Well, it's finaly up! Unfortunately, I missed my mark once again. I fell short of my 4,000 word goal. Even missed the ten page milestone. Well, maybe next time.

Chapter 6: Returning…

I woke early the next day, wanting to finish my mission quickly so I could return home. Hazle and Null were already awake, waiting for me to wake up. They didn't want to make me angry, or so it seemed. I stretched my stiff limbs, preparing for a long day of walking. And then it hit me. I had no idea who or what we were looking for. I decided to ask Null, she would know. But, as I walked over, Null started to edge backward. Afraid of me, no doubt. I started to speak, but suddenly my vision became clouded. "Not again!" I cried. Once again, I felt the hear-and-now slip away, and I was thrust back into the maelstrom of memories.

I was sitting in the cage again, caught for the fifth time. Yet again, I had failed to escape, every time something stopped me. I shrugged my shoulders in pain; they had given me a 'lesson' so I wouldn't try again. Not that it mattered; there was nothing they could do to stop my inevitable escape. Or so I thought. The fat lab director was talking to the scientist in charge of me. They had 'replaced' the old one; he had let me out after all. I was doing my best to ignore them, but they were talking about what they were going to do with me, so I couldn't resist eavesdropping.

"It's on yur head if he 'scapes again" the director was saying. The scientist merely smiled; an evil smile. I really didn't want to know what he was thinking. "I have a most… elegant… solution to that problem, sir" the scientist said. I was surprised at the smoothness of his voice, it was like velvet. Interesting…. The two looked me over, fed up with my escape attempts. The scientist continued. "I have developed a serum that will allow us to control his power and memories. If we use it, he will forget who and where he is, making him easily controlled, and he will lose the ability to use any modicum of power unless we administer an antidote. His memory may never return, however, so we need to use moderation." The fat man just laughed. "Who cares 'bout his memories? They dern't concern us. Administer the serum."

The scientist grew a conscience then and there, apparently, because he slammed his fist into the fat man's jaw, knocking him back a few steps. He winked at me, and pressed a button on a console. Yet again, the cage opened. I jumped clear, dashing through the door before the fat man could catch me. I once again made it to the exit, running full tilt for the door. This time, there was nothing waiting for me. Just a big empty room. That alone made me stop. Too easy, far too easy. They never left this floor unguarded. Not after I attempted to escape the first time. I looked to the ceiling, and I saw no robots waiting to ambush me. I looked toward freedom….

And walked back towards the lab. I had a score to settle before I left. It was a short jaunt back through the hallway towards the lab I was held in, and about halfway I saw the director standing with an overly smug look on his face. He expected me to come back, but he did not expect that I would do it of my own free will. I used my psychic abilities to become invisible, and walked in a circle around him. He had no idea I was there, and when I was directly behind him, I struck. A Shadow Ball hit the obese director in the back of his head, flinging him foreword at an incredible speed. He hit the far wall with a crunch, more than likely cracking his skull. I walked farther into the building, farther from freedom. I was taking a huge risk, but I felt it was worth it.

The scientist was clutching his arm when I arrived, and there was blood on his white uniform. He smiled faintly when he saw me, and frowned when I communicated telepathically with him. I told him that I wanted the injection, to be free from the memories of torment that would stay with me forever otherwise. He shrugged, grabbing a needle. I winced as he jabbed it into my arm, but I fled afterwards, running as fast as I could to reach the exit before the injection made it to my brain. I needed to think coherently to escape. I made it to the door faster than I had thought possible, and before I left, I looked back towards the room I had been captive in for so long. How long had I been imprisoned in this place for? Years? Decades? I couldn't answer that question. I saw the scientist who had helped me escape, and my eyes seemed to zoom in on his nametag. 'Jonathon' it said. I would.. not.. remember that name. But still, it felt good to know.

I smashed the door open with a Hyper Beam, quickly dashing outside and into the bushes. The light of the sun hurt my eyes, I had been inside for so long. They had chosen a hell of a place to build a top secret laboratory. Mt. Silver, one of the largest mountains in the world. Hard to get to, hard to navigate, impossible to notice the door on the side of Mt. Silver that faced inland. Perfect. I dashed down the hill, turned towards the small, flat building in the distance. It would be easy to get, well, anywhere once I made it to the human roads. I made it to the building sometime after sunset, and I passed out next to a bench on the left side of the building. Sleep at last.

I opened my eyes, and everything was on its side. I tried to stand, but my legs wouldn't support my weight, and I fell back down. Silver, in his Umbreon form, standing near a tree, was looking at me with interest. I felt a powerful presence nearby, and I knew it wasn't Silver. It was… something else. I tried to stand again, but again my legs failed me. So, I resorted to… unorthodox measures. Channelling my newfound psychic power, I forced my legs to stiffen, and I seemingly stood. To anyone else, it would appear as if I had simply stood up.

