Chapter Sixteen: Nightmare Part 2: Power
Previously on Pokémon Azure Light
-"Hello, Arceus. It's good to see you"
"Zygarde"
-"Your legendaries can't stop me"
"There's one that can."
"Oh I know all about your little pet. But how do you expect him to beat me when he can't even control his own demonic powers?"
"You'd be surprised to know what he's capable of."
"Oh I know. I know he's the only pokemon strong enough to give god a nightmare"
-"I can't touch you"
"Can I ask why not?"
"I'd prefer if you didn't"
-"Am I losing control?"
-"How much are you using?"
"Nine tenths, same as always"
-"Focus on me; look at me and focus on your goal"
"Thanks. You saved me."
-"Ace! It's Shadow!"
"What about her?"
"She was taken. By Giovanni."
"What?!" Ace shouted, tensing up to prevent the officers from moving further with him. They tried to force the Dark type out the door, but he didn't budge an inch.
"I saw her in the kitchen." Cela explained quickly. "When Giovanni appeared out of nowhere and grabbed her. She tried to fight him off, but he was too powerful. He disappeared with her to Arcey knows where."
"Giovanni" Ace said through clenched teeth. "That bastard! When I get my hands on him I'll rip out his throat."
"Watch what you say" the lead officer said, pulling on Ace's arm. "Anything you say can and will be used against you."
"Take… your hands… off… of me." Ace said darkly, emphasizing every word. Some of the cops shuddered a little at the seriousness and anger throughout his voice.
"You're coming with us." The lead cop said, taking a firm grip on Ace's shoulder.
"Have it your way." Ace said. "But don't say I didn't warn you."
"What are you saying?" the lead cop said. "You're in sealing cuffs that seal your strength and moves. You're powerless to escape."
"Well" Ace said, his voice sounding sinister. "I did cause those nightmares. But it was an accident. I had a tight grip on my power, but some of the energy managed to slip out."
"Looks like a confession to me." The lead cop said.
"Wrong" Ace said, almost sounding insane. "If I caused that powerful a nightmare with almost full control, then what would happen if I let go?"
"All right, take him boys." The lead cop said, tired of Ace's stalling. The cops moved closer to Ace, preparing for a fight.
Ace didn't fight them. He didn't have to. All he did was partly release his grip on his nightmare powers and they did the rest. The cops fell on the ground, writhing in their nightmares, the terror being stronger due to Ace's not holding back as much of the nightmare energy.
Ace broke his cuffs and retightened his grip on his nightmare powers. He looked over at Cela, who seemed to be getting a large headache. Ace held up his hand, a soft blue light coming out of it. The light surrounded Cela, healing her a little and removing the headache.
"Safeguard?" Cela asked, confused as to how Ace knew how to use the move, seeing as Darkrai weren't known for using many healing moves.
"I had Shadow teach me how to use it." Ace explained. "Just in case something like this happened."
"That's really good foresight." Cela said.
"Yeah" Ace said. "Well, I'm going after Shadow and Giovanni. You throw these guys outside and tell Arcey you did."
"Got it" Cela said, standing up and walking to the door.
"Oh by the way" Ace said. "If any of my friends from school show up, tell them where I've gone. And tell Arcey where I'm going. Also, tell Eon not to follow me. And finally tell her I can't break the seals. She'll understand."
"All right" Cela said, looking back. "What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to find Giovanni" Ace said, his voice dark. "And I'm going to break his neck"
Giovanni's hideout
The black haired psychic woke up to find she was in a dark and cold room with her arms chained above her head. She looked around to see that the room was similar to the one that Yveltal had taken her to before. She tried to remember how she'd gotten there, but her memory was a little fuzzy.
"How'd I get here?" she asked herself. "The last thing I remember was—"
Suddenly she remembered everything. Talking with Ace, getting drinks, Giovanni, everything. She tried to use her powers to break the chains holding her, but to no avail.
"I wouldn't waste my strength if I were you" the sinister voice belonging to one of the most feared men on the planet sounder in her ears, instantly causing her heart rate to accelerate out of fear. "Those seals I placed on you should keep both your physical strength and your psychic powers from aiding you in your escape."
