UPDATE: This chapter changed the most. The soulgaze later in the chapter was completely rewritten, and a few other things throughout the chapter was also changed a bit.

I guess I was wrong, I was able to upload this within a week. As always, I would like to thank my reviewers.

I hope you like this chapter, it is my longest yet. It has a little over 3,000 words. Just don't get confused as you read.

Notes: "This is normal talking" 'This is thinking. Italics with apostaphes' "this is telepathy. Italics with quotation marks"

Disclaimer: I don't own this stuff except my OCs. OCs are listed in my profile.

Now on with it!

Chapter Five: The Soulgaze

"Über crap," I muttered under my breath while I was putting my hands in the air. The homicidal Red-head had her .40 caliber pointed at us, and she was demanding the Soul Dew. "Weren't you just knocked out like two hours ago?" I asked.

"What can I say? I woke up and tracked you here," replied Red-head. Lorenzo and Bianca were looking worried. Latias looked pissed, but she knew better than to go after a mad person with a gun.

"Yeah," I said, "how did you find me? This is supposed to be a secret garden."

"Look in your pocket," she answered. I was a bit confused, but I started searching my pockets anyway. In one of my duster pockets was a round device the size of a small rock. I pulled it out and saw that it was some sort of transmitter. "In that alleyway, Blaziken threw it into your pocket just before he fell into the canal. He has quite the aim, you know."

I started tossing the device in my hand and started examining it. It was small, but not as small as some transmitters were. It had decent weight to it. 'I just might just be able to…' I thought. "Yeah, he has very good aim," I finally said to Red-head, "but you know what?"

"What?" she asked to humor me. I then hurled the round device at her, which then hit her square in the forehead. She was taken by complete surprise, so she fell back a bit and shot a few rounds. Thankfully she completely missed and accidentally dropped the gun.

"So do I!" I yelled to her and then turned to Latias. "Latias, take them to safety. Now! I can handle this." She nodded to me. As soon as Red-head recovered and grabbed her gun, Latias turned invisible along with Bianca and Lorenzo. I then grabbed the Soul Dew that was in the basin next to and held it up just as Red-head took aim on me.

"Hand it over." She said coolly. She didn't want to risk shooting me, or else I might drop and break the Soul Dew. I didn't have my staff with me. I left it with my backpack near the entrance. I glanced over to it, and it wasn't far. It was only just a few yards away. I then jumped down from were I was, still holding the Soul Dew, and dashed for my staff.

I then heard the sound of a pokéball opening and heard Red-head yell, "Blaziken, flamethrower!" A few seconds later, I saw jets of flame nearly hit me, but I was dodging them. I looked back, and saw a jet of flame heading straight for me. I dived for my staff, just missing the flame, and I grabbed my staff. I quickly focused my aura into the staff, turned around, and shot a concentrated blast of aura right at Blaziken. Blaziken fell backwards.

Red-head was getting closer; her gun still aimed at me, and said, "Well that was interesting. Who are you? I think that it is safe to assume that you are not Latios."

I had my staff pointed at her. The runes on my staff had a soft blue glow as aura was being focused in it. "Well you are correct, finally. My name is Esteban. I'm just an average, ordinary human. Well, an average, ordinary human that can do Auramancy, but all the same. Mind if I ask who you are? I can't just keep referring to you as 'Red-head'."

We started circling each other with her gun aimed at me and my staff at her. Blaziken was just waiting outside our circle. She laughed a bit. "I think I can do that. Call me Una. I am from the Order of Arceus. Second in command"

'Order of Arceus,' I thought, 'that would explain the OA on her vest. Arceus? I could swear I heard that name before.' I then said aloud, "Una, eh? That's an interesting name. I bet that's fake. So Order of Arceus, is it? Is that some sort of cult?"

"Cult? Cult? Oh, no," Una said while shaking her head. "We prefer to refer to ourselves as an organization. Now, I will ask one last time. Will you please hand over the Soul Dew?"

I tossed the jewel in the air a couple times until I finally said, "No." Una fired her gun at me, but I put up my shield and blocked the shots. However, I didn't notice Blaziken sneak up behind me. Blaziken was not only a fire type, but he was also a fighting type. I may be good at aura, but that doesn't mean I'm good with hand-to-hand combat. That meant Blaziken started beating the crap out of me. After he kicked and pummeled me to the ground, I dropped the Soul Dew. He then grabbed the sphere and tossed it to Una who caught it.

"Thank you Blaziken, and thank you Esteban," she said contently while putting her gun away to examine the Jewel.

"Don't thank me just yet," I said. I rolled over, aimed my staff at Blaziken, and fired another shot of aura. He jumped back out of the way, but I jumped back up onto my feet. I ran over to the shocked Blaziken, grabbed his shoulders, and rammed my knee as hard as I could right in that tender spot between the legs. "I don't care what species you are. If you're a guy, then that had to hurt," I remarked as Blaziken fell over in agony. I then turned to Una with my staff pointed at her. She tried to run out of the way, but I fired another shot of aura at her. The Soul Dew flew into the air, and I used my aura to bring it to my outstretched hand.

