Into the inferno 2 (ITI II) Stoke the flames
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. That is all. Actually, it isn't all. I love writing little things at the beginning of my stories. So here I go... Yeah... I got nothing. On another note... RETRO CHARGE! HYYYAAAAAA! Jaiden =>picture of Gnasher Shotgun=>Ajay CHAT Ajay (ENEMY/COG): **** YOU! YOU *ING PIECE OF *! WHERE THE **** DID YOU GET AMMO FOR THAT YOU DIRTY PIECE OF *! YOU CAN'T JUST LET ME MOTHERING STAB YOU ONE ***ING TIME!?!? SERVER==::::Ajay46 (ENEMY/COG) has been muted for over-bitching. Jaidenthebeast (ALLY/LOCUST): Rofl. What a noob. SERVER==::::Destr0yer!X! (ALLY/LOCUST) has muted to laugh at Ajay for being such an epic fail. SERVER==::::Ajay (ENEMY/COG) has left the game. Fine. We didn't want you anyway. Have a cry. TheTh1rdpartyVII (ENEMY/COG): Hi guzy! XD SERVER==::::TheTh1rdpartyVII (ENEMY/COG) has been muted for not saying something funny. Btw, that's not how you spell "guys". Damn noobs. AMIRITE? Chapter six Shattered. ___.___ You step on a mine. Next thing you know, you're in pieces, strewn all across the world you thought you once knew. You've read all the maps they gave you. You've seen the diagrams and studied the locations. You thought you knew where all the traps lay and you tread carefully in those areas, stepping around and slipping through unscathed. Even with all those pitfalls, you knew your way around, and thought there was nothing that could surprise you. You Were Wrong. Alex couldn't get to sleep. Who could blame him? He wasn't calm, he was anxious. Hell was he. He didn't feel right. He felt different. He had thought of himself as one way for his whole life, and now he was suddenly something different. His dad had absolutely shut down after that last comment, leaving Alex in a state of shock and disbelief being told his mother was a Pokémon. 'How can this be possible?' Alex shook his head, still in disbelief as he patted Haley in his lap. She leaned back into him comfortingly. Teri sat on his bed opposite him, cross legged like he was. She also was a little distraught, she could feel his aura on her, and it was uneasy and restless. It was jumpy and wavy. '(Maybe it's not.)' Haley suggested hopefully, as if he could hear her and believe her, just to cheer him up. '(It is.)' Teri replied unhelpfully. '(Shut up.)' '(Sorry.)' Teri's head drooped, looking down into her lap. '(But I can feel it. His aura. He's got some Pokémon in him.)' '(Well what Pokémon?)' Teri shrugged hopelessly. Haley felt Alex move under her and hopped off as he drew his legs back and slid them under the covers. She promptly jumped onto his chest and sat there, looking at his head as he closed his eyes. She stuck her tongue out and gave him a well-meaning lick on the chin to comfort him. 'Thanks Haley.' He whispered as he tried to put his concern aside. He couldn't. He tried to sleep but it wasn't working. 'Damn... what does this mean?' He mumbled. 'Am I a person or a Pokémon?' '(You're Alex.)' Haley said as she licked him once again and nuzzled up into his neck and lay there murring. '(That's good enough for me.)'
Once again, it was morning. Alex was relieved that he had somehow fallen asleep despite all that was racing through his mind. Maybe Haley helped him. The feel of her furry body on him was rather soothing. When he woke, he found Haley snuggled up close as she had been last night. She was lying beside him under the covers right against his body with her head sticking out, lying on the pillow beside him. Teri on the other hand was lying compromisingly on the other side of him. She too was snuggled up close to him but with one leg draped across his and her arm lying across his torso. Really close to him with her head lying on his shoulder. At first Alex was a little confused, but he managed to ease the thought. She was lonely. She needed a good hug. He moved one arm around her neck and let it lie on her side, pulling her a little closer while his other arm stroked Haley lightly. Maybe he could do this without feeling weird. He was sleeping in a bed with two Pokémon, which was weird. But if he was some kind of Pokémon... was that... no... that was still a little weird. A little weird, but then again who cares? How he slept wasn't the world's problem. Though, he still felt that maybe this was wrong... but it didn't feel like it. 'Wakey wakey...' He shook both Pokémon a little, pulling them free of their dreams. 'C'mon. wake up you two.' Haley woke up with her now usual murr sound as Alex gave her a scratch. Teri just moved in a bit closer without realising it. She just felt something warm and went for it and hugged it. 'Um... Teri..? Personal space...' Teri jumped back all of a sudden as she realised what she was doing, going red In surprise. '(Sorry...)' She muttered sheepishly as Alex continued to look at her with varying expressions. 'Hey, I's just kidding.' He reassured her with a smile. 'Don't worry about it. If it makes you feel comfortable, go ahead. It's fine by me.' He held one arm out on the mattress invitingly. Really? REALLY? You'd actually let her sleep like that every night? Yeah, I would. If it makes her comfortable, I will. Do you just feel like you can do this because Jarod says you're part Pokémon? Do you even believe him? Teri almost went for it. She almost lay back down on Alex's arm and lay against him to be warm, but she was still a little too embarrassed and the look Haley threw her didn't do her any favours. 'Suit yourself.' Alex shrugged his blankets off and sat up. 'Can't be sleeping in I guess.' He got dressed into his uniform ready for the last day of the week, and was unsure of what today held in store for him. Although the school was set ablaze, it was still intact and there was no threat present, so the school board left the school open. Yippee-fucking-kaiaai. Jarod was awake, as usual. He didn't say anything as Alex entered. He didn't even look up from his paper. Alex grabbed some muesli bars for his Pokémon and him and left his dad alone to his thoughts. Today, it was raining. Alex stood at the side of the road in the rain as he waited. He should have waited under cover, but there was something about the rain. It was nice and cool. He rather enjoyed it. He was still lost though when it came to what his dad said last night though. If he really was a Pokémon, or even part Pokémon, would that affect his day-to-day life? Only if I let it. He decided as the bus pulled up. He stepped inside and shook his hair a bit, pissing off a few people as the droplets hit them. Damn. Shaking myself off... that's a Pokémon thing... he did his best to ignore the thoughts and sat in his usual seat behind human Haley. 