Kai

Washing blood from your fur was never really fun, especially when it's as pure as snow. Granted, constantly bleeding into your fur wasn't really a common issue unless you were involved in all that a pokemon like me is in, so the issue probably wasn't too commonplace. I was more or less used to the feeling of it, both from myself and others, so that part didn't bug me anymore, it was just the cleaning process. That was the part I hated, for rather obvious reasons. It was hard to fully wash blood from your fur, especially when you couldn't leave any of it visible for later. Why now of all times…

I was a little far away from the Nest at the moment, being forced out on a task to complete for my… captors. It had been a long while since they reached out to me of all pokemon to do something as simple as kill one pokemon, so I hoped that they just forgot about me, but clearly not. I had to go kill someone they thought had documents leading to a discovery that they want to make… which of course he didn't. Poor mon was already in his later years of life, a kind chatot, and I had to end his life. I alway shivered after needing to do something like this, shivered for a long time, but I ended up getting used to it. I hate to say it, and I feel awful for it, but after I've been put into a situation like this as many times as I have… I'm just used to it. I can kill an innocent pokemon with little hesitation, that was that. I hated it about myself, but I had to acknowledge that part of me existing. It came into being because I'm just a coward, and then developed into something I got used to…

I shook my head and kept walking forward, heading to a pond I knew of that I could use to clean myself. There were a few landmarks around the Nest that I had passed quite a few times, namely ponds and the occasional change in green scenery. I was glad I took note of these places as I passed by them more because these ponds make my life much, much easier. Walking into the Nest while covered in blood, especially when you didn't just come back from a task is… not too good. Granted, I don't think Myra, Core, Shard, or anyone else at the Nest are suspicious of my double agent-like situation, but still, no need to raise it if that's the case. With that in mind, I always made sure that whenever I left and came back, there was not a bit of blood on my body at all. No risks needed to be taken, none at all. Getting caught means one of two things… death or torture. The latter makes the former seem like nirvana, so I'd rather just stay away from any risks.

After a bit more walking, I started to feel uneasy, my body was tense, and my senses suddenly alert. I didn't change my pace or anything, but I started to pay much more attention to my surroundings, not wanting to get taken off guard. The Nest is east… it came from there. I stoically continued on my way, arriving at a small pond in the open field around me. This area was pretty appealing to the eye for sure, around the Nest, there was almost nothing other than open green fields, peaceful, relaxing scenery. There was the occasional group of trees and ponds all around, but everywhere within a fifteen mile radius of the Nest was either a field, or a small forest. Once you drifted further away though, the terrain is a lot less friendly. More mountains, dry lands, even deserts in some areas. Granted, I didn't know of any oceanic regions anywhere close, but on this side of the planet, there was everything other than that. If it was closer, more Ravens would probably know about all the terrain so close by, assuming they didn't come from there in the first place.

I arrived at the pond that was my destination and walked up to it, looking down at my reflection. An absol staring back at me, fur blodied and disgusting, a stoic expression meeting another.

…

I hate you.

I set each of my paws down on the bottom of the shallow pond, and began to rinse my fur off, slowly getting rid of the blood changing the color of it. I lowered my body and soaked the entirety of my coat, using all four of my paws at different times to get some of the blood that wouldn't just come off with water. I was still fully alert, despite looking as if I was oblivious, I hadn't forgotten about what my instincts told me, and I wouldn't. Not until I figured out where it was coming from.

After some time passed, the feeling I had never ceased, not even as I fully washed myself off. I made sure to get every bit of blood off of me, and sat near the edge of the pond. The water was rather warm, which was odd, considering the weather as of late, but I thought nothing of it, too focused on whatever omen I was sensing near me. I couldn't tell if I was worried or just confused, I was making my mind go in circles trying to determine what made my body tense so much, as if I was being watched. I began to calmly meditate, waiting for the feeling I had to either go away, or waiting to figure out the cause, and dealing with it promptly. Who knows how long I'll-

A loud splash was heard in front of me, and my eyes shot open. I jumped back, out of the pond, and crouched, as my fur dripped, absolutely soaked. I eyes the pond, but didn't see anything. It was odd, as that pond is shallow, so anything or anyone that fell into it and made a splash of that caliber would be visible, but I couldn't see a thing. I still felt uneasy, so for good measure, I started to charge a dark pulse, staring at the pond. I didn't move a muscles, focusing myself. If there's something there… what could it be?

