A Rockruff was definitely harmed in the making of this chapter


I sat alone beside Ronin, Lloyd had left us a while ago. The Gallade I called my partner wasn't himself. I had tried to talk with him about what we could do… but it all devolved into us reminiscing of our past together.

Lightning crackled outside the window of the Guild. A storm had rolled in during the night, much to the displeasure of everyone. But despite it, Ronin had fallen asleep… though I knew what he was dreaming about.

His mind blacked out as the memory of him hitting the ground after getting blasted off that cliffside played out. Our brief connection almost made me forget what recently happened to him. I glanced at his shattered heart, reminded that this connection wasn't ever going to feel the same way again.

I remember watching him fall in horror as Lily screamed. I had torn around and attempted to blast them back, only to feel something rip through my lower abdomen before everything started to go black. Lily was screaming our names as it was all happening before she was knocked out, just as I was losing consciousness.

I remembered their badges… a memory forever burned into my mind. One that I will hate forever… especially with what they took. I glanced down at my abdomen. Seeing the scars of a blow that may not have killed me… but instead murdered something else…


I awoke in a dark room. I shot upright and tried to get up, a sharp stream of pain erupted through my body. I nearly cried as I fell back to the ground with its intensity only growing with each second. Tears had welled up in my eyes… I couldn't focus on anything around me.

I shakily prodded with my left hand, feeling some sickly wet and sticky bandages wrapped around the lower half of my body. Pain tore through me as I dared push slightly in. I went limp on the floor, some of it subsiding as I rolled and faced the ceiling of this cold dark room.

The memory of what happened to Ronin sprung up in my mind. His fall off the cliff couldn't have been anything but fatal… despite how much I hoped otherwise.

For the first time in a long time, I felt truly alone.

The tears in my eyes finally started to fall onto the hard rock floor beneath me. Today, I had lost everything. And soon… I would probably lose my life as well. Whoever these 'mon were didn't strike me as the kind that would do this to me and still try haphazardly to keep me alive for no reason. Whatever it was, I could only hope that it was quick. I wanted to utter a prayer to Lord Yveltal at the least, just maybe so my request could be granted…

But I couldn't. The memory of Lily was also there in my mind yelling at me, telling me that I could at the very least try to save someone who was still alive. I wanted to wail in pain as I rose to my feet out of spite alone. I barely held it back as it all went numb in my head.

I weakly raised my fists and struck the bars of my cell. A metallic clank echoed from them, they did not move an inch. My anger dissipated along with the noise of my useless resistance. It was expected, yet it didn't make it hurt any less.

"Well look who's finally awake." I turned my head to face the voice. Seeing the form of a Nidoking stepping through the door out of here towards me. "I'm impressed. You're standing so soon after the whole 'getting your guts rearranged' thing."

"Let. Me. Out." I growled as I banged my fists against the bars once more.

He shook his head, ignoring me completely. "We needed test subjects, and you're the lucky 'mon that is the one we'll be comparing all the others to. And before you say something along the lines of 'why couldn't you just use one of your own men?' well, we're not comparing everyone else to someone who is clean."

A sharp pain in my head brought me to my knees, dwarfing even the constant stabs that came from my abdomen. It all melded together while I could do nothing but wish I could scream…

"You should be fine when it eventually stops. And I'm not just talking about the pain, you'll see soon enough." I heard him chuckle as he stomped off down the hall.

I tried to move my body, finding myself unable to stir even a muscle. The pain slowly dulled and was replaced by a dreadful cold. Maybe I would have been better off dead, at least this wouldn't have been something I could feel.

The doubt if this pain was really worth it swirled around in my thoughts. It relentlessly fought to be answered, was it all really worth it? Was this all really worth it when the odds of Lily surviving with my help assumes that I can get out and have the ability to even help…

I didn't like the answer at all, I was repulsed by the very idea… but I knew it was true. This was all hopeless. Nothing can be done from my side, I was trapped and probably still slowly dying from that injury ever so slowly. The only 'mon here who could maybe get out alive is… her…

Ronin was… dead… and soon I will most likely follow after him. Was giving up the last thing I wanted to remember doing before oblivion took me? Well, I could hardly say that I was giving up. There was nothing I could do.

