Chapter 3
My Friend..?

"You boys have a safe trip now, and don't forget to visit!" Prof. Oak said the next morning. Brendan and I were headed on out, so he could continue his journey and I could find my target. Christopher was part ditto- he'd be tough to track. All I had of him was a photo- the one Mrs. Dakol gave me. Apparently, he looked to be in his mid twenties, with black hair that hung past his shoulders. His brown eyes looked intelligent, so he'd disguise himself well.

He was project XD-017, so he would be at least twenty years older now- that experiment took place three years before my birth. I'd expect him to be crafty in his disguise, since he has eluded Cipher for so long. "Who's that?" Brendan asked as we walked together, knocking me out of my thoughts.

"The guy I'm looking for. His name's Christopher." I replied. "Why, do you know him?"

"I might've met him a while back. A lot of people look like that, as well."

"Yeah, which would make it hard for me to find him…" I heard my own voice. I guess I wasn't too sure I could find him at all.

"Hey, that's not the way to look at it. Hey, how about a Pokémon battle? That always takes my mind off things." Brendan offered, grabbing a Pokéball.

I thought about his offer. I nodded, smiling; I guess I really needed to take my mind off this for a bit, just to clear my head. "That sounds great, friend." We both walked back a few steps, and turned to face each other. Some people walking along the road stopped to watch.

"I'll choose first! Tidus, let's win this!" Brendan shouted. The Swampert landed on the ground, disproving the lazy attitude I remember him having as a mudkip by roaring into the air.

"Rex, on field!" I said, tossing out the Quick Ball. Rex landed on his hands, flipping off the ground and onto his feet.

{Alright, Boss, let's go!} He said, dropping into a battle stance.

"Rex, Aura Sphere!" My friend launched the blue ball of energy at the Swampert, who simply tilted his head to dodge it. Rex, however, controlled the ball of aura and flung it back around, hitting Tidus in the back of his neck.

"Tidus, Mud Shot!" Brendan ordered. The Pokémon raised one hand, and a stream of moistened earth came out of nothing, hitting Rex straight on.

"Extremespeed!" Rex dashed through the mud, turning his aura into a barrier around him. He dashed through the attack and smacked Tidus with a high-speed kick.

"Hydro Cannon!"

"Focus Blast!"

The two attacks connected, exploding around the arena. The smoke cleared, and both Pokémon still stood, although Tidus couldn't move from his attack. "Rex, finish it with another Focus Blast!"

I was baffled at how he could miss a still target. The attack flew past Tidus, headed straight for Brendan! "LOOK OUT!" I shouted, and the attack connected. Brendan grabbed his arm in pain, and I could see pink flesh being liquefied by the heat of the blast.

"Holy Arceus, are you alright?" I ran over to him, Rex close by. Brendan grabbed his arm tighter and yelled out:

"Don't come any closer."

"Why not? I need to make sure you're alright."

Brendan looked at me, then the forest nearby, and ran. I gave chase, wondering why he would run like this. Into the forest we ran, Rex staying behind to help Tidus get to a Pokémon center (AKA Prof. Oak's house). Brendan eventually stopped in a forest clearing, letting go of his arm.

"Can you tell me… *huff* what's wrong..?" I asked, winded a little.

"Sure. But I'll have to kill you for doing so." Brendan said. Before I could respond, he showed me his injured arm- the flesh wasn't distorted by the attack, it was… by Arceus…

"My real name is Christopher, old friend." He said, his whole body shimmering and shaking, turning more and more pink. Soon, his clothes turned into the gelatinous mass as well, and the whole thing slumped to the ground in a puddle. It took on the form of a ditto.

"WHAT IN THE HOLY FLYING FUCK?!" I screamed out. I needed to track him down, sure, but watching my best friend melt down in front of me is just disturbing.

"I know Cipher sent you. I know they want me dead." He said.

"That they do. But why pretend to be my best friend?"

"I didn't pretend. We were, and still are best friends. I disguised myself as Brendan to prevent Cipher from noticing me. I also kept watch over you, since I knew you were an experiment as well."

"Christopher, I don't want to kill you…" I said. However, I still reached down to my arm, and unsheathed the blade inside it.

"Then why the hostility?"

"If I don't, they'll kill Kiara." I said. "I love her, Christopher. I can't let anything bad happen to her!"

I lunged forward with my blade, trying to cut him down sooner. His gelatinous form plunged to the ground, then rose up around my arm, his face in front of mine.

"That I now understand. But I still will not let you destroy me on their behalf!" He jumped onto my head, strangling me with his own form. I reached up and grabbed him, ripping him off. He plummeted to the ground, and I charged up a Psycho Cut, my arm glowing pink.

The attack missed barely, Christopher having liquefied himself. He transformed into a Lucario, and shot an Aura sphere at me. He must have copied Rex.

I launched my own aura sphere, the two attacks connecting in mid-air. After the explosion cleared, Christopher and I stood on opposite sides of the clearing, ready for battle. "I guess it's too late to save my life, given our old friendship?"

"I can't, Christopher. I can't chance it."

"Then your life is forfeit." He said, turning back into ditto form. His body shook again, growing taller, and his skin turning into a fleshy color again.

It wasn't until the hair came in that I realized what he was doing. The green hair, the orange eyes, the black coat and metal arm… he turned into a double of me! "Let's see who's the better guinea pig, shall we?" He called out, lunging with the metal blade. I parried it off my own, and outright punched him in the face with my other arm.

I smiled. This was going to be interesting.

(A/N: for future reference, the next two chapters occur during the same time period. ~Nano)