Chapter 11
Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to the song Only You, all rights go to their respective owners, I was simply inspired to use it recently.
It had been several, monotonous, routine, hollow days.
Blade could barely drag himself out of Shadow's bed most mornings. Bardiche hadn't been nice to Blade for years by this point, and yet the image of his body, torn open and lifeless was burned into Blade's mind, he could barely think of anything else.
Nagi was even worse off, she was barely present, even when she was around the others. Like her mind has abandoned her body.
But Shard had it the worst. After the initial discovery she had cried herself to sleep, and done so every night since, there was a void inside her, a hole that could never be filled. Her eldest son was gone, and there was nothing she could do about it. And to make matters worse, there was no news on Anelace or Gladius. Or Cleave. Despite all her heartbreak the only thing she felt as much, was a seemingly endless pool of hatred for the man she had married, knowing fully well that none of it would've happened if not for him.
It made Shadow feel uncharacteristically helpless, knowing that nothing he did could help the one he loved. He couldn't understand what Blade was going through, death was something that always happened, it never seemed much of an issue given how quickly pokemon reproduce. And yet, it has Blade almost dead inside. All the Darkrai could do, is stay close, give Blade a shoulder to cry on.
And that's exactly what the sneasel was doing, crying holding tight to Shadow as they lay in bed. Shadow had things to do today, duties to uphold, and yet, there with Blade, nothing else mattered. Even as his father burst into his room.
"Shadow! What in the hell are you still doing in bed, arise this instant!"
Shadow remained silent, simply hugging Blade, keeping the sneasel safe in his arms.
"Let the peasant go, you're not responsible for whatever petty thing has him upset this time."
Shadow felt himself grow heated, but then his anger subsided, focusing on being there for Blade.
"Stop mourning with that impoverished thing, you're mourning a criminal, have some self respe…" Mare fell silent.
Shadow hadn't moved an inch, he wasn't even glaring, he hadn't acknowledged a single thing Mare had said.
What gave the violet Darkrai pause, was the elderly lucario standing in front of him, a disgusted look on his face. "I'm afraid I must ask you to leave the room sir."
"Out of my way Codsworth." Mare made to move by.
But Codsworth stopped him. "Master Shadow has more important things to do than give attention to your fragile ego."
"Watch your tone, or you'll never work again. I am the master of this manor, you obey me."
"I swore to serve master Shadow, not you," Codsworth stepped closer, and Mare stepped back, again and again, until they were out of the room. "Now, leave him be." Codsworth closed the doors carefully.
Back inside Blade had begun to sob more.
"I am sorry darling, my father is impossible, he does not understand what you are dealing with."
"Neither do you…" Blade hadn't meant it in a hurtful way, he had said it in reflex.
"I know, but I am trying, and I am here for you."
"I know, I love you." Blade managed to stop crying. "I just, this has all been too much."
"I know Blade, I am glad you are talking to me again, you have been so silent these past days." Shadow didn't loosen his hold on Blade, but made sure to look into the sneasel's silver eyes. "I will always be here for you Blade."
*Panchu Hospital*
Anelace remained seated beside Gladius' bed looking at her still unconscious brother. He had collapsed from blood loss, and had been kept under observation since their arrival. He slowly began to stir, sitting up slightly in bed. He slowly turned his head, looking at Anelace.
She sighed seeing the eye patch he was wearing. "Hey Ann, glad you're still here."
"Of course I am, I can't leave you alone, what if…" She was cut off as the door to the room opened.
"Anelace and Gladius Iceson?" It was Officer Igni.
Anelace shot to her feet, extending her claws and standing between him and Gladius. "Stay back!"
"I'm not here to arrest you. I'm looking for your father, considering someone broke him out." Ember spoke knowingly. "You and your family are in danger as long as he is free."
"That bastard hasn't been by, so shove it."
"I have also been searching for you on behalf of your mother, she's been worried, I am afraid your brother…"
"We know! We were there!" Anelace shouted.
"I know, but I am afraid there is more."
"We saw that creature." Gladius spoke up.
