You will find the playlist for this chapter in the comments, I recommend reading this chapter while listening to it.
CH. 5 SHADOWS PART 2
Desire
"Sup, Hop." the sinister figure said with a penetrating voice.
"Y-you...", Hop's voice was trembling, you notice him taking a footstep behind as if to start running away from him,
"W-what are y-" suddenly gets on his knee holding his head tightly, he seemed to be in pain.
"ARGHHHHHHHHHHH!" he yells in pain.
"H-HOP!", you rush to his aid worried because of his sudden reaction,
"Aion, what the hell is going on, is that really Leon? And what is he doing to Hop?" you asked agitated while holding a trembling Hop.
"I can't say for sure..." Aion admitted as he shielded both you and Hop from the figure,
"The only thing that I can say for sure is that the one you call Leon is a shadow, now that he is close to us, I can clearly tell it."
"Leon, a Shadow?", you thought for a second,
"That's impossible, there is no way that Leon is a shadow, I mea-" you tried to deny Aion's words.
"Wait, I'm not saying that this is the famous brother of Hop." Aion clarified,
"All I'm saying is that a Shadow took the guise of Leon, and that may be connected somehow to Hop."
"What?" you said, clueless and confused about what is going on.
You begin hearing voices from nowhere.
"Hop, are you sure this is what you want to do?" said a man's voice.
"D-dad?" Hop's eyes widen in horror, as he continued grasping his head.
"Huh?", you refocus on Hop again.
"Why don't you at least try to become like your brother?" said the voice of the supposed father of Hop.
"Oh my God, are you really Leon's brother? Can you get me an autograph of his?", a lass's voice was heard.
"Leon Mercury's brother? Those it means that he is as good as him at soccer?! That would be awesome for our team!" the voice of a boy was heard now.
"Shut up..." Hop whispered, in reply to the voices.
"Continue like that and one day you will play alongside your brother in the national team.", again it was Hop's dad.
"Shut up..."
"Huh? I didn't expect Leon's brother to be so..., I mean he is pretty decent at defending but is that all he can do?" another boy's voice said.
"Well... that was very disappointing, is definitely not the best player on the team..." another boy's voice said.
"Shut up, Shut up..."
"Ugh...well...", it was Hop's dad's voice again, "It didn't go as with Leon..."
"Shut Up, Shut Up, Shut Up, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!" Hop shouted in pain while grasping his head.
"H-hop, calm down.", you tried to calm him down in vain.
"What's wrong, brother, you can't deal with the truth?", the eerie Leon asked him with a mocking tone.
"It was always like that wasn't it, you always delayed or failed the things that I managed to do with ease."
"We promised to become soccer stars together, but in the end only I succeeded."
"I-" Hop was shaken.
"You are useless and unwanted, all the people care about is me Leon, the most talented of the two.", the sinister Leon yelled.
"Those voices just now said and showed the reality, it will be for the best if you just disappeared and die, even our father will be relieved, that such a dishonorable member of the family vanished."
"I- I- ARGH.", Hop yelled again in pain.
"We have to stop this at once, Aion!" you called the silver-haired boy.
"How do we stop this?!" you asked him, fearing for Hop's life.
"Simple..." Aion points to the uncanny Leon, "I have a sort of feeling that he is the one causing all this, so by defeating him we should be able to save Hop."
"Right..." you turn in the direction of the creepy figure, "We just have to deal with him.", the energy starts flowing in your body, you directed it toward your hand.
"Huuuuuuuuuuuuuh? You really wanna fight against me? Hahaha HAHAHAHAHA!" the eerie figure laughs maniacally.
"ALRIGHT THEN LET'START THE DANCE, FOLKS!" as he finishes talking, his body turns completely black except for his abnormal yellow yes, his body starts deforming, and he starts getting bigger and threatening.
"As I thought..." Aion pointed out,
"The one from before is it was just the disguise of him, this one is his real form."
In front of you stood a large and imposing body made entirely of dark gray charcoal, its belly is large and stocky, on his back there was a tall mound of high-temperature coal, the only thing that remained the same was his face, which was now emitting a red light from both his eyes and mouth, Leon's face felt out of place on that body thus making it more disturbing and terrifying, a strange red cumulonimbus formed on him.
"Come, let's end this!" Aion says as you rush to the enormous shadow without wavering an instant.
BATTLE STARTS
Nothing is Promised
"GROAR!"
"I AM A SHADOW, THE EGOIST SELF, GET OUT OF MY WAY!"
"Hey, you better follow my instructions if you want to leave this place alive.", Aion recommended you, holding his spear in your direction.