I took a few steps slowly back and my horn began to glow, even though I still didn't detect any movement in front of me. I waited a decent while, staring at the pond and the surrounding area. I still didn't notice anything odd, but for good measure, I aimed my horn at the center of the pond, focusing an accumulated amount of energy on the tip of it. If anything is there… there's a chance it's dangerous. No risks.

I shot off a dark pulse directly at the center of the pond, honestly expecting for my own paranoia to be shoved in my face, but instead, I heard a bit of a high pitch yelp, and then heard something tear through the water at a high speed before my attack reached it. I saw a rippling line in the pond going in the opposite direction of the attack, and then end off near the edge. I stared at it while my attack hit the center of the pond, creating an eruption of water all over the place, splashing my already drenched body some more. I took a second to process the possibilities of the situation and gave a sigh. I can only think of one way this can happen…

I sat on the ground in front of the pond to wait for my fur to dry, thinking about the only reason I would hear a large splash like that, and subsequently see ripples of that sort in the water. "How long have you been stalking me?"I generally asked, not really knowing where my shadow was.

I heard a nervous chuckle and watched as a group of light colors formed in front of me, over the pond. "Not toooooo long. I just managed to track you down." A froslass took form a over the body of water, and floated over to me. "How did you know I was here? I thought I had you fooled."

"You literally fell right in front of me… and wait, you can fly, how did you fall?" I don't understand her…

"Heh… umm… You see… I'm a pretty big klutz at times…" She shook her head and flew higher. "I may have these powers of flight, but they're not perfect! Sometimes I drop off randomly because it's hard to keep in the air at a steady position!"

"Or you get distracted and lose focus." I interrupted, knowing how she operates now.

"H-Hey! Not true! It takes time and practice!" She visibly blushed.

"Practice that you very obviously have. I've seen you mach-battle before, you clearly have no trouble flying." Shard was probably the most impressive one in the Nest who I've seen. I had a practice battle with her, and she absolutely mopped the floor with me. It was hardly a fight, I couldn't touch her, and she had power to back up her incredibly quick movements. Plus, she could make herself virtually invisible, create hailstorms, an odd beam similar to what I recently taught Kuro, and many other random techniques that she made up herself. An incredibly talented froslass she was, her only weakness being her… well, overly lax personality.

"B-But even pros screw up sometimes! How would you know? You don't have wings or anything!" Not currently…

"If you say so… I'll submit." I sighed, not really wanting to have a back and forth with her. Shard liked to try and get me to talk, even if that sometimes consisted of stalking me and forcing it. She has done that by the way, beat me up so I would talk. I didn't hold it against her, but I wasn't exactly in the best mood, so I may say something I regret if this keeps up. I decided to just close my eyes and relax myself, clearing my mind of what I was doing not too long ago.

After some time, Shard flew down and sat next to me, and I could feel her eyes burning through my skin. If you're going to stare at me… make it less obvious. After about ten minutes had passed, I still felt her eyes on me, and it was starting to make me uneasy. I began to wonder why she had her eyes glued to me, but no reasonable explanation came to mind. Eventually, I decided just to bite the bullet and let out a sigh. "Why exactly were you stalking me?"

She let out a little giggle. "Whatever do you mean?~ I did no such thing!" She rather forcefully put a hand on my back, almost knocking me over. "Just following you around to make sure you're okay!"

"Not much different... " I muttered, though a bit curious. "What made you think I wasn't safe for any reason?"

"Umm… hello? You just up and left! It's too early in the morning to be doing things like that!" Was she watching me as I left my room too..?

"I wasn't doing anything dangerous, just out and about for a bit." I lied. Not like I had any amount of choice though.

"The explain why you were covered in blood when you came back!" I flinched a little bit, almost forgetting about the blood in the first place. "If you weren't in any danger, then tell me that at least." She lost her carefree tone for a second, which was a bit off-putting.

