Art

Late afternoon

Gehenna

Palace of Nightmares

"No taking back on promises." Darkrai purred, relishing the fat teardrops in Red's eyes; the legendary pulled a black spoke out and a drop of orange-red blood splashed on Green's coat. "I remember him staring at me through the covering of the purple capsule." The pitch black pokemon examined the inert body. "And before that, he used my genetic information to create an abomination, a dark typing of Mewtwo," he hissed angrily. "Whilst I was trapped inside the ball, I almost succeeded in liquefying his mind, despite his lack of emotional responses, he cares very deeply about the people around him...He started crying when I strangled his dear grandfather in front of him." Darkrai's cyan eye narrowed and he added, "Unfortunately, his blonde female aide interrupted our session and tossed me back into a knapsack."

Venusaur jolted at the mention of a blonde female, the familiar name eluded him. The more he listened to the nightmare offshoot's velvety rambling, the more guilt churned his insides. He distinctly remembered Green's death was his, Red's, fault. Unable to muster the strength to speak, much less move, the seed monster merely asked, "So why...Did you kill him? I said I'll do your bidding...Why couldn't you just let them leave? And what about Black and N? Are you going to kill them too?" Red's mouth tasted bitter and his head ached, coagulated blood crusted the lattice of cuts enveloping his body.

The dark type smiled. "Do you want me to?" he questioned, his voice like water whispering over rocks. "I can arrange that." His eye twinkled when Red glowered at him. "I believe despair builds character. Do you know how the trial masters are chosen?" Venusaur shook his head. "I select them, strip them of everything they hold dear, and test them. Out of all the candidates, you however, are the strangest...no one else wept when I stabbed their companions in the chest."

A teardrop curved down Red's cheek and he sniffed resentfully.

This was not happening.

The corridor stretched, endless rows of bright red stone columns disappearing into a murky ceiling. Red approached his companions, too afraid of what he might see. The flame on Green's tail died and only a thin, lazy wisp of grey smoke curled from the appendage. Holding his breath, Venusaur pressed a vine against the dragon's shoulder, hoping to feel a comforting, burning sensation; instead, he met cold skin. Biting down a sob, he bent over the first stage pokemon, thankfully, their bodies were warm to the touch and their chest rose and fell, indicating life. Placing them together, he tore a handful of wilted lilies from his back and showered the blossoms on the ground. Glaring at the legendary, Venusaur wobbled down the corridor.

Darkrai teleported in front of him. "You amuse me."

"At least I provide entertainment," Red snarled. "Leave me alone...I want to grieve."

The pitch black pokemon grinned callously. "Funny, coming from someone deceiving their friends." Red paused at the accusation. "Of course you do not remember," Darkrai continued stonily. "You tampered with the distortion world because you wanted to revenge." He floated, enjoying the confusion and denial swimming in crimson irises. "You do not believe me? You strung the Poke-Dex holders, you brainwashed them into thinking they were creating a fairer, ideal world where children like them could live their dreams without the fear of being scorned. All the while, you harbored your own agenda which no one...Absolutely no one apart from you knew about. Yes," the legendary hissed softly, "not even your precious best friends." A cyan eye stared meaningfully at Green. "You were imprisoned by loneliness, stemming from the death of your parents, you played with the Distortion world in hopes that you could somehow bring them back to life and you did not care if the current Poke-Earth imploded in the process." Red shuddered, shook his head frantically and backed away. "You do not have to be alarmed, like I said, that sort of longing, greed…is commendable. I have yet to meet a human as cunning and wonderful as you." Darkrai complimented and ushered Red forward.

On the floor, N's ears twitched. The previous icy grip of fear, thawed into fury. So they died for this? For the scarlet eyed man's selfish desire of wanting to see his parents? The idea was so laughable Zorua did not know what to do. N never saw his parents; he was raised by pokemon and an excuse of a man parading as a father. The shape shifter swallowed, he did not want to rescue Red, he could turn into an immortal Dungeon Master for all N cared. A sardonic thrill went through the fox; perhaps the once ebony haired man deserved it.

But...

Red's heartbroken wails throbbed against the walls and N's eyes teared. The venusaur denied and blubbered incoherently. Apologizing for actions he could not remember doing.

"I would never do that!" he howled weakly. "I...Would never..."

Shutting out his cries, N focused on the sleeping Black. Dragging himself forward, Zorua paused when an arc of pain rode up his spine; he blinked away tears and pressed a paw over Tepig's snout. The fire type's eyes grew wide in alarm but he did not utter a sound. "We need to distract Darkrai so senior Red can get away." N whispered, stomach dropping when he peered at the deathly still Green. "I don't think senior Green can help us at the moment...He is…unconscious." The tricky fox lied and nodded in the direction of the nightmare pokemon who swirled around Venusaur. "About Darkrai, defeating him is out of the question, we need to divert his attention."

