Hey everyone, l hope you all are well. Cabin fever from the quarantine hasn't gotten to me yet, so at least that's a plus.
I hope you enjoy this new chapter.
"One of the first things that come to one's mind when you realize you have something no one else does is the feeling of power. You feel it overwhelming you and think that you can do anything. It's a high that is near unmatched.
"I remember feeling like that when I first used my psychic. I felt like I could break out of the Deity Lab there and then. Of course, that didn't happen.
"But that feeling remains… At least until reality punches you in the face."
The first thing Matthew realized when he woke up was the intense ache in his back. He had expected something like this after sleeping on the hardwood floor for so long but if he knew that it would be this bad, he might have taken Shali up on her deal.
There had only been one bed. It definitely had the space to hold the two of them together but their thoughts had strayed from that idea rather quickly. Both knew why but didn't dare bother mentioning it to each other.
Shali was the one to start up the conversation, saying that Matthew could take the bed and she could sleep on the floor. "I've slept on worse for much longer," she had said.
His retort had been quick, claiming that he would be fine sleeping on the floor. The idea of sleeping on the couch had been there, but considering it was in the living room and so close to the window, he dismissed it.
Their back and forth went on, and Shali would not let up no matter what Matthew said in return. But in the end he managed to win over her on the basis that he would take all the blankets and comforter from the bed to keep warm with. It had sounded reasonable and he didn't think there was anything wrong with it at the time.
Damn… my back is so fucking sore...
He had thought that using the comforter as a pseudo-mattress would have taken at least some of the discomfort but apparently not. For now, he could bear it, but there had to be a better long-term solution if he was to stay here for longer, which seemed to be the case.
He leaned up, letting the blankets fall off him, and stretched out his arms. The soreness began to fade. Despite his back, he had slept rather well. My mind was at ease, I guess.
His eyes drifted over to the bed. Shali was laying upon it, eyes closed and her spear beside her, lightly gripped in her hand. There had been no nightmares last night, it seemed. Which was good, he was glad that she managed to get a good night's sleep considering everything that had happened yesterday.
He pushed off the rest of the blankets and got up, stretching his back some more as he did so. Lazily, he bent back down to snag the shirt which Brian had gotten for him. It was nothing more than a light blue t-shirt but he was still thankful for it. No longer did he need to wear a raggy shirt with a hole burned through it. He put it on. It was certainly a little loose for him but that was fine.
Shali shifted in her position, causing him to glance back at her. She hadn't woken up yet but he figured that would be soon.
He went over to the door and stepped out of the room, being careful to close it quietly for Shali so as to not wake her up.
As he stepped into the hallway, he noticed a particular smell hanging in the air. It was a fragrance that started making his mouth water as soon as he realized what it was.
Eggs. Good fried eggs.
Now he could hear the light sizzling trailing with the heavenly scent. The steady crackling of what would soon hopefully be a good start to the day.
Today's gonna be a good day, he thought to himself. And nothing can-
"Arceus, fuck!"
A sudden shout that most likely came from Brian caused Matthew to freeze and the quick clang of metal made him jump a bit. He started onward again, increasing his pace as he did so. The shout didn't sound pained or anything of such, but it still riddled him with urgency.
Carefully, he poked his head around the corner, making sure the blinds to the windows were drawn. After confirming, he went into the kitchen.
Brian was standing in front of the stove, clutching his left hand with his right and gritting his teeth. His eyes were looking down to the floor which had a large mess of yellow and white chunks of eggs. Near the mess was a black cast iron pan that was still sizzling.
Pele was sitting obediently behind Brian but was drooling at the sight of the eggs on the floor.
"Brian?" Matthew asked.
Brian jumped at his name being called and turned quickly. After seeing it was Matthew, the tension faded. "Oh… hey, Matthew."
He pointed at the eggs on the floor, "I guess that's why I heard you cursing from the hallway."
"Heh, that's what I get for trying to make breakfast for my guests."
"You know, you didn't have to-"
"No, it's fine. It's just… stupid pan heated up more than I thought. And now I got a mess and a pan that's too hot to touch. It's just a really shitty start to the morning."
Matthew found a smile forming at the corners of his mouth. "Hey, I can clean it up."
Brian shook his head, "No, I can do it later. You can just relax and-"
"C'mon, let me help. It'll be over and done with real quick. Run your hand under some water and I'll deal with it."
He looked down to the floor and then back up to Matthew, shooting him a thumbs up. He turned around to the sink and began running water from it.
Matthew nodded in return. He extended his arm and felt the psychic run through him. The pan was immediately surrounded by the pink energy and lifted into the air. He directed it back to the stove and let it rest on top of the dull red element.
After that, he brought his attention back to the eggs. The Growlithe had not been able to resist the urge and had started devouring them. "Um... Pele, right? Could you move?"
Pele looked up and gave him baby-doll eyes. "Come on, please?"
"I'm sure Brian will treat you to something better than stuff that's been on the floor. I just want to clean it up now."
Pele kept up the innocence for a few more seconds and then resorted to pouting. "Fine…"
The energy manifested itself like a large funnel and collected the chunks into one large clump.
"Brian? Where's the trash can at?" asked Matthew.
Keeping his burned hand under the tap, Brian looked back. "It's under the sink I'll…" As he saw the levitating group of eggs, his voice dwindled down to nothing and a look of simple wonder was left.
"Brian, are you alright or..?"
He snapped out of his trance and continued speaking. "…Under the sink, I'll get it." With his good hand, he reached down to open the cabinet and took out the trash can.
