Magnus: Sorry for the long waiting, I had a lot of work recently, and a lot of people to take care of, I hope you enjoy this chapter, for this will turn a little darker from here on, now enjoy, and remember, Read and Review!
Disclaimer: We own nothing, the tamer names are alias, although there are references to Hellsing and Final Fantasy Tactics
Chapter 21
Dark Side
"If History is written by the winners, and Justice made by the powerful, then what do we have left?... Only the sense of Good and Evil remains unchaged within us, because instinctively we know that making others suffer it's wrong, and taking someone else life kills our soul... And yet, there are times where only through the greater evil we can overcome the barriers that won't break with the goodness of our hearts" –Mark Hunter-
Just outside of Ivalice, in a poorly made pit trap, Shadow was making his best to help out Ramza's pokegirls. He was already recovered, being a martial artists helped him greatly, but he needed help, help to rescue the blond pokegirl that has found a place on his heart, a girl that has just been taken away by someone who clearly wasn't human at heart
"Come on, Agrias, gimme your hand!", Shadow said to the battle angel, who immediately slapped his hand away
"I don't need you! This is your fault to begin with!", Agrias shouted, while painfully crawling her way out of the pit. Shadow then decided to call his pokegirls to help Ramza's harem out
"Gumo-hime, Lena, Hime, help Ramza's girls out of that hole. Agrias, I know you hate me with your whole heart, but we must work together to rescue Ramza, don't do this for me, do it for your Master!", Shadow pleaded, he was worried sick for Ramza, and Agrias was not cooperating at all
"NO! I won't hear you, you filthy bastard! If I'm getting any help will be from Mark, not you!", Agrias shouted her reply, and tried to make her way to the city to search for Mark, but she was still being affected by the spores, and during a stumble, she felt how Shadow helped her to not fall
"Ok ok! You win. Let's go get Mark so we all can go and rescue Ramza-chan", Shadow finally said, and while Agrias contorted her face in repugnance at the modification on her tamer's name, she made no effort on getting away from Shadow's grasp
Meanwhile, in the town square were a battla has just ended...
The scene was heart breaking, Mark knelt down at the side of the decapitated slicer, trying to put her head together with her body... and yet, he didn't cry, just the lone tear drying now. Reina, Jewel and Yuki tried to reach for Mark, their delta bonds allowed them to feel the incredible pain of his heart, they were crying, crying the tears that Mark could not shed. By the time they got by his side, they noticed that Maria was positioned as if she were in a coffin, but her blood was staining her kendo clothes, then Mark raised to his feet with Kilgorin in hand, and then he said something that would be seared into his leyend for generations to come
"Nothing will take away my beloved ones from me, not even death. Now I need blood...", Mark stated with an startling calm voice, freezing his pokegirls, and the guards that were nearby
"Don't worry, Mark, there will be enough blood to use. I'll spill it all for you, and for her", Mark suddenly said, and yet it wasn't him, it was his voice, yet the voice of another person, ominous, obscure... downright evil
Soon, something began to encase the area, it was an ominous feeling, something seemed to half cloud their senses, as if they couldn't understand what they were seeing or hearing, but still seeing and hearing to it's fullest. The nearest guard turned around to see the confusion on all his comrades, then he returned his sight to Mark, just in time for his head to be cut from his body, blood came forth from his neck like a fountain, and everyone who watched became frozen of sheer terror.