"I have an additional ability, that allows me to analyze the enemy I fight against."
"It helps me tell if my attacks are being effective or not, thus far this ability saved me countless times."
"Yes, sir.", you replied.
"Now the..." Aion proceeds in summoning his Pokesoul by biting and throwing the fruit that appeared in his hand.
"TOXTRICITY!" the reptilian Pokesoul appears behind is the summoner.
Following his example, you proceed in the summoning of your Pokesoul as well.
"LUCARIO!"
"VOLT!", you both simultaneously ordered you Pokesouls to use the same attack.
The evoked lightning hit the monster, but they seem to have little to no effect on Shadow Leon.
"GROAR!"
"W-what?!" you were in disbelieve.
"It seems that he is unaffected by our Volt attacks.", calmly said Aion.
"What do we do now then?"
"Watch out!" Aion yells at you.
Shadow Leon, after taking the attack without any damage, proceeded in stomping the ground causing tremors that made you lose your balance, Aion avoided the vibrations by jumping up.
"Woah!", you exclaimed in surprise.
"INDUSTRIAL STEAM!" roared Shadow Leon.
The tremor quickly forms some cracks on the ground, and geysers of hot steam came out of it, hitting and blasting you away.
"Ugh" you get up despite the injuries,
"Fuck it burns!" you check the burns they don't seem severe as you imagine, actually you can barely see any scratches, but you still badly feel pain.
After landing, Aion quickly gets near you,
"Hey, how are you?"
"I c-can feel pain b-but I can't see any scars.", you lamented both surprised and pained.
"This must be due to the nature of this place.", answered Aion,
"Your body doesn't register damage on the physical level, but it does on a sensational and psychological one."
"Ugh..." the pain begins to fade away.
"Try avoiding the Shadow attack..." Aion rushes toward the enemy with his spear.
"Hey, what are you going to do, how are we supposed to defeat him?" you ask him.
"Simply when special attacks don't work, we just have to use physical ones!" he shouts.
"Physical one?" you repeat after him perplexed.
"Watch," Aion eats the fruit "POKESOUL!", Toxtricity is summoned once again.
"GRRR" Shadow Leon groans as he opens his mouth, you see magma flowing in his mouth.
"INDUSTRIAL LAPILLI"
He then started spitting what seems to be magmatic rocks toward Aion and you, Aion manages to avoid all the projectiles by jumping and dodging, you avoid most of them as well.
"LUCARIO!", you summon Lucario once a very big one was in the process of hitting you.
Lucario uses Volt breaking the giant rock into a thousand pieces,
"That was a close one..." you sigh relieved, you then notice that Aion and Toxtricity have got closer to Shadow Leon.
"Now let's hit him which everything we got, PUNK BANE", Toxtricity hits Shadow Leon with his fist covered in a shock purple aura, causing him to take some step back to not fall down.
"GROARRRR!", despite the difference in size, Toxtricity's attack seems to have some sort of effect on him, as the monster screamed in pain.
"Y-you hit him.", you gladly cheered.
"GRRRR, BUZZ OFF GRRRAWHL, THE ONE I WANT HIS HOP, WHERE IS THAT COWARD?!"
"Wait! Hop, HOP!", as soon you realize he wasn't nearby, you look around agitated in the search of your friend.
Shadow Leon then provoked another quake by stomping the ground once.
You and Aion avoided the impact waves and the cracks.
After you get safe you continue searching for Hop and you notice him lying far away close to one of the desert's rocks, he was enough away to avoid being hit by the attacks of Shadow Leon.
Hop seemed unconscious, but he had still that pained expression on his face, it was as if he was still hearing the voices.
"Hop, thank goodness...", you sigh,
"Hey Aion, I'm gonna-", you stop talking as you witness a not very reassuring scene, the skillful Aion was on is his knees, he could barely stand thanks to his spear.
"*Pant* *pant*..." the most experienced of you two was in a bad shape,
"This is not good..." he whispered.
"He is in the state as I was during my clash with does Shadows back there.", you do notice, though, that his expression was a more pained one than one of somebody that was out of breath.
"GROAAR!"
After a moment of hesitation, you start running toward Shadow Leon, as he was preparing to attack you once again.
"One punch from Toxtricity was enough to make him almost collapse.", you rapidly close the distance between you and the big Shadow.
"INDUSTRIAL LAPILLI!" once again Shadow Leon starts erupting incandescent rock toward you, one of them was really close to hitting a worn Aion.
"Agh..." he tries to dodge in vain.
