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Chapter 78
Stop Running
This isn't happening.
Zekra was sure that the Sableye standing before her and the Eon family was nothing but a delusion she was suffering from. She was undoubtedly exhausted from running so much, or perhaps the Greninja's sleeping toxin had tampered with her mind enough for her to start hallucinating.
This isn't real. That Umbreon I was hanging out with didn't just pop up into this house out of nowhere.
It didn't just turn into a Sableye just now.
It isn't Venri.
Zekra touched the pin attached to the inside of her cloak with a shuddering paw and felt its cold surface push against her fur. The Sableye remained where she was, staring at Zekra with a blank expression.
Venri's locked in my head thanks to this pin. She can't escape. She can't talk to me. She can't do anything as long as I'm wearing this thing.
This isn't real. That's not Venri. It's… it's something else. It's a Zoroark. It has to be. It's just pretending to be a Sableye so it can scare me. A Zoroark was the thing that was pretending to be Crystelle and leading me back here to Shiron.
"No Zekra, you know who I really am," the Sableye said, a tinge of venom in her voice. "You can try to deny it all you want just like with Zev's death, but it's me, the other you. Your inner monster as you like to call me sometimes. I'm Venri."
The Zorua cringed back as a deep, primal fear overwhelmed her and made her entire body shake. She could no longer lie to herself; there was no other reason why this Sableye was able to respond directly to her thoughts. This Sableye truly was Venri and though she didn't know how she was projecting herself into reality, it didn't matter at the moment. Venri was speaking to Zekra once more for reasons that Zekra knew couldn't possibly be benevolent.
"Oh great, there you go again!" Venri cried in exasperation, marching toward Zekra. "Always thinking that I'm going to hurt you! Even after everything I do for you, you still HATE ME! For Arceus's sake, would you just stop thinking I'm out to get you and actually believe me?! I am so SICK of you constantly pushing me away and telling me how much of a monster I am! I'm NOT A MONSTER!"
Zekra found she couldn't do anything as the Sableye closed in on her, her gemstone eyes flickering with spite. The Zorua could only stand there in petrified horror as the living embodiment of her worst fears approached her to do who knew what. She tried pushing the pin more into her chest, trying to smother out Venri, but the Sableye didn't disappear. Her form didn't even fizzle out for a brief second as she neared the Zorua.
Just as Venri was to close the gap between her and Zekra, a blast of fairy energy struck the Sableye, knocking her over and sending her crashing into the dining room. She snarled as she clawed herself back to her feet, but a beam of ice was soon to follow, sealing her to the tile flooring. Not even a second later, another ball of magical energy and dark power impacted the Sableye, sending up a cloud of smoke and debris. It didn't take Zekra long to turn her head to find Lyra, Frazil, and Crystelle all shooting her a tense, nervous glare.
"Hurry! Get out of here!" Crystelle urged. "We'll hold off this Sableye or whatever it is!"
"But she-"
"Go!" Lyra insisted, flinging the front door open with a ribbon-like appendage. "Please, flee from here and find somewhere safe! We'll be fine! Just save yourself from this awful creature!"
"Hurry!" Frazil cried before Zekra could make another remark. "Please, go! Leave here!"
It was then that Zekra saw the glimmer of blue within the cloud of smoke. It was burning so bright in that darkness and it was directed at Zekra, burning with unfathomable hate as they grew even brighter. As soon as Zekra saw the fearsome sight, she bolted outside, overcome by her primal instincts to flee from the monster. She knew that the Eon family couldn't stop Venri no matter how much they tried, but she was no longer able to care. She had to get away.
She had to escape from the plagued monster by any means nessecary.
The Zorua ran out of the neighborhood and into the main city, her extended claws scrapping the cobblestone streets uncomfortably. But she continued running, ignoring the ache it brought her as she continued fleeing for dear life. She didn't even pay attention to the fact that a number of Pokémon in the streets were pointing at her with horrified expressions upon their faces, screaming something to the other civilians surrounding them before fleeing somewhere far away. She couldn't focus on anything. Nothing mattered to her except to run. She had to run as far away as she could.
You can't run away from me, Zekra.
Zekra nearly tripped over herself as the familiar voice echoed bitterly and clearly in her mind. However, she quickly caught her footing and kept running. Venri was nowhere in sight, she was only in Zekra's mind. She was probably still with Lyra, Frazil, and Crystelle and putting up with their futile attempts to stop her. Zekra knew she could tolerate having Venri in her head. She would have preferred for Venri to not be present at all, but she would have to make due.
Zekra, stop running away from me. It's useless. I'm literally everywhere you go.
Stop talking to me.
Zekra fled out of the city and into the outskirts that she had last seen when Venri had broken her from the Greninja's clutches. Her muscles were beginning to ache and protested for her to stop, but she refused to listen. She only continued onward, digging up patches of dirt and blades of grass with her extended claws as she ran.
Where do you think you can possibly go where I'm not? Where are you even trying to run to?
The Zorua saw a forest in the distance and immediately thought of Erebus Woods with the way that the trees' branches seemed unusually gnarled and twisted. She shivered at the memories that were soon to resurface in her mind, but bolted into the woods despite this. She noticed that there were no Pokémon in the woods. It was eerily quiet, making it impossible to ignore the voice that still persisted in her mind.
You can run anywhere you like, but I'm still going to be here. You can't run away from me any more than you can run away from yourself. So just stop. Just stop running.
Stop running and just let me talk to you.
No. I don't want to talk to you. I know how this is all going to end!
The Zorua picked up her speed as she tried changing into a Skarmory. She could feel the change slowly coming over, even without the use of her amulet, prompting Zekra to leap into the air. However, before her wings could form, the transformation abruptly stopped, causing Zekra to crash into the ground and skid across the rough dirt. She hissed as pebbles and small twigs scratched up against her and made tiny incisions in her skin.
We need to talk, Zekra. You can't keep ignoring me.
No we don't! Leave me alone!
