(Harley goes crazy! Yay! Okay, for starters; this isn't the end. To tie up loose ends and have some fun, I am writing a one or two chapter epilogue. So Watson's little 'problem' will be explained next chapter; I couldn't squeeze it in here.

I may have defied conventional physics and basic medical procedures writing this chapter, but it's a frickin' fanfiction, and I take artistic license. I had to give her a reason for this, yanno.

So! Yeah, well, I hope you liked this fic. I've only got a few chapters left to go, and, well... I'm going to miss writing it. But hey, it was fun. And I've already got more ideas, so fear not!

For the record, NO, I don't know how it got on fire. Again, WORK WITH ME. /swears/

One thing; did ANYONE, ANYONE, notice this? I based the chapter titles off of the Pokemon Japanese episode titles! All the exclamation points and stuff. Go look the titles up on Serebii, you'll get it.

I don't own anything but Lucy, Gregory, and one other OC I'm not revealing yet.

Anyways, excuse the long author's note, but one final thing; I have made a Fakemon. His Pokedex data will be at the end, for all those interested. Yeah, he's way cool.)


Everything had stopped.

It was quiet. So fucking quiet.

Harley lay over the still body. He brushed a hand over the soft and sticky black hair, until he noted with a cold detachment that the stickiness was blood.

Everyone was silent, quieter than a tomb. Ha... tomb. But it wasn't really that funny, was it?

Lucy would've laughed.

Harley turned to Gregory in a complete rage. His voice was calm, measured, the executioner's soothing voice assuring you of your safety—just before bringing the axe down on your willing and pliable head.

"You killed her." It was a statement, not a question. Gregory nodded, eyes focused on the body. Harley knelt down, and brushed the hair off her face, quietly humming a song.

And then his psyche shattered. He dove at Gregory, screaming in the insane murderous rage that only those who kill righteously can ever muster, screaming and screaming, exorcising his shattered soul out of his body, and he grabbed the gun. Someone screamed, maybe it was even a Pokemon, it didn't quite matter, it was overrode by Harley's screams anyway.

"YOU KILLED HER!" Harley yowled again, and now there were tears on his face, covering his cheeks in a shimmering wetness that reminded all those who looked on so much of blood, and he was about to pull the trigger, his hand was on it, and—

Giovanni beat him to it. The Team Rocket leader had years of experience in quick, clean kills. Gregory didn't even register his death until it was too late. He looked at Lucy, and smiled. He died smiling, which was more than Harley would have given him.

Harley still had so much rage in him. He attacked the body, mauling it wilding, not really quite all there anymore, just going through the motions.

Life's a bitch, huh?

He began kicking Gregory's head in, feeling the bits of skull detach themselves from the main bit, and that weird gelatinous thing that was probably a brain, well, he highly doubted that was still intact.

What would Lucy think?

And he stopped. He rose to his feet silently, and kicked the corpse of Gregory Wells in once last act of disgust and hatred, and went to go stand over the body of his dead girlfriend.

Even Giovanni was silent, waiting to see how he could work this to his advantage; though some would say he didn't care anymore, seeing as the Lucy girl was dead, one way or another.

"Cry for her." He whispered. Robert lifted his head up. "...What?" He whispered, as if talking in a dream; slow and quiet. Harley turned to the entire group, and screamed,

"CRY, GODDAMNIT!" His shoulders began to shake, and he whispered softly, "If everyone... cr-cried... then she'd be brought back to life, right?" He hid his face in the crook of his shoulder, and sobbed quietly.

His tears slid down slowly, dripping down like a light rain, getting on his clothes, some before splashing onto Lucy's body, and darkening her shirt with little circular splotches.

It took only a moment. Szeren began crying first, great fat tears that rolled down her cheeks with great effort, then Hiromi. He roared his agonies, slamming his tail on the ground in a great fury.

The Wonder Pokemon were serious, quietly floating above the battlefield, and crying small, almost minute tears. They glimmered like miniature diamonds as they fell.

Rythric laid a paw on his master. "She's not coming back." He stated quietly. With not another word, he laid his head down next to hers.

Zero was howling, roaring, his tail ablaze in a crackling fire. His ruff was something out of a description of a hellhound. This was how Arcanines mourned their fallen; displaying their power, lighting the way to the next world for those who needed the light so badly.

Bleak was disconsolate, simply staring into space and crying softly. He wouldn't have stopped for anything.