Daring not to move, lest a tiny noise alert the legendary and spoil the element of surprise, Tepig questioned, "He's made of smoke, right?" N nodded. "Well...I can snort him up." Black flattened his ears when Zorua glared. "...I don't think anything will be able to damage him, he rules this realm remember? Although if you can project another legendary pokemon," Tepig strategized, eyes shining, "we might be able to keep him busy long enough so the seniors can punch a way out." Eyes hardening, N scrambled to his feet and shut his eyes, harnessing all his energy. A pool of shadows engulfed Black and when it peeled away, Entei roared. The shockwave of sound cracked the marble walls and near the end of the corridor, Darkrai whipped around, emotionless face morphing into a sardonic sneer.

Now what do we have here?

An unearthly howl of rage exploded in Venusaur's ears and in a split second, the dark type legendary vanished from his side. Red did not quite believe what he saw; granite tiles melted under Entei's heavy paws and the majestic beast spewed lava from its mouth. Cringing from the tyrannical heat, the seed monster shambled backwards to escape cross fire. Fur rippling across muscles, the legendary fire monster leapt and wreathed through Darkrai's attacks with grace befitting Virizion, any cut the nightmare offshoot created on Entei's glossy coat, healed immediately. Splashes of lava dripped, melting stone like butter. Redirecting his attention away from the riveting battle of flames and ebony smoke, Red sought for his two, tiny companions and suddenly, it dawned on him. He located N hiding in the shadow of a colossal pillar; fur plastered with sweat. Giving Entei a wary eye and a wide berth, Venusaur hobbled over the intact piece of floor and newfound admiration for Black bloomed in his chest. A milky film covered Oak's vibrant, verdant irises and Red fiercely shook his head, he crouched near the fire type. Green was not dead...He could not be dead.

Alas, the freezing body and lifeless gaze stated otherwise.

A flash of insight colored Red's pale complexion into a healthy turquoise, muttering, he glanced at the battle and hoped Black could hold for a few more moments. Thrusting vines inside the bag, Venusaur groped impatiently and thereafter, dumped the contents to the floor. Gummis, a variety of berries, doughnuts and cookies, chocolate, orbs and seeds tumbled out. Impatient, he shook the satchel vigorously and a spiked crystal clattered to the floor. A max revive. Red grasped the flavescent crystal and pried Green's mouth apart, careful not to fracture any jaw bones. Inserting the crystal and snapping the maw shut, Venusaur scampered to safety, lest a ring of fire incinerate him into a fragrant pile of ash. Heart throbbing erratically, he hid behind a pillar and waited. The resurrection should not take long. However, seconds trickled into minutes and there was still no sign of life. Green's tail did not burst into flame and if possible, his hide dulled in color.

Away from the despairing plant type, N panted, he could not project the illusion any longer. Cracking an eyelid open, he saw Entei spearing Darkrai with a tongue of flame. A sly smile glinted in the nightmare pokemon's eye and he enjoyed the fight with a worthy adversary. Dark sweat stains blossomed on Entei's coat and his movements slowed. Lava did not melt the ground and his roars failed to crack bones. Rearing on his hind legs, Entei swiped a mighty paw against the pitch black pokemon's frayed cloak and the dark type dissolved into a haze of smoke. Velvet chuckles filled the room and the fire monster rotated its massive head, trying to pinpoint the voice. Amidst the nebulous, a single eye glittered and Entei rushed forward, determined to crush the eyeball under a set of ivory jaws. Instead, Darkrai teleported to a huffing N and rapped the fox sharply on his skull.

"Do not," the legendary pokemon admonished. "You will only shorten your lifespan and kill yourself." Entei puffed back into Black and crashed on a miraculously intact floor. The cracks in the walls and pillars disappeared and the nightmare offshoot grinned. "Although, I am impressed with your skill, when you evolve, you shall be a formidable monster." A shadowy claw wedged into Zorua's face. "Assuming you do manage to live that long," Darkrai softly stated and another part of his tattered cloak wrapped around Black. "I wanted to keep you two alive because Venusaur begged for mercy, unfortunately, you all displease me." A bundle of vines noosed the dark type around his smoky neck. "And what are you doing, Red?" the legendary asked and glowered at Venusaur. "Insolent beast, you dare-"

A solar beam blasted right through Darkrai and particles of light scattered through the palace. Red dropped to his knees, pressing his face against the refreshingly cool floor. He strained his eyes, searching for Darkrai and the dark type materialized so close, Venusaur could taste him. The legendary pokemon of nightmares tasted mind numbingly bitter, but for reasons unknown, the bitterness left a strange, sweet aftertaste behind.

Eyes glazed behind swollen eyelids, Venusaur watched Black and N dangling from twin chokeholds. He willed a vine to chop through their restraints but his body refused to obey. The younger beasts screamed, their high pitched voices slapped against the marble and corkscrewed into Red's head. Through their ear splitting cries, he heard the sound of snapping bone and the agonized yells resumed with new intensity. He felt their pain and forced his gaze to linger at their spasming figures. Watch, he told himself, watch what happens to those who grow close to you.

"Please stop..." His voice came out in a ghost's whisper. Perhaps the pitch black pokemon heard him.

Perhaps he did not.

But the smile gracing the dark type's face was tooth achingly sweet.

Sweet and sardonic.

And so very, very wrong.