Zekra began another transformation, this one of a Flygon. She felt the wings sprout out of her back as her form lengthen, but just as with before, she barely leapt off the ground before reverting back into her true form. She was more graceful in her descent this time around, though still stumbled when trying to land and collapsed in a heap.
Realizing that this was getting her nowhere, Zekra forced herself back to her feet and resumed running. However, was only able to run for a few seconds before something invisible bound her legs, making her trip over herself. She tumbled to the ground, her face smearing across the dirt before she came to a stop. She cursed under her breath and pushed her paws against the ground.
Her legs suddenly ceased to listen to her commands and fell limp, making her thump back onto the ground. She tried to force herself back up, but much to her horror, found that her body would no longer listen to her. She screamed orders at her muscles from within her mind, but her limbs continued to remain useless.
There's only way out of this situation and you know what it is. Stop fighting with me.
Zekra could finally take it no more.
"Fine!" Zekra screamed. "Fine, you wanna talk so bad? Then get out here! Get out of my head and face me!"
No sooner did she demand this did Venri suddenly appear a few feet away from the Zorua, still in the form of a Sableye. She was still holding her smoldering, resentful glare that she had been giving Zekra earlier, but Zekra found she was no longer afraid of it. If anything, seeing the spite in Venri's eyes only fanned the flames of wrath in Zekra's heart.
"There you are, you monster," Zekra hissed, baring her teeth.
"As close to being in reality as I can be with your illusion powers," Venri stated curtly. "So hi, Zekra. I finally get to talk to you for real out here as myself. Finally."
"Give me one good reason why should I listen to anything YOU have to say to me," Zekra snarled. "You're a monster and you know it. You're everything that I hate and despise! You're nothing but a demon that wants to take everything I ever care about before taking over me. You're the very thing I vowed to kill the second you guys destroyed my home and took everybody I ever loved. Why should I listen to a single word you have to say!?"
"Because you need to listen to me," Venri scowled. "You can deny it all you want, but you need my help. You need my help because I am you. The plague tore out a good chunk of your soul and made me with it. You can't do anything with the way you are right , what do you really have to fear from me? There is literally nothing about me that isn't some part of you. I've always existed inside of you, and now I'm just alive and can talk to you way easier now because the plague gave me life and a louder voice. So if you keep blocking me out, you're pretty much blocking yourself out. You really think that's such a great idea? Do you really think you can keep doing that for the rest of eternity?"
"So what if you're me? That doesn't give me any more of a reason to listen to a word you have to say," Zekra shot back. "If you're me, then that means that you're just all of the thoughts I had to keep ignoring because they were evil. You're just my crazy killing instinct, the reason I selfishly named Tear after one of my old friends, every single messed up thought I've ever had, and most of all, you're all of my pain that's been weighing me down for all of these months. Really, you're still my plague no matter what you call yourself! Monster, plague, Venri… every single one of those things does the exact same thing! And you all want the same thing from me!"
Zekra broke out of Venri's invisible hold on her and sprang at the Sableye. Venri groaned as she effortlessly stepped aside, making Zekra fly right past her. Then, before she could land, Venri grabbed Zekra back the back of her cloak and slammed her into the ground. Zekra cringed as waves of pain shot through her body and rubbed the dirt out of her eyes with her paws.
"How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not trying to take over you?" Venri said in exasperation. "Why can't you just understand that I want to help you? Honestly, how do you not see it? Are you totally blind?!"
Venri's form shifted with a ripple of black energy. Within a second, Zekra found herself looking at the Sableye-like monstrosity that had appeared shortly after her brother had been slaughtered before her eyes.
"How about saving you from Shade when you were too weak to run away on your own?" Venri asked, the pinpoints of white light in her black eye sockets flickering. "Remember how I got rid of Shade so that you wouldn't die? You remember that?"
Another ripple of light went through Venri and she then stood as an Umbreon. She shot Zekra a bitter scowl as she pressed her foot down on Zekra's ribcage, keeping the little Zorua in her vulnerable and helpless position. The paralysis in Zekra's legs returned as well, further preventing her from retaliating.
"And what about when I was using this form?" Venri then asked, changing her voice so that she sounded exactly as she did when masquerading as Crystelle. "Do you really think that if I wanted to take over you I would have convinced you to leave that island? Do you know how much easier it is to keep you out of danger and in a place where you never get better? You were miserable on that island. You never admitted it, but you were and turned into the total opposite of who you used to be. I fed off all of your misery. I got stronger because of all of your darkness that was growing every second of every day you were on that island.
"And what did I end up doing? I made you leave that island so you could get all of your strength back. I kept you company when I could have just let you go by yourself and I protected you when those stupid Greninja were going to turn you over to the Fellowship, even after you kept telling me how much you hated me. How does any of that make me sound like a monster? Go ahead, Zekra! Tell me how I'm a monster for wanting to protect you and make you stronger! Tell me how I'm a monster for making it so that you're not weak and pathetic, something you hate so much! Tell me how I'm the monster when I keep helping you and you just keep blocking me out and ignoring me over and over again! If you're anything, YOU'RE THE MONSTER!"
"No, you're the monster! Stop trying to trick me!" Zekra screamed. "You're the plague, the thing that stole everything I ever cared about in life! I don't need you! I'm strong enough on my own! I know how to stand on my own feet and win against the Plagued Ones! YOU'RE JUST DRAGGING ME DOWN!"
Venri's eyes flashed a bright red as she shot the Zorua a spiteful glare. She let out a demonic hiss as she took her foot off Zekra and kicked her in the side, sending Zekra tumbling along the ground. Zekra tried to dig her claws into the ground to slow herself down, but found that Venri was still immobilizing her muscles from the inside. She was forced to bear the pain until her momentum finally ceased and she found herself looking at the enraged Umbreon several feet away. Thick, black haze was seeping out of Venri's form as her eyes continued to illuminate, resembling flickering, red-hot flames than actual eyes.
"You know what? I'm done with this!" Venri cried. "I'm done trying to convince you to believe me. You're clearly too stubborn to open your eyes and see the truth. You're too much of an idiot to see how much help you need if you ever want to get rid of the Plagued Ones. So you know what I'm gonna do instead?"
