Ker woke up with a start.

She didn't know where she was. She only knew that for some reason, she found herself atop a desolate mountain. Everything was covered in snow. There wasn't a speck of green or brown to be seen; the white death smothered everything. And it continued to grow thicker, as more snow fluttered down from above. It made it impossible to see anything beyond the mountain.

Despite this, Ker didn't feel cold, even as it clung to her fur. Part of the reason was that there was no wind to create a brutal chill, but it was mostly because she had thick fur now. Between now and the time all of those souls merged into her being, she had changed forms again. Now she found herself in the body of a Zoroark, or at least something that looked like one. This body was too ethereal, too wispy to know what it really was, just like her Zorua-like form.

She shook the snow from her form before dropping to all fours. She looked around, looking for any signs of life, but there was nothing. She was in a desolate wasteland of cold.

Ker didn't wait around; she quickly got moving.

"Gallows!" she called out as the snow crunched softly beneath her paws. "Gallows, where are you?"

No response. She looked for the flicker of his flames amongst the white, but he was nowhere to be seen. Ker scowled as she kept walking, tasting the air to find him. She quickly found that didn't help at all because everything around her tasted like Gallows, that savory sweet taste she couldn't resist. Which made little sense to her.

"Gallows, answer me!" she cried out again. "Where am I? Am I still inside you? I got all the souls, didn't I? Why am I here then? Where are you?!"

Once again, she was met with silence. She grumbled as she took her claws and raked the air to make a portal off this mountain, but nothing happened. She tried again, but no portal formed. She was stuck here at the summit.

"Gallows!"

She moved more quickly now. She was getting tired of this, but this wasn't out of character for the false Chandelure. If that lamp wanted to play hide and seek then fine, she'd play. After all, that's what the two of them always did together, didn't they? They were always playing games.

She raced through the snow effortlessly as she scoured the mountain for Gallows. This body made it so easy. She searched for even the slightest hint of purple amongst the endless white.

what a beautiful little world you've made

Ker's ears perked up as the voice echoed all around her. It sounded like Gallows' voice, but not quite. It rang too hollow and seemed to reverberate everywhere at once. She even thought she heard several other voices within, speaking as hushed whispers.

That was when she saw something in the distance. It wasn't a purple flame like she hoped, as it was an ethereal white light that somehow shined bright even against the white of the snow, but it was something. She rushed toward it and within moments, found herself staring at a strange sight.

There was a Sneasel resting in the snow just like Ker had been earlier. She seemed so young, like she had only hatched a day ago. The little Sneasel, so frail and small, reached up for the stars, as though trying to grab them. At least, that's what it looked like at first glance.

She was actually reaching for an entity looming over her. Something amorphous, something that blended into the environment easily with its ever-shifting body. Something that had two large eyes streaming with vacant white light, the light that Ker had seen before.

Whatever it was, it took a feeler and wrapped it around one of the Sneasel's claws. She grasped it tight in her claws and put the feeler in her mouth. She nibbled it contently and for some reason, the entity didn't seem to mind. It turned away from the little Sneasel and stared into the distance.

The snow slowly ceased. The white haze that circled the mountain melted away and soon, Ker could see beyond the mountain. She could see that this mountain was but a small part of an entire range of mountains, ones that cast long and foreboding shadows over her. They towered over her, like primordial giants lost to time.

perhaps you should put more of your kind here

perhaps more little Sneasel and Weavile live amongst these mountains

you should be raised by your own kind after all

The Sneasel didn't respond, probably because it was a hatchling. She only continued to chew on the being's tendril, somehow not puncturing its flesh with her fangs. Her form fizzled and for just a moment, she wasn't a Sneasel. She was something only vaguely taking on the form of one, something with those same white eyes this larger creature had.

But in the blink of an eye, she was back to being a Sneasel. An innocent, hapless Sneasel.

In the distance, footsteps could be heard. Quiet, swift footsteps of creatures that had mastered this treacherous mountain terrain well. Several flashes of red and black shot past Ker before disappearing deeper down the mountain. Though they had been fast, she had seen the creatures for what they actually were; Sneasel and Weavile.

good

continue this

fill the world with everything it needs

be a creator

The entity gingerly ran its tendrils along the Sneasel's ears, softly playing with her lone feather.

