I didn't bother to turn around and spot the speaker, nor did I take the time or make the effort to recognise the voice.

I stopped on the spot. My eyes remained fixed on a distant cloud, and I stayed perfectly still as wind tousled my aura receptors.

I spoke calmly. "(What cabin?)" My voice blended with the wind rushing past.. "(This is Mount Silver. There's nothing up here.)"

I strode forth into the surging currents of wind, moving uphill through the shallowing snow. I moved away and left my group behind, climbing a steepening rise where the rock rose from the ground ahead. The snow slipped from the steep gradient at this point, and the stony grey mountainside was displayed at its finest.

I strode up and across the stony outcrop as the mountain fell away at my sides me. The steep stone face jutted out over a chasm, providing a sheer, unobstructed drop on either side.

I strode to the edge and stopped. I stood perched at the apex of the spike, the point digging into one foot as I balanced myself precariously in the wind. My aura investigated every incoming current, and I shifted against it appropriately to keep my balance. I stood on the very edge of the sheer drop into the chasm below, and took my last, deep breath of fresh, fine mountain air.

"(I'll land on earth, or I'll land in hell…)" I told myself. "(Hm. Either or.)

I leapt.

It was late in the afternoon when the others arrived. After landing, I spend a couple of hours sleeping in my impact crater. It was a hell of a crater, too. The bottom where I lay was at least three metres below the ground, and the radius was proportional to that.

I climbed out after an unknown period of time. The area around the crater was a mess. Dust and rubble littered my surroundings, displaced from the earth and tossed about.

I stood at the edge of my crater, breathing lightly. The air was so rich and full – almost suffocating. I soon realised how little effort I needed to make to breath.

Perfect. I realised, grinning. I can get more oxygen with fewer breaths, therefore I can regenerate my energy faster. A year of living in high altitude left me accustomed to the thinner air. Now that I was back, the air thrived with life.

Unfortunately, the others didn't seem to be taking advantage of the new, fresher air.

The Charizard led the group of them down the final leg of the trip, winding down the last hundred metres at a Shuckle's pace. As they grew nearer, I noticed the majority of them hunched over and panting – gasping for air even down here.

I grunted as I watched them approach, sitting on the dusty ground and leaning against an unusually comfortable rock. "(You sure took your time.)"

The lot of them lifted me weary looks under their drooping heads. They spoke not a word over their panting and wheezing, they just stared at me.

"(Well, sit down already you bunch of fuckwits.)"

They glanced about one another for the duration it took my offer to register – then fell to their asses as a group.

I let them catch their breath – using their downtime as an opportunity to further accustom myself to the new air. It took a lot to slow my breathing down so significantly – it was a process which went against my natural rhythm, so it threw my focus out significantly.

"(Um… Katana?)"

I didn't hear, being so heavily focussed.

A few minutes passed, and the 'mon finally voiced himself again. "(Katana)"

"(What?)" I glanced away from the sky to the group. A Venosaur cleared his throat a little, glancing down nervously.

"(Uh… what happened to the ground?)" He nodded behind me. I didn't bother to follow his eyes to my crater, and I closed my eyes again to relax.

"(It got in my way.)" I replied calmly. "(So I broke it.)"

"(It's her impact crater.)" I hear Mjir's voice finally point out what should have been obvious. "(She jumped off, and that's where she landed. She punched the ground when she landed, and it… exploded.)"

"(Whoa…)"

"(It goes to show you – even the earth itself is no match for Katana.)"

You kiss-ass, Mjir… I grumbled quietly. Since I had managed to regulate my breathing my attention had shifted to the sudden, satisfying change in temperature. Suddenly the air was warmer, and the wind wasn't a conduit of cold anymore.

"(I almost forget how exceptional feeling warm is…)" I let slip in a momentary lapse of judgement. Even with my eyes closed I could feel their aura. I could feel the Charizard nudge Mjir and whisper something which instantly roused my fury.

"(Hey!)" I climbed to my feet quickly. Both the fire-types froze instantly – paused in mid-whisper. Their red faces grew a babyish pink as I moved in – paling through even Mjir's feathers. "(Would you like to say that to my face, fuckwit?)"

Mjir and the Charizard's heads flew about – searching and gauging one another for a frantic answer or explanation. Sure enough – I had caught them out, and all either could manage was an inconceivable string of muttered excuses.

