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Chapter 60

Gone

Zekra couldn't fathom what was happening.

One moment, she was peacefully flying away from the Greninja village and having a meaningful talk with her brother. It was nothing more than a quiet, nightly flight, even if they had been using it as a time to contemplate and recover from their eventful escape. And then, out of seemingly nowhere, both of them were attacked by the airborne Oracion Fellowship members and were sent spiraling down into the planet where they had barely managed to survive the fall.

Now, Zekra and her weakened brother were in the midst of Shade and a fraction of her Fellowship. Shade, one of the Primogenitor's faithful generals, had finally found them. She didn't know how, but it didn't matter. What mattered was that right now was that she and her brother were vastly outnumbered by a group of Pokémon all bent on killing her for the reason that she was plagued and a threat.

And this time, unlike their situation with the Greninja village, there was nowhere to run. They were surrounded, both on the land and sky. There were Pokémon everywhere Zekra looked.

Zekra drew closer to the collapsed form of her brother as her heart beat so wildly in her chest that it began to bring her pain.

"H-How?" she muttered out to the mighty Tyranitar before her. "How did you find us so quickly?"

Shade's grin grew as she took a few steps closer to the Zorua. Zekra backpedaled, nearly tripping over herself as she kept her trembling gaze glued to the towering beast.

"I think a better question is this; how exactly have you been able to avoid us for so long?" Shade taunted.

"What?" Zekra asked, her voice faltering.

"All of the Fellowships have been searching for your group for three weeks now and up until today, we couldn't you anywhere," Shade explained. "Ever since your group fled from Erebus Woods with that abominable Darkrai, you disappeared off the face of the planet. No one has been able to track you down, no matter how hard they tried. I repeat, no one. And then this morning, out of nowhere, you suddenly become trackable again. Suddenly you're on the map again, and a certain someone is able to tell me exactly where you're headed when that wasn't possible before for whatever reason. So Zorua, I just have to ask since it's baffled me for so long; how have you been able to hide yourself for three weeks?"

Zekra didn't know how to respond. Now that she thought about it, it was a bit of a miracle that the Fellowship had never found her and her friends while they were resting in Aurora Town. With staying in one location for that many weeks at a time, she figured that somebody would have found them, even if the city was a ghost town. But somehow, that had never happened. They had all remained safe and sound and out of the reaches of the Primogenitor. She couldn't understand what had possibly made that happen.

However, she didn't dwell in that long, for more concerning thoughts drilled themselves into her mind.

"I don't know… I really don't. But who told you that we were here?" Zekra asked, immediately fearing the worst. "Who told you that we were going to be around here?"

"Oh Zorua, you really don't need me to spell that out for you, do you?" Shade sneered. "Isn't it obvious?"

Zekra grimaced, not wanting to say aloud that she feared a certain team member of theirs was still aligned with the Primogenitor and giving it information. Shade seemed amused at the sight as she finally stopped and turned away from the Zorua, returning to her followers.

"So naively clueless," Shade laughed. "No wonder why it was so easy to knock you both out of the sky. Oh well. Maybe you'll figure it out for yourself in time."

The Tyranitar pointed a claw at Zekra and Zeverous, her grin never fading as she cast a glance to her army.

"Fellowship members," she declared powerfully. "At last, we've found the traitors to the Fellowship. We have found the plagued Pokémon who set the creator of Erebus Woods free so that she could spread her influence more rapidly to the world. And now, they have joined her to turn this world into a feasting ground for the Plagued Ones! We might not have found all of them, but we do have two of the most powerful of the group right before us, weak and barely able to keep themselves together! As Fellowship members, purge these Pokémon from this world to stop the madness they're so bent on bringing upon us!"

A loud battle cry rang through the fields, and then every single Pokémon charged forward. Zekra found she couldn't move as they rapidly closed in on her, their murderous gazes locked onto her and only her.

"Don't listen to her!" Zekra screamed frantically. "She's lying! We don't want to help the Plagued Ones! We're trying to stop them! Shade's the one you need to stop! She's the one working for the Plagued Ones!"

"You can see that she clearly speaks nonsense," Shade barked. "The plague that Darkrai put in her has warped her mind to create such delusional statements to deceive you. She's now nothing but a monster with the flesh of a Pokémon, soon to devour us all!"

"NO! She's lying to you! She's just going to turn you all into food for the Plagued Ones! You have to believe me!"

The Fellowship Pokémon sprang at her, not convinced by her words. Tears formed in Zekra's eyes as she changed into a Scyther, her blades gleaming dangerously. She eyed the nearest oncoming Pokémon, a Braixen holding its flaming stick tightly in its paws. It wasn't fazed by the fact that Zekra could easily end its life with one well-aimed slash.

"Please! Please believe me!" she cried in desperation, poising herself to strike. "PLEASE, I'M BEGGING YOU!"

It was all in vain. The Braixen lashed out its wand at Zekra, swiping it at her face. However, it hadn't moved fast enough, for Zekra ducked underneath the wand and proceeded to ram the blunt side of her arm into the Pokémon's cheek. It let out a low howl as it went tumbling along the grassy field, crashing into a few Fellowship members along the way. However, this did nothing, for a large number of Pokémon still drew closer to the false Scyther, the hatred in their eyes burning brightly in the night.