"H-He killed one of us!", One of the guards shouted, this is the Mark Hunter they feared, the one rumored to have killed the gang
"Send the Battle Angels!", Another guard shouted... just to lose his head too after such order, soon another guard followed his fate, faster than the last attack
"Sisters! Don't move, he is a pro-pokegirls rights person, he wont...", The Battle Angel couldn't finish, for Mark had stabbed her heart with Kilgorin, he quickly twisted the sword, and then pulled away, making the pokegirl bleed all her blood like a fountain, it was this moment when everyone went into full panic. Illidan and Zetsumi quickly recalled their pokegirls, they dreaded to be the next, for Mark was gaining an impressive speed... at least to Zetsumi
Mark kept jumping from one target to another, slaying men and pokegirl alike, his speed seemed to increase with every kill, and every one of his victims seemed to bleed to the last of their blood, as if something were forcing it out. Mark's path of bloody death didn't seem organized, he didn't even went for the closest victim, sometimes he made straight lines, others were curved, and from time to time it was a zigzag, but always leaving a bloody trail in its wake
"I don't want to die!", one of the ward shouted while running toward Zetsumi and Illidan, believing that since they were following Mark, he won't kill him if he uses them as a shield. Zetsumi didn't felt like helping, but neither felt like negating the help, it was Illidan who showed his cold heart, by stopping the man on his tracks
"Hey buddy, going somewhere? Why don't you go back and help your friends by adding yourself as a sacrificial lamb?", Ilidan asked with a wicked smile, he truly wanted to know what was the objective of such a bloodbath, for he doubted that Mark was killing people just for the joy of it
Illidan slightly pushed the guard back, and as soon as he gave two steps back, Kilgorin came out of his chest, piercing lunge and heart, then Kilgorin was retracted, and in a swift move, Mark decapitated the guard, blood pouring out of his wounds at supernatural rate. Illidan managed to make eye contact with Mark, and what he saw, surprised him, there wasn't any rage, or sadness, or any feeling to begin with, those eyes were devoid of any emotion, or more precisely, like voids that devoured anything remotely human. Mark quickly leaped to his next victim, leaving Illidan to ponder on his new finding
"On all my battles, I'd never seen eyes like that...", Illidan muttered to himself, he will have to challenge Mark for a spar at a later time, he doubted that this is all what the legendary tamer had to offer
"OH SHIT! This is a magic circle! Illidan, we have to go, NOW!", Zetsumi suddenly shouted, Illidan could have mocked at him, but the sudden image of a massive circle with symbols drawn on the ground pointed to something perhaps a little too evil for his own taste, so, he put some healthy distance between himself and the bloody battlefield
The bloodbath was over, every single guard and pokegirl laid dead or bleeding to death, all the blood had been used to draw a massive circle, inside the circle an impressive quantity of symbols were printed with blood too, and at the center of all of this, Maria's corpse was being guarded by Reina, Jewel and Yuki, none of them scared or startled by their tamer, fo he already communicated his intentions with the help of their delta bonds. In an instant, Mark was by their side, and his girls nodded at him as a signal of being ready
"It is done, the sacrifice is ready, and the gate has been drawn, it's your turn, Mark", Mark said with his other voice, then his eyes changed, looking human again, filled with emotions, sadness mixed with determination and courage. Mark soon placed Kilgorin within the hands of the dead pokegirl, and by placing his hands on both her chest and forehead, he began to chant, being followed by Reina, Jewel and Yuki, who held hands around Mark and Maria
At the gates of the afterlife...
Maria was sobbing, her ultimate sacrifice barely cover up her lack of strength, her lack of talent. The gates of the afterlife were opening now, meaning that se won't become a gastly, mostly for her fear to meet Mark again, and have to face her shame of being unfit for such a great tamer, perhaps the only human to give a fight to Tsuruko.
From the gate, a ghostly hand came out, ready to take her away, and Maria made no effort to run away, no plea to allow her to live a little longer, just her tears. The hand reached for her, but at the last inch, something happened, a red energy surrounded Maria, and the ghostly hand cringed in fear
"She is mine, and you won't take her from me", Mark's voice was heard, strong and commanding
"Her life has ended, what is lost can be regained", The hand spoke, but it wasn't the absolute command that Maria expected, it sounded... afraid
"Regained, not. Exchanged...", Mark said in a cryptically way, and then dozens of souls, both of men and pokegirls, darted toward the gate, overwhelming the hand with their bloody screams of agony and terror
"What in the world?...", Maria muttered, she couldn't understand this, suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder, one hand she knew way too well
"Let's go home, Maria", Mark called, and then her world turned into a bright light...
Back into the ritual zone...
