Kuro

I saw nothing but black space in one moment, and was further blinded by colors the next.

As soon as my eyes opened, my body shot up, and I stood on all fours. Sadly, accompanying this motion was an extreme spike of pain, which I flinched at, but I didn't let myself make a sound.

My eye shot from left to right, observing everything around me. A crowd of pokemon, though, only half of them were standing. The rest, blodied and beaten, seemingly unable to get up. The most bothersome part of this was tugging at me, and I grit my teeth. I turned my body in circles, looking all around me, scanning the environment, despite my sight being the slightest bit blurry. A minute is all it took for me to observe my surroundings, and much to my dismay, Ethos was nowhere to be seen.

I shivered, feeling my legs shake a little bit. I took a few shallow breaths. Without hesitation, I turned in the direction of the cave's exit, and tried to sprint towards it. 'Tried' being the key word there, as one step was all it took for me to stumble and fall back onto my side, making me groan and tense up.

"Don't break yourself more please…" My head slowly looked up, looking for the source of the voice that broke through the ever so slight ringing in my ears. A familiar dragalge floated through the air, settling not far from my downed body. "Sudden movements will only make it worse, you don't seem to know the definition of taking it easy." Tsu said with a sigh.

I flopped onto my stomach and very slowly pushed myself off of the icy ground. "W-What happened to me?" I asked aloud, curious about the scenario that took place before I blacked out. I somehow, caught a second wind or something..? I started moving normally, and perhaps, even a little faster than I normally did, before the injuries. It was like I had a burst of energy to use for a little bit, but then everything just went dark. And I felt very, very irritated… That was weird…

"You were given a product we have here, specifically used for battles we don't think we can win." I took a second to balance myself, feeling a little better than before the fight, but still sluggish either way. "Think of it as an extreme pain killer, something that sapped away however much pain you were feeling at the time. It doesn't last very long, a few minutes at best, but it's a useful supplement for overturning a fight." Tsu paused for a sec, and prodded at the burn marks on my body with one of her… appendages? "It didn't heal you, it only distracted you. And seeing as your body is in about as bad of a condition as can be, moving around like that and using attacks didn't help you much. I would say you made your current injuries even worse. If I didn't get here when I did, you wouldn't be standing, or even conscious likely."

I looked at the ground, not pleased with myself. "What about Ethos..?" I asked in a quiet voice. "T-They grabbed him or something, where did he go?" I slowly rose my voice as I spoke.

"They're not gone yet, the two of those intruders went deeper into the cavern we live in. As far as I know, they still have possession over him." She let out a sigh. "They told us to stay out of the way and they would leave without harming anyone else, so we waiting for them to keep going and started tending to the wounded ones." Tsu sounded regretful. I didn't blame her for the choice she made, but at the same time, if I was up, if I wasn't hurt, I might have been able to do something about it.

"Why couldn't I have lasted just a bit longer..?" I said, not meaning to vent my thoughts. My teeth clenched in frustration.

"You blacked out on your paws. Nothing you could have done." Tsu replied. "If anything, you prevented more injuries from taking place. Or worse for that matter…" There was a few seconds of silence. "You should be feeling better now, I used some of our meds to heal you up a bit. You're nowhere near healthy, but you should at least be able to walk normally, without too much pain."

Again, I was silent. I had no idea what to say, but I had idea of what I could do. They're still here..? I can catch up to them, but there's no way I would last in a battle with both, and if I tried anything, they would certainly attack… I took a breath, trying to recall why the Void would be here for any reason. They said they were here for finding minerals, right..? They're deeper in the cave, maybe their primary concern isn't Ethos, but those elements..?

I thought up a lot of radical possibilities, some of which weren't very pleasant. I had a tendency to overthink ninety percent of the situations I get myself into, and this was no exception. Maybe… I can bribe them…

Before my train of thought could continue, it was derailed by a low growl, coming from my left, slowly increasing in volume. This kept up until the tapping on the icy ground grew closer to me, but I didn't raise my head to observe. I mentally took note of the noises, but was too wrapped up in my own head to really care about them. I know they aren't here for me, but maybe, it can still work… Maybe I can-

"Why did the outsider get healed?" A new voice interrupted my thinking. My working eye slowly glanced to the left, where I found the red fur of what looked like a lycanroc. I could be wrong about that, as I've never physically seen one, plus my crappy eyesight could always lead me to the wrong conclusions.

