A/N - Thanks so much for all reads, reviews, faves and follows! =D For those who remember this chapter, I really wanted to make it more intense. I hope you enjoy!

18 - Failure

A plate of berries was shoved through a slat beneath the cell, which was promptly snapped shut afterwards. The sandslash stood back from the cell and flexed his claws. A sly smirk spread across his slender muzzle.

"Bon appetit," he said in a raspy voice. "Better eat up, eh? 'Cos it'll be the last meal you'll be eating for some time."

Cleo watched the sandlash leave, then stared down at the plate. There weren't many berries on it, and the assortment wasn't much to sing and dance about. A few razz berries and a couple of pecha, and a few slices of dried meat she couldn't identify. Nothing that would speed up their recovery from their assault the previous day. The berries were also coated in a thick sauce of an unappealing colour. 'Not quite brown' was the best Cleo could do at describing it. Despite the look of it, hunger gnawed at her stomach and she couldn't help but pick one up.

Spark was first to dig in, plucking out a fat razz berry that had seen its ripest days and had started to turn. Regardless, she took a bite out of it and a smile spread across her face.

"It's good!" she said. "Bit squishy, but the sauce adds something. You should try it!"

Harlequin's muzzle creased with disgust and they sneered at her. "You aren't even going to check it's not poisoned first?!"

"They aren't exactly gonna poison us, are they?" Spark scoffed. "They need us alive, right?"

Harlequin shrugged at that and turned to the plate. They gave the food a cautious sniff, then snapped up a piece of meat which they swallowed in one bite. They licked their lips and reached for another one.

Before everything vanished, Cleo grabbed another berry and a piece of meat which she guessed may have been fish, or a highly salted thing she didn't dare question. She turned to Mischief and let out a small sigh.

He had been silent since their discussion earlier, and even the arrival of a meal hadn't perked him up. No amount of conversation had dragged him out of his downward spiral. Cleo couldn't fault him. She'd tried to put herself in his position and found herself wondering if she wouldn't have reacted the same way.

She shuffled over to him and held out the pecha berry. "Here. You're going to need your strength."

He didn't reply but shifted ever so slightly to look up at the bars.

"Mischief, please," she said. "Once Enigma gets here, we're going to need to try to escape. If he takes us back to the Shadow Lands, we're dead."

"What's the point?"

She stared at him dumbfounded and opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off before she had the chance.

"I belong here anyway, don't I?" he shrugged. "So what's the point in even trying?"

Cleo fell back on her haunches, still clasping the berry in both paws. His words wounded her, and she searched her mind for the right response. The silence that suddenly filled the cell indicated the other two had stopped eating to listen, Cleo and Mischief's conversation clearly much more interesting than what was on the plate.

"No," she finally said. "You don't belong here at all, you belong in the Guild."

Mischief rolled his eyes and leant his head back against the wall.

"You've demonstrated that much already," Cleo went on. "You wanted to help us, and you've shown loyalty. I wouldn't have even suggested it to Tinker if I didn't think you belonged there."

"Then why did you hide all this from me?"

Cleo sighed and turned the berry in her paws, which were now coated with the sticky sauce. "I've already told you that. It was for your own good-"

"You don't get to decide that." He hissed those words then lowered his head into his paws, muttering something else that Cleo didn't catch.

She shook her head and pushed herself back up, leaving the berry beside him. If her words meant nothing then he probably wasn't going to co-operate. And if he wouldn't co-operate, there wasn't much else she could do.

No… she had to help him escape. She couldn't leave him here. If they escaped and left him behind then he'd only die at Enigma's paws.

A few stray sparks of electricity danced on the corner of her vision and she turned her head towards Spark. The little dedenne's whiskers crackled as she rubbed her paws over them, her huge eyes widening with alarm.

"Spark?" Cleo ventured. "Are you all right?"

Spark looked up at her with her tiny paws clasped over her cheeks. "I think my whiskers have shorted."