"I was attacked on my way back, both parties survived, it just got messy. No need to worry." I said calmly. I actually felt the need to make sure she wasn't worried, which was unusual, but I paid it no mind. I was pretty used to lying through my teeth to pokemon, especially those of the Nest, particularly my fellow leaders. I had to talk with them a lot, particularly about the Void, so playing dumb and making sure that they knew nothing of where I came from was imperative to get good at. Otherwise… I honestly don't know what happens if you're caught as an undercover Void member, but it most likely wouldn't be pretty.

Shard was giving me an uneasy stare. "How did all that blood get on you if both sides made it out alive?"

"There were a few of them, all of which got injured, all of which bled. No fatal injuries were given to them, but as I said, it was messy." I kept my voice calm and collected. Ravens couldn't act like they don't kill, but it was still a last resort to them, even when it came to the Void in some cases. Obviously if someone like Luna, Aven, Grace, or me if they ever found out, were at the mercy of the Nest, they would probably have us killed on the spot. Luna for obvious reasons, Aven because he would be in the same boat as me, and Grace because… she's Grace.

Shard drifted closer to me, beginning to give me an odd discomfort. "You do know that I'll help you with anything you need, right? You're my friend after all! Ask for anything and I'll help you!" Like I deserve to be friends with someone like yourself…

"I'll remember that." I responded, losing my stoic expression for just a quick second. "Nothing is wrong though, I assure you. The attack didn't last long, nor did it end in deaths of any kind." Why can't that just be the truth..? Why..?

Shard stared at me intently, and I couldn't help but see her through my peripherals. Her oval eyes were focused intently on me, and I felt a rather uncomfortable shiver, not coming from the frost that coated her skin, but the look she had somehow made it feel as if I had been soaked in freezing water. It wasn't out of hostility though… nothing of the sort. If anything, it seemed opposite to that, a stare laced with concern. Yet, it made my skin crawl at the same time, and I had no idea why. I felt… guilty. That was obvious though, from not only the actions that took place early this morning, but from how much I've manipulated those in the Nest, from random Ravens, to my prodege, to her… I've said so many lies.

"If you say it's all okay, I'll believe you." Shard sighed. "But try not to make a girl worry so much! At least say something next time you leave like that! Geez…. When I saw you covered in blood like that… I thought you were on the brink of death! I thought you were bleeding out right before my eyes and I was about to bring an absol corpse back to the Nest with me! You petrified me!" She took deep breaths, making sure the entirety of the open fields around us could hear her. A single gust of wind blew by, which I barely noticed, too ensnared by Shard's outburst.

I took a second to think about everything she just said, and told myself to analyze it later. "Sorry, I will inform someone when I decide to leave in the future." That'll make things harder for me, but I feel like I need to appease what she wants… even though I'm not sure why.

"Thank you Kai! Sorry for the eh… yelling. I get urges to let my voice flow sometimes, and when I'm worried, I have the perfect opportunity to do so!" She brightly smiled, even if whatever she was saying was most likely just covering for her losing it. This is almost like what happened with Kuro…

"Not a problem. I'm sorry for worrying you." I apologized, actually feeling as if I needed to.

"Don't sweat it! Our friendship won't be ruined by such a thing! I'll make sure our bond stays as close as I can possibly make it! I might choke you a little though." I let out a small sigh, somewhat relieved that she wouldn't be treating me differently because of this little altercation. Wait, what was that last pa-

I felt my windpipe get practically cut off from the oxygen outside of my body, as two appendages wrapped around my neck tightly. Shard was floating a bit off my back, hugging my neck to the point where I practically couldn't breathe. "H-Hey.." I tried to talk in a scratchy and strained voice. This froslass has way too much arm strength for her own good…

She released my neck, and I coughed lightly a little, bringing one of my paws up to rub the area that Shard was grasping in between her arms. That probably left a mark… I turned to look at her, and she was floating in place, giggling to herself. "Sorry about that, kinda hard to hold back on a hug. Heh… At least I didn't break anything this time!" This time..?

I shook my head and recovered. "Make sure you don't incapacitate your allies…"

"Don't worry, I haven't ever taken it that far! At least… not often. I only knocked Naru out like three times, nothing more!" She happily chimed.

"You knocked out your prodege via suffocation..?" Is that not against the rules..?

"Only three times! Four if you count that… and six if you count perfecting the snow cloak recently… and eleven if you count the training mishaps… twenty-four if you-"

"Okay, okay, I get it. You should stop making your student pass out like that… It's not healthy for them, and I'm fairly certain it's not healthy for your reputation at the Nest either." Did she really knock out Naru more than twenty times..?

