Sometimes we end up doing things against out wills.
Some of these actions might be as harmless as a little lie, or a little joke.
But other may turn deadly, especially when money, or power is involved.

But oftentimes, we end up doing these actions because we have no other choice...
Often, we are cursed with watching out own actions unfold before our eyes...
Watch as someone close to us suffers because of it...

These actions haunt our souls for all eternity.

And the worst part is: often, we secretly like it.

Five: Forced dealings.

Rasputin began to slowly stir up, his head felt several sizes to big for his shoulders, not to mention very painful.
"Where..." He thought to himself as he attempted to move hid arms, which did not shift a single inch.
He quickly opened his eyes, and looked around his body to see what was holding him down. There was not a single restrain on him, yet he was completely immobilized.
Rasputin began to toss around like mad, trying to free himself from his invisible bounds, but it was futile, he was not getting any closer to freedom.
"Well, well, well; the lass finally wakes up!" Rang a dark, demonic sounding voice from somewhere in the room. Its tone was a mix of both amusement, and slight mockery.
Rasputin quickly turned his head back in time to spot the same gigantic man from earlier on. The man wore a sick grin, along with a look of pure amusement.
"What are you-"
"Saying?" The man finished Rasputin's sentence with a smile all his own. He laughed cruelly, "you can stop with the damn charade, it's not working anymore! I know what you really are." He got close to the Banette and took a lungful of the ghost's aroma. Rasputin reeled back in the chair with shock at the man's action.
"I smell the appealing and undeniable aromas of both lies and womanhood." The man said as he smiled yet again. He then slowly retreated, and turned around to face the window. The sun bounced off his pale, corpselike skin, making it the harder to see his features clearly.
"I just love women who lie about their gender. Don't you?" The man asked in intrigue and amusement. Rasputin gulped loudly.
"Ho- Ho- How did you know?" asked the fathomed Banette. The man turned around, his smile suddenly gone, "When you've been around as long as I have, you tend to pick up a few tricks along the way." He walked up to the stunned Banette, "I've got to give you credit though; you managed to hide both your scent and thoughts very well. Took me half an hour to crack your head open like a nut!" He beamed malice, "But interestingly enough, it only took one name to do so properly. Very interesting indeed..." The man then fell silent as he strode back towards the window.

Rasputin, now in utter shock, wondered just how much this man knew about her true identity and thoughts. But just how on earth had he managed to get past all her mental blocks, all her security measures, and all her traps?
But most importantly, she wondered just who the hell this guy really was, and how he kept her tied to the chair.
Rasputin tried to use her ghost abilities to try and break free from the grasp of the chair, but only managed to inflict pain on her body and mind.

Suddenly, the man inhaled deeply through his nose. It made a sound very much like a handheld vacuum cleaner. Suddenly, the man's visage was filled with an unknown rage as he turned back to face the Banette.
"Now tell me!" He shouted loudly, "Where on this god dammed city is number four-hundred you moronic bitch!?" He finished the sentence at the top of his lungs.
His hands were curled up into fists, and his face was bright red with unimaginable antagonism, "I know for a fact that you know where he is!" He said as he stomped his foot on the wooden floor, which caused the room to slightly shake. The spot the man had stopped has sunk in, and splintered as if a miniature grenade had gone off in the very same spot.
"Four-hundred?" Rasputin asked in both confusion and fear. A very real sense of fear slowly rose up spine, "I don't know who this four hundred guy is! I've never heard anyone named after a number!" Rasputin replied as sincerely as she could manage.
Even though she tried her best to get free from the invisible bondages that kept her tied to the wooden chair, it was all but futile. Once again, she ended up causing pain to her body and mind. But this time, it was more intense than before.
"Don't play stupid with me you dim-witted Banette!" the man shouted angrily as he grabbed Rasputin's chin, "I know for a fact that you are one of his relatives and that you are one of his closet associates!!"
"I DON'T KNOW WHO YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT!!!" Rasputin screamed straight into the man's face, determined to get him off her back. The man only gave her a look of indignation, "STUPID BITCH!! HOW DARE YOU RAISE YOUR VOICE AT ME!!!" The man scoffed out loud, grasping her chin ever harsher, "I AM GENERAL CHADRON! LEADER OF RIPPER!!!! NO ONE RAISES ITS VOICE AT ME!!!!" He suddenly released Rasputin's chin, and with his right hand, slapped her Square across the face with such brute force, the Banette was sent flying across the room.
Rasputin hit the wooden floor hard, and laid there, spitting up blood and sobbing in misery.
Chadron merely straightened himself, and cracked his knuckles in displeasure. Each crack sounded as loud as a gunshot.
"Stop lying you bitch. The more you hold back the info I need; the more pain I will be forced to inflict on your body and mind." He took a deep breath of air, which sounded almost like a jet turbine, and straighten his metallic collar. He looked at the Banette with a strong sense of sympathy, and sighed, "Just tell me where your friend is, and all of this can be avoided. I really don't want to hurt a fine young lady as yourself." He said calmly and sincerely. A total contrast of his earlier mood.
Rasputin sobbed and cried for a few moments, before managing to shout trough her cries of pain.
"I DON'T KNOW WHO THIS GUY IS!" she screamed trough the sobs in a mix of anger, and panic, "PLEASE LEAVE ME ALONE YOU MONSTER!!!"
The man's face, which had been sporting slight coolness and understanding, suddenly turned back into one of anger and hostility.
"Stupid bimbo!" The man shouted in amusement, and slight disgust, "You have no freaking Idea of what I am capable of doing? Don't you?!"
"PLEASE!! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" Rasputin replied in a sorrowful manner, "Haven't I already proven I know nothing!?"
"Sorry, but it's protocol!" The man smiled with the outmost evil, "I must get every last ounce of truth from you, even if I must torture you for it." He smiled, "Your pathetic mind held plenty of juicy secrets in the past; Specially the one about your real gender. That means there is something else locked up in there." The man walked up to the sobbing Rasputin, and picked her up from the ground quite effortlessly. He tossed her against the wall, causing the chair to crack slightly on impact, "You can stop your own pain at any time by telling me where the hell your friend is! It's that's simple!!"
"BUT I DON'T KNOW WHO YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT!!" Rasputin shouted in pain, "AND EVEN IF I KNEW! I WOULD NOT SAY A WORD TO YOU! NO MATTER HOW MUCH PAIN YOU INFLICT ON BODY AND MIND!!!!!"
"I thought as much..." Chadron's eyes began to glow ominously dark again, "But that's no biggie, I'll just take a look into your mind again, and we will see what you have to hide!" He reached his arm forward, and grasped Rasputin's very head with his pale, corpse-like hand.
"PLEASE!! NO MORE..." Rasputin shouted in horror, tears flowing down her face like waterfalls, mixing in with the blood on her lips.
The man merely smiled, "A little pain never killed anyone. Besides; you are already dead anyways!" The man threw his head back in slight manic laughter, but quickly resumed his task at hand.
The man's hand began to glow a dark purple color as he channeled his energies into the Banette's very mind. His eyes glowed in the same fashion as his hands, and his smile only grew wider and wider the deeper he burrowed into her mind.