"(I thought so.)" I grunted. I moved between them quickly. My left wrapped around the Charizard's spiked ear while my right took a fistful of Mjir's hair – and both their heads crashed together.

"(Fuuu-!)"

"(Aaagh!)"

They cried simultaneously, falling backwards and clutching their throbbing heads. I moved over both quickly, first stamping a foot down on the Charizard's neck. I leaned forwards, bending to his level as I twisted his windpipe under my foot – provoking a painful splutter.

"(Listen to me, lizard!)" I hissed with a growl. "(You can make cracks about the other girls – hell, you can make cracks about the other guys for all I care – but as soon as you even LOOK at me wrong, I' will slaughter you! Got it!?)"

His eyes rolled back in their sockets as he gagged, writhing and bucking his huge body to break free – but to no avail. My foot crushed his windpipe – quickly extinguishing his dwindling oxygen supply.

"(Aaag-)" He coughed as he ceased bucking. His body fell limp, quivering. "(… aaah… ehg… Aye…Katana… Aaaaaaa!)"

"(I'm sorry?)" I snapped. "(I didn't quite catch that.)" I made sure to push hard one last time against him before I lifted my foot away. He wheezed and gasped for breath, sucking in a desperate lungful as he tried to bark an answer.

"(I'm…. sorry…)" He panted hoarsely and rubbed at his aching throat..

"(Damn right you are.)" I growled. I then flicked my glare to Mjir. I didn't even need to say anything to him. My eyes were enough to make my disapproval known.

I quickly spun on my heel, facing down the remainder of my troop with my most heart-stoppingly cruel glare. "(Alright – I'm pissed off now. We're moving. Asap!)"

Most knew to hide it, but one single groan rolled over from somewhere in the back of the group.

"(I'm sorry!?)" I snarled, scaring back anyone near me. The noise settled quickly into shitscared silence. Even the passing wind died for a moment, and all was still – save the stray gulp. Nobody spoke up.

I nodded. A smirk crossed my face. "(That's what I thought.)" I looked east and tilted my head. "(You're all going to keep up at my pace, got it?)"

"(-es…)"

"(yeah…)"

"(kay…)"

I growled yet again. "(I'm sorry!?)"

They straightened up suddenly. Each's foreleg or arm snapped to their forehead, and with one voice they roared:

"(AYE KATANA!)"

A stopless journey was in order – I drove them all without rest. My immaculately toned muscles didn't let me down, and I was at full-stride the entire time. After an hour, I left them be off to the side of the path. I led them a short distance into the forest, and told them to wait.

"(I'll send someone.)" I told them. "(A team plasma operative. I'll have them guide you to me once I've sealed the deal.)"

The plan was for me to enter the town and gain a foothold with Team Plasma. Strike a deal with them, then have their operatives head out and pick up my recovering troop. I didn't tell anyone my true motive, however.

I wanted to find N.

Viridian was never my kind of place. It wasn't right – too old-timey to be a modern city, but too new to be an old-timey place. Kind of like an up-market 80's feel.

The cars weren't gridlocked in commerce, although there was plenty of room for it. The scarce number of cars was certainly odd – though the large numbers of cyclists were, too.

I had been into Viridian a few times in the past, and I knew exactly where I was going. I headed at what was comparable to an excitedly-paced walk along the main street, heading from west to east, where the top of a stage setup was visible, poking up from the park at the end. Definitely my destination.

As I arrived at the gates, I took a moment to read the old letters carved into the archway. "Viridian east park". How original.

The novelty soon wore off. Stepping through the archway seemed to give way to an entirely new world. The sky seemed to suddenly darken, and an unsettling buzz rose from the crowd gathered ahead. From where I was standing, I couldn't see much of the stage at all, although I did head the loudspeakers booming introductions to us all.

I set my sights on an abandoned playground site just to my left, noting it was on higher ground than where I was standing. I hurried my way over to it and rested against the leg of a swing-set.

As I turned around, time slowed.

And there – it was him. The gap between us spanned the crowd hundreds long, but there was no mistaking it. My eye caught that same shimmer as sunlight glanced off his hair.

It was Nate. Real Nate – not my imagination or a fantasy – this one was real.

He strode to the centre of the stage without a care in the world. Even from where I stood, I could see – nay, feel the grin spread across his face. I could feel its mirth and merry – mocking my very presence. He was happy, and I was… whatever I had befallen.