Watson glowed a soft white, and began crying, saying, "Shinx, shinx..." without much heart in it.

Vita was sniveling, tail rubbing furiously at her eyes. Brendan sat down in the midst of the carnage and said nothing. Robert and May were hugging each other, bawling their eyes out.

Harley looked down at Lucy again.

She seemed so small, so shriveled up. She deserved so much better.

In a perfect world.


-Lucy's POV-

I guess I'm dead.

You know what's funny? I always was expecting something all grand and mystical. Like a motherfuckin' parade of corpses, all chanting my name. THAT would be cool.

But I have nothing here. It's just black. And I wouldn't mind under most circumstances; it's nice and warm here, and the walls feel soft when I touch them. At least, I think they're walls. They've got to be.

But I was expecting anything from a skeletal deity to a perky little goth girl, or some demon riding a boat oar. Or maybe Satan.

That would be okay. I've always wanted to play dice with the devil.

I walk around for a bit, just going around in circles. It's boring, really. So I don't get to go somewhere cool anymore, like maybe into, I don't know, Hogwarts. I could kill Harry.

But no, I get this weird Purgatory. Thing. I don't even know what to call it...

"Well, most of us here, we call it There." I turn on the spot, eyes wide. This is the first voice I've heard in a while. I size up the speaker.

It, he, she, I don't know, is... different. It's kind of hard to explain.

Try combining an Umbreon's foxlike body structure with seashell-shaped ears, add a flat, thin tail, like an anorexic beaver's or something, with the wickedly sharp and furry claws and paws of an Absol. Take a pair of small, curving tendrils placed at about this thing's temples, and you have our little friend here.

"...I didn't know you were a Pokemon." I managed to blurt out. The thing raised a tendril, and snickered.

"Simple; not many see me before they die. Those who do call me Madness. But I prefer the term 'sanity challenged.' After all, one can't be too politically correct, as you never know who you're dealing with. Everyone dies, after all." The thing's voice has a masculine, slightly sardonic air, and has a vague British accent.

"So, did I really die?" I ask. The thing shrugs. Waving its tendrils frantically, it begins to whine, "Oh sure, no one asks my REAL NAME, it's always, 'boo-hoo, I'm dead, waah wah wah! Ever think I might like to be asked!?" I wince.

"Sorry. Look, okay. My name's Lucy. What's yours?" He sniffed, and announced, "I am Sucorgan, and I am here to tell you things." I sat up. He cracked his tail like a whip, and began to explain.

"Okay. So, you know how you died on Earth, and came to the Pokemon world? Yeah, there was a reason for that. See, you died way before you were even born." Now he'd lost me. I blinked.

"What?" He sighed, and clicked his claws before replying, "I should back up. You see, while you were in the womb, your mother took a rather large overdose of cocaine. And, well, it fucked you up pretty badly; instead of your mom feeling the effects of the overdose, you did. And you died as a result." I was now even more confused.

"But I survived for almost seventeen years. What do you mean, I died!?" I yelped, unable to contain the shock and slight horror in my tone, though my startled eyes might've betrayed my emotions anyway. He nodded.

"You died, but since you were still connected to your mom, she kind of was your... life support, you know? She held you trapped in there, and force-healed you. You... okay, well, you know you faint and get dizzy, right? And you see things?" I nodded. He smiled grimly.

"Well, that's because your soul literally detaches from your body. Weird, right?" I managed to choke out a, "Hell yeah," before he continued.

"So. You died in the human world a second time, and this time, there was no womb to sustain you, so your soul literally fled your body. But instead of passing on, well, there was a slight complication; you'd already died, so it would've been weird to send you to heaven. By cheating death before you were born, you'd assured yourself a spot in Limbo for a long, long time, kid." I groaned.

"So am I stuck here?" He grunted in annoyance. "Hey, did I SAY I'd finished!? No! So, anyways, yeah, we kind of checked you out. And we found out you had an obsession with Pokemon. And well, the Heavenly Council overviewed your case. Most of the Pokemon, and quite a few Underworld deities supported sending you to the Pokemon World. Said you might be of use, and that it wasn't your own fault you'd cheated death the first time, you know?" He took a breath, and grinned, seeing my stunned expression.