"What do you want with me?" Shadow demanded, trying her best to hide her fear.
"Funny" Giovanni said, chuckling a little. "I'm getting the strangest case of déjà vu. Maybe it's because I brought you to the same place that you were brought to with Yveltal."
"What do you want from me?" Shadow demanded, a little more firm.
"The reason you're here, my darling." Giovanni said, his voice very sinister. "Is because I want to finish what I started earlier."
"What could you possibly—?" Shadow stared to ask before she realized what he meant, her eyes going wide.
"No." she gasped, trembling a little.
"Yes" Giovanni said, grabbing her chin. "I'm going to turn you into the ultimate weapon. You're going to aid me in destroying the Council once and for all."
"You won't get away with this." Shadow said defiantly, despite her fear.
"Oh?" Giovanni asked pleasantly. "And who's going to stop me?"
"Ace will" Shadow said, her confidence evident.
"He will?" Giovani asked, his voice sounding like he knew something Shadow didn't. "And what makes you so sure he can stop me?"
"Because" Shadow said, staring down her most feared opponent. "he's never failed before."
"That may be true" Giovanni said, laughing a small evil laugh. "But I've got something from you that will pretty much guarantee me the victory."
"What could he mean?" Shadow thought to herself, trying to figure out what the evil known as Giovanni meant by that statement. "The only thing of mine that would prevent Ace from beating Giovanni is…"
"His feelings towards me!" Shadow realized. "He won't attack me, so Giovanni would have a win."
"If you're thinking that I'm going to use his emotions against him" Giovanni said, almost as if he was reading Shadow's mind. "Then you're wrong. I'm not going to use something that cliché. Come on, girl. I've watched enough Dragon Ball Z and other cartoons in my day to know just what emotions can do for a person. I'm not going to use his emotions against him, only to have him get more powerful and ultimately beat me."
"Then what will you use?" Shadow wondered.
"Your ability" Giovanni said, pausing to let the effect sink in.
"My ability?" Shadow asked, confused as to what he meant. Suddenly, her eyes widened as she realized exactly what he meant: her Synchronize ability. The one thing that was more dangerous than anything else she could do. It allowed her to be just as powerful as Ace, fight on his level. And since they were a great team it was almost like there were two of him fighting. If Giovanni planned to harness that, then he could essentially have his own Ace on his team.
"Yes, my dear" Giovanni said. "I'm going to use you to defeat your boyfriend and then the Council. You'll be the leading force in my plan."
"I'll never join you" Shadow declared.
"Oh, is that right?" Giovanni said, his voice sinister. "Well, let me tell you that you don't have a choice."
"What do you mean?" Shadow asked, realizing she was about to find out.
"This" Giovanni said, touching Shadow's forehead. A seal appeared and began shocking her, removing her will to fight as well as twisting her mind to suit Giovanni's wants.
Hall of Origins-With Arcey and Eon
"So what are you going to do about Ace?" Eon asked. "If he can't retain control of his nightmare powers?"
"I'm going to have to take drastic actions." Arcey said. "I might have to use more seals on him."
"You know he won't go for it." Eon said. "I don't think he appreciates the amount of seals currently in his body."
"I can't help that." Arcey said, sighing. "I will have to seal him if he can't gain control."
"Arcey! Arcey!" Cela shouted, running into the room, her voice urgent.
"What is it Cela?" Arcey said, seeing the panic on the Time Traveler's face.
"Ace is going after Shadow" Cela said, taking a deep breath. "And he wants Eon to stay here."
"Wait, what?" Eon said, confused. "Why's he going after Shadow? I thought she was going after him. And why would he want me to stay here? That doesn't make sense."
"Shadow was taken" Cela explained. "By Giovanni. Ace went after her, but he said that he couldn't break the seals, so don't let Eon follow him."
"Why couldn't I follow him?" Eon asked. "Won't he need extra power if he can't break hi seals?"
