Chapter 8a ( From Reunion into Tragedy? )

By the way readers, the reason for the 8a you see now and the 7a earlier is because there is going to be an alternative ending. (I mentioned this before, but I understand that people might forget so please don't quit after I'm done with the first ending. Thanks :D)

So... here goes...

(Narrator) [yes I know this aint supposed to be here, but since I've made this error all the way from Desperate Murderer, I shall leave it there to make things less awkward. If I were to write another story in the future, this wouldn't appear anymore]

[also, any square brackets or bolded words are not related to the story, and they are just for fun, don't treat them like they are a part of the story]

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" a thunderous shout boomed, sending echoes bouncing about the concrete walls, halting the imminent execution of the condemned.

"Wait a sec," uttered Mienfoo.

"See, I told you they would come!" Slowpoke declared. "Hurry, let's get downstairs!" he continued, beckoning the other Pokemon.

The little ones blitzed down the seemingly never-ending staircase, before jumping into the arms of their rescuers.

"Dad! What took you so long?" Slowpoke cried, tears of joy cascading down his cheeks.

"Thanks for saving us!" Mienfoo whooped as he hugged the Conkeldurr.

"Oh my Arceus! I can finally go..." Growlithe cheered, before breaking down into uncontrollable sobs, overwhelmed by relief.

"Thanks..." stammered Treecko to Vileplume. As no other words could express her ecstacy, she simply gave the rafflesia Pokemon a tight hug.

"Hohoho! What naivety I see before me! Do you really think I would let you Pokemon go free so easily? Slowking, do you really think one Psyshock from you would even be able to shake the door, let alone make it explode?" cackled Mewtwo as he teleported into the point of entry to the park.

Slowking glanced at the broken debris of the titanium door, and mentally knocked himself on the head for being so daft. So Mewtwo was waiting for them all the time!

"Don't you still remember how you Pokemon failed to tear down the walls of the Fantasy? Conkeldurr, you should have known best, as you were the one who was pummeling your fists against them. How could I be so careless, as to make my door so fragile? Take a look around you. The former dining room and the park have already been transformed into battle stadiums. It's easy to understand the rationale for that, isn't it? Even dense Conkeldurr should be able to...Wait, aren't you supposed to be dead?" Mewtwo exclaimed in astonishment, suddenly realising the peculiar appearance of a former contestant in the Fantasy Games

"Well, I returned from the Land of the Dead! Absol brought me here to fight against evil scourges like yourself." Conkeldurr snarled.

Slowpoke was puzzled. If Absol did bring back someone from the dead, why didn't he take a Dark type Pokemon along? Why on earth would he bring someone who would simply make a return trip to the Land of the Dead upon contact with Mewtwo's Psystrike.

"Hmm, well I guess it's time for you to pack your bags and go back to where you belong!" Mewtwo smirked as he blasted a Psystrike in Conkeldurr's direction. Conkeldurr was too slow to avoid the violet beam and took the full impact of that almighty Psystrike, only to be unscathed.

"I'm telling you, the dead are invulnerable. You can't hurt us. But we can destroy you," Conkeldurr explained, leaving Mewtwo shell shocked. But Mewtwo soon regained his composure, waving his hands in dismissal.

"Forget it, it doesn't matter if I can't hurt you. You are the only Pokemon that was resurrected. I can just kill everyone else. Even if you are alive, you are simply too slow to be a threat. I do need a workout anyway, so after I kill everyone else, I just have to keep my butt moving every once in a while. It's a pity that I can't sit down and read anymore because you wouldn't give me the luxury of time, but who cares? I have the Fantasy Games to entertain me. Also, I don't need to worry about my everyday needs such as food because I think I can cook and play tag with you simultaneously. So I don't really...Woah!"

Conkeldurr had lunged towards Mewtwo with breakneck speed,his hands turning into a shade of jet black. Unfortunately, Mewtwo's inhuman reflexes enabled him to dodge the blow. As Conkeldurr bumped into the wall, Mewtwo used this chance to teleport a few metres away.

"Phew, luckily I didn't attempt to teleport, otherwise I would have been too late and could possibly join you in the afterlife! I didn't know being dead gives you such a massive boost to your movements." Mewtwo yelled in surprise. "Wait, did you just injure yourself? I thought you were invulnerable," questioned Mewtwo, as he saw Conkeldurr rubbing his head.

