Hey guys, NightFall here with the next addition of HDD, and the second part of the Season two finale. So, I can't say for sure when this is getting to you given my school life so far, but with luck it'll at least be in the same month. More and more, it's looking like, at least to me, that I'm going to be finishing this up around mid-November over October. Anyway, let's get a quick recap. Last time it was pretty much all build-up to what these next three chapters will include, most of the chapter dealing with characters' feelings and reactions to what's been happening to them while abroad. Among other things, we start to get a bit into the idea of Mega-Evolution being introduced into the story, and the potential for Kaname to use one in the future. And of course we have Diego joining the school and his battle with Natsu, culminating in the reveal of his Puppet Master technique to the entirety of the dorm heads. Yeah, it's already been used before, but this is also the first time Mika and Mitsu have seen the full extent. Well, let's go.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKÉMON, BECAUSE IF I DID, GHOSTS AND DRAGONS WOULD NOT BE WEAK TO THEMSELVES.


Chapter 50: Killing the Truth, Part 2

Often considered the most heinous of all crimes, murder is often the kind of act the people at large want punished swiftly and mercilessly. This has been a concept most people agree with since the very beginning of everything. And no matter your creed or faith, the act of killing one's own brethren is nothing short of unforgivable. In every form of the law, murder is among those that people find to be the most hideous act a man can commit, and in the end, it begs the question why it still happens. If people know what it leads to, or what it can do to the person who committed the act, or even the family of the victim, why do they still go out and find innocent people to deny life from? Simply put, it's because the rules that murderers live by are often a mutation and corruption of our own. In their own mind, they're destroying what they consider to be an inferior stock, or seeing it as the only way to get closure for a wrong committed against them. But the scariest kind of murder of all is the kind you don't know why. There's no reason, no buildup, just a man and another and in the end, only one leaves that scene alive.


Natsu was still left in shock, kneeling before all of his classmates and friends, excluding Gabriel, unable to say anything in his defense. Diego was still confident as ever, a smirk on his face about to turn back to the school building. As he tried to get back inside, though, Ame stood directly in front of him, his face no longer happy, dim, ignorant, or anything of the sort. The electric trainer glared at him, never losing eye contact as the fairy trainer began to move inside.

After Diego was gone, Natsu looked all around him. The declaration he made, of not losing control, meant nothing when he realized what he was doing. Any further and he may as well have been wearing the cloak. He still looked at Amira specifically. There was such a fear and shock in her eyes as Maaya slowly stepped in front of her. The ghost trainer then moved to Judai, a small amount of anger in his stare, but also some kind of betrayal. The fire trainer felt like everything Yin-Yang had said about Natsu was true.

Natsu wanted to close his eyes just for a second, maybe hoping they weren't really there. But even as he tried to turn his head away, he knew they were still staring at him.

"Y-You're back," he started. "D-Did you have a good trip? I-I have to go check on something at the dorm."

As he slowly stood up, he began to walk away, not seeing the fire dorm head grind his teeth and lunge at him. "Where do ya think you're goin'?!" he shouted, about to reach down for his shoulder, only for a sudden wall of fire to surround the ghost trainer, disappearing to show Lampent directly above its trainer's right side.

"Do you really think you can stop me now that you've seen that?" Natsu asked, turning back to the direction of the old building, Maaya in his path with Hitmonchan ready for any confrontation.

"As if you can stop us from trying," the fighting trainer boasted, Natsu looking around to all sides, just about every one of the first eleven people he met staring back at him. "Obviously, there are things we need to talk about."

"Please, don't make me fight you," the young trainer pleaded.

"If you choose to dodge this any longer, you'll have no choice," Kaname said with Sableye draped on his shoulder. "We don't want to hurt you, either, Natsu, but you're going to have to talk to us about something like this, you know that, right?"

Natsu was about to say something, a sudden gleam of metal shooting out from outside the group. With brandished claws, and a quick upheaval of dirt, Lampent was quickly blinded by the foreign object floating into its eyes. Before anyone could figure out what was happening, a small pokémon threw Lampent to the ground and bashed its iron cranium into it, almost immediately knocking it out due to the damage and previous exhaustion. Natsu tried to react as quickly as he could, but was slammed hard in the gut by the back of Excadrill's hand.

Everyone looked back from the circle they made around him and saw the ground trainer with her hand cast out after throwing her pokéball. "You shouldn't talk so much in the middle of a fight," Satori said, her pokémon jumping back to her side, returning itself to the capsule.

With the wind knocked out of him, the ghost trainer was back on the ground, but this time unable to stand back up. The others all looked down at him, their stares forcing him to hide his eyes, not wanting to meet any of them. But the gaze that hurt the most was the one Amira gave, standing further away. He must've been terrifying to witness in that state to her, and after all she went through, how could he show her something so violent?

"So what should we do?" Sienna asked. "It's not as if we can just send him back to his own dorm. He'd be able to run away too easily, and we'll need to talk to him eventually."

"I'll take him," Takeru suddenly offered, sending out his Heracross, the fighting type looking at the deadweight, hoisting the ghost trainer over its back. "I think it's best somebody who isn't as jetlagged watch him. Besides, the dorm I live in has a more complex security system than the others, so we wouldn't be able to simply walk out without me knowing."

"Sounds like a decent idea," Kaname agreed, looking back to the group of dorm heads that had just met Natsu. "Consider this your first meeting with our young friend. Honestly, we're all as surprised as you are right now."

"Just take care of him," Kaoru said with a small smile. "I'd like to talk with him just as much as any of you do. I think while Takeru-kun takes care of him, we should just get ourselves unpacked before we think any further on this."

"A passive solution from a passive guy," Judai commented, the grass trainer's expression becoming a bit more annoyed at the fire trainer's presence, especially with a direct reference. "Let me know when he wakes up, senpai, I want the first crack at him," he said, turning to the bug trainer, Takeru nodding as he carried Natsu off to the bug element dorm, the ghost trainer just barely awake as he watched his friends disappear out of sight.

"I'm sorry," he thought, repeating that phrase in his mind over and over, closing his eyes. "Koichi-san, what would you do?" he wondered, allowing the pain from the strike to carry him off to unconsciousness.


Back in Driftveil, Koichi was still in the same position as before, amidst a pile of unconscious agents for the Archangels and two of their commanders at his sides. The two, Cherubim and Ophanim, merely stared at his profile, Cofagrigus having destroyed much of the street outside of the office building.

"Truly an impressive display, Mr. Yamada," the male commander complimented, Tyrantrum glaring back at the pure ghost pokémon. "But mere shows of force are not enough to intimidate us. And you're over-attachment to your group of students means little to us in our grand design."

"So it's best if you get on your way," Ophanim suggested, Florges' body beginning to prepare some kind of attack. "An old man like you just can't keep up with the younger generation. Even the Don knew this when he cut his ties with his older cohorts. You can't help your precious children by battling us. It will only end in your defeat."

"You all really need to learn some manners," Koichi commented. "Doesn't your faith teach you to honor those who have come before? Or is that only when you're being given sage advice? But if you think you can actually stop me from doing what I have to, feel free to come at me," he challenged, grinning at the two of them.

