Author's Notes: Whew! Finished! I decided that, even though I am not Catholic, I would give up something for Lent. I gave up writer's block and wow! I have been writing almost non-stop. No joke. Anyway, here's chapter 11, and there's a lot of important stuff in it, so take notes, class! No, seriously, this is the part where Emery first meets Angel and Reaper does some more manipulating. In fact, this chapter is mostly Angel/Emery/Reaper content. And yes, there is a bit of a conflict between Angel and Reaper. Enjoy!
Chapter 11—Dream Eater
Varia clawed at the hand around her throat, trying desperately to free herself. The Reaper's grip was just too strong for her, and she felt her strength fading rapidly. As the girl exhausted the remaining air in her lungs, the world around her grew dark. All she could see were the two glowing red eyes directly in front of her. Then those, too, were gone.
Varia was in complete darkness. She couldn't see, hear, smell, or feel anything. It seemed that she was floating in some sort of void. Varia could not help but wonder if she was dead. But if she was dead, would she be able to wonder about it?
'Where am I?" she spoke aloud. The noise broke the silence and she started.
"Varia," a voice called to her through the darkness. She strained to identify the origin of it.
"Hello? Who's there?" she asked.
"Varia, you are in danger. You must flee this place."
Though she could not recognize the speaker, Varia felt strangely compelled to listen to it. She did not even care where it was coming from anymore. Instead, she just listened to it.
"You must leave this gym and take your friends with you. Go to Cinnabar Island. There are scientists there who can make you normal again. Isn't that what you want?"
"Yeah…" Varia answered absently.
"Begin travelling in the morning. You must hurry, for Team Rocket will be on your heels. Don't forget. Now rest…Rest…"
With a slight nod, Varia lay on the "ground" of wherever she was and closed her eyes, falling into a deep slumber almost immediately. She was not even aware of the red-eyed, demonic figure that now stood over her.
"Too easy," Reaper said smugly. He turned from the girl's prone form. "Now to see if she has anything interesting locked away in her mind." With a mere thought, Reaper was able to access all of Varia's memories. Anything she had ever thought, dreamed, or remembered was now being viewed by her enemy. The data flowed directly into Reaper's brain. After only a few seconds, the half-Houndoom stopped the pokemon attack he had been using. He glanced down at Varia, a sneer on his face.
"Even you don't know where you are from. How disappointing. Your memories hold no importance for me." With a wave of one hand, Reaper faded from the realm of Varia's subconscious.
Opening his eyes, Reaper found himself back in the dimly-lit hall. He was crouched on the floor, one hand resting on the unconscious girl's forehead. Now, after using the attack he had so recently learned, he felt more invigorated than before. He stood up, leaving her to wake up on her own time. After all, now that the idea was implanted in her mind, there was no hurry.
In fact, he thought, looking down the hall that led towards the gym, I've even got time to have a little fun.
****
Emery halted abruptly, nearly falling over. Fortunately for her, the winged person in the middle of the arena was standing with his back to her. Perhaps she could sneak away without him even noticing her. Very slowly, Emery started to edge out of the room. She moved along the edge of the wall back towards the door. Unfortunately for her, one of her hands pressed a button on the wall, causing the automatic door to slide shut noisily. Emery started, then she saw that the winged boy was looking at her.
She had been caught.
Strangely, this new boy's expression wasn't malicious or smug. Instead, Emery thought that he looked sad. His eyes showed nothing but pain and suffering.
"You must be Emery, the one mixed with Vaporeon," he stated, his voice quiet. "Just come with me peacefully. I have to take you back to Team Rocket."
Emery shook her head fiercely and stood defensively. "I'm not going back there. I'd rather die than be a prisoner of The Reaper again," she said lowly. To her surprise, the boy did not get angry. Instead, at the mention of Reaper, his eyes widened in shock.
"You know of The Reaper?" he asked. The boy took a step towards her and Emery raised her arms, ready to fight him if she had to. The boy hesitated, his gaze catching the long scar on her left arm. "Oh, I see," he said. "That's how you know him. He tortured you, just as he did to me." He pointed to his right eye, indicating the jagged scar. Emery gasped at it. She saw that it was a burn scar, the same type as hers.
"He…He tortured you? But, aren't you part of Team Rocket?" Emery asked, confused.
The boy's expression darkened for a moment. "I am part of their organization, but against my will. If I don't do as I am told, they send me to Reaper."
Emery let her guard down a bit. "What's your name?"
"I'm known as Angel," he answered.
"Your wings…" Emery began.
Angel recoiled slightly at the mention of them, almost as if he were trying to hide. The leathery membranes lowered and partially wrapped around his body.
"The wings of a demon," he whispered. He raised his head to look her in the eyes. "Just go," he ordered, pointing to the door on the other side of the gym. "Get out of here before the others find you. Go get help. I won't stop you."
Emery was silent for a while, though not because she was suspicious of him. She was amazed that someone from Team Rocket could be this compassionate. With a smile, Emery walked up to Angel and placed a grateful hand on his shoulder. She felt a slight spark as she touched him, but thought it was only static electricity. Emery gazed into the boy's icy blue eyes.
"Thank you," was all she said. Then she walked to the door. As she was about to exit the arena, she heard Angel cry out. Emery whirled around and saw the winged boy on his knees, clutching at his head. Immediately, the girl ran over to him, intensely worried about this person she had just met. She tried to see what had happened, but there did not appear to be any physical damage.
Emery was too busy trying help Angel and she didn't notice the door she had used to enter the gym slide open. She didn't notice the person she feared most standing just behind her. She didn't even notice the cries of an Eevee in pain.