"Err... I still can feel pain, but I can never die. Nevertheless, my pain is minimised because of my ghostly form." Conkeldurr attempted to explain, but Mewtwo was not convinced. The Genetic Pokemon scanned his surroundings, before nodding his head briefly.

"Hmm, I'll let you pokes in on a secret. You see, one of my hidden talents involve ghost busting. I actually have the ability to exorcise ghosts, and I think it is important for me to get rid of malevolent spirits like..." and in the split second, Mewtwo unleashed an Aura Sphere. Conkeldurr was genuinely unprepared, and was instantly killed.

"You," Mewtwo completed his sentence. "I must commend you for your crafty trick. If I had not noticed the Zoroark standing next to Absol, I would have taken slightly longer to realise that Conkeldurr was actually Zoroark. However, his burst of speed and that sneaky Sucker Punch gave the game away. I actually wanted to inform the dead Zoroark about his failed plot, but after seeing that he didn't give me time to complete my sentence then, I would return the favour by attacking before completing my own statement," sneered Mewtwo to no one in particular.

"NO! MY BEST BUDDY! HOW COULD YOU KILL HIM YOU DIABOLICAL BASTARD!" Z flared up. The enraged Zoroark was about to charge towards the apathetic Mewtwo, only to be stopped by Absol.

"I understand that you have a death wish, but please bear in mind that we have a mission to complete." Absol warned, staying surprisingly calm in spite of the demise of his long term business partner, who was also one of his few friends.

"Yawn, while you guys mourn I'm going to take a snooze in the park. See ya later." drawled Mewtwo as he sashayed lazily towards the park.

"What the hell are you talking about? Come back here you coward!" Z screeched, only to hear a door slam shut.

"In case you are wondering, I actually faked the door explosion. Have fun trying to break down the door again. Surely you pokes could manage it, as you have clearly done it before, right? No? I'm disappointed. Well, since you can't escape, I don't need to attack you. If you want to escape, you would fight me on your own free will. I understand that you might be tired after such an arduous journey, so being the magnanimous Pokemon that I am, I'm willing to give you time to rest before we commence our duel. In fact, here are some Potions from me, free of charge." Mewtwo smiled, before resuming his slow, leisure walk.

Slowking heard a loud buzzing sound, only to see the background of the Fantasy take another drastic transformation. The corridors with the rooms turned into another arena, this time with just four walls and a smooth marble floor. It merged with the rocky battlefield, forming one huge arena, half of which were rocky terrain and the latter was cold hard floor. "From the number of battle arenas, there must be other adversaries we have to face," he remarked.

"But Mewtwo's cronies aren't our main target, we need to unite and kill Mewtwo first, then his sidekicks wouldn't defend him anymore." Charizard pointed out.

"No. We have to split up. Some of you must go and fight Mewtwo's allies. It's going to be messy if there are too many of us fighting Mewtwo at once. With our unorganised attack, it's bound to fail. I propose we split up accordingly. Vileplume, you come with me in our fight against Mewtwo. Charizard, you go with Slowking to deal with Mewtwo's allies. Z, you know what the routine is," Absol commanded.

"What about us? I want to help in getting rid of those meanies!" Mienfoo interrupted.

"I think it's not safe for you little ones to interfere. However, if any of us badly needs help, you could consider coming to our aid. But don't do it too early, lest you hinder our fight," replied Absol, smiling a little at Mienfoo's bravery.

The Pokemon shared the Potions, restoring their vitalities to pristine conditions. At Absol's signal, they headed in their respective directions, ready to confront their enemies.


(Slowking's POV)

With a final prayer to Arceus, Charizard and I strode to the rocky grounds, wondering who we would face. The answer was revealed soon after, with the appearance of a loony puppet and two malevolent canines.

Mr. Mime, the puppet that invited me to hell two years ago. I still remember that green birthmark on his magnolia white hands, sticking out like a sore thumb. His blue horn like growths on his head waved at me, like he was saying goodbye to my existence. His red bob in his chest was darkening, an indicator that he was prepared for battle. He gave me the same malicious frown that he had on the day of my participation in the Fantasy Games, causing me to shudder.

