Day came swiftly. I had entered the city around two or three in the morning, then landed, taken my Host form, and found somewhere to sleep. The events of the night had left me surprisingly drained, both physically and mentally. That was no surprise, seeing as it had been months since I'd last had to kill, since I'd last had to bear witness to such slaughter.

I woke to the sound of voices nearby. I shifted slightly, trying to rouse myself fully. I had found a small, cramped alleyway between two large buildings, and stuck against the concrete wall that made the alley a dead-end was a large radiator. It was under this I had taken shelter, certain that no one would come upon me here. So much for that. 

The voices were coming closer, and now I could tell they belonged to young children. I shifted again and peered from under the radiator, seeing nothing but a tangle of legs and feet. They were closer than I had thought, if that was all I could see. I moved my bulk backwards, only to feel the cold of the concrete wall against my tail seconds later. The only way out from under this thing was forward.

"I'm telling ya, it's huge!" said a voice, a boy's. "I never seen such a big Garchomp, not never!" I groaned faintly at his words; the hope that maybe they were just here to play dashed itself to pieces against the child's words. I wondered when the boy had seen me, how he had come upon this alley and thought to look under the radiator. 

"There ain't nothing under here, I bet," said a girl's voice. "You always lie about stuff and then try and scare us, well, it won't work this time! I don't even know why we bothered to listen to you, you little brat."

"Aaww, shut it and look already!" the boy huffed, and seconds later a face appeared less than two feet from me. It was a girl, of course, her face covered in dirt and freckles. Even in the shadow I could see her eyes were blue, full of irritation that quickly changed to surprise and excitement. She blew out her cheeks and made a funny noise as she stared at me, eyes getting wide. A lock of dirty, matted red hair fell into them moments later, and she shoved it aside with a grimy hand.

"Well lookit that! There is a great big old Garchomp under here!" she crowed, kneeling down. She was wearing a dingy pink dress, which was covered in stains. She clasped her thin arms around her knees, revealing old scars and fresh scabs, and mud caked on at least three layers deep. She cocked her head as she studied me, and behind her the other children were jostling in order to get a look at me. I lowered my head a bit, just a fraction, wondering what to do. As I was thinking, another kid, this one a boy no older than eight, dropped to his knees beside the girl and pointed at me, squealing in fear and delight.

"Garchomp, Garchomp!" he chanted, and it seemed to drive the others into a kind of frenzy. They pushed at one another and the two before me, almost desperate to get a peek at the famous Garchomp. They shouted and yelled, and the noise quickly gave birth to a throb in the back of my head. This wasn't good, not at all, and as I did a quick check on my energy level I found just how not-good it was.

My energy level was distressingly low. I had been in my Host form all night and most of the morning, and I could only hold this form for about ten hours. See, depending on spiritual strength and the size of our hosts, we DeMons can hold our Host forms for as little to an hour to as long as an entire day. My limit was fast approaching; I had twenty minutes tops before I would have to revert to my Pure form. What I wanted to do was get out of here and find a safe, secure place where I could assume my Hybrid form. That form took almost no energy to hold, and it was possible to gain energy back while holding it. Of course, I couldn't do that here in front of these kids.

Don't get me wrong. Humans have known about us for years, seeing as DeMons have made our existence obvious with all the killing and ravaging they do in plain sight of humans. It's not like I was trying to protect my brethren by hiding the fact that we exist. I wouldn't mind them being destroyed, seeing as they were all evil, sick-looking murderers themselves. No, it was the fact that I didn't want to change forms in front of these children because doing so would terrify them. The last thing I wanted, or needed for that matter, was for these little humans to go screaming to their parents, wailing that a vicious DeMon had attacked them out of nowhere and tried to eat them. That would bring a medieval mob armed with modern-day weapons down on me, and I had come here seeking information, not to be chased all over or forced to fight. 

The thing was, I didn't want to hurt the kids either. I could try scaring them away by roaring or something, but then they would just run home screaming that a vicious Garchomp had attacked them out of nowhere and tried to eat them. I thought long and hard about what I could do to get out of here without getting into any more trouble, and then it came to me as silent as a cloud passing by.

By this point, the kids were trading weak blows, knocking one another around in an attempt to assert dominance and be the first to see me. The girl had joined in the battle, though the young, black-haired boy was still pointing at me and screeching, "Garchomp, Garchomp!"

"That's quite enough of that!" I said loudly, and instantly the fighting came to a stop. The boy in front of me let his hand fall limply to his side, his jaw dropping in shock as he gawked at me. His brown eyes grew huge as I pushed my way forward, and he fell back onto his butt and scrabbled away as fast as he could as I moved. The other kids broke apart, jumping to their feet if they had fallen, scooting back rapidly as I finally cleared the radiator and stood, dusting myself off absently. I scanned the group, guessed there were about twelve of them, and jabbed a claw at them. "Really, do you have to fight like rabid animals just to get a look at me? I'm just an ordinary Garchomp, for crying out loud, maybe a little bigger than most, but just a Garchomp all the same. Why did you have to come here and wake me up? If you wanted to see a Garchomp you should ask a Trainer or something, not go poking around the temporary nest of a wild one. You know, most Garchomp would have been really mad, and might even have attacked you for waking it up so rudely!" I paused my rambling, eyeing the children with the air of a stern parent handing out a punishment. "You should all apologize, I think."

"Y-yo-you can talk!" the little boy who'd been pointing breathed, and I made a show of rolling my eyes and sighing heavily.

"Oh, yes, well, so? You can talk too."

"B-but you're a Pokemon! Pokemon don't talk!"

"Of course we do!" I replied, mustering all the heat and indignation I could. "We talk all the time, just not in a language you humans understand. What do you suppose we're doing when we say our names over and over again? Having fun? There's subtle meanings in all those utterings, y'know."

"Why do you talk so we can't understand?" asked the girl who had looked at me first, and I flicked a claw at her.

"Because we don't want you knowing what we're saying, why else? Now look, I'm very tired and I would like to go somewhere where there aren't a bunch of annoying kids keeping me awake and asking lots of questions." I gave an exaggerated huff. "And none of you even said sorry for waking me up like you all did..." And with that I strode forward. The group parted like butter around a knife; the effect I'd wanted had been achieved. The kids were shocked by a talking Garchomp, and a little afraid too. Not so afraid that they'd run off crying to some adults though, which was the main thing. I didn't look back as I stomped off, trying to make it so the kids wouldn't be tempted to follow me. It must have worked, because a few minutes later I was walking down another alley and no one was trailing me.