Tsu floated through the air, from beside me to in between the newly entered pokemon and myself. "This outsider stopped our injured numbers from going up more than they needed to, we owe it to him to patch up some of his wounds." Really..? It feels like I accomplished nothing there…

The rock-type canine scoffed. "Why does that matter? Those guys who attacked are nothing like we've seen before!" From behind Tsu, I noticed the red foreleg of the lycanroc extend, pointing towards me. "Then a random outside shows up, Ethos freaks out about him, and now some random super-powered pokemon show up to hurt us? Do you think it's just a coincidence!?" The lycanroc yelled, finally prompting me to actually raise my head to her.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Tsu questioned. "If there were negative intentions involved, then two of them would not be out for blood against one another."

"Have you ever heard of 'acting' Tsu?" The lycanroc asked in a mocking tone. "Plus, it's pretty clear by everything I've heard that this guy has history with the other two, what else could it mean!?" How does she know that..? Maybe someone here heard and relayed everything Nekro and I said to each other… and then that gallade…

"I still don't see any ill will." Tsu stated, though more quietly than before. It seemed as if she didn't have a counter argument to the other pokemon.

"Fine then." Tsu was pushed to the side, putting me face to face with a terrifying glare, that admittedly made me shiver a little. "Can you explain then? Why don't we hear it from you? Do you know these random pokemon? Are you working with them? Are you just as dangerous? Answer!" She growled.

I locked eyes with the lycanroc, taking a small breath. "I-I do know them… But I didn't lead them here. We aren't allies, quite the opposite." I answered, not feeling the need to give details.

"Jewel, that's enough of the questioning, he's clearly still injured and tired." Tsu addressed, slowly floating towards the lycanroc presumably known as Jewel.

Just as she approached, Tsu was merely shoved away again. "So they're looking for you? And you dragged them here because of that? Why are you even here!?" I was assaulted with another barrage of questions.

Overwhelmed, I took a second to gather my thoughts before talking. "I'm not here for any particular reason, I'm just sort of… here." I sighed, realizing how unconvincing that likely came out. "Those two had no way to track me, and they even said they were here for another purpose, not to hunt me down."

"Please. Why would we listen to them? Why would we believe anything they say? Why do we believe anything you say!?" Jewel yelled progressively louder and louder as this conversation continued.

"What reason would I have to lie?" I answered her questions with one of my own. "I'm not familiar with your group, I wasn't even aware it existed. What grounds do you have for accusing me of coming here to spread lies?"

"I don't need grounds. My friends are the ones who got hurt, you need to answer everything." She growled at me.

"There's not much I can answer…" I admitted, looking down. "They're dangerous. Right now, your focus shouldn't be on me. It should be on getting Ethos back, and getting everyone else a safe distance away from those two." I glanced passed Jewel, looking deeper into the cave. "They aren't here specifically to fight, but… it looks like they won't hesitate to do so…"

"How can you even say that name..?" Jewel's tone went sombre for a second, confusing me. "You're the reason he's in there with them right now! If you never showed, this wouldn't be happening!"

I froze for a second. I knew that Nekro and that gallade, the Void in general, had no real way to track me. I wouldn't use this in an argument, but really, the fact that I ended up here at the same time as them is a coincidence. Then again, if I wasn't here, they may have had an even more clear shot to the center of the cavern. Did… did I make this into a bigger deal than it would have been..? Maybe me trying to hold Nekro off had unwanted consequences, would Ethos have thrown himself in the front line like that had I just let him pass…?

I found myself unable to really respond. I couldn't organize my thoughts now, it was too strongly clouded by the chance that I was responsible for the injuries here, the fact that Ethos is stuck with those two.

