Chapter Two: The Slave Ring
"Mira, did you hear about all the disappearances that have been happening around here?" the Meditite boy asked his friend, a Duskull.
"Yeah" she replied, her heart starting to beat a little faster. "I heard they were taking random girls. Most of them went here. It kicked up when that new student showed up last week."
"You mean the one that beat Chopper?" the Meditite asked.
"Yeah. Him" the Duskull girl said. "Do you think he's involved in it?"
"I'm not one to judge." The Meditite said. "Until I see proof of it, I'll take it as a coincidence."
"But, Conner, what if he's part of it and more girls start disappearing?" the Duskull girl asked, panic beginning to creep into her voice.
"Then I will try to stop him." Conner replied, putting his arm around Mira comfortingly. "Chopper would help me if that new student is part of this. Don't worry, you're safe."
Conner turned to put some things in his locker. He got his books and shut his locker.
"Just don't worry about it." He said. "I'll be right here for you Mira. It's like Mr. Champ always told us: If you don't let it get to you, it's not as scary. Right Mira"
There was no response. Conner turned around, a little bit faster than he would have liked.
"Mira?" he said, but Mira wasn't there to respond. Conner started to get very nervous. His heart started beating faster as he looked around himself. He couldn't see his friend anywhere.
"Mira?" Conner nervously asked, praying to Arceus that Mira was just playing one of her ghostly tricks.
"This isn't funny!" he shouted at the air, hoping his friend was just hiding in someone's locker, playing a joke on him.
"She's really been taken." Conner realized, falling to his knees. "She was taken and I couldn't stop it. Well, I won't let her die."
He stood up and ran to the one person he knew could help him.
Two hours earlier:
He woke up in a shock. His sleep had been disturbed by a loud crash. He sat up in his bed, his black hair more resembling Goku's than what it normally looked like.
"Oh Arceus, my hair looks horrible." He said. "But I would make a pretty damn good Super Saiyan"
He combed his hair to its normal look: down over his shoulders. It wasn't real long, but it was longer than most males wore their hair. He put on his clothes: a black shirt, black jeans, black shoes, a black jacket, and a red scarf. He liked his scarf; it was a gift from his mother.
He was just about to leave to get some breakfast when a girl tackled him.
"Master!" she shouted. "You're awake! Now we can play!"
He pried her off of him and set her on the bed. She tried to jump back on him, but he used his abilities to "strap" her to the bed with shadows. She protested heavily, but he put a finger to her lips.
"Maura, please stop." Ace said, in a bit of a rush. "I have to go to school. And, no, you can't come with me. Only Shadow and Eon are going with me."
"But Eon is sick" Maura whined. "So that still makes three. Can't I go?"
"No" Ace said. "Even though Eon is skipping school, it doesn't mean you can just come. I don't want anything to happen to you."
"Oh, okay" Maura said sadly, partially understanding the reason for being unable to go with her master.
"I'll be home soon" Ace said, hurrying out the door. As he got farther away, the shadows holding Maura to the bed disappeared. She got up and left to get some breakfast.
2 hours later
Ace and Shadow had entered the school and were heading toward the lockers. Shadow was looking around herself nervously. Ace took notice of this and started to speak to her.
"Why are you scoping out your surroundings?" he asked. "Are you scared someone's going to throw food at you again?"
"No" she said. "I heard rumors that there were some kidnappings going on."
"Kidnappings?" asked Ace, his interest piqued.
"I heard from some of the girls around school that girls were disappearing from school campus."
"Pretty bold kidnappers" said Ace. "To think that people like Chopper are getting stumped by this."
"What does Chopper have to do with this?" Shadow asked.
"He's the toughest kid in school" Ace replied. "He may be tough, but he still puts other's needs before his own. He would be cracking down on this."
"I guess you're right" Shadow said, calming down a little. "If you and Chopper aren't worried, then I guess I shouldn't be."
"That's the spirit" Ace said, putting his arm around his childhood friend and pulling her close. "Don't worry. I won't let you get hurt. I promise."
"Okay" said Shadow, pulling herself closer to Ace. "I trust you."
"Speaking of which." Ace said. "I think you should wait for me in your class at the end of the day. I'll come pick you up."
"Why?" Shadow asked, confused at her friend's odd request.
"If people are kidnapping girls on school campus, then you would be safer in a classroom with a teacher. I don't want you to be put in a troubling situation."
"Thank you, Ace" Shadow said. "It's nice to know you're looking out for me"
"Anything for you, Shadow." Ace said.
Ace turned toward his locker to put some things in it and get some things out of it.
"Shadow, why don't you get to class quickly." Ace said. "I have to get to my class and they are in different directions."