The Houndooms beside Mr. Mime growled at me menacingly, before emitting a feral howl, causing chills to race down my spine. Their arrow shaped tails pointed towards me, signalling my doom. Their pearly white horns gleamed in the lighting of the room, along with their skull shaped pendant. They bared their small but jagged fangs, reminding me of my ordeal as they dragged me by my neck into the Fantasy.

Seeing that I was engrossed in my thoughts, Charizard hit me with his tail lightly.

"Stop dreaming. What's our plan?"

"Okay, seeing that Mr. Mime is a Fairy and Psychic type, I think you should take him on since his Fairy moves won't hurt you too much. I'd take care of the Houndooms." I replied.

"But the Houndooms have a type advantage against you! Your Psychic moves can't even hurt those Dark Types." Charizard commented.

"But if I were to fight Mr. Mime, he has an edge over me because of his sky high special defenses, something that only you can overcome, due to your fiery prowess. If you were to fight Houndoom, you don't gain any advantage." I explained. "Whatever the situation, it's not beneficial towards us."

"Alright, but bear in mind that if you face troubles in your battle, I can't spare the time to aid you." Charizard warned.

"It's alright. I would be just fine." I reassured him.

"Hurry up, you fools!" Mr. Mime called.

"Let's see the smirk being wiped off your face!" Charizard roared as a purple orb of energy consumed him, spitting Charizard out with his Mega evolved form. The surroundings warmed up as a blistering sun appeared, baking the ground with a vengeance. Blazing rays struck all the objects in the room, casting long shadows on the ground. The non-fire typed Pokemon began to perspire, sweat trickling down their bodies.

I noticed one Houndoom pointing gesturing towards the other. But the latter just shook his head, like he had a secret strategy.


(Charizard's POV)

I spewed out a blast of harsh flames with a Fire Blast, which headed straight towards Mr. Mime. He hurled back a Dazzling Gleam, sending a white beam to contest the fiery blast. However, my blast emerged victorious, as it overcame the resistance of 's attack, hence it continued its pursuit of the puppet. Unfortunately, he pulled of a cartwheel, moving sideways and evading my attack neatly. I noticed the familiar violet background around me. Darn, Slowking must have used his Trick Room. Hopefully Mr. Mime wouldn't be too fast. Still, Mr. Mime was by nature rather speedy, so I doubt this Trick Room would affect my battle too adversely. He summoned another Dazzling Gleam. Deciding to test the effect of Trick Room, I attempted to dodge the shimmering blast, which fortunately wasn't too difficult. But just when I was about to turn back and unleash another Fire Blast, I was suddenly rooted to the spot. My whole body went numb and I couldn't move my limbs. At the same time, I felt a splitting headache, draining me of my strength. Damn it, I remembered this torturous move that all Psychic Pokemon had in their arsenal. Psychic! The move that freezes you to the spot, and lets the user control your physical movements. At the same time, it causes a severe headache, eating away at your health.

Mr. Mime swung me around in circles, amplifying my headache with the dizziness. He then hurled me towards a giant boulder, causing me to crash into that solid rock headfirst. He swiftly lifted me up, and smacked me against the wall, before throwing me onto another wall far away. I slumped onto the ground, feeling giddy and weak, but I wasn't defeated. Not yet.

Mr. Mime looked exhausted. Psychic uses up a lot of energy, especially if the victim is thrown about so much. I once heard a Gardevoir mention something like "If you were to throw someone using Psychic powers, you need to have one-tenth of the strength needed to physically throw him over the same distance. Apart from that, your mental strength has to be really firm. Which is why I don't recommend non Psychic type Pokemon to learn this powerful move."

I seized the opportunity to fire another Fire Blast. did manage to dodge it, albeit narrowly. The flames slammed into the wall near him, sending small sparks to fly out, hurting him slightly. Mr. Mime attempted another Psychic, for he knew that Dazzling Gleam wouldn't hurt me. However, this time he was too tired to flip me around first. Still facing him, I could hurl another blazing inferno, and this time he could only stare as the flames engulfed him...

I thought he was dead.

I thought he was a robot, with electric sparks buzzing around him in the smoke. It looked similar to a robot about to explode due to malfunction.

I thought he would pose me no more threat.

