A/N: This chapter is a side chapter following the aspects of Chapter 81, Void Kissed. While I could have put this in Chapter 81, I couldn't find any good places to insert these sections. So, for better or worse, I thought I would put this here. One fun fact about this side chapter is that… there are things about the main three that I've thought about but haven't gotten around or been able to show… well here you go.

This is an original Pokémon Fan Game made by Amethyst. To play it, download it at Reborn Evolved. Search for it on your web browser to get to the website.

Voided in Shade

The Void was a strange place, Filled with darkness, distant stars, and stories that were wished to be forgotten—stories or rather scars of the hero's past. As a blonde heroine walked this starry path, some childish voices echoed around her.

"Huff… Kuro, you're going to fast slow down!" It was several octaves higher than what she was familiar with, but even still, Lucille recognized it as Pericval's voice.

"Keep up, Percy! It's just a bit further! It's soo cool, you won't believe it!" A cheerful voice responds to his tired brother. A tone sounding so utterly different from now.

As Lucille walked, she saw two white-haired kids, one with light skin and another with dark skin. Both were joyfully walking together, laughing and smiling at each other. From their appearance, the two seemed to be 8 or younger. There was no anger or annoyance at either one.

"..." Lucille was silent as she saw it. Both of the boys seemed thick as thieves; whatever could have happened to make their relationship deteriorate.

With little choice in direction, Lucille continued through the darkness. The stars in the distance dimmed and changed colors as she continued. She saw Percival and Kuro before her once more, both looking older. Perhaps about 11 or 12 years of age. It was rather hard to tell.

Percival was staring at Kuro, holding an injured Eevee in his arms. Confusion and worry are very evident on Percival's face. "H-hey, Kuro, what was with that battle? Atlas was being very mean, and Vee was really scared."

"As you s-should be too!" Kuro snapped, though Lucille could hear the slight stutter in his voice. "F-father was right about you being useless. Y-your no match for me, you know?"

Pericvla blinked. "What are you talking about, Kuro. What does-"

"You nothing, you know that!" Kuro cut Percival off, almost like he was trying to tear him away. "Father doesn't want weak kids like you, so just leave!"

As Kuro turned his back on Percival, Lucille could barely distinguish the looks on both boy's faces. They looked like they were about to cry, yet neither could rely on each other. Lucille didn't know what this fight was about… But she could tell this was when Kuro and Pericval's relationship as brothers started to deteriorate…

"..." It left a bitter taste as Lucille continued through the void. However, she soon ended up at the point of no return for Percival and Kuro's relationship.

The day that Vee was forced to evolve into a Leafeon. Lucille felt sick as she watched the events, the screams, the fear in both boys' eyes…, and the hatred Percival exuded at the end of the events. Later, the boy curled up with his pokémon, trying to comfort Vee.

Seeing this, Lucille wished she could reach out to him and tell Percival it would get better, but she couldn't. As her words would only fall on the deaf ears of this memory. She could only move further through this void-like space. Hope for the future to be better for him.

Speaking of Percival, his time alone in the void was just as surprising to see memories of another's past. The darkness hides memories lost through a wish and shows the memories of a silver soul turned black.

"Lucille!" Percival heard a young voice scream. Looking over, he saw a blonde girl collapsed on the ground, a fatal injury atop her head, bleeding profusely. Hovering over her was a black-haired boy, his silver eyes horrified by the sight of his sister before him.

"..." Percival looked on in surprise at this sight. He only knew the barest of details of this moment, but for it to be played out right in front of him… Percival wondered how many times this memory had haunted Nero.

"Grrr…" There was a low growl, with three mouths condensing with purple energy appearing not too far from them.

"N-no…" The boy's eyes shook at the Hydriegon before him… "A-Absols! Please help us!"

""Arroooo!"" Two figures, one with white fur and one with black fur, circled the Hydriegon. The white-furred one seemed to be heavily injured, missing one eye…

"Hope…" Percival muttered; he could easily guess Hope had fought against this Hydriegon trying to protect them.

Grim knew his sister had been injured and regretted being unable to protect her or her master… His horn glowed with green energy. He went for a Megahorn, attacking the Hydreigon while also covering the blind side of Hope. Even still, it was barely enough….

"N…No…" Nero muttered. A slight yellow glow appeared on him…, and his silver eyes were glowing a deep blue. "LEFT!"

"!" Grim, the black Absol, ducked under a swing of one of the Hydriegon's necks before stabbing into the Hydriegon, wounding it.

"Gooon!" The Hydriegon cried, realizing it had little chance to retreat.

Soon after, the two Absols stood over where Nero and Lucille were. Hope looked at her nearly-dead master.