'That was weird yesterday, huh?' 'I'd say.' Alex confirmed with a nod, finally seeing Haley's blond locks turn around so that he could see her face. 'Everything turn out alright for you?' 'Not a scratch.' She said with a suspicious edge to her voice. 'Just like the rest of the school.' 'Yeah, that's weird eh?' 'Eh.' She responded as her hair bounced with her nodding head. 'They say it started in our class.' 'Says who?' 'Witnesses.' Haley whispered as she looked around still suspicious. 'They're not even sure if they can prosecute if they find anybody who did it, since there's no damage.' 'Eh?' 'Eh.' * Alex and Haley's meaningless conversation lasted the rest of the short trip to school, where they parted ways for the ten minutes before class began. The really strange thing was the school. There was just something strange about it. Alex could smell it... it smelt fresh. The paint looked fresh and glossy. Flowers were all in full bloom. There had just been a fire and the place seemed as new as it had ever been. 'Alex. How are things going?' 'Oh.' Alex murmured as he saw a young boy walking beside him. 'Hey Tracey.' Tracey. The kid Alex had been battling against. 'Weird, as you can imagine.' 'I would think so.' Tracey said with a knowing nod. 'Know anything about that flamethrower incident?' 'Huh, yeah, it's an incident to you coz' you lost.' Alex smiled a bit, but Tracey was still focussed on the matter at hand. 'You got hit by it too, remember?' 'Do I resemble a Pokémon in any way?' Tracey didn't answer for a second as he took that in unsurely. 'Not really...' He answered. 'Why?' 'No reason.' Alex split off to head for maths and left Tracey standing there, rather confused. * When Alex arrived in art, there was a message on the blackboard from Mr Merlin. "Have business to attend to. Will return halfway through period" and there was some set work to do. 'Hey Alex! Who's your friend?' Alex ignored the question and continued painting. He had Haley and Teri in front of him. Teri was lying on a desk which was dressed up like a bed, with a white cloth over her body, Haley was at the foot of her desk/bed and holding still. It was one of those Romanesque scenes. Chick lying on bed with grapes over her mouth. Of course, Alex didn't have any grapes with him, and so he was just painting them in himself from memory. He couldn't help but think: Damn... she looks great. He shook his head again. Don't think that... that's weird... 'Nice ass on that one.' Alex cringed, biting his lip and clenching his eyes shut. 'Alex! Need some cash? Coz' I'm feeling a little stressed today and I reckon that bitch would do just the trick...' He swore very quietly. Could not take this. He could see Teri's expression fall a bit as she began to feel uncomfortable under the gazes of the other boys. There was something which had snapped in him Wednesday night when he saw his dad fucking Teri. Something finally hit him, and reality sunk in. 'Teri, Haley... I want you to know something.' He said quietly as a few whistles were heard from a group of boys, stinging his ears. 'That life you've lived for the past years of your life ends right now.' The two Pokémon looked at one another with confusion. 'All the torment, all the names, the hurt, the abuse, it all ends right now.' He stood up and kicked his stool out, almost causing it to fall over. The boys looked up and laughed as Alex came towards them quietly with a serious look on his face. 'Look out guys, Shadey's gonna kick our asses.' One boy laughed and nudged his friend in the ribs. 'Not yet.' Alex said as he came to a stop in the middle of them. There were six of them. Two in front of him, two on his right and two on his left. 'So lay the fuck off and I won't deck the lot of you.' 'You'll deck all of us?' The lead guy laughed. 'Fuck, that's rich. There's six of us and one of you.' He observed as he leaned forwards on his stool. 'Unless you get your sex slaves to join you.' 'They're not my sex slaves.' Alex said calmly. 'And I believe you counted wrong. It's five against one.' The boy blinked in confusion, then quickly looked around his group and laughed. 'Wow, you really are dumb.' He remarked. 'Six dumbass. Would you like me to count for you?' 'Yes please.' Alex said pleasantly with a nod. 'But count real slow-like or I won't be able to keep up.' The other boys laughed even harder. That's it... just keep laughing while you can still move your jaws... 'All right then.' The boy pointed at one of the boy's to his right. 'One...' He pointed at the next. 'Two...' He pointed at himself. 'Three...' Still counting slowly, he pointed to the boy just on his left. 'Four...' Then he pointed at the one of two boys on his left. 'Five...' Alex lashed out at that last second, hitting the sixth boy square in the jaw and sending him flying over his desk backwards with a bloody face. 'Told you so.' Alex smirked as the other boys gawked. 'Five.' 'GET HIM!' Then shit hit the fan. Alex swung his fist into the fifth boy and sent him reeling off his chair to the floor, then swung into the fourth. The leader of the group was the first to attack Alex, kicking at him as he came off his chair. Alex feinted left and hit him in the jaw with an uppercut, then spun right around to land a solid elbow bash as a fist hit him across the face. His world spun and he hit the floor as a boy raised his leg. Curb stomp! Shit! Alex moved his head aside as the boy's foot caught him painfully in the ear. He rolled onto his stomach and began to get up as a dirty kick landed painfully, dropping him again. C'MON CMON DAMMIT GET UP! He clambered to his feet as another punch came his way, hitting him in the face. He stumbled backwards into a desk as his vision went funny, blurring severely as five of the boys advanced slowly. 'What's wrong Alex? You can't stick up for your little sluts?' Sluts... he thought angrily as he doubled over. Not sluts... my friends... he felt a sharp pang of pain in his torso... it was... it was weird. Was it actually pain..? no... it was a pain In his heart... They're better than that... he thought to himself as he groggily regained his balance. They deserve more than that... they deserve more than me... a worthless nobody with a crazy sick pimp for a dad... he opened his eyes again. My life sucks. He realised. I've done all that I can to make my life good and normal and I can't do it right. My life sucks... he thought to what he had said... on the bus... If he really was a Pokémon, or even part Pokémon, would that affect his day-to-day life? Only if I let it... only if I let it... he took one fateful look at his Pokémon as the boys closed in. His friends... his Pokémon... he couldn't see them properly, but they were running for him. His new best friends were Pokémon... It will affect my life... only if I let it... He gave up. He didn't "give-up" give up and concede to the boys, he gave up on his fight and conceded with himself.So what if I'm a Pokémon? My best friends are Pokémon... what is wrong with that? 'WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH THAT!?' The boys stopped short in mid pace, staring. 'You filthy pieces of shit...' Alex shook his head slowly. 'You fucked with the wrong pyro.' His fists glowed with energy, alight and blazing furiously. With each breath the flames grew for a second, then died back down. 'I'm gonna burn you.' Alex dived into them furiously. A few had the sense to jump back, but two went for him. Alex swung one flaming fist into a guy and that was it. Game over. The next guy was slammed ruthlessly with a blaze kick to the torso, sending him flying clear across the room into a desk and breaking several ribs. Alex swung another half-dozen fire punches into the next three and dispatched them with unnecessary force, breaking two's jaws, dislocating two's shoulders and breaking a dozen ribs in the process. He looked around himself in a panic as the class's attention was focussed on him, gasps and whispers shared between them as they stared at him and his fists. Then, he went black... * 'He's waking up...' 'Good. Now maybe we can get something out of him.' 'Whuh?' Light hurt Alex's eyes as he opened them. There was a harsh light shining on him from above. Two figures, one on either side of him blocked out the light. 'Alex Black. AKA Shadey. Nice of you to join us.' Alex tried to sit upright, but he couldn't move. His body wouldn't respond. 'Please don't fight the sedative. We won't try to harm you, we would just like to talk.' 'Who are you?' He asked weakly, squinting to get better views of the people. 'You may call us, the sector.' 'The sector?' As the light dulled in Alex's eyes, he saw the people. A man and a woman. Black suits, and badges. 'Oh crap... you're government people...' The woman looked across at the man, who nodded. 'Yes. We are.' The woman told him. 'You're going to dissect me and shit, aren't you?' 'Not at all.' The woman assured him. 'We're just going to-' 'Where's Haley?' The woman looked up at the man for support. 'The Lucario?' he asked. 'The Vulpix.' 'The Vulpix is being contained in another room.' 'I want to see her.' 'You can't.' 'Fuck you.' Alex tried to sit up again without success. All he could so was talk and look at the white ceiling above him. 'Where are we?' 'Please remain calm Mr Black. This is the facility.' 'How the fuck did I get here?' He demanded with another attempt to sit upright. 'You passed out at school. Then we brought you to us.' 'Well what the fuck do you want?' Alex tried again to move. 'We just want you to talk to us a little.' The woman said. 'Answer a few questions.' 'Then what?' 'Then we can act accordingly.' Alex groaned as he tried to pull upright again. 'There's really no point. You can't break free. The sedative is immobilising you.' 'Just ask your fucking questions and get me out.' He grunted. Alex was confused, alone with these people and he wanted answers. The woman disappeared from view and returned with a pad of paper and a tape recorder. 'Firstly, what do you know of your dad?' 'He's a faggot. Next.' 'We're going to need a little more than that.' Alex sighed, still trying to sit up. 'Well what do you want to hear, huh?' He demanded frustratedly. 'He's a fucking illegal Pokémon sex slave driver and he has dozens of them locked up in his basement. Is that fucking good enough?!' 'That will suffice.' The woman said. 'Next question. You were admitted to St Charles general hospital two days ago. What was the nature of your injuries?' 'Friggin Arceus, what is this, twenty questions or something!?' He demanded. 'Fine then. There was a flamethrower and it hit me and I woke up in hospital with red hair and no injuries. The end.' The woman leaned across to the man and whispered, but Alex just picked it up. 'He's becoming aggravated, should I boost the sedatives?' 'BOOST THE FUCKING SEDATIVES?' he yelled. 'I'm barely fucking awake as it is!' 'He's right. Just continue.' The man advised. 'Next question then. How did you manage to fight all six of those boys on your own?' 'Oh I hate this government crap...' Alex murmured as he still struggled. 'Look, let me just fucking tell you what you want to hear, okay? I'm a fucking pyromaniac. I fucking love fire. I went crazy and fiery and fought five guys with magical fucking fire powers I seem to have because since my dad's such a fucking sick bastard he knocked up a FUCKING Pokémon IS THAT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU!?!' He roared as he tried to jerk himself upright again. 'You're not going anywhere Mr Black.' The woman advised him calmly. 'The sedatives we gave you will supress any movement or any fire abilities you may control.' 'Fuck off they will.' Alex warned darkly. 'Fire beats anything you throw at it.' 'Is that so?' The man interrupted as-a-matter-of-factly. 'What about water, and ground types?' 'They don't beat it...' Alex warned again. 'Fire and water is steam. Steam is a form of fire. Fire and ground make lava. Lava is a form of fire. Fire finds a way to get out, and if you try contain it it'll just fucking explode in your fucking faces, and I've sure as hell got a lot of fire in me right now.' The two looked at each other with confusion. 'Now, let me out, and let me see me Pokémon.' He commanded. 'Or I will explode in your fucking faces and you won't like that will you?' The woman looked for help in the man. She felt frightened all of a sudden; this strange boy's threats suddenly carried the weight of the world with them. The man was the same way. 'Alright, we'll let you out.' The man conceded. 'We're going to give you more of the sedative. You'll wake up in a few hours, and then you can see your Pokémon.' 'Who the fuck are you!?' Alex barked as the man exited his window of vision. 'Who the fuck gives you the right to do... to do this... who give you...' Alex was going dizzy now... 'gives you the riii... to me...' * 'Wake up Mr Black.' 