-Duskull's POV-

I could only watch dumbfounded as Alpha Spiritomb convulsed in a violent coughing fit. Fortunately, I wasn't the only one. The entire colony looked just as puzzled as I as we stared at our leader in their new host, the girl Liza. Green smoke blurted out of her mouth at each cough, and her eyes were tightly shut, though it was still faintly possible to identify Spiritomb's glowing eyes underneath her eyelids' small opening. Apparently, that body couldn't really handle the immense power they had inside of them, especially so early after the possession. The repeated attacks used had exceeded it for the moment.

And yet I couldn't get myself to move my skull into the shadows and disappear from that mess. I was just paralyzed, and not in the usual way.

"Duskull." I heard the boy, Tate, whisper next to me, snapping me out of my trance. I shifted my eye to look at him and was once again surprised at how similar he was to his sister. Same hair, same skin, same eyes, same height. Even their voices were similar. Hell, they smelled the same. It made me feel even worse about aiding Spiritomb in their hideous plan...

"Would you be able to track me down from a distance?" He asked me. I nodded with a frown, confused. His life force, his 'scent', was registered in my mind; I could track him down from hundreds of miles away, provided there were shadows available around for me to feel him. But why did that matter? "Take the stone. Bring it to me. No matter what you do, don't let them have my sister."

Before I could reply, before I could even register his words, his solrock acted. The rock immediately lifted Tate and the dead lunatone to the air with a Psychic and promptly flung them and itself off the cliff into the sea below.

Rocks. Always so irritatingly pragmatic.

"CRUSH THEM!" Spiritomb vociferared between their coughs, their horrifying voice startling everyone to work. My scared brethren immediately charged down the summit to shore, determined to catch Tate before he escaped. Or maybe just wanting to take their distance from the angry Alpha. Either worked.

A few were still aware of my presence, though, so I didn't have much time to check whether the boy and the two rocks had managed to escape or been shattered in the ground below.

"BEAT! SLICE! DESTROY!" The sableye twins screamed as they sped towards me, each with Shadow Claws ready to strike. I winced, preparing myself to counter that.

You see, few know that, but ghost attacks are never deadly. Not a single one, no matter how much force you press on it. Our ancestors developed such techniques with their powers that disabled this kind of property in our strikes. However, they can still wound opponents. To various extents, from minimal scratched to crippling trauma. The usage of ghostly attacks when going for the voiding is seen as an act of cruelty and treachery between our kind, since an assault might cause severe injuries but never end the opponent's suffering.

To sum it all up, geting struck by the two sableye's Shadow Claws would open wounds all over me, but they would never be grave enough to void me and stop the little bastards' mauling session. They wanted me to suffer as much as possible beforehand.

The sableye were impatient and aggressive, which could be quite a problem if I wasn't fast enough. But I had the edge when it came to evasion skills. Those two barbarians couldn't hope to surpass me on Shadow Sneaking around, nobody in the colony stood a chance against me in this point. I quickly melted into my shadow right as the twins swiped their claws, leaving them to stumble into each other. I then reappeared right behind them and released two Will-O-Wisp orbs. The fire almost immediately engulfed the two sableye into purple flames as they screamed in agony, collapsing to the floor after I struck both with Shadow Ball.

"Not tonight, boys. Not yet." I murmured, chuckling.

My little show attracted the attention of three nosy shuppet, who proceeded to try subduing me with Astonish. Like I would be astonished by a few rags trying to startle me while I looked directly at them. I simply growled and charged at them, ramming the shuppet into a mausoleum with Payback. The three little things picked themselves up and squealed in fear as they sped away through the walls, not to pester me again.

Not very hard so far. But the longer I stayed there, the more attention I would call. So I once again used Shadow Sneak to sink to the comforting embrace of darkness before the rest of the colony came back, without or without the escapees.

The usual silence and emptiness of that little dimension didn't help decreasing my anxiety this time. Any threat could hop in at any moment, so I had to get out of Mt. Pyre and outrun the colony before it was too late. I doubted the Alpha could use Shadow Sneak now that they were possessing a human body and imprisoned by flesh's limitations, but they were still a force to reckon with.

