Evil Opposites and Madness
In the Lumiose Badlands, a cloaked figure was seen walking as if nothing mattered. The figure was in an orange cloak showing only their orange low tops and covering their face. In their right hand, they seem to be holding what appears to be a handle of a sword but the blade was not attached as if the sword was supposed to look broken. As the winds died down, the figure stopped walking and looked left and right as if something or someone was coming. The figure waited a few more seconds hearing nothing and continued walking to their destination when suddenly, a growl came from behind them. The figure stopped again only to avoid an attack as they jumped high into the air, flipping backwards, and landing gracefully on their feet. They then looked at the attacker.
"So, this is what happened to the Pokémon and humans that died?" the figure said their voice sounding is was feminine. She looked back at the animal before her and chuckled a bit.
"Heh, heh. You know you remind of someone who had a Pokémon that look just like you but only smaller, and your color is orange not green." She snickered while the undead creature continued to growl at her. She laughs as if it was the funniest thing she's ever seen before until she stopped.
"It's funny but at the same time it's pathetic." She said as she looked at the ground her eyes glowing yellow with electricity going around her body. The large undead mouse Pokémon backed away in fear.
"It's pathetic because you were his partner and you didn't protect him. It's pathetic because he cared about others more than himself. It's pathetic because he sacrificed himself to protect everyone but now…now he's gone." she said silently to herself before she snapped her head up in rage and anger.
"AND IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!" she shouted at the electric type before she was instantly right behind it with her back facing the animal catching the Pokémon by surprise. Before anyone knew what happened it was too late, the only sound heard through the air was a slash. Everything stood still until a small thud was heard. The undead Pokémon hit the ground slowly disintegrating into ashes and scattered along the windy atmosphere. As the winds blew along her cloak it revealed the sword from earlier was grasp in her hand outstretched to her left, as the dust scattered away from her it revealed the broken sword into a new form. The lightning that was around her transformed itself into a blade connecting with hilt, as flowing around itself continuously before disappearing as the figure disable it and put it back in her cloak before continuing to walk to her destination.
"I'll never forgive them... I'll never forgive team Flare…I'll never forgive this world." she thought angrily before thinking about her other companions.
"Wave and Terra should be there by the time I get back, as for Blaze I'm not sure. Whenever she wanders off she intends to be gone for a few days, a week at most." She stopped walking as she brought up her best friend. "And just like me she hasn't been able to forget him yet either." she thought.
"I know the four of us changed but she changed the most. She became cold and heartless, being emotionless around others but around me she's not."
"I wonder what she's doing right now, she said she was going to Shalour City for something important and sent those two to Coumarine. Either way, I better hurry to the power plant and recharge the power cells before I forget." she continued walking before she groan at what she just remembered.
"Uh. I swear if I must deal with another one of Terra's antics, I'm gonna fry her mouth just to shut her up. My name's Spark not Sparky or any other name she calls me." The figure known as Spark kept muttering to herself on how much a pain Terra is as she continued walking not knowing that someone was watching her.
With Korrina and Ash:
Korrina was sitting in chair next to a bed where Ash was. He was sleeping with a scared expression on his face. His breathing was erratic and sweat poured down his face indicating that he was having a nightmare. Hearing him whimper in his sleep, Korrina grabbed his hand sliding her thumb back and forth over his palm offering him as much comfort as she could. She was glad it was working as his breathing slowed down, and unconsciously gave her a gentle squeeze.
"That's it Ash. Just stay calm ok, there's nothing here that can hurt you." She thought as she smiled at the sleepy head. Korrina knew how to keep him calm but not as much Skyla. She was better at these situations. They both took turns comforting him and Ursula whenever they had nightmares. Ursula never really had a problem with them but she would go to them from time to time. Ash on the other hand, he was a mess.
"We couldn't trust him to not try and run off on his own. He's blames himself for everything that's happened, and earlier today we told him that none of us blamed or hate him for not doing his best." she frowned as she thought about his recent actions. If anyone was to blame it was Team Flare. They were the ones who summoned Megalith Zygarde and destroyed the world. They've hurt…...killed innocent people and Pokémon. But…. deep down, she knew that Ash didn't think like that.
