Chapter 23:

Ensnarement

Light flashed, as a knife flew through the air. The blade made an audible thwum as it embedded itself in the wooden planks of the wall.

"Just like that."

Domino walked over to the wall and effortlessly pulled the knife out. She absent-mindedly gave it a twirl, as she turned around.

Silver was leaning back against a wood support beam, scowling and looking the other way entirely.

"Yeah, yeah," he growled. "You throw a knife. It hits something. It's not rocket science."

"No." Domino shook her head, before flipping the knife around and offering the handle to Silver. "It's an art. It takes precision and practice. It's more than just force and extending pure strength through a sword. It—"

"Whatever," Silver sighed. He took the knife from her. If it'll make you shut up and leave me alone, he added to himself. He looked at the large wooden section of wall, tapping the flat side of the knife against his shoulder. Then, in a half-hearted manner, he tossed the blade.

The knife scrapped the wall and fell to the floor with a clanging sound.

"What?" Silver blinked.

"You're trying too hard."

"What?" Silver repeated, glaring at her.

"It's not a show of force," Domino sighed, picking up the blade. "It's not just being stronger than your opponent. You have to be faster, smarter."

"I am smart." Silver narrowed his eyes.

"I know." Domino nodded. "But you have to be clever, too. You have to know how your opponent moves, how they think, what choices they make. Every action. You have to be aware of every choice they make, of whether they will turn and run, or—"

The blade flew from her hand, and soared right past Silver's face, fraying a couple of hairs. The knife embedded itself in the wooden support beam he had been leaning against mere minutes before.

"— if they'll stand their ground and fight to the bitter end."

"I will always—!"

"You have to remain one step ahead at all times. Two, if you can think fast enough."

"I can—!"

"Prove it!" Domino reached past his face, pulling the knife out of the support beam. She offered the handle to him once more. "Make the throw."

With an agitated sigh, Silver took the blade from her, and stepped around her to face the wooden wall. He raised the knife.

"No, no." Domino shook her head, walking behind Silver. "Your stance is wrong."

"Wha—?" Silver started, his voice vanishing when she gently grabbed his forearms from behind. She tried to guide his arms to a more natural position.

"You're too tense," she told him.

No shit, Silver glared at her, too enraged to speak. He decided that the effort to restore his voice wasn't worth the prospect of actually speaking to her.

"Think of the blade as a natural extension of yourself," she continued, "as a part of your hand. Focus on your target," she guided his hand back, pulling the knife close to his face, "and imagine the throw. See the knife hitting the target, internalize the image of success."

Shut up already, you insufferable—

"Then, in one motion, exhale and release." She guided him through the throwing motion. The knife flashed through the air, embedding itself in the wooden wall with a thump!

The hell? Silver managed to string a coherent thought in his mind after several long moments. He walked over to it in shock. She… helped me? He blinked slowly several times, before yanking the knife out of the wall again. No. There's no freakin' way she could ever do something—

His trail of thought was utterly derailed by something in the wood catching his eye.

There were series of deep scratches in the wood. Suddenly curious, Silver knelt down to get a better look. He ran his fingers along them, feeling the grain of the wood against his skin.

Who…? Silver wondered, his thought trailing off as a new shape in the wood revealed itself under his fingertips. A single letter.

G.

Silver grimaced darkly.

He was a lot like you, Dagger's voice echoed in his mind.

I doubt that, a younger tone of his own voice responded. I'm nothing like—

You are far more blessed.

Silver blinked as he had then. The ache in his chest ripped through him much more than it had six years before.

He was roughly your age before he had anyone that could openly care about him. Ten years, alone, with no real friends or family. A mother who used him as a tool to only better herself, to gain more power. A father who was all but outright forbidden to have contact with him, and honestly should not have wanted any. Whereas you… you have parents who have made sacrifices for you—

My father never sacrificed anything for me, Silver narrowed his eyes as his response echoed in his memory. Why should I believe that he could ever care about anything but power? What on earth could he have possibly done for me, and not out of his own selfishness?

