Staying in a field, the Midnight Brotherfield was camping. They were waiting for their muscle to arrive so they could go into Hydroton at their full strength. The plan was that Bisharp and Umbreon would go ahead and meet with their resident hypnotist, while Sableye and their muscle would stay behind for a day to see if anyone was following them. Sableye had set up the fire and was roasting marshmallows while Umbreon sat next to him. Bisharp had gone off to do something that he refused to elaborate on.

Sableye handed a s'more to Umbreon,

"Here, take it."
"Thank you," she said before taking a bite out of the hot marshmallow. The two sat in silence for a while. Soon, Umbreon asked Sableye, "Do you think we're doing the right thing?"

"Of course," Sableye answered, "The world needs to realize its errors. Why did you ask?"

"It's just…this whole thing seems…overkill," she said calmly, "I'm mean, I get it. I know how it feels to be ostracized by an uncaring world, but to put everyone on the planet into eternal slumber? That seems like a lot of retaliation."

"Well, what choice do we have? It's not gonna change unless we do something about it."

"It won't change anything. It'll just…hide the problem under the rug." Sableye then looked at Umbreon with a look of betrayal,

"Umbreon, you aren't going to back out of this are you?"

Umbreon didn't immediately answer, but once she did, she put thought behind every word,

"What are you afraid of most?" she asked. Sableye said,

"Not being able to trust anyone and having my loved ones betray me. Why?"

"Don't you think that Bisharp has been spinning a narrative?" she questioned, "After all, you were supposed to be in charge, but then Bisharp disobeyed orders." Sableye shook his head,

"No, he was getting the gem but I went early-"

"You told him to remain hidden," interrupted Umbreon, "You said that, but you backtracked." Now growing angry, Sableye stood up,

"What are you accusing me of, huh?"

"I'm not accusing you of anything, Hosoki."

"Then why are you saying all of this? Do you not trust me?" he snapped. Umbreon stood up and then argued back to him in a hushed voice,

"Not you, him!"

Sableye paused for a moment. What was she talking about? Him? Did she mean Bisharp? That's just ridiculous. He's the reason they're on this mission. To make their dreams come true and plunge the world into sleep. What reason would she have not to trust him? Appearing to notice this internal conflict, Umbreon elaborated,

"Hosoki. He's telling you everything you want to hear. He's promising you wealth beyond your wildest dreams, but what is that gonna matter when there's nothing to spend with it?"

"It's not just about the money," insisted Sableye, "Besides, he warned us about the Senshi."

"You've never met a Senshi," countered Umbreon, "You don't know what they are like. He could be lying to you?"

"Why would he do that?"

"To get you to work for him," she pleaded, "He knows you're afraid and is using you as a means to an end."

It seemed that this struck a chord with Sableye, but he didn't show it. He just turned around and pouted,

"You don't know what you are talking about." Umbreon decided to let it go. She simply laid back down, staring into the dirt.

Something about her encounter with Infernape had changed her. She couldn't easily put it into words. Bisharp was the one who suggested they try and recruit him. Reading up on him, she could understand why. What happened to him was horrible, and when she thought they were genuinely trying to do good, she was more than happy to try and bring him to the side of justice. How quickly things change.

Infernape's reaction had started to make her question herself. It forced her to reflect on how she treated him. She had brainwashed him just to get him to listen. In hindsight, she had no idea why she agreed to that. It was such a drastic step. However, her answer was currently walking towards her.

Bisharp had emerged from the darkness to see Umbreon and Sableye upset about something. He didn't care. He silently just moved past them before looking down at Umbreon. He could see the look on her face. Doubt had been planted and it needed to be ripped out before it became an entire garden.

"I don't know what you're thinking about, but stop it. Druddigon will be coming soon. I don't need you fucking up like you did with that Infernape."

Umbreon's eyebrow furrowed once she heard that. It was his idea to try and talk to him in the first place. She glared up at him, however, she didn't do much more. Bisharp just scowled at her before walking off. He immediately recognized that this was slowly turning into rebellion. This needed to be destroyed now before she started spreading this idea to the rest like a plague. So he hatched a simple plan.