Harlequin let out a huge yawn and Cleo fixed them with a frown. But the zorua didn't notice, instead curling up into a tight ball. Something told Cleo that it wasn't mockery, but she couldn't quite place a paw on what it was. Everything sounded louder somehow, setting off a deep fear inside her. Every paw-step, every breath… it was deafening.

"Something isn't right," she muttered.

"It's the sauce," Harlequin slurred.

"What?" Cleo pressed her paws over her ears and looked down at the near-empty plate. "It was poisoned?"

"I don't know," said Harlequin. "I didn't-" they yawned widely, "recognise it."

"Poison?" The male voice thumped Cleo's ears and she pulled them down further than they naturally went. "You offend me!"

Rio strolled over to the cell, tailed by Tantrum. The latter clutched a set of keys that jangled at a volume Cleo felt was wildly unnecessary.

"You might be feeling a little out of sorts," said Rio. "Your attacks might be weaker, or non-existent."

"What have you done to us?" Cleo hissed.

She tried to summon up the strength to blast the feline, but that familiar hum she'd grown so used to no longer rang in her ears. Her heart sank. That's what it was. Like Spark, her powers had been cut off.

The door creaked open and Tantrum slipped inside to approach Mischief. Cleo watched him as she rose to her feet, keeping both paws over her sensitive ears. There was nothing she could do. If she got too close, the vigoroth would only retaliate. She snapped her head back around to the meowstic, her eyes flashing with rage.

"What was in those berries?" she demanded.

"A curious concoction designed to sap your strength." The meowstic smirked and placed a paw on his hip. "Wacan for electricity, rindo for grass, payapa for psychic, and colbur for dark. I can't very well have you assaulting us and foiling our plans, now, can I?" He raised his paws in a shrug.

Cleo's jaw dropped. "But those berries are used defensively!"

"I am using them defensively," he said. "The curious thing is, kitten, that when enough of them are eaten by a pokemon of the type they affect, it will hamper their strength. As you've now discovered."

"Come on, you." Tantrum grabbed Mischief by the arm and tugged him to his feet. "You're comin' with us."

Mischief was oddly compliant, following the vigoroth from the cell.

"Grass…" Cleo muttered. Then her eyes widened and she reached out for Mischief, but the vigoroth swatted her aside.

She landed hard on her shoulder with a grunt beside Harlequin. Pushing herself up on her elbow, she placed her free paw over her ear and gave the whimsicott a pleading look. He didn't even look back.

"Mischief!" she yelled. "You didn't eat the berries! You can still use your attacks! Stop them!"

Mischief didn't respond, following the sloth pokemon as he led him by the paw away from the cell.

Rio slammed the door shut with a clang that reverberated around Cleo's head. She tugged her ears down with both paws and cracked one eye open, watching Rio as he locked the door. He fixed Cleo with a wicked grin and twirled the keys around his claw.

"You lot can stay in here while we wait for Enigma," he crooned. "I doubt you'll be here much longer."

Cleo seethed and grabbed the bars in both paws. "What are you doing with him?!"

"Who? The whimsicott?" Rio inclined his head on one side and smirked. "We have big plans for him. You lot? Not so much. You're just an inconvenience I'm getting rid of."

He turned his back on them and strutted towards the doors.

Cleo seethed, rattling the bars to get his attention. "Leave him alone! He's not done anything to you!"

"Oh?" Rio glanced back at her over his shoulder. "He failed his mission, so I'd say he's done enough damage already."

He turned and slipped through the doors, and Cleo let out a loud yowl. She threw herself against the bars of the cell with an almighty clang that reverberated along the bars. She fell back onto the cold, hard floor with her paws over her ears, her breath coming in frantic bursts.

A deep chuckle came from Harlequin, but Cleo didn't look up. She couldn't be bothered with the zorua. She felt defenceless, hopeless.

"Failed his mission?" Harlequin chuckled again, but there was no joy or mockery behind it. "I can relate to that."

