Again, I would like to thank all my readers for your support. Tell me what you think of this one!

...

Chapter XI: Disbelief

October 1, 2061 7:00 p.m.

"So where's our new team leader?"

Another sniper shook his head, his glossy wood-finished rifle in one arm. "He'll be here soon…and let me warn you, don't joke around with him."

One of the ghillie-suited men in the line looked up to the sky as a trio of helicopters flew over. Smirking, he rubbed a finger across his unshaven face. "What, is he a grouch?"

"Nope, I'm just old, boy."

All of the ten snapped into a line faster than lightning, rifles held in one hand to their right side against their legs. As the sounds of laser fire crossed their ears another sniper walked in front of them, one of his arms bound in bandages. The other held his rifle, freshly shined and cleaned of the grime collected during the day's events. Perched on his shoulder was a small black and red fox, looking at all of them with curious albeit deviant blue eyes.

Archer eyed the ten in front of him carefully, his sweat drenched forehead lined with dust in the creases of his skin. Once he got to the last man, he turned around and walked to the center of the line. "Snipers, present arms!"

Rifles went up in front of their snipers like arrows pointing upward, hands stiff around their grips and forward guards. Archer cocked his head slightly as he walked down the line again, inspecting the various weapons. He stopped at the fourth soldier in the order, reaching for his rifle's magazine.

The clip release clicked as he took it out. Archer slipped the tip of his finger into the front of the magazine and carefully took the first bullet out of the box, turning it in his bandaged hand. His Zorua shook her head, and Archer did the same. "What is this, soldier?"

"It's .308 Winchester, sir." The pale-faced man responded, the bottom of his face below his eyes hidden by a navy blue cloth. Archer nodded, his moustache moving along with his lip. He looked up to the younger sniper, his aged gaze as sharp as ever. "It's a proven round, pretty reliable. However, I advise that you get a rifle with a bigger cartridge size, at least .30-06 for better range. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir."

Archer slipped the round back into the clip and inserted it back into the man's rifle. His eyes wandered up towards the tip of the gun's barrel. One of his eyes squinted with a hint of anger, his sight trailing over the bare ends of the other sniper's barrels.

"…I've got a bit of a question for you all." He said with the 'twang' clearly audible in his voice. Looking back to the first of the line and across to the end, he raised his own sniper rifle to where the end of his weapon's barrel was at his nose. The wrinkled pointer on his injured hand pointed up to the black cylinder at the end, giving a short jump of his head to call out the second sniper at the end of the line. "What's this thing?"

A woman's voice at the end of the row responded, "It's a silencer, sir."

Archer nodded as he lowered his gun. The Zorua on his shoulder looked to him, stifling a small snicker so natural to her species. "The real question is this, now: Why in HELL do NONE OF YOU HAVE SILENCERS?"

…

*…click-clack-click-clack…*

(…mmph…)

Xepher typed away at his laptop, different programming commands scrolling up the side of the screen as an energy wave detection system moved rapidly in multicolored spikes. In particular, Xepher eyed a pulsing area on the grid where energy seemed to be periodically released. One hand gently pushed his glasses up as more information appeared under his symphony of typing. The clicking continued in rapid succession, ceasing for mere moments before starting up again.

Shadow's paws touched upon fur to his left side as his eyes slowly and wearily opened. White fur rose and fell on Light's chest as she continued to sleep, her right paw grasping softly on his left. As if noticing his slight movement in her sleep, Light nuzzled her head right under Shadow's. Upon her face rode a calm, pleased smile. Blinking, he ran his left paw across the smooth, light orange and brown striped fur on her back.

Xepher looked over his computer screen towards the small bed. He smiled as Shadow caught sight of him, turning away from his computer and bending with his arms crossed over his knees. "It's good to see you again, Shadow. I'm glad that you're finally awake, I was hoping maybe I could talk with you."

"Talk with me about what?" Shadow asked.

Xepher put his finger vertical to his mouth, looking around them at the other patients being attended to. "Sorry…but as you would probably know, the Army doesn't exactly have the knowledge that you're with us now. I'm going to have to ask you to put this on, Shadow, just to lower any suspicion." He spoke as his right hand fiddled in his coat pocket for a moment before pulling out a black and blue nylon collar with a small, black box on the side.