"Thanks," said Matthew. He moved the collection of eggs over the garbage and dropped it in. "See? No problem."
Brian nodded then rubbed his forehead. "Yeah, thanks. Sorry for spacing out there, I nearly forgot you had your psychic."
"I get it, I get it. Sorry for freaking you out like that."
"No, that's fine, just… Damn, I didn't expect it to look like that. And you've had that for what, thirteen years?"
"By my count, yeah. Pretty crazy, huh?"
"No, it sounds one hundred percent, completely normal," said Brian, flashing a smirk. "It's still so hard to believe that you have those powers."
"I don't blame you. The first time I actually did something with my psychic, I had trouble believing it was real too."
Brian fetched a glass from the cupboard behind him and poured some water for himself. He took a sip, "And now we have to stop the group that gave you those powers from taking you back and taking over the world."
"That's the idea." Matthew leaned against the wall, exhaling, "And if all goes well, I should be able to get another message out today."
"Whoa, hey now." Brian, took a quick extra sip, "Are you really going out now to get another message out?"
He raised an eyebrow, "Yes… why?"
He put his glass down, "Okay, so with the evidence we gathered at the precinct and a stroke of luck, I found you in about... three days, correct?"
"Sounds about right."
"Alright, now consider that you go through with this new message of yours. The police are gonna come, as I'm sure you want them to, and they're gonna collect all the evidence you left, maybe the camera, maybe not, whatever. You follow?"
"I think so."
"Sooner or later, they just might be able to conclude that you are still alive even after they confirmed that you had shot yourself. And their precinct file would match up very conveniently with a similar file we have here at my precinct. As a result, they've got a reoccurring anomaly on their radar and might be able to plan where you're going next."
Matthew slouched in his position, his head taking a tilt down to the floor. Many said that the truth hurt, but as of now, Matthew felt a bit of solace in the fact that Brian had saved him from a potential dumpster fire of a future. Maybe he couldn't get out his messages as efficiently, but if it meant he, Shali and Brian stayed safe, it was perhaps for the best.
"Then what am I supposed to do? I can't just roll over and let Team Saber go with this. They want me back before they go through with their plan, but they're gonna get sick of waiting after a while."
"Just… maybe it's better if we save this for another day. I'll walk you through some things that'll help you, hopefully. Right now-" he paused to look at his watch, "- I have to head out and do my job."
Brian picked up his coat off the floor and walked out of the kitchen, Pele racing behind him. Matthew followed the two to the front door.
Brian placed his hand on the doorknob then said, "And Matthew…"
"Yeah?"
He turned around, "I can't stop you if you want to go out or not. You know more about this situation than me so I trust you to make your own choices. But, from what I know and what I'm still figuring out, I don't think you should."
"I understand, just don't worry too much, okay? I'm able to take care of myself."
Brian gained a small smile at the corner of his mouth. "Be safe, Matthew."
"You bet."
Brian extended his fist, Matthew bumped it with his own.
And like that, the door closed behind the detective.
Matthew turned around to find Shali, standing tall with her spear beside her, behind him. She let out a yawn that Matthew found hard to describe other than cute and said, "Good morning."
"Good morning, Shali. Sleep well?"
"I did, much better than yesterday."
"Good to hear." He put his hand in his pockets, "Brian went to the precinct to do his job, he'll be back later."
"And we're on our own for now?"
"I suppose we are."
Shali thumbed the tip of her spear, "What should we do now? Can we even do anything?" Her voice held the tone of someone who was bored out of their mind.
"We can, Shali. You know, we're not just limited to this house. We can go outside if we really want to."
"What about Team Saber? Aren't they watching? Aren't they going to see you?"
"Not if we go where they have no cameras." Matthew scratched the back of his head, "They may be looking everywhere but they don't have the entire world under their watch."
"So… is there a place that we can just go… now?"
He nodded, "We can, if you want." He was about to end that point of conversation at that but something kept him from it. "Why?" he asked.
Shali didn't respond immediately. She turned her head to her spear, smiled subtly and then said, "I suppose I miss the forest. This place is nice and I'm sure you're very happy about staying here… but for me, nothing can compare to the forest."
Matthew had been expected to be shocked, but that couldn't have been further from reality. "I get it. Wanting to go back, I get it, Shali. And there's nothing wrong with that."
She turned her head back, "We don't need to, if you feel more comfortable here I don't-"
"It's not a problem. And, I do know a place that is completely clear of any cameras, and that will probably be clear for some time. Do you wanna come?"
She formed a grin on her lips, "I would be ready to give you a concussion if you didn't let me."
"I'd figure you would." Matthew chuckled and walked towards Shali. "Now, teleporting is a bit weird the very first time you do it. You'll probably feel a sinking feeling, then a bunch of wind rushing you by, and the feeling of weight on your back. Nothing harmful, but it freaked the fuck out of me the first time it happened."
"Do I only need to make contact with you or..?"
"Just… uhh… maybe just hold on to my hand tight. Or.. I guess you could-"
"Have you not teleported someone else before?"
"No, no, I have. Just a few smaller pokemon that were lost. With them, I just held them in my hand or something similar… I guess it'll be a little different with you."
Shali pondered for a moment, then came close and wrapped her arms around him. "How's this then?"
Matthew felt flushed from the sudden contact but quickly l. "Y-yeah, that should be alright." He took a deep breath, clearing out any blush that was still apparent. "You ready?"
"Absolutely"
"Then let's get outta here." He slowly put his arms around her and closed his eyes, concentrating on where he wanted to go.
Soon enough, he sensed the energy building around him and Shali. And just a few seconds after that, there was a bright flash and neither of them were in the house anymore.
