Luna

There was some sort of odd satisfaction I got from watching my experiments fail. Like, I wanted them to work, and of course we needed them to expand the Void further, but the way that my subjects always died in agony made my heart race in delight. However, my lack of progress as of late was beginning to get to me. In order to keep on going, each experiment took a certain amount of various resources from the region, as well as whatever machinery was needed to implant any augmentations inside of someone. And there lies the problem...

The problem was, some of these resources we needed were quite rare. One in particular, a green crystal-like rock. Even when you did manage to get ahold of a bit, it was little more than the size of a pebble. Yet, one pebble could create thousands of experiments. All it took to power an experiment was a speck of dust from the rock. That's all. I've only found two in the past, and both were used to make all of the progress that the Void had made up to this day. I'm beginning to think that the element I need is exhausted… If only I had a name for the thing…

I sighed and continued going through files on my desk, which was starting to get worn down from constant use, but I wouldn't need it much longer anyway, so I couldn't care less. Aven had been picking up a lot of information as of late, a lot of very useful information. He wasn't the only one though. Even though she failed, Grace had been able to gather a lot on one particular pokemon I'm after as well. Not only that, but I learned about his partner, who I didn't need, but it was good to know that she was also capable of surviving against Grace. Granted, the leafeon probably wasn't putting forth an ounce of her effort, or anywhere near what she was fully capable of, but even so, her abilities rivaled Aven's and my own, so any amount of survival was rather impressive.

I moved Grace up the rankings a bit, putting her above the Assassin in terms of combat ability. Granted, both of them were not to be trifled with by any means, but Grace had definitely been improving, despite her… less than optimal work ethic. I thought back to when Grace was first being matured for combat, and recollected on a decision I made with her. It's hard to believe that she was normal at one point… I wonder what her sister is up to..?

I continued to go through my files, coming across some rather old ones, but ones that I kept regardless. Storm… And Blade… I started skimming through all of the data I had on the pair. These two really could have caused so many problems… I'm glad we took action.

Storm and Blade… Oh those two had quite something going for them. They even figured out my identity before I attacked them, which was rather impressive considering that I did nothing to lead to that kind of revelation. I fondly remembered the day they both confronted me about it at the same time, and both ended up getting stopped in the end. They then forgot all about me. Or rather, I made them forget, because I wasn't done with the Nest at that point, and I knew those two wouldn't keep their mouths shut. If I just killed them then the others in the Nest would be on to me, namely the damn bisharp, so I didn't want to take that risk. It all worked out in the end though, those two ended up dead, I got to torture their son which is yet another fond memory I have from them, and I even didn't have to deal with the Nest in response, because for some reason, Kuro seems so hesitant to even foster the idea of the leaders listening to him, being a recruit. I was a little thankful for that, only a little. It meant that our cover wouldn't be blown, so that was a small convenience, but nothing more than that really.

While turning through the files, I came across an old picture, including myself, Storm and Blade, and a variety of other members. I glanced at a magmortar and electivire that I also vaguely remember being problems for me, but I made the Assassin go after them, so in then end, it wasn't an issue. Observing the picture closely, I looked at the two accessories that Storm and Blade respectively wore. A deep blue scarf on the vaporeon, and a beautiful necklace with a shining green gem on the leafeon. I stared at the necklace for a few seconds, giving a small sigh. If only we knew where he hid that thing before he died…

On said necklace was precisely the material I needed to continue and perfect my experiments, but Blade wasn't wearing it when Kai stabbed him through the heart. I had no idea where it was really, even though I assumed it had to be somewhere in the place that group called home, I couldn't locate it. They had a crate in there with a bunch of other nicknacks, but nothing to do with that necklace. I found Storm's scarf, but not the necklace. Figures I find the one I don't need…

I sighed to myself, really wishing that I was able to find the necklace back then. Everything would be going so perfectly now, and my experiments would be making rapid progress! Of course, life wasn't that easy. If I wanted to play with so many lives, then I suppose I'd have to work for it. Not that I minded work, it was just irritating that the one thing stopping me was a little rock that I could have gotten a long time ago, had I searched more, or interrogated the kid more. I took a breath and closed my eyes.