"I have a hard time holding back! That's my weakness you know! I'm sure you're aware of my stats, so you've gotta understand a little bit!" I was well aware of the fact that Shard, overall, was the second highest in the Nest in terms of battling ability. To go off of that, she's also the only one in the entirety of the Nest to have a perfect score in offense, based on both her physical strength, her immense speed, and her talent in manipulating her element, along with a bunch of her own tricks. This froslass is the only one I know who can feasibly stand a chance against some of the Void's higher ups. She and two others are the only walls in the way of the Void taking out the Nest completely and utterly. Let's hope you have some pillars to support you…

"Aren't you training to fix that weakness though..?" I asked her, curious about her progress.

"Erm… Heh… I've been prioritizing some new tricks over control to be honest. I can't help myself! There's so much I can do with my tactics! And beyond that, more stuff I can pass on to Naru!" She said with glee. "That girl has enough talent to handle more than I can currently teach her, so I need to know more to teach! Problem being that… erm… I still have a rather hard time holding myself back so… yeaaahhhh…" Shard awkwardly chuckled, and I sighed, but didn't feel annoyed at all. If anything, I was impressed that Shard was more focused on teaching her prodege more than improving on herself, and even if I was the same way as of now, it was for an entirely different reason.

"You should be careful in the future… Wouldn't want you getting kicked out of the Nest because you're overly cruel to your students." I told her, and she playfully scoffed.

"And you've never taken Kuro down to his last peg? According to Naru, he's come back to their room in pieces after your training before." In pieces..?

"Obviously I push him, but I don't think I've ever knocked him out. Call it his stamina, but I actually have control over my output." I looked to the ground, and something overtook my features, which caught me off guard, but I didn't resist. I just let it naturally flow, it had been way too long.

Shard let out a giggle, and I looked back up to her. She just stared at me with a teasing grin. "Never seen that before Kai~" I instinctively lost what I had just gained a few moments ago and averted my eyes, my face heating a bit. Why did I just..?

"Why don't we head back now? I need to get ready for Naru to get here so we can get some more training done!" Shard smiled and happily floated higher into the air, and then made her way in the direction of the Nest. I stood still for a moment, thinking to myself, before following her lead on the ground.

I guess I'm free today…

Vero

My mind panicked as soon as we heard that loud noise from outside, but now, it was a mix. I was still panicked for sure, but now I was also just… confused. Not a good combination. A discolored mawile stood before Kuro and I, looking rather… blank. No expression was present on their oddly colored eyes, and no mannerisms that showed any type of… anything. I gulped and stared forward, getting into a battle stance out of fear more than anything. Kuro was to my right and he did the same, but he didn't look nearly as confused as I did. There was still fear present in his eyes though. Almost looks like he knows this thing…

The mawile took a step forward, into our cell of sorts, and immediately locked their eyes on Kuro. In response, he took a step back and glared forward. The unique appearance present on this metallic beast worried me, but I didn't want to jump to conclusions quite yet. The only thing keeping my from saying something to whatever this was happened to be the uneasy look that Kuro was giving them. I couldn't bite my tongue forever though, I had to get more from this situation, so I took a breath and stared at who or whatever this was. "Who are you..?"

Instead of a normal response, the mawile bent his head back, and lurched it forward, slamming its massive jaw on the ground, mouth opening, facing Kuro. "Vero! Keep your guard up!" He shouted, but before I could respond, a glowing, light orb shot out of the mawile's mouth, right at Kuro. His eyes widened and he slumped down onto the ground, the attack barely skimming over his ears, colliding with the powerful rock behind us. A very small crack formed on the wall, but that wasn't to be noted right now. Whoever this was, Kuro knew of them, and they seemed dangerous. That's all the information I needed.

Before another attack could be shot at us, I zipped towards the mawile and jammed my leg into their stomach, sliding them back out of the makeshift cell we happened to be trapped in. Kuro and I both ran out of the cramped rocky room and out into the rest of the area, a slightly more open rocky room. Arceus I hate this place… I locked eyes with the mawile, but they seemed to be uninterested with me, immediately looking at Kuro as he dashed out of the indestructible cell as well. As soon as he did though, the mawile shot at him like a bullet, and Kuro took a smack from the giant jaw head on, forcing him out of the cave and back into the open area, surrounded by a few trees, and some not so friendly pokemon. He rolled on the ground and into one of the trees, quickly shaking off the impact and staring back at the mawile.