I sighed heavily, this time meaning it, and assumed my Hybrid form. I felt a little better afterwards, for the strain that had been settling on my body was eased now that I wasn't expending so much of my last remaining bits of energy. I wandered further into the alley, feeling proud of myself. The kids would talk about our encounter, of course, but everyone would just think they were making up some wild story. They were just kids, after all, and how many countless times did kids have fantasies of meeting talking Pokemon? 

I wandered until I felt thoroughly lost, only feeling truly safe when I was sure no one would be able to stumble upon me. This alley was different than the last, in that it twisted and looped all about, branching off every which way into other, smaller alleys. I was in one of these tinier alleys, and it would only be by a stroke of extreme misfortune that I would be found. 

I stretched as I came to a halt, scratching at my bare stomach a moment later as I leaned against a wall. That was another thing: after taking my Host form, my shirt had been pretty much destroyed by the extra bulk that had filled it. That meant I would have to find a new shirt soon, since I felt uncomfortable wandering around stark naked. I know, that probably seemed weird, but it's because-

I noticed movement in the shadows a few feet to my left. I turned my head just a little, looking out of the corner of my eye and trying to pinpoint the disturbance. My vision wasn't as good in my Hybrid form as it was in my other two, but it was still much sharper than a human's, and within seconds I spotted what had been moving.

It was a Spiritomb, hovering near the corner of the wall I was leaning on. It was a whirling mass of violet energy with glittering green spots scattered here and there, and near the bottom was a small grey stone that seemed to be pulsing. I blinked, focusing on the Pokemon as I turned to face it fully. It was fading, as if it were merging with the shadows all around. Suddenly, though, it twisted around to face me. Holes ripped open in the place of eyes, and a gaping tear formed under the smaller rends, all three of them the same color as the emerald spots. It stared at me, or maybe glared, or maybe something else entirely. I couldn't be sure, since there was no real expression to read. Then the rip that made its mouth stretched and curved until it was a wicked grin, and it floated backwards until vanished into the darkness of the alley.

I watched the place where the Pokemon had disappeared, feeling highly uneasy. It hadn't attacked me or acted malicious in any way, but something about the way it had grinned at me was unsettling. It was like it knew something that I didn't, something important, and I wondered if maybe it had something to do with the Vampiric Pokemon I was, for lack of a better term, investigating.

After a few minutes I turned from the shadows, that unpleasant sense of dark foreboding making itself at home in my heart. There was nothing to be done about it now though. The Spiritomb was gone, hopefully for good, and I was still alive and healthy and capable of continuing my search. I titled my head back, judging by the position of the sun that it was close to one in the afternoon. It would take me a few hours to regain enough energy to assume my Host form and go out to try and find more information. Not only that, but my stomach reminded me with a dull roar that I hadn't eaten for nearly a day. It would be best to rest up and then find something to eat.

After a bit more searching, I found an abandoned nest that had once belonged to a large Pokemon, maybe a stray Mightyena or Purugly. The scent of whatever had made this had long since gone cold; in fact, there was no fresh scent on or near it at all. That meant there was no concern that a new owner would come and find me stealing their bed, which meant I could rest unmolested. I laid down on the large structure of shredded blankets, grass, small twigs, and old fur, curling up and falling back asleep almost immediately.

It seemed like I had just closed my eyes when I was startled awake by screaming. I jerked, disoriented and unsure of where I was. Why was it dark? It lasted only for a moment though, and I sprung to my feet-paws as the screams rang out over and over. Night had fallen; I must have been more tired than I'd realized, and my stomach was competing with the endless shrieks for my attention. A hunger pang stabbed at me, and I gave a little grunt as I glanced around blindly, not sure which way I wanted to go.

Finally I moved forward, and after a lot of turning and back-tracking I exited the labyrinth of back paths and alleyways. I was opposite the side of all the screaming, and though I was horribly curious to find out what was happening, I was more concerned with finding something to eat.

I assumed my Host form as I left the alley, casting about cautiously before moving into the open. There was no one around, and I assumed everyone had gone over to where the commotion was taking place. That was good for me, as I could find some food without much trouble, since no one was around to chase me off if I got too close. People tended to be wary of Garchomp, especially wild ones. Luckily, this meant I could travel around in my Host form without too much confrontation. As long as I didn't bother anyone, most people were more than happy to leave me to my own devices. The only exception was the occasional Trainer who thought they could catch me.

The first house I came to become my target. I peered through the closest window, saw no lights on and sensed no movement. I made my way to the front door and hooked my claw over it, twisting my whole arm down in order to turn the knob. It was unlocked, much to my surprise, but I quickly got over it and hurried inside. Once I did, I shut the door silently and crouched low to the floor. If the door was unlocked, there was a good chance someone was home. I wanted to avoid detection if I could, so I practically crawled along the floor as I explored the two-story building.

It took a few minutes because of the size of the house and how slow I was moving, but I finally came upon the kitchen. Once I was there, I went as fast and quietly as I could to the refrigerator. I was glad to see it was one of the older ones, with the handle that stuck out of the door like a little rectangle. It was easy to hook my claw around it and tug it open, and instantly I was rewarded with the heavy scent of beef. 

Without hesitating, I shoved my head into the fridge and started looking for the meat. I found it seconds later, in a large pan on the bottom shelf that was covered with foil. The thin aluminum was easily torn away with my fangs, revealing huge strips of dark brown meat marinating in heavy juices that were a few shades darker than the beef.

I heard, as well as felt, my stomach give a loud, long gurgle of impatience. I nodded a few times in agreement; it was time to eat! Tenderly, trying not to get drool all over, I stuck my snout in the pan and scooped up a jawful of the stuff. Then I gave a little groan, because it was freaking awesome The beef was so soft, and the thick juices helped define the subtle flavors of the meat. I swallowed the food without bothering to chew, then took another large jawful and slowly pulped it between my fangs, savoring it. After gulping it down, I took a few more smaller strips and stood, not wanting to be greedy and take all of what had doubtlessly taken hours of work to cook. I chewed quickly, swallowed, and then nudged the door shut with a foot-paw.

And saw the man standing in the kitchen doorway.

I froze, staring tensely at the human. He was middle-aged, with thinning grey hair and a paunch that spoke of long days in front of the television. He was wearing a black sleeping robe, and on his feet were, of all things, pink fuzzy slippers. I would have laughed at the sight, had I not just been caught raiding the man's food. I wanted to lick my jaws and get the last drops of juice clinging to them, but resisted the urge; I DIDN'T want this man to think I was licking my jaws and envisioning him as the next course.