"All right" Shadow said. She waited for Ace to get his books from her locker.
"Shadow, where are your gym clothes?" Ace asked. "They aren't in my bag."
Ace realized his friend wasn't answering. He turned around to see an empty hallway. His friend was nowhere in sight.
"Shadow?" he asked, hoping she would answer.
"That's odd" he said, puzzled. "She's not that fast when she's calm or nervous. Where could she have gone? She didn't teleport. No energy field. Could she have been-?"
At that notion Ace shook his head vigorously. "That couldn't be it. She's not weak."
At that moment Ace heard two people call his name. The first, he realized, was Chopper. The second voice he couldn't place.
"We want to talk to you" Chopper said, his voice sounding serious. Ace, figuring he had tons of time to kill (the entire school day in fact), decided to listen.
"What do you know of the kidnapped girls?!" the second person, a Meditite boy demanded.
"Who are you?" Ace asked.
"My name is Conner!" the Meditite shouted, getting in Ace's face. "And you kidnapped my best friend, Mira! Now give her back or I'll break every bone in your body!"
"Is that a threat?" Ace asked, giving a smug grin. "Go ahead and try. I'll toss you out like the trash. Wait, aren't you the Meditite that hangs out with the Duskull; Mira, right?"
"He's right, Conner." Chopper said, pulling Conner off of Ace. "He would tear you apart."
"Chopper, what's he talking about?" Ace asked his friendly rival.
"His friend Mira disappeared this morning." Chopper explained. "I told him I would help him find her. There were rumors of kidnappings going on. Thirty girls have just stopped coming to school. All in a week. It seemed to all start when you came. I immediately dismissed these rumors until I saw proof."
"My friend Shadow isn't around" said Ace. "But I don't think she was kidnapped."
"Were you putting stuff in your locker?" Conner asked. "Only to turn around and find her gone?"
"Yes" said Ace, his heart rate starting to rise. "But I don't think she was kidnapped."
"The signs do all add up" Chopper said.
"No, no. She can't be kidnapped" Ace said, on the verge of panic, but hiding it well. "She can't be."
"Are you stupid?!" Conner practically shouted at Ace who kept clenching his fits tightly.
"Hush, Conner" Chopper said, smacking Conner on the back of his head. "I'm no psychic type, but I think that he's just not comprehended the news yet. He's trying to convince himself otherwise."
"Why?" Chopper asked. "It's not like he was attacked or anything."
"I noticed when I was fighting him." Chopper said, recalling past events. "That he had a strong emotional attachment to his friend."
"Duh!" Conner said. "Everyone saw that. You called her a bitch and he Falcon Punched you through a wall."
"It wasn't necessarily the name I called her." Chopper said. "He seemed protective of her, not obsessive. If he was obsessive, then it would have been just the name. But he seemed like he wanted to protect her from emotional pain. From what I've seen of him, he only fights for others, not himself. He passes it off as amusement to himself, but he fights for others as I do."
"Wow." Conner said. "That's very insightful."
"Yes it is" Chopper said. He turned to Ace and began talking with him.
"Since your friend is gone too" he said. "Would you mind helping us?"
"She's gone." Ace said, staring at the floor. He dropped to his hands and knees.
"She's gone" he said his eyes watering. "I failed."
"Failed." Conner said. "Failed what?"
"I failed her." Ace said, a few tears falling to the floor. "I failed her."
"What is wrong with him?" Conner asked, confused as to why the strongest, toughest kid in school was crying like he had an arm cut of while he was still awake.
Come to think of it Conner thought. I don't think he would cry even if that happened.
"I…I… I failed her" Ace said, punching the ground, making a crater. "I promised her"
"Promised who?" Conner asked, curious.
"I promised her I would protect her" Ace said, his whole body quivering. "But I failed."
"It's alright" Chopper said, helping his rival off of the floor. "We'll get her back. I promise."
"When did you promise her that?" Conner asked.
Ace looked at Chopper and Conner with two very serious looks. They started to get a little nervous.
"What I am about to tell you" Ace said gravely. "Does not leave you two. Do not tell anyone else this. The reason I say this is not because I want to protect my reputation or anything. But because this contains things that you could be in trouble just for knowing them."
"Then why are you telling us?" Conner wondered.
"Because it will help you understand why I am so concerned for Shadow" Ace explained. He put his hands to their hands and showed them images from his memories. He also saw them and he tensed at remembering his past.
"What are you doing?" Conner asked.
"This will help you get a visual representation of what went on." Ace explained "It helps to comprehend the circumstances."
