Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: The Desire for Freedom Chapter 43, a pokémon fanfic

Culus and Kair, inside Cognes, go search for the Terminal to finally remove Culus's collar. Also in Cognes, Thilia, Kapun, Angira, as well as Slate (now loyal to Kapun alone) and a Shadow Worker they brainwashed with the use of tuning forks, search for Rowan in the heart of the Facility, hoping to rescue him and others before they're fully converted into being Shadow Workers. Phosophor defends himself during the invasion, putting Cognes on high alert and attacking Key bases with Chain and its various allies.

Helios, after willingly giving himself up to become a Shadow Worker, awakens as a soul in a place called 'The Repository'. Then, after encountering Tamon, he finds Riley's soul being attacked by energy trying to erase her personality. He takes the burden of repelling the energy for her, and even after being told by Tamon that he's doomed himself to an eternity of suffering as long as he repelled it, continues to do so.

Eve, after lots of planning, kidnaps Selene, whose personality has been warped as the result of a strange evolution of her Rhythm. Figuring out the only way to save Selene from herself, Eve knocks both of them out, preparing to use her talent to find a way to help her.

Brylle learns how the stamina for the Aspects relates to evolution, using her stamina to trigger evolutions and devolutions. However, she does so in the middle of an attack by Chain on Key's base in Lition. Though Genevieve manages to rescue them, they are now stranded near the Eonian Royal castle.

Light, disillusioned with Chain's empty promises and his father's lack of action, takes matters into his own hands. Now free of Nero's hypnosis that ensured his loyalty to his father's cause and with new access to the Aspects thanks to a mysterious malevolent voice in his head, he schemes to give Glacia, who he dismisses as entirely incompetent, access to the Aspects to ingratiate himself to the King, while pushing Mentali further against his brother.

There was a sense of coldness as they walked through the halls of Cognes. Culus had gone with Dad to remove his Collar, leaving them to find and rescue Rowan.

As he padded through the hallways, he felt his stomach. Thilia, who was back to riding on him, looked at him oddly. "Kapun, are you…"

"I'm okay," Kapun muttered, offering a weak smile.

Slate sidled up to him. "If there's anything you need, feel free to ask."

His smile turned brittle. "R-Right."

It had only been ten or so minutes since they'd forked paths with Culus and Dad, so he hadn't had much time to adjust to Slate being his slave. The idea itself was bonkers, if you asked him, but when he'd asked Angira if they could redeclare Slate's 'Definition', she told him to stop wasting her time.

"... Lady Angira," he tried saying again.

Angira glared at him. "Don't. Start. Again." She growled. "Slate's purpose is to help you now. I don't care if you have moral issues with it, we simply don't have the time."

Slate patted Kapun consolingly on the back. If anything, it just made the Butterfree in his stomach flap more wildly. He stomached it with a weak smile and kept moving forward.

The hallways had plenty of Shadow Workers in it. The Pawmot and Slate were able to sense them each time, though, and they hid the two inside small alcoves every time it happened. It was a little ridiculous just exactly how many of the little hideaways there were in the research facility, but Kapun wasn't going to question his good fortune.

Eventually, though, as the Pawmot hid them in the third alcove, he grew a little curious. Looking around the alcove, he saw janitorial supplies and various medicinal cabinets.

And then, off in the corner, he saw a small file drawer. Ignoring Thilia's pokes at the side of his head, he opened one of the file drawers up.

LOG 02-05-1309-2

With the failure of today's prior experiment, I've decided to branch out into the usage of purer metals. Grade-5 Platinum has no effect when it comes to synaptic…

Kapun's eyes almost glazed over as he read the research notes. Someone like Ekib - if he was no longer under Selene's control - would love to read this and to figure out more about the Collars and their usage. Kapun, meanwhile, only remembered platinum as a shiny expensive metal Dad sometimes bought for Oran Berries from some of his trade partners.

Though, as he read, some of the words stuck out to him.

… the creation of a new organic gel. While now black, it is still highly viscous, as well as ten times more resilient than the one in current use. The creation of Cored will go 20-22% faster with the implementation of the gel as a building base. Plans to implement the gel, as suggested by Phosophor, will go in five steps…

'Organic gel'... 'building base'. Building what?

He then closed his eyes and shook his head - this wasn't the time to think about it. They had already begun to move on - and now, they were getting close to the deepest part of the base. Most of the technology around here looked the same as it always did, but most of the architecture and tiling looked ancient. This was one of the oldest parts of this research facility, even with the top brass keeping all of the tech up to date.

Kapun was broken out of his absent-minded musing by the tapping of a "Do you need-"

"No," Kapun said, shaking his head at Slate's question before it could even go forward. "Look for where Rowan is." Slate nodded loyally, but it didn't make Kapun feel very comfortable.

Slate was a single wound away from wanting to kill him. Slate was a single wound away from falling in love with him. Slate was a single wound away from anything a person could make themselves be. Slate's loyalty to Kapun was his ultimate truth and the shallowest lie.

Thilia tapped Kapun's shoulder. "Are you okay?" she whispered. "You don't feel too good."

Kapun smiled weakly. Psychic empathy was one of those weird powers - even if he was a Dark-type, she could sense the emotions he released to the world. "I'll manage for now," he said. "Thanks."

Slate huffed next to him. It made him feel a bit better - even as malleable as Slate was, he had something of a core personality. Maybe, as long as his Definition wasn't touched, he'd come to accept this…

…

… nope. It was a dumb thought.

"Enough chatter," Angira whispered harshly as she followed the Pawmot through the chambers. "We haven't been getting any Shadow Workers near us - what's the meaning of this?"

"Most of the process for making Shadow Workers is automated," the Pawmot replied simply. "The hardest part is getting people unconscious so that we can actually do it."

Angira blinked. "Then why isn't everyone a Shadow Worker, if it's so easy for you to do?"

The Pawmot shrugged. "Lack of necessity, mostly, and finite resources. Each Cored and Collared needs some amount of neural alloy and spacial gems to make. Neural alloy needs special composition of various metals, and spacial gems are extremely rare. Chain only makes as much Shadow Workers as practical - we keep some people in storage, ready to be converted if need be."

Hope leaped into Kapun's chest. "So even if he's been captured, he still might be himself?"

"As long as Phosophor didn't order him to be immediately remade for research purposes."

The hope died. If Phosophor wanted to research the Aspects, Rowan would be culprit number one - well, him or Helios, but Helios had told Genevieve about Pandora, so there was almost no chance he was turned into a Cored.

Angira frowned. "How many people are kept in storage?"

"Tens of thousands."

Kapun's heart stopped.

"Most of them are from feral Pokemon," the Pawmot continued. "But thousands are from homeless Pokemon and isolated Pokemon. Chain did try to keep Key's possible recruiting pool low, if possible, only taking a few hundred people who would have others notice them going missing. If I remember right, those were chosen specifically because they had a history, with which to rise in status and become spies for Chain."

"..." Angira's hand tightened into a fist. "Who were you?"

The Pawmot shrugged. "Some feral, I think. I was healthy and strong, and they decided to shove memories into me to civilize me. I prefer my existence now to when every day was a gamble, anyway."

Angira frowned. "How do they keep so many people, ferals or not, in stora-"

Her question dropped off as they turned the corner to see a new room - blocked off by a large padlock and keypad, it read 'Homonculization Laboratory'.

"We're here," the Pawmot announced. "As a guard, however, I'm not given access inside. Very few people have the authority to go in, and people are teleported in to clean if necessary. Otherwise, it has a permanent barrier to prevent teleportation."

Which was probably why the guard count was so low around here. "How durable are the padlocks and door?" Angira asked.

"You can try," the Pawmot offered. "They never told me."

Angira looked at the door, then grimaced. "The password…" She looked at Thilia. "This is your job, Thilia."

Thilia just shuffled awkwardly. "I… okay-"

"No."