The Umbreon's body began to shift, soon losing any semblance to shape as she became a formless blob of dark energy. Two piercing white lights gleamed eerily where her eyes should have been, fixed into an ominous glare.
"I'm going to be the monster you say I am. I'm going to get rid of you."
Hundreds of thousands of black tendrils shot out of her body and curled around one another, creating a new creature. Zekra could only watch in horror as the tentacles meshed themselves together and formed body parts, the tentacles sliding against each other until they finally merged into a singular, black appendage. The being grew until it towered over the puny Zorua, its massive shadow looming over Zekra so much that the very air around her began to chill.
When the being had finally finished its transformation, Zekra found herself staring agape at the monstrosity before her. It was a Zoroark, except far tainted by demonic influence to even be considered a Pokémon anymore. The entirety of its body was covered with what appeared to be sickly black flames and its mane was wild and untamed, the bead that should have been holding its hair together nonexistent. Because of this, its glorious mane was frayed everywhere, some strands levitating in the air. But it was the face of the awful creature that sent shivers down Zekra's spine.
The eyes had grown large and circular, resembling moons on the brightest of nights. And though they were blank and soulless, they complimented the terrifying smile etched across the creature's face. It was an unnatural smile, a smile that stretched from ear to ear and almost seemed like it would continue off the creature's face. Within that smile were hundreds of needle-like teeth, all pearly white with fresh blood-stains upon them.
Zekra felt her heart fall into a dark place as she looked upon the monstrosity before her. She looked upon it and immediately felt all of her vigor leave her. And for the first time in a long time, she felt scared. She felt this way, because she finally came to realize something. This was what she had been containing within her this entire time. This was the demon she was always ignoring and rejecting.
This is what her darkest self was in its truest form.
Now it had enough of her and was going to do exactly what Zekra always feared and there was nothing Zekra could do. Venri was still paralyzing her limbs, but even if that wasn't the case, Zekra knew that she wouldn't be able to move. The sight of the monstrous being left her stunned and shuddering uncontrollably. All she could do was look up at the beast and wait for it to devour her soul.
"Let's see how strong you are, Zekra."
Zekra's ears perked up as confusion fell over her. The invisible bindings around her legs ceased to be, finally giving Zekra the ability to move again. But even with this renewal of control, Zekra didn't move. She only continued to look up at Venri with a timid stare.
"You keep saying that you're strong enough to defeat the Plagued Ones on your own. You keep saying that you can do it without me. Well let me tell you something; I can still talk to you and make illusions no matter what now, but as long as you have that pin on you, I can't merge with you. We're always going to stay separate as long as that thing is attached to you. I have to get rid of it if I want to get rid of YOU. So Zekra, do you really think you're strong enough to stop me from doing that? Do you think that you actually stand a chance against me?"
Zekra was barely able to bolt out of the way as Venri rushed toward her and struck her claw down upon the ground where she once stood. The grass surrounding her claw temporarily turned into a mass of writhing, sickly tendrils that snapped wildly in the air before returning back to their true, harmless forms. Zekra felt her breathing hasten as she watched Venri shoot a glare at her, the light of her eyes growing brighter as the world around them seemed to grow dark.
There was a flash of black, and then the Zoroark closed the distance between her and Zekra, reaching for her cape with outstretched claws. Zekra hastily fired a Dark Pulse at the abomination, but much to her horror, Venri swerved around the pillar of darkness. Her body shifted to that of a serpent-like being as she coiled her way around the blast and landed on the ground out of harm's way. The moment she hit the ground, she sprang at Zekra with the swiftness of a lightning bolt, coiling her body around the little Zorua. Zekra screamed as she leapt out of Venri's grasp before she could completely engulf her in her deadly embrace and fired yet another Dark Pulse at the serpent.
"Are you really as strong as you think you are?"
Venri slithered out of the way before springing at Zekra. But instead of coiling herself around Zekra, Venri shifted her form once more so that she was a humanoid creature with multiple tentacles jutting out of her back. The appendages shot out at the Zorua, making their way toward her in all directions as Venri decreased the gap between them with an evil grin.
Zekra couldn't move enough as two tendrils wrapped around her ankles and kept her pinned in place. Venri then collided into her, knocking her to the ground as her other tendrils twisted around the rest of her body and reached for the collar of Zekra's cape. The Zorua struggled and thrashed around, screaming frantically as she clawed at the oncoming tentacles, but it was no use. Nothing she did could stop them progressing forward and removing her pin. All Zekra could do was resist shuddering as Venri stared down at her with a knowing, taunting smile.
"See how much power I have on my own? See what I can do now? This was all in YOU. You had all of this power, and now it's mine. What power do you have left now? Where's this so-called strength you keep claiming you have? I keep waiting for it to show up, but it never does!"
In a moment of desperation, Zekra tapped into the dark power within her and changed herself into another being. The transformation was quick, much swifter than it had been in previous attempts without the amulet strung about her neck, and she shrank down into a Joltik. She slipped out of the tendrils much too large to contain her and leapt away from Venri before changing into a Greninja. She didn't waste another second and leapt forward on the coiled power of her legs, fleeing from the crazed abomination in a flash.
She should have gone back to face Venri. She should have tried to find some way to subdue her even though the monster had been attacking her was nothing but an illusion. Zekra knew she should have at least fought back and prove that she was strong.
But she couldn't. Venri had grown far too powerful than she could ever hope to contain.
Venri was unstoppable.
Stop running away from me! You know you can't escape from me!
Zekra felt a jolt of cold panic rush through her veins, but she ignored the vicious, demonic voice in her mind. She only continued to flee with her ninja-like speed through the forest, trying to remember how to get back to Oracion Village. She knew that bringing her crazed, demonic self to a city filled with civilians was a terrible idea and would undoubtedly end with Venri slaughtering anybody she came across, Zekra didn't know what else to do. She needed help. She knew she couldn't take down Venri on her own, but maybe the Eons could help her. Even though Venri was an illusion, perhaps they could find a way to dispel it. Zekra wasn't sure if this was possible, but it was certainly better than having to face the monster alone.
