This is the darkest chapter, so far. So far.

by lord Martiya

TALE 07: VS DARKRAI

When I saw the second Domino, for just a second I thought that she was a ninja able to duplicate (if you knew her, you would think the same in that situation), then I recognized the situation: there was an impostress(1). A very able one: able to imitate not only appearance but even mannerism, walking, voice and smell, the latter thanks to a very generous amount of the expensive Erika's Fragrance(2) that Domino aboundantly used.

"Hey, who in the heck are you?!" the Dominos said pointing each other. "Stop imitating me, you impostor!! I'm the Black Tulip of Team Rocket, and I'll NEVER forgive you!!"

The two Dominos glared to each other and were about to start a catfight when the Vicious' one saw me and said: "Crap..."

That Domino understood that I was able to tell that she was the fake, so recalled her Ditto disguise, revealing herself as Rose, and tried to run away, but collapsed after some step.

"What's happening?" Vicious asked.

"Obviously, the Blue Leaf just tricked you, sir." Domino answered. "The question should be what's happened to HER..."

In the meanwhile I reached Rose, and, after tooking her Pokeballs, I was able to answer to Domino: "She's starving: it looks like she didn't eat for days, and she's even dehydrated."

"Are you joking? Rose?" Domino asked.

"Look by yourself."

Domino looked at her, or, better, at the shadow of the former Rose, then at me and made a little laughter.

"Take her in that lab." Vicious ordered.

We took her in the lab, and then I tied her at a chair. Then Vicious revived her.

"Now you shall tell us what are you doing here." he ordered.

"I'm sitting on a chair, can't you see it?" she answered emotionlessly.

"Don't make me mad, or you'll be killed."

"Whatever..."

"I knew it!" Domino exclaimed.

All of us looked at her, and she explained: "She wants to die, because she cannot forgive herself for betray you, Enrico. How romantic..."

"Crazy girl..." I said.

"Shut up, you! I want her to talk!" Vicious ordered.

"Can't you tell that you won't obtain nothing from her?" Domino asked. "She don't care of anything anymore, you can't break her will because she has no more something to break."

"You don't need to know how I'll break her, you're too young. G..."

"Raping?" I asked.

Living my life I had to know various disgusting things even from when I was five, and that was one of those things. Domino was more lucky, so she knew the meaning of 'raping' only after looking on the dictionary. And, that time, Vicious made the worst error of his life: he nodded.

"Snyer, kill him." I ordered.

Vicious turned on me, astonished by my order, and then he was first hit by a Fury Cutter on his infamous armour and then Slashed in his chest. During this act I called out Federico to make Domino KO, but she jumped backwards with one of her Black Tulips. And tripped on an empty Pokeball, and, in the end, was electrocuted to fainting by her own tulip. She still tell that she didn't tripped willingly...

Due its nature, that lab has no surveillance cameras, so no alarm ringed while I was freeing Rose.

"Thank you." she told me, very tired.

"Don't thank, I'm still mad at you." I replied. "Why did you reduced yourself in this manner?!"

"Didn't you heard Domino?"

That was the only time in my life that I hit her head for saying something stupid or annoying.

"Hey, why did you hit me?!" she shouted.

"For the same reason I'm mad at you: this stupid acting from you." I answered. "If I learned something from you, that's living for my own sake and the one of my Pokemons, not for the sake of someone else."

"Mpf... You're right. But it's your fault. I wanted to have no important people outside my family, and you stepped in, cutie. But what's this lab?"

"Didn't you come here for this?"
"I came here to steal a little thing, but the Crusader wanted to show me this..."

I pointed the Pichu and said: "That's a Mewtwo. A failed one."

Rose grinned, then slowly stepped up and catched the Pichu with a Pokeball, saying: "This would be funny..."

"At least it seems that you are yourself again." I commented.

After placing explosives in the lab and moving Domino and Vicious (who carried her 'signature') in a secure place, Rose recalled out Ditty and disguised again herself as Domino, then said: "Come with me, we have a little work to do."

Before I could object, Rose went away in the garage, and I followed her. There, we found Cassidy and a scared Butch, at the time second-class agents, and Rose asked: "Are you the ones with the Snag Machines from Orre?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Cassidy replied.

"It appears that the intelligent people were busy... Whatever, give it t..."

"PREPARE FOR TROUBLE, YOU IN DISGUISE!"

