DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN POKEMON. ELSE, THERE WOULD'VE BEEN A POKEMON VS DIGIMON CROSS-OVER MOVIE BY NOW!

Underground Plasma Castle.

From the blank expression on Ghetsis Harmonia's face, it didn't take much to guess that the report he received was not one he wanted to hear.

"Sorry Franz, I didn't exactly understand. Can you repeat that report?"

There was a distinctive edge in his voice and the blonde knight almost wished he'd have remained with N and the good guys back at the League. Swallowing, Franz parted his trembling lips and gave his report again.

"Cathedral Plasmos was destroyed by the Unovan Champion's Hydreigon after it sent a Draco Meteor into its core. As such, taking down the building was left to Chaos who had awoken when Thanatos and Ares failed to defeat the trainers who were defending Alphinia and the building itself. Long story short, Chaos put up a good fight but was felled by the joint efforts of some powerful newcomers, pokemon and...two boys who exhibited strange powers, sire. One of them even possessed a leaner version of your arm."

Ghetsis gave his right arm a once over before clenching it. "I see. But I'm not interested in that. Where is Alphinia?"

"...She's not here, sire. Um...we failed," he replied, fingers twitching in anticipation for whatever blow or strike was coming next. He was however surprised to see Ghetsis chuckle lowly before bursting out in laughter and holding his sides.

"Wow! So this is how resilient humanity can be! To think I sent three Dragon Knights, Cathedral Plasmos and my deadliest pokemon only to have one come back empty handed! Damn! So my experiment wasn't as successful as I thought it was."

Franz arched an eyebrow. "Experiment?"

Laughter dying down, Ghetsis leaned back in his throne and faced the ceiling with a thoughtful grin on his face. "Yes. I see now. Fake Dragon Knights are definitely not the best option in bringing the League to its knees. After all, they're much closer to humans than the originals and are therefore prone to internal degeneration from the very source of their power..."

"I'm confused. Are you saying you expected us to die?" Franz asked and got wide-eyed as Ghetsis replied with an affirmative. "So you had no faith in us at all?"

"Of course I did. But not as much as if I sent Draco or Aqua to do the job," the greenette replied and put on hand on his chin. "After all, Thanatos and Ares were probably being eaten from the inside out each time they drew upon Kyurem's power. I'm sure they must've been under a lot of intense pain and that would therefore slow their movements in Chaos mode. Truthfully, I expected you to die too. I mean, Kyurem's cells are carnivorous and your expected breakdown was tonight."

"...Breakdown?" Franz echoed and grew furious. "I don't get it. None of what you're saying is making any sense! Just what is going on, Ghetsis?! Why would you send us to a battle that you knew we couldn't have one?! A sick experiment?! And what d'you mean by breakdown?"

Slowly, the king brought his fingers together and crossed his legs while giving Franz a sadistic glare. "You really want to know, Franz? Have it your way then. I suppose a befitting explanation would make a sufficient farewell gift."

The knight's eyes widened. "What?"

"Franz, why do you think we used artificial Kyurem Cells for you, Ares and Thanatos? Don't know? I suppose it was because I was curious. Dragon Knights born from Kyurem's original cells tend to display some rather barbaric behaviour when pushed to a certain limit and such behaviour came with the fact that their regenerative system takes a backseat and is instead channelled into their offensive power, strengthening them greatly but leaving them temporarily open to attacks that could very well claim their lives in the long run as they won't heal as fast as the injuries inflicted when they're sane. I wanted to correct this so I had our scientists take Kyurem's cells and produce a cell that closely mimics its behaviour. To do that, they had to break down the original cell, strip it to its barest components that is, and tweak it a little. This took a considerable amount of time and chemicals but we made a breakthrough. The new cell could not only utilise Kyurem's regenerative abilities but also allow openings for genetic enhancement like increased strength, better reaction speed, enhanced telepathic abilities or even complete fusion between subjects. And you know what? They're in better control of their mental and bodily functions. As we speak, you are probably much smarter than the originals and I'm quite sure it could take a bit of time to kill you. However, artificial Dragon Knights failed to meet my expectations as I've noticed from this report and several secret experiments I'd been conducting. For the external Heart that we embedded into you has a limit to its godlike regenerative prowess. It'd take some time but with enough injuries, the artificial cells will exhaust their power and as such you can be left as defenseless as an injured human."