Everyone turned to him. Kapun, though, was looking at Thilia's expression. From what he could tell, she was able to do it, maybe even a little ready, but not willing to do it. He also knew her talent was exhausting for her, and it was more useful than the occasional dowsing rod. It was how they first used it, yes, but it had more applications.

All of those things, though, were unimportant to him. All he could see was Thilia's warbling lips.

Angira narrowed his eyes. "I thought you were better than insubordination, Kapun."

He wasn't… "I'm not," he said, shaking his head. "But there's a better way to do this - she's still recovering from earlier this morning, isn't she? You had her break Culus out of his weird command - it's better to save her talent for something that's more important."

"A good idea, if we had any other option," Angira countered harshly. "Unless, of course, you want to break down the door and have legions of Shadow Workers rush this spot, ready to kill us all?"

"I…" Kapun's lips were slow to move. "I can do it. I know I can."

Angira scoffed - but then Thilia nodded. "He can."

It stopped Angira's nascent anger quickly. "How?"

Thilia frowned. "He did it earlier today, when we went to get the tuning forks. He dragged me along, and he opened the room to the tuning forks as well - and it had a lock as strong as this one's, I think. He… he has a talent for this."

"I have two talents," Kapun revealed, remembering what Thilia was referring to. "One is my ability to change my evolutionary state, the other is to… show a path, I think?"

"Show a path." Angira looked utterly unimpressed.

"It showed me a path to Sable. It showed me the path to the tuning forks - and the path to opening the door to the tuning forks." Kapun took a deep breath. "I'll look for a path, and if I see it, we'll use it. This isn't a good time to use Thilia's talent if my talent can substitute."

Angira thought for a few seconds. "Two minutes," she decided. "We don't have time to waste on a talent that may not exist. If you can pull on it with command, as you claim, then do so."

Kapun shivered a little - and then nodded. "O-Okay," he said. Slate glared at Lady Angira, but at a gesture from Kapun, didn't respond. Kapun stepped up to the padlock, staring at the numbers. Two minutes… yeah, he could do this in two minutes…

…

… his heart beat a little faster. What was he thinking? Blue lines, showing a path? He knew his talent, and it wasn't this! It was the evolutionary thing!

Maybe it was better just to let Thilia do this, and…

… out of the corners of his eyes, through his matted strands of hair, he saw Thilia slumped, exhausted, against Slate. Pushing her to do this mission only a few hours after she completely exhausted her reserves of stamina to do this…

… Kapun looked at the lock again. Rowan… Rowan was behind this door, and he… he needed to get through. He had to get through!

And then, a shimmer of blue appeared in front of him. It was faint, and momentary, but it seized his attention.

"Times up, Kapun," Angira said, a note of disappointment in her voice. "Now-"

The shimmer of blue appeared again - and then, he knew, in his heart, the code. 592750.

Before anyone could do anything else - almost out of his control - he pushed in the numbers. The screen of the keypad glowed green, and a second later, the door to the Facility opened smoothly.

Angira blinked. "... I stand corrected."

Kapun swayed on the spot, feeling much more tired now. "It… it's a bit like Helios's talent," he murmured, drawing some attention to him. "The 'path-seeing' works with a special mental state… and during the state, it automatically activates. I'll… I think I'll need practice to use it on command." He smiled weakly. "... I need to rest right now…"

Slate shoved Thilia off of him and grabbed Kapun, steadying him. "Easy there…" he murmured, before glaring at Angira. "Don't push him like-"

"I'll push him as far as we need," Angira said, narrowing her eyes. "And that additional talent… we'll need to study it once we return. Until I need you again, rest."

Kapun nodded, closing his eyes for a second. Slate started moving him along, helping him walk. As they walked, he whispered in Slate's ears. "Help Thilia too - she's more tired than I am."

Slate didn't argue. Kapun didn't know if he could argue with Slate, really, considering what the Gible was like right now. He leaned down, picked up Thilia, before taking both of them through the lab.

The inside of the lab was a tiny bit dusty - but strangely, it smelled sterile. The stench of alcohol permeated every single cubic inch of the laboratory, and it made him want to retch.

"What… what are they doing here?" Angira said, blinking and holding her nose. "This is where they turn people into Shadow Workers?"

"Mostly," the Pawmot agreed. "But some are turned into Dolls instead."

"Dolls?" Kapun asked.

"Cored that are sold off to positions of power - like the Temptress's Collared trade, but less obvious and often managed by Phosophor and Parasel themselves. They don't know that they're Cored but are there to serve the buyer's whims."

"Like me?" Slate asked.

The Pawmot looked at him in interest. "Do you remember what your Definition was? Did you remember Chain?"

"Yes and no," Slate answered easily. Angira's ears pricked a little as she turned to look at him. "I don't remember being given my Definition, but my guiding line disappeared one day, and if I weren't under Diane's spell, I would have cared much more."

"Your guiding line?" Kapun asked.

"To serve Helios as a bodyguard, to do my best so that no harm comes to him," Slate said. "And to be his closest confidant and friend. Those were things that would never be parted from me… until I met Diane."

"Diane?" Kapun asked, the name coming up again. "Who is…?"

"Someone who looks like Selene - and she transformed into Pandora right away."

Angira growled. "The Epsilon Fusion…" she muttered.

Slate nodded. "She came to the base one night, and was singing for some reason. I don't know why - but she caught me in her spell. She commanded me to protect Selene and sabotage the efforts of Key. I guess Pandora rewrote my Definition so that it wouldn't come into conflict with it or something."

"... how did you sabotage us?" Angira asked. The ground around her shook a little. "How?"

"I didn't - not for a lack of trying." Angira looked at him, bemused. "Your caution prevented you from doing anything worth sabotaging, and Culus's experimental strategy with the Cores stopped me from sabotaging that as well, since I didn't understand the purpose."

Angira gripped her fist, growling - and then sighed. "What goes around comes around," she muttered.

"Your case sounds like that of a Doll," the Pawmot continued, ignoring the previous conversation. "Your buyer - the King of Dragnis, I'm guessing - bought you for Helios's sake. If your orders weren't to spy on the king, then you weren't a spy, but were instead to help Helios."

Thilia frowned. "Didn't you say that you were low on resources? Why were you selling Collared and Cored, then?"

The Pawmot shrugged. "Don't ask me everything, I'm just telling you what they told me." The Pawmot then sniffed the air. "... that's weird…"

Kapun sniffed the air as well. There was a strange stench in the air, mixed with the awful smell of alcohol. A smell of rotting meat, of sweetened fruit…

"... death…" Angira growled, eyes widening slightly. "When was the last time anyone came here?"

The Pawmot shrugged again. "Beats me."

Angira clicked her tongue, then turned a corner. A second later, she gasped. Kapun rushed around the corner as well, the exhaustion fading. Something was wrong, and though he couldn't pinpoint what, his hackles began to rise.

Then, around the corner, he saw what had elicited the reaction from Angira. Bile rose from his stomach, and he closed his eyes to help him push it down. But the image had burned itself into his retinas.

A corpse of a Zigzagoon. Its flesh had been patchy and eaten, and all of its fur had fallen away. One of its eyeballs had detached from the socket, hanging over the side of its face by a cord of nerves.

Kapun, once forcing down the bile, reopened his eyes. It was forced as an image in his mind, and he was tempted to repress it as much as possible. Instead, he tried to note everything else.

The Zigzagoon (don't look it straight in the eye, don't look it straight in the eye, don't look it straight in the still-attached glassy lifeless eye) floated belly up in a tank filled with a murky orange-brown liquid. There was a strange mechanical system in the tank as well (labeled 'Feral'), which was slowly pumping out some weird black liquid.

"What the hell?" he whispered. "Why wouldn't they just burn the corpse… why are they killing it?!" He had thought Chain operated through mind-control - why would they have a slowly-decomposing body in their most-secured lab?

