Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.
Illuminated by the early night sky, a hush had long since fallen over the area known as Midnight Forest. What had once been the home for both dark and ghost Pokémon alike had since fbeen transformed into a battlefield between two opposing forces. On one side was Darkrai, the sadistic Pokémon of nightmares who had once been a member of the legendary council of the heavens, before being exiled for his actions. It was said that any good that had once existed in him had since been snuffed out, swallowed whole by the ever increasing darkness of his soul. His very existence was governed by the pain and torment he inflicted onto others, all to feed his own selfish goals.
Opposing him was Pheon, a Blaziken with a past fueled by dark and malicious deeds. Having once carried the name of "The Black Phoenix", it had been her mission to exterminate both criminals and innocent bystanders alike, all in the name of profit and greed. Many had fallen by her claws, some guilty for their crimes, while others were just unfortunate enough to have their name appear on her hit list. Truly she had been a person as dark as the one she was now opposing.
However, there was one thing that set her apart from someone like Darkrai. Even after all that she had done, Pheon now sought redemption for her actions. In doing so, she had washed her hands of her past self, content with living out the rest of her life not as some murderous specter but as herself. Her determination to do so burned even brighter then the flames marking the engraving on her back in the shape of a phoenix, the last thing she had linking her to her past self. But no longer did it burn to destroy those who crossed her path, but to protect those she now held dear.
Both fighters locked eyes, waiting for the other to make the first move. For while the first strike offered an advantage to some, it could also lead to an early defeat. A lesser known warrior had put it best when he had said "He who makes the first move, also makes the first mistake", something neither of them wanted to make. Seconds passed between them, soon turning into minutes. Above them, a solitary leaf broke free from its branch, lazily drifting towards the ground. Neither one of them noticed something as miniscule as a leaf drifting through the air, had they noticed they would have seen it hover between them, the only thing to come between them in this mental waiting game. Seconds after breaking loose, this lone leaf lightly touched ground, emitting a sound almost too small to be heard.
That single action proved to the equivalent of a gun going off. Instantaneously, both opponents acted on impulse and charged towards their opposite. Darkrai quickly gathered dark energies in his right claw, forming the basis for a Dark Pulse attack. At the same time, Pheon further ignited the flames enveloping her arm, generating a blaze worthy of being called a Fire Punch attack. Distance was no obstacle between them as the two came within striking distance of one another, launching their attacks within a fraction of a second between them.
A punch of flame and a blast of darkness collided between them. Both side fought for supremacy against the other, pushing as much power as they could muster into their attack. As it is common between these struggles for power, neither side won out in the end. The collision of both powers generated enough force to push both adversaries back as Darkrai tumbled back through the air from the force of the blow, while Pheon jumped back quick enough to avoid the main force of the shockwave, her feet skidding against the forest floor as she quickly regained her balance.
The first blow had been thrown. The battle between fire and shadow had officially begun.
Elsewhere, Wigglytuff's guild had gone from being empty and quiet to hectic in record time. An alarm had been sounded upon the discovery of Pheon's disappearance and all away teams had been immediately called back. Officer Magnezone was busy taking statements from everyone, asking them if they had seen or heard anything unusual during the time Pheon had been admitted up to and after the point Mary had discovered her missing.
The Chansey in question was in a state of shock from the whole thing. Over the years, she had played nurse and caretaker for a variety of sources, including both criminals and rescue teams alike. Not once had they escaped from her care, sure a few had tried, but all had ultimately failed. Magnezone had already questioned her shortly after he had arrived, but all he had gotten from her was that Pheon had been there one minute and gone the next. Since then she had just sat there, barely moving an inch as everything continued to occur around her. Obviously worried for her, Decibel made his way past the numerous Magnemite now hovering around the guild before taking a seat next to the shock stricken nurse.
Come on! Say something to her! Say anything!
"SO…you alright Mary?" Decibel nearly smacked himself right then and there. Of course she wasn't alright! You idiot!
However, Mary seemed completely unfazed by Decibel's moment of stupidity. In fact, she didn't even seem to have heard him. All she did was mutter to herself, "We have to find her. We just have to."
"…AND we will! Just you WAIT! Magnezone's got a HOARD of Magnemites searching for her. I'm sure one of them will- "
"No, you don't understand. If we don't find her soon…she could be in grave danger."
"HUH?" Decibel was clearly confused by this statement. "What are you-?"
"This." Mary then revealed to him what she had kept clasped in her hand the whole time: several average looking pills. In fact, they were the same ones that Mary had been carrying with her shortly before she had discovered Pheon was missing.