"Why can't you understand that you're being lied to?" Zekra asked in a frail voice.

Several Growlithe spat out streams of fire at her, prompting Zekra to leap into the sky just in time to avoid being incinerated. She panted furiously as she sped through the night sky, narrowly avoiding an ice beam that had just been fired her way.

"Why can't you see her lies?!" Zekra screamed. "Can't you see that everything Shade is saying doesn't make any sense? If Erebus really was trying to use me to free her from the dungeon so she could get everybody plagued, why did she wait so long? Why would she have waited fifty years to get somebody like me and my friends to free her?"

Zekra swerved to the right just in time to avoid a nasty collision with a Talonflame. She frowned uncomfortably as she completely turned around and smashed her blade into the Talonflame's back. She watched as her blade dug into its flesh, spilling blood along the ground as the flying-type fell to the ground, wailing in agony.

"It doesn't make any sense!" Zekra continued on as loudly as her lungs would allow her. "None of it does! Stop listening to your leader and just-"

A Monferno abruptly latched onto Zekra before sending a flaming first into her face, severely burning the space between her eyes. She howled loudly as she shifted back into a Zorua, where the Monferno proceeded to grab her in its hands before slamming her down into the field.

"Stop trying to delude us, plagued Zorua!" the Monferno shouted as it landed beside her. "Your tricks won't work on us!"

An Electabuzz and Riolu were soon to arrive at the Monferno's side, and then together, all of them brought their fists down upon the Zorua, each filled with a different elemental power. Zekra took the full brunt of each of the attacks, cringing in pain as the fire ate at her flesh while the electricity coursed through veins and destroyed her insides.

And yet, Zekra was nowhere near close to giving up. The moment each of their attacks landed on her, she opened her jaws wide and screamed as loudly as she could, sending out a massive pillar of darkness from the back of her throat. Anybody that had been coming her way was instantly caught in the mass of energy, their souls becoming devoured by the potent energy. Zekra kept up her Dark Pulse for five more seconds, and then clamped her mouth shut as she sprang back to her feet.

"Gah!"

One of Zekra's legs gave way as a wave of pain shot through her body, causing her to lean down on her other leg as she took in several frantic breaths.

This is bad. You're running out of energy, and you barely had any to begin with.

Well give me some of your energy then! You said you can do that, can't you? So give me some! I have to keep fighting! These Pokémon aren't going to listen to me!

But I need it. If I give you any more than the small amount I'm already giving you, then I can't-

I don't care! You want me to live, right? Then let me have your power! I'm going to die if I don't keep fighting!

Zekra heard a sigh in her mind. She was about to argue with her plagued self further, but then, she felt a wave of cold wash over her, eradicating all of the pain. She got back on all fours, feeling the plagued power course through her body, giving her an almost electrifying feeling.

As the alien power swept through her body, giving her muscles the strength she desperately needed, Zekra saw five Pokémon leap upon her, their claws and fangs ready to pierce her flesh and rip out her soul. She recognized them to be a Clefariy, Absol, Zangoose, Pawniard, and Mightyena. Zekra frowned as she crouched, ready to meet them head-on.

Zekra's eyes gave off a brilliant flash, and then she stood strong as a Luxray. She took in a deep breath, then with a mighty cry, discharged dozens of lightning bolts out of her fur and into the air surrounding her. The descending assailants attempted to maneuver out of the way, but it was futile. Each of the bolts locked onto at least one Pokémon and sent all of its power into their nervous systems.

By the time Zekra had released all of the electricity she could, a dozen Pokémon fell to the ground, unconscious and motionless. She frowned ruefully as she looked upon each of their fallen forms, her heart growing heavier and heavier with each body she spotted.

I hate doing this. I hate doing this so much. I knew this was going to happen, but…

Something rammed into Zekra's side, knocking her onto the ground as she was forced back into a Zorua. She didn't even get a chance to react as a Gengar stamped its foot into her body, pinning her down and smashing her face into the dirt. She was just barely able to look back to find it shooting her a wicked grin, a massive sphere of black energy forming in its claws. Zekra snarled as she opened her jaws to fire yet another Dark Pulse, but the Gengar stamped its foot down upon her harder, causing her to squeal in pain.

"End of the line, plagued Zorua," the Gengar stated. "You've hurt enough Pokémon. I'm not going to let you fill this world with plague."

The Gengar finished charging its Shadow Ball, but just as it was to release it and send it down upon Zekra's head, a fireball struck the Gengar, blowing it off the Zorua and tumbling away. Zekra turned around just in time to see an Arcanine bound at the Gengar before rapidly changing into an exact copy of Zekra. Then, with a loud cry, it fired a Dark Pulse at the ghost-type, swallowing it whole in the vortex of black. It wasn't long before the Gengar succumbed and fainted, shaking in its sleep.

"Zev!" Zekra exclaimed.