If only you knew.

"Silver?" Domino's voice almost yanked him back to the present. But, one last echo of the past prevailed.

At least you have her.

Silver fought off the familiar burning sensation that threatened to overwhelm his face and throat. He inhaled deeply, as if to check that he still could.

But… Silver thought to himself, forcing the memory away. I don't have her anymore. She's dead. And I'm still here.

I'm still here. The words hung heavy in his heart. I'm still… here. She died…and I'm still here. She died to….

I'm still here. His throat closed off.

You wouldn't have your team if you weren't, a gentle voice reminded him. You wouldn't have Minerva or Venom. You wouldn't have Red. You wouldn't have Fang. Where would they be if not for you?

I…

You have power, a smoother, more velvet voice added. You have a strength that you can only find in this hell. You are in charge now. In charge of your life. You are strong now. Strong because you stayed. Because you are not living your life on the run, living in constant fear of discovery.

I…I-I-I…I… Silver stammered in his own mind. He shook his head, the voices and confusion dissolving in the action.

"Silver?" Domino knelt down next to him.

"What?" Silver snapped, standing up sharply, nearly grazing her cheek with the knife in his hand by sheer accident.

She stood up slowly, one eyebrow raised.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine," he snarled. "I'm just peachy."

"Silver…"

"Oh, don't pretend that you actually care." Silver side-stepped away from Domino as she stood up. "You don't care about anything but your—!"

"Silver," she said simply, her voice calm and level. He didn't know why, but it utterly destroyed his rant. Silver blinked at her.

When have I been taller than her? He suddenly noticed the difference for the first time. She's older than me, shouldn't she…?

You have your father's genes, the soft voice chuckled in his mind. Like it or not, you share his heredity traits, including his height.

That must make me… over six feet tall, Silver continued to blink slowly. Not by much, an inch or two at most, but…

He blinked. How much had he grown over the past several weeks? And, what about…?

I'm taller than she was, he suddenly realized, the ache flaring again briefly. I guess I already was, but… it would be obvious… now. She wouldn't look much like my protector anymore.

"Silver?"

"Uh," Silver forced himself to stay in the present.

She was way too close, Silver decided. He wanted to yell at her, to let his anger out, but his voice was still recovering from the jolt of pain in his heart.

"Silver!" Mondo's voice exploded from the doorway.

"What?" Silver leapt back in surprise at the sound, half-turning to face him. He had certainly found his voice again, and at a heightened volume and pitch. "What is it?"

"Um," he blinked briefly, before shaking his head. "There's an atta—agh!" Mondo cried out as he was toppled over by the excited emergence of three others.

"You," Silver sighed upon seeing the rather… eccentric trio that'd been assigned to him. He buried his face in his free palm.

"Dat freaky Spiritomb's outside da base!" Meowth yelled excitedly.

"It's destroying everything!" James added in a hysterical tone.

"It only takes one person to deliver a mess…age…" Silver started, face still buried. Then what they were saying slowly hit him.

"It's here?" He looked up at them.

Mondo nodded silently.

"It's really pissed off," Jessie added. "But, it's nothing we can't handle, right, guys?" She smirked, plucking a Pokéball off of her belt.

"You think you can take that thing?" Domino raised a brow.

"We handled that Pikachu on a regular basis, didn't we?" Jessie reminded the others. "That little pest was powerful."

Silver clenched his jaw. He thrust the knife into a small sheath on his belt, and tore off into the hallway, nearly knocking Mondo and the others over as he did.

"Silver!" Mondo called out after him. "Wait! Professor Sebastian said—Silver!"

Silver didn't hear him. He was too busy running as fast as he could to the surface. Convinced that his reckoning was finally upon him, he let nothing and no one get in his way.

…

"Snea!" Minerva barked as she Slashed futilely at the Shiny Spiritomb.