...

Night blanketed the forest, casting the squat building in deep shadows. The moon's rays bounced off the white walls in an eerie fashion, making it look almost ethereal.

Harbinger stood between the trees with the pawniard twins, a clear map of the building's interior in his mind. Scratch and Claw had managed to breach the lab for a quick look around before the Heretics had finally calmed the tyranitar. They'd confirmed there wasn't much to it. A laboratory, a small break room with a table and chairs, several rooms that a brief look inside had confirmed were for sleeping in, a small office, and leading off from that was another room that was locked. There'd been no time to break inside, but Harbinger assumed that was where they were keeping their captives.

The building itself had two doors, one at the front and one at the back. The back door was locked from the inside with no guards. The front was open but had two guards - a plusle and minun - who were fidgety and nervous, jumping at every shadow. They were clearly awaiting Enigma's arrival. If the banette was due, then Harbinger and his allies would have to work fast. If he were to guess, they didn't even have until midnight.

Harbinger clutched a large branch in his jaws, stripped of its dry leaves. He kept his crimson eyes on Scratch as he whipped his claws together, creating a flurry of dangerous sparks. After several attempts they finally took, and the branch erupted into flames. Orange light danced over Harbinger's white fur and created dramatic shadows that jerked and fluttered around the forest and clearing.

The absol turned his head to look at the buildings and tightened his jaws around the burning branch. It would soon become too dangerous to hold. The fire put him on more of a time constraint than Enigma's hazy arrival. He nodded to the pawniard and they shot off ahead of him, leaping nimbly through the open window.

If things went smoothly, they'd take out whoever was in that office and bust into the holding cells. He gave them a moment before dashing across the clearing through the window after them. The office was empty, no sign of a body. The plan was going smoother than he could have dreamed.

He turned to glance around the office, taking it all in. Fire crackled and popped in his ears as it ate up the dry branch. Folders adorned the walls, and loose papers lay scattered along the floor, or crumpled up in a basket by the door. It was a hazard to an open flame. A few stray embers had already found their way onto the desk, and paperwork crumpled and curled as the flames consumed it. Harbinger grunted and turned his eyes back onto the wall of folders. He didn't need to be careful with the torch. Everything in that office screamed at him to be burned.

...

Spark's nose twitched and she pushed herself up onto her bottom. Her eyes widened and the colour left her cheeks. "Do you smell fire?"

Those words sent a chill through Cleo. The faint scent of smoke tickled her nose, growing heavier by the second. She could just make out the curls of black weaving their way through the gap where the doors met in the far wall. Her paw pads turned clammy and her heart throbbed in her ears.

Not fire.

Not them.

Not here.

Harlequin leapt to their feet and began pacing back and forth along the bars of their cell. Their blue eyes flitted over them, searching for any weakness. Any way out. The voices of the other pokemon locked away around them rose into a crescendo, and the deep clangs echoed around the pristine room. Yells for freedom and help tore through the air, causing Cleo to recoil slightly and tug her ears down with both paws.

Spark grabbed the bars in her tiny fists. "Oi! We smell fire! Let us out!"

"It's no use," Harlequin spat. "They won't let us out. They'll escape themselves first and worry about us later."

"That makes no sense," Spark spat back. "Doesn't Enigma want us alive? He'll kill them Heretics." She paused, reading Harlequin's face. "Right?"

Harlequin snorted and turned back to the bars, craning their head back to search higher up.

Spark sighed and looked to Cleo. "Can't we do something? A psychic blast?"

"My powers haven't fully returned yet," said Cleo. "It would be more like a psychic tickle."

She pushed herself up and examined the lock. Perhaps she could pick it? She flexed a claw and groaned inwardly. There was no way it would work. She didn't even know what she was doing for one thing.

A strange sound came from the doors, like a metal blade hacking away at hollow wood. Cleo lowered her paw as she waited with her breath in her throat. Were the Heretics actually going to rescue the pokemon here?

