Kuro

Never has sliding on ice burned as much as it did now.

I stuck my paw to the floor and dug my claws a few inches into the ice, cutting off the lack of friction I had and finally getting me to a halt. I shook my head and stood, attempting to ignore the intense heat created by my injuries. My sight was blurry and out of focus, but regardless, I looked to the source of what had just collided with my back, which looked something like a cranidos, but I couldn't be certain with my less than viable vision. I blinked a number of times, slowly calibrating what I could see. I was correct in my assumption of a crainidos, but I didn't notice that they were bruised, all up their left arm, and had blood leaking from their mouth.

My body tensed and I glanced around, looking for two things: The source of damage on this pokemon, and Ethos. Without too much effort, I spotted Ethos rampantly flying to the downed crainidos, mumbling something that I couldn't quite make out. I couldn't relax my muscles, I was now on-guard for anything. Not that I was in any condition at all to defend myself, but it was better than being a sitting duck.

Time passed, and nothing happened. Ethos was still checking the wounds of the newly entered crainidos, luckily seeming to be okay. I felt anxiety flow to my head. In order to not let it get to me, I slowly walked over to the other two, and stood behind them.

"Who did this!?" Ethos went from a whisper to a shout in one sentence. Now that I had a closer look, the crainidos' arm was swelling, and very well could have been broken. Did they come back from exploring with that injury? Or is it recent..? And why did they fly into my back like that..?

I took a breath, trying to relax and await an answer to Ethos' question.

"I-I don't know him, but he got my group too. None of them are dead, but they're hurt worse than me… Please go and get help!" The cranidos reached his good arm out, pointing to the direction of the area's entrance.

Ethos nodded quickly and flew a few feet into the air. "I'll go get them! Hold tight!" Without another word, Ethos soared through the cave, much quicker than I anticipated him to be able to move. HIs voice was also very, authoritative. He sounded like he knew what he was doing. Despite him being a child, Ethos seems like he's been through this a few times… Hopefully that's a good thing rather than bad.

I glanced down at the injured pokemon once more. He had a pained expression, clearly not having the best day with what very well might be a broken arm. At the very least… It looks like it could have been worse. If someone attacked him had the ability to break his arm and hasn't killed him yet, then at least he made it out.

I began to much more easily dismiss the sore and burning sensation all over my body, which could be from an increase in adrenaline from the situation. I was nervous, dare I say quite scared. I know these nomads likely have security procedures if they get attacked, they seemed like the type of group to do that. I shouldn't have been as unsure of the whole situation as I was, but I couldn't help but think of the worst possible outcomes. I still don't know enough about this place to feel secure… For all I know, there could be families here, living safely away from the public eye, after all, Ethos is a child, he very well could have parents here somewhere…

I needed to distract myself from my lingering thoughts. "Hey, can I ask what the species of pokemon who did this to you and your group is?" I asked to the downed crainidos next to me.

He turned his head in my direction, and we locked eyes. I could feel him scanning me, taking in every detail of my body. Part of me felt insecure of the fact that I was covered in wounds that I haven't really explained to anyone yet, and the fact that one of my eyes matches the color of a marshmallow. These nomads may be strict about their security, so when this pokemon realized that I'm an outsider, he must have been skeptical. "There were two of them, but we only made out one, the other was in the background." He told me, his voice straining. "One was a hitmonchan, that's all I know. He broke my arm and did even worse to my group…" He looked down in defeat, while my eyes widened.

There's no way he's talking about the same one that immediately comes to my mind… No way… Right..?

A cackle broke out in the cave, a loud one. My eyes weren't in the direction it came from, and my hesitation to turn them was all too evident. My ears twitched and folded down a little, not a reaction I usually have to anything, even when I'm terrified. I grit my teeth, much harder than I initially intended, and I felt my forelegs begin to shake, not out of weariness like before. There's no way this is actually happening…

I slowly turned my head, revealing the figure of a hitmonchan, one that made me sharpen my stare. My legs were visibly unstable now, primely my two front ones. A look of intrigue spread across the face of the attacker, before a smile broke free, a terrifying one. Even I could recognize him by face now, he's walked into my holding cell plenty of times. Admittedly, I nearly forgot the name he goes by at the Void, but it was never completely free from my mind, as I've heard it more times than I wish I had. And here I thought I wouldn't have any roadblocks… wishful thinking that something would actually go right…

I made sure I was in front of the injured crainidos, attempting to blank my mind of all distractions as Nekro approached.