"Umbreon, you covered our tracks earlier, right?" he asked, knowing that she didn't and that she didn't need to. Umbreon looked over to him in confusion,

"What are you talking about?"

"Perfect." thought Bisharp. The fool had fallen into his trap hook, line, and sinker. He then looked towards her with fury,

"You didn't do it!" he snapped. Completely thrown off, Umbreon stood up and tried to confront him,

"What do you mean? No one ever said anything about-"

"You fucking forgot, didn't you?" hissed Bisharp. Theatrically, he turned around and threw his hands up into the air. After walking a few steps, he spun back around and roared at her,

"You IDIOT! Now the Senshi can track us down" Umbreon, completely lost and terrified, could only sputter out a response,

"B-b-but…No one-"

"So you need to be told to do the obvious. Listen, We've gotta move because of your screw-up! Do you have any idea what the Senshi will do to you if they catch you?"

"What? I-I-"

"You don't know! You're lucky I even tolerate your useless ass! Now shut up and help me pack everything up!" Just like, his plan worked flawlessly. As the three packed up their supplies, Bisharp smirked.

Monsters. Beings who you struggle to even call Pokemon. Those individuals with such horrific thoughts within their heads that to peer in is to stare pure evil in the face. Very rarely is someone pure evil. But when they arrive, rocks fall, and everyone dies. Thankfully, their atrocities are recorded in history, allowing those in the present to prevent such horrors from ever again. But even pure evil has to start from somewhere.

Long ago, in the Kantonian town of Weskrin, Pawniard was born. Given the name Curudo of the Ketsueki bloodline, he was immediately put into combat training by his strict parents. However, something was off about him. He seemed too focused on his training. So much so that he didn't even speak until he was four years old when his first words were,

"These bags are weak." His parents, dedicated to restoring the Ketsueki families, didn't see any issue with this, or chose not to. In fact, they encouraged it.

Within Pawniard, there was something off. It didn't appear to be a massive issue, but he lacked something that most children had. His parents were strict, but never outright cruel, although his mother could be quite vicious if need be. It made sense why she was so violent. She was the last remaining heir to the Ketsueki bloodline until he was born. But even she had a heart. She would let him stop training if he were hurt or it was a special event. Point is, that he had little reason to hate his parents. However, when they embraced him, he felt nothing. No joy, No love. No anything. He was just being held by his parents. He could experience happiness, but it was never directly because of someone's actions or kindness.

Pawniard's first day of school was a strange one. The other students seemed almost intimidated by his mere presence. In fairness, a silent child who had done nothing but train all his life with zero social skills doesn't exactly become the life of the party. So he was isolated. Not that minded. He saw this school business as a waste of time. However, someone decided to break the mold and try to get to know the mysterious steel type.

Someone approached Bisharp at lunch one day. He was easy to spot. The other kids had sectioned off a table for him called the scary zone. You'd think the teachers would have stopped them, but to be honest, they were scared of him as well. Anyway, this student was fairly short. Grey fur covered the majority of their body, with some white fur on their ears and hands. He was very cat-like in appearance, but ironically had the personality of a golden retriever.

"Hi! The name's Shiawase Nekotanoshimi! How are you doing?" said Meowstic. Pawniard just glared at Meowstic and continued eating his carefully curated diet. Deciding to start the conversation a different way, he pointed toward this strange orange thing and asked,

"Whatcha eating there, buddy?"

"Salmon. Fatty. Provides essential fats to stimulate brain development," said Pawniard sharply. Espurr, pouncing on the opportunity to potentially start some conversation, complimented his knowledge,

"Wow, that say-man thing makes you really smart, huh?" Pawniard then made eye contact with Meowstic,

"Partially correct. Will suffice."

That evening, Pawniard was walking home. But then he sensed something behind him. Immediately, he turned around and pinned down the person behind him. Espurr then begged to be let go,

"It's me! Your friend! Don't you remember our talk earlier?" Pawniad then released Espurr before turning around and continuing to walk home. Espurr followed behind the dark type and tried to kickstart another conversation,

"What do you do? You look strong."

"Training."