Colvin was sitting in his cell again, back against the cold metal wall, barely half-awake as he kept staring at the same corner he had been looking at for the past few hours.
His hair, which had once been a tame, black crew cut, was now completely white and disorganized. He didn't know when it happened, he had only regained consciousness, at least from his knowledge, about a day ago. Whatever happened to him between then and now was completely unfathomable.
I made my decision. I wanted to get Matthew, he thought. He had sacrificed something, something grand, for this second chance at revenge, even if he didn't quite grasp what it was yet. And while he imagined regret coming to him sooner or later, it wasn't there yet. And as long as it wasn't, he would keep going full force.
But what had happened to him? He was injected with something, then nearly electrocuted, then complete darkness and then… then his memory stopped.
He was a Neo-human now, just like Matthew. But what did that mean? He was different, sure, but by how much had not been made aware to him yet. No one had talked to him about it either. He had been alone in this box with little to occupy him but some food that had been mostly ignored.
There were no powers that had made themselves apparent yet. Nothing that came out of his hand or moved when he thought about it. He had never felt any pricks of pain or headaches that might have led to something. All he had seemed to gain in the process was white hair and nothing more.
Except there was something more. In the darkness, through his hazy memory, he remembered a shadow. Something was there, standing in the dark and it… spoke to him? Was that right?
It was beginning to come back to him, the deep cold infinity that he was inside with death surrounding him to snuff out his light. His thoughts of Julia, his fear that he had thrown away his life for nothing. And then the figure had offered him its hand.
"And you took it."
He tensed, and jumped to his feet, looking for the source of this voice. It sounded like it was right behind him. That's impossible. There are no places to hide here, he thought.
"That may be true for you, I do not seem to have this problem."
Again the voice brushed by his ears and caused him to quickly jerk his head around. "Show yourself!" he screamed at the walls, "Don't fucking play games with me!"
"I do not mean to cause you this distress, Colvin," the voice said. At that point, Colvin realized that it was his voice that was speaking to him. "It is only my nature that my voice is carried this way."
"Like I give a fuck how you talk," said Colvin, baring his teeth, "Who are you?"
"Calm yourself," the voice said, quieting down to a near whisper. "You may hear me as clear as day, but others do not. I'm sure you know what will happen if they find you making unnecessary noise."
That brought him back down to earth. Team Saber did not take kindly to those causing disorder in their environment. He had seen pepperspray, riot batons, sometimes even tazors used to get the peace they wanted. And they would stay for as long as it took to obtain that peace.
He looked to the door of his cell, waiting for someone to bang on it and yell at him to stay quiet. Nothing. He waited a bit more. Still nothing.
"Okay," he said, lowering his volume, "Now you better start answering questions or I swear to Arceus I'll-"
Colvin had turned his head away from the door, and now he stood face to face with seemingly his identical twin. Every detail that he saw was a perfect match to his own. From the tips of his hair to his feet. The twin was looking at him and smiling.
"You'll what? Smash my face in? Break my arm? Slit my throat?" The twin laughed, "I'm certain you'll find those tasks much more taxing than what you're used to."
Colvin took a step back and promptly smacked back against the wall, "W-what the hell… What kind of shit is this?" How the hell did someone else get in here? The door was locked, he knew that for a fact.
"Much like my voice, only you can see me." The twin came forward, "But you've seen me before, I know you have. The memory is almost non-existent, but you still remember the darkness, right?"
He did. Suddenly, the details began filling themselves in. As he figured out exactly who he was talking to, the twin's smile got bigger and bigger.
"You're Neo," he said finally.
"That's right, Colvin," Neo said, "Some of your colleagues call me 'The Neo Gene' but to you, I am only Neo." He chuckled, "And of course, another version of me exists within Matthew."
No way. With those powers that Matthew has, he also has one of these things?
"He does, in fact."
Colvin shot it a glare.
"We're connected now, Colvin. As I am within you, I share your thoughts."
He gritted his teeth in frustration. This was not what he had been thinking of when he agreed to this. Powers? Yes. An identical twin of himself that could read his every thought? Abso-fucking-lutely not.
"Please, Colvin. I'm no more than an addition to your form. I do not wish to gain anything from you."
"Yeah, you say that," he said, starting to step forward. "But there's always something the other side wants. You do the job, you get paid. I know how this works, Neo, you're on my turf. So tell me, what exactly do you want to get out of this?"
Neo gave him a dead stare, "I don't know, Colvin. And I don't intend to impose any requests onto you. I apologize that this is not an orthodox situation for you."
Colvin stopped moving forward, "Fine. But don't you fucking read my thoughts again."
Neo had no response for this, and Colvin turned away from him. This was going to be a lot harder than he thought if this was what he had to deal with.
"I'm sorry you think that way," said Neo. "But I'm sure you can find me useful."
"Really? Better be something good because you've built up a bad rep with me already." He looked over at Neo, "Well? Show me then."
"Because your body now contains the Neo Gene, you have your own powers that you can exercise."
This peaked his interest. Of course, the powers. Something that he would have longed for when he was no more than a child. The prospect itself was enough to have you daydreaming joyfully for hours on end. "What does that mean? Do I have the same powers as Matthew? Psychic or whatever?"
"No, I don't believe you do. But I'm certain you will be all the more satisfied." Neo let out a quiet laugh, "First you need to break that light above."
"What?" Colvin swore he had heard something else.
"Break it. It's the only way you'll be able to fully exploit your powers." Neo was serious, his expression confirmed that.
"You're fucking crazy. If I do that they'll probably beat me for a good few hours."