"You've gotta be kidding me… How insane!" Laughter broke through in echos, which brought shivers down my back. "You go missing, and then not two days later, I come across you… Dear Arceus that's incredible!"

For some reason, I couldn't find it in me to speak. It was difficult, finding words when fear was beginning to consume most of your mind. I wasn't scared of him specifically, if anything, I was scared of my own condition. I wasn't fit to fight anyone, but I knew for a fact that it wasn't that simple. I couldn't just say that and hope someone else takes care of the problem, I was the only one there, along with an injured nomad. I assumed the nomads had ample fighting experience, and were able to hold their own, but if their whole group was taken out by Nekro, than I might have been mistaken in that assumption. What… can I do..?

"Wordless? I figured you would have something to say to me after everything that's happened over the last, what, two weeks?" Two weeks..? That's how long I was stuck there..? "Not that I'm complaining, the less you talk, the less you irritate me." Nekro slowly walked towards me, not wasting any time. I gulped, not caring about the slow, painful lump in my throat it instigated. "I thought you were confident? That I wasn't anything to you? That you could knock me out with your eyes closed? You're not acting like you would previously." He chuckled, and I found myself frozen. What can I do..? What..?

Nekro stopped walking, about five feet away, giving me a death glare. I returned the same expression, however, I wasn't intimidating anyone with my quivering forelegs. "Where's the gusto you showed me when we first met, huh? Where?" He put on a teasing tone, as if trying to make me angry. Though, I was too afraid to feel anything else at the moment. What can I do? How can I get out of this..? How can I stall him until help from Ethos gets here..? Where is the second threat..?

"Maybe your silence irritates me more than you spouting your usual crap…" Nekro grumbled. "Come on! What's going through your head!?" Nothing but fear. "Why are you here!?" I don't know. "How did you get here!? How did you escape!?" I don't know. I don't know. "Anything! I'm all ears!"

Nekro's questions were answered with silence at first. I didn't know how to answer, I couldn't answer anything he asked. I couldn't make up random nonsense, I didn't have the mental capacity for that right now. What use would opening my mouth really do? All I would do is satisfy him with what will likely be a quiet and clearly intimidated voice. What point was there in fighting a verbal battle with him right now? Buying time…

I took a deep breath, trying to drown out my fear at least a small amount. "Why I'm here and how I did it… T-That doesn't matter." I spoke, raspy as ever. "Why are you? Why would the Void send a practically incapable member somewhere with only one other p-pokemon?" It was a stupid question to ask and expect an answer, but I didn't really need one, I only needed time. However I can get it…

"Incapable? Oh I wouldn't say that." Nekro replied with a cackle that matched his earlier one, as he lifted his arm and pointed behind me, at the injured crainidos. "Does that look like I haven't accomplished anything here? Of course it doesn't! You're underestimating my abilities!" You're overestimating them… "How would you know I'm incapable? If I remember correctly, you haven't tried battling me since I was picked up by the Void. All you did was get a lucky bite off while you were chained up, and that was nothing!"

"Your screams back then would s-say otherwise." I retorted, replaying the memory in my head.

"So I wasn't used to having my flesh ripped off, that doesn't mean it affected me badly. Not with the Void's medical resources!" Quit gloating about being in a monsterous organization… "They could heal anything they really want, so long as you don't get permanently damaged!" After listening to Nekro's words, I glanced down his body, my unclear vision being able to pick up small marking all down his chest, leading to his stomach.

I found it in myself to grin. "The where did those w-wounds come from? They don't look fully healed to me, especially if I, of all pokemon, c-can see them with one eye dead." I briefly wondered if talking with a provocative attitude was the right move, but it's not like I could think of any other way to keep him talking.