"Is that it? I doubt we'd need a lecture on that-"

"That is not your only weakness," Ghetsis cut in smoothly and raised a finger. "Such defaults can simply be corrected by refueling the ice crystal with more cells. The real weakness I'm talking about is one which makes me feel just the slightest bit of pity for you."

"And that is?"

Ghetsis grinned darkly. "...Kyurem is a very scary entity to be feared. Even in its barest state, his cells will still regenerate and therefore hijack the host's system. And if said host is actually found out to be unsuitable to house its power, Kyurem's cells will eat the host from the inside out and die off. The process is slow, painful and extremely horrific, more so that you cannot see the external effects. Also, this process seems to hasten when the host's regenerative system is down to its very last bit of power. It's most likely for that reason that Chaos was weak enough to have been taken down by mere humans and pokemon. Oh? That's quite the face you're making, Franz."

"S-so...Kyurem's cells have been e-eating my insides from the start?" Franz stuttered, eyes nearly as wide as saucers and mouth hanging open.

"I'm sure you felt some random flashes of pain at some point, right?"

It was true, each time Franz regenerated, it felt like something was repeatedly gnawing on his guts. "Is that what you meant by breakdown?"

"Yep!" Ghetsis chirped and tilted his head as Franz's expression hooded. "Is something wrong, Franz?"

"What the hell did you put into me?! Are you trying to kill me, you psycho?!" the blonde screamed, angry, horrified and deathly frightened.

Ghetsis arched an eyebrow. "Psycho?"

"I thought I was your subject! I followed you, Ghetsis! I did everything you asked of me and this is how you repay me? What the fuck! How could you?! Arceus, I'm gonna die!"

In his rant, Franz failed to notice the dark silhouette behind him and only turned when he heard the buzz of a chainsaw echoing from the door.

"Oi," Joid growled, giving the machine a twirl. "Did you just call the king a psycho?"

Franz looked from him to Ghetsis and furrowed his brows. "Ghetsis...what's going on?"

"You failed so you're no use to me anymore," Ghetsis replied, shrugging. "So Joid's going to have the honour of devouring you. But first, he's going to help me see just how potent your regenerative system can be."

"But you said the more I regenerate, the faster Kyurem's gonna eat me from the inside-"

SLASH!

Franz's eyes widened as blood sprayed from his severed wound. The injury quickly healed but Joid brought the chainsaw down on his head and brought him to his knees before happily hacking away at the screaming knight. Try as he might, he couldn't push the boy off and was subjected to the painful torture of being carved like a turkey and at the same time, experiencing internal agony from Kyurem's carnivorous cells. Under 5 minutes, Franz was at his limit and Joid lifted his bloodied chainsaw before giving it a lick.

"Sweet," he remarked and devoured the chainsaw whole before licking his pale lips. "Can I eat him now, Lord Ghetsis?"

From his position on the floor, Franz saw Ghetsis stroll towards him and crouch beside his bloodied but slowly regenerating frame.

"317 slashes should do the trick" he remarked and grinned as Franz, on cue, suddenly hacked up blood and clutched his chest in pain. Screaming and rolling on the floor, the knight's body spurted blood and holes from different parts, indicating the deadly rebound Ghetsis had predicted and Joid stared at the sight with an evil grin on his lips.

"Kyurem is eating him," he stated ominously and Franz stopped his rolling to painfully stagger to his feet and turn.

"I can't die..." he spluttered, taking slow steps towards the door. "I don't wanna die! Somebody...get help! Crazy...these fuckers are crazy!"

He obviously didn't reach the door as raw ice formed from the holes in his arms and legs, much to his surprise and horror.

"No way," he stuttered and pointed a frightened look at the ever-smiling Ghetsis. "I don't want...to die."

"Sorry but you'll have to. Look on the bright side, Franz. At least you served your purpose as a human guinea pig. Now I know that cloning Kyurem's cells are a big no-no. So bye bye, Franz. Return to the ice from whence you came."