I stood still and watched him as he began to speak. Veins of aridity crept up my throat and my mind blocked up. Even my anger couldn't make its way through the barrier of shock and awe. He took a place at a podium centre-stage and began talking into a microphone set at mouth level. I didn't listen to what he had to say. I already knew he was a liar. Instead, I waited it out at the back of the park, leaned against the swing set. I didn't care what he had to say. All that mattered was him, and who he was.

Joy. I felt it as he spoke. No – I didn't feel happy or pleasant or anything more than furious. No. I felt the others. The crowd, the Pokémon, the team plasma operatives. Their joy radiated like bodily heat. It radiated from their masses and formed a thick conglomerate atmosphere. I even choked a little. It was repulsive…

You just… lie to them… just like that… no remorse…

I didn't hear a single word, but I knew the tone. That honey-glazed, sweet and innocent but passionate tone. That same sweet lying voice I had once been so accustomed to, and loved so much. It was sickening.

You just… lied to me… just like this… no remorse…

It infuriated me. I suddenly found my head tilted, and my fists trembled uncontrollably. I had no bid in them balling like they did – they just gripped into a tight fist on their own. Soon enough my entire body quaked. I had so often anticipated the moment. I had so often anticipated his reaction… The look on his face, the screams of the crowd, the wet of his blood soaking through my fur. The stench as I left his mangled body to rot – clogging my nostrils with the scent of decay. The feel of his aura screaming as I slaughtered him… how it writhed and bucked to kick free of his body. How it roared and begged for mercy when I would give none… but I hadn't anticipated my own reaction when I finally saw the one I had been searching for.

I tasted blood. I had licked my lips with a sadistic grin, involuntarily cutting itself on my fangs. But I didn't care. I swallowed my tongue with a murr, revelling in the thick coppery brew. It was easy to become addicted to that taste. It was another thing entirely to wean oneself off it.

Boom.

An almighty crash rocked across the skies. I shook myself free of my daze, awaking to a sudden shock.

It was raining.

I lifted a paw and gently placed it under my eye. A cool slither of crystal slipped through my fur and soaked into my paw, chilling it mildly. Chilling it like the glacial winds stirring up on mount Silver. I almost smiled at the nostalgia.

The skies had clouded over and darkness loomed over us like a deathly umbrella, spilling a giant ominous shade as far as the eye could see. Cumulus tossed and churned like an ocean above me, chops heaving about its belly. A sliver of lightning would streak across the skyline like a fish darting from hiding, quickly to be followed by the shrieking of children, quickly to be followed by the boom of thunder again. Somehow, darkness had gathered overhead without me realising. I had been so immersed by N's presence that I had failed to notice

Is this still my vision? My trembling body froze. The scene was so surreal. N in sight, just as I had always anticipated. The sky clouding over black in an instant, lightning splitting an otherwise bleak day of sunshine… perhaps this too was a fantasy? Was I dreaming? Was it real?

"Ladies, gentlemen and Pokémon alike," His voice gripped me. I literally felt my chest constrict as if gripped by a giant claw. My breath ran dry with a husky gasp. His voice was so real… so incredibly real… "I present to you…." I remembered to breath, sucking in a lungful of rich surface air. "Zekrom!"

That word struck me. I clenched my fangs shut on a gasp and stifled it at the last second. A sharp stab of pain erupted somewhere deep down, spasming through my entire body. I bit down, fighting the pain back as red mist fogged my vision.

Zekrom. My aura leapt at the thought. You started this…

Screams tore from the crowd as the clouds split. They hollered and yelled in the background somewhere distant from my concern. I didn't care about them. I was concerned with N.

Light jutted from the skies. A lone ray pierced the thick blanket, shining down like a spotlight on N at his podium. His boyish grin lit up like a Christmas tree. His head tilted back as awe and joy swept his face, and his eyes were glimmering diamonds.

Zekrom. The mighty black thunder king himself. At first I saw nothing. I thought on a few brief occasions I spotted a wing or leg amidst the black ceiling, but I thought otherwise quickly. My aura didn't stretch as far to see him, but I searched nevertheless. He took my interest away from N. Very few things were capable of that.