Instead of the irritated response I expected, I was met with an even bigger smile. "Maybe scars can't blend in with my body, even with the Void's masterful methods." Nekro's eyes narrowed, staring at only me and nothing else. "You really would love to know where these wounds came from, wouldn't you?" His tone sent a chill through my whole body. There was something menacing about it, not the vibe I've gotten from him at any other time.

I couldn't think of anything to say. He was egging me on to say something, anything at all. Yet, my curiosity regarding where he was going with this kept me from being able to properly think. My head rushed from one possibility to the next, but in the small amount of time I was actually able to see him before this, I know for a fact those wounds weren't present. He's leading me on like I should know how he was hurt… But how would I know that..?

"Still having a hard time talking? Not even a guess? How absurd!" Nekro took one step closer, and I crouched down as if I were about to attack him. Combat of any kind was not a very good idea in my condition, but I was running out of options. "Maybe I can tell you, and then I can take you back to the Void, right where you belong." I took a breath, resisting the cold fear brought by my recent memories.

Nekro held up one of his hands, and slowly dragged it down his chest, over each of the small spots that covered his midsection. "These came from a very painful attack, one that caught me off guard, and made me despise someone even more than I already do!" He spat the last few words in that sentence. "The one who hit me with this attack? Oh you know them, you know them better than anyone else I would bet." My mind went null for just a second as his words clicked in my head. "Naru, that bitch of a glaceon? She did it, not before I got some nice damage in though!"

My claws clutched into the ice below me harder than ever, and my glare on Nekro increased in intensity. I had an extreme urge to lunge at him, to bite into his neck as hard as I could, to claw into his chest and re-irritate the wounds already given to him by Naru. I wanted him to feel pain.

"I told you to stay away…" My voice was low, almost like a growl. I hated sounding like this, it reminded me of a bloodthirsty animal, but I couldn't help it. It took a lot to make me angry, and this crossed that line ten times over. "I swear I'll..!" I coughed roughly, a consequence for raising my voice when I shouldn't have. All of the weight in one of my forepaws dropped, and I pressed my head to the ground, breathing heavily. He totally broke my composure, whatever amount of sustain I had before vanished in an instant. I felt each of my painful sensations gather once more, causing me to grit my teeth in an effort to resist it.

I was met with nothing more than another burst of laughter. "You'll do what now? Don't try and make threats when you can't even finish a full sentence!" I heard Nekro's feet clash against the ice, coming closer to me. "I should take you right back to the cell we just had you in, and continue your interrogation. Who knows? Maybe your body will give out and you'll just up and die, then you won't have to suffer through any more torture!"

It was upsetting to look back on, but there was a point in there when I just wanted them to kill me. I stopped caring, but it was only brief. I won't get captured, just to die without anyone in the Nest knowing. That isn't an option. The grasp I had over my emotions was slowly but surely slipping, I began to feel something very vaguely familiar. Something I felt back when I walked in on that disgusting sight on the outskirts of Myriad. I didn't know how to describe it, wanting someone else in pain, wanting them hurt. I only knew one feeling I could attribute it to. Bloodlust.

"Maybe I should knock you around before taking you back, I like making you feel pain." I heard another step, closer than before. I'm in no condition to fight… But he's not taking me back there, I won't let it happen. No matter what.

I slowly brought my eyes up, piercing Nekro with my vision. Especially not by you.

I couldn't be an aggressor in this confrontation, it wasn't practical for me to make a move on him, if he would just take whatever minimal force I hit him with, and counter. That being said, I'm nowhere near my usual level of agility, so I very likely can't last in a battle via evasion, my legs would give out before Ethos made it back. If I lose my ability to move, I would just be picked up and carried right back to the Void again, the place I just suffered in for apparently two weeks. Worse than that, I wouldn't be able to get back to the Nest and let everyone know that I'm alright. Well, as alright as I can be with one working eye and a bunch of burn marks.

Nekro and I gazed at each other, neither one breaking from the other. If only he didn't get enhancements from the Void… I wouldn't be worried at all. But, if I don't do anything stupid, and I can hold out a little, he still shouldn't be a problem. I hope…

"You're not actually going to try and fight, are you?" Nekro scoffed. "You look like you can barely walk!" Not incorrect…

If I could keep the talking up, the more the better. I wanted time, not an even fight. "I don't need stable limbs t-to handle you. Didn't the first time we meet show you that?" I shot back, tempted to make a false remark about how I wasn't afraid at all, but he would likely see through it.