If she was going to be corrupted by Venri, she at least wanted to be with someone.
She didn't want to be smothered out of existence, all alone with her last vision being Venri taunting her with a sinister snicker.
It wasn't long before Zekra found herself in Oracion Village again. She felt a wave of relief wash over her as soon as she saw the familiar buildings, if strangely devoid of any townspeople when it had been so crowded earlier. She couldn't imagine why the city was so empty now when nothing seemed to be amiss. But Zekra couldn't ponder over this nor relish in her relief, for she saw Venri perched on top of a nearby building in her tainted Zoroark form. Zekra was barely able to lunge forward fast enough before Venri swooped down on her, missing her by a hair. The cobblestone road beneath Venri caved in, creating a large crater that nearly swallowed Zekra into it. Thankfully, Zekra was able to flee fast enough, disappearing from the monster and headed toward the residential area of the city.
Within seconds, Zekra found herself in the neighborhood where she had last seen Lyra, Frazil, and Crystelle. She was about to rush inside and slam the door behind her, but then a ray of ice hit the door before she could reach it, freezing it shut. Zekra skidded to a halt as she reluctantly turned around. Upon doing so, she immediately wished she hadn't.
Standing on the other side of the street, shooting Zekra an evil grin with her massive tail swishing back and forth behind her… was Shade.
At first, Zekra thought that it was Venri once more, this time using a more intimidating and imposing figure Zekra already feared to further terrorize her. But just before Zekra could scream her accusation, she saw the Tyranitar's eyes. In those dark eyes of her that were glimmering with malicious intent, she did not see a corrupted version of herself.
She saw the very monster that had killed her brother on that tragic day so many months ago.
Any trace of hope within Zekra was eradicated as soon as she made eye contact with the bulky Tyranitar. Upon looking into her eyes that held a monster within, Zekra saw visions of her last encounter with the Fellowship leader. The memories flashed before her, almost disrupting her hold on reality as she saw dozens of Fellowship members try to kill her and Shade nearly doing the same. She watched her brother die yet again, his heart getting ripped right out of his chest while Zekra could do absolutely nothing to save him…
Zekra's eyes filled with tears as the unbearable pain she had long tried to suppress came over her full-force. Her broken, throbbing heart sent shockwaves of pain throughout her body, making her body tremble so much that her power could no longer support her form and turned her back into a Zorua.
"I've been waiting for you, Zorua," Shade said with a grin. "A number of terrified civilians came running to me and told me that they spotted you around here, running around, and you just know much I've been waiting to see you again. I just had to see you again after all this time.
Zekra stood there in petrified horror, shaking uncontrollably as the plagued Tyranitar marched toward her, the sinister grin on her face growing wider with each step she took.
"Nobody's going to save you," Shade taunted. "Everyone's gone. They all think you're a monster and fled town. And there's no Zoroark that's going to save you this time."
Zekra knew she needed to fight back. She knew that she needed to spring at the Tyranitar right now and gouge out her eyes if she wanted a chance to live. That or she needed to run away as fast as she could just as she had the other times she had encountered Shade. It didn't matter what it was; all she knew was that she needed to do something at that very second if she valued her life.
And yet, Zekra found that she could do nothing. Though her thoughts screamed for her to fight and her heart beat painfully in her chest, she could not move. Her legs were locked in place, and it wasn't by Venri's doing. It was a much more horrifying reason that finally dawned upon Zekra after denying it for so long.
It was because she was weak.
It was just as Venri had said; she had lost all of her strength. The power that used to reside in her heart, fueling her and pushing her to fight every single day no matter what stood before her, was gone. The roaring fire that was her unstoppable power was now nothing but cold ash. Even though she had proclaimed multiple times that she was stronger and that did have power within her… it was all a lie.
She could no longer do anything.
When Zekra finally realized this, she knew that she could not stop the Tyranitar approaching her. Even if she did lash out at the Tyranitar, it would be in vain. She didn't carry the strength to kill Shade. She held no power against the Plagued Ones and their regenerative abilities. Everything she could possibly do was for naught.
There was only thing Zekra knew she could do. She felt her heart sting at the thought, but she knew there was no point in avoiding it any longer. She had been avoiding it long enough, whether it was running away from the Plagued Ones when they infested her old home, Aurora Town when it was under the sinister creatures' attack, Shade after the Tyranitar had killed Zeverous, every Plagued One in existence by running to a remote island, the binds of the Greninja, or even from her own plague within. She had been running for so long and nothing had been accomplished. The Plagued Ones were still out to get her and nothing was going to stop them.
I can't do this anymore. Zekra told herself. I'm tired of running. I've run for too long and I can't do it anymore. No matter what I do, it never ends. It just keeps happening over and over again. Nothing ever gets better. When I do think I'm better, I'll relapse and repeat everything all over again. I never feel stronger in the end. Things just keep getting worse no matter how hard I fight. Things keep going more and more downhill until there's literally nothing left. Because really, what's going to be left for me if I manage to live through this? I'm never going to find Tear again. And even if I did… it's not going to work. Our friendship was always so strained. So fragile. If we saw each other again… it'll be broken beyond repair. Same goes for Yimtri. He hates me and wants nothing to do with me anymore.
It's time to finally admit what I've been denying for so long.
The Zorua took in a deep breath.
I am going to die and there is nothing I can do to stop it.
With this thought, Zekra let Shade stop right in front of her tiny form before covering her claws in the plague-killing haze. She shot Zekra one last grin before smashing her clawed hand down upon her head. Zekra didn't even close her eyes as she waited for all of her suffering to finally end.
A black, clawed hand grabbed Shade's hand before it could crush Zekra's cranium. It held her paw tight, trembling as it struggled to keep the deadly Tyranitar's claws inches away from Zekra's scalp. The Zorua stared up at it, still in her suicidal daze and partially detached from the world.
"How many times are you going to make me do this, Zekra?! I'm sick of saving you!"