They were still facing Kuro though, and proceeded to dash out of the cave, right at him. Kuro noticed this and stood strongly in front of them, waiting for a blow to counter. Once they went for another swing on Kuro, he dodged under it swiftly, and rammed into the center of its body with his head. Not much damage was done, and the mawile went for another strike, to which Kuro avoided with a side step to the left. I rushed out of the cave towards the two, and noticed that a few of the trees were now knocked over, and there was an unconscious golem right outside of the cave area. Beyond that, a few pokemon were hiding behind some of the still standing trees, almost as if they were cowering.

I refocused on the battle going on between Kuro and the mawile, wanting to find an opportunity to join in and help. I began to focus energy on each of the tips of my claws, making them spark up a little. I aimed at the mawile, prepared hit them with as hard of an attack as I could muster, but as I was about to launch it, something collided with my back and killed my concentration on the spot. I quickly turned around to see a lillipup, who had seemingly just headbutted me, even thought they looked terrified.

"D-D-D-Demon…" The little pup stuttered out, sounding petrified. I don't like where this is going… Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a small collection of light, each of the particles slowly gathering together, combining with one another like atoms, forming a larger eye catcher.

I turned to face it directly, and as soon as I did, a massive beam was launched straight towards me, sparking with intensity orange intensity. I rolled out of the way right as it was going to collide with me, and it proceeded to go off into the forest, making contact with the edges of many trunks as it did so. My eyes shot back to the source, which was a stoutland making a mad dash at me. As they were about to cave my skull in with their own, I placed a forepaw on the side of their body, and redirected their momentum so they ended up running off to the side. Not too far after this happened, they quickly stopped themselves and turned back to me, and I felt a bead of sweat roll down my cheek. This isn't good…

The fact that there was a mawile here currently fighting it out with Kuro who quite clearly had malicious intent towards him was bad… To make things worse, we're 'demons' to the locals here, so they aren't going to realize that we're here to help them. Neither of us can attack any of the natives here, so we need to find a way to send this mawile off quickly… or else it's just going to get worse. How do we fight a battle where we can't even attack half of the ones giving us opposition..?

I didn't take my focus off of the stoutland eyeing me down, but stole a glance at whatever Kuro was going through. He seemed to be backpedaling from the mawile, dodging attacks and trying to find an opening to give one back. That mawile was quick though… much more so than any other mawile I've imagined. Typically, the jaw on the back of their head stops them from moving fluently, but this one was just swiftly sliding slickly off the ground, as if its body had little to no weight behind it. It was clearly keeping Kuro on guard, he looked as if he was having a bit of trouble avoiding each move from the mawile, but he still managed, even if barely. We could totally give that mawile a beating if we could both focus on them.

I focused all of attention back on the stoutland again, but instead of attacking me, they rushed to the lillipup that distracted me earlier and lifted them up, then locked eyes with me. We stared at each other, and neither of us held any malice. In reality, we both wanted the same thing really. Both of us were here to protect, I just wished that both sides were aware of it. Neither the stoutland, nor I made a move, we just stared at one another, near motionlessly. The few seconds that passed felt like hours, both sides tense for different causes. After the long seconds passed however, I turned away and dashed towards Kuro and the mawile. Maybe not attacking will be enough to show them…

Kuro was still being a very slippery umbreon, not allowing himself to get hit. Not to mention, even if he did get hit, the guy could take thirty more after that if need be, so this mawile wasn't gaining any ground yet. Due to the way that those two have been moving this whole time, I was now positioned behind them, but it was from here that I noticed something odd. This mawile came from the Void, almost no doubt, and yet they had been jetting after Kuro this whole time, not paying any mind to the other Raven here, or any of the civilians either. Even if nobody other than Kuro has really had a chance to go back and forth with them, it was odd that this mawile didn't feel the need to attack any of the civils here, or me, another Raven for that matter. Then again… I have no idea what this mawile is, or what Kuro knows…

I decided to cut my thoughts off for now and ran at the mawile from behind, claws ready. I crossed my arms in front of me as I ran, until I arrived right behind the mawile, to which I slashed them directly on their back. The force seemed to move them forward a few inches, but I winched at a stinging sensation in my claws, and noticed that the skin of the mawile hadn't been cut at all, nothing but a barely visible scratch was there. They turned their head back toward me, still holding nothing but a blank, emotionless stare. It was admittedly off-putting, but I held my battle stance either way.