"The first time? Back when I didn't have these chemicals in me and back when you were healthy? I'm afraid that didn't show me anything." Nekro shifted his stance, putting one leg forward and raising his fist. "Things are different now, aren't they?" He followed with an evil smile.

He was right, things were a lot different. But plenty happened to be the same too. "For you to think that our difference in physical c-condition right now is the deciding factor is proof of what I said."

Nekro looked as if he was resisting the urge to burst out into amusing laughter. "Don't hit me with that. You can hardly move, I would say that's prettttty devastating to your side."

"This is why you really aren't a t-threat, no matter how artificially strong the Void makes you." I observed his body once more, primely his previous injuries. "You should already know. You said you damaged Naru… But I'm willing to be she beat the living crap out of you afterwards."

Nekro's face contorted to one of anger. "Like you know anything of what happened! A lucky attack is a lucky attack, that was that!" I definitely struck a nerve with that one.

"I know that you have scars from it, and I know exactly how she fights. I-I would say I have a good idea of how easily she could deal with you." I took a breath, and took a step forward. "You're physically stronger than her and I, but you let your alpha mindset get to your head, that's what makes you as threatening as a feather to the Nest, to any Raven."

"Fine, think that, and shut up!"

A flurry of risky options appeared in my head, choices that I might be able to make, now that I had him flustered. Some of them were reasonable, like trying to capitalize on his anger and provoke a verbal assault instead of a physical one. Others in my head, they appeared, were outright stupid when it came to the amount of risk associated with them, but at the same time, I would be able to assure that the injured crainidos behind me wouldn't get hurt in the exchange. At least, make it more likely. I contemplated the ideas in my head, quickly scanning through each of them. I also received a small flashback, which was odd to me. I thought of the applicants' tournament, when I met up with Kage and battled him. A thought occurred to me right after.

Since when have I ever cared about risk in a fight?

Seizing Nekro's moment of distraction, I put pressure on my legs, bringing more pain than I would have liked. Pushing off of the ice as hard as I could, I launched myself at Nekro, headbutting him in the stomach as hard as I could. I heard a small grunt, but one that sounded like it came more from annoyance than pain. I rolled onto to the ground, sliding a few feet away, just in time to avoid the impact from his fist. A dull ache in my head formed, and my ears began ringing a litte. Maybe… I misinterpreted how much any amount of forceful contact would hurt…

I glared at Nekro, ignoring my heavily shaking body. He returned my stare, smiling. "Didn't even feel a thing. What a rash move on your part!" He began sprinting towards me as his sentence finished, and I prepared myself.

My sight was blurry, I didn't consider how this would affect my ability to fight, but I could still make out shapes, and that was enough. I carefully observed the movements of Nekro's body as he approached, it seemed as if time had slowed down for me to pick apart every fallacy I found with his positioning, and the way he moved. I had to push my nerves aside, and stay sharp in every way I could.

My vision followed Nekro, particularly his arms. By the time he was close enough to jam his fist into my skull, I preemptively slid my body to the side, barely avoiding the punch that I predicted. Right after the full swing of his right arm finished, I ducked down, dodging a swipe from his left. He recovered quickly, and turned to face me directly, jabbing both of his fists at me one after the other, both I managed to barely get away from.

After I narrowly danced around his initial onslaught, I pushed off of the ice below me with my forepaws, jumping back a few feet, and trying to disregard the increase in soreness it brought. With shaky legs, I took a breath and refocused on Nekro once again. The stare that he gave me was a bit of a confused one, or maybe one of intrigue. Whatever his expression was, it justified a pause in his movements, he didn't immediately sprint after me again, not like the first time.

Sadly, said pause only lasted a few seconds, and he was right after me once more. Nekro threw his left arm back and tried to hit me head on, as predictably as possible. I leaned to the side and avoided it, his arm bushing against my ear. He quickly halted his momentum and tried an uppercut with his right arm, which I sidestepped just as easily as the rest of his impromptu attacks. Just like before, I crouched, and put some distance between us, standing with as stable a stance as I could muster.

