Chapter 63: Old Habits Do Die Hard

Blood. So much blood. All over him, splattered across his smoke like face. Across his body, on his claws. It was an all too familiar feeling. One that he dreaded.

The Darkrai could feel it, the skull caved in beneath his claw, the flesh and bones torn apart and strewn about around him. For all he had tried, all he had done, he felt he still couldn't escape it, and with the deceased Indeedee in his claws, it became so much more real to him.

*Earlier That Day*

Pyre smiled at the Darkrai "I think you're getting it now. You've helped a bunch of people, but….well there is something else you need to do before you can really say you've changed…and well….it's um…"

"You are wondering if I feel remorse for what I've done. I do Pyre, believe me I do. I caused so much suffering so many, and because of that, I brought suffering to Blade. If I could fix what I've already done I would." Shadow spoke reassuringly. He sat in thought for a moment 'If I hadn't hurt them, Blade wouldn't suffer either….I..I need to be careful, I don't want to make people suffer anymore. Suffering breeds more suffering. It's a cycle that I allowed Blade to be pulled into.'

Rai stepped up to the Darkrai. "Are you sure you are alright?"

"You're gonna do fine Shadow! Just look, once again, Not a single dead body among the dillweeds that just tried to kill you!"

"Pyre, it took everything I had to not kill them…" Shadow looked at the unconscious Pokemon around them.

Rai and Pyre smiled at him with a caring manner.

"Listen to me ya big dummy! You can do this!" Pyre yelled enthusiastically.

Shadow looked at the pokemon around him. "They may not be innocent, and yet, I am rather pleased that I didn't have to kill anyone."

"Well, if you ask us, that sounds like good progress!" The sapphire flamed Charmander did a little happy dance. "You regret what you did, and you're trying to be better!"

The darkrai nodded slowly. "I appreciate it. Thank you…both of you."

"Well….I hate to say it" Rai began before looking down at his own paws "but uh…I really should start going home…"

"I understand Rai. Thank you for staying as long as you did." Shadow pulled the Raichu into a hug suddenly. "I appreciate it very much."

"Yeah, I can take it from here Rai! You go back to your family alright!" Pyre stepped over to them and joined the hug.

"Thanks guys, I'm glad I could help." Rai hugged them both back before pulling away. "See ya later guys!" And with that he took off scurrying away.

"So…what do I do now. As much as I want to change, I'm afraid I won't be able to restrain myself."

"Shadow…..you…you literally will yourself to not feel pain!" Pyre tossed his arms into the air. "Just will yourself to not kill people! If anyone can do it it's you!"

"Pyre it…." Shadow hesitated. He was going to say it wasn't quite so simple, but the Charmander had a point. When it came down to it, Shadow really did just will himself to not feel the pain. He gave a sigh "I suppose you are right. But this isn't going to be so simple to do."

In truth, Shadow was worried. He was afraid he wouldn't be able to change his ways. He was afraid that he had been a monster for so long that he wouldn't be able to escape it. But at the moment it didn't matter. Because Kecleon had already returned.

"Dark One! I have returned with news of your partner."

"Then tell me" Shadow spoke with a hint of impatience in his voice.

"Our tracker followed his scent to some strange human facility very far away." Kecleon thought for a moment. "It was full of pokemon apparently, and the way our tracker described it. It was practically paradise!"

Shadow's eye flashed a deep red. "Aether." The Darkrai looked at Kecleon, his expression softening. "I do so hate to ask you for further assistance. And what I'm going to ask is going to be very difficult. Do you think all of you can do this for me?"

"Whatever it is! We will do it!"

Shadow thought for a few moments. "Those I brutalized. I need you to see if anyone they knew is still alive. And if you can, I want you to bring them to me."

"Yes Dark One it shall be done!" Kecleon bowed and slowly walked away.

Pyre stepped in front of Shadow for a second. "Why are you trying to gather them up?"

"To do something, that I should have done so long ago" The Darkrai looked to the sky. "I'm going to apologize. I don't want there forgiveness. I certainly don't deserve it. But after feeling this pain of having my dear Blade taken from me again and again. I can only imagine how much pain they endured. They deserve to know. That I regret it. That I will regret it. Every day, until I die." Shadow looked down to Pyre. "They deserve to know that I suffer for what I've done to them. They deserve to punish me. If and when they are gathered, I intend to apologize. And then, if they so desire, I will let them beat me down as many times as it takes for them to understand." The darkrai's eye flashed, losing it's red glow and becoming blue once again. "That I hate myself as much as they hate me. As long as they find closure. As long as I can show them…that I am sorry." His eye slowly became red once again, and yet, it wasn't the typically dangerous red it usually was. It was softer, almost compassionate. And as Pyre looked on, he saw tears streaming from Shadow's eye. "This pain. Of losing someone so dear to you…it's more than even I can bare. And I've inflicted it so much on others…"

"Shadow…" Pyre hugged him again.