"I prefer not to instigate battle, but you have left us no choice if you do not wish to leave peaceably," Cherubim said, Tyrantrum giving out a giant roar before charging directly at Koichi and Cofagrigus. "You cannot hope to dodge or attack my pokémon with my perfect aim!" he shouted, Koichi taking the obvious challenge as Cofagrigus held out two of its hands.

A slow power began to building up inside of it as a dark glow appeared in its palms. Seeing it as no more than a normal Shadow Ball attack, Cherubim knew his pokémon was more than capable of taking that hit, continuing to try and break through the opponent. But just as it was about to ram into it, the shadowy color in Cofagrigus' hands burst into flames, instantly creating burns all across its large body sliding across the ground in front of Koichi. Both the ghost trainer and pokémon followed it with their eyes, and then looked back at Cherubim.

"Lesson one," he started. "When in battle, pokémon attacks can often appear ambiguous when using a similar power. For instance, attacks such as Will o' Wisp are more attributed to ghost types rather than its classification as a fire attack, giving it a similar appearance in color to other ghost type moves. You trusted your eyes too much to what you thought instead of using a natural instinct you gain when you become and old man like me. And for it, your pokémon is going to suffer in both damage and a loss in its attack capability. The use of its body will cause the burns to damage it more, decreasing its overall focus on the strike."

From directly behind, Ophanim's Florges suddenly appeared, a shimmering beam extending from its eyes. Just as the essential laser shot at the golden body of the ghost pokémon, the lights completely deflected off of it. The young girl watched in disbelief, Koichi smirking as he turned around.

"Lesson two," he began again. "Ghost pokémon, while not necessarily the most usable pokémon in battle due to the limitation to their attacks, are among the most versatile in trickery. For instance, when battling a ghost trainer, you should always be careful of something hidden in plain sight," he continued, a reflective shield catching some of the sunlight around it as it dissipated, a large, blue figure appeared, seemingly out of thin air. "The reason ghosts are so terrifying is because no matter how fast you run, no matter how well you hide, they never tire in their pursuit of anything. Jellicent, Hydro Pump!" he ordered, Ophanim grinding her teeth as water from around where they stood began to rise out of the ocean near the suspension bridge.

As it swirled in front of the water and ghost pokémon, Florges held out a glowing sphere of green power in its spindly hands. The Energy Ball was quickly thrown while Jellicent was still preparing its attack. In the center of the powerful water attack, the ghost and water mix added some of its own power, and then shot the water forward with a devastating force.

Despite the prior attack having been released first, and having more momentum built up, the pressurized water cannon completely obliterated it, the attack nearly shattering in front of Florges. The fairy pokémon and its trainer stood in disbelief, Ophanim barely able to stay standing as her pokémon was blasted across the street by the Hydro Pump. What's more, Koichi never moved a muscle from when he was originally standing. They still looked at him from the side, and soon he began walking towards the building, another Dazzling Gleam attack shot out from Florges. The soaked pokémon was barely on the land, its trainer still glaring at the teacher. He seemed to smile, continuing to move forward, but again, Cherubim's Tyrantrum tried to ram into him, the pain of its burn searing through its nerves and forcing it down in front of him.

"You two remind me of my students," he said with a small smile. "In fact, I'd say you're about the age of my students. Children like you should be in school if you're not on a trainer's leave." A part of his voice made it sound like he was mocking them, the only visible effect being on Ophanim. "Why does the Archangel Corps want my students? Or rather, why would you do all of this to get to them? You should've known by now that they all have too strong a will."

"We have become intimately familiar with your students' willpower in the past few months," Cherubim admitted. "Originally we had hoped that the dire situation they'd found themselves in with the Underground would be reason enough to join forces. We merely want to keep this world safe from those monsters."

"That is what most people believe, isn't it?" Koichi started out. "The Underground is like a maternity ward for the monsters in the world. They create such beings like the Reaper and Don. They've given away their own humanity for the power that comes with being a part of that world. But I sometimes wonder what is really monstrous. To give your life to your passion, to become stronger by any means to maybe then protect your own ideals, or to give your life willingly to a group that would have you turn friends on each other."

"And what gives you any right to think of either group in any way?" Ophanim accused.

"We all have secrets," the teacher answered vaguely. "Now I am sorry to cut our lesson short today, but this teacher has an appointment he has to make today. We'll be ending here for now. Be sure to study the notes I've given you."

"Do not speak to us like children!" the girl shouted, Florges rising back to the street. "Do you really think of us as so immature?"

"From the eyes I have, I can only see children blind to a world they'll never fully grasp," Koichi said, Cofagrigus following him and placing its hands against the locked doors. "And an irresponsible part of me wants that they should never see it. I lost that innocence long ago, and now I'm beginning to accept my penance for it," he finished, Shadow Ball attacks running from the palms of Cofagrigus into the door, shattering the glass. "You'll have to excuse me for this."


As he walked inside, Koichi looked at a battalion of security cameras all pointed at him, recorded his every movement. At his side, the pure ghost type followed, Jellicent already returned to its ball. As he walked through the building, he could hear rapid footsteps, knowing what was coming, and continued down the hallways regardless.

Suddenly, pouring out of the office rooms, members of the Archangel Corps rushed at him, Cofagrigus needing no effort to push them back, sometimes just having to shut the door again with its powerful arms. When a large group seemed to be in the direct path they needed to go, Koichi merely stepped away, letting a giant row of Shadow Ball attacks loose on them, exploding with a terrifying force, sending them to the walls, almost like a passageway for them as they continued through.

As the duo reached an elevator, the doors opened up slowly with several more people in white looking at them surprised. Koichi smirked as he and Cofagrigus entered, the ghost type's hands slowly reaching around the area before the door closed. With a small ding, the random socking and battering sounds commenced, the elevator slowly moving up to the top floor of the office building.

Once again, the small chime rang out, indicating they'd reached their destination, the doors sliding open, Koichi still staring forward with a smug look on his face, the ghost pokémon following him holding one of the operatives under its arm in a sleeper-hold. Just before exiting, a single punch was thrown, knocking the young man out cold, and the elevator closed, making it appear as though nothing ever happened.

At the very end of the hall, their destination laid bare, no guards, no obstacles, but there were definitely members of the Archangels strewn about the floor. The strange thing was, though, they only seemed to acknowledge the ghost trainer's existence, never once trying to engage him. But as he was about to pass them, they seemed to take on a more defensive stance, clamoring around a single doorway by the time he finally made it to the corridor's end. He looked back at them, and thought for a moment what they would guard so carefully. He turned to the door in front of him, and seemed to be offering it for Cofagrigus, the ghost pokémon feigning and act like a surprised child receiving a present.

Suddenly, the door blasted off its hinges, sending it tumbling down to the ground at Koichi's feet. Looking into the larger, corner office, a familiar and yet unfamiliar face stared back from the very end. The sign on the door read the name "Kenichi Tanaka," the man who facilitated the dorm heads to go abroad in the first place. At first glance, it was like Natsu thought. The two were very similar in height, build, and overall appearance, but in contrast to Koichi's otherwise unkempt appearance, Kenichi obviously took more pride in his own.

"Please, sit down," Kenichi spoke, offering the chair across from him to the teacher. Koichi instead just stared at him. "I see you're in no mood for small talk, so what is it you want to hear? You'd want to know why I'd fraternize with a third-party to send some seemingly random students to the four corners of the globe. Or maybe you want to know why I haven't done anything to your precious school in the past few months like your headmistress thought I would."

