Hey guys I know it's been a while but with the events you'll see and the detail I put, it'll be worth it! Thanks for waiting!

Diamond's POV

I continued to force myself to trudge through the sand mounds with the bitter sandstorm raging around me. Sulking behind me was a Pokémon that nearly blended in with the surroundings, the smudgy spot on his back the only indication that Falcon was still there. As we continued to trudge against the storm, the musty sand got caught in each of our pelts that made our fur look lifeless ever since the first day we set out in the terrain. During all the suffering, we still never forgot our objective of tracking down and capturing that mutated snivy.

The irritating substance burned my eyes, but slowly I had adapted to the pain. Everything was a murky brown and the only times the scenery appeared to change was when an occasional cactus came into sight. Falcon and I had been stuck in the desert for weeks against a never-ending sandstorm. Hopefully we were nearing Castelia city and would be out of the wretched desert soon enough. We decided to travel at night when the air was coolest to avoid the deadly heat during daylight, and when dawn approached we had to shelter behind boulders and in sand piles. Unfortunately not one day had gone by without us being fatigued, and one of us passed out every few days from the hunger and pain we had to endure. We found some dropped and nearly rotten berries in the sand that we ate, and we even resorted to some dropped Pokémon food. A few times we jumped struggling trainers and stole any food or water they had in order to survive.

At the moment everything was coated in darkness, specks of light dotting the black sky above. A sliver of a moon hanged above and helped provide a slight light through the sandstorm. The sand wasn't hot at all, but a numbing cold. Pressing on through the onslaught of sand, I continued to endure the pain of the environment. I recently had a thought reoccur to me if all of this was worth it, but always answered it with the same thing. It was worth it, if it meant I could evolve and my only unshared dream came true. I'd sacrifice my own pelt and tail to evolve if I had to.

The lillipup behind me spoke up, his voice raspy and hoarse. "D-Diamond," he coughed. I stifled a growl as I turned around to face Falcon. His brown eyes were dull and hardly noticeable, his fur was ruffled and sticking up in all the wrong directions and his limbs were shaking uncontrollably with the threat of collapsing underneath him. His eyes was pleading with mercy behind the gritty sand . "Diamond, can we… rest," he begged with his ears and tail lowered.

"No!" I snarled, forcing the Pokémon to shrink back in fear and submission. "Not until sunrise!" With Falcon's ears and tail lowered even more than before and any signs of happiness drained from him, I swerved around to face the trail of endless sand, and forced myself to walk against the sandstorm once more.

Not even my thick brown fur could protect me from the cold. During the day people were baked under the sun, while at night it became a frozen wasteland. The sand was frigid while a glacial wind blew around the harsh terrain. The feeling was gone in the tips of my ears, paws, and legs. A sudden gust blew an enormous amount of the vile sand into my face, a small amount of pain coming up before turning numb. I shook my head vigorously, shaking some chilling sand away and quickened my pace. The sooner I got out of that wretched environment, the better it was for us.

I estimated about an hour going by, nothing seemingly to change. As my paws and tail grew number I padded on with my teeth clenched. The moon made some distance in the sky and the stars appeared to shift around slightly. Each step became harder and harder, the coldness grew more frigid, and I felt my thoughts slowly slip away from time to time. In order to keep conscious I counted my paw steps, hoping to push against the sand with those thoughts in mind.

A few more hours had passed along, each one more painful and felt longer than the last. I wasn't sure if Falcon was still following or not but interrupting my current system of staying conscious would be destroyed if I checked. Pure will and determination was the last things keeping me going. I had counted up to about two thousand steps, seeing it became even more difficult to keep count and prevent my thoughts from disappearing as the hours passed. My stomach rumbled lightly but in my mind it was louder. I was famished and parched, on the brink of unconsciousness. Doubt started to sink in and I knew that I'd probably have to take shelter again somewhere in the desert, and rob a trainer that would hopefully come by for food and water.

Minutes later the scene changed on the horizon. A blur of gray suddenly started to appear, but too far in order to see what it was. My ears which I have been too tired to keep up had lifted slightly. I started to walk faster against the sandstorm, feeling my small amount of hope strengthen. The scene started to shift around, forming into rectangles and then I saw tiny amounts of light dotting the new color. I would've sped up but my condition wouldn't let me without seeing black frame my vision. Then I stopped briefly and rubbed my paws against my eyes, sliding and rubbing sand out. After blinking to make sure most was out, I looked back at the grayness and my hopes quadrupled. Buildings, they were stone buildings, and light were shining through the rows of windows. We made it through the desert, that harsh warped terrain, and made it to Castelia city!

