Writer's block is a terrible, terrible thing. Thankfully, I managed to produce a chapter I don't hate! Only took four complete rewrites and me punching Shadow every time he decided the best course of action in the situation was to do literally nothing.
Shadow was no stranger to fearfulness. If anything, he and fear had become best buds ever since he had met the Riolu and been forced to flee his home and look after Leaf. It had been maybe two weeks ago, yet it was becoming increasingly difficult to remember a time when he wasn't Leaf's primary caretaker.
On a nightly basis, fear visited his mind, reminding him of all their fond memories together by way of a recurring nightmare. Every morning, Shadow would awake and remember his best friend in the world, the fear that would never let him be. Panic would grip his awareness for seconds, or even minutes, after waking, creating a claustrophobic feeling all around him of danger hiding in every shadow.
But all that fear and anxiety was nothing more than a reminder of a past event. A shadow of the event that blocked out the light in his life, but harmless on its own. The nightmares were terrible to relive each night, but as time went on, the intensity of them was beginning to fade a little bit. Just a little, but Shadow expected a day would come where the fear would vanish entirely.
Yet as the Espeon stared into the familiar yellow eyes of the being from his nightmares, the intensity of his fear returned in full force. Those eyes carried more power to inspire terror than the dreams ever could. The nightmares were symptoms...but those eyes were the cause. This wasn't a dream, but a reality...and reality could still hurt you while nightmares could only torment you.
The Espeon's legs were shaking, and it was taking a good amount of his focus to keep him from buckling and falling over. It was as if he once again was learning how to stand and walk after evolving, but worse. His breathing was shallow, each inhale feeling like it was being forced through a narrow tube that prevented the oxygen from truly filling his lungs, and his exhales were desperate efforts to inhale again.
"Deep breaths, cleansing breaths," the Riolu instructed with a wry smirk, then began to demonstrate taking deep breaths, using his paws to imitate air entering and leaving the lungs, like a parent teaching their child how to combat frustration and temper tantrums. "Breathe in...and out...breathe in...and out..."
"Get away from me," Shadow snapped, tensing his body and baring his teeth, not caring how stupid the stance probably looked when done by an Espeon. Of all the things to fall back on from his time as an Eevee, it was just his luck he carried over the aggressive stance. Even as an Eevee, the look was more adorable than intimidating, but it was all Shadow had.
"Ah yes, you were quite the rude little Eevee. A shame evolution doesn't carry maturity with it," the Riolu lamented, reaching his paw forward as if about to pet Shadow's head. "Are you quite sure you didn't expect to be an Umbreon, because everything about you right now reminds me of-"
Shadow snapped his teeth at the Riolu, forcing him to pull back his paw to avoid the bite, but the aura Pokemon looked incredibly amused, rather than perturbed, which in itself made Shadow more anxious. His fur was bristling, and he could feel psychic energy building within his head, ready to be called upon if needed.
"Perhaps you have some Umbreon traits in you, after all," the Riolu chuckled. "Your anger right now is much more genuine than when you were blindly throwing accusations around. You were bluffing, then. Had Force not been so taken aback, a simple contradiction would have shattered your facade."
Shadow blinked, but remained tense, his silver eyes never leaving his foe. Was he really that transparent? He had even surprised himself at how aggressive and forceful he had managed to make his voice sound, but if he had been so obvious about bluffing, then why...?
"Who are you?" Shadow demanded, narrowing his eyes. He may have only been guessing as to the Riolu's identity before, and hoping that he was mistaken and the Riolu had just been a bystander, but the prickles in the back of his mind had told him otherwise. He had enough experience with those sensations now to know he could trust them.
"Oh dear, it seems I slipped up and referred to Force as a separate entity, didn't I? Very well, I am known as Diablos. I trust this satisfies your inquiry?"
Shadow scowled at this answer, the pressure in his head intensifying. There was something about the name that sent uncomfortable prickling sensations down his spine, but he didn't recognize it as having any significance to him. The answer had only raised further questions, and the aura Pokemon's dismissive attitude was more grating to his nerves than Frost ever could manage.
"What are you? What do you want?" the Espeon growled, dimly aware of the gemstone on his forehead beginning to pulse, the flash just within his peripheral vision to be noticed.
Diablos' yellow eyes flashed as he turned his gaze to meet Shadow's eyes. "Regrettably, you have so many questions, and not nearly enough time for me to address them. Look at me..."
The eyes gleamed at the last sentence, and Shadow recognized the phrase a moment too late to consider shutting or averting his eyes. He felt locked in place, unable to move his head or his eyes away from the Riolu's eye contact, the yellow eyes burning into his brain.
