Uploading this on Christmas so if you're reading this the day I upload it, I've got one thing to say:
Merry Christmas! :D
Miragem's P.O.V.
Day after day... Night after night... Memory after memory...
Pokemon, humans... It didn't matter... Once a day... every day...
"After half a decade, he's finally ours to use. It's been fun seeing how long he'd last. But now he's accepted his fate. Chrono, it's time."
Why did I make friends? Making them think I worth something. All I am is a toy to be used, tossed away, picked up by the next, and used again. I am a toy. I don't deserve to feel. I should've just done what I was made to do.
Enough of that. Before you were captured, you had a life. You had a personality. You didn't have to lie. And after all this work, I'm NOT letting you give up!
I'm useless. There's no point anymore.
Yes there is!
Look at all these memories. My entire life is a toy in their paws. So many of them. The evidence is right here.
You want evidence?! I'll give you evidence!
In an instant, all the memories were covered up. All that left was one.
It was me. And Snowdrop. Walking through the forrest. Talking. Having a normal conversation.
Snap the hell out of it. You're not worthless.
Me and Snowdrop eating spicy curry together, her laughing at me burning my tongue.
Could someone worthless make someone else laugh?
My mind was overwhelmed with one memory, blocking out all the others. Blocking out the voices.
"Let me out! Mommy! Daddy! Please save me! I don't want to be here anymore!" I scratched and pulled and kicked at the metal bars, but they didn't budge. The floor of the cage was wet with my tears.
I collapsed on the floor, sobbing silently. 'Mommy's not coming... Daddy's not coming... I'm alone...'
I curled up in a ball, feeling my consciousness slipping.
My body jerked and I was suddenly on my paws. I looked down at my body. "Why am I in control? This shouldn't be possible..." A smile spread across my face. "If I can take control... It might take a few years, but I swear, I'll get us the hell out of here."
Was that...
Yes. That was me. Your subconscious. And now that you know that, you can remember the dream.
Right. That's what I came for...
Like it had always been there, the memory of the dream was there.
I opened my eyes, back in the real world.
Toy. Toy. Toy.
"It's time." I was only mildly suprised to hear my voice being repeated, like there were two of me saying it at the same time. I knew who it was. My subconscious.
Ya know, this is only temporary, us sharing a body. Soon, neither of us will remember how to do this again or anything that happened in this 'form'.
"Like I care."
Heh. I guess that's a good response. Since we're one right now, I guess you know it's because of the amount of mental energy being used. But how do you expect to fight the big boy himself?
"Worry about it later."
I like your style. Alright. Let's get some revenge.
"Yes." I sprinted towards the battle in front of me, claws unsheathed. A Shadow Ball flew towards me, but, almost reflexively, I raised a paw and slashed my claws through it, shredding it.
I flung myself at the nearest enemy; a Toxicroak. I slammed my claws full force into its chest before slashing down, making blood splash on my face. He made a strangling sound, but I didn't falter. With both my paws, I slit both sides of his throat. His body collapsed and I moved onto the next.
Pokemon after pokemon I cut through, killing them swiftly. Pokemon with a slit throat, heart ripped out, or chests cut open littered the street. My eyes rested on my next target and a gasped came out of my mouth. She obviously saw me too. She smiled and said one word. "Yes." She turned and walked away. 'No...' I felt my mouth go dry.
I sprinted to catch up with her, following her around the corner. But before I got within a yard, a Dark Pusle collided with me, knocking me off my feet. I quickly stood up and I looked sadly at my opponent. She looked like a bland, black Umbreon with no rings. Her eyes were a dull, gray color. But I knew better. I knew just who she was.
"So I wasn't enough... Just had to get everything I ever cared about, huh?" She said nothing, just looked at me with her sad, dead, empty eyes. "Now I have to... too... fight her..."
She's not her anymore. We have to. It would be a kindness.
