It was black. Just black. Every sense in my body was numb. Slowly, I started to hear something... words... panicked words...

"Aw shit, dude!" Said a voice. "L-Look what happened!"

"Holy hell, that's some nasty stuff!" Said another voice.

A third voice spoke out, much more panicked than the other two. "Th-that's not the main problem! The boss is gonna kill us now!"

"W-we don't need to tell the boss!" The first man said.

"D-dude, we took someone's Pokémon! Two of 'em! Sooner or later, the boss is gonna find that out!" The second man argued.

A fourth voice, female, suddenly blurted out: "Then we stage it! We'll... make it look like an accident! Say to the boss that the experiment went wrong and that the Pokémon went rogue."

"Y-ya think the boss is gonna believe that!?" The first man yelled.

"D'you have a better idea!? Go make the report!"

...

Rogue?

Accident?

Nasty stuff?

Slowly, I regained all my senses. My hearing told me that all four scientists were busy bickering and yelling about something. My nose told me that the room reeked of blood. Fresh blood.

...Who's blood was it...?

When my sight finally recovered, I was faced with a horrifying sight.

Adam. Or, what used to be Adam. His entire body had been shredded to pieces, mauled to the bone, mangled beyond recognition. I couldn't even see where his head was supposed to be. All I saw was a messy pool of blood, meat, and fur. My mind went dizzy all of a sudden. D-did I do this? Did I!? I-I remembered now... that injection... it made me go crazy... lost my mind... And now... Adam's dead.

I glared at the scientists through the one-way window. I knew they were there, even though I couldn't see them. I growled at them, bearing my fangs. An urge was swelling inside me, a cold murderous rage. I heard the scientists scream in pure terror. "OH GOD! It's looking right at us!" I heard them pick up papers and left the room in a hurry.

The rage faded away from me... I turned back to Adam's body.

Adam... I hated him. I hated him so much (though not as much as I hate Blanch), and now he's dead. I've always wished ill toward him, but I never expected... My mind snapped back to Arthur. Arthur... Arthur will murder me if he knew about this... Panic surged through my body as I tried to think of a reasonable explanation, but I can't. I knew, perhaps, my fate had already been sealed the moment I was carried into this room.

I looked down, feeling conflicted. Then, I realized it.

It was like my dream. This whole scenario happened in my session with Doctor Lirrian... where I killed her... where I killed Adam in the corner... But what I was even more surprised by was my reflection in the pool of blood. A Vulpix stared back at me. But it wasn't me; it was some sort of... alternate form of me... Me, with pitch black fur and crystal red eyes, staring right at me like a demon. I heard it cackle, even though its mouth didn't move. It frightened me, terrified me!

I looked away from it immediately. Even though I wasn't looking at it, I could somehow still feel it – that demon – residing inside of me, like a parasite ready to take over.

Well... Adam's dead now... great... What's gonna happen now...?

...

Later that afternoon, Sam was called to Richard's office for 'something seriously important'. My heart sank because I knew what it was about. When Sam came back to the room, he looked different. He slammed down a folder on the table, breathing hard. And then the way he looked at me... his eyes were burning with hate and anger, fists clenching. "What the hell, Vulpix!?" He suddenly screamed at me. "Y-you killed Minccino!?"

The entire room suddenly filled with a dreadful atmosphere. A silent, deathly, unfriendly atmosphere. I felt everyone stare at me in shock and disbelief. I looked up at Sam, as though hoping for forgiveness, but there was none in that face of his. Only betrayal. The others as well. Vivico, Blanch, Spark, Kirlia... Arthur. I shook my head, refusing to accept this reality. This can't be!

Sam suddenly stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. It left an uncomfortable feeling hanging in the arir. But slowly, everyone seemed to recover from the shock. Spark spoke up first. "K-Keith... You... killed Adam?" He asked, his voice dry. "H-hey, answer me!"

Blanch gave a low whistle. "Dude... I never thought you would actually do it..."

Vivico shook her head violently in disbelief. "I-Impossible! No matter how much Keith hated Adam, h-he would never-!" Vivico stopped, seeing Arthur glaring at her. Arthur stepped towards me, shock and loathing mixed in his eyes.