First – a leg. The light swarmed around it and bathed it in vivid detail, despite being the same colour as its background. Thick with muscle and toned. A faint azure glow tinged the scales too. At first I assumed it the reflection of the blue sky behind the cloud, but as it descended further my memory was jogged. A huge black tail followed after. The entire thing was an irregularly conical diamond shape, and decorated with viciously thick spikes. Bands of writhing blue electricity danced around it, displaying the tremendous power stored within. Next came the body, the arms and wings – all equal in muscularity and ominous blackness. Then after all of that, I saw his eyes.

I nearly leapt forwards as I saw his eyes, but restrained myself at the last possible second.

A smirk. Even from where I stood, I could tell he was smirking. Crimson eyes bright and scaly muzzle wrought with delight seeing the crowd awestruck and captivated. I wanted to kill him right there and then. Wipe that smile off his face for good.

He was happy… he was enjoying his life with N… N, who used to be mine… He was happy with the trainer who was mine…

"Carol – Zekrom." N stepped aside, granting me a clear line of sight to the huge monster and introducing him. It held itself with remarkable dignity, considering how it had just been defeated and captured… although the throbbing in all my limbs and the gashes covering my allies were signs that he put up a hell of a fight. Even against the six of us – we barely made it a win.

"(Nice fight, there.)" I managed a pained grin, stepping forwards and holding out a paw, for what good it did. Surprisingly enough, the beast grinned a little, and he met mine with his huge paw, touching it lightly.

"(Carol, is it?)" He questioned. I nodded briskly, smiling. "(Well then Carol-)" He stood upright. "(You and your allies have bested me, and displayed remarkable strength in doing so. I look forwards to working with you.)"

I smiled a bit more and my tail flicked happily. "(Likewise.)"

"Looks like you two are friends already!" N chuckled, slapping me a hearty pat on the back and smiling his huge smile. "Carol, I'm spending tonight up on the mountain training with Zekrom. Just go to sleep without me… is that okay?"

I paused – for the slightest moment, I stopped smiling, but recovered. I nodded. It made sense – N had to familiarise with his new Pokémon.

"I'll be back late… so if you're still up…" His hand landed under my chin. I released an instinctive purr, and I nuzzled his hand as it retreated, grinning like a fool.

"I'll remain awake." I told him through telepathy, nodding. "I can't get to sleep without you around, anyway."

Little did I know – I wouldn't find any sleep at all. I didn't think N would be out all night training…

"You die first!" My mind practically exploded with the words. Even the crowd heard it as they quickly spun around and cocked their heads. They muttered and murmured as they searched for the source of the sound. They didn't know if they were hearing things, or if somebody had threatened them.

A growl escaped me, and I made myself scarce. I slipped further away from the crowd. It would only take one person with half a brain to see me and put two-and-two together.

Zekrom either didn't hear, or didn't care. He landed silently on the stage beside N, gliding to a hefty stop as the wood creaked beneath his weight. Everyone's attention was on him and N again. They weren't concerned about me.

Perfect.

I edged away from my observation point, moving slowly forwards. Most attention was glued to the stage, so I managed to slip into the crowd rather easily. Being much smaller than the adults gathered – politics meant little to children, so there were nearly none present – I easily weaved between the forest of their legs, almost going unnoticed. A few clumped together on occasions, so I pushed them aside as I moved through. Without looking back, I'd hear a cry of disapproval as I moved past. One I felt move in pursuit of me, so I spun around. The flash of my fangs and a vicious stare was enough to turn him around and send him back to where he came from.

I listened. I listened to N's voice as I walked. I clung to his aura as I walked, feeling for his emotions. I watched them play as I approached. I watched them move and fluctuate.

It was rhythmic. N's aura would flash and rise, like a drum being struck. Like the surface of the drum ringing and vibrating, the same aura impulse would sweep through the crowd in reaction. Even without my abilities, he could perfectly transcribe his words and intentions into the brain of every listener. They absorbed his every word and action, and the imposing figure of Zekrom hammered every word into their brains as N spoke. It was persuasion at its most brutal efficiency.

He talked about freedom. He talked about equality. He talked about rights, and friendship, and partners. He talked about the things I used to value… he talked about those things with a smile, whereas I couldn't even form a coherent sentence about my voice quivering helplessly.

Even then, he upset me. Even after everything he did to enrage me, I couldn't talk about the things we used to share without feeling… … … … sad. He actually made me feel sad! He actually upset me! He angered me, he enraged me and I could use that fury to my advantage. But sorrow… it was crippling. It was so horribly crippling…

You have to die!