Zetsumi and Illidan watched in horror inspired awe the events unfolding before them, the circle and symbols where bright as the sun, and all the blood was now floating, forming a copy of the circle below Mark and his pokegirls. Soon all the dead bodies of the guards and their pokegirls flew toward the upper circle, where there banished. After some time, the blood turned into energy, and all of it went toward the downed pokegirl, soon, there was no evidence of the ritual, of the blood, or any of the bodies...
"Maria, did you come back to me?", Mark asked, his face showing a lot of concern, reflected also in the faces of Rena, Jewel and Yuki. Maria slowly opened her eyes, and tried to look at each of her harem sister, she basked on their concern and love before looking at Mark, who looked pained to no end
"Why? Why bother getting me back? I'm weak, Im stupid, and rebellious. I'm not worth a second of your time, much less an ounce of your love", Maria softly said, she just couldn't understand, Mark could simply get a new and better pokegirl, why bring her back?
"Don't be silly, I love you, as I love your sisters, as they love you. There is no more explanation to give... And I'm sorry, it wasn't my intention to bring you like... like this", Mark replied, while lifting Maria's had to hug her to his chest, her body still on the ground
"It's ok, it's ok. I don't mind, so long you allow me to make a new vow", Maria replied, and by getting the nods of Mark, Reina, Yuki and Jewel, she continued
"From today, I vow to always be faithful and obedient to you, to never question you, to never challenge you, to live for you, to kill for you, you took me away from the gates of the death, I'll throw to that gate anything and everything that stand in your way. Let Reina shine with the light of Luciendar, let her be your right hand, so I can become your left hand, as I engulf everything in the darkness of Kilgorin", Maria finished, and she changed, her skin getting a slightly bluish tint, her eyes, gaining red irises, and her hair became long to her waist, and silver to the point of looking metallic. Soon her body raised to her feet, and Mark placed her head over her shoulders, looking at her with love and care
"Oh shit!", Both Illidan and Zetsumi muttered while scanning the resurrected Maria, this wasn't bound to go well
HEADLESS WHORESGIRL (aka DAMEHAN), the Headhunter Pokégirl
Type: Near-Human (Metamorph)
Element: Ghost
Frequency: Very Rare (due to the ritual to create them)
Diet: Human style diet (though how the food gets to the stomache is a mystery)
Role: Assassins, bounty hunters, hunters, executioners
Libido: Average (high if able to have trophies)
Strong Vs: Bug, Fighting, Ghost, Poison, Psychic, Rock
Weak Vs: Dark
Attacks: Energy Drain, Slash, Swordwave, Deflect, Counter, Stomp, Take Down, Tackle, Agility, Ecto Blitz, Nightmare Syndrome, Pumpkin Bomb, Beheading Stroke, can be taught other weapon techniques
Enhancements: Enhanced Agility x6, Enhanced Endurance x6, Enhanced Speed x8 (in centaur form), Enhanced Strength x5, Enhanced Durability x6, Metamorphic ability, Head acts independently of body, Automatic Delta Bond if not already present
Evolves: None
Evolves From: Slicer line (Decapitation plus necromantic E-Stone Ceremony)
Shadow, his pokegirls, and Ramza's harem stumbled into the scene, they looked injured, stressed, and overly worried. They barely paid any attention to Mark while he was covering Maria's neck with a scarf, much less to Yuki trying to mend the wound on Jewel's back
"MARK! We need your help! Ramza has been kidnapped!", Shadow shouted in clear distress, but couldn't elaborate, for Agrias gave him a punch on the face, and went to Mark to further explain
"A tamer hired by the lord of the castle used a forbidden pokeball to catch her, she is most likely on the castle, please, you have to save her before she is put under a level 5 cycle! Please, I beg you, Mr. Hunter, save her, and I'll make sure you have anything you desire from this city", Agrias said, her tone was so serious it wasn't even funny. Mark slowly turned toward her, his face, reflecting something unholy, rage that will not be satisfied until a massive quantity of blood had been spilled
"Let's go and get ready, we will assault the castle at dawn, and by sunset, either I'll have Tsuruko's head, or there will not be a complete stone of Ivalice", Mark darkly commanded, and then headed to another part of the city, either a pokecenter, or a hotel. Reina, Maria, Jewel and Yuki followed suit, not that Agrias recognized the newly formed Damehan
"Sounds fair, let's get food and some sleep, so we can wage war tomorrow.. and don't forget your charge, Illidan", Zetsumi stated, and turned to follow Mark. Illidan quickly returned to his fake appareance, and started to look around in search of Felix, who mysteriously was at his side, still unconscious
'Funny, I don't remember carrying him here...', Illidan thought, and then, in the most un-ceremonially way, he kicked him awake
"WAKE UP GIRLIE!", Illidan shouted, successfully awakening the Ranger Wannabe
"GGHHAAAAAAA! Why did you do that!", Felx screamed, hateing Illidan even more, soon he noticed that the battle was over, and the army gone
"Did we won?", Felix sked now, but Illidan only rolled his eyes, and motioned him to follow, not answering his question
Ivalice castle, some minutes later...