"Darkrai." A voice thundered from the unknown and Red snapped awake. Darkrai stiffened, terror churning in his cyan eye. The palace of nightmares rippled. No, the space folded to reveal a gargantuan serpent's underbelly. Giratina's gold tipped head phased through the walls and he glared disapprovingly at the nightmare offshoot. "You are late for the family meeting," the Lord of the underworld boomed, his words crystal clear despite the golden mouth-guard. "And what are you doing?" the dragon queried and his question sent shivers racing up Red's spine. To his credit, Darkrai's grip on Black and N slackened and he gently dropped the two beasts to the floor.

The duo immediately scuttled away from him. "Tell Lord Dialga I'll be there in a second," the dark type replied stiffly.

"You are asking Dialga to wait?" Giratina's tone suggested blasphemy.

Darkrai flinched. "It will take an atomic second, Father, please stall him, I will not take long. I need a moment to-"

"Do what?" the ghost serpent demanded and Red swore the pitch black pokemon's claws curled in fright. Giratina swept a strident gaze across the chamber; eyes lingering at Green's lifeless body and stopping at Red. "You..." the creation titan stated and Venusaur wanted to melt into the floor. His legs quivered, simply holding Giratina's fathomless stare sapped life out of him. "Darkrai, you are well aware that I do not tolerate such nonsense." A column, etched with symbols of the Unown, erupted next to Giratina and the palace's walls crumbled into shards of fine marble. "Release those prisoners and let them conclude their trial in the manner I decreed. Cease your foolish attachments and come! Dialga grows impatient!" the renegade legendary commanded and his body floated backwards into the extraneous space.

"None of my other cousins are there!" Darkrai exploded and a charcoal black cloud billowed away from him. "Does Jirachi ever come to these meetings?" he demanded. "No. I do not even want to see Deoxys; he almost strangled me when I touched his core," the nightmare offshoot ranted. "You never let me visit the psychic trio and they kept me sane when I was captured by him." Darkrai pointed an opaque claw at Red who folded behind a pillar, desperate not to be seen by Giratina, he had little doubt that the Lord of Gehenna could vaporize him on command. "I found a friend in Wigglytuff, but because he made some careless pact with you, he misses a tribute and you zap him into oblivion." The dark type seethed, glaring at the creation titan with palpable hate. "No one comes near me because they are too afraid of the nightmares I inflict."

Giratina glowered and his offshoot quailed. "Jirachi spends most of his time sleeping and the moment you cradle him, his dreams erupts into nightmares. Palkia is never happy. If you want a companion that badly, go visit Cresselia."

The pitch black pokemon's smoky face twisted into disgust. "Despicable hag," he hotly whispered.

"Darkrai." Space rumbled when the renegade pokemon spoke, "I warned you not to grow any attachments; we do not divulge in such luxury." Giratina's eyes lingered on Green. "Return that beast's soul. If you are seeking companionship via such convoluted methods, you will never gain true trust. Return Charizard's soul and do it in front of me." The younger legendary hesitated, eye darting everywhere. "Now!" bellowed Giratina and Darkrai retrieved a bright green sphere from the folds of his cloak; he dragged a pair of stick thin legs over the mirror surface of his palace.

Resentment and defeat swirled in his glass blue eye. Bending down, he crushed the sphere in his claws. "I promised Latios a new soul dew," he muttered under his breath, too afraid to let his father hear. "I suppose I will not be visiting their island anytime soon." He sighed silkily. Acid green smoke wafted through Green's mouth and nose, a flame sparked on his tail and weak with relief, Red slid to the ground; he wanted to pat Darkrai on a job well done.

"Come, if Dialga does not de-age you into a pathetic whelp, consider yourself lucky," Giratina remarked and vanished. Moodily, Darkrai plodded after his father, pausing in front of Red who trembled uncontrollably. Reaching inside his cloak, the nightmare pokemon thrust a container of tar-esque liquid in the seed monster's vines and glared at him. The heat in his eye dissipated and left behind a weary loneliness.

Red held up the container quizzically. "It is an elixir," Darkrai informed with a nervous glance upwards. "If my father found out about it, he is going to vaporize me, you and everyone you care about," he hissed, "So make sure it stays hidden in a blanket of shadows."

Mistrust crept in Red's voice as he accused, "this looks like one of your liquefied nightmares, are you sure you aren't trying to kill Green when Lord Giratina isn't looking?"

A smile brought a twinkle back in the legendry's eye. "If it is indeed poison, I hope he dies," Darkrai scathingly commented. "Find your way out of this Palace." He evaporated, leaving a whisper echoing on air.