Nekro let out a growl. "Stop with the cat and mouse game and attack me already!" As if he was trying to mirror his last few attacks, he dashed at me once more, I dodged each one of his very telegraphed swings, then jumped away, just like before. I felt heavier, each movement took more and more effort to pull off, but I could manage either way. I had to stall somehow, and exploiting whatever I could to avoid a head-on fight was my best chance.

"Quit being so slippery!" Nekro went to shouting, his irritation evident. "You can't run away forever, you're just delaying your own demise!"

Him getting angry was a positive, he was much more sloppy when angry. "With the way you fight, I p-probably can run away forever." I took a breath, hoping to stall out the need to dodge too quickly in succession. "Physical strength can't make up for lack of combative ability."

Nekro scoffed at me. "How do you think I took out the group before you? You'll tell me I don't have any combative ability after seeing their sorry state?"

"Not to be rude to them, but they likely haven't seen much more combat than you, which is the only reason y-you could do anything to them." I coughed a few times, my throat burning. "Anyone who has actual training in the matter, training from pokemon w-who know what they're doing, they take an easy advantage."

Nekro didn't look very pleased with my lecturing. "Your training didn't help you much when it came to being in the Void, did it? You were chained up, completely stuck in place. How would your training get you out of that one? It couldn't, and you were stuck until some random miracle happened, causing you to somehow, someway, get out of there." That's hardly relevant to anything I just said…

"And what would you have done in that s-situation? Tried to break out with brute force, and then get captured again before you made it halfway out of the facility?" I questioned.

"It doesn't matter what I would have done, because I'll never be in that position." Nekro chuckled, as if he actually made a good point. "There's only so much your training can do for you!"

"It's not just t-the training." I let out another cough, this one hurting less. "You were upgraded by the Void, only artificially. Right after that, you went straight into battles, thinking pumped up muscles were enough to hold your own. Have you ever even been in an actual, a real life or death situation? One you needed to get yourself out of, and think on a whim?" I paused, receiving nothing but silence. "You haven't, you have no experience whatsoever. You don't know how to properly fight someone else, anybody who does will easily counter everything you try and do."

Nekro seemed to be at a loss for words, as if he was actually listening to what I was saying and not passing it off as nonsense. He wasn't sprinting at me, it almost looked like he was lost in thought. I must have made a point to him, one that actually stuck for once. That could be a negative thing too… but it's still buying time.

Even after giving a lecture about experience in battles, I managed to make one of the most simple and easy mistakes to avoid. I was still staring at Nekro just as before, but there was something different about me. I wasn't tense, my legs were relaxed, as was most of my body. I totally let my guard down.

Just like that, Nekro lunged at me, and planting his fist right into the center of my chest, seemingly as hard as he could. For just a second, I was in shock, I was totally taken off-guard. Once that shock wore off, I felt intense pressure coming from the impact of his attack, pressure that make me take a harsh, thin breath, then collapse to the icy floor.

My body was almost null, I couldn't move at all. I was totally stuck in place. My breathing was quick, and I was hardly taking in any oxygen. My previously unoptimized vision began to thin out, and was back to being as blurry as possible. I could hardly make out shapes anymore, only what looked like a very poorly painted picture. In that picture, I could see Nekro's legs, the icy ground, almost looking like slushed water. The walls, looking very similar to the ground below us all.

Finally, a collection of more indecipherable shapes, far off in the distance. With only one functioning eye, no amount of focusing could allow me to be certain of what I was looking at, but through the intense ringing in my ears, at the very least, I could tell that the shapes were talking, even if it sounded like mumbles. I glanced up at Nekro, who turned to the collection of shapes, putting his back to me. My vision blurred even more than previously, and I felt my consciousness begin to slowly but surely stray away.

I grit my teeth hard, willing myself to stay conscious as much as I could. It was painful, very painful, but I barely kept it up. The shape closest to me, Nekro, was launched back, right above me. I felt a heavy gust of wind with his movement, and heard a fuzzy crash in the background. I would have turned my head to look for him, but I quite literally couldn't move. As heavy as my eyelids were, I held out, trying to control my breathing, and make it so I wouldn't have a lack of oxygen. At least I bought enough time… I think…

Another shape, coming from out of my sight, flew passed me, colliding with the ground harshly. Their head had a small amount of read leaking off of it, which I assumed to be blood. The shape didn't look like Nekro, it was too short to be him, and didn't have the same colors. Which would mean… Nekro is still fighting them off..?