Everyone else walked in - and there was a round of gasps and sharp breaths as well. The Pawmot looked a little confused for a split-second - and then, a look of comprehension went across their face. It was only for a second, though, and Kapun figured it was probably a trick of the light.

Slate, meanwhile, turned to Kapun. "Do you need…"

"No," Kapun whispered, perhaps a little harshly. "I don't need anything right now, thank you." Slate nodded. It wasn't insensitivity, Kapun was forced to remind himself, just an overwhelming priority for Kapun's well-being.

Thilia, meanwhile, looked at the Zigzagoon - and then, at the black liquid flowing through the tubes. "That's… that's what came out of the Ditto after Slate killed it."

Kapun turned to Slate. "Is it?"

Slate looked at the ooze. "It… yes," he muttered. "It was a lot thicker, but yes. There aren't any of those particles I sense in it yet, though…"

"They're pumping it out of the Zigzagoon," Angira added, crossing her arms. She seemed to have gotten over the corpse as fast as they had, thankfully (Kapun wondered what it said about all of them when they got over a corpse so quickly). "It's a result of a poison, right?"

"That's what the Hatterene said - according to Helios," Slate answered. "But she lied about the Cores as well, so… maybe?"

What kind of poison would turn a body into this? The black liquid was just at a constant pump, pump, pump…

"... let's find Rowan," Kapun said, an awful feeling creeping into his spine. "I'll…"

He tried to pull on his 'new' talent, but something in him instinctively rebelled. As though he were about to jump off a chasm if he did so…

"... keep looking," he said lamely. Why did it feel like if he did try to path a way to Rowan, it would kill him? Did Phosophor have some sort of protection on him… no, it made no sense. And he was able to path Sable, so Rowan being an Aspect user had no influence on it.

They walked out of the chamber, and Kapun noticed another chamber near the one with the Zigzagoon. He walked inside and pushed down the urge to retch again.

Another decomposing corpse, this one having bones showing. The eye sockets were empty, this time, but the rate of drainage for this one was much slower. The species was a Marill, and the tank which was draining the black liquid was named 'Civilized - 'Riley''.

There was a smaller note underneath. 'Subject has been noted to be able to use Power System ASP.'

"Another… and this one wasn't a feral," Angira's hand closed over the side of the tank. "This… this disgusting…"

"Breaking the tank won't bring the dead back to life," the Pawmot commented unhelpfully.

With a flex of her fingers, the tank crumpled. "But it might spite Phosophor," she spat.

Seconds later, lights shone from the wall. The tank instantly reconstructed itself. Angira crumpled the tank again - and in a few more seconds, it regenerated.

"I don't think that'll work," the Pawmot commented.

"Thank you, I wasn't aware of that."

"Will you use your 'Stifling' to stop it?"

Angira clicked her tongue. "... no," she eventually admitted. "My stamina with it is far too low for me to use it without great need, and this isn't a great need compared to what I fear might happen in the future." She then grabbed the corpse of the Marill and pulled it out. The tank continued, but even slower now. "This, on the other hand, won't need any great effort."

She crushed the corpse in her hands. It fell to the ground, oozing a little. Kapun felt sick, but she wiped away the blood on her fists and on the ground with geokinesis. "I don't know what the corpse was being used for," she muttered. "But it was for some purpose, clearly, and I refuse to let Phosophor have his way with whoever this was."

She threw the corpse to the ground and stomped her foot. The ground swallowed the Marill corpse in a fissure, before nothing remained. The tank had stopped producing the black liquid.

Angira turned to Kapun. "Find Rowan," she ordered. "Use your 'pathfinding' to find him."

"... I tried," Kapun explained. "But when I do, I get exhausted."

She clicked her tongue. "Then we find Rowan's corpse and take it with us."

Kapun's blood pumped in his ears. A wave of dizziness and nausea overcame him. "His…"

"I imagine we can look in the other tanks," she said. "But even if we find the one with him in it, he'll be like the Maril. Nothing but a decomposing bag of flesh, bone, and blood." She turned to the Pawmot. "And explain. Do you know what's going on?"

"I-"

Before he could say anything, Slate walked in with Thilia. There was a grim look on Thilia's face, and a perplexed look on Slate's face. "Kapun… you need to see this."

...

Kapun stared down at the corpse of the Charmeleon in front of him. It had been eaten away as much as the Zigzagoon had been. The face of the cadaver floating in the tank was familiar - hauntingly familiar.

On the tag of the tank, with another note, read:

'Civilized - 'Helios''.

'Subject has been noted to be able to use Power System ASP.'

"He… he…"

"They had him where they wanted him." Angira didn't frown, didn't smile, didn't do anything. "He would have been easy to capture. Perhaps they would have done so out of revenge, or because he was available."

Kapun looked at Slate, who had a… complex litany of expressions across his face. "... what do you feel right now?"

"... I don't know," Slate murmured. "I should be sadder… but I can't feel it anymore. The memories… feel dull, in a way. The friendship, forced and hollow. There's no chance of us making it another anymore, is there?"

… no, there wasn't.

None of them cried for Helios, but it was more of a dull shock than anything. The corpse in front of him looked serene in a way Helios never had. Even floating lifeless, it looked… princely, strangely enough.

The thought was disgusting, but in a dark way, it made sense. Helios was born of royalty, so if anyone should look like a prince, it would be him. Helios's true nature, though - his cowardice, incompetence, need for validation, ego, everything which made Helios Helios - betrayed the blood. Take away his true nature, and you had the corpse of the prince looking more like a prince than the living body ever did.

"... rest in peace," Angira finished. A spike of earth pierced the tank and Helios's corpse, shattering the image. "And may your body never help Phosophor."

The spike of earth shattered, and Helios's corpse flopped onto the ground, tumbling onto shards of glass and spilled black liquid. The tank reconstructed itself instantly, but Helios's corpse was left alone. Slate didn't say a single word throughout Angira's actions, before eventually turning away.

Somehow… this was worse than Kapun had imagined. Becoming a Shadow Worker had a 'clean' element to it - that was something he had thought before. Phosophor just put a Collar around the body, inserted a Core - it was how Kapun thought this worked, to some level he hadn't really thought about. This…

… this was killing them. The Zigzagoon was dead. 'Riley' was dead. Helios was DEAD.

"I… where are the bodies?" he asked. "Where are the prisoners? Why are they killing Shadow Workers?"

Angira just grimaced. "A good question," she acknowledged, before turning to the Pawmot. "What the hell is wrong with this place? Why are all of these people dead?!"

The Pawmot opened his mouth to answer - and then, Kapun felt a rush of energy go through the air. Two, in fact. With a crack of what sounded like lightning, a projectile, wreathed in psychic energy, rushed through the door. Before anyone could react, it pierced the Pawmot in the back of the throat.

An instant later, still before anyone could react, another projectile flew through. This one flew much closer. Slate, having fast reflexes, tried to dodge, but was infinitely slow compared to the projectile. It struck the inside of his maw, piercing all the way to the back.

"Unfortunately, I had to overshoot the force."

The voice was familiar, as though Kapun had heard it many, many times before. Through the open door, a Metagross floated in, looking at the bodies of the Pawmot and Slate on the ground slowly dissolve into the same black goo that was being drained out of the tanks.

"I… I…" Kapun stuttered, looking at the Metagross. "Who…"

"My name is the Head Royal Scientist of Regilia, Parasel," the Metagross answered, sounding a little bored. "Though, you know of my true allegiances, of course. As for those two…" The bodies began to shake a little. "They will return to their origin."

An instant later, the bodies began to turn black. Soon, they began to melt into black liquid - the black liquid, which had been flowing through the tubes of the tank a minute prior. There were white particles floating in it, but it was unmistakably the same kind of liquid.

Angira, though, wasn't really paying attention to it. "You… you killed…"

Parasel shook his head. "The Pawmot, perhaps - he isn't useful enough for us to return - but Slate, naturally, will return to the world of the living soon enough."