---

Chadron was way too preoccupied with Rasputin to notice the Sceptile hiding himself in the false roof of the room.
Several of the tiles were loose; they had been like that for some time. Ragde was actually going to fix them in the near future, but for now, they served as the perfect place to hide. Not only was he out of sight of anyone, but he could still see everything that happened below him, and right now, he wished he were not watching.
Rasputin squirmed, tossed, and screamed as Chadron dug deeper into her very being.
Ragde had always known something was up with Rasputin, but he could have never imagined that he was actually a she. He began to wonder just how much of what she had ever said was true. But right now was not the time for doubts, at the moment, things were bad pretty much everywhere he turned, and this was no exception.

Chadron finally released his grasp on Rasputin's head. She slumped over, nearly tipping the chair forward.
Chadron began to silently laugh as he spoke in an ever-harsher tone.
"Dear god! Who would have tough! You naughty little slut!!" Chadron grinned, "To think that a ghost would dwell in such... Uh! This is just too good!"
Rasputin began to come back to her senses, just in time to spot the Chadron's evil smile.
"I should freaking kill you on the spot for thinking about violating the law of Coalition!"
"Fuck... off..." Answered Rasputin weakly, barely able to form words.
"What did you say?"
"Fuck... off..." Rasputin replied with anger. Chadron merely smiled.
"Well... since you are obviously not caring about your own well being... maybe you will care about the well being of one of your so called 'friends' Huh?"
"Wha-"
"One of your friends is in this very room, listening to everything we say. Maybe if I were to drag him down here, you would spit up more info. Or better yet! Maybe your friend knows the info I need." Chadron continued smiling.
Ragde gulped. He had been discovered. He began to back up quietly, trying to find a safer spot, but it was too late.
Chadron laughed as he pointed his left arm towards the ceiling, then, before anyone could even suspect what Chadron would do, he launched his entire hand towards the same square tile Ragde hid behind.
The hand separated itself from the rest of the limb, becoming nothing but a projectile, but it was still connected to the arm by a fleshy chain.
The hand broke trough the roof tile effortlessly, and grabbed the leg to the fleeing Sceptile before he could completely jump out of the way. Chadron then forced his hand back, causing Ragde to be dragged down towards the floor along with it.
Rasputin watched in dismay as Chadron slammed Ragde against the wooden floor, causing a sick crack on impact.
Ragde grunted in pain, holding on to his right eye, which bleed profusely.
Chadron then lunched his right hand towards Ragde, grabbing onto the Sceptile's very neck. Ragde began to feel the intense pressure as Chadron began to squeeze the very life out of him. He let go of his eye, and with both hands, attempted to lighten Chadron's grip on his neck, which felt seconds away from snapping.
Chadron's face was the total opposite of what you would expect. Instead of sneering in satisfaction over his eminent kill; he kept a straight face, as if strangling a living creature in front of his very face did not phase his soul one bit.

Rasputin begun to struggle even harder, attempting desperately to help out Ragde, who looked just about ready to loose consciousness.
"PLEASE STOP!!!" Rasputin screamed at the top of her lungs. Chadron lessen his grip on Ragde's neck, and turned to face the Sobbing Banette, "PLEASE!!! STOP IT!!! I'LL DO ANYTHING!!!!"
"Anything?" Chadron asked with intrigue, "Even tell me where I can find 400?"
"Yes!" Rasputin hastily shouted, "Yes! Just please don't kill Ragde."
Chadron could not help but burst into sadistic laughter at the Banette's remark.
"Me kill him?!" Chadron asked as he released Ragde, who fell on the ground, gasping, and hacking uncontrollably.
Chadron turned to face Rasputin, "I won't kill him..." Chadron's eyes glowed dark once more. Suddenly, the invisible binds that kept Rasputin tied to the chair vanished. She slumped forwards towards the floor.
At fist, she was glad that she was no longer tied back, but suddenly, her body began to move all on it's own.
She stood up, cracked her knuckles, and began to walk towards Ragde.
Rasputin tried to stop her body, but it would not respond to any of her commands.
Panic began to quickly rise as she finally neared Ragde, who looked at her with some relief...