I had no idea the exact number of what I assumed were reinforcements from Ethos, but there were a decent amount, they should have been able to easily overpower Nekro. Then again, I already knew that he managed to take out one group, and he didn't have a scratch on him afterwards, which was concerning. These pokemon were nomads, explorers, so I assumed they had some amount of prowess when it came to fighting too. Granted, being resourceful and effectively exploring doesn't necessarily mean you would have to fight anything off that wasn't a feral. Further, if they grouped up on said ferals, they may not have gotten any real, good experience out of it. If that's the case, then this situation is more dire than I thought…

I wanted more than anything to be able to move. If I had any amount of stamina, I could drive Nekro away. I was confident in that. He outmatched me by miles when it comes to physical abilities, but he was too sloppy with his fighting to actually pose a threat to me. That is, unless I'm totally drained of stamina.

As more time passed, my ears perked to every yell, every scream, almost agonizing squeals. I couldn't recognize any of them by voice, but non sounded even remotely similar to Nekro. That wasn't a good sign. I didn't like to underestimate others, but it seemed as if these nomads weren't able to truly hold their own against a product of the Void. And there's still the second one… Wherever they may be…

I noticed yet another blob of colors in my sight, this one moving around quickly and erratically. It was approaching me at a quick rate, before coming within a few feet. Mumbles came from them, but I couldn't make out any words. I felt my hearing slowly start to fade more and more, and I felt myself get closer and closer to unconsciousness. Before I succumbed to it though, the new shape was right in front of my face, and I began to decipher who it was. Ethos..?

I would have tried to call out to him if I had any confidence in my ability to talk. He looked as if he was yelling, and despite being right next to me, I couldn't make out one clear work. It almost sounded like I was underwater, alongside a steady ringing in my ear. I suppose this is what it was like to be a fatigued as physically possible.

I felt a few nudges on the edges of my mouth, from somewhere I couldn't quite see. I tried to focus on looking at Ethos, and I noticed his eyes very lightly glowing a strange purple color. Shortly after, the nudges began to feel more forceful, until something was practically shoved into my mouth. It felt like a packet, something plastic, and my teeth were able to move it around easily, almost as if they were sinking into it, but not breaking it. The sensation was odd, I couldn't tell what it was exactly. I figured though, it was likely that Ethos was the one trying to give me whatever this was. Because of that, I decided to trust that I wasn't being poisoned right now.

Slowly, I bit down harder on the small packet, feeling its two ends expand as I continued to pressure what felt like the middle. With enough effort, I felt a small pop, and from inside the plastic, came a slush of liquid. It didn't have the most pleasant taste, something akin to very strong mint leaves. Regardless of that, I swallowed what I could, which was more than I was expecting, considering the fact that I was laying on my side, barely keeping awake. I also consumed a bit of the plastic, but I hoped that wouldn't be an issue.

It wasn't clear what exactly I just willingly put into my body, and to be honest, my desperation to do something in this situation may have very easily gotten dangerous, considering that I just drank whatever I just did. All I could do though is hope for the best that my trust in Ethos wasn't misplaced, and something good would come of it.

Just like that, about a minute passed, nothing different at all. Different yelps and crashes were behind me, along with almost constant bursts of wind and occasional rises in temperature. Another minute passed, mirroring the first completely. Five minutes, each one feeling like an hour, and nothing had changed, only the speed in which I heard the commotion. It was slowing down, ever so slightly.