"LUCARIO!", you summon you Pokesoul just in time, to smash into pieces the threatening rock, saving him.
"Are you alright?" you ask him this time around with a confident smile.
"Th-that thing... is the first time that I had to deal with such a strong Shadow..."
"Don't worry I'm going to deal with him now..."
"No wai- agh..."
"LET'S GO LUCARIO! HIT HIM WITH A BLAST OF PUNCHES!", following your order, Lucario did exactly that, soon a rain of punches lands on the monster, causing him to flinch quite a bit back.
"GROAN!" the monster roars in pain.
"Yes, I did it! I di-" your glee was interrupted by a shock of pain that flowed through all over your body.
"Urgh! What the hell?!", you fall to the ground in pain, you manage to not lose consciousness despite the shock.
"GRRR GET THE HELL OUT OF MY WAY!" Shadow Leon recovered from the blow you dealt him, ignoring you completely, he directs his focus on Hop, his main target.
"IS TIME TO DISAPPEAR, FAILURE!" he shouted as he was making his way to where Hop was lying down.
"HOP!" you shout trying to wake him up, "GET UP AND RUN! HOP!"
HOP'S POV.
"That voice..." Hop slowly regains consciousness.
"YOU COWARD, YOU TRAITOR!"
"Is... that Leon...eh? AION, VICTOR!" Hop, still shocked by the events of
before and seeing Victor and Aion exhausted on their knees, tries to stand up, just to fall down.
"Eugh..." Hop holds his head in his hands, as the voices restart to torment him.
Regret
"WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT YOU ARE!"
"HE CAN'T BE LEON'S LITTLE BROTHER, HE IS JUST TOO BAD AT PLAYING!"
"TRY TO BE MORE LIKE YOUR BROTHER, HOP!"
"YOU WILL NEVER REACH MY LEVEL PLAYING LIKE THAT."
The voice of both Leon and Hop's father could be heard among the voices that tormented the boy.
"I... I am a useless coward and a traitor... they are right...", Hop says in a defeated tone, bowing down sad and beaten, ready to give up any hope.
"Get up..." a mysterious voice from behind the boy ordered, Hop, turns around to see who talked, only to be yet again left astonished.
The figure behind Hop was, Hop himself, but he did have a little different from the boy, his eyes were more neon glowing yellow than the normal golden amber, and they glowed just like the one of that creepy Leon, and even his expressions were anomalous, but he didn't seem to be a threat to Hop.
He was calm and collected, but at the same time, he seemed emotionless and detached.
"Y-yo-" Hop stuttered.
"You would normally find the way home after spending time playing in the woods..." the strange Hop said,
"But this time around you lost yourself in the forest of your mind, without any exit from it."
"You have let yourself be deceived by the words of those who unjustly expected from you the same identical deeds that your brother achieved."
"But when they were faced with the reality that you were indeed not Leon, both you, and they were disappointed, they from you and you from them."
"..."
"Since then you have been trying to run away and hide in this forest refusing to leave. Stuck in this forest with the words of those who wanted another you, endlessly repeating over and over."
"..." Hop remained silent.
"Instead of attempting to flee, and find a way out, you gave up and pushed all the blame on Leon and an alleged curse he had imposed on you." the unusual Hop continued.
"You imagine Leon as this great monster whose influence you cannot escape, you like to selfishly think that he is an inevitable revolution that has turned your quiet forest around into an industry of torment."
"SHUT UP!" Hop yelled enraged at himself.
"WHAT DO YOU KNOW! WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE FEELING OF OTHER PEOPLE SEEING YOU ONLY AS THE BROTHER OF? WHAT DO YOU KNOW HOW DOES IT FEEL WHEN THEY LOOK AT YOU WITH THAT DISAPPOINTED GLARE, WHAT DO YOU KNOW!"
"... I know, very well indeed..." replied the other Hop completely composed.
"YOU KNOW NOTHING!", Hop yells back at him.
"I know because, I'm you, and you are me..."
"Huh?" Hop expresses perplexity after that statement.
"I'm your Shadow and that monster is a part of me and you... you alone created that monster." Shadow Hop said pointing toward Shadow Leon.
"I-i create that..." Hop's voice got shaky again.
"Yes is a fake Leon that you created because you didn't want to acknowledge your own faults."
"Eugh..."
"Let me ask one thing, is that monster really the way your brother is? Is Leon really that monstrous?" Shadow Hop asked his otherself.
"Or you are just being egoistically unjust toward him?"
"I-I..." Hop was at a loss for words.