A bolt from the blue, or should I say smoke, proved me wrong.

Mr. Mime unleashed a Thunderbolt, sending intense currents circulating through my body. I gasped in pain and my body burst into spasms as they tried to get rid of the intruder volts. Mr. Mime fired another Thunderbolt at me, but I defended myself with an Air Slash. Unfortunately, the Air Slash was merely a single blade of air, which soon disappeared after its clash with the Thunderbolt. I scrambled to my feet and barely dodged the pesky volts.

I heard Slowking call for help. Seems like he was having trouble. "I'm sorry! I'm really busy right now! This puppet is a serious threat!" I replied, before dodging another Thunderbolt from the maniacal puppet. Nevertheless, I became even more motivated to destroy Mr. Mime. I ignored the blood dripping from me. I knew I was weakened, but I endured the pain, repeatedly firing firestorms and hurling a flurry of blades at Mr. Mime. Mr. Mime managed to avoid some attacks, but for every mistake he made, he also grew weaker, and his nimble movements dwindled.

Mr. Mime attempted to control me again, but I kept disrupting his concentration with fiery waves. He still managed to dodge them. Darn, I needed to end this battle quickly. I needed to get closer to him, so that my Fire Blast wouldn't miss. As we continued our battle, with electricity and dazzling gleams fighting fire and air, I slowly thought of an idea.

"Mr. Mime, I haven't shown you my most powerful move!" I bellowed, breathing smoke through my nostrils.

"Eh? I thought you only had two moves!" sneered the puppet.

"Really? Let's see how you eat my Dragon Claw!" I shouted in mock frenzy, as I flew towards Mr. Mime, my crimson claws glowing ghostly white.

"I'm looking forward to having my meal." Mr. Mime snickered, preparing another Thunderbolt in his hands. I knew he was waiting for my move to fail due to his Fairy typing being unaffected by Dragon typed attacks, then striking me immediately.

He really let me charge up at him, and I swiped my claws, cutting through his chest. I knew that didn't even graze him, but I wasted no time, and immediately launched the Fire Blast. The firestorm was extraordinarily large, due to my Blaze ability being activated, strengthening my firepower. Mr. Mime's face turned ashen as I scored a direct hit on him, before turning into a shade of brick red upon contact with my flames. I sent his puppet body flying like a thrown rag doll, then lunged towards him with a powerful Flare Blitz, sealing his fate.

(Slowking's POV) [this happened along with Charizard's battle]

I closed my eyes briefly, summoning the usual purple dimensions. Ha, this should be an easy victory.

The Houndooms were leaning at the other end of the wall, and growled at me menacingly. Upon seeing the Trick Room I had created, one of them looked around nervously.

"Alpha, what do you think we should do."

"Just follow my lead Beta. This should be easy," the other Houndoom replied. I deduced that that was the leader, given his name, and the confidence he exuded.

I activated my plan, whizzing between them and was about to blast them with a Scald attack.

Scald.

The very move that I deleted when I learnt Trick Room. The Water move that I depended on ever since I became a Slowking. The best water attacking move, having a significant chance of burning the enemy, and dealing super effective damage to burn proof ones. However, I deleted it because I needed Trick Room in my battle against Tropius in the previous Fantasy Games. Damn it!

In my shock, my feet were earthbound and I stood there like a victim awaiting his doom. The Houndooms fired a Dark Pulse. As the midnight orb hurtled towards me, my mind snapped me awake and I bolted away. In the collision of the Dark Pulses, one dark orb was stronger than the other, and since the weaker Houndoom moved too slowly, he took the full impact of the attack. "Argh!" he yelped.

Damn, it seems like I have to use Fire Blast. Thankfully there is a drought, then perhaps their fire resistance could be nullified. I released a Fire Blast, sending intense flames rushing towards them. As usual, thanks to my trusty Trick Room, they could not escape the raging fire.

"It looks like Slowking doesn't have a water move does he?" Beta remarked.

"Now, do you see why I didn't mega evolve? Now, with our increased firepower, we can keep using Flamethrower without any harmful repercussions. In fact, with the weather in our favour, even with Slowking's resistance to fire, our Flamethrowers are still going to cause devastation. " explained Alpha.

