I walked on the stone sidewalk as rain poured down buckets. Drops of water dripped down my hat, the chilly air of the new year seeping through my trench. I lifted my gaze, looking through the rain and darkness to see my target.

Caren Wright. Age 39. Former Team Rocket Executive. Thought to have been dead for ten years. Now Giovanni wanted her dead. I felt the gun in my inside pocket, feeling a sort of comfort when I gripped the handle slightly. I withdrew the hand a second later. Now wasn't the time.

I hid myself in the shadows when Caren stopped twenty feet ahead of me. She looked around before climbing the steps up to her house amongst all the others. She unlocked her door and slipped inside before shutting it. I went up to the door and slipped a key into the lock. Turning it, I stepped inside the open door. When I closed it, the thrum of the rain faded away to background noise.

It was dark in the entrance hallway and there was a rain soaked coat hanging on a rack. The lights turned on and I turned my gaze to look at Caren. She had long white hair and sharp blue eyes. She wore her old white Team Rocket uniform and appeared to be alone, several pokeballs on her belt. A hallway was to her left and the kitchen to the right.

She regarded me with a cold look. "Giovanni's son. I knew he would end up sending you after me once he found out I was still among the living."

I smirked. "Yet you still let me in the house. Basic mistake."

She sniffed. "Unlikely. You may look like Giovanni, but only he could beat me. You're nothing."

She lifted her head slightly. "How did he even realize I was still alive?"

I shrugged. "We decided to go through old files. We investigated the ones who had suspicious deaths and one of them lead me here."

"Fair enough," Caren nodded. "But you know you won't be leaving here alive."

"On the contrary," I said, reaching a hand into my trench. "I'll be perfectly fine."

For a second, we just stared at one another. Then I flung myself towards the kitchen as a Gengar flew down from the ceiling above. He turned towards me, flinging a ball of shadows at me. Withdrawing a pokeball, I leaped to the side, staring straight at Caren who just stood and watched.

I was in her living room now, so now I had room. I clicked the pokeball and Charizard appeared. His head brushed the ceiling as he roared at the Gengar, flames licking at the corners of his mouth.

"We could've done this the easy way," I reminded Caren. "You chose this."

She grinned widely, a hint of madness in that smile. "Bring it kid. Let's see what Giovanni's spawn is made of!"

"Let loose!" I roared.

Charizard lunged forwards, flames roaring around him, setting the surrounding area ablaze as he crashed into the wall where Gengar had been. Smoke quickly filled the room and Caren was no longer in sight. I jumped over Charizard's tail as he managed to get a hold on the Ghost type, claws elongating. I walked down the hallway, holding my trench with one hand to block the smoke while pulling out my gun with the other.

One door stood at the end of the hallway, slightly ajar. I kicked it open and immediately swung myself behind the wall as a gunshot rang out. I heard several loud crashing noises as Gengar was slammed through the front door and out in the rain. I breathed slowly, before tossing a smoke bomb into the room. Instantly it filled with smoke, mixing with the smoke from the fire. It was thick and heavy, but I stepped into the room regardless. I ducked as another gunshot rang out, then stepped to the side. I aimed and fired, something sparking now.

I walked up to it to see an automated gun turret. Small and poor quality, but perfect for distractions. I flung my trench off as I dropped low and swung my leg out behind me, nearly tripping Caren. Her boot swung forwards and I just managed to swing myself backwards. I swung a knife from my belt and flung it, the blade grazing Caren's cheek. I stood and took several steps backwards, the smoke obscuring me. I felt a window behind me with my hand and smashed it with the gun.

I sensed Caren taking aim, only for the wall behind me to get ripped apart, the sound of the rain louder once more. A wall of fire sprung up in front of me, separating me from Caren. I stepped onto her wet lawn as her roof began collapsing. The fire had spread to all the nearby houses despite the constant downpour of rain.

I felt Charizard pull me back as Gengar popped up from beneath the ground under my feet. I landed on my feet as Charizard swung his wing, Gengar dodging. Another gunshot rang out as a small hole appeared next to me. I glanced up to see Caren walking out of the burning house, fire raging behind her. Her clothes were charred and she seemed to be burned in several places.

I heard a roar of pain and I glanced to see Charizard stumbling backwards as his left eye bled and the blood smeared by the rain.

"Son of Giovanni," Caren cocked her head slightly, eyes wide with madness. "I barely got out of Team Rocket, my sanity barely left intact."

She grinned as she lifted her gun. "You're young. One day you'll realize you want out, but by then, it'll be too late. You can never truly escape Team Rocket."

She squeezed her handle tighter. "I seemed to be unable to at any rate."

She pressed down on the trigger and a gunshot rang out. Her body collapsed onto her lawn, her gun tumbling out of her hand. An explosion and a roar of triumph. I looked to see Charizard raking his claws along Gengar's body, drawing blood, then flinging the Ghost type into the burning buildings. People and Pokemon were scrambling around in the darkness as sirens filled the night.

