B Boi: what's so funny? I didn't see the humor, unless you count throwing crap at Mathrara funny.
But Chris and Kani are always going to do that. He's a pest. A useful pest, but a pest. I mean... bleargh. Just read the chapter, you'll get what I'm saying.

Jewl4life: I'll post when I damn well feel like it. :)
Actually, thanks for reviewing. But I know I've said it once before - I can update every monday and thursday. Count on those updates unless otherwise stated.

Anyway, just in case someone was wondering, when I start dancing DDR tunes, that's actually my 'happy dance'. "Break Down" just happens to be a personal favorite song.


Chapter Twenty-seven: The city of commerce


Chris sighed. "We've been going in circles. Kani, if this keeps up, we'll run out of food again. You SURE this is the right way?"

(Yes, I'm sure. You can't feel it right now, but psychics emit quite a strong aura to those who can feel it. Saffron is like a massive magnet to me – I can always tell where it is.) She ran off ahead of them.

The others (Chris included), looked at each other. Chris finally shrugged, and they dashed off to catch up with her.


"Sorry I ever doubted you Kani." Chris looked down at the sprawling city. It was HUGE.

(It's about time someone appreciated me.)

Mathrara almost sadly pitched in (But I do…)

(Not that I ever want YOUR attentions, lecher.) She knocked him back a few feet, then glared at him.

Anekiro and Chris exchanged a tired look with each other, and walked on (well, Chris did. Anekiro just floated.) This had been going on for TOO long. Kani, in a huff, followed.


Mathrara sighed, and followed them slowly. He wanted to stay away from Kani right now.
(He just never…)

(I know, Kani. I honestly just wish he'd give it up. You obviously have someone else in mind…) Kani gave Anekiro a death glare, and he trailed off. Chris looked between the two, then shook his head. "Someday, you'd better tell SOMEONE who this guy is, Kani. I know too many girls that did something stupid because they kept quiet."

She ran ahead of them, not saying a word.

Chris turned to Anekiro. "You know who she's crushing over?"

(I might. But the day I say is the day I meet a horrible end.)

"I figured you'd say that."


"I'm sorry, but I can't let you in at this time."

Chris sighed, and restrained himself from hitting his head on a wall. The guard had REFUSED to let him in, even when he used his trainer's ID. He didn't even say why.

"Well, that's just stupid. Next idea?"

(Fly, or teleport.)

"Uhm, Anekiro? I'd rather fly, if you're up to it."

(Sure. Just keep that fox off of me.)

Mathrara acted like he'd been stabbed, then disappeared. Chris grinned. Mathrara had his own way of getting in – faint attack.

The other two rode on Anekiro, to the inside of the city.


Chris jumped off of Anekiro (he wasn't hovering very high, but Chris wanted to jump anyway). Mathrara appeared out of nowhere, panting heavily. (I didn't do it!)

"Stealing food again?"

(NO.)

Chris, Kani, and Anekiro looked at each other, and then nodded in synchrony.

(Stop that psychic crap.)

Chris grinned while Kani poured abuse on the Vulpix. Mostly, it was along the lines of why he didn't deserve to breed, and why NO girl would ever date him. He cringed, then ran ahead, trying to cut off the stream of abuse.

He normally DEALT the abuse, but didn't take it.


Chris sighed. A tough looking guy was blocking the main road to where Kani said the gym was. They'd stopped at the corner, and were pretending to be looking at a map. "What is up with this city? There's gangs EVERYWHERE. No one's on the streets."

(We wasted that last bunch that went after us. They must be afraid of the gangs, though – so no one is outside.)

"Yea, sure, makes sense… but it kinda helped that Anekiro's twisters are big enough to be called tornados now…"

(Well, then let's keep on going.)

Chris shrugged, then tried to walk past the tough. The tough blocked his path. "You're going nowhere, freak."

Chris sighed. He had a sinking suspicion… "What are you? Some witch hunter?"

The man smirked. "Actually, for the sake of God… yes, I am. And those markings make you a witch."

Chris moved his arms into sight (he'd tried hiding them), and laughed faintly. "Well, that explains the gang that went after me. You jerks tracking me, or something?"