Morning

Treasure Town

Guild

On the guild's luxurious fourth floor, Melody hovered in circles. Sprawled on the dragon hide couch, Rooque interjected in her thoughts, "Mel, fretting about them is not going to bring them back." She paused and opened her eyes. "You are trying too hard to reach them, focus on one thing at a time alright? Don't strain yourself when your links are coming back." The guild rumbled from celebratory noises and in contrast, Rooque's heart sunk. A thin cord of battered leather hung around his body, bearing Team Emblem's crest and he could not bring himself to discard the worn pendant. "It's getting late, I have to send a team of rescuers into Lust and Gluttony," Rooque stated. "You handle training for a while." He glided off the couch, body trailing dust. Leaving Gothitelle to wring her hands, he slipped into the communal shower and steam blasted his vision. At the corner, small bubbles broke the surface of a stone tub full of water, Steelix's gaze lingered and he envisioned Wiggly soaking in the boiling water and commenting about the wonders of minerals. Sliding to one of the showers, he turned the tap with a diamond outcrop and watched the dirt on his body whirlpool down the drain.

The sound of running water momentarily deafened Melody. She floated to the sofa, dusted it free of debris and settled, telepathically hurling the coffee table closer. The ceramic mugs sitting on top of the glass top sloshed and yesterday's half-drunk coffee spilled over the edge. Grabbing a pad of paper and charcoal, Gothitelle unfolded a map and focused, trying to find four beasts. Vorax's trial spiraled on the tawny parchment; a mess of lines arranged and re-arranged themselves. Gritting teeth, Melody hurled a cup through the air and before it collided with Wigglytuff's garish door, she recalled the porcelain mug. The showers stopped running and the door opened, thick mist poured into the room and Rooque slid into view. "It's been two months, almost three." Gothitelle hated the way her voice trembled, she has grown weak. "There is still no sign of them, I can pinpoint everyone else, but them." She held Gluttony's map, which still inked lines in an erratic manner. "I am worried...what if?"

What if?

The question hung unasked and unanswered. A flicker of annoyance crossed Steelix's visage and he caved. "Fine, let's go wait for them, but today is the last," he sternly stated. "We can't keep our jobs on hold for them…" He poured the cup of stale coffee down his maw. The liquid tasted as bitter as his emotions but it provided for a welcome distraction.

Pokemon clogged the main avenue leading to the guild. Navigating through the scarred vestibule, Rooque nodded at Manectric wearing skewed glasses; the receptionist, swallowed by paperwork, wagged his tattooed tail. Warm sunshine heated Steelix's body with a pleasant tingle but it did little to banish the shadowy cobwebs in his mind. The Team Emblem pair coursed south, towards a thick forest. Rooque politely declined when fans stopped him for an autograph; a street artist smeargle, tail dipping into a bucket of paint, waved wildly and leapt with a blank canvas fisted in its paws. Backing up, Steelix shook his head fiercely whilst Melody marched on, seemingly unaware of his predicament. After coughing up excuses, he rejoined her, tearing down the walk at frightening speeds. They climbed a hill and prepared to wait, above them, the sky swirled with sunlit clouds, it will be a blazingly hot day.

Unfolding a thin blanket on the coarse blades of grass, Gothitelle closed her eyes and meditated. She noticed a group of three beasts struggling through the watery tunnels of Pride, their teamwork was horrible. In an fancy house on the northern boulevard, near the Mart area, A magnezone experimented on magnetic ore she dug up in Wrath's trial; laying on a bed of rose petals and munching on a handful of berries, her partner, a hard-nosed vileplume, merely snorted and coated the rocks with acid. Elsewhere, in the postal tower, a starly hooked its talons on a package and launched from the rafters. It promptly smacked into the hay covered ground as the heavy bundle pulled it down. Switching attention, Melody penetrated through a fog of black and gazed at the Black Market, as usual, Dom sneered at her but the spite in his glare dimmed. On the Beach of Evocation, she saw a new pokemon drifting on the orange tinged water. A wynaut bobbed on the waves and underneath, puffs of smoke solidified into a string of pearls and joined the mountain of junk on the ocean floor.

Opening her eyes, Melody straightened. "I'm going to the beach," she announced brusquely. "A new comer, I'll deal with them." Before Rooque could protest, she teleported away and he pouted.

Great, now he'll have to stare at trees without company.

Shrugging, Rooque curled on the blanket; he kept a watch between the trees, raising his head to ghostly whispers. Maybe the trees were laughing at him, he dully concluded. Wind skimmed the canopy and the leaves rustled, giving false hope and cruelly crushing it soon after. Overhead, the sun marched across the sky and the clouds evaporated under its burning rays.

He closed his eyes and the world plunged into blackness.

"I told you..." A faint, faraway voice wafted from the trees and he ignored it.

"My wings!" Another louder growl joined the first and the serpent opened an eye, body taut with apprehension. "If you clip them, I'll end you." An altaria soared from beyond the tree-line followed by delacatty and a prinplup. Smiling tightly at the startled group, he tossed his head at the guild and implored them to rest. Altaria, fluffy wings soiled and ripped, sailed towards the town and its team mates followed it. "I need a bath," the bird grumbled. "And food and some of the disgusting healing sap victreebel stores in his sand jars." The humming pokemon grouched. "By the way Kat, do you know where that old coot is?" Their voices dimmed in volume as they left. Depression forced the serpent to flop back on the grass and this time, he shut his eyes and snored.