"Oh no!" Arcey realized what Ace meant. "He's going to release his hold. Eon you can't follow him."
"What does that mean?" Eon asked.
"He's going to release his nightmare powers to gain more power to fight Giovanni." Arcey explained. "If he does, then even you would succumb to the nightmares."
"But wouldn't Shadow get infected as well?" Eon asked.
"No" Arcey said. "She's immune. No matter how much nightmare energy floods that place, Shadow won't feel the effects."
"Will Ace save Shadow?" Cela asked, worried.
"I'm pretty sure he will." Arcey said. "He won't give up until he saves her."
"Hey, Arcey" Dialga said, walking into the room with several other Pokémon: Chopper, Diana, Mira, Cressa, Melody, Kiria, and Conner. "Our friends from school are here, looking for Ace."
"I hope this isn't a bother." Melody said, flipping her hair behind her ears.
"Not at all" Arcey said. "I think Ace needs you guys' support right now more than ever."
"Why?" Chopper asked. "Does it have anything to do with why he didn't want to touch me?"
"Yes and no." Arcey said solemnly. "You see Ace has had, since birth, the ability to cause nightmares to anyone who touches him and, in some cases, anyone who gets near him. He can keep them in check, but they constantly get stronger as he does, causing him to use more power to hold them back. As it stands, about nine tenths of his power holds them back, but some of the energy must have escaped when he touched you, Chopper, causing you to get a headache. He's always thought that he can't be normal so long as these powers corrupt him, but deep down inside he realizes that he can't survive without them."
"So where's he now?" Kiria asked. "I have the strange feeling that he's going to do something that will cause much turmoil."
"He's going to fight Giovanni to rescue Shadow." Arcey said.
Everyone in the room gasped. Giovanni?!
"So you're telling me" a voice said from behind Eon. "that Ace is going to fight one of the most dangerous men on the planet? Alone?"
"Who was that?" Arcey asked.
"Me" the voice said, coming from a boy of about nineteen. His large green hair was tied in a single ponytail.
"N!" Eon shouted, hugging her friend.
"This is N?" Arcey said, looking the Zoroark boy up and down. "He seems nice."
"You must be Eon's mother." N said, extending his hand. "A pleasure."
"How long have you been standing there?" Arcey asked. "I couldn't even sense you."
"Your daughter and her friends are the only ones who can so far." N said. "I've been standing here for about ten minutes. I hope Ace makes it through this one. That kid's a badass."
"I hope so too" Arcey said. The others all nodded in agreement.
"Why's he going alone?" Chopper asked. "It seems like Ace would want Eon's help just in case."
"He might have to release control of his nightmare powers" Arcey said. "To gain a power boost. The only ones unaffected by his nightmares are members of the Cresselia race and Shadow. If anyone else went, they would most likely experience the worst and most horrific nightmares they have ever experienced and probably ever will experience."
"Can we see him?" Cressa asked, worried. "To give him support?"
"I can try to find his location." Arcey said. "But it will take me a while to find him. He's an evasive little guy, being a Dark type."
"But can we see him?" Mira asked.
"It's a very high chance." Arcey said. The God Pokémon focused her energy to give her a link to the nightmare demon, taking a minute due to Ace's Dark typing. Finally she got a link to Ace's energy signature.
"What's he doing?" Chopper asked.
"It appears he's going to enter the fortress where Giovanni is." Arcey said. "Here, allow me to show you."
She focused her energy to send it to the others' minds. Soon they saw a clear image of Ace Hunter moving at supersonic speeds toward Giovanni's hideout.
"Where's he going?" Kiria asked.
"Toward Giovanni's hideout." Arcey said. "Now watch and listen. This could be important."
With Ace
Immediately after Cela left Ace turned into a shadow and sped away. Once he reached the end of the property the Hall of Origin rested on, he shot out of the ground, flying at supersonic speed toward Giovanni's hideout, his anger causing him to move faster. He could feel Shadow's energy signature in front of him, but it was fuzzy, like something was tampering with it, tampering with her. Ace started to sweat a little as negative thoughts about his closest friend's fate clouded his mind. He quickly pushed them aside as he reached the entrance to the fortress Giovanni was residing in.