'What?' Alex was awake suddenly. He realised where he was when he noticed the absence of fur against his body from Haley. He stood up as he took in his surroundings. He was in a cell. A toilet, a bed and a giant window in one wall, where there were a dozen people in lab coats watching him. 'Who the fuck are you?' The scientists all looked to one another and chatted quickly. 'Hey! Answer me!' They didn't. 'Fuck you all. Where's Haley?' 'Vulpix!' 'Haley!' Alex dashed for the window as he caught sight of Haley in a corner of the room. He scooped her up in his arms and cradled her. 'Are you alright? Did they hurt you? I swear to god if they hurt you...' Haley didn't move. She was still paralyzed. 'You bastards! What are you doing?' The scientists didn't respond. Alex gritted his teeth as that feeling grew within him. The scientists weren't even paying attention. 'Hey! I'm talking to you!' He threw an arm in his rage, a spark bursting from his fingertips and exploding against the window, startling all of them. 'Yeah, that's right!' He shouted as he raised a flaming fist. 'Everybody look at the pretty fire. Now what the fuck's going on?' The scientists all looked at one another for help, but they were all under orders to simply observe and discuss. 'Hey! Somebody!' They didn't respond. Alex turned away from them cursing to himself, placing Haley in his lap. 'Are you alright?' 'Vulpix.' Haley nodded as feeling began to return to her body. 'Do you know where we are?' Haley shook her head. 'Do you know how we got here?' Some hours earlier '(Alex!)' Haley doubled her pace and skidded to a stop beside Alex as he hit the ground. '(What happened?)' Teri demanded as she crouched beside Haley with growing fear. The rest of the class was gathered around Alex also. 'Holey shit! He killed Donald!' 'He was on fire!' 'Maybe it was the Pokémon!' 'I'm calling the police!' '(Alex wake up!)' Haley called to him with teary eyes, nudging him with her nose. '(Wake up!)' * '...and he just set his fists on fire and beat them all up and we think one of them is dead!' 'ma'am, please remain calm. Now who set their fists on fire?' 'Alex Black! This guy in our class. He was fighting with them, set his fists on fire and bam! He took them all out! He kicked Donald clear across the room with one hit! He's like some freak! And then afterwards he just fell unconscious and now his Vulpix and Lucario are-' The sound cut off. A man sitting in a dark van looked across at his co-worker. The windows in the van were tinted so heavily they were fully opaque. There were computer screens and devices set up to monitor things. 'This sounds like it could be it.' The man said with a nod. 'If they're telling the truth.' The woman confirmed as she stood up. In the dim light of their computer screens, it was unmistakeable that she was wearing a police uniform. 'Shall we?' 'We are.' The man confirmed as he tapped at keys on his keyboard. The woman meanwhile, climbed into the driver's seat and strapped in. 'Where are we heading?' 'St Charles College.' thirty minutes later 'Sorry I'm late class, but i...' The white-haired man stopped as he entered the room. Students were lined up against the back wall of class and being questioned by a police officer and there was yellow tape everywhere. 'Hey, what happened in here?' 'Timothy Merlin?' An officer approached the man holding a pad of paper. 'Yes, that's me, now what's going on in here?' 'Constable Jericho Adams.' He held up a badge. 'We have detained one "Alex Black" on suspicions of manslaughter. The killing of Donald Jacobs.' 'What!?' Thoughts raced through merlin's head as he tried to piece things together. 'What's going on?' 'The victim appears to have severe impact damage and burns to his torso. The students in your class seem to think Mr Black "kicked him with flaming feet and sent him flying across the fucking room" ' he read from his pad. Merlin's heart skipped a beat. 'Officers Davis and Gibson have detained him and taken him for questioning. Shit... 'Where would Mr Black be now?' Merlin asked quickly. The officer looked down at his pad thoughtfully. 'He was found unconscious and he and his Pokémon have been taken into custody.' 'Shit!' Merlin spun on his heel and charged out of the room as the policemen gave chase somewhat. 'Wait! Where are you going?' The policemen called after him as he stood in the doorway. He considered pursuing, but thought better of it. 'I'm too late dammit!' Merlin growled as he ran. * Chapter seven. Survival. Of. The. Fittest. The Darwin theory? The physically and mentally strongest survive? Really? You're shitting me. If he's all so fucking smart, then why's he dead? 'Wakey wakey Mr Black.' It was the woman from when he first woke up. 'Fuck you.' Alex threw randomly as he hugged Haley tighter to his body. She did not object. On the other side of him was Teri, though nobody knew how she arrived, including her. The three of them all cuddled up in a single bed and sharing warmth. 'You don't want to miss out on this Alex. You could call it... a training run.' 'A what?' Alex sat upright, placing Haley on his lap as he did. 'Your breakfast is served.' The loudspeaker announced. 'We haven't put anything funny in there, don't worry. We need you at full strength for today.' Alex stared at the speaker dubiously. Did he really trust it? Hell, did he have much of a choice? He dragged himself out of bed and went over to a table which hadn't been there yesterday. There was a bowl of coco-pops and a couple plates of pokéblocks. They all ate up, having not eaten anything since 8:30 yesterday morning. Fortunately the food wasn't contaminated with anything nasty. After they finished, a door opened in the side of Alex's cell, leading down a dark corridor. 'Down the corridor Alex. Don't be shy.' 'Don't patronize me bitch.' Alex mumbled as he complied reluctantly. The lights in the roof of the place turned on as he went through, and the door closed behind him. At the end of a short tunnel, Alex found himself in a small glass room. The room was beside another room which was similar, and both rooms were inside a giant dome. There were gates at different sides of the dome, and the landscape varied hugely from small bumps to grass to five-metre high cliffs to trenches to a snowy area and there were trees with wires and platforms hanging from them and all else. It was huge, at least one hundred metres radius. 'Where the fuck am I?' 'The training dome.' The speaker told him. 'Now please enter the second room.' The three set off for the second room as the door opened. 'Alone.' Alex gave his Pokémon apologetic looks as they stopped and he continued. 