Hello, readers! Well, this story is getting closer and closer to its end; and I'm looking to finish it off with a bang. This may or may not be the last chapter. Let's see what happens!

Sorry for the delay, by the way. In the light of Fanfiction, I've chosen a bad time to find this plethora of awesome movies to watch. I hope you understand. Lots of dialog in this chapter. Please, try not to get too bored. Hard, I know. Impossible? Perhaps.

One more thing, there's a poll on my channel I'd like everyone to answer. So, if you could be so kind as to go answer that poll, then notify me you've done so, it would make me happy! Thanks! Right, now:

Enjoy chapter 10!


The scene: The Assassin's Guild, the Archives.

The feelings and desires that rise in the human mind when the human in question has been lied to, betrayed or denied can be considered dark by some.

But in some cases, these betrayals cut one so deep; they force some to perform terrible acts, so it is only expected to think they would stop at nothing to achieve revenge. To live on the Earth for years only to be told everything you thought was right was all just a lie is a harsh act for anyone. It is even more shocking when the betrayer enjoys his or her deeds.

Ash Ketchum felt he had been told that long ago, yet not once did he imagine experiencing betrayal firsthand. But now...

Now he knew just what a grievous sin it was. Now, he thought, anyone who would even consider betraying friends; betraying brothers, was just... evil.

He, Paul and Drew had been sent to perform the rite known by the Assassins as the Trial of Faith; they had been assigned to kill three childhood friends they did not remember, then they were to dismiss precious gifts from those friends as nothing more than pestilent memories.

They had not done the deed, while apparently those before them had. Ash couldn't imagine what could motivate anyone, even cold-blooded killers, to do horrible things such as voluntarily kill friends or even relatives.

Now, Ash stood facing those ultimately behind this so-called 'test': Harley and Kenny.

In one hand, Ash held a dagger taken from the corpse of a fellow Assassin. In the other, he held a bracelet with beads spelling out a reminder of eternal friendship: Ash&Dawn4ever, given to him long ago by Dawn Berlitz, a childhood friend he had forgotten and been assigned to kill but had instead, he fell in love with her.

The intent of murder was clear in his eyes.

Beside him stood Paul. He had gone through the terrible burden of this Trial exactly as Ash had, perhaps even more so. Out of the three Assassins now considered outcasts, it can be said he suffered the most emotional pain, for he now blamed himself for actually trying to kill his own childhood friend, Zoey Sanders. He too held a knife and something else: A red piece of cloth with the letter 'Z' stitched on. What anyone saw in his eyes at that moment can only be described as a cold flame.

One thing was certain for both of them: Their conscience on this matter was clear. This needed to be ended now, with the deaths of Kenny and Harley, followed by a great purge of the entire Assassin's Guild. The Trial of Faith would die with the Guild.

The two unarmed heads of the Guild seemed calm enough with their arms folded.

"Is your intent clear then? To kill all of us? Do you think you can manage that?" Harley asked, his tone mocking.

Paul managed a cold smile of his own. "Somehow, I doubt you would have any qualms about doing this were our places exchanged, Harley."

It was Kenny who replied. " you care to put that theory to the test?"

"Sure," Ash replied, "we've got nothing to lose. What about you? You ready to give all of this up?" He stretched out his arms to indicate the Guild.

"Our only regret is having to eliminate you three renegades." Harley sighed. "After all, you had such potential. But potential is nothing without an able being to wield it."

Behind all this talk of the Trial of Faith and the punishment of death for failing, Ash just couldn't help feeling these two were hiding something. Something personal. Yet again, this was due to some of the Guild's more advanced training. Were it a weaker, less headstrong being, Ash may have noticed something strange immediately. With these two, it was just a feeling.

Taking a chance, Ash spoke. "Why do you want Dawn, May and Zoey dead?" Paul turned to him, frowning slightly. Apparently, he felt no irregularity about this situation worth mentioning. If Harley and Kenny were hiding something, they were doing it well. "Haven't we been through that, Ash?" Harley asked. "Surely you're not that slow?"

"You know what I mean." Ash retorted. "Why do you want them dead. What will you gain?"

Kenny stroked his chin thoughtfully, raising an eyebrow at Ash. He seemed to be reconsidering the two rogues before him entirely. "Very good, Ash." He allowed. "I see you have not completely forgotten yourself. Well there is no point in hiding things. We do indeed have something to gain by this. Something... personal if you will."

Harley gave Kenny a sideways glance, as if he did not agree with disclosing this information. Eventually though, he seemed to acquiesce to Kenny's decision.

"It's true." Harley sighed, his hands behind his back and a concentrated look on his face. "In this very room we have told you how you relate to these three girls. Now you ask to see our side of the story. So be it." He motioned for Kenny to continue.