A large beast barged through the woods, almost hitting me. Without even realising that I had done it, I lashed out towards it with several powerful attacks. It fell to the ground, unconscious. I looked toward my would be attacker, and found it to be a rather unassuming Graveler. It seemed frenzied, however, and that startled me. They were usually calm. And the presence was still there, still awake, still ready to attack. Silver was barely able to move, so I would have to handle this on my own. Not that it mattered anymore. I was likely the most powerful Pokémon in existence if my visions were believable.

I saw a dark shape gliding just beyond my view, moving faster than I thought possible. It blended into the background of trees, and I couldn't place a specific shape. Hazle and Null were looking around wildly, detecting movement but not being able to place it. I watched as the shape came closer and closer, eventually forming into a Scizor. He looked at me with cold eyes, and I knew him right away. The one from the lab. I growled slightly, the sound growing louder as he got closer. I wasn't even aware that I was doing so, I was too focused on my foe to notice. And I didn't care, for the most part.

Hazle and Null were backing away, more than afraid of the one who had nearly killed them, and me. The one who had inadvertently lead Ritch to his death. And it was time for revenge. I had beaten him once, I could do it again. Except this time, I was stronger. This time, I had motivation. And this time, no robot would come to save him. It was a fight to the death, this time. My body began to respond to my brain, so I released my psychic hold on my legs. Better to use my natural speed, than to wear myself out using mind tricks. The Scizor assumed a fighting stance, his legs spread to shoulder distance, arms up in front of his face. I tensed my legs, and lunged.

I slammed into him with incredible force, knocking him off his feet. He was flung a long way, but he landed lightly on his feet, skidding to a halt fifty feet from me. I saw him dust himself off, but at the same time he began walking toward me. I unconsciously began charging a Thunder attack, and my fur began to spark with electricity. Several bolts shot out towards the Scizor, a few missed, but those that hit did minimal damage. He shrugged it off. He was strong, I'll give him that much. I knew that my attacks were going to do little damage, so I decided to use his weaknesses against him.

A massive ball of flames, larger than he was, impacted on his head and torso, knocking the Scizor back very far; burning him until he landed. That did some damage. I looked away for an instant, just to see where Null and Hazle went, when he hit me in the back of the head. I felt my vision blur, and blackness threatened to overcome my vision. And then came the hatred. Pure, uncontrollable hatred seeped through my body, flooding my mind, controlling my actions. I felt my body heat up as I turned towards my unlucky opponent, preparing to finish him off once and for all.

He saw the look in my eyes, and for a moment I saw amusement in his. Then, I began to see fear. A lot of fear. And that served to egg me on. My fur began to crackle with electricity once again, but I was going to go much farther than that. My mouth began to burn, flames spurting out, but again, I was going much farther than that. I felt an unfamiliar power surround my body, growing stronger with every passing moment. After what seemed like forever, I began my attack.

I started with a Giga Impact/Volt-tackle hybrid, slamming into him with tremendous electrical force. Less than a second later, I blasted him with a Blast Burn, which sent him flying. Before he could rise, I blasted him with a Hydro Cannon, which sent him flying again. Before he even landed, I smote him with Hyper Beam. He was slammed into a tree, which proceeded to snap in half. And I don't mean a tiny tree; I'm talking about a full three meter thick oak tree. He was sent flying through it, eventually skidding to a stop on the rough ground. Damn friction.

The Scizor began to stand, but I didn't give him the opportunity. My body began to glow a deep purple, and his lifted clean off the ground. I held him suspended in the air, looking deep into his eyes, trying to find his motives. Hi eyes were black as obsidian, no light shined within. No eyes were naturally that dark. He squirmed under my gaze; doing everything he could to obscure his eyes, to hide them from me. And all too suddenly, he smiled.

"At least one of us was successful," he said, a faint hint of resignation in his voice. "They almost scrapped Project SC-445, and ironically, you saved it." Project SC-445? What could that mean? My mind burned with questions, many of which wouldn't be answered. I was going to get revenge. Yet he still laughed openly at me, unaware that I was prepared to end his miserable life. Or so I thought. "You gonna kill me? Well, that doesn't change anything. You are the reason I exist, so don't blame anything on me. Your escape and capture was your fault, not mine. Heh, if you had been agreeable, you would have escaped a lot sooner. Because I wouldn't have stopped you the first time."

His black eyes focused on my blue ones, and we stared intently into each others eyes. Neither of us was willing to back down, yet at the same time neither of us was willing to make a move on the other. A stalemate. And then he smiled. A dark, twisted, scheming smile. He was planning something. Or something was on its way here. "You don't even know your own name." he said. I growled in response, wanting to scream out its Tal, you jackass! But for some reason, I couldn't. How did I know that my name was Tal? I didn't, and that scared me. I was preparing to kill the only link to my past. Naturally, I hesitated. That was my first mistake.

I realized too late that we weren't alone. I felt searing blades slice along my left flank, and I jumped backward. Unfortunately, I lost my focus, and the Scizor got free. I looked around, and my eyes focused on a spot of yellow in the trees. Two Beedrills, red eyes focused on me, were standing just outside the forest. They were looking at me as if confused. They both began laughing, however, and they gestured towards me. "This is the one?" they asked. "Project U-90 was meant to create super powerful Pokémon, and this one does not seem at all strong." I winced in pain; the wound on my side had begun to swell. Then, I smirked. The wound began to stitch itself back together.