"Minerva!" Silver shouted. "Stop! Back away from—!"

"TOMB!" The Spiritomb roared, shooting bursts of a Silver Wind attack at the Sneasel.

"Minerva!"

"Snea!" Minerva yelled out in pain.

"TOMB!" The Spiritomb bellowed again, as chunks of rock and earth shout up out of the ground, encasing the Sneasel in a Rock Tomb.

"No!" Silver sprinted over towards it. The rocks retreated as he approached, revealing the unconscious Minerva. "No." Silver cradled his Pokémon in his arms. "Damn it."

"ZU!" A trio of Zubat flew past his head, charging at the Spiritomb.

"Idiots," Silver growled as he recalled Minerva to her 'Ball. "How many times will it take before they learn that Zubat—"

"TOMB!" The Spiritomb hit them all with a nasty Psychic attack.

"ZU! ZU! BAT!" The Poison-type Pokémon all shrieked in pain, before falling to the ground in a heap with the several dozen other fallen Zubat.

"—are at a massive disadvantage here?" Silver finished. "How incompetent can… rrargh!" He stood up, roared in frustration. "Red!" He turned sharply toward the Scyther. "Now!"

The Scyther wordlessly charged the Spiritomb, striking it with an Air Slash, following with a swift Night Slash to the Ghost Pokémon's keystone.

"SPIR!" The Spiritomb bellowed as the sudden attacks knocked it backwards, rolling awkwardly down the mountainside on its keystone.

"Yes!" Silver drew his sword. "Finally." He ran and jumped onto the loose, sloping soil, sliding down the mountainside after the fighting Pokémon. He leapt off the soil at the Spiritomb. He swung his sword, landing next to the Shiny Pokémon with a soft thud. The blade harmlessly passed through the Spiritomb's vaporous body, and it turned to Silver, laughing.

"I'm not a moron," he smirked at it. "I grew up around Rockets. If they taught me anything, it's that you defeat a stronger opponent by overwhelming it. Either by surprise, or—"

Red struck the keystone again from behind with a Fury Cutter. The Spiritomb was knocked into the air, flying clean over Silver's head.

"—by ganging up on them. Or," Silver's smirk deepened, his eyes narrowing, "both. NOW!"

"TOTOTOTOTOTOTO!" Fang yelled happily as he leapt down from apparently nowhere. He unleashed a burst of water onto the Spiritomb's entire body, slamming it back down into the ground.

"Good, Fang!" Silver yelled. "Now, Aqua Tail!"

"Tototo!" The small Totodile started to charge the Spiritomb, when he stopped suddenly and looked back over his shoulder.

Hearing the strange sound as well, Silver and Red both followed suit.

"Oh, hell no," Silver groaned, leaning the tip of his falchion into the dirt. "Not those three."

Jessie, James and Meowth were running down the mountainside at the Spiritomb, yelling incoherently. It became rapidly clear that they were no longer in control of their speed, and ended up running right past them, crashing into a pillar of stone.

"Really?" Silver looked at them. "What good can you possibly—?"

"Show them who the best agent in Team Rocket is!" Jessie yelled, throwing a Pokéball. "Seviper! Poison Tail!"

"Wait!" Silver yelled out, eyes widening.

"VIPER!" The snake Pokémon materialized in a burst of red light, swinging its tail blade at the Spiritomb.

The Ghost Pokémon laughed as the attack grazed against it, effectively harmless. Then, it unleashed a powerful Psychic attack on the snake Pokémon, which shrieked in pain.

"Or not," Silver sighed. He turned towards the trio. "What the hell are you doing? I gave you a direct order to—!"

"Silver!" Mondo's voice interrupted his rant. Silver half-turned to see him effortlessly sliding down the mountain and stopping as he reached them.

"Second thought," he said to the trio. "Keep that thing distracted with Red and Fang for a minute."

Without waiting to see them carry out their order, Silver approached Mondo.