I was terror stricken. If they have the ability Flash Fire, how am I supposed to hurt them? The only move I have that can inflict pain them would be Ice Beam, but Ice Beam would do pitiful damage. Nevertheless, it's the only option I have, I have to try it.

I unleashed a freezing wave, hitting one of the canines, who laughed his head off.

"Ooh! So that's the only move he has left! What an easy battle." he giggled. "Here, I would give you some chance, I'd let you have more time to attack me," he continued as he sat down, chortling with delight. I continued my offense, trying to freeze him.

"Stop fooling around Beta," snapped Alpha as he thawed Beta out with a Flamethrower, before hearing a screech of pain. "Yikes! Water! Stop it!"

I couldn't believe my good fortune. Apparently when Alpha thawed his buddy out, the ice melted, causing Beta to be in freezing cold water. I attacked relentlessly, giving the Houndooms a dilemma: either let me freeze them, or freeing themselves, at the cost of some pain. Phew, I made a mental reminder to myself to learn a new Water move immediately after defeating Mewtwo.

Surprisingly, the Houndooms found a solution to their problem. As a new Ice Beam made its way towards Beta, Alpha retaliated with a Dark Pulse. The icy beam clashed with the ominous ball, creating the puddle of water in the middle, keeping Beta safe. Alpha then opened fire with another Flamethrower, this time going through my Ice Beam, even overcoming the water from the melted ice. I dodged the flames easily, but the Houndoom wouldn't give up, repeating his salvo of fiery attacks. Beta had also recovered, and was aiding Alpha in his assault. Nevertheless, I could evade the attacks, but I was getting weary. My Ice Beam was too weak to fight the Flamethrowers,, and even the puddles created were slowly drying up due to the unbearable heat of the surroundings. All I could do was run about, whizzing and dashing past the incoming attacks. Thankfully the walls and the ground weren't flammable, causing the fires to be extinguished soon after contact. "Help me Charizard! The Houndooms are too strong!" I cried frantically, hoping Charizard would come to my aid.

"I'm sorry! I'm really busy right now! This puppet is a serious threat!" Charizard shouted back, as he flew past a Thunderbolt.

Rats. I don't know how long I could survive this. I could see the Houndoom's growing fatigue, but it was clear that they had the upper hand. I could only attack with puny ice attacks which they could deflect easily with their sun boosted fire moves. Even if I tried to bait them to attack each other, but Alpha instructed Beta to only use Flamethrower if I was in close vicinity. In other words, they couldn't harm themselves.

A thought struck me. It seemed lame, but with only one attacking move, there aren't many ideas either.

I ran into the middle of them and sent another frosty beam towards Beta "Flamethrower!" Alpha roared as two streams of fire soared. The ice instantly melted, causing the Houndooms to fall into the massive puddle. To makes things worse for them, Trick Room impeded their usual swift movements, causing them to be unable to get out. I froze the surroundings, creating an icy barricade, trapping them in an icy prison with a freezing puddle of doom. The Houndooms screamed in agony as they attempted to torch the icy walls with a Flamethrower attack, but this caused the wall to melt, increasing the area of the puddle. As the puddle gradually turned into a pond, I smirked, continuing my task of enlarging their aquatic cell, creating another sturdier wall of glaciers. Oh my Arceus! I can actually win this!

But my hopes were dashed when Alpha suddenly sprang out of the ice wall, smashing it apart with his blazing speed. The white bands on his black paws turned into an eerie darkness as Alpha pounced on me causing blood to splatter out of my tummy. I was startled at his speed. The violet background was still there. How could he suddenly move so quickly? As I staggered over the grave injury I had sustained, I found out the answer. Houndoom had used Sucker Punch.

I guess Trick Room wasn't so powerful after all, since priority moves still take precedence over the user's speed. Coincidentally, the violet background faded away. I tried to re-summon it, but the Houndooms took full advantage of their regained speed and started their ferocious counterattack. "Now is the time for MY mega evolution!" Alpha declared as he transformed into a massive beast, with his curved horns straightening and his triangular shaped tail splitting into two ends.