"No they won't, not if you listen to me and learn how to use your powers."
Colvin thought about this, thinking of what future his particular actions would leave him to. "If I do this… you're going to get my powers up and running right?"
"Should you follow my instructions, it shouldn't be a problem."
The ceiling was low, and all it took was a clean swing of his fist into the fluorescent bulb and the deed was done. There was the sound of glass breaking and the entire room went dark.
… Except Colvin didn't realize that at first. Despite the lightbulb being the only source of light, it didn't look like the room had gotten any dimmer. In fact, he could see just as well without the light as he could with it.
Then the alarms started blaring in his ears and he remembered what he needed to do. He looked at Neo, beginning to feel the weight of panic sink in.
Neo was ready and quickly said, "Now focus yourself, sense all the darkness that is in this room, it gives you power."
Colvin didn't waste time thinking about it and only closed his eyes and concentrated hard. The darkness in the room? He didn't think it was possible to even sense that, especially since he couldn't see any darkness as is.
And yet, at the very tips of his fingers, he felt a tingly sensation resonating around them. The sensation moved upwards, engulfing his fingers, knuckles and eventually his hands.
"Now absorb that energy, let it enter your body. It will feel odd, but you must let it happen."
Taking those instructions in, he started trying to pull the energy up from his arms. At first, there was nothing, then it started coming through at a sluggish but even pace. The energy travelled up his arms and shoulders. As it touched where his collarbone was, a cold murky feeling consumed his body and made him shudder. No, keep it together, don't stop now.
From outside, he heard banging on his cell door. "What the hell are you doing in there, Colvin?!" He opened his eyes and saw the visor open with someone looking in at him. Seeing his hands glowing dark indigo, the visor slammed shut. The jingling of keys could be heard from the other side.
"Finish it, quickly!" Neo urged.
He didn't need to tell Colvin twice. Shaking his head to ignore the cold chill, he continued pushing the energy into his body. The coldness lowered in temperature and deepened, making him feel like a frozen pit had opened up in his body. But there was nothing more to take in after that, he had gotten it all within him.
The door burst open and he was met with two guards armed with tazors that were pointed right at him.
On instinct, he raised his hands but stopped when he saw the indigo energy radiating off of them.
"Put your fucking hands up, Colvin!" one of the guards said. They cautiously made one step forward, keeping an eye on his hands. "Don't try anything funny."
Colvin shifted his gaze over to Neo who was leaning against the opposite wall from him, just a few feet from the guards who took no notice of him.
"Feel the energy within you, and force it out. Attack them with all your might."
He clenched his hands into fists and attempted to push the energy out, but it was tense and he couldn't get through. He kept pushing more and more into it.
"Colvin! Put 'em up, now!" the other guard shouted.
The energy around his hands grew in size and erraticness, and for a brief moment they were still…
…And the next, a blast of the indigo energy shot out of his hands at high speed and collided with the closer guard's gut. The blast propelled him back into the other guard and they both shot out of his cell. All of this happened so quickly that Colvin couldn't process any of it.
The guards were in a heap opposite to him, slumped over and unconscious. Or, he was pretty sure they were only unconscious. Surely they weren't dead, right? As much energy as he thought he released, he didn't think it was enough to kill.
Was it?
With light trepidation, he looked down at his hand. It was completely unscathed, his ring completely intact, but still held a dim indigo coat that flickered angrily.
"That was well done, Colvin," said Neo. "You still have energy stored within you, but you will need to get more when you run out."
"I… I…" he tried to say, but was still looking at the guards. Their limp forms were battered from the impact, especially the one who was shot by his energy, he had a deep wound that was beginning to spill blood onto the ground and the other guard. I did that. That energy came from me, he thought. The corner of his mouth turned up in a smirk, "I understand Neo."
He stepped forward out of his cell. Unsurprisingly, there were several more guards waiting for him on both his sides. At the front of the group on his left was The Doctor, who appeared very pleased.
"Well done, Colvin," said The Doctor, stepping forward with four guards in tow, "Well done indeed. I'm glad to see that you managed to perform a dark pulse so early on."
In the briefest of instances, he had the idea of unleashing his energy against all of them.
But that's as far as he got before, seemingly out of nowhere, the feeling disappeared. "Hello Doctor, sorry for the commotion," he said, putting away the smirk he had.
"Oh, don't mind that. Nothing of concern there." As though on cue, medical attendants went over to the two guards and began tending to them. "But I digress, let's get down to business, shall we?"
In a flash of electric blue light, Matthew and Shali appeared.
After a moment of shock from the sensation of teleportation, Shali turned her head, realizing she was no longer in Brian's house. Around her, there were a few trees that may have been only fifty feet tall at most, with them having a very luscious dark green tone to them. The snow was scant in the area where they were, sheltered from it by the trees.
"Umm… You okay, Shali?" Matthew asked.
She unwrapped her arms from him and stepped back, taking in even more of the scenery around them. She had been in her forest for many years and practically knew it by heart, but everywhere she looked there was something new. There was no doubt, they had teleported somewhere else.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, still looking around, "Where are we?"
"Oh, w-we're just outside of the Safari Zone in Johto. It's a bit of a younger forest area, but I find it very relaxing to me. Usually I go here if things are getting heated with Team Saber or if I just need to unwind."
Shali broke off from him a bit more and went walking towards the nearest tree to them. Her spear by her side, she reached a hand up to the bark of the tree and brushed against it. Although it was a tree she had never touched before, the feel was practically identical to the trees in her own forest.
"I know it's not really the forest you know, but… I thought you might like it."