"We heard about a trainer who fell into a coma, with a bizarre tattoo. I did a little digging, witch. Now die!" He drew a gun, and aimed.

Chris arched his left eyebrow, as the hunter's gun went flying. "So much for that. Now either leave me alone, or you might end up wasted…"

The hunter drew a knife, and charged forward.

The knife went flying, then he was surrounded by a ring of fire. Chris grinned at Kani and Mathrara, who were working together to make the 'ring of fire' trick work. Kani used her psychic powers to make the ring the fire traveled in, and Mathrara used flamethrower to make the illusion of a constant fire. "Thanks. Now what?"


"Witch! Your magics won't hold me forever!"

He drew a pokeball, but it wouldn't open. None of them would. Everyone ignored him, trying to decide what to do with him.


(I don't know. It's generally a bad idea to kill someone in civilization.)

"Then send him outta here. How about across the continent?"

Anekiro smirked (it was something he'd picked up from Chris), then called a twister. It flew at a super speed, picking up the hunter, and traveled off.

It didn't damage anything else, somehow. Chris really didn't question HOW Anekiro did that, he just was glad he could. "Thanks Anekiro, guys."

(Girls too.)

He bowed to Kani. "And the lady Espeon, to whom I owe my life to. Several times."

She shook her head, embarrassed by his theatrics. (Stop it. Let's just get there safely.)

Chris grinned, and continued on the road.


April sighed. She'd arrived a while ago. Now she was staking out the gym. They'd said on TV that the trainer (she knew it was Chris, though they didn't) had faced the Cerulean gym leader for a badge, and she bet that Chris would go to the gym here eventually.

Though she didn't know WHY he was after badges… she squinted at a figure walking towards the gym. He seemed to be chatting with a Vulpix who was walking off to his side.


(Hey, it's that April girl Kani told me about!)

Chris shrugged. "I figured. Kinda hoped to see her again, anyway. Nice to talk to someone I don't have to worry about too much. Al was alright…"

(Getting a girlfriend, now?)

"Shaddup Mathrara. It's only funny so many times."


April shook her head. It looked like he was now understanding – was it Mathrara, that he called the Vulpix?

Chris waved. "Hey April. How'd you find me?"

She smiled a bit mischievously "They said that you'd challenged the gym leader to a battle. When you mentioned Saffron, I figured you'd show up here eventually."


(Chris... do you know her?)

" 'course I know her. She stole about a day's worth of food, and tried to make me talk about the bombing thing. Even when I told her she'd be taking her life in her hands."

April glared at him, not amused by the commentary. "Who are you talking to?"

Chris grinned, and pointed to Anekiro. She turned, then gasped at the floating form. "Where'd you get that…" Anekiro flinched at the comment. Chris winced in sympathy. "Look April… he's a guy. He joined me by choice…" he trailed off, not willing to say anything else.

April blushed. "Ss… SORRY!" Anekiro blinked, then gave a draconian cough. (Yeesh.)

Chris grinned. April peered at him, then curiously at his arms. "What's with the tattoos? I mean, they look cool and all…"

Chris turned his head, thinking it over. "Look… it's tied to why Anekiro's traveling with me."

"You're not going to say, are you?"

He shrugged. "It's complex. The least of it is that his elders did this to me…"

"So. You became a trainer now. Wanna battle, so now you'll tell me?"

Chris shook his head. "No way. By the way, who's this Shaun you're crushing over?"

April blushed fiercely, then backed a step away. "You… you're in my thoughts?" She slapped him, hard. "Stay out, pervert."

(You kinda deserved that, Chris. Give a girl some privacy.)

Chris rubbed his face, and nodded. "Yea, you're right Kani. Sorry about that." He'd meant to do that, though.


April almost went off in a huff, except she realized that she was the one who wanted something from him. He hadn't said a word, just like he had LAST time. The e-mails hadn't helped much either.

"You owe me an explanation… I'll take what you kept quiet."