'I'll get this done then get back to you.' A door closed on him as he entered the second glass room, and then another door opened, connecting Alex to the dome. He got the hint, and went out into the massive dome, not having much choice now. 'All right, I'm in your fucking dome! What now?' 'Survive.' The voice seemed to resonate through the entire dome from everywhere. 'What?' Alex's attention was grabbed as a loud rumbling filled the air, seeming to come from everywhere. He could see one of the far gates begin moving, and opening. There was something coming out. 'First wave. Fighting type. Commence.' 'Fighting t-' 'Hitmonchan!' 'Oh fuck.' Alex saw it run for him. It came rushing at him from a gate far away on his left. It ran straight for him. It neared a trench and leapt clear across the gap, and continued running for him. Alex soon realised what he was seeing, and ran like hell. 'SHIT!' 'Fight it!' 'Fuck you!' Alex roared as he sprinted in the opposite direction. 'Hitmonlee!' 'Doublefuck!' He skidded to a halt as a Hitmonlee came from the direction he was running in. 'Remember how it felt! Feel the fire! Fight them!' Feel the fire... Alex turned and looked at Haley, far away in the glass room pawing sadly at the window in fear. She was scared for him. She didn't want him hurt... He couldn't die here... he had to survive... for her. He saw her mouth open, and she washed the window in a small wave of fire. Fire... 'HITMONLEE!' Alex spun around and ducked as an extended leg shot overhead, just missing him. He reached up and snatched the leg before it could come back. 'COME GET SOME!' He wrenched the Hitmonlee towards him by the leg, pulling him clear off the ground and into the air. As he flew towards him Alex ran and jumped at him, his leg ablaze and kicked back at the Pokémon, hitting it square and sending him flying. He spun in mid-air as the Hitmonchan leapt up at him with a sky uppercut. Alex jerked himself sideways as the punch just missed him, and grabbed Hitmonchan's arm as he soared past, spinning him around and seismic tossing him into a Hitmontop who had come from nowhere. 'Fuck yeah bitches!' He hollered with excitement at his sudden crazy new strength and speed. He landed and dashed for the two Pokémon before they could recover. He jumped high above their heads and flipped with superhuman agility and fired a charged blast of fire into them. The fire blast exploded in their midst and sent them flying as the Hitmonlee came back. He felt it building in him... he felt the power... it was in his heart... his spirit... like he told Haley. He was the fire. She was the fire. Now things were about to get hot. Alex was the thing he thought he loved above all else. Fire. He could feel it inside him, like Haley had. It was fire. 'Here we go!' He threw his mouth open with the last word and his breath came out as a scorching wave. The Hitmonlee stopped short and turned tail, but the wave swept over his body and engulfed him in the burning sensation. Alex shut his mouth with grin, licking his lips and shaking with power as the Hitmonlee collapsed. Fuck that was amazing! He thought as he felt ecstatic. He could feel the fire in him, a burning warmth from deep within... it was him... inside him. And he could control it. He could control fire. Aagh! Fuck-fuck! He grimaced at a pain in his stomach. Clearly that move was a little too much to be using at this stage. 'Nice start Alex. Nice start. Good to see you're enjoying yourself.' 'This is just for starters!' Alex barked into the air as he breathed heavily, trying to catch his short breath after that heat wave. 'When I'm done with these clowns, I'm coming for you next.' 'Second wave. Flying.' 'Bring it!' Alex held a thumbs up to Haley and Teri. Teri imitated him with a half-hearted feel; Haley barked excitedly and licked the glass separating them. 'Commence.' Alex heard the gates open once more, then there were squawks of bird Pokémon. They all seemed to come from one this time. The one furthest away. 'I would suggest using the landscape to your advantage.' The speaker suggested. 'The trees.' 'Oh, right.' Alex set into a sprint headlong for the trees as the Pidgeottos shot around above his head. They suddenly got louder. He spun around to see them flying for him and threw up a hand, shooting embers into them. They suddenly separated, splitting off and diving around the wave. 'Crap! They're fast!' He turned back and ran for the trees as the birds regrouped for another attack. 'C'mon c'mon...' He hit the side of a tree with something highly experimental. Fortunately, it worked. He ran straight up the side of the tree and leapt into the air off it into the bird Pokémon, fists ablaze. He swung a few times and caught two out of the air, dropping them as he flew out through the group and landed from a great height without damage. 'Shit! I'm like superman!' He looked back up at the group as it circled around again. About a dozen of them left. Alex noticed that the trees seemed to have ladders up the side. He wondered how far he could fall without injury... and went for it. He jumped clear up the first dozen rungs with ease. Then the next dozen, then the next. He was flying up them at a great speed, and he was loving it. 'Pidgeotto!' He made a second rapid leap up another three rungs as a Pidgeotto shot underneath him, barely dodging it. He went back to his climbing and managed to reach the top without any hindrance. 'All right, I'm here.' He observed, looking around at the foliage blocking out most of his view. 'Well let's get rid of some of this.' The threw open his mouth again and loosed another heat wave, singeing and burning leaves just as the Pidgeottos happened to come crashing through the foliage into his attack, frying themselves and dropping. 'Huh... look at that...' Alex observed the falling Pokémon over the edge of the platform he was on. Lucky shot much. 'You got lucky that time. Let's see how you handle this. Wave three. Ground.' 'No problem.' Alex spat confidently. 'Fire owns ground any day.' 'Commence.' Alex felt himself almost fall suddenly as the tree swayed under him. 'What the fuck?' 'RYDON!' He felt the tree lurch again as the Rydon crashed into it again, down below him. 'Just this one huh?' He observed as he looked around, but failed to see any other Pokémon. An idea came into his head. He looked directly down at the Rydon, just wondering if he would... if it would work. 'Question, how far can I fall and survive?' 'That would be inadvisable.' 'But could I survive?' The speaker was silent for a few seconds. 'Yes, but-' 'This'll be fun.' Alex shook his hands and jogged on the spot as he fired himself up, cloaking his entire body in fire as the tree rocked again. 