"But it doesn't really exist in my world! Pokemon's a game!" I choked out. Sucorgan nodded. "Yeah, well, ever hear of the String Theory? Basically, it's the belief that there are millions upon billions of worlds residing side-by-side, unable to see or contact each other—under most circumstances. Pokemon is real, just not on Earth. In the five thousand billion other worlds, well, it's another story entirely. And don't get me started on all those weird worlds. The point is, everything is real. Nothing is ever impossible in every world. Gotta find the right one." I stared at him incredulously.

Oh my god, thanks a lot, Death. Just prove everything I know is a lie, why not? It's not like anyone cares about me, Lucida Saxon, The-Girl-Who-Will-Not-Die.

...Grimly, I had to laugh, thinking of Erose. Sucorgan coughed, signaling he was going to continue.

"Right. So anyway, we decided to send you there. We were going to rebirth you, but wiser heads prevailed, since you'd do no good to the Legends' well-being if you were a squalling brat. So you could say this entire thing was destiny, but between you and me, you're just fucking WEIRD." I groaned.

"Oh, thanks. So..." My unspoken hope hung in the air. "Can I go back?" Sucorgan's face broke into a grin.

"You've cheated death before. What would make this time any different?" My heart soared, but I had to ask, "Why?" Sucorgan told me, "Look. Okay, you've already died. So technically, you're an immortal spirit. You could inhabit any body you like. You could go anywhere... think of yourself as a world-traveling vampire." My throat got all constricted, and I could only squeak in happiness.

Sucorgan's eyes softened, and he said, pulling himself up importantly, "Yeah, well, try not to get shot this time. Anyways, will I see you again?" I grinned, and held out my hand. He clasped his paw in it, shaking my hand.

"Next time I feel like dying." He grinned, and pushed me into the black. I felt myself absorbed into it, and it suddenly stopped being warm, and it got all cold and wet...

And...

And...


"Harley, you stupid fuck, quit crying on me. I've already lost hope for my shirt, but you don't have to ruin yours, too." I complained, struggling to stand.

The air seemed to escape the room instantaneously.

For a second, I thought Harley would implode. I really did. His bloodshot eyes got to be bigger than dinner plates, and his mouth hung open, like a fish gasping for air. "Holy..." I turned to Giovanni, and grinned.

"Boo." He leveled a gun on me, and I grinned.

"Do you really think that'll work?" He pulled the trigger, and—

Oh come on. Did you really think I'd die again?

He stared in silence at the gun, completely empty of bullets. "Awkward..." I managed to joke, inching away as fast as possible.

No one really knew what to say. I mean, could this be any weirder?!

...Not an invitation to make it so, by the way.

"Hey! YOU! YOUR MA'S A HOOER!" It was Crash, Faris, and Carla-Faye, the three Musketeers, all on top of Carla's Swellow.

As Giovanni stared at his prodigal son, I cried, "Erose, Sleep Powder!" Erose pointed his wand, and cried, "OBLIVIATE!" We all sighed, and he grunted in annoyance. "Fine. Fuckers."

Within moments, Giovanni was asleep. I shrugged, and surveyed the scene. Except for the three that had just arrived, everyone was staring at me like I'd just come back from the dead, which was, well, perfectly understandable; I just did.

"...Uh... I am the second coming of Jesus?" I offered, really unsure of what to say.

So it was a good thing my air was cut off. "Lucy." I'd never heard my name said like that, by anyone, like, ever. Like they were describing god, or something better than god. Like a good chocolate bar. Yeah. I grinned, hugging back.

"Hey, Harley. How's life?" He grinned. "I should ask you the same thing, you bitch. Just had to play the hero, didn't you?" I shoved him playfully.

"Well, no one thought you could do it, so they picked me. Besides, I'm way sexier. Heroes have to be sexy." He rolled his eyes, and did not relinquish his grip on me.

"I'm suggesting a leash, from now on." Robert said, getting over his shock first. I rolled my eyes.

"For me or him?"


After that, everyone began getting over their shock. Watson reached me first. "Shinx! Shiiinx! SHINX!" He yowled, happily tacking me, nuzzling his way into my t-shirt, head popping out seconds after.

Szeren was still crying, but she held me to her, murmuring something in a gentle growl. Rythric danced around my feet, and he howled happily. Zero joined him, and soon, the sound reverberated off the walls.

"Let's get drunk to celebrate!" I rolled my eyes. Vita.

"Hey, we helped! 'Cause we're the—" "WE KNOW! WOULD YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP!?" I screamed. "Wonder Pokemon! Come to save the day! Or something!" They continued, ignoring me.