Sensing his further confusion, Mary went on to explain, "Pheon was badly hurt when she was brought in. While not life threatening, she had trouble moving around without experiencing bouts of pain. If not for these pills, she would have barely been able to move, let alone escape."
The gears in Decibel's head slowly clicked into place as a realization came to him. "YOU don't mean…"
Mary nodded her head in response. "Her last dosage could run out at any moment. If we don't find her before that happens…"
A blazing tree toppled over as the flames ate away at the roots previously anchoring it to the ground. As the flames consumed more and more of the bark, an orange light was cast over the still clashing combatants.
Since the beginning of this fight, Darkrai had found himself at a disadvantage. The ex-legendary had never been one for close chambered fighting, instead focusing on gaining distance between him and his enemies before knocking them out cold and feasting on their nightmares.
However, Pheon definitely didn't qualify as his regular opponent. Every attempt he had made to successfully launch a Dark Void had been swiftly knocked away, giving him barely enough time to dodge a flaming punch or kick. Despite having "retired" from her previous occupation, Pheon still managed to retain the swiftness and deadliness she had developed from years of training.
This is turning out to be more work than I bargained for! If I don't hurry and finish off those two, they could manage to-
A kick to his temple rocked Darkrai from his thoughts as he was struck with enough force to send him reeling, right back into and through an already ignited trunk. As he hit the ground, the extra force proved to be just enough to finally topple the bark covered giant as the tree groaned once before toppling backwards, right on top of the phantom with a resounding thud.
Having struck what she saw as a finishing blow, Pheon took a moment to catch her breath, her breathing no longer coming in clear breaths but instead in rasping gasps. She hadn't shown it in how she had fought, but Pheon was exhausted. The months since deserting the Swift Strikes had left her weak, her previously honed skills having suffered greatly from both a lack of training and her less than strenuous occupation. Not that her injuries were making things any easier, as just about every muscle in her body was gasping along with her.
However, Pheon's previous victory proved to be short-lived. From beneath the smoldering remains of the once sturdy tree, dark tendrils of shadow began to worm their way towards the surface, converging into a solitary shape above the flames. Pheon looked up from catching her breath to see Darkrai fully taking shape, the red neckpiece obscuring most of his face once more locking into place. The ex-legendary cracked his neck once he was whole again, brushing several strand of his ghostly hair in front of his face as he did so.
"Okay…that hurt."
Pheon was flabbergasted. Normally, a burning tree toppling on top of someone would have been curtains for most people. Could nothing keep this guy down? To make matters worse, she could feel herself reaching her limits, where as Darkrai looked like he could still go for a few rounds. Something that Darkrai had picked up on as well.
"What's wrong? Getting tired?" Darkrai laughed as he taunted his weakened adversary. "Well, just tell me where you hid those two and then you can take a nice long nap. I might even consider allowing you to wake up…eventually."
"Never! I'd rather die than let you hurt them any further!"
"Funny, I can arrange that as well."
Pheon growled at the living nightmare, re-igniting the dwindling flames on her wrists as she did. As flames spewed from her wrists once more, a fire-red aura began to surround her body. Her previously weak muscles burned with new intensity as her Blaze ability kicked in, filling her with new strength when she had already been pushed to her limits. Fueled by this sudden burst of energy, the tattoo of flames etched into her back quickly intensified, generating a blaze capable of spreading completely over her shoulders, running down her arms before joining with the flames from her wrists. To anyone witnessing this, it would seem like Pheon had grown wings of flames on her arms.
In the face of this sudden burst of power however, Darkrai didn't even seem the least bit worried. Instead of taking this moment to attack, Darkrai instead spread his arms out at his sides, fully exposing his chest area. He didn't need to say it for Pheon to get the message; he wanted her to give him her best shot, a challenge she was more than happy to undertake.
For the next few moments, time seemed to slow down to a crawl. One could almost hear the sound of a clock ticking away, each tic followed by a single movement.
One second….Pheon clenched her right hand into a fist.
Two seconds…That same arm was drawn back, held by as much force as her muscles could muscle,
force that she intended to inflict onto another.
Three…four seconds… Feet scraped against the forest floor as Pheon broke into a run, flames trailing behind her with each step.
Five seconds…something finally gave out.