"I do." She looked back at him, "I really do like it. Thank you for taking me here."
Matthew beamed at her reaction, "Team Saber has no idea that this place exists. Well, they might know the location but no one's gonna bother setting up cameras that would only pick up pokemon every once in a while. It'd be a waste of resources."
Shali only half-nodded at his statement, still quite captivated by the tree. She raised up her spear and, with extra precision, pressed the tip into the bark and began carving. First she drew the small circle, then came the crescents on both sides of it.
He didn't need to look down at his wrist to confirm what he saw, but did so anyway. The mark stared back up at him like an eye, but he did not feel very intimidated by it anymore. It was hard to think that he had ran away because of it only a few days ago.
She stepped back from the tree and observed her work. The mark, while slightly rough, was well formed.
Then something shifted in her, and the smile she had began to shrink. Soon, it became a frown.
Out of nowhere, she raised her spear and made two more quick cuts on her carving, both diagonal.
After all was said and done, the Aperta tribe's mark had a large 'X' driven over it.
She turned back to Matthew whose eyes had gone slightly wide from her display. She tried putting on another smile to help alleviate the pressure from the situation, although the false nature of it didn't help much.
"Would it be okay if I asked what happened or-" Matthew started to say.
"Later, if that's fine."
"Okay, Shali."
There was a brief awkward tension between them that was broken when Shali said, "So… What did you want to do?"
"Uhh… I don't know. I never really thought it through, to be honest. Did you want to do anything? We pretty much have all day."
The answer was almost spontaneous, "I want to spar with you."
"What?"
"A spar, between you and me. You can use your psychic and I'll use my spear and aura."
"I-I kinda don't know the rules for this. I never actually sparred with someone before." Azen doesn't count, he thought, that was a death battle if anything.
"Just keep going until the opponent submits. But no cheap shots, if you try to injure your opponent's pride instead of their body, you are only dishonoring yourself."
"Okay, makes sense there," said Matthew, "But going until the opponent submits' sounds a little barbaric. Like, what are we supposed to do? Fight each other until one of us collapses from exhaustion? Because I know I'm not going to just submit, and I have an inkling that you aren't gonna be like that either."
"Don't worry about it too much, I'll knock you out quick and easy and that'll be it," she said, showing a smug look.
Matthew chuckled at this. "Oh really now? You're just gonna throw that down?" He shook his head, "Okay then, Shali, let's do this."
Shali nodded while also silently laughing to herself. She stepped back, keeping her front facing Matthew. She stopped when they were forty feet apart and got into a battle stance, knees bent with her spear facing toward Matthew.
He followed her example and set himself up in a stance not unlike the one he used against Azen.
"Ready?" she asked, preparing herself.
"Oh yeah."
They were both still until Shali took the initiative and burst forward in an impressive feat of speed. Matthew reacted quickly and also charged toward her, preparing the psychic force in his hands.
Both closed in on each other until-
-Colvin was thrown into the wall of the arena by the force of the hydro pump.
He coughed up some water and groaned as he felt new bruises forming along his torso. He looked back over at his opponent, a Blastoise, and used the wall to bring himself back up.
The arena was a white rectangular shape with rounded corners and stretched tall to a high ceiling that blasted them with fluorescent light.
This wasn't his first opponent but rather his fifth. And while he had managed to beat them with relative ease, it had taken a great toll on his stamina. The dark pulses that he had been firing off drained a lot of energy from him, and he was beginning to feel sluggish.
Whatever. I'll fire off another pulse and get it over with. He stepped forward and gathered the energy in his hands, although it felt significantly less powerful than the previous times.
The Blastoise lumbered forward and angled its body down so that its shell cannons were pointed right at Colvin.
He raised his hand and pointed it at his target. With a solid push, he launched the dark pulse.
The pulse connected with the Blastoise and shoved it backwards a good distance, but it did not fall. And after the shock had worn off, it looked back at Colvin with fury in its eyes and once again leaned down to attack him.
What? How could it have-
He didn't manage to get any more thought out before a blast of water shot out and knocked out his legs from under him. From the intense water pressure that he had felt, he was surprised that his legs hadn't broken.
Staring face to face with the floor of the arena, he realized what had happened.
"You've run out of energy, Colvin," said Neo. Not appearing to him but he knew that the being was still present.
Yeah, no shit, he thought, getting up on one knee and pushing the rest of his body to stand. The Blastoise had a death stare locked on him, looking just as prepared to tear him apart with its bare hands as well as with its shell cannons.
"And it seems that there are no viable shadows present for you to regain your energy."
My own shadow exists, doesn't it? He looked down at the darkened ground below him and extended his hand towards it. He had expected the same flow of energy from any other shadow he had observed. But as he felt nothing come from it and pulled harder, a sharp, dragging pain suddenly ravaged his body.
He doubled over and released his hold on the shadow. The pain immediately ceased.
"You took it from your shadow," said Neo, "When you take the energy from your own shadow, it will provide but you will cause yourself immense pain for each moment you take. You may become weak and vulnerable."
Colvin coughed, thankfully not blood. Alright, so what then? He looked around the arena, but the overhanging light above didn't make shadows form easy. Except…
"That Blastoise over there seems to have quite a healthy shadow over there," Neo observed.
Oh that's fucking perfect. There has to be an easier way to do this, right?
"I don't see one."
He looked at his opponent, the turtle once again leaned its shell down, preparing to fire.
As soon as the water began to leave the cannons, Colvin dodged to the left and sprinted towards the pokemon.
The Blastoise saw this movement and let out an angered roar, beginning to shoot off short bursts of water at Colvin.