The familiar voice quickly snapped Zekra out of her trance-like state. She snapped her head around to find Venri standing over in the shadowy Zoroark form, holding off the burly Tyranitar. Shade was scowling viciously at the sight of the plagued creature, and for a moment, Zekra thought she saw a flicker of anxiety in Shade's eyes.
"You," Shade hissed. "I know that voice. You're that abomination that prevented me from killing this Zorua before. Just what exactly are you, irritable pest? And why do you always come at the worst possible moments?"
"Like I'd tell you!"
Venri let out a loud cry as she tightened her grip on Shade and flung her into a nearby house, using so much force that Shade actually broke through the wall and was hurled inside the building. Venri hissed as she cast Zekra an agitated glare, her white eyes flickering. Zekra found she couldn't do anything except stare back with a nervous frown, her dreary thoughts still not gone from her mind.
"You have no idea how mad I am at you right now," Venri said in a dark, venomous tone. "First you keep thinking I'm a monster even after I tell you that I'm not, then you run away from me, and now, oh NOW you've gotten yourself into a mess that I have to get you out of! You really make me want to kill you, Zekra!"
Zekra cringed back, frightened by her dark self's words. Venri didn't seem the least bit regretful of her words and seemed ready to give Zekra another lashing, but her eyes abruptly darted to the side. The Tyranitar burst out of the house just then, creating another giant hole in the wall as she grabbed Zekra up in her claws. Zekra thrashed about in an attempt to escape, but the Tyranitar's grip was firm.
"You are far too much of an effort to kill than you should be," Shade growled. "When are you ever going to DIE?!"
Shade opened her jaws and was about to snap them down on Zekra's head, but then Venri suddenly appeared between her and the Zekra as a Zorua herself. She dove into Shade's mouth in Zekra's place, head-butting her in the back of the throat and viciously clawing her esophagus. Shade let out a pained choking sound as she dropped Zekra and reached up to pry Venri out of her maw, but Venri was too quick. She disappeared just as Shade was to touch her and reappeared by Zekra's side as the corrupted Zoroark. She grabbed Zekra with her claws before leaping back, putting a few feet of distance between them and the Fellowship leader.
"You'll never kill Zekra!" Venri proclaimed with one of the most wrathful, passionate voices Zekra had heard. "I'll kill you before you can touch her again!"
"Wait a minute… that voice you're using. The power in it…" Shade said as her wounds within her mouth healed. "I know what you are now, strange monster. You… You're her plague. You're manifesting yourself into reality using her illusion powers."
Venri didn't say anything, only spreading out her claws as she let out a demonic hiss. Shade's pained expression was soon replaced with a dark scowl, one far more formidable than any expression Zekra had seen her use before. If Zekra didn't know any better, then she would have thought that Shade was afraid of knowing Venri's true origins.
But it didn't last, for an evil grin was soon to break out of her cold frown along with a boisterous laughter.
"Oh this is just rich! I've never thought such a thing could happen!" Shade cried. "A plague that wants to HELP its host! Oh sure, there's the legendaries with their plague, but with a little Zorua? Oh, never in a million years! A plague that wants to kill the other plagues! A plague that doesn't hate its host! You really are deformed and pathetic!"
"Call me what you want, but it means nothing to me," Venri said threateningly. "I'm the world's strongest plague because of what I am and who I came from, and I'm going to kill your master with this power I have in me. I'm going to end all of this suffering that it's brought on everyone. But first… I'm going to kill you. You don't deserve to live anymore after everything you've done to Zekra. You're going to pay for all of the pain she feels every waking day after you killed her brother."
Zekra looked up at Venri, not believing what she was hearing. She had gotten the impression that Venri was fighting Shade because she was interfering with Venri's task to take over Zekra. But now, it seemed that wasn't the case. She was standing with Zekra, vowing protection, instead of using the moment to rip Zekra's pin off and corrupt her.
She was fighting for Zekra even though she undoubtedly hated Zekra for her inability to listen and for constantly being pushed away.
"Oh but you can't," Shade stated with a sly smile. "You're just projecting yourself with an illusion. You don't have any powers to kill me when you're doing that. Or did you forget that?"
Venri didn't say anything, only keeping her glare fixated on the Tyranitar. However, Zekra knew that Venri was panicked. She could feel Venri's unease within her heart, making it suddenly harder to breathe. Zekra watched Venri glance down at her for a moment before grabbing her with her claws. Zekra shrieked, thinking that Venri was finally going to turn her into a monster, but Venri surprised her once again. She took the Zorua and shoved her deep into her mane, where strands of her hair were soon to transform into tendrils and keep her rooted. Zekra fought her way to the surface, but only succeeded in having her head poke out of the mane before the tendrils held her firm. They weren't allowing her to escape.
"You don't know that," Venri said simply. "Maybe I actually can kill you like this. Let's see who's wrong!"
Venri launched herself forward at the Tyranitar, transforming her arms into Scyther arms before swinging them at Shade. The Tyranitar ducked as she swung her tail at the Zoroark, smacking her across the face and making her stumble to the side. Zekra almost flew out of Venri's mane, but the tendrils tightened their grip around her ankles and dragged her back into its mass, this time burying her completely. She watched as her vision of the outside world disappeared, only to be replaced by the sight of her being surrounded by hundreds of thousands of slithering, black tentacles. Zekra shivered at the sight and started clawing her way back up to the surface.
Stay in there, Zekra. Stay in there where Shade can't hurt us. I've got to get rid of her.
Zekra stopped struggling as Venri's voice entered her mind. Unlike last time, she sounded much more mellow, as if she wasn't having a brutal fight with Shade as she was communicating with Zekra.
Venri… you can't win. You know you can't. Zekra told her. Shade was right about you. You're just using a really strong illusion.
I know… but I don't care. I have to get rid of her somehow or else she really will kill you. I can't have that happen. I'm going to find a way to kill her, just watch me.