Trapped in a cage, nigh mortally wounded, with no one in the world looking for me.

Was it really giving up if the only outcome was more pain and death?

The cold had overtaken the torturous agony of my wounds. Everything numbed and tiredness had quickly settled in. My weary mind welcomed it with open arms, the dull light of my heart slowly fading away as I closed my eyes…

Simply wishing that death came softly.

Yet the miniscule light of my heart refused to go out in the face of death. What was the idea that compelled it when every part of my being wished to waste away? Hope? There was none to be had. Spite? Who could I spite by simply living?

It was none of those things. This feeling did not falter… and it was determined to not be snuffed out. I could tell it was foreign to me, whatever this feeling was…

Lily came back into mind. She was here, and me doing nothing was spelling her doom. The feeling changed, it seared red hot like anger. It wasn't out of control like rage- it felt calculated yet driven. It demanded retribution. Cried out for justice. It wanted her safe at the very least.

It wanted me to give my all to stay alive to at least have the chance to save her. It wanted me to defy the inevitable.

My hands finally moved. I directed them to my now throbbing wound as a green glow surrounded them. I would not die here, or at least, not yet. Whatever this feeling was… it certainly had it's point. I had to at least try for her sake.

A little relief flowed through the wounds as the light washed over it. The feeling in the rest of my body slowly returned, the cold beaten back by this newfound determination. If Ronin was watching me now… I'm sure he'd be proud.

I will save her. And maybe, if I get out of this alive, keep her safe until she can do it herself.

I carefully took the haphazardly strewn bandages off of me, finding my wound in my abdomen no longer bleeding, but it didn't look any better on the outside. My powers couldn't fully heal it by a long shot… but I'll live, and can at the very least run and fight for a bit.

'Steel thy heart' right? That's what Ronin would say in situations like this. Keep calm, and wait for the right moment… whatever that moment was.

Some of the pain was still there, though nowhere near as debilitating. I had sat upright in the middle of my cell with my legs crossed. My powers were dulled significantly thanks to the metal everywhere. If I wanted to affect someone or something, they would have to be trapped in this cell alongside me.

Or… if they willingly walked in.

I turned my back to the hallway and laid down on my side. I slowed my breathing and focused my mind as much as I could. They made one mistake, forgetting to cuff the psychic in bonds crafted of dark type material to completely subdue my powers.

This was my only chance. Catching someone by complete surprise by playing dead and escaping using their keys. The odds were not in my favor, but thanks to this feeling I had the motivation to try.

I waited in position for what felt like hours. Not moving so much as a muscle for anything at all. My heart almost leapt into my throat when I could finally hear footsteps echoing down the corridor towards me.

The footsteps continued to echo, getting louder with each successive punctuation. Everything was dependent on this moment. At its loudest, it abruptly stopped. They were just outside the cell from what I could tell. It was hard not to shiver in the circumstances, I barely kept it back due to the consequences if I did.

"Psh, ripped off their bandages and everything to kill themselves. That's something new…" I heard muttered along with the jingling of keys. "At least we don't need them alive…"

My heart almost skipped a beat. It was working…

The metal door creaked as it was swung open. One footstep… then two… I could feel their shadow just over me. They bent down and put their head close to my heart… I could feel their breath on my shoulder…

The feeling swelled within me like a silent battlecry, now was the time to strike.

My heart glowed as my powers focused on their mind and body. I could feel a little surprise shoot through them, knocking them off guard mentally and allowing me unhindered access to something very important…

I've treated all manner of Pokémon for all manner of wounds. Back home in Vicol, I could have become a prestigious healer if I hadn't chosen to run off with Ronin to explore the world. I knew how to fix things, bones, flesh, chiten, scales, even feathers, I knew it all.

But I had to know it all… a psychic can't affect what they don't know. And of the Nidoking behind me, I knew the exact bone that needed to be snapped to cause instant death.

