A/N: To start off, this update came at me like a steam train - I couldn't stop writing. Not complaining, mind you, but still - surprised me. That aside, there's something I'm wondering/partially worried about, concerning this chapter and the previous one: do any of you think I'm having certain events happen just too quickly, not enough build-up to them, etc.? This is something that is really bugging me, so I'd like to know what all of you think. But enough of this - read on and enjoy! (Hopefully...)

Edit: Just like the previous chapter, I've come back and revised this one. If you had issues with it, I hope I've fixed them - if not, I hope it's even better.

'Damn, the kid ain't half bad...' I thought, surprised as I had to slip away from another slash. That blade of his was the real problem - with that energy flaring around it, even a near miss would hurt. I'd already figured that much out, with the few cuts I'd gotten so far. "Nice bladework there - you been training?" I asked, keeping my voice level as I caught the next attack in my claws.

I didn't get an answer, which was disappointing. It's always more fun to throw your opponent off balance in a fight - makes them angry, and then they screw up. Without any real effort, I pushed the blade aside and took the opportunity to smack him with the back of my hand - even without the claws, the scales that covered me took off some skin where they hit. "Come on, make this interesting - where's the witty banter?"

In reply, he actually pulled off a pretty impressive move; he managed to shift his momentum enough to bring his sword around in a spinning slash. I saw it coming and dashed out of reach, but again that aura caught me off guard and bit into the skin under my scales. 'Shit... that is really gonna get annoying if I don't do something about it.'

"What's got you fighting, kid? These things are monsters, why defend 'em?" I saw a flicker of something in his expression, and grinned - progress. I rushed him while he was still recovering from the spin, and drove one of my claws into his shoulder. At least, I tried - something seemed to push my aim off, and I only managed to scratch him through his shirt. "What's wrong - you were so eager to tell me off before. Where's that fire now, hm?"

He leapt away from me, leaving about ten feet between us, and brought the sword up in front of him. Then he finally said something. "You want fire, buddy? Well, get a load of this - Aura Cleaver!" I had enough time to wonder where he came up with his attacks before he slashed down through the air... and a huge blade of that red energy, stretching out from his actual sword, came crashing down where I'd just been standing. 'What the- is this kid even human?' I asked myself in well-hidden shock, glad I'd had the thought to move out of the way.

Something in my head clicked, and I allowed myself another manic grin. 'Whether he is or not... I know I'm not.' I dug my claws into the ground, and with a slight grunt of effort literally ripped a large chunk of the... material out of the floor. "Not bad, kid - now let's play my game... catch!" I hurled the makeshift boulder - one about as big as he was - at him, and was already moving to catch him wherever he dodged to.

Instead, I saw the boulder split down the middle - he'd cut right through it! And as the halves fell apart, he jumped through the gap and brought the sword down in what was meant to be a skull-splitting cut. Fortunately for me, I managed to block it with my claws - damn was I glad I had those - and shoved him back.

He landed on the ground, and immediately sprang forward with a cut across my chest. 'How the hell is he so... experienced?' I wondered, quickly putting some distance between us. "I'll give you this, you're good. But the warm-up's over..." I said, all intents of screwing with him put aside as I focused energy into my claws, making them extend and gain a metallic sheen. I felt a weird itching, and noticed my scales slowly closing over the places he'd landed cuts on me.

"… now the real fight begins." I finished with a dark chuckle.

'I can't keep this up forever...' I thought, already able to feel the strain of fighting. The energy loss from using that special move didn't help either, of course. If this didn't end soon, I was going to slip up... and I'd already gotten scratched once. With those now-metal claws of his, I really didn't want it to happen again.

"You do not need to last forever." I was almost surprised to hear Mewtwo's voice - I'd forgotten he was there. "For the best - you needed your focus. But you need only to stall; Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres are on their way to assist." I had to stop myself from sighing in relief - backup was on route. "Two minutes - that is all they need." I smirked: two minutes I could handle... so I thought, anyway.

"About time you kicked things up." I said aloud, mimicking the excitement he'd been showing for the fight. "Let's dance, then." I rushed forward, actually pushing off of the Master Sword to give myself some extra speed. I brought the blade into an upwards slash, but this time he seemed to react just a bit faster - he caught the blade in one clawed hand, and used the other to try gutting me.