She looked back him thinking about his past nightmares, they all involved those he cared about dying right in front of him or he was falling in darkness hearing their cries for help. Every night they would get worse and Ash would have a hard time sleeping. He wouldn't sleep unless her or Skyla force him to, they didn't like it but he needed to get help. Her face twisted a bit as she thought about Skyla. She was angry at the redhead, she knew that she wanted Ash to face the outcome but it was too early. She remembered seeing him unresponsive when they tried to talk to him, she saw that look in his eyes where he wasn't there. The Ash they all knew was dying while the new one was slowly surfacing and it scared her. He just became silent, he still talks from time to time but barely. He may've talked about his problems with us but only because he was doing for our sake and not his own.
"Once again, Ash is thinking about others then himself. You really do care more about others than yourself huh" she thought. I've seen the inside of his aura, he's deepest thoughts and feelings are buried deep within him, all the anger he feels at himself, all the guilt he's carrying… it's too much." she ran a hand through soft hair, smiling as he leant into her touch. Korrina then thought about his aura.
"His aura changed. I knew something had changed the moment he and Sky came back. Instead of just feeling positive energy in him, I saw red. And I know that trauma can change a person but not their aura, something feels off here." Korrina heard Ash whimper in his sleep again meaning the nightmare was getting stronger. While she continued her ministrations to keep him calm, she closed her eyes and focused on connecting their aura.
Sky blue aura flowed around her body and azure flowed around his. As this happened, Korrina didn't notice Ash's aura turning dark red. Once it connected with hers, she looked in to his mind and saw something terrible. All she saw around her was a trail of bodies human and Pokémon alike. There was blood everywhere it made her sick. Then she heard someone chuckle behind her, as she turned around her eyes widened in shock and horror. She saw someone that looked like Ash but darker, she tried to get a closer look but the next thing she knew she felt something stabbed her. She looked down and saw a hand that went through her body holding her heart as she slowly coughed up blood. When she looked up, she saw a terrifying smile before she felt the hand crush her heart killing her.
Korrina woke up from her trance in stress. Sweat poured down her face and her breathing was heavy. She looked back at Ash seeing him still asleep. "What on earth was that?! Whoever that was, it wasn't Ash. He was different. He felt cold and malicious and he smiled when he killed me." Korrina slightly trembled at the thought of death. Even though it was all in her head if felt so real.
Korrina then felt a surge of pain in her head. She let go of Ash's hand and shot out of the chair gripping her head tightly. She then heard something in that sounded like a voice.
"…get…...out" it said.
"…get out…get out…get out…." The voices became louder and louder in her head as she clutched her head tighter.
"…...GET OUT!" it shouted making Korrina scream in pain. She tried to calm down and meditate but it the pain hurt too much for her to even start. She kept hearing them get louder and louder until…...it stopped.
"Huh?!" Korrina released her head as she stood up looking around the room like something was there but there was no one. This made her feel uncomfortable, she was sure she heard them but where did they come from. She sighed thinking it was her imagination again before….
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Korrina turned around slowly and was shocked at who she saw. It was Ash, not the one that asleep but the other one. He looked exactly like Ash but his eyes glowed red and red aura flowed around his body but he looked like an astral projection. The one that killed her, what was he doing here and how did he get here?
"You know I have to admit, I wasn't expecting someone to actually go inside his head to try and figure out his "aura" problem." He chuckled manically as he made air quotations on the word aura.
Korrina was frozen in shock and speechless at what was happening right now. He looked at her before chuckling to himself.
"Heh heh, sorry. I forgot to introduce myself, my name is Ash, the real Ash." he smirked maliciously.
"YOUR NOT ASH! THERE'S NO WAY HE CAN BE SOMEONE AS CRUEL AS YOU." Remembering Ash was still asleep, Korrina clamped her hands over her mouth.
"Relax, he's fine. I'm out here which means he can't hear or do anything." he told her. Korrina sighed in relief before glaring back at the intruder.
"Are you gonna glare at me the whole time or what?" he asked.
"Who or what are you?" she asked.