Chris sighed, and looked up at the sky. No one was around really, so he didn't care. "That hullabaloo about someone coming forward was me, like you thought. I saw the nastiness. I knew the family who lived there."
April nodded, even though Chris couldn't see her face. He was acting different… kinda creepy, to be honest. "I know that. It was written on your face last time. Why'd you drop into a coma like that?"
He continued to look at the sky, and closed his eyes. "The same reason I could read your mind. Telepathy. A cursed gift that Kani gave me shortly after we met Mathrara. She'd been shielding me, protecting me from receiving too much. When she passed out at Cerulian gym, my mind received too much. I passed out. I guess I nearly died."

(I'm still wondering if that was the best idea in the world.)

(It was. Trust me, it's like I've had a blindfold lifted off my eyes.)

"You almost WHAT?" The last word was a cross between a shout and a gasp.

"Died. The mind's a fickle thing, I guess. It's like those cruel experiments that some Nazis did on the human psyche. If you blocked off someone's arm, then gave them a papercut, but said that you chopped off their arm… and continually told them how much time they had left… they'd die. I dunno the full details… death from a papercut, and cruel lies… mind over matter, I guess."

(Author's note: actually, that happened in real life.Psychology at its worst, folks.)

"I've never heard about that."

Chris smiled mirthlessly, eyes still shut. A cool voice cut in "So. You're the new presence I've been feeling."

Chris nodded, and opened his eyes. A cold looking woman was giving him a calculating look. She peered closely at something, and her eyes widened. Chris noticed, but he doubted April did.

April did a double take at the look of her. "S… Sabrina!"

She nodded, and continued to stare at Chris. He really didn't care much, actually.

He felt a probing presence in his mind, but he strengthened the shield on his memories (his thoughts he didn't care about). The presence seemed surprised by the strength of the barrier. It began to try to penetrate it, but apparently wasn't practiced with penetrating such a multi-layered, and complex system of shields.


Kani didn't care about the probe either. Mindwalls and shields she'd taught him. VERY well. "Chris, you REALLY NEED TO cover those tattoos, you know."

"I'm going shopping after this. And you four are going to help me."


April blinked, confused at what Chris said. "Who're you talking to?"

Chris grinned at April. "Kani."


Sabrina nodded, then gave Chris a hard look. She apparently hadn't paid attention to what was being said. "Why are you here?"

Chris shrugged. "Kani's done her best with me. I'm here to learn what else I can do with my gift."

She seemed a bit surprised, though that was replaced with an even colder look. "You've learned psychic abilities from an Espeon? How?"

Chris shrugged, unfazed by her cool exterior. "She's been teaching me on the fly. When I was in a coma for a week, she just imprinted the knowledge into me. Well, sort of."

She nodded, then glanced at the gym. "You'll get your answer in a day. Stay out of sight until then." Her eyes flicked to Chris's arms, then she turned.

She walked back into the gym. April stared at her for a moment, then stared at Chris. Chris sighed, and motioned for her to follow him.


Chris sighed, looking at the shop they'd dragged him to. "What did I do to deserve this?"

April glared at her, as did Kani. "You said you were going to go shopping. So I'm going with!"

(We NEED to cover up those damn tattoos.)

(Stop calling them that, Kani. They're not damned, they're a gift. Similar to yours…)

Chris cut the two of them off wearily, with a look that said 'stop it, or I do something really stupid to make you'.

April handed Chris several things. He sighed, and looked them over. Most were in various shades of pink (apparently, pink was in style). He finally chose a black pair of 'arm guards' that was a mixture of a fingerless glove and sleeve, that went to his elbow. They hugged his skin fairly well.

Even if it wasn't to his taste, he really didn't have a choice. He'd rather just wear t-shirts, since those were much more comfortable than long sleeve ones. "I guess these."

April looked them over critically, then sighed. "You boys have no sense of style, unless you're gay. Black is out right now."

Chris glared at her. He hated being called that. "Despite what you heard, I'm NOT gay."

She took a step back, but shook it off. "You're gonna owe me for this, Chris. How about the rest of the story?"

"For what? The money? I'm paying, not you."

April smiled, something that belonged on the Cheshire Meowth. "Because. Otherwise, you'd have never found this place. So you owe me."

Chris sighed, and grabbed three other matching pairs (all black). He then shook his head, and went off to the men's section to find some new clothing. He was tired of his patched up clothes.


April and Kani exchanged a glance. Neither said a word, but both broke out laughing.
"Now I remember why I hate shopping. Why does every shirt cost at least ten bucks these days?"