I turned around, seeing a marred exhausted lillipup meters behind. He was staring directly down at the sand and clearly didn't notice the city. Scowling, I let out a high-pitched bark in order to get his attention. He moved his gaze up with eyes that told you the lillipup was thinking of dark thoughts equal to death. Sand stained every strand of his fur and crusty tears had dried under his eyes, giving off a gloomy pitiful appeal. When his eyes darted at me with his miserable stare, it moved to something that was behind me, the city, then those eyes shot wide open. For a minute you could tell Falcon was pondering if this was either a mirage or proof that he died and went with Arceus. When he realized what was before him, a smile inched across his face, a small one hardly noticeable in the still raging sandstorm. His eyes remained dull but a hint of ecstasy was revealed.

Quickly I faced the city again, and then started to sprint through the sand piles. I couldn't wait till I was out of that sandstorm infested place and in the city. Even though there were humans and I knew I had to stay in the shadows, it was a million times better then rotting in a pile of frigid sand. Plus I was that much closer to capturing that warped snivy, the one that was said to be black and purple, and that other snivy Falcon had sniffed out back at the log den in Eterna. With a small glance at the sky, I used my knowledge of how the stars were starting to disappear and the moon was becoming transparent as a fact that about in less than an hour it'd be sunrise. The cold sand resting at my paws had already started to feel a bit neutral in temperature. And therefore, I sprinted through the sand, knowing I was closer to food, water, and who was known as Shadow.

Rachel's POV

It had been so long before I felt so comfortable. Last time I recalled feeling that comfortable was back in Striaton city in my pet bed. Ever since then I have either been knocked out, slept inside that rock back in Nacrene, or in a tight burrow. I snuggled deeper into whatever I was sleeping on, warmth wrapping around me and leaving me in a blissful state.

Light intruded my vision, causing myself to throw a paw over my eyes in hopes of blocking it off. Unfortunately I could only dim it with my paws, the light making me feel a little ticked off. I didn't want to wake up and leave the comfort, I wanted to continue and sleep!

The rays were too much and too bright. Irritated, my brown eyes snapped open, knowing I wouldn't get some rest for a long time. When I attempted to stand up the weariness was dragging at my legs. My whole body was begging to lie down, but I refused. I blinked several times to adjust to the light, than stared at my surroundings, trying to recall the events of yesterday.

Below me was a thick layer of warm sand. It wasn't cold, yet it wasn't hot either, just neutral. Glancing behind me I saw an indent in the sand in the shape of a canine. I had been sleeping in a big pile of warm comforting sand; no wonder I didn't want to wake up. The sand was shaded by a pier right above which was responsible from keeping the sand at a neutral temperature. Surrounding the outline of the sand that passed beyond the pier was the tide. Letting my gaze wander, I saw the sleeping figures of two black snivys and a zoroark curled up also under the pier in piles of sand.

My thoughts slowly returned to me. Last night once we escaped the cruise ship, Shadow and I had found Zeke and Illusion unharmed. Exhausted, all four of us quickly snuck under one of the piers and fell asleep, luckily not spotted by any of the pedestrians. I sighed at our narrow situations and saw my dusty red scarf was on the ground nearby. Sand had buried most of it though and only the tips were poking out. With a roll of the eyes I padded over and grabbed an edge of the cloth with my muzzle, and I pulled the murky scarf out, a small amount of dust flying around for a moment.

With a smooth gesture I was capable of wrapping the red scarf around my neck again, after shaking the dust and sand from it first. I forced myself to stretch my spine and sore limbs while a long yawn escaped my mouth. My weary eyes gazed at the three sleeping Pokémon scattered around under the pier, but then stopped on the biggest of the two snivys. I stifled a laugh and a groan at the earlier events of what we went through. We were stuck together, alone, and wandering the hallways of the cruise ship. We had been separated from Illusion and Zeke, and got annoyed pretty quickly with each other. We were forced to head back the way we came when we were blocked by a custodian closet's door, passed by a group of human jerks, hid in a gentlemen's closet, and barely escaped from the same gentlemen that had a strong grip. I even recalled Shadow gave up on getting out of the man's hand and I had to say some sort of speech in order to inspire him.