Like a tiny crack in the wall of a dam growing before finally given way under the pressure, pain suddenly flooded every fiber of Pheon's body. It was like she had been struck down by a bolt of lightning generated not by an electric type but by nature itself, yet there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Her legs buckled out from under her, every nerve in her body refusing to listen to any commands as she hit hard against the forest floor. The once prominent flames covering her body were quickly snuffed out, any power they had been feeding on sapped dry.
The pain Pheon was experiencing was beyond immense. A weaker individual would have simply passed out immediately from the force of it all, but by sheer force of will alone Pheon had managed to remain conscious. Every attempt at movement seemed to only make things worse, even lifting her head was proving to be an enduring task. In that moment, the memory of the last thing she had done before escaping from the guild came rushing back to her…
"Here, take this." The Chansey had then offered her a small cup of several normal looking pills.
"What are these?"
"Painkillers. Helps ease the tension of your injuries."
"Really, I'm fine!" However, her attempt to get up and walk out of the room had only been met with a jolt running through her legs, causing her to wince in pain. Mary hadn't said anything, she didn't need to as her point had already been made for her, just offered her the cup of pills once more. This time, Pheon had taken them without a word of hesitation.
"Good. Now I want you to take it easy for now, any over strenuous movements could only prove to further worsen your injuries. A few days of rest and you should be good enough to head back home!"
"Thanks." Was all she had said just as the nurse Pokémon had left. But rest soon proved impossible, as just as she was about to lay her head down and catch a few z's, a strange feeling had overtaken her. You could almost say it was a sixth sense, telling her that something wasn't right. She felt her injuries pulse, almost like they were calling out to the one who had inflicted them.
"He's back."
Everything…everything she had done after that moment had been leading up to this. Sneaking out of the guild, running straight for and through Midnight forest and the inevitable fight with Darkrai had only succeeded in causing her injuries to worsen, held in check only by the pain killers coursing through her system, though severely strained from the sudden rush of movement. The activation of her Blaze ability had been the final straw that broke the Camerupt's back, causing them to finally give out and with them gone, nothing remained to hold the pain back that had been steadily increasing within her body which each movement. She had known all along that they would eventually give out, but the timing for such a thing couldn't have been worse if she had tried.
No…not now! Not when I was so close!
Darkrai laughed as Pheon tried to get back up, yet all use of her arms and legs had deserted her. "Oh, how the mighty have fallen! I guess someone up there must really be looking out for me." The ex-legendary cracked his knuckles as familiar crimson energies started to build in his open claw.
"Well then, time to say good nigh-"
Just as Darkrai was prepared to launch his signature move, the Dark Void forming in his open claw suddenly collapsed in on itself, growing steadily smaller before disappearing completely in a puff of residual energy. "The heck?" Once again he tried to form the orb of crimson energy, and again it was barely able to maintain itself for more than a second or two before it too collapsed. A third try yielded identical results, causing the phantom to outright curse in anger. His fight with Pheon had drained more of his strength then he would have hoped, coupled with his repeated assault of Dark Voids had left him momentarily incapable of generating the energies necessary for the attack.
Darkrai growled in frustration. "Fine then! If I can't knock you out directly, I'll just do it the old fashioned way! With brute force!"
Dark sparks of energy began to generate around Darkrai's hand and arm, forming a Dark Pulse in his right hand that the Nightmare legendary wasted no time in launching towards the now helpless Blaziken. The force of the attack managed to send her reeling back, her pain stricken body colliding several times with ground before she came to a rough rolling stop. She looked up in time to see Darkrai forming another Dark Pulse, both larger and stronger then the last. As much as she had been able to remain conscious for the moment, if this next attack hit her she could very well pass out. After that, there was no telling if she would ever wake up again or not. Yet no matter how hard she tried, her battered body refused to listen to her.
She had lost, beaten not once but twice by a phantom with the nerve to call himself a legendary. Her efforts had only succeeded in weakening Darkrai, not outright defeating him. She had failed, both in enacting her revenge for Darkrai's previous actions against her, but also in her plan to free Aaron and Silvia from the nightmare realm they had been cast into.
Aaron…Silvia…I'm sorry. I did my best to stop him, but I guess my best wasn't enough. Please forgive me... With no strength left to defend herself, Pheon closed her eyes as she waited for the inevitable final blow to be struck…
Back at the guild, one of the Magnemites assisting Magnezone burst into the room without any kind of warning. The magnets on the sides of his body were sparking erratically and he seemed rather frantic about something.
"Chief Magnezone! Chief Magnezone, zzzt!"
Magnezone immediately stopped what he was doing and turned to face his frantic subordinate. "What is it, zzzt?"