Franz's expression clouded as the ice reached his face and he ground his fangs in anger at the betrayal. He had been used and tossed away like garbage and the fact that this sick psycho could just shrug it off and smile annoyed him greatly. But he could do nothing now. Nothing at all. Except scream and curse until his entire body was encrusted in ice.

"Joid, eat him," Ghetsis ordered calmly.

"Itadakimasu!" Joid declared maniacally and opened his jaws wide before taking several snaps and chunks out of the frozen body, dyeing the ice not to mention the floor itself in blood. Ghetsis watched the gruesome activity before looking over his shoulder and grinning at the horrified expression on the face of the white haired girl who up to that point had been sitting right next to his throne.

"Enjoying the show?" he asked and strolled up to her before tilting her head to look into her dull-yellow eyes. "Even if you're in extreme null consciousness, you can still take in what's going on in your surroundings. I'm sure this must be torture on your innocent little mind. Although, I can't believe your will is still strong enough to show such expressions. Even if your voice is tied down, your eyes are still conveying message after message for help, White."

Said girl could only stare back at him take a sharp breath as his finger traced down her neck, stopping at the top of her chest.

"Beautiful," Ghetsis remarked and brought his face closer to hers. "Such broken innocence is so, so beautiful. It makes me want to claim you for my own possession. Would you prefer that? Would you like to be my toy?"

His lips were dangerously close to hers now and though she couldn't exactly move, Ghetsis could see the stark refusal in her half-lidded eyes. And it was at that moment that he stopped just centimetres from her lips and grinned.

"You actually thought I was going to kiss you?" he chuckled and pulled back. "Please, even I have my limits. I won't stoop so low as to wasting saliva on my late enemy's sister. Besides, you're Scarlet's woman anyway and I don't wish to become like Fraud."

"Can I kiss her instead?" Joid asked and received a blow to the head Draco who had just walked in. "It was a joke, dammit."

"One that will land you back in solitary confinement," he deadpanned and eyed the icy mess on the floor. "Was it a good idea letting White see that, sire?"

"I don't actually know," Ghetsis replied nonchalantly, playing with White's hair. "I really wanted to see her face when she views such things since I just get a kick from it. You could call it psychological torture in a sense, though she's gotten a lot of that from watching her loved one die. Don't worry, I won't injure her mind too much. It has to be kept innocent for Kyurem anyway."

Draco shrugged and pocketed his hands. "I see Alphinia still wasn't retrieved. What should we do, sire? The ball is coming the day after tomorrow and I'm sure you wanted her to see your plans come to the fore."

"Indeed I did," Ghetsis stated and drew White to her feet before taking her hand. "But I realised now that I don't care anymore."

Draco's red eyes twitched slightly. "Pardon, sire?"

"She's not Felicia so she's really of no use to me too. Having her here only made my heart hurt. So it's okay that she ran away. I won't make a move to get her back anymore. But, if she chooses to interfere with my plans, she will be killed, Draco."

The young man froze. What...was Ghetsis saying? The girl he had saved was now deemed worthless to him? What's more, he would, without hesitation, kill her? "My lord, that is-"

"Is there a problem, Draco?" Ghetsis asked, eyes still focused on White. "Who are you more devoted to, me, your lord and master, or that weak girl who has willingly chosen to become human? Answer, Draco."

"...You, my lord," the knight replied, looking away with an flickering uncertainty in his eyes.

"Good. Now smile already. You don't look so good with a long face," the greenette laughed and placed his hands on White's shoulders before drawing her into a hug. "Besides...I've found a new toy now."

Draco stared at the two before letting his eyes rest on White. So it was her. She was the reason why Ghetsis deemed Alphinia useless. She stole Ghetsis's attention. She...must die for Alphinia to be accepted into the unstable man's eyes again.

"Draco," Ghetsis piped up, cutting his murderous thoughts. "Smile."

Slowly, Draco's lips curved upwards to make the tiniest of smiles before it went wide with insanity at the thought of slaying White.

"That's more like it," the greenette remarked and took White's long hair. "Hmm. I think she needs a haircut. By the way, the Shadow Triad brought us some interesting news. They said...that a certain hunter is alive."

Joid nearly choked on the finger he was chewing and Draco's smile suffered a twitch.

"I know. That was the same face I had when I heard it. So I'd like a short word with the League, just to see if it's true."