And without realising it, I was running. I was charging and barging my way through the crowd, sinking in my elbows and fists and cutting a path through the masses. My face was hot, my body was drenched in sweat – I felt like I was on fire as I whirled through their legs and raced forwards. One single letter was burned into the front of my brain. It burned and stung me, screaming itself into every corner of my mind.

N.

I couldn't stop. Something drove me – I had to kill him. For everything he did to me, he had to die. For making me feel sad, for making me angry, for making me… - Carol… for making Carol cry. He confused her, he lied to her, he broke her heart and killed her! He had to die…

Everything was for that moment. Everything I had taught myself was for that moment. It had finally come, but I hadn't prepared myself for my rage. I couldn't control it.

Screams ripped through the crowd and shouts split the air. People's legs shuffled about around me as they scrabbled away out of my path, fleeing my bullet-like trajectory.

Up ahead, the crowd moved away faster as my presence dawned on them. They split apart left and right to make way, forming a great corridor on either side of me as I rushed forwards. And down the centre of the corridor, I saw him. I saw N… and he saw me.

I was throwing every bit of speed I had into that sprint. My heart pulsed faster than it ever had. My mind raced like nothing I had ever felt – yet for that moment where our eyes met, time seemed to freeze.

His went wide. His mouth fell, and his boyish smile faded from his face. His colourless lips parted a fraction, forming a single word of question as disbelief wrapped him. For all his confidence, the mere sight of me shook him to his core.

My front foot landed forwards, slamming into the grass. I shot forwards and leaned back, skidding across the slippery grass toward him, where the crowd has cleared away from my path. My feet sunk into the ground, and I skidded to a stop. I stood up quickly, clenching my fists as my chest heaved.

In that instant, there was something between us. A bodiless anomaly existed between us. A field of animosity and tension spanning the gap, like a wave of heat rippling and fluctuating.

He stared. He just stood perfectly still, and he stared at me. The confidence, the passion, the enthusiasm – he was devoid of all of that. He was pale, he was silent, and he was frozen.

And so was I.

The crowd whispered in the background. Somewhere to my right, a stray breeze whistled between leaves, playing a wispy melody. My heart beat in my ears with every furious pound.

He was right there. He was right in front of me – frozen. Just like I had expected.

"Well?" I felt a growl tear up my throat, stuttering as it rumbled between my bared fangs.

N didn't move a muscle. He just stared at me… he just stared, mouth hanging open. His aura – once a roaring inferno, was just a ball. A compact, withdrawn ball of shock, simmering lightly as curiosity and joy tried to fight to the surface.

Beneath that shock, there was joy. Real joy.

He was… happy to see me.

After all this time… he's happy to see me…? I felt my own jaw drop a little. He's… he's happy!? You're happy to see me? AFTER EVERYTHING?

"Carol…" His lips moved. Slowly and solemnly, his hand reached in front of his face. His pale fingers wrapped around the beak of his cap and he removed it, placing it over his chest. Over his heart. "Carol…" His gentle voice was stressed; harsh. His lip quivered.

I took a step forwards. At one side, my palm flicked open, sparking a small flame of aura. "My name is not Carol." I hissed, swarming him with every inch of hate I held in my dead, stony heart. I crushed him with every speck of rage I could muster, pinning him to the spot with it. "My name… is Katana…"

"Lord N!" Somewhere unimportant, a voice called out.

"No!" N's free hand rose quickly to the voice. "No… leave her be…" His eyes remained on mine the whole time. "Carol… is that you?"

The stasis broke. He staggered an uneasy step forwards, towards the edge of the stage. He took another, holding his gaze on me, still disbelieving.

Everyone watched. Zekrom, the crowd, the operatives – me. Every pair of eyes was on N as he floated down the steps, like he was in a daze.

My heels only hovered on the ground. Every fibre of my being told me to leap forwards. Every fibre of my being told me to kill him without a word… but I didn't. It had been so easy when I imagined it, but I just couldn't move to do the real deed. I was paralyzed.

He stopped. A cool breeze swept between us, blowing his hair and my aura receptors alike before sinking into silence again.

"Carol…" N's lips barely moved. "It's you… you're… back."

"Carol is dead."

I felt his aura stop momentarily. It just froze. It nearly died for a second as my words hit him.