"Ooh, what for?"

"For my family's name," said Pawniard flatly. Espurr nodded before continuing to talk to Pawniard,

"It must be lonely training all day. Do you train with anyone?"

"No. Training partners not required. Why would I need one?"

"Because friendship is awesome!" declared Espurr as he rushed in front of the steel type, "It's amazing having fun with friends! You get to play games with others, you get to get ice cream together, and you can play hide and seek. It's awesome!" The little psychic type then took Pawniard by the hand,

"Let me show you!"

Espurr dragged Pawniard to a nearby carnival. Pawnirad looked around at the place with a confused look on his face,

"This isn't a training field," he said. Espurr shook his head,

"Nope! It's a carnival. You've never been to the carnival before?"

"No," said Pawniard, "Wastes time." Espurr then rested his hands on his hips and stared up at the steel-type,

"You need to learn to have a little fun! Over here!" He then ran towards a water game. The goal was simple: shoot the target to blow up a balloon. Giving the vendor some money, he grabbed the water gun and waited for Pawniard to grab his. With some hesitation, Pawniard took hold of the deadly weapon that could make people's clothes wet. Sensing his hesitation, Espurr remembered what Pawniard was talking about with training, and said,

"You need to train your aim, right? Think of this as just more training."

With that perspective, Pawniard then gripped the water gun with more confidence and looked towards Espurr,

"Fine. First to succeed wins."

"You betcha," said the Espurr before the two sprayed the targets with their water guns. The giant hunks of plastic were basically glorified sprinklers with the amount of force they were putting out, but it was enough to hit the target and make the balloon burst. Both Espurr and Pawniard were in a dead heat. However, a simple mistake on Espurr's point gave Pawniard the win. His balloon exploded as the vendor celebrated and handed him a small plush toy. Pawniard stared at the thing with disgust, like he was holding pestilence itself. However, Espurr was more than willing to take the toy, for his is a small child, and small children are too stupid to realize that they just got scammed. They had to play another nine rounds to get anything worth a damn. But Espurr didn't care.

"Wasn't that fun?" asked Espurr to Pawniard. Pawniard felt something surreal within him. He felt it in his face. The edges of his mouth perked up slightly. Was this a seizure? Had Espurr done something to him. Espurr quickly pointed out Pawniard's face,

"Look! You're smiling! You're having fun!" That was it. That was what this was. Even if the prize was terrible, he still felt accomplished.

And so the day went on. The two kids explored the rest of the carnival-like it was a mysterious dungeon. Around each corner was a brand new game to play and compete with. Pawniard found himself losing a few games, mostly the ball-throwing games. This allowed Espurr to catch up. At the end of the day, the two sat down on a bench. Esupurr had grabbed some deep-fried butter on a stick while Pawniard simply sat there without any food. It was way too unhealthy for his training.

"Didn't you have fun today, best buddy!" said Espurr before taking another bite out of his butter stick. Pawniard slowly nodded,

"Fun achieved," he said.

"You know, you kinda talk like a robot," said Espurr, "You should try talking normally."

"This is normal," insisted Pawniard. Espurr then pointed at Pawniard,

"That's more like it." He then stood up and noticed that the sun was setting. He sighed in sadness but turned around to face Pawniard, "See you tomorrow!" and left.

So the years went by. The two became inseparable. Most of the school still saw Pawniard as the weird kid. However, they weren't as afraid of him after a while. Pawniard's interactions with Espurr lightened him up, and he now spoke like normal Pokemon. Eventually. He evolved into a Bisharp at 17, a year behind Espurr who evolved into Meowstic at 18. Bisharp never gave up on his training and had actively improved himself. As their senior year neared it's conclusion, his parents had gotten the opportunity to fly to Yukishihon in order to show the royal family Bisharps skills as a warrior.