Zekra felt a tremor go through her shelter, followed by a small speck of light flooding into the mane. However, it passed just as quickly as it came, and the hole was sealed back up, placing Zekra back in darkness once more. She closed her eyes and tried to see if she could connect herself to Venri's vision, but Venri refused to let Zekra see through her eyes. She only let Zekra see black behind her eyelids.
"Hah! I was right! You can't kill me!" Zekra heard Shade proclaim with a mighty laugh seconds later. "Well then, I think we've wasted enough time doing this dance. It's time to get rid of both of you, and I know just how to do it! I'm not making the same mistake as last time! Let's see how well you fare with an entire army of unstoppable warriors!"
The next thing Zekra knew, she was being dragged out of Venri's mane by an invisible force as the tendril's hold on her loosened. Zekra clung to the tendrils as much as she could, but she was only to hold on for what had to be a minute at most before she tumbled out of Venri's mane.
When she fell out of Venri, she was quick to find that she was no longer on the ground. Instead, she and Venri were falling through the sky, hundreds of feet above the city with two black and purple portals tearing holes into the sky above them.
Flooding out of those portals... were hundreds of Plagued Ones, all of different species, but all wearing the same sinister smile.
They descended upon Zekra, all of them opening their jaws as they closed in on her. Zekra let out a loud scream as she thrashed wildly in the air, as if to intimidate the plagued demons. She could already feel her fear overtaking her, the Instinct Infestation working its way through her mind. She tried to keep her sanity for as long as she could, firing Dark Pulses at the Plagued Ones as she fell, but it did nothing to delay the inevitable. Her attacks weren't decreasing the numbers of the horrifying creatures, and her dread was drowning out all of her thoughts at a startling rate.
"Zekra! Zekra, grab onto me!"
The Zorua turned her head to find Venri had changed into a shadowy Scyther and was swooping toward her as she fell with Zekra, not using her wings to stop her descent. Zekra, not knowing what else to do, angled herself to fly toward Venri and wrapped both of her paws around her neck before burying her face beneath her chin. She could feel the wind trying to detach her from Venri, attempting to rip them apart, but Zekra refused to let go.
Zekra watched the best she could from her position as Venri spread out her bladed arms and began spinning around rapidly like a top, slicing apart any Plagued Ones that dared to come near them as they continued their plummet to the ground. They were still so far up, but at the rate they were falling, Zekra was sure that they'd hit the bottom within a couple of minutes.
But she knew that wasn't the most troubling concern. Venri could easily stop their fall at any time. It was the Plagued Ones surrounding them that never went away, no matter what Venri did. No matter how many times Venri sliced them apart, they would always reform seconds later, just as eager to fling themselves at her and Zekra as they had earlier. And to make matters worse, there was always more coming in every second. The amount of Plagued Ones pouring out of the portals never seemed to end, so much so that Zekra was sure that they would fill up the entire sky with their hazy bodies within a few minutes.
We can't keep doing this, Venri. Zekra said with her mind, knowing it was easier to hear for Venri to hear her thoughts than her voice. I'm going to go crazy and any second now and there's way too many Plagued Ones. We're both going to die.
We're not going to die and you're not going to go insane. You might feel like you're going to, but I'm doing everything I can right now to make sure you're staying rational. I'm forcing your brain to stay under control right now. Trust me, I'm not about to let you do something stupid.
But there's still too many Plagued Ones! You can't kill them and I sure can't either!
I don't care! We ARE NOT GOING TO DIE!
Zekra squeezed her eyes shut as Venri made her scythed arms longer and sharper, extending the reach of her deadly attack so that she took out more Plagued Ones than before. But even as she did this, Zekra knew it still wouldn't help. She was only delaying the inevitable.
And yet… she persisted anyway, refusing to stop no matter how many Plagued Ones threw themselves at the duo.
Why? Why are you saving me? Why aren't you taking over me like you kept saying you would? You had the perfect chance to take over me before when Shade was talking to you… but you didn't. You just stayed with me and then put me in here. Even now, with me holding onto you for dear life… you're not ripping off my pin and smothering me out. Why? You were just saying earlier that you were going to take over me. Why did you change your mind?
There wasn't a response. The only thing that Zekra could hear was the sounds of Plagued Ones screaming just before they were sliced apart. Zekra tightened her hold on Venri as she had horrifying visions of a Houndoom Plagued One snapping its jaws around her before tearing her to pieces.
I did want to get rid of you.
Zekra snapped back into reality as she felt her heart slink into a dark place. It was just as she had feared; Venri did hate her and wanted her gone.
Let me finish talking, Zekra.
Zekra hesitated, surprised by the remark, but still nodded the best she could in her position and tried to ignoring the screeching around them.
I really was sick of you after trying to make you see that I want to help you. I mean, you just wouldn't believe me no matter what I did. So I figured it would be easier just get rid of you. I wouldn't have to put up with your stupidity and not have to stay in that mind prison you shoved me into for a while. But when Shade tried to kill you that time after I showed up to save you AGAIN, I realized that I didn't actually want that. I realized… I still want you with me, Zekra. I don't want you gone.
What…? Zekra asked, her voice faltering.
I care about you, Zekra. A lot. Even though you're insufferable and you just don't know how to listen, you're still the one I came from. You're still me. I don't want to get rid of some part of me just because you're annoying sometimes. Because really, even though you do a lot of stuff that can annoy me and keep shoving me away, you are the reason I am who I am now.
You're the reason I exist in the first place. The plague might have given me a voice, but you had to exist in order for me to even be created. And also, you're the reason I'm so strong. I never would have gotten as strong as I am now if you didn't have that power within you in the first place. And I guess, when I think about it, I want to make you as strong as me. I know you crave my power, and I just want to let you have it too.
I want to repay you for making me so powerful.
I want you to share this power with me so we can be strong together and get rid of the Plagued Ones as one.
I want you to finally be happy.
Zekra found herself at a loss, unable to say anything. She would have thought that Venri was lying to her as she had presumed multiple times in the past, but this time, Zekra knew Venri was speaking the truth. There was no reason Venri would be telling her this when she had an easy chance to forcefully smother out Zekra right there. But it wasn't just that. Deep within Zekra's heart, she could feel the earnest behind Venri's words. She could feel all of the heart Venri had put into those words, speaking directly from her soul.