Ace began his story:
"Shadow and I were born somewhere far from here. We grew up together. Watch this and you'll understand"
In a small section of a wooded area two houses sat. It was a peaceful area, with woods nearby. The owners of the two houses were family friends. Their children were the best of friends. They played every day together. One day, however, would have a great impact on their lives.
"Come on, Shadow!" shouted Ace, who was about seven, his black hair in his eyes. "Let's go play"
"I'm coming!" Shadow, also about seven, answered. She came out of her house. Ace noticed she had a black eye, though it was partially hidden by her black hair. He silently gasped; he knew where she got it (he wasn't stupid), but he was unable to stop it. His father wouldn't do anything about it either. All he could do was bring her to play and help her forget about it for at least a few hours.
"So where did she get the marks?" Conner asked.
"Her father" Ace said both with disgust (for Shadow's father) and sympathy (for Shadow).
"I'm ready" she said, smiling as wide as she could. "What are we going to play today?"
"I thought we could go into the woods and play tag." Ace suggested.
"That sounds fun!" Shadow exclaimed. "Let's go!"
The two of them ran into the woods and played tag for a few hours. Later, when they had both tired themselves out, they sat down under a tree. Ace and Shadow laughed as they lay on the ground looking at the sky.
"That was fun!" Shadow said. "Thanks for playing with me today. I had so much fun!"
"You're welcome." Ace said. "I had fun playing with you too."
"I think we should-" Shadow started to say. The reason she didn't finish was that the sky was lit up with bombs.
"Wait, bombs?" Conner asked, skeptical. "I don't remember bombs being dropped in the past ten years."
"I grew up far from here." Ace explained. "And I'm a little older than you think I am. Now back to the story."
Shadow grabbed on to Ace as the loud crashes and bright explosions scared her. Ace, scared as well hugged her tight. Shadow looked up and realized where the bombs were headed.
"NO!" She screamed. "Mother!"
She tried to get up and run to her mother's house, but Ace grabbed her waist.
"No! Shadow!" he said, holding her tightly. She struggled to get free of his grip, almost hitting him on several occasions.
"I have to see if she's alright" she shouted, succeeding in breaking free of Ace's grip. She ran towards her house, screaming for her mother. Ace ran after her, hoping to prevent her from getting hurt.
They made it to where their houses were. Instead of two houses next to each other, there were two smoldering buildings. Shadow stopped in front of the one that was where her house was standing. She looked at it in shock and horror until she dropped to her knees and broke down crying. Ace had made it to her by this point and stood over her, looking at his own house.
"They're gone" Shadow sobbed. "They're gone. They were here just a few hours ago."
"I know" Ace said, kneeling down and tightly embracing his close friend. The two of them just sat there and held each other. Ace started to sing a lullaby his mother had always sung to him. Shadow calmed down and started to fall asleep. Ace continued holding her as he stopped singing. He looked at her and resolved in his heart to help his friend.
"Shadow" Ace said, tears coming to his face. Shadow, being asleep, couldn't hear him. "I promise I will keep you safe. I promise you I won't let you get hurt again. I won't let anything happen to you ever again."
The world returned to reality. Chopper and Conner looked at Ace, understanding a new side of this individual that entered their school just over a week ago. Chopper, realizing his rival was more than just a battle junkie. Conner seeing the emotions that the being he suspected of kidnapping his friend couldn't be the one responsible.
Ace looked at them, his emotions stabilized. He thought of what to say for a minute so as to word his thoughts correctly.
"When did this all start?" he asked.
"That's an odd question to start with." Conner noted.
"We will have to do a bit of detective work before we start searching everywhere at once." Ace explained. "Now answer my question."
"About the same time you came here." Chopper replied. "When the kidnappings became well-known I noticed the similar times between your appearance and them. I dismissed them as coincidence at first, but when Conner came to me with Mira missing, I had to check it out for myself. I hope you forgive my accusation of you."
"Forgiven" said Ace, acknowledging the apology.
Turning to Conner he asked: "Where were you when Mira disappeared?"
"I was right here." Said Conner, pointing to his locker. "I got my books and when I turned around she was gone."
"Hmm" said Ace, deep in thought. "I was at my locker when Shadow disappeared. Maybe someone is taking them from the lockers.
"What about teleportation?" suggested Chopper. "Someone could easily have teleported them to whatever location they took them to."
"No, couldn't be" said Ace dismissing the idea. "Teleportation leaves a trail when exiting an area. I would have been able to pick it up. The trail would have even told me if Shadow had teleported or someone had teleported her."
"You are very intelligent for a Dark type" Conner said.
"You're very weak for a Fighting type" Ace countered. Chopper saw Ace's point.
"what about a very speedy Pokémon?" Conner suggested. Ace also dismissed this idea.