"Yes, that would be the issue." Mare Nightshade appeared in the room suddenly. "I'm afraid we can't have panic spreading through the city." The violet Darkrai hovered forth. "So you are going to be detained for some time."
"You can't, Gladius is in no condition…"
"Mister Nightshade has offered to cover your brother's hospital expenses, so long as he remains silent, unfortunately you are still going to be detained." Ember seemed hesitant, he clearly didn't like the idea of this.
"Nothing bad will happen to Ann right?" Gladius seemed worried.
"I assure you, no harm will come to her."
"Okay, I won't say anything." Gladius spoke up.
"Fine, guess I don't have a choice."
"I'll inform your mother." Ember turned and stepped out of the room.
Mare held out his hand to Anelace. And she stepped forward slowly and took it. In an instant the two vanished.
*Nightshade Manor*
Shard burst into the dining area, where Blade, Nagi, and Shadow were waiting. Tears streamed down her face, but she was smiling. "Gladius and Anelace are alive!"
Both Blade and Nagi jumped up rushing over, despite their differences, the two of them still cared for their remaining siblings. They hugged their mother suddenly, and she hugged back.
"Where are they?" Nagi asked.
"Gladius is apparently at the hospital, but Anelace is being detained by the police, since she was behind your father's escape." Shard struggled through the sentence, still not entirely believing it herself.
Shadow slowly floated up behind them. And Blade turned around hugging him, smiling for the first time in days. "They're alive!"
"I am so happy for you darling." Shadow hugged him back. "I shall call Codsworth, and we can take you to the hospital to see Gladius." Shadow pulled out his phone, sending a short text. "There is no rush, but he will be ready within a few minutes."
"Yes, kids grab your coats or anything, we're going to see your brother!" Shard rushed out of the room, followed by Nagi.
"Shall we darling?" Shadow asked, leading Blade by the hand back to their shared bedroom. As the sneasel stepped through the door, Shadow sat him on the bed. "Well, a cutie needs to look his best." And the Darkrai showed off several suits, like the ones he wore.
Blade looked them over for a moment. "Maybe something more casual."
Shadow smiled softly. "Of course." And he sat down the suits, reaching into a nearby wardrobe and pulling out a purple hoodie. "You might remember this,"
Blade blushed, he did. "That's the hoodie you wore when…when we first met."
"Yes, it is not really my style anymore, but I know you like them." He held it out to Blade.
And the sneasel happily took it, slipping it on along with some jeans as well. "Feels soft! I love it!"
"Then it seems you are just about ready, let us go my dear."
*Elsewhere*
"So, now that we're wherever this is, why are you detaining me, and not the police?"
Mare turned slowly, an almost malicious look in his eyes. "Because, you are going to help me with something. I have resources the police don't, and I think if anyone can find your father, it's you."
"Why not tell me back there?"
The violet Darkrai straightened himself up. "Because, you need to be trained. To kill him on sight."
"What?!" Anelace stepped back in disbelief.
"You want to, I can see it in your mind, you want nothing more than to kill him. And you will. I will help you. You, will learn to kill him. You will train your body until it's second nature."
"How? He's stronger than me?"
"Skill and efficiency, trump raw power. He won't have the chance to fight back when you go after him." Mare moved to a small table and lifted a box, along with a syringe. "Inside this is a chemical simply known as R, it will enhance your aggression and focus."
"And the box?"
Mare didn't respond he simply hovered to a door gesturing to it. "Through this door, is an Augmented Reality Chamber, ARC for short. With R in your system, everything will feel real, but I assure you, it is all a simulation."
"And, the box?" Anelace focused on the small box.
Mare beckoned her forth. And she stepped forward. Before she could react, he stabbed the syringe into her neck injecting her.
The sneasel felt her heart rate spike, adrenaline surging through her body, her eyes filled with a red tint, and she felt a lust for violence.
"It is just a secondary stimulus." Mare twisted a small handle on the side of the box. And he opened it.
The music box began to play a small tune for a few seconds, the tune kept a simple rhythm, but then the door opened and Anelace was shoved inside.
The room was dark, almost pitch black, the only light was a grainy film clip of the blade of a cleaver. And suddenly the lights came on, and "Only youuuuuu, can make this world seem riiiiight. Oooonly you, can make, the darkness bright."