"Keith..." He muttered. His voice was soft and weak, but there was a hint of danger to it. "You actually killed Adam? Even after that promise you made?" His eyes began to glimmer with tears. "Why!? Why, Keith, why!?"

"Arthur, let me explain-!"

"SHUT UP!" The words rang out through the entire room like a nuclear bomb. I stared silently at the Azumarill. Tears of anger slid down his face as he grit his teeth. "You... made a promise that day, Keith... That you would finish off this entire ordeal with Adam... and then weeks later you kill him!?" He shook his head, as though still refusing to believe it. "I thought you changed, Keith..." He mumbled, sobbing now. "I thought you meant what you said that day... I thought you really wanted to do it... for the sake of all of us... W-was that just a lie? A lie to hide your hate towards Adam!?"

"Arthur –" But he wouldn't listen to reason. All he saw me as now was a friend who destroyed his trust and took something valuable from him. He didn't even have to say it; none of them have to say it. I can see it in their faces. Their look of disbelief, shock, and of retribution as well. They no longer view me as one of them. No longer a friend.

After everyone had left – due to the fact that they hate me now – I was alone in the room, reflecting. Most of it was a blur though. My friends and my best friend have just disowned me! They didn't need to say anything to express what they wanted to say. Arthur, if he wanted to say it, he would have yelled at me: "We're no longer friends, Keith! Not after what you've done!" My body shivered, even though it wasn't cold. Only one clear and conscious thought was printed on my mind... "I've lost everything now."

I remembered the scientists... the syringe they stuck into my neck... the savage brutality of Adam's attack... the conversation about falsifying a report... a report that Sam received... If they really did fake the contents, it would explain Sam's anger. If he knew the truth, he would have been less mad. Hopping over to the desk, I opened up the folder and read the report.

Mr. Richard Trevelton:

We are sorry to say that there has been a tragic accident in the testing labs. One of our subjects (which we have randomly selected and taken this morning), a Vulpix, went rogue, and randomly attacked another subject, a Minccino. It had killed the subject with extreme violence to the point where the corpse was nothing but a pile of flesh and blood. We tried to stop it, but the Vulpix suddenly showed high amount of unforseen power and tried to attack us. However, we managed to detain it until it calmed down. The Vulpix, unfortunately, escaped.

We send our apologies to Mr. Trevelton, as well to the trainer(s) that owns both said Pokémon.

I stared at the report in utter disbelief. Although some of the details were correct, the parts on how the attack began was a blatant lie. Complete blasphemy! I saw it! I specifically remembered them injecting a syringe into me! The syringe. Whatever was in that syringe filled with... some urge to kill. Testosterome? I've read it in magazines. But I shouldn't have been that crazy...

The report was a lie. Sam was deceived. I was framed. And now everyone hates me.

Wait... If I can explain this to Arthur... Surely he'd understand!

I rushed out of the door, hoping to find him.

But... I think I hoped too much...

I found him. But he didn't want to listen to me; not anymore. "Keith, no... You betrayed my trust, Keith..." Arthur said, his voice shaking. "Deep down I hoped that... you did change, that you wanted to try at least... But know that you've killed Adam... You've crossed a line, Keith."

"Arthur, please, I was framed!" I told him. "You have to believe me! You know that I would never–"

"Yet you did, Keith!" Arthur interrupted. "How am I supposed to believe you now...?"

I didn't answer. That was impossible to respond to. He was right. No matter how hard I try, I can't disprove a formal report written by the clan's scientists. That'd be like a prisoner trying to fight back against his kidnappers who are equipped with cutting-edge weapons. There was just no way. Arthur had shown me that, and he sadly walked away, leaving me to moan.

Soon, the news had spread out through the entire manor. Lirrian and Isabelle confronted me first. "Keith, y-you..." Lirrian the Espeon stared at me. "Even after you saw that vision in your session, you still did it?"

"Th-that can't be true!" Isabelle added in. "Th-there's just no way you would recklessly attack your own friend! You're not that kind of guy, are you?"

"Of course not!" I yelled, upset. "I was framed! That report is false! I was given some sort of injection!"

Lirrian and Isabelle looked at each other, as though unsure what to believe. "I dunno Keith..." Isabelle muttered, thinking hard. "But I do know that Minccinos are normal-types, and that Adam would be taken away for testing, as I've said before about the normal-type Pokémon experimentations. But... you're a fire-type. I doubt that they would test on you..."