"So did you bring back our little missing sibling?", Dycerag asked to the arrogant looking Gary
"Yes, although I had to catch him, hope yo don't mind", Gary replied while showing the pink pokeball, Dycerag motioned for one of the Samurais to get the ball, but Gary retracted it
"I find it interesting, you don't seem to mind at all that your younger and misguided brother has just become a pokegirl. Why?", Gary asked, his posture screaming that he was planning on doing some blackmail
"It was going to be his punishment, so no harm has been done, now give the ball with my sibling, and get your reward", Dycerag replied, he didn't like the boy, but he would not kill him, not while he was on Ivalice, outside, it'll be different
"I want double pay", Gary suddenly deadpanned, earning wide eyes from everyone on the hall
"WHAT?", Dycerag shouted, he was starting to weight the troubles of killing the grandson of the Professor Stroak against the problem of leaving him alive
"I had to use forbidden tech, AND this may cause me some problems, which will be expensive to solve, it's just business, besides, you don't want HER to runaway all of a sudden, do you?", Gary challenged, with a smug smile
"Why you little sc...", Dycerag began his rant while reaching for his sword, with all the Samurais following suit, but got interrupted
"Now calm down, brother. I see the truth in some of your words, Mr. Stroak. But it's still too much for a simple job, now, we may consider to re-negotiate, but you will have to stay here until tomorrow, as you may know, or not, our magical vaults, won't allow that much money to be taken in a single transaction, for we are paying you with gold, and not SLC", Zalbaag explained, and Gary snorted
"So, I stay, you feed me, and then pay me just a little bit more than the original price? Not too bad, but I may ask for something else for my silence, unless I forget about it by morning, like after a nice massage", Gary said, trying to get as much as possible, staying too long wasn't exactly good for him
"Of course, Celia, Lettie, guide our guest to a proper suit and make sure he stays comfortable", Zalbaag ordered, and then two girls, twins, appeared to guide Gary to his room, with the promise of a fun night, should Gary had seen Dycerag relax and smile, he would have thought it twice, but he was more interesting on the breasts of his guides...
Pokecenter, later in the night...
