Hey all. Just to let you know, I'll be gone for a little over a week. I won't be able to get a chapter up next weekend, but I should be able to manage one the week after.

Patch-Charizard (clone), Ore-Lucaria, Tyra-Larvitar (fire Delta)


Salsa

I dashed back inside the building to make use of the healing machine. I didn't want to go any farther while half of my team was unconscious. I dashed back to meet Hari and Mewtwo. Our small group stared the cave that lead into the cliff. Then I stepped forwards into the darkness. Mewtwo, Hari, and Gro followed.

Grimy electric lights were strung up along the walls of the cave. Rusting, abandoned equipment was strewn about the border of the cavern. This must have been one of the mines Pyrite used to tap into.

A staircase had been carved into the entrance room, leading down to a lower level.

"Come on," I said, walking over and descending the stone stairs. As we arrived in the lower room, there was a shout. A guard was posted there, and he'd seen our feet appear. I jumped down the last several stairs to see a small band of Miror B's thugs rushing in to surround us.

I quickly sent out Ore, and paused as I wondered who else to send out.

"There are two Shadow Pokémon," Ore said, reading the auras through the Pokébals.

"Okay," I replied quietly. But before I could send out my second Pokémon, a blue light suddenly filled the room, and then disappeared. The group of men and women in front of us slumped to the ground and started snoring.

Wait… what?

I glanced over to see Mewtwo lower his arm. Ahh. He had put them to sleep.

"Wow. Things are really easy when you're in our group," I said, impressed.

He gave an amused half-smile. Lucario took the two Pokéballs containing Shadow Pokémon and handed them to me.

"Thanks guys." We continued down the next staircase until…

"Blah," I gasped. We had arrived in the sewer system beneath Pyrite. "Lovely."

"I'd say that this person doesn't want to be found," Mewtwo noted.

I gave a small snort. "Which is ironic considering he kinda sticks out in a crowd."

Mewtwo glanced at me.

"Trust me. You'll understand soon enough," I assured him.

"Are we looking for Pokéball head?" Hari asked.

"I think so."

"What?" Mewtwo asked, bewildered.

"Uh… it's hard to explain," I sighed, walking quickly along the path next to the sewer. It wasn't long before we rose up out of the smelly area and into the mine again.

But the escape from the stench brought another problem. We ran into another guard. He jumped to attention when he saw us and sent out Lotad and Swablu. I sent out the Shadow Yanma and Tyra to meet them.

Honestly, using the Shadow Pokémon in battle scared me. Especially after I'd gotten a taste of that Hyper Mode. It may make the Shadow Pokémon much stronger, but it also makes them totally berserk… Not to mention I can't use my telepathy with them. It throws off my battle tempo.

And another thing. I'd been purposefully using the Shadow Pokémon in battle, since I believed that it would purify them. And while I did feel some of the shadow fade from them over time, they remained cloaked in billowing dark clouds. Why weren't they healing? What crucial step was I missing?

I turned my attention back to the battle and had Yanma attack Lotad. Tyra went after the Shadow Swablu. Mewtwo silently watched the battle, waiting for an opening to use one of his Pokéballs. Against one trainer, there wasn't any need for him to use his powers. My Pokémon could handle this one.

I smiled as I watched Tyra. She was indeed getting stronger. Her determined battling was rapidly raising her level. In fact, I was surprised that she hadn't evolved. Perhaps, like Polaris, she wasn't ready to change her form yet.

Tyra succeeded in pinning Swablu to the ground, and a moment later, Mewtwo caught it. Tyra dashed over to help Yanma finish Lotad off. The moment the battle saw over, Mewtwo flicked his wrist and cast the foe trainer into a deep sleep.

We continued to the next room, and paused. Music was playing somewhere. Some sort of salsa music. It was the last thing I expected to hear down here in the mines and sewers.

We followed the sound to a pair of doors. I placed my hands against them and pushed.

I stared with raised eyebrows at the room in front of me. There was Miror B, dancing some weird disco dance with four Ludicolo around him, shuffling their feet and swaying to the music.

Miror B looked up as we entered.

"Oh-ho, it's you is it?" He asked, sounding amused. "And it looks like you picked up a new friend." He glanced at the cloaked figure beside me. As was the purpose of Mewtwo's hat and cloak, it made him appear nothing more than a human in a strange outfit.

Miror B continued speaking. "I didn't know you'd cause so much trouble when I saw you back in Phenac City, or I would have put an end to you myself. Tell me, are you the reason that several of our Shadow Pokémon seem to have gone missing? How is it that a darling little girl like you has the power to steal other trainer's Pokémon?"