"Let's see how you can survive this attack!" Alpha bellowed as he unleashed the strongest Dark Pulse I've ever seen. Alpha's attacks now have colossal strength, due to his new ability Solar Power. I managed to create the Trick Room again, but I failed to dodge the attack in time. The enormous murky orb of darkness was the last thing I saw before it crashed into me, and I wonder if it had the ability to cause blindness because that's exactly what had happened to me, plunged into a never ending darkness...

(Narrator)

Slowpoke burst into uncontrollable wails."NO! DAD! DON'T DIE! HOW COULD YOU LOSE?"

Slowpoke turned around and glared at Mienfoo accusingly. "Why did you stop me earlier? I could have helped!"

"That was what we were told, not to hinder the grown ups." Mienfoo protested, trying his best not to agitate Slowpoke further.

"But if I had done something, this wouldn't have happened! We could have done something! The Trick Room was up, if you and I had helped, we could have killed the Houndooms!" Slowpoke shouted back, tears still falling freely down his face.

The Trick Room was up.

[okay guys, let's take a break here and say hi to our favourite character Mienfoo

A: Look here Mienfoo. What have you done? You indirectly caused another death!

M: I was just following instructions!

A: Moral of story: Dear Arceus, please make fighting types weaker, so that they won't hold any power, or else their stupidity would lead others to their doom.

M: What have you got against me?

A: Nothing. I'm just disappointed that you are so stupid.

M: May I just ask who's the one who created me?

A: See? That's why you are stupid. Stop wasting time and make use of the Trick Room to atone for the two, sorry I mean three, innocent deaths you have caused. If you do kill the two evil Houndooms, I would discount the third death you caused.]

Mienfoo, [galvanised by the author's comments] realising the limited time he had before the Trick Room expires, wasted no time into launching a full scale attack against the Houndooms. Slowpoke immediately joined in, kicking off the second round with a Water Gun. The Houndooms merely scoffed as they retaliated with a far stronger Dark Pulse, which Slowpoke easily avoided.

Mienfoo sprinted next to Beta, and was about to attack with U turn when Beta struck with a Sucker Punch. However, Mienfoo was already expecting that, after watching Slowking's demise due to that move. Mienfoo's eyes turned brilliant blue, then used Pound, smacking Beta a slight distance away, which gave Mienfoo the necessary distance for his execution of the ever powerful Jump KIck. This time, Mienfoo never needed to worry about foes fleeing from his attack, as Beta was already disarmed by the Pound, and was too slow to move away. The Jump Kick crashed into Beta, sending him flying and landing far away with a loud thud, once again giving Mienfoo the distance he needed for another Jump Kick, reuniting Beta with Slowking.

Alpha knew that Mienfoo was the real threat, and directed his merciless attacks to the Martial Arts Pokemon. Mienfoo jumped around with dexterity, evading those Dark Pulses and Flamethrowers. Alpha knew that as long as Mienfoo was moving about frequently, he wouldn't have the space to effectively use his Jump Kick, giving Alpha a sense of security. Alpha also knew that all he needed was to wait til the Trick Room expires, before he can easily punish those two little ones who dared to kill his best buddy right before his very eyes.

But seeing how powerful Mienfoo was made Alpha forget that Slowpoke was also in the battle arena. After defeating Slowpoke's weak Water Gun, Alpha subconsciously dismissed Slowpoke as a threat. And he was going to regret it.

As Alpha stood his guard, preventing Mienfoo from getting closer due to his barrage of Flamethrowers, he failed to notice the burst of water that was heading towards him. Splash! Alpha wasn't really injured by the blow, but he lost his focus, causing a halt in the dark cannonballs being directed at Mienfoo. Mienfoo wasted no time, and leaped towards Alpha with his Jump Kick, pummeling the canine towards the wall. Alpha saw Mienfoo about to use another Jump Kick, and attempted a Sucker Punch, but his movements were negated by another jet of water, restricting him to the wall just in time to experience another Jump Kick.

As he saw Mienfoo closing in, Alpha's anger over the death of Beta vanished, since he knew he would be together with his best friend once again...

Tada! Another cliffhanger! ( gosh, I should stop doing this)

I'm sorry, but it's just because I don't feel like putting so many battles in one chapter. This is already really long, so I apologise once again for this annoying cliffhanger.

Does any of you notice the fun conversation "I" have with Mienfoo? It's not only here, it existed in previous chapters. Tell me if it's funny :)

And... please review :D