And then just like that, the entity was gone, and the Sneasel was all alone. She burst into tears as she stretched her useless claws into the sky and mewled. Whatever had been with her didn't come back, leaving her alone on this cold mountain top.

Ker slowly approached the Sneasel. She wasn't exactly the most motherly creature in existence, but she was perplexed as to what this Sneasel even was and why she was here. Maybe it was the key to understanding why Ker was here in the first place.

When the Zoroark reached the Sneasel, she gingerly picked up the hatchling. She felt strange, as though she were made of liquid that kept shifting between Ker's claws. The Sneasel abruptly stopped crying as she looked into Ker's eyes, her face turning blank.

A light rippled over the Sneasel, and suddenly she was someone Ker recognized immediately.

It was Glace.

"You," she snarled like a rabid animal. "This is all your fault!"

Ker dropped her and backpedaled. The Weavile landed on her feet, hissing like a wild beast as she exposed her fangs and spread her claws.

"It's your fault he tricked me! It's your fault I'm like this!"

She lunged at Ker and tore open her chest.

Ker screamed as bitter cold filled her being. Screaming turned to coughing as she struggled to breathe. She saw her body turn white as the cold ate her alive, devoured her from the inside out, sucked out every last bit of her warmth until she was nothing but a-

they were touching her everywhere

so soft and warm

Ker gasped and jolted awake, again. Gone was the snowy mountain. Now she found herself in a lush forest that stretched on for miles and miles. She could hear Pokémon of all sorts scurrying around her. Skwovet climbed along the trees, Combee buzzed through the air, Deerling and Sawsbuck roamed in search of berries, and Buneary burrowed beneath thick tree roots. Everything around her was full of life and the sudden bombardment of her senses overwhelmed her for just a moment.

She checked her body to find nothing wrong. The white that had been spreading through her body was gone, leaving it as wispy and shadowy as it had been before. She didn't even feel Glace anymore.

Ker nervously got to her feet as she looked around. She didn't know what was happening, but she knew she needed to keep moving. Whatever she was supposed to do, she wasn't going to accomplish it by staying still. She only wished she had clearer directions. Right now, based on what had happened with Glace, Ker imagined she was just absorbing all those souls Gallows had collected. Even though she had already absorbed them…

Why was she absorbing them again then?

She got moving again. At least the walk was nice here compared to on the mountain. The air was cool and the sounds of the forest were soothing. If she hadn't known all of this was an illusion, she might have been tempted to romp about.

"Hi there."

She stopped. She looked around until she spotted the source of the voice, a Noibat hanging upside-down on a nearby tree branch. Or at least, she was something resembling a Noibat. If she stared at the bat long enough, her form would shift and she would see something that was more mouths than flesh.

The bat continued to stare at her with her large, innocent eyes.

"Sonata?" Ker asked with a tilt of her head.

"Hi again," she said again with a small smile. "Don't worry; I won't hurt you. Not like Glace did."

Ker didn't know if she believed the Noibat, but at least she wasn't openly hostile.

"Alright what's going on?" Ker demanded with a frown. "Why am I seeing you souls everywhere? Why do I have to assimilate you guys again before I can finally get out of here?"

"I don't know what's going on," the Noibat said with a frown of her own. "I don't. Maybe we're in some kind of limbo while our minds and souls are being merged together."

"Oh, so you guys are just tormenting me until that happens," Ker spat. "I see how it is."

Sonata sighed as she let go of her branch and fluttered to the ground. She kept her distance from the shadowy Zoroark though.

"Should I be worried about the others coming after me while we're talking?" Ker then asked.

"They might," Sonata said cryptically. "Especially when I could just disappear at any second."

Ker also suspected this soul world they were in was unstable, which was why she was here instead of still bleeding out in the snow with Glace. After all, if Ker watched the trees long enough, she'd see their forms momentarily shift into swaying black tendrils, like kelp in the ocean current.

"I'll start by saying I don't really hold it against you that you're the one who came out on top in the end," Sonata then said, her usual vigor gone. "I mean, I knew it was never going to be me after I got my eye slashed, but still. I figured I'd get that out of the way now."