"..." Hope kneeled, nuzzling her head into Lucilles as a bright golden flash occurred; everything disappeared.

"... This place is certainly interesting…" Percival sighed as that memory of Nero and Lucille had ended. It was more horrific than he had imagined… but as he watched, he could only wonder… that the injury of Lucille's was far more severe than her scar could ever indicate. Percival could only question what miracle had allowed her to survive that day. However, as Percival traveled through Nero's voided past, only more questions awaited him.

Following the starlit path, noises started colliding. Percival could barely make out the sounds of the bustling city of Reborn colliding with the serene noise of a forest.

"..." As Percival heard two contradictory noises, he stopped. Looking for any indications of the noise.

Upon quick inspection, Percival saw the image of Nero surrounded by many different people. Somewhere, faces that Percival recognized were members of Team Meteor. Others were not, wearing red garments; Percival could only assume that this was the Magma Gang, a part of Nero's home.

Nero seemed not to be staring at any of those around him, but instead at Percival… No, it would be correct to say Nero was staring through Percival. It confused Percival. Why was Nero looking behind him? However, there was only one way to check.

"What the…?" Percival blinked in surprise, seeing three figures behind him. Percival recognized no one, nor did Nero ever seem to mention anything about these characters…

One had blonde hair off the top, with a shaved side. Green eyes with a sharpness that seemed to rival Nero's, but contrasting that was a smile. This guy wore a tank top, a green jacket, and jeans with regular sneakers.

Another boy had dark skin and long hair tied back into a ponytail with a headband across his head. His turquoise eyes gleamed with a joyful radiance. Sporting a blue sweatshirt and camo pants.

The third female figure wore her orange hair braided down to one side, and her green eyes glistened right at Nero. She smiled bashfully, her green eyes humming with joy. She wore a long-sleeved green V-neck shirt and brown shorts with long neesocks going into her boots.

Before Percival's eyes, the three suddenly vanished. Turning back, Percival looked at the Nero silhouette again, though this time, Nero's eyes seemed harsher than earlier. And before long, Nero and those surrounding him disappeared into the darkness.

"..." Percival's confusion at the matter would only grow as he continued. Suddenly, a familiar crash sounded through his ears.

Phueeeee! CRASH!

Percival jumped, looking at the familiar sight of Reborn City's Grand Station in flames. But the strange thing was the boy was on the ground, full of wounds and burn marks.

"No… how… why…" His silver eyes were filled with horror. This look was unfamiliar with Nero's usual grimace.

"?" Percival could only look on in confusion as he peered further and saw another Nero.

However, their reaction to the destroyed train station couldn't have been more different.

"..." This one's silver eyes were tired, sharply glaring at the flaming building. It was hard to tell how little this Nero cared about the passengers on the train or if he was just that good at keeping a poker face at this destruction. Though it was likely the former.

Percival could only walk further down this voided path, with only more questions about Nero's twisted fate. A silver soul who once cared for Reborn lost the path that made his soul shine bright, so silver was lost in the void. Percival didn't understand, but he felt… Nero should have had a different life.

"Tch… every time I find myself just about to claw out some semblance of light… Thrown back down into a darkened abyss." Cursed a one-armed boy. Nero stopped with a macabre smirk. "Though it literally happened this time…"

He walked the dimly lit starlight path. Curious to what he'd find next: A dark memory that he'd already etched into his mind, one of the few people he was trapped in here with, or something more sinister trying to take his life? Though it was none of the above…

Beep… Beep… beep…

A faint beeping sound echoed through the starry darkness. It was rhythmic and grimly soothing. It took a moment before Nero faintly recalled this sound—the beeps of a patient monitor.

"..." Nero grimaced, while unsure he only had two different experiences with these monitors. First was his first time at the emergency room, only to hear the news of Lucille's supposed death. The second was in Sigmund's Orphanage, where he studied a patient's vitals, among other things, during his shock therapy. Which one was it? Nero wondered, but with the sudden sound of unfamiliar doctors shouting, Nero assumed it was back in Reborn's emergency room…

"Ugh…" An unfamiliar high-pitched groan hit his ears.

Then, the darkness lifted, showing a young girl with blonde hair lying on a hospital bed. Bandages wrapped around her head, practically wrapped around her right eye. Her small, weak arm reached up, getting clasped by an older woman with pale gold hair and blue eyes.

"Y-you're awake…" her voice croaked, causing Nero to shudder. It had been so long that he struggled to remember his mother's voice.

"Who… are…you?" the voice of a comatose patient weakly reverberated through the air.

"Huh," Lucille and Nero's mother blinked, her blue eyes shaking, "Lucy, honey… what are you talking about? It's me, your mother."