The thought hadn't fully registered in her head when the doors exploded open, letting in a cloud of black smoke. Standing just beyond it were two shadowy figures, the orange flames reflecting off their metal hides. Sharp blades stuck out from their bodies in a uniform fashion, deadly sharp and glinting in the light. Pawniard. They looked over at the cells with large amber eyes then parted, dashing around the cells. Their blades clinked against metal, and doors flew open as a chaos of colourful pokemon began to fill the room.

"Friends of yours?" Spark asked Harlequin.

Harlequin shook their head silently. The zorua was transfixed by the pawniard, looking from one to the next.

One of the pawniard shot past Cleo's cell, cleaving the lock clean off as if it were made of wood. It clattered to the floor, and Harlequin shoved the door open with both paws.

Cleo followed the zorua into the confusion that had amassed in the centre of the room. Voices filled the air, warring to be heard over each other. No one knew what to do. Beyond those shattered double doors was a wall of flames, licking away at the white walls and leaving a mar of black in its wake. Wood snapped and popped over the roar of the hungry fire as it ate up anything in its path.

They were trapped.

The pawniard stood to the side, their wide eyes frantic. Cleo had no idea why they'd rescued them, but they were now as trapped as the rest of them.

Cleo had to do something. As Warriors of the Outcasts Guild, her and Spark had to save these pokemon somehow, Heretics or not. She raised a paw to where she expected her Guild badge to be, finding nothing. Of course, their belongings were stolen. But there was no time to reclaim them.

Spark stood tall on her shoulder, straining to see ahead. "There's no way through that, Cleo. We'll be reduced to cinders."

Cleo straightened and raised her voice to be heard over the rest, "Listen!"

It fell on deaf ears. The pokemon were rising into a panic, and the young hatchlings among them were skittering around, weaving between feet, while others clutched their parents with tears streaming from their eyes.

Cleo searched each and every pokemon, looking for someone that might be able to get them through the flames. Her eyes landed on a pokemon roughly her height, covered with blue and white fur. An azumarill.

"You!" Cleo reached out a paw to grab her shoulder, but froze when she saw the Heretic mark.

The azumarill had heard her, noting the apprehension on Cleo's face. The rabbit-like pokemon raised an eyebrow and looked to Cleo's frozen paw.

Cleo silently scolded herself. She gave herself a shake and placed a gentle paw on the water-type's shoulder.

"Can you lead the way and put out those flames?" Cleo asked.

"I dunno," the azumarill replied. "I only know physical water moves, like aqua jet." She rubbed the back of her ears and looked over at the flames that were rapidly encroaching on them. "But no one here knows what to do, so I guess I have no choice!"

Cleo bit her lip. If the azumarill threw herself into that wall of flames, sure she might fight them back a bit, but she'd be badly burned or worse. Cleo raised a paw to her ears. It was impossible to tell if her powers had returned in this din, but she had to try something.

"Let me help you," she said.

The azumarill inclined her head on one side, but the confusion was plain on her face.

"You need to make water for your attacks, right?" Cleo asked. "So if you make the water, I can use my psychic to move it into the flames. You won't need to make contact with them."

"You want to work together?" A huge smile spread across the azumarill's face. "An Outcast?"

Spark opened her mouth to retort, but Cleo placed a paw on her head to silence her.

"It's the best option we've got right now," Cleo told the azumarill. "And we're rapidly running out of time."

"All right! I'm the only water-type here, so our choices are rather limited." The azumarill nodded and her smile turned more friendly. "Let's do this then, Outcast."

The azumarill raised her paws and a heavy veil of water surrounded her body. Spark made the wise choice to leave Cleo's shoulder, allowing the meowstic to unfurl her ears. That familiar humming sound intensified, but not at the level she was used to. Her powers were coming back, but it wasn't perfect. She'd have to try her best and hope it held out just long enough to get everyone out of the burning lab.