Whenever I was irritated, there was one thought that always bought a smile back to my face. Although, Grace says that it's 'an absolutely positively terrifying one,' I still smile regardless. It was easy to think about too, seeing as it was connected so heavily to the subject of my stress. My rings began to dimly light up, but I suppressed them immediately. I didn't like indulging in my pleasures unless I had no work to do, and that wasn't going to be the case until I located this damn gem. Perhaps it's time I get this information a bit more… forcefully.

I hopped down from my desk and closed my eyes, trying to get into the mind of my second in command. It didn't take too long, and all I had to say was one word. Interject. I sent the signal out, and then stopped focusing. I know that Aven heard it, he never missed anything I sent him telepathically, not once. I then turned my attention to the door that led to my office, and walked towards it. I wonder where number five is wandering around..?

Naru

I was laying down, a very soft sensation of grass under me, and an even more so one of Kuro's fur under my head. My body was completely relaxed, and despite the fact I was well aware that it was morning, I just didn't want to move. I listened to Kuro's light breathing, signalling that he was still asleep. His body slowly rose up, and lowered back down as he calmly inhaled and exhaled. I closed my eyes again, relishing in the feeling I had.

I thought about the actions I took last night, and I admit, it was rather… impulsive. I had no idea what came over me all of a sudden, but… it happened, and Kuro didn't seem to hate it, so I was happy. He even tried to get me back like he usually does… and it worked. Maybe because my mind was already on cloud nine before he tried to, but a simple nuzzle to my neck made me practically freeze in place, which was odd to me. It's not like he hasn't done that before, so I had no idea why him doing it again made my body react like that. Maybe I was just a little… excited? Don't know.

Quite a long time of me just idly laying down passed, I was enjoying myself a bit too much for me to have any incentive to move. Plus, Kuro was still asleep, and I didn't want to wake him up on accident. It was a little odd though, because he always, and I mean always woke up before me. He was able to control his sleeping habits way better than I was, so the fact that he was totally passed out right now was sort of unordinary. I wasn't really against it though… I could use him as a pillow this way, and his fur was very, very soft. I found myself nuzzling his neck every now and then, right above his scarf, kind of like he did to me the day prior. I couldn't really help myself… and seeing as he wasn't awake, there wasn't anything stopping me.

I stopped trying to locate where my internal clock was and instead hesitantly lifted my head off of Kuro and stretched my body out. I not-so gracefully yawned and shook my head, trying to leave the trance I was just trapped in more than I willing to admit. I looked down at Kuro, curled up a little, steadily breathing. He looked so peaceful… and cute.

I got over yet another mental block and nudged Kuro a few times, trying to get him up for the day. After all, it was probably much later than we usually wake up, judging by where the sun was located. It was also a little cloudy though, looking like it might rain later. Or better yet, it might snow later! After I pawed at kuro for a little longer, he curled a little tighter, and slowly opened one of his eyes, looking at me. I smiled down at him. "Morning Kuro!" I pet his head a little.

He took a second to realize what was happening and shook his head. "Naru..?" He slowly pushed himself off the ground and yawned. "You're up before me..?" Kuro then glanced around the area and looked towards the sky, presumably looking for the position of the sun. "Was I sleeping this whole time..?" I responded to Kuro with a big nod and a smile.

"Yep! Looks like you slept in!" I told him cheerily. I was in a good mood this morning for… reasons. Kuro tilted his head and looked at me, seeming dumbfounded.

"Really..? When's the last time I did that..?" Come to think of it… He was probably on such a tight schedule from when he lived on his own… It's kinda hard to break a habit that you've had for around eight years. Kuro stretched his muscles, similarly to how I did right before I woke him up. "Well, no harm in getting extra sleep I suppose."

I chuckled a little bit. "Plus, I got to wake up before you! That's never happened before! It's a little exciting!" I exclaimed, happy to be on my four paws before Kuro for once.