"Like I said I'm Ash but not your Ash. I'm his darkest thoughts, his darkest feelings, basically his other half."
"Other half of what?" she asked.
"Ash's other half…... his dark side." Korrina was about to say something before he held a hand up to stop her.
"Before you deny and say Ash doesn't have a dark side, I'm gonna have to tell you you're wrong. Everyone has a dark side. Some people won't admit it because they don't want to embrace it while others aren't afraid to and will gladly accept it to use for their own purposes and do not care who they hurt to make their dreams into a reality. You have one, Ursula and Skyla have one and Ash has one which is yours truly."
"But how are you…." she trailed off.
"Out?" he finished as she nodded at him.
"I've been buried in him for years, ever since he started his first adventure actually. When Mew and Mewtwo were fighting against each other while hurting Pokémon in the process I was there. When Team Rocket kept trying to steal his Pokémon only to be stopped by Ash, I was there too. And when Hoopa's dark side took over, I was there. For years, I've been trying to manifest myself into physical form or just take over his body and have it act as my own but he always been resistant to let me do that." Korrina was left speechless at his statement. How long has he been fighting his darker half? "He" said he's been with him since his journey but that could've been when she met Ash the first time.
"How long have you been inside him?" she asked.
"Well, adding all the regions we've been in and how long it took to travel through each one, and including Kalos, I say for about six years." he said. Korrina looked at him horrified at the revelation. Six years. Six long years he had to deal with his dark side and had told no one about it.
"Dang it Ash. Why? Why aren't you letting anyone help you? Why do you intend to do this on your own? What's going on with you?" Her thoughts were soon interrupted when she heard coughing.
"Ok, I've been out here for too long which means it's time for me to go back inside my host or your friend, however you want to put it I really don't care." he said as he started to fade.
"Wait, where do you think you're going?" she glared at him.
"In case you have forgotten, I can't stay out here for too long so I'm going back to sleep inside him. I wouldn't try to stop me if I were you, if you or the others in some way force Ash to talk that's just makes it easier for me to take over. So, if you want keep him safe you better heed my warning skater-girl. By the way, since his name is taken you can call me Dark." he finished before he disappeared completely.
Korrina just stood there, taking in everything that had just happened. She just met the sick version of Ash named Dark, and he's willing to take over his body but something was odd about it. He told her his warning about forcing Ash to talk, what did that mean? Would something bad happen or is he just messing with her head. Either way she needs to inform Skyla about this.
Speaking of her, she heard the door open and Ursula shout that they were home. She looked back at Ash seeing a troubled look on his face before it changed to peaceful. She wondered how was he able to be at peace after what just happened. She was so lost in her thoughts that she let out a small yelp when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning around, she saw Skyla and Ursula standing in front of her, the latter laughing a bit at Korrina while holding the basket of vegetables.
"Wow Korrina. You and Skyla are both too easy to scare. You both give me endless opportunities whenever you zone out." Ursula said trying to hold back her laughter while Skyla just groaned at her. Korrina was still frozen from earlier and just stared at the two.
"Hey Korrina, are you okay?" Skyla asked. No response. Skyla then did the next best thing she thought that would work. She slapped Korrina on the back of her head.
Snapped out of her trance, she yelped in pain while glaring at Skyla. "Ow, what was that for pilot?"
"We called out to you twice and you didn't respond, so I snapped you out of it."
"And you couldn't think of anything better than slapping me?" she exclaimed.
"I could if I wanted to but I didn't." she deadpanned.
"Gee thanks."
"Ok before you two go back into your daily quarrel, why don't I make us lunch and Korrina…." Ursula trailed off.
"Yes?"
"I want you to spar with me afterwards." she finished.
"Why not Skyla?"
"I have to fix his gauntlets remember."
"Oh right."
"Alright then, I'll be in the kitchen and will call you when lunch is ready. Bye." Ursula finished as she walked downstairs with the basket in her hands leaving Korrina, Skyla and Ash.
Skyla turned to Korrina with a concerned look on her face. "Are you sure you're ok, you were shaking a bit?" she asked. Unlike Ursula, she noticed Korrina trembling when they came back from their hunt.