Only to have that relief crushed as Rasputin punched Ragde across the face. His blood spilling on the floor below.

Rasputin began to cry as her body began to mercilessly beat up the already weak Sceptile.
Chadron laughed sadistically in the background, as Rasputin picked up Ragde using psychic, and tossed him against the nearest wall.
"I won't kill your friend. Why bother? When you can do just as good a job!" Chadron snapped his fingers, and a couch materialized out of thin air. He sat down, pulled out a bottle wine and a small grail seemingly from thin air, and poured himself a drink.
"That way, it's a clean job..." he took a gulp of his wine, "Clean for me at least!" Chadron laughed as he continued watching the Banette beat the life out of her dear friend.

Ragde curled himself on the nearest corner, as Rasputin continued to attack him. He grunted in pain with every blow Rasputin landed on his body.
"RASPUTIN!" Ragde screamed in pain and panic, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?"
"I DON'T KNOW!!!" Replied Rasputin in terror. Her eyes were becoming too watery to see Ragde's expression clearly, but she knew by his voice he was in pain.
Rasputin continued her unwilling attacks towards Ragde, who up to this point had managed to parry most of her blows. But all that changed when Rasputin began to use attacks charged with dark energy, all of which dealt heavy damage to his already beaten body.
Rasputin cried as she saw her own hands slowly become stained with Ragde's blood. Even though he was bleeding from several parts of his body, he still seemed reluctant to fight back.
All he did was try to sidestep and parry her attacks as best he could.

Chadron merely sat in the background, his face a twisted into a sour expression.

Ragde received one massive uppercut under his chin, which sent him flying towards the ceiling. But just before he impacted the roof, his tail was violently pulled down by Rasputin.
He violently struck the floor with his back. He let out a yelp of pain as his tail was once again pulled, but this time, he was lifted off the ground, went right over Rasputin's head, and struck the ground once more.
As soon as he hit the ground, he was met by a rising shadow, which turned out to be Rasputin; she has sunk into the shadows of the ground, and risen out like a great white shark.
Ragde spun in the air before falling on the ground, his neck and body resting in a strange, sick position.
Rasputin sobbed more furiously than ever before in her life, as she slowly picked up Ragde's body off the ground using Psychic.
She looked at the still sitting Chadron. His expression was one of slight shock, and some regret.
"WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS!!!" Rasputin asked in both sorrow and anger at the top of her lungs. More tears streamed down her face, "WHY!?"
"I'm sorry... But I'm not doing this; you are."
"WHAT!!!!" Shouted Rasputin in fury and shock, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE NOT DOING THIS!?"
"I mean I am not controlling your body you stupid ghost!" Replied an annoyed Chadron, who got up from his chair, and walked up to Rasputin, "Everything you've done up to this point has been all your doing!"
"LIAR!!!" Rasputin screamed, tears of rage nearly blinding her.
Chadron merely sighed. He walked up to her, placed his massive hand on her head, and began to channel energy into her body.
Rasputin began to feel faint; she slowly released Ragde, who slumped over, seemingly dead.
Chadron sighed as he checked Ragde's pulse. It was faint, but still there. But for how long? Was a different question.
But while Chadron checked Ragde's life signs, he noticed a strange type of energy emanating from somewhere in the Sceptile's soul. It was energy of suck magnitude; he had only heard legends of such a thing.
It was massive, yet restrained, as if it was compressed and chained down.
Chadron found this very interesting.

He turned to face the now broken up Banette, fear and angered were clear in her gaze. Chadron smiled, "I used a curse called Baserk. It causes all those affected to enter into a frenzied, bloodlust state. They attack whomever is closet to them at the moment." He frowned, "But normally, those affected black out entirely. Since you're a ghost, that effect did not set in." He slightly smiled, "It seems you pack quite the punch..." Chadron sneered, "So much so; that you killed your friend." Chadron waved his hand over the Ragde's body, and then stood up.
Chadron was sure Ragde had the same type of energy he controlled, "This one has great potential..." Chadron thought to himself.
Rasputin, after hearing this, got up, pushed the massive Chadron aside, knelt on the Sceptile's side, and checked his pulse and energy outputs.
Both of which were gone.
"No... No.... No! This- this- this.... It's not possible!" Rasputin got up, and slowly walked backwards, all the while shaking her head in denial.
Chadron turned to face the horrorstruck Banette, "you killed your friend. There is nothing you can do now; what is done is done." Chadron picked up Ragde, and tossed him out the second floor window, straight into the manor courtyard.
Chadron once again faced Rasputin, but this time, a look of intrigue filled his eyes.

It seemed his trick had worked.

Rasputin merely stood in the same spot, feeling numb and void. She looked at her hands, both of which were drenched in Ragde's blood.
She quickly turned to face Chadron, and began to charge her hands with dark energy once again.
"YOU BASTARD!!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, "YOU KILLED HIM!!!"
"No," Chadron said calmly, and without any emotion, "I did not kill your friend," He merely raised his hand, and painted at Rasputin, "you did! And you know it well; don't you?"
"I-I..." Rasputin released all her pent up energy, and began wobble around the room, feeling both sick and faint. No matter how much she tried to deny it, she knew Chadron was right in every aspect.
Her mind had screamed and begged the body to stop, only the intense release of all her stored anger drove her to do such an atrocious thing; the body had only continued with its vicious attacks. Even though she had hated ever second, it was hard to deny the kind of pleasure it brought to finally get even with Ragde...

But his death was too much for her to bear.