As he landed in front of the fortress, he stopped dead in his tracks, catching his breath a little after pushing his speed as far as he did in human forme.
"Odd" he thought to himself as he stood in front of the fortress' entrance. "I've got the strangest case of déjà vu"
Unbeknownst to the Dark type, however, there was someone watching him through a security camera positioned high up on the top of the fortress.
Giovanni's fortress-security room
"Hey, dude" one of the guards said to his partner, who was looking at a different screen.
"What?" said the other, coming over to his partner.
"Look at this guy." The first guard said, pointing to the screen, which showed Ace standing in front of the main gate, looking very angry.
"What's up with him?" the second guard asked, wondering why this weird character was outside their gate.
"He seems like he wants to break in." the first guard said.
"Is he from the Council?" the second guard asked.
"He seems like it" the first guard said. "Giovanni told us to be wary of them."
"Why would the Council only send one guy?" the second guard asked.
"Don't know" the first guy asked. "But this guy doesn't seem to be negotiating hostages. I think he's going to break down the door."
"That's rich" the second guard said, laughing. "Giovanni's gonna wreck him. I heard the prisoner he has is his key to defeating the Council."
"I don't know" the first guard said, pondering why Ace was here alone. "But something's off about him."
"Call in the mini squadron." The second guard said, not seeing the Dark type as a problem.
"Wait" the first guard said, remembering something. "He looks familiar"
"What do you mean?" the second guard asked, trying to see similarities.
"Black hair, blood red scarf, black jacket, seemingly a Dark type" thought the first guard aloud. "Wait, I remember now! That's the Nightmare Demon, a member of the Unholy Trinity."
"Wait, really?" the second guard asked, having heard the rumors of the incredibly powerful Dark type. "Then call in the full force to guard Giovanni's workshop."
"On it" the first guard said, pushing a button on the control panel in front of him. "And I also called in the Sealsmasters. They'll take care of him."
"Let's hope so" the second guard said, nervous. "Let's hope so"
With Ace
"Well" the Dark type thought to himself. "No sense trying to sneak in. I can't afford to wait. He might be doing ungodly things to Shadow. And I won't let that happen!"
With his anger rising, Ace blasted the door with a powerful Dark Pulse, shattering the door and throwing it off its hinges. He moved inside quickly, blending into the shadows.
A small squadron of troops arrived at the site of the destroyed door, gaping at the sight of it. The door was supposed to keep out a rampaging Tyranitar and here it was, thrown by what seemed to be one attack.
"What could have done this?" one of the squadron members asked, looking around nervously to see if the person who had destroyed the door was still there.
"No idea." Another said. "Do you think it was that Dark type that the guys in the control room were talking about?"
"Maybe" said a third. "Must have been pretty powerful to have done this."
"Oh it was" Ace said, stepping out of the shadows. The squadron members all gasped at the sight of Ace, a lone warrior, standing in front of them.
"Who are you?" they demanded, preparing to fire energy blasts at the intruder.
"My name is Ace." Ace said, snapping his fingers. "And I'm the one who's going to foil your boss's plans."
Immediately after Ace snapped his fingers, twenty five small, black spheres of Dark Void floated up from the shadows, enough for each member of the squadron. The squadron members gasped and turned around to run away, but the orbs were much, much faster. They hit each member of the squadron, knocking them unconscious and giving them horrible nightmares.
Satisfied, Ace walked forward, taking deep breaths to calm himself. He still had to keep a grip on his nightmares so he wouldn't be detected. He walked through the door, prepared for anything Giovanni could toss at him.
Hall of Origin-With Arcey and the group
"That was weak." Conner said. "I guess Giovanni underestimated Ace."
"I don't think so" Arcey said. "That's just a patrol squadron."
"So there are more powerful foes inside of that fortress?" Melody asked.
"Yes" Arcey said. "And there is a group in Giovanni's employ that is by far the biggest threat to Ace: The Sealsmasters."