"I shall arrange for an opportunity, sire," Draco replied with a bow and turned to leave. "How soon would you like it to happen?"

"Tomorrow would suffice. You may go now, Draco and remember, keep smiling."

I'll really smile when I see that little slut's head roll, the knight inwardly growled as he left the room with a still-surprised Joid in tow.

"Now then," Ghetsis stated and seized White's hair. "About that haircut."

Unova Pokemon League HQ. Hospital Section.

Scarlet stared dumbly at the handcuffs chaining his left hand to the hospital bed and gave it a light tug.

"What the hell," he sighed and recalled the last few hours. "Beat Chaos. Made a promise. Passed out shortly after from rebound and hunger. Woke up. Heard that Rain was being an absolute dick and telling everyone that I'm supposed to be arrested. Got handcuffed to the bed and now, currently awaiting decision from the International Pokemon League HQ tomorrow. Seriously, talk about ungrateful."

Jolteon whined in response and yawned before drifting back to sleep on his laps. Through the clear moonlight streaming into the open window, Scarlet could make out a pompadour sleeping on the bed across the room and also handcuffed to it though he had both hands bound instead of one since he had put up quite a fight when Rain had announced the seemingly unfair decision.

"Yet, he left us dangerous guys in here, unsupervised. He's trusting us to not actually run away knowing how easily we can break these things," the redhead remarked and gave a sharp tug, snapping the handcuff off. "Like I'd run now. I need the guys at the League to help me stall Team Plasma so I can reach White. Besides, running's for losers."

"...Damn, guess I ain't running anymore then."

Still facing the moon, Scarlet raised a brow and gave a small smile. "Looks like you're awake, LP."

"If you weren't talking out loud, maybe I'd have been able to sleep. And why is it now that you finally know my name?" the man deadpanned and slowly sat up. "Man, that Latios really knows how to put a guy to sleep. How long was I out?"

"About a couple of hours," Scarlet replied. "Vann didn't get arrested since no one really knows what he is so I guess it's just us here."

"...You look pretty optimistic for a guy awaiting trial. You remember what the punishment is for pokemon hunting, right?"

Scarlet smirked. "Life imprisonment?"

"Used to be the Chair back in the day," LP murmured and rested his head on the headboard. "I'm surprised Boss hasn't sent someone to snipe us yet."

"Maybe he has. Rain's probably put this room under some psychic barrier so bullets can't get in." Scarlet crossed his arms as LP snapped off his own handcuffs and rubbed his wrists. "So, why're you still here?"

"You said running's for losers and Cool LP ain't no loser. Besides, the League's bed's are darn comfy," he replied, sighing at the fluffy material.

"No, seriously. Why're you here?" Scarlet asked in a more serious tone. "I knew you'd been following me for Reshiram but now that the situation's changed, there's no point in staying here anymore. You should've left, LP. A huge fight is coming to Unova and I doubt you'd want to risk your life by staying here."

LP gave him a short stare before giving a low snort of amusement. "So you knew all along, eh? Hmph. Relax, man. Boss didn't send me to spy on you or something. At first I came for Reshiram but I guess things got complicated along the line."

"Meaning?"

"...I was watching ya. The way you and that airhead seemed to click. You looked...happy and I guess it made me want to see just how this hunt of yours would play out. Turned out to be one hell of a ride, that's for sure. I'd never had so much crazy shit tossed at me in any other hunt, what with fighting those Team Psychos or whatever they were. The mission was fun in a weird way. More fun than I'd ever experienced on solo missions."

Scarlet gave him a sceptical look before going back to looking at the moon. "You know, LP. This is pretty much the first time we've gotten to talking with each other this long. I thought you hated my guts."

"Still do, kiddo. I still do. But not as much as you think. And also, I think we've had a long talk like this before. It was some years back though I doubt you'd remember it."

"I don't," Scarlet chipped in and the older hunter sweatdropped before giving him another thoughtful stare as the former returned to staring at the moon.

"What's with the moon-watching?"

"...It reminds me of a few things," the teen replied softly. "Like when White, Jolteon And I would sit up to watch the stars sometimes when we didn't feel like sleeping. Often, White would give us some sappy story about how she and her dead brother would do the same thing and talk about stuff. Much like what we're doing now. Only thing is, White's not here so it's kind of boring."