"Eeeeeaaaasy now," the man said suddenly, in a voice that people reserve for a dangerous dog or unstable person. "Eeeeeeaaaasy now, that's it, see, I won't hurt you, just stay calm, everything's okay...you must be really hungry, I've never heard of a Garchomp breaking into someone's house to steal food, though I'd have thought there'd be enough food for you all..." As he said it, he looked guilty, but I didn't even understand what he was talking about, so I had no idea why he looked so bad for saying what he had. "But nice and easy, that's it, that's right..." As he was speaking, the man was easing his way around the kitchen to the back door. I followed his movements carefully, in case he decided to grab a knife and try to fight me. He kept talking in that low, gentle voice, which quickly started getting on my nerves. I wasn't some simple animal!

With a sigh I turned to the door the man was heading for and walked to it. The human stopped cold as I did, watching me as I hooked the doorknob and twisted it. A moment later I was outside, not bothering to look back when I knew I would see a relieved human watching me go.

I shook my head as I made my way to the other side of the city, from which I could now hear sirens coming. I had been lucky; that man could have had a gun on him or something. We DeMons heal fast and can take a lot of damage, but that doesn't mean we're immortal. A bullet in the right place will kill us as sure as it would a human. 

I moved faster, anxious to see what was causing such a ruckus. As I drew closer and closer to where the main commotion was taking place, I saw smoke rising from several places. I shuddered, remembering the carnage of last night, which had been bathed in the light of flames. I hoped I wouldn't have to be witness to anything like I'd seen then. Somehow, though, I knew that the things that would happen tonight wouldn't be pretty or fun.

And suddenly I was in the middle of chaos. People were running, screaming, shooting guns, lying on the ground, sobbing, ordering Pokemon in battle. The cause of all this was a mass of Garchomp, a Horde. A loud growl worked its way through my chest, up my throat, and out of my jaws. There was another Garchomp DeMon here The thought made me shake with disgust. At least now I knew what that man had meant by his somewhat morbid comment of there being enough food...

Suddenly a bullet zipped by my head, missing by half a breath. I yelped in surprise and turned in the direction the shot had come from. A younger man was facing me, legs spread in a wide, unbalanced stance. He was holding his weapon, a small pistol, in both hands, which were shaking something fierce. In fact, his whole body was trembling, and his eyes were showing whites all around in his terror.

"No, no, go away, leave us alone, no!" he cried, short brown hair flying everywhere as he shook his head madly. "No, leave us alone, don't come near me, go away!" And then he was knocked down by a Garchomp that had snuck up behind him, and the gun was knocked from his grasp. He wailed as he fell, and I leapt forward in a vain effort to help him. The true Garchomp fastened its fangs around the back of the youth's throat and shook him back and forth, snapping his neck as if it were a twig. I bellowed as I slammed into the Pokemon a moment later, slashing my fin at its face. The Garchomp screeched as the sharp edge of my fin sliced it from one side of its face to the other, blood spurting as it crashed to the ground and thrashed about. Without hesitating, I jumped on the other and kicked at its neck, seconds later tearing a massive wound open. The warped thing convulsed as its life poured out with its blood, and seconds later it lay dead. After a second I turned to the young man, slowly walking over to stand in front of him. He was lying on his stomach with his head twisted almost all the way around, and I was shocked to see a bit of life left in his grey eyes. He tried to speak, but his throat had been destroyed when his neck had broken. It was easy enough to read his lips, though: 

"Help me..."

I sighed softly, feeling my heart break for this poor human. Then I bent down, putting my face close to his. The man's eyes widened a little in fear and pain, then in shock, as I said, "I'm sorry, human, but there's nothing I can do for you. All I can do is try to get someone over here that can make you comfortable..."

"DeMon..." the youth mouthed, and I nodded slowly.

"Yes, I am, but not like the one that's Summoned these Garchomp. But it's not your concern, human. Right now, you need to rest, and I'll take care of the one who's causing all this madness. Close your eyes and sleep now..." The young man blinked sluggishly at my words, mouthed something I couldn't understand, and died.

I stared at him for a moment, then turned away as I stood. All around me were more people being killed by the infuriated, maddened Garchomp, and there were so many I didn't know where to start helping. Eventually, I decided to start with the ones closest, and so I leapt into action as I assumed my Hybrid form, which would let me use more energy for my Professions and less energy holding a form that wasn't my Pure one.

The second Garchomp I targeted fell to a whirling black vortex of flames, screaming and kicking as the fire melted through its thick scales and utterly destroyed the thing to its very core of existence. As the last few ashes floated away on a warm breeze full of the scents of battle, I turned to face the older woman I'd just saved. She was staring at me in open-mouthed astonishment, weakly clutching a scimitar in one hand. Apparently the appearance of a DeMonin their (naked) Hybrid form was enough of a shock, let alone the appearance of one that was helping you.

"Don't just stand there, get moving!" I hollered, waving an arm at the woman. "Come on, if you just stand there you might get attacked by another one, you gotta keep moving!" Finally, the surprise wore off, and the old human nodded. Together we took down another Garchomp, rescuing a teenage boy in the process. And so it went, with each person we saved joining us, and our ever-growing group picking off more and more of the Summoned.

Then I heard a piercing cry. Without waiting for the others, I turned in the direction it had come from and broke into a dash, coming upon the scene moments later. A huge Garchomp that had at least two feet on me was standing over a tiny form on the ground, pulling itself to its full height and swaying as it prepared to strike. I let out a roar in order to distract it, charging at the Pokemon as it snarled and turned to face me. As I threw myself at it, I saw the heap on the ground was clothed in a pink dress and covered in dirt and mud...

I blinked at the girl who had been so shocked to see me shoved under the radiator earlier, and it was all the time the Garchomp needed. It took advantage of my lapse in attention, finding its balance before it could fall and slashing a claw at me. I gave a startled cry as it sliced across my right shoulder, opening a deep gouge that bled fiercely. On the ground, the girl whimpered in terror, and I ignored my injury as I leapt at the Garchomp again, driving it back with twin Dragon Claw attacks. Golden energy enveloped my claws as they tore through the air, leaving faint trails of shining energy in their wake. The land-shark deftly avoided the blows as it bellowed at me, and I positioned myself between it and the girl as my shoulder slowly started to mend itself.

"Are-are you a g-good DeMon?" the young human asked, her voice pitched high in her fear. I glanced back at her, just for a second, and gave as reassuring a smile as I could.

"You're going to owe me an apology AND a thank-you after this," I said, and I could see the child instantly understood the significance of my words. 

"You're the Garchomp from before!" she said, and I simply nodded before turning to face the Garchomp before me. It was screaming and shaking something fierce, but it wasn't attacking. I watched it warily, wondering what was going on. It was obvious it wanted to act, but something was holding it back...

Then it turned and tore away, and within seconds it was gone. I waited for a few to make sure it had left, then turned to look at the girl. Confusion was shining in her eyes as she stared after the Garchomp.