I gritted my teeth and looked down. "I can't..." My legs began shaking and eventually gave out from under me. I smaller a paw on the pavement. "Damn it! Damn it all!" Tears were pouring down my face, making small, black spots on the pavement. But these tears were different. These tears weren't filled with pain of grief. They were filled with all the emotions I'd learned to lock away half a decade ago.
Pull it together!
"No! This can't be happening! Why?!" I repeatedly slammed my paw into the concrete, unaware of the blood now on it. "Why?! Why?! WHY?!"
We've got to!
I shook my head. "No! I can't! I won't! I'd rather die!"
ITS NOT HER!
"She is in there, damn it!" I looked up at her, her figure blurry through the tears. It was her. I knew it was. Her posture, her voice, her smile...
"Mommy..."
Thirteen Years Earlier...
"What's Mommy doing?" Daddy had told me to go to the back of the cave while he sat in front of me. Mommy was out of the cave.
"Your Mommy is just taking care of some troublemakers who want to kick us out." I tilted my head.
"What does... 'keck us oot' mean?' Daddy laughed and patted me on the head.
"They want us to leave the cave."
"Why?"
"I don't know..."
"Will Mommy be okay?" Daddy smiled at me.
"She sure will. She scares me, so she will scare any pokemon." I fell on my back, laughing.
"You're scared of Mommy? Hahaha!"
"You would be if you saw what she did the day we met."
"What happened?"
"I was wondering around the forrest one evening and I saw some Beedrill picking on an Umbreon. Naturally, I helped out the Umbreon. When I expected a thanks, all I got were several slaps to the face, a punch in the pace, and a kick in the nuts." I laughed again.
"Then what?"
"We kept bumping into each other. Each time, she'd beat me up for no reason and walk away. But one day, after she beat me up, she helped up and asked for my name."
"Then you fell in love with Mommy!" He nodded, a goofy smile on his face.
"Sure did. Have ever since that day four years, three months, two weeks, and three days ago."
"You kept track?" Daddy looked behind us and we saw Mommy standing in the doorway of the cave, smiling at us.
"Sure did, honey. I'm sure you remember the day I confessed, don't you?" Daddy stood up, stepping closer to Mommy. "I was scared you'd reject me with a scratch across the face. But instead," Daddy grabbed Mommy and pulled her on top of him, both lying on the cave floor. "You pushed me down and kissed me."
"Gross!" They both looked at me, smiling.
"Just wait until you fall in love."
Love... What a joke.
I felt like a baby again. I just wanted to hug Mommy tightly. Mommy made the bad stuff go away.
"Mommy... Please..." I dragged my body closer to her. "Mommy... Mommy mommy mommy..."
Snap out of it!
"Don't leave me alone again... Please..." Mommy looked down at me and my vision was suddenly cleared. Mommy was smiling at me. She reached out with a paw and put it on my head. She lowered herself down and I could see her eyes were just like they were over a decade ago.
"I won't, honey. I swear." I wrapped my paws around her legs tightly. I wouldn't let go. Never again.
Snowdrop's P.O.V.
The purple pokemon rolled out of the way, barely avoiding my claws. I turned to face him, but before I could move towards him, I heard a voice in my head.
"No! This can't be happening! Why?! Why?! Why?! WHY?!"
'W-What the... Miragem?! Are things alright over there?!' I raised a paw to my eyes and wiped away the tears. 'What's happening?!'
"No! I can't! I'd rather die!"
'Miragem! What the hell is happening over there?!' I'd completely forgotten about the purple pokemon, who didn't seem to be attacking at all.
"She's in there, damn it!"
'Who?! What the hell are you talking about?!'
"Mommy..." My eyes widened.
'M... Mommy...?' His voice left my mind, leaving me completely stunned. 'What... What the hell is happening over there?!'
"Ah..." My head snapped towards the sound and I saw the purple pokemon looking upwards.
"Don't think I've forgotten about you!" I unsheathed my claws, getting ready to attack.
"It seems it's time to initiate Plan B."
"'Plan B'?"