"Heh. You're real smitten for that ditz, ain't ya?" LP joked. "You almost look like you're getting withdrawal symptoms from her not being here."

"Shut up, geezer."

"OI! I'm only twenty-*&%$£*!"

"Right, right," Scarlet deadpanned and leaned back to rest on the pillows. "What would you know anyway. You never had luck with women unless they were skanks or girls just after your money."

"Ouch man, that hurt. And for your info, I do have luck with women. Just not the right kind," LP growled and took a comb to tame his messy pompadour. "Bet you didn't know I was married once."

Scarlet blinked. "Eh?"

"Had a son too."

"EH?"

LP smirked and raised the large medallion hanging off his neck before flipping it open and tossing it to Scarlet, the latter catching it and taking a good look at the photo. Surprise, surprise, there was LP (pompadour a few inches shorter) staring back at him with a toddler in his arms and a woman resting casually on his shoulder and making a peace sign. All three of them were grinning like maniacs and Scarlet resisted the urge to anime drop at the toddler's little pompadour.

"That's my family back in the good old days," LP chipped in proudly. "As you can see, I got the most beautiful woman in the world and the coolest kid on the block."

"So what happened to them?" Scarlet asked, closing the medallion and tossing it back to LP.

The man caught it and gave a tired smile. "It's a sad story."

"...They died-"

"No. Jeez, death isn't the only sad thing in this rotten world," LP interjected flatly and tightened his hold on the medallion. "I used to do other stuff before being a hunter. Had a normal, stable job. Unfortunately, those fuckers at the administrative block decided to lay off workers for the sake of decreasing the amount of pay for the workers and therefore increasing the company's own profit. I got screwed over when I was one of those picked to get the axe. They called it low productivity but I call it shit and bad luck. Anyway, I got really depressed since that job was the first stable job I had actually landed in my life. My wife tried to get me past it, saying that I could just get another one but like the bitch life was, people turned me down everywhere I went. No surprise when the frustration set in and before I knew it, I landed somehow landed myself in ORPH. I didn't tell my family of course since my wife was working as an assistant for the doctors in the city's Pokemon Centre. Besides, any sane person would've smacked me upside the head for doing stuff like hunting pokemon. So I kept it all to myself. I though I was doing da right thing, providing for the family with the fat pay checks I got. But my wife got really suspicious and in no time at all, she got someone to spill after doing some asking around and snooping. So she told me that it was either I leave the job or she leaves with our kid since I would be a bad influence. You can finish it from here."

"...You chose ORPH," Scarlet muttered and looked down. "Sorry."

"For what? I was the one who got too greedy. In the end, I lost whatever good I had in me for the money. Women, power, fame and pokemon, it swallowed me whole, man. I never saw my wife and son again...and I can't believe I didn't care."

"But you did care," Scarlet chided. "That's why you carried the picture."

LP blinked and laughed a little before looping the medallion back on his neck and falling back into his pillows to stare at the ceiling. "Heh. S'pose I did after all. But I only remembered opening it after what you said to me four years back."

Scarlet tilted his head in confusion. "What happened four years back?"

The man sighed. "You don't remember the time when I had a partner who people often called my baby brother?"

Scarlet mulled over the statement before snapping his fingers in realisation. "Sweet KP!"

"That's the guy," LP remarked. "Though he had an afro instead of a rocking pomp', people still called us bros. Maybe because he was always following me in the hopes of reaching my level. I still remember when he came up to me once and declared that he was gonna be my apprentice. I think he was a little older than you are now."

"He was a loud guy," Scarlet pointed out. "A pervert too. Violet and Luca never went too far before getting their butts grabbed whenever he was around. He was always rushing off to the nearest A-rank hunt just to prove himself too. Then he died when he went against the rules and did an S-rank mission without a partner, most likely you. Then you blamed yourself for quite a while. I think you visited his grave a lot."

"I did. I also think you did too. That was how we met for the first time when we both visited his grave. So now d'you remember what you said to me?"

Scarlet huffed and turned away, earning a smirk from LP.