Korrina looked back at her with a serious look on her face and spoke. "We need to talk. While you guys were gone, I went inside Ash's mind." This put Skyla on red alert wondering what was Korrina thinking as she pulled her out of the room and pinned her arms against the wall.
"You WHAT? Why would you do that?" Korrina forced Skyla's hands off her arms before continuing.
"When you took him to Lumiose, his aura was normal and wasn't wavering but when you came back it changed."
"Changed? How?"
"It was red but that wasn't it. When I went into his mind I saw something that was so horrifying."
"What did you see?"
"I saw bodies Sky, dead bodies. People and Pokémon. And Ash, he wasn't normal. He was cold-hearted and malicious. When he…" she trailed off. That event still shook her.
"Korrina?" Skyla called.
"When he killed me…. he just smiled. No remorse, No regret, no sadness…. he just smiled." Skyla gasped in horror at what he she just heard. Ash killed her but how? He was trying to save everyone not end their lives.
"I was so scared at what I saw Sky…...I…...I wanted to leave." she said as tremors went through her body. Korrina was afraid to go back there, she knew it was an illusion but it all felt so real. Skyla didn't like seeing Korrina like this. She was terrified of what she saw and she was having a hard time telling her this since she experienced it.
"Korrina, Korrina, look at me." she saw her starting to breath heavily and trapped in her own torment. Her knees gave out as sweat poured down her face and she gripped her arms to anchor herself. Skyla crouched down to her and wrapped an arm around her, pulling Korrina to her and letting her head rest on her shoulder.
"Breath, Breath. Just relax okay, don't force yourself. Calm down and tell me the rest when you're ready." she comforted the aura gym leader. She rubbed her hand back and forth along Korrina's back comfortingly easing her panic attack. Korrina's breathing slowly went back to normal as she relaxed. As much as she wanted to stop, she needed to tell Sky the rest, there was no way she could handle Dark all on her own. She needed her help it would make things a lot easier to handle.
"When I woke up from that illusion…." she said silently. Skyla waited patiently for her to continue.
"I heard voices in my head telling me to get out. I don't know if it meant to stay out of Ash's head or what but it was freaky." Korrina said as Sky nodded.
"Then, as I turned around I saw him."
"Ash?"
"Yes, but he isn't actually Ash he just looked like him. The only different was his eyes they glowed a very bright red. Anyway, he calls himself Dark. he manifests himself off Ash's thoughts and regrets. He's been inside him for 6 years trying to get out but Ash has been fighting real hard to keep him from surfacing."
"6 years? Does that explain Ash always trying to leave on his own?"
"It's possible but I don't know all the details. Right before Dark left he told me not to force Ash into talking about this but I wonder if he was trying to warn me or mess with my head." she finished.
"Either way, this is really bad. Now that we know about this we need to talk to Ash about Dark." Korrina turned her head to look at Skyla like she was crazy.
"Are you insane, we can't just force Ash to talk about this. What if we trigger Dark to come back out or worse possess Ash?"
"Hold on a minute, just here me out. We tell him about your encounter with Dark but we don't force him to tell us about him. If he doesn't want to talk about then that's his choice not ours but if the situation gets out of control, then we step in. Does that sound fair?" she asked Korrina.
Korrina thought about this. On one hand, they could not do this and wait for Dark to come back and make his move so they could stop him but it might not end well but on the other hand, they could go with this plan and be prepared for him and hopefully get more answers out of Ash to keep him and Ursula safe. Speaking of her…...
"What about Ursula, do we tell her about this?" Skyla shook her head at the question.
"No, we already got enough problems on our hands. I don't want her to get caught up in this plan of ours and like me she worries about him like an overprotective sister sometimes." Korrina decided add her own piece to that statement.
"Well, you worry about him like an overprotective mother hen most of the time." Skyla blushes in embarrassment as she looks away from Korrina.
"I….do not."
"Yes, you do and I also like to mention that you give us all the look whenever we do something stupid."
"What look?" Skyla asked curiously.
"Uh no reason. No reason at all." Skyla just looked at wondering why she would say it like that before she shrugged it off like it was nothing. Korrina though, inwardly sighed in relief.