But what did it really mean? Had it been her that killed Ragde? Was it even possible that she had allowed the crime to go on unchallenged?
True, tensions between the two were usually high, but was it actually enough to drive her very body to carry out her darkest desire?

Chadron watched in mix of amusement, and sadness as the Banette torn her very psyche apart, trying to make sense of a false tragedy.
True, he made Ragde appear dead in order to cause the Banette enough distress to make her talk. But this... this was just cruel, even by his lowly standards.
Either way, Chadron still smiled.
"Maybe I've done enough damage for one day..." He paused momentarily, and sneered.
He walked up to the Banette, and stood over her. His massive body cast a menacing shadow over her being.
"Your friend is dead: End of story." He smiled even broader, "But I can bring him back!" Chadron smiled yet again.
Rasputin looked up at his face, tears still pooling in her eyes.
"All I need is a sample of a certain chemical," Chadron said as he pulled out a small paper with various formulas, "it is called the F.E.S. and it has the power to even bring back the dead."
Rasputin said nothing at first, only looking down at her bloodied hands. Suddenly, she raised her head, and spoke in a distant tone, "Tell me where I can find this F.E.S formula."
Chadron ginned, "A pure sample of the F.E.S virus is nearly impossible to get a hold off. However, No. 400 has plenty of pure stain running F.E.S running in his veins." Chadron handed Rasputin the piece of paper, "Bring him to me, and I will be able to extract a good quality sample. Then, I will be able to save your friend from the swift death you dealt him."
"Fine... But I still don't know who Number 400 is."
Chadron merely cackled. "Easy!" Chadron shouted in amusement, "400 is the one you call Edgar, and I know you know where he is!" Chadron snapped his fingers, and both him and Rasputin found themselves in the manor courtyard, a few feet away from Ragde's seemingly lifeless body.
Rasputin felt like crying, but she bit down her lower lip and swallowed her tears.
She nodded in agreement, "I'll find him..." Suddenly, her face lit up with fury, "But I warn you right now! If you so much as hurt a single hair on Edgar's body, I will personally rip your balls off!"
"Big talk for a little girl!" Chadron laughed as he picked up Ragde's body, and snapped his fingers yet again, opening a dark blue square portal, "Just bring him to this exact location once you find him, and make it quick."
Chadron came to a stop just as he was about to walk trough the rift. He reached into his coat pocket, and pulled out a vial of what looked to be some kind of dark red jelly like liquid, which looked a lot like old blood.
He tossed the vial at Rasputin's feet and smiled, "If you run into trouble, use that vial there. Though I must warn you; use it only if it is completely necessary!" he smiled even deeper, "Unless you want to change who you are." Rasputin picked up the vial, and nodded once again.
Chadron only turned around, and walked trough bright blue portal, vanishing to some unknown location.

The Sysoles manor grew quiet once again, not another soul seemed to remain inside the place. Everyone had moved on.
Rasputin held the little vial tight in her hand, and without another word, she sank into the nearest shadow.

---

Chadron materialized some ways outside the Jubilife city. His troops had already set up camp for the night, even though it was barely 2:30 Pm.
One of the lieutenants greeted the general as soon as both of Chadron's feet where firmly planted on the soil below him.
The lieutenant wore the usual military garments, except that he had removed his jacket, leaving only a sleeveless shirt.
"So general, how did it go with the hostages?"
"Better than expected." Replied Chadron with a slight smile. He placed the unconscious Sceptile on the ground, and directed his gaze at the lieutenant, "have the medics treat this guy for all injuries, have the witch doctors restore his anima energy to normal, and make sure he is as comfortable as possible."
"Sir yes sir!" The lieutenant signaled his other men, who quickly came over with a stretcher, placed the still unconscious Sceptile on it, and carried him over to a white tent with four red crosses printed on it.
Chadron then looked over at his lieutenant, "Any good news about our search?"
"Well... we found nothing of real importance sir. Just a few old family pictures, and other corrupted files. It appears that all the records kept in the mainframe of Mark's Sysoles lab were wiped clean."
"Council will not like this at all..." Chadron rubbed his massive chin, "anything else I should know about?"
"Well... some of the creatures from the Rocket facilities got out. They have been running about the city like the wild animals they are."
Chadron slightly shuddered, "Any casualties so far?"
"As of the moment..." the lieutenant looked worried, "over 95% of the population sir."
"Damn..." Chadron said with some worry, "have some of our men create a perimeter. Jubilife is as of this moment, under quarantine." He began to walk towards his tent, which had already been set up before he arrived, "engage the creatures only if force is necessary. I want a clean job done."
"Sir yes sir!" the lieutenant turned to face the other soldiers of the platoon, who in turn filled into ranks. The lieutenant only nodded his head, and the all the soldiers marched towards the city, ready to carry out Chadron's orders.
The lieutenant then turned to face General Chadron.
"Sir, if I may ask... what is the deal with the Wood gecko we are treating?" The lieutenant pointed at Ragde as he was taken to the infirmary.
"Oh, him?" Chadron walked towards his tent, the young lieutenant following him in a steady pace, "he is part one of our winning ticket of the day." Chadron sat in the same sofa he had used back in the Sysoles manor.
"Winning ticket?" the lieutenant asked.
"Yes." Chadron reached for his grail of wine, and took a slight sip, "also, I felt something strange about this Sceptile... like he has more hidden power than I originally thought." He looked at his lieutenant, "If I can somehow convince him to join us, he may prove to be a very valuable asset..." He placed the grail in the table next to his sofa, "he may even prove to be what we need to finally destroy those pious bastards at Council." He looked at his lieutenant, who simply looked lost on what Chadron was saying. He only smiled, "One day you'll understand. For now, you are dismissed."
The lieutenant saluted Chadron, and walked out the tent, his face still filled with confusion.