Kuro smiled back at me. "I'm not sure why you're so happy about that, but I won't shoot you down." I nodded happily to Kuro's statement. He began to walk back towards Charm's place of residence, and I followed suit. We both entered the dirt home through the rather old and creaky door, and looked at Charm and Shiro, who were both awake, chatting with each other a little bit. It was nice to see Shiro talking to someone, and she wasn't even stuttering, meaning she was comfortable around Charm. She warmed up to him rather quickly, but it made sense, seeing as they were most likely around the same age. I think at least… Still don't know exactly how old either of them are…

Shiro looked in our direction and smiled, as did Charm. "Good morning Mr. Kuro and Miss Naru!" Charm cheerfully greeted. I smiled brightly at him, loving the optimism he had, even after the heavy conversations yesterday. Still don't really need to formalities though...

"Good morning!" I greeted back. "Sleep well?" Charm and Shiro both nodded with smiles. Looks like everyone is in a good mood today… That's awesome! I walked over and pet both of their heads, letting out a little giggle. Charm looked like he glanced at Kuro, and then tilted his head.

"Mr. Kuro..? What's on your neck..?" He asked innocently. I turned around too and looked at Kuro, who just looked confused. I observed him for a second, until coming to a spot around the top of his neck, just above his scarf, where his fur was a very light blue, almost looking white. After thinking for a second, it wasn't very hard to put the reasoning behind this patch together, and once I did, I chuckled a little.

I walked up to Kuro and put a paw on his neck. "I think I frosted over part of your fur by mistake…" I said, stifling a chuckle. He tilted his head and smiled.

"Guess you lost control again, Naru." He said tauntingly. He had a normal smile, but I could tell by his tone that he was still trying to tease me after what happened yesterday… and it worked. I felt my face heat up again and I backed up a little.

Kuro chuckled this time. "I-I… umm…" And… I'm at a loss…

"Don't worry about it, Naru. Just playing around." I still just looked down and held the small blush I had.

"Y-You win…" I said in defeat. I could've tackle hugged him or something, but something was holding me back, which was probably the two children behind us. I didn't want to start another war between Kuro and I right in front of them, so I gave in and smiled. Shiro and Charm both started laughing behind me, which made me smile brighter. I looked up at Kuro, who was also smiling. I'll get you back again… Just wait until we get back to the Nest…

Kuro walked forward until he was standing next to me and looked at the two younger pokemon. "So Charm, do you want to get looking for your new home now? We should be able to find a spot close to here." He proposed. Charm nodded calmly.

"I-If it's not too much trouble…" He said quietly.

"Course' it's not! We want to help you out Charm!" I exclaimed, probably louder than I needed to. I went to pet his head again. "Why don't we get to it?" He reached up and hugged my neck.

"Thank you!" He happily said, and I nuzzled him as he hugged me, despite the position being just a little bit uncomfortable.

"Let's go then!" I exclaimed, heading for the door that led to the rest of the small surrounding town. Shiro happily jogged over to Kuro and hopped onto his back, making me smile even brighter. I led the way, exiting the small home into the rather poor town that I observed the previous day. Kuro walked up until he was a little bit ahead of me, and Charm kwas on my other side, humming happily. Today has such a positive atmosphere… I love it!

I was about to say something else to express my excitement, but I didn't get the chance. I got distracted by something, which led to my happiness being overwritten in about a second.

Kuro had stopped on a dime in front of me, which made me instinctively stop too. I watched Shiro put on a horrified expression, burying her head into the back of Kuro's scarf, letting out a small whimper or two. Kuro glared ahead, not moving. The look he head though… He was angry. That didn't ever happen. I slowly followed his gaze, watching a mr. mime and a mawile walk towards us, and stop about twenty feet away, straight ahead.

There was still a large group of pokemon down the road, and a few passerbys over here every now and then, but I hardly noticed. Instead, I drew some not so good conclusions in my mind from the species of pokemon in front of us, and the reactions given by both Kuro and Shiro. I walked in front of Charm and signaled for him to stay behind me, hoping for two things. One, that he would get the message and not move, and two, that this wasn't who I thought it was. A mr. mime… and Shiro is terrified…

I took a look at the mawile too, and this was not a normal mawile. Not by any stretch of the imagination. The first thing that caught my attention were the eyes… Bright, sky blue eyes… that wasn't natural. Beyond that, their body didn't look at all like a normal mawile either. The massive jaw that every mawile had shared a color with the rest of their body, again, not natural. Beyond that, there was a red circle in the center of the mawile's stomach, which was yet another oddity. There's also usually a small circle on the jaw of a mawile… and that was absent. What in the world am I looking at..?