Shadow nodded, lifting up his head so Xepher could slip the fabric around his neck. After what he did in Team Rocket, he was very sure of what Xepher just said. Of course, who could blame Kanto for hunting him when he had killed so many from their army and how much he had contributed to their losses in the past?

Shadow laid his head back down above Light's as a green light began to flash periodically on the black box. "I heard that you had quite an experience in the forest. How have things been going for you?"

Shadow sighed. (I've been fine…mostly…)

Xepher frowned. "Mostly?"

(…I lost it again, Xepher. The power overtook me again, that's how I was able to stop that thing earlier…) Shadow mumbled out for the collar to translate, ears drooping back against the dull white fabric of the bed. (Xepher, I just don't know…I was only able to beat Marxus both times I fought him because I used that same power.)

"Marxus…that thing Namba made, right?"

Shadow shook his head only slightly, as to not disturb Light at his side. (No. Apparently Marxus was over a thousand years old, and Namba managed to just reincarnate him. I'm glad you didn't have to see what he did…)

Xepher tilted his head, his eyebrows curving ever so slightly with concern. Shadow's view had turned back down to stare straight down toward the end of the bed he lay on. He didn't know if Shadow realized it or not, but Xepher could see his Pikachu friend's right fist shaking at his side, clenched powerfully with trails of black static zapping across it.

"Calm down, Shadow. Let's just drop the subject of Marxus for now. On another note…" He said as his lips curved into a small smile. "Are you and Light getting along?"

Shadow's fist stopped shaking, relaxing as his stare ceased from the end of the bed, turning instead towards the sleeping Raichu at his side. Finally, a subject he wasn't particularly stressed with talking about.

Shadow rubbed his left paw along her forehead. (I couldn't have asked for a better person or Pokémon to have gone out of Team Rocket with.)

"That's very good." Xepher commented. Shadow nodded. (She's helped me a lot in the little time we've had outside Team Rocket. She's…she's made me feel like I'm actually wanted as living being, and not as some weapon…and I really appreciate her for that. I may not have had much experience with love in Team Rocket, but I know that I love her.)

"…you know, I didn't actually expect you two to get along this well…" Xepher sighed, his smile dropping as Shadow looked up at him with a confused look. (Why?)

"With your opposite energies…I thought you two would more likely despise each other than love each other. After all that had happened that had led up to you two meeting, I believed that this level of closeness between you would have been impossible."

(What do you mean by that?)

"Well, it's almost common sense to believe that opposites would never get along, for example, two political parties or two differing ideals. They almost never get along or try to compromise. You and she, however, seem to be the opposite ends of a magnet instead."

(…It looks like it…) Shadow said with a smirk, looking down to where Light's head lay over his neck.

(So Xepher…how did you end up getting into Team Rocket without them noticing anything?)

"I actually joined at first as a spy for the army. They had noticed Team Rocket was getting more violent than usual, so they sent me in June 2055."

…

"Xepher, correct?"

"Yes, Mr. Namba."

"Welcome to my labs, I assume you know what you have to do here? If not, then you'll be assisting me for the time being. We have a lot to prepare, you see."

"Prepare, sir?"

"Warfare is something you need a long time to think ahead about, Xepher. By the time we're through with Kanto I'm afraid everything from the sands at the coasts of Vermillion to the forests of Pewter will be painted in blood."

…

"The very minute I met him, I knew that man was crazy, at the very least a sociopath. The look in his eyes have always been that of a twisted idealist…the eyes of a man who willing to destroy and obliterate any kind of ethic in the name of completing his research. I'm sure you've seen the results of that, now."

(…What about you, Xepher?)

Xepher raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Shadow hesitated, looking down toward his own chest for a moment before slowly shutting his eyes and opening them again. (So…what experiments did you run in Team Rocket?)

Xepher stiffened up ever so slightly, though he managed to disguise it with a heavy cough. "Ahem…mostly things involving…well…"

He tugged at his coat collar. "… What Giovanni wanted me to make for conquering Kanto. He wanted me to make the perfect weapon to use against them. And…that came out to be you."

(…Oh…) Shadow said, ears drooping once more. (…well…That explains me then…)

"I'm sorry, I really am. If I could make you like any other Pikachu out there, I would, Shadow. Living a normal life is a chance every living thing deserves, and I think you've earned that chance by now."