"The DeMon who Summoned it must have called it back to them," I explained. "That can't be good. Come on, I'll take you to join some others so you'll be safe, then I need to see if I can't track down the DeMon and stop this." I knelt down and offered a hand-paw to help the girl up, and she stared at my claws for a minute before tentatively grabbing hold and pulling herself to her feet. She then dusted herself off, and without another word we headed back the way I'd come. After making sure the girl was safe with the other humans, I told them I was going to go off and seek out the DeMon who had done all of this. They didn't seem to like the idea of me leaving them, but they didn't try to stop me from going. 

I wandered, taking care of the stray Garchomp that seemed unsure of what to do. They were now walking around, barely-retrained ferocity dripping from them. They wanted to kill, to maim, to murder, but something was forcing them not to. The one who'd Summoned them must have changed their mind about having a Horde wipe out the city. Maybe they wanted some of the slaying for themselves. Maybe they were trying to take stock of how many Garchomp they'd Summoned. I didn't know, and I honestly didn't care.

I soon reached an empty part of town. There was a house burning steadily a few yards ahead of me and to my left, and I assumed this was where the Summoned had first struck. There were all sorts of signs of a rushed evacuation: doors left open, cars still parked in driveways, personal items scattered here and there after being dropped and completely forgotten. There would be nothing to gain from staying here, so I turned and started to head back the way I'd come.

And then it happened.

A deafening BANG sounded out behind me, and a heartbeat later a horrible agony exploded in the same shoulder that had been torn up by the Garchomp. I let out a strangled little shriek as I stumbled and collapsed, barely aware of the blood spurting from the new wound. In fact, I was barely aware of anything, for a fog of pain settled itself firmly around my mind, making it nearly impossible to focus. Distantly, I heard a man's voice say, "Pity, if you hadn't moved, you'd be dead instead of hurting." 

The words, the voice. I clung to them and used them to pull myself back to my senses. Gritting my fangs, I pushed the pain away and rolled to my feet-paws, whirling to face whoever had injured me. The sudden movement caused a new flare of hurt to pound through me, but I growled softly and refused to let it incapacitate me.

My attacker was a man, though I could instantly tell he wasn't human. The way he moved, his very essence...I narrowed my eyes as I watched him slowly coming closer. His lean body was draped in a red overcoat, and a wide-brimmed red fedora was set at an angle on his head. Orange sunglasses gleamed in the light of the house fire, and one of his white-gloved hands was extended, a massive gun held at me. Black boots moved soundlessly over the street as he came, a smile growing on his face as a stray wind tousled his short ebony hair.

"Now be good and hold still so I don't have to waste anymore bullets on a piece of trash like you," he said, his voice tinged with disdain. I stumbled back a step as he came to a halt, shifting his weight slightly as he aimed the gun properly. Any second he'd fire another bullet, and I knew this one would find my heart...

"Stop!" I wheezed, ready to throw myself to the ground in case he didn't. "You...are you looking for the DeMon who attacked the city?"

"Stupid thing to ask, wouldn't you say?"

"No, because I didn't do it! I can show you a group of humans I've been helping, they can tell you-" I cut myself off suddenly as a weight pressed itself on my mind, probing, searching, prying. I gave a cry and shook my head, unprepared for the abrupt assault, and struggled to build up the mental walls to keep this...being...from seeing into my mind. Shock and pain, though, worked against me, and it was with a great effort that I managed to bring up my shields. And as suddenly as it had descended, the weight was gone. I gasped as I staggered back a few paces, letting the walls drop as I struggled to stay upright.

"Hmmmm, why would you have anything to hide if you're telling the truth?" the other asked, a mocking tone coloring his words. "Really, I hate it when freaks waste my time."

"No," I choked out, coughing weakly, "no...you...I hid m-my mind...you d-d-didn't ask...I was suh-surprised..." I finally managed to catch my breath and focused on the man, sagging a little because of the pain from where I'd been shot. I recoiled when I saw how close he was, less than a yard away. "You don't just hop into a DeMon's mind like that...anyways, don't you think, if I were the one that attacked this place, that I would be bringing my Horde and Bound down on you instead of trying to talk my way out of being shot?"

"I would think you know your pathetic little band of warped Pokemon wouldn't get here in time, so you're stalling," the man answered. "If I didn't know any better," he added after a moment before lowering his gun. His smile widened into an insane grin as he looked away. "It would seem I've made a mistake, then. DeMons don't know how to stall, all they know is mindless killing. I could put you out of your misery, though, if you like. That wound looks awfully painful..." As he spoke, another warm breeze blew by, bringing his scent to me for the first time. I scowled as I caught my first whiff of it, then drew a sharp breath as I recoiled once again.

He was a Vampire!

"Why are you hunting down a DeMon?" I blurted, bringing the Vampire's attention back to myself. "Why...?" He chuckled a little, then turned away from me without answering my question. He started off in the direction from which I'd come, and after a taking a moment to shove away the pain of my injury, I headed after him. However, I couldn't keep up, and minutes later I was wandering around with no idea of what to do next.

Despite my best efforts to ignore it, the gunshot in my shoulder was raging with pain, with small fingers of it branching out to throb in my back, side, and chest. I came to a stop and reached up with my left hand, hooking it over my shoulder and tentatively feeling around. Even though I was using the faintest touch possible, a new blaze of torment ripped through me as my claw-tips grazed over the wound. I was knocked senseless for a moment, sinking to the ground as I gave a little whine. When I came back to the present, I took a shuddering breath and forced myself to my paw-feet.

My shoulder had been ripped open by the bullet, and I could only assume that my shoulder blade had been shattered. I tried to wiggle the fingers of my right hand, only to find I couldn't even twitch them. I gave a faint moan, the sharp, metallic scent of my blood making me want to sneeze. I held it back though, knowing it would only cause more pain. Instead, I focused on concentrating more energy on my wound. I would worry about the bullet later; at the moment, I needed to close the wound before I lost anymore blood, as I was beginning to feel a bit faint.

It took quite a bit of time, but finally I managed to close up the wound most of the way. There were still small gouges oozing blood, both were the bullet had hit me as well as where the Garchomp had slashed me, but at least I'd healed up enough to not die from blood loss or something. The pain, too, had receded to an annoying but tolerable deep-set throb.

The entire time I was mending my wounds, I kept thinking about the Vampire and why he might be after the DeMon who'd attacked the city. I doubted it had anything to do with the bitter blood, excuse the pun, between our races. Oh, I should explain. Vampires don't have any love for us DeMons, you see, because once we've possessed one Pokemon, we can do it again and again for eternity, if we remain strong enough. We can only possess Pokemon though, after becoming a DeMon, but the point is we can keep living. Once a Vampire, or just about any other creature, dies, that's game over for them. Most Vampires, and probably a lot of other races, resent us for our near-perfect immortality. Somehow, though, I knew this Vampire wasn't like that. He was hunting this DeMon for some other reason, which I couldn't fathom. The only way to find out would be to track him down and see if I could get him to tell me. Yeah, fat chance there...