I focused not on my curiosity, but now the mr. mime next to the aforementioned mawile. They looked like any other one, though maybe a bit old. Other than age though, there wasn't anything super off-putting about them. That very quickly changed when I saw the nightmare inducing smirk that they had on, and the symbol they had located on their hand. That was enough to put me in a defensive stance in front of Charm, even if the mawile next to him had no expression whatsoever. I was now hyper focused on this mr. mime.

They took a step forward, and Kuro's glare hardened. The mr. mime just looked up and chuckled at him. That chuckle gave me chills. "It's been a little bit, hasn't it..?" He smirked, giving me another chill. I… Don't like this guy…

Kuro didn't move, he just stood his ground and glared. "Why are you here..?" He asked, sounding much calmer than I anticipated. He also sounded as if he knew his guy… meaning he was most likely exactly who I had in my head.

"Oh? Your tone is different from last time. Have a surge of confidence or something..?" The mime taunted, and Kuro stayed silent. I had no idea what to do in this situation, so I kept blocking Charm, who was now shaking a little bit. Guess he read the mood…

"Come on… Say something else. Don't make this boring for me." The mime sighed, and took a step closer. "Don't make me force you to talk." He said threateningly, and I took a breath, expecting him to try and attack. Time passed though, and he didn't. He and Kuro just kept on staring one another down.

"Answer me first. Why are you here?" Kuro asked again, but he was less calm this time. I could tell easily, but few pokemon could read Kuro like I could.

"That's completely unrelated to me talking to you right now. Actually, I guess you can call this a coincidence. I happened to know that you would most likely be here, and since I was in the area for different matters, I thought I'd pay you a visit." He tilted his head in a creepy fashion. "I wasn't expecting you to have company though… especially not the lovely little vulpix hiding from me right now." Shiro started whimpering more, and Kuro's body tensed, like he was restraining himself.

"You're not quivering in fear this time? What happened? Did Grace nearly killing you make you into some kind of emotionless tank?" He knows about that… So he knows who I am too…

"What do you want?" Kuro wasn't wasting his words. I could tell he didn't like this situation any more than I did.

"Nothing really. Although, I'd love to claim the prize that you took away from me some time ago, but I sadly don't have time to deal with you running off like you did last time. Instead, how about I just show you something while I'm here?" He rose one of his arms and pointed at Kuro, to which he crouched.

"Walk." The mime said.

I was confused for a second, but that came to an end once the mawile began to slowly walk towards Kuro. They kept getting closer and closer, until the two were face to face, staring one another down. I could tell Kuro was nervous, but he stood completely still in front of the mawile, not moving. I took a breath, also trying not to flip out right now. I was actually really scared, but seeing as I was the only thing keeping Charm from also losing it, I knew I couldn't let my fear be so evident.

Kuro and the mawile stared one another down, neither one budging at all. What… is this? What is happening? I was so uneasy with the situation. I'd much rather be in imminent danger and know I'm in danger, then the inverse. This was just… unnerving.

"What do you think is happening right now?" The mime asked, making my head dart to him. "It's pretty obvious, but I wanted to give you a taste of what the Void can do to anyone. This mawile hates us with a burning passion you know, and yet, here he is, following my orders, no? Why do you think that is..?" the mime smirked, and I shivered. There really is… only one real way that could happen… isn't there?

I looked back at the odd mawile, still having a staring contest with Kuro. I started to build up pressure under my paw as a precaution for whatever might happen here. He said he didn't have time to chase us around… So is he going to attack..?

"No answer, eh? Then again, if you have any common sense, then you probably know that we can take complete and full control of pokemon if we really wanted to. It takes some messing around, but it's certainly possible, as you can see." The mime closed his eyes, and I gulped. I felt Charm lean on me a little bit, obviously scared from this whole situation. Arceus knows I was terrified…

"Strike."