As we had our eyes trapped on one another, a small flurry of dark purple orbs connected with the back of their head, forcing them towards me. I reacted to the situation by suitably slamming a hind paw into their spine, sending the mawile stumbling back towards Kuro. He hopped on the opportunity presented right away, and clenched his jaw around one of their arms, turning and flinging the mawile into one of the many trees around the area, connecting with a very audible smack. I jogged up next to Kuro, and we both faced the presumed Void member.

"Do you know the story with… this one?" I asked out loud, not taking my eyes away from the very quickly recovering mawile.

"Yes and no…" Kuro took a breath. "I have no clue where he came from or why, but the Void has him under a trance of some kind, as if they control each one of his moves." A trance..? "Other than that, I have nothing, but he seems overly focused on me for some reason."

"I saw that too… the guy really wants you badly hurt." Speaking of, said mawile finally stood up fully, and stared at the two of us. Or stared at Kuro rather.

"You're telling me…" The mawile ran at us again, and Kuro and I both readied ourselves.

Right before I was about to jet forward though, from out of nowhere, a white blur came in front of us and tackled the mawile down, sliding against the ground a decent distance. After a momentary stun, I inspected closer, and identified the blur as a vigoroth, who was attempting to claw the mawile's head off it seemed. The sight was actually quite brutal, or it would be, if said vigoroth managed to do anything more than scratch the surface of his skin. The mawile didn't seem to resist at all though, he just took all of it, not fighting back. I found that so odd… that he didn't seem to be aggressive at all unless it was directed at Kuro.

Before I could process any more, I felt the ground under one of my hind paws crack, and the instant that happened, I pushed off of it and jumped, as I saw Kuro roll away at the same time. In place of where I was just standing was a very small hole, which very easily could have wrapped around my leg, and trapped me there. I traced my eyes along the very small, nearly invisible lines in the ground connecting to that hole, and I spotted a marowak, who seemed to be aiming the bone in their hand right at me. Before I mentally prepared to dodge though, Kuro rushed up to the marowak, and locked his jaw on said bone, flipping over them and tearing it from their hands. He then tossed it a decent distance away, and ran back towards me as I landed back on the ground, now facing away from the mawile.

As the suddenly desperate marowak ran for their weapon, Kuro stared at the still pinned mawile with a confused expression. "Why is he being attacked..?" He asked nobody in particular.

"He's a fairy, isn't he..?" I suggested. "The locals here hate both fairies and… well, us. If it were more populated, this would be a total war zone right now…"

"That's true. Most likely the reason he's being attacked, but then the next question. Why isn't he fighting back..?" A shadow ball from out of sight came to us and hit Kuro, but he barely flinched. He just kind of took it and looked back at the mawile. "We can't attack any of the locals here, so we need to find a way to single him out." A different bright orb came at me this time, but it wasn't very subtle, so I was able to bend my body to dodge it, and I loosened my stance to make sure I didn't get caught by a random strike from one of the civils here. The last thing I needed was an injury from the pokemon we were attempting to protect in the first place.

"You said he's being controlled..?" I asked Kuro, but before he could respond, the vigoroth looked as if they gave up on the scratching, and jumped off of the mawile, looking rather tired from the constant attacks. As soon as they did, the mawile flipped his jaw over the top of his body, and it began to glow a light silver.

"He is, by whom I don't know." Kuro responded to me quickly, before a burst of silver light came from the mawile's jaw, once again, aimed at Kuro. "Not specifically at least." He rolled out of the way of the attack, and it once more, hit a tree behind this small civilization of pokemon, pulling on its roots.

"Regardless, we need to either lead this guy away, or knock him out… or disable him somehow," I proposed.

"You're right, make sure to be careful with-"

"Hey!"

