Author's Note: A word of warning, this chapter is...uh...the reason the story is rated 'T.'

"EVERYONE! IN POSITIONS!"

Ash examined his as his entourage fell in line before him. They were standing in a rocky crevice in the mountainous regions of the ranch. All of the Pokemon he could find were gathered in the middle, making a rough circle. The Pokemon stood facing the inside of the circle, neatly surrounding the middle point from four directions. Charizard stood east, Brock's Onyx west, Donphan and Heracross stood south, and Ash stood to the north with Snorlax standing directly in front of him.

In between these five stood the smaller Pokemon. Cyndaquil stood between Donphan and Onyx so there would be a secondary fire attacker from behind should Charizard be taken down. Opposite Cyndaquil, between Heracross and Charizard, stood Bayleef. Noctowl stood next to Ash, waiting for the signal. He would be flying directly above the middle of the circle, either to provide and aerial offensive or to get help should something go wrong. Pikachu stood to Ash's left in between Snorlax and Onyx. Squirtle stood next to him (but not too close) so they could combine attacks if need be. Slyther stood between Snorlax and Charizard, using the same strategy with Bayleef that Cyndaquil was using with Charizard.

Ash's other, miscellaneous Pokemon that lived on the Ranch stood scattered around, nervous at all the precautions, but ready and willing for anything. Should something go wrong, Bulbasaur was to escape with these Pokemon into the woods and to go look for help. Many of the wild Pokemon had turned out to see what all the commotion was, though not necessarily to help. The only benefit from this group came from Arcanine, who surprisingly showed up with the rest of his pack, standing scattered on top of the rocky cliffs and staring gravely down at the intricate gathering.

"Is this careful enough for you?" Ash said to Pikachu, who was folding his arms and looking displeased.

"You could have formed a militia of the Legendary Birds, Dogs, and Mew and it wouldn't make a damn bit of difference." Pikachu said, deadly serious, but still noticeably jittery. "Humans always say that there's no such thing as an evil Pokemon. Those are the humans that end up getting burned to death trying to befriend a Charizard. Anyway, I know you were there, but you didn't see this thing up close. It was evil. There was something...wrong with it. It was just....like it wasn't all the way there..."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better," Ash said, looking forward, "I was never one of those people." He looked down and noticed that his hands were shaking. He clenched them into fists to stop the nervous spasms. It didn't work.

"Listen, Snorlax," Ash said, his voice breaking ever so slightly, "I've just got to let you know that I may end up being the primary target today. I put you in front because you're the toughest one here. Nothing personal." Snorlax looked at Ash over his shoulder, yawning. He was the calmest one there by a long shot.

"Don't sweat it. I understand." Snorlax said with surprising laziness given the situation. "By the way, think about this. There are enough Pokemon here to stop whatever is thrown at us. If we don't, there are enough for you to get away with the rest of the Pokemon. If you can't, the other Pokemon will be safe. If they aren't...no one here has done anything wrong. We'll all likely end up at the same place if we get killed." He said, scratching his chin. "Don't be nervous. If you're nervous, you're sloppy. If you're sloppy, you'll be more nervous. You just do what you do before every battle. Just throw away all those extra thoughts. They'll just weigh you down."

"Th-Thanks, Snorlax." Ash said, taken aback. He took his advice and closed his eyes.

There aren't nearly enough pokemon half of them don't even have the right training what did I ever think I was going to achieve all I'm going to do is get everyone killed everyone will die and it will be ALL MY FAULT.

Like before, Ash compacted the thoughts to the back of his mind and held them there until they disintegrated. He opened his eyes with a different expression than he had when he closed them. His hands weren't shaking anymore.

"BROCK!" He shouted. Back even farther than Bulbasaur and his group were Brock, Misty (who had completely reconciled), Tracey (wielding his notebook, even in the face of danger), and Professor Oak (looking old for the first time since Ash met him) stood. Misty was looking in her bag with a concerned expression on her face. She turned to Tracey and said something Ash couldn't hear. He looked in the bag, then looked back up at Misty, also saying something inaudible with a similar look of concern.

"YOU READY!?" Brock shouted back, a Pokeball in his hand. Noctowl took this as a signal and flew up high over the circle.

"THROW IT!"

Brock crossed his fingers, then threw the ball as hard as he could. It landed in the middle of the assembled Pokemon and popped open with a blinding flash.

Kadabra emerged from the flash, standing limply with its spoon dangling from its fingers.

It was glaring.

Every living thing drew in an awed and anxious breath at the same time. The few wild Pokemon who recognized the danger immediately bolted upon seeing what had emerged from the Pokeball.