The false Zorua instantly changed back into a Zoroark and shot Zekra a weak smile. She could now see that Zeverous, while still alive and able to remain standing, was extremely battered. His fur was singed in many places, some of his fur even missing as it oozed of a dark haze. His claws were drenched in blood, and his breaths seemed raspy, as though he was unable to get as much oxygen as he needed.

"Hey… you're still okay," he said, his voice slightly disoriented. "You're still alive… I'm so glad."

The Zoroark proceeded to pick up Zekra in his claws and then stuff her into his mane. Zekra fought her way to the surface near the top of his head, only to have Zeverous push her back down deeper into his hair.

"Stay in there," he warned her. "We've got a lot of Pokémon still. I'll take care of this."

"But you're going to pass out!" Zekra argued. "You can't keep fighting like this! Let me help you!"

"Nonsense!" Zeverous laughed wryly. "I can keep fighting, no matter what! I'm not about to let you get hurt just because I'm feeling a little weak! Don't worry about me!"

Zekra clung to his fur as Zeverous lurched forward, the screams of more Pokémon filling the air all around her. Wanting a better understanding of the situation unfolding without her, Zekra slowly started to poke her head out of Zeverous's mane.

No don't. Stay in here. Stay in here where we can rest.

I'm not going to fight them. I just want to know if Zev is doing okay.

And what if there's a bunch of Pokémon attacking Zev? What are you going to do then?

I'll help him. I'm not about to let him die because he's so bent on protecting me.

Zekra, don't go out there. If you go out there and somebody sees you, you're going to die. You're running out of energy and I'm running out of energy to give. I'm already pushing myself way too much right now. If I give you any more of my energy than I am right now, I'm going to go into something like that coma you were in before and probably not wake up for a day. And then not much long after, you're going to join me.

Zekra shuddered at the thought of remaining unconscious for that long, completely helpless as Zeverous fought against Shade and her army. She could see the terror-stricken expression across his face as he held his dear sister in his arms, doing everything in his power to protect her as the overwhelming hordes of Pokémon descended upon him.

You don't want that to happen, right? So stay in here and rest. You can check in like two minutes, but just try to catch your breath for now. Give both of us some time to get back our energy. That way, if something does go wrong, you can fight.

Alright, fine. I'll stay here.

Zekra sighed and relaxed the best she could. Even though she could feel Zeverous leaping and bounding, never once did she feel she would fly out of his mane. She felt oddly secure, his fur keeping her snug in its thick mass. She breathed slowly as she curled up in the mane, doing everything she could to shut out the screams of battle from her ears.

Please be okay Zev. I'm sorry I couldn't be stronger like you so I could help you fight… Just stay alive until I can help you again.

He's Zev. He'll be alright, Zekra. Don't worry about him.

But he's just one Pokémon against a whole lot of other Pokémon. And we never did get to rest all that much really…

He got more rest than you. He didn't stay up all night the day before everybody split up and nearly get himself killed. Really, he's in a much better condition than you. Plus he's got his own plague in him. Sure, it can't talk to him because of that awful pin, even though I doubt it'd talk to him in the first place, but I know it's still doing everything it can to keep him alive.

You make it sound like his plague never did have conversations with him… which Zev was talking about a little while ago.

Well I imagine that if he didn't have that pin, it could talk to him. Just not like what you and I are doing right now. I really don't think it'd want to have conversations with him honestly.

None of the other plagued selves have conversations with their hosts like you and me do. They only talk to the others when they need help. Tear's just gives him ideas and pretended to be his voice of reason as he always described it. Yimtri's seems to make his emotions go crazy, like make him actually remember that he's got them in the first place and try to reason with anything he's doing that's really messed up. Then Zev's just makes him act all violent. Nyx… I have no idea what her plague does, and then Impetus and Syn weren't synchronized enough to really be affected I think. They never showed any signs when I still knew them.

But you… You're different somehow.

Yeah, I know. I figured that out a while ago. I even told you about it.

So then why are you different than everybody else's plague? Why do you talk to me when you know you don't have to? Why are you bored of the role Nyx gave you and want to be your own being instead of just staying stuck inside of me and making me stronger like you were told to?

There wasn't a response this time. Zekra frowned as she saw her plagued self within the black of her mind, staring back at her with its typical hollow eyes. But this time, there was something else in its eyes. Something she recognized to be solemnness.

Maybe it's because some part of you wants me to be that way.

Zekra was immediately taken aback by the remark. She wanted to say something to her corrupted self, tell it that it was a lie and that she in no way wanted a parasitic creature to act like it a normal Pokémon. She had absolutely no intentions of wanting her plagued self invading her thoughts a good majority of the time and having it as a companion of sorts. Her plagued self was wrong.

But before she could say these things to the one in her mind, there was a loud howl from outside of Zeverous's mane. Zekra shook her head as she shrank herself down into a Joltik before she crawled to the front of Zeverous's head and cautiously peeked out of the hair on his forehead. She soon found herself staring upon a blood-stained battlefield, bodies both living and decaying collapsed in the endless sea of grass. Zekra recognized many of the Pokémon to be those she had personally dealt with, though there were many more that she could only presume were the results of Zeverous's efforts.