They were both down on the ground. I noticed that all the pokémon in the garden were getting extremely agitated from all the chaos. I almost thought that I had won until I heard Una's voice say, "Blaziken, flamethrower!" I turned around and saw the pokémon crouch up a bit and fire a jet of flame right at me. This time, I didn't dodge it. I was completely on fire, but I managed to jump into the pool of water next to me before any part of me was seriously burned.

While under the water holding my breath, I started noticing shots go right by me. Una was probably up and at the edge of the water hoping her .40 caliber would finally get me. I started swimming the middle of the pool, just barely missing the deadly shots. A couple of the water pokeman weren't so lucky. I made it to the middle and got Blaziken and Una into my view. Una was reloading and Blaziken's fire would reach me in the water. I couldn't hold my breath much longer. I let the staff and Soul Dew float in the water in front of me a bit so I could free up my hands.

I closed my eyes and focused hard on my aura, and my gloves started to glow very brightly. I opened my eyes and quickly moved my hands to point to where both Blaziken and Una were. Immediately, two high-power currents of water from the pool shot out in the directions my hands were pointing. The extremely thick, fire-hose like jets of water blasted both Blaziken and Una back almost eight yards. However, the Soul Dew was sucked into one of the currents and shot out of the pool. I then quickly grabbed my staff, and I surfaced just before I drowned. I gasped for air, made my way to the pools edge, and pulled myself out.

A good portion of the pool's water was now all over the garden in front of me, as were some water pokémon. With Blaziken being a fire-type, the blast of water was especially devastating for him. He was finally knocked out cold. Una, on the other hand, was starting to get up, albeit slipping and panting a little on the way. We were both out of breath, and the Soul Dew was sitting in between us, right in the middle. Neither of us was reaching for it yet. We were waiting to see what the other person would do.

After a minute, I acted first and asked, "Why do you want the Soul Dew? If it's to power the D.M.A., then we'll stop you."

She just laughed. "You twit. Do you really think that all this city has to offer is a priceless jewel and that infernal machine?"

"Well, no," I replied. "I also think this city offers a wide variety of artistic and culinary delights, wonderful people, magnificent architecture, and a rich history."

She started to smile. "History. If you know anything about the history of this city it is that it was attacked many years ago by an evil trainer. What everyone focuses on is how the city was miraculously saved by the guardians. What no one does is ask the other questions. Why would someone spend their time and resurrect extinct pokémon and terrorize the city? There was no Soul Dew for him to steal or D.M.A. to abuse at that time. I can tell you this: it was not for shits and giggles. This city has more secrets than even its own guardians know about. The only way to find the True Secret is to ask the questions that aren't obvious and to dig a little deeper. I will find it, Esteban, and I will need the Soul Dew to do it."

As soon as she was done with her monologue, she started to dash for the Soul Dew. I reacted quickly and started for it myself. She almost beat me to it, but I used my aura to pull it towards me. I caught it, but a second later Una rammed right into me. The Soul Dew went flying right out of my hand into the air. As it came down, Una and I caught it at the same time. It started to glow brightly as we were both holding on to it, more so than usual, and then something happened that had never happened before.

It would be very hard to explain exactly what happened after that moment. It's like a dream that you barely remember after you wake up, and you only remember the vaguest of details. I stared into her blue eyes and then felt a whooshing sensation. The next thing I knew, I was in some large open space. I don't know how, but I could tell that I was gazing into Una's own soul. In the center of the space was Una just like how she was in the garden, her .40 caliber pointed out and a menacing yet strong expression on her face. However, she also looked cold, emotionless, heartless, and evil. There were a couple silhouetted figures in the area. One was standing next to Una, smiling. The other was lying on the floor in the direction Una was pointing the gun. They all seemed to be frozen in time. I walked up to Una and examined her closely. There was something off about her; fake. It was like some mask, for lack of a better word. I reached up to touch her, but the menacing Una dissolved and revealed a much different Una deep down.

As Una's mask dissolved, the scene changed a little. This newer and truer Una was looking in disgust and horror at the gun that had fallen to the floor. I could see that this Una was even crying a little. Her arms were outstretched as if she was trying to distance herself from the gun. She hated it and tried to avoid the gun like the plague. This deep down Una was the complete opposite of the "mask" that was there just before and the Una that was in the garden. This Una was vulnerable and remorseful. The figure next to Una also changed. Now the figure was angry at Una and was scowling. The dead figure was still dead, and I could just barely hear Una whimper, "Mother."

If I really was gazing into Una's soul, then it changed things. It was showing who Una truly was without lies and deception, albeit with a ton of symbolism. It was Una's soul and true self in glorious high-definition and surround sound. If I was right it meant that, deep down, Una didn't want to do what she was doing. She was just whimpering for her mother with an evil figure right next to her. How she was in the garden was just the mask I saw in the vision. She was not the evil psychopath I thought she was, but did she know that? There was a chance that she was good after all, but I needed to help pull that mask off of her and stop whoever was making Una act like an evil psychopath.