"Years ago," Kenny began, "in this very region, I myself competed in the Sinnoh Grand Festival." Ash tried to hide the jolt of surprise that struck him. Kenny, a head of the Assassin's Guild, was a former Coordinator? Kenny seemed to notice, for he nodded, saying: "Oh, yes, I Coordinated; In a very similar fashion to Dawn Berlitz, I might add. You were not her only childhood friend." His voice became colder. "Although in my case, 'friend' is a term used in a very different sense. For you," he addressed Ash directly. "she felt; feels affection. Even love. For me, well, it would be an... exaggeration to say we hated each other, but we did not get along very well."

Ash's eyes were narrowed. What was he getting at?

"We were rivals in the field of Coordinating, you could say," Kenny continued, "but that would be a bitter understatement; our 'rivalry' was much more personal. We cherished every triumph and scorned every defeat we experienced, even if it did not concern the two of us. But I speak of only minor Contests. Yes indeed, they were petty squabbles in comparison to the Grand Festival." An almost pained expression flashed on Kenny's face for a moment, before he continued, "As you might expect, we vowed, not only to ourselves, but to our families, that we would triumph over the other."

Here he paused, looking straight into Ash's eyes with his own which were bloodshot with hatred. "I lost." he said simply. "Pathetically. I was disgraced that day. You see, my family, my mother and father in particular, were arrogant and did not encourage or support my dream of Coordinating in any way."

"Yet I did not stop. Whatever rebukes they cast at me, no matter how much they tried to imply Coordinating was a weak dream, I carried on. This angered them and they turned their backs on me completely. For a time, I lived in sorrow, traveling with only my Pokemon as company. They sympathized with me and pledged to devote themselves to my dream. We trained, we competed... and we won. The thrill of victory is an unexplainable feeling, especially when you've been told you're worthless by your own family, Aahhh..." A reminiscent expression occupied his face. "The satisfaction of proving them wrong... it was utterly magnificent. But then, it became... complicated."

Kenny approached Ash, stopping feet away from him. "Then, I was reunited with Dawn. She and I, in fact all three of us, grew up together." He chuckled softly. "Ironic, in a sense, don't you think?" Ash said nothing, though his heart was pounding. He had known Kenny during his childhood, too? But he remembered nothing of him. Dawn, he remembered on seeing the bracelet, but Kenny lied nowhere in whatever past memories he had.

Kenny broke into his thoughts. "Dawn was popular, Ash. Everyone wanted to be her friend, including me, but instead, she chose you. I was, there is no other word for it, jealous. I longed to be in your place, with the smartest and most beautiful girl of Twinleaf. No, of Sinnoh. I wasn't alone in my feelings, but I certainly did not shrug them off as others did."

He stepped within striking distance. Ash had briefly dropped his combat stance in awe of this revelation and raised his blade again, warning Kenny to keep his distance. Kenny did not acknowledge this and continued, "When I heard she was about to leave Twinelaf, i couldn't handle it; my feelings for her rose before all others and I stopped her to say goodbye. It was... awkward at first. I don't even remember how it happened, but it became a heated argument. By the time we parted, we had each promised to beat each other in the field of Coordinating." Sadness now pierced his eyes. "It was not a farewell I would have preferred."

"So that's why you want her dead? Because you never got along?! That's just-" Ash began.

"I am not finished, Ash." Kenny smoothly cut in. "That is hardly a reason to want to kill anyone, let alone someone like Dawn."

You're one to talk. Ash thought furiously, but he did not speak. Kenny curtly nodded and said, "After that came my streak of Contest victories which I was sure was to change my parents' opinion of me. But once again, they turned a blind eye to me. I worked harder, perhaps too hard; I began losing my finesse, losing Contests. Eventually, it was once again my Pokemon who brought me back. I encountered Dawn several times, not bringing up much conversation during the minor Contests. Then came the Grand Festival." He paused.

"The Grand Festival. I was sure my victory there would open my family's eyes. I even called them and told them I was going to win this. I had to win it. Then, a complication showed itself: Dawn had also made it this far. By then, I had realized she was the only worthy competition; and what better way to end this tournament by disgracing my rival? Then, I lost." Venom now filled his eyes as he glared at the Assassins before him. Even Paul had a stunned look on his face. "I fell on my knees in front of thousands, my Pokemon fainted on the battle field before me and the announcer proclaiming Dawn winner of the quarter-final." He spat on the floor. These memories were apparently too bitter for him. "Thank Arceus she never actually won it.

"I wasn't shaken by this defeat at first." He let out a bark of mirthless laughter. "Too much, anyway. My family was sure to rub this in my face. I told myself there would be many more. Eventually, I thought, I would show my family. I would show Dawn."