"Who are the Sealsmasters?" Dialga asked, her and Palkia entering the room with Ray and Bianca.
"They are powerful beings in the employ of Giovanni." Arcey explained, bringing the four up to speed on the events of the day. "He will most likely use them to guard him while he uses Shadow for his own purposes."
"So, can Ace beat them?" Bianca asked, worried about the one she thought of as a big brother and the one girl in all of the Hall that keep up with him, besides Eon.
"I don't know" Arcey said, worry in her voice. "Even if he releases his nightmare powers, he still would have to deal with their most powerful seals and techniques. I haven't trained him to combat those yet."
"So" Palkia asked, worried. "It's anyone's match?"
"Pretty much" Arcey said. "I can't determine who has the better chance at this point."
"So all we can do" Palkia said. "Is hope?"
"Yes" Arcey said. "It's cliché I know, but we couldn't help him, especially if he releases his nightmare powers to the fullest. He will rescue Shadow, I have faith in him. He will do it, he's done harder. But the problem is that if he releases those powers, it gets harder and harder to seal them up again. I can't seal them myself because they're ever growing. But I think Ace will fix this whether or not he resorts to that method."
"Right" everyone else agreed. They knew Ace had the skills, resolve, and courage to save his friend, and he would try until he died trying. It wasn't that they doubted that he could do it, it was that he would lose himself in the process, becoming the one thing he saw himself as: a monster, a demon.
With Ace
Ace walked into the door to find five men dressed in black robes. Their eyes glowed yellow under the hoods they wore. They stared at him, their eyes attempting to pierce his soul.
"Get out of my way" Ace said, authority in his voice. "Or I will obliterate you."
"You do not scare us, Nightmare Demon." the man in the middle hissed similar to a Seviper or an Arbok. "We do not fear the Dark. It fears us."
"I'm not afraid of you" Ace said, calling Dark energy to his hands in preparation for a massive blast.
Before he could fire his blast, however, the five men raised their hands toward him and uttered an incantation in a language Ace had never heard before. He took a step towards the men to get leverage for his shot, but he found he couldn't move.
"That was a seal to prevent your movement." The man hissed. "It will keep you out of Giovanni's hair while he completes his plan."
"This seal is nothing" Ace said, putting more energy into his Dark Blast he was readying. "If the caster is dead."
"Fool" the man on the left said, his voice growly like an Ursaring or a Beartic. "This seal has another function: it absorbs Darkness."
Immediately after he had said that, the five men uttered another incantation in what seemed like the same language. The seal under Ace's feet became visible and glowed yellow. Ace looked down just before a semitransparent field shot up to the ceiling of the room. Ace punched the field, but it shocked him painfully.
"This field will prevent you from using Dark attacks." The man on the right said, his voice cold, like a Glalie's. "But it also absorbs Dark energy from your body. And since you're a pure Dark type, then your entire life force is Darkness."
Ace felt the field drain away his life force to its full extent. He dropped to his knees in pain; feeling like every part of his body was exploding all at the same time. He shouted in pain, his power level dropping rapidly.
With Shadow and Giovanni
"NO! Ace!" Shadow shouted, feeling her closest friend's fading life force.
"Don't worry" Giovanni said, his voice sinister. "When I'm done with you, you won't even know he existed."
"You won't win." Shadow said, still holding onto the hope she'd had in the beginning. "He will find a way to stop you."
"Unless Ace Hunter can rise from the dead." Giovanni said. "Then he won't come to save you. That field will drain him dry, no matter how powerful he is."
"You're wrong" Shadow said, tears starting to form as Ace's power level shrank rapidly. "He'll save me. Just you wait."
"We'll see, won't we?" Giovanni said, chuckling.
With Ace and the Sealsmasters
"one hundred thirty five thousand" the man in the middle said, listing Ace's dropping power level. "one hundred twenty thousand"
Ace was struggling to keep on his hands and knees at this point. It wasn't that his power level was dangerously low, it was that his Dark power was leaving his body so quickly and forcibly that his body was having a hard time adjusting at the right speed to cope with it. Ace was clenching his body to remain stationary, but he was failing fast.