'How about... nope!' I thought, literally throwing myself back and out of his reach. The upside - I didn't get my insides turned into outsides. The downside... he was now holding my sword. 'Ah, shit.'

He turned the sword over, a smirk on his face as he glanced at me. "Nice toy you've got here. Be a shame if something happened to it..." Before he even moved, I knew what he was going to do - but when he gripped the blade with his other hand to break it, the sword flashed red bright enough to daze me for a second. Whatever happened, it hurt him; he threw the blade away, sending it skidding along the ground a few feet from me.

"Damn... what kind of weapon are you packing, kid?" he snarled, looking at his claws - they were only lightly scorched, probably because he reacted so quickly. "Stubborn little thing..." I wasn't listening; I snatched up the sword almost immediately, not willing to let thathappen again, either.

Faintly, I heard Mewtwo's voice in my head. "One minute. We only need one more minute." I had no chance to even think back a reply, because the monster in front of me rushed forward and managed to actually hit me this time. I gritted my teeth as I felt his claws rake across my side - luckily, I'd turned to dodge just in time not to get sliced open. "The hell are you, anyway?" I managed to ask, jumping back a few feet from him.

"It doesn't matter much to you, does it? After all you're not gonna survive this... and I'm just getting started." he replied almost happily, making him a real sight of mood-whiplash: he was grinning like a kid in a candy shop, if you could find a kid six or seven feet tall and covered in Tyranitar scales. The claws and razor teeth sort of ruined that image, though. "But since you asked so nicely... the only name you'll need is 'Predator' - fitting, don't you think?"

Ignoring his question I glanced at myself, mainly the newest injury I'd taken - it was definitely bleeding enough to worry me. 'Heh...well, just call me the Glass Cannon...' I thought idly, my gaze snapping back to him when I heard a metallic scraping sound; it was his claws scratching against the wall. "You know, it's been fun, kid." he said casually, slowly walking toward me. "This has lasted longer than I'd ever hoped for... and you're even still alive."

The air changed slightly - whether it was the temperature shift that tipped me off, or my hair standing on end, I don't know. But what I did know was what it meant... and damn, was I relieved to see the forms of three huge birds come into view behind 'Predator'. "About damn time you guys showed up!" I called angrily, holding my side with one hand while keeping the Master Sword up with the other.

Predator calmly looked back at the trio, his grin fading to a faint frown. "Well, isn't this a change..." he muttered, jumping away from a stream of flame courtesy of Moltres. He dug his claws into the wall, hanging from halfway up for a second before dropping to avoid a literal lightning storm - even I had to back off, because a stray bolt nearly hit me.

He looked directly at me for a second, and I could tell he was about to pull something. After whirling around to shatter Articuno's Ice Beam, he let out an almost disappointed sigh. "It seems we'll have to finish this later..." The guy leapt towards the three birds, passing between Articuno and Zapdos... and leaving twin trails of blood behind him, one from each of their wings. "Don't get too comfortable - I'll be back." he called back, and I could tell that he was talking to me.

As Moltres flew off to pursue 'Predator', and Mewtwo quickly warped over to the other birds to make sure they were fine, I just stared silently at David's... corpse. 'That... thing,wants the Master Sword... and he'll kill anyone who gets in his way.' I thought, before realizing I didn't quite have it right. 'No... someone else wants the thing. The question is... what for? And how am I gonna stop 'em...'

Even as that thought ended, another one shot through my head - how was I going to tell Aurora?

-Real World: ?-

Where I awoke, it was... cold. Not like ice, but metal - I knew this feeling well. I'd been captured once before in a strange metal trap... 'Wait... captured?!' My eyes snapped open, and I saw that I was bound in place with massive chains; glowing red ones, that seemed to sap what little strength I had. 'No... I swore, never again...'

"How nice of you to join us again, Giratina..." I strained to turn my head, managing to bring the speaker into view: a human, dressed in obviously formal attire, was looking up at me with an expression somewhere between triumph and frustration. This was the man who had trapped me at the beginning of all of this!

He seemed to notice the recognition and hatred in my eyes, and nodded. "You remember me, then. Good, though I expected as much. And you remember the one who did... that to you?" I was confused for a moment, before seeing what could only be my reflection in the metal floor below. A long, thin line was cut between my eyes, and a similar one was drawn across where my 'chest' would be. 'Something... injured me?'