"Getting warm," Koichi said in response.

"You want to know why the Kohashigawa boy was excluded, don't you," he deduced with a light chuckle, pointing at him almost as thought to mock. "You've grown quite attached to him since he came to that school, haven't you? Was it simply because he's the first student who'd want to be near you in nearly five years? Or is there some hidden regret you think this will make up for?"

"Ever since this business with the Don started up, everything's been centered on Natsu," Koichi reasoned. "And then all of a sudden, you come in and say that you want to send all of them out into the world, but you neglect to figure on a final student. And it just happens that he's my student, and the one all of these problems have been focused on for a long time. You tell me that nobody's going to get suspicious of that."

"Honestly, I'm surprised it took you this long to do anything about it," the other man quipped. "If you were so sure of yourself when this whole thing started, why not take me out behind your school building and beat me up? You could've known anything, after all, I mean, I bruise like a peach. But something inside of you wanted you to wait until this was starting to get over with. You wanted to intimidate me with your big, strong pokémon, didn't you? You waited until the very point I'd have two of the top operatives of the Archangel Corps with me, and show off how much stronger you are compared to anyone else."

"Did I make a good impression?" the teacher asked, Kenichi looking over some of the tapes from the security cameras.

"Well, unfortunately for me, all the actions you take on the tape are from a position of self-defense, so I can't exactly call you out on any charges of assault," he admitted. "And this office space is open to the public, given we host some of the Archangel Corps meetings here, so I can't have you taken out for breaking and entering, or trespassing. You seem to have me at an impasse, Koichi. Your presence here can't be denied by any law or statute. What is it you really want to know? I'll gladly answer any questions you have." Koichi watched as Kenichi began to walk about the room, moving to a glass pitched filled with what he could only assume was alcohol.

"First, why was Natsu left out of the dorm heads being sent abroad?" the ghost trainer asked quickly.

"The official reason is that I was unaware of his presence, and had no reason to prepare another instance of him going abroad," the other answered calmly, taking a small sip of his drink. "The actual reason is because it was at the behest of the High Seraphim, the de facto leader of the Archangels. Originally, the plan was for Kohashigawa-san to go to Hoenn, specifically Rustboro where your previous student Yoshoki-san was sent. But when the Seraphim got further into the plan, she asked us to keep Kohashigawa-san in Nimbasa. She never gave a reason, and I decided not to pry."

"Okay, then, why didn't your associates try to do anything to the school during those three months?" Koichi asked. "You had ample opportunity to do something, so why didn't you?"

"Because Kohashigawa-san was never the intended target from the beginning," Kenichi started. "The great thing about working with these religious fanatics is that they really do believe in not telling lies or withholding truths from people. They told me that sending those students abroad was to get them to join with the Archangels against the Don. They planned to turn what the Don wanted against him, to strengthen their own ranks."

"Based on the skill their normal operatives have, I'd say they need it," the teacher commented under his breath.

"Separating them, they figured, would make it easier to approach them more pragmatically," the businessman continued. "Without the entire collective, opinion would be much freer as opposed to if somebody took leadership upon themselves. Since they've become so friendly with each other, it does stand to reason they would follow after somebody who declares themselves leader."

"I guess there's only one other question to ask," Koichi started out. "Who're they really guarding here?" he asked, Kenichi taking a moment to turn around after placing his drink down. "Nearly ten operatives are behind that door, but to them, you're of no consequence. You're not important in the slightest to them. You may know all their secrets, but that's only because anything they told you, they didn't mind sharing. You're not one of them, so you don't know anything about their ultimate goals where you're no longer needed. At the very least they're merciful people."

"What does that mean?" Kenichi asked.

"Because if you knew something they didn't want you too, and you're usefulness to them ran out," Koichi started, a clawed hand stretching out, and smashing the glass into the wall directly in front of the other man. "They'd be less friendly than he is," he finished, Trevenant removing its arm, Kenichi still in shock at what just happened in front of his own eyes. "But I'd assume that since this is ultimately your office suite, you'd know who's coming and going."

For a few minutes, Kenichi said nothing, looking at the shattered glass now lying around the floor from the table he stood at, and took in a deep sigh. "I never thought they'd bring her here for that," he said quietly, loud enough for Koichi to hear, but quiet enough so no one outside was listening. "You have to understand how delicate a life that child has led being who she is. I just never thought she'd have such an extreme reaction to what happened."

"The High Seraphim is in this building, isn't she?" Koichi questioned, Kenichi nodding. "That would explain why her commanders are here as well. But what did you mean by a reaction?"

"Evidently, the concept of physical contact has not been addressed to her, specifically between two people of different genders," he answered. "She's never been in close contact with anybody for too long, and she has it stuck in her mind that contact between men and women always alludes to a rather forbidden act, even to the extent of considering herself unclean now that somebody's embraced her."

"She's having a temper tantrum because she didn't like being hugged?' Koichi summed up with a cocked eyebrow, Cofagrigus and Trevenant both looking at each in disbelief. "And they revere this little brat as some amazing leader? I think somewhere, Jesus is weeping," he chuckled at his own wit, thinking of something else. "Does this mean she's lost all respect from those people? If she's not the pure child she once was, in her own mind, wouldn't that make her unfit."

"Apparently, they have something of a purification ceremony that will remove the filthiness from her body," Kenichi said, moving back to his desk. "Is that all? Unlike teachers who can apparently skip a day of classes to intimidate old friends, I have my own duties," he finished, turning away only for a Shadow Ball to shatter the window next to him.

"We were never friends, Tanaka," Koichi hissed, spinning around and then moving out of the office.


Reaching the hallway, the Archangel operatives were all gathered the same door, but facing the other direction, towards the room away from the teacher. For a few seconds, Koichi figured something was happening with the girl who called herself the Seraphim, but didn't realize she was just walking outside of the room. Draped across her body was a large white cloak, the hood left limp over her shoulders, her eyes dead to everything around her.

This was the first time Koichi had ever seen her, and honestly, he was surprised at how young she was. Something akin to Natsu, Seraphim barely stood to his chest, her snow white hair only accented by her pale skin. There was barely anything in her eyes as she scanned the area around her, and saw the large man looking back at her. She began to walk towards him, Koichi waiting to see what happened, but she passed by him, and instead stood in front of his pokémon.

At first, Cofagrigus and Trevenant were confused as to what was happening, but then felt the near ice cold touch of her hand. She then reached for their hands, the two ghost pokémon feeling compelled to comply with them, the light touch of her small hands in their massive palms made them shudder a bit. Then looked down at her eyes, and saw them still blank, but at the same time, also warm, like they were half-asleep, a small smile on her face.

"They're beautiful," she said, Koichi looking back at her confused. "Why're people afraid of ghost pokémon, Sensei?" she asked, turning to the trainer. "They feel so different from any other kind of pokémon I've met."

"I'd say it's because they don't understand them," he answered, coming up from behind her, a few of the operatives about to lunge forward, a couple of them keeping them at bay. "They're so different from any other kind of pokémon, and most people don't even believe that things like spirits can exist. They're afraid because pokémon like this force them to look at the world differently."

