Shout-Outs: A huge shout-out to StallsalotHB for being the first to review this piece! Sorry (sort of) for the cliff-hanger, but thank you for your kind words and, as you yourself have stated, for being my #1 fan!

Prologue, Part Three: With A Tragic End

Tears streamed down Zayn's face, the noise of the crowd screaming and the thundering of a hundred pairs of feet stomping the ground in a desperate attempt to escape drowned out by the sirens that wailed right outside the entrance to Lumiose Station.

The vigoroth hooted as it paced next to its trainer, banging on its chest in excitement. The bald man's bisharp continued to watch the receding crowd warily, eyes darting between its master and the train as if it knew of their predicament and was just as anxious to leave.

This was it, Zayn thought as tears streamed down his cheeks and his chest was wracked with sobs. He was going to die right here, right now.

What could he do to stop it? He was only twelve! Even a crowd of people could not stop these two men, these Reapers. And he only just got his first pokémon today…

Wait.

His eyes snapped open. "Ghost," he whispered.

"What was that?" the bald Reaper hissed, grabbing a mass of hair and yanking his head back. "Speak up, boy!"

Zayn fought back a cry of pain as he glanced towards his mother. Garren was standing behind her, silver pistol aimed at the back of her head, but he was not paying any attention to her. They were going to shoot him first, he realized. Shoot him and make his mother watch, and then they were going to shoot her and leave their bodies for the cops to find.

A rush of anger boiled in his veins, dissipating the fear that had immobilized him only moments ago at the thought of these thugs murdering the only person he had left in this world and getting away with it.

"Ghost!" he hollered, and in the back of his mind he could only pray that the young houndour was still around. "Bite attack!"

Before the bald man could respond, a black blur darted out from under the benches with a snarl and leaped onto the Reaper, tiny fangs sinking deep into the arm that held Zayn steady.

The man cursed and screamed, loosening his hold on the boy as he stumbled backward, flailing his arm wildly. His bisharp circled its master as it watched with greedy eyes, searching for the perfect moment to strike down the pup. "Get this fucking mutt off me!"

"Rolan, what the fuck's going on?" Garren spat as his partner swung his arm in an attempt to knock off the four-legged attacker. Ghost clamped his jaw tighter, eliciting yet another excruciating howl from the bald man as the bisharp glared at the houndour, helpless to stop him.

While they were distracted, Zayn scurried towards the row of benches on all fours. If only he could get closer to his mother!

A large clawed foot stomped the ground in front of him, barely missing his outstretched hand as Garren's vigoroth whooped at him. The ape beat its chest and snarled down at the boy, determined to hinder his escape.

Hurried footsteps echoed from the other end of the now-empty station. "Hey, stop right there! Don't move!"

Zayn looked back to see several armed officers closing in, accompanied by a team of rambunctious blue-skinned dogs with yellow manes and tufts of yellow fur on their haunches. The police were here!

"Zayn!"

He snapped his head around at his mother's voice. She had managed to break free from Garren during the distraction and was making her way towards him. "You fucking bitch!" He heard Garren curse, pressing a hand to his nose. Dark globs of blood seeped between his fingers and splattered on the white collared shirt beneath his suit jacket. "Stop her, Vigoroth! Use Fury Swipes!"

Rhodette reached for Zayn and grabbed his outstretched hand, dodging the vigoroth's arm as it swung a frenzied claw at her head. "Come on, sweetie," she ushered as she yanked her son to his feet and pulled him towards the officers. "Let's go!"

"Ghost!" Zayn called as he struggled to keep up with his mother's hurried stride. He looked over to see his tiny companion release Rolan's bloodied arm with a growl and scamper in their direction, ducking as the angered bisharp lashed out at his backside.

"Manectric, go!" He heard the officers call out as they hopped the turnstiles. "Stop those men!"

They were almost there! It seemed like they were running across an obstacle course, jumping and tripping over scattered luggage, but as long as they put some distance between themselves and those Reapers, Zayn didn't care if they were crossing all of the Kalos region. As long as their little family was safe.

"Bisharp, Night Slash!"

A sudden yowl of pain from behind stopped Zayn in his tracks. His hand slipped out of his mother's grasp as he turned around to see Ghost lying on the ground a few feet behind him, unmoving. Rolan's bisharp stood over the houndour, the blade on its left arm shrouded in black smoke.

The bald man held up his pokéball and returned the bisharp, smirking at Zayn as he edged closer.

Zayn's heart sank in his chest. No. No, no, no…

"Ghost!"

"Zayn, stop!"