"KADABRA!" Ash shouted powerfully. "I want to talk to you! As you can see, you're surrounded! So don't try anything funny!"

The Kadabra peered at Ash between Snorlax's massive arms.

"Understood." It said in a deep, frighteningly dignified voice.

"Why did you attack me!?" Ash asked. The Kadabra simply stood, silent.

"I won't force you to answer, but it would make things easier for you if you did!"

"Ash, this isn't going to work." Pikachu whispered. Ash shot him a harsh look, then quickly looked back at Kadabra.

To his amazement, the Kadabra was facing the Pokemon to the left. He had turned without Ash seeing him move. Ash blinked, astounded. This feeling was amplified when he saw that Kadabra was rotating clockwise, examining each Pokemon in the circle, only moving when Ash closed his eyes for a split second when he blinked.

"Stop that!" he shouted, afraid. The Pokemon who could spare a glance looked confusedly at Ash, then back at the Kadabra.

It started to laugh.

"Would it trouble you to know, little boy, that I'm not moving a muscle?" it said. The ground under its feet started to change. The rocks and dirt were bleached white from the heat that extended from under the earth. The sky had begun to rain a black, oily substance that instantly evaporated off of the heat from the rocks "I'm not doing...a thing." The Kadabra said as its eyes became black and peppered with stars and mouthed tentacles twisted and writhed from its open, laughing mouth.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" Ash shouted, stumbling back. As soon as he took a step, everything became normal. The ground was its regular color, the sky was cloudless, and Kadabra was still laughing.

"Ash..." Pikachu snapped his head between the laughing Kadabra and his white-faced friend. "What..."

"Stop!" Ash screamed. "Stay away from my mind!"

"I'm letting you in mine." Kadabra said, still smiling. "Why can't I take a peek in yours?"

"I'M asking the questions now!" Ash said angrily. "Why did you attack me earlier!? Why did you give m-" Ash's throat locked up. Kadabra started to giggle again. Ash felt a writhing, undulating, sticky something stop up his windpipe. He clutched his neck, feeling an enormous lump under the skin. He was choking on it. The only way to stop it would be to swallow it. But don't worry. You'll love it. It contains all the vitamins and nutrients you'll ever need from here on out.

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" Ash shouted desperately, clutching his temples and falling to his knees. Kadabra simply laughed like a giddy schoolgirl.

"EVERYONE! GET READY!" He shouted, more angry than afraid. Every Pokemon got into their various ready stances. The flame on Charizard's tail and Cyndaquil's back both flared up at the same time. Pikachu got on all fours, his cheeks sparking. Squirtle cracked his knuckles and braced himself. Slyther scraped his blades together, Onyx slammed the ground with his tail, Heracross got in a sprinter's stance, ready to charge, and Donphan leaned forward, ready to roll. Every Pokemon in the circle, and some that weren't, were an inch away from tearing Kadabra apart.

It looked around and the angry Pokemon, the shadow of a smile still on its face.

"Aren't you all so obedient!?" it shouted in mock approval. It raised its hand and pointed to each Pokemon in turn. Ash felt and influx of thoughts race through his head. He realized, with terror, that Kadabra was using Ash as a human transfer box so it forced him to hear all the thoughts himself as well.

"Now then..." it said, finished. It pointed at Squirtle. "After this, I'm going to kill your Squadmates in front of you." It pointed to Bulbasaur in the back. "Everything you know is a lie. Your world is an empty ball orbiting a dying star, non-caring. Your mother was a lying bitch." It pointed to Charizard. "You were, are, and never will be strong enough. I'll gut Charla like a fish and flay her on the piled bones of your Charizard friends." Finally, it pointed at Pikachu. "You'll be in a Pokeball for the rest of your life." It said, grinning from ear-to-ear.

Charizard got angry and growled more menacingly than either Ash or the other Pokemon had ever heard before. Squirtle picked up a sizable rock and gripped it in his small, webbed hand like it was his last hope. Pikachu's hair stood up on end and the air pressure dropped so fast that Ash got a nosebleed this time. Bulbasaur, normally the calm, straight man of the group, whipped his vines out so fast they cut the falling leaves in half in midair.

"Alright, Ash." The Kadabra said. "Why did I give you telepathy? I'll answer your question. But first, you-" It was interrupted by Charizard, furiously roaring at the top of his lungs. He roared so loudly that the Arcanine on the hill stepped back frightened. Even Pikachu looked startled at the white-hot rage Charizard was carrying. He stepped back, reared his neck as far as it could go, and breathed a stream of fire so hot that not even Cyndaquil or the Arcanines could look at it. The fire washed over Kadabra, bathing it in its own funeral pyre and turning some of the loose gravel into melted glass.

