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Division 42, Ch. 5: Sibling Rivalry

"Kate, is that you?" I asked. I couldn't believe this. My sister, who I believed had died eight years ago, was right there in front of me. She had long brown hair with hazel eyes. She was wearing some kind of uniform, one of the uniforms that I had seen grunts wearing. That's when it clicked, she was working for THEM!!

"Kate, why are you working for them? Remember . . . remember the good times we had? Our parents . . . they think you're dead. You've got to come back with me, Please!!!" I tried to plead with her, trying to get her to see the error of her ways and come with me but she just stood there, the pissed off expression on her face still present.

She turned to the man, stared at him and gave a quick nod. She turned back to me, a blank expression now on her face. She then turned to Reshiram and nodded to her, before turning back to me. For a few seconds, there was silence. A mind-numbing silence that filled me with a sense of dread. What felt like hours was really only a couple minutes, when she decided to make her move. . .

Towards me!

I was taken aback by this. My sister, who I'd seen for only a few moments after believing her to be dead for years, was charging at me, a sword drawn and out, her eyes now focused with deadly intent on me. I could see the years of knowledge of how to take down an opponent, in her face and body. She was really going to kill me if I didn't act now.

When she got close, I sidestepped the attack and grabbed her arm, twisting the sword out of her grip and disarming her. She was expecting that, for she already had a knife in her other hand and struck at my chest. With my other hand, I hit a nerve point on her wrist, releasing the knife from her grasp and caught the knife with mine. Bringing it up, I held it to her throat, poised to cut at the slightest move.

She got the message and relaxed but still was alert for even the slightest chance that I might let my guard down. I pulled her over to the man and demanded of him, "Why the hell is my sister here, working for you? How did you get her? And, above all else, why did you fake her death?"

He was silent, then began to laugh softly. The laughter grew louder and sounded maniacal, causing me to shudder involuntarily and almost nick my sister. I looked down at her, catching the form of a smile beginning, then looked back at him. Oh, he was asking for it now.

I was about to let my rage take control of me. I wanted to throw Kate down, run up to him and stab him repeatedly, then end it by slitting his damned throat! I would make him watch as I took everything from him, the way he did to me. I was about to go down that road, until I heard a voice from the cage.

"Chris...," I heard Rena call. She was getting up slowly after fainting from expending too much energy the last time she had stood up. It looked like she was determined to say something but I was more worried about her than what she had to say.

I told her, "Please Rena, just lay back down and everything will be alright. We'll all go home and I'll do whatever you want. Just, please, don't overexert yourself." Mew, heal Rena and take Dash with you for backup.

I heard a shuffle of paws on the hardwood floor and sighed, knowing that Mew had given the message to Dash. My attention split between the man and my sister but I saw them out of my peripheral vision, approaching the cage. When they got there, Mew extended her small arm towards the cage to reach between the bars and use her healing abilities on Rena. But before she could do that, Rena screamed,"NO! DON'T!"

Her warning came too late. As soon as Mew passed her hand through the bars, she fell from where she had floated, writhing in pain and her high voice crying out. She collapsed on the ground, going into spasms and her eyes giving a distant stare.

Dash screamed,"NO!" He turned quickly and tried to collect Mew into his arms. This sent the shocks Mew received into him, as he was grounded and part of the circuit. The shocks were more intense than before. He clenched his jaw in pain, his body not prepared for the new sensations invading his body. He wouldn't give the man who was watching all of this with a sadistic lopsided grin on his face, the satisfaction of seeing him scream out in pain, though it was causing him such pain that he wanted to scream to the heavens.

I watched all of this in horror and revulsion. It made me sick to my stomach to see the pain they were in and to see the man just watch all of this with pure joy on his face, like he was watching his favorite program on TV.

"Okay, that tears it!! Mewtwo! Hold my sister...", I shouted and released my hold on Kate, spinning her out of my grasp before rushing at him. I didn't see Mewtwo get my sister, nor did I care. All I wanted was to see this man die by my hands.