An unfamiliar female voice went through the air, sounding rather young, though older than Kuro, and most likely me too. The weird thing about it was… wherever it was coming from.

"Metal Face! Stop messing around and hurry it up! You are permitted to kill anyone who tries to stop you from retrieving the target, so go buck wild!" The voice had a very odd mix of annoyance, boredom, and excitement. Metal face..? The mawile..? I looked up in curiosity, and it seemed as if everyone located in the area did as well, even the little lillipup that attempted to attack me. I squinted my eyes while looking up, seeing what looked like… particles, very very small particles high up in the sky. I could just barely make them out, but from the color contrast against the sky, they looked like a light purple or violet color, with a slight bit of pink. I couldn't make out a clear shape though. Either way, what the voice said didn't sound pleasant.

Kuro and I both slowly turned our eyes back to the mawile, who was standing still, staring back at us. His jaw began to glow, this time, rather than a bright silver, a pulsating red. Before I could even say anything, he jumped at the two of us, coming to the space in the center of our bodies. I readied myself to jump back, but before I could even bend my legs at all, the mawile swung in a circles fiercely, slamming both Kuro and I away with his jaw.

An ache traveled from my head to the tips of my claws, my body flying through the air until I smacked into a tree and got the wind knocked out of me. I fell to the ground, coughing a little as I lifted my head to look at the mawile. He looked no different, and the red glow from his jaw was gone, but something certainly changed about him. Based on what the voice said, he wasn't trying to, or allowed rather, to kill anyone besides the 'target,' assumed to be Kuro. Considering the words that came from the sky and that last attack, clearly this wasn't the case anymore.

I Pushed myself off of the ground and shook my head, glancing around to try and find Kuro before going in for an attack. I didn't see him immediately, but I did catch sight of each and every one of the pokemon here other than Kuro, and they all had the same look of unease and error on their faces. It's possible that a number of things caused it, whether that be the sudden attack that they just witnessed, or the voice coming from what seemed like nowhere, or a combination of the two. Either way, all of them looked terrified, and I couldn't blame them.

Unable to spot Kuro yet, I locked my eyes onto the mindless mawile again, who seemed to be doing the same thing I was a second ago, searching for the umbreon. I took a deep breath and crouched, getting ready to go into a full speed rush with only one thing tearing away at my mind.

This isn't going to be easy…

Hello Readers!

I hope all of you are well! Other than that, I'm not too sure what to say! :D

I do have a question for you all though. How do you feel about me starting another story alongside this one? It won't be related to this one, but recently I have been enlightened with quite a few ideas that I kind of want to make into a story, which I won't give away quite yet. (Not that it's anything unique :p) I want input from all of you, if you want me to write that story along with this one, or if I should finish this one before moving onto yet another. There are a few things to consider here, which I'll try to list to the best of my ability. For one, updates on Renewed Life would be a bit slower, as I would alternate between the two from chapter to chapter, and seeing as my uploads have already had to slow down a bit, I'm not too sure how you all feel about that to an even higher degree, so I want to know your thoughts! Something else to keep in mind is that this story isn't exactly close to done :p I have a lot of future events in mind, and based on progression of previous in story events, I predict that this isn't going to be finished anytime soon, especially seeing as, in about two and a half months, a year will have passed since I uploaded the first chapter to this story. And oh my what a year it has been :p But enough about that, One last thing to consider about this is that, if I'm waiting to finish this story to start another, that doesn't mean this one will be rushed by any means. I plan on taking my time either way, so no need to worry about that. Please give me your thoughts if you can!

One last announcement thing to make is that, in the future, assuming I decided to write lemons to tie in with this story (At the humble request of.. A lot of you :p) They will be in a separate story, connected to this one, as I don't think that lemons would really fit into this specifically too well. Plus I want to give people the option to not read it, because that's not everyone's thing, and I get that, so they'll be in a separate story, and the chapters will be in chronological order from whatever point they happen in the story. I.E. chapter one over there would be the earliest lemon in the story. I will let everyone know when that would get updated over here too, so that's what's going on with that!

Finally, my usual thanks to everyone who has sent me a pm, review, all that good stuff, I really appreciate it and it really brightens my days up! Finally, thank you to my beta reader for cleaning up my chapters as much as they can with all of my typos! (8-BitUmbreon)

See You Next Chapter!