Warriors showing off their skills to the royal family was a tradition almost as old as the country itself. It was called Onobuki. In the old days, this was a test of strength in order to join the army at a high rank. If you wanted to get promoted into a cozy position, you had to perform. Towards the 1500s, it became more of a rite of passage. Anyone who earned the emperor's endorsement would have their families become societal elites. They'd have their own guards, their own cooking service, their own servants, all for having their chosen champion impress the emperor. However, this practice fell out of favor when Nihonera became a constitutional monarchy. Luckily for the Ketsueki, because they used to be a prominent elite family in Nihonera, they were allowed to send Bisharp to show his strength, albeit with the caveat that the victory would be symbolic.

It would take place in two weeks. So Bisharp dedicated himself entirely to his training. However, it appeared to change something within him. Perhaps the pressure was tearing into him. Meowstic decided to confront him about this change. He approached Bisharp's home, which was a fairly average home that was separated from the rest of the neighborhood by a dense forest. There was a dirt path that went for a mile that led there. Arriving at his friends home and looking around, Meowstic could see that dozens of trees had been cut up into dozens of pieces with the precision that only a machine could pull off. But this was no machine.

He found Bisharp in the middle of a training field. On the ground were the remains of what looked to be dozens of trees and rocks. Only sawdust and gravel remained. Bisharp was standing in the middle of this field, wrist blades somehow still sharp after all of that chopping. Nervously, Meowstic called out to Bisharp,

"Hey, best buddy."

Bisharp immediately turned around and glared at Meowstic. He noticeably relaxed once he recognized his friend but still looked annoyed with him,

"Make it quick. I've got training for the rest of the day."

"Yeah, I know. You have training every day," said Meowstic sadly, "I haven't seen you in days. I'm worried about you." Bisharp dismissed him,

"I've been waiting all my life for this moment. You should know that."

"But buddy," pleaded Meowstic, "We're friends. Can't you spare an hour or two for me?"

"What do you care?" questioned Bisharp, "It's for my family." Bisharp just wasn't getting it, so Meowstic laid it out simply,

"Onobuki. When you succeed…Maybe you won't ever come back to visit me."

He had well and truly bonded with Bisharp. The two had been friends for so many years and that amount of time makes Pokemon comfortable. But that comfort is a privilege. It can be taken away from you through tragedy or just the unforeseeable series of events that's called life. Like having to surrender your beloved pet to the vet, it is something that has to be done, but you aren't going to be ready for it. You can never be ready for it. Meowstic was like that poor soul, watching their dog or cat be put down. It's for the better, for the animal's sake, but that knowledge doesn't lessen or invalidate those feelings of loss.

"Please. Could you just promise me that once this is all over with…you come home and we can spend the day together?" asked Meowstic softly. Bisharp locked eyes with Meowstic. He wasn't a heartless monster…yet…but something was still off. This was an obvious plea for help from a friend he had known for years.

So why didn't he feel anything?

Reluctantly, Bisharp agreed to Meowstic's terms. However, someone was quick to intervene. It was Bisharp's mother. Meowstic looked over to see a very severe looking Bisharp stomping towards him. Her eyes had a glare that could kill anything before her. It was a look that complimented how beautiful she was. Clearly, she had won the genetic lottery. Her regal beauty was completely contrasted by how ferocious she appeared to be. Looking around, Meowstic could swear the grass itself was quivering in her presence. Each footstep was domineering as all the melancholy in the air was completely suffocated by this visceral feeling of disdain.

"Are you distracting my son from his training?"

"No-No-No ma'am!" Meowstic sputtered, "We're frie-"

"Such cowardice. Unable to be honest with even yourself," said Bisharp's mother, who's name was Osoroshi, "Every second he spends idling about is wasted time. Now I've tolerated you for almost a decade now. Do not push my patience." Shaking his head, Meowstic said,

"I-I won't ma'am! I promise," and began to step away.

Curudo looked towards his mother and argued back with her,

"Back off, woman." Osoroshi barely glanced towards her son and simply stared at Meowstic, watching as he left. Once he was gone, Osoroshi finally spoke,

"He's a distraction. Nothing more. I thought you'd know that."

"You were okay with him for years," countered Curudo, "What's so different now?" Osoroshi, still not even looking at Curodo, asked him,

"Do you know why he talked to you?" The question admittedly caught Curudo off guard. What was she implying? He scoffed at her, ignoring her question entirely, unknowingly answering her question.