"The one where you look like a mother scolding her child, that's the look I'm talking about. Of course, none of us would ever say that to her directly." She thought.
"Alright, but I mean it Korrina. Are you in or not?"
"I'm in. But if Ash loses control of himself we step in right away ok?"
"Right."
"Thank you for um…. helping me share that and for being patient." It was Korrina's turn to blush as she looked away from Skyla.
"No problem. You would've done the same thing for me." Skyla said as she ruffled Korrina's hair a bit. She then stood up and gave Korrina her hand to grab. She grabbed it and stood up along Skyla as they both stretched.
"Come on, let's go downstairs I want to see what Ursy is making us this time."
"Sure, but I don't think it's a good idea to scare her for earlier."
"I know but it would be fun."
"As much I want to follow I got check on Ash's gauntlets remember? Plus, him arms need medical attention."
"Oh, I already did that. There was no severe damage to his wrists, they were just minor cuts that's all." Korrina reassured her.
"Thank you for that."
"No problem. Later!" Korrina said as she ran to the stairs and skated along the railing down. Skyla just laughed at her childish antics before she walked back into Ash's room. She wanted to check on his gauntlets but she thought that when he wakes up, he could watch Ursula and Korrina sparring match with her.
She heard soft moaning coming from Ash. She walked to the bed and sees him moving around a bit. At first, she thought he was having another nightmare and was ready to comfort him until she heard him yawn. As he turned his body to her, he stretched out his arms a bit before stopping. Ash slowly opened his eyes and he saw a hint of white in his view. He looked up and saw Skyla standing over him smiling.
"Hey there." she said softly.
"Hi." He replied turning his legs over the bed.
"How do you feel?"
"Ok." he said in a monotone voice making Skyla frown at him.
"Ash…."
"You were right…You can't save everyone that's just how life is." Skyla just stayed silent as she listened to his words. Ash just kept his gaze down toward the floor.
"I didn't want to believe it though. I wanted to prove it wrong. I wanted to show that everyone can be saved if I tried hard enough." Skyla only frowned at him knowing where his thoughts were heading.
"But deep down…. I knew…I knew that it was true." he finished. There was silence for a few seconds before Skyla sat down next to him.
"IT's true you can't save everyone…." She trailed off noticing him clenching his fists.
"But…." She wraps an arm around his shoulders and pulled him against her chest and rested her chin on his head.
"That doesn't mean you can't save those around you. If any of us were in trouble right now, you would do whatever there is you can do to save us, right?" she asked.
"Yes"
"Let me tell you something Ash, sometimes sacrifices have to be made to save someone we care about." She heard him whimper a bit before continuing.
"No one likes a sacrifice but do know why we do it anyway?"
"We do it because so the people we care about live on." Ash then lifted his head to look at her as she smiled down at him.
"Live on with their lives so they can be happy but also so they could never forget about those that gave their lives that made it happen."
"So, do you understand of why we are here now?" she asked him, still smiling.
"Yeah, a little. I still don't like what have to be made but I can't let that stop me from trying." he said as he looked at his hand and clench it into a fist.
"Skyla, could you and Korrina train me?"
"You don't even have to ask. Me and Korrina have been training Ursula ever since we found her, she wants to get stronger just like you."
"Thank you and I'm sorry for earlier when I shouted at you." Ash said sincerely while looking down at the floor. He felt something unexpected. Skyla pressed her lips gently against his forehead leaving him red as he looked up at her.
"W-w-w-what was that for?" he stuttered. Skyla giggled at his actions of trying to talk, it was cute.
"For being you Ash."
"What do you mean?"
Ash…...No matter what happens don't lose sight of yourself ok, and please don't hesitate to ask for help from us ok, we care about you too."
"I…..."
"Promise me that you will?" she pleaded.
"Okay I promise." Skyla sighed in relief at his answer. Now she hopes that he will follow up on his promise.
"Good. Now when you're ready meet us downstairs for lunch."
"Ok I'll see you down there." Skyla left the room leaving Ash by himself.
As he was alone, he thought about earlier when Korrina talked to Dark. He wasn't awake but he could still hear what they were saying thanks to Dark being connected to his mind.