"No, it couldn't be speed. They would have to be on a speed level of Deoxys. Or have time manipulation abilities like Dialga or Celebi. I would have sensed either of those forces."
"So what could it be then?" Chopper asked. "That is pretty much the only way a person could take our friends without us seeing them"
"We should look around the school for any sign of secret areas." Ace said. "If you see any unused classrooms or something out of place anywhere, come tell me."
"What do we do for now?" Chopper asked.
"Go about classes as normal" said Ace. "But as we attend class, look for anything off or unusual about the school. If you see anything unusual, tell me at lunch."
"Where do you sit?" Conner asked.
"By the door" Ace replied. "In case me and Eon want to leave"
"Ace you should learn to speak correctly." Uxie said appearing out of nowhere; his yellow hair standing up on end.
"Shut the F&%# up Uxie!" Ace shouted. Uxie left as fast as he came, fearful of the blast to follow (a reminder of his Dialga encounter).
"What was that about?" Conner asked, clearly confused.
"Uxie does that a lot." Ace explained. "We can't tell if he's just trying to get us to speak "properly" or if he's trolling us as a result of reading a DeviantArt fanfiction."
"Wait" Chopper said, trying to understand the situation. "Uxie, as in the legendary Pokémon, corrects your grammar and you just tell him to shut the F&%# up without any fear from Arceus judging you for shouting at a legendary?"
"Arcey is probably as annoyed about it as we are." Ace said, irritated.
"What makes you think that?" Conner asked.
"Prior experience" was all Ace would say on the matter. Realizing they would get no further reply from him they decided to head to their respective classes.
"We will see you at lunch" Chopper said.
"See you there" Ace replied. Chopper and Conner walked off to their classes. Ace stood by his locker and stared at it for about thirty seconds. He put his hand on it and sighed. He reached into his shirt and pulled out a locket. He opened it and looked at the picture inside: him and Shadow smiling together. She had a similar locket with the same picture inside, he remembered. He banged his locker with his fist, making a small dent.
"Shadow" he said, looking up to the Hall (where god resides in Pokémon). "Wherever you are, I hope you're safe."
He was never much of a prayer, god being his mentor and all made it seem strange. But now he silently conversed with Arcey (as he called her). The two of them shared information of what they knew.
"What do you mean she just disappeared?" Arcey answered, her voice showing both maturity and concern for one of her "children". "No trace, huh? That is odd."
"I know" Ace said. "Eon said something about the basement having a monster. I might check there."
"Wait!" said Arcey, her voice having more alarm than she would have wanted. "You shouldn't take those two boys down there. If there is a monster down there it could be too dangerous for them." She said, leveling out her voice.
"I'll be careful." Ace said, calling her bluff. He knew she didn't want him to go into the school's basement. He didn't know why, but he would find out. If there was a monster down there, then he would have to talk to Arcey about how much Soul Eater she watched at a time.
"Ace" Arcey said, motherly compassion evident in her voice. "I hope you find Shadow. You to aren't my blood offspring, but I like to think of you as my children."
"Until you start showing feelings for each other" she said. Jokingly she added. "Then I think of you as Giratina's children."
"How was your meeting this morning?" Ace asked, a grin coming onto his lips.
"I didn't have a-" Arcey caught herself, realizing where Ace was going with the question.
"It was great" she said with a mischievous grin. "Would you like to know what we talked about?"
"No thanks" Ace said, calling her on that. "I'm sure the others already know of the details. I need to get to class."
"I hope you find her." Arcey said. "I know how much she means to you"
"I do to" Ace said.
He then turned and walked to his next class, all the while hoping Shadow was all right.
"Wh-where am I?" Shadow thought as she woke up. "I remember walking with Ace to his locker, but then nothing past that."
Shadow then took time to gaze at her surroundings. She seemed to be in a cage of some sort. There were several other cages lined up along the walls of the room she was in. Each one of them held a girl inside them.
"These must be the other girls missing from the school" she thought. "They must have been taken down here for use in the slave trade. They seem to be unconscious, though."
It was at this particular moment that Shadow noticed two things:
The first was that she was bound and gagged. She tried to move her arms and legs, but couldn't. Something was across her mouth, preventing her from talking. It was tape. She removed if with her teeth, but she still couldn't get over the notion that she had been violated and handled in such a disturbing manner. Her binds weren't so easy to get off. She would worry about that later, though. She had other things to worry about.
The second thing she noticed was that only one other girl was awake besides herself. A Duskull girl in the next cage over. She looked absolutely terrified and was shaking like a leaf. Shadow leaned over to her, as far as the ropes would allow her (she was also tied to the cage to hold her inside).
"Hello there" she quietly whispered to the girl, who jumped as Shadow softly talked to her. "My name is Shadow. What's yours?"