"We know how you got information on our plan. But did you really think we'd be dumb enough to not have a backup plan, especially after your puppy friend made it through?" 'Damn it. Now we have no idea what to expect.'
He put a paw on his ear. His eyes widened. "Really? Interesting..." 'Huh? Is he talking to himself?' "Right. I'll proceed alone then." He lowered his paw and he looked at me.
"Are you talking to yourself? I understood you pokemon were freaks, but-"
"Silence." His voice seemed to have changed, becoming a commanding, deep voice. "You won't feel inclined to mock once you find out what's happening to your Espeon friend." 'Miragem?'
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"It seems that seeing his mother after twelve years made him break down." 'W-What? Twelve years? Isn't he only fourteen?' "Unluckily for him..." He pointed his claws at me. "His love for his mother will be the end of him."
"What do you mean? Like a mother would hurt their own son! Family doesn't do that!" He flashed a smile.
"Really? And what about your little puppy friend?" 'What does Enfer have to do with this?'
"What about her?" He threw his head back, laughing.
"So she hasn't told you yet, huh? That's fine." I blinked and suddenly, he face was centimeters from mine. "Pokemon will do anything with the right motivation. Including hurt their own family. I mean anything." I could feel his hot breath on my face.
I stepped backwards, growling. "What would you know about family, you monster?! You're not even an actual pokemon!" I had no idea if this was true, but he didn't look like a pokemon that would actually exist.
"I used to be a pokemon. I used to have a family. I had a mate and a child. We were... happy as a family for two years..." His voice sounded sad, like he were talking about a dead friend. Something compelled me to ask.
"What happened?"
"Our son was taken away from us. I lost a leg trying to protect him. No matter what happens to me, I'll never forget his cries. His wailing while he was taken away from us." He looked down, tears welling in his eyes. 'Why... do I feel bad for him?'
"We grieved for twelve years. But then, an Absol came to us saying he knew where our son was and that he'd take us to him. Of course, we followed him all the way to his base here in the city. Before I knew it, I was knocked out and now... I'm this."
"I'm sorry..."
"You shouldn't care. Especially since you're about to die." My eyes widened but before I could stop him, he launched himself at me, burying his claws deep into my chest. I coughed up blood and collapsed on the grass, holding my chest.
The purple pokemon standing above me raised his claws up. "Before you die, I'll give you my name. My name is Solarelle. Remember it well in the afterlife."
I closed my eyes tight bracing myself.
'I'm sorry, Miragem... I failed...'
Morph's P.O.V.
"Um... Where IS everybody?"
"Great question." From the top of the hill, we could get a good vantage point of where the ceremony was going to be happening. I'd expected to be met with the sounds of pokemon talking, laughing, or grandparents screaming about how hot it is.
But instead, it was eerily quiet. "Well," I said as I began walking down the hill. "We should probably find out."
"Right." Psyko quickly caught up along with my sister.
As we walked, we passed by tables of food, tables of glasses filled with different drinks, and even one with a huge wedding cake. A knife was stuck in the center, like someone had begun cutting but stopped. 'This is so weird... Where are all of them?' Soon, we reached where the actual marriage would take place. Rows of wooden white chairs were placed in the grass with a gap in the middle. The path between the chairs led up to an arch of pink wood with ivy wrapped around it and with white flowers on the wood. There was a pedestal in the middle with a book open on it. 'Probably some human thing. Big sis insisted on a human wedding. I'm not that familiar with them, so I wouldn't know. But this is definitely more romantic than just promising to be mates for life.'
"It feels like this place has been frozen in time." I glanced at Psyko, confused.
"What do you mean?"
"It feels like pokemon were here-no. It feels like they are here- but we're forcefully ripped from here. Kind of like visiting the home of a dead relative to find the house untouched, like they were here just that day. Does that make sense?"
"Kinda. But that still doesn't explain where they are-"
"Oh, good. You're here." I spun around along with Psyko and my sister to see who spoke. Before us was a Growlithe. Her fur seemed to sparkle in the sunlight along with her golden eyes. "I've been waiting."