(That's the problem though…I'm not normal.) Shadow responded drearily.

"…Shadow…that's not-."

"Xepher, that Bayleef…thing is another one. We have another besides that one too."

Xepher quickly snapped up from Shadow and turned in his chair to face a young woman wearing a gray variant of the lab coat Xepher wore, plus a syringe case hanging on her right hip. Dirty blonde and somewhat unruly long hair dominated her head while signs of fading acne adorned her left cheek.

Xepher looked back at Shadow, sighing before facing the scientist again. "…Both are EtheTechs…?"

"I'm afraid so, sir." She replied worriedly. Nodding, Xepher turned back to his computer screen and pressed his finger onto the power button. As a little turn-off tune played on the machine he folded it up and rose from the chair.

"I'll be back soon, okay?"

(Alright.) The Pikachu responded. "Let's go." Xepher spoke as he turned back to the blonde and walked away through the beds with her. Watching him every step of the way, Shadow wondered in his mind…

Ethe…Tech?

…No wonder that Bayleef was how it was. One, Namba probably made her like that...and EtheTech probably means Ethereal Tech…

…

BAAH!

"Please, stay calm." Xepher said assuringly to the mutant in front of him as the syringe in his hand pressed its contents into her body. The aroma of it was almost debilitating; the deathly scent completely opposite to the spicy scent other Bayleef had was truly shocking to him.

Nonetheless, she lowered her blackened head to the ground, the spiny twin leaves on top of her head wearily dropping across her forehead. The tiny spikes along their edges retracted back onto the blades.

Horrible…just horrible…

One of these days I'll find Namba myself and give him another taste of my knife.

The blonde Xepher was with earlier shook her head and clenched her hand at her side. "Have those fucking Rockets completely destroyed their conscience? How do they find the stomach to-!"

Xepher rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Quiet down and get to work." As soon as he turned back to the Bayleef he was met by her reflective black eyes. Her face showed almost no emotion, and if it wasn't for the slight bend at the top of her eyes that signaled the silhouette of pain, she would've looked blank-faced.

…Bu…Aaahh…

More loath boiled into Xepher's mind for Namba. The soft voice he expected from her was shrouded by an apparent wheezy sound combined with an element of distortion that sounded like a lower, scratchy register of the soft voice.

Xepher rubbed his bare hand across the darkened skin of her neck, immediately noticing the dry touch. Not a smooth, vine-like surface to it, but a rough and scratchy feel, almost like scales.

"You said this was another EtheTech, so where's the first?" Xepher asked the blonde. Looking up from her clipboard where she had been scribbling away, she raised her thumb and pointed over her shoulder.

"Just a little one. I'm even more disgusted that they're doing this to smaller Pokémon too."

Well that's no surprise to me…Namba doesn't care about any Pokemon.

…

Metal clanged on small tables, and the distant sounds of war still filled the room. Shadow sighed as he reached over from around Light to his neck, unfastening the collar around his fur and sliding it off. He lifted it in front of his face, eyeing the lettering 'KAM' emblazoned on a small pewter thunderbolt.

He could almost see the stylized red 'R' on a reflective black tag, hung down from blackened leather. It had all the cuts and scuffs it had gotten over all the various missions and battles he had been involved in. All the discolored blotches it had from blood splashing across it. The very scent of his own blood and sweat given for what he had thought was right.

…And in reality that collar was just a symbol of slavery to a false cause…

The black and blue fibers creased and collapsed under his suddenly tightened grip.

Was this just another restraint? Was this the same as the old collar he had once worn?

If I could make you like any other Pikachu out there, I would, Shadow. Living a normal life is a chance every living thing deserves, and I think you've earned that chance by now.

The tuft of fur over his eye lagged behind the shaking of his head. (…Xepher would never willingly put me or Light in another spot like in Team Rocket…)

(Shadow?)

The Raichu's eyes opened up carefully, peering from under their lids as her head withdrew from under Shadow's chin. Her eyes shut again as she yawned, her body rolling onto her orange, brown-striped back. Opening again, her worried eyes stared up towards the cracked ceiling.

Shadow turned to look at her, sight wandering across her figure for a moment. (…Are you feeling okay, Light? I mean…after what happened…)

She was silent, leaving him only with the sounds of distant explosions and chatter amongst the patients and doctors around the room. The soft brown of her eyes seemed dull, almost dusty.