As the fire dissipated, Kadabra was untouched.

"Well! Isn't someone eager!?" It said, delighted. It extended its arm toward Charizard. "You'll just have to wait your turn like everyone else." It closed its hand into a fist.

Charizard was slammed in the stomach with a ball of hyper-condensed psionic energy. The entire group heard a rib snap sickeningly as he flew backward. Charizard, ever the fighter, stood his ground. He punched the ground in pain, roared again, then limped determinedly back to his place in the circle.

"You're persistent, too!" Kadabra said. "I think you'll be fun!" It turned back to Ash. "For me to answer your questions, first you'll have to answer mine. Tell me, little boy," it was grinning madly again, wide-eyed and excited, "do you enjoy...the Opera?"

Kadabra raised its spoon-hand into the air.

Immediately, everyone and everything in the valley shrieked in pain and dropped to the ground. Those that could were clutching their heads and thrashing in the dirt in agony. Even the humans in the back were having violent seizures on the solid rock face. The Arcanine that had been watching from above tumbled down the cliff face, howling in pain and twisting their enormous bodies. Some of the weaker Pokemon had passed out. Noctowl came hurling out of the sky and crumpled to the ground, breaking a wing. Pikachu was sending bolts of electricity shooting off across the ground, gritting his teeth, and clutching his ears. Squirtle was actually slamming the rock against his temple in an attempt to make himself fall unconscious.

Every Pokemon in the area was on the ground and screaming in a kind of pain they never imagined could exist.

Except for Kadabra.

Tracey, Misty, Brock, and Professor Oak were similarly stricken, though they had not been able to let out a scream yet. Misty had dropped her bag. It was lying forgotten beside her as she curled into the fetal position, her face contorted into a soundless wail and tears were streaming down her face. Brock managed to stay on his knees, his right hand on his head and his left balled into a fist to his side. He stiffly reached for a Pokeball to return Kadabra to, but he slipped and fell to his back and was unable to move anymore. Tracey had simply dropped like a sack of rocks and was mindlessly drawing circles in his notebook, tearing the page and not caring. Professor Oak was curled into a ball, facing away. He was twitching, but that was about all the movement Ash could see.

Every human was ready to kill themselves to escape from the agonizing, simulated pain they felt only in their minds.

Except for Ash.

The Kadabra stared at the sky with its arms stretched out on either side, lost in serendipity. It closed its eyes and started to lightly undulate to the sound of the screams as if it were listening to music.

"I love it." it finally said. Kadabra lowered its head and looked at Ash, smiling with tears streaming down its face. "I really do. It's not often I get this many together at one time. Its mostly limited to cantatas and small ensembles. But this!" It raised its arms in the air and looked around and the thrashing bodies. "This is divine. THIS is the sound I've been looking for to use in my next piece. Though, I'm going to have to do some prodding. After all, all great composers demand a great deal from their performers."

Kadabra put a hand up to its chin. It brought its hand into the air and slowly lowered it. The screams started to recede to soft moaning, much to Ash's relief.

"Now...who will be my soprano?" It said as it panned the crowd. It pointed at Cyndaquil. "How about you? Let's see what you can do." Kadabra raised its hand into the air, curled its fingers into a claw, and twisted.

Cyndaquil's howls of pain tripled. It beat the ground with its legs and sobbed profusely.

"STOP IT!" Ash shouted, crying almost as hard as Cyndaquil. Kadabra ceased its torture of the young Pokemon and walked toward Ash.

"We are making music! MUSIC, you unrefined piece of garbage! Show some respect for the craft and be QUIET!" It shouted. It turned back to Cyndaquil who was panting on the ground. "Good...but the timbre is all wrong. Stay put. I may come back to you." It folded its arms and tapped its foot on the ground. It gasped delightedly. "You!" It pointed at Squirtle. Squirtle stood up, knees knocking together. "Would you like to try?" It asked patronizingly. Squirtle spat on the ground. Kadabra frowned and twisted its arm again.

Squirtle fell backward, clutching his head and gritting his teeth, determined not to make a sound. Kadabra furrowed its brow and brought up its second hand with two fingers pointed toward Squirtle. It began to slowly turn that hand like it was boring into something. Squirtle let out a petrifying scream of pain.

"No, no, no! That's not going to work! If you continue to act this way I'll cut you from the opera, do you understand me?" It shouted. It humphed frustratedly and turned. Kadabra's frown flipped when he saw Bayleef.