I snorted at the events with Shadow. He was grumpy, lazy, and complained about things all the time. Not like I didn't understand why he did some of those things, like how he was tortured and experimented on in a laboratory and grew up with a hatred of humans. It was lucky for him that he learned to get along with humans a while before I joined the journey, or else it'd be a challenge for me to teach him. I didn't get why he seemed lazy and complained about me a bunch however. He seemed to be all right and okay until we came to the ship and got separated. He seemed to be sluggish as he walked around, and while doing that he complained on what I was doing.

Tired, I decided. He was just tired most likely, for trekking through a forest all day, chasing Illusion through the trees, and plummeting about a hundred yards from a ship and barely managing to hold both me and himself up with his vines, also not to mention we stayed up for about half the night. The nickname Shasta I gave him must have really ticked him off. I snickered at how Shadow reacted to the name, and about that electrike. I laughed out loud to myself at what the nickname really meant. The electrike wasn't actually dumb but just a very grumpy Pokémon –just like Shadow was-, but during the situation we were in, back on the ship with the gentleman, I knew that anger would help him break free. And it worked.

I moved my head to look outside the pier. The tide was starting to come in and would soon cover up all the sand beneath the pier. The water had already started covering sand in the shadow of the deck above, indicating we had to find some other place to go soon. Then I padded right to the water's edge and leaned forward to look up at the sky. The sun was actually nearly in the middle which shocked me slightly. We had been sleeping that long? Instantly my gaze moved back to the three sleeping Pokémon. I was reminded that I was sleeping with three mutant dudes who were basically idiots.

A mischievous smile made its way to my muzzle. I had a chance of payback at Shadow for last night and for the entire grumpy attitude he had. Slowly I snaked my way through the sand, pass the sand piles, around the smaller sleeping snivy and silly zoroark, and saw the snoring mutant at my paws. My grin remained while my head leaned down to where I thought his ear was. Snivy's didn't have ears, so I just bent my neck near to where I thought they would've been.

"You have seven days to live," I screeched wildly, making my voice sound warped and twisted with a hint of crazy in it. His eyes snapped open the size of saucers and he jumped to his feet. His strange blue eyes showed he was ready for a battle. He bared his viper-like fangs, his tail standing straight out, his tiny grass hands curled into fists. It took him a few seconds of hysterical silence before he realized what was really happening.

His eye twitched with irritation. "You bitc-"

A little trick just made things a lot more personal. It was obvious what he was going to say. I harshly cut him off by kicking a small pebble into his mouth during mid-sentence, causing him to choke, wheeze, and pound on his stomach to spit it up. Soon it was coughed up, covered in saliva and sinking into the sand.

"Arceus!" he screamed, rubbing his hand on his forked tongue to get the gritty taste out, eyes filled with disgust. Barely had I held back my laughter. A groan sounded from over my shoulder in the midst of Shadow trying to get the taste out, causing me to look back to see that the other two guys woke up from my little trick.

"What did you do now Rachel…?" Illusion groaned groggily while he stretched.

I tried to look offended, not like I really was. I attempted a fake gasp and made a hurtful frown instead of my smile. "How could you accuse me of such a thing?" I asked innocently.

Zeke had no trouble frowning despite that weary look in his eye. He lazily held his muddy stone in a grip, which somehow he kept through the cruise. "You're right by Shadow, who looks ticked off, and we woke up from Shadow nearly saying the you-know-what word." I couldn't help but giggle a bit. Illusion also giggled through his tired state.

"Great, just what we need on a dangerous mission: two giggly girls," Shadow hissed. My ears shot up with surprise and Illusion looked quite offended. Did Shadow think Illusion was a girl, even after she said she was a guy back at the restaurant?

Standing there with a firm and furious glare was Illusion. He huffed a few times while he took heavy, angst-filled steps towards the snivy till he was about a foot away. "I will spill your guts on the floor. Do you want that to happen?" Illusion growled fiercely, seething through his words.

Shadow raised a brow and shrugged innocently. "What did I do?" he asked, his own anger forming from the fact he was being accused of something.

The angered zoroark reached his red claws down till it was stiffly clenched around the foolish snivy's neck, than he thrusted him up till he held him right above his head. He used his paw to keep Shadow's eyes locked with his. "I'm… not… a… GIRL!" he hollered in his face while an eye twitched. I nearly laughed when I saw the sweat beading down the side of Shadow's face, a bit of fear present in his eyes.

"You AREN'T?!" Zeke blurted out with eyes wide in astonishment. Mentally I face-pawed at both of their stupidity.