"Professor Sebastian says that the… trap is fully charged and ready to go. As soon as the pressure plate is triggered… that's it," Mondo said in a low tone. "You are still planning to…?" He asked in a cautious tone.

"Yes." Silver nodded. "Let's get this over with," he sighed, and sheathed his sword into its scabbard strapped to his back. "Red! Finish this! Aim and use Night Slash to bull's-eye!"

The Scyther nodded his understanding of what his trainer meant, and landed a powerful blow on the Shiny Spiritomb's keystone, knocking it back several feet. The cloud of dirt the action kicked up revealed that the keystone sat mere inches from a large, half-buried metal plate in the ground.

"Back away!" Silver yelled at the Trio. "Fang! Use—!"

An object fell from the sky, embedding itself in the ground between the plate and the Spiritomb.

"What now?" Silver walked in an arc to get a look at it.

It was a black tulip.

Silver spat a loud, bitter curse.

The tulip shot out a burst of electricity, and the Spiritomb yelled out in pain.

It's gonna knock it in the wrong direction!

"Looks like I showed up just in time to finish up," Domino materialized from apparently nowhere right next to Silver.

"Damn it!" He snarled at her. "We have this handled! You're just going to ruin the plan!"

"I'm supposed to work with you!" She narrowed her eyes. "Or have you forgotten what the word partner means?"

"You're not my partner, and you're not in this plan!" Silver yelled. "We're not knocking it out! It will just Shadow Sneak away before it gets that weak! We're using Sebastian's little trap!"

"Why didn't you—!"

"This is my plan, my mission!" He interrupted. "I'm in charge and I won't let it escape this time!"

"I—!"

"You want to work together?" He raised his arms slightly to his sides, palms open. "Don't mess up a plan in motion and assume you know best!" He yelled in a hoarse tone.

"…Fine," she eventually muttered.

"TOMB!" The Spiritomb roared as the tulip's shockwave faded.

Silver turned to face it. Everyone but Red and Fang were at a safe distance—due to the trap about to be sprung—and couldn't react in time to stop the attack.

"TOMB!" The Ghost Pokémon unleashed a Psychic attack, the full blast of its power hitting Fang.

"TOTOTOTOTOTOTOTOTO!" The Totodile yelled in pain.

Silver stared.

Fang.

"NO!" He yelled at a volume he didn't know he could achieve. Drawing his sword, he leapt at the Spiritomb, positioning himself between the Shiny Pokémon and his own. With an angry shout, he struck the keystone with the flat side of his blade, knocking the Spiritomb back a few inches.

It was as if hell were unleashed.

A series of metal plates and tubing shot up out of the ground, encasing the keystone and forcing the Spiritomb to retreat into the corporeal part of its body. As an added security measure to its success, a jolt of electricity shot through the metal, crackling through the air and anything too close to it.

Including Silver.

"RRRRRAAAAAAAAARRRRGH!" Silver fell to his knees as pain exploded through his body. He dropped his falchion, and collapsed to the ground completely, until the shock faded, and the pain began to ebb.

"Silver!" He heard a voice yell out.

"No!"

He opened his eyes slowly. Right in front of him were the faces of Red and Fang, the Scyther and Totodile's concern clear.

"I'm fine, guys." Silver reached out and touched Fang gently.

Silver, a soft voice whispered in his mind.

"I told you I'd take care of you," Silver told them as he stood up. He looked at Mondo. "I will never watch and let someone die… never again."

…

Silver rolled his shoulder gingerly. After he was satisfied that he wasn't going to lose his left arm, he fell back onto the bed beneath him, limbs sprawled in all directions.

"It's not a Legendary," Professor Sebastian's voice sounded from the radio on the bedside table. "Regardless, it is certainly quite powerful, and a Shiny. I've never had the opportunity to study one before."

Silver pulled his shirt off, and threw it next to him on the bed, on top of where his jacket already lay.