"He's practically a little brother to everyone here, the small and innocent shuppet who wants to keep on exploring… And those guys are only here, they only broke so far because of you!" Jewel put her head centimeters in front of mine. I stared at her, wordless. If this was the truth, she had every right to be mad at me, to scream at me. Am I really the reason for this..? I was emotionally flooded, this was way too much to try and take in after waking up from unconsciousness.

"That's enough." Tsu shoved Jewel to the side, making the glare aimed at me transmit to her. "What he said is right, we need to focus on other tasks right now. This can be settled after the matter."

"Oh yeah..?" Jewel replied, scoffing. "Then how do you propose we do that? I can probably take one of them, but the other is a total wild card, how is it even possible that we can get Ethos back from them!?"

"I might be able to." I spoke up, causing the other two to look at me once more. "I don't know for sure, but… It's possible, and worth a shot."

"Oh, trusting the outsider with the life of one of our own? What a great idea." Jewel said sarcastically. "And how do you propose you'll do that? With a blind eye and your still injured body?"

I took a breath, trying not to break under the pressure that Jewel was putting me under. "I can act as a bargaining chip."

I was met with silence, before I felt something grip the side of my head, forcing me close up to Jewel's face again. "Explain. Now."

I tried to give an uneasy nod as best I could. "I don't have a good history with those pokemon. Without… dumping a lot of details on you, they want to capture me, and take me somewhere. That's not the reason they came here, but… as far as I know, they don't seem to have a specific reason for taking Ethos. He might just be… the first one they came across that looked easy to take." I shuddered, briefly thinking about what would happen if Ethos were to get carried back to the Void. "They actually have a reason for wanting me… So if I offer myself up for his safety, it's possible they can bite."

Jewel stared at me, her eyes locked on mine. I was trying my best to keep a strong facade, and not show my intimidation, also hide my uncertainty about this whole situation.

"Wait just a second." One of Tsu's appendages separated Jewel and I. "And why exactly do they want to capture you specifically? Who are they?" Tsu asked with slight intrigue.

"They're… part of an organization called the Void. Their group rivals mine, and they want certain information out of me. Because of that, they're putting resources towards taking me back to their base of operations." I explained.

"I see…" Tsu put on a thinking expression. "One more thing. You never fully explained where you came from, and unlike how you made it here, you actually know that part." I nodded as Tsu kept speaking. "The ones who took you there in the first place wouldn't happen to be with this… Void organization, would they? Did you come from their captivity?"

With some slight hesitation, I nodded. "I've been taken once. I have no idea how I made it out though… I can't remember any of it…"

"That's besides the point. Are they the reason behind your eye and all of your burn wounds, along with every other injury you came here with?" Tsu pressed, waiting for a reply.

"That's correct… I wouldn't talk, and they need information, so this is their solution." I shook my head, trying to keep the memories away.

"Wait wait wait, and you're saying you'll submit to that again so easily?" Jewel chimed in, sounding suspicious. "I doubt that. If they were the ones to do that to you, there's no way you would ever consider putting yourself up for trade, it's idiotic!"

"Well do you see a better way!?" I shot back, raising my voice a little, catching the two off guard. I coughed a few times, the burning not nearly as bad as previously, but still there nonetheless. "L-Look, I don't care about any of that. I'd rather go back there then let someone die because I couldn't hold out." I looked down, right at my distorted reflection in the ice below. The ice was cracked, and I could see portions of my face in every piece.

"Why do you even care? Like you said, you've never even heard of us until now, why does any of this matter to you?" Jewel asked, though not as loud as before. "I'm still not convinced. I say we should keep you contained so you don't hurt anyone. If those two try to come and rescue you, I won't let them pass." She unsheathed a large, sharpened claw.

I dug one of my claws into the ice, feeling irritated. "Whether you believe or not, every second you spend here doubting it all is another lost helping Ethos." I looked up at Jewel, glaring a little. "If I go in there and die, what do you even care? And if I were to try and break out and fight the rest of you with those two? It's not like I'm in any condition to do so in the first place. You have nothing to lose by me offering myself up in order to get Ethos back."