"We…we went and checked out Pheon's shop like you told us to, figuring she might have headed there, zzzt."
"Well? Was she there, zzzt?"
"No, no sign of her was found. However, during our search, we discovered something behind the building. Something we think you should see, zzzt!" Moving to the side, two more Magnemites entered, each one holding the ends of a stretcher between them. Nestled on top were a pair of Nidorans, one male and one female. Both were unconscious and in an obvious state of turmoil, evident by the pained looks on their faces.
Chatot, who had been previously conversing with the Guildmaster on the current situation at hand, glanced out of the corner of his eye as the two Magnemites carried in the stretcher. Once he saw who it was they had just carried in however, his eyes widened in total disbelief.
"Seth?" Breaking away from Wigglytuff, Chatot flew over the crowd, landing right next to the two unconscious Nidoran. "My Arceus…it is him! What in the world happened?"
"You know this individual, zzzt?"
"Ýeah, he's a client. He came in shortly before nightfall, asking for us to rescue his…sister?" It was then that Chatot noticed the second Nidoran lying next to the comatose Seth. The family resemblance was uncanny, but the realization that this was Seth's sister only came with more questions.
"But if this is his sister, then the team I sent to rescue her should have returned by now!" Chatot quickly cast his gaze over everyone present in the guild, hoping to catch a glance of white fur or black scales. "But I don't see them anywhere!"
"Tell me, who was it that requested this mission, zzzt?"
"Actually, it was Aaron and Silvia."
"Team PoisonClaw, zzzt?"
Chatot nodded his head in response. "It was the strangest thing too…Seth actually came to me and asked for them personally. He wouldn't take no for an answer either."
Officer Magnezone suddenly got a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Over the years he had learned to trust such feelings and now was no exception. Using the booming voice that he was most known for, the floating officer asked everyone within earshot "Has anyone seen Aaron or Silvia recently, zzzt?"
Several teams stopped what they were doing and silently conversed between another for a second. Jet was the first to step forward. "I saw them racing back towards the guild while I was doing some last minute shopping. They seemed to be in a hurry for something."
Hector was the next to speak. "Well, there was that poker game, and then I remember they came by to check up on Pheon. After that…Ssshhh, ssshhh."
A few others remembered seeing them heading back to their home, or noticing them racing from town after retrieving their team's satchel. But no matter who he asked, no one could recall seeing either of the two since then, something that only caused Magnezone's worry of the situation to increase greatly. "Chatot, zzzt!" The sudden call of his own name slightly startled the colorful bird.
"Y-yes?"
"Quickly, where were Aaron and Silvia headed when they set out on this mission, zzzt?"
"Midnight Forest. Why, you don't think-"
Instead of letting Chatot voice his question, the head officer turned his attention back towards his subordinates. "All of you! Go gather the remaining officers from Pheon's shop and regroup at the entrance to Midnight Forest ASAP. I will meet you there as quickly as I can, zzzt!"
The Magnemite officers saluted their chief before responding with a military style "Sir, yes sir, zzzt!" and racing from the guild to go gather their fellow Magnemites. As they left, Wigglytuff stepped up to the floating chief with a confused look on his face.
"Is something wrong Magnezone?"
"Guildmaster, I fear that the members of Team PoisonClaw could very well be in danger, zzzt."
"Oh no!"
"Yes, which is why I must hurry and meet up with my men. But before I go, I would like for Mary to accompany me."
This suggestion managed to snap Mary out of her shocked state, at least momentarily. "M-me? But why me? I've never even been to Midnight Forest!"
"While that is true, you are this town's resident medic and your skills may be necessary for what lies ahead. Also, if my hunch is current, there is a probable chance we may run into Pheon as well. I find it to be no mere coincidence that she escaped from your care not even an hour after Team PoisonClaw had set out for this location, zzzt."
Mary seemed to consider Magnezone's offer for a moment. It wasn't often that she ventured outside of town for anything, and with good reason. Her talents resided in the healing arts, not in combat. Should anything happen, she'd become a sitting duck for what may lurk in the shadows of Midnight Forest. Especially since the memory of what had happened the last time she had set outside the boundaries of the town still remained fresh in her mind.
"I-I don't know…"
"Please Mary, I ask you both as the lead officer on this case and as a friend, zzzt."
"But…but…"
It was then that Decibel took that moment to make himself heard once more. "If she doesn't WANT to go, then you CAN'T make her!" Some of those present were shocked by Decibel's sudden outburst, none more-so than Mary herself. Mangezone, on the other hand, seemed rather annoyed by the Loudred's intrusion.