When my sister left my arms, I ran. I ran towards him, yelling with pure rage, adrenaline coursing through my veins. When I got close, I made a slash at him and he took it, my aim hitting true. His throat was split open and his blood was sprayed everywhere. His face was the same, that lopsided grin plastered on his face below his sadistic eyes. They were brimming with pure joy over the fact that there was blood, even if the blood was his.

He fell to the floor, blood pooling around him and soaking into his clothes. I stood there for a few seconds, watching him die before my eyes, the only thought that crossed my mind was, That was easy.

I turned my attention to Dash and Mew. Her body was still making little spasms as Dash held her close. I rushed over and pulled them away from the cage and the electric field. Grabbing a med pack that I had saved for just such an occasion, I looked them over. Normally, I would have used Mew for the healing but since she was incapacitated with pain, I figured now was the perfect time for this.

I opened the med pack and looked over its contents. What could I use to heal her? Taking a needle full of some clear blue liquid with words I couldn't understand, I prepared it. I had a gut feeling that this would heal her and following my gut instinct, plunged the needle into her leg and pushed the plunger down. The medicine flowed into her and I watched for any sign it was working.

She was still having spasms but after a few seconds, they began to slow down until she stopped and fell asleep. Dash looked relieved that she was now getting better and held her close. I put a hand on his shoulder and got up, looking at the rest of my team, still waiting for me.

"Okay,", I said, "Latios, Latias, use your psychic abilities and disable the electric field surrounding the cage."

They both nodded and flew over to the cage. Their eye sockets glowed blue and both bodies were surrounded by a blue aura. After a few seconds, I heard a distinct click and the sound of the power going off. Both Eon Pokémon relaxed and looked to me, nodding their heads to say that they were done. I gave them a thumbs up and turned to DJ. I asked him,"DJ, use Force Palm on the door."

He turned to me and said,"You got it."

He stood in front of the gated door, focused for a second and delivered the Force Palm so fast and powerful that it blew the door to the opposite wall, a small crater smoking in the keyhole slot, all in the blink of an eye. He turned his head back at me and smiled. I couldn't help but smile back as I reached my hand to give his head a rub.

I walked inside, eyes instantly on Rena. She looked horrible, her once proud, clean fur was now covered in cuts and blood. Her face was bruised, battered and swollen from numerous punches. Her body was cut all over, ranging from shallow to deep. I was still amazed that she could still be breathing, let alone have the strength to stand.

I rushed over and reached out to touch her. I saw her flinch away and was taken aback by this action. She knew it was me but she didn't want to be touched by me. What had they done to her?

When I finally did touch her, her head moved up to me and I saw that her eyes were distant, staring at something far away. I put my other hand to her face and she tensed. Her eyes came back and was about to attack, when she noticed me. She looked scared and started to cower as she tried to scurry away.

"Please, don't hurt me! DON'T HURT ME!!!", she screamed at me, her arms out in front of her to protect herself.

I grabbed her arms and pulled her in for a hug. I said the next few words as tenderly as I could and with great concern,"Rena, it's me. It's Chris. Don't you remember? I came here to rescue you."

She still wasn't having it. She pushed on my chest to get away from me. She pushed so hard that I lost my grip for a second and she slipped out, crawling back into a corner and where she cowered in fear. I was stunned at how she was acting. It was like she forgot about me in a matter of seconds.

I pulled off my helmet, letting her see my face and the worried expression on it. She was still shaking when she turned her head to look up and saw me. I reached out to touch her and she let me, with no resistance. I pulled her to me and held her close and tight.

"Oh, Rena . . . I'm sorry for everything you've been through. I should have made sure that I was watching you more closely. Please, forgive me...", I begged her. I held back tears, guilty for every cut she'd received, for every beating she'd had, for every minute she had spent in this hellhole. I shuddered to think of what that sadistic bastard had done to her and anger made my heart pound.

I felt her hands reach up on my back and move into a hug. She whined,"Oh, Chris... I'm just so relieved . . . that you came all this way . . . for me . . . ."