He dreamt of his previous teammates, a half blind venipede whose glasses needed constant polishing and a motherly claydol. Rooque missed her immensely. Claydol found him slithering into Treasure Town when a violent storm gripped Gehenna. She joked that Giratina was angry about something, apparently the deity raged because his distortion world was tampered with. Half melting into a puddle of mudstone, Rooque laid on her threshold, she scooped the limp onix and nursed him back to health. When she finished her trials and passed on, Steelix remembered resentment boiling in his chest, how he hated the fact that she left him alone to struggle and trudge through the unfamiliar world. Venipede kicked the bucket a few days after but benumbed to feelings, he hardly cried. But now, the familiar warmth of friendship propelled him forward and he enjoyed the feeling of helping others.

The woods swished and dead to the world, Rooque nestled in the comfort of claydol's tender embrace. "He's smiling like an idiot when I'm starving like this." A snort penetrated the sweet shroud of sleep. "Can I roast him?" A beast roughly questioned and shadows fell over the drowsing snake.

"Me too!" Another high pitched tone joined in. "I have to practice my flame thrower!"

"No! Not on him, are you two serious?" A third, panicked shrill rang through the air and Rooque could not ignore the voices any longer but the threat of disappointment rooted him to the ground.

A familiar sweet scent whispered past his nostrils. "I know you can hear us and it's rude to ignore pokemon who desperately need help. Green is heavy and he's roasting my geraniums," Red complained.

"I want to burn your tree as well," Charizard retorted fondly. "It's clipping my wing." Hearing the self-confident tone, Rooque sprang up, head colliding with Venusaur's chin. "...That hurt." Oak commented lazily. "Your head packs a punch."

The steel serpent reared to his full height, grinning at the skinny monsters shuffling in front of him. They wore lopsided smiles and eyes gleaming with exhaustion; but the relief on their faces forced the sun to shine brighter. "Where...What happened to all of you?" Rooque sputtered on seeing Green flopped atop Red's back. Behind them, Tepig carried the dragon's feebly flaming tail. "You look like you died!" the iron snake exclaimed.

"I did," Charizard replied and rose with a wince; his once buffed coat sagged over a framework of bones. Green eased to the ground and stretched. His wings flared out on either sides and Steelix whistled in appreciation. Next to him, Melody materialized and her half-moon eyes widened. She let out a delighted sigh and the air vibrated like violin strings. Throwing her coy mannerisms aside, she charged forward and Red, eager to be the recipient of her hug, braced for impact. Unfortunately, Melody swerved and threw her twig-like arms over N. Surprised, the fox blinked and smiled slyly. Green threw Venusaur a satisfied smirk and Rooque, confused with their enigmatic smiles and shenanigans, slithered forward and wound his body around a dejected Red. "We spent an entire day combing the Palace of Nightmares in search of an exit-" Oak explained but Melody cut him off.

"An entire day?" Gothitelle, still holding on to N and patting Black, queried. She and Steelix exchanged a glance. "But...It's been almost three months since we last saw all of you." The harmonica buzzed in Green's ears but her words sliced through the mesmerizing effect.

Three months?

A short, terse silence settled on the impromptu merrymaking. "Are you sure?" Red questioned, he appreciated the friendly warmth from Steelix and he missed the light, the pure, wholesome light. The artificial glow in the Palace of Nightmares sickened him and did not provide enough energy to flourish the plants growing on his back. "We did not take enough food to last us three whole months and I admit that we are looking a bit shabby, but it because we refused to eat, we spent the entire...day searching a way out of the maze." The plant type stated.

Loosening his hold over Venusaur, Rooque examined them; they did not appear to be telling lies. "If I remember, you were going to conquer Gluttony's trial so how did you end up in the Palace of Nightmares of all places?" he questioned

"You know about the Palace of Nightmares?" N fought against sleep, after his encounter with Darkrai, sleep was the last thing on his mind.

"Of course," Gothitelle responded, brushing through his blood matted fur. "It is Lord Darkrai's domain, in a pocket dimension separate from Gehenna. Lord Giratina also resides inside his own dimension, however it overlaps with Gehenna and it is said that when he appears, the Unown surrounding him starts eroding the place." She shrugged when Green peered at her, interest gallivanting in his irises. "I read them in books of legend, although their validity has yet to be seen."

Black snorted. "It's valid all right, whilst we were stuck in the Palace of whatever, we saw a father and son feud and when Giratina poofed in front of Darkrai and lectured him out of killing us, Darkrai argued back and boom! A column drawn with those Unown symbols crushes a wall of marble into dust." The older monsters gaped at his story. "Scary stuff I tell you. Darkrai has issues." Imparting an abridged version of the entire, harrowing episode, Tepig resumed eating the left over berries, snout stained with juice. Another silence blanketed the startled group and suddenly, Red guffawed.

Everyone eyed him warily.

Venusaur paused in his hearty chuckling whilst the rest ogled him. "Sorry, I just...When Black puts it like that it sounds really funny, but it's true. He's very lonely after Wiggly passed away." Gothitelle and Steelix reeled back. "I suppose it served as a wakeup call..." An eerie sadness crossed Red's expression before he brightened. "Could you do us a favor?" Rooque nodded energetically. "Please contact our workplaces and tell them we'll come to work after a week, we need to rest...And Green needs to get his strength back." A pause followed Red's initial request. "Can anyone of you tell me where I can find more of Darkrai's elixirs? Despite its gross appearance, it's got awesome healing and rejuvenation properties."