She dragged water from the azumarill's body and launched it towards the flames. It sizzled, driving them back a little. She followed the azumarill towards them, dragging off more water for a second blast. By her third attempt, she managed to work it into a steady stream, pouring it against the flames and flooding the tiles. Paws splashed through them as the other pokemon took the hint and followed the meowstic and her ally through the doors to the blazing office.

The flames roared and crackled, eating away at the ceiling. Beyond them, she could hear the tyranitar howling just outside. Its tail swished past the window, and its hulking mass struck the wall, splitting the hot mortar. There was a loud crack, and one of the beams broke free from the ceiling, shattering onto the floor in a spray of embers. Cleo yelped, twisting away from it. Pokemon cried from the other side, fighting to move away from the smoldering beam. Two weren't as fortunate, lying crushed beneath the wood. Cleo could just make out the leaves of a small snivy and the creamy fur of a mareep. The small sheep gave a feeble bleat, struggling to shove the burning beam from its body. The two pawniard hacked away at it, but Cleo motioned for them to move back while she turned the water onto the new flames.

The beam rolled back from the mareep, but the other pokemon were frantic, scrambling over the wood before the flames were fully out. Spark shouted something that Cleo didn't catch beyond the screams of the captives and the panicked bleats from the mareep. Cleo's attention was fully focused on putting out the rest of the flames, but the strain was tugging at her limited powers. Her hold on the water weakened, reducing it to a splutter. But she got it back under control, straining with the effort to put out the last of the flames barring their path. The captives flowed towards the open window, vaulting it to freedom. More voices yelled outside. The Heretics. They were drowned by the chaos of screams and attacks from the captives. From one danger straight into another.

A twang of pain shot through Cleo's ears, cutting off her psychic. She seethed silently and turned to survey the room. The flames were mostly out, and what was left of them were held back by the puddles of water spreading across the tiled floor. The rest of the captives could flee safely. She scooped up Spark then froze, spotting the mareep who was struggling to stand. The azumarill trotted past her to the fallen snivy and tossed the wooden beam across the room with alarming ease. She gave the small snivy a nudge with her paw.

"She's not moving," she said. "But we can't leave her."

"What are you doing?!" Harlequin snapped. "We have to get out of here before those Heretics come back!"

The zorua cowered at the end of their restraints, their ears back and eyes flaring with anger.

"I'm not leaving anyone behind," Cleo said flatly. "Unlike you, I won't abandon those who can be helped."

"A fatal weakness," Harlequin muttered.

"Good attitude, Outcast." The azumarill scooped the snivy up anyway and turned back to Cleo. "More could use your level of thinking. Can you lift the mareep?"

Cleo flinched slightly. "I can try."

She sized the sheep pokemon up. Ordinarily she'd use her psychic to carry him, but that option was beyond her now. Instead, she hoisted him in both paws and made for the window.

"You go first, Harlequin," she said.

It didn't even need to be voiced. The zorua sprang from the window without a second thought, landing neatly on the floor outside. Cleo followed after Harlequin, carefully swinging herself onto the windowsill. Still cradling the mareep, she dropped to the other side. Cool air swept over her, and she gulped it down. She hadn't realised how light-headed she was becoming in that inferno. The cool air was soon whipped away as, with a thundering roar, the raging tyranitar whipped up a fierce sandstorm. Cleo almost dropped the mareep as she leapt back from the wall to search for a quick exit through the thick wall of sand.

"I told you we should have left them!" Harlequin wailed.

Cleo wasn't interested. Cradling the small mareep, she turned her head as she tried to see through the storm. "Spark?!"

"Over here!"

Cold water splattered over Cleo's face and she let out a small yell. She shook her whiskers and squinted, just making out the azumarill standing a short distance away. At her feet was the sandslash with water dripping from his scales. Spark stood beside him, whiskers crackling in a threat that ordinarily the ground-type wouldn't care about.

The azumarill gave Cleo a small smile. "You all right, Outcast?"