"I've got a feeling you'll suit the role perfectly!" it said. Bayleef stared at Kadabra, unable to move from both fear and agonizing pain.

"I SAID STOP IT!" Ash shouted again. Kadabra wheeled around, glaring. Its spoon suddenly liquified into a small pool of melted metal in the palm of its hand. Kadabra threw the liquid into the air in a large arc. The metal solidified in mid-air into a huge, thin blade. The blade launched itself threw the air and stopped an inch from Ash's face.

"BE QUIET!" It shouted. It turned back to Bayleef and twisted its arm. Bayleef rose into the air and shrieked, crying profusely. Kadabra's face lit up.

"Perfect!" It cried. "You must be female! You'll be the star, naturally. I've an affinity to using sopranos in my work."

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" Ash shouted. Kadabra, without looking, waved its hand toward Ash. He suddenly was unable to breath. He felt his face to find his mouth to be fused shut. He started to panic, but remembered what Snorlax had said. He breathed in through his nose and let it out slowly, regaining his composure.

"That's not going to work anymore." Ash said, standing tall and angry. "Your tricks and illusions aren't going to affect me." Kadabra turned around, staring at him blankly.

"'Oh no. My illusions won't work on you. Whatever will I do?'" It turned away and waved its hand. Ash suddenly felt himself being pulled into the rock itself. He had been sunken into the solid rock he stood on up to his knees. Ash tugged on his legs. This was real.

Kadabra walked over to Charizard, who was now struggling to his feet and glaring more angrily than ever.

"I usually like to get a feel for my singers by finding the absolute lowest and highest sounds they can possibly make. I'll bet you'll make a fine bass, won't you?"

Charizard simply growled and tried to bite the Kadabra, just missing by a foot. Kadabra twisted its arm. Charizard roared and slammed the ground with his tail, the fire flaring to almost triple its original size. He flailed every moving limb on his body in any type of effort to get away or strike his oppressor. When Kadabra stopped, he lunged at the Pokemon. If he was going to die here, he was going to take something with him.

Kadabra simply stepped to the side and let the attack pass. It pointed at Charizard. Charizard floated ten feet into the air, then slammed into the ground with enough force to shake the valley. Kadabra did this three more times before tossing him aside like a broken toy.

"Show-stealing will get you nowhere. Your voice is decent, but its missing something." It turned to Snorlax and twisted. Snorlax didn't move nearly as much as Charizard, but he yelled just as loud and much deeper.

"Brilliant!" Kadabra shouted! "You'll do perfect! You'll need some practice, but in-" Kadabra suddenly stopped, then grinned. "Yes! Thank you, muses! You always know how to push the right buttons!" Kadabra turned and raised both hands, one pointed at Charizard and the other at Snorlax. It twisted both arms. Both Pokemon shouted, though Charizard more weakly than before.

"Do you hear that!?" Kadabra shouted, excited. "That is gorgeous! You all are so talented! Wait!" Kadabra dropped the both of them and turned. It pointed its left hand at Bayleef and its right directly in between Charizard (who was now panting profusely and starting to foam at the mouth) and Snorlax. It twisted both arms. Bayleef's high-pitched screams mingled with the deep howls of Snorlax and Charizard. Kadabra closed its eyes and breathed in deeply, facing the sky.

"Please!" Ash shouted, futilely. He couldn't take any more of the torture of his friends. It had gotten to the point where he was sobbing dryly, having no more tears to shed. "Please just stop this!" He could not take the screams of his Pokemon anymore. But he had to admit, the sound of all those screams together was delightful. It made him feel fulfilled. He silently relished how well the sounds went together and how beautiful it sounded when Ash closed his-

"GET OUT OF MY MIND!" Ash shouted, pounding on his temples and trying desperately to pull his legs out of the bedrock. Kadabra simply laughed at him.

Suddenly, the air pressure dropped. Ash felt light-headed and smelled ozone. He managed a small smile, making sure not to touch any of the buttons on his jacket.

"CCHHUUUUUUUUU!" Pikachu shouted as an indescribably huge bolt of lightening issued from his broken body. For a second, a split-second, he forgot about the agonizing pain he knew wasn't real. He forgot about the horrifying thoughts that he was being made to think. He forgot about the sights he was made to see. For a second, Pikachu was once again lost in the euphoric fury of battle and wanted to be alive just a bit longer to finish it.

The bolt struck Kadabra before it could turn around to face it. It shouted in pain and dropped the screaming Pokemon. It, for a moment, dropped the spell it had over everyone in the valley and gave them a few seconds of peace.