"W-… what?"

"I am Katana." I outstretched my right paw to my side, funnelling aura into one point in my palm and into my growing aura sphere. A few wary spectators jumped back further in fright. Whatever stopped me earlier – it was gone. "Carol is dead. I am katana. I am about to kill you."

Zekrom was not just a legendary Pokémon. Zekrom was N's Pokémon, and that meant as soon as I mentioned "kill" he was off the stage and in the air, ready to defend. I leapt backwards in time as his hefty frame crashed down onto the ground like a boom of thunder.

I landed on my back foot, off-balance. I leaned further and flicked myself backwards, tossing my momentum into a backflip and landing crouched on one knee. A feral snarl tore up my throat as my glare met Zekrom's glower.

"(You…)" His voice too shook like a mighty clap of thunder. He didn't even acknowledge me as his opponent. He just stood there, curious. His head cocked as his frown twisted into a mocking grin. He remembered me. "(You're Carol… aren't you, child?)"

"(I AM NOT CAROL!)"

He staggered back as I screamed, taken off-guard by my sudden outburst. His face fell into a growl again, and he stepped forwards. His body still separated N and I.

"(Not Carol, indeed. You're different.)"

"(I am better.)" I growled, showing him the tiny aura sphere in my palm.

Of all things he could have done, he picked the worst possible reaction.

He leaned forwards a little, cocked his head, and he squinted through his snakelike eyes at my ball of energy. His voice was laced with acidic mirth. "(Is that all? It's so tiny…)" Unfortunately for him, that acid was enough to corrode the last chain holding back my anger.

"DIE!"

I was not "a Lucario". I was not "a Pokémon". This was not "a legendary versus a Pokémon". This was Zekrom versus Katana. And for that fight, I was something more than a Lucario.

My paw swung forwards as the entire body of my aura focussed into that one point on my palm.

Everything was for that aura sphere… all my training was for that one aura sphere. All my training was so I would not be belittled by a bastard legendary who thought he was better than me. All my training… all my pain… just so I could prove I wasn't weak. So I could prove that abandoning me for that lizard was the dumbest thing N had ever done. So I could prove that I was worth something. It was all so I could prove I could defeat Zekrom…

In one shot.

A hum buzzed through the air – the sphere seemed to hang an inch from my paw, rippling with raw energy. For a moment it seemed nothing was happening… but then I had finished gathering my energy. I flicked my paw at him.

I saw nothing. The dazzling flash burned into my sight left me blind for a few seconds, and the explosion both deafened me and threw me backwards. The ground jabbed at me from every side as I bounced and tumbled, flailing for a hold.

Aaagh… wha-… what…? I staggered to my feet, realising I had stopped rolling. Quite, muffled sounds shrieked around me. It was like I heard everything through water, but a shrill buzz rung in my ears too. As my eyes opened, the world around me tipped and tilted, off balance and blurred. My own balance deserted me too, and I stumbled to one knee as I tried to step forwards.

I coughed and choked on dust, wincing as I staggered to my feet again. The muffled sounds popped in one at a time. One moment buzzing, muted noises, the next moment, screeching in vivid clarity. The buzzing and wailing feel fell away from me suddenly, and the blur of my vision settled again.

I stood up.

They had fled. The crowd was spilling away in every direction, screaming and panicking as they barged their way through one another. Turning about a little, I saw the stage. The entire thing seemed to be cracked down the centre where the floor was shattered, and something black and smoking rested on a pile of destroyed wood between the halves of the stage.

The ground where Zekrom had stood was disintegrated. Literally – the surrounding terrain within a two-metre radius had crumbled to ash and dust.

A sharp, harsh splutter caught my attention. Just beside the stage, N staggered to his feet, holding the destroyed platform for balance. Blood trickled down his cheek and leaked from a gash in his left elbow. All over – bruises.

I had done it… I had killed Zekrom in one attack. Right in front of N.

I marched towards him, seething in rage. He didn't even see me approach.

"You!" He glanced up just as my paw wrapped around his throat. He gagged as I dragged him to his knees.

I felt him. I touched him. I felt the pulse of life tremble down his neck. I looked straight into his eyes… into those boyish, fearful eyes as they softened. He was pathetic… he was so pathetic.