Seconds passed, Jewel being at a loss for words. I needed to get through to her in one way or another, as it was clear that she wasn't confident enough to rush in herself and try to take Ethos back. She talked as if she could take Nekro on, so perhaps there was an exception in this group of pokemon who could hold their own in a battle. Either way, it was too dangerous for her to run in. Too reckless.

Time was being wasted, and I was another breath away from running passed Jewel and finding Nekro, that gallade, and Ethos. I had a chance to help him, and I needed to do everything within my power to accomplish that.

"Fine… go." Jewel said, my glare on her softening. "If you even try to leave here without Ethos, or you attack anyone, you're dead." I nodded.

"You won't need to worry about that." I replied, taking a breath. I couldn't fight effectively, but at the very least, I was able travel. I could work my way deeper into this place, and try my hardest to make sure that Ethos makes it back here. Even if it means I'm going back with them. I got out once, I'm sure I could do it again eventually..?

"You know that you're in no condition to be picking fights, right?" Tsu chimed in.

I nodded. "I'm not planning on fighting. Only if absolutely necessary. If they don't take the deal, I could always create a distraction for Ethos to get away at the very least."

"And in both of those outcomes, you likely go back with them." Tsu added.

"That's… correct I suppose." I said, though a bit hesitant. I began walking forward, getting a feel for how much I could push my body without overdoing it and blacking out again. Maybe I can run a little bit… But actually fighting won't go well. Not unless I somehow managed to take someone off-guard.

I wasn't met with a reply from either of the two. WIth that awkward silence, I began off, deeper into the cave. I shouldn't get my hopes up…

I dragged my paws passed all of the other nomads, some of which looking at me with indifference, others staring in contempt. It didn't seem like everyone was exactly happy with me being here, and it's very possible that some arrived at the same conclusion as Jewel. I guess that doesn't really matter now, does it..? Anxiety started to cloud my head.

I tried my very best to ignore everything, ignore everything and continue walking. I knew what I was about to do is stupid, ridiculous in every meaning of the word. Yet, I kept on moving. I was about to go through with giving myself up to the Void, the place I finally got out of. Sometimes I wonder if there's something drastically wrong with me…

Even if I was totally screwed in the head, it wasn't always a bad thing, right? I didn't think so anyway. I'll admit, I've made a lot of stupid decisions and likely just made one more of the same, but something kept me going, even when I knew that my actions were unwarranted. Personally, I wasn't sure why, but I felt attached to Ethos. Just as I connected to Char as quickly as I did, the same applied to Ethos. Maybe it was naive of me to care so much about pokemon that I barely know, but I couldn't help it. It's been a constant of my mind ever since I left the forest. First with Naru, then with Kage, Vero, Shiro, Cole, Aria, everyone. I had no clue if that was healthy or not, but it didn't matter to me much. Anything is better than being alone. Well, anything but being locked in the Void. I would sooner go back to my feral-like lifestyle than spend more time in their grasp. But… I don't really have a choice now, do I?

Technically I did have a choice, I had every right to walk away and start off towards Myriad. In the end though, what's one more stupid decision?

As I made my way through the linear passage of the cavern, I came across a split, one I recognized. This was close to the area I woke up in, the part of this cave that hasn't been explored. Also, exactly where Nekro, that gallade, and Ethos were located. I took a deep breath, and began walking to the new area.

This part of the cavern looked nearly identical to the rest of the icy place, the only real difference being the lighting. It was very dark, and while I was still able to make out some shapes thanks to my species, I wasn't used to being in the dark without two fully functional eyes. I couldn't make out the reflective surface of the ice, only the shapes of stalactites and stalagmites. The temperature dropped as well, but I hardly paid it any mind, being cold was the least of my worries.

I wasn't really able to decipher the environment around me, due to my lack of ability to make out details. Either way, I kept moving, not looking back, only walking ahead. I silently hoped there wouldn't be any more forks in the path to wherever Ethos is being held by the other two, I would have no idea which one to choose, and leaving it to lady luck wasn't a very good prospect in my mind. Much to my relief, after about five minutes of walking, the only thing that changed was the steadily increasing cold, the path I was walking on was as straightforward as could be.