I narrowed my eyes and pulled out a Pokéball, clicking the button to make it expand. "Why don't you find out?" I taunted. "I'm sure someone like you would have no problem beating a little girl like me, even if I do know how to steal people's Pokémon. But I'd rather steal Pokémon any day than tear their hearts out."

"Oh-ho, how very dramatic," Miror B said. "Very well. It will be a pleasure to crush a little troublemaker such as you."

I sent out Ore and Swablu, Two of Miror B's Ludicolo waltzed forwards to take the field. Immediately, one of them used Rain Dance. Clouds billowed out of the ceiling and rain began to splash to the cave floor. I hissed in annoyance. Not only would this benefit Miror B's team, but it would make a lot of trouble for me. Neither Tyra nor Patch would do well in the wet, and it was only a matter of moments before Swablu's wings were sodden and she could barely fly.

Ore lifted the little Shadow Pokémon and dropped her directly on top of one of Ludicolo's lily pad heads, where she could peck away to her hearts content. Ludcolo occupied itself by trying and failing to shake her off.

Ore fell on the other Ludicolo, using repeated Force Palms and Aura Spheres to pound him into submission.

Another Ludicolo came out to replace the fallen comrade. It used Razor Leaf to knock Swablu back to the ground. Both of the Ludicolo converged on Ore using Razor Leaf and Water Gun. I took that opportunity to order Swablu to use Sing.

Only one Ludicolo fell under the influence of Swablu's Sing, but it dropped off to sleep and Miror B had to replace her with his fourth and (hopefully) final Ludicolo.

Ore knocked the other Ludicolo away from him, but she used Leech Seed. The vines wrapped around Ore's Arms, sapping his strength. He managed to cut most of them away with his spikes, but the rest continued to sap his energy. The other Ludicolo used Absorb to drain away the last of Swablu's strength.

I returned Swablu and sent out Yanma.

Ore managed to get a few more hits in before Leech Seed drained the last of his strength. I returned him and sent out Patch.

Mewtwo, I called telepathically, Can you keep the rain from falling on Patch?

Mewtwo gave a small nod, and an invisible umbrella spread over Charizard, shielding him from the water.

Patch's Fire Spin instantly KO'd the remaining two Ludicolo. They didn't stand a chance against the clone Charizard's boosted powers.

And then Miror B sent out a Sudowoodo. A Shadow one.

Mewtwo gave another nod, to show that he was ready to snag him. I just needed to keep Sudowoodo and Miror B occupied until he had a decent opening.

Patch sent out another blast of fire. The heat struck the rain in the air and on the ground, making it evaporate into a hissing steam cloud. The rock-type Sudowoodo cried out and tried to shield himself. Yanma dashed in and struck Sudowoodo with Shadow Rush.

A black orb soared through the air and struck Miror B's Pokémon, successfully snagging it.

"How, how, how dare you!" Miror B screeched as the steam dissipated. "Don't you dare think you'll get away with your latest outrage! One of these days, I will take great pleasure in kicking you about with my elegant dance steps!"

"If you'd spent more time on your Pokémon than on your feet, you might have avoided defeat a little longer," I scoffed.

"I haven't given up on the Shadow Pokémon plan!" Miror B shouted. He dashed past us and out the door.

"Should I stop him?" Mewtwo asked.

"He's not worth it," I said. "We need to find Duking's Plusle."

"I already found him."

Mewtwo and I turned to see Hari cuddling a happy Plusle.

"Eh," I said stupidly.

"I heard him crying from behind that door during the battle," Hari explained, pointing to a small room beside this one.

"Well, that's great then. Come on. Let's get out of here. This place smells weird."

We turned and headed back up, out of the cave. As we neared the mine's exit, we heard footsteps.

"Aren't they done yet," I moaned. It was late and I wanted to heal my Pokémon and go to sleep.

But it wasn't more Cipher goons. It was Duking and Silva. They'd finally arrived.

"Pulaa!" Plusle cried happily, jumping out of Hari's arms to greet Duking.

"You found Plusle!" Duking exclaimed, kneeling in front of his Pokémon to rub his ears.

"And you made it out safe!" Silva added.

"No problem," I said. "He was a pushover compared to some people I've fought."

"Miror B did escape though, Silva sighed."

"At least he's been driven out," Duking replied. "And Plusle didn't get turned into a Shadow Pokémon. That's what counts for now. Come on. Let's quit this moldy cavern."


So, the hotel at Pyrite was kind of expensive, and not too homey. So to make things easier, Mewtwo flew us out to the desert where we set up camp against a cliff. We were used to camping anyway.

It was very late by the time I set up my sleeping bag. Desert nights were cold, so even Hari needed a blanket. Mewtwo, unbothered by the temperature, sat against the cliff and dozed.