Shadow quickly realized this conversation would get her nowhere, seeing as the girl was also gagged. Shadow thought for a moment and tried to use Psychic to remove the tape from the girl's mouth. It worked, and the girl started gasping for air out of terror. Shadow softly talked with her to calm her down.
"What's your name?" Shadow asked softly. "Mine's Shadow."
"M-mira" the Duskull girl answered, still shaking.
"It's okay Mira." Shadow reassured the frightened girl. "My friends will come for us. I promise we'll get out of this."
"Do you really think so?" Mira asked nervously. "My friend Conner is probably worried sick about me. He most likely doesn't know where I am."
"Wait, I know you" Shadow said, remembering. "I've seen you around the school. And I've seen your friend, Conner, too."
"I've seen you too" Mira said. "You hang around with that new student that beat Chopper."
"Yes I do" Shadow said, a glimmer of hope entering her eyes.
"Conner actually suspected him of being responsible for this." Mira said sadly. "To be honest, I did too."
"That's okay." Shadow said, forgiving her. "It was a remarkable coincidence that Ace showed up around the same time that these kidnappings happened."
"I have to ask you though." Mira said, not sure how to address the subject. "What do you think of him? Ace, I mean. What kind of guy is he?"
"He's one of the most honorable men I've ever encountered." Shadow said with utmost confidence in her voice. "He may seem like an emotionless warrior, but underneath it all he truly has feelings and cares for others. Most of the time when he's emotionless is when he understands he can't afford to let emotions cloud his judgement."
"Like when?" Mira asked.
"One time he had to fight a close friend of his." Shadow told her. "Ace didn't want to at first, but eventually he had to do it or lives would be lost."
"But your friend enjoys fighting" Mira said. "Why would he hate to have to fight his friend?"
"His—our—friend had turned to the dark side" Shadow explained, almost crying from the memory of it. "He became as evil as a demon. Ace fought to protect lives. He succeeded, but he regretted it in the end."
"Oh" Mira said, seeing a new side of the warrior that had transferred to her school.
"Hey, one thing doesn't make sense" Mira said, confused. "If you're a Gardevoir like you say, then why didn't you speak to me telepathically?"
"Well, I didn't think of it." Shadow said sheepishly. "Besides, how would you have reacted to a voice in your head talking to you?"
"Good point." Mira said. She was about to say something else when the door opened and two men walked in. They were a Nidoking and a Poliwrath in human forme. They walked over to the cages that held Mira and Shadow. The two girls started to get really nervous, their hearts beating like jackhammers.
"Hello ladies." The Poliwrath man said, his shirt spiral giving the impression of spinning. "Hop you had a nice nap."
"Go to hell" Shadow said flatly.
"Oh, we got a feisty one" the Nidoking said. "The leader will like her. Take her to his chamber, but make sure she's still bound. He wouldn't want her to escape, now would he?"
The two men opened Shadow's cage and removed her. Mira looked on in horror as they took her new friend to another chamber.
"Don't worry." Shadow sent a telepathic message to Mira. "I'll be fine. I want you to wait for my friend and yours to show up. They will help you and the others."
"Ok, we need to figure some things out." Ace said at the lunch table to Chopper and Conner.
"Like what?" Chopper asked.
"Similarities between the girls taken would be a start." Ace said. "If there are any we could figure out why someone would take them."
"Well they are all girls." Chopper said, thinking back.
"No sh*t, dumbass." Ace said. "I'm talking about similarities on the physical level. Not the gender level."
"From what I remember" Conner cut in. "They were all about the same size. Probably similar weights too."
"A start." Said Ace. "Now we need to figure out where in the school, if at all, they could be."
"What do you mean?" Conner asked.
"Where in this school could they hide at least thirty students without anyone noticing it?" Ace asked the two of them. "If we figure that out we could skip class and directly head there."
"Skip class?" Conner asked, shocked that Ace would even suggest such a thing. "Isn't that a bit risky?"
"If we're caught" Ace said. "Follow me and we won't be."
"I don't know." Conner said, skeptical. "I don't want detention."
"You want to find Mira don't you?" Ace asked, getting to the point.
"Yes" Conner said, realizing this was probably his best option.
"Fine then, we start with the basement of the school." Ace said. "That seems like the biggest place in the school. It would be big enough to hold all those girls."
"Alright, we'll start there." Chopper said. "It could give us some answers."
"Yes" said Ace "We'll find the girls. I hope they're safe"
They had brought her to this odd chamber with many strange seals. Though she knew what these seals did, it still frightened her to see this many of them. They mostly functioned by keeping things inside of a given area. She could tell that whatever was here was very powerful indeed. Seeing this reminded her of something she was supposed to do.