Chadron got up from his sofa, and walked to the far right of his tent, feeling something strange in the air.
Suddenly, a strange chill befell the area, as if someone had just moved the tent from the warm woods, to the frigid artic. Chadron merely scowled at the air.
"The usual entrance for you? Isn't getting old?"
"What? You don't like being dramatic?" replied a rather sassy sounding female voice from somewhere in the tent. Chadron looked at a particularly shadowy corner, and smiled, "Charit, It's been a while. What brings you here to my little encampment?"
"I am here to confirm your hunch about the Sceptile, the one named Ragde."
"What do you mean? That he may have what it takes to be a Necromancer?"
"Even better! He may be HIS resurrection."
Chadron smiled as he hastily reached for an ancient tome resting on his table.
"You mean he is the big father of all necromancy? The ORIGINAL master of life and death?" Chadron asked.
"Maybe." Replied the voice.
Chadron quickly reached for an old tome in the table of his tent, and flipped trough the pages, finally coming up on an old set of hieroglyphically pictures, one of which depicted a man wearing ceremonial, shamanic bone garments, "Fael, the avatar of one of the most powerful deities that ever existed..." He flipped the page, revealing the picture of a shadow creature with bright red eyes, and what appeared to be draconic wings, "origin form Giratina."
"That's right!" replied the voice with just as much content as Chadron, "You hit the jackpot!"
"Oh, this is my lucky day!" he grabbed one of the many darts that littered his desk, and tossed it straight into the left eye of a Himler picture nailed to the central beam of his tent, "TAKE THAT YOU SON OF A BITCH!" He tossed another dark, this one striking the right eye with so much force; it dug itself several inched into the wood, "Looks like I beat you in finding the father of all Necromancy!!"
"Don't get so overexcited," cautioned the voice, "he may had once been the father of all necromancy, but he has no idea who he really is. The only way for him to fully realize who he is, is trough..."
"Rebirth..." Finished Chadron. His face had just gone a bit sour, "Damn, looks like I will need to kill him after all..."

-567400-

"Ward 56 should be on the next floor." Cyrus looked at the small display on top of the elevator doors, nine floors down, one floor to go.
"Can this thing go ANY slower?!" He asked in annoyance. Cyrus' mysterious companion only crossed its arms, "Why do they make this hospitals so big and mazelike?" it shook its head in annoyance. It was obvious from the being's voice that it was actually a she. Her voice was no longer partially distorted by the echo of the hall, and it somehow sounded a bit more relaxed, relaxed enough to be recognizable as female.
"I remember the days when all the wards were lined up nice and orderly on the first floors." The hood she wore made it impossible to view her expression.
"Yeah... put the lifesaving Emergency rooms at the very top, that way hospitals can make a lot of money with insurance cost!" Cyrus said out loud in obvious sarcasm, "Thank god the health care system became free!" he said in annoyance.
His companion on the other hand, said nothing. Both beings stared at each other awkwardly for a few seconds, before Cyrus broke the silence.
"Sorry if I insulted you."
"No, no, You're right," She fell silent for about two seconds, then continued with an embarrassed tone, "About the health care. Health care was a piece of trash in my day." The hooded being sighed, "but at least it got the job done... it saved some lives... Not that it mattered one bit..." She looked at the floor, "all those I saved are now dead."
She merely kept staring at the floor.
Cyrus looked at the ceiling of the elevator, and himself sighed, "Ironic; people like me and you try trough thick and thin to save people. But in the end, those same people we save end up dying anyway... while we get to live on." Cyrus slightly chuckled, and then frowned as he brought his gaze back to normal level, "It must really suck having to watch those you once thought cured, be stricken down by some new ailment, or just by old age."
"It does..." The being said as it stared at Cyrus' face, who by now had resumed looking at her own cloaked face, "But there is even a bigger tragedy..." Suddenly, she uncovered her head, revealing an extremely gorgeous being, a Gardevoir.
"...Not all diseases can be cured... Especially those that infect the mind and soul..." The Gardevoir leaned on the elevator wall, and began to silently shed tears. They streamed down her delicate features, and dripped into her brown colored robes, and the ground below her feet.
Her hair was longer than a normal Gardevoir's, about two thirds of the way down to her back. It did not ark into the bottom of the ears like normal, but rather, it just kept going all the way down.
The hair color was a light blue rather than the normal light Green. It shone brightly white in the light, and seemed to glow in the darkness as well. Her eyes were a brighter shade of ruby red, with a very vivid bluish lining around them, her skin seemed even more delicate than the norm, almost like a delicate piece of pottery you dare not touch, out of fear of braking it.
She looked deep into Cyrus' eyes with deep sorrow.
Cyrus sighed in slight confusion. He had no idea what do really do or say.
Suddenly, the reason why his companion might be crying became obvious.
"You're talking about your brother, aren't you" Cyrus asked in a cautious tone. The Gardevoir slowly nodded in response. Cyrus only shook his head in slight anger.
He looked at the floor, "just what the hell happened between the two of you?" he asked in concern and curiosity, he looked at her eyes closely, "I mean... did her really...?"
"Yes..." she replied with pain in her voice, "He almost killed me..." She flexed her right arm, revealing it to be a copper colored metallic limb, "and left the mark on my body to prove it..." she covered her arm once more.
Cyrus silently growled. He shivered in anger just by thinking about what that psycho had done to suck a peaceful soul. Just what on earth would cause a brother to turn on his sister? He wondered in both a rage, and strange sadness.
"He wasn't always the heartless monster he is today..." Sophia said all of sudden, wiping away some of her tears, and looking to put on a brave face, "There was a time when he was a good person, a time when he was the most promising of our family, the Dubois..."
"Really?" asked Cyrus in some shock, "Just what happened to turn him into the monster he is today?" Cyrus asked. Sophia, only closed her eyes, and brought her hood up, covering her face once more.
"Himler and Hitler happened... The Nazis happened... War happened." She answered Cyrus' question, and stayed quiet.
Cyrus was unable to see if she wept in silence, or if she had a face full of anger at the unwilling conversation.
"Listen... I am sorry if I brought back some bitter memories. Maybe I should have-" Cyrus' words were cut short when the elevator finally came to a full stop, and slowly opened, revealing the eerily dark hallway in front of them.
Cyrus' companion was the first out, followed by Cyrus himself, who looked worried about her feelings.