Return to… what…

"You…" Angira's eyes flashed. A second later, a giant pulse of Stifling erupted from her, and in a flash of a second, she rushed forward, swinging glowing fists at Parasel. "You will pay!"

Another burst of Stifling erupted - this time from Parasel. His legs glowed as well, and in two smooth motions, he caught both of Angira's glowing fists. The two stared each other down, glowing fists meeting glowing legs. "I'm not very sorry to inform you that the outcome you just described is one that is very unlikely."

Angira disengaged her fists, before attacking Parasel in a rush of blows. "And why is that?!"

Kapun stepped forward, but Angira yelled as she blocked a blow from Thilia. "NO!" she shouted, freezing him in place. "Conserve your strength! You're vulnerable to his attacks!"

"Listen to your boss," Parasel agreed, sweeping Angira to the side with a pair of weighted blows. "After all, can either of you stand blows that may tear through steel?"

The size of the impact crater Angira had upon hitting the wall made Kapun reconsider his life-choices - but only for a second. A few seconds later, he closed his eyes and concentrated - and in seconds, he passed the Zweilous stage to become a Hydreigon.

"Ah, right. This ability," Parasel commented. Two of his legs grabbed two of Kapun's heads just as he finished evolving. "I suppose he'll forgive me for injuring you the tiniest bit." Before Kapun could interrupt with an attack, Parasel slammed him across the ground. He skidded far, Helios's corpse cushioning him at the expense of it popping like a flesh water-balloon.

Angira stood back up, but Parasel rushed forward, smashing her into the ground with another long series of blows. Angira countered blow-for-blow, but it was clear that she was flagging.

Meanwhile, Kapun tried to push himself up, but it was hard considering the level of strength needed to resist Stifling. When he used his talent to evolve, all of his other Aspects grew weaker, meaning that he was struggling to stay standing. Worse, his physical moves weren't very practiced under Stifling.

How Parasel was managing to fight and move during the Stifling was just as big of a problem. Sable training him was the obvious answer, but if Culus was right about the timeframe, he'd gotten this good only in two days. Worse, if they stopped Stifling to try and use moves, and Parasel called for help-

"HELP!" Kapun turned to see Thilia being besieged by Signal Beams, from what looked to be a… Ribombee…

… the one who took Rowan…

Kapun took only a spare second to look back at Angira, who was holding her own against Parasel, before going to help Thilia. With a roar, he slammed into the Ribombee, creating a large Stifling field around him to give him the time he needed to take her down.

The Ribombee flew wildly through the air, landing on her feet as his Stifling. "Ah, you're 'Kapun', right?" She smiled. "A pleasure to meet you-"

"WHERE IS HE?!" Kapun roared in her face, spittle flying into her eyes. The Ribombee blinked it out as he pinned her to the ground. "WHERE!"

"Nucifera."

Kapun froze - and the Rimbombee took the opportunity to slide out of his hold. "Nucifera," she answered. "Sable took him there to be brainwashed by Selene, but he slipped out before he could join us. We're pinpointing his position right now, really."

Relief crashed over him, mixed with a new fear. Rowan - according to this lady - was still alive and probably not mind-controlled. Nucifera - that's where Kapun could go to rescue him.

But not now.

The Ribombee jumped over his next tailswipe, before flying forward and poking him in the eye. Kapun growled. "You… Stifling…."

"It is painful, yes," the Ribombee admitted. "But not more than I can handle." She flew forward, before smacking Kapun on the back of the head. He tried to strike, but she slipped out of the way with ease. "Relax and let me beat you. When you wake up, everything will be perfect."

Kapun was nowhere near stupid enough to miss what she meant. Whether it meant Selene or Diane's brand of mind control, or becoming a Shadow Worker like Helios, he'd lose his personality at the very least.

"Don't make me laugh," he snarled, using his two side-heads to try and trap the Ribombee, who slipped around them with ease. He took a look back at Thilia, who was Stifling near the door - Shadow Workers. "We won't lose!"

The Ribombee glanced at Thilia. "Honestly, it looks like you already have." There wasn't anything taunting to her voice, but Kapun still growled in anger. "No, really - you'd need teleportation to escape at this point, and a bunch of our Shadow Workers can set up a Block to stop that."

"We'll escape."

"Can you?"

Kapun took a second to look around. Thilia looked half-dead - it was taking her all to Stifle and stop the Shadow Workers from coming in. Angira and Parasel were exchanging blows, but she looked to be tiring. Parasel, meanwhile, showed no signs of doing so.

And as for Kapun… after all of the paths he made, after the Stifling he was doing right now… he was…

"Tired, aren't you?" the Ribombee continued. "More Shadow Workers are on their way - we have teleporting squadrons taking people in. The minute your friend's stamina breaks, we have all the numbers we need. We already do, regardless."

Then the Ribombee shone with a rainbow glow. "And we can last longer than you can imagine." A second later, the Ribombee disappeared to show a Roserade, one without any wounds.

The Roserade then winced. "Thanks a lot, Sephy," she muttered.

Kapun's heart sank. "You can… you're…" Part of the Fusion, he realized.

"Sephy's getting healed," the Roserade added. Kapun's heart sank even more.

He couldn't win. It was literally impossible. If they could tag in and out, healing themselves every time, then he had no way of winning. He had to hurt them faster than they could have one of their servants heal them - and if there were more forms…

"It's…" His evolution stopped, and he reverted back into a Deino. His Stifling stopped, and he automatically started regaining his stamina but that didn't exactly help when he was facing down a Roserade. Even as a Hydreigon, he was inexperienced and somewhat held-back in high-level combat.

Before he could react, the Roserade held out her bouquet-hand at him, and a large Poison Sting fired at him. He dodged, but a second Poison Sting hit its mark while he was regaining his balance. Poison coursed through his system, and he almost fell on a knee with how quickly his vision began to spin.

"That should take care of you for a bit. dear." How did the Roserade sound sweet?! "And they're taking care of Thilia well."

Kapun, body burning, managed to look to the side to see Thilia held down by several Pokemon. Her Stifling broke. Good luck wouldn't help in this kind of situation - not the amount she'd need, which would kill her anyway. She'd bought him and Angira time - time which they couldn't use.

A blow from a Pangoro struck Thilia on the back of the head as she was trying to fight off the other Shadow Workers. She fainted on the spot - and other Shadow Workers took her, teleporting her away.

Kapun's eyes widened. "N-No…" He didn't have enough energy to Stifle, to do anything. He'd exhausted himself getting to this place, and to fight the Ribombee - and now, he was fighting off the poison from the Poison Sting. He couldn't rescue her anymore.

He turned to the Roserade, only to see that she'd engaged in battle with Angira as well. A Poison String stuck out of Angira as well, and she was red and purple in the face, with exertion, exhaustion, and illness all at once.

Parasel swept Angira's legs and tails out from under her. Angira's Stifling, weaker than theirs, broke for a second - and in that second, an Ingrain formed, locking Angira to the ground. Angira screamed in pain.

"An excellent battle," Parasel remarked. "But you never had a chance."

More Shadow Workers poured into the room. Kapun closed his eyes, the pain growing ever larger.

They'd lost.

Parasel stepped forward, before putting his leg on Angira's head and pushing down. "I've never talked to you in person, I'm afraid. I'd love to hear your opinions on many matters."

"You'll never get my-" Angira's eyes widened. "No…"

"Diane is still recovering and Selene is… indisposed. I'd turn you into a Shadow Worker, but Riley and Helios are going through their conversion process as we speak, so we need a control for Aspect users. Phosophor will 'convince' you himself."

"I… I…" Angira's eyes sharpened, before looking at the splatter of blood on the floor that used to be Helios's corpse. "You killed them."

"Hardly. I decomposed their corpse after I finished taking what I needed from them." Phosophor paused. "Their soul is very much intact and in storage."