"Funny" the man on the right said to the other hooded men. "He thought he could save her. But Giovanni has proven too much for him."
"True" the man in the middle said. "To think Giovanni said he would be trouble."
"I guess this kid got lucky the last time he fought Giovanni" the man on the left said. "He said that the girl was the last resort if we failed, but I don't see how we would've failed. This seal is our most powerful seal. It hasn't been broken yet, and never will."
"I… won't" Ace said weakly, struggling to talk at this point. "let him… win"
"Fool" the man in the middle hissed at Ace. "You don't get it. Giovanni won. You lost. The girl is his, not yours. Just die knowing that."
"No" Ace said, clenching his eyes shut and shuddering. "I won't let him win."
"I won't" he said, his energy stopping from leaving his body. "let him… WIINNN!"
Ace's eye shot open, revealing that it was red for a second before it flashed back to black and blue. The Sealsmasters stared at the Nightmare Demon as he grunted, his power level beginning to raise again, his hold on his nightmare powers removed.
"What is this?!" the man on the right shouted, surprised. "It's at thirty thousand! No, forty five thousand! Eighty thousand!"
Ace's eye flashed to red again, his hair flashed white before they both returned to their original colors. His body was trembling, but this time it was from power entering his body, not exiting. The Sealsmasters noticed his hair change and became confused (they couldn't see his eyes because he was looking down). What was happening to him? And what would this spell for them?
With Arcey and the legendaries
At this point every legendary in the Hall had joined Arcey and Ace's other friends in the kitchen to cheer on Ace in his endeavor to rescue Shadow from the clutches of Giovanni. They had just seen Ace fall to the seal's effects and were all clenching their fists as they watched him fight to stay conscious in the wake of the seal's power.
"Aaahhh" Arcey shouted, clutching her head in pain. The other legendaries looked at the God Pokémon, confused as to why this was happening.
"Ace's nightmare powers!" She shouted in pain. "He's released them! I can feel it even here."
Quickly, every being present that knew how to use Safeguard cast it, the combined effects healing the God Pokémon and clearing her head.
"Thank you all" she said, shaking her head to regain her bearings. "This should help keep us from Ace's immense powers."
"How powerful are his nightmares?" Mina asked, having felt part of Ace's power (due to her psychic typing). Mewtwo also questioned that, as did Deoxys and Cressa.
"Powerful enough to make you think all the candy in the world vanished." Eon joked, grabbing Mina by the arms. Mina gasped in horror at the thought of losing one of the things most precious to her.
"This is serious" Mewtwo said, lightly smacking Eon on the back of the head. "If Ace is unleashing those horrifying powers, then he must be desperate."
"He is" Arcey said. "He was almost dead."
"What?!" the others gasped. They had seen him struggle, but they didn't think he was almost dead.
"Something inside of him snapped" Arcey said. "Causing him to release his nightmare powers. That's why I shouted. Because I'm using psychic abilities to sense what he's doing, the nightmares flowed through the channel I made and could affect me."
"That has to be some powerful nightmare energy" Mira said. Being a Ghost type, she knew a little about nightmares.
"If it's enough to give me a nightmare." Arcey said gravely. "Then it's enough to be extremely scared of."
"But can Ace restrain his powers?" Mewtwo asked.
"I don't know" Arcey said. "But I'm willing to bet he won't seal them up again until he finishes with Giovanni"
With Ace
Ace's power level was rising faster than the seal could absorb it. At this point the seal was dark with the energy Ace was pouring out. The Sealsmasters were shocked that just one person could absorb as much power as Ace was.
"Fifteen million!" the man in the middle shouted. "Fifteen million nine hundred thousand! Seventeen million!"
"It keeps rising higher!" the man on the left shouted. "He's truly something to fear."
At this point Ace was standing up, his aura visible and almost blocking out the light from the seal, his eyes blazing and his hair flowing like in a harsh breeze, his scarf doing something similar.