Most of the window shutters in the floor were closed tight; yet several rays of sunlight still managed to break trough here and there, shattering what would have otherwise been a murky and dismal scene of depression.
"We should find your friend." The being said in a soft tone of voice, almost a whisper, "Something is-"
"Wrong?" Cyrus interrupted unwillingly, "Yeah, I know..." Cyrus looked around the area, and scanned the entire hall, as if trying to pinpoint something or someone in the darkness, "We are not alone at all." Cyrus said with some weariness, before he and his companion began to walk down the hall once again.

-567400-

"Dammit! Why can't I move!?" Sectran wondered as more pain bombarded his body. His entire being below the neck felt like nothing but a bunch of jelly. He had to constantly shift his eyes down to convince himself that his body was still in one piece.
The pain was so intense; the thought of death was a very valid one. But he of course knew that was what that bastard wanted.
He could still feel the sadistic monster sitting in a far corner, enjoying his very slow death.
"Why don't you come down here, and let me shove my foot up your damn ass you motherfucker!!" Sectran shouted in his own thoughts, his mind being the only thing that still worked in his body.
"Now, now! That is not a nice thing to say!" Blade's voice rang inside his head. Sectran was both scared and shocked at first, but quickly got over it as anger sweltered in him. He growled in anger inside his mind.
"WHAT!! YOU CAN HEAR WHAT I AM THINKING!?"
"Of course I can you moronic human." The Gallade replied into his mind yet again, "I am a psychic type after all, mind reading is nothing to me."
"YOU SON OF A BITCH!! WHY DON'T YOU GO SCREW YOURSELF!!!" Sectran thought in rage at his unwanted mental visitor.
Blade merely cackled, "Such colorful language..." Suddenly, Sectran could hear his footsteps emanate from somewhere in the darkness, nearing his position.
"You remind me of someone I once knew... Someone I thought dead." Blade said out loud. Suddenly, stood on top of his body, staring into his mask, "I don't ever recall anyone wearing a such a stupid mask, but your voice and attitude are an exact match." Blade smiled, "that bastard sure gave me a hard time."
"What are you talking about!?" Sectran asked in confusion and fury.
"Hmph... Nothing." Blade replied. He begun to walk away once again, "you're not worth my damn time. Just sit there and die."
"We'll see who has any worth!" Sectran thought with an intense sense of hatred towards the Gallade. He began to concentrate deeper and harder than he had in the past, the pain and agony seemed to intensify at first, but then it slowly begun to vanish as a sense of power slowly filled his body and soul.
"Looks like I can actually summon you even in the brink of death... Good!" Sectran managed to think out loud.
"What the hell are you mumbling about?" Blade asked as he turned around to face the Laying body of his enemy.

But instead, he found a sight he had not expected at all.

Sectran, who had still had the powerful venom running trough his veins, was slowly managing to stand up. A faint bluish aura surrounded his body, and seemed to be forming a according to his body shape.
He grasped the antidote bottle off his chest as he got back on his feet, broke open the bottle's mouth, and reached for his mask.
"Impossible! You should not be able to move!" Blade shouted in surprise and anger. Sectran only replied by taking off his mask, and emptying the anti-venom into his parched mouth. He took the whole content of the bottle in a single gulp.