Steelix's cavernous mouth fell open. "Darkrai's what?" he asked skeptically. "Darkrai does not hand out healing elixirs; did you chomp on hallucinogenic mushrooms? He hands out nightmare death traps!" The iron snake patted Red on the head. "You really need your rest, don't worry, I got you covered."

Unlike Rooque, Melody did not share the confusion; she remembered a tarry liquid in Wiggly's favorite mug. Apparently, Darkrai shared his elixir with the guild master as well. Smoothing her face into a polite, inquisitive frown, she absentmindedly petted N and nodded along with the rest of the conversation.

Right, she agreed, if Green suffered the brunt of Darkrai's wrath, he will need plenty of rest.

Approximately one week later, Red maneuvered on a rectangular patch of sunlight falling on the apartment floor. A flock of birds, flying in a V formation, streaked past the window and he watched. There was a time when he craved the freedom of bird pokemon, but now, he loved to root within the earth, a few vines running under topsoil told him a wealth of information. He could accurately pinpoint veins of water and precious metals, predicting earthquakes were nothing as the tiny vibrations alerted him long before the main quake hit. The earth spoke to him, murmured its secrets and lies, showed him its wounds and treasures. Before long, he appreciated basic elements. Without them, he would wilt and die. The cuts and scrapes on his skin healed and left behind scarred tissue, using a weedy tendril, Red scratched at a slow healing wound and grimaced when the top layer flaked off, the cut glistened with thick sap.

A knock sounded on the door and Rooque, shopping bags hanging off his diamond projections, grinned and slithered inside, he cracked an odd joke and Red broke into a fit of loud giggles. The iron snake deposited the bags on a slab of feldspar which served as the table and settled next to Red, exchanging news and the customary, dry joke. "Are you up for work today?" Rooque asked whilst Red giggled and gasped for breath. "If you don't return soon, they will fire you, besides, getting to work as a park employee is every grass type's dream job."

A loud clang and a muffled curse echoed from the kitchen. "Yeah, although my boss is gonna give me the lecture of my life." Red frowned thoughtfully. "But since this is Cyng, I guess he won't fire me, the circumstances were beyond my control." The seed monster chewed on a thorny twig of myrrh. "If it was Tamen, he'd be ready to roast my hide; I wonder how Layla even worked for him."

Inside the kitchen, N prepared breakfast, he retrieved two loaves of bread from the basket and a container of milk joined the bread on a too small counter. Checking his claws, Zorua squeezed a wooden cutting board and dumped a variety of berries on the work surface, meticulously; he brought his claws down and sliced the berries, tipping the diced fruits into a bowl. No sooner did he reach for a bunch of bananas and Black pranced in, dewy drops of water steaming on his face. Grinning widely, N tried to push Tepig out of the kitchenette, citing he did not need help. Determined to help, or cause chaos in N's case, Black nimbly sprang out of reach and upset a row of cast iron pots. The utensils banged on the floor, sending a cacophony of noise through the house, N flinched whilst Black grinned and banged them some more. In a minute, the pleasantly cool atmosphere inside their apartment heated into an unbearable degree. Cursing softly, Zorua glared at Tepig and the fire pig quickly replaced the pots to their rightful place.

"Now look what you did!" N hissed. "Senior Green woke up and he is not happy."

Instead of panicking, Tepig's eyes gleamed mischievously. "So what?" he countered. "I laugh in the face of danger."

"I bet you won't be laughing when he flattens you into a pancake." Zorua defeatedly stated, tail wagging. "Give me those bananas, I need to peel them."

Wide awake and staring at his ceiling, Green unwound his tail from a burning log and climbed to his feet. He crawled out of his roaring fire place and closed his eyes at the discordant, metallic clangs. Charizard had little doubt the 'accident' was caused by none other than Black. Dragging claws over terracotta tiles, Oak reached for a bucket of water and doused his bed. Tucking his wings, he squeezed out of the narrow door. A faint trace of pine and lemon flooded their home and he breathed it in. After being constantly exposed to Red's disgusting sweet scent, Green wondered if his olfactory receptors rotted off. He shuffled through the corridor, paused at the entrance of the kitchen to peer at a disaster waiting to be cleaned and halted at the sight of a semi-clean work surface. A pair of first stage pokemon worked soundlessly and smiled at him. Grunting in satisfaction, he sauntered into the living room and scowled at Red and Rooque tucked in one corner and whispering connivingly. An occasional fit of laughter escaped the plant type and Venusaur's skin glowed healthily.

"Hear this out," Red exploded, excitement dancing in his voice. "Rooque says there's a body parlor in the Black Market," he related breathlessly, vines doing little jumps on the floor. "And they do tattoos and custom made jewelry. Imagine..." Venusaur blathered and Green tuned out in favor of buffing his claws on a stone tablet. "...Your wings would make a great canvas," the grass type prattled continuously.