"Oh dammit!" she thought to herself. "I didn't check up on that demon sealed in the basement!"
Shadow quickly jumped with a start. She had to be in the area where the demon was kept. That was the only explanation. These bastards had kidnapped her and the other girls to do something involving the demon.
"We brought this girl for you master." The Nidoking said.
"Really?" the demon asked; his voice full of anticipation. "She seems familiar, though."
Shadow froze. No, it couldn't be him. Not that monster. Why would Arcey seal him here!? Under a SCHOOL?! With people inside.
"Master, are you upset?" the Nidoking man asked. The response he got was a shot through the chest. His partner, Poliwrath, was shocked.
"Master, why did you do that?" he asked. Again, the demon shot him in the chest. Shadow stared in horror as the demon smiled as he killed his men.
"Why did you do that?!" she cried, trembling with fear.
"I didn't need them anymore" the demon said in a sinister voice. "But you, my dear, I wish for you to be my bride."
"I will never be YOUR bride!" Shadow screamed at the demon, anger very prevalent in her voice.
"oh, my dear" the demon said, grinning. "But you will"
"I won't join you!" Shadow shouted. "Your reign of terror will end soon! I guarantee it!"
Wait, I recognize you now." The demon said. "You're Shadow Darkstar, a member of the Unholy Trinity. Oh, shit, that means your boyfriend won't be far behind. That upsets my plans."
"He's not my boyfriend." Shadow exclaimed, turning red as blood. The demon only grinned at catching his opponent off guard.
"Then why are you blushing?" he asked.
"Because" Shadow said.
"I don't want to hear your stupid hero speeches anymore." The demon said, grabbing Shadow by the shirt and pulling her closer to him.
"This should keep you quiet" he said, placing a seal over Shadow's mouth. This particular seal could hold things together better than any tape or glue could, effectively gagging Shadow. Only the caster or someone of equal or greater power could remove it. Shadow, both due to her lack of necessary power and the inability to use her hands (she was still bound), couldn't remove the seal, thus she couldn't speak at all. The seal also removed noise, making her temporarily mute. Shadow tried to scream for Ace, but the seal kept her from reaching him, even telepathically. Shadow sank down, defeated. The demon had removed every option of her reaching Ace. The only way she would be saved now was if Ace could figure out that she was in the basement. She hoped he would figure it out in time.
Ace, Chopper, and Conner stood in front of the entrance to the basement. They had skipped their third period classes to explore the basement in search of the missing girls. The basement was their first stop. The three had prepared to enter the basement ready to fight. Chopper was a little nervous.
"Do we have to enter this?" Conner asked.
"Do you want to find Mira?" Ace asked.
"Yes" Conner said.
"Then come on." Ace said. The three entered the basement. The stairs led them very far beneath the school.
"How far down are we?" Chopper asked.
"At least five hundred feet under the school." Ace replied. "There are rumors of a demon sealed beneath this school. It was rumored Arceus sealed it below here long before it was a school."
"If it's sealed down here, then why are we heading down there?" Conner asked.
"To rescue the girls." Chopper reminded him.
"Oh yeah" Conner said.
The three walked down the stairs until they reached a door. Ace scanned the door for any signs of life beyond it.
"Is there anyone in there?" Chopper asked.
"Yes" said Ace. "About twenty nine people. I think we found the missing girls."
"What about your other friend?" Chopper asked. "The orange haired one?"
"Eon skipped school today." Ace said. "She took Kiria, another friend, and went to have a day of fun."
"So they avoided this." Chopper said. "Blind luck"
"Yeah" Ace said. "Blind luck"
"Open the door." Conner said impatiently. "I want to see Mira!"
"Okay hold your horses." Ace said. "I sense a dark presence behind that door."
"It seems we have company, my dear" the demon said, petting Shadow's head like a cat. Shadow jerked her head away. The seal over her mouth had weakened to the point where she could make muffled noises, and she was making sure the demon didn't know it.
"This is bad." The demon said. Shadow perked up, realizing that only one person could get the demon nervous like that. The one person she put her undying trust in to protect her from danger. The one being that could handle this demon and send him back where he belonged: Ace Hunter.
"Well, I've got a surprise for him, my dear" he demon said, smiling a wicked smile that sent chills down Shadow's spine. "I have some friends for him to play with while I gain enough power to deal with him."
Shadow watched in disgust and horror as the demon put up his red and black clawed hand and shot a burst of energy into the bodies of the two dead men. Their bodies stood up like zombies as the dark energy poured from it. The demon continued to pour energy into them, making his white and gray hair flap in the force of the energy. When he had finished, the two men looked like undead abominations rather than Pokémon or humans. Shadow thought they resembled a mix between their Pokémon and human formes.