Cleo nodded and trudged forward through the sand to join the azumarill. The tyranitar let out a howl, staggering from the back of the building. Huge chains hung from its paws, tightening as someone struggled to pull it back. Cleo's heart pounded and she motioned for the azumarill to move.

"We have to get out of here and fast," she said. "Before they come after us."

"Or lose control of that thing," Spark added, nodding to the tyranitar.

"The question is, which way?" Cleo asked. "We need to find Mischief, and I can't see further than my paw right now."

"Who, the fluffy guy?" The azumarill waved a free paw towards the trees. "He ran off into the forest."

Cleo clenched her teeth. So he didn't wait for them? She shook that thought away. Of course a grass-type couldn't wait by a burning building. She couldn't hold that against him. Fleeing fire would be instinctual.

The azumarill motioned for Cleo to follow and began trotting towards the edge of the clearing. Cleo jogged to keep up with her, juggling the mareep in her arms so she didn't drop him.

Getting through the sandstorm felt like it took an eternity, but it really didn't cover much ground. The trees surrounding the clearing acted like a barrier, keeping the worst of it contained. When they were thick into the cover of the trees, the azumarill finally stopped. A few of the pokemon had gathered together, talking amongst themselves and looking in all directions. No one knew where to go. The younger ones were likely raised in the lab. Just beyond them, Cleo spotted Mischief standing on tiptoe, staring back towards the clearing. She hadn't seen the Heretics bring him back to the cells, nor had she seen him amid the fleeing captives. Perhaps he'd managed to escape wherever they were holding him when the Heretics fled the blaze? Whatever the case, she was relieved to see him alive and well.

The azumarill set the small snivy down at the base of a tree and covered his body with leaves. A wave of sadness washed over Cleo. All that chaos, and no one had thought to rescue the young pokemon.

She turned to the azumarill and smiled weakly. "Thanks for your help back there."

"Hey, I should be thanking you," she replied. "If you didn't use your crazy psychic moves, none of us would've made it out of there alive. Or we'd be locked up in those cells again."

Cells…

Cleo twisted to look around her. "What happened to those pawniard?"

"They escaped," said Harlequin. "They're outlaws. They wouldn't stick around Outcasts."

Cleo looked down at the zorua hunched beside her, bristling. "How do you know they're outlaws?"

"What? You think the Darkness is gonna free you?" Harlequin let out a single laugh. "Besides, pawniard and bisharp were wiped out years ago. I didn't even know any survived."

Outlaws… the outlaws were dealing with the Heretics. Why would they free their test subjects and let them run away?

"Whoever they are, it doesn't matter," said the azumarill. "We're in their debt now. Like we are yours, Outcast!"

Cleo smiled at her. "It's Cleo."

"Blossom." The azumarill beamed. "I guess this is where we part ways now, hey?"

Cleo gave a small nod. "I guess so." Then she shifted to adjust the mareep. "Are you okay, kid?"

He took in a ragged breath. "It hurts to breathe."

"Then try not to talk, okay? You clearly need treatment." Cleo looked back up at Blossom. "Is there any chance you can look after him? I can't bring him with us, it's too dangerous, and we're far away from any Outcast settlements."

"Sure!" Blossom took the mareep gently, holding him with much less effort than Cleo. "He's one of us anyway. I hope you find your friend, and make it safely away from here."

"And where will you go?"

Blossom shrugged. "Far away from these crack-pots. And I won't be joining any more Heretics." She paused and gave Cleo a weak smile. "I'm sure we'll find somewhere."

Cleo nodded and watched Blossom shuffle off into the crowd. The azumarill paused to look back at her.

"You never know," she said. "We might meet again some day!"

"I hope so." Cleo smiled and gave the water-type a friendly wave.

She then turned back to the crowd and caught Mischief's eye, and the whimsicott trotted over to them. No spring in his step. No humour in his eyes. He gave them a sad smile and looked back to towards the clearing.