My powers flared up as the glow intensified. The bone was in mind, my powers squeezed around it in an instant. He gasped and stepped back-

A muffled snap echoed out before silence took control. Then… a thud of a body hitting the floor. I couldn't sense him anymore… he was dead. I got up and took the keys that hung from a large belt around its hip.

I stood resolute over my handiwork… not quite sure what to feel. His face was still mid-gasp, and would forever be frozen like that. I shook my head and ran down the hall looking in each of the other cells dotted along the way, not a single one had anyone in them. Some had signs of Pokémon being in them… but I could not tell who.

The feeling swelled again as my eyes laid on the door out of here just up a staircase. I ran up and met it, my hands drifting across its metal. I paused just as I was about to open it using the keys. I didn't know what to expect on the other side, much less where this even was…

I bent down and peeked through the keyhole. I could see that on the other side was a small stone brick room, not decorated at all. I could see another door that looked reinforced and locked… hopefully I had the key for it.

I slowly opened the door and entered this odd room. It squeaked a little much to my dismay, on the other side I found the room to be much bigger than I envisioned. There were more hallways that connected to this one on both sides, lit only by torches.

A sudden searing pain flared up in my abdomen, I collapsed to the floor as some blood seeped out of the wound there. I was pushing myself too hard. At this rate… I'd drop dead before I even found her. I shakily got back up, not caring about the blood covering most of my lower half.

Lily… I still had to find Lily…

I turned to my left and limped down the hallway quietly. Each frail step slightly echoed down it. There was nothing in these halls other than the occasional torch or candle, not a chair or cabinet, nor banner or carpet. What was this place?

Eventually I ended up in a square room, this one wasn't empty…

Along the walls were cabinets with various vials full of liquids I could not name. Some looked like they had blood in them… others seemed to glow faintly in the soft torch light. Small metallic things that look like they were supposed to be attached to something were scattered about some of the cabinets. I briefly picked one of these thin pieces of metal up, they seemed hollow… one side was incredibly sharp… just what were these things for?

In the center of the room was a table with straps made of metal and some other material I could not name. Blood was on the floor surrounding it, and all over the odd table itself. I dared not approach it. Some other tables were around the room, odd knicks and knacks on them that I could not discern the use of.

Something caught my eye…

It was something that had one of the thin and long metal bits attached to it, it was made of glass and had an odd clear liquid in it. A part of it seemed like I could push on it to make the liquid go through this metal thing.

A clipboard was beside it, a few papers sprawled about the area with various things on them.

The newly born Oshawott escaped with the ring as you know by now…

It wasn't relevant, so I pushed it to the side…

This syringe has a solution in it that will mimic the effects of human 'adrenaline' of whoever it is injected into. All the benefits include what we've seen, on top of being something that isn't controlled by the whim of a body's functions…

I pushed it to the side, but the feeling had directed my hand to pick up the 'syringe'. It sounded useful… especially if it was something humans had. I guess that I had to inject it into myself by stabbing the metal bit into an artery…

I picked up the last piece of paper…

The Rockruff's testing wasn't a complete waste of time after all. We compared her to the Gardevoir we have here, and have seen changes beyond her obsessing over her parents' fates. She's lost her mind… or at least that is what others would say, but not us. We know what she is seeing. The Rockruff is being transported to a mystery dungeon nearby the town, where we'll see if our 'Oracle formula' is working as intended on the grander scale.

The paper dropped to the ground as I rushed out of the room and back down the hall. The feeling kicked into overdrive as I rushed to the exit, the cool air of the night caused me to shiver as I practically flew outside.

I was in a clearing surrounded by walls made of large rocks and stone bricks. There was nothing lighting the place except for the moon above. This place seemed to be deserted… the lack of anyone was welcome but it did not feel right.

I hastily limped across the clearing and up a staircase that went up the side of the wall. My surroundings were foreign, it being a thick forest that seemingly stretched for miles. I was in the absolute middle of nowhere. I would die out in that forest before I found anyone in the state I was in, much less save Lily.