I wasted no more time. Closing my eye, I focused on the first location outside of the mountain that I could think of and imagined myself there, emerging from a tree, rock, wall, whichever was possible. I tried to form a link to the location, imagining a pathway for me to float across. It might sound complicated and long, but I had tons of practice; in less than two seconds I felt a force pushing me towards my destination and let it carry me.

I immediately felt the cold air of Lilycove blowing through my eye sockets and breathed a sigh of relief as I looked curiously at my surroundings. Free at last. This time, I had arrived at the terrace of a tall building, a wide and well lit area featuring a few benches, tables and parasols near the balcony. The floor was empty at the moment, but I was still cautious while floating across. I mean, they shut down Mt. Pyre because of me and my brethren. This building didn't need the same fate.

As I reached the balcony, I slightly leaned in to take a peek and was surprised at the view that place had. I could see the entirety of Lilycove City from that spot, a sea of lit houses and buildings. By the small hill sepparating the building from the rest of the city and its unnecessary flashiness, I deduced thsi had to be the so called Department Store.

From the spot, I could recognize the glitzy, golden silhouette of the Pokemon Contest Spectacular, or whatever humans call it, and not far away the red roof of the pokemon center. I knew the woman that worked there; she was one f the few humans I'd came across who wouldn't flip after seeing me getting in througg a wall or a shadow. Guess she had seen weirder stuff in that clinic. Perharps I could go over there, get a meal and a rest, think about where to go...

Take the stone. Bring it to me. No matter what you do, don't let them have my sister

...

I caught myself thinking about Liza. I grew fond of the girl as soon as I first spoke to her. Her outspoken and cheerful attitude made one hell of a contrast with my colony. The other ghosts were always so quiet, so bland, so...lifeless(sure, our definition of life is different from that of other pokemon, but you get the picture). And because of me, that cute and lively child had been reduced to a desembodied specter locked in the Odd Keystone, her young body reduced to a horrid puppet hosting 108 demons.

Tate didn't captivate me as deeply from the beginning. It had been very amusing when he first saw me and how terrified my face made him(though why he would be so scared of such an attractive sight is beyond me), or at least until that annoying solrock of his tried to scorch me, but he didn't really strike me at first.

But I had been there to see the pure horror in his face when Spiritomb possessed Liza, and witnessed how he was initially willing to fight off a hoard of ghosts with just two psychics and a renegade in order to try and save her. I also observed some cleverness and judgement of his part when he chose to retreat when things went south instead of insisting on a lost battle. Had he stayed there, we would all have been voided(and it would have been immensely cliche, if I can say so myself).

Those two reminded me so much about Rose.

Liza had shown a friendly and caring side, being polite and cheerful around me even before knowig if I was a trreat. Just like how Rose would embace me in stormy nights when I was a little phantom and mutter soothing words to calm me down...

Tate had showcased logical thinking and a strong sense of loyalty. Just like how Rose would command mein battle, being strategic and quick to act but always pausong once she concluded I was too tired. She never put the rest of the team above me, nor below me.

I wish I had shown the same loyalty wjen I needed it...

No. Enough about Rose. Too painful.

I sighed once I remembered the morbid sight of the dead lunatone. Moonlight, as Tate had called it. I never really liked psychics, nor did I ever have an affection for rocks, but I still pitied the poor thing. It had also been forced to watch its trainer being imprisoned. And had been forced to face against her body. It was just protecting its loved oned. Making sure it would still have a family to return to by the end of the night.

Moonlight stood its ground until the very end to defend its partners.

Moonlight was very unlike me.

...

Damnit, here's me again, thinking about Rose..

No, after all I had caused, I couldn't just walk away and leave Tate and the solrock(what was its name? Spring?) to clean that mess by themselves. I could track him down. I could take the Odd Keystone to him. And in whatever damn way, I could help him freeing his sister and personally shoving Spiritomb back into their stinky cage before they dominated the world or whatever.

That was a comforting thought.

I carefully, really carefully took a peek from outside the Keystone's shadow to check for anyone guarding it. I had no idea if Spiritomb was expecting me to come and get it or if the rest of the crew just hadn't managed to move it and gave up, but there was nobody in the immediate surroundings.

As much as I wanted to stay safe in my hiding spot, that stupid rock was rigged to weight more when carried by a ghost or a nocturnal than when carried by a human or other types of pokemon(who created this shit has a serious prejudice against my kind). I couldn't just pull it from my position, I had to float over and push it towards the shadows.