Shade was the only one standing amongst the two siblings now. In the distance, the few remaining ones of her army were fleeing from sight, presumably retreating back to their Fellowship. And yet, despite her dire situation, Shade didn't seem the least bit fazed. She only wore a disappointed frown as she glanced back to watch the last of her members disappear into the distance.

"I knew that you'd probably dispatch a few of them," Shade said in a grumbly voice, "but I didn't think that you had a chance of taking out of nearly all of them. Your plague is obviously much stronger than I thought it was."

Shade chuckled darkly as a toothy grin replaced her frown.

"Of course, you're at your limit right now, aren't you?" she asked evilly.

"Not even close," Zeverous snarled back.

Zekra looked down upon her brother and was quick to see that he was lying. The Zoroark was panting with every breath, seemingly ready to collapse at any moment. It was miraculous in itself that he was able to remain standing, even if he seemed forced to remain on all fours in order to keep fighting.

"So you're saying that you can take me on all by yourself in that state?" Shade taunted. "You don't even need your little friend to help you out? Or are you scared that I'll kill her and it'll be all your fault since you know you're not strong enough to keep her safe? You know you're not strong enough. Remember how I nearly killed you back at Dusk Mines when that Cubone and Quilava were with you? You couldn't protect her then. She had to save you. Face it, you can't protect her. You're nothing but a weak Zoroark who's only gotten as far as you have because that traitorous Darkrai gave you the plague. Without that power, you would have died a long time ago."

Zeverous growled as his eyes filled with a bright aqua light.

"I'm strong enough to protect her from you," Zeverous declared. "I swore that I'd keep her safe, and I'm not about to let someone like you make me break that promise!"

The Zoroark plunged his claws deep into his mane, grabbing ahold of Zekra's tiny Joltik form. Then with a flash of light, he changed into a Greninja and stuffed her into his tongue scarf. Zekra nearly reverted back into a Zorua from the sudden force, but kept her form stable and clung for dear life as Zeverous sprang at the Tyranitar, water sword in hand.

He brought the watery blade down upon Shade just as he closed in on her, but just as it was to slice into her head, the Tyranitar swiftly caught in her claws. She chuckled to herself as she kept it inches above her head, tightening her grip on it. Zekra could clearly see the blade cutting deep into her rocky flesh, watching it slowly sever her hands in half, yet Shade didn't seem in the least bit of pain. There wasn't even any blood.

"Why do you always think you can kill me?" Shade asked as she shook her head. "This is the second time you've tried, and you still haven't learned your lesson. When are you ever going to learn that you can't kill me?"

"You can die!" Zeverous shouted. "Everybody can die! I don't care if you're one of the Primogenitor's generals or not! You can and will die!"

"There you go again, believing in something that isn't real. You know who I really am, and yet you still forget what I'm capable of. Course, maybe I should blame myself for that. I never did get to tell you what it means to be one of the Primogenitor's generals. Maybe I should enlighten you."

Shade shot the Zoroark a malicious smile as her eyes became alight with an eerie, orange glow very akin to a raging fire. Zekra heart stopped as she saw the glow intensify. She knew those eyes. She had seen them before. She had seen them several times upon many different Pokémon on a very fateful day…

"Zev! Get away from her!" Zekra screamed.

Zeverous released his hold on the blade as he leapt back. The two of them both watched as Shade pried the sword out of her claws and tossed it to the ground. Her eyes continued to give off that sinister light as several black, worm-like substances flowed out of her deep cuts along her palms and encased her hands. Seconds later, the tendrils seeped back into her hands, leaving her claws completely healed, not a single line or scar upon them.

She shot the two of them a smirk as the very tips of her claws became filled with a black energy. Black energy that Zekra was quick to realize was exactly the same as the black energy Yimtri would encase his claws with every time he had the intent of killing someone. Upon seeing it, Zekra was quick to realize that it was never the ghostly energy as she had always thought. It was something else.

It was a power she knew wasn't supposed to exist.

"You can't kill anyone filled with the plague," Shade spoke. "The plague makes you immortal. You'll live forever, never dying as long as you've got it inside of you. Even you two can't die despite having that deformed plague that the Darkrai gave you. Everybody can try to kill you, but you'll never actually die. You'll keep regenerating forever and ever. You'll watch eons pass and you'll never even age. You being able to kill me is impossible, so by that same logic, me being able to kill you should also be impossible, right?"

Shade's eyes glimmered with the otherworldly light.

"Right, Zoroark?"

All Zekra saw was a blur of gray movement. A movement that was as swift as a sprinting Jolteon in a lightning storm. Something that was miraculous in itself to pick up on.

And then she heard a sickening sound. She heard a loud cracking sound, like twigs being snapped in half, except she knew it wasn't that. This sounded different.

Zekra was blown out of her brother's false scarf and sent tumbling back into the grassy plains, reverting back into her Zorua form. She shook her head as she wearily climbed back to her feet and shot her gaze back over to Zeverous and Shade.

What she found was Shade's claw stuck deep in Zeverous's chest, his blood splattered all over her face. Zeverous could only remain stuck there in his Zoroark form, completely frozen as he feebly struggled, letting out gurgling sounds as he suffocated on his fluids.