"Vul…" (Because…)

"They're greedy. Just say it Mathrara, they're greedy."

April looked from Mathrara to Anekiro. "You know, you sound like you actually understand what they say to you."

Kani sighed, and looked directly at Chris. He met her gaze, then tilted his head to the side, slightly. (Up to you Kani. Tell her?)

(We couldn't trust Al…)

(Actually, he more or less figured it out. He confronted me while you were out. He gave me his word several times that he'd never say anything. I kinda gave up and told him after that. The full story, no edits, except for where Anekiro's family is.)

Kani hissed, then sighed. (Well, we'll wait on it. Once we're done with the tutoring, we'll see. If she's ending up traveling with us, which I suspect WILL happen if she's as nosy as I think she is, we'll have to say. Either of you disagree?)

Anekiro just said "Dragon…air" (Not really). Mathrara shook his head, rather than saying anything.


April looked at the silent conference. "Just SAY IT! Enough secrecy!"

Chris gave her a look, but didn't say a word for a few moments. He finally sighed, and shook his head. "It's… complex. If you're determined, we'll talk later. Right now, I'll be content with being admitted into the academy thing for psychics that Sabrina runs."


Anekiro smiled (a Dragonair's smile is quite a lovely thing), trying to cheer Chris up. (You'll make it, Chris. She definitely noticed you.)

(Yea, the marks on his arms. Bets on if she knows what it means?)

Chris paused for a moment, then glared at Mathrara. "Shaddup Mathrara. But he has a point. Anekiro, odds are she does know what those meant. And that means she knows that there will be extra crap if the answer is yes."

Kani sneezed (the perfume in the store was still making her sneeze on occasion), then shook her head. (But she also gets one hell of a student, who's got training from me, and know tricks that no one else does. After all, you weren't formally schooled, so you know some stuff they don't. Trust me on that)

"Maybe. But the question is, is the risk worth the possible return. I doubt it."


April sighed, looking off into the distance. There he went again, talking to 'no one'. She figured Kani was translating for him. "Stop it, Chris. You're making me think you've gone crazy."

He smiled at her, a lopsided grin "who says I haven't?"

She rolled her eyes, then blinked. For some reason, something was jogging her memory – something that her parents (despite how much she hated them) said.


Chris sighed. He'd made up his mind, mostly. "Well… April, are you sure you honestly want to know? It's not so much of a risk, now. Still could get you killed, but…"

April nodded, excitement written on her face. Chris turned to Kani, who nodded slightly. "Well then, you have to touch Kani for her to teleport you outta here. Once we're in a safe area, I'll tell you most of it. Some, I'm not going to say out of respect for Anekiro's family."

April nodded, and brushed Kani's head with her hand. Kani nodded, and the lot of them disappeared.

Well, except for Mathrara.


"Hey! That wasn't funny! Hey!"

The Vulpix sighed, and jumped into the air. He disappeared with faint attack, heading towards Kani.

Geez, that girl had a long memory for grudges.


The kid panted, then looked back, panic in her eyes. She said softly (still breathing hard) "why me? I'm only 12…"

A gunshot sounded, and the girl collapsed, blood leaking from her form.


A large figure walked up to her, and then roughly moved aside her long sleeves. On her arms were black tattoos, no longer glowing since her life had ended.

A rattle came from her belt, and her final pokemon popped out. The others had died already… he thought they were all dead. The figure looked at it in shock… right before he died, sent to the Void by the pokemon.

The pokemon rested his head on his trainer's body. She wasn't coming back, he knew. Why hadn't she called on him? He'd rather die than let what just happened to her… happen.

Black tears streaked down the fur of the pokemon's face, unseen due to the fact his fur was black as well.


A/N: I called them arm guards for lack of a better word. Think of it like Starfire's glove things she wears, but black, that include fingerless gloves.

If someone has a CLUE what the proper term is, I'll be happy to correct that problem. But I stay away from fashion at all times… so I'm useless about that. Or is there even a proper name?

If there isn't, I'm copyrighting that. I want a quarter everytime someone says it. :)

Anyway, feel free to guess the Dark type. But I'm not saying... besides that it's not a witch-bird.