(…You lost control again, Shadow…you lost control again…just like when we fought Marxus…)

She sounded sad…but at the same time, even more so…disappointed?

Shadow went silent as she rolled on her side to face him directly. Small droplets started to form at the corners of her eyes. (I thought…I thought you were trying to control those urges, Shadow…Why? Why did you lose it?)

…

"What the fuck happened? Is she going to be okay?" Sentinel asked with a serious look on his sweaty face, his rifle dangling from his right shoulder while his hands gripped onto two drab-gray crutches. His ghillie suit was off, showing the camouflaged cargo pants and the white T-shirt he had underneath. A pair of dogtags hung from his neck with a string of numbers on one and a rank insignia on the other, showing him to be a sergeant.

The black haired doctor looked down at the Umbreon in the bed, bottom lip tucked into his mouth as he looked over the series of bandaged cuts, one of which looked like it had almost cut the top part of her ear off. "She was bleeding pretty badly when they found her and the other two she was with. According to the squad, she was the only one of the three that was conscious. In other words, she's doing better than the others, but she's in no fit condition for battle right now."

"I can see that, damn it…Sollus, you okay girl?"

She raised her head wearily, the blue collar around her neck flashing a green light from the box on its side. She let out a short whine. (…I've been better…I'm sorry, sir…We didn't fight hard enough…)

…

(…)

Shadow was speechless as Light rolled onto her paws, standing up on the bed. She shook her head, her sight trained on the bedding below her. (I'm…I'm really starting to fear for you, Shadow. One of these days, it's going to happen again…and then…then...)

(Light-)

She bounded out of the bed with an audible sob, running away through the beds as one or two of those in the room saw and followed the Raichu with their eyes in curiosity.

"Aww...how sad, me. Look what you've done…now she's afraid of you.

(Light, come back!) He called after her, ignoring both the ache in his body and his AntiReal's taunting voice while running after her. Small spikes of pain practically lit his body up as he skidded against the dusty tiles on the ground to turn, just barely seeing her tail whip out from the open exit at the end of the hall full of people.

You fucking…!

"There's no use in blaming yourself now. All we can do now is try to talk to her…RIGHT?"

"What the…?" "Where are those two going?" "Isn't that Pikachu injured?"

When he rounded the corner he swung his head back and forth, looking for her. Sniffing into the air, he caught her scent and bolted into a shrubby area behind the building.

…

Shadow crawled further into the woods, strikes of pain quickly scratching where the bandages covered his scars. His ears constantly twitched as the sounds of laser fire was much closer now. The tint of the sky had become a deep orange, with a layer of purple creeping up on it from the west. Wind rustled in the trees, dragging out leaf upon leaf from the branches.

"Stay where you are…"

Shadow jerked left, spinning around to see a man in black armor emerge from the bushes, a gas mask covering his entire face while the eye sockets glowed an eerie, neon orange.

Just what I needed…Team Rocket 1st Division Shock Squadron.

The sound of the respirator filled the air as he flipped an electro-saber hilt into his right hand, igniting it and bringing it down over his shoulder in front of himself. "Shadow."

"I don't have the time to deal with you; I've got to find a friend of mine. Why don't you just fuck off for now?" Shadow retorted as electricity crackled around his body, singing the edges of the bandaged he wore.

"A friend? I wonder if you mean this Raichu I just caught." He responded while grabbing a black Pokéball from a pouch on his side, rolling it in his hand as Shadow growled. "There's no way…"

"I didn't believe it at first, either. Your friend either can't fight, or she was in no mood to resist. She looked pretty sad to me."

Where had he heard the voice before? Certainly somewhere in Team Rocket, but he couldn't exactly put his finger on the person. It sounded flat, almost no emotion fluctuating in his speech.

"You're…!"

Orange from the eye sockets streamed behind the man as he rushed Shadow, bringing the light blue static blade upward in an elegant underhand swing, followed by a spin to bring down the blade where Shadow stood.