Sonata chuckled awkwardly as she wrapped her wings around herself, like a child would with a blanket. Ker thought she saw the little Noibat shivering.

"You're taking this awfully well," she remarked.

"I'm really not," Sonata said, her voice still emotionless. "I'm just trying to focus on the good parts of this, like that Downfall and his division are doing okay and there's nothing to worry about. It's not great that I was roped into this and lied to the whole time, but it's not like I can do anything about it now. You're getting out of here and I'm not. Better to just focus on the positives while I still exist."

Ker didn't know how it was possible for her to stay sane knowing all of that, but she knew not to push the Noibat. She especially knew not to tell Sonata that Downfall wasn't even real and he was just someone Gallows made up. Sonata seemed to be holding on by a thread and Ker didn't want another soul attacking her. She could still feel the bitter sting from Glace slicing her open.

Honestly, Ker was surprised the other souls hadn't figured out the truth on their own. They were all together now, weren't they? Couldn't they at least see Nexus's memories and realize the fake nature of their realities?

"I'm going to be okay, just so you know," Sonata then said. "Sure I'll never see Downfall again, but I always knew something like this would happen. I knew I might die one day when I was working under him and I accepted that a long time ago. Wasn't expecting it to happen because I got absorbed by you of all people, but I knew my end was going to happen one day."

"You handle death way better than most mortals I've ever met," Ker said simply. "Maybe too well, if I'm being honest. Your world must have been pretty dangerous if you were ready to die at any moment."

"You could say that, yeah. Lots of demon things flying around at night that do unspeakable things if they touch you. It's especially bad for someone nocturnal like me."

Ker nodded vacantly as she looked around again, anticipating another soul to attack her in that moment. She couldn't see them, but she could feel them all around her. They felt so close, but so far away, as though they were separated by a veil.

"I wasn't really expecting you to be the one fragment to win in the end, you know," Sonata said. "I knew you were special and weren't even a Pokémon like the rest of us, but I didn't think you were that strong. But somehow, you ended up assimilating everyone. I guess I just wanna know before I disappear, how'd you do it?"

"I did it because of love," Ker said with an amused chuckle. "I did it for Gallows and so I could be with him. You know, love conquers all and all that nonsense. Pretty dumb, right?"

Sonata stared at her oddly. Ker didn't blame her; the Noibat probably had no idea what she was talking about.

"You know that's not how you won in the end."

It wasn't Sonata who said that.

Something smacked Ker in the face. She hit the ground. The second she did, the forest shifted and she found herself somewhere dark, cramped, and wet. She couldn't see her claws in front of her face. She groaned as she slowly felt around, trying to piece together where she was now. She felt the ground first and felt shallow stagnant water beneath. It was cold and had a rotten stench to it. She wriggled her nose in disgust as she reached up and around her and felt slimy stone all around her. She guessed she was in an enclosed tunnel of sorts, maybe a sewer of some kind.

"Alright, who's here to torment me now?" she called out with a growl. "Let me guess, Jera? You're the one who lives in the ocean, right? Would explain all the dirty water."

She kicked the water for good measure, making a loud splash. Jera, it had to be Jera. Ker admittedly didn't know too much about all the souls Gallows had taken in, but she at least knew all their names and species thanks to assimilating them.

"I like to think you're simply being facetious about how you won, but with how brainwashed you are, maybe you actually believe you won because of how much you think you love Gallows."

She heard whoever it was behind her. She turned around and saw two amber lights glowing in the distance, hovering and flickering in the black like ghoulish will-o-wisps. She didn't even need to see the rest of the body to know who it was.

"Well well, someone's not happy about losing," Ker scoffed. "You here to give me another beatdown before I get out of here?"

The eyes blazed, but they didn't close in on her. They kept their distance. Or at least, it seemed that way. Ker could still hear something splashing in the water despite this. She held her ground and told herself that no matter how much she got hurt, she had already won. Anything that happened here was temporary. Hopefully.

"I find it laughable, really, just how this all played out," Nexus' voice said. "To think you made it out on top because you ate me from the inside like the parasite you are. And you don't even know how you did it, that's the best part."