I closed my eyes for a second, wanting to think of how I would propose my idea to the two Void members. I didn't get the chance, as the second I tired, I heard the ear-piercing noise of something shattering. Without hesitation, I started to run forward, straight to the sound, taking care to not trip or slip in the dark. My anxiety rose more and more with each passing moment, but I pushed it down and bottled it up as much as I could. Now wasn't the time to be anxious and stressed, now was the time to act before anything bad happened.

It only took a short minute of running for me to find something new, my body only feeling moderately fatigued. A little bit farther down the narrow cavern, I spotted a light, coming out of what looked like a broken wall of ice. I put a lid on the rest of my emotions and ran forward once again.

I hastily approached the new entrance, stopping on a dime once I finally made it. I took a deep breath, and slowly peeked around the corner, wanting to survey the area before rushing in and screaming.

Shining brightly were a large group of pink crystals, making sure that the crevice I was looking into was more than visible. In front of the gems stood two of the pokemon I was looking for, and in the air to their left was the third, bound by thin rings. Merely glancing at Ethos nearly made me rush into the area to try and snatch him, but I thought it through and remembered the plan I had to use. Being reckless all the time can't be good…

"How much are we supposed to bring back again?" My ear twitched to Nekro's voice, likely talking to the gallade.

"We don't need much. Don't take more than you can carry." The psychic responded, glancing around the small circular area. "We also have the kid, keep that in mind."

After that, I heard someone clear their throat. "I'm right here and I have a name you know." Ethos said, making me wince.

"I don't care about your name." Nekro told him, turning around. "I care that capturing you is my quota for the day, nothing more."

Ethos spit in his face, which was admittedly amusing. "Why though!? I don't even know who you are!" He didn't sound very amused.

"It's not you specifically, it's," Nekro paused for a second, "a child from this cavern. That's the only requirement I have." Why in the world would they want a child from here..?

"What the… Why? What did we do!?" Ethos yelled, echoing in the cave behind me.

"Geez kid, keep it down, I'm not planning on going deaf." Nekro rubbed the side of his head. "You didn't do anything I don't think, this is the job and I'm completing it, that's that. Not every action needs a direct motive."

"That doesn't make any sense!" The small shuppet yelled, louder than last time. I was inclined to agree with him too, there was a reason, Nekro was just either holding it back, or he didn't know. Or the dunce could have forgotten.

"Shut your mouth before I knock you out!" Nekro screamed back, echoing just like Ethos' voice did. The gallade to the side let out an annoyed sigh, and with a glowing blade, began cutting through some of the crystals. A strange necklace hung from his neck, which I briefly noted, but nothing more than that.

"Fine, then do it!" Ethos growled, glaring at the hitmonchan. He wouldn't actually…

"Allow me to grant your request then!"

Nekro rose his arm high, which is all I needed to see. I dashed into the room and took in a large gulp of air. "STOP!" I shouted, louder than either one of the others.

I planted myself between Nekro and Ethos, and the two Void members turned their heads to me, freezing my body from motion. I hardly even noticed how much my throat burned from yelling so loud, I was petrified in a second. Even so, I swallowed my fear, and stood strongly.

"Well, how about that?" Nekro said, putting on a smile that matched his malice when the two of us were fighting. "Throwing yourself into your enemy? Didn't think you were the type to be that stupid."

I hardened my stare at Nekro, starting to feel angered again. Like before, way more so than usual. It was bothersome, but unrelated regardless.

"I have a proposal." I stated as calmly as I could.

Nekro scoffed, and the gallade behind him curiously gazed at me. "What reason would we have to listen to anything you have to say?" The gallade asked, taking a step closer.

"I can provide some sort of… incentive." I took a deep breath. "Please… Trade Ethos out for me, take me with you and let him stay here." I managed to choke out. "I'm a target of more value, especially if your only objective here was to take a random child. You should take me back instead of anyone else here."

The two Void member looked, at the very least, intrigued by the offer. It was the first sign of emotion I saw from the gallade. However, part of me forgot that the pokemon I was standing in front of could hear me just as easily.