Venri had meant every word she said.
She, from the bottom of her metaphoric heart, wanted Zekra to be the powerful warrior she had always dreamed of being.
And for the very first time, Zekra felt touched by Venri's words. She felt tears well up in her eyes as a powerful warmth slowly seeped out of her heart and flooded into her veins. And with that warmth, she began to feel something else. Something she had not felt in a very long time.
Power.
Unrelenting, burning power that made her body feel as though it were on fire. It was far stronger than anything she had ever felt before.
Stronger than the misery that had tormented her after every tragedy that had struck her.
Stronger than the love she held for all of her closest companions.
Stronger than the vendetta that had once powered her every step in every waking day.
And Zekra knew exactly what this power was.
The Zorua opened her eyes with a determined glare. She looked down at the cape still fastened tight around her neck, and then with one extended claw, severed the fabric right off her neck.
She watched as it immediately blew off her, taking the anti-plague pin with it, as it went up into the air, growing farther and farther away from her with each passing second. As soon as she was free from it, Zekra looked back at the Scyther, who had seen what she had done. Venri looked into Zekra's bold eyes with a confused stare before it dawned upon her what the implications of Zekra's actions were. She stopped spinning and allowed herself to fall with Zekra, happy tears streaming out of her eyes.
"Let's stop the Plagued Ones," Zekra said with a warm smile. "Let's do it together."
Venri laughed merrily as she changed into a shadowy Zoroark before wrapping her arms around Zekra in a tight hug. The two held their embrace as the Plagued Ones closed in on them, all of them taking the opportunity to hit them as one, massive force.
A bright flash went off just as the Plagued Ones closed in on Zekra, and Venri's body lost its form and began to enclose itself around Zekra. Zekra's body gave off a radiant, white light as Venri merged with the Zorua's soul, giving Zekra all of her power. And as the plagued power seeped into Zekra's muscles and bones, her body began to change.
Her body lost its quad-pedaled form as she grew much larger, gaining more of a humanoid appearance as her limbs elongated and gained sharper claws at the ends of them. The small tuft of fur that once sat upon the top of her head flared up and flowed over her shoulders, growing so long that it nearly reached her feet as the rest of the fur upon her body grew thicker. As her body changed to support the new power that Venri had given her, she felt Venri changing within her as well. Though the two had been separate entities before, she could now feel Venri merging with her spirit, allowing her to see everything that had been within Venri's mind. She saw all of Venri's memories flash before her as she changed, and through every memory she watched, she saw truly how much Venri really was her. Though Venri had been brought to life by the plague, everything she had done was something that Zekra knew she herself would have done under certain circumstances.
And now, they really were one Pokémon.
When the transformation finished, the light surrounding Zekra faded, allowing her to see that she was now a Zoroark. She had not covered herself with an illusion as she had done several times in the past, but rather, she had truly become a much stronger Pokémon.
She had evolved, but she did not appear as an ordinary Zoroark.
Her mane had far more black spikes of fur sticking out of it in various places than that of a normal Zoroark, as well as many black streaks running through the red of her hair. It blew wildly in the wind thanks to her not having a bead to hold it together, making her appear far larger than she truly was. Her eyes shined with a brilliant, blue light and her claws and ears were covered in a strange, red metal-like substance that seemed to serve as armor. But most striking of all were what had happened to most of her body. All of her fur was invaded with streaks of black and red, pulsing with a strange power that made her body glow subtly.
What… what is…
It was then that Zekra had a sudden thought, and then she instantly knew what was the cause for this strange evolution. Because she had evolved using Venri's power, her body had adapted plagued traits. In some ways, she truly had become the Plagued One she always feared that she'd become. But even as Zekra realized this, she found she wasn't afraid. She only felt one thing within her heart as she fell through the air, hundreds of Plagued Ones swooping down on her to obliterate her.
Invincible.
With her newfound power coursing through her veins, Zekra smirked and looked upon each of the Plagued Ones.
Flashes of images appeared in Zekra's mind, and then she immediately knew how to get rid of each and every one of the Plagued Ones. She had never used the power before, for she had never held it in her weak Zorua form, but she knew what to do. She could feel a presence guiding her along, giving her wordless instructions.
She reached deep within herself and once she found the power that she sought, seized it in her grasp. She took her hands and held them up into the sky and let the power flood in her claws, watching as they began to glow with powerful energy. They emitted bright sparks of yellow as the red glow to her claws grew more and more brilliant with each foot she fell. And then, just as all of the Plagued Ones were to snap their jaws at Zekra, she clapped her hands together.
A large, red burst of energy exploded out of Zekra's claws, engulfing everything around her in a fifty-foot radius. Each and every single one of the Plagued Ones were engulfed before exploding with demonic screeches, their bodies disappearing without any traces. The portals that the demons poured out of were also destroyed, exploding into a burst of darkness before dissipating quickly. Very soon, the entire sky was clear of all Plagued Ones. Zekra waited a moment, expecting for new portals to open up or perhaps for the Plagued Ones she destroyed to reform, but it never happened.
For the very first time in her life, Zekra had actually fought back against the Plagued Ones successfully.
She finally had the power to kill them, just as Venri had promised.
Zekra laughed triumphantly as she twirled around in the air, filled with a joy beyond description. She truly had become the unstoppable Pokémon that she had always wanted to be. No longer could she feel the pain that had been weighing down her heart for all of those months. No longer did she fear dying and the need to run away from all of her problems. She felt she could do anything and that literally nothing in the world could stop her.
But as soon as she looked down, Zekra saw that the ground was approaching at an alarming rate. And there, staring up at her with her jaw open agape in shock, was Shade. As soon as she saw that plagued Tyranitar, a number of memories resurfaced in Zekra's mind. She saw everything that Shade had done to her, but instead of filling her with debilitating fear, it filled her with a deep, passionate wrath.