"M..Mother?" The young girl's silver eye was pale and weak. She did not recognize her own mother before her.

"Uh… Lucy, don't panic… It's alright… it's alright… I'm just going to go get a doctor. I'll be right back!" The mother ran for a doctor, telling how Lucille had woken up. Though it was disturbing news to hear about Lucille's new Amnesia. By the time the explanation finished, Lucille had fallen back asleep. Still recovering from her grievous encounter with a Hydriegon.

Brrrrring! Brrrrring!

A sudden ring from a cell phone surprised the mother; she quickly left the patient's room to make sure her daughter wouldn't wake up. Nero first assumed the vision would stay on Lucille, but she quickly vanished, following along with his mother. Out of the way, Nero's Mom checked the caller ID. Nero could just faintly make out the word Lawyer Caleb Nelson. A faint smiler appeared on her face, she whispered. "Lucy's alive… Caleb is calling about custody… this could be-! I could get him out."

"Yes, Mr. Nelson… Iris speaking. What is the deal with the current custody situation?" Hearing his mom say that, Nero blinked. It wasn't something he'd thought he'd hear.

"..." Nero shook his head… unsure if his ears were working… but deep down, he knew he heard right.

"What do you mean…" Iris' sudden words were filled with terror. Flustered, her voice raised. "What do you mean I have no right?! He's my son!"

"..." The pure terror in his mom's voice sent chills through Nero.

"I… I abandoned him?" Iris let out a nervous chuckle as she heard her lawyer's response. "I… I didn't… I was in the middle of a rock and a hard place… My daughter was critically Injured! Reborn City didn't have-" Tears quickly filled Iris' blue eyes, trailing down her face. "I can't leave him there… Please… he can't stay with his father… Tell me… I'm begging you, what can I do to get my son back?"

"..." Nero bit his tongue, running further into the darkness. He couldn't tell if this was truth or just a delusion that he desperately wanted to believe… but in either case, he didn't want to accept it. For if he did, where would his anger be?

For all his life, he assumed his mother hated him. Why wouldn't she? There were many reasons: dark-type pokémon always encircled themselves around Nero, his anger at being the only different one, and the fact that he was responsible for Lucille's death! All were things that his father said, so why shouldn't the mother have followed along?

Nero ended up despising everything around him. Every time, he tried to gain some semblance of belonging, to no longer feel alone. It was always abruptly and forcibly ripped away from him: Lucille, the Magma Gang, Taka…

But at the same time, he ran away at every turn; it was easier to spiral into darkness. Eventually, the loneliness wouldn't seem that bad, right? There would be no pain of losing loved ones. That's all Nero wanted…

"*sigh*" a deep breath sounded. Nero stopped a Blonde figure standing in front of him. She seemed only about twelve, maybe thirteen years old, her blonde bangs covering the scar above her one silver eye.

Nero almost thought it was real before realizing where he was. The current look at this young tween of his sister looked more like she was looking into a mirror. Holding her silver necklace. "As usual… something doesn't feel right… Why does it always feel like something is missing?"

Tearing her eyes away from Nero, the young girl focused more on the silver necklace. "Whenever I look at this… this… that feeling of missing something feels better… yet simultaneously worse." She fidgeted her bangs, staring back up at Nero. The fading scar on her head remains in full view. "Does it have something to do with this? Ah-" Nero flinched as Lucille suddenly jerked, "It's been years… Why does it still hurt to look at?" Clutching her over her eye, Lucille sank to the floor. "What am I supposed to do? I can't stand to look at that stupid scar; nothing feels right… and… every time I try to bring it up to Mom… she looks like she's about to burst into tears…"

"..." Even though Nero knew this was just an illusion… he desperately wanted to act… But what could he say?

"Though I finally got a word from her…" Lucille gave out another sigh, this one sounding much more relieved. "Reborn. The way she spoke of it… it sounded like a place. Precisely, Reborn Region. It might be too painful for her to tell me… but if I go there... maybe I can find something. All I need to do is get permission to leave."

Don't go! Nero desperately wanted to yell. If Lucille didn't go… It would have been better for her, right? She wouldn't have seen all the grimness of the city, the bloodshed of Team Meteor, how her own brother tried to kill her… and so many more bad memories of this damned region.

But it wouldn't matter, would it? Nero always knew the type of person his sister was. Even if she wasn't confident, she would recklessly jump into danger to help another. Nero bet if he asked her if she was forced to restart her journey, she would agree to it without a second thought.

Nero sighed, knowing his path forward—a path he longed to walk, but broken and practically devoid of light. But through all his actions, his regrets, his wishes… Nero had to change; Nero had to try and walk in the light once more.