"Decibel, this matter doesn't concern-"
"Like hell it DOES! You call yourself Mary's friend, but have you even taken a MOMENT to consider how she feels ABOUT this?"
Decibel's words stung the senior officer deeply. He was right; Magnezone knew full well that Mary held a great fear of going out into the field. He had been there to witness the fear in her eyes during the…"incident".
"Furthermore, anyone HERE can tell you how dangerous and unpredictable it can be OUT there! What if something were to HAPPEN out there and Mary became separated from you and your officers? Then what HUH? Plus-" Decibel paused in his rant as he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Mary was the one who had stopped him, though now her eyes didn't reveal a sense of fear as before.
"That's enough Decibel, you've made your point. " Stepping forward, she stopped once she was standing between Magnezone and Decibel. "I'll go with you to Midnight Forest, but only…only if Decibel can come as well."
"H-huh?" Decibel's big mouth hung open in shock.
"Somehow…somehow I'd just feel safer if you were there to protect me. Please Decibel?"
"Um…um…" Decibel quickly turned his back the large group of guild members. While some thought he was thinking hard about all this, in reality he was hoping that no one had noticed the blush steadily creeping across his face. Without turning around, he quickly responded with "S-sure, I'll go"
For the first time since this whole thing had started, Mary managed to crack a smile. "Thank you, Decibel."
"Well…" Sunny suddenly spoke up, "…if Decibel's going, then I'm going as well. We are Rescue Team partners after all!"
"Count me in as well!" Jet added.
"Me too!" Chorused Bidoof. A few more guild members echoed the response further.
Magnezone sighed, knowing that he had been beaten from all fronts. "Alright then, I guess I have no choice. Anyone coming along should go now and get there stuff together. But hurry up; we don't have much time as it is! Anyone not ready will be left behind! Got it, zzzt?"
At that, several guild members quickly ran to their rooms, intent on grabbing anything they may need for the trip through Midnight Forest. But, unbeknownst to them as they quickly gathered up supplies, Magnezone had left something unsaid during his last speech to the guild members.
I just hope we aren't already too late…,zzzt.
In another part of Midnight Forest, a curious Murkrow flew overhead, completely oblivious to the events occurring below. All he cared about was looking for something shiny to line his nest with, the shinier the better. Murkrow were known to be vain by nature, even becoming distracted by their own reflection in a piece of broken glass or a clear enough body of water. But what they loved above all else was anything that managed to sparkle or shine in even the tiniest sliver of light. The more daring of his species had been known to plunge into large bodies of water, even fly between quarreling Pokémon several times their size, all in the pursuit of what they considered to be priceless treasures.
As he passed over one particular area of the forest, something below caught his eye. Swooping down to examine what had seen from above, he almost fell out of the sky in shock, only a quick flutter of his wings keeping him from face-planting against the forest floor. He had hit the jackpot! A discarded Rescue Team bag lay open before him, several items having already spilled out. He didn't know what had happened to the bag's previous owners, but neither did he really care as the greedy bird began poking through the bags contents.
As it turned out, his so called "jackpot" wasn't what he had hoped for. Most of the orbs he found had been damaged when the bag had smashed into the ground, many sporting huge cracks that only managed to tarnish their initial beauty. There was a chest, but not only was it dull in appearance but it was also tightly locked, refusing to open no matter how hard he struggled and keeping him from any treasures that lay within. The rest of the bag consisted of seeds and apples, and while he did take a moment to snack on a few (nearly burning his tongue off after mistakenly eating a Blast seed in the process) he was coming up rather empty on any variable shininess.
He was just about ready to give up and continue his search somewhere else, when he noticed something he hadn't previous seen on his initial search. Among the few objects that had rolled onto the forest floor, he noticed one that was neither an orb nor food. It appeared to be a silver capsule like object, with some kind of contraption imbedded into the front. As the Murkrow cautiously poked the object with his talon, the strange thing in the center flashed a bright red, almost making him think twice about picking it up and instead flying off.
As he was about to do just that though, a stray beam of moonlight managed to cut through the thick canopy, illuminating the unusual item. The Murkrow's eyes lit up at the sight of it, sparkling like the most beautiful of pearls in the moon's rays. Without a moment's hesitation, the greedy dark type scooped it up in his talons, cawing once in joy as he lifted off into the night sky, eagerly awaiting adding such a treasure to his nest.
End Chapter