"The answer is no, Leon is the complete opposite of this monster, he is a caring brother, a supportive and sensible person, Leon is-"
"I KNOW IT DAMN IT!" shouted Hop.
"I... I know, of course, I always have known, but no matter how much I try to convince myself about it, the more I found myself blaming him for everything."
"..." Shadow Hop watches him in silence.
"I felt so alone and frustrated every time I made new acquaintances or tried some different path, it wasn't long enough that they discovered my relationship with him, and suddenly he alone will become the matter of subjects."
"Friends, companions even family members..."
"I'm tired of this, I'm tired of being left alone."
"You are not alone..." Shadow Hop said.
"... What?" Hop said timidly.
"You are not alone, listen..."
"You want to become a researcher?" said the voice of a woman.
"M-mom?"
"That's fantastic Hop." said the motherly voice.
"Disappointed? Why should I be disappointed? Isn't this your dream Hop? Then is my duty as your mother to support you, even your father will be proud of you."
"Eugh..."
"Research, that's fantastic." said a more elderly female voice.
"You will be able to help in the search for treatments for cancer and other diseases, saving countless lives Hop."
"Nana..."
"I'm so proud of you Hop, I know how much you and your brother suffered because of me and your father, promise me that you will always follow your dream and your own happiness Hop." said the voice of an elderly man.
"Right... the promise that I did with Grampa..."
"Wow you sure are fantastic, if it wasn't for you, we would have still been lost in the wood, you are incredible." said a familiar voice of a girl.
"Gloria..."
"Hop, hey, Hop...", the voice now was of a man.
"... This voice..." Hop's eyes widen.
"Be always happy Hop, because no matter what I will be always your brother, and I will be always by your side."
"*Sob*..." Hop at this point he could barely hold on to his tears.
"I- I'm such a coward, such a-"
"You understand now, even right now there is somebody that is fighting for your sake, look." Shadow Hop points at Victor and Aion struggling to get up and continue the fight and stop Shadow Leon.
"VICTOR! AION!" Hop yells, then proceeds to dry his tear and stand up.
"Are you done hiding?" asked Shadow Hop.
I'll Face Myself
"... yes, for so long I ignored the voices of those who loved me and needed me while trapping myself in a useless and toxic cycle because of my own weakness and not wanting to acknowledge my mistakes, all I did till now was pushing the blame for my situation on others, not trying to break from that condition on my own... but no anymore." said the boy which resolves in his eyes.
"That thing is a monster I created, so it is my responsibility to make it disappear.", he said, looking at the horrific Leon in front of him.
"THAT THING IS NOT LEON, AND I WILL NOT LET IT TARNISH HIS REPUTATION ANYMORE." yelled Hop.
"Very well... finally we can seal our agreement." Shadow Hop vanishes causing a breeze to rise.
"What the-" a green fruit appears in Hop's hands,
"After biting this fruit you will lose the right of ignorance, and you will never be able to hide from life again."
"That's fine because I'm not going to do it anymore...*gnam*" Hop bites the fruit, he then throws it mid-air.
"I'm thou, thou art I, the forest that made you a slave is now your dominion, and thus his gales and winds are yours to manipulate."
"Thank you for bringing me back to reality," Hop thanked his Pokesoul.
"Now, let's clean up the mess I left behind, Sceptile."
A green reptilian-looking Pokesoul appears behind Hop, ready to fight.
NORMAL POV
I' ll Face Myself Reincarnation
"HOP, YOU LOSER!" Shadow Leon roared in anger upon noticing that Hop was getting near the battlefield.
"Hop, are you alright?" you ask him panting.
"Yes... I'm fine now..." he said.
"Wait, is that a Pokesoul?", you pointed out, surprised.
"Yeah, and with his power I'm here, to settle things with my past."
"That's nice and all, but as you see me and Victor can barely stand", said Aion,
"Facing it alone is out of the question!"
"Right... I don't think we can defeat in our current state.", you added.
"No worries there!" Hop reassured you.
"Here let me heal you guys, Sceptile use Cura", the Pokesoul obeyed the command, healing the two by generating two green energy spheres that were absorbed in the body of both boys.
"Huh? I feel better.", you declared while checking up your body.
"Yeah, me too.", said Aion,
"How did you discover this ability?" you asked Hop,
"I had a feeling that I could heal you guys, after all, you get all these injuries because of me, that was the minimum that I could do..." Hop said apologetically.
"HOP! PREPARE TO DIE!"
"INDUSTRIAL STEAM!" once again Shadow Leon stomps again on the floor generating cracks from which steam comes out.