Reluctantly, I slowly rose from the spot and came to hide right behind the Keystone. I was slightly larger than it, though, and quickly moved away to begin my suicidal task. Circling the Keystone, I pressed my hands against it and made force. Nothing happened.

Cursing under my breath, I did a quick glance around to certify that I was still alone before pushing my whole body on the Keystone and pressing much more force against it. This time I felt a slight movement and beamed excitedly, continuing my pushing. This proccess continued for a few minutes.

Funny how our intelligence disappears when we are tense, no? Because it was only then that it hit me that an object's shadow follows it as it moves along the light source.

Muttering lovely things your children probably shouldn't hear, I moved up to try and push the top of the Keystone into its shadow. There, now this could work. But just as I prepared to tackle it, something changed in the air. The temperature seemed to drop around me, filling me with fear. Only one being could cause such a feeling at me...

My body suddenly escaped my control. I was lifted higher into the air against my will and not even my intangibility could save me there. My arms were also paralyzed against my body soon afterwards, and I heard soft footsteps stepping up the plateau stairs and was unwillingly turned around to face none other than Liza.

Or rather, Alpha Spiritomb, who, unlike before, sported a much more controlled grin in that horrid green mouth. Their eyes looked slightly different as well. Colder. Cruel, but not madly like how they had assaulted us earlier.

"A-Alpha Spiritomb." I murmured under my breath, gulping and desperately trying to move. Fruitless. The Psychic was too strong. The entity merely chuckled at my attempts, which startled me. That wasn't the voice I was used to! This was a feminine voice. You'd think it would sound more natural in a girl's body than a masculine voice, but no. This one sounded even more out of place.

"You came back." They emitted a calm laugh with that unnerving voice, standing right at my blind spot between sockets, though I didn't bother to move my eye to look at that freak. "I told them you would. But I expected you to crawl to my feet begging for mercy."

"I won't come back to this cursed colony." I hissed at Spiritomb, once again trying to break free from their Psychic, to no avail. "I have had enough of this dictatorship. I have had enough of your shit, Spiritomb. And I'll end the mess you started."

Provoking a superpowered entity while stuck in their grip probably wasn't the wisest decision I've taken(though not the most stupid). Oh, well. We all have our moments. And Spiritomb wasn't really fazed anyway.

"Oh, little duskull, you are such a complicated soul, are you not? Helping some random kid to get his little sister back, how sweet. I take that as a redemption? A way to get over your betrayal from so long ago?" They suggested with a wide smirk.

Any possible protest I had planned died in my mouth as I heard those words. Spiritomb...they knew? How could they know about that? "B-betrayal? W-what? H-how?" I had made sure to hide it from everyone...

"Surprised? I can tell you are. After all, you kept it so dearly secret, no? I must say, your mind was always the most interesting one to explore." The tone in which those words were said gave me chills. That explained why I had always felt watched during my time in the colony... "So much experience. So much knowledge pressed in such a small body. So much bitterness." They smirked, tracing a finger along my skull and prompting me to recoil. "So much sorrow. Do you regret your choices? Do you regret leaving her, little duskull? Do you?"

"Shut up!" I shouted, failing to move my arms and prepare a Shadow Ball to throw at that twisted mouth. No, Spiritomb was not going to make fun about that. Not about Rose! Not after everything I had gone through because of my decisions. "You know nothing!"

"Oh, but I do." The freaky monster pouted, chuckling at my attempts. "I know a lot more than you think. Your pain. Your guilt. Your regret. Hmm, but I can end it right here. I can set you free from your burden. In the same way that I have read your memories, I am capable of erasing the most painful ones. But that would require your consent and your loyalty. And, of course, a little extra price." They smirked.

"Which is...?"

"The girl's brother and his solrock have escaped our domains and entered the jellicent's territory." Spiritomb growled. Ohh, Tate was alive. That took a weight off my chest. Which was put back there as soon as I heard the rest. "I want you to bring his head on a tray to me, little duskull. Find the brat and the rock, slaughter both and bring tjem back as a trophy. Once you do that, I shall fulfill my offe-"

"Is this a little game to you?!" I snarled, actually surprising Spiritomb for a second. I wouldn't bottle more of that crap up. I was going to get voided anyway. "You toy around with your subordinates like we are just a bunch of shit you can get rid of anytime! All of those assholes you call servants would jump in the way of a Sheer Cold to make sure you are safe and yet you still don't bother to acknowledge our names or think of us any higher than animals! If it wasn't for me, you filth, you wouldn't even have possessed this girl in the first place!"