I headed off, following the scent of the Vampire and wondering about everything that had happened within the past twenty-four hours. It was only when I heard the blast of that gun again did I realize I'd slipped into a walking stupor, which I was abruptly knocked out of. My head snapped to the left, and there in the distance was the Vampire. On its knees before him was a Garchomp DeMon, and I felt a thrill of the utmost revulsion pulse through me. Yeah, I know that there were hundreds, if not thousands, of Garchomp DeMons in the world, but I didn't have to think about sharing the same body as those horrid things if one wasn't in my view.

Like all other DeMons in Pure form, this one was a twisted mockery of what the host had once been. A bloated thing with blackened scales covering its rotund body, it looked like a corpse that had been left to stew in the sun and become horribly distended. Its legs were spindly and jointed like a spider's, and the claws of its feet-paws had split into dozens of long, thin needles. It had no arms; in place of the limbs were ten huge spikes, five on each side, and all of them were at least the size of a normal Garchomp arm. Its neck was about twice as long as a real Garchomp's, and set on top was a toad-like head. The torpedo-like projections on the sides of its head had elongated and thickened, becoming sharp horns that shone, no doubt with some kind of venom. Its back fin was missing scales and flesh on one side, revealing some pulsating organ that shuddered and jumped erratically; most likely the thing's heart. Its tail was a covered in raw, angry red sores, all of which were dribbling a thick black fluid. I knew if I got much closer, the scent from that goo would be ten times as bad as a a whole graveyard of unearthed corpses. 

Next to the Garchomp DeMon was a Spiritomb, floating around the beast with an air of desperation. It made an eerie moaning noise, and I strode over as the Vampire let fly another bullet. I didn't see where the last one had hit, but this one caught the DeMon in the head, turning it into a fountain of blood, brain, and bone. The body convulsed a few times, then fell forward and hit the ground with a wet, heavy thud. Behind it, the Spiritomb gave a ululating howl and jerked back and forth; it was obviously a Bound. Then I started, because there could be no doubt: this was the same Spiritomb from earlier!

I came to a stop a few feet away as the Spiritomb suddenly began to glow a sickly hue of dark maroon. It let out a wild cry, its eyes locking onto the Vampire that had slain its DeMon. 

=DAMN YOU!= it screeched in a voice that, despite being distorted by rage and grief, was unmistakably male. How a Spiritomb could be either male or female was something I'd always wondered at, but now wasn't the time for such idle thoughts. =BOKA, YOU KILLED BOKA! HIS SPIRIT IS GONE, YOU KILLED HIM, HE'S DEAD!!!=

"What's that thing going on about?" the Vampire asked, causing me to jump. It was clear he was talking to me, and I felt a shiver work its way down my spine. I had given no signal of my approach, and he had seemed completely occupied with killing the DeMon. I cleared my throat and translated the Pokemon's words as the glow around it darkened and expanded. The Vampire didn't seem troubled by the fury the Spiritomb was exuding, though, and I twitched uneasily as I watched him.

"Er, I really think standing there isn't such a good idea," I said. "This Spiritomb is extremely angry, if you haven't noticed. You did just kill the DeMon he was Bound to, you know." The Vampire simply smiled a little at my words though, only to get caught full-force in a vicious Ominous Wind attack seconds later. The darkness surrounding the Spiritomb blew outwards, forming a black whirlwind that engulfed the Vampire. I watched, dumbstruck, as the attack shredded his clothes and flesh, sending blood splattering everywhere. After several moments, the attack faded, and the bloody mess that had once been the Vampire fell in a heap to the street. 

I blinked, then looked up at the Spiritomb, which had now decided to target me for some reason. I started to back away, in no mood to fight the heartbroken Pokemon, but an absolute darkness fell upon me suddenly. Shocked, I looked around, but it was like I was standing in a void of nothingness. I growled softly, hooking my claws and readying for whatever was coming. A heartbeat later something slammed into me from the right, and something hard struck me forcefully in the ribs. I wheezed as the breath was jarred from my lungs, staggering and twisting to the side as I fought to stay on my feet-paws. After a few moments I found my balance, and the darkness of the Faint Attack lifted to reveal the Spiritomb hovering about a foot away.

Without hesitating, I whirled to face forward and called upon my Electricity Profession, sending dozens of thick tendrils of crackling, bright blue lightening flying towards the Forbidden Pokemon from my right arm and hand. The wounds on my shoulder sent shards of pain through me as I flung my arm out, but the hurt wasn't so bad that I couldn't push it away. Instead of paying any mind to it, I drew my focus to the electricity I was forging out of the energy of my spirit, weaving the tendrils into a sort of net.

"Electricity Profession, Specialty: Electric Matrix!" I cried, and the glowing blue net of power flared, turning white for a second before returning to its sharp crystalline cerulean. A massive burst of energy coursed through me and down my arm, exploding out of my hand and making the now-pulsing net send hundreds of snaking whips of electricity blasting out. These arched over the Spiritomb and enwrapped him, holding him fast while the main net closed itself slowly around the writhing, screaming Ghost. After he was sealed within the net, I uttered, "Activate."

Let me take a quick second to explain this. See, Specialties are the specific attacks of any given Profession. Electric Matrix was one of the strongest moves of my Electricity Profession, and it took a great deal of energy to initiate and power it. However, the element of a Speciality doesn't do anything until it's activated. For example, a Flame Specialty won't burn, a Water Speciality won't drown, a Toxin Specialty won't poison, until the DeMon activates it. It's to ensure we don't catch the wrong target in our Specialties, you know. And since we're on the subject, Professions are elements a DeMon has learned how to create and control. There are quite a few, and a DeMon can only learn up to three of them, so we have to choose carefully. Anyways...

The Spiritomb let out a horrendous screech when I activated the Electric Matrix, trying to thrash his way free of the Specialty. I grunted a little, because the effort of holding the Ghost was already starting to wear me down. I could feel my wounds opening up again, the strain of my attack ripping the frail, newly-healed flesh. The pain was beginning to turn from a throb to a stabbing pulse, and it wouldn't be long before I'd have to stop the Specialty and take a moment to rest.

At that moment, though, the Spiritomb seemed to come to its senses. His form became misty for a moment, then faded to a barely-visible haze as he became incorporeal. Now that he was no longer physical, he wasn't effected by the Electric Matrix, which I let drop a second later. I narrowed my eyes, wondering how I was supposed to fight a foe that I couldn't touch fang, claw, or attack to. I didn't need to wonder for long; the Spiritomb soon became solid once more, and I supposed it was because remaining immaterial took too much energy to stay like that for long.