"Relax, this won't hurt you," Diablos murmured, raising his paw, which began to glow with blue aura flames. The Riolu blinked abruptly and turned his focus to his paw with a confused expression. The moment the eye contact was broken, Shadow found himself able to move again. Without taking even a moment to consider the consequences, he focused his energy, mentally condensed it into a crude sphere, and launched it at the opposing Pokemon.
The psychic bolt hurtled through the air and struck Diablos in the chest, and in that moment, Shadow could see the reason for his foe's distraction. An odd stone of some sort had been clutched in the Riolu's paw, but upon being hit with the psychic blast, the stone flew free of its owner's grip. Diablos was flung backwards with surprising force, striking the back of the chamber with a deafening crash, his body sliding to the ground limply.
The relinquished stone bounced across the stone floor, each bounce producing a light clicking sound, and then rolled against the perimeter of the room, seemingly undamaged by the rough treatment.
Shadow blinked at the fallen Riolu, taken aback by the sheer firepower of the psychic blast, but he made no move towards his foe. Reliving the same scene over and over again and given him more than enough reminder that his enemy was incredibly agile and durable. Getting close against such an opponent would not be wise, but neither could he afford a drawn-out fight.
The Espeon's gaze flicked back towards the passage he had come from. Frost was sure to be upstairs still, and the Glaceon should be strong enough to hold his own against the Riolu...but memories of his parents rushing to his rescue made his heart sink. What if Frost wasn't strong enough to fight this enemy, either? Diablos had fought both of his parents simultaneously and two weeks later seemed none of the worse for wear, yet Shadow still hadn't seen or heard from his parents...there was almost no question who had won that battle.
The sound of chuckling from the back of the chamber tore Shadow away from his thoughts, and he glared at the Riolu as Diablos slowly pushed himself onto all fours, the laughter echoing in the otherwise silent chamber.
"Impressive, so impressive!" Diablos stated to the air, a smug grin crossing his features as he looked towards Shadow. "You're so much like your parents, Shadow. To think all three of you would successfully strike me in the chest with an elemental attack while I'm distracted...now all we need is your younger brother to do the same and I'll have taken a blow from the whole family with no ill-effects!"
"Is that a threat?" Shadow demanded, narrowing his eyes. No one would lay a paw on Leaf while he still drew breath to prevent it. No matter how strong Diablos was, if he even considered targeting Leaf, then he wouldn't leave this room alive without stepping over Shadow's dead body first.
"Pfft, like I'd bother with some small-fry darkness in a young kit's heart," Diablos snorted, and like before, this response only made Shadow more aggravated. It was like half of everything the Riolu spouted was nonsensical gibberish.
"Why would you bother with us at all? What the hell do you want from me? Why did you-"
"Once again, the number of questions is disproportionate to my interest in answering them, Shadow," Diablos interrupted.
"Then kiss the floor," Shadow snapped. Diablos looked momentarily bemused by the comment, perhaps assuming it to be some childish retort, but the next moment, a psychic force shoved Diablos's head downwards, striking the stone floor with a thudding sound.
Shadow recoiled from the sight, immediately regretting his reaction. He felt sick just thinking of ways to damage his opponent, and more terrifyingly was that he was having no difficulty producing psychic power right now. A/C had never taught him how to use his psychic abilities to manipulate objects yet, only how to form an offensive burst like before. Yet somehow, just thinking of shoving the Riolu's mouth against the floor had enabled him to do so.
Diablos coughed, blood trickling from the aura Pokemon's mouth, but he seemed otherwise unharmed, if slightly cross-eyed. The yellow eyes he turned upon Shadow were anything but amused now. They had an intense, aggressive look to them, a look that sent cold shivers through every fiber of Shadow's body.
"Emotion is the antithesis of psychic power, how do you draw so much power from them?" Diablos whispered. A tiny smirk flashed across his features. "Perhaps your inner darkness is better nurtured than I thought."
"Piss off," Shadow growled, turning and taking brisk paces back the way he came. He didn't want to stay in the room with that Pokemon, didn't want to dwell on the sight of his teeth striking the stone, or reflect on the miracle that he hadn't chipped any teeth...followed by a sympathetic internal wince at how incredibly painful it would be to chip one's tooth in such a way. He didn't want to feel those yellow eyes burning into his mind. He wanted to get as far away from here as possible.
What happened to your parents?
Shadow tensed. There was a small voice echoing within his head. It was similar to A/C's telepathy, in that it wasn't his own internal thoughts, but it didn't seem to belong to another person, either. It wasn't the voice of the Riolu behind him, nor did he recognize the tone from anyone else.
He shook himself quickly, feeling his eyes beginning to water. His parents had never caught up with them. If Diablos was still alive and well...there seemed little chance that they had survived. Such a twisted, malicious vibe from a Pokemon implied that much in his mind.