"Normal Pokémon can't kill Pokémon filled with the plague, whether they're like you or they're part of our grand army," Shade said, smiling sadistically. "But Zoroark, plagued Pokémon can kill other plagued Pokémon. It was something the Primogenitor made possible when it knew there could always be some Pokémon that's resisting the plague far too much for us to control. We all have a power that makes it possible to kill the very plague within each other, stopping their ability to heal you and make you stronger. And once they're dead… you're sure to follow not much later. After all…

"How are you supposed to live when you don't have this anymore?!"

The Tyranitar ripped her claw out of Zeverous's body with one swift pull. Zeverous's body immediately slumped to the ground, his eyes frozen open as his wound spilled his blood across the blades of grass.

Clutched tight in Shade's hand was his heart. Except, there was something very wrong with his heart. A majority of his heart had become a deep black with only the top portion of it still retaining the redness that a normal heart should have had. Red and black streams drifted out of the heart, giving it the vague appearance of a deadly fireball with how brightly it glowed in the darkness of the field. Dozens of thick, cord-like appendages were fastened to the heart, one part of the ends embedded deep into the ventricles and valves while the other ends remained connected to something within some unknown part of the Zoroark's body.

And yet, the heart was somehow still beating, unaffected by the trauma of being violently ripped out of Zeverous's ribcage.

Zeverous and Zekra could only look at it, their jaws gaping open at the horrifying sight.

"So this is what a deformed Plagued One's heart looks like," Shade remarked. "I always did wonder if it was just like a normal Plagued One's heart. Hah, so it is. Your plague isn't so different from the Primogenitor's after all."

Shade snickered briefly as dug her claws deep into the heart. There was a shrill, unnatural scream from somewhere within Zeverous's body, and then the tendrils holding his heart suddenly eroded, shriveling up into black powder until Zeverous body was littered with the alien substance. Shade chuckled to herself as she dropped his now motionless heart, watching as Zeverous's body was soon to follow suit.

The Tyranitar continued laughing to herself as she kicked the Zoroark's body aside and made her way over to the little Zorua in the distance.

"Sorry I haven't been paying attention to you," Shade said in mock sympathy. "This Zoroark has been causing me a lot of trouble. But now that he's gone, there won't be any more distractions."

Zekra found she couldn't move. She was frozen on the spot, her eyes glued to the Zoroark corpse that rested not far from where she stood. That corpse that was once her brother, living and breathing and fighting for her just moments ago. Now he was staring at her, his eyes soulless and empty. It was just like that awful vision she had earlier when she had been talking with her plagued self in the Greninja village.

It had to be a dream. All of this had to be a dream. Zeverous couldn't have been dead.

He had to still be alive. Everything she was seeing was nothing but a sick, demented nightmare her imagination had conjured up. Any moment now she'd wake up.

Zeverous couldn't be dead. He couldn't. He was still alive. Because if Zeverous was really dead… then she was all alone.

She would be all alone in this world with nobody to turn to. It would mean that the Plagued Ones had truly taken everything she cared about.

Everything.

We need to go.

Zekra kept staring at the corpse, the world around her becoming more and more distant with each passing second.

Turn into a Skarmory. Get out of here before Shade kills you.

He's not dead… He's not dead…

Let's go! Stop staring at him and get going!

He's still here with me… I know he is. Zev isn't dead. Zev is still alive.

Your brother is dead! Stop denying it and get out of here! GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE YOU END UP JUST LIKE HIM!

Shut up! Just shut up! He's alive, alright?! Get out of my head! GET OUT! JUST GET OUT!

ZEKRA!

The Zorua felt something grab her by the neck and lift her high off the ground. She let out a pained choking sound as whatever held her grew tighter, digging something sharp into her throat. She weakly turned away from her brother's body to find herself face-to-face with Shade, her eyes still filled with the light Zekra knew belonged to the Plagued Ones.

"I was kind of hoping that you'd put up a fight before I got rid of you too," Shade said in an almost disappointed tone. "After all, you always did seem like a spunky little Zorua. But I guess it's better this way. It'll make things faster."

The Tyranitar dug her claws into Zekra's throat. Immediately, Zekra became filled with a terrible burning. She could feel it destroying her insides, eradicating every part of her plague that touched her, severing the ties the two held with each other. And for every part of her body that lost connection with her plague, it became very numb, as if all of her nerves had been cut off in an instant. Her plagued self frantically tried to reconnect itself to her, but seemed unable to do so.

"You know, you should be thanking me in some way," Shade said to the helpless Zorua. "You don't really like having that nasty plague in you, do you? I mean, I can't imagine what it would feel like to still be you and have to share your body with some sort of parasite. You must get tired of having thoughts that aren't even your own. But now, you can get your body back to yourself. It'll be just you now very soon. Of course, you'll only get it back for maybe two seconds before you die, but isn't that better than having to have some parasite in you? It must be so tiring."

"Aren't… you just like me?" Zekra asked wearily. "Aren't you a Pokémon working with the plague? Aren't you two… synchronized?"