Over an intercom the music from the box continued, as she found herself surrounded by Cleave, dozens of him.
"Only you, and you alone, can thrill me like you do. And fill my heart with love for only you!"
Anelace moved quickly, lunging at one Cleave, slashing him across the face. And one approached from behind, grabbing her.
She flailed and headbutted backwards freeing herself and tackling that cleave only to bite into his throat. It was strange how accurate the simulation was, blood filled her mouth, she could taste it. She spun around clawing at a third Cleave.
"Only you, can make this change in me! For it's true, you are my destiny. When you hold my hand I understand the magic that you do. You're my dream come true, my one and only you!" The music continued.
Anelace tripped a fourth Cleave and jumped above him landing feet first on his head, with a sickening crunch. A fifth and sixth rushed her, tackling her as a seventh rushed between them to stab her. She kicked him back and spat blood into the eyes of the fifth, before stabbing her claws into the sixth.
"Only you, can make this change in me. Oooh it's true, you are my destiny. When you hold my hand I understand the magic that you do, you're my dream come true. My one and only youuuuu!" it blared louder in her head.
She straddled the fifth, slicing his throat open, and spinning around stabbing the seventh in the gut.
The song began to loop. "Only youuuuuu, can make this world seem riiiiight. Oooonly you, can make, the darkness bright." as it started again, the aggression seemed to wellup again, and Anelace blacked out.
*Igni Residence*
Pyre smiled happily, he was seated on his bed beside Tin, both of them playing a video game together. On screen the two were playing a large green human, fighting off aliens on a circular world.
At that moment, Ember walked into the room. "Hey, I need to talk to you guys, pause the game."
Despite the fun they were having, they did as they were asked. "What's up dad?" Tin asked.
"You two gave the call a few days ago about the weavile that was murdered, I've been too busy to ask about it. How are you holding up."
"We're fine, we were a bit shaken up at first, but we're okay."
"Tin's right, it was really messed up to see, but we're good now!" Pyre smiled, he was surprised how well he took seeing it. He wasn't haunted by it, but he worried for Blade and the others.
"Okay, but if you ever feel differently, do tell me." Ember sat down at the desk in Pyre's room. "So you saw the creature?"
"Yeah, it's as bad as Mare said." Tin spoke, now leaving Pyre confused.
"What ya mean?"
"First of all," ember stood up and slapped Tin across the face, "what the fuck were you thinking bringing Pyre out there!? He could've gotten hurt or worse!"
Tin didn't retaliate. "I had a sparring match with him when I ran into him, he's strong enough to handle it. Have more faith dad."
Ember took a deep breath. "Don't do it again." He breathed out. "Those creatures, we call them Aberrations, and as far as we can tell they're not from our world."
"Like aliens? Like in my game?"
"More like demons, like that show ultranatural you like." Tin stated.
"Oooh" Pyre nodded in understanding. "Is there a way to fight them?"
"Well we destroyed the one we fought." Tin said confidently.
"That's good." Ember sighed.
Pyre frowned for a moment, "No we didn't, didn't you see it disappear?"
"No, I thought we incinerated it, how did you see it through the fire?" Tin became worried.
"It had this dark red color surrounding it, that just sank into the ground and disappeared."
"Pyre, do you see colors like that all the time?" Ember asked.
"Yeah, you have blue and Tin has gold, just like my best buddy Rai."
"I'll be damned, you can see aura!" Tin hugged him suddenly.
"That's incredible." Ember shook his head. "I need to ask that you tell nobody about this Pyre, it could cause mass hysteria."
"Okay, but we still need a way to fight them." Pyre smiled, hugging Tin back.
"Mare Nightshade is working on that." Ember spoke, "I'll leave you two be now, just know I'm here."
*Elsewhere*
Anelace rubbed her eyes as she sat up, leaning against the door to the ARC. Just beyond the door, a dozen corpses. Various pokemon like minccino, pancham, raboot and several others littered the room. Several other pokemon walked through, covered in hazmat suits, cleaning the room and removing the bodies.