As soon Sectran had taken his mask was off, Blade let out a massive battle cry as he lounged at the unsuspecting man, who in turn, only sidestepped to avoid the initial attack. Blade then spun on the spot, and lunched yet another attack at Sectran with his right arm, who in turn, parried the attack with his left arm, and managed to push the Gallade backwards, knocking him off balance. The Gallade fell to the floor, but did not stay on the floor for long. He placed his hand on the ground, pushed himself up with it, spun on the spot with his extended legs, Which Sectran jumped over, and lounged himself into a backwards roll. Blade did a hand jump, and fell on his feet yet again, ready to strike once again.
Sectran placed his mask back on, panting from some exhaustion. His body still glowed with the faint blue aura.
Blade stood still, blades drawn, ready to lounge. He eyed the human with a deep interest, and even deeper hatred. After taking a deep breath of air to relax himself, Blade smiled as he relaxed his pose.
"So... you're still alive after all these years?" he cackled slightly, "I'm impressed! Last time we met, I left you as stains on the walls."
"What are you talking about?" Sectran asked in anger, "I have never met you before in my life!"
"Hmph..." Blade continued to eye the young human with even more interest, "So you don't remember anything at all?" Blade asked.
Sectran merely said nothing in reply, only giving him a look of irritation.
Blade, seeing that Sectran had no idea who he really was, smiled yet again. "I'm not surprised you managed to move your body after I poisoned you," He began to walk to one side of the room, Sectran kept both his body and eyes tightly locked on his moves.
"I see you used the old puppeteer trick. Used your mental energies to move your damaged muscles, didn't you?"
"So what if I did?" Sectran asked in a defiant tone, "I'm not the first to use such a move."
"I bet you don't even know your real name!" blade shouted out loud in total contrast to his previous comment.
Sectran was taken back slightly, but did not show it in the least. He merely smiled. "So what If I can remember something as insignificant as a birth name? My new name suits me better."
"Right..." Blade looked at Sectran's body, and laughed madly.
"What is so damn funny?" Sectran asked in indignation. Blade only placed his right hand on his forehead, and continued to faintly laugh.
"Of course! I should have figured that someone like you would be too damn lazy to try and piece his past together." Blade wiped a tear off his left eye, and took one final breath of air before returning to his normal voice.
"Listen, you are part of a group of beings whose power is far surpass those of weak little humans." Blade stopped in place, and stared deeply into Sectran's eyes, "why are you working for them? When you can just as easily take over?"
"Just who the hell are you...?" Sectran asked in intrigue.
Blade only smiled maliciously, "Some call me Blade. Others call me Oni," Blade laughed and pointed at Sectran, "Just remember what I said today. Later, fool!" And with those final words, Blade somersaulted back into the darkness of the room, and vanished entirely.
Sectran noticed his move, and tried to follow after him, but it was to late; Blade had completely disappeared into thin air just as quickly as he had first appeared.

"Damn... Just who the hell is that bastard..." Sectran said to himself. He then looked at his own hands, and sighed. "A better would be... who the hell am I...?"

-567400-

Edgar walked out of the blue tear in reality into the dusk of a strange cavern. The once vivid blue portal slowly decreased in size, until it was all gone.
At first, the young man stumbled aimlessly about, reaching for the walls and the floor for support whenever possible.
Eventually, he decided to reach for his bag, and bring out a small, yet powerful plastic flashlight, which he viciously shook around for five seconds before turning on.
The small beam, though comparably weak to the sun, seemed to break trough the dusk like a beam of sunshine.
Though it barely illuminated the darkness, something was better than nothing. But after several minutes of eye adjustment, Edgar's eyes became used to the shadows quite well. With the flashlight's help, the once dark cavern seemed as clear as day.

Edgar recognized the Cave's particular topography, much like a lost person might recognize a familiar sight. The Cave's lack of humidity and wildlife, the seemingly man-made hub he stood in the middle of, and the several patches of metal that lined the walls quickly made the young man realize he was back in the Rocket installations. But it seemed he was deeper than ever before. In fact, the spot seemed almost like an incomplete construction site.
Edgar walked towards one of the fuse boxes, and flipped the switch, turning on several dim lights along the cave. Edgar quickly realized he had been right about his earlier hypothesis, he was inside the rocket labs, but he was so far below the main labs, he seemed to be in what appeared to be future development.

The young man decided to move forward, it was no use staying in one spot.

And so, he followed the lights in the tunnel, which themselves seemed to stretch on for eternity, but in reality, the tunnel had an end, just like everything else in life, except change that is.
But before Edgar even reached the end of the long mine, he came up on what looked like had been one of the sealed doors. It had been blasted open just like all the other gates in the installations.
Edgar, not knowing were else to turn, entered the room and begun to explore what appeared to be yet another laboratory. But as soon as he stepped inside the place, a very deep growl broke the otherwise dead silence.
The young man quickly turned to face the source of the noise, and quickly found himself face to face with what appeared to be a cat like being.
Edgar took a step back, only to bump into someone, or something. He turned to face the silhouette of a man with deep ominous yellow eyes that glowed in the darkness like a pair of car headlights. The man seemed to walk towards Edgar, his malignant appearance only magnified by the shadows all around him.
Edgar slowly stepped back, but found his path out of the room blocked by the giant cat, which only growled in apparent anger.
Suddenly, the humanoid being in front of his eyes begun to speak in a mild mannered tone.
"Ah good, one of them underground Explorers!" The being walked towards one of the room walls, and flipped a switch, turning on all the lights.
Edgar stared at the man, or rather; the young man, for a few seconds, just trying to absorb his rather exotic look.
The being who stood in front of him seemed to be around the age of ten to thirteen, and maybe stood at five and half feet tall. He wore what looked like a long, dark yellow coat with a chin long collar. It was adorned with the traditional white lotus flowers found on such coats, but it also had a vivid blue thunderbolt crossing the whole coat.
Covering the kid's head, and most of his face along the way, was a very distinctive blue colored Sedge hat. It, along with his chin long collar, made the kid's face nearly impossible to see clearly. That is of course, for his bright yellow glowing eyes, which continued to spark brightly.
The kid looked at Edgar with some concern at first, seeing the apparent confusion in his eyes. Then he simply shook his head, realizing what was the matter.
"It's the Getup Isn't?" the kid asked in an obvious statement. Edgar said and did nothing, fearing some kind of hostile action if he were to say something inappropriate.
The kid sighed, "Well, might as well take all this crap off. After all, there are no pigs down here to get me." The kid unclipped his long coat, and took the sedge hat off, revealing what appeared to be a rather gaunt guy.
He wore a pair of dark green pants with sandals, and a sleeveless white undershirt. He appeared to be mostly human, but his hair was vivid yellow, with several black stripes crossing about, and his eyes continually glowed a vivid yellow color.
Edgar relaxed his tensions completely. He knew why the young man had been in disguise; he was a human/electrobuzz hybrid, but his features clearly demonstrated that the mother had been human, for he only retained the hair color of his electrobuzz father. Yet, he had never seen glowing yellow eyes like he had.