That made them start, exchanging frightened glances. After all, how do you kill something that regenerates constantly? They looked back at me, somewhat more cautiously. I smiled darkly, light glinting off my eyes. They began to move apart, reaching the Scizor's flanks after a moment. The three began to advance, but their powerhouse was weakened. And they knew that I was going to slaughter them if they tried anything. They walked foreword slowly, cautiously, waiting for me to make the first move. And when I did attack, they had no warning.

I simply disappeared, reappearing behind them. I struck the Beedrills sharply, sending them sprawling into the dirt. The Scizor was fast enough to block my attack, despite his injuries, so I reasoned that the others were rookies. Normal. He was not the least bit tired, he actually seemed…happy. More reinforcements were on their way. "You may be strong," he said. "But there's only one of you. And I've got plenty of cannon fodder on the way." Not surprising, he always had a contingency plan. Then, more surprising, I heard a voice from behind us. "He's not alone…not exactly, anyway."

I turned, seeing the girl who had been hanging around Silver. She was staring defiantly into the Scizor's eyes, and I saw the runes on her arm pulse strongly. They were quite possibly reactive to danger, becoming a natural warning system. I turned around to see Ethan standing over the fallen Beedrills. I saw blood running down their heads, and I thought he may have killed them. But they started to move, so I turned back to my main opponent, ready for a fight. He just laughed, not aware of Ethan's power. Or maybe he was. Who knew?

I slammed into him, catching him off guard, knocking him into a nearby tree. He rose, stunned, to his feet. But his legs were too damaged to hold him up after that blow, and he fell back towards the ground. Not wanting him to break his neck, I picked him up psychically. He floated in the air a few inches off the ground, an unearthly purple glow surrounding his body. I had questions, and he was the only one with the answers. "What is Project U-90?" I asked. He snarled, not answering. "Wrong answer." He slammed into another tree, then another, and another. When I stopped, he was bruised and bloodied. He'd been through worse, so torture was not going to work.

He smiled, aware that I was getting frustrated. I wanted to end his life so badly, but I needed his answers, needed him to live. I growled deeply in my throat, warning him, but he paid no heed. He would ignore me as long as he could. Which just happened to be a very long time. And I didn't have much time. Any minute, several thousand bug Pokémon were going to be swarming me, and I wasn't in the mood to fight. He knew that, as did Ethan. I shook my captive a few more times, before flinging him into a tree. Or, to be more accurate, through a tree. He went clean through it, and then several more. I did stick around long enough to see how many.

I sprinted all out in the direction Null and Hazle had gone, running faster than I thought possible. I leapt fallen logs, dove under low lying branches, and in less than five minutes I was leaving the forest. I could see Null and Hazle in the distance, running from the Scizor. They turned, saw me coming towards them, and began to run even faster. I caught up to them, and when I did I slowed to match their speed. No use running ahead. I looked behind me, and I saw three shapes flying behind us. Three Pidgeots were flying in formation behind us, Silver Ethan and the girl. What was her name? Wasn't it…Lyra?

But also behind us was a mass of Pokémon, all bugs. They were stirring up a huge cloud of dust behind them. They must be following in huge numbers. Leaving their leader alive had been a mistake. A big mistake. But it was too late to worry about him at the moment. Hazle and Null didn't have my stamina, nor my speed. They couldn't keep running, and they couldn't outrun the horde behind us. A fight was inevitable. Might as well fight before we exhaust ourselves. Ethan and Silver were of the same mind, as they landed. Their forms blurred for an instant, and when they cleared, they had changed. Ethan was a Rayquaza again, and Silver resumed his Umbreon persona. Lyra stayed in the air.

I stopped running, but Null and Hazle didn't stop. Let them run, I thought to myself. I'll buy them some time. I turned back, trotting over to Ethan and Silver. Lyra kept flying, following Null and Hazle. Keeping watch over them. I had a strange feeling that I wouldn't see them again for a long, long time. No use thinking of the future. This time, you need your head in the present! I fell in beside Ethan, who was floating a foot off the ground. It was going to be a long day. And a long fight. I steeled myself, and began to sprint towards the mass of enemies, Ethan and Silver flanking me. And I shouted, almost unconsciously.

"Onward! Onward unto glory!"

Big fight scene coming up! For Chapter 7, I'm going to post a 1 page Preview, likely on Saturday, because I will have limited writing time on Sunday. Fathers day will be consuming my time. But take heart! My school year is over, and for a while I'll have a ton of time to write. Look foreword to a chapter every 3 days! (Well, maybe if you're lucky) Until then, this is Infinity WEAPON, signing off. ;) Wait, I forgot something! I have a contest officially opening today. I want you to vote for your favorite Pokemon to appear next, along with some background motives, and maybe some family. Definately some backstory required to win. Ok, this time I'm actually signing off. ;)