Spiritomb went completely silent for a minute, digesting what I had said. I even began to think that I had hit a nerve when they spoke, lowly and dangerously. This time, I recognized the voice I was used to, deep and masculine.

"You...this colony...are nothing more than tools, shortways to achieve my goals. I do not treat you better than pathetic animals because that is exactly what all of you are: a bunch of incompetent beasts with no purpose to exist aside from serving as my glory rug for when I finally manage to restore my former forms and engulf this world in my shadow. You are mere objects. Objects that do not need to remain wasting space after they cannot serve their purpose anymore. You claim I could not have swapped places with the girl if you were not here? Hah! You are not the only."

I was shocked at those words. Yes, I always knew this bastard felt no empathy or liking towards any of us, but not that their level of psychopathy was so high and merciless. Spiritomb opened their palm to reveal a pulsing orb of dark energy taking form and I widened my eye at the sight of the Dark Pulse. "You have potential, that you do. But you have chosen to waste it with a pointless human child rather than aiding me. Which means that I will have to...persuade you back to my side."

They then unleashed the powerful dark beam, which struck me dead on and nullified the Psychic set on me, hurling me towards the edge of the mountain. I didn't have the chance to fall, or even to use Shadow Sneak, however, as the Psychic pull caught me again and brought me back to the angry Alpha. "Submit."

"N-Never." I spat, wishing glares could void. Oh, how pleasurable that would be.

Spiritomb growled and raised their hand, tossing me away and chucking me into a mausoleum's wall. I could barely move by this point already; my entire body was screaming in pain, the Dark Pulse burning my skin from that direct blow. I had landed on a skeleton, which was destroyed once a Shadow Ball came through the hole and exploded the mausoleum.

Spiritomb was going to toy around with me. They would inflict as much pain as dearly possible and have me agonize for mercy at their feet. I was sent hurling into the sky with a scream, before being pulled back by the Psychic to the Alpha, who cackled maniacly as they pummeled me with a barrage of Faint Attacks, thougg not strong enough to make me faint. I was then gripped on by my skull and pulled forwards to meet Liza's glowing green eyes glaring at me.

"Submit!" They vociferated, preparing another Shadow Ball. Time was moving slowly as I watched that shadowy orb taking shape on their hand, now only an indefinite black circle. The pain was simply unbearable. My body hurt like fire where I had been struck(everywhere), and I could tell my skull had been cracked by the small line of light penetrating into my cavity.

However, there was still a trick I could try.

Gathering my last energies, I imagined a thin line connecting my soul and Spiritomb's multiple ones. Concentrating on my severe injuries, I tried to exchange my exchange with the Alpha's, if only for a bit...

"P-Pain..." I murmured "Split!"

Immediately, Spiritomb let out a painful screech and recoiled sharply backwards, dropping me to the floor from the Psychic. And I felt much better. I was still really hurt, but at least the burning sensation had gone away, and I was relieved to see the crack in my skull closing up.

"Take that!" I beamed, prompting Spiritomb to snap their neck and stare up at me. They looked way more tired now, seemingly struggling to keep themselves standing. There were also several bruises and burn marks corresponding to the ones not on my body anymore, but the scary part were their eyes.

Burning with a hate I had never ever seen or wished to.

"You worthless verm!" They snarled furiously, shooting one more Dark Pulse. I had no energy to dodge and got struck once again by the powerful beam, though it was far weaker this time(but still painful).

But hey, turns out luck can smile at me, after all. Because as I was pushed by the Dark Pulse, I crashed back against a hard rocky object. The Odd Keystone. I hit it right at the top, knocking the stone off balance with the impact. But right before it hit the ground, I grabbed on it and used what was left of my power to use Shadow Sneak. Both me and the Keystone sunk into the pit of darkness.

"Well..." I sighed, staring ahead at the stone. "What should I do with you?"

There was no response. I could hear something moving inside the Keystone, sonewhat like a breeze blowing through cracks. I knew it was Liza's spirit. I just hoped that she could communicate with the outside world like Spiritomb could. I wanted to apologise for putting her in that mess, but I had no clue if she could even hear me. What could she be feeling? Fear? Confusion? Most likely.