Lirrian gave consent. "I think so too, yet I find the fact that Keith would murder someone... simply unbelievable..."

Isabelle nodded. "But... nothing we can do about it." She looked at me. "Even if you were thrown under the bus by those scientists, we can't defy them. The report was written by them and no other witnesses. You can't prove your innocence, Keith... I'm sorry... This is why we don't know whether to believe you or not..."

"But you know me!" I said, trying to persuade them. "You know that I wouldn't do this sort of thing, don't you!?"

Lirrian looked away, seeming uncomfortable. "I-I beg to differ, but... we don't know much about you at all; you mainly stay away from everyone..."

I just stared at the two in disbelief. I get that their reasons are acceptable (at the very least) but I just couldn't accept the fact that they won't believe me. They won't, until that report is proven false. That being said, it's absolutely impossible. There's nothing to contradict it, except my word alone. My word alone is not enough. Besides, who would believe me? I'm on the lower side of the scale now, I thought to myself.

What's worse was the despair didn't end there.

Everyone treated me differently now. Sometimes when I pass people they would glance at me suspiciously and whisper things to their friends. They also avoided me during playtime too, which made me feel lonely. I needed someone to help me – but no one did. I tried to persuade people to believe me, that I didn't kill Adam on purpose, but everyone only doubted me. Even if they did believe me, they still view me differently. When I asked Xera the Espurr, it seemed that her morals were also conflicted. It slowly started getting worse. The neglect, the rejection... I think Sam must have felt a high amount of resentment towards me because he stopped feeding me. Even when I begged, he still didn't give me any. Just a tiny pinch, not even enough to satisfy any hunger. The others didn't pity me at all.

Days passed, and I fell into a much deeper hole than I thought. The longer this entire thing went, the deeper the hole seemed to sink. Sam no longer fed me. Some others gave me a tiny bit of their leftovers, but nothing more. The hunger was consuming me, much to the irony. It brought me pain. The longer I resisted, the more it hurt. The more it hurt, the more I tried to resist, which in turn brought it more pain. It's a slow, painful climb up the ladder of torture. Perhaps the worst part is that you have to do it all by yourself. All by myself. I pray that it would get better. It never did.

In order to escape this pain, I resorted to certain methods. I swam laps and laps in the swimming pool, my entire body burning from the water. I ran around and around the entire track field, feeling my muscles ache and strain under the excessive work. However... this pain that I inflict upon myself is merely to wash away the pain that had already existed inside me. It takes one pain to erase another pain.

I didn't care anymore, I don't want to be forgotten... yet I already am. These people have decided to ignore me and leave me be. Only my torture erased me of that pain. Laps and laps and laps I run, even till I collapse in the pouring rain. But I never stop. All of my limbs continue to scream in protest as I push onward, and I still don't stop – just to escape pain. Occasionally I cry, regretting everything that I did. I wished I could have given Arthur the friend that he wanted...

Every time I suffer, I run. Every time I felt alone, I run. I forced my body to endure this just to forget everything.

But... everyone has their limit. I was no exception.

Soon... It was just too much to me. The rejection, the loneliness, the suffering and torment... I had enough. So I made a decision. Since no one wants me here... then I'll just leave. No one would care; not that they think I'm a murderer now. Not one person who cared about me deeply loved me now... Spark, Vivico, the rest... Arthur... God, thinking of Arthur only brought me more pain. I need to forget it, I thought to myself, slamming my fist to the wall. None of this matters anymore!

It was a stormy evening that day. Everyone stayed indoors and chatted around. Work continued like always. By now I've gotten used to it, but I know that everyone here sees me differently. I... haven't changed at all. That's absolutely true... but I feel like... I've been turning. That my stuffed up emotions are building towards something dark... Something that occasionally overtook me... Something... evil...

I shook my head. "Now is not the time to dwell on that..." I mumbled to myself, clutching my paw close to my chest. "I'm going to leave. I'm going to leave my life." As I stepped towards the ajar front door, I felt someone tap my shoulder. Spinning around, I saw that it was Xera the Espurr. "Oh... what are you doing here, Xera? Something you need?"