I smiled, hearing her voice again makes my heart grow calm. I pulled away from her and inspected the cuts more closely. The paws on her arms and legs were covered in little scratches but the more I got closer to her body, the more severe the cuts were. When I reached her torso and belly, There they were the worst. I saw that they were extremely deep with bits of pus yellow around the edges, showing signs of infection.

"Crap," I said, "I didn't know it would be this bad... Wait here! I need to get you some help." I got up and ran out, seeing everyone's eyes on me.

"She's hurt, but she'll live. Her cuts are severe enough that I want her to get some medical attention," I said as I rushed over to where Mew and Dash were.

The pair of them were over in a corner on the far side of the room, talking intently in hushed tones so that I couldn't hear what they were saying.

"Mew," I asked when I reached them,"are you okay? Can you heal Rena now?"

She looked back up to me and smiled a little tiredly, but said,"Yes, I can..." She then looked at Dash and then looked down from his arms and said,"But, I won't do anything without Dash there."

"Of course. Dash, from now on you are to never leave Mew's side. You are to be her constant companion and guardian. I will have a room set up for you when we get back. For now, we have to get Rena back home and get her some help. Mew, please heal her as best you can for transport. I'll leave it to you..."

I got up and looked over everyone else. Mewtwo was still holding my sister as best as he could without using his powers. Latios and Latias were over in a corner resting, Jake and Silver were just standing by the door and taking everything in as best as they could, and Zekrom...

Zekrom was still trying to talk to his sister, Reshiram, telling her how much he missed her and demanding to know what she was doing here. Reshiram was giving her brother the silent treatment, looking at Kate and wondering what to do so Kate could be released, but no harm can fall on her. In a flash, she disappeared from her current position, only to appear behind me. I turned around to try and fight back, but it was too late.

She wrapped a wing around me and closed it tightly around my throat. I struggled, but it only made the situation worse. My throat was closing and it began to get difficult for air to get to my lungs. I stopped and the pressure released, only enough for me to breathe but not enough for me to escape.

Everyone was looking over at us, some with surprised expressions, others in anger. I just wanted to get back to Rena.

Zekrom walked over to us, talking all the way. "Sister, please, be rational... Remember, we have a sworn oath to protect "The One"... If you go through with this, everyone will not survive... even Kate. Let him go, now..."

As he spoke, he got closer and she was starting to second guess herself. Her grip only relaxed for a second but that was all I needed. I slipped out and turned to her, seeing her blank expression and her body shaking at the fight she was having inside her. My hand was on the butt of my pistol but I didn't pull it. Instead, I came closer to her and pulled her into a hug. I don't know why I did it, but I followed my gut, for it seemed to always be right about these kinds of things, anyway.

Her eyes went wide and she tried to back away, but couldn't. I knew she needed this, she needed to know that people other than Kate care about her. I was soon joined by Zekrom, who hugged her from behind and whispered,"Please, you must get out of his hold... You must get free and be yourself, the way I remember you... Please, sister... Please..."

I looked into her eyes, seeing the fog that was there, begin to lift. She looked around and saw me holding her in a hug. She then looked behind her and saw Zekrom and began to remember everything that had happened to her before the brainwashing.

She remembered her and her brother having a picnic with the other legendary Pokémon. She remembered talking to them, playing games and all the fun she had. She remembered her mother and father. She remembered everything.

She started to break down and cry. She was also remembering all the bad things she'd done while under the brainwashing: the beatings she gave to others, the killings she was made to do, all the verbal abuse she gave to someone in particular. She couldn't believe she had done all those things but she had.

Somehow, I could see everything that she'd done, through her eyes! I could see her use the whip that inflicted the wounds on Rena, could hear her scream at Rena and call her horrible things. And during all of this, I felt... pleasure. I felt satisfaction in knowing that I was pleasing my master, him.

I still didn't understand what had happened, when Reshiram turned to face me. She took be in a bear hug and cried on my shoulder. I looked at Zekrom for help, but he was smiling and just stood there.

In a few moments, after the storm of emotion had calmed, when she was finished, she looked back at me and smiled.