Grass fried in Shadow's wake after he leapt back, electricity surging into his paw as he jumped back forward with his paw crackling with it. The electrical blade sliced down to block with a twitch of the man's wrist, followed by an upward swing as Shadow flipped up off the first strike and attacked from above him. Within the moment after he was blocked again, Shadow raised his paws and blasted the soldier back with a powerful burst of electricity that exploded on contact with his black armor.

"Hm, still doing well, I see." The man breathed out, the respirator on his face making his voice muffled as his electrical blade swayed in front of him. Shadow's eyes narrowed, spying the black Pokéball that held Light on the man's belt…

I've got to grab that ball.

Shadow jumped backwards and landed on his hind legs for just an instant. The next moment, he had left a burst of dirt in the air behind him as he kicked back to launch himself towards his foe.

The Rocket dashed to the side with his saber parallel to his side as Shadow slid to a brief stop on his hind legs before jumping back towards him. Electricity formed a bright yellow blade at his paw as he swung his arm.

The electricity shot out from Shadow's Lightning Blade as it made contact with the soldier's electrical saber again and again. Sparks danced around them as the blades grinded off each other again, this time with the soldier dropping into a sliding kick to trip up Shadow.

"I'm better than that!" Shadow yelled as he jumped to avoid the kick, flipping to slam his fist into the man's chest and using his other paw to reach for the Pokéball containing Light.

The soldier rolled back onto his neck as Shadow swept over, making him miss the ball and instead rip the soldier's helmet off, revealing a bundle of silver hair that seemed to explode out from the back of his head, as if trying to take hold of the its cover.

Shadow snarled in frustration as he tossed the helmet aside in midair and rolled to stop himself. Damn, almost had it…

Bracing his hands on the ground to the side of his head, the soldier brought his legs up and bent in his elbows to launch himself off his hands and back onto his feet, spinning around to face Shadow again.

"No use having this on now…" He said as he reached up to his gas mask with his left hand, quickly ripping it off his face and tossing it back, allowing Shadow to see the face beneath, with eyes grayer than concrete, a line for a mouth below that showed no emotion. Long hair framed his light-toned face, having been tucked beneath the helm he had been wearing.

"Tenma…" Shadow said, immediately remembering this man, the one who had sent him on many a mission in Team Rocket. From the demolition mission here he first met Ash and Bolt to the mission where he first met Zero, Tenma was the one who had either given him instruction personally or via com.

And through every one of those, he had that calm, almost bored expression he had now.

"Hmph. Stay still for a moment." He said before raising his electro-saber once again and lunging towards Shadow with a wide cut that Shadow jumped back from. Swinging his Lightning Blade, Shadow met the saber head on, then again and again before he jumped back, the electricity from the blade surging back into his paw, covering it with a film of crooked static. As his feet touched the ground his paw simultaneously shot a wide arc of bluish-yellow electricity like a giant whip.

The silver haired man smiled as he brought up his saber, his free hand upraised behind the blade as he cross it in a blocking stance, a reddish-black aura radiating from his palm…

The saber exploded with the energy as he swung the blade with both hands, cleaving right through the electricity stream. Lunging forward, he brought the supercharged blade past his shoulder as Shadow flushed with alarm under his fur, gritting his teeth as he narrowly dodged the blood red energy sword that set the grass below the blade aflame.

The heat made Shadow's eyes water, so intense that it blackened the edges of the bandages on his chest even without direct contact. Breathing out, Shadow looked ahead to his enemy, first looking to the black and red flame that had engulfed both of the man's hands and his saber, then to the black Pokéball on his belt.

"We could make this easy and just let me have some fun again."

Over my dead body.

"Hmph. Soon, that could be arranged, me."

And how do you plan to do that, huh?

"We'll see…"

Thin strands of silver whipped around Tenma's face as he drew his weapon back, the sinister aura around it flaring up and warping the air around it with its heat. The darkness of the night that had draped over the sky let Shadow see the whipping, bright scarlet flame dancing amongst the black core.

The blood in Shadow's veins pumped faster as the grass beneath him gave way to the force of his takeoff from where he had stood. In short but rapid bursts, jolts of electricity ripped into the air from his body.

The flaming saber flipped along with its wielder, who slid to avoid the bright cracks surging towards him. He jumped now, then landed on one palm and flipped high once more through the barrage of electricity. Suddenly, his arm and part of his upper chest spasmed as the burning sensation of electricity frying his nerves rocked him.