Zekra knew what she had to do.
She wiped the smirk off her face as her mind filled with a number of ideas of what she could do. They swirled around in her thoughts, all of them so destructive and filled with so much power that Zekra thought that she never would have dreamed of ever wielding. Zekra couldn't help but be in awe over the seemingly unlimited arsenal of powers at her disposal. Venri had never been exaggerating when she proclaimed how much power she had within her thanks to Zekra.
However, Zekra knew she could concern herself with her abilities later. Right now she had a certain Tyranitar she had to take care of. With a spiteful scowl, she turned into a Skarmory with alarming speed before opening her wings, catching the wind beneath her metallic feathers. When she had slowed down enough, she instantly reverted back into a Zoroark and landed back onto the ground a few feet away from Shade. The Tyranitar still appeared just as horrified as before, all of her smugness gone.
Zekra couldn't help but shoot her an evil grin.
"Still think that you can kill me?" Zekra taunted. "Huh? Do you? Go on, tell me that you can!"
"You're not supposed to synchronize…" Shade mumbled nervously. "You're not supposed to work with that Zorua and become her… this is wrong… this is all wrong. Regular Pokémon don't work with the plague! They hate us!"
"Oh yeah?" Zekra asked, stepping toward Shade. "Then if that's not supposed to happen… then how come I can do this?!"
The Zoroark then shot forward, moving with the speed of a bullet. Shade cringed as she stamped the ground with her foot, creating a fissure in the cobblestone street and sending up small boulders into the air. With a wave of her hand, each of the rocks fired at the Zoroark. Zekra didn't even stop flying through the air as the rocks closed in on her, and then swiped them with her claws. Each of the rocks were diced into pieces as if they were made of butter before falling to the ground harmlessly as Zekra continued zooming right past them.
Shade tried to run, but it was no use. Zekra slammed into her, knocking the mighty Tyranitar onto her back before landing on top of her. Zekra took one claw and grabbed Shade's neck, pinning her down as she took her other claw and raised it high above her head. Stripes of black began to invade the set of claws as the red stripes upon her limbs started to glow with a bright light.
"This is for Zev," Zekra hissed, "and for everyone else you Plagued Ones have ever taken away from me."
Zekra plunged her claw into Shade's chest and felt the tendrils flood out of her clawtips and invade Shade's. She watched with a cold glare as Shade thrashed about, screaming as the tendrils wormed their way into her corrupted plague heart, digging deep into the muscle and chambers.
And then, the tendrils flailed out, and Zekra felt Shade's heart explode within her chest. Shade's screams abruptly ceased as the plague within her died, leaving nothing but a hollow corpse before Zekra. With a grunt, Zekra ripped her claws out of the Tyranitar and saw dozens of tiny tendrils still hanging out of the tips. She watched as they slowly slid back inside of her, taking the red glow of her body with them until she held her normal appearance once more.
With the job finally done, Zekra then released a relieved sigh and sat down, resting her hands by her sides.
I did it. Zekra thought proudly. I finally killed Shade. I can finally kill Plagued Ones. I'm finally the most awesome Pokémon I always wanted to be.
Zekra took the moment to revel in the feeling of living as a combined being. In a way, it was as though nothing had changed. Zekra still felt she was in complete control of everything she did and thought, and all of her memories were still within her mind, not having changed in the slightest.
But at the same time, Zekra was not the same. Even with Venri no longer with her, Zekra could still feel Venri's power flowing through her, giving her the emotional strength and durability she had always craved. She could see every one of the shadow's memories within her mind. Everything about Venri no longer felt alien, but rather, as something belonging to a half of herself she had always known was there but could never reach.
It was a strange feeling, an experience that Zekra found she couldn't explain no matter how much she pondered, but she found that she didn't mind. She found security in her new form. She was no longer a weak little child, but rather, a complete, confident, and self-realized individual.
Zekra would have pondered her new circumstances more, as well as the number of arcane abilities she now had in her possession, but it was then that she heard the sounds of footsteps hurrying across the cobblestone road with her far sharper ears.
Zekra turned around and found Lyra, Frazil, and Crystelle rushing toward her with panic-stricken faces quite a distance away. It seemed that unlike the rest of the civilians of the city, they had stayed and had been looking for Zekra. They truly did care about Zekra, and the very thought of that made Zekra smile.
The three didn't seem to notice the dead Tyranitar lying on the ground beside Zekra as they stopped before her, panting heavily. The second they saw her demonic form, they shirked back. Zekra's smile immediately faded when she saw the fear in their eyes and realized how terrifying she must look to them.
"Zekra! Oh Zekra, what… what happened to you?" Lyra asked between breaths. "Why do… why do you look like that?"
It was then that Lyra noticed Shade's corpse. She let out another shrill scream as she shirked back, prompting the rest of the family to do the same. They all snapped their baffled, unhinged stares onto Zekra.
"Zekra, why is that Tyranitar dead?" Lyra asked wearily, seemingly ready to bolt at a moment's notice. "Did you… is she dead because you… Zekra, why do you look like a demon and why are you a Zoroark and why is everyone in town gone? And why… why is… Zekra, what exactly is happening?!"
Zekra tried to think of a way to rationally explain to them exactly why she held the appearance of a demon and why she had murdered Shade. However, as she did this, something else came to mind. Something that she had been avoiding for far too long because it brought her pain to think about it. Even now it still brought her pain, but thanks to the strength that Venri was sharing with her, it was no longer soul-crushing. It was only a sting, even if it struck her repeatedly like a constant jab.
But she had to face it. She had to because it was important and she couldn't run away from anything anymore.
"It's a long, long story," Zekra said quietly. "Like really long. And I really shouldn't be telling you it, but you guys should know. You deserve to know after all of the stuff you've seen. So I'll tell you all about it, but right after I'm done, I have to go somewhere."
Zekra looked back at the husk that was once Shade and gave it a determined glare.
"I have to find my friends and make everything right again."
One chapter left until the final arc of the story is upon us and I go on a small break to prepare for it... come back next Thursday to see it.