"Who are you?" My little sister stepped forward. "Do you know what happened here? Where my sister is?" Psyko seemed to freeze up while looking at the Growlithe, but I was more interested in answers.
"I do."
"What happened?"
"I killed them." She took a step towards the cake. My sister gasped and I took a step forward.
"Stop scaring my little sister! What really happened?!" The Growlithe touched the knife in the cake, a smile on her face.
"They're all gone." She gripped the hilt of the knife, slowly pulling it downwards, cutting the cake. "They Delphox's scream when he watched me tear his bride's stomach open was simply..." She licked her lips slowly. "Delicious." My sister made a squeaking sound and hid behind me, gripping my dress. I could hear her muffled cries as she buried her face in my dress.
"If you're just gonna keep lying, I'll beat the answers out of you! C'mon, Psyko!" I looked over at her. She was still wide eyed, staring at the Growlithe. "Psyko? What's wrong?"
"En... Enfer..." The Growlithe looked confused for a moment before the corner of her mouth turned up slightly.
"Ah. You mean..." The shine on her fur disappeared, leaving it more dull-looking and her eyes became black with white pupils. Psyko gasped and put a hand over her mouth, tears forming in her eyes. "Me?"
"Psyko! Who is this and who is Enfer?!" She didn't seem to hear me as she stared at the Growlithe, who was slowly pulling the knife out of the cake.
When the knife was fully out, she licked the bits of cake off of it, completely ignoring us. "Hey! Psyko!" The Growlithe lowered the knife and pointed it at Psyko.
"You're first."
Faster than I could see, the Growlithe threw the knife. The knife went straight through Psyko's right arm before burying itself in the grass. Psyko clutched the hole in her arm and collapsed on the ground, panting.
"Hmm. Must be getting sloppy. Aimed a bit too far to the left. My sister cried out Psyko's name, but I barely heard it. A wave of rage overcame me and I grabbed the knife in the ground with Psychic. I caught it and gripped it tightly.
"You wanna fight dirty, huh? Alright then. Let's fight dirty! Teleport!" I reappeared behind the Growlithe, pulling the knife back. I blinked and suddenly, my little sister was there, tears streaming down her face.
"No... don't..." I stopped the knife inched away from her face. She reached up and grabbed the knife blade tightly, cutting herself. "You idiot." The knife was ripped from my grasp and now, my sister was pointing the knife at my face, smiling evily at me.
"Big brother!" I looked past my sister and saw... My sister? She was bent over Psyko, looking at me.
"My my. Tricked so easily." I looked back at the pokemon holding the knife and the Growlithe was back with her shiny fur and golden eyes.
"Who are you?"
"Oh come on. How could you forget me?" She put the knife against my throat and I heard my sister scream. "How could you forget your good friend Experiment 00001? Huh, Experiment 01342?" My eyes widened. "Oh, do you remember now? Good. I'm glad you didn't forget me. That would've hurt my feelings."
If a knife wasn't at my neck, I would've facepalmed. 'Of course... I don't have two sister and me and Psyko haven't been friends for years.'
"Hurt your feelings my ass! So what is this? A dream?"
"Yup. And one that is currently being invaded."
"By you?"
"No. By the real Psyko." She turned her head towards the hill. "Come on out Miss Real Psyko!" At first nothing happened. But after a few seconds, a Meowstic, who was clearly Psyko, climbed to the top of the hill, a guilty look on her face. "Now the gang's all here."
My "little sister" and the fake Psyko both had disappeared and the real Psyko came down to join.
"Morph, I'm really sorry-"
"'Morph'? Aww, how cute. You have nicknames for each other." The Growlithe lowered the knife and eyes up Psyko. "So you're Psyko, huh?"
"Y-Yeah... Wait, how do you know me?!"
"From 01342 here. Most just call him Failure, but I'm showing him some respect by using his experimental number."
"Why? Because I broke out?"
"No. Since today is the day you die and I'm told by reliable sources you have a secret weapon of sorts. So, since you're going to be interesting to kill, I'll show you a bit of respect before you die."