I looked down at the 'syringe' with the feeling that it could help me. They said it had benefits, what they were I knew nothing of… but maybe it would boost my powers. Whatever this 'adrenaline' was, it's of human origin… I'd be putting my faith in a long gone race.

I shook my head and almost laughed to myself, before plunging it into my leg and pushing down on the part sticking out.

The sharp pain was gone in an instant, replaced by the rapid beating of my natural heart. The syringe was empty, I extracted it and tossed it away. My mind's view rapidly expanded out as seemingly limitless power flowed through me.

A light surrounded me as my body seemingly changed a little bit. My heart seemed to split, though nothing but power was gained from it. I saw beyond the forest, it was exhilarating, addicting even. I could feel her.

I focused this newfound energy through my heart, sending myself so far away would normally be impossible. But thanks to whatever this was, I was able to. A brief light surrounded me as I appeared close to where I felt Lily.

I was in some brush, a little ways from where they were. I saw and could feel five Pokémon around a small cage with Lily in it, each of them had those damned badges on them. Their minds… I could feel them so well… each of their emotions in such intricate detail… I shook my head, none of that mattered.

They would soon not feel anything… thanks to this limitless power.

They were too far away to do what I did with the Nidoking. But did that matter? I felt invincible, the power I have allowed me to do things impossible for me previously. Surely I could beat them. They didn't even have a dark type amongst them.

The feeling swelled intensely, surely this would be their time for retribution.

I saw a Dragonair on the verge of falling asleep from boredom. A little bit in front of them was a Blaziken with Lily, their cold stare hanging over her. A Pidgeot with some ruffled feathers flew overhead, landing near the group's campfire and saying something before getting cozy. A Breloom was already asleep among them…

The final Pokémon, an Espurr, was staring in my direction. They knew I was there… yet… they weren't sure if I was a feral or not. They must not be familiar with reading the minds of those around them, that was my opening…

There was a rock behind them, big enough for it to hit hard, small enough for it to fly fast. My powers reached out past the Espurr, lifting the rock silently into the air. The Espurr had taken a few steps towards me, the group not noticing their sudden absence around the fire.

I pulled the rock back as hard as I could. It flew through the air and collided with the Espurr's head, a loud thud sounding out as it fell to the floor unconscious. It's comrades were still doing their own thing, none the wiser as to what just occurred.

A pained yelp stole my attention. The Blaziken had tossed the cage into the center of the group beside the fire. Her front left paw was bending in a direction that definitely wasn't natural. My surroundings came into focus as every feeling in me intensified.

I leapt out of the bush with a grasp already forming around the Dragonair. Some of them leapt up as they saw me, it didn't matter. My powers flooded through my heart again as I threw the Dragonair and Breloom onto the campfire.

The Blaziken charged at me with fire building in its claws. My powers wrapped around the unconscious body of the Espurr and the rock. A fireball erupted from the charging Blaziken. I swung the Espurr around with my mind and threw it directly at it.

A fiery explosion rocked the area, the Espurr's connection to my mind violently snapped. And I felt absolutely nothing but vindication. The feeling that brought me this far swelled again, I was winning. I would avenge Ronin after all. I suddenly felt weird…

"Agh- what?" Intense throbbing started in my head, I almost fell to my knees as it gave away to pain. A light briefly surrounded me as the changes this power granted me disappeared. Blood flowed out of the wound in my abdomen as the searing agony returned.

I dropped to my knees as everything set in. I screamed out as all the power left in me exploded out and through the area. I had pushed myself far too hard. The campfire went out, the Breloom and Dragonair that were recovering were sent flying back along with the Blaziken and Pidgeot.

Silence was heavy in the air. Only broken by Lily's occasional whimper, or my pained grunts as I failed to get up. The others I knocked down slowly rose back up, all of them minus the Espurr. I weakly laughed…

Truly this was the greatest tragedy of all. Tricked into believing I had a chance to break free from fate and save another… only to end up dying a meaningless death. Lily started to cry, her wails into the night would not be answered after all.