"I think it went something like 'Quit being a pussy, bastard! So your reckless apprentice died, big deal. People and pokemon die at some point. It's only painful when you refuse to move on and continue living for them. Make a name for yourself already and do KP proud so he won't have to worry about tying down his number one master with his death. I mean, you've still got other people important to you, right, you stupid pompadour?'"

"I wasn't in the right state of mind at that point," the redhead remarked.

"But believe it or not, those words did a number on me. Not just ma pride and dignity but also my way of thinking. Now I won't say this out loud and don't think it changes anything...but hearing a kid say that to me made me see you as a role model. Or should I say a bar where I wanna raise myself up to. You went through a lot as a kid and it made you a real tough guy, one I wanted to be, so I made you my rival though you didn't know."

The redhead pointed to himself. "I'm a role model?"

"Don't rub it in, red," LP deadpanned and closed his eyes. "Imagine my surprise when I see my so-called bar rising higher by going on to beat monsters and get a hot girl to boot. My jealousy...and pride...knew no bounds after that so I said to myself, 'If I helped this guy...would it mean that I too had some real use? If I did the right thing...would my family point and say: That's our LP. The tough, good guy?'"

"So you're here because...?"

LP sat up again and threw a thumbs up. "I wanna do something good for once, Scarlet. I want my family to be proud of me, wherever they are. If I die, I'll at least know that I died a good man and that's something I'm sure my son would boast about to his friends. Who knows, if I live, maybe I'll give them a visit sometime."

"...A family sounds nice," Scarlet murmured.

"It is, man. So make one with White when we save her," he joked and grinned as Scarlet's face flared.

"G-go back to sleep already, stupid pompadour!" And with that, he chucked a pillow at LP's face and slumped into his bed with a thoughtful expression on his face. "Hey...LP, I think you've always been a good guy. You haven't really killed anyone before and other than the usual f-words flying, you're pretty harmless."

"Oi!"

"It's true," the redhead said and smirked. "Hey LP, I've got a plan I need you to hear."

"You always have plans, don't you?" LP asked but sat up all the same. "Shoot then."

A minute later...

"Boy, you crazy," LP remarked as Scarlet closed his eyes to sleep.

"It's a long shot and I'm sure they'd refuse but if my hunch is correct then we just might have a chance," he replied and yawned. "You know, today was a good day. I resurrected, we beat Chaos...and I found out that pompadours are actually friendly creatures."

"Die baldie," said pompadour groaned as sleep settled in. "Tomorrow's going to be one weird day."

"Hmm..." was all Scarlet replied as he drifted off to slumberland where he was sure dreams of meeting White again would come up.

The cool wind blowing against Lightning's skin made him prickle a bit but also made him sigh at how relaxing it felt. After such a tiring day, such means of relief were appreciated be it wind or gulping down lots of water to replace all the blood, sweat and tears he had lost in the fight. As expected, Haxorus took the loss quite hard but for some reason, he wasn't exactly devastated. Instead, he punched Lightning for being so reckless in his own fight and told him that they would still touch the horizon and be heroes, tusks or no tusks. He had even said that he liked the thought of using only one tusk as it posed more of a challenge to test his inner strength, something most Haxorus liked to do.

"If anything, that guy's more of a hero than me-nya," he remarked and winced at the dull ache on his shoulder. "Maybe next time, you could be a little gentler, Alphy-chan."

Alphinia scratched her cheek apologetically. "Sorry. I was pretty useless in that battle."

"No. At least you didn't get a hole in your chest-de arimasu," Lightning chuckled and balanced on the window sill. "But it must've hurt to pull those things out. I heard they couldn't even use painkillers because your system rejected it-de arimasu."

"I'm used to it," the blonde replied and got off her bed before leaning beside him on the sill. "I lost a lot of blood though and it'll take me a while to regain it. Not as long as humans but I suppose I won't be walking too far in the next couple of hours. Plus, my body's still tingly from Ares's leftover aura."

"I'm surprised you can even move this much-de arimasu," Lightning remarked, eyeing the bandages poking out from her low top that exposed her shoulders.

"The moon looks nice tonight," she stated, closing her eyes at the soft breeze blowing against her. "And the wind feels just nice for flying."

"You like flying-de arimasuka?"

Alphinia nodded a little and raised her hands. "Often, I'd pester Ghetsis to see if he could fit me with wings. He obviously refused saying that I was better as a wingless demon than a winged angel."