I didn't have very long to think about it, though, because a second later the thing's outline wavered. Within the same instant he shot forward, seeming to slip into the shadows of the night, and reappearing a millisecond later. He was less than an inch away, and I had no time to dodge or block the attack before the thing slammed into me, the Keystone to which it was bound cracking against my chest. I let out a little hack and stumbled a few paces away, one hand reaching up to clutch at my aching chest and the other going out before me. My claws began to sizzle with golden light, which grew brighter and brighter until the light had covered my entire paw-hand. Then I jumped forward and slashed at the Spiritomb floating before me, my shimmering talons trailing light like a sparkler. 

The Pokemon tried to evade the Dragon Claw, but he was too slow. The attack caught him in what might have been his stomach area, if he'd had an actual body, and sent him flying back. I then crossed my arms in front of my face, focusing the energy in my body and directing it to my arm-fins. A moment passed and a faint, silvery gleam started to expand around the fins, rapidly spreading and intensifying. Within ten seconds my arm fins were coated in a scintillating sheen of power, and I lunged forward with a short, sharp roar as I ripped my arms down and apart.

The Dragon Rush slashed the Spiritomb, who'd been recovering from my Dragon Claw, across the face, resulting in the thing giving an ear-splitting howl. He shot backwards, his body quaking violently as the Keystone he was bound to jerked back and forth. I was preparing to continue my assault on him when a chill threaded its icy fingers down my spine, causing me to freeze and give a faint gasp. I glanced around, temporarily forgetting about the battle, and tried to spot what had caused the shudder to pass through me. A second later I spotted it, and I was so shocked I swear the back draft of a waving feather could have sent me sprawling.

The bloodied remains of the Vampire were smoking, or something. A thick haze was rising from his corpse, and an eerie blackness had settled over his body. I blinked, stumbling back a step, feeling my muscles tense beneath my scales. No way, there was no way he could actually have survived that! No way could he be regenerating his shredded, mangled carcass! But it was obvious that was exactly what was happening, because I could see the blood that had spurted from his wounds creeping back to the body, a sight that made another shiver jump through me. Faintly, I was aware of the Spiritomb hovering about a foot away, and I blankly turned to see him riveted by the Vampire's healing. He, too, was apparently shocked beyond reason that his victim was still alive. Well, as alive as a Vampire can be considered to be... 

My gaze was drawn back to the body as a soft chuckle drifted from the haze, which was now beginning to clear. The black-coated form slowly pulled itself upright, like liquid pouring upwards. Several moments later, the Vampire was standing before us, his body healed, his old-style outfit mended. His hat was tilted at an angle on his head, and a grin stretched across his face. He twisted his head from side to side, a loud pop emanating from his neck as he did. I blinked again; he was acting like he'd done nothing more than wake up from a good nap.

"How irritating," he said, giving another chuckle. "I wasn't expecting to have to deal with some broken wretch of a Pokemon too, and a Ghost, no less. Ah well, maybe I can get a bit of fun out of this, instead of another heap of disappointment." As he spoke, one glove-clad hand reached up, two fingers gripped the bridge of the sunglasses. The Vampire then pulled them away and let them drop carelessly to the ground, revealing eyes of the darkest crimson. He wasn't even looking at me and I could feel the power his gaze held. I took a slow breath and held it in for a second, trying to calm my jangled nerves. This night was becoming crazier and crazier...

"This isn't your fight anymore, girl," he said, snapping me back to attention. I shook my head a bit and focused on him, unnerved to see him staring at me. "You've taken a beating, isn't time for you to crawl away and lick your wounds?"

"Don't try and make me out to be weak!" I snapped, anger flaring in me. "I came to this city for a reason, and I'm not going to slink away no matter what you think! Anyways, you still haven't answered my question about why you would bother tracking down a DeMon. If it has anything to do with the Vampiric Pokemon, then I want to know. Besides, this Spiritomb is stronger than he-"

Before I could finish, I heard the sound of paws slapping the concrete behind me. I saw the Vampire's left eyebrow arch a little and began to turn, certain that some huge Pokemon would be looming over me and spewing doom. Much to my surprise, I caught the form of a little yellow blur hurtling at me, colliding with my side a heartbeat later and sending me crashing to the ground. I landed hard on my wounded shoulder, biting back a cry as pain exploded through me. I pushed it aside and rolled to my feet-paws, crouching as I sought my attacker.

I found it a moment in a most surprising form: a Psyduck! The little yellow duck was glaring at me with burning red eyes, its cream bill gaping open as it breathed hard and made little growling noises. The black feathers on its head were ruffled, a clear sign of not just agitation, but senseless fury, though you didn't have to see the Pokemon to know how mad it was. Rage crashed from it in waves so strong even a human would have sensed them.

The Pokemon gave another mindless shriek as it sucked in a breath, disgorging a huge bullet of crystal-blue water an instant later. I jumped to the side, avoiding the Hydro Pump, then heard an explosion behind me. Startled, I turned to see that the Vampire's left arm had...mutated, you could say, into some huge black dog-like thing. Red eyes ran all over his arm, or maybe I should say its body...either way, a side of its head was missing, an injury obviously inflicted by the Spiritomb that had re-engaged the short battle from earlier.

There was no time for that, though, because I heard a little screech from the Psyduck and whirled just in time to see it charging at me. I reacted quickly, slashing my good arm at it and sending calling upon my Electricity Profession again.

"Electricity Profession, Specialty: Electrocution Barrier!" I hissed, and bright orange threads of power sparked from my claw-tips. They then wove themselves into a magnificent glowing field of electricity at a blinding rate. "Activate!" I completed the Specialty just in time; the Psyduck slammed into it and howled as unnatural electricity pounded through it. After several moments it was thrown to the ground, where it lay stunned, and I dropped the Electrocution Barrier with a heavy sigh. I was running dangerously low on energy, and I wouldn't be able to hold my Hybrid form for much longer, let alone power my Professions. This battle needed to end, and end quickly. 

"All right pal, this is what's gonna happen," I panted at the Pokemon as it struggled to its webbed paws, "I'm gonna fight you and then I'm gonna Bind you, because I don't feel like killing anything else now. There's been too much death tonight..." While I had a moment, I turned to the Vampire and the Spiritomb, who were having some strange shadow-duel or something, and called, "Hey, don't kill that thing, I'm gonna Bind it, got it?" Of course, I received no answer, but it wasn't like I'd honestly been expecting one.

I gave a little huff and faced my foe, who had gained its feet by now and was giving me such a vicious look that I felt my heart flutter. Then it opened its bill wide, and I saw the possibly the most shocking thing of the past twenty-four hours. Two huge, white fangs dropped from its top bill, and I realized that I was fighting one of the Vampiric Pokemon I'd been searching for!

=NNNNNAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!= it screamed, stomping one of its feet and flailing its arms around madly. Its eyes flared brightly for a moment, and a purple glow began to grow around it. Within seconds, it had engulfed the duck so much it was barely visible, and I took a step back. Before I could do much else, the Psyduck slashed its right paw at me, sending a thick vine of the purple energy flying at me. It wrapped around my injured arm and jerked me into the air, earning a harsh cry of pain from me as my shoulder was wrenched about. As I was lifted higher, the energy flowed up the cord connecting me to the Pokemon and started covering me, leaving a cold, painful sensation where it touched. 

I thrashed against the Confusion, but there was no breaking free. After a moment the mental energy had washed over me completely, and I felt a horrible senselessness befall me. I couldn't tell what was going on, couldn't think properly. I was so befuddled I could scarcely remember how I had got like this. With a massive effort, though, I remembered I was in a battle and currently at the mercy of a crazy vampirized Psyduck. I grunted weakly and started struggling, trying to get free, but felt myself released in the next instant. I fell to the ground, landing on my good shoulder this time, and staggered as quickly as my baffled mind would let me.

Before I had a chance to collect my senses and try to break out of my confusion, I felt a hard blow to my gut. I gasped and stumbled back, clapping my arms over my stomach and doubling over as the wind was once again knocked from me. The attack helped me snap out of my confusion, though, and as I coughed and wheezed I looked up to see the Psyduck land on its rear. Apparently it had just used a Zen Headbutt on me, because it was wailing and clutching at its head; that last attack must have caused its headache to worsen. I took advantage of this and jumped at it, swinging my upper body down and opening my jaws, then chomping down on the Pokemon's head in a Crunch move. I lifted it into the air as it let out keening cry, shaking it back and forth before tossing it to the ground. It hit with a dull thump, bounced once, and then lay still. 

I wasn't taking any chances though. I jumped back and sucked in a deep breath, focusing the energy within me. I then opened my jaws wide as the energy began to gather behind my fangs in a sparkling orange orb. Several seconds later I snapped my head down, firing the prepared Hyper Beam and watching it hit the Psyduck smack-dab a moment later. The little duck made a strangled noise as it was struck by the move and sent flying. When it landed again it grunted weakly, but made no effort to stand.

I inhaled deeply as I took a moment to recharge from the powerful move I'd just let loose, stretching a little and quickly checking my energy level. Low, very low, and I still had to Bind the Psyduck as well as finish weakening the Spiritomb enough to Bind it, too. I groaned softly; I was going to be sore and tired for days after this night, but the knowledge of what I would gain helped keep me going.

After recovering, I trudged over to where the Psyduck was laying and knelt beside it, reaching out to place my left hand-paw on its back. Then I forced a little rope of energy down my arm, out of my hand, and through the Psyduck's back. My eyes slid shut as I worked, and instantly a sort of vision come to me. I could see the Psyduck's internal workings, the highways of veins, the structure of the skeleton, everything. I followed a particularly large vein until I became aware of a sickly, pulsing essence that was the Pokemon's spirit.

I recoiled from it at first, because the wrongness of it was so horrible I almost felt physically sick. The Psyduck's spirit shouldn't have been this ill-looking purple, shot through with dark yellow threads of corruption that brought to mind an oozing, infected wound. It should have been a gentle white, with the faint blue of the duck's element woven around it.

I didn't want to touch my energy to that darkness, end of story. There was no way around it, however. If worse came to worse, I could always put the poor thing out of its misery, if I couldn't do anything for it after Binding it. After taking a moment to steel myself, I pushed forward and started wrapping my energy around the Psyduck's tainted soul. The sensation of it was terrible, like my body wanted was trying to turn itself inside out. Beneath my hand-paw, the Psyduck started trembling and whimpering. I wondered if maybe the process of Binding it was causing it pain, then sighed and drew my awareness away from it. My eyes opened as my energy continued to Bind the Psyduck on its own. Now that the process had been started, only a few things could interrupt it. Unfortunately, one of those things could possibly be true, and that was that I might not have enough energy left to spare for Binding. Ah well, I'd find out soon enough.

I pulled away from the Pokemon and stood, feeling horribly tired as I did. The last thing I wanted to do was jump back into battle, but there was no chance I was going back down now. If I could Bind the Psyduck and the Spiritomb, I might be able to get information otherwise unavailable to me. The Psyduck could tell me how it had become Vampiric, the Spiritomb could inform me why his DeMon had called off his Horde earlier. The latter might not have been very important, but some deep instinct told me to find out anyways.

I turned to the battle being fought between the Spiritomb and the Vampire, rubbing my hand-paws together and preparing myself. Then I nodded once and tilted my head back, inhaling as deeply as I could. Once my lungs were full, I pulled in my gut, squeezing a special sac located above my intestines and sending a jet of chemicals shooting into my lungs via a long, slender tube. As soon as the chemicals and the air combined, the oxygen combusted and I snapped my head down, spewing a massive Flamethrower attack. The brilliant orange flames ate up the distance between myself and the Spiritomb within seconds, washing over it and wretching a cry from him.

I tore forward, ignoring the Vampire as he turned to face me with a scowl. I didn't care if he was angry with my taking his battle, there were more important things to worry about. I jumped as the blaze of the Flamethrower extinguished itself, revealing a stunned and vunerable Spiritomb. My leap carried me over the Pokemon, and when I was directly above it, I flipped myself upside down and grabbed the top of its whirling mass in my jaws. It was the strangest feeling, like I had taken a big bite of cotton candy that was melting and staying firm at the same time.

After snatching the Pokemon, I flipped backwards so I was right-side up. When I landed the next moment, I used the momentum from the leap to throw the Ghost into a nearby tree. It hit hard, the Keystone cracking loudly against the tall plant's truck, and let out a little groan as it slowly started to sink to the ground. But the thing really was stronger than he looked, because he let out a snarl and lifted, quite suddenly, into the air. He cackled madly, spiraling about like a violet arrow, then screamed in sadistic pleasure. I winced from the sound and knew what it meant; the Spiritomb had just conceived a Nasty Plot, and was now preparing to fulfill it.