Even so, he forced his right arm holding his saber diagonal from his torso, cutting in front of himself as Shadow dashed forward. The aura from the blade flared again, leaving behind a wave of its reddish-black fire where it had sliced the air that shot ahead.

(Tch!) Shadow grunted when his shoulder hit the ground, his lightning-bolt tail and his long slender ears tucked against his body as it rolled under the searing wave. Using the inertia of the roll, Shadow extended his paw out to raise himself in the spin and get back onto his feet as the fire wave smashed into the ground behind him and lit it.

He got up on the back of his hind foot and twisted as he jumped up, his right arm again extending his Lightning Blade. Quickly picking himself up from Shadow's previous attack, Tenma slid onto his knee and brought around his saber from behind the right side of his body to slam into Shadow's blade.

(Nngh!)

The heat from the sword, no matter how quickly the weapon slammed onto his and was drawn back, nearly blinded Shadow with its intensity. Again he struck from below, this time with the blade tearing into the grass before him and lighting it up the moment before another collision between their weapons. Excess electricity burst across the blades just as the flames did, giving Tenma quite a shock each time he exchanged blows with the Pikachu.

Shadow smashed his blade into Tenma's once more, using both paws. With a primal roar, Shadow let his electricity loose once more. For a moment, both of their energy weapons went out.

Tenma gritted his teeth, fighting not to lose his breath as he felt Shadow manage to send his right fist crashing into his gut. He wasn't able to see the Pikachu for a moment from his speed of having gotten to him, but in an instant Tenma was able to seize Shadow's left paw as it went for another punch, filled with electricity. The punch was met by Tenma's own, blossoming with his reddish-black aura…

The powers collided and exploded just as their knuckle met each other. The resulting explosion between them caused them to spin away from each other. Shadow slid to a stop and fell onto all fours, breathing loud but calm. Across from him, Tenma reposition his weapon as the fire in the grasses grew and grew to burn into the trees behind and to the sides of Shadow. Sweat stung in the cuts he still had from the last battle he had earlier.

…Amazing what some of my old 'friends' have been hiding…

Tenma's saber was raised in front of him, his cold, bored-looking eyes concentrated on Shadow. "It looks like you did deserve that spot as one of Giovanni's favorite agents. I agree with him…you are definitely one of the best we had."

"Exactly, HAD." Shadow responded, "I'm not another one of his tools anymore. I've made my own decision, and that decision was to leave Team Rocket."

"Now, let's skip the subject. Leave."

Tenma's eyebrows raised, his colorless eyes still half-closed. "Strange…you want me to leave, yet…"

"…of course." He said, immediately coming to the real conclusion as his hand touched the spot where Light's Pokéball had been, but found the black sphere gone. Tenma remained calm as Shadow stood up and held up the small black ball, shrunken in the grip of his paw. "You grabbed it when you punched me."

"Yeah. Now get the fuck out of here. Once I let her out of here, I doubt you'll be able to take both of us."

Shadow pressed the button in the center of the black Pokéball, making the sphere expand to release. With a quick move of his digits, Shadow typed in the code to release the Pokémon inside.

Tenma breathed out, glaring as he saw Shadow raise the black ball in front of him, a blue jolt of energy quickly releasing from it that materialized into a Raichu in front of him. She was looking straight at him, small amounts of static discharging from her cheeks. The bright hue of her fur shown brilliantly against the rising flames behind Shadow.

Shadow sighed in relief, looking towards Tenma as he approached Light. He could see her shivering a bit, like she was distressed. (Light, are you okay?)

(…Shadow…) She said softly, turning to face him…

(!)

Shadow jumped back out of reflex, shocked. He backed up a little more, feeling the heat of the flames burning the forest at his back. His eyes were wide with disbelief

No way…!

Light's eyes glowed a bright, malevolent red. Black and white electricity jumped across her cheeks, and between those was a wicked smirk. She crossed her arms, chuckling to herself.

(What's wrong, Shadow?) She said, her voice cruel and taunting.

It was her. So very similar looking to his friend, but so very different within.

The Ethereal evil that existed within her, and the very opposite of who she was.

The opposite of Light:

AntiLight.

…

…

…

So now, Shadow is face-to-face with Light's AntiReal! What is she doing here, and where has the real Light gone? Check up later to find out!