The water hit Ker's knees. She swiped her claws at whatever coming her way, but they didn't hit anything. Nexus's eyes continued to watch her from the end of the tunnel.

"Now we're all back inside of you," he said with a snicker. "Maybe I shouldn't be too surprised this was how it was all going to end. Gallows always liked his stories being full of amusing little twists and ironies like this."

"Is this what you're going to do? Spout cryptic nonsense and drive me crazy?" Ker asked dryly. "Jokes on you, that doesn't work on me. I've had millennia to grow numb to all that."

There was giggling all around her now. She slashed at the air but again, she didn't hit anything. That didn't stop her from hitting everything around her though, just in case Nexus closed in on her.

"Oh you'd better listen real good, 'Ker', because it's going to be your one salvation when you get out of here," he snickered, his flaming eyes bouncing up and down. "Otherwise, you're just gonna end up back here, and we're going to do this all over again."

Now that gave her pause. She stopped attacking shadows and watched Nexus keenly, waiting to see what else he would say.

Something harder than diamonds smashed into her face, flooring her instantly. She slammed into the water, only to find it had suddenly gotten deeper. Something wrapped around her neck and dragged her down, deep into the black abyss. She struggled and slashed at whatever had grabbed hold of her, but it wouldn't relent. It pulled her with inhuman strength, tearing her away from the surface and into the suffocating depths of the unknown.

"Right, like I'd tell you anything. Enjoy the ending of your story while you still can. I'll be seeing you again very soon."

That was when multiple figures appeared in the water. Strange, unnatural figures that looked like Remoraid, but they had maws too large for the bodies and bladed fins. They swarmed Ker in a frenzy before biting into her. They tore apart her shadowy flesh with their long, serrated fangs like ravenous, starving piranhas. Ker screamed and screamed in the cold water as they ripped her to pieces, but she had no voice in the black water.

One of the fish bit into her face and pierced her eyes-

they wouldn't let her go

why would i

no matter how much she struggled

you deserve this

Ker woke up, again. And she was whole, again. And still a wispy silhouette of a Zoroark, again.

She touched her face, making sure it was intact (as much as it could be when she seemed to lack facial features in this body) and then got to her feet. She could still feel the raw ache of having her entire face bitten off, but more than anything, she was livid. Her entire body shuddered violently as she looked around, now finding herself on a desolate mountain devoid of any sign of life. No trees, no creatures, no grass, nothing. There were only rocks and dirt all around her, and an endless blue sky.

"Is that the best you guys got?!" Ker screamed. "Drown me? Make a spooky shadow show in the sewers? Rip open my chest? Come on, you guys can do better than that!"

She knew she was tempting them by shouting these things, but she didn't care. She wanted out of this already. She wanted to be in the real world. Being assaulted by those other souls was just a constant reminder that she was still stuck in Gallows with them.

She heard something move behind her.

Ker spun around to face the next soul that probably wanted to rip her to shreds. She found herself facing a Ralts now. Well, something resembling one at first glance. If she stared at him long enough, she'd see that he had too many eyes all over his body and they'd blink independently of each other.

"Alright, you going to beat me up?" Ker asked, scowling hard at the little creature. "Or are we just going to have a little talk before some other soul punches me into another little soul world or whatever these places are?"

Caran stared at her wordlessly from beneath his long green bangs. That was when she noticed that Ralts wasn't actually alone. He had something hovering above him, that same strange, ethereal creature that had been with Glace. It had a tendril wrapped around his hand, like a parent might. She glared at the creature above the Ralts and it stared back. There was something disturbing about those eyes.

A headache shot through Ker's brain. She weakly opened her eyes to see that the creature was gone but the Ralts' horn was glowing red. She snarled as she shot toward it.

The Ralts teleported away, but the pain didn't stop. Ker clutched her head as it threatened to rip open her head. She even thought she heard her skull cracking under the force.

No, it was actually cracking. She could feel it. She closed her eyes and clawed at her head, trying to scratch away at whatever was tearing her apart.

And then her head snapped open.

his tongue was in her mouth

tasting you

long and winding

feeding you

scratching at her innards

devouring you

Ker didn't even get up this time. She lay there on the sandy beach and ignored the waves as they tickled her feet before receding back into the ocean.