Running towards the behemoth, dodging as many of the shots as he could, Colvin prepared himself to absorb the shadow the moment he came into range of it. If he was hit point-blank with a hydro pump...
He suppressed the thought and narrowly avoided a shot that would have taken off his head.
Seeing the small human consistently strafing around its shots, the Blastoise growled and began charging its cannons once more.
Alright, you stupid son of a bitch, here I come.
Noticing an opportunity had opened up, Colvin feinted to the left to make the pokemon lose focus and then lunged right at it. His body slid on the floor until his hands nearly brushed by the Blastoise's toes.
The pokemon turned back, realizing it had been deceived, and locked eyes with the human on the ground.
"Hey there," said Colvin, one hand on the shadow and his other glowing with indigo energy. "No hard feelings, I hope."
The energy shot out and-
-Matthew caught the aura sphere with his psychic and drove it into the ground. The dirt spit back and pattered against his face.
Sweat dripping from his forehead, he whipped his head up just in time to see the tip of the spear come two inches from his eyes.
Recalling the pattern that he had experienced before, he raised his hand and caught the spear on the back swing.
"Not this time," he said, taking slow, deep breaths.
"If you say so," Shali replied. Her leg came from the side and swept Matthew's legs from under him.
The frozen ground provided little cushion to the back of his head. And while his healing had already begun doing its job, reducing his headache to a minor throb, he was getting really tired.
He had no idea how long they had been sparring for, but by his best estimate it had to have been at least three hours. It had been not one continuous session however. There had been rounds where he had won, and those that Shali had kicked his ass in. It appeared that this round would end up as the latter.
A sudden weight on his chest forced the wind out of him. Shali had placed her foot on him and had her spear nearly against his nose.
"So… not this time?" she asked with a tinge of mockery.
There was their rule. If he managed to pin her, she couldn't use her bind to get him off. If she managed to do the same, he couldn't use his psychic.
"Okay, yeah, you got me." He raised his hands over his head and signified his submission. "But it isn't a surprise you've won the last few. If you haven't gotten the idea yet, stamina is not exactly on my side."
She took her foot off and offered her paw. Matthew took it and was brought right back up on his feet. "You did fine, I'm actually impressed you're lasting this long."
"Hey, I saw you looking a little worn out these last few rounds. It's not like you're immune." He put a hand against his chest and felt his heart racing at a million beats a minute.
"True, but I still beat you, right?"
"Okay, okay, I get it." He squatted and then sat down on the ground, regaining a regular, steady breath. "Can we take a breather?"
"Hmmm, one more round."
"Really?"
"I'm sure you got a bit more in you."
"Definitely not much."
"C'mon."
He sighed and got himself up. He raised one finger, "One. And only one, any more and I swear my legs are gonna be pulverized."
"Don't worry, I'll go easier on you." She thrusted her spear into the ground, keeping it propped up. "It's just a cooldown round after all. No need to go all out."
"Oh don't you get cocky with me," he let out a laugh then dropped to a lower voice, "I'll show you a cooldown round."
"I'm sure you will." She turned around and went to her usual starting spot.
Matthew also walked over to where his spot was and began building up the psychic energy.
Although the many hours of sparring had tired him greatly, he had begun seeing some certain tactics coming from Shali. She was always the one who ran towards him, usually prepared with an aura sphere to distract him while she readied her spear to strike. That was the strategy that had knocked him down many times before. Even though he should have gotten used to it, her speed proved difficult to avoid.
However, this time there was no spear to worry about. And even though a huge variable had been removed, he still needed to be vigilant.
He turned his head around and faced Shali. To his surprise, instead of seeing a readied form, it was rather relaxed. Her smile didn't convey the usual sense of determination but rather ludic.
"Ready?" he asked, not bothering to hide his apprehensive tone.
"Of course," she said nonchalantly.
Alright, Shali. What's your game? he thought. Whatever, I'm not about to let up any bit.
He used his forearm and wiped off the sweat on his forehead. It had been a tiring time, but he wasn't going to let that stop him. He would be the one to move first.
His gaze narrowed and he prepared to dart over. If he could at least end this on a victory, then he could pass out from exhaustion in peace.
They stared each other down, and after a moment of calm, Matthew made his move.
As fast as he could, he ran towards her. Ready to use his psychic, he powered towards Shali, who still held her expression of playfulness.
She isn't defending herself. Not even bothering to set herself up in a proper posture. I… No, this has to be a trap, right? His feet didn't drop pace as he rushed onward, starting to feel the psychic come through to his hands.
Shali did not move an inch nor did her smile lose a degree of its waggish demeanor. She was locked in that position and while her eyes seemed prepared for him, nothing else spoke that message.
He kept going, but he could feel himself lose speed as he closed in. It was a trap, there was no doubt about it. He had been in situations of deception before. She would not trick him.
He slammed on his brakes and used his psychic to slow him down even further. He stopped himself no more than a meter away from the Lucario.
"Why'd you stop? You were nearly there," asked Shali.
Matthew tried to speak but only gasped air. He had no idea he had become that winded from his sprint.
He took a deep breath and tried again. "You… you're not gonna trap me."
"I don't know what you mean, I was just standing there. You could've easily taken me down."
"Like… Like that would happen. You wouldn't just…" he took another breath, "…throw the match like that."
"Come on, Matthew, look at yourself. You're tired. You would have barely made it past a minute if I went full force with you." She stepped forward and placed a paw on his shoulder. With a tiny push down, he could feel his legs begin to wobble. "See?"