"That's terrible-de arimasu," Lightning deadpanned. "That guy seriously needs a tip on complementing women."

The girl beside him gave a light giggle. "And I suppose you're suitable enough to do that?"

"Of course! A hero 's gotta be smooth with the fangirls-de arimasu," he declared and struck a pose (insert sparkle here) "These lean muscles aren't just for fighting bad guys-nya!"

"You are quite conceited," she sighed and gave his chest a poke. "Although I really wonder where those fangirls are."

"I do too-de arimasu," Lightning bemoaned, anime tears falling from his eyes before stopping as he brightened up. "But I'm used to it now. Besides, it takes sometime before my prowess as a hero spreads. Then one day, one happy day, I'll do something so big that even Elesa would want to be in my harem. Along with Iris, Erika, Sabrina, Gardenia, Maylene, Whitney, that ace trainer I saved back in Opelucid and-"

Alphinia watched him list the female gym leaders, trainers and random girls he had met before resting her hand on her chin and saying, "...Pervert."

"Nope! I'm simply a radical feminist who loves women-de arimasu!" Lightning corrected, still sparkling. "And that's another reason why Ghetsis must be stopped-de arimasu. Though saving White is the most important reason-de arimasu."

The knight tilted her head. "You really like White though she prefers Scarlet to you."

"Don't rub it in-nya," Lightning grumbled and pouted. "Besides, you like Scarlet and he's already head over heels for her so you could consider yourself also dumped."

"At least I knew I stood no chance," Alphinia replied bluntly, earning a fat tick mark on Lightning's head.

"Honest, aren't we-nya?"

"I don't like lying," Alphinia chuckled and looked to the moon again. "Hey, Lightning. You guys said you're going to the Red Moon Ball in two day's time, right?"

"Yep."

"...Are you scared? Hero aside, is the real Hilbert scared?"

Lightning's smile softened and he put a hand to his bandaged chest. "I'm human. It's only natural to feel a bit anxious of an event that will surely decide the fate of the world. If we lose, Ghetsis will destroy humanity. If we win, the world's saved-de arimasu. Funny right? A random trainer like me getting tossed into this mess all of a sudden. I think Scarlet's deserves the task of beating that guy with his new arm and all. He's got more experience with monsters though it would be nice to sock that green-haired devil in the face too-de arimasu."

"Can I come too?" she asked. "I want to be of use to you guys for once."

"You've already done quite a lot for us, Alphinia. Right now, I'm sure Ghetsis already has something planned in case you come along and from what I've heard, you're not exactly the toughest Dragon Knight out there, no offence-de arimasu."

"But I want to help," Alphinia stated strongly and clenched a fist. "I know their weaknesses just as much as they know mine. I've got a chance if I fought together with you guys. I'll also be more careful too."

Lightning stared at the determined expression on her face and raised a finger before poking the tip of her nose. "I never said you wouldn't be coming-nya. I simply want you to know how dangerous rebelling against your maker could get-de arimasu. He could send Draco to scrap you or worse, turn you against us in which case...I'd have to kill you-de arimasu."

"I've taken it into consideration," she pointed out. "And I'm prepared for the consequences."

"Then we've got training to do-de arimasu," he stated. "Lots and lots tomorrow."

"So you're giving me a chance?" Alphinia asked, resisting the urge to mirror his acknowledging grin. "Thank you. You don't know how much it means to me."

"I've got a pretty good guess," Lightning laughed and pressed against her nose playfully. "You know, maybe I'll get you into my harem too. You could be my first member-de arimasu."

He was expecting a snarky reply or even a gentle insult but imagine his surprise when she gave a small smile, parted her lips...and trapped his finger within her fangs.

"Or maybe not. I wouldn't want you snapping my hand off-de arimasu," he stuttered and sighed in relief as she let it go, intact and uninjured.

"Actually, being in your so-called group doesn't sound so bad," she mumbled in a tiny voice and nearly made Lightning fall off the ledge.

"N-n-nya?"

Alphinia smirked and turned before slumping back onto her bed. "Hey, Lightning. We're friends now, right?"

"Yeah. Best friends," the cowboy re-affirmed, earning a wider smile from the girl.