"AND MAKE IT DOUBLE, WITH FEAR ON YOUR FACE!"

"TO PROTECT THE WORLD OF DEVASTATION!"

"TO UNITE ALL PEOPLE WITHIN OUR NATION!"

"TO DENOUNCE THE EVIL OF TRUTH AND LOVE!"

"TO EXTEND OUR REACH TO THE STARS ABOVE!"

"JESSE!"

"JAMES!"

"TEAM ROCKET BLAST OFF AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT!"

"SURRENDER NOW, OR PREPARE TO FIGHT!"

"MEOWTH! THAT'S RIGHT!"

"How embarassing..." Rose commented, trying to maintain her Domino's disguise and looking at Jesse&James& Meowth. "What's wrong with you?!"

"Show respect, I'm the Top Cat!" Meowth replied. "And don't believe that you can fool us, we're masters of disguise! Henchmen, show the proof!"

Jesse revealed herself to be James, and James revealed to be Jesse. The trick shocked every people besides me (I managed to see throught their disguise, thanks to the Aura), even Ditty, who reprised his normal 'form' and unwillingly revealed Rose's disguise, shocking again the presents. Then Rose blowed up the lab, who happened to be exactly behind Jesse&James&Meowth, who were blasted off. In the meanwhile, Snyer snagged the Snag Machines and the related blueprints, while I unleashed Eugenio's fury on the present Grunts. With Rose's target, I recalled my Pokemon, and escaped with Rose thanks to Fairy's Teleport.

We were in a forest, and there we saw a shadow.

"What's that?" Rose asked.

"I don't know." I answered.

"You should." a very familiar voice said.

I turned around, seeing an unknown Pokemon.

"Who are you? And why I hear your voice in my nightmares?!" I shouted.

"Because he causes them." Rose said, very seriously and freeing all her party. "Darkrai create nightmares."

"Sadly, that's my Ability." he confirmed. "But I'm not the cause, I only sensed your recurrent nightmare, a very good and totally free meal, for me."

"There's nothing totally free." I replied, freeing my own party.

"I tried to pay warning you about the origin of your nightmare, but... Oh, well, let's pay. DARK VOID!"

An istant after that, all of us were in the total darkness. And Rose was now in perfect health, and perfectly worried.

"Why are you worried? You're healthy, now!" I said.

"Because we're asleep, thanks to Darkrai's Dark Void attack." she replied, looking for Darkrai.

Darkrai appeared directly in front of her, then pointed another direction and said: "You shold look at that scene. You're not obligated, but your friend is."

I looked in that direction, where I began to see light, and then a room.

"That's my sister's room!" I exclaimed. "And... Oh, my Arceus... IT'S MY NIGHTMARE!!"

"And it's even a memory." Darkrai said. "Your very first memory, I suppose."

There was my younger and baby self in my cradle, with my big sister in hers and, as I realized who she was, my mother telling us a fairy tale. Then my father stepped in and told her to stop, because we'll grow weaker. She replied that strenght isn't everything and that she wanted us grow as good and great people, not strong ones. My father ordered her to not dare to reply him. And he... Well... He slapped her on the ground. And... Well, I suppose that the little brother I later discovered to have was conceived that night...

I would vomited if I was awake, but I wasn't.

"Now, I payed for all those meals." Darkrai said. "Actually, I payed more than I owed you, so you'll remain here for a while in feeding me."

Force me. I coldly replied.

"I'm not the one who have to forc..."

Then he was interrupted by a giant mallet hitting his head hardly.

"Free us now, or your life will be in danger." Rose said.

"Don't mes..." Darkrai tried to reply, but Rose unleashed on him all sort of stupid things that you can see in a demential Tom & Jerry episode, forcing him to wake up all of us with our Pokemons and flee away.

"How?" I asked.

"Well, we were dreaming, right? But if we know we're dreaming, we can decide what dreaming, and I dreamed him being hitted by all those thing." Rose answered before laughing a lot.

"Farewell, Rose." I said while recalling my Pokemons and turning to the base.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to take my things in the H.Q. They won't imagine a such stupid act."

I was right, and, with my things and a lot of stolen food, water and all of the base cash (I was in charge of it), I departed that place riding a stolen Model Nidoking Pokebot.

footnotes

(1)Meaning 'female impostor'. A little strange characteristic of Enrico's speaking.

(2)I had to name the perfume produced in Celadon's Gym...