"What!? No! That's ridiculous!" Ethos spouted from behind me. As best as I could, I ignored his words.

"What kind of plan do you have here?" The gallade asked suspiciously. "You wouldn't offer yourself back that easily."

I shook my head. "I didn't have a reason to before, and now I do. Take me with you rather than Ethos."

A long pause took place. My body was shaking with anxiety, but I tried as hard as I could to not show it to the others around me.

"What a compelling offer!" Nekro said, cackling sarcastically. "You do realize that we have no reason to refrain from knocking you out right now, and taking the both of you, right? Pleading for a compromise won't do you any good." Nekro smirked at me, and I gulped heavily.

I slowly rose one of my forelegs, putting all of my effort into stopping it from shaking. I placed it on the front of my neck, and let one of my claws extend, so the tips of it were pressing against my throat. "Luna needs me alive, doesn't she?" I asked, though, it was more of a statement.

Nekro's expression dropped from cocky to fearful in an instant. He even took a step backwards. The gallade however, merely locked eyes with me. He was the wildcard, I knew next to nothing about him, and his actions right now totally contradict his actions from before, so he was my biggest concern. Regardless of my worries though, I had to keep negotiating.

"Before you tell me I wouldn't slit my own throat, ask yourselves something. Would I rather be dead, or stuck in the Void to be tortured again?" I stopped speaking, letting each of my words sink in. "It shouldn't be too hard of a question to answer. If you don't agree to the terms I'm asking of you, I'll dig into my own throat right now, and then you certainly won't be getting any information out of me."

I really wished that Ethos didn't have to hear me right now.

"Fine." The gallade said, honestly to my surprise, and by the look of it, Nekro's too. "We'll take you and let the kid go free. However," he turned his gaze right above my head, right at Ethos. "If you try to run when I release you, if you do anything but wait here until the two of us are gone, you won't like the outcome." I assumed that Ethos nodded, because the gallade followed with his own nod.

"Back up towards the entrance." I nodded, obeying them command that was given to me by the psychic. He rose one of his blades and slowly moved Ethos to the back of the small crystal chamber. "Stay there. I'll free you from my grip, and then you stay. We're leaving now." With that, Nekro gave a hesitant nod, picking up two of the medium-sized crystals, then facing the entrance. I guess I'll be the first to leave…

Before turning around and walking, I stared at Nekro, who had a face of something between annoyance and confusion. The gallade, he was stoic, I couldn't read his emotions.

I carefully put my foreleg back onto the ground, and retracted my claw. I turned my head up and looked at Ethos, now free of his imprisonment. His face wasn't pleasant, it was one of regret, or angst. I put forward all of my effort and managed to curl my mouth into a smile. I didn't want the last sight Ethos had of me to be one of pain. However, I didn't get the reaction I was expecting.

Ethos' face shifted, his facial features hardened, and he let out a very quiet growl. He had a strong look of determination now, it all changed in a matter of seconds. A lot more than someone's facial structure changing can happen in a matter of seconds. I didn't like his new demeanor, my whole body shuddered, and I took a step back. I opened my mouth to shout like I did before, but I wasn't quick enough.

Ethos shot forward without warning, dashing through the air. He was aimed at the entrance, he wanted to escape and make sure the two Void members didn't get away with what they were doing. He really did have a good heart, a good heart, and a naive one.

Just like he threatened, as soon as the gallade noticed Ethos' dash, he rose one of his blades. I tried to shout, but no sound emerged. With one swipe, a single, thin, sharp projectile shot out from the gallade.

Less than a second later, that blade pierced right through the back of Ethos' head.

Time seemed to slow down, almost stop. My eyes were blank, and if I wasn't frozen before, there was no possible way to move now. The form that Ethos took to launch himself forward went limp. His body lost altitude, falling forward.

I was motionless as his body caressed against the side of my head, large drops of liquid splashing against one of my cheeks.

A single thud rang out in the crevice all of us were in, the thud of his body hitting the ground, right beside me.