"Do you know why out of everyone there, out of every person in the school that avoided you, he chose to talk to you? No, no you don't. You've never known. You should've known, but you didn't. Perhaps you know the truth and you are simply in denial. Perhaps you are oblivious. Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic. You are part of the Ketsueki bloodline, one of the most illustrious in the country that has been wrongly abandoned to the sands of time. You don't think he knows that? You don't think to question why a random soul comes along to distract you from your duties. Let me tell you the answer. We are superior. We are everything those lower class nothings desire to be, but can never become. We are Ketsueki's, the warriors of Nihonera. We fought the Dristovians off of our country's shores but are stuck here in the grime. And he, he wants to drag you through the mud with his tragic story. He wants you to dirty yourself with the plague his kind carries around on them like rats. Everyone knows who we are, whether they say it or not, so they try to bring us down. Keep from taking back our rightful destinies as the pinnacle of society. We are higher than even the Senshi. That…thing doesn't want you to take your place. If you get close to him, I promise that he and the rest of his kind will find some way to ruin us. Ruin you. Your priority should be your training. You are to return to the house for dinner at 8. Any earlier or any later, and I'll have to remind you of your place."

With that, Osoroshi turned around and left Curudo alone on the field. His silence allowed her words to fester within his mind. Why did Meowstic approach him? He shook his head to clear his mind. Training. That was more important right now. There was no time to ask questions but they remain in his head like a stain, it can be cleaned when dealt with immediately, but let it fester within you and becomes permanent.

The day had finally arrived. In a few short hours, the Ketsueki's would take the flight towards Yukishihon and have Curudo perform before the Emperor, Empress, and their children. Bisharp was told by his mother to say his final goodbyes to everyone at his school. He didn't have to say all that much. He only needed to find Meowstic. But that was the problem. Meowstic was gone. Looking around the entire school, Bisharp couldn't find the person he called a friend. For most, it would've been worrying or outright crushing, but for Bisharp, it was Wednesday. It saved him some time, at least. Perhaps Meowstic was just ill and needed some rest.

As Bisharp left the school, he heard a police siren getting closer and closer to the school. He turned to see a squad car drive down the road and park across the street.

"Curious," he thought before continuing on his way. However, one of the officers called out to him,

"Hey, kid! Do you know where Curudo Ketsueki is?" Bisharp stopped, turned towards the officers, and hesitantly answered,

"...Yes. That's me"

The two officers then nodded toward each other and pulled out a pair of handcuffs and an anti-type collar.

"Put your hands where I can see 'em," said one of the officers. Bisharp froze, not even believing this to be real. Other students had noticed what was happening and stepped outside to watch.

"What did I do?"

"You're under arrest for the murder of Kai Munenori. Stand down. Your trial will be in a week." Shocked, the student body began whispering to themselves. Murder? Bisharp had killed someone? However, while they were caught off guard, they weren't surprised. He was always that weird, scary kid who looked like a serial killer. It was like finding out a lustful man was cheating on his wife. Actually learning about it was a shock, but you could see it coming a mile away.

Meanwhile, Bisharp backed away from the police,

"I didn't do anything!" he yelled. The officer just rolled his eyes and told him to tell it to the judge. Bisharp pushed one of the officers away,

"Fuck off!"

"Sir! We are just doing our job. Stand down." But Bisharp refused. He ripped the handcuffs out of the other officer's hands. The officers then stepped back from the dark type and raised their batons,

"Stand down!" Bisharp ignored them as his training kicked in. Grabbing one of the batons and pulling it away and striking one of the officers in the face. In shock, the still-standing officer then pulled Bisharp away and, managed to put the anti-type collar on him. However, this didn't stop Bisharp. Bisharp then wrapped a leg around the officer's chest and pulled him to the ground, where he wrapped his other leg around the shoulder and violently pulled on the arm. Now trapped, the pinned officer screamed in pain as Bisharp looked in the armbar, damn near tearing his arm off.

Bisharp was finally arrested when the other officer slapped the cuffs onto him and freed his friend. They then physically dragged Bisharp into the police car. The demon was about to be born.