"Ghost pokémon have such pretty Auras," Seraphim suddenly said. "They glow like a star or the sun, but they're not warm. They feel so cold," she said, resting her cheek in Trevenant's palm. "I remember the place I was born in was cold, too. I like it when it's cold. It makes me remember that I'm still alive when I can feel it biting at me," she said with a lazy smile. "When you live in the cold, you appreciate the warmth that comes from kind people more and more."

"Seraphim," Koichi started, about to reach his hand out for her shoulder, but then remembered what Kenichi just talked about, and retracted it. "I heard you met somebody I'm taking care of. His name is Natsu-kun. Did you meet him?"

"He's like a ghost," Sera began. "When I feel his spirit, his Aura, it should be warm, like the star or sun that's alive. But instead, I only feel that same cold. He's more like the moon than the sun. His life is a reflection of what it used to be, but it can't be complete since it only mirrors. But he makes me feel alive," she said, her Minccino running in from the other room, and up her shoulder. "I wonder why."

"Because that's what the dead do," Koichi said. "They remind us constantly that as long as we're not like them, we're still alive. Did you enjoy your time with Natsu-kun?"

Seraphim nodded as she turned around. "Yeah, we played chess, and we had a nice talk," she answered. "You said he's somebody you take care of. Can you ask him if he wants to play again?"

"I'm sure it'd make him happy if you wanted to play again," Koichi said with a small smile, leaning down next to her, the young girl's grin enough to make his heart melt from the innocence she showed. "I have to go now. You know I'm a teacher, so you know I might get in trouble if I'm not there to teach my students."

"I understand," Seraphim replied, waving back to the pokémon, which they returned, Koichi returning Trevenant and walking out with his Cofagrigus.

As he entered the elevator, he looked back and saw Seraphim still so naively waving back to him. "Seraphim are angels that are the caretakers of the Throne of the Almighty, and often associated with fire. They constantly sing the words holy, holy, holy to describe their God, and this little girl is supposed to be their representative. She appears so fragile, and yet so insightful of everything. Chances are any kind of hope I had of maybe tricking her was undone before I even tried. I felt compelled to trust and tell her anything she'd ask. But also, the Seraphim I see before me is going to turn into Reaper's greatest opponent, and maybe Natsu's greatest rival."


Koichi walked out of the building, passing by the broken glass, taking care not to cut himself, the two Commanders still outside. He looked at both, and passed between them, turning around when he was down the street a bit, still within earshot.

"You're leader will be coming down soon," he said, Cherubim suddenly taking a large breath, and Ophanim looking a bit elated by the news. "She's a good kid. Make sure to take care of her."

"As long as we draw breath, we will protect her," Cherubim stated, Koichi smirking as he walked off out of sight, the golden body of his pokémon gleaming in the sun.


Back in Nimbasa, the rest of the dorm heads had finally started to settle back in their own dorms, Judai walking into his own with his bag flying across the room almost impaling the wall. He walked to his desk, and collapsed into his chair, rubbing both eyes, clearly frustrated.

"What was that?" he wondered, thinking back to the display Natsu just gave everyone. "How did he do somethin' like that? It's like his pokémon was bein' controlled by somethin' else."

"Well, that's sort of the point of it," a voice said from the door, the fire trainer instantly bolting up, the mischievous grin of the newest student, Diego looking back at him.

"I thought ya went back to the school buildin'," Judai brought up.

"Ah, the headmistress said I could spend the day just getting used to the different facilities around the school," the Spanish trainer explained, looking at the view from Judai's room near the top floor of his dorm. "Besides, since there isn't a fairy dorm here, I'm gonna have to bunk with somebody else until they get on that. Don't suppose you'd like to volunteer for the task?" he questioned mockingly, meeting with a burst of flames connected with Monferno's fist.

"I want you out of this place," Judai said slowly, but confidently. "What did ya make my bro do?"

"I didn't make him do anything," Diego started. "I merely made him lose control. The Puppet Master is a name the Reaper got assigned to this time around. Really, it was a matter of time before he let himself go, and showed off what he's actually like. Before, I think the previous Reaper was called the Chess Grandmaster."

"What do ya mean 'previous'?" the fire dorm head asked.

"So he hasn't told you," the fairy trainer recognized, Judai looking away. "Very rarely do names in the Underground pop up out of nowhere. Most of us use names of people who've come before us. Your dark trainer, Misaki, his younger brother inherited the name Shinobi just like Natsu inherited his. The Reaper, though, has been known by a lot of other names in the past, normally pertaining to a special way he commands his pokémon. I think the original Reaper called himself the Knight of No Quarter. But that was before the Underground even existed, so I'm never really sure if it counts."

Judai didn't say anything past that, Diego just beaming at him condescendingly. At the moment, Natsu's classmate didn't know what to think about all of this, looking up as Diego started heading out of the room.

"You tried to reject reality for a time, didn't you?" he asked, Judai looking a bit confused. "You thought maybe if you believed hard enough that it'd all be a dream. Like it or not, you stupid hothead, Natsu is a member of the Underground, and that's not going to change any time soon. He's done things that might make you hate him, and if he were to become open about who he is, he would be arrested and made to pay for his crimes like I did. You can't stand in the same place as him. At least without stepping over somebody else."

Before Judai could respond, Diego was gone from his sight, leaving him alone with his thoughts once more. From behind, Monferno looked down at its trainer, and then off in the distant view of the ghost dorm. At first, Lampent was an interesting opponent, even when controlled by Reaper, but at that moment, it was like there was nothing. In that battle, Lampent's eyes were hollow, unfeeling, and uncaring. And that made the pokémon question which one of them was real.


Further away from campus, Amira walked a few feet in front of Maaya, walking through some of the busier streets in Nimbasa, the psychic trainer keeping her head down as the fighting trainer tried to keep up.

"So do you have something against a bit of relaxation after a ten hour or so flight?" she asked, Amira not stopping as Kirlia floated behind her, pulling out her notepad and began scribbling.

"Do you think I can stay calm after seeing that?" Kirlia wrote out from Amira's thoughts. "I never thought Natsu-kun could look so scary."

"Honestly, I didn't see much difference," Maaya admitted. "Not to mention it's hard to look intimidating when you're about a half foot shorter than your opponent. I was just a little surprised at how strong that kid's pokémon really could be. Where're you planning on going, anyway?"

"As long as I'm out, I thought I'd see how everyone at work is doing," Amira had her pokémon write out, stopping in front of the spot of her part-time job, Maaya's head sinking past her shoulders at the embellished writing. "Maybe it'll take my mind off of everything."

"Only because you'll be puking up rainbows by the end of it," the fighting dorm head commented, Amira pushing the door open, the two hearing the normal greeting that nearly flung Maaya's head back from recoil.

"Ah, Amira-chan, you're back!" one of the waitresses declared excitedly, Amira giving a small smile as she was led through the restaurant towards the back. "It's so good to see you again. Did Natsu-kun come along, too?" she asked, the psychic trainer's face going into shock at the remembrance of her underclassman. Suddenly, the faceless expression of his battling stance took over, Amira having nothing to compare it to. The face could've been anything, but maybe that's what made it so terrifying to her. "Did I say something bad?"

"Possibly," Maaya answered in Amira's stead. "So why would he come with, anyway? I thought he couldn't even stay conscious in this place."