The feeling still had the audacity to tell me to stand. The traitor of mind, pretending that it will all mean something in the end. I weakly laughed again as I slowly stood back up. All of this was meaningless anyways.

I put my hands out in front of me as the Blaziken prepared another fireball. My powers were gone, but I didn't care. I would die on my feet.

A brilliant orange light pierced the veil of the night as the fireball was charged. The cool night air licked at my wounds and aching head. Lily's cries were still ringing in my ears. I closed my eyes, seeing Ronin's smile one final time.

An explosion knocked me off my feet. The warmth of the fire was close but didn't hit me. My eyes shot open, seeing the group contending with an unseen foe. The hope in my mind was resurrected again.

Something blue flew out of a tree, colliding with the Blaziken's neck. It cut across with pinpoint precision. The Blaziken clawed at it's wound as blood surged through before dropping to the floor. It was bleeding out fast.

The Pidgeot tried to take to the skies again, another small blur of blue collided with it's back. More blood spilt over the grass as it fell to the floor. I had noticed that it landed beside the Breloom, which already had a cut across it's neck alongside the burns from the fire.

A blast of water sent me and the cage with Lily in it flying into the forest. I almost fell unconscious lying there in the dirt after I landed. I barely stopped myself, everything hurt beyond belief. Everything wanted to rest…

The distant sounds of fighting almost lulled me away again. I shook my head and sat upright, seeing the cage had a hole in it and was now empty. A trail of blood led away from here…

I forced myself to my feet. Barely able to limp. I focused on one thing and one thing alone… keeping Lily alive and safe.

The trail of blood led me through some bushes and far away from the fighting. My tired mind was barely able to fathom any reasons as to why she'd be running if she saw me. Did she think I died? Was she afraid of me?

Eventually the scenery gave way to a clearing near a cliff. I looked over the edge, seeing a town near a beach. It was Narkin. This clifface was much higher than the one Ronin was sent flying off of… I looked to my left, seeing where I lost him further down.

"Stay aw- away from me…" I hear on my right. Lily was there, her left paw was bleeding with bones being where they definitely shouldn't.

I was in disbelief, why was she afraid of me? "What's wrong? Don't you remember me?"

"You kill him… you kill him… you kill-" A blue tinge of light flashes across her eyes. Her voice desperately sounds out as a rock rises from the ground beside her. "I can't let you. T- they won't s- stop if I d- don't."

I tensed as a familiar horror ran through me. "What are you talking about?"

"YOU KILL HIM," she screams as the rock flies into a tree beside me.

Desperation crawled into my voice as I raised my arms. "W- who?"

"He- I…" Another tinge of blue flashes across her eyes. She whimpers as she takes a few dangerous steps back. "I- I just want it to stop."

I had no idea what those bastards did to her. But whatever it was… she was seeing something. I didn't know what to do. I took a few steps forward, eliciting her to step back until her hind legs were directly on the edge of the cliff.

I coughed as the pain briefly intensified. "Please get away from the edge-"

The air was knocked out of me as another rock hit me in the gut, forcing me against a tree as I fell to the forest floor. I desperately called out to her. "Lily, stop, please. It's just me."

She leapt forward just in front of me, a glow in her maw like she was about to finish me off. The blue tinge around her eyes returns, she stops. Her ears perked up like she was hearing someone. She turns around and faces the cliff before saying something. "Mom? Dad? Was that you?"

The Rockruff started to walk slowly back towards the edge without realizing it. I called out, each one falling on ears that weren't listening to me. I desperately started to crawl towards her as she picked up her pace.

"I'm right here!" she said to the open air. Another step and she would fall. My arms gave out as I hopelessly watched her reach out. She tried to step down on nothing, a yelp followed by a desperate scream for help…

Then deafening silence…

I wanted to cry, but my body couldn't even manage it. Lily's ominous rambling rang in my head. Everything felt so surreal, surely this couldn't be reality. Sleep finally started to take me… the last thing I saw being a Greninja running towards me as it all faded away to black for what I hoped to be the last time.