"Thank you. For letting me have your blood and even going so far as to help me out against Thanatos and Ares," she stated and drew the covers up to her neck. "Also, thanks for visiting me tonight. I guess I'm okay enough to sleep again."

"No need to thank me-nya!" Lightning replied and whistled at the clock. "Look at the time. I guess it's time for me to go. Nice talking with ya-de arimasu."

"Sleep well," she bade as he stepped out of the window and clambered up to his room on the floor above with the skills of a Purrloin. As soon as he disappeared, she placed a hand on her nose and brushed it lightly before getting just tiniest bit of a pink on her cheeks. "That's strange. This feeling is much different from Scarlet's. I wonder just what makes Lightning so different from the others..."

At the same time, Lightning slumped back on his head and gave a raggedy sigh while holding his beating chest. For some reason, he felt oddly happy that he held a conversation with a girl other than White. Why exactly? Why was he much freer with Alphinia? And why did that soft smile of hers make his heart feel weird? Weirder than even the previously-intense feelings for White

"I even went so far as to say she'd be in my harem-de arimasu..." he murmured, realising just what he might have unconsciously been implying. "Ah jeez, I'm so confused-de arimasu."

Underground Plasma Castle.

A lullaby.

White sat on her large bed with nothing but the moon to stare at through the see-through ceiling. At the same time, the smooth music sifted through her and she almost thought it beautiful as beautiful as the silk gown she was made to wear.

But she didn't care anymore.

At times like this, she remembered sitting up with Scarlet and Jolteon, telling each other some little stories (more of her doing the story-telling though) and at other times just basking in the relaxing silence. Then sometimes, she'd get really drowsy and Scarlet would carry her gently back to her bed before laying her down and, when he was feeling up to it, whisper a small lullaby to get her to sleep. He never sang (didn't look like the type to) but his voice had always been eerily tuned to almost sound melodic at night.

Or maybe it was just her being weird.

"You should sleep," Ghetsis's voice rolled across her smoothly. Or was it Black? She didn't know anymore as her memories had taken a bit of a wrong turn due to the effects of null consciousness. Hell, she barely remembered Scarlet's face anymore, opting to only focus on his scar. The scar that set him apart from so many other people she had come across.

"You should go to sleep." And an ice-cold hand laid itself firmly on her shoulder. Ghetsis was staring at her now with a semi-concerned expression on his face. Or was it Black just caring for her? Who cared, she couldn't answer him. She couldn't even lift his cold hand off her freezing shoulder.

"Or are you thinking of your precious hunter again?"

She knew what came after that. Ghetsis would go on to tell her that he was dead and gone and it was all her fault, something she knew already but still didn't want to believe. Then he'd use that awful needle on her and force more of that fluid into her blood stream. Everything would hurt for a moment but only for a moment. And then she would sleep.

She wanted to sleep forever.

"I wonder if you can really hear anything I'm saying," he muttered, drawing the needle and grinning. "You don't even have that frightened expression anymore when I bring this out. Are you addicted to it, perhaps?"

No, she wasn't. The more he used it, the more she kept forgetting things. Her pokemon, her friends, her family, her adventures, her life. Everything was drifting away. Slowly, slowly.

"It's okay, everything will be over soon," Ghetsis whispered in that soothing tone Black always used. "You'll be with your brother and all your dead friends soon. So just forget about Scarlet and bask in the pleasures of your earthly sleep."

Forget...Scarlet? Could she do that?

"He only brought harm to you. He was not what you needed."

She was too lightheaded from the drug being pumped into her arm to even deny it. Her memories were but a blur now. There was no Black, no pokemon, no friends, no family. Nothing.

"There is no Scarlet. Only you."

No use. Everything was going blank. Scarlet...Scarlet...Scar...ly...

"Who is Scarlet?"

Slowly, slowly, White tilted her head and asked, "Scarlet...who?"

Author's Corner.

Slybill: One of the preamble chapters before the ball. I suppose it'd be okay to put in some back story for LP and I hope no one's too mad about the very subtle LightningXAlphinia I tossed in. Well, onto the next chapter! (Depending on the situation, there might be two other preambles but I plan to end this story on Chapter 70 so there's really not much left to tell.) Well, see ya!