"I will take you to your brother, okay?" I promised as I slid my arm across the Keystone's surface. "I won't let the other ghosts take you back, don't worry."

Oddly enough, the stone seemed to get a bit warmer as I pronounced those words. Okay, good, perharps she could understand me. Good sign.

"But I will have to rest first." I continued in a whisper, looking somewhat uncertain at my surroundings. "I brought us here by random, but will take us to him or somewhere else where wild pokemon won't try to fest on me as soon as I have energy to use Shadow Sneak."

I had arrived at a route nearby Lilycove, the sun already rising in the horizon. But I was too tired to go to the city on my own, specially when carrying a heavy stone. Not to mention that humans usually hate my kind and sunlight bothers me. I had been lucky to find this small cave to rest at.

The Keystone's wind sound grew louder, as if Liza was getting agitated. Not that I could blame her, it should be awfully tight in there. Could she manifest a form like Spiritomb could before? I didn't know. But if it was going to be half as freaky as theirs used to, I preferred that she couldn't.

"I will do what I can to take you out of this prison." I said in a soothing tone, floating closer and leaning against the Keystone-no, Liza. "It's my fault that you are in there, after all."

I couldn't help but smile at the subtle warmth that took over the stone. A warmth that also brought me a depressing nostalgia. Rose...

"I will take a rest...as soon as the night comes, we are after Tate, okay?"

As if feeling my change of mood, Liza didn't respond.

Where the hell had this boy gone?

Tracking a person by Shadow Sneaking is rarely an accurate science. It gives us the direction to head to, a faint beacon to follow in the stormy sea of darkness. It's hard to precisely find the person you were following, though you never end up too far away from them.

However, as I jumped out of the shadows and pulled Liza along(with difficulty), I was met with neither the sea or any sort of distinguishable civilization.

We had arrived at a desolate land, a desert of dry grass blowing gently under the cold breeze. Our current spot was seemingly a small valley between two tall hills, flanked by rows of short trees with equally dry leaves. In front of me was a long path of grass leading to a carpet of sand, which I recognized as a beach. But there was no sea.

In fact, there was nothing around the land.

Only a white void surrounded that strange place. There was no wind, no birds, no water beyond it; just that invisible wall. As I looked up, I noticed that the wall also extended to the sky. We were stuck inside a gigantic box of dry vegetation, with some sort of artificial lighting replacing sunlight, for there was no sun visible and no clouds to cover it.

"What the hell is this place..." I murmured. Had I followed a terribly long direction? No, that wasn't possible. I was sure I had gone to the right place; my instincts told me so. But if I was right, where the hell had Tate gotten his ass at? This definitely wasn't Mossdeep(the kids didn't seem like the type that liked to live in a 's house).

Behind me, Liza shifted uncomfortably inside the Keystone. She was agitated again, as if this place crept her out(not that I could blame her). But as soon as I turned around to try and comfort the girl, I saw what was causing her panic.

A huge dusknoir was hovering right above her, staring intensely at the Keystone. Once it noticed my movement, it shifted its gaze to me, a red glare that penetrated into my soul.

"O-Oh!" I flinched, backing away slowly. Why a dusknoir of all pokemon, damnit! "W-what is this place? I'm a bit lost..."

"Intruders will not be tolerated." The dusknoir, a female judging by the voice, calmly disregarded my question before winding a Shadow Punch and slamming it into my face with unbeliavable speed.

The world went dark.

Author's note:

Sorry about the delay, laziness and author's block got to me, as well as school work.

So, we learn a bit more about this lovely duskull, even though his lore is still shrouded in mistery. Who exactly is Rose and how did he betray her? We'll see.

As for Spiritomb's different voices and mood swings, bear with me: stories in which two minds fuse together usually end up with an erratic and inconsistent individual, at least for a while. Now jam 108 chaotic psychopaths together and you got a completely insane and moody thing.

And it always bugged me to why spiritomb have fixed genders. If the imprisonement was supposed to be some sort of punishment, why bother gathering 108 souls of the same gender?

As for Duskull's odd humor scattered around, I found it fitting given his personality. He seems like the type who makes sarcastic jokes while telling a story.

I'll try not to take two weeks for chapter five. 'Til then.