But you don't know that. You never found out for sure.
Shadow gritted his teeth and continued walking, but his tail twitched and the tingle in the back of his mind warned him of danger. He dropped his body down low, and a blue sphere of energy struck the wall directly above his head, shattering and sending shards of stone over his body. He whirled around, his eyes narrowed at Diablos, who was standing upright again, watching him with an amused expression.
"What do you want?" Shadow demanded, his body tensing into an aggressive stance once again. Pressure was building up rapidly in his head and he was not in the mood to deal with this diplomatically. If blasting the damn Pokemon through the wall would get him out of the Ruins unharmed, then he was going to do it.
Diablos opened his mouth to reply, but then his yellow eyes flicked to something past Shadow. At the same time, Shadow felt another tickle in the back of his mind, the presence of another individual, but his ears caught the sound of two different Pokemon moving through the passageway behind him.
Confused by the indiscrepency of his senses, Shadow chanced a glance behind him and spotted both Frost and the Weavile the Glaceon had been fighting, the latter Pokemon seeming to have no problem navigating the pitch-black corridor, and Frost seemed to be holding onto the Weavile's trailing scarf to assist with his navigating.
"Frost, off," Lin ordered, like one might command a small animal. Frost immediately released the clawed Pokemon's apparel and she stepped past Shadow, her red eyes fixed on Diablos. Shadow flinched as the Weavile flicked her wrist, two jagged shards of ice now clutched between her claws. "I could have sworn you said you couldn't possess Force anymore. He doesn't want you doing that, so neither do I."
Diablos scowled slightly, yet his entire demeanor had shifted. He looked now almost like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar, but trying to play it off as something innocent and not related to cookie-stealing.
"I said as long as the fragments...wait, are you threatening me?"
"Very astute. Extract your fragment, or Ice Shard between the eyes. I recall you don't want Force to die, right?"
Diablos stared at her. Shadow glanced at Frost, and saw that the Glaceon was just as confused and bewildered as he was at the exchange, without the benefit of recognizing Diablos.
"Rather...extreme...isn't it?" Diablos said, but his yellow eyes watched Lin's paw warily.
"Careful what you wish for," Lin stated, in an odd tone, as if echoing back some meaningful statement whose significance was utterly lost on Shadow. The significance didn't seem to really click with Diablos, either, but the ends of his mouth twitched briefly.
"You could simply allow me to transfer-"
"Three...two..." Lin began counting loudly, ticking down a claw on her other paw with each number. The Riolu scowled, and his yellow eyes burned in Lin's direction. He raised his paw and grunted slightly, the intensity of his eyes gradually dulling as a small green sphere emerged from his body, hovering before his paw. Tiny tendrils of black lightning crackled around the sphere, and Shadow felt a dull ache deep within his chest, painful enough to stagger slightly, but brief enough that he had to question whether it was just a normal ache flaring up for a split second. After all, he had fought that Luxio earlier today, and maybe his muscles were still a bit twitchy.
"Satisfied?" Diablos panted, his eyes flickering between yellow and red for several seconds at a time.
"Almost," Lin replied curtly. "Why are you still in control?"
"Because I'm holding onto it, obviously," Diablos retorted. He yelped in pain as an Ice Shard struck his hand, and he fumbled the sphere. The yellow eyes immediately disappeared, and the Riolu collapsed to the ground, like a puppet whose strings had been cut. The green sphere immediately flew towards Shadow, and he shut his eyes, too startled to do anything more productive. There was a loud crackling sound, like electricity erupting directly in front of the Espeon and as he opened an eye, he found the green sphere struggling against a nearly transparent barrier of light in front of him. After a second or two, the sphere rebounded, hitting part of the wall and merging with one of the odd symbols decorating the wall. It did not reappear, and when Shadow relaxed, the barrier disappeared along with it, the pressure in his head relieved without him even realizing it.
"I am dying to make sense of what the hell just happened," Frost said with forced brightness in his voice.
"No, you're not," Shadow muttered darkly, earning a curious glance from the Glaceon. Lin didn't comment, instead stepping forward and scooping up the unconscious Riolu in her arms, the task posing no difficulty despite the aura Pokemon being similar in size to her entire body.
"Frost, take that stone over there with us," she commanded, spotting the gemstone that Diablos had been holding earlier.
"Yes, mistress," Frost said sarcastically, nevertheless walking over to the object in question. "Is there any greater honor than doing your bidding?"
"You got to touch my scarf," Lin retorted with a completely serious expression. "I'd say you're doing rather well for yourself."
Shadow gave the two Ice-types a bewildered look. "I'm going to want an explanation to this eventually."