The two "men" looked at Shadow with wicked intentions in their eyes. Shadow got very nervous as she saw the looks, thinking they were imagining doing Arcey knows what to her, and they could probably do it too.
"Not her" the demon said, drawing their attention away from Shadow, who sighed in relief.
"go "welcome" our guests outside" the demon said, pointing to the door. The monsters understood and walked out the door, sealing it shut behind them.
"Now, my dear, where were we" the demon said, maliciousness in his cold blue eyes.
Shadow didn't respond. She couldn't respond, due to the seal over her mouth preventing her from talking or using telepathy. The demon realized this and chuckled.
"Oh, I forgot" he said. "You can't talk. As any good pet, you shouldn't speak"
A tear slid down Shadow's cheek as she realized that this demon was going to do just about whatever he wanted to her, and she couldn't stop him. She tried telepathy again, hoping it would reach any sort of help.
"Please help me." She begged. "I'm being held prisoner by this demon. He's going to do ungodly things to me. Somebody help. Ace, please help me! Please help me!"
"Shadow?" Ace jumped with a start as he thought he heard the voice of his childhood friend in his head. Chopper and Conner looked at him with confused looks.
"What did you say?" Conner asked him.
"I thought I heard Shadow's voice in my head." Ace explained.
"We have a word for that." Conner started to say.
"She's telepathic, dumbass." Ace said, shutting Conner up.
The three men looked around the room for signs of life. They came upon the rows of cages, looking in each one.
"Here's the girls" Ace pointed out.
"Where's Mira?" Conner asked.
"I think she's over there" Ace said pointing toward a cage in the distance.
Suddenly in front of them stood two strange men. They looked vaguely similar to a Poliwrath and a Nidoking. Chopper and Conner looked at them in disgust.
"Their aura seems familiar." Ace said, scanning them for signs of danger. "I've encountered it before, but I can't recall where.
"What do we do about them?" Conner asked.
"We fight them." Ace said. "I know they can't be reasoned with, so our only choice is to beat them down."
"Can we fight them?" Chopper asked, shifting into Machoke forme. His question wasn't whether they should, but if they could physically defeat these two abominations.
"You should hang back" Ace said. "These things have been infused with strong dark powers. They are more powerful than a normal Poliwrath or Nidoking. They may be even on par with pseudo legendaries."
Conner suddenly got very nervous. On par with pseudo legendries? The monsters that could only be stopped by a legendary? They were royally F&%#ED! Conner knew he couldn't stand up to that kind of power. But could Ace and Chopper fight these two? Chopper could certainly hold his own in a fight. Whether or not he could beat these guys is a matter left up to his skills versus theirs. Ace was more powerful than Chopper, having proven himself in that fight, even against Chopper's evolved Machoke forme. And he certainly could fight like a BEAST. He wasn't any ordinary Pokémon. He was apparently pure Dark Type, but he didn't exhibit any of the signs of being a pure Dark Type. Of all the eight pure Dark Pokémon (nine counting Absol's Mega Evolution), Ace didn't exhibit traits of any of them. He certainly could handle his own in a fight. Conner remembered something he'd heard as a kid. His mother had told him stories of a Dark Type more powerful than any other. He was so powerful in Dark abilities that Shadows and Nightmares bent to his whim. He was most feared of all Legendaries, even more so than Giratina or even Arceus herself. Ace could have been that legendary. He beat Chopper, even with Chopper's type advantage. He knew several legendaries. He didn't seem to fear punishment from Arceus. What was his name? Conner tried to remember the name, but the fight in front of him distracted him and made him lose his train of thought.
Chopper and Ace were engaged in combat with the two Shadow Abominations. The two launched volleys of Shadow Balls at the two warriors, but they dodged. Conner put up Protect walls to shield himself from the enormous amount of attacks coming his way. Eventually he ducked behind the cages holding the girls, seeing as they seemed to be invulnerable to the attacks.
Ace lunged toward the Poliwrath, nailing him with a super effective Thunder Punch. The Poliwrath flew back about ten feet, a dent in his face contorted to the shape of Ace's fist. He stood back up prepared to fight Ace some more when Chopper threw the Nidoking into him, knocking him back again.
"Nice" said Ace." But be prepared for more. These monsters can't feel much pain. We've got to kill them completely to stop them."
"But why?" Chopper asked. "We shouldn't kill."
"I've learned in my life." Ace spoke seriously. "That sometimes one needs to do the most extreme things to get the desired results."
"Then let's do it" Chopper said.