'You know, I've heard of recoil damage, but this is fucking ridiculous.' He looked down one last time, and leapt over the edge. Falling straight for the Rydon. 'FUUUUUUUCK YEEEEEEEEEEEES!' He screamed wildly as the air rushing past him fanned his flames. 'FLARE BLITZ MOTHERFUCKER!' * 'Alex! Alex wake up!' 'Ugh... gimme a second you bitch...' Alex groaned as he regained feeling in his legs and began standing slowly, not noticing the K.O'd Rydon beside him. 'Just keep the next wave off for a second can you...' His stomach hurt like fuck and he was having trouble breathing as he stumbled around. 'There isn't another wave! We're under attack!' 'Under... attack?' Alex wheezed sceptically. 'By who... wait... Nonono, you're under attack. I'm not with you.' 'No Alex, you're under attack! The cultists are here to kill you.' 'Well so are you by the looks of things.' Alex retorted breathlessly with a shrug. 'We were never going to kill you. We were going to extract your D.N.A. to create people to use as a weapon, but leave you living. These people want you dead, and they're going through us to get to you!' 'And?' Alex tapped his foot against the ground as he looked around for the speaker. 'You have to help us or we could all die! There's a potion in your back pocket, use it!' Alex did, spraying the thing on his stomach. It suddenly eased up with miraculous speed. 'Let Haley out.' Alex told her. A few seconds later, the glass doors Alex had exited from unsealed with a hiss, and Alex's two Pokémon came rushing out to meet him. 'Vulpix!' Haley barked happily as she leapt into Alex's arms and he hugged her. 'Did'ya miss me?' Haley replied with an affectionate lick to the chin and by wagging her tails. 'Alex!' 'Fine then. Where to?' 'Head through that gate you're facing, and hurry! Anybody wearing white, kill them.' 'Wait, kill them?' Alex was taken aback as he ran for the gate. 'Not, stop them or halt them on incapacitate them?' 'Kill them or they kill you. You've already killed that boy in your class.' Alex froze. 'He's dead..?' 'You're strong! Of course he's dead! You kicked him right across the room!' 'Vulpix.' Alex looked down to find Haley rubbing against his leg to comfort him. 'Everybody makes mistakes, but now's not the time for reflection!' 'Fine then. Kill them, got it.' Alex started up again just as three men came rushing around the gate. 'There it is! Kill it!' The men all raised assault rifles. 'SHIT!' Alex dived sideways into a roll as he chucked a fireball their way. The fireball exploded near them and knocked the three off their feet as Alex went for them. 'We're in for the kill! Alright?' Alex's Pokémon nodded grimly as they chased him. 'Ember! Mega punch!' His Pokémon attacked two of the grounded men as Alex went for the third. He raised his fist in a fire punch and swung it into him, breaking a rib on impact. 'Come on! Keep moving!' 'Left up here!' Alex went left and ran straight into a couple of white men. He swung both fists simultaneously and hit each in the face, knocking them clear off their feet as he ran past. 'Stairs on the right!' 'Got it!' Alex ran into a stairwell to his right and ascended them quickly, leaping dozens at a time as his Pokémon struggled to keep up. He just rounded a corner in the stairwell and found himself faced down by a man with a gun. 'Shit!' He ducked back around into the stairway he came from as the man opened fire from higher ground. Alex took in a deep inhalation of air as he hoped to hell this would work, and blew it out. His exhalation came as a cloud of smoke, obscuring the stairway and the man's view. 'And where there's smoke...!' He loosed an ember up the stairs after the smokescreen. He only heard the man's pained screams as he was set alight, he couldn't see anything. He rushed ahead into the smoke and around the corner to the next staircase, not looking at the man. 'Now left here!' 'Flamethrower!' Alex skidded through the doorway after Alex, firing a flamethrower into the group who were spinning around to face them. 'Look out! Incoming!' Alex threw his head left as the ground shook, and swore. 'Ryperior!' 'Run it!' Alex sprinted straight ahead, scooping up an AR from one of the white men as he passed. 'Left here! Quickly!' Alex ushered his Pokémon through a doorway as the Pokémon closed in, a rock in one hand. He pulled himself through as the rock hurtled past at a great velocity and exploded at the end of the corridor with an almighty crash. 'Now this door here! Get ready because there's a giant gunfight, you're right behind the enemy lines so get in and take them out before they see you!' 'Shock troop. Got it!' He ran for the door and kicked it out with full strength, slamming it clear off its hinges and into a man in front of him, hiding behind cover which was a fancy coffee table upturned. They were in a lobby. As Alex fell through the door he opened fire with the AR, taking out a couple of surprised white suits and a Magmar as Haley set to work with an ember on an Ivysaur and Teri took out a Meowth with an aura sphere. 'Shit! It's the kid!' A man in a black suit shouted from the other side of the lobby as he looked over his own cover which was a pot plant. 'Quick! Get over here!' Alex made a run for the men as his Pokémon trailed behind. There were several black suit men there, as well as a Pokémon for each. 'What's going on here?' He demanded, raising his gun threateningly. 'Hey, take it easy!' The black suit man said, holding his hands up innocently. 'We're on your side.' He turned around and pointed to a metal doorway behind him where a man was fiddling with an electronic panel beside it. There was an electabuzz guiding him as he did it. 'Damn cultists shot out the door function on the elevator and we can't get it open.' 'So the elevator's there then?' Alex asked with curiosity. The man nodded. 'Couldn't we pull it open?' 'Maybe if we had a Ryperior.' 'RYPERIOR!' Everybody spun to see the Pokémon crash through the doorway behind them. 'Crap!' Alex turned and ran for the elevator doorway and shoved the electabuzz aside. 'Oneside!' He slammed one fist into the gap between the doors and buckled it a bit. He shoved his hands through the gap he made and pulled outwards on them, dragging them apart. 'C'mon...c'mon... faster you piece of shit...' 'HEADS UP!' Alex dived aside as a rock came flying and crashed into where he had been just a few milliseconds before, smashing the elevator doors open. 