Reaper hung back in the doorway, his eyes narrowed at the scene before him. He had heard the entire exchange between the two through the door. There had been no other option than to take extreme measures. Reaper was not about to let his prey, his Emery, escape. So he had chosen to compromise Angel's health by using the boy's special gift, a gift he was probably cursing right now.
"Are you two having a little midnight tryst?" he asked mockingly. Emery spun around, her face full of dread. She was paralyzed with fear. Angel, however, managed to glare at Reaper through his haze of pain. With a great deal of effort, the platinum-haired boy stood up, preparing to attack using the blades on his arms. Reaper's smile twisted and he extended one arm, revealing an Eevee he was holding by its head. The poor creature whimpered as the sadist's grip tightened on its skull. The action also caused Angel to wince and hold his own head. Emery watched the actions of each boy, not comprehending. The Reaper noticed her puzzled expression.
"Oh, your lover-boy didn't tell you?" he sneered. "Angel here has a bit of psychic ability in the form of empathy. He shares all the emotions and feelings of his pokemon and a select few humans, I believe. I hear empathy with your pokemon makes you a better trainer. What do you say, Jase? Feeling like a pokemon master right now?" Reaper laughed insanely.
"Stop hurting Cainin!" Angel said through gritted teeth. Emery could see that he was in quite a bit of pain, but he was still trying to protect his pokemon. Angel took a few weak steps towards Reaper. "Please, let him go! He's not part of this!"
Emery sat on the ground, watching the heart-wrenching scene before her. She knew she couldn't let this go on, but she was so afraid of The Reaper. As she saw Angel stagger and fall at Reaper's feet, she finally decided that it was time to face her fear. Emery stood up and ran at the villainous Rocket, who was still laughing at Angel. She barreled into him, catching him off-guard, and they both went crashing to the ground. Reaper lost his hold on the Eevee, and the small pokemon tumbled across the floor. It came to a stop near Angel, who reached out and stroked its back.
"Cainin, I got you back," he whispered. His head was still throbbing, but he was happy now that his pokemon was free from Reaper. Then Angel looked over to where Reaper and Emery were sprawled. He gasped when he saw that the Rocket held the Vaporeon girl by her arms. She was struggling to break free, but was instead hauled up by her enemy. Reaper held her in front of him like a shield. His eyes were glowing red as he smirked at Angel. Still holding Emery with one arm, he reached into his trenchcoat and withdrew a pokeball. With a maniacal laugh, he pointed the ball at the Eevee. A red beam poured from it, recalling the pokemon.
"No!" Angel shouted, jumping to his feet and preparing to fight once more.
"Attack me and you'll end up hurting your girlfriend!" Reaper snarled back. He wrapped one arm around the frightened Emery's waist and held her neck with the other hand.
"Let. Her. Go," Angel ordered, his voice taking on a dangerous edge.
Reaper gave him a twisted smile. "You're telling me what to do? I really don't think you are in any position of authority. You see, I've got your wretched little rat-dog and the girl." He paused thoughtfully, then lowered his head so that his lips were right next to Emery's ear. "Hmm…I get the girl. I rather like the sound of that," he whispered to her. Then, using the hand that held her neck, Reaper turned her head towards his face. "What do you think, my dear?"
Emery felt tears beginning to run down her cheeks. Once again, she found herself unable to move, unable to resist whatever The Reaper was about to do. His face inched closer to hers, almost as if it was in slow motion. What was he going to do?! Emery screamed in her head. It seemed like he wanted to—
Suddenly, Reaper roared and jerked away from her. Emery stumbled away from him and saw that he was now holding a bleeding gash on his upper arm. Angel suddenly appeared beside her, the blades on one arm dripping blood. Reaper glared at Angel and snarled, his eyes burning brighter than a bonfire.
"You won't hurt anyone else!" Angel proclaimed. "Not so long as I'm alive!"
"Then I'll goddamn kill you!" Reaper practically screamed. He was reaching for his knife when a piercing siren cut through the air. It was the unmistakable wail of the police. Almost as if on cue, Lani and Slater came running through the arena door at that time.
"Dammit, someone must've heard us!" Lani exclaimed. "Guys, we're leaving! We can't risk being caught now!" She ran to the opposite door, the one that would lead them out of the gym, signaling her companions to follow her. "C'mon! Let's go!"
With only a slight glance at Emery, Slater ran out the door, followed by Angel and Reaper. As the last left, he allowed himself one final look at the Vaporeon girl, who appeared to be in shock after what had just happened. Reaper clenched his teeth as blood from the wound Angel had given him began to seep between his fingers. He growled and wiped his bloody hand on the wall, leaving a deep red, smeared handprint.
Let the police wonder about that, he thought darkly. Then his deranged smile returned. True, he hadn't accomplished everything he had wanted to, but at least he got the important thing done.
He would meet up with their prey soon enough. And next time, he would make sure Angel was not there to interfere.
See you on Cinnabar, Emery…
Author's End Notes: What a horrible place to end. What happened Varia, Kyle, Sarena, and Indigo? Why does Reaper want them to go to Cinnabar? What's going to happen between Angel and Emery and Reaper? Also, in other news, I'm still working on Angel's vignette, Nine Circles, and something even better: The Reaper's solo fic. Yes, that's right, people! Everyone's favorite homicidal Houndoom morph is getting his own spin-off story! Is anyone interested in a little preview? If yes, I'll see about posting one up. Just say the word in your review. Thanks!