Charizard's claws skewed on the slate and his head shot up. "What?" he barked.

But Red ignored him. "We can record our epic journey with cave art like paintings, or even better, you can get a whole line of those squiggly things..."

"Tribal tattoos," Steelix corrected.

"Yeah, tribal tattoos and each time you open your wings, you can scare the dungeon monsters into unconsciousness." Venusaur looked eagerly at Green and despite every cell in his body screaming a solid NO! Oak crumbled at his best friend's childish glee. "So you will do it?" Red asked, practically glowing under the rectangle of sunlight and Green nodded reluctantly. Sprawling tattoos sounded alright, he always admired the artwork on Manectric's tail.

Holding a dish of fruit salad, Black placed it on top of the table and hopped back into the kitchen. "And what about you? Don't you want body decorations?" Green warily eyed a row of squiggles Venusaur inked on a discarded piece of parchment, best friend or not, Red was not going to design anything stamped on Charizard's body.

Red replied in negative, "My skin is too thin and it contains pockets of toxins, but look at this." He retrieved a necklace of polished bones and jewels, the stark white fragments glinted and immediately Green thought of Layla. "It's a gift from Melody and Rooque." Venusaur slung the collar around his head and it fitted snugly against his thick neck. "Let's go to the parlor right after breakfast," Red declared. "If we are lucky, we'll be able to show up for work on time."

Mid-morning

Treasure Town

Black Market

Nasty rumors shrouded the Black Market, but all agreed it was a necessary component of the Underworld. It supplied meat, which carnivore pokemon could not live without and the operatives, consisting solely of dark and ghost types, liked to dredge junk from the ocean floor and sell the memoirs. Squeezing between two rough brick faces and wondering how his bigger, bulkier seniors managed to traverse in a space this narrow, Black winced when his hide chafed, he hopped behind Green. The dragon's tail lengthened considerably and it grew stockier, a bash from said tail could potentially crack skulls and reduce cement into powder. Putting all this into consideration Tepig wisely stayed on his senior's good graces. Charizard's competitive spirit and temper dimmed in intensity but now, his breath melted boulders.

Black snorted and watched a tiny puff of smoke curl away from his nostrils, whatever, senior Red was way cooler and goofier. At least he could make things grow instead of just setting objects on fire.

The group, minus N, who wanted to spend the morning rolling around Red's bed and meditating, spilled into the Black Market square. On the far end of the market, a stack of corrugated iron sheets conspired into a pile of haphazard shacks; Black gawked at the sight of yellow caution tape ringing the establishment. In front of him, booths swarmed the base of gnarled, barren trees. Shadows danced inside the shops and Tepig peered between the gaps, mouth watering at the sight of colorful candy but a warning glance from Red quailed the desire. The trio weaved between pokemon traffic and searched for the body shop. Bending their heads over a map Steelix drew for them, the evolved monsters screamed, struggling to be heard over the pandemonium stirring in the square. At last, the fire and grass pair came to the same conclusion and twisted their way to a brightly lit shop. A squad of voltbeat danced in front of the studio and their abdomens pulsed in a rhythm. Smiling courteously at them, Black opted to wait outside whilst Red and Green entered the shop, the sights and smells of the Market dizzied him and he sat in the ominous shade of a bare branched tree. If anything sprung at him from the shadows, he could deal with it.

A moment later, Red joined him and they sat in peaceful silence.

The bubble of quietude between them seemed out of place with the general chaos on the square. Fidgeting, Black glanced at Red and shyly looked away when the older monster smiled. "How long do you think it's going to take?" Tepig asked and pointed to the parlor and Red shrugged. A thousand different thoughts galloped in the fire piglet's head and he wanted the string of questions to stop. "Can I...Sit closer to you?" Black questioned sheepishly and quickly added, "I won't burn you." At this, Red grasped Tepig and placed him on his back. The colorful blossoms and mild fragrance settled the fire type and he snuggled amongst the plants. "Thanks," Black warbled. "You are the best."

Inside the tattoo workshop, Green awkwardly stared at a set of wicked needles lying on velvet padding and at the drifloon flitting around him. The balloon pokemon's cute face morphed into a haughty smirk and baring his teeth in appreciation, Green sat on one of the benches and extended a wing. Grabbing a needle, Drifloon's free appendage ignited in an indigo flame and she held it inside the fire, sterilizing it. "This is going to hurt," she warned in a surprisingly pleasant voice and Oak nodded languidly, he was used to pain. "Well then, please don't scream," Drifloon stated and slashed the needle in the inside of his wings.

A loud howl of pain and rage shook the little salon and outside, Red tensed, Black raised his head, peered at the shop through sleepy eyes and went back to chewing lemongrass.