Helios's soul was in… storage?

"I… it doesn't matter…" Angira struggled. "I… I refuse…"

"You won't get a choice," Parasel said simply. "No one gets a choice for their lot in life. Our curse forced us into this path. Our path forced you into yours. That is the simple answer to your refusal."

Angira growled - then she blinked.

And then, she smiled.

The communicator she had attached to her hip glowed. A spike of earth shot through the Ingrain, launching it…

… at him.

Even through his exhaustion, Kapun managed to catch it. Parasel's eyes glowed as the communicator was surrounded by psychic energy - maybe intending to crush it, or to do one of many things - but surrounding it with Dark-type energy, Kapun broke Parasel's hold over it.

Through the communicator and the psychic connection it created, Genevieve spoke three simple sentences.

'Escape the facility. Use your talent. Angira will use hers.'

A billion questions raced through Kapun's mind, but he killed them immediately. Instead, he stood shakily, grabbing the tuning rod that had pierced through Slate, and one last sentence spilled from his lips.

"I hope Culus is having a better time than we are."

A second later, he closed his eyes - and though he could feel Parasel and the Roserade, and a lot of the Shadow Workers for that matter, launch attacks at him, he felt the world shrink underneath him.

Don't think about Rowan. Don't think about Thilia. Don't think about Angira. Don't think about Dad. Don't think about Culus.

Escape.

Everything glowed, not blue as it had before, but gold. The path laid itself out in front of him.

He opened his eyes, and ran.

He was fast. Fast. Faster than the Jolteon running after him trying to slow him down, faster than the Ninjask that couldn't keep track of him, faster than all. A Slaking stood in his way. Kapun blew him aside like the wind, ignoring it and the Snorlax who stood in his way.

Escape.

His power was draining something more than stamina from him. Something deeper, more vital. It didn't matter.

Escape.

The path was different than the one they took to get here. It was more direct. No twists and roundabouts, just a straight path from point A to point B.

Escape.

ESCAPE.

He broke through the last few Shadow Workers and through the covering of the exit. In an explosion, the last wall broke, and he exited to a dawn.

… escape…

He could hear voices behind him - more Shadow Workers. But he couldn't move. The world spun underneath him.

He had spent more than stamina - he… his…

… he wouldn't make it…

A pair of arms cradled him. "I've got you." He'd have wanted the voice to be Dad's but Dad was probably still in the Facility with Culus. The voice, instead, was Genevieve's. "Let's go."

Before any of the Shadow Workers could stop her, Genevieve turned on the spot, and the world became a blur of light and shadow.

And Kapun knew no more.

"Mom! Mom! Momomomom!" Angira growled as Kellior ran into her room, shouting excitedly. "MOM!"

She felt a headache blossoming. "Whatever it is, ask Genevieve," Angira said, trying to return to her paperwork. There was a problem teaching the new recruits - a problematic Whirlipede called 'Skell', who had obedience issues and kept antagonizing a Mankey with anger issues (like all other Mankey). Not for the last time did Angira wish that she had the luxury to pick and choose which people were her recruits.

Even though they were still children, Kellior and Hedvis were part of that group. Luckily, they were more well-behaved than the other children. Most of the time, anyway.

"Moooom!"

Not for the last time, Angira felt envious of Pandora. She had the easy job, lowering the paperwork by creating a uniform method of gathering information from their agents and pulling double-duty as their chief nurse. The first was fairly simple, as far as she was concerned, and she didn't really have to use the second job that often.

Pandora didn't have to make decisions about who did what job. Pandora didn't have to deal with the repercussions of their key spymaster and powerful asset taking his infant kid and moving to Pinnaleis to become a berry merchant! Pandora didn't have to deal with all of this shit!

Angira then sighed. It wasn't worth breaking discipline over, however. "What is it?" she asked, dipping a claw into a bottle of ink for writing her signature onto the paperwork.

"It's Hedvis! He's evolving!"

The ink spilled. Angira didn't give a damn.

"Where?!" she asked, using geokinesis to slide her chair out faster than she could with her hands.

"The second training hall-"

Angira rushed forward, grabbing Kellior and using geokinesis to propel the both of them faster than Kellior could have run himself. It took only ten seconds, then, to sink through the floor and get to the training hall.

Hedvis was glowing a bright white - it was, undoubtedly, evolution. It was slower than evolution usually was, probably because he'd wanted her to see. The instant she arrived, Hedvis's body began to morph and change. His legs retracted into the rest of his body, and small holes began popping out of his back.

Then, a few seconds later, the glow faded, and a Pupitar laid face-down in front of her.

"That was… incredible…" Hedvis mumbled into the ground. "... I feel so tired…"

"Go to Pandora," Angira immediately ordered, before looking at Kellior. "Take him if you can, but if not, then Pandora or Genevieve can help you." Genevieve was training for her soon-infiltration of Ascendance Palace and helping Pandora take care of Brylle, but she could probably spare a teleport right now.

"Got it, Mom!"

"And Hedvis," Angira said, a small smile coming to her lips. "Good job."

...

As Angira fought for her life against Parasel, she couldn't help but wonder exactly why that memory was the one that floated to the top of her mind. It wasn't the best memory of her life, or the worst.

It was just a mere moment - nothing more, nothing less than a few minutes of her life. A mere snapshot.

Angira weaved under three different Bullet Punches - moves meant to slow her down, force her into a corner. She could tank them, but taking too much damage would slow her down when it came to dodging Fighting-type moves.

She could only hope that Kapun and Thilia were faring better with their fights. She didn't have the capacity to help them, not with Parasel constantly aiming for her throat with each precision-guided blow he threw.

As she slammed a Pursuit-laced punch at the joint of his leg, her thoughts began to wander again. She briefly wondered if it was a talent or something, considering how Parasel was able to resist Stifling, but eventually let herself go, relying on her training to pull her through the fight.

There was a sense of catharsis, overall, in what she was doing. Maybe the catharsis wasn't wise, but after she learned of Pandora today… her discipline had broken.

She'd had no choice but to trust Pandora - she'd made herself too valuable. Skilled with medicine, not to mention the best user of Dream Eater that she'd ever met, she'd streamlined her work and made things easier to manage. Over the years, Angira had felt that Pandora had repaid that trust with constant, excellent work and a sharp mind as an advisor.

And even as things had changed - as the Aspects were either created or discovered, as they'd made real progress, and had true setbacks - Pandora had been helpful. She had warned Angira about the strange attitude and untrustworthiness of Helios (... which she now realized the true purpose of…) and her teleportation had continued to prove invaluable.

And then the curtain was pulled back.

Everything that she'd believed about Pandora vanished into thin puffs of smoke. A trap from Chain - she'd needed an hour just to recontextualize everything.

The lack of progress? Pandora had never fought against her when she was being too cautious, even when others felt like they should move forward. She'd always been galvanized with at least one voice in her corner. Maybe she shouldn't have been.

All of the misses that she'd had with Chain, either them missing her or her missing them? Pandora could have orchestrated them, warning Chain whenever they were about to find something important or making sure Chain didn't spook them off too quickly.

The utter lack of control she had over the situation? In part due to Chain's incredible power, but more because they were aware of every single important decision she had made.

Piece by piece, it had made her want to stomp over to the infirmary, grab Pandora by the throat, then snap her neck and wear her like a coat. But that would have been a bad idea - it would have ruined this invasion.

She'd had enough discipline for that. It felt depressing to admit to herself that she'd handed the metaphorical reins to Culus - a Collared, a weapon, a fool - but in that moment, she couldn't find any objections, just her nature to sit back and wait for the right opportunity.

The nature that Pandora had exploited. The nature that Pandora believed still ran the operations.

After that, it had been more working with Slate to build a new base and get her anger in check and hope that Culus would manage the invasion well. She didn't trust herself at that moment, and simply followed her nature.

Wait.

