Chapter 4
Double Duel

The two of us stood in the clearing; neither wanting to make the first move. I looked into his eyes, seeing nothing but determination in them. I'll adit, it was a little unnerving.

My doppelganger was the first to act. He rushed me down with his blade-arm, aiming to slice my chest. I blocked with my own arm, and hit him with a direct punch to the face. No special moves, just flesh against flesh. It sent him reeling, and I followed it up with a rather un-sportsman-like kick below the belt.

"SON OF AN ABSOL!" he screamed, bending over. I took this opportunity to charge up a focus blast, aimed for his head. I launched the red sphere of energy at him, missing by inches as my foe ducked lower. He shook off the pain, and launched a psycho cut at me.

"Not bad, old friend," I said. "But I'm better." My arm glowed pink, and I shot the same exact attack back at him, countering and nullifying the attack.

"You're no friend of mine!" He shouted, coming in close to swing his blade at me. I swung down as he swung up, a clear metallic note ringing through the air as our blades connected. Both of us pressed our blades against the other's, aiming to overpower our foe.

Sparks flew off the metal as my blade slid down the edge of my opponent's, cutting a gash in the side of the arm proper. His other arm came up on my side, an Aura Sphere already charged and aimed at my side. It sent me flying, and I landed against a nearby tree.

He ran up to me, blade aimed for a killing blow. I rolled forwards, ducking through his legs. He didn't have enough time to react as I stood up and whacked him upside his head with the flat of my metallic blade. I followed up by slashing down, cutting into the flesh on his back.

The iron smell of blood filled the air, attracting Pokémon to the scene. They all watched on the sides, not wanting to get involved at all. They could sense the hostility in the air, and none of them wanted to get in-between us. It didn't matter to him as he turned around quickly, the blade coming within inches of my nose.

"You can't win." I said, flatly. I moved quickly, a little too quickly. I activated Double-Team, a second copy of myself coming into being from afterimages. The two of us performed synchronized Psycho Cuts, the two attacks crossing in mid-air and hitting my foe in an "x" pattern.

"Nice pony trick…" he said, panting. "just remember- anything you can do, I can do. Only better." He moved quicker, surrounding my clone and I. when he stopped, there were four of him.

"What sorcery..?" I said, before his clones attacked me and my own. My clone evaporated, and I felt two blades dig into my shoulders before disappearing. I fell to the ground, my blood leaking out onto the ground.

"So long, faker." He said, walking up to me. His clones had vanished, and I saw him pull his blade up in order to jab it into me. I raised my own blade to block, but he overpowered me. The metal point of his blade sunk into my chest, piercing my heart.

The world was fading. The last thing I heard before my life was gone was, "I'll meet you in the next life, old friend."

(The actual Zack's point of view)

I threw my arm to my side, slinging off the blood that had stained it. I pulled it back into my arm, sheathing it from the world once more. Christopher's dead body slowly melted back into that of a ditto, and the pink blob fell beneath the surface of the earth. I felt bad for killing him, but I'd rather it be him than Kiara.

I pulled a potion out of my bag, spraying the medication on my wounds. They stopped bleeding, but I knew it would take some time in order for them to completely heal. To pass the time, I input Mrs. Dakol's X-transceiver number, to update on my mission.

"XD-032, were you successful?" I heard, her face actually visible this time.

"Yeah. Christopher the ditto-man is no more. I'm headed over to Hoenn now, to track down the other two." I said, cracking my neck.

"Good. You are doing far better than I had originally- wait, hold on." Saw her hit the mute button on the communication device, and turn to face a Cipher Peon. His white armor was scoffed in places, showing battle damage. Next thing I knew, the whole screen shook violently.

The mute symbol disappeared. "Mrs. Dakol, is everything alright?"

Static filled the comm. "No… HQ…ab… Attacked by an Abs… ituation critical. Activate… D-033…" The line cut out, but not before I noticed an Absol in the background. I swear, it looked like Dusk. Without another moment's hesitation, I reached for Ace's Pokéball- only to realize he was still tired from his flight. I doubt he could make another.

I turned to the Pokémon in the clearing. Most of them approached me. {Is everything alright? Do you need medical aid, human?} a Pidgeot asked me.

{No medical aid… but I would appreciate it if you could transport me. It's a long trip, but I promise it'll be worth your while.} I responded, holding up my bag. {I'll give you all the berries I have to fly me to Orre.}

{ORRE? That's a little far, mate.}

{It's a matter of life-and-death. Please, I wouldn't ask you unless it was needed.} I said. The Pidgeot thought for a moment, then hunkered down on his legs to let me on.

{I know I'll regret this, but I accept.}

(A/N: one more chapter down. The next happens at the same tie as this one, so keep that in mind! ~Nano)