Biting another scream of pain and observing a series of looping scratches disfigure his stately wings; Green cursed Red with every derogatory term he could think of. His brain seesawed and he blinked back tears. Working mercilessly, Drifloon grinned each time he repressed a shudder and she clicked her tongue in annoyance. "I've tattooed many pokemon since I started working here and you are the worst, a natu makes less noise than you." She scratched another scribble and Oak gasped. This tattoo idea was ridiculous and if he got out of here alive, Red will be reduced to a pile of ash. "Okay, the next part will sting," the tattooist cautioned. "Don't throw up on my desk." She hefted a tiny, copper tube of jet black ink and painstakingly poured the ink into the scratches. It burned, but the pain was better than her slashes. "Right, all done." She placed the tube to the side and admired her handiwork. "I must admit, you look utterly gorgeous." A purple flash fire engulfed Charizard's wings and the ink dried in a matter of seconds. "Go on, you can show off now," the balloon beast leered suggestively and winked. Hoarsely thanking her, Green stumbled out of the shop and Red barreled over, eyes widening in approval.

"Cool!" he exclaimed. "You even have a pair of wing rings...Or wing piercings?" The tattoos spilled on Oak's shoulder blades and licked against his neck.

"Huh?" Charizard articulated and recoiled at the large golden hoops jingling on his wing tips. "When did these?" He whipped back and from parlor doorway, Drifloon blew him a kiss. "...I'm not paying for extra services." Green spat, forked a sum of money and marched away. With each stride, the golden circlets flashed in the sun and more than a dozen pokemon stopped to ogle him. Tail fire flaring, Charizard whirled around, seeking for a place to hide.

Exuberant, Venusaur plodded after the dragon, marveling at the intricate designs. "I bet Yellow would be real thrilled to see you!"

The fire dragon paused. "Yellow?" he asked. "Who is that?" Charizard blinked whilst Red scrunched his face in bewilderment.

Try as he might, he could not remember this 'Yellow'

"My bad," Red grinned uneasily, "I have no idea what I said...maybe they're from our past? From when we were human?" His words tumbled out uncertainly. "In any case, we're late for work!" The seed monster grunted and hurtled out of the square, on his back, Black bounced gleefully and rolled in a patch of wild mint.

The apartment door creaked open and Green's body cast a long shadow in the passage. His wings burned, his face ached from the polite, plastered smile and worst of all, he felt lost once more. Letting the door bang shut, he slid to the floor, back against the wall and drunk in the silence. This morning, when he rushed to work, praying Claene won't fire him, Charizard stumbled inside the Mart, absently brushing his coat free of dirt and wondering if she would disapprove his tattoos. The moment he stepped in, a cinccino greeted him at the entrance but there was a fundamental difference between the two scarf pokemon.

Claene always held a clipboard and recited a never ending stream of statistics and percentages; Green fervidly admired her ambitious personality. The new boss melted when she set her eyes on him and with a flourish, welcomed him inside the store. She stammered and the employees bossed her around. Stomping to the counter, Charizard suffered an attack from Pachirisu; she hugged him and burst into tears. A tingle of electricity crept over his skin and he searched for Simisear. Whilst Oak examined the shop and noted new changes, Pachirisu dropped a bombshell:

"Manager Claene completed the trials and passed on," she squeaked and the fire drained away from him, making his limbs weak. "And Simisear..." here, her lips quivered and her voice cracked, "he...he couldn't make it out of Pride. Trial boss Adulari...She," the electric type sucked in a breath, "killed him." An icy coldness washed over Green, like someone doused him with a bucket of frozen water. He rooted to the spot and watched Pachirisu cry. Charizard opened his mouth to offer a word of condolence but nothing came out.

A part of him should be happy for his manager, but only the sting of loneliness devoured him.

Light footsteps approached and N poked his head into the hallway. "Senior Green?" he asked, voice full of concern, "are you all right?" The shape shifter padded closer, tilting his head to better examine the exhausted dragon. "...I'll go make dinner; you look tired so I think it'd be better for you to rest." Nodding, Oak tailed the fox into the living room and an apple sailed out of the kitchen, nailing him on the snout. "Black!" N hollered and quickly apologized for the piglet's behavior. "Watch where you throw that thing, you hit senior right in his face." Tepig bounced and quickly bowed, too worn out to feel angry, Green settled near the table and fixated on N.

Apparently he remembered his human life with perfect clarity.

"I want to ask you a question," Charizard rasped. "N, do you know about someone called Yellow?" He tossed the apple and munched on it, curious about Zorua's reply.

The fox scowled thoughtfully. "Back when you were still a commander, she was your secretary," N responded. "But everyone kinda knew you liked her, no one mentioned it though, they were scared you'd bite their head off."

"I...What?" The dragon choked on an apple seed whilst Black smirked in the background.

"Yellow was the girl you liked." Zorua smiled and Green sneezed, sending a small fireball speeding towards the kitchen, Tepig pounced on the orb of flames and snorted it up. "And you, Red, Blue and Yellow were best friends."

However, Green failed to hear the last part, his mind shorted.

Yellow.

It was a shame he could not match a face to that name.

A/N: Much thanks to every one who read and reviewed, hope this was an enjoyable chapter. At Jack54311: Well get ready for another plot twist...nothing happens. Except them losing their memories. Come to think of it, I miss Yellow. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? Hmm...I don't think so, the quote was from Michel de Montaigne (who ever that is) but it sounds wickedly cool and I thought, why not?