Without thinking, Zayn ran back to where his companion was laying, tears stinging at his eyes as he knelt beside the pup. It could not end like this for the houndour, not after the bravery he showed against those men!

Rhodette knelt next to her son, her eyes never leaving the two Reapers as they grew nearer. The officers were so close now; Zayn could practically feel the electricity emanating from their manectrics as they bounded past the abandoned ticket booths.

"Hurry, sweetie," Rhodette whispered as she helped her son carefully scoop Ghost up in his arms. "We have to go!"

An ear-splitting boom rocked the train station, the shock from the sudden noise jarring Zayn to his core. He gripped Ghost's body closer to his chest as he stood up. "Don't worry, Ghost," he cooed, turning toward his mother as the ringing in his ear subsided. "I'll save you!"

He looked up to see Rhodette standing over him, her mouth twisted in silent shock, eyes gazing at the loading dock behind him where the Reapers were. She had both hands pressed against her stomach, and Zayn thought he saw thin rivulets of blood trickling down her arms. "Mom?"

"Vigoroth, return!"

Zayn turned to see Garren recall his pokémon, the barrel of his pistol smoking. That smirk still played on his lips as he stumbled backward to the platform. "Consider your debt paid, Roe Harker!" He glanced at Zayn and gave the boy a cold wink, saluting him with his pistol. "See ya 'round, kid."

"Garren, let's go!" Rolan called as he hopped onto the moving train.

Zayn turned back around and watched, stunned, as his whole world came crashing down to her knees. She reached up with a bloodied hand and brushed her fingers over his cheek, a pained smile gracing her red lips. "My baby," she coughed.

The police officers drew closer, shouting orders to the team of manectrics as they raced past Zayn, barking after the Reapers as they made their exit on the train, but Zayn's vision was too blurred to make them out clearly.

Ghost lifted his head and licked Rhodette's hand, whimpering softly. She smiled at the houndour and touched his nose with a trembling finger. "Stay strong, Zayn. Ghost wh—will protect you."

"Mom, no!" he exclaimed, reaching out for her hand as she slumped over. "No, I need you! You can't leave me!"

"It's OK, sweetie. My debt is—my debt is paid."

By the time the officers reached them, Rhodette's hand had slipped out of Zayn's grasp and her eyes had already closed in an eternal slumber.

Ghost struggled to his feet as a young officer by the name of Jenny took off her cap and knelt beside him, placing a sympathetic arm around the boy's shoulders as he cried. While they roped off the crime scene and collected the Harker's luggage, searching for what little evidence there was amidst the curious onlookers and media cameras that trickled in, the young houndour lifted his head and howled in mourning.

"Do you know who those men were?" Officer Jenny asked Zayn as her manectric chased off an inquisitive reporter.

His shoulders had stopped shaking some time ago, shortly after the coroner carried his mother away in a body bag, but the ache in his chest was still suffocating and the tears would not stop falling. "My mom, she...she called them Reapers."

Officer Jenny cursed under her breath. "The Shadow Syndicate, those bastards!" She patted Zayn's arm as she waved off a cameraman. "I'm so sorry, Zayn. With their public display of...we should have known."

He reached out to stroke Ghost, wiping his moist cheeks with the back of his hand. So, there were more of them out there. More of these pitiless, unforgiving thugs roaming the streets, taking the lives of mothers and fathers and leaving their orphaned children behind. Bastards!

He balled his hands into fists as anger boiled in his blood, and after a while Zayn looked up at Jenny with the cold, hard eyes of a boy who had nothing left to lose. "If I ever find them, officer, I'll kill them. I'll kill them all."

Author's Note: And the back story ends here! I honestly didn't even expect it to carry on this long, but am very pleased with how it turned out! At this point I'm open to accepting any OCs, as from here Zayn will embark on his journey as a pokémon trainer. He will meet friends, he will make enemies and he will help strangers as he and Ghost travel the Kalos region battling for badges and searching for clues to the sinister Shadow Syndicate and their connection to his mother's death. If you want to create a character in the Syndicate, feel free! Just be sure to mention it in their bio. For all character submissions, please adhere to this form:

Name:

Age:

Pokémon Team: No legendaries, for obvious reasons! If you are creating a new trainer from Lumiose City, pick which starter. Only two spots available for beginner trainers (Zayn will get whichever Kalos starter is not chosen), though I may be open to creating three additional spots as in the games Professor Sycamore gives away the three original Kanto starters!

Backstory:

Additional Notes:

Remember, submissions are on a first come/first serve basis! I look forward to your entries!