"I guess no one belongs here." He laughed and shook his head. "Maybe it's a good thing I forgot this place."

"I'd say so," said Spark. "I kinda wanna forget it myself."

Cleo let out a sigh of relief. "I'm just glad you're okay."

He gave a weak shrug, not taking his eyes off the clearing.

Cleo placed a paw on his arm, which he didn't resist, and ushered him on through the trees. "Come on. Let's get out of here before they come after us."

She gave a cautious glance back to make sure they weren't being followed, then led the group through the trees away from the chaos of the burning lab. Harlequin trudged along behind them, still bristling, watching the canopy warily. Cleo found herself peering up into the branches, but with the smoke filling the air it was unsurprisingly void of life. Cleo gave Harlequin another glance, wondering what on earth the zorua was so afraid of.

...

"I don't believe this!" Rio roared, straining to be heard over the rampaging tyranitar. "An absol! An absol brought disaster on my lab!"

The tyranitar staggered back, dragging Tantrum through the sand as the vigoroth strained to hold onto the chain confining its arm.

"I think we have bigger things to be worryin' about right now, boss," he said.

The tyranitar thrashed again, lifting the plusle and minun clean off the ground. The two small pokemon wailed, flailing their legs as they tried to swing gravity in their favour. Lou, too amused by the pair, burst out laughing and loosed his own chain. His sister gave a muffled howl as the tyranitar dragged her across the ground and swept the heliolisk's feet out from under him with its tail.

Rio slapped a paw over his face. Any minute now, and Enigma would arrive. He'd arrive, expecting those Outcasts and that whimsicott to be securely confined… and Rio had lost them.

He'd failed.

All because an absol burned down his lab. A pokemon that had been believed extinct. It had paused at the edge of the clearing, glaring at him, only to vanish into the forest. It had wanted him to see it. Not a single absol had been seen in ten years, just rumours. There was no way Enigma would believe him, especially if none of Rio's employees did.

A soft chime rang out through the din from an unseen bell, sending a chill right down Rio's spine. Oh, how he wished he was elsewhere. The tyranitar jerked its head around, dragging Tantrum off the ground.

"My, my." Enigma materialised in the branches above Rio and surveyed the chaos. Project B, the smoldering wreck of the building. "This is quite the situation you've got yourselves into."

"Enigma! I can explain!" Rio spun towards the tree and pointed at the burning lab. "It was an absol! It set fire to my lab and released all my subjects! They fled into the-"

"Forest," Enigma finished, clicking his tongue as he gazed off into the trees. "I'm aware. It's filled with fleeing pokemon. I guessed from that chaos that you'd lost the whimsicott and his friends. So careless." He fixed his crimson eyes on Rio. "Whatever am I going to tell my boss?"

"I can get them back!" Rio shouted over the cries of the struggling pokemon. "I'll get them all back! Well… maybe not all, but I'll find the whimsicott at least and send message to you-"

Enigma plucked a blue feather from his mouth and flicked it away. It drifted slowly to the ground, drawing Rio's eye.

"Thanks for sending me a snack, by the way." Enigma punctuated it with a sinister grin.

Rio couldn't find the words to reply. He stuttered as he watched the chatot's feather land softly on the sandy floor.

Enigma chuckled and pushed himself back from the trunk of the tree. He strolled along the slender branch and tucked his paws behind his head. "I told you not to let me down, Rio."

"But… it was the absol!" Rio looked up at him again. "I wasn't expecting-"

"You really expect me to believe that?" Enigma's smirk melted into a frown. "An absol? Please. Even if one did show up here, why would it set fire to your lab and release all your test subjects?" He waved a paw towards the thrashing tyranitar, now straining against all the pokemon who had their feet securely on the ground. "You let them escape so you could control your pet."

Rio's claws dug into his paw pads and he waved a fist at the tyranitar. "If this thing breaks free, it will spell disaster!"