My mind buzzed in circles as I lay in my sleeping bag. We'd chased Miror B out, yes. But we hadn't figured out where the Shadow Pokémon were coming from, or how to purify them. Duking had suggested we try Agate Village, which was north of Pyrite. We'd head there tomorrow.

It took a while for me to drift into sleep.


Floating

Who am I?

Water. I'm in water. There's people around me. Speaking.

Where am I? Who are they? I must go were they are.

The tank around me shatters and glass and fluid sprays to the floor.

There are humans. They start speaking. Saying bad things.

Rage boils up.

Bad.

Humans are bad.

The anger expands, filling me.

I will not be a slave!

The rage explodes outwards, a fiery ray of hatred.

People scream.

An ear-splitting crack wakes me from the nightmare.

I jerk violently, tangling myself in my sleeping bag. Hari was scrambling to his feet beside me. A blue light illuminated the camp. It was flickering, like fire.

And then I saw him. Mewtwo was on his feet, a look of fury and desperation on his face. He had shot out a psychic attack at the cliff, shattering part of the rock. He turned and launched another attack, which sent up a mushroom cloud of sand away in the desert.

"Mewtwo!" I shouted. What was he doing? Was he attacking someone?

But no, that wasn't right. The dream I'd had… The same one I'd had before I met Mewtwo. He had been having a nightmare about when he first woke up to find himself surrounded by people who cared nothing for him. Somehow my dreams had linked with his. And I realized that he was still locked in the dream, wildly lashing out to free himself from the nonexistent threat.

He'd never reacted this way to nightmares. What had happened? Did it have anything to do with the situation we were in now? How Pokémon were being robbed of their being and turned into machines? It could have easily triggered the dark memories from his past.

I finally extracted myself from my sleeping bag and scrambled to my feet. Mewtwo's next attack shattered a boulder that was feet away from Hari and I. I pushed Hari to the ground as the stone shards flew past. I felt some of them scrape past my arms.

"Mewtwo!" I shouted. I stepped towards him, but a blast of energy pushed me backwards, where I sprawled to the ground.

"What's happening?" Hari wailed, huddling with Gro behind the remainder of the boulder.

I dug my fingers into the ground and pulled myself forwards. Dirt sprayed over my back as one of Mewtwo's attacks struck nearby.

I managed to drag myself a few feet from Mewtwo. He turned to send out another attack, and I threw myself towards his back, grabbing him around the middle. He whipped around, nearly sending me flying again, but I managed to hang on. I tried to ignore his tail lashing against my head and face. I managed to get one hand up to pin one of Mewtwo's arms to his side. I wasn't even sure that he knew he was being restrained, he was so deep in his own nightmare.

I whipped my other arm up and wrapped it around Mewtwo's chest. I dragged him backwards, trying to knock him off balance.

"MEWTWO!" I shouted both aloud and telepathically. "WAKE UP!"

I remained clinging to him, my eyes shut tight, not sure what was going to happen. It took me a moment to realize that I didn't hear the explosions from his attacks anymore.

I slowly opened my eyes and looked up. Mewtwo was standing very still. Since I was behind him, I had to tilt my head to see his face. His eyes were wide and his mouth was open, as though he couldn't believe what he'd done. He slowly turned his gaze down to my arms that were locked around his middle.

I managed to unclench my fingers and release Mewtwo. In unison, both of us dropped to our knees. Mewtwo turned slightly so I could see his face.

"Are you okay," I panted.

"Did I hurt anyone?" he blurted.

I shook my head.

His eyes fell on my arms where I'd been cut by the shards of rock. I looked down too to see that some of the scratches were bleeding.

"Oh," I said. "It's not bad. Just a few cuts. Are you okay, Hari?"

He peeked out from behind his shelter and nodded, wide-eyed.

Mewtwo dropped his head. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it," I said.

He shook his head. "I've never…"

"It does happen sometimes," I said. "Especially with soldiers. Sometimes they lash out when they wake up."

"But soldiers don't have the power to blow up an entire mountain," Mewtwo whispered. "If I lose control of my power…"

"I have an idea," I said. I stood and gently tugged Mewtwo to his feet. I gestured for Hari and Gro to come over.

I spread out Hari's blankets and my sleeping bag, making a little nest against the cliff. I released Ore, Patch, and Tyra. Patch stretched out against the cliff and I set Mewtwo down in front of him. I sat beside him, and Hari and the rest of the Pokémon piled around us.

"What's this?" Mewtwo asked, as though he couldn't believe that we would actually move closer to him after what he'd done.

Hari grinned. "We'll keep the nightmares away!"