And then Slate had attacked - it had only been preceded by a pause, followed by a dilating of his pupils. She had dealt with him with contemptuous ease, but contacted Genevieve immediately.

Genevieve, as it turned out, had been by the communicator terminals, in case Kair and the others needed help. Ekib had woken and demanded to 'fine-tune the instruments'. Genevieve refused, he had attacked, and she dealt with him shortly. As Genevieve quickly found out, he'd planned to knock out the communicators and disable Key's internal communication. Genevieve beat him senseless.

The reason why both attacks happened became very obvious very shortly - tens of calls from Key's different bases, all requesting help. The invasion had started, and Chain was striking back. Or, by how fast they'd been able to mobilize against them, they'd already planned on crushing Key.

After that, the message from Kair had come. Angira had been forced to weigh three things against each other - the success of the invasion, the safety of Key's bases now that they were all under attack (... and of all three of her children…), or her one chance at revenge at Pandora.

The third was easiest to get rid of - though the pain stung more than anything else, she wasn't nearly so short-sighted. Pandora was important, but not so important as compared to Key's present or future.

The bases and the people inside were important as well… but they weren't important as this mission. More than that, she was a Tyranitar. Slow to move, if still a good fighter.

She punctuated that thought by catching both of Parasel's legs and burying them into the ground. The battle was intoxicating, if hard. It was more a matter of skill vs. skill. Neither of them could gain real ground yet, though he didn't seem to be flagging yet, and she had been Stifling all of this time.

… what a crapshoot this invasion had been. While Kapun's talent was laudable, it didn't make up for what appeared at the end of this Facility.

Death. Death, and the desecration of corpses. Perhaps she was being hypocritical, with what she did to Riley and Helios's corpses, but she couldn't imagine that Chain finishing their 'processing' of the two would be much better. At least this way, they could rest easy.

It… also confused her. She furrowed her brow. Just why were they doing this? She'd asked the Pawmot the question, and she had been about to get an answer before Parasel had silenced them. The modus operandi of Chain was mind-control, not murder.

And what was Homonculization?!

Then, things went south. A Poison Sting came out of nowhere to strike her - and Angira was more than able to recognize the feeling. The split-second she'd needed to adjust to the Poison running through her veins was used by Parasel, to devastating effect, to sweep her legs out from underneath her. Her Stifling broke, and a split-second later, an Ingrain shot out from a Roserade to lock her to the ground.

"An excellent battle," Parasel remarked. "But you never had a chance."

Angira struggled, growling. Her meager hope began to fall further, though, when more Shadow Workers began to pour into the room. Thilia was gone, and Kapun had fallen to the ground. She didn't know if he was still conscious, even.

They'd lost.

Parasel stepped forward, before putting his leg on Angira's head and pushing down. She wanted to scream with pain, her skull burning and her body weak and drained of power. "I've never talked to you in person, I'm afraid. I'd love to hear your opinions on many matters."

Oh, fuck this guy!

"You'll never get my-" Angira's eyes widened. He wanted her opinions - willingly. That meant… no… mind control…

"No…"

Parasel seemed to understand what she meant. "Diane is still recovering and Selene is… indisposed. I'd turn you into a Shadow Worker, but Riley and Helios are going through their conversion process as we speak, so we need a control for Aspect users. Phosophor will 'convince' you himself."

Did Phosophor have a special power? Could he Stifle? Was it a talent, or something like Selene or 'Diane's ability?

"I… I…" Things went into focus for a brief second. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kapun - struggling to get up. He was still conscious.

Not a way out, but a way forward. Stall for time, for him to recover enough energy to use his Aspects. Maybe to fight - no… but to escape…

She looked at the ground, as to hopefully distract Parasel. "You killed them," she declared obviously.

"Hardly. I decomposed their corpse after I finished taking what I needed from them." Phosophor paused. "Their soul is very much intact and in storage."

Their soul?

No, no, focus. Stall for time. "I… it doesn't matter…" Angira struggled. "I… I refuse…"

Angira growled. Paths? Paths? He'd had all the choice in the world, and she'd had to sacrifice… everything…

…

And then she blinked.

Her talent.

She hadn't known what it was. She couldn't have known what it was. But now it was here. And this was the time she had to use. The only time she could use it. A talent, custom-made for the scenario.

Her last gambit.

Despite everything… she smiled.

Psychically, she activated the communicator. Genevieve responded instantly, thankfully, but she couldn't let Genevieve speak.

'When you connect with Kapun, give him this message," she ordered. Genevieve didn't say anything - she was disciplined enough to know. 'Escape the facility. Use your talent. Angira will use hers. Meet him outside and teleport him away.'

Before anything else could happen - before Parasel could notice - a spike of earth shot through the Ingrain, launching the communicator into air. It flew near Kapun - it was grabbed by psychokinesis, fuck-

And then Dark-type energy released from Kapun, and he caught it. The Shadow Workers standing guard didn't react, though that was only a plus.

A second later, he grabbed the tuning fork near him and glowed gold, before running out. Parasel's eyes flashed. "Catch him-"

"Eyes on me, fucker," she growled, before activating her one-use talent. She'd stopped the Stifling - she needed all the power she could get for this. "I'm going to utterly destroy you."

Parasel's eyes went flat. "You're powerless."

A second later, the first stage of her talent activated. Immediately, she began to glow - and as she did, something clicked in her mind. Something she hadn't realized, something she couldn't believe she hadn't noticed before. "Do you know what determines a talent?"

Parasel slowed. "... no. What are you…"

"It's the nature of the person of the wielder. Culus is brave, ruthless, and sometimes a tunnel-minded fool - but that didn't save him from you. No, it was his cleverness, his creativity - his Craftiness." She smiled thinly. "Helios was utterly self-centered, even before his talent encouraged it. A true showing of Egotism."

Parasel paused, about to say something, but she continued, remembering what she knew of them.. "Rowan was attuned to the senses - a testament to his Perception. Sable, before you sunk your filthy claws into her, was someone who took life at her own pace, with true Indolence."

She didn't mention her daughter. She didn't want to admit her daughter's Perfectionism, and who caused it.

"And Thilia? Kapun?" Parasel asked.

The Roserade tugged on Parasel's leg. "Parasel, she's too free with this information, she's planning-"

Angira realized another facet of the Aspects as she thought about their talents - and what it meant. She devolved without a second's thought, into a Pupitar, then Larvitar, before throwing all of the extra stamina she now had into her talent. The air around her thrummed with energy. "Thilia was a stand-out example of Optimism, and Kapun showed his Resolve." She looked at the path of golden energy. Stronger than before - a soldier to the end.

Parasel frowned as the light enveloped them. "What are you…"

The Roserade's eyes widened. "We have to leave now-"

Angira used a portion of her power to close the door of this room, sealing it shut, before Stifling. It weakened the light, but only slightly. This wasn't something that Stifling could stop. Not anymore. "And as for me… my power is a testament to everything that I, and Key, have lost. My Sacrifice."

A steel leg lunged for her smaller head. Angira couldn't stop it if she wanted to.

It didn't matter.

She fed everything into the talent. Her dreams, her ambitions, her everything. Her love for Kellior, Hedvis, Brylle. Her old fondness - now hatred - of Pandora. Her body itself - and so, Parasel's leg passed through nothing.

…

… and finally, her very essence.

The stamina that charged the Aspect was born of the soul itself.

She used all of it.

And as it released in a single shockwave, one last thought became clear in her mind. A single statement to a person. Not someone she was particularly fond of, but someone… someone she, in her last moment, identified with more than all else.

…

We both had our lives held as weapons… didn't we, Culus?

(Earlier)

The unease in Culus's gut never faded, no matter how many Shadow Workers they successfully passed without detection. Kair's swiftness in the air was unmatched, he knew, but he still felt that somehow, things would go sideways.

He banished the thought as quickly as possible. He could handle himself, and Kair could handle himself - and the other side had Thilia, Kapun, and Angira. What could go wrong?