"Thank you for staying with me, Caretaker. It means a lot to me.", she said before letting go of me and began to walk towards my sister, who was still in the grasp of Mewtwo.

I turned to Zekrom, wondering what the hell just happened, when he answered,"Don't worry about it. It's what she does. Also, I think she's taken a liking to you."

I sighed and looked down. I wondered aloud,"Why is it that all the legendary Pokémon seem to like me? I mean, I always wanted to meet them in real life and now, I don't know if I can handle all of this attention!"

Zekrom laughed and patted my back, saying,"You signed up for this, so take the responsibility!" He walked away and I just stood there, in my own thoughts. I just couldn't believe that all of this was real, that it was happening to me, of all people!

While I stood there, I didn't notice Latios and Latias coming up beside me until I could feel their feathers against my hands. I looked at both of them and smiled, seeing the worried expressions on their faces. I reassured them that things would be alright and began to walk towards Jake and Silver. I was wondering what they thought of all of this, when I was held back. I turned and saw both of the Eon Pokémon. It seemed they were not buying my assurance and worried expressions were still on their faces. They wanted to talk but all I heard from them was cooing and other poke-speech.

"Sorry, guys. I wish I can understand you, I really do but I can't.", I told them sadly. I tried to turn away but was still held by the both of them. I was now puzzled and concerned by how they were acting. I asked,"Guys, what's wrong?"

They looked at each other and nodded. They both had something planned and were now about to act on it. I was still trying to figure out what they wanted, when Latias floated nearer and kissed me. That pulled me out of my thoughts, fast. When she was done, Latios wasted no time in coming up and kissing me as well.

I was extremely nervous now, having received a kiss from both Latios and Latias. I looked away in embarrassment, thinking of the others seeing this. That made both Eon Pokémon seem to smile. What happened next blew me away.

"Aw, come now Chris. You mustn't think that way. It was only to give you the ability to understand us. Besides, it was Latias' plan, not mine." I turned to the voice speaking and it was Latios whose mouth was moving. His mouth was moving, words were coming out and I could understand them!

"Please, Chris, you must understand." I now turned to Latias, who was speaking and she continued, "The kiss was only for you to be able to understand all Pokémon who can't use telepathy or who weren't born with the gift of human-speak. This was the only way for you to completely understand every Pokémon that you will come across, including us. Only a legendary could ever bestow this gift unto a human."

"Wow," I exclaimed, "this is amazing! I can finally understand Pokémon! This is probably one of the greatest moments of my life! Thank you, both of you, but there is no time for celebrations just yet. We have to get Rena out, now!"

I ran back over to Mew and Dash, who were busy healing Rena for travel so she wouldn't bleed as badly as before. She now had bandages on her arms, legs and torso but she couldn't walk. I picked her up, bridal style and made my way to the door. I called out with most of my attention focused on Rena,"All right, guys, let's get out of here. Mewtwo, bring my sister with us. Everyone else, follow me."

"Uh, there might be a slight problem with that...", I heard him say.

"How so?" I asked and turned around to see what the problem was. I saw my sister holding a hunter's knife to the throat of Mewtwo. Aww, crap... I thought to myself.

"Come on, sis. Now isn't the time to -", I started to say, but was cut off by Kate.

Venomously, she spat out, "I am not your sister. I have no family. I am loyal only to my master, who you killed in cold blood! Now I must kill someone close to you, for you to see the pain I'm in."

She made for Mewtwo's throat but was stopped short by my hand. I don't know how I had managed to close the thirty-foot gap between us in a matter of milliseconds, nor did I care. All I cared about were two things: getting Mewtwo out of this alive and getting Kate to come to her senses.

I kept a firm grip on her wrist, to keep the blade away from Mewtwo's throat and anyone else. I looked into her eyes, seeing the pure hatred and blind rage in there but beneath all that, I saw fear. Fear of what would happen to her in the presence of someone as strong as me.

I spoke to her in a firm, yet calm voice,"Kate, please don't do anything you're going to regret. Reconsider who's important, remember your past. Remember me..."