"Who are you?" Psyko asked.
"I'm 00001. The perfect experiment."
My head jerked forward and I banged my head against Psyko's, who was oddly close to me. We both held our heads, saying "Ow".
For a moment, my body felt normal. Then the pain came back. I doubled over, closing my eyes tight. I gritted my teeth, holding back a wave of curses and swears. 'Sleep doesn't heal deadly wounds, idiot.'
"Morph! Are you alright?!" Psyko was obviously concerned.
"Yeah, I'm PERFECT."
"Be sarcastic later! We have a real issue here; you."
"Wow. I thought we were friends."
"Shut UP! Thankfully, you're not bleeding right now, so don't move." She grabbed my head and forced me to look at her. "What the hell happened to you in the first place?" 'No avoiding it, huh...'
I explained everything that happened since the moment she passed out under Nightmare's effect. I omitted a few details, mainly the moments when she cried. When I finished, I earned a new injury; a slap to the face.
"Why the hell didn't you WAKE ME UP?! You wouldn't have gotten hurt as badly, dumbass! We're in this together and we're getting out together! We fight all our battles together! Got it?!"
"Got it, got it."
"So can you walk?"
"I can limp. Does that count?"
"No."
"Then no." She facepalmed.
"Then I'll help you." She grabbed my normal arm and helped pulled me to my feet.
"I feel like I'm a crippled old man."
"Well, you're at least one of those two. So what Area are we in?"
"Area Fifteen. Teleport." I grunted as we appeared on the other side of the door. "Not even halfway there."
"Why don't you just teleport us out?" 'If I could've, I would've!"
"I don't know all the details, but there's some material that resists and contains pokemon energy and attacks of all types within the walls, ceiling, windows, doors, handcuffs, and more. And I can't teleport far distances without a clear image in my head. And since this entire place looks almost identical everywhere, aside from Area One, my mind doesn't know where the location is. I'm pretty sure they designed it like that."
"Now the most important question: Who was that Growlithe in your dream?"
"She's Experiment 00001 and, like she said, is the perfect experiment."
"What does that mean?"
"Experiment 00001 doesn't mean she was the first experiment. It means she is the highest ranked. Few have even seen her in the flesh but those who do come back much more humble than before. They even say our captors respect and listen to her." Psyko shivered.
"Sounds bad. So why was she in your dream and aware it was a dream?"
"Believe it or not, that wasn't the first dreams she's been in and like that. This was the first one I was an actual Carrefour thought. Sometimes I'm a Lucario, a Luxray, a Muk..." I noticed her confused look and sighed. "Don't ask. Anyways, it's one of the powers she has over anyone she's seen. She can invade their minds and learn everything about them instantly."
"Why would she need to do that? What power does she have that makes her so feared?"
"Aside from having strength unrivaled by other experiments, she can transform into pokemon just by knowing their name."
"Isn't that what you do?"
"No. I turn into the species. So even if she heard someone whisper your name in her presence, she could become identical to you. Of course, seeing you would be better for her since she'd know everything about you. There would literally be no way to distinguish you from her. Plus, she probably has even more powers we don't know about."
"Jeez, that's disturbing. So she's seen you before?"
"Yeah... But she only glanced at me for a moment. And I only heard her say one word. But it was enough."
"So what is her actual name?"
"Nobody knows except maybe Chrono and her boss."
"What if we have to fight her?" I looked down at her and shook my head.
"We won't stand a chance. We'll die before we land a single attack."
Miragem's P.O.V.
Damn it! I'm taking over! Now!"
Before I knew what was happening, my consciousness was shoved to the back of my mind and my subconscious took control of my body.
SubMiragem's P.O.V.
I shoved away from our "Mommy" and stood up, looking towards Snowdrop's house. 'She is much more important than false hope at a real family.'