"Such an unusual-looking Pokémon will already be unnerving on the battlefield, and with its type combination, it has absolutely no weaknesses!"

"Yeah, yeah," Silver sat up, glaring at the radio's speakers. "I know. Dark and Ghost. I paid attention to my tutor as a kid. I watched the tournament battles growing up. I know." He sighed. "I expect a preliminary report in the morning." He turned the radio off, and he suddenly noticed that there had been a buzz of static before. He shook his head.

Let's see if I can go a week without killing myself, now. Silver rolled his shoulder again. At least I don't have to give the report of the capture.

He looked down at his feet.

Capture.

He thought of the Spiritomb, trapped in its keystone, somewhere in the base's laboratories.

It was going to hurt Fang, he reminded himself. I had to protect him.

From a Psychic attack? The soft voice chuckled. Overprotective, aren't we? Imagine what that poor beast will go through in Sebastian's hands.

I…

"Silver?" The door opened slightly.

"Go away," Silver growled. "Shouldn't you be giving the report to… Giovanni?"

"It wasn't a very long report, Silver." Domino opened the door the rest of the way, raising one eyebrow.

"What do you want?" He glowered at her.

"To apologize."

"What." He blinked.

"I shouldn't have assumed I knew what was going on… earlier. I should have trusted that you had a plan… that things were already under control. I was being arrogant. I was wrong."

Silver stared at her.

First, his father, now Domino was acting weird?

Will Mondo start killing people next?

"What do you want?" He eventually growled.

"What do you mean?"

"You've never apologized. For anything."

"That's not true!"

"Yes, it is!" Silver yelled, standing up. "Why would you apologize? Unless there was something in it for you?"

"You ever think that maybe I actually am human?" Domino's voice took on a strange tone, one Silver hadn't heard her use before.

"Why?" He snapped. "Why should I think you have any feelings at all?"

"Maybe because I'm living?"

"Exactly."

"You… you still blame me?" Domino gaped at him.

"You're a weapon, my father's precious little pet! You always have been!"

"At least I've chosen to try to reach out to someone else!" She yelled at him. "At least I haven't chosen to wallow in self-pity and grief for the rest of my life. At least I don't shut everyone out!"

"AT LEAST I CAN FEEL GRIEF!" Silver roared. "AT LEAST I GIVE A DAMN ABOUT SOMEONE OTHER THAN MYSELF!

"I DO!" Domino shouted. "I'm not a monster!"

"Prove it!" Silver snapped. "Give me one good reason to believe you! Give me one shred of proof—!"

His words were cut off by Domino suddenly grabbing the side of his neck with one hand, and pressing her lips against his.

Silver's mind froze. His emotions all vanished in a flood of shock that paralyzed his entire body. All he could feel was her gentle touch for a long moment, before a sharp feeling began to fume in his stomach.

Just as suddenly as the contact had been made, Domino broke away.

Silver stood, stiff from his astonishment, staring at her.

How…? Why…? He tried to string together a coherent thought. How… how could… she…?

The sharp feeling ignited, engulfing his internal organs in a wildfire.

How could she have the audacity…?

"Silver?" She asked, in a tone that was more appropriate in determining whether a person was alive after an accident than the current situation.

"Get out." Silver finally managed to find his voice, soft and hoarse as it was.

"Silver?"

He turned away.

I… should've stopped her. Shouldn't have… let….

A pulsing ache grew in his temples.

"Just… go." Silver said a little louder, his voice sounded as if he were trying to eat gravel.

He heard her try to say something, before her voice faltered. Then the sounds of footsteps and the door slamming.

Silver collapsed back onto the bed.

Why… didn't… I stop…?

Guilt emerged within the burning anger, cooling his rage.

Silver curled up on his side, into a fetal position. His throat tightened and his mind became fuzzy, the sound of static ringing in his ears.

I'm… sorry, was all he could string together.