"Oh, it's because he's been helping out here since Amira-chan left," the employee explained, both trainers surprised by this revelation. "He came here one night when he was feeling lonely, and said this place made him feel like Amira-chan was with him. Honestly, it's easy to see why you like him so much, Amira-chan," she redirected, the psychic trainer trying to distance herself from this. "Well, one of our cooks had a problem, and he volunteered to fill in for a while. And if we ever need any extra help, we just called him, and he showed up as soon as he could."

"Well, good to know he was keeping himself busy," the fighting trainer chimed in. "Better than moping around and feeling terrible since we were all gone."

"Have either of you ever seen him cook by himself, before?" the waitress suddenly asked. "It's so weird, because he doesn't even look at people. Sometimes, his hood would fall over his head, but he'd never stop working. It's like he knew where everything was without having to see it. I really want to know how he does all of it."

Something about that seemed to resonate in Amira. When he was battling Diego, his hood was always over his eyes, almost like he was fighting blind, similar to what June could do. But there was something different. Whereas June could comprehend something from her other senses, it's clear that Natsu wasn't capable of the same, able to depend on his eyes more readily. And the same question began burning inside her mind as she slowly turned around back to the streets. How was he able to do it all?

Rushing back outside, Amira and Maaya started going towards the train station, the fighting dorm head not even sure what was going on. Just before she could call out to her friend, a giant wind gust picked up out of nowhere, almost knocking Amira off her feet, flinging her back until Maaya caught her, looking up with a strange figure now standing before them. The psychic trainer opened her eyes and stared at their assailant, at first not recognizing her because of the mask covering the entirety of her face, but the style of dress made it obvious, along with the Shiftry by her side.

"Shiftry, take them out," Yin-Yang quickly ordered, the grass and dark type rushing towards them, Maaya focusing her gaze as the wood spirit was quickly met with an icy sensation over its face. "Interesting…"

Without hearing a pokéball open, Amira saw her best friend's Hitmonchan standing in front of them, its fist stretched out, the Ice Punch attack already beginning to spread on the grass pokémon's body. With a clap of its fan-like hands, Shiftry brought up another gust of wind, pushing itself back away from the frigid strike.

"I never did get the chance to fight you in Kanto, Maaya Yoshida," the underground battler said, taking a few steps forward, the iron mask over her face split into the two opposite colors of black and white. "I wonder if Ms. Khumalo's friends are as interesting as her when she gets angry."

"What did you say?" Maaya asked, Amira able to feel a trembling in her grip as she got up. "Did you make Amira go back into that state again?!" she shouted, Hitmonchan intensifying its stance, both of its fists burning in a blazing inferno. "You'll pay for that."

"And now I can see your boring side," Yin-Yang said with a small sigh. "Is this really all it takes to get you angry? One wrong done to a girl as mentally weak as her, and you're ready to rain hell down upon me?"

"I have an impulse control problem," Maaya said with a small smirk, Hitmonchan rushing straight onto the battle, Shiftry kicking off the ground and into the air.

With its opponent airborne, Hitmonchan threw one of its fist up, the fiery power quickly switching to a form of energy rocketing it into the air, taking Shiftry by surprise and throwing it up higher than some of the buildings that surrounded them. After the fighting pokémon landed on the ground safely, the dark type fell down in a heap, a large smile appearing on Yin-Yang's face.

"I love battling strong people," she said, snapping her fingers as Shiftry got back up without any hesitation, Hitmonchan quickly rushing in with a Mach Punch, hitting it squarely on the face.

However, before it could retract the fist, Hitmonchan was latched onto, Shiftry pushing an air current below them to get back into the air for a few moments, flipping over once and throwing the fighting pokémon to the ground. Shiftry didn't stop there, though, and sped towards the falling opponent with its two hands lengthened and sharpened like blades. With two slashes across its body from the side, Hitmonchan was helplessly thrown sideways while in midair, Maaya holding out her pokéball just before it was about to smash into the wall of a nearby building.

For a second, Maaya seemed out of breath, looking back at Yin-Yang with almost a surprised look in her eye. The underground battler however seemed less than impressed, Shiftry only damaged a couple of times and still able to take much more than its opponent clearly was.

"Maybe I spoke too soon," she brought up, Maaya grinding her teeth. "You just don't have the desire to really beat me. Then again, it's probably better this way since you're not who I really want to battle."

"What does that mean?" Maaya asked.

"I thought maybe seeing his precious hosts would bring him out, but I guess I'll have to make do with you two for the moment," she kept going, really not paying attention to the fighting trainer or Amira. "I can always wait for another bought with the most interesting battler I've ever met. If you can keep me entertained long enough, maybe I'll let you watch me battle against the true target this time."

"W-Who?" Amira questioned.

"…Reaper…," she said in a low growling voice. "Shiftry, have some fun."

As the grass pokémon rushed at the two trainers again, Kirlia quickly jumped out from behind them, firing its Dazzling Gleam attack, merely grazing the side of its body. However, the fairy type attack was more than enough to cause a small wound on Shiftry's body, Yin-Yang looking even more excited knowing they were going to be putting up a fight for her. Looking forward at them, Natsu's past teammate saw Maaya's Hitmonlee joining the fight, the sudden battle causing a crowd of people to gather.

"This is getting more and more interesting…"


Back towards the school building, Natsu stayed huddled in the far corner of Takeru's room, the bug trainer seated in front of his computer typing away randomly, confident the ghost trainer wouldn't try to escape. Next to him was the still exhausted Lampent, no longer able to put up any kind of fight after what'd just happened.

The bug trainer kept him in his peripheral at all times, the dark side of his room having no obvious escape routes, so if he was going to move, he'd know about it. Not to mention on both sides were Mothim and Heracross, so even if he could sneak past, those two would be able to down him easily with his weakened pokémon. But something was still eating at him, watching the way he looked at the ground in front of him, almost like he were hypnotizing himself with it. There so many questions he wanted to ask, but the biggest one he had was which would come first. Taking a deep breath, he turned around in his chair and looked down at the ghost dorm head, leaning over in his chair, his lanky body looking like it'd been folded in the dark silhouettes.

"Does it still hurt?" he asked, knowing the sudden pain from an Excadrill could be enormous if untreated. "I'm not sure anyone expected Edamura-san to be the one to strike first."

"Probably better that she did," Natsu replied, burying his face into his knees. "I always promised I'd stay in control, and the one time I let my temper get the better of me is in front of all of you. Something like that can't be forgiven."

"I don't know," Takeru brought up, turning back around to his computer. "In the past six or seven months, I think all of us have learned to a bit more malleable with how we approach things. Before, Misaki and Smith were convinced your sister was just an evil, spiteful person, but we found out she'd been under mind manipulation for the entire time since the Don's incarceration. The woman who kidnapped you towards the end of summer, we all thought she was just a person who liked to hurt others, but it turned out she's been dealing with a psychological problem since her sister's murder. I think we're all starting to learn that things aren't always what they seem to be."

"It doesn't make you angry or scared of what you saw?" Natsu questioned, Takeru taking a moment to remember the hollow expression on both his and Lampent's faces.

"Seeing it for the first time is terrifying," he started, the ghost trainer noticing the strange way he said it. "It's like your pokémon aren't moving of their own will. Sometimes it can seem like torture from afar, but in the end, it's just a trick, isn't it? And elaborate setup to make people think you really are a vengeful spirit."