The mawile shifted their body weight and swung the massive jaw hanging off of them right at Kuro and Shiro. Kuro turned his head to the mawile and took the brunt of the attack with his skull, making him slide back a decent distance. I immediately released the pressure under my paw, sending a powerful shockwave at the mawile, lifting them off of the ground and pushing them back. I put my head next to Charm and shoved him onto my back, though a little rougher than I would have liked. I felt him grip onto my back, and I ran to stand by Kuro and Shiro. I glanced at Shiro, and she had her head dug down still, and was very visibly shaking.

Kuro shook off the impact from the mawile and stared at the two Void members. I followed his gaze and crouched, ready to do whatever we needed to in order to keep Charm and Shiro safe. I was ready for one of them to attack, but the mime was just standing there… laughing..? "No need to be so on-guard, Ravens. Were you paying attention..? I told him to strike. Not to attack."

I stared at the two of them, putting the pieces together. "You really are controlling him…" I said, almost in disbelief. I knew that's what he was talking about earlier, but that was hard to take at face value. Now that I more closely observed the emotionless gaze of the mawile, and the commands that the mime uttered, it was confirmed in my head now.

"Did you think I was lying? I told you I was here to scare you, and showing you our capabilities was a great way of doing that." The mime turned away and started to walk off, not attracting the attention of any of the other pokemon in the crowd not too far away. The mawile slowly but surely followed him. I was expecting them to turn back, to attack, or to give us another sentence or two… but they just walked off silently. It was really… unnerving. The two of them both made me very uncomfortable.

After waiting a few minutes, watching the two walk out of sight, Kuro let out a deep sigh, most likely releasing the excess fear he had bottled up. I felt my body loosen up a lot more, and I started to control my breathing. That was… stressful. Kuro lowered his body and tugged on his scarf a little bit, making Shiro very slowly pick her head up. "Shiro, It's okay now, he's gone." She tumbled off of Kuro's back at the sound of his voice and went to his front, beginning to sob a little bit. The sound pierced my soul, but it made sense, considering who we just encountered.

Kuro gently pet Shiro's head and brought her closer to him. She started to cry a little more and Kuro placed his head atop hers. "Calm down Shiro… Take a deep breath… It's all over now…" Shiro gave a small nod while crying into Kuro's fur, and he just kept comforting her. I would say the sight looked really sweet if Shiro wasn't crying so much.

I felt Charm tap the back of my neck a few times. "M-Miss Naru..? W-Who was that..?" He asked with a very shaky voice. I didn't blame him, especially considering how terrified I was, and I had a bit of experience. The kids must have been petrified…

"They were a part of the Void, but they're gone now Charm, so try to calm down a little. I know it's hard, but you're safe now, I promise." I said as softly as I could, through my own anxious thoughts.

I felt Charm hug my neck a little. "O-Okay." Was all he said, still sounding shaken. I watched as Kuro continued to quietly whisper to Shiro in a comforting manor, which seemed to be slowly making her calm. I was glad that Kuro was able to comfort Shiro like that, even though he was also terrified not too long ago. I briefly wondered what was going through his head that whole time, but came to the conclusion that it couldn't have been too much different from what was in my head. Then again, Kuro tends to be more emotional than me, so hopefully he was alr-

'Kuro and Naru, we need you for something.' A voice rang through my head, not startling me like it used to. I had grown pretty accustomed to the random communication through our devices. I looked over at Kuro who was still trying to fully calm Shiro down, so I thought I'd handle the communication for now.

'We're here, what do you need us for?' I 'thought' back. It's become a lot easier to pass my thoughts through this device then when I first started using it. I recognized the voice as Core, who was pretty much the only one to reach out to us this way, besides the mental talking between Kuro and I occasionally.

'I hate to do this to you, but I'm going to have to momentarily split you guys up. I need one of you to take Shiro back here, and I need the other to join Vero at another area not too far from your current location. About six miles west from that town.' I took a second and pondered about what Core had just,,, thought.

'What's the need in splitting us up..? Why don't we all just go there together..?' I asked mentally. I never liked splitting up with Kuro, but nothing bad has particularly happened in the past when we separated… so I'm sure it'd all be okay. It just made me uncomfortable to be far… away from him… I blushed at my own thoughts.