My eyes drifted over the chaos which was starting to die down. With the number we killed, the fight became very one-sided. 'The plan...' I looked at the alleyway that Enfer had run down and I growled. 'Damn it... I'm sorry Enfer, but hold on a few more minutes!'
"Quick Attack!" I sprinted around the battle and towards the forrest. While my counterpart was having his breakdown, I was reading Snowdrop's mind. And things weren't good on her end. She needed my help. 'Although after this, all my energy will be drained. Miragem will be on his own. I won't even be able to communicate with him.'
I shook my head. 'No. He couldn't be fooled by the faker acting like she was our mother. She was reprogrammed. She was no longer our mother.'
The ground changed from concrete to dirt beneath my paws and I pushed myself to go faster. 'Hold him off just a bit longer, Snowdrop! I'm coming!'
By the time her house came into view, I could see the purple pokemon from before stabbing Snowdrop in the chest and her collapsing. The purple pokemon raised his paw, obviously about to deliver the finishing blow.
I'm sorry, Miragem... I failed...
I ran into the clearing, growling. "Psybeam!"
The pink beam hit the purple pokemon in the face, launching him across the ground. Snowdrop meekly looked up at me, a shocked look on her face. The purple pokemon looked at me, just as shocked as Snowdrop.
"I suggest you back off before I tear you to shreds and use your colon as a scarf!" He flinched and glared at me.
"You... Miragem... You couldn't hurt me. You couldn't last time."
"But last time I was emotional and furious at everything. But this time, I'm pissed at you. And I won't hesitate to kill you. I won't hesitate to rip you to shreds." I took a step towards him and he put a paw to his ear.
"Yeah... You could... Yes sir." He lowered his paw and turned away. "So you fought away from your mother. Must've hurt a lot, huh? Leaving your mommy behind again?"
"That wasn't her. Not anymore. Now get out of here before I kill you."
The purple pokemon sprinted off towards the trees, disappearing into them. I ran over to Snowdrop's side and put a paw on her back. She was doubled over, holding her chest, blood on the grass beneath her. "Snowdrop! Are you okay?!"
"You... You saved me..."
"Now's not the time! Is the wound fatal?"
"No... Idiot missed my lungs... by a few... centimeters..." She moved to try and stand up but I stopped her.
"Rest up. You did good, especially with that Charizard. Really impressive. So rest up for now."
"Al... right..." She closed her eyes and I lifted her up with Psychic. I carried her slowly into her house and up to her bed, gently lowering her onto it. I stood by the side of her bed, looking down at her.
"Do you need anything? An Oran Berry or something?"
"I'll be... fine... Pokemon's natural regeneration... will help... I'll just Rest... for a bit..." I nodded and walked over to the door. I looked back at her.
"I'll be back soon. I promise." She didn't react. I closed the door and quickly made my way outside.
"Alright, Enfer. I'll on my way. Quick Attack."
Why are you controlling my body?!
'Oh. Finally speaking up?'
That was my mother-
'Our mother.'
And you ran away from her! Why?!
'Snowdrop would be dead if I didn't do that! Would you rather Snowdrop be dead?'
N-No, but-
'We'll both forget ever meeting her once you're in control again so pipe down. I'll let you in control after I go back to Snowdrop's. Got it?'
Okay...
When I arrived at where the fighting had took place, all that were there were dead bodies, a few tied up, and pokemon, most likely authorities, were interrogating them. 'Useless. Won't get anything out of them.'
I walked into the alley and began walking down it.
I emerged into a empty street a few minutes later. No sign of Enfer. "Enfer! Where are you?!"
"About time!" Enfer poked her head out of the window of a house across the street. She hopped out of the house and we met in the middle of the street. "What took so long?"
"Issue with Snowdrop but it's taken care of. Come on. Let's go." Without waiting for a reaction, I began walking down the street.
'I'm getting tired of this. I just want this to be over with.'
The first epic reveal! The black pokemon was Miragem's mother!
I've been waiting to reveal this since I introduced her.
Anyways, Merry Christmas once again!
:D
Its about time someone came along...
To pick you up and make you strong