I crossed my arms in front of my face, determined to end this attack before the Ghost could unleash its fury on me, but he remembered the pose from the last time I'd used my Dragon Rush. He shot up higher into the air, out of my range, and laughed maniacally as he floated back and forth. I growled softly, deciding to try another Flamethrower, but I didn't get the chance to do anything. A rush of darkness flew by me, making my mane blow all over the place from the backwind. I yelped and jumped to the left, looking back to see that the Vampire's arm had once again warped into some eye-covered thing. A twisted smile sat on his face as he looked up, and I did as well to find the Spiritomb caught in the freakishly large jaws of what had once been an hand. The Spiritomb screeched as he was then dragged back down, and within a minute, he was back in my range of attack. I had no time to use one, though, because the air around the thing began pulsing and weaving, making it look like a miniature heat wave had generated around him. It wasn't heat that caused the disturbance, though, but a ripple of darkness that snapped to life before the Forbidden Pokemon. The air shuddered more and more as the pulsating darkness grew darker and larger, and suddenly it exploded out in a wicked Dark Pulse.

The jaws holding the Spiritomb down were disintegrated by the power of the attack, which had obviously been the Nasty Plot he had come up with earlier, and knocked me back several feet. I toppled to the ground, stunned and hurting all over, heard the Spiritomb giggle in awful triumph. I made a sound somewhere between a growl and a groan, then pushed myself unsteadily to my feet-paws. 

=Dead, dead, dead, dead, dead, dead, soon you'll be dead, dead like poor Boka, dead, dead, dead, dead...= the Pokemon was saying in a crazed, sing-song voice. It was unsettling, the way his voice rose and fell as he repeated the word "dead," then become monotonous and bland when he said everything else. I shivered and glanced around for a moment, looking for the Vampire. He was standing about a foot away, having been far away enough to avoid the brunt of the Dark Pulse. His arm was back to normal, other than looking a bit ripped up, and when he noticed me looking at him he chuckled a little.

"Your friend's got some strength in it," he said, holding up his hand and flexing his fingers. "Must be at a high level, or pumped up on vitamins. I've never had this kind of trouble from a Pokemon, not even a Ghost." He laughed, louder this time, and turned his gaze to the Spiritomb, who had apparently become enthralled by his own song about how the Vampire and I would soon be dead. I scowled at the Pokemon, then felt a jolt course through me. I gasped in surprise, then clenched my jaws and took a deep breath. I had five, maybe six or seven minutes, to finish this battle and Bind the Spiritomb, not to mention finish Binding the Psyduck. After that time my energy would be completely spent, and as experience had taught me in the past, I would end up unconscious from the thorough drain.

As the Spiritomb continued singing, I once again sucked in a large amount of air, injecting the chemical mixture from my acid-sac into my lungs and combusting the oxygen. Instead of automatically releasing the fire as a Flamethrower, though, I forced another squirt of chemicals into the flames. The effect was instantaneous: my jaws were forced open as a massive conflagration rocketed up and out of my throat, splitting itself into the shape of a five-pointed star. The body of the attack, where the five arms connected, slammed into the shocked Spiritomb, and the arms of the Fire Blast enveloped him as the attack collapsed into a giant orb of brilliant red flames.

From within the vortex I heard the Spiritomb screaming, and every so often a black flare would skewer through the large blazing sphere as he tried to break free. None of his efforts paid off, though, and the attack petered out on its own about a minute later. As the last tongues of the Fire Blast were blown out by a stray breeze, I watched the Spiritomb that had been entrapped within them sink to the ground, its eyes half-shut in pain and fatigue. When I walked over and knelt before him, his eyes cracked open a bit more before narrowing to slits.

=My Boka...= he muttered, =he's gone, I'm alone again...=

"No, no," I said softly, slowly placing a hand-paw on his Keystone. "You're not alone. Your DeMon is dead, yes, but that doesn't mean you have to be alone."

=It hurts,= the Ghost whispered in response, surprising me. =My spirit hurts, the place where he was is empty now...= I remained silent, not knowing what to say. I had never made any Bound of my own in the past, hating the idea of taking away a Pokemon's choices by making it into a blindly loyal slave. I only knew of how a Pokemon's spirit looks from descriptions I'd heard over the years, not from actually seeing one. I'd never heard anything, though, of what it was like for a Bound to lose their DeMon, at least not like this. I knew they were always filled with rage and grief when their DeMon truly died, but I didn't know they felt a physical pain as well.

"Well, it won't be empty for long," I said after a moment's silence. "I'll make you into my Bound, and you won't have to be alone or hurt anymore." At my words, the Spiritomb seemed to sag slightly. It was as if he had been thinking about trying to continue fighting, but had changed his mind with the promise of not "being alone." His eyes opened fully as he stared at me, and I nodded gently as I closed my eyes and once again forced a bit of my energy from my body and into another's.

It was different this time, though. I found myself seeing the nooks and cracks and tiny bits of material that made up the Keystone to which the Spiritomb was bound. A feeling of being steady and infinitely patient washed over me, and I felt the pain from the battles and strains of the night fading, as if I were becoming hard, unfeeling stone myself. I lingered for a moment, enjoying the sensations, then forced myself to focus on the task at hand. 

I pressed forward until I came to the Spiritomb himself. It was a somewhat unbalancing transition to go from ancient stillness to whirling existence as suddenly as I did, and the shock of it almost made me lose my concentration. I managed to draw my focus back, though, marveling at how different the Ghost's essence was from the Psyduck's.

He had no body, so I didn't see any of the internal workings like I had with the duck. Instead of veins, bones, and such, I saw millions of pulsing lights that seemed to have some strange pattern to their trembling. Here was a tight ball of several bright purple lights, thumping in a rhythm that reminded me of a heart. Everywhere I looked were long strings of soft blue light, seeming to flow like blood through a vein. It was as if I were looking at ethereal organs, the insubstantial body systems of a creature with no real body. 

I oriented myself on one of the larger light-flows, following its curving, twisting path until I came to the Pokemon's spirit. It was strange, because there were faint cracks in the gentle white soul, as if it had been split into many different pieces. All of these were connected with the tiniest threads of black and deep maroon, the colors of the Spiritomb's types. After a brief moment of being puzzled, I remembered that Spiritomb were created by the combining of many different spirits, all of which were held together by the Keystone. 

I centered myself for a long moment, knowing it would be harder to Bind a Pokemon who's spirit was whole, yet divided. I split the energy within the Spiritomb's body into dozens of barely-there cords and set to threading them about each piece individually. After that had been done, I sent another wash of energy to wrap around the entire spirit. I didn't know if the former had been needed, but I didn't want to take the chance of somehow leaving a part of the Spiritomb un-Bound. I had no idea if that was possible, but I was in no shape or mood to find out.

After all that was done, I pulled my awareness from the Spiritomb and collapsed back onto my butt, terribly sore and tired. I only had a few scant moments left before my last dregs of energy fled me, but I was determined to stay conscious long enough to see whether or not I'd managed to Bind either of the two Pokemon I'd fought. My wary gaze bounced back and forth between the Psyduck and the Spiritomb, and, for the moment, at least, I forgot about the Vampire as I anxiously waited for what would come next...