The young man smiled as he took a seat on the floor, crossing his legs.
"Listen, I've got a little problem: I've been stuck down here in this tunnels for the last two and a half days trying to find a way into the damn labs up above," the young man rubbed the back of his head, "But all that searching has gotten me nowhere." He smiled broadly, trying to hide his apparent embarrassment. "You wouldn't happen to have a map of the rocket installations, would you?" He asked in some hope.
Edgar merely shook his head, his face a mix of pity, and understanding.
"Um... No, sorry... I don't have a map." Edgar himself sighed hopelessly, "As a matter of fact, I could use a map right about now as well."
"You too huh?" the kid sighed in disappointment, "well, what can I say: It Sucks."
"Why are you trying to get to the rocket labs anyway? Usually people try to steer away from that place." Edgar asked suddenly, surprising the young man, and himself as well. "And who or what was that cat that nearly ate me earlier?"
"Oh, him?" the kid reached for a pokeball in his belt, and tossed it at an empty spot on the room. There was a bright flash of red light, followed by the materialization of a giant cat.
Edgar's jaw fell open the moment the creature fully materialized. Before his eyes stood a Raikou, one of the legendary dogs of mythology. Edgar pointed at the thunder beast, his finger shaking a bit.
"Is that... A Raikou!?"
"He's just an old friend of mine. He's all bark and no bite! So don't worry too much about getting mauled, or fried by him."
"Watch it Raijin!" Snapped the Raikou all of a sudden, greatly shocking Edgar at first. Who soon realized it was normal for him now.
"These old jaws of mine can still tear you limb from limb!" Finished the Raikou, pointing at his razor sharp fangs with one of his talons.
"Whatever old buddy!" the kid said with a certain 'you an old fool' tone. He turned to face Edgar, who was still in some shock.
"He seems... friendly. Aren't you afraid of what he says?" Edgar asked in concern.
The kid merely smiled.
"So, you can understand him as well huh?"
"Uh..." Edgar was lost for words. He cursed inside his mind for being such an idiot, "well... I usually don't try to show it off in public, but..."
"I feel you brother. Sinnoh is whack that way."
"So I take it you're not from these parts, right?" Edgar asked in clear interest.
The kid nodded in agreement, "Yep, I actually come from outside coalition, Japan to be more precise."
"What are you doing in this ruined place then?" asked Edgar in intrigue.
The kid smiled once again, "Well, what are YOU doing in this place?"
"Touché." Replied Edgar with a smile all his own. The kid laughed heartily.
"You must be baga to come down here then!"
"Yeah... What does baga mean?"
"Nothing." Replied the kid. "Say, why don't we help each other out? I'm sure that if we work together, we can find a way out this little shit hole." The young kid asked in excitement.
Edgar, on the other hand, only became suspicious of the kid's real intentions.
"Before I help you out, answer me a single question: What is it that you are looking for inside the Rocket labs?" Edgar asked in intrigue.
The kid only crossed his arms, smile still firmly planted on his face, "I'll tell you if you tell me what is it that YOU are looking for inside the rocket labs. Deal?"
Edgar smiled, "I like your style kid. Name's Edgar. What's yours?"
"Raijin." Replied the kid with a broad smile.
Edgar and Raijin both shook hands, "Ok, I'll go first." Said Raijin as he cleared his throat, "It all started some time ago, when I was born..."

-567400-

Olivia slowly begun to pull through from her distress. She sniffed and panted as she looked at the red book still lying idly open in front of her face.
The young Gardevoir wiped the tears off her face, and stood back up. Her visage changing drastically.
At first, she reached for the small decrepit book, and kept it open in her hand, which shook as her body became ice cold. She stared at the book with deep hatred, eyes suddenly begun to turn black as she reached for the book's overall structure, and made to tear the pages apart.
But Olivia stopped seconds before she tore the first page off. She closed her eyes, and closed the small red book. She turned towards the closed window, and sighed in deep grief.
"I may not know what kind of pain and misery you're going trough, I may not even know if you are still the same boy I fell for five years ago..." she said to herself, trying her best to remain calm.
"No matter how hard things got, I stuck by your side," Olivia slightly smiled, "even if things got awfully bleak, which they did often because of your damn bad luck. Still, I can't help but love that about you..." Olivia sighted yet again. She held on to her right arm as she continued speaking to the air. "It seems that no matter what I do, I am destined to be away from you. Even if by some miracle we get out of Sinnoh, the rest of the world will still look down on us... And now, I am closer to loosing you than ever before." The young Gardevoir growled in anger as she suddenly lunched a punch towards the wall. Surprisingly enough, her fist was not damaged by the impact at all. Olivia let out one final breath of air before turning towards the door of the ward.
"No matter what happens, No matter what kind of horror I must face; I will find you. And when I do, I promise, things will be better... I promise..." Olivia headed towards the door of the ward, determined to find Edgar at all cost.

Olivia reached for the door handle, and quickly opened the door, but to her horror, there was a massive, black colored lizard creature, waiting for her on the other side.
Its claws were dripping with a dark liquid, and its maw seemed to be frothing with a mix of white foam, and crimson blood.
Olivia took several steps back out of intense fear. Her very blood had turned icy.
The creature was maybe five feet taller than she was, and it seemed ready to kill anything that moved, and she appeared to be next on the list.

The creature moved forward, raised its left claw, and let loose a powerful swing.

Blood splattered all over Ward 56. A sharp shriek could be heard echo through the seemingly deserted hospital. A loud thud followed it.

TO BE CONTINUED...