"I told one of them to heed my warnings of trying to deal with me if not careful, question is will they follow through or not?" a voice said. Ash froze as shivers went down his spine. He just had to come out now. He turns around and sees Dark leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He also looked around the room and noticed that everything stopped moving. He walked to the window and saw that the clouds in the sky have stopped moving and he couldn't feel any wind coming through him.
"What do you want?" as he turned around and glared at his evil self.
"Oh relax, I just came out to see if you were awake or not because you weren't asleep when I talked with that little friend of yours. You know the one with skates." he chuckled. So, he knew that Ash was listening back then. This isn't good.
"Why are you here then, what else could you possibly want?" he asked frantically. He wasn't afraid of what he would do to him, he was afraid of what he would do to the girls.
"I think that your friends need to know that I'm not just your thoughts. They need to know that I really am you. Just more twisted." he smirked darkly.
"You are gonna stay away from them and again you are not me." he glared at Dark.
"Oh really, then I guess you don't know how terrifying I am. This is you after all. You created me."
"No I didn't. Let's make this clear. As long as you are inside me, you can't do anything to hurt them and you can't take over my body no matter how many times you try." Dark's smile went from evil to malice.
"Oh, really then let's see how far you will go to protect them." he finished as dark tendrils appeared around his body and shot forward to Ash grabbing his arms and legs. Ash struggled breaking free before he saw another tendril from Dark aiming for his head. After that he blacked out.
Ash's Mindscape:
Ash woke up and looked at his surroundings. There was nothing there, nothing in the space except him and his own shadow which was white. He then smelled something horrid but he couldn't see where it was coming from.
"What is that odor, it smells like…." He froze once he figured out the smell it was blood. Why did it smell like blood, it wasn't his own? He continued walking in the dark abyss when suddenly, a bright flash blinded Ash. When the flare was gone, he opened eyes only for them to widened in horror. He saw bodies, dead bodies.
"What, what is this?" he asked. He saw bodies of people and Pokémon. Ash felt like he couldn't breath as he started to hyperventilate and grabbed his chest tightly. All this horrified him this…... this massacre. He walked backwards in fear that he didn't notice who was right behind him. He felt something hit his feet, he turned around and wanted to cry in despair. He saw Skyla, Korrina and Ursula dead at his feet.
Korrina had a hole in her chest and both of her eyes were missing. Skyla had one eye missing, her arm and leg were missing as blood was sprouting out of them. Ursula was just ripped in half and her head was turned backwards as her hair covered her eyes. Ash just dropped to ground at seeing his dead friends. Dark decided to come out of hiding and appeared behind him enjoying Ash's suffering.
"Having fun?" he asked sarcastically.
"W-w-what is all of this?"
"This my friend is a reality waiting to happen."
"How?"
"You couldn't fight me anymore. Your body gave out before I took over and just went mad crazy on becoming a killer. The people behind us were survivors I found after traveling through the other regions. Your friends in front were the first ones to go. They tried to stop you but none of them stood a chance." he said.
"Ursula was the first one though, you went behind and slash her in half. Korrina and Skyla on the other hand, put up a fight having a hard time stopping you but in the end, you tortured them to death very slowly." he finished. Ash listened silently to his story wanting to cry in despair.
"So, tell me Ash, how long will it be until you lose control to me, how long will it be until you kill your friends huh?"
"Either way you lose and you can't stop me." He looked at Ash for any response but nothing came out of his mouth.
"Well time for you to go back until next time Ash." he said as a bright flash filled eyes.
Reality: Ash's room
Ash opened his eyes seeing himself back in the real world. He looked around seeing everything was the same when he left. After looking outside, he walked to the nearest corner away from the door and window and collapsed to the ground.
He hugged his knees tightly and cried silently to himself, everything that just happened finally settling in. In Dark's world, it wasn't just real to him, it was what would happen if he lost to him. It was an inevitable horrible truth that would soon happen and he couldn't change it. So, he just sat there and cried and cried. Cried because this time it was his fault. Cried because he became a killer.
He cried because he killed his three friends…his family.
Next Time:
Chapter 3: Training, Breakdown and Aura Hunters