"Synchronized? You mean where you and your plague try to become one?" Shade laughed as she shook her head. "Hahahah no, we don't do that on the Primogenitor's side. We don't need you hosts to interfere with anything. Besides, regular Pokémon can't be synchronized. That is nothing more than a fairy tale, some myth that you were told to feebly cling to so that you forget what the plague really does to you."

"W-What?" Zekra faltered.

The Tyranitar grinned deviously as her eyes gave off an otherworldly glimmer. For just a brief second, Zekra thought she saw something move behind Shade's eyes. Something that didn't even remotely resemble a Pokémon.

"I know what that Darkrai told you," Shade sneered. "The Primogenitor explained everything to me after you and your friends set her free from those woods. It told me why that Darkrai was able to free herself even though she was filled with the plague and this supposed synchronization you talk about. But let me tell you something; synchronization only works for Pokémon like that Darkrai. It doesn't work on you regular Pokémon of Kuron. Your plague might be different than the one the Primogenitor gives, but there is no such thing as synchronization for you. It's a fantasy, some lie that the Darkrai gave you so that you don't realize that you really are losing yourself every time that plague grows stronger. She wanted to give you a false hope that you could actually fight back. But the plague inside you doesn't want to help you. It never did.

"We only have one purpose for you Pokémon. One purpose, and one purpose only. We might delay your fate for a while and use your body as a puppet, but your purpose is always the same in the end. When the day's over and all is said and done, all of you Pokémon are nothing but food for us to thrive on while we take back this world you stole from us so long ago."

Zekra couldn't say anything. What Shade was saying couldn't have been true. Nyx couldn't have been lying to each of her friends when she said that their plague was working with them. She had no reason to lie about that.

And yet, the more Zekra thought about it, the more she started to think about the way her plagued self acted around her. How the more it was seemingly becoming one with her, the more vocal and demanding it became. How it seemed to be forcing Zekra into making certain decisions, like it was taking every measure it could to control her. And then she thought about her friend's plagues. She thought about how their plagues were slowly controlling their lives, a little bit at a time until they would listen to their plagued selves without question.

Terron was like that. He claimed that his plague was his voice of reason, and now he listened to every word it said. It could tell him to do anything, and he'd listen. It had been the one, after all, to tell him to go to Erebus Woods when Shade was there. It was the reason why they had all been nearly thrown back into the woods.

If Shade really was telling the truth about how their plagues were still trying to devour them from the inside, then everything made sense. Her plague really wasn't synchronizing with her as Nyx had always said. It was only taking over her.

But even as these horrifying thoughts came over Zekra, one question surfaced that quickly brought her panic to a halt.

"But… if that's true… then why are you killing me now instead of letting my plague finish me off?" Zekra asked. "If my plague really does want to devour me, why don't you just let it?"

Shade chuckled darkly as she tightened her grasp around the Zorua's neck.

"Because it's working far too slowly for our liking," Shade answered. "We can't afford to have weak plague give you the slightest of chances to rebel."

The burning soon reached Zekra's chest and began tearing away at the endless connections her plagued self had created along her heart's surface. She let out a scream as the pain grew stronger, feeling as though it were ripping out chunks of her tissue with each connection that was severed within her.

"Such a shame that we couldn't use you as food," Shade remarked distastefully. "I bet that-"

Something rammed into Shade's face, knocking the mighty Tyranitar over and causing her to release her grip on Zekra. The Zorua rolled along the ground before crashing into her brother's corpse, her heart beating wildly as her plagued self's few remaining connections clung to her in all their desperation.

"Just who exactly are you, interfering with this?!"

Zekra weakly turned her head to the source of Shade's screaming and was surprised to find that Shade was not alone. There was someone else with her. The Zorua's eyes went wide as the identity of the unknown creature became known to her.

It was the Sableye-like creature from earlier that night.

The monstrous being stood a few feet away from Shade, crouched as if to pounce at any moment. But unlike last time, there was something off about the creature. Her body was slightly transparent, allowing Zekra to partially see right through her purple flesh, though doing so cast a violet tint upon the world.

The abomination shot the Tyranitar a vicious glare, the tiny white lights of her eyes flickering dimly like a dying street light.

"Who I am isn't important," the creature spoke, her voice distant and faraway, as if she were speaking dozens of feet away from the Tyranitar rather than a few. "What matters is that I will not let you hurt Zekra. You'll have to go through me if you want to finish her off."

"You're joking, right?" Shade asked in a mocking tone. "Do you really think you can kill me? I don't know who you are, but I know for a fact that you're not like this Zorua. You can't kill me, not to mention that you're a tiny little imp. You really think you can hurt somebody with a stature five times mightier than yours? You honestly think you can save this Zorua when that Zoroark couldn't?"

"No, I don't," she answered quietly. "I know I can't. I'm not strong enough right now. I can't win against you."

The demonic being charged at Shade, her deadly claws ready to strike. Shade chuckled as she dug her heels into the ground, preparing herself for the imp's futile efforts. As the creature closed in on her, she turned on her foot and promptly swung her tail at the one before her.

"But I can still get rid of you on my own."