"… clearly not. You have me to thank for your life, Giratina." my captor continued, making me glare venomously at him. Thank him? Not on my endless life! Besides the wounds were clearly not severe, let alone life-threatening. "You disagree - I can accept that. Of course, surely you want revenge on the humanthat dared to harm the ruler of the new Distortion World... don't you?" My expression changed from enraged and confused to simply wary. 'A new... Distortion World?'

"… Explain." I demanded, not once weakening my efforts against the chains - I appeared to simply be leaning forward, perhaps interpreted as attempting to hear him better, as if I needed to. The human turned his head, telling somebody hidden from view to leave, before returning his gaze to mine.

"My previous attempt to gain your assistance was... brutish, at best. Controlling the greatest Legendary Pokémon in existence? How foolish of me..." he began, and I narrowed my eyes. That much, I remembered. Looking back, I had always felt a strange presence in my mind since being captured... how had I never noticed it then? "However, now I have a more appropriate approach. How would you enjoy regaining your position as ruler of your own world once again?"

I surprised myself by considering his words. "… what do you imply?" I asked finally. "I could simply return to my own dimension, were these chains removed." He chuckled knowingly at that, making me nearly worried for but a moment.

"You were not aware, that's right..." he said, amused. "Your dimension, Giratina, does not exist. The same distortion that brought us to you... it has broken down your entire world. What remains is here, scattered throughout our own - but the Distortion World is no more." As I simply stared at him in disbelief, he added "However... with your help, I could remake it. And all would return to the way it should be. So... your answer?"

'I am weakened... without even a refuge to return to, if I had the ability. My brother and sister, likely consumed with the rest of their world... I have nothing else. Even my pride is worthless, captive as I am...' With nothing to lose, I had little choice - I gave him a barely perceptible nod. "Very well - I accept. What help... can I give you?"

-Hall of Origin-

Dave had still not returned. I'd heard faint sounds of some kind of battle echoing through the Halls minutes ago, but even with my keen senses I would never have been able to find it - were I able to fight, that is. While Darkrai's nightmare-gone-wrong hadn't killed me, it rendered me... not useless, but I would be worth little in a fight. Even standing took far more energy than it should have, and for the moment running was out of the question.

"You know I did not intend for it to take the turn it did, Aurora." he'd told me, still injured from Dave's rage - that was all it could be described as. I had assured him that I held... little against him for it, though it was not entirely true. To be honest with myself, were he not a Legend, I would have torn him apart for something like that.

While waiting, I spoke with the hybrid - Neureon. He seemed kind enough on the surface - similar to Lady Mew in his childishness. But his Aura worried me; constantly fluctuating between a neutral blue, a nearly murderous red and an unidentifiable black. He consistently asked me to play a game, and I repeatedly reminded him that I was unlikely to be taking part in anygames in my condition.

"Hey, Aurora..." I turned almost too quickly, pulling myself up to lean against the room's wall for support. Dave walked through the 'doorway', shirt torn and holding his side. His blade had a thin coat of red near its tip, showing that he'd definitely done some fighting of his own. But even beyond that, there was something wrong - his usual, nearly defiant smile was absent. "I've got... well, not the best news." he said wearily, not quite looking at me.

"What happened this time?" I asked half-jokingly, thinking that whatever it was couldn't be too horrible. "You look like you just escaped fighting a Tyranitar." A bitter smirk crossed his face, and he shrugged half-heartedly.

"You could say that." he replied quietly, using his blade to steady himself as he walked over to me. Now I knewsomething was bothering him - as if his Aura didn't tell me that already.

"Dave... what happened?" I asked again, somewhat softer. He didn't respond immediately, instead waiting until he'd reached the wall and managed to sit down against it. Then he let out a sigh, and closed his eyes before speaking.

"Your Trainer, David... the thing thought that he was me." he said quietly, and I thought - hoped - that I misunderstood what he was saying. "It wasn't a pretty sight, when I got there... I couldn't do anything to save him." I could feel his Aura turn dark and regretful, mirroring his expression. "I'm... I'm sorry..."