Even Harley was listening with great interest. Apparently, even they had not shared much of their pasts with each other. Not this much, at least.

"I went over the recordings of every battle in the Festival. Every. Single. One." He punctuated each of the three words with loud paces. When he looked at Ash, the loathing was plain in them. "Soon, I discovered something that changed everything. When Dawn had beaten me, I felt as if my life had been taken away. But then, I discovered why I lost."

Ash managed to speak. "Let me guess, she cheated?" His tone was bitterly sarcastic.

"Yes," Kenny said simply. "she cheated. In a despicable way, she tore my future away from me. I was angry even though neither of us got it! She wanted it. I needed it!" He looked temporarily mad. "I don't know how, but Dawn managed to inject her Pokemon with a drug, enhancing their moves in extraordinary ways, giving her an edge in both battle and display. There was security to prevent such an occurrence, but she was smart. She still is. Only Dawn Berlitz could find a way to do that."

"I can't believe that." Ash's tone betrayed his words. He felt the sincerity in Kenny's voice and knew he was right, no matter how much it hurt. Kenny seemed to notice but did not address it. Instead, he continued: "Naturally, I told my parents; asking them to open their eyes for at least one time and admit I was right. And naturally, they told me I was being delusional. I lost myself, then and there." Kenny's eyes flashed red. "Not even my Pokemon could console me. I needed what you seek now: Vengeance." The Assassin smiled cruelly. "I traveled back to Twinleaf...And murdered my parents." Ash shuddered. This man was a monster. "I took great pleasure in killing them. It was unbelievably satisfying to see their blood drenching the carpets of my former home. Still in a mad rage, I killed my brothers and sisters. After what I did, their bodies were never found."

Paul's mouth was slightly open at the thought of what gruesome acts this man could have done; and at such a young age.

Kenny closed his eyes. "It was still not enough. I needed more blood. I needed the blood of she who was ultimately responsible for my pain: Dawn Berlitz. Unfortunately, she proved more difficult to track. My Pokemon kept telling me to forget this, I could not change the past. Even at that stage of near-madness, I knew they were right; and it did not help matters. I..." His voice broke. "I banished them in pure fury. They left and I was completely alone. I journeyed far and wide, seeking to end this madness." He walked back towards Harley, apparently unable to continue.

Harley spoke for him, "He came across me then. We met in a casual enough manner, until we each learned the other's true intents. You see, I had underwent an almost identical experience to Kenny, except with May Maple; she too had cheated in the Hoenn Grand Festival, albeit in a different way.. We were very similar, so we stuck together, vowing to one day achieve vengeance."

A grim expression encompassed Harley's face. "We formed the Assassin's Guild. It was a future for us both, as well as what would ultimately result in the death of Dawn Berlitz and May Maple. Now, though," A venom filled his voice. "we have once again been denied vengeance. This time, by you. It was to be a great emotional victory for us both, to kill Dawn and May, while they never found out who was ultimately behind it all."

"And Zoey?" Paul questioned coldly.

Harley smiled. "Zoey? She is worthless. She had joined the other two, so it was to be of no consequence if she was to die as well. Why?" He sounded amused now.

Paul's arms were shaking, his fingers white from clenching his blade so tightly. "I would beg to differ. You cannot be forgiven for these sins. Zoey is worth far more then you could ever hope to amount to!!" He screamed the last words. Unable to hold back, he rushed forward at Harley, blade aloft.

Ash ran right beside him, targeting Kenny.

Mere milliseconds before they slashed, costumed figures tackled them out of the way. Kenny and Harley quickly retreated to higher ground as Assassins swarmed Ash and Paul from all directions. Quickly recovering, Ash and Paul rose and fought with a ferocity the Assassins had always dreamed of. They slashed, evaded and stabbed. Despite the minor cuts they received, they fought on, showering the blood of their former brothers on the terminals of the Assassin's Database.

"Ash, Paul!" A voice shouted over the battle cries of the Assassins. Drew joined the fray, coming to the aid of his fellow outcasts. They fought as one, reading each others movements perfectly. They battled in a symphony unique to their trio. No other partnership of Assassins could kill with such finesse, or dodge with such grace. Plunging his blade upto the hilt in an Assassin, Ash heard Kenny and Harley speak as one:

"Your Salvations are at hand, Renegades!"

Fire in his eyes, as well as those of his partners, Ash thought, Yes. They are.


Well, er... I'm pretty happy with this chapter, for a change. I'm sorry if all the talking bored you and doubly so for the delay in this chapter.

By the way, thanks so much for all the reviews on the last chapter. It really pleased me to see quite a few answered my request. Hope to see the same for this one!

Once again, please answer the poll on my profile, if you have time to kill.

Please R&R, dear friends!

Daijobu!