…

"Hey, Kair?" Culus asked. "Do you believe in jinxes?"

Kair looked at him oddly. "No. Why?"

"No reason."

A few seconds later, they ducked into an alcove. A bunch of Shadow Workers were standing guard over a room near the center. A small spike of worry crept into his spine as he surveyed what was happening.

"Is it near?" he asked.

Kair slowly nodded. "According to the Pawmot… yes." He said. "But there are probably more defenses. I need to go scout them out."

"Okay, let's-"

"Alone."

Culus paused. "Why?"

Kair growled. "Because I don't want to risk what happened at Pinnaleis happening here again. I've got thirty years experience on you when it comes to stealth, Culus. You're good, but their defenses are better."

Culus bit his lip.

"More than that…" Kair frowned. "I'm a little more curious about the 'Prince' that you mentioned. You saw him when you took a nap earlier this morning, right?"

Culus frowned. "... right. But we-"

"This will be your last chance to talk to him," Kair said. "If the ego is formed by interaction of the Collar and the Aspects, then removing the Collar will remove your ability to talk to him. Pry as much information as you can. I'll attach you to me while I go look at the defenses - hell, I'll try to get through them."

… Kair's plan was sound, to a point. Ultimately, Kair did have more experience than him when it came to this, and he couldn't begin to forget about his blunder at Pinnaleis, Kenki learning about his infiltration easily and stopping him. It would be faster as well, and if they could extract more information from the Prince in the meantime, it would be okay…

… but what was this odd feeling he was having? Why did he want to say no, with all of his heart? Why did he want to run away?!

"I… sure," he eventually said, weakly.

Kair smiled, reached into his satchel, and pulled out a bottle of juice. On it read 'Instant Sleep Medicine'. "Here - it'll help. I'll wake you up if I need you to create anything for me."

Culus nodded mutely, before taking the bottle of sleeping medicine. Looking at the bottle… he was acutely reminded of his last night in Ascendance Palace, where Parasel and the guards had tried to feed him that strange Malamar ink to put him to sleep. He'd turned the plan back on them that time…

… and now, this time, he was going to willingly take the knockout medicine.

"... bottoms up," he eventually said, to both himself and Kair, before drinking the medicine whole.

A few seconds later, his eyes fluttered - and then, he teetered over, his mind leaving.

...

He was in the strange misty place again - and also, once again, he came face to face with the Prince.

He stared at the Prince, who was content at staring at him once again.

"... well… um…" Culus found himself a little tongue-tied.

"I'm aware of what you want to ask," the Prince said calmly, easily.

"... thank you," Culus said. "For the tips on the tuning forks."

"You're welcome. Perhaps your friends will be able to make use of it once they escape, Kite."

That name again. "Culus-"

"Kite."

"... forget about it," Culus sighed. "What makes you think that I'm still going to die? Kair and I can probably fight off Phosophor if we need to - he's not a Shadow Worker or Collared, so he isn't vulnerable."

"Not in the ways that you think."

Culus paused. "Not in the ways that I think. What does that mean?"

"You'll come to understand soon enough." The Prince then smiled wryly. "And as for trying to erase the Terminal… don't bother trying anymore."

Culus blinked. "Why-"

"No matter what, you won't be able to. Even though you haven't told your friends, you will be unable to harm or erase it. He won't let you."

"Kair and I can fight off Phosophor."

"... you will come to understand, when you wake up." The Prince eventually said. "And I will come back into control."

The Prince would…

Culus growled. "Like I'll let you!"

"You won't be able to fight it, once you're dead."

"Once I'm dead, you will be too!" Culus growled. "And frankly, who's side are you on, mine or Phosophor's?"

"If I were to go by emotion… Phosophor's." Culus's metaphorical heart skipped a beat. "I tell you the truth because there is no point in lying. I have lived several lives with my heart under Phosophor's thumb, decades spent lovingly serving Phosophor. It doesn't matter that it was because of Phosophor's machinations. Knowing of the manipulations doesn't erase the memories."

"B… but…"

"I'm not on your side, either - but that's because I, by myself, am my own 'side'." The Prince locked eyes with him, gold iris on gold iris. "All that I, personally, have loved… is long dead. The Eonia that I cherished has morphed into a new dynasty far, far removed from anything that I'm familiar with. I loved Phosophor only because he made me. In this world, I am free of those commitments. And, Kite, I have no inherent loyalty to you."

"... do you think that what Phosophor is doing wrong?" Culus asked.

"Yes."

"Then you can help-"

"I can't. Even if I wished, there is nothing to be done. The snare has tightened, Kite, and there is no escape. We will both return to the Repository, until Phosophor has decided his need of us again. Then, we will be moved to either a new Collar, or a new Core."

"A…" He blinked. "The Repository?"

"A place inside the Terminal, where souls are kept."

What the fuck… "Phosophor collects souls?"

"He 'processes' souls, Culus. He wipes them of their memories, then of their personalities." The Prince sighed. "The Aspects are what allowed you to recover them - perhaps memories are stored deeper in the soul than Phosophor believed."

"Wait… what?!" He slammed his paws down. "What do souls have to do with Collars and Cores?!"

"Everything." The Prince then paused. "Would you like to see for yourself? I imagine that 'Kair' won't wake you up, not with the state you're in now."

"I… don't…"

…

Culus's eyes sharpened. Something was fundamentally wrong with the situation. He… he had to wake up. He couldn't be asleep for this.

"I… I will see for myself. I won't be helpless."

The mist began to disappear. "You are helpless, Kite, no matter what you believe. We will not meet again."

...

Culus's eyes snapped open. Kair was still flying.

"Blurrgh…" He wanted to say several things, but that flew out of his mouth instead.

Kair's flight slowed a smidge, and he ducked into a small passageway. "You're woken, Culus?" Kair's tone was… strange. Too strange.

"... ye… yeah."

Kair frowned. "Weird… it should have been stronger than that."

Culus frowned. "... the… the… " His mind was thick and slow. "The… drugs…"

"Yes," Kair said simply. "It should have lasted longer."

"... well… it didn't," he said. "... how much longer…"

"Right about now, actually," Kair said, as they flew to a locked door. "The code's '9432592'."

The… the Pawmot had even told him that much, huh…? Something… something was wrong… his head… everything… it hurt…

Kair punched the number into the pad. It opened smoothly, revealing a small room. There wasn't much in it - a seat, a bunch of snacks, and a large device that snaked out of the room with a speaker on it. Attached to the device, though, was an even larger device, one with a large screen and a big keyboard, with hundreds of little keys with strange symbols on it.

Culus groaned. "Great, how are we going to do this?

Kair tapped something below the keyboard - a button, or something like that. A tube popped out - and the instant it did, Culus felt something weird. A sense of deja vu, multiplied by 10,000. It had creeped on him when he arrived in the room, but the tube made it grow exponentially.

"The Pawmot said that this was how we removed the Collars," Kair directed.

The Pawmot couldn't have said all that. The thought popped into Culus's mind almost incidentally. The idea stood, though - the Pawmot had only spoken to Kair for, what, thirty seconds? Considering how far they'd had to travel, it was impossible the Pawmot to have given all those directions and explain how to use whatever this tube was.

Simultaneously, though, Culus felt that Kair was telling the truth - but only in the second half of his statement. And there was the strange 'we' that Kair said - he included himself in the past tense. That didn't feel wrong either, though…

… Culus shook his head. The drug was still fucking up his ability to think. If Kair… if Kair was like that, there was no point in bringing him here, right?

Right?

Culus brought the tube closer to him. Kair punched some things into the keyboard, logging in (... how could he know all of the passwords?) and setting something up in the machine. Soon, different lights began to activate, and there was a weird suction sound.

Not in the air… but in him.

… Culus brought the tube closer to him - closer to the Collar. Almost out of his control, it snaked its way onto the central gem, the beautiful emerald in the center that had lit up whenever the Collar activated.