"No..." I couldn't stop it from slipping out - I was shocked. David... was dead? I'd known, of course, that it was going to happen eventually, but... I was never really prepared to deal with it when it finally did. "… how?"I asked finally, sliding down the wall to a sitting position as well. "How did he die?"

Dave hesitated a moment, obviously debating what to tell me. "… the thing tore his chest open." was the eventual response. "It just... stood there, grinning. Like the damn psychopath it was." He stabbed the sword into the ground, eyes glaring at the floor. "… nothing I could do about it."

"… It is not your fault, Dave." I said finally, resting a paw on his shoulder and mentally cringing when it made him flinch - this was tearing him up, I could tell. "I... hoped something like this would not happen, but... I do not blame you." It was true - none of this was his doing, after all.

"Heh... thanks for the sentiment, but it doesn't change much." he replied, shaking his head. "Don't get me wrong, I know he was your Trainer - you knew him pretty well; hell, he was probably practically family to you, and I'm... well, sorry you had to lose him." When he took a moment to compose himself, I had to agree - the team had been as close to a clan as I'd ever had. It was hard dealing with this, but...

"But... he was also me. I just saw myself, dead on the ground - and then fought the monster that killed me." He blinked once before adding "Wow, that sounds strange." Both of us let out a less-than halfhearted chuckle before he continued. "… worst part is, I couldn't even stop him after the fact. He's gone, out somewhere... and he won't let this end here."

"David... you cannot take this purely upon yourself." I said finally, though I was admittedly in little room to talk: despite the fact that I said nothing about it, I felt similarly to him that I should have been there to do something.

"… what'd you call me?" His question caught me off guard - more the shaky yet empty tone than the words themselves.

"Your name-" It took me a moment to realize what I did. For an instant, I'd felt like I was talking to my Trainer himself. "… you truly are more like him than I thought." I said in a quieter tone. I began to say something else, but the situation finally seemed to truly register, and I couldn't bring myself to speak again.

For several too-long minutes, we both said nothing. Then he shook his head, and I had to strain to hear what he said. "… hell, when's it going to end?" I saw a mirthless, bitter smirk on his face. "First my parents... my friends, probably... and now, even I've died in a way." The smirk shifted into an alarming scowl as he slammed his fist against the ground. "Damnet... it keeps happening!"

When I saw the tears slipping down his face, I was somewhat surprised - he hadn't known my Trainer particularly well, after all; why, then, was this so seemingly devastating? Hesitantly, fearing that it would sound callous, I ventured the question "… why do you try so hard?"

My response was a brief period of silence, while he seemed to think. When the answer came, it surprised me. "Because... who else will?" he replied simply, looking over at me. "Really - it's all I've got, now. I've got this power, for whatever reason the Unown came up with... but even with it, what point is there to living, if you don't keep the ones you share that life with alive?"

I could only stare at him, my perception of him changing once again - before, he'd been a definite friend, incredibly reckless but with the luck and good intentions to go along with it. Now, however... I wasn't even sure what to think. As it was, all I managed was a faint smile before saying "I believe your parents... would be proud of who you are."

He mirrored my smile, before suddenly turning to wrap his arms around me - I had to shift so that he didn't stab himself on my chest spike. He said nothing, but for the first time I could 'hear' what he thought, or at least sense vaguely what it was - something that had never even happened with my Trainer. And what I 'heard' left me stunned, only able to hold him close as our tears began soaking into both my fur and his shirt.

'No matter what happens... I'm never letting a damn thing happen to her. Not on my life.'

-Tree of Beginning [3rd Person]-

Deep inside the Tree of Beginning, now empty of all Pokémon and humans alike save one group, the Tree's 'root' gave off a fading blue light. The Unown, forever dutiful despite their strange impulses, circled the crystalline structure almost urgently. It was only their powers that kept this crucial, living crystal alive... until now.

The 'root's blue glimmer finally died away, leaving the crystal dull and lifeless. But just as the Unown all 'looked' down in shame at their 'failure', it regained a light... but this light was not calming. No, now the Tree's core glowed a violent red. The Unown frantically looked around, and one - an Alpha-style - spotted something incredibly strange...

What seemed to be a human-like figure, covered in green armored scales, vanished down one of the branching corridors... and in his clawed hand was a glowing red piece of crystal.