Then, Kadabra stood, furious. It flung its spoon into the ground and raised its arm at Pikachu, palm facing forward. Pikachu skidded across the ground toward Kadabra and, like a magnet, shot off the ground and into its hand. It turned, glaring at Ash, holding Pikachu by the head with its long, probing fingers.

"You want to know why I gave you the power to read minds?!" It shouted, angrily. "Giving the chosen a power of the captor is Step 1!"

"What do you mean by that?" Ash asked, weakly. He was staring at Pikachu, trying to devise a way to keep the Kadabra from crushing his skull between its bony digits.

"I chose you, Ash Ketchum! You were going to be my familier! My human pet!" It shouted. It raised the first finger on its left hand. "Step 1: Endow the chosen with one of the abilities of the owner." It raised another finger. "Step 2: Destroy the chosen's ties to their former life, a process I was in the middle of before I was so rudely," It squeezed Pikachu's head," interrupted! Step 3: Destroy the human's humanity and Step 4: Bind the human to the administrator! My goal was to make Steps 1 and 2 as painless and entertaining as possible so that Step 4 would be easier! I'm going to give you power beyond you wildest dreams, human, and YOU DON'T EVEN APPRECIATE IT!" The Kadabra was furious now, its shouts echoing throughout the whole ranch. Its rage was so acute, some of the Pokemon on the other end of the ranch started to feel nauseous. The citizens of Pallet Town would report bizarre migraines for the next few weeks.

"Because of the insolence of your little RAT, I'm going to make this difficult for the both of us!" Kadabra continued to shout, angrily.

"I..." Pikachu choked out. "I'm...a mouse....dumbass..." he said, smiling weakly. Kadabra raised Pikachu into the air, about to spike him into the ground like a football.

"LET THIS BE YOUR BABTISM!" It shouted. Suddenly, Kadabra stopped, staring up at the hill. Pikachu was staring in the same direction, his eyes slowly lighting up. Ash turned to look for himself.

Out of Misty's bag emerged a small, white spek on the hillside. It seemed to be the only thing besides Ash and Kadabra that wasn't in pain.

"TOGEPI!" Ash shouted, excited beyond reason. Through all the events of the day, he had completely forgotten about the enigmatic little egg-Pokemon. Ash managed to hear some of its thoughts from where he was.

"Where....Misty? Get up...please...Scared...Where....Why everybody lie down?" she thought, nervously, tapping her hands together.

"TOGEPI!" Pikachu shouted as loud as he could. "TOGEPI! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DO SOMETHING!"

"SHUT UP!" Kadabra threw Pikachu back onto the ground and raised its hand in the air again. All the Pokemon started to shout again in pain, except for Pikachu who stood, shaking, next to Squirtle, who had fallen unconscious some time ago.

"DON'T BE SCARED! JUST USE YOUR MOVE!" he cringed and grabbed his head, dropping to his knees. "YOU CAN DO IT, TOGEPI!" he said, falling to the ground.

Ash looked over at Togepi, not knowing what Pikachu was talking about.

"Move....use....my magic. Help friends...Pikachu....hurt...." she looked at Kadabra and glared. "You....YOU hurt friends!" Togepi's small hands started to glow. She raised them in the air and started to tap them back and forth.

Metronome? Ash said, too astonished to be afraid. He read Togepi's mind.

"Please...help....friends hurt....stop bad guy...please." To his amazement, Ash heard a second voice in Togepi's mind. This voice was gentle, calm, and powerful. It was not one voice, but a consolidation of and infinite number of voices, all speaking in a beautiful rhythm.

"We hear you plea, Togepi, and grant your wish. We will right was has been done wrong."

As the voice faded, Togepi opened her eyes. They were glowing from the inside, lighting all the world within her sight. She raised her arms and pointed at Kadabra.

"Singularity." A voice said. A voice that would make Ash ponder for the rest of his life over who said that word. All he knew for sure, was the effect.

All the air in the valley was suddenly sucked toward a point in the middle. Even the air in Ash's lungs was sucked out. The focal point was a small, barely discernible black dot on Kadabra's chest. It started to panic and tried to brush it off. Its finger caught on the edge of the hole and, with a sickening crunch, it was torn off by the suction. Kadabra started to scream in terror, but it was a futile shout as it only lasted a few more seconds. Ash watched until the point where Kadabra's entire left arm was pulled out of its socket and sucked inside the tiny hole. After that, he had to turn away. He heard the monster's final death screech cut short by a disgusting cracking and crunching sound as it was sucked through a black hole the size of a pinprick, feet-first. When Ash looked back, all that was left was a small puddle of blood and a silver spoon lying forgotten on the ground.