It fit into the tube perfectly-

Dizziness!

The world spun under his gaze as the tube took something important, something precious. He couldn't stop it, though. His claws scrabbled at the Collar - and slowly, it began to dim. His neck felt hot, hot, hot, as metal he was never aware of slid around his throat from his spinal cord.

Then a few seconds later, as the burning grew, he heard a clatter, and saw the Collar clatter to the floor.

He stared at it in awe.

"I… it's… it's gone…" There it was, that blasted Collar… on the ground. Right in front of him. Off of him. "I… I'm free…"

The burning grew, grew, grew, but he couldn't pay attention. He turned to Kair. "S-s-s-say it!" he shouted. "Say the words!"

Kair looked at him oddly. "Which words-"

"The Reporting Mode words!"

Kair blinked. "Sure… 'Jurentia involtaas mulaties, adjutt benker signitz shutal'."

Nothing happened. Nothing happened.

Culus took a deep breath.

"I didn't steal or break the Life Harp."

…

"...yes… YES!" Culus's smile split his face ear-to-ear. "WE DID IT!" Kair smiled - but it wasn't a happy smile. Even with his dulled mind, he could see that. He looked… sad, almost. "Isn't this… isn't this amazing!"

"... Culus… your neck…"

"My…" Culus blinked - and then, he realized something crucial.

The heat wasn't going away.

His neck - no, the rest of his body - was growing hotter, hotter, hotter. He put a claw to his neck, and it came back black.

Memories flashed in his mind - the Bisharp that Helios had killed in Fylak… the black liquid that it had turned into…

… no… no…

He scrabbled at his neck, and his paws were black. The disgusting liquid began to drip from his neck more and more… and then his paws began to bleed black.

"... it… no…"

The Prince's words flashed in his mind - that he wouldn't survive this. He had said that Phosophor killed the Collared after the Collar was removed.

Culus hadn't realized that he did it automatically.

"No… no." Culus shook his head. This black liquid - Thilia's 'Aunt Brimu' had said that this was the result of poison. That meant that he could mitigate the effects with Pecha Berries. He tapped deep into his reserves and…

… nothing.

His eyes widened. He tried to Stifle - nothing.

No… but… but why? How? How could Phosohpor…

…

"The snare has tightened, Kite, and there is no escape. We will both return to the Repository, until Phosophor has decided his need of us again. Then, we will be moved to either a new Collar, or a new Core."

"A…" He blinked. "The Repository?"

"A place inside the Terminal, where souls are kept."

…

He had thought it nonsense, but…

… he stared at the Collar. What the tube had drained - that important thing it had drained… but how…

"... how am I still here?" Culus asked, as the heat glowed brighter. "My… my soul is in the… Repository…"

"Oh, so the Prince told you about that too?" Kair asked.

"Yes, he-"

Culus paused. Then he turned to Kair. Even with the pain, he looked up at the Dragonite. The sorry look on his face hadn't disappeared.

…

… no…

…

"... who are you?" Culus whispered, the heat climbing to his head. His legs fell out underneath him, he collapsed to the ground - and yet still, he stared at Kair. "WHO ARE YOU?!"

"... I'm Kair," Kair said weakly. "But… " Kair then closed his eyes. "Since you won't be able to tell anyone… "

Kair shone rainbow. Culus's hairs raised as he saw his face.

"... you're Phosophor," Culus said weakly as the Fusion stood in front of him.

Phosophor walked past him, to the Terminal. "Your soul is being uploaded to the Repository as we speak," he said nonchalantly, before turning to Culus. "I'm honestly surprised, though - you should have melted into a puddle the instant the Collar fell from your neck."

Culus couldn't feel his bones anymore. "... no… no poison… works that…"

"You haven't realized it yet?" Phosophor shook his head. "There is no poison."

"... b…but… why…"

"Why what?"

"... why am I…"

"Because your soul is gone, and the spacial stone detached." Phosophor tapped the collar with a tentacle. "Detaching the Collar, or a Core, is the same as dying itself for you."

"..."

A single question rose to the top of his head. It competed with other thoughts - Kair was a traitor, I'm dying, the Prince was right about everything, I'm dying, why the hell does Phosophor feel so goddamn comfortable explaining all of this, I'm FUCKING DYING! - but through all of them, it was the only one he could ask.

"... what am I?" He looked at the black liquid. "What… is this?"

"You?" Phosophor lowered himself so that he could stare into Culus's eyes. "You're the last remnants of a homunculus called Culus, an echo of the first weapon I found in the Venitex ruins." Phosophor dragged his tentacle through the black liquid. "This? It's 'organic gel', processed material to build bodies off of."

Build bodies…

… his eyes flickered from the form of Phosophor… to the Collar… and as he felt himself slipping… he realized something he felt he should have always known.

His body was never his own, just a simulacrum of a body. Probably someone who Phosophor stole away from their friends and family. His existence wasn't just defined by the Collar - it had been inseparably bound to it.

Culus - the real Culus - was wherever the tube took him. The 'Repository'. At this very second, what he was - the dying Shinx - was nothing more than a poor echo.

He forced himself to his feet. "I'm… I'm not going to…"

"Not going to die?" Phosophor asked.

He didn't bother refuting the monster. Phosophor knew more than he did, and in his bones, he knew that his 'lifespan' was measured in minutes now. Hell, he couldn't feel his tail anymore through the awful burning feeling and the black liquid he was dissolving into.

"I'm… not going to fall… " Culus took a step forward. "Without taking you… with…"

Phosophor laid a single tentacle on him, and forced him to the ground. "Try."

Culus did. The best he could muster was a single spark.

Phosophor let up. "I'd best go help Parasel, then. He and my daughter Penelope are fighting Angira. She's… " Phosophor's eyes widened. "She's using her talent, hm?"

Phosophor was ignoring him. Culus tried to get back up, but his bones were dissolving. As Phosophor walked out of the door, Culus could only say one thing.

"... what will happen… to me?"

Phosophor paused. "To you? I'll have someone collect the gel later." A pause. "And to the soul that used to be in you? Well, that's none of your-"

There was a long pause - and then there was a shift in the air. Even through the pain, even through the slow disintegration of his entire being, Culus could feel it too. And, though he was having trouble seeing now, he could see Phosophor pale. "Oh no…"

An instant later, Phosophor turned rainbow, becoming Kair once more, who looked utterly panicked.

"Phosopho-"

A second later, there was nothing but light.

He knew no more.

And soon, he became no more.

While in Cognes, searching for Rowan, the team of Kapun, Thilia, Slate, Angira, and the Shadow Worker they turned with the tuning fork comes across the main sanctuary. Breaking their way in, they find, not Shadow Workers ready to become soldiers, but corpses (including Helios's) dissolving and being harvested of a strange black gel.

Soon after, Parasel, Sephyle, and various Shadow Workers attacked. Overwhelmed and outmatched, Thilia is knocked out and teleported away, Slate and the turned Shadow Worker are killed and turned into the black gel, and Kapun and Angira are almost subdued. Discovering her talent, Angira activates it, just after giving Kapun a chance to escape. He takes it, unaware that Angira proceeds to sacrifice herself immediately afterward in a large explosion.

Culus and Kair, in the same Facility, search for the Terminal to remove Culus's collar. At Kair's suggestion, Culus takes medicine to fall asleep, to see the Prince again. The Prince speaks of a repository, as well as part of his true nature, before forcibly waking Culus again. Then, after removing his Collar, Culus realizes that Kair was a traitor, the final part of Phosophor's Fusion.

With the Collar removed, Culus's now-revealed-to-be anchor to world gone, what remains has only a few minutes before dissolving into nothingness. He attempts to attack Phosophor, but is too weak, and is unable to use his Aspects. Before Phosophor leaves to assist Parasel, however, Angira's explosion reaches them, and the echo of Culus's body fades away.