The Nurse Joy was frozen on her spot, the tamers long ago passed her and went to their rooms, followed by their pokegirls, but she was not blind, she saw her, the Damehan, and her presence screamed of horrors, and of loyalty, and if the face of her tamer was any indication, there will be a lot of blood spilled, soon, and in the most gruesome way
"I need to get out of here... I need to go... now", The Nurse Joy muttered, and then darted to her own room, to pack only the essential, for a moment she thought on warning other people, but that may only lead her to be late on fleeing, to the hell with the pokecenter regulations, she can join any tamer later if she is striped of her license, she just didn't want to die
Meanwhile, Felix was once again isolated inside of his mind, seemingly on a deep sleep state for anyone else, but fully aware, and reporting to his leader
"Let me get this straight, you were in the middle of a battle on Ivalice? And fought the guards?", Fuyutsuki asked, seemingly startled by the reckless behavior of the wannabe
"Yes sir, but it was unavoidable, I called my rank as a Ranger, refusing to fight and willing to explain, but as the code states, no authority can take away my registered pokegirls, and that is what the guards ordered, with death to anyone who won't obey", Felix replied, and Fuyutsuki nodded in understanding
"Fine, I believe you. What about seeing Tsuruko?", Fuyutsuki asked now
"She was indeed there, and fought everyone back, Mr. Hunter was keeping her on a standstill with the help of his own sword users, and his maggieton, his tactic proved successful, until Tsuruko noticed it, Mr. Hunter lost one pokegirl today", Felix reported, dreading to tell about the last part, for his Anima told him everything, including how she saved his ass once more, and it was truly startling, Mark was more a monster than a hero
"I found it interesting, specially since the data base indicates that Mr. Hunter still has six pokegirls on his team, care to explain?", Fuyutsuki demanded, since he was not able to pass the data lock on Mark's pokedex
"Yes sir. The pokegirl lost was a recently caught slicer, she was decapitated by Tsuruko... and... Mark brought her back to life", Felix unwillingly reported, for this may change the course of the mission
"A DAMEHAN? HE MANAGED TO CREATE A DAMEHAN?... This is... unexpected. But quite insightful. Felix, as of now, you are not only accepted within the ranks of the Rangers, but also promoted to Watchman. The parameters of the mission have changed, if Mark Hunter proves to be a menace for the league system, you are free to put an end to his career in any way you see fit. Also, feel free to dispose of Illidan as well, you can hire new mercenaries and wandering pokegirls with the founding of the Rangers. Dismissed", Fuyutsuki finally said, breaking the link, and leaving a trembling Felix to ponder on how to approach the situation, little did he know that the event to unfold in the next day will change his beliefs and destiny
Meanwhile, in an unmarked crypt...
Inner Mark watched the still sleeping pokegirl, how she changed once more, how she looked more evil, more eager to embrace HIS teachings, soon the world will have to welcome the most terrible walking nightmare of history
"Yes, yes, keep growing, fortify even more... Shadowmare", Inner Mark said in the most creepy way possible, giving the pokegirl a name, a name soon to become legendary...
Pokedex Review
Name: Mark Hunter
Age: 25
SLC: Classified
Experience: Classified
Tamer license: Y
Master license : N
Researcher license: N
Breeder license: N
Harem
Species – Name - Level
Alpha: Amazonwu – Reina - 20
PG2: Gravelgal – Jewel - 22
PG3: Maggieton – Yuki - 30
PG4: Damehan – Maria - 20
PG5: Chocoboob – Alba – 12
PG6: Milktit – Mia - 10
Name: Shadow Slayer
Age: 19
SLC: 0400
Experience: Rookie
Tamer license: Y
Master license : N
Researcher license: N
Breeder license: N
Harem
Species – Name - Level
Alpha: Arachnae – Gumohime - 19
PG2: Cabbit – Dizzy - 15
PG3: Cactora – Lena - 16
PG4: Bratini – Hime - 21
PG5: Maggieton - Rin - 25
PG6: N/a
Name: Zetsumi
Age: Classified
SLC: Classified
Experience: Classified
Tamer license: Y
Master license : N
Researcher license: N
Breeder license: N
Harem
Species – Name - Level
Alpha: Videogirl Upgrade – IGGY - ?
PG2: Fallen Angel – Akume - 23
PG3: Flowergirl – ? - ?
PG4: Classified (Blessed Widow – Seatra – 55)
PG5: N/a
PG6: N/a
Name: Felix
Age: 19
SLC: 10,000 (Ranger Founds)
Experience: Ranger
Tamer license: Y
Master license : N
Researcher license: N
Breeder license: N
Harem
Species – Name - Level
Alpha: Fairycute – Hikari - 22
PG2: Domina – Mercury - 15
PG3: N/a
PG4: N/a
PG5: N/a
PG6: N/a
Name: Illidan Von Hellscream
Age: 26
SLC: 9999
Experience: Mercenary
Tamer license: Y
Master license : N
Researcher license: N
Breeder license: N
Harem
Species – Name - Level
Alpha: ? – ? - ?
PG2: Vampire – Integra - 26
PG3: Neo-Icel – ? - 30
PG4: Lupina – ? - 21
PG5: N/a
PG6: N/a
Magnus: I hope you liked it, next chapter will start a massive battle against Ramza's siblings, until then, see ya!