"Senpai, what are you talking about?" Natsu asked, beginning to get a bit afraid of the way Takeru was acting. "Why're you saying things like that?"

"I tried convincing myself of every single idea that could prove me wrong, but no matter what, I kept coming back to the same conclusion," he continued with his original thought. "And when I found something that showed me it was impossible, I was the happiest ever to know it wasn't true. But then I realized the truth. Natsu, I know who you are when no one's looking. I know the kind of shape you take when you want to be somebody stronger. I know…you're the Reaper."

For a few seconds, neither of them moved, Natsu not reacting quite as emotionally as when Judai or Mitsu confronted him on this. Instead, he just stayed hidden in his corner, his head still propped up on his knees.

"When did you figure this out?" he asked.

"Honestly, I think a part of me knew it was you since you first came here," the bug trainer admitted. "You're appearance and the Reaper's coincided too much to be coincidence, and your pokémon for a time were very similar. Eventually, appearances by the Reaper only included the Lampent he referred to as Hades, around the same time your Golurk evolved. This only thing that kept me from blowing the whistle for a while is your refusal to use Pumpkaboo. Had you done that, anyone could've made the connection. I thought the theft of the Reaper Scythe was evidence enough you weren't until I realized the inheritance of the Underground."

"I see," the ghost trainer understood, still not moving as he just watched his upperclassman.

"With that in mind, I was wondering if there was something you could do for me," Takeru began again, leaning back over in his chair.

"And what's that?" Natsu asked, sort of turning away from him.

"Will you tell me a story?" he requested. "A story about how monsters and born and why they decide to continue living in a world that hates them."

"After all of the stories of my past you've heard, do you really want to know this one?" the underground battler questioned. "I became the Reaper five years ago when I was eleven. And thinking on it even now scares me."

"The events leading up to becoming the Reaper?" the bug dorm head asked.

"No," Natsu answered. "I'm scared of what I became. I'm scared all the time of what I do, not of what's been done to me. But I think that's one of the things you have to do when you become a Reaper. You have to be a bit scared of everything, except of what you can't see. The only reason, because what you become is what people can't see."

"The cloak?" Takeru confirmed, Natsu nodding.

"I wear that because it hides me from the world," he began. "The past Reapers have all taken a design of something concrete that people can picture. But when I fight as the Reaper, I don't have a single silhouette. The cloak is always moving around, and it becomes impossible not to scare somebody with it. I just want you to know I didn't choose to be the Reaper. After a while, I figured out that if I didn't, I'd probably still be stuck there."

"Stuck where?" the older student asked.

"…The Labyrinth…"


Almost as though he were thrown back into that maze, Natsu closed his eyes and the stone walls that he was once confined in were all around him, rising higher than he'd ever be able to jump or climb. Only, there wasn't just one of him as he looked at the scenery. It was as if he was watching his own memory like in a movie, a smaller even more timid version of himself closed in as he walked through the winding corridors.

"After I was taken away from the Gemini, some of the underground members were sent to find me," he began retelling, Takeru appearing beside him as though the description was vivid enough for him as well to see it all. "In order to keep themselves out of here, they were told to throw me inside. In the past, they used to call this the 'Correctional Facility', but the Gemini changed it when they became its master. Either way, this place was meant to break you. People who proved themselves too weak to be in the Underground were thrown in here to make them lose any will to fight back again, making perfect outlets for people's aggression."

As he told the story, Takeru felt as though he could see this eleven year old kid running back and forth between moss covered passages, always finding himself at a dead-end. After about the tenth time, the younger Natsu's legs almost gave out from under him.

"The labyrinth is constructed so perfectly, there's no defining feature of any one wall," Natsu began explaining, his younger self running into another one. "If you have no way of marking your own path, you could spend hours and only move about five feet from where you were thrown in." As the young trainer ran into a middle corridor, surrounded on all four sides with possibilities he tried to move to one. "After a while, you start to second guess yourself. You wonder, 'Did I already go down this path? Will that lead me out? Is this the same place I was in before? Am I going to die in this place?' Some people used to say once you asked that last one, you were already a dead man."

Once again, Natsu ran into a dead-end in the never-ending maze and his strength finally left him and he fell to the ground. He'd been running around in a circle for hours, having made zero progress through the maze, and was now beginning to doubt if he'd ever make it out. Slowly, he laid his head on the ground, and he started to close his eyes, pockets of tears beginning to come down his face.

Before he could get some rest, though, a loud siren began blaring throughout the maze, Natsu instantly bolting up, looking around terrified of what was going on. Suddenly a soothing fragrance wafted through the air, the ghost trainer immediately backing up against the wall, seeing the twin flowers on top of Bellossom's head. The pure grass type looked over and saw its former opponent and sneered. Looking past the pokémon, the young boy's mind could only see the faces of those twins.

"P-Please, stay a-away," he pleaded weakly, having not had any water or food since entering. "Litwick," he suddenly realized, reaching for his pokéball, about to throw it, but before he could, a sudden gust of wind blew from the back, launching the capsule over the wall and into another corridor. "No!"

Looking behind him, Natsu saw another of the Gemini's pokémon, their Dustox. The fact these two pokémon were here probably meant that the duo training them were two, making Natsu fear for his life all the more. Since that night Yuriko and Diego saved him, they hadn't decided what to do with him, and he was taken before they could even notice.

"I-I just wanted to go home," he said softly, cornered by the two pokémon, a sudden burst of energy coming as he ran past them, and into the open hallway.

Glancing between both sides, the other two pokémon of the Gemini were staring back at him, the Beautifly and Vileplume, a strong powder suddenly wafting from both of them. Just before it could get to him, Natsu covered his face to keep the fumes out of his air, Bellossom coming up from behind and knocked him straight to the ground, grabbing at his hand to pull it from his mouth. Natsu was able to protest for about a minute before his exhaustion got the better of him, and the grass pokémon was able to wrench his arm away, and the Stun Spore attacks entered his airways, almost immediately stunning him.

Natsu coughed a few times, his body trying to reject the spores. From behind, Dustox rammed straight into him, pushing him against the wall, and a pull on Energy Ball attack from Vileplume launched him past Beautifly, and imprinting him into another stone face. Turning behind him, barely conscious, the four pokémon began closing in on him, Natsu unable to do anything and his body just gave up.

"I don't know how long I was out cold," Natsu began narrating again. "But after everything that happened, it didn't feel like I was just knocked out. I didn't feel anything. The only way I knew I was alive was that I kept shivering, like my entire body was getting colder."

As the two grass pokémon dragged him across the floor, Natsu's mind began trying to fight back, something inside of him telling him to wake up. And inside of his mind, he seemed determine to deny it. At first, it was all nondescript, conflicting mumbles echoing in his brain fighting for control as the small boy's breath continued to get quieter and shallower.

"Fight back…" one of them said. "You've done enough…" the other returned. His lungs felt like they were deflating, and the lack of oxygen was beginning to effect his brain. His mind became a mix of colors and waves as the voices began shouting, trying to make their orders louder and louder.

The group of pokémon rounded one of the corners when a small, disoriented white pokémon came around from the opposite side, turning at the scene with a stunned look. At first, the two groups just stared back at each other blinking a few times, the flame atop Litwick's head flickering a bit as the blue hue began to intensify, slowly becoming redder. Bellossom shifted its gaze up towards Dustox and motioned to the ghost pokémon, and the bug type swooped down with a mighty gust of wind.