The embers of his rage settled in his stomach. From there, they continued to smolder.

…

"I still don't see why we couldn't have taken a boat from Orre back here," Ash grumbled as he slid off the back of a Flygon.

"Because we were not going to waste our time wandering through that desert again," Misty dismounted her Flygon, as the Dragon Pokémon let a rather frazzled Nyx out of its firm grip. "Especially not with you in charge of the water."

"Oh, one time…"

"Water…" Aura's voice interrupted his rebuttal. The Lucario ran past him, almost knocking Ash over in her dash to the nearby pool of water, surrounded by trees, shrubs and other forest greenery. She leapt into it, splashing in the clear liquid gratefully, as if she hadn't seen water in years.

"Oh…kay…" Ash raised an eyebrow at her. "I think the high altitude got to her."

"Better than her almost falling off her Flygon last night," Misty reminded him.

"Yeah." He nodded. "Nyx?" Ash turned to the Shiny Umbreon. "How're you holding up?"

"I'm good!" He grinned, as he took a few shaky steps towards them.

At least he's a good sport about it. Ash couldn't help but smile at Nyx's bright attitude.

"Aren't we kinda rushing around to each Temple, though?" He asked, concerned.

"Until you've gathered some strength in each Element," Nyx sobered, "we're going to be in massive danger. The other night with the Returned proved that. We were very lucky. That Charizard couldn't have been a Returned for long. The older ones are… much more powerful. Our best bet for now is to travel as quickly as possible and to be unpredictable in how we get from Temple to Temple."

"The… Flygons?" Aura looked up at him from the pond, water surging down her face, flattening her ears against the back of her head.

"Exactly." Nyx nodded. "Thank you," he added to them, "for your help. Tell Enki we look forward to seeing him again, at Hikari's Keep."

"We'll see him again?" Misty asked as the Ground-Dragon Pokémon took off into the sky.

"Hikari's Keep?" Ash blinked.

"Of course," Nyx turned to them. "We'll need their help, no matter how strong we become in the journey there."

"Why?" Ash asked.

Nyx hesitated.

"We… we should continue on, now," he eventually changed the subject. "The next Temple is to the south… somewhere deep in the Union Cave."

Johto, Ash thought. It's been so long since I've been here….

"What… what about the Traitor?" Misty asked, as Aura walked back over to them, still dripping wet. "Would… he seek us out himself? Not just with his… monsters?"

"You better pray he doesn't see us as that much of a threat," Aura growled before Nyx could respond. "You better pray to God. To Arceus. To every damn deity that does and doesn't exist. And hope that one of them hears you."

"What makes you say that?" Pikachu asked from Ash's shoulder.

"I've dealt with him before, remember?" She narrowed her eyes. "If he wants you dead, you die. No one's strong enough to stop that sort of… sheer power. Even without the Elements… he's…."

"Then, why are you still alive?" Ash asked.

"Cosmic joke." Aura shrugged. "Some higher force decided it would be the most hilarious irony for me to follow you around, o mighty Chosen One." The words were, as usual, said as if they left the taste of poison in the Lucario's mouth.

"How is that ironic?" Misty narrowed her eyes.

Aura ignored her question. "All that matters," she crossed her arms, "is that we stay far enough ahead of the Traitor to avoid meeting him. Once Moonsbane decides to kill you himself…." She shook her head. "I do not think I can defy death a second time."

"Aura?"

"If we ever come face-to-face with Moonsbane… may Arceus have mercy on all our souls."

…

A/N: Silver, please don't suddenly materialize and kill me. I hated that as much as you did, trust me. (No, I don't actually think characters are real. Relax.)

Also, it's currently crunch time as finals approach, and all my classes want to have projects or take-home stuff instead of an actual exam. So, the past week and the next are going to be extremely hectic. Updates will still be weekly, but might be delayed to Saturdays until I recover over break. Also, my Beta is in the same boat, so, yeah.

I should probably hide from my inbox…