"It seems to have stopped" the man on the left shouted. "At thirty million"
"Thirty million?!" Darkrai thought from inside of Ace's head. "That's more than I got out of him when I temporarily took over his human forme at that restaurant! Just how much nightmare power does this kid have?! And more importantly, how hard is it going to be to reseal it?"
"Don't worry" the man in the middle said, sweating. "The seal should still restrict him from leaving. We're still able to prevent him from reaching Giovanni."
Ace crossed his arms up in front of his chest. He quickly uncrossed them, throwing them out to the side and releasing a shockwave that broke the seal around him. Free from the draining powers of the seal, Ace's power skyrocketed anew as black opaque fire made of his intense aura surrounded him, preventing the Sealsmasters from seeing what was happening to him inside of the field of his aura.
With the other legendaries
"What's going on?" Mina asked as she saw the scene played out in front of her.
"Yeah" Bianca asked, worried. "What's happening to Ace?"
"I don't know" Arcey said, just as worried as the Red Eon Dragon. "I can't tell, but whatever it is, it can't be good."
With Ace
The aura fire dissipated to reveal Ace Hunter, pissed off and glowing black (if that's even possible). There was something different about him, however. His eyes were blazing red and his hair was white. The Sealsmasters were openly shocked that a pure Dark type had defeated their ultimate seal and had this much power stored away inside of him.
The man in the middle quickly summoned an unknown energy to his hands to fight this new, extremely powerful threat. He ran at Ace, shouting incantations to raise his power.
Ace didn't bother to dodge his attack. It simply hit him head on in the chest, causing a large shockwave from the impact and a small explosion, which emitted some smoke. When the smoke cleared, however, Ace was still standing and the man in the middle was standing still, his fist still on Ace's chest. Ace looked at the man, his red eyes flashing.
In a motion faster than any of the other men could see, Ace punched the man in the middle. He flew into the wall; every bone in his body was crushed upon impact. The others just stared, shocked that one of them had been killed so easily.
Inside Ace's mind
"Holy sh!t!" Darkrai shouted from inside Ace's head. "You just iced that guy! That was awesome!"
"Darkrai" Ace's inner mind spoke. "That wasn't me. At least that's not what I wanted to do."
"What do you mean?" Darkrai asked, confused.
"That thing that's doing that." Ace said. "It's not me. At least not completely"
"So you're saying that there's a third entity inside this body?" Darkrai asked.
"I don't think so" Ace said. "But it has something to do with my nightmare powers being unsealed."
"Arceo always told me to keep mine in check" Darkrai said. "I guess this was why. Not even I'm this brutal."
Outside world
Before any of them could even blink again Ace appeared next to the man on the left, his fist through his chest. Ace's fist was red from entering the man's chest. The man gasped, choking for air. Ace removed his fist, the man dropping to the floor, dead and leaking blood all over the floor.
The man next to him tried to punch Ace as well, but Ace grabbed him by the neck. The next sound that was heard was the sickening sound of bones being crushed mixed with a man chocking both from someone and on his own blood. After he finished choking the man, Ace tossed him uselessly aside, his body landing next to the remains of the man in the middle.
The man on the right shot a powerful beam at Ace, causing an explosion. This explosion was small enough to tell the man that Ace wasn't dead. Ace simply raised his hand at the man. Sharp, purely dark tendrils shot out of his hand, impaling the man in at least ten different places. The tendrils disappeared after a few seconds, causing the man to fall on his face, dead. The final man backed up, staring in horror at what Ace had done to some of Giovanni's most powerful henchmen.
"Wh-what are you?" he asked, the pure terror evident in his face and voice.
Ace turned and looked at him, his eyes showing only darkness and hatred. The man started to shake, his fear completely taking him over. Ace walked slowly over to him, his energy completely dark. When he reached the man, he held up his hand, a dark sphere appearing in it. He held the sphere up to the man's face for about three seconds before shoving it in the man's face, the terrifying effect of the Dark Void kicking in. The man fell to the ground, writhing for a few seconds before becoming still, never to move again (Ace's nightmare powers are now unrestricted, so the lethality of his nightmares increases by a lot).