"I did this to so many Pyre, and now that I've felt it for myself…I…you should've let me die."

Pyre pulled away. "No way! You're one of my best friends! I could never do that!"

"Pyre this world would be better without me!" Shadow, truly felt worse than he expected. And yet, it didn't surprise him. Somewhere inside his mind he knew what he did was wrong, he allowed himself to disregard it for Blade's safety. But now, it all bubbled to the surface. Shadow saw himself as a monster, and now he knew how it felt for the monster inside him to destroy what he loved. "Please Pyre….I just want to change…I don't want to be a monster any more."

"I'll help you Shadow, I promise!"

And in an instant the tender moment was shattered. Pyre let out a gasp of surprise. Shadow could tell why, a spear of ice had punched through the Charmander's back and into Shadow's waist, right at his most recent wound. Pyre coughed painfully as his own blood began to spill from his mouth. "Sh-Shadow?"

The Charmander dropped to the ground. Shadow watched stunned, tears still streaming from his eye. He looked around finding the culprit just a short distance away. A Mr. Rime had pushed the ice into and through Pyre in an attempt to kill Shadow.

Mr. Rime was one of the many Pokemon that had previously been unconscious around Shadow. The others had recovered as well. And it seemed they were adamant in their mission to kill Shadow.

Despite all he had to to control himself, Shadow could feel his anger rising. And the sight of the Charmander in front of him didn't help. The brilliant sapphire flame was barely burning, almost entirely snuffed out in a single attack. As blood dripped from both his wound and his mouth Shadow felt a surge of dark energy inside himself.

As the group of pokemon encircled Shadow, the Darkrai closed his eye, letting one last year fall, before it froze the very moment it fell from his face. It was almost surreal, the way the frozen tear fell to the ground. But the moment it hit the ground and shattered was the moment he made his move. With a sudden shockwave of energy the Darkrai had clasped the psychic/ice types head between his claws, glaring into his eyes with his singular, once again, menacing eye. The fear in the mime pokemon was almost palpable in the air. If for only a moment as Shadow forced his claws together crushing his skull and splattering bones, blood, and viscera across his face.

The Darkrai moved with purpose swinging the dual types body around and using it to bludgeon another of his would be assassins, an Indeedee. He moved quickly leaving the beaten Pokemon and the corpse behind. There were six others to deal with, their species didn't matter, their names, faces, lives, none of it mattered in the moment to Shadow. Pyre was by far the most innocent person he knew, and they tried to kill him. It was something that Shadow found almost as unforgivable as someone hurting Blade. In some cases, Shadow found it worse, Blade at least had the capability of being a bad person, but Pyre, that Charmander was as pure as fresh snow. And it made Shadow sick that they had willingly assaulted one as innocent as him.

And so, the Darkrai systematically began killing them. First jabbing his claw through one, and while his arm was through them seizing another by the throat, giving a sickening squeeze and crushing their windpipe.

Tearing his claw from those two victims he continued his rampage when he felt a push from behind, as he turned around, he found an Orbeetle had blasted him with Psychic. The Darkrai retaliated in an instant, grabbing the bug by one arm and wrenching it from his body. Then the other arm, then both legs. He finished him swiftly by tearing his face from what remained of his body.

Three down, three to go.

Without hesitation he struck again gripping one of the assassins, a floatzel, by the twin tails. The Darkrai sprouted legs as he pressed his spindly leg into the water types back and yanked both tails off in one go, and before anyone could react he stabbed his claws into the floatzel's organ that was used for flotation.

Turning quickly Shadow skewered the last two with a spear of ice himself, piercing through their heads.

After a shortly brutalizing the others Shadow picked the Indeedee up by their head and slammed them into a rock pulverizing their head and splattering himself with their entrails.

The feeling was overwhelming, regret, and self hatred. Tears streamed from his eye once again.

'Damn it!' he tossed the body aside and lifted the wounded Charmander into his arms, bolting off through the sky. He had to find Chansey again, they could save Pyre. 'As much as I try….The monster inside will always escape….I didn't want that….but I couldn't stop myself. I suppose what they say about old habits….is unfortunately true.'