In my fantasies, he was never like this. When I killed him, he was furious at me. He was mad and angry and sad – like he made me feel… but reality was hardly that. There was no anger in his eyes. His aura supported this. He only felt one thing and one thing only… one thing that made me so much more mad.

Guilt.

"What…" He coughed and blood splattered my coat. He wheezed as his heavy head hung, but brought it back up to look me in the eyes. They shimmered at the corners where tears were forming. "What happened to you…?"

"I ask myself that same question every day." I threw him backwards. He didn't manage to catch himself, and fell onto his back with another choked couch. I stood over him, placing a foot on his chest.

"You have three days." I told him coldly, boring into his eyes with my own. "You have three days before I kill you. Try to run, try to convince me otherwise – I don't care. You have three days…"

I lifted my foot, and I walked away.

I didn't know why I did it. I had no idea – it was a heat-of-the-moment decision. But I couldn't kill him like that. He was lying on the ground, bloodied and battered and guilty. I didn't want him to die like that. I wanted to make him angry, or sad, or just… something unpleasant. I didn't know, but-

"Katana, is it?"

I stopped on the spot. That voice…

I turned around slowly, still mostly consumed by confusion.

A tall man stood behind me, dressed in a huge blue and gold robe, and a shallow grin. A red eyepiece covering his right eye glistened dangerously as he approached, seeming to glide under the hem of his flowing garb.

I grunted. "Ghetsis. Somebody's finally got my name right."

"Well this is a surprise." He chuckled as he came to a stop. "I didn't think we'd ever see you again."

"We both know you're not fooling anyone with the act." I hissed coldly. "I just killed your pet, and I'm about to kill your prodigy…" An equally shallow grin spread across my muzzle. "But if you're one for grovelling, I might be obliged to-"

"I'm not here to grovel." He replied staunchly.

I frowned. "Well, that is a shame. I guess-"

"Don't pass me up so quickly, Katana." He advised me. His words did nothing for me, but the way he grinned told me he had something interesting to say. I had taken out his pet and threatened his "golden ticket" – yet his demeanour would suggest nothing more than excitement. "Zekrom is not dead. Unconscious, yes, but not quite dead."

I leaned sideways a bit, glancing around the edge of Ghetsis' coat at the unconscious black legendary behind him. "Hm… I might-"

"Don't worry about him." Ghetsis interrupted. "Y-"

"Ghetsis." I cut in sharply. "You've interrupted me three times in this conversation. That's usually grounds for instant death, so I suggest you don't do so again."

Ghetsis stared at me for a moment, blank-faced. He nodded slowly, grinning again, despite everything. "Then – my apologies, Katana."

"Continue."

"You've defeated Zekrom. Everyone saw you do it, There's no need to finish it off."

"You don't want me to kill your little pet?" I flicked my tail with a disturbing grin. "Give me one reason why I should not."

"He's not my pet." Ghetsis clarified, glancing over his shoulder. When he turned back, he was frowning. "He was my ticket to success. He was… but he's weak."

"Still not hearing a reason to keep him alive…" I hummed tiresomely. I was quickly growing impatient..

"He's a trophy." My eyebrow raised in time with Ghetsis' smirk. "Katana, I only needed Zekrom because he was powerful. Now that there's one more powerful, I don't need him anymore."

"Wait…"

"You're clearly more powerful than he is."

"Oh no." I stepped away quickly, shaking my head definitively. "I am not playing this game."

Ghetsis' smile weakened a little, but he followed me and tried again. "Why not? It's revenge you're after, isn't it? Then what better way to gain revenge by taking that which was taken from you? Think of the irony."

"It's not going to happen." I hissed again. Ghetsis wasn't listening to me. "I'm going to kill him, and that's final."

"Fine then." Ghetsis shrugged. "But I simply ask that you consider a position not with N – but with me."

"With-" My train of thought derailed. Suddenly, my mind was blank. This wasn't what I had expected at all. "With… you?" I demanded. Naturally, my response should have been an immediate "no", yet somehow that word didn't cross my mind at the time.

"Me." Ghetsis bowed in front of me, dropping to one knee so his eyes were level with mine. Soul heavy with full sincerity and honesty, he nodded. "I know we've never had much in common before, but I think I see benefit in our cooperation. I want a powerful Pokémon, and you're just that. You want to have your revenge on N – what better revenge is there than spite?"

"You mean – what better revenge other than killing him?" I corrected him. "N dies. There will be no compromise on this."