Normally, this would have launched it further back into one of the walls like before, but a single burst of fire escaping from the top shot through to Dustox just before the gale could reach it. Beautifly rushed in directly after, not seeing a smaller burst of fire coming out of the first explosion and striking it across the belly. Both bug pokémon faltered in their flight a bit, but nothing too major. The difference in their power was still obvious as Natsu's eyes slowly fluttered open. He noticed his pokémon fighting back against these pokémon that almost made a hobby out of battering it.

"L-Litwick…," he said weakly, about to reach out, Vileplume swatting his hand aside, the fire mix's eyes burning with anger at the way its trainer was being treated.

Slowly seeing the way his pokémon was fighting, giving its all against such stronger opponents, the voices in Natsu's head began to match each other. They were both saying the same thing, "Fight back…" "Fight back…" "FIGHT BACK!"

Natsu tried to get back up to his feet, but another Energy Ball from Vileplume made short work of that, impaling him against the stone face, the wind getting knocked out of him again, but this time, as he fell to the ground, Litwick couldn't see the rise of his body in breath.

The fire on top of its head began to spread out, catching some of the moss covering the walls, and nearly lighting the entire corridor ablaze. With the close proximity to one of their major weakness, the group of four pokémon converged in the center of the hall, Litwick watching them intently as Natsu still wouldn't get back up. He still couldn't draw breath in the slightest, his brain going into a state of seizure from the lack of air, and then something appeared in front of him.

Natsu's eyes opened, but all around him was mist, low gray clouds rushing past his feet and away from a figure that stood before him. He looked up, only able to see the pitch dark silhouette staring down at him. The light breeze flowing through the air picked up the ends of his limp scarf, and cast it out in front of him. His breath was cold as he leant down, Natsu surprised he couldn't make out his face, only the dark silhouette of his strong jaw.

"Do you know where you are, boy?" he asked, his voice deep, and yet smooth. Natsu shook his head as an answer. "You're at a special appointment," he said, pointing behind him, the ghost trainer seeing another figure that cast the fog away from him, a large cloaked figure wafting in the wind. "Right now you're body is trying to decide if it wants to live or die. After all the punishment you've taken, the easiest thing is to die, isn't it?"

"Y-Yes," Natsu agreed, the cloaked figure suddenly losing form and fell directly on top of him.

"Too bad you don't want to," the larger man said, Natsu smiling as he looked forward and could see hi Litwick. "You have something you want to fight for, don't you?"

"I don't want to disappoint my friends," the ghost trainer said with a smile.

"The cloak will make you stronger," the man explained, clipping it in front of the younger boy's neck. "Nobody can see what you really look like this way. It's time for you to make them understand how it feels to be scared. Show them what happens to somebody who's died and given a second chance at their life."

"Yes," Natsu said, his body too weak to put up any kind of fight, but as the folds of the cloak covered him up, he felt safe, almost like he was melting inside of it.

"I'd rather not put this burden onto you, boy," the figure said, tipping the end of his fedora down to him. "But if you stay this way. If you continue to let the fear of what you don't know get in the way, you're going to die right here, and no one will care. At times, this power can seem like its killing you, but at the same time, still keeping you alive. Do your best in all things, and show them what it really means to fear Death."

Unbeknownst to Natsu, this wasn't just happening in his dream, but in the physical world around him. The Gemini's pokémon and his own watching as this strange person stood over his body. They weren't even sure of how he got in, or even why they'd stopped their confrontation to watch. All they knew when he stepped off to the side, there was a completely new figure in front of them. Deep down, they all remembered it was this scared little kid, but they still couldn't believe it. His entire body had been hidden by the dark shroud that was constantly moving as he did, the sway movements Natsu made from inside to reach his pokémon made it seem like the folds of cloth melted and re-inflated within the same second, giving it this otherworldly feeling.

Without even trying to stop him, the grass and bug pokémon team froze in fear as he passed by them, and knelt down for Litwick. At first, the ghost pokémon was unsure, still not recognizing this side of Natsu, but then looked further into the shadow of the hood. A smile came across its face as it met its trainer's. The two quickly turned back around and faced their opponents, the flames all over them made the cloak flap even wilder from the change in air pressure.

"Heat Wave!" he commanded, an eruption of hot air coming from Litwick's head blasting up against the four pokémon, still too busy with how strange Natsu looked, unable to prepare for the attack. All of them were pushed back further than the first time the small fire pokémon tried that move. "Let's try your Hex!" he ordered, a dark purple aura coming from the small pokémon's eyes that instantly focused on the two bug types.

Within an instant, the two writhed on the ground in pain, their earlier attacks causing slight burns that the Hex attack latched onto. Both grass types rushed forward, trying not to let their fear get the better of them, but another burst of a Heat Wave attack proved too powerful and they were ultimately pushed back. Ready to continue with the assault, Natsu cast out his hand for the next order when Litwick suddenly felt a pain in its stomach, cringing for a few seconds until it finally let go, and was bathed in a brilliant white light.

It didn't take long for Litwick's body to take off into the air, slowly becoming larger, its arms growing longer, and the flame on its head shifting into its body. Without taking too long to marvel at itself, Lampent broke out of its evolution, and let out a giant Heat Wave attack, the difference in its power from before more than noticeable as the grass pokémon were thrown right into the wall, and stuck there for several seconds before falling back down. More than that, the flames licked at the shrubbery covering the walls, setting them on fire, and then allowing it to spread all around. Soon, the entire maze had been lit on fire, Natsu's head poking out from the hood with a giant smile on it.


"Ever since, that was the life I chose to stay with," Natsu finished his story, taking in a deep sigh as he fell back against the wall, looking up at the ceiling. "Still don't regret hearing it?"

"I'm a tad more resilient than you think," Takeru said, looking at his computer, but his eyes were unsure. "I guess there's only one other question to ask. Why did you stay?"

"I'm not gonna lie to you," the ghost dorm head started. "I liked it," he confessed. "I tell people I stayed because I wanted to help pokémon, and that's true, but in the end, I like being the one people thought was scary. I felt strong. I wasn't the weak little boy whose father threw him out, who almost got attacked by people he should've been able to trust, and who spent all his life moping around hoping things would be better on their own."

"I see," the bug trainer accepted, taking in a deep breath.

"Now it's your turn," Natsu said suddenly, his upperclassman turning around. "It's your turn to tell me a story, senpai. I want you to tell me about the story of a person who does what you do. I want to know the story about how you figured out who I am once and for all. Will you tell me what you keep secret?"

Takeru suddenly turned around in his chair, holding his third pokéball, maybe unconsciously, looking down at the small trainer facing him.

"Not that it's a competition, but I think my story can be a bit harder to hear," he said.


Back in the actual school building, Kaname was being led through the building again, Sienna and Ame following after him, the display from before definitely giving their own impressions of what was happening. As the dark trainer looked around the familiar rooms, he noticed some of the smaller students, the stature just reminding him again of Natsu.

"He looks so young and yet, he's able to battle so powerfully," he said to himself, the thought of a youth being strong bringing him back to his brother. "Maybe this whole Underground thing's been getting to us all too much." He shook his head, and continued back down through the hallways, looking in the mirror to see Sienna's face angled down. "He is like a brother to her. I guess on some level, we've all felt betrayed by family at some point."