I forced my head out of place, forced it to turn downward. Once I managed, all I saw was the small, light blue body of Ethos, with a growing puddle of liquid flowing out from under him. The intense smell of blood entered my nostrils as it wrapped itself around my paws.

I couldn't take my eyes off of Ethos.

I just stared, I was stuck. I couldn't move. My brain was behind everything that just passed my one working eye.

It didn't take long to catch up though, only a matter of seconds.

And once it did, my chest tightened, it hurt more than any amount of pain I felt previously. I lowered my body, lurching forward with my teeth tightly clenched. I accidentally planted my forehead in the new puddle of blood, staining my fur. I felt like collapsing, passing out on the spot, my body wouldn't give out. I wanted it to, I wanted my body to fall over, and I wanted to lose consciousness right there. I was lightheaded, but I wouldn't faint.

I dug my claws deeply into the icy floor, making small, muffled sounds in agony. Perhaps agony isn't where they came from, it was a mix.

Sadness.

Anxiety.

Despair.

Uncertainty.

Anger.

I opened my mouth and took in weighted, heavy breaths, slowly raising my head. All four of my legs were shaking, I didn't have the ability to stop them anymore. My blurry vision met a hitmonchan, taking a step back. He looked a little grossed out, but content with the situation. In front of him, a gallade, looking down at me, no emotion whatsoever. I couldn't help myself from growling, a low noise at first that slowly but surely increased in volume. I stood up straight, wobbling back and forth involuntarily. Some very blurry black particles were in the corner of my sight, but I hardly noticed them.

Instead, I locked eyes with the gallade.

Bloodlust.

My two tendrils almost automatically shot out of my back, and lurched towards the psychic. He put his guard up and looked as if he wanted to slice them apart, but I shoved one of them into his stomach, pushing him back. He winced in pain, and I wrapped the other appendage around his neck, pushing him to the wall. I kept that same tendril locked over his throat, and positioned the other to cover his arms, pinning him to the wall with no chance of movement.

The gallade let out a scream that I was nearly deaf to. I slowly walked towards him, not tearing my eyes away for a second. I kept it up until I was but a foot away, tightening my tendrils' grip. I hard disgusting sounds, ones that matched that of someone choking. I didn't care about them, and merely held him in place. My head was cloudy, my emotions were bubbling my thoughts intensely, and I could hardly care about how sore my body felt. I was only focused on the now helpless Void member I had pinned to the wall.

The gallade locked eyes with me, and neither one of us dared to break it. I finally managed to read something from him, an emotion.

Terror.

My breathing wouldn't calm down, despite my somewhat weak efforts to control it. I was trembling, unable to hold still. The gallade I was holding tightly continued making noise, that of discomfort and pain. Through his lack of air, he was able to form a few words, though I couldn't make them out at first. As time went on, they became more and more clear.

"S-St..op…" That was all he could say. He wanted me to stop. I had him stuck, I had control over him right now, he couldn't move an inch. "I-I… C-Ca...n't…"

My rage did nothing to grow the more I stared at him. I was able to easily fill in the blanks of what he was saying. It wasn't hard. Yet, even though I could hear him, I didn't listen. I didn't stop, I only grasped him tighter.

"P-Pl..ea..se…"

That was the last word that rang out. He was pleading for his life. I felt utterly disgusted.

"Did you stop, even when asked..? DId you hesitate..? Did you hold back at all!?" I yelled between breaths, angrily growling. I don't know why I even bothered, it wasn't possible for me to get a response in this position. There was only one more thing he could muster.

"D-Do..n't…"

I lowered my eyes, gritting my teeth.

"Shut up."

A single snap echoed through the chamber. My tendril had shifted tightened its grip one more time, and forced the gallade's neck into an unnatural position, effectively snapping his upper spine, snapping his neck. Just like that, he stopped struggling, and his body limply hung on the wall. I pulled my tendrils closer to me, and let his body slump to the ground.

I took a moment, staring at him. His head hung awkwardly.

He was dead.

Hardly a minute passed before I slowly turned around, staring at Nekro blankly. He looked at me, shaking in what could only be assumed as fear. Without much hesitation, I growled loudly and lunged forward. Nekro screamed before I even made contact.