"I am Nightmare" Ace said in a voice that made Darkrai's sound like Shadow's by comparison.
Nightmare simply looked back at the remains of the five men before simply walking out the door, continuing in his quest.
Hall of Origins
"Did he just do what I think he did?" Mewtwo asked, worried of what the answer would be.
"Yes, Mewtwo" Arcey said, horrified at what she had just witnessed. "Ace just brutally murdered those five Sealsmasters. It seems that he's far more capable than I thought. This "Nightmare" creature must be the result of his unsealed nightmare powers."
"He's become a monster." Bianca said, actually vomiting in a nearby trashcan. Most of the rest of the beings in the room were feeling similar, but they didn't want to lose whatever they had eaten just yet.
"Don't worry" Arcey said, trying to quell everyone's fears. "I think this is what happens when his nightmare powers take over. He gives in to his true Dark nature."
"How will we restore him?" Mewtwo asked, ready to take any action necessary to restore his friend back to his former self.
"We can figure out a way." Arcey said. "Does anyone have any suggestions?"
"We could use sealing powers?" Eon suggested. "It's worked before on him."
"Maybe" Arcey said. "But the last time, I couldn't seal him due to his high power and the only reason I did was because Shadow gave me some assistance. But she's the reason this is happening in the first place (indirectly mind you). But it was a good idea though, Eon."
"Oh well" Eon said.
"Though his behavior seems kind of familiar." Mewtwo said. "It's almost like-. No, it couldn't be. But that would explain some things."
"Mewtwo" Arcey said, slightly irritated. "If you're just going to say things that make us wonder what you're thinking, then just say them. If they're about Ace, then tell us so we can prepare in case something happens."
"Allright" Mewtwo said, not wanting to give away what he was thinking so as not to frighten anyone, especially Bianca. "But I don't want you to misunderstand me."
"We won't" Eon said, starting to get a little nervous at her mom's tone.
"I believe Ace" Mewtwo said, sighing. "Might have contracted Pokerus."
At this Eon and Bianca both gasped. They knew exactly what Pokerus could do, especially to beings with personalities like Ace's or Lugia's.
"I don't believe you" Bianca shouted, refusing to believe that one of the closest things she had to a brother had contracted the same terrible disease that had ended her uncle's life a few years earlier.
"I don't want to believe it either" Mewtwo said. "But facts may point to it. How else would you explain this odd personality shift? This is more extreme than even Darkrai when he took over Ace's body."
"I refuse to believe you" Bianca stated again firmly. "I don't think Ace has Pokerus. It's just him releasing his full nightmare powers. That would distort his personality."
"I'm inclined to believe Bianca" Arcey said. "I checked him for Pokerus myself. He's clean. The curse rarely affects Dark types, almost never pure Dark types. All of Ace's Dark energy is most likely affecting his actions."
"For all of our sakes" Mewtwo said nervously. "Let's hope you're right."
With Ace (Nightmare)
The Dark type (or whatever he had become) walked down the hall until he reached a big open room with hundreds of uniformed men standing guard in front of a door that was presumably Giovanni's room. When they saw Ace (Nightmare), they all prepared energy blasts to fire at the very powerful Dark type. When Nightmare noticed this, he chuckled. This was really the best that Giovanni had to send. Pitiful.
Nightmare raised his hand slightly, dark spikes shooting up from the ground to impale all of the guards, killing all of them. Nightmare strode emotionlessly over the bodies, either ignoring them or just plain not caring. His face seemed to be a strange mixture of utmost aggression and bloodlust as well as competitiveness. He walked up to the door, his aura pulsing out to shatter it.
He walked into the dark room, a single light shining down on him and Giovanni.
"Welcome, Hunter" Giovanni said evilly. "I see you've changed your look. Classy. Well, let's skip the pleasantries and get right to the part where you fight my weapon."
"Weapon id number 1447, come here." Giovanni called behind him in a booming voice.
What walked out to face the Dark type was something neither Nightmare nor the rest of the legendaries expected: Shadow.