The dragon trainer was just depressed. She and Natsu had gotten a bit closer since the end of summer, especially since she openly declared herself as a surrogate sister. Had she been away too long? Was the thought of being alone for three months after spending all his time with them too much to ask? But more importantly, why did ever lie about any of that? Did he not trust her?

"Kinda looked like leading a puppet on a string, don't you think?" Ame suddenly chimed in, the other two looking like they had a heart attack. "He kept moving his fingers around like he was tickling some excitable Growlithe, and his pokémon kept attacking like it was being commanded. I wonder if I can do that, too," he said, turning to Manectric with a mischievous grin, the electric type merely staring back at him. "I know that look. That's the look of somebody who shows no mercy, and is saying very clearly, even for me, that if I try, I'm a dead man, yes?"

"Ame!" Kaname shouted, shocking the trainers again, Sienna already a bit exhausted from all the sudden changed in mood. "This is not to the time for you to be you, do you understand? This isn't one of those things you can fix by just being your normal, idiotic self, got it?!" Kaname was now directly in Ame's face, the electric trainer staring back with sort of the same dumb look, knocking his forehead into his classmate's.

"You have…surprisingly soft skin for a guy," he said with a giant smile, the dark trainer about to go wild on him when he heard a stifled laughter, looking back to see Sienna trying to hold herself back. "Come on, you can't say it didn't look cool. Na-kun just has kind of a weird way of going about his battles, is all. Besides, weren't you the one who had some choice words for him before this little transgression," he led on with a light snicker. "Something about him and an unfortunate roadblock in between him and our dear friend Ms. Smith," the electric trainer insinuated, the dragon trainer turning to Kaname as he gave a nervous grin. "Look, I know this may sound weird coming from me, but I don't see the big deal. So he lied to you guys a little bit. Honestly, I could write a book based on all the things I've done without you knowing. As a freebie, the exploding lawn gnome…me."

All joking aside, was Ame right? Was it any bigger deal than anything else Natsu may have been hiding? They didn't seem to have this same reaction when they learned about his sister, or about his past before he was a trainer.

"Why does this make you so mad?" Ame asked sincerely. "Okay, you know what, it's very clear you all need a nap since you are so jetlagged, that I am going to have to insist, as a not-at-all real doctor, that you get some rest immediately. I'll set up a bed for the two of you right here if I have to."

Just before he could push them through the hallways, though, something caught his eye, looking down. Oddly enough, a group of people was approaching the school. Some of them seemed young enough to be students, a couple of them maybe a bit older, especially the creepy twins that walked hand in hand.

"Out of curiosity, you know these guys?" the electric dorm head asked, pointing straight down, Kaname's eyes becoming even more embittered at the sight of his brother's covered face. "The eyes say 'yes', does the mouth concur?" he joked, actually looking like he was about to inspect Kaname's jaw.

"Hey, isn't that the crazy assassin brat who tried to kill Mika-chan," Sienna noticed, Blade flipping a knife end over end. "And there's the girl Gabriel-kun battled a while back," she pointed out, Jackie, now in her Hyde persona fitting on her knuckle attachments. "Whatever's going on can't be good. I think we'll have to take a reign check on that nap, Ame-kun. Thanks for thinking of us, though."

Almost immediately, the three of them ran down the hallways just as the group of underground battlers entered the school building, one of the teachers about to say something to them. Without mercy, Hyde threw her fist at him, nearly breaking his jaw, forcing him to the ground.

"Cut off the other students' access," Kazuo seemed to order, the others nodding, Espurr and Swoobat sealing some of the doors with their psychic powers, Alyssa tossing some of her knives to nail them shut. "As underground battlers, we're not permitted to harm outsiders."

"So does that make me a special case, little bro?" Kaname questioned from the end of the hall.

"Now we can get to the fun," the younger brother grinned, both Ninjask and Shedinja appearing behind him. "Let's begin."


Off in other parts of the school grounds, the other dorm heads were still getting settled back into their rooms, June and Kaoru noticing something off in the distance, either by sound or sight as the stray lightning bolt of Diablo's Dedenne rained down near them, and the masked battle appeared, giving a low bow to both of his future opponents. Between both Gibson and Yue, the two either at a computer or playing video games, their screens began to shift, showing the monstrous mask Phantom wore, sneering at them both.

Within a group of four, Judai, Satori, Jiro, and Mika were all approached from behind. To one side, almost completely vegetated in a wheelchair was the once named Prince, and directly behind him, constantly cast out of view was the grinning face of their ultimate enemy. The Don had finally reached the campus…

Off in the distance, away from it all, Mitsu walked over the edge of a nearby ridge of the school, turning around to see three figures staring back at her. Quickly, the ice trainer realized this wasn't just going to be a battle between two sides, praying Gabriel would come back soon, unaware of where the rock trainer currently was.


Chapter Fifty Complete: Is it sad this has lasted fifty chapters? Anyway, a bit longer in this chapter, at least compared to the last one and I will say I feel like I rushed that ending. Part of it may be because it's pretty late right now, and if I didn't get this done today, it'd be a while before I could. I'm leaving campus for the weekend starting tomorrow, and I wasn't planning on doing anything except for my homework. We're just getting through our midterms here, so it's kind of that hectic time. At any rate, it looks like this is probably going to get finished by mid-November as opposed to October, so no biggie. Either way, I will be able to make my earlier goal of getting this season done before 2016, and I already have some ideas for one-off chapters I can do to start that off. Like I said last time, I sort of have an idea for what the story arch is going to be in the next season of this story, but with that in mind, the next season, in reality is probably going to take up, at least in this story's timeline, a little under a month. Kind of a change from the two to three months I've been making these seasons, huh?

Anyway, on to the chapter. Like I said, I feel the ending is rushed because it's me, but I still like a lot of parts of this. The idea of Natsu's Lampent evolving as a part of him becoming Reaper is definitely something I had planned out for a while, and I'll be honest, sometimes having the idea and having it written out can be either completely satisfying or lackluster in general. We get, in my opinion, some pretty good action from Koichi who I will say is the battle highlight, and we get the opening salvo in the battles between the Underground and the dorm heads. Hopefully this gets you somewhat excited for the next coming chapters. And speaking of things coming soon:

Since a good number of you expressed interest in the idea of a new story, I figured this would be the best way to explain my madness to you all. Basically, my thinking of this is that HDD is a story that takes place in the main series pokémon titles, making allusions to gym leaders, evil organizations, and even major game plot points like Red overthrowing Team Rocket. Because of that, my other stories have suffered because of my own need for continuity. Let's face it, I even tried to make a story that was set in the same universe as this one. So for that reason, I decided to make a story that is set in the side-game universe. This would include ideas from Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, Ranger, Coliseum, XD, Conquest, and even the newest addition, Pokken. The story would focus on a three sided confrontation between different groups of people good or evil (just in case you didn't catch that, I'd also like some of the character submission to be antagonists), with a major story arch always driving the story forward. I'm still ironing out some details right now, so I can't say anything plot wise, but like most of my stories of this kind, it will be limited to about one pokémon per person, and I'd probably only accept about 12 characters like I did for this story.