She removed her paw. Matthew coughed into his elbow and spoke again, "Then why were you… just standing there…" His throat felt as dry as the Haina desert.
"I was planning to move, but I saw your aura change. You thought you were going to be trapped, even if there wasn't any."
"So was there?"
"No." She then broke out into a smile. "Well, aside from this."
She pushed him lightly. And with little strength left in him, he easily collapsed to the ground again. Landing on his back, he felt her pounce onto him and just as he tried getting his psychic out, he was aura-binded again.
"Oh, come on! You practically won already, no need to rub it in…"
"I know, this is our break." She dropped her paws down and-
"What the hell! Hahaha- S-Stop it! Hahahaha!" laughed Matthew as he struggled under the Lucario.
Shali was tickling him.
"Nope," she said simply, and kept going.
He continued to scramble and claw at the ground, all the while laughing uncontrollably. Her paws continued to scour his body and reduced him to further hysterics.
He grabbed a clump of grass and kept his grip on it. The very second Shali let up on her barrage, he took his chance and forced her weight off him. Reacting quickly while she was still taking in what had happened, he pinned down her arms and leaned over her.
"Now," he said, "my turn."
"You wouldn't dare."
"I would."
He let his hands dive down and began ticking with all his might.
"No! M-Matthew! Hehehehe- You better sto- Hehehe!"
With a hint of vindictive wickedness, he smiled and echoed Shali's words.
"Nope."
He kept on his attack, avoiding her paws that were trying to push him away. Her laughter seemed to be infectious, because he was starting to laugh with her.
Although one solid kick to the gut pushed him back to the ground, their laughter carried through.
"Arceus, what on earth are we doing?" asked Matthew.
"I don't know, but I'm definitely going to get you again sometime," Shali giggled.
"You better not."
"No promises."
He attempted sitting up and found it an impossible task. That last wrench of strength to get Shali off of him was all he had.
"Hey, Shali?"
"Hm?"
"I can't get up, could you help?"
Shali stood up and walked in front of him. A gentle smile appeared on her.
"No problem."
She leaned down and-
-watched as NH-4 began his ninth match of the day. This time it was a Machamp. While NH-4 had managed to be successful in his other matches with minimal hiccups, this one may prove to be his final one for the day.
The Doctor had been taking notes in his head as he looked on from the observation deck. It was a task he was not unfamiliar with, he had done the same thing many years ago with NH-3. But while NH-3 had taken a very long time to adapt his powers, NH-4 appeared to already have fully formed them.
"Would you say he is progressing well, Doctor?"
He turned to his right and addressed his superior, the leader of Team Saber.
She was a tall woman, fitted with dark hair that draped down over her shoulders. Her face was framed well with a very kind look that was soothing to those around her. She wore a sharp business outfit but nothing that would attract too much attention at a gathering.
Yet, despite her unsuspecting appearance, she always carried a calm yet unnerving ambiance wherever she went. It was not something The Doctor fully understood himself, but something he accepted as fact and didn't question it further.
Him, as well as everyone else in Team Saber, called her "Soul."
"Very much so. NH-4 is tracking to be ready for actual assignments in perhaps a couple weeks, a month tops."
Soul nodded and kept watching NH-4 fight. Her eyes showed little interest in the fight itself, she was rather focussed solely on NH-4.
"Why do you think I did not allow you to continue the Neo-Human project until now?" she asked.
The Doctor turned to her but could not meet her eyes. "I imagined it was because of tact. NH-3 had dealt major damage to Team Saber and we needed to rebuild. We also could not start it up until we found a way to properly handle those who were given the Neo Gene. We have decided not to give him the accelerated healing gene, in case of potential trouble. In addition, the inhibitor chips only went so far, we needed something more."
He looked behind him, seeing the many computer screens that were spitting out data at a rapid speed. A countless number of interns were in front of these screens, monitoring the data and making sure no mistakes had gotten by.
A room with such a size and so much data being processed would be enough to run a major worldwide network.
But all this was only being used to control one single man.
"NH-4 does not know, nor will he ever know. His thoughts of negativity towards us or Team Saber will be negated. It will be as if he never thought of them in the first place," The Doctor finished.
"I am aware of this," said Soul, "But that is not the reason why we held off for so long."
"Then why?" He had always assumed the logical reasoning presented to him. To actually know why was something he really wanted to hear.
Soul paused and watched the fight below, not visibly reacting to anything aside from minor winces whenever the Machamp landed a hit on NH-4. She raised an arm and pointed down.
"Colvin is our key."
The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "NH-4? He's nothing more than our pawn. Anyone could have risen to his level through the Neo Gene."
"No, that is not true."
"Oh?"
Soul finally turned away from the battle. Although her eyes were a brilliant deep blue, she gave off little in terms of emotion through them. Instead, she held a serene gaze that could relax even the most stressed.
"Colvin is not just a 'pawn'. He is our most powerful asset, and one that cannot be replaced," she said. Her hands came together, interlacing her fingers and holding them down by her waist. "He is someone who was trained for tasks, some who has been keenly with us for years. Whether by reward or by force, he always completed the job with flawless results.
"But there is something more that he has. Something that puts him above all others."
"And that his?"
"Drive."
"Oh?"
"He has an intense drive that pushes him forward, something that fuels his urge to go above and beyond. Matthew caused him to forget everything, including his wife. I'm sure you remember when we restored his memories, how he nearly killed some of the assistants working with you."
The Doctor nodded, "I do. Even while under heavy morphine, which we thought should have contained his rage, he did significant damage."