"I cheated death," I grumbled, "but I get no respect. Fucking. Typical." Everyone was hugging me, and I was being passed around like I was in a mosh pit of sorts.

The Pokegods were dead. I wandered the corpses, bowing my head in regret. "It could've ended differently," I thought bitterly, "We could've saved them." Though, in a world as cruel as this one, maybe they were better off dead.

It took me awhile, but I found him. He was almost unrecognizable. I looked up to see Harley standing over me. "Giovanni. Though, to be fair, I did rip open his head." I raised an eyebrow.

"You of all people. Well..." I shrugged. Kneeling down, I stared at the corpse of my friend. My murderer, true, but I had loved him, once. "It could've ended differently." I whispered. "I could've saved him." Harley sighed. He took off his hat, and placed it gently on my head, kneeling down. He hugged me, and said,

"He chose his path. It's too late. And maybe now he'll have peace." I sighed, and stared at his corpse for a second.

"Well, we can send him off in style, you know." Harley caught my eye, and said casually, "Um, dearest, we're under water." I shrugged.

"Big freakin' deal. It'll collapse in on itself anyways." Everyone stared at us. "...What are you planning?" Robert groaned, already sure we were up to no good. I grinned.

"FLAMETHROWER! FLAMETHROWERS FOR A VIKING FUNERAL!" I screamed. Every Pokemon that knew a Fire-type move used it, setting the place alight. Everyone glared at me. I shrugged.

"I suggest we haul ass."


Using our Water-types, we rushed out through the broken window, escaping just as everything began to break and crack. Swimming away crazily, I turned back and saluted Gregory one last time, just before the Lab's fires reached the water, and began to dissipate. The smoke billowing out made it tough to navigate, but we just paddled upwards.

Coughing, soaking, and shaking, we emerged from the Lake of Rage.

"...Well. That could've gone better." Silver commented wryly, gazing down at the dingy water. I nodded.

Did I think Giovanni was dead? Psh, hell no. I mean, come on. The guy was freakin' invincible!

...But I didn't think he'd bother me for a long, long time. Which was all good with me, as far as I was concerned.

"...This might seem horribly crazy, but... We can still make it to the Contest in Blackthorn if we hurry up." May remarked, checking the schedule by our bags.

We all stared incredulously at her. She shrugged.

"Well?" We all grinned. Turning to the others, we said, "Feel like a party first?"

The night was young. And alcohol was introduced. Well, yeah. Vita.

To spare you the horror and drama, let's just leave it at the party involved a very drunk me, and an even more drunk Harley. And a topless bathing episode. Caught on CAMERA.

Saving myself further humiliation, let's just say we arrived in Blackthorn hungover, but with a few cups of coffee, ready to compete.

I looked up at the Contest Hall in amazement. "I can't believe this would ever be normal. No more evil organizations, no more crazed megalomaniacs, no more Pokegods, just... us." I said softly, gazing at everyone.

Harley grinned, and took my hand.

"Hey, well, who cares? We don't have anything to worry about, we should enjoy it, I mean—aw, crap." I looked in the line of his horrified gaze.

"TEENAGE COORDINATING QUEEN PREGNANT AT SIXTEEN! DETAILS ON PAGE FIVE!"

Everyone was silent.

"...Well, so much for that." Soledad said sarcastically.

We all looked at each other. Our eyes met, and we knew—

Things had changed. They have a habit of doing that, you know.

But things between us hadn't. I was still alive, everyone had come out of this mostly sane, and most of all—

We were together. Cheesy, but we had supported each other, and now—

We just laughed. A loud, roaring laughter, all of us, wheezing until it stung our throats, and kids began to stare at us with wide, terrified eyes.

Just another day in the life of Lucida Saxon, the girl who cheated death, just your average tabloid-stalked Coordinator. For the moment.

I might not have had the best past, but I was certainly looking forward to the future.


(Okay! Here you are, Pokedex data on Sucorgan! Sucorgan: The Afterlife Pokemon. Type: Dark/Psychic. Data: Most people alive who have seen Sucorgan go mad, usually by Sucorgan's paw. He is a god that ensures that people pass on to the next life.

Only a few select few know of his existence; a requirement of seeing him is death, and if you come back from that, well, you're not exactly usually sane.

Quick Fact: His name is a conglomeration of a few letters from 'Shinigami', the Japanese Death God, and 'Orcus', the Latin word for death. /I think./)