"GUYS WATCH OUT!" Aion warned you allowing you to dodge the steam in time.
"Th-that was close," you successfully avoided the attack of Shadow Leon,
"Are you guys alright?", asked Hop.
"Yeah...", you said.
"Since everyone is fine, let's bring down that titan already." proposed Aion.
"What it's the plan?" you asked him.
"The enemy weakness is physical attacks, charging the enemy and attacking him together, will be enough.", Aion suggested.
"Just, like that? Is it really, gonna work?" asked Hop a bit reluctant.
"Hopefully, we can say for sure unless we tried."
"GROARRRRR" Shadow Leon, opens his mouth ready to charge his next attack.
"At my signal run toward him." Aion, Hop, and you got ready to dash toward Shadow Leon.
"3...2...1..." Aion slowly counted down.
"INDUSTRIAL LAPILLI!" Shadow Leons attacks you by spitting blazing rocks toward you.
"NOW!" after the Aion order, you divided, intending to avoid the Lapilli, and get closer to the offender.
"Lucario!"
"Come, Sceptile!"
"After me, Toxtricity!"
You summoned your Pokesouls, successfully evading the attacks, and got closer to the target.
"IT TIME TO END THIS!" you yelled all together while performing the combined attack.
"PUNK BANE!"
"AURA BARRAGE!"
"JUNGLE DRIVE!"
One by one your attacks eventually landed, causing the enemy an amount of considerable damage.
"ARGGGGH!" Shadow Leon, screamed in pain, as he fell on his backside
"GUYS HE IS FULL OF OPENINGS, TIME TO PERFORM an ALL-OUT- ATTACK!" shouted Aion.
"HOW DO WE DO THAT?", you asked.
"JUST ATTACK EVERY PART OF HIS BODY WHICOUT GIVING HIM TIME TO RECOVER!", Aion replied back.
"Let's go then!" your Pokesouls attack Shadow Leon again together,
the combined attack of the Pokesouls was quick and brutal.
"N-NO N-noooooooooooooooo!" finally Shadow Leon falls down defeated.
"W-we did it?! WE DID IT!" both you and Hop shout happily.
BATTLE ENDS
I'll Face Myself Piano ver.
"Did we succeed? We really take him done?", asked an incredulous Hop.
You were in front of the lifeless body of Shadow Leon, his body was dissolving in the air.
"Seems like it..." replied Aion.
Confirmed his defeat, you finally let your guard down, and collapsed to the floor.
"Hop..." as the boy was going to sit down, he heard somebody calling him, from the same spot Shadow Leon collapsed.
"Leon..." the boy whispered.
"Thank you for remembering the real me." the alleged Leon smiled, he appeared normal, and it didn't seem to have ill intentions toward you.
"Is this one the real Leon?" you asked while being cautious.
"N-no he...he is part of a repressed memory of mine..." Hop declared.
"Repressed memory..." said Aion, "Then that monstrosity was you're doing too."
"Yes... he was a monster that I created to justify my victimization. " Hop confesses.
"You created it, that's incredible...", you said with stupor.
Hop turned toward the "True Leon."
"I'... I'm really sorry..." he apologized.
"True Leon" smiled at him, and then he dissolved in a flash of light.
"He's gone..."
"Yes, finally we can return to the other side." pointed Aion.
"Come on, let's not lose any more time around here, our battle could have called the attention of the other Shadows."
"Yeah, you have a point, let's get out.", you agreed with Aion's statement.
Has your resume walking toward the portal, you noticed Hop not moving together which you, he was still staring at the point where both Shadow and Truth, Leon disappeared.
"Hop.", you called for him.
"Huh? Ah! Right, we have to move on.", he seemed as you just waked him up from a state of numbness.
"Let's go.", he tells you, joining you for the run toward the portal.
Afternoon/Cloudly
Later after returning back from the Darkest Den.
"We are back..." said Aion.
"Yep.", added Hop.
You exit from the Darkest Den manor.
Feeling a bit tired, you asked the others if they were alright.
"How are you guys feeling?"
"Tired..." said Aion.
"Hop? You did just awake to your Pokesoul after all," you asked him remembering how you felt the first time you awaken to your Pokesoul.
" Eugh... I feel like I can fall any moment now..."
"What time *yawn* is it anyway ?" he asked yawning,
"Let me che- 13:00!" you almost screamed, as you checked the time on your smartphone.
"Shit, we missed an entire day of school!", Hop said panicking.
"What are you talking about, weren't you the one that didn't want to go to school in the first place?" you asked him with a fed-up expression.