All of a sudden, I felt as if I was dunked in a lake of ice cold water. My eyes shot open, and an extreme chill ran down my entire body, causing me to shiver. I felt my fatigue, and my sore muscles almost fade away, as if it was being sapped out of me. It didn't feel natural though, not like when I took the drug provided to me after getting beaten up by Grace. That one felt smooth, and took away all of my lingering pain in an instant. This, it's like all of the pain worsened intensely, before slowly fading out. I suppressed the urge to shriek at the sudden spike, and took heavy breaths during the slow and admittedly agonizing cooldown of pain. My bones began to feel loose, and I shifted my forelegs in front of my head a little. My vision, instead of looking like I was seeing the world through a blurry glass, it cleared. Granted it wasn't perfect, as only one of my eyes worked, but I could make everything out, I could scan my surroundings, starting with the seemingly unconscious cranidos on the ground in front of me. Just like that, I felt immediately flared up, my emotions becoming intense.

I pushed myself off of the ground with a small hop, and harshly shook my head. My breathing was still heavy, as I took a moment to gaze in circles. I didn't catch any sight of Ethos, but I did see many different species of pokemon, of all sized, collapsed on the ground in scattered places. My eye shot from one to the next, before falling on the ones still standing.

A kricketune, and a scyther, both trying to attack Nekro. However, the two didn't make any progress, as Nekro shook off any small blows they did land, and then countered, his attacks hurting much more. The bugs let out a synchronized scream and fell back a little, as some of the downed pokemon around me began to rise, still not finished. They're just throwing themselves at him, stop being such idiots please!

I glared at Nekro, him not noticing that I stood up. A wave of adrenaline pushed through me, and I grit my teeth. My claws were drawn and already dug into the ice below, the ice now sporting numerous cracks all around, both the walls and the floor. I let out a growl, almost not being able to contain it, and I lunged at the hitmonchan I suddenly couldn't stand even the sight of.

Catching him completely off-guard, I jammed my head into the center of his body, and released a ball of condensed energy into him at point blank, gaining a surprise scream as he flew back, straight into one of the walls. He quickly detached himself from said wall and turned to look at me, his face distorting to one of extreme confusion.

"W-Why are you up all of a sudden!?" He shouted at me, before taking a hand and rubbing the area I just attacked. My muscles tensed up, and I growled again, feeling unnaturally angry, which didn't go unnoticed by Nekro. "What the hell is wrong with you?" He spoke in a much quieter voice this time, sounding almost intimidated.

I questioned why he would suddenly change his tone, but a glance downward revealed something to that surprised me just as much. Around my leg and moving upward, there was an odd aura, a dark, translucent one. It was black and shadow-like, not having a definite shape, but surrounding my leg regardless, and likely the rest of my body.

I shook it off very quickly after noticing it. "Who else is here with you?" I asked Nekro, restraining myself from yelling. After I spoke, I began to tread towards him again, holding back from another full on lunge.

Nekro's face hardened once more. "I'm sure you'll find out on your way back to the Void." He brushed off the previous blow and took a stance towards me. "I don't know what invigorated you so much, but it won't help you."

I stopped walking, standing roughly the same distance he stood from me when this confrontation started. "We'll see about that." I replied, crouching down.

With my newly found energy, I sprinted right towards Nekro, being the aggressor this time. He attempted to counter my rush with a swing from his right fist, but I rolled out of the way and jabbed the left side of his midsection with my paw roughly. Nekro flinched, but nothing more, before taking a step back and swinging again, this time, catching me off-guard a little. I barely moved my head out of the way, his attack only grazing my cheek. I slid behind him and attempted another quick jab, but he read it and avoided, his left fist glowing brightly. With a smirk, he threw it to the ground, releasing a bright ball to contact the ice, shattering the surface, and sending a flurry of small shards at me. In the half-second I had to react, I drew out my two tendrils and crossed them over my body, a large number of small icy pieces piercing them, but not getting to my body. I winced at the pain they caused, but it wasn't enough to keep me back.

Without warning, I slammed one of my tendrils into the same spot I landed a light attack on earlier, making Nekro's face contort in pain. He threw another punch, aimed primarily at my chest, and I caught it with my second tendril, wrapping it around his arm and tightening my grip. I spun my body in a half-circle and tossed him aside, before slamming my other tendril into the ground behind me, flying right after him. Once I was right above Nekro in the air, I dove down onto him and shoved him roughly onto the ice, cracking even more of the polished floor. Without giving him a chance to react, I threw my head back, taking in a breath, before firing a dark pulse off right down on him, again, at point blank.