The two of them joined forces to launch an epic barrage of Thunder Punches, Ice Punches, and Fire Punches to the bodies of the Shadow Abominations. They simply recoiled and stood up, ready to fight on. This time they returned fire with Thunder, Fire Blast, Surf, and Hydro Pump attacks. Ace tanked most of them, but Chopper flew back into an empty cage knocking it over.
"All right!" Ace said, extremely pissed off. "I'm going to take you both down in one attack!"
The Shadow Abominations laughed at this, thinking that the fighter in front of them didn't have the strength to match them, no matter how hard he knocked them back. Conner looked confused. Could Ace really take out both of these extremely powerful opponents in just one strike, even though he couldn't put a dent in them earlier, even with Chopper helping him?
Ace gathered a lot of energy into his hands, forming a large ball. Chopper was shocked. Was he going to use Elemental Oblivion, the move that hah ended their fight just a week ago? No, his energy was far too high for that. What was he doing?
"This is the most powerful attack I can use in this forme!" Ace shouted angrily at the Shadow Abominations. "This attack would put any other to shame. But it is nothing compared to my Poke-forme. This attack is child's play. I say this to let you know that even if you survive this I will obliterate you from the face of this planet! I won't let you walk away from this alive!"
"Our master will revive us" the Nidoking said, sneering.
"When you get to hell" Ace growled, the energy sphere getting larger than any Shadow Ball. "Tell your master I'm coming for him next."
Ace summoned more energy than he had previously used in Chopper's fight. Compared to this, the Elemental Oblivion he had used there was a Splash attack. Conner looked at him in shock. Even the shadows had seemed to twitch in fear of this unholy ball of destruction.
"Prepare to die!" Ace shouted, releasing his energy beam. "Kyuryoon Black Shadow Aura Burst Sphere!"
The beam razed the two Shadow Abominations. They screamed in pain as they disintegrated into nothingness. Ace finished firing his attack and panted, having expounded a lot of energy. He used Recover to refresh himself, feeling his energy increase to normal levels.
"What was that?!" Conner screamed. "You obliterated them! There's nothing left of them!"
"That was my ultimate human forme attack." Ace explained. "The Kyuryoon Black Shadow Aura Burst Sphere. It takes a lot of Dark energy, but is a monstrous blast."
"What are you?!" Conner said, his voice accusatory. "You can use attacks that aren't even attacks. You can control Darkness itself. You beat those two, who Chopper couldn't beat. You beat Chopper in one fight. You aren't afraid of Arceus herself. You are a pure Dark Type, but you don't act like any Dark Type I've ever met. You only fight your hardest when your girlfriend is involved. I want answers and I want them now!"
"I'll give you answers in due time." Ace said. "Right now our biggest concern is finding our friends."
"Conner?" a small voice came from a cage to the right of the group. They ran over to it, finding a bound Mira.
"Mira!" Conner shouted, breaking her bonds and hugging her. She hugged him back, crying a little.
"You came to rescue me." She cried into his shoulder. She looked up and saw Ace.
"Ace" she exclaimed. Ace looked at her, confused.
"Shadow has been taken into that room over there" Mira said, pointing to a room decorated with an odd symbol. It resembled the Yin-Yang symbol, but the white side was fractured and broken.
"This place seems odd" Conner said. "I don't like it."
"Well, this is where Shadow is" Ace said. "So that's where we're going."
"What was that!?" the demon exclaimed, having felt a tremendous surge of energy. Shadow perked up. She had felt it too. There was only one person she knew that could make that large of an energy leap. She could probably guess what attack he had just used. The demon seemed a bit troubled by this.
"He hasn't even shifted out of human forme yet" the demon said, clearly distressed. "How is he that powerful?!"
Shadow, her hope restored, sat up and tried to call out to Ace. However, due to the seal over her mouth she couldn't speak to call out for her childhood friend's help. All she could do was hope that he would come to rescue her.
"Can you open it?" Chopper asked.
"I might hurt you guys if I use an energy blast" Ace said.
"Then just hit it open" Conner said.
Ace considered this for a moment. He then stood back and hit the door with a force like a piston. The door opened by crumbling inward, debris clouding up the entrance. Ace and the others stepped through to notice two things:
The first, which Ace noticed almost instantly, was Shadow. She was bound and gagged with some sort of symbol. Ace started shaking with anger, which instantly turned to fear and horror when he saw the second thing.
The second thing, which the others noticed first, was the demon. They felt an unexplained fear when in his presence. They realized it must have been his aura. Conner wasn't the first to notice that Ace had gone pale as he looked at the monster in front of him. The monster that had caused his friends so much pain and suffering. The monster that even Arceus was afraid of. The god of destruction: Yveltal.
To be continued