I felt another whooshing sensation as I was coming out of the soulgaze. The whole experience of staring into someone's soul has never happened to me before, and it was very intense and nauseating. It felt like it happened in several minutes, but in reality probably only took a few seconds. I figured that because it all happened when we were both grabbing the Soul Dew, it was acting like some sort of conduit that allowed the soulgaze to happen in the first place.

Judging from Una's sudden intense breathing and letting go of the Soul Dew, it was probably a two-way ordeal. She stared into my soul as well. "Who are you?" she asked while panting, "What are you?" Her eyes were dilated and she stared at me.

"Huh?" I asked, and I backed away from her by several yards once I realized I was in possession of the Soul Dew again. She was regaining herself and aimed her .40 caliber at me. "Look, you don't have to do this. You hate doing this, so just stop. Let me help."

"Stay back!" she yelled sternly. She then reached into one of her vest pockets and pulled out a held-held radio. She then talked into it. "Tetra, come in! I am going to need reinforcements in the city! This is way bigger than I thought!" It made me wonder what she saw exactly in my soul. There was a response in the radio, and Una put it away. She looked back at me and said, "The Soul Dew, or else I won't miss this time."

"Una, you know this isn't you. You hate killing and hurting people like this. This is just a mask. Think! Stop this! Think about your mother!" She fired and, true to her word, she didn't miss. I wasn't able to put up my shield in time, either. The bullet hit my upper, left arm. I winced in pain and dropped my staff to free my hand to apply pressure on the wound and stop the bleeding. "Frak…über crap…expletive!" I yelled. "You weren't lying, were you?!"

"Don't…you…ever…mention…my…mother…AGAIN!" She yelled. Extreme and irrational anger meant only one thing: I was right. I just bludgeoned her over the head with the blunt end of reality, and she didn't like it. The anger was the first step in her self-evaluation. If my guess was right, she would continue to try to evaluate herself which would possible end in a nervous breakdown before she finally chose the path she wanted. But that's just a guess. However, I put her in the irrational anger stage, and that is very dangerous. She fired the rest of her shots at me, but luckily I finally put up my shield. Almost all would have hit me in vital places.

As she was reloading, I threw an aura sphere at her, and she lost her clip. I said to her, "Think about it. I am right. This is not you, and it is eating you up to be like this. Let me help, and then you can join the right side." In her fit of anger, she grabbed a large rock next to her and hurled it at me. She was quite strong, but she missed and hit the tree behind me. "Let me first give you some advice: never anger a flock of spearows."

She realized her mistake when a flock of birds flew out of the tree she just hit. I put up my shield to protect me, and the angry birds aimed for Una. She had no protection when they bombarded her, and was knocked down. When the birds receded a barely conscious Una was crouching on the ground covered with bumps, cuts, and bruises. I walked over to her and she said in a quiet voice, "I will kill you."

"Just so you know; my offer is still good. Think about it." She then finally passed out and was down for the count.

I went over by the pool and rested on its edge for a few minutes. I looked at the Soul Dew in my hand. I lost track of how much time the battle took, but the jewel needed to get into some water…fast. "You are no longer going to be safe in this garden," I said to the Soul Dew. "So I will just need to take you with me." In one of my pockets, I found a leather pouch. I filled it with water from the pool and dropped the Soul Dew into it. I closed it and put it into my duster pocket. "That should keep you safe and happy." My arm still hurt like hell, so I put some more pressure on it.

I started to think about what just happened. Una had said she was part of the Order of Arceus. I had no idea who Arceus was, but I could swear I heard that name before. Also, whoever this Order was, they were sending in even more people after the Soul Dew and whatever this "True Secret" was. This had to be bad if it involved people getting killed over it. I needed to find the True Secret before them and stop them.

I glanced over to the unconscious Una. What I saw in her soul just complicated things. If there was a chance that she is good, then I will do what I can to have her choose the right path in the end. However, until then, she was still an enemy that wants to kill me. I thought about what to do with her, but I just decided to leave her in the garden. It would look very suspicious if I went walking around with an unconscious body and a bullet in my arm.

I got up and gathered my staff and backpack. The added objects didn't help my wounded arm. I couldn't go to a hospital because they report gunshots to the police, and police involvement would complicate things even farther. I thought that perhaps Lorenzo or Bianca could help. With my stuff and Soul Dew at hand, I opened my aura-sight and found Latias' trail of aura. I followed it to find where ever she had taken the others.

After that, I left Una, the battle, and the garden behind.

Well, is it good? Yes? No? Maybe? Please tell me in a review. I accept all kinds of reviews (positive, negative, constructive critiscisms, etc.), except flames or spams. I don't like flames or spams.

I also need to know how I can improve this chapter. I need to figure out how to write it so it reads better.

I hoped you liked it. Lots of important information in this chapter. If you were wondering about the soulgaze thing, yes it is based off of the soulgaze in Dresden Files. I hope this chapter didn't confuse you.

Just so you know, I don't know when I will update Chapter 6. I need to focus on my "summer reading" for school. I need to write an essay for one book and a worksheet on the other. I swear, my school has some sort of political agenda with the books they have us read. (Sigh) Oh well, I will try to update as soon though.

Thanks for reading, and please review!