"If you guys don't hurry, I'm gonna leave you behind.", Aion said coldly as always while walking away to the entrance of the Wild Area, without you.
"Hey! Wait for us!" both you and Hop yelled as you followed him.
Evening/ Cloudly
Iwatodai Dorm
"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU GUYS BEEN?", Gloria angrily yelled at both you and Hop.
"Ehm... we were- right...", Hop laughed awkwardly while trying to come with an excuse.
"Ple-please, calm down.", you tried to persuade her.
"Seriously? And I-"
While Gloria was ranting, you think again of how you ended up in this situation; upon returning to the dorm you three headed your separate way to your rooms, after that, you fell asleep in your bed only to be waked up hours later by the Sonia, that came to check on you.
She asked you about the cause of your absence, and after giving her a normal excuse, she told you to let her know in advance the next time something like that happened.
You then headed downstairs to join the others for dinner, you meet Hop, he too on his way to the canteen, and not long after that the both of you meet Gloria, bringing you to your actual situation.
"Seriously... I thought something bad happened to Hop...", she said with a sad expression.
"We are really sorry.", you apologized again.
"Ye-yeah...sorry...", Hop apologized without smirk anymore.
"Sigh... anyway... we are late for dinner, let's continue our conversation later.", with that said, the girl headed toward the canteen living both of you behind.
"Victor..."
"Uh? Wassup?"
"I want her to know about what happened today.", Hop told you with a serious voice.
"... Did you change your mind?" you asked him surprised.
"You see... Gloria is the type of person to not say how she really feels or what she really wants if it means bothering others." Hop told you.
"If it means bothering others?", you repeated.
"... Now I know why she was so stressed out back then.", you thought, recalling the day you got lost in Wyndon.
"Probably she already knew that we went back in that place, but she doesn't want to say it to avoid making things awkward.", Hop concluded.
"HEY!" Gloria shouted from the end of the corridor.
"Are guys coming or what?" She asked us mildly annoyed.
"Yes, we are coming.", Hop replied to her.
"So are we telling her?" Hop asked you again.
"Sure, why not?", you replied.
"Thanks, now let's get going before she gets more hysterical."
Later after dinner.
"Hah, man, the cake was surely delicious.", Gloria said enthusiastically, as you were delivering the empty plates to the cook assistant, during dinner Gloria told you and Hop what happened during your absence at school.
"Now that we are finished, you-"
"Hey Victor, Hop." while heading toward the common area, you were suddenly stopped by Aion's voice.
"Heys, Aion, we were just about to come to you.", said Hop cheerful.
"We looked for you in the canteen, but you were nowhere to be found.", you added.
"Ehm... guys..." Gloria looked rather confused.
"Oh right! Ehm... Gloria, this is Aion, Aion, this is our other friend Gloria." Hop introduced the two to each other.
"Ehm, Hello, ni-nice to meet you." Gloria greeted him awkwardly.
"Nice to meet you too.", Aion replied quickly and decisive as always.
"Follow me.", with that said, Aion headed toward the elevators, you and Hop followed him.
"Wh-where are you guys going?" Gloria asked nervously.
"Ehm, Aion, is it alright for her to come too?" Hop asked him.
"... Are you sure about it?" Aion asked.
"Yes, we are sure, she has been in that place already anyway.",
Hop added.
"... Is that so, then sure whatever." Aion resumed walking toward the elevator.
"So you really did go back in that creepy place..." Gloria seemed disappointed and angry toward you two upon confirming her doubts.
"How could y-"
"B-before you start going berserk on us again we would like you to follow us and hear for yourself what happened back in the Darkest Den."
"Darkest Den? What are you talking about?" Gloria seemed confused and frustrated.
"Eugh, just shut up and follow us for the time being, okay? We promise everything will make more sense later." Hop then grabs her hand and forces her to follow Aion with him.
"Huh? Hey! What ar- Slowdown!"
You followed after them and reached the elevator together.
Later in Aion's room.
Reasoning DAN ver.
"Woah, you sure read a lot.", you commented after being invited into Aion's room.
His room had pillars of books and films scattered all around, your eyes caught some of the book titles; The Great Sociology Book, Anthropology, The Human Society, From Australopithecus to Homo Sapiens, etc.
"I see that you are giving your best in studying our society.", you added, rather intrigued.
"Indeed, while some things make sense for the surviving of your species, I don't quite understand other things like war or racism thought..." Aion replied.
"Ah, right, I completely forget about your issue..." Hop said which defeated tone.
"Species? Surviving? What a strange way to talk, what it's deal?" Gloria whispered to Hop's ear.