"This kind of drive is unmatched even from our most loyal and dedicated members. It goes beyond doing this for Team Saber, he wants to get Matthew for himself." She turned from him and continued watching the battle, it was apparent that NH-4 was reaching his limit; firing off dark pulses with little aim and struggling to stand up. Soul pressed a hand against the glass and gave a very rare smile.
"And that's why he is irreplacable."
The Machamp closed in and readied a close combat. NH-4 readied a meek defense by crossing his arms in front of him, hoping to stop the incoming attack. Unsurprisingly, it did not hold, and after a few blitzing punches, he was caught in the torso. The force blasted him back and he slammed against the wall of the arena.
When he fell to the floor unceremoniously, it was clear the fight was over. He was unconscious.
The smile Soul had disappeared. "I want his injuries healed. Also, give him a larger room, there's no need for him to be in such a small cell. Make sure he is treated well." She turned to look at The Doctor, "Do you understand?"
He nodded, finding it hard to keep eye contact, "Yes, Soul."
"Good." She began walking away from the arena's window, but stopped after a few paces. "Doctor? You know why we are doing this?"
"We are doing this so the human race can experience all the benefits of the Neo Gene. So we can all ascend as Neohumans."
"Colvin is a Neohuman now, so I suggest you treat him like one." She continued walking down the lines of computers.
How odd, I don't recall you saying the same about NH-3, The Doctor thought.
He looked down at the arena. The Machamp had been neutralized by its own inhibitor chip and two Team Saber members were beginning to drag NH-4 off.
The Neohuman was dragged through the now open door and-
-laid back to look up at the sky.
Matthew took in the heavenly dark purplish-orange mix with miniature twinkling light just starting to peek out. There were barely any clouds, allowing him to fully embrace the twilight.
Shali joined in and laid down beside him. "Exhausted, Matthew?" she asked.
"That's an understatement," he replied, snickering a little bit. "I'll feel sore in the morning, but I'll cope."
"Hey, you put up a really good fight, even if you were tired for the better part of it." She tilted her head over to him, "Thank you for sparring with me today. I really appreciate it."
"No problem, but I'm gonna choose something the next time we go out, and you can bet it's gonna be a lot less tiring."
"Hehe, deal."
They continued looking at the stars, not having any words pass between them. Due to Matthew using his energy to keep him warm, as well as there being little to no wind, he was very comfortable in his position. The same could be said for Shali who barely felt the cold at all.
The sun set a bit further now, allowing for more stars to poke through the now purplish blue sky. Matthew began piecing together constellations despite the faintness of some of the celestial bodies and Shali appreciated the supple beauty the night portrayed. It was peaceful.
Which was what made it hard for Matthew to break the silence with the phrase: "Umm… So about earlier with that tree…"
Shali bared her teeth but did not growl. She clenched her spear hard and relaxed herself. "Must we?"
"You were the one who said you wanted to talk about it later. I would say this qualifies as later."
She rolled onto her side to look at Matthew better and he did the same to look at her.
He could tell that she had read his aura at that moment because she sighed heavily, realizing he wasn't going to let this go easily.
"Matthew, do you remember when I captured you?" she said, the reluctance in her voice easily coming out.
"Being thrown upside down and threatened at spearpoint? Yep, I would say I remember it."
Although she wasn't in the mood for it, she let herself have a little laugh. But it was short lived and her seriousness returned. "I was a border patrol for the Aperta tribe. It was my duty to roam around our territory's edges and make sure no one trespassed."
She sat up, "Another of my duties was to claim land that we either took from other tribes or had been left open." She lifted her spear and pointed it toward the tree that had been marked, "I always marked a tree with that symbol to show that we had officially claimed that piece of land."
Matthew sat up as well, stretching his back as he did. "And then what?"
"And then I was exiled."
"Oh… Sorry, I didn't-"
"No, Matthew. Don't apologize for that. I was going to leave one way or another." She laid her spear on the ground. "In that moment, when I marked that tree, I realized something." She stood up and looked down at Matthew, "My loyalty meant nothing to them. I did what I was asked to do, I protected their borders, I gave them all that they asked from me. And from it all, I was forced to be with someone I had no intentions with."
Shali took a deep breath, "If I wasn't being given the respect I deserve, I shouldn't give them my loyalty." She opened her hand and formed a small aura sphere. With minimal effort, it propelled forward and exploded onto the marked tree.
Matthew stood up, seeing bark splinter and fly out in all directions. It was a small explosion though, and the shrapnel didn't come close to hitting either of them.
When the dust settled, the area on the tree where the symbol had once been was now charred black. The tree, while missing a decent chunk of bark, was still standing strong.
He cautiously approached Shali, who was locked on to the tree as though she were waiting for it to make a wrong move. He placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to jerk her head towards him.
"Time to go back?" he asked.
His words softened her expression. She looked down at her hand, and then back at Matthew. "Yes," she said, a bittersweet tone imbued into her voice, "Time to go."
Shali knelt and picked up her spear. She walked until she was in front of Matthew, and they embraced. It wasn't out of need for teleporting or need of warmth, but need of each other.
Connection.
Their hug was firm, not tight or loose, but enough for them to feel comfortable. Matthew was prepared to teleport them out of there right then, but held off. It can wait, he thought, It'll have to.
They let go of each other and both of them took a deep breath.
"So we should go now or..?" Matthew asked quietly.
"Yes, if you could that would be.."
"Yeah, okay."
They hugged again, albeit with a touch of awkwardness. He looked down to make sure Shali was ready. She nodded in confirmation.
A bright blue light filled the forest behind the Safari Zone. And after that, Matthew and Shali were gone.
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Peace!
-Minusbomb