"You two are idiots," I growled. Neither seemed that hurt mainly because of Illusion's rage.

"Jerk," Illusion spat while he dropped Shadow. He fell with a thud in the sand, anger clouded in his gaze, but fear still visible. He wanted to say something but he seemed too upset to form actual words, so instead he stamped his foot, crossed his arms, and shot Illusion a death glare. If he noticed his stare, he didn't seem to really mind it.

Quickly my thoughts shot back to what I was going to say in the first place. "Hey guys, the tide is rising, we need to get moving and fast," I informed.

Zeke cocked his head on the side while he walked up to the lapping water. He tapped it with his foot. He bended over the water and stared at his wavered reflection, then he started to make goofy faces. I forgot that this was the first time Zeke was actually that close to an ocean before. Wow he was doing some stupid things.

I shook him off my mind to see Illusion prepared to leave. Shadow grunted and lay back in a pile of sand with a relaxed look. "Can't we just rest for a while?" he asked. "We've been through a lot of things last night."

That was why I was still in charge. I stomped over to him and flipped him over, making him face down in the sand. I heard a few muffled curses but I just walked off with an annoyed expression. Zeke leaned too close to the water and fell in. He was screaming his head off about how the salt burned his eyes so much. Illusion pointed a paw at Zeke and mocked him, laughing, not even struck with the slightest thought that he should've helped him.

I'm traveling with a bunch of morons. Oh wait, I knew that already.

Nimbly I pulled Zeke from the water and let him use my scarf to wipe his eyes. Illusion I scolded like he was a child. Shadow… I didn't care about him that much. At least he could take care of himself. I was starting to feel like a mom around those fools, but I just had to cope. They still were useful and I still needed a guide to Nimbasa. Plus, they were still friends.

Long story short, my scarf was back around my neck, Shadow was calmed down and walking behind me, Illusion was letting Zeke lie down on his shoulder, and we were on top of the pier. We knew we had to get through that city to continue or journey, or at least hide out in some alley. Illusion was ahead with Zeke, leaving me in the center, and Shadow alone in the very back. Some reason that snivy was still stubbornly grumpy. I wish he went back to the nice self.

Shadow's POV

After being rudely woken up by a smart-mouthed lillipup, I had gotten the taste of sand etched in my mouth, got insulted a lot, and learned that Illusion was a guy. I felt so dumbfounded at that last one that I wasn't sure what to say. I just wanted to slap myself at not realizing it sooner, and not remembering he said he was a guy back at the restaurant. I thought he was going to kill me, he seemed so angry.

An exasperated sigh escaped my lips. What was really bugging me was the fact that this was my journey, and was only supposed to be my journey, but then all these bystanders came into the picture and took control of everything. I was walking at the very back and didn't have a say in anything anymore, and this is my freaking journey! Talk about extremely irritating.

Despite my annoyance, it was very unnerving being out in the open. It was the middle of the day, and humans were around every corner. Hopefully someone had a plan; because mine was hide out somewhere till it was dark, than sneak through the shadows for a smaller chance of being seen, but since we were out and about, the others were more worried on keeping themselves from the Casteliacone stand, whatever that was. A zoroark, two mutant snivy, and a lillipup couldn't just waltz around one of the biggest cities in Unova without a huge crowd forming to see the freak show. Well, except Rachel. Lillipup are common everywhere, like really adaptable pests.

Fortunately no one was on the pier we were on, except for some guy in front of a small ship, lying on a lounge chair in a deep sleep while his skin burned a bright red. He was going to freak out when he woke up. There was no snow in Castelia unlike the pass cities, but it was probably the pollution and carbon in the air that was preventing that. It felt a bit strange that we headed slightly north and there was no more snow.

Illusion dropped slowly onto all fours and started to crawl around the place, as if scanning the area in a goofy fashion. Illusion was starting to hum some sort of dramatic music as he darted from place to place. "He's whistling the mission impossible theme," Rachel sighed, sitting down and watching the zoroark move around idiotically. If I had ears than I'd yank on them so much in annoyance, because everyone but Rachel was sane at the moment! Why did I have to bring those two idiots along…?

Suddenly I heard Rachel gasp, but it was cut short after a choking sound was uttered. My head swerved in her direction, my eyes wide again because she was gone. I frantically looked around, nerve wrecked, hoping to find her in sight. Rachel somehow vanished when I, literally, only looked away for one second. My worried gaze shifted to Illusion and Zeke, seeing they hadn't altered from their dumbness in any way. They didn't seem worried about anything anymore and just darted from garbage can to garbage can, pretending like they were some sort of stalker.