"You're obsessed with disaster!" Enigma threw his paws in the air and twirled nimbly on the branch towards the behemoth. "Absol this! Disaster that! Oh no, an absol burned down my lab!"

"I'm telling you the truth!" Rio roared. "This thing is an unstoppable killing machine!"

"Nothing is unstoppable, Rio." Enigma flashed him a menacing grin. "Shall I show you?"

Before Rio could answer, Enigma vanished into thin air. The banette reappeared just below the tyranitar's jaw. It hadn't noticed, too distracted by the pokemon trying to avoid its massive feet. Enigma clutched onto the pokemon's stony armour with one paw while the other vanished beyond its chest plate.

Its entire body turned rigid for a fleeting moment. Then it threw its head back with a blood-curdling howl. Not one of ferocity, but of excruciating pain. It shook Rio's insides, and he fought the urge to flee into the trees. The tyranitar twisted, swinging left and right, its tail whipping up sand and scattering those who didn't manage to get out of the way in time.

"What are you doing?!" Roxie barked, bouncing on her toes to dodge Project B's feet as she watched Enigma. "Let it go! You're hurting it!"

The tyranitar crashed into the burning building, sending mortar hurtling down around it. The other pokemon watched helplessly from a safe distance, not daring to get any closer.

The tyranitar's howling petered out into a strangled gargle as its thrashing slowed, and its eyes grew dim. The raging sandstorm abruptly ceased, giving Rio a clear view of the tyranitar as it struggled to remain upright. It teetered on one leg for a moment before it came crashing down into the clearing, sending a few stray leaves from the trees. Roxie leapt aside and stood with her tail between her legs, looking between the tyranitar and the banette.

Enigma leant against the tyranitar's torso and flicked fresh blood from his claws, before stooping to wipe them clean in the sand.

Roxie trotted over to the fallen experiment, sniffing its face cautiously. Her ears drooped. "It's dead!"

The lycanroc looked up at Enigma and bristled, baring her canines. Lou appeared beside her and nudged the behemoth with his foot.

"I told you anything can be stopped," said Enigma. "Perhaps now you can get your priorities straight?"

Rio couldn't look at him. His eyes remained on the fallen tyranitar, his blood boiling. His tails bristled and he swished them sharply from side to side as a low growl tried to form in his throat.

Ruined.

Everything was ruined.

Enigma kicked himself back from the tyranitar's fallen body and strutted across the clearing. He paused beside Rio and spoke softly to his ear.

"I'm done with you, Rio. You failed me."

A chill ran down Rio's spine, pushing his fur on end.

The banette adjusted his scarf and strode away into the shadows, the soft jingling of his bell fading away into the distance.

...

A/N - Oh dear... Hopefully Enigma's orders to 'not leave a trail of blood' won't come back to bite him in the tail, huh?

Review Replies!

Adamfics - Hah! XD Your comments on Harbinger really amused me! Yes, it is odd to see such a character be appalled by Rio. I suppose it goes to show the extremes Rio is going to are frightening enough even to someone with Harbie's standards?

Immortes - Thank you! Harbinger's relationship with Scratch and Claw will be explained later on that puts it more into perspective. There is more of a dynamic there than just travelling companions. I hope you look forward to it! As for Enigma and Faith... You've made me want to write more scenes between them XD I can't promise ships but perhaps fluff? I've been wanting to build more on characters and plot so expect new content!

Onatu - Thank you so much for returning to this story and for your kind words! I really hope you continue to enjoy this re-write. The story will remain relatively the same, but a lot more is being built on such as maintaining the ongoing threat behind the main plot-line. This was weaker in the original since I write on a whim and didn't really have much of a direction in mind when I first began writing. There is already new content and complete overhauls of some of the major scenes. I'm having a lot of fun with it =D I'm glad you like the species names in lower-case. Capitalising them doesn't look right to me in narrative, and it does echo the way we refer to animals in the real world.

Thanks so much, everyone!

Please R&R! =D