I don't know what compelled me to do this but I put my other hand to her forehead and began to think about all the times we had had before she disappeared. The times we fought, the times we got along. Even when we had watched movies and commented to each other on how dumb some people were.

I remembered how she had 'died' in the fire at our house. Everyone had gotten out except for her. I had rushed back in and tried to find her, ignoring all the calls for me to come back. I was ten at the time and she was nine. I searched all throughout the house, from the living room to her bedroom on the second floor. The heat from the fire was intense, the smoke choking me but I couldn't give up! I could feel that I was about to lose consciousness, when I saw her.

I felt relieved to have found her, but my relief turned to worry. I saw something behind her pick her up, take her and run. She was screaming my name all the way and that tore at me. I ran after them but my lungs couldn't handle all the toxic air and I felt myself slip into unconsciousness.

I woke up on a gurney, breathing pure oxygen from a mask. I struggled to get up but was pushed down by hands. I tried to scream out that my sister was gone but that only put me into a coughing fit and I passed out after that.

After my brief stay at the hospital, I searched relentlessly all throughout the area, but she was nowhere to be found.

I told my parents about what happened in the fire but they didn't believe me. They told me that the lack of oxygen had caused hallucinations. Despite what they told me, I didn't believe that she was dead. I saw what had happened to her with my own eyes!

No one believed me . . . . After a while, I even began to believe the lie; to believe that my sister, who I cherished beyond anything, was indeed dead. But my dreams of her being snatched away, of her screaming my name to save her, brought me back to reality. I never forgot about her.

I had lost her once; I will not lose her again!

Finally, I broke contact with her, both of us panting as if we had ran a marathon. I looked at her and she looked at me. Her eyes held something that made my spirits soar, the gleam of recognition. She finally remembered me!

I smiled and hugged her, holding on like I would never let her go. She tentatively hugged me back and whispered,"Chris... where are we? Why is everyone staring at us? And why do some of them look as if they came from a video game?"

I pulled back, laughing softly from happiness and amusement as I told her,"No time to explain. Right now, we have to leave this place. I'll explain everything when we get home."

"Okay..." Kate said with confusion. I grabbed Rena, took Kate's hand and gathered everyone at the exit. I was about to open the door, when I felt a chill run down my spine. I'd felt that same chill before and it could only be for one reason.

"No..." I whispered and turned back, only to look at him again. His throat still torn but no blood leaked from the gash. He was completely dry and yet somehow he was alive!

"No! It's impossible!! HOW THE HELL ARE YOU STILL ALIVE?!?!", I yelled at him. I thought this was all over, but I knew it wouldn't have been that easy. Damn it, why are things never easy?...

He began to laugh, his laughter becoming insane. His voice was demonic, like the devil himself was speaking though him.

"My name is Zorel, and you will never leave this place . . . alive." He began to laugh again, while wind whipped around us. Books flew around him at a fast pace. I knew we were in some deep shit, but I had to figure out a way for us to escape.

"Okay, guys," I called out to everyone over the wind whipping around us, "I have a plan. On three, run through the door and don't look back..."

I held out a flash grenade and pulled the pin. I threw it and screamed,"THREE!!!"

Everyone ran out the set of double doors as the grenade exploded right on its target: Zorel's face!

I was about to turn tail and run after them but I froze for a second upon hearing the words that came out of his mouth.

"Well, let the games begin..."

I gulped and ran, not looking back but knowing that he was fine and sporting that lopsided grin on his face.

***

Well, the long awaited fifth chapter is finally here, y'all!!!

Please, PLEASE rate, comment and fave.... also, the occasional watch couldn't hurt...

Disclaimer: Everyone belongs to their respected owners, so i can use them to my heart's desire and get away with it...

Special thanks goes out to Dash: my beta reader for this... He fixed it up and I finetuned it here and there, so it can flow nicely...

Next up on the agenda is.... "How Cliche" - my collab with Jake Shadow Wolf...

The teaser will be out soon, and based on feedback, we'll see if we want to continue it or not...

So, until then....

See ya starside...