I felt a stir in the air. Instantly I swerved 180, determined to find out where Rachel went. I saw a flash of brown but that was all. I curled my lips back to bare my viper fangs, hoping to help intimidate whoever was out there. Whatever it was, it almost did to me what it did to Rachel, and it would've if I didn't turn around. I considered the thought that it was Rachel because of the flash of brown, but she wasn't that fast, and wouldn't even consider pulling another prank at a time like that.

"ILLUSION LOOKS A-MPFH!" Zeke cried, his words becoming muffled before he could finish. I turned around again to see the two again. A flash of black and brown was what I saw that time, leaving a very confused zoroark there. Someone was taking us down, one by one, and because of Zeke's yelling, they took him instead of Illusion. My eyes remained wide and I was panic-stricken.

Illusion just shrugged with such a calm face. "I think he fell of the pier."

…wow. I couldn't even tell if he was joking or totally serious. I ignored him, knowing that it'd strain my brain if I even tried to comprehend Illusion's mind. I started to search again for the mysterious brown figure, arms shaking, heart pounding, frightened of what Pokémon could be so fast.

Another blur of brown passed by Illusion's leg, and immediately I took action. One of my shady vines shot forward towards the figure, the appendage ready to wrap something up in its grasp. It swerved around Illusion's leg to where the brown was, instantly latching onto the figure, luckily keeping the small creature in the grip. It felt furry, a furry small brown figure.

I slowly retracted my vines, moving the struggling Pokémon so I could see it. A patch of really soft light brown fur was on its face, and the rest of it was a bit of a darker brown with a black spot on its back. Immediately I recognized this figure as a lillipup, but it wasn't Rachel, it was a guy. It surprised me at how speedy the canine was for its small stature. A thought came to mind, and if this was some annoying lillipup that was chasing Rachel so he could have her as a mate, instantly I'd chuck him into the ocean. No more travelers!

His lips curled back to show his impressive set of canines. Those brown eyes had a vile look in them and his fur stood on end. A fearsome growl escaped his throat, adding a deeper affect to the fierceness he was trying to show. It just made me tighten the vine further on his body. His growl was cut off from the lack of air he had, but he refused to stop his worthless struggling.

His brown muzzle quickly moved down close to the bind around him, and instantly he dug his sharp fangs into part of the vine. Pain coursed up and down the appendage. It made me weak and my grip loosened, my mind stuck on the fiery burn that emitted from the deep bite. A small, thick liquid oozed from where his jaws still laid stubbornly, one that gave a creepy affect to the darkness on the vine.

He took his window of opportunity to tense his muscles, than he wiggled loose of the grasp. When he leapt out I quickly reeled in my injured appendage to take a closer look at the wound. Deep bite marks stood where the fangs pierced through the skin, the deep red liquid sticking to the black scales, and a throbbing pain remained there. There was no time to patch it up so instead I fully retracted my vines and looked back at the agile pup.

The lillipup didn't bother to hide anymore, instead taking on an attack stance. The deep growl he had returned to him. Just what we needed: a battle in one of the highest populated cities in Unova. Not only that, but half our numbers vanished because of that slick Pokémon. Despite his wicked unkempt appearance, he must have belonged to a trainer with his strength and speed. No wild Pokémon could've been that strong. I was surprised it wasn't evolved yet.

Then I saw something, right next to the lillipup, another brown Pokémon in an attack stance. It had a creamy mane that was tainted with several deposits of sand, the same color on the tip of its tail. The rest of it was a thick brown fur coat that was entwined with even more sand. I never saw that Pokémon before, but I could tell it was a girl. Now that I got a better glance at the lillipup, I saw some patches of sand stuck in his pelt too. So these two probably went through that desert that filled in the gap between Castelia and Nimbasa. It was probably a hard thing to go through.

My head felt like a wasp's nest. Who were these Pokémon, and why did they want to fight? Plus where did Rachel and Zeke go? All I wanted to do was beat the strangers senseless for trying to attack me, and I wasn't going to turn down this fight, but I knew that if I attacked them mindlessly than I'd never find out why they were there nor get answers to the other questions.

"Shadow, you're coming with us!" the creamy mane Pokémon barked with hate laced in her voice.

"Why?!" I hissed. I wasn't going anywhere, but I still needed answers.