"Ehm... he is actually..."
"Gloria, Aion is actually an alien from another planet.", you bluntly told her.
"..." Gloria remained silent for a few seconds before bursting with a "WAIT WHAT!"
"MY SAME REACTION!" Hop commented passionately.
After that exchange of lines, you explained the entire situation to Gloria.
You told her about Aion's mysterious amnesia and his Pokesoul Toxtricity, about the Shadow, and the fight you had against Shadow Leon and Hop's Pokesoul awakening.
"And that's about it.", Hop concluded the brief summary of what happened in the Darkest Den today.
"Wow, all this is really hard to believe.", Gloria said reluctantly.
"Not only are you saying that this guy in front of me is actually an alien, but you defeated a fake Leon too, and Hop now can use a Pokesoul?"
"Well... it does sound crazy if you put it like that.", Hop said amused.
"Yep, it's all so surreal and sudden.", Gloria said again, skeptical.
"You can judge that for yourself, after going back in the Darkest Den.", Aion replied.
"WHAT! You wanna return to that place again?" Gloria yelled stunned.
"Wasn't that obvious?" Aion asked her perplexed.
"Currently I'm investigating the Darkest Den in the search of anything related to my origins and my other partner."
"Till now I somehow manage to make it all alone, but after the incident with Shadow Leon I expect the Shadows to be more dangerous from now on, this is why I wanted to ask for your help.", Aion declared.
"Actually, I wanted to ask you something about the Darkest Den, back then you meant that the Darkest Den represented the 'collective unconscious' of mankind."
"The 'collective unconscious' of mankind is a term that I learned in one book of Human psychology I possess, and a word I saw it written on a document I found in the Darkest Den."
"A document?" Hop questioned.
"Yes, those documents are the reason I know about the nature of that place, there were all in a crypt located not far away from the portal."
"Documents? Huh? In a place like that?", you thought.
"Tell us more about these documents, do you know who writes them? And why were they there in the first place?" you ask him.
"... Is better if you guys take a look for yourself, while everything in the Darkest Den is more or less different from your world, the crypt..." Aion pauses a moment before continuing.
"The crypt was man-made.", Aion said.
"So what you say is that people have been in that place already." Hop speculated.
"Exactly, what were they doing there? How did they fight back the Shadows? What happened to them? I know nothing about any of it." Aion confirmed Hops suspicious.
"If you really want to know something about that place and about those folks' destiny, and learn something about the Darkest Den, I suggest you start searching from there since that place seems to be tied to human psychology, you guys may have a different and better interpretation of that world than I do." explained Aion.
"If you accept my request of teaming up, I might even lead you toward the crypt."
"Definitely!" Hop answered enthusiastically.
"Hell, after my last visit and that confrontation with myself, I want to discover more about that place."
"Really..." Gloria asked Hop anxious.
"Yep, I just can't do as nothing happened, after the events of today." Hop declared with a sad smile,
"Plus, it seems that some people have been remained trapped in there or something, I would like to search if there is any trace of them."
"Indeed, I would like to visit that crypt myself and discover more about that place and the fate of those people.", you confirmed.
"Then we have a deal then?" Aion asked.
"Sure.", you replied.
"Count me in too!" Hop said.
You, together with Hop decided to join Aion in the exploration of the Darkest Den, the bond that was formed between you, Hop, and Aion awakens a newly founded determination inside you.
Suddenly a female voice starts ringing in your head.
The Spirit
I am thou... And thou art I...
Thou has formed a brand new bond…
It shall become the evidence of the unselfishness of the many, overcoming the egoism of one…
Thou shalt be blessed when forging Pokesoul of the Trainer Arcana…
THE TRAINER ARCANA. RANK 01
The voice disappears as it appeared in your head.
"What the -? Bond?, Trainer Arcana?" you thought confused.
"Hey, Victor, are you alright?" Hop asked noticing your spacing out.
"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine...", you replied.
"Again, it seems that I'm the only one that can hear those voices..."
"OK, the is decided, tomorrow after school we will go back to the Darkest Den.", Aion confirmed.
Both you and Hop nodded.
"Ha! Right, Gloria yo-"
"Nobody is going anywhere.", Gloria whispered, cutting out Hop.
Reverie
"Huh? What did you say?".
"I SAY, NOBODY IS GOING ANYWHERE!" the girl suddenly shouted louder this time.
"Huh? Why?" Hop asked after covering both his ear with his hands, you did too, which the only exception for Aion who stood there adamantly.