I jumped onto Nekro, pinning him to the ground. I held down both his arms and legs with my tendrils, and stared down at him, shaking with anger. Nekro gazed up at me with utter horror on his face, he was shivering intensely, I could feel it.

"W-What is wrong with you!? He's dead!" Nekro shouted at me in a panicked voice. "Y-You killed him! Y-You actually killed him!"

I heard every word he said, yet, they had no effect on me. I leaned my head downward, a harsh wave of cold washing over me.

"Why do you do it..?" I asked, my voice quiet. "Why do you go after innocent lives like this..? Why don't you care about anyone..? Why are you okay with ruining everything for no reason..? Why does the Void do this..? How can they be amused by it..? Why do… Why do you always find a way to make others miserable..? Why..?"

I started choking up, and letting out small sobs. Hot tears collided with the blood all over my face. "What are you gaining by any of this..? What do you get from making others' lives a living hell..? Why do you torture everyone..? Why..? Why..?"

I began outright crying, I had an extreme emotional overload. "You… I thought some of the Void… I thought some of you could be okay… That you weren't there by choice… That there was another reason…" My voice slowly rose in volume. "I thought… Everything could be solved without any more death… That I could protect everyone around me… That I wouldn't let anyone else die…" I rose my head, staring at Nekro. I couldn't make out his expression, I could barely see at all. Blood, tears, not being used to only having one working eye, it was too much. "And yet… You won't give up, none of you will… You all… You all keep coming, one by one, and keep hurting everyone… One… by… One…"

I tensed up and yelled, jamming one of my claws into Nekro's shoulder. He matched my volume with his own scream.

"It never ends… It never ends… You keep coming and ruining everything… Every little thing…" I slowly dragged my claw through Nekro's body, causing him to shriek in agony. "I don't understand! Why!? Why does the Void do this!? Why do you all keep coming back!?" I couldn't control my breathing, it wasn't natural, only heavy, and forced.

I waited for Nekro to say something, anything. I wanted to hear from him, I wanted a reason, an excuse, anything. It was silly to think though, that he would give me what I wanted.

"P-Please…" He practically whispered. "D-Don't kill me…"

I stared down at Nekro, tears still leaking down my face. I growled, not moving my claw from his flesh.

"You want to live..? So you can do what..? So you can go off and try to hurt more pokemon, try and ruin more lives!?" I twisted my claw, and Nekro let out a scream that held nothing but pain.

"You wouldn't let anyone live… You've tried to kill before… You're not above that…" I shook my head roughly.

"You don't deserve mercy."

With that, I took my free paw, and slammed it onto Nekro's neck with all I had. Almost no resistance. His body had unnatural spasms, and his eyes shot open. He flailed any part of his body that I wasn't pinning down for a few seconds, before going motionless. His eyes didn't close, and his head slowly tilted to the side. He was dead.

My breathing wouldn't steady itself. I pushed myself off of Nekro's corpse and retracted my tendrils. With extremely shaky legs, I made my way back to Ethos.

Ethos was face down on the icy ground. I carefully put my paw under him and flipped his body over. There was a large stream of blood going down the front of his face, coming from a nearly invisible wound in the center of his head. His eyes were closed, and his body was motionless.

While looking down at him, I felt my anger, my bloodlust, my aggression, all of it calm itself down. I brought my head to Ethos' and rubbed it against the side of his. I shifted my head so it was under him, and lifted his body onto my back.

I turned to the exit of the crevice, and slowly walked out, covered in blood from multiple pokemon. My aggression was gone, and there wasn't a replacement. There seemed to be a bright light reflecting off of the crystals in the area I just walked out of, but I passed it off as my imagination, seeing as it vanished not ten seconds later.

My body didn't feel tired anymore.

I began off down the dark cavern I traveled down to get here, back to the other nomads.

Hello Readers!

Have to study for midterms, don't have time for a proper author's notediashdheiufwnduibuifbubsbdbwdbuewbdlwudwubduibliudbwld.

See You Next Chapter!