"We're from Team Plasma, and we're taking you in to keep you from interfering with our plans!" the lillipup answered. He snapped his daggered teeth in the air, giving me the impression that he was bred for mauling.

It was them, the very Team Plasma that Illusion convinced me to go after and try to disband since it didn't work the first time. It was only a small fraction compared to whatever numbers they had, but getting rid of some of their members would help take them down. But how did they know I was going to interfere with their plans? My glare moved to Illusion, only to see him fleeing from the area and darting to the city.

That traitor! Quickly I pieced it together. He told Team Plasma that I was going to interfere, came out and told me to do it, and now they were going to probably kill me! That's what I get for trusting others. I knew 'changing for the better' was a stupid thing. Why would he even set me up? Oh, he was probably trying to get his revenge. I should've tackled him off that cliff when I had the chance.

"Who are you?!" I demanded. I didn't want to lash out at them just yet, so I decided to stall with the question.

"I'm Falcon, and this is Diamond. If you're too stupid to tell, we're a lillipup and an eevee," the lillipup barked as he clawed the ground impatiently. He looked at 'Diamond' repeatedly, waiting for a sign to spring forward in attack mode. So that was what an eevee looked like. I only heard small talk about them and how they could evolve into eight different species because of their outstanding ability to adapt to any environment, but finally I saw that supposedly rare species.

No more small talk, it was time to be serious. I shot forward with my arm encased in an eerie shadowy mist, my claws sharpened into pointed blades, and my blood ran with adrenaline at the new fight. As I closed in on the two Pokémon, they each leapt out of the way and I sailed pass them. Instantly I redirected the attack and charged towards Falcon. Before I could turn out of the way, I saw his fangs were sharper if that was even possible, and it was surrounded by a dark mist.

He leapt to the side while I tried to turn out of the way, but he already sunk his deadly fangs deep into the base of my tail. I gave out a shrill cry before the dark power around my arm dispersed and I tumbled to the ground. There was more pain, shooting up and down my tail in agony, throbbing in my retracted vine, those two appendages flawed and disfigured. If I tried to form an Iron Tail, it'd just create more pain, and I couldn't use my vines at all to try and trap one of the quadruples.

Shakily I tried to stand up, but the steadfast eevee barreled into me and I tumbled towards the sunburned man. I caught a glance of him to see Falcon was getting him out of the way, tilting his lounge chair so it would tip over the edge of the pier. When I took another attempt of standing, another fierce blow from Diamond shoved me ragged into the middle of the pier.

My whole body felt pounded in and I felt as worn out as a rag doll. I got my arms sturdy and shaking uncontrollably I got onto my tired feet. Last thing I knew I was in the ground out of breath; right after Diamond full-forced tackled me in the stomach and sent me flying. I couldn't breathe and the only thing I could do was silently cry out while warm tears leaked from my eyes. The pain was nearly unbearable, and when I realized I was crying I moved a heavily bruised arm to wipe them away.

Finally my breathing returned, but they were in exasperated fast gasps. I refused to lose. I couldn't afford to lose. I slowly and painfully got back onto my feet and eyed the brutal eevee, seeing some weird energy being powered up in her muzzle. Falcon was staring at Diamond as if waiting for the battle to finish. The orb of dark energy formed into a huge ball and she fired it. As it grew closer I could hear a strange sound pulsing from the Shadow Ball, but quickly I tried to duck and avoid impact.

Narrowly I evaded the ball of blackened energy, only to see another one rocketing towards me. I barely managed to cry out a gasp before it shot into me, too late to dodge. I flew backwards several meters, skidding against the concrete, tumbling around till I lay heavily breathing by the pier.

The pain was too immense and wouldn't fade. I either wanted to scream or crumple in a heap. My body refused to move, my eyes were sealed tight, and my whole grass snake body wouldn't stop shaking with fear of getting tackled again.

A paw was forced down on my head and the paw clenched it in a tight grasp. I forced myself to open my eyes and glance up, seeing Diamond's paw pressed firmly on my marred head. When she noticed my glance she glared daggers at me before putting more pressure down. I winced and couldn't reopen my eyes anymore.

Her hot breath was hitting the side of my head. "Good night, Shadow," she growled malevolently. Her paw forced more pressure down and I was sure my skull would shatter, and I would scream in agony if I wasn't so weak. My major headache increased in intensity, and the last thing I heard was a snort from Diamond before everything faded.