"WHY? YOU ASK? BECAUSE IS DANGEROUS THAT'S WHY!" Gloria yelled furiously.
"Are you guys serious? We have escaped a terrible fate already once, and not only have you risked your life again by returning to that place, but you what to make this a thing now? Didn't we promise not to return to that place at all?"
"Gloria..." you tried to reason which her.
"I HAD ENOUGH OF YOU BULLSHIT! FOR TODAY, SWEET DREAMS!", after that Gloria rushed out of Aion's room and slammed the door behind her as she exited.
"GLORIA!" Hop shouted her name in vain, Gloria already ran off.
"Good grief..." Hop commented.
"..." you and Aion remained silent.
"Sorry, Aion, but I think we should put a hold on our exploration, for now, I hope you can understand..."
Hop said apologetically.
"I don't quite understand the situation... But sure, I can delay the exploration for a bit." Aion replied adamantly as ever.
"Thaks, good night then." Hop headed toward the exit of the room.
"See you tomorrow.", you say goodbye to Aion too, and you follow Hop.
Upon getting out of the Aion room, you decide to walk down the stairs instead of taking the elevator for once, while heading down toward your floor, you tried to talk to Hop about what to do next.
"Hey, shall we..."
"No.", Hop replied.
"I think we shall leave her alone for tonight, at least."
"..."
"It certainly was our mistake, we didn't take into consideration her feelings, but still..." the boy clenches his fists.
"We can just take her with us just like that, is just too dangerous..."
"..." you don't know what to say, so you decided to remain silent.
After arriving at Hop's and Gloria's room's floor, you say goodnight to Hop before heading to your room.
GLORIA'S POV
Gloria was on her bed holding to her, pillow.
She wasn't crying thought despite the whole stressed situation.
In the complete silence of her room, she seemed to be asking herself the same question over and over in her head.
"I'm I... I'm I gonna be neglected and left behind again..."
NORMAL POV
You wake up once again in a familiar place with a well-known song.
On the other side of the table, you were at, sat Oak as usual.
Next to him, Klara was standing with a smile.
"Welcome back to the Velvet Room." Oak welcomed you.
"Once again it seems that you took a great leaped forward toward reaching your goal, dear customer. ", Klara told you.
"Meeting and bonding with people with or without the will of a Pokesoul is a good thing."
"Indeed, bonds are required if you want to progress through your journey, this is not a path that you can egoistically walk on alone." Klara finished.
Oak continued from where his assistant stopped,
"The Pokesoul ability is the power to control one's own will and valor… And one's heart is strengthened through bonds and selfless acts.
As you form bonds by becoming involved with Confidants, your power gradually develops as said bonds are strengthened.
"Bonds? Confidants? Are they perhaps referring to what happened this evening.", you thought.
An orange card appears out of nowhere in Klara's hand, the card portrayed a young man tossing three balls in the air.
"As I can see you awakened recently to your own Arcana, the Trainer Arcana symbol of adaptability, freedom, and creativity, this card also represents the Type Null, a Jack of all cards that can adapt to any situation and challenge authority and universal laws." Klara described the card passionately.
"But..." her voice got suddenly unmotivated,
" As for right now, because of the weakness of his Confidant's heart, the potential is totally wasted..." she puffed.
"Representing thus Recklessness, Risk, and Surrender."
"I suggest to you to build up confidence for yourself, or you may never be able to use this card's true potential, did I make myself clear?!" Klara asked you passive-aggressively with a wicked smile.
You gulped and quickly nodded as a sign of approval.
"Good, I'm really excited to see the countless potentialities of this Arcana."
"This city is full of people that await to share with you these powerful bonds, I will wisely advise you to search for them and establish an altruistic bond which them.", Oak advised.
'Then til we meet again... Farewell."
Everything around you darkens again as you fall back into sleep.
End of chapter 5.
Author's Note
Hey, welcome back guys, once again thank you for being interested in my work. I want to thank again the artist Fiverr sensuoixna, for making me another fanart, this time of Aion and Toxtricity, check them out on my Deviantart.
February was an increadible month for both Persona fans and Pokemon fans, Persona 5 Strikers being release for the former, and the annoucment of the remake Diamond and Pearl for the latter.
I had a nice time playing Persona 5 Scrambles, and im looking forward for the Sinnoh games release date, especially the Arceus game (As a lover of the lore of the world of Pokemon, how could I not be.), and i hope that you guys were satisfied too.
You can find the Deviantart account and the playlist for this chapter in the comment section.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and if so I invite you to leave your opinion or criticism in the comment.
And with that said until next time, farewell.