Ghetsis chuckled a little. To think such a hearty, full-body sound was to the sour image of death was a little disturbing – but to the image of N's death, I felt a strange empathy towards the man. "He can die." Ghetsis shrugged elaborately, beaming at me with a thick grin. "It's none of my concern. My concern now is you – and nothing more."

Me…? I felt my brow clear. For the first time in a year, I felt something run through me. a shiver – not of cold, but of warmth. I replayed his words in my mind. My concern now is you – and nothing more. I was his only concern. He was concerned with me. In such a short instant, I was all that mattered to him… was this the kind of attention that power brought?

"You're what matters most to me, Carol." N leaned close, kissing my forehead and ruffling one ear. My whimpering died out a little, and I looked up to gaze into his eyes.

"You mean it?" I sniffed.

"I mean it." He nodded again, kissing me softly on the nose. "But for the good of the world, I have to spend time with Zekrom to train him and make him stronger."

"But… I can be strong!" I insisted, clinging to his arm as tears formed again. "I can be! Just let me show you!"

"Carol, carol…" His fingers stroked my cheek, soothing me into a soft whine again. "I know you're strong… but Zekrom is the image that will accomplish our dream… a world where Pokémon and humans live as equals… that's still our dream, isn't it?"

I nodded, burying my face against his stomach. His arms wrapped around, and he hugged me.

"But know this… whatever the outcome – you don't need to be strong with me. You can trust me."

He didn't need me to be strong. He had Zekrom for that… I was scenery…

Spurred by pride, I helplessly fell into his ploy. "I'm listening." I crossed my arms and gave Ghetsis my attention.

"I will explain it all in greater detail when it's appropriate." The big man heaved himself to his feet again. His hands ran over his great robe and dusted himself off briskly. "I will arrange for your accommodation. There's a lodge to the west of here that goes by "The Stonehenge" we have booked out for Team Plasma. By the time you arrive, they'll know about you and have a room prepared."

I stared at his eyes, letting the information sink in. I ran it through twice to make sure I remembered, then nodded. "Fine." I decided. "But – before you leave, I have brought others with me."

Ghetsis' brow rose curiously.

"Have some of your men head towards Mount Silver from here. Along the path, you'll find a bridge spanning a small creek. Head north from there into the forest and call for them. Tell your men to say them Katana sent them."

"You brought recruits?" Ghetsis smile rose into something of bafflement and amusement.

"I have." I replied. "They're trained, they're pissed off for being deserted, and they're ready to channel that anger somewhere. Make good use of them."

"I will make sure to." He bowed again. His kiss-ass attitude was something unlike Mjir's –in good ways and bad ways alike. "You have my thanks again, Katana."

"Whatever." I sighed and strode past him, dismissing him with a lazy flick of one paw. I thought Ghetsis had everything he needed. I was wrong.

"What are you feeling?"

I came to a stop again. I took my time answering – not for Ghetsis' sake, but rather my own. I stared straight ahead into a point on the misty horizon, and I shrugged a little. "I don't know." I replied. "I don't know how I should feel. Relieved maybe? Happy? Angry that N is still alive? Fulfilled?" I turned around, staring into Ghetsis' eyes. "Maybe I feel disappointed in myself for dedicating my life to a goal of killing someone. Maybe I'm worried that I won't feel satisfied with killing N. I don't know."

"Revenge is a curious thing." Ghetsis added unhelpfully. "It's something you can't understand until you get. Something you can't get over until you have it."

"Just shut up." I growled and headed away from him. He wasn't any help on philosophical grounds.

I headed somewhere to the west, somehow ignoring the fact that N was less than one hundred metres from me, and alive. Somehow I ignored it, and for just a moment, I looked to the future. I looked up to the grey horizon again, willing myself to see up and over those mountains to the day coming.

"What will I do once I kill him?" I asked myself. Secretly, a part of me hoped he would try to run away – just so I could hunt him down. Smell his fear, see his terror, then kill him. But otherwise, it'd be a boring kill. What would I do after that?

I grumbled a bit. The thought had long been on my mind, but it had been so long since mulling over it felt important. But I knew what I would do. Achieve my goal, then leave.

"Murder suicide."

This story will turn into either a 2-shot, or a 3-shot – depending on how I stretch it out.

Review, sil-vous-plait, and I hope to see you in the chapters to come.