This time, I managed to get an actual yelp of pain out of him as I jumped back and retracted my tendrils. My body was still emitting the same odd glow, and I had no idea what the cause was, but I didn't care, I was too tunnel-visioned on this fight. It didn't take Nekro long to rise off of the ground, and give me an angry gaze, before standing up again. I ran forward, wanting to start another assault. Nekro tried to take a step in my direction, but he stumbled, thanks to the small shard stuck in his ankle, and starting falling over right over me. Using the unexpected opening, I jumped up and slammed my head into his stomach, tossing him into the air and sending him back, slamming into the ground once more.

This time, he let out more of an angry shout, rather than one of pain, before rapidly standing again. While staring at him, watching him struggle to keep up, for some reason, I grinned.

"Maybe you should watch your own attacks, they can be just as hazardous to you as they are to me." I spoke in a taunting tone. Nekro didn't take too kindly to the teasing.

"Shut your damn mouth before I strangle you!" He slapped himself across the face. "You think it's that easy to just take advantage of me? I'll prove you otherwise!"

Both of us re-entered our battle stances, staring one another down. If he keeps going with this, it'll be easy to end it.

"That's enough, stop wasting time."

Before one of us could bolt towards the other, a new voice chimed in, one that surprisingly enough, I recognized. It had been a long time, so I had to take a second to think of who it may be, but it registered without too much difficulty.

Nekro turned around, facing someone I hadn't seen since shortly after I left my home for the first time. "You realize this he's a target with high-priority information, right? Taking him in isn't a waste!" Seems like he sounds irritable even around his co-workers.

The gallade kept walking until he was side by side with Nekro, and I stared at the duo. He looked exactly the same as he did before, but his tone of voice was strange to me. It was calm, it wasn't angry, contrary to when I spoke to him, and the story I heard from the Nest. "Target or not, that's not why we're here, so we can't concern ourselves with it. Not now." The gallade turned his eyes to me, and shared a moment of contact with mine. He looks the same, but his attitude seems a lot different. Maybe nothing has made him angry yet, not even seeing me.

"I'm not fond of this one either, but that doesn't matter. We have a task to do, and we're going to do it." The gallade spoke with a serious tone.

"I know that already, I don't need you bossing me around." Nekro sighed in annoyance. "I still think it's a waste to let a target we happened to come across go."

I stayed in my stance, ready for anything unexpected that may happen. Much to my surprise, none of the pokemon who were still conscious around us felt the need to intervene, perhaps because they didn't know how.

Through the now thick atmosphere, I found it in myself to speak. "What does the Void want with a place like this?" I asked in the general direction of the other two. I began feeling mentally sour, and I disliked it.

"We're here as collectors." The gallade stepped forward, facing me. "Not to collect you, to collect someone else, and some minerals deep in this area. That being said, your location will be relayed."

I wasn't actually expecting a direct answer to be honest. "Why are you here to collect someone? I doubt they did anything to warrant it." I said with a growl.

"None of your concern. Stay out of the way, don't make this annoying." He looked down at me, almost without emotion. "We should be in and out quickly, so long as you don't interfere with us."

A wave of confusion rushed through me. This gallade was acting miles different than who I knew him as, almost like he was a completely different pokemon. He sounded mellow, not enraged like before. He didn't sound like himself, he sounded robotic, breeding indecisive thoughts in me. I couldn't sift through my thoughts though, I had a hard time focusing, I was too angry.

"Who are you here to ta-" Before I could finish my sentence, the gallade waved one of his blades in the air, creating very thin, purple rings in the air.

They traveled around, speeding through the air quickly. They tightened, the center of the circles narrowing in an instant in a certain spot between the wall and myself. Following the closure of the rings was a high-pitched scream, causing my body to jump, as a shuppet became visible in the middle of the rings.

Hello Readers!

I did it! I got a chapter out on time! Yay! Hopefully you enjoy it, and I'm sorry for the large chunks of only Kuro's perspective, there's a lot going on with him and I need to think of a better way to split it up without breaking the tension completely, which I'm sure I'll manage by next chapter. -w-

Thank you for reading! I'm always open to talk!
See You Next Chapter!