She didn't say anything, as I expected. I'm pretty sure she's mute. She gave a curious little stare at me, looking between me and the door. I knew what she meant; Doctor Lirrian gave me a short rundown on how to read minor body languages like this. "I'm just going outside." I replied. Judging by her sarcastic-looking stare, I sighed. "Really, I'm only going for a walk."

Xera wasn't fooled. She crossed her arms and pouted a bit. I chuckled a bit, even though it wasn't appropriate. "Fine, you win... Yes, I'm leaving this place. I'm leaving this wretched hellhole that has refused to accept me... I am no longer welcome here, Xera. Surely you see that?" I pointed to everyone in the room. "None of them, Xera. None of them accept me, not even my own trainer, Sam. All because of a stupid incident in which I had no control of my body!" I turned to her, locking eyes with her. "You believe me, right?"

Xera only gave me a casual expressionless stare. I guess that means she doesn't have a reply... "You see? I've made my point. Now... just let me leave... I won't bother you guys anymore..." Xera continued to stare at me until she finally nodded, shaking my hand before leaving me at the main hall. I only watched her walk around the corner and disappear from sight. I'll never truly understand her... I mused to myself, trying to cheer myself up.

I burst through those large doors and ran. I ran and ran and ran and ran and kept on running. All that 'training' may have helped improve my agility, but it certainly didn't help supressing my guilt. After the torture, that pain of rejection only resurfaced like a predator that never gives up. None of it matters anymore... I thought to myself, tearing up a bit. It'll be okay... I'll escape this pain and continue living my life... But I knew deep down that that pain would never go away.

I ran all the way out of Jubilife City, into the woods, and through the woods until I reached a large lake. My arms and legs gave way, letting myself fall onto the grass. Rain started to come down; rather heavily actually. An air of melancholy seemed to envelop me as I pondered about what I should do next. What should I do? I just escaped my trainer and abandoned all my 'friends'... What else is there for me... I groaned, feeling exhausted from all this. I wish... it could all just end... the suffering, the torture... I don't want to deal with it anymore... I wanna be in peace... peace...

Almost mechanically, I stood back up again, and jumped into the lake. The water felt cold and hot at the same time. I swam across the water, paddling. Up and down, up and down, repeat and repeat... Until I stopped in the middle. My head was bobbing up and down on the surface of the lake. I sighed. This life... is such a pain... I don't want to feel this way anymore... This nuisance, this trouble, this agony! Let it end already! I started to cry, letting my tears mix with the raindrops. I'm so weak... so pathetic... so puny... Unfit for life...

Then... I knew what I had to do.

A voice within me told to do it.

End your suffering. End your life.

That's when I chose a peaceful death over a harsh life.

I ducked under the surface, completely submerged in water. Using my paws I swam deeper and deeper into the lake, the world around me going black. The water... felt so peaceful... So calm and silent... It's like a graveyard, but without the fear factor... How peaceful it is down here... I could die here alright, I don't mind, as long as it ends my pain...

I must have swum pretty far down, because by the time I realized it, it was almost pitch black. Just a little bit of blue hue remaining in this level. I tucked my body into a ball, savoring my last moments. Although people say that drowning is one of the worst ways to die because of how slow it is, I find this scene I'm in... soothing... The entire universe has suddenly become silent. The cool touch of the water made me relax as I start to lose oxygen...

I waited and waited. Minutes pass, and I still wait for death to come. By now I should've have died, but my lungs still have a bit of air left in them. But when I felt that I could no longer breathe, I closed my eyes in relief. I felt it; that slow pull, dragging my soul out of my body. The voice inside me whispered into my ears... This is it... the end... No more suffering, ignorance, loneliness, any of that! I nodded solemnly in agreement. Yes... peace... true peace awaits me...

Even as my lungs strain for air, I didn't waver. I welcome you, darkness... Take me in your arms and bring me into the depths... I felt my consciousness fade, all my senses going numb again... I laughed, somehow, under the water, though it only came out as gargles. Funny, and just weeks ago I was so pumped to live... I thought of Spark, Kirlia, Xera, Lirrian, Arthur, Sam, and everyone back there. Although I pity some of them, maybe it's for a best... I would only be a burden to them...

Finally, I close my eyes and wait, my entire body feeling as light as a feather...