The creature leapt over her tail, and then proceeded to grab the blue ribbon tied around the base. She yanked it off the Tyranitar, and then somersaulted away from the towering giant. Shade let out a menacing growl as she grabbed her tail, realizing what the creature had done.

"You need this, don't you?" the imp said in a dark voice as she held up the ribbon. "Because this is the only thing keeping you looking and acting like a normal Tyranitar, isn't it? Because it has this."

She undid the knot in the ribbon to reveal a silvery pin fastened tight to it. The exact same pin that Zeverous and Yimtri always wore to shut out their plagued selves.

"Who are you?" Shade growled in a threatening manner. "How do you know that?!"

The Tyranitar's body slowly began to deteriorate as she lost her physical form, slowly becoming a Plagued One with each passing second. She roared loudly as she sprang at the imp, moving even faster than she had earlier. The imp scowled as she dove out of the way, tying the strip back into a ribbon while taking extra precautions not to touch the pin with her claws.

"You want this pin back so badly, Plagued One?" she snarled. "You want it back so you can continue your master's work as a general instead of a mindless puppet? Then go ahead! Take it back!"

The imp flung the ribbon far into the distance into what appeared to be a deep chasm. Shade shot the imp a murderous glare, but didn't bother to attack her and only darted after the pin, jumping off the edge and into the abyss. The monstrous creature glared into the direction the leader disappeared into for just a moment, and then gazed back at the weary Zorua. Zekra could only stare back with a tired look, having no idea what to think of the spectacle that had just unfolded before her.

She was about to make some sense of what had happened, but soon felt herself slipping into unconsciousness. As her energy left her, she feebly wrapped her paw around Zeverous's torn Reunion scarf, clinging to it. The demonic being frowned pitifully as she went up to the Zorua and carefully picked her up in her arms, separating the little Zorua from the Zoroark. And yet, Zekra refused to let go of her brother's scarf.

"I'm getting you out of here, Zekra," the strange one announced. "Shade will be back here any second now. You can't stay here anymore."

"And Zev… right?" Zekra asked weakly. "We're… we're bringing him, right?"

"Yeah, I'll take his stuff. He's got a lot of useful things you'll need."

"No, not his stuff. Bring Zev… bring Zev. He's still alive… he's still-"

Zekra was unable to say anymore, for she soon found herself without the strength to even talk. The creature sighed as she grabbed the backpack off Zeverous's body and dragged it onto the ground. Then, after securing her grip on Zekra, ran away from the sight.

The last thing Zekra saw was her brother lying all alone in the blood-stained plains before she fell into a dark slumber.

Sometime later, Zekra woke up again. It was still night time, as she imagined only an hour passed, and she was by a large lake with large rocks towering all around the vicinity. She found herself housed in a small crevice of one of the rocks, Zeverous's backpack lying beside her. The creature that had been with Zekra earlier was nowhere in sight. She had presumably dropped Zekra off and after realizing that she was safe, fled.

The Zorua considered searching for her, perhaps to question who she was and why she had saved her, but found that her energy was mostly spent. She could only lay there in her tiny hiding spot and let energy slowly come back to her. She didn't know if it was her energy or her plagued self's, but found no reason to ponder over it. Regaining any kind of energy was all that really mattered.

Zekra rested her head down upon the ground, and noted that she wasn't resting on the cold blades of grass. Curious as to why this was, she glanced down only to find that she had a ripped piece of purple fabric wrapped around her paws.

It was Zeverous's piece of the scarf that she had ripped off him before that strange creature took her away from him.

Immediately upon seeing it, Zekra remembered what happened to her brother. How he was lying in that grassy field, his heart having been ripped out of him by Shade. How Zekra had been unable to save him because she was so weak.

No… no, he's still alive… Zekra whimpered to herself. He has to. Because if he's dead…

But this time, Zekra couldn't lie to herself. She couldn't convince herself that he was somehow still alive and that he'd come back to be with her. She was only stuck with the awful truth that he was dead and that there was no getting him back.

She was alone again. She had nothing.

Zev… you were all that I had. And now… now you're…

Tears streamed down Zekra's face as the horrible epiphany dawned upon her, drowning her in an overwhelming sadness. She buried her face into her paws as she wept loudly, hearing her cries echo in the little structure she remained in.

I'm sorry, Zekra.

Zekra stopped crying for just a moment as she heard her plagued self's rueful words. She stared at it from within her mind's eye, able to see that it truly did pity her and didn't know how else to act.

For a moment, she didn't do anything except look at it as her heart throbbed painfully in her chest.

And then, something in her snapped, and she could take it no more.

It's your fault that Zev is dead! You said that he'd be okay! You said he didn't need my help! You lied to me!

I didn't lie to you, Zekra. I really did think that Zev would be okay on his own. And I was trying to keep you safe. You would have died too if you kept fighting.

You don't know that! If Zev and I had teamed up, we could have killed Shade! But no! You said that I had to stay still and rest! And now… now I'm all alone. I'm all alone because of YOU! YOU TOOK EVERYTHING AWAY FROM ME AGAIN!

Her plagued self faltered. Zekra could see it shirking back in her mind, for once genuinely distraught.