'That works!' Alex grabbed the rock and dragged what was left of it out of the elevator, ushering the men in as they returned their Pokémon and jumped in. 'We're going up!' Alex leapt into the elevator behind them just as it began to rise. 'Shit shit shit faster...' Alex murmured as he watched the numbers go up, from 2 going to G. 'What's the rush for kid? We're out of there.' A black suit commented as he saw Alex watching the numbers. 'G!' Alex dragged his Pokémon out of the elevator with him as soon as the outside doors opened. The black suits followed more casually. 'Jeez, what's his-' Bang! '-aaaaaaaahaahh...' The voices trailed off as the men fell to their deaths in the elevator shaft. Only one man had managed to jump out after Alex before the Ryperior's rock crashed into the bottom of the elevator, snapping the cable holding it up. The man leapt to his feet and chased after Alex, calling to him to slow down. 'Firefight ahead!' Alex ran for a door which automatically opened in front of him. 'Oh... Arceus...' It was a hangar. A giant airplane hangar. On one side, Alex's right, were the white suits, and their Pokémon. On the left were the black suits and their Pokémon, everybody firing back at one another. 'Down here!' The black suit man called as he ran left. 'Not shit Sherlock!' Alex cried as he ran after him, keeping low to avoid being shot as bullets and Pokémon moves went everywhere. 'Out here!' The man hit a sharp left and ran out an exterior door into the sunlight. Alex shut his eyes briefly as the sun burnt his eyes, but managed to get them open again to find himself seemingly in the middle of nowhere. The ground was grassy green and they were in the middle of a forest, and there was a road. Alongside the road was a black SUV parked up. 'Over here!' A man in the SUV called and motioned to them. 'Hurry, or they'll find us!' Alex and the man made a dash for the vehicle as the sounds of gunfire became louder. 'In the car! Hurry!' The man in the car threw a door open and Alex jumped in with his Pokémon, following the other black suit who had led them out here. 'Get us out of-' There was a gunshot. 'Sorry buddyboy.' The man beside Alex spun left as a bullet shredded through his shoulder and the seat he was in, fired from a gun held through the driver's window. That voice... the vehicles door swung open and a hand yanked the shot man out. 'Hey kid. You miss me?' 'MR MERLIN?!?' Alex was aghast as Mr Merlin grinned at him, an SMG in one hand and holding the door in the other. Mr Merlin winked and placed himself in the driver's seat. 'That's me kid. Now buckle up. I've got a hijacked ride rearin'-' Mr Merlin stopped short as another gun poked its barrel through the window. 'Well look here. We're getting hijacked now. Ain't that funny...' Alex saw a white suit pointing an SMG through Merlin's window. Merlin dropped his gun to his feet as the white suit opened his door and took it. Haley looked at Alex with a scared look of confusion, and Alex just shrugged back, not understanding this himself. The white suit dragged merlin out of the car, and raised his rifle... only to hit him. Right across the head. Alex was so shocked he couldn't even move as the white suit dragged Merlin's unconscious body around the front of the SUV and threw it in the passenger seat. The white suit then took his place in the driver's seat and started the engine. Alex finally came to his senses as he did this and went for him just as he turned around. Alex stopped short of reaching the white suit's neck. The white suit smiled at him. Like, some strange knowing smile, and he winked as he turned the steering wheel hand and hit the gas. Behind them, there was still a man. Coughing and spluttering, the black suit picked up his radio transmitter and pressed a button on the side, breathing huskily into it. 'They got him...' He wheezed. 'What? Who got him?' 'The cultists.. this guy hijacked the SUV, cultists hijacked that guy, and took off with him...' He spluttered a bit more. 'We've failed... they have him...' * 'Mr Merlin What the FUCK is going on here?' Alex demanded over the front seat. He had one arm wrapped around Teri, who was staring at her paws and shaking. 'Settle down Alex.' Merlin assured Alex as the white man drove. 'Stop just here.' The man in white pulled the car over on the side of the road as Merlin unbuckled his seatbelt. 'Those guys said these guys are trying to kill me!' Alex pointed at the driver, ready to attack him at any second. 'They are.' Merlin confirmed. 'But this isn't one of them.' 'Smeargle.' The driver said with a nod, grinning at Alex over his shoulder. Alex recoiled a bit as he became even more confused and looked between both for answers. 'Derrick?' 'Smeargle.' Derrick answered with a nod. Suddenly his body began changing, contorting into a mass of colours and then shrinking down into the much smaller frame of a Smeargle. Derrick. Merlin's Smeargle, who happened to be capable of using transform. 'I am so lost here...' Alex muttered as he facepalmed. 'Please tell me this is a dream...' 'I'll explain everything later. You have other things to attend to first.' Alex's confused gaze followed Merlin's finger to rest on Teri. Her big soft eyes were trembling as she shook, staring at her palms, speckled with blood. 'Oh no... Teri...' Alex pulled the arm around Teri's neck, pulling her into a hug as he wrapped his other arm around her. 'Come here... come here...' He whispered into her ear as she buried her head in his shoulder crying, clinging to him tightly. Alex felt Haley too, standing in his lap with her paws up on his body and licking his face sadly. He wrapped one arm around Haley too, stroking her. 'Don't worry you two... it's going to be okay...' He leaned down and kissed Teri on the head, then to Haley and kissed her awkwardly on the snout, surprising her. 'It's all going to be okay...' During the trip back Teri had fallen asleep against Alex, as had Haley in his lap. He couldn't feel wrong like this. He had just put them through that... they were entitled to what they wanted. Alex was still awake of course. He was looking back and forth between Derrick and Merlin with wonder and confusion. 'I suppose you want an explanation now.' Merlin asked eventually with a sigh. 'I really would.' Alex nodded. 'But first question, how are you involved in all of this?' 'There are other things you need to know first.' 'All right then, I have another one.' Alex glared at merlin as he looked at Alex over his shoulder. 'You said on Thursday you knew what I was, what am i?' Merlin swore and looked away briefly, then back. 'You're asking me the wrong questions.' Merlin murmured. 