-Dead-pan eyes- Well... here's the next chapter... it' Dark's as you can tell... And I am so going to kill him if I get my hands on him!
The sun rose that day to light the Artic snow with a glistening sheen, setting the tundra alight with a venerable multitude of colors. What few other Pokemon there were in the frosty region set up a great cry, greeting the new morning with a clamor of honks, squeals, and warbles.
Yet all of this was lost on the sole Gallade that perched on the still-smoldering wreckage of a fallen Sandwasp fighter, rubbing his hands together with skeptical solemnity. Dark had chosen to return to their transport to see if anything could be salvaged. Not possessing their companion's ability to thwart all temperature differentials, the two Fusions had elected to stay behind, an arrangement that didn't bother him much.
Sighing, he began picking his way through the scrap to enter the flame-gutted cabin. Knowing that the weapons lockers that had once dotted the inside were empty, the vampire made his way to the blasted-out cockpit, reclining in the blackened chair that stood there and shutting his eyes, closing out the world.
Finally, some alone time, with no Fusions, monsters, or arguments.
It felt so nice…
Crying… why was there crying? Not in this place, at this time. This was supposed to be a happy occasion, wasn't it? People were spending the day together, enjoying the life and light of adventure. Fathers and sons, mothers and daughters…
…and me, the cursed thing that I was. I hated them all for their happiness, the one thing that forever seemed removed from my grasp.
Why was there crying?
Because it was me doing it.
With a snort, the vampire awoke, blinking rapidly to clear his eyes. Had he just been sleeping? That in itself was a miracle, as it had been decades since he'd needed a rest.
Or was he just glutted on energy again? That could be responsible, too… but, then, he reasoned, a nap every thirty years or so wasn't exactly slacking off.
Still muddling over this dilemma, he dozed off again.
Later that day, the Gallade rose from his 'bed' and continued moving around the ship, tinkering with the mass of shorted-out cables and circuitry in a vain attempt to create something of use… but, then, he wasn't really trying.
No. In fact, he was trying to determine exactly why he'd been having the waking nightmares that had reformed in his subconscious again. They seemed to come and go depending on his mood, and with the mood that he usually embodied, dreams rarely came to him.
But, for some reason, his depressed state of mind wasn't helping. He idly wondered why as his fingers flew, rearranging a locker-full of cartridges and machinery into a cleaner assortment.
Why couldn't he keep his thoughts from haunting him? And, suddenly, he had it.
The Fusions. The vampire bit back a snarl. Those two things were stirring up the well of emotions that he'd taken so long to stamp down, and the longer he stayed with them, the more turmoil they caused within him.
They had to go. And soon, if he'd have any chance of keeping what little sanity remained in his possession.
With his frown restored, Dark glanced down at the completed device that his maniacal intellect had created, smiled, and tucked it under his cloak, stashing threescore of the discarded cartridge packs in along with it. A little math, and he had his solution to the… problem.
Sixty packs with fifty uses apiece… that would be about 3,000 charges total.
Oh, that's way more than enough.
By now, it was pitch-black out on the ice, and the only source of light the girls had was the campfire that Embyr had lit to stave off the ever-present cold.
Unfortunately, not even the largest fire could melt Desert's impatience…
"Where is he, anyway?"
"Now, Desert, I'm sure that he'll be back soon, so just wait a little longer…"
A 'little longer' turned out to be a few hours, so the two eventually nodded off to the crackling of the flames…
…and this turned out to be a very bad idea.
Dark hummed to himself as the snow crunched beneath his feet, each step bringing him closer to the campsite where his 'companions' lay.
"Oh, you better watch out, you better go cry,
You'd better hard- pout, I'm tellin' you why…
'Cause Santa Dark is comin'… with guns!
I'm burnin' the list, and shreddin' it twice!
Don't give a damn who's naughty or nice!
Santa Darkie's comin' for blood!
I see you when you're sleeping,
I know when you're awake,
I know when you have wet your pants,
So wear Luvs, for goodness sake!
Oh, you better watch out, you better go cry,
You'd better hard-pout, I'm tellin' you why…
'Cause Santa Dark is scalping tonight!"
Needless to say, the other songs he chose after this were even stranger in their variations.
And through all this, Desert and Embyr slept on, oblivious to the danger singing its way towards them…
…or the yeti crouching over the fire.
-Glares at Dark,then shakes fist at said Dark- You dare!You dare give me a fighting cliff-hanger!Ugh... well,expect the next chapter to be short,becase I'm no good at fighting scenes yet!Oh,happy happy joy joy -snorts-