What?

Everything that keeps happening to me is because of you! Because even though you're different from the other plagued whatevers, you're still the Primogenitor, right? You're all still the same thing when it comes down to it, aren't you?

Her plagued self didn't answer, but Zekra refused to let that stop her.

Everything that happens to me is your fault in the end. I lose everybody back in my old life because of you. I get Instinct Infestation because of you. I kill two of my leaders because of you. I get kicked out of the Fellowship because of you. My best friend's other half ran away because of you. I can't talk to my best friend anymore because what he did that involves you. And now… now Zev is dead because you wouldn't let me protect him!

Everything I ever cared about is gone because you keep taking it away from me in one form or another! You're always there, waiting to make my life worse at every turn!

You really are the monster that Shade was telling me you were! You want to destroy me from the inside so that it's easier for you to take over me! You're doing it so that I start begging you to end me so I don't have to suffer anymore!

You know that's not true. It's true that the Primogenitor wants to get you out of its way, and I might have a part of that thing in me, but I'm not out to get you like that thing is. I'm here to help you. Mother specifically had me become a part of you so that I could protect you and make you stronger. If I really wanted to devour you, I would have-

By that point, Zekra had heard enough from her plagued self. She couldn't bear to have that monster in her mind anymore. Every word it spoke only reminded her of the multiple tragedies and heart breaks she had to bear. It reminded her that she was running out of time to remain herself.

She looked down at Zeverous scarf, and saw the glimmer of light from the pin still attached to it. The pin that had miraculously remained unharmed throughout the entire fight, not even a scratch present upon its surface. She fixed her gaze upon it, staring at it in silence.

Wait. Zekra, wait, don't.

I can't deal with you anymore. I can't deal with any of this anymore.

You have no idea what you're doing.

I know exactly what I'm doing. I don't need you to make my life more miserable than it already is. I don't need you to turn me into any more of a monster than I am already. I'm sick of it. This has gone on long enough. I can't keep doing this. I've lost everything. There's literally nothing left for me.

Zekra, snap out of it.

All of my family's gone, I can't talk to my best friend anymore, my best friend's other half hates me, I don't ever want to see Nyx again, and the Fellowship is after me. I can't keep fighting. I can't go back to my old team, especially not when Tear's there… there's only one place for me in this world now. One place where you don't belong.

Shade was lying to you. She told you all of that to trick you. You can't believe a word she says. She's a Plagued One in disguise! She's part of the Primogenitor in the body of a Tyranitar!

Look who's talking.

Zekra turned into a Sableye and picked up the ends of Zeverous's scarf in her claws. She let it unfurl, realizing that it was actually a cape folded into a scarf, similar to the original Reunion Capes they had all worn quite a time ago. And yet, it was still suitable for her size. She could tell it wouldn't drag on the ground or wrap around her feet if she wore it in her Zorua or Sableye form.

ZEKRA! WAIT, STOP! YOU CAN'T BLOCK ME OUT! I CAN'T HELP YOU IF YOU-

She fastened the cape onto her neck and immediately felt her plagued self get smothered out. She could hear its screaming voice slowly fade away into the distant reaches of her mind until at long last, there was nothing but silence in her mind.

Lonely silence and a dull ringing in her ears. Zekra only frowned as she glanced up at the moon still shining as brightly as ever.

I don't need to stay here anymore. There's no reason to.

Zekra got to her feet and left her hiding spot, no longer feeling the fatigue coursing through her body as she turned into a Skarmory and grabbed Zeverous's backpack with her beak.

Sorry guys, but looks like you'll have to find Reshiram and Zekrom and beat the Primogenitor without me. I'm done with this.

She didn't even feel a passing regret from her exhausted heart as she shot into the sky and flew toward the moon.

Back at Unown Ruins, Nyx jolted awake.

Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong, but she didn't know what. She only knew that something had happened just now.

She glanced over at the Quilava and Cubone to find that they were still resting beside her, slumbering peacefully and undisturbed by her sudden panic. They were still well and unharmed. Whatever had woken up Nyx was not something related to them.

She sighed deeply, relieved to know that all was well, but the lingering sense of dread did not leave her. It only persisted, corrupting her mind with increasingly troubled thoughts.

Nyx didn't understand what was going on. She didn't know why she was feeling this way when the ones with her were safe. That would have been the only reason she would have been in such a panic. There had to have been no other reason.

And then it finally dawned upon her what had happened.

The Darkrai closed her eyes and called out to Zekra and Zeverous's plagues. She asked them where the two were now and if anything had happened to them.

Seconds later, she received an image of Zeverous's body lying in the empty fields far away from the Darkrai's current location. But it only lasted for a brief second, for Nyx's connection with his plagued self finally ceased to be, the remaining remnants of its energy finally used.

And the Zorua… where is the Zorua? Is she still alive?

There was no response from Zekra's plagued self. There was nothing. There wasn't even a glimmer of a vision or the whisper of a voice.

It soon became very clear to Nyx what had happened to Zekra.

Zekra was no longer trackable. She was just like Yimtri now, having cut herself off from the ones who cared most about her.

She was gone.