'We have suspicions that the Void could be in that area, so we want Shiro to be back here as soon as possible. That being said, we also need one of you to join Vero as soon as possible in order to ensure that nobody is in any danger.' I further processed Core's words and nodded to myself. Everything made sense after all, but we were supposed to get Charm a new home first… Then again, he's terrified at the moment, so would he really mind just tagging along with one of us to go back to the Nest for a bit..?

'Understood. We'll follow through with what you want.' I responded, and Kuro gave me a subtle nod while going to nuzzle Shiro.

'Thank both of you. I wish you good luck!' With that, Core was finished communicating with us, and Kuro turned to look at me for a second.

"Are you feeling better Shiro..?" He asked, petting her a little more. She gave a small nod in response and backed up a little, so Kuro can make eye contact with her. Her eyes were swollen, but she looked a bit more calm. "Good job Shiro, you did great there." Kuro smiled softly at her and continued petting. Shiro gave a bit of a weak smile back and nodded again, though she didn't look up to talking. Kuro kept one of his paws slowly stroking her head, and then turned to face me. "Naru, what do you want to do..?"

I thought about it for a second. I mean, one of us was going to have to take Shiro, and possibly Charm back to the Nest, and the other may or may not have to fight. Either way, we either needed to protect small pokemon, or more than likely enter a battle with who could be a Void member. All of these thoughts lapped over my mind multiple times, and I ultimately came up with an answer. "No idea!" I said enthusiastically.

Kuro stared at me for a second and then smiled. "Always the energetic one Naru." I giggled at his comment, noticing that the two of us had the same goal right now. To brighten the mood after what just happened. "I think I should go meet up with Vero. My mobility and stamina will be useful for that." I nodded after Kuro finished. And he thinks of a logical solution immediately… I awkwardly chuckled at my own mind.

"Sounds good!" I turned my head around to look at the charmander on my back. "Umm… Charm? Do you mind if you come back to our place with me for a bit? We're kind of running low on time…" I chuckled again, honestly hoping that he wouldn't be annoyed at our lack of service.

Charm nodded. "Y-Yes, I'm okay with it, I understand." Charm said. I gave a small sigh of relief, happy that he was willing to come along.

I turned to look at Kuro again after he had explained the situation to Shiro, to which she hopped off of Kuro and went to walk next to me. Charm also got off of my back to walk with Shiro. Kuro gave me a nod of affirmation.

"Alright, good luck Naru. Get back safe." I nodded back towards him.

"Yup! You got it! Be careful out there doing… whatever you're planning on doing. Kuro smiled and nodded, before turning away and heading the direction that Core pointed us in. I watches as Kuro jogged, going to meet up with one of our friends, and possibly have to battle. That was it, it was no different from a normal task for the Nest. I motioned for Charm and Shiro to follow me, and started to walk off in the direction of the Nest. It's a normal mission… that's all…

…

…

Why… do I have such a bad feeling about this..?

Hello Readers!

One more chapter done a few days late! Yay! Alright, I'll stop bringing that up. :p I just hate when I'm off-schedule like this, yet, there really isn't much I can do about it right now. I just have quite a few distractions right now, and they require all of the attention that I can spare. I'm still trying my best to find time to work on this story, but it's just been… a bit hard. :p I'm still kicking though!

Now, I need to give a special thank you to CharTheLittleCharmander, and my beta, 8-BitUmbreon, for keeping me sane these past few days. :p Since I've mentioned it a few times, I think it's time to go into detail a little. I have a non-biological sister who lately has been having quite a few problems when it comes to her mental state, the extent of which I don't really want to go into, but let's just say that it got bad. Really bad at points. This has been ongoing for… a while now, probably for the last… six or so chapters. It hit its peak a few days ago, and I nearly lost my sanity… it was pretty bad all things considered. Luckily though, I have the two aforementioned people to thank for keeping me from doing some stupid things. (Don't worry, it's not as bad as that sounds :p) But that has been on my mind for… a while, so that's a more detailed explanation for my lack of consistency and possible lack of quality. It's slowly but surely getting better though, so there's a silver lining here!

Finally, I want to give my normal thanks to everyone who has left a review, PM, etc. especially around now, all of that means more than I can possibly describe, so thank you all! Thanks again to my beta reader (8-BitUmbreon) For cleaning up my chapters to make them not as crappy!

See You Next Chapter!