If the other souls wanted to come torment her, she'd wait right here for them. It seemed the only way out of this hell was to let them all beat her up. If that was what it took, then fine, she'd let them.

"This better be worth it, Gallows," she seethed. "Where even are you?"

Of course, he didn't answer. Maybe he was watching from afar, enjoying this. Maybe he liked seeing her suffer like this. Maybe this was like a fantasy he wanted played out. How disgusting. She'd kill him for this later.

She heard those other souls approaching. She vapidly turned her head to see someone standing beside her. She couldn't see them too well in the glare of the sun. Not that it mattered. She sighed as she turned away and closed her eyes.

"Just get it over with," she said in a droning tone.

The entity didn't move. She felt its eyes on her though. She grumbled as she swatted the thing's legs with her claws. They felt slick and wet. It was probably Jera if she had to guess.

She had hoped that would spur the soul to attack, but again, it did nothing.

"I said get it over with," Ker demanded.

She turned again toward the creature… and actually saw it this time. It was that thing that had been with Glace and Caran. That amorphous, hulking creature with huge white eyes and no face.

you're bored

She sat up in a panic.

pity

but you won't be bored of this

And then it drilled a tendril directly between her eyes.

white lights

to watch you

dozens of them

to behold you

they all stared at her

to cherish you

only her

to hate you

Ker was now in a house. A normal, ordinary house, not a haunted house or run-down one like she was anticipating. She wasn't a Zoroark anymore. Just a Zorua now. A normal one too.

She thought she heard something whispering around her, but no matter how hard she listened, she couldn't understand a thing. It sounded like harsh clicking noises. However, though she couldn't decipher the words, she could hear the venom in the voice. The seething hatred.

And it was all directed at her.

there was once a little Zorua

Ker was suddenly no longer in the house. She was on a cliff with many other Pokémon. She was with a Torchic and the bird was saying something to her, but she couldn't understand what. She asked what was going on, but her mouth wasn't working.

the little Zorua who wasn't meant to live

Swarms of monstrous creatures rained down upon the massive gathering and devoured everyone in sight. Screams filled the air and no matter how hard anyone fought or how far they ran, they fell victim to the creatures' onslaught. Except Ker. Ker's body, against her will, fell off the cliff and turned into a Pidove. And she flew far, far away from the carnage as they retreated back into the sky, leaving not a single body behind.

she survived for a while

escaped her fate

but only a little while

Now Ker was in another house. A cozy one, somewhere on an island far away, but it wasn't her home. No matter what she told herself, it would never be home. She didn't belong there.

Especially when there was something inside her. Something monstrous incubating, waiting to devour her from the inside out and take over her body. She could feel it moving beneath her skin, wriggling like a worm. She swatted at it, but when she smacked her paw, a sharp stinging struck her chest. She hissed just as the entity inside her did.

the little Zorua would die

it was only a matter of time

Ker could now feel the entity slithering around inside her bowels. Its ropy little tendrils were trying to claw out of her stomach. She keeled over as she coughed violently, trying to vomit it up. The entity held on firm, burying its barbed ends deeper into her body.

the infection, the shadow, would win in the end

this Zorua was not needed

Ker, in her desperation, slammed her own stomach into a table's edge. It knocked the wind out of her and she could barely breathe, but it had stunned the creature. It was vulnerable now.

She wheezed and desperately tried to get her breath back before it was too late.

but

you

didn't

do

that

Ker finally got her breath back. With a deep breath, she hacked up the entity. It almost tore open her throat, that was how big it was. It tumbled onto the floor in a wet heap. Ker wiped the bile from her lips and rubbed the tears from her eyes.

Then Ker saw what she had vomited up. And she screamed. And screamed. And screamed.

It was her as a tiny Sableye.

you

BETRAYED

EVERYONE

The ground shattered and suddenly there was nothing beneath Ker. She and her doppelganger plummeted like two rocks in the ocean. They fell into the void that had opened up beneath them. They fell and they fell and they fell…

And fell…

And fell…

And fell…

SEE

YOU

ON

THE

OUTSIDE

VENRI