I climbed onto Charizard and he shot into the sky. I rubbed his head, checking his wound. His left eye was swollen shut and blood still streaming from it.

"I'll get you fixed up," I promised. "Though you may not see out of that eye again."

He snorted and lifted his head further into my hand, apparently not caring as long as I was safe. Suddenly, the air seemed to distort around us. Cracking noises and the rain seemed to glow. Charizard just kept flying and I shielded my eyes as the sky broke around me. I saw something in front of me before everything shattered.

...

My eyes shot open. The first thing I noticed was that I was in a cave. Second thing, I was no longer wet from the rain. I went to stand and immediately felt shaky. I collapsed to my knees, breathing heavily. I heard something move behind me and on instinct I went to grab the gun I kept inside my trench, only to realize I was no longer wearing it. I then noticed I was wearing black sleeveless gloves, which I was pretty sure I wasn't wearing before.

Another noise and I turned to see a Mawile staring at me curiously. She seemed to be concerned. I glanced behind her to see the side of the cave wall. Shattered glass seemed to litter the ground and a section of the wall was broken, shards of glass still sticking out from the stone.

Everything came back to me. Alex, Robert, and I had woken up in the Pokemon Center to find out Ash and the others had gone ahead of us. We had left Geosenge and entered Reflection Cave. I faintly remembered seeing a Charizard, one with an eye patch over his left eye, so I had ran after it. I remembered seeing him walk into a mirror of sorts, so I tried to follow, then nothing.

I remembered the burning buildings, Caren, how she shot herself in the head.

I sighed. "So he wasn't real."

Mawile considered me and I looked at her. "You're the same one from Route 10 aren't you."

She didn't respond, but I could tell it was her. I glanced back at the shattered mirror and realized it was a sort of reflective crystal.

"I don't know what happened," I said, getting to my feet and picking up a shard. "But I feel like I need to thank you, Mawile."

She looked surprised and I smiled. "Whatever happened to me, you freed me. Thank you."

Her eyes widened a little before she looked away.

I sat down again, still feeling a bit shaky. For whatever reason, those memories seemed to be sharper than I had ever experienced before. Another reminder of who I was in my past.

"Maw?" Mawile was regarding me carefully. I had a feeling she could sense something was troubling me. Pokemon had a knack for that.

"Look," I said, staring at the crystals growing out of the cave ceiling. "You're opinion of humans seems to be low, which I can't blame you. A lot of us are terrible people. And only a few try their hardest to change. I'm one of those. I've struggled for a while to get rid of my past, but I had to accept it. Accept who I was. What I had done to so many people and Pokemon. I thought I had finally gotten past everything, but this darkness in Kalos, I think it brought back memories."

I gripped a fist. "I think it's time to reevaluate myself. If I am to be the Hero Born of Darkness again and save Kalos from this Chaos, I have to accept myself once more. I have to know what lines I will never cross again. Despite what I have lost, who I have failed to save, I can't let the darkness overwhelm me again."

"So thank you again," I stood and looked down at Mawile. "For helping me. Kalos is going to need me, whether I like it or not. I will stop the Cult of Chaos, and anyone else who threatens people and Pokemon. I can't ask you to help, but..."

I knelt down, looking into her red eyes. "You followed me from Route 10. I don't know what you think of me, but you saved me. And you have a strong sense of justice."

I held out a hand. "Will you join me? I don't know what you truly seek from me, but I promise to help you however I can, for thanks of helping me."

Mawile gazed at my hand, before tenderly putting hers in my own.

I smiled. "The people from Route 10. I don't know what their true motive is just yet, or if what they're planning is truly diabolical, but let's find out together."

Mawile smiled and I tapped her head slightly with a pokeball. She was sucked into it and the ball shook for a couple seconds, before blinking green. I stood and clipped the ball to my belt.

"Once we're out of this cave, we can reacquaint ourselves," I promised. "For now, I need to find my friends."

As I walked down the only tunnel, I remembered Caren's words.

"I never did truly escape Team Rocket," I murmured. "In fact, I ended up going right back to them. All for naught it seems. I wasn't able to change Giovanni nor was I able to help those who needed it."

"But I will save Kalos," I felt my determination solidify. "I will save all the people and Pokemon. No one else will end up like Mira. No more deaths, no more sacrifices. I promise, as the Hero Born of Darkness."

I know I said in the last chapter I wanted to get another chapter of Dark out, but since it's been three weeks since my last update, I decided getting this out was probably best. And sorry for the long absence. Getting sick with the flu was unavoidable, but it's my fault for getting distracted by Pokemon Shield. But hey, it was a great game. Now the little references I can make will actually have stuff behind them. Anyway, I might focus on this or Dark, who knows. Besides that, I'm back. Toodles