'I'll get to that later. First things first, the black suits. What do you know about them?' 'Government.' Alex said with confidence. 'Found out about what I did to those guys at school and dragged me to whatever that place was. Made me fight against Pokémon with... whatever this thing with fire is...' He held up one hand and lit a small flame in his palm. 'They told me they were going to extract my D.N.A. and use it to create some weapon.' 'Well that's about it.' Merlin confirmed. 'There isn't much more to it than that. Just another secret government division looking for yet another super-weapon to use. Use it to "better the world". Or rather, control it.' 'Just like all governments.' Alex shrugged. 'But what's with the white suits? They called them "cultists", and said they were trying to kill me.' 'That's true I'm afraid.' 'So are there more?' Alex asked as he sat upright. 'More like me?' 'No.' Merlin shook his head. 'An entire company of operatives dedicated to killing you and you only.' Merlin paused in thought for a second. 'Well, actually there is another target, but yes. They're solely after you right now.' 'Cool.' Merlin stared at Alex with shock. 'You really don't have a good grasp of this situation.' 'I reckon I do.' He shrugged. 'Shitloads of guys chasing after me trying to kill me. Sounds like an interesting change from the shit I call my life right now.' He suggested. 'So who are they then?' 'They call themselves the Salvation legion.' Merlin explained. 'All you need to know is they're a group of cultists trying to kill you. That's it. They're well-funded by somebody we don't know of yet.' 'So they're trying to kill me because I can do stuff with fire?' Alex demanded with a confused shake. 'Why aren't they killing off fire Pokémon left right and centre?' 'That's not quite it.' Merlin clarified. 'There's another reason for it.' 'What reason then?' Alex demanded with frustration. 'Don't hold shit back on me! How am I going to understand this if you won't tell me things?' 'All you need to know Alex, is that you are very powerful.' Merlin warned darkly. 'And anybody as powerful as you is going to be targeted by somebody.' 'Wait, that powerful?' Alex's eyes widened as the flame in his hands grew larger. 'I probably shouldn't be doing this then...' 'No, by all means go ahead.' 'What?' 'Go ahead.' Merlin encouraged Alex with a grin. 'Look, I had a dream Alex.' He began reflectively. 'Arceus spoke to me. Arceus told me "one day you will find that boy. That boy who will hold the golden fire. You must guide him, train him, and keep him safe, lead him to his destiny", I'm going to do that.' 'I have a destiny?' Merlin reached one hand out to Alex and gently placed it on his forehead with a serious look. He tilted Alex's head downwards. The fire in his hands was different. It was a sparkling gold and orange. Merlin moved his hand off Alex's head and into the fire before Alex could react. 'Look...' Alex stared in shock as merlin held his hand in the flames for a few seconds, then removed it for inspection in front of his face. He wriggled his fingers and touched the hand with his other. 'Smooth as a baby's ass.' 'How did you do that?' Alex's voice wavered as his body shook in disbelief, staring at his fire. 'I didn't, you did.' He explained as he sat back in his seat. 'Fire isn't just for destruction. It has more noble purposes.' Alex noticed Veilstone city approaching on the horizon. 'As for who you are, that is what the fire is.' Merlin said with the same reflective tone. 'When you understand the fire, you understand yourself.' 'What is the fire?' Merlin grunted with amusement. 'Well there's that, the simple way out...' He muttered. 'The fire is whatever you want it to be. It's power is great. Its potential in endless. If you can fuel it, it is infinite is possibility.' 'Spirit.' Alex said as he looked into his flame. 'Alex, you are the fire.' Merlin said as Alex felt something strange. 'You are the fire in all senses, but I cannot explain it to you. You must discover what it is, discover it and discover yourself.' 'Why..?' Alex murmured as his eyes closed slowly, something overtaking him and dragging him into sleep. 'Why... is the fire my destiny...?' 'It isn't Alex.' Alex fell asleep as soon as Merlin opened his mouth. 'The fire is our destiny. Yours is to discover it...'
Alex didn't just wake up from sleep. He drifted from one state to the other slowly, passing through a number of middle realms, each containing various amounts of awareness until he finally realised he was awake. Awake with his Pokémon on either side of him. He must have been tired. He eventually became aware of how he was lying. It was growing on him, being like this. Teri with her arms wrapped around him and against his side with Haley's head resting against his neck. It was gradually becoming less strange and was now rather welcoming. Welcoming knowing he had somebody there for him. 'Morning Haley...' without opening his eyes, Alex placed a hand on Haley's head and touched her affectionately. 'Morning Teri.' Teri responded with a grunt, pulling tighter on Alex. She's a bit messed up now... he remembered with guilt. Guilt... so much guilt... he had instructed her to attack a human, and she had killed him. Dried blood was still on her hands. He could feel her aura on him, wrapping him up in her own and holding him there. She was trying to attach herself to him, but he kept her back a little. She was a nice Pokémon, but there was something which was stopping him from confessing any feelings he had surrounding Teri. It was weird, sure, but there was just something else that stopped him from leaning in and kissing her right then and there. Something deep down. Alex decided to let Teri have her way for a few more minutes and lay beside her and Haley, but eventually he had to wake up. 'Are you awake Alex?' That did the trick. 'Yep.' Alex nudged Teri a bit and woke her up, startling her as he did so, but he shushed he gently. 'I'm sorry Teri.' Was the first thing he said as he placed a hand on her cheek. 'I'm sorry I made you do that. I'm sorry I did that to you. I'm so sorry.' He rolled over to Haley now, who was also awake. 'And I'm sorry Haley. I put you through that, and I shouldn't have. Haley merely licked at Alex's hand as she stood again. Alex sat up and rubbed his eyes as Mr Merlin came into view in the doorway. 'Looks like you've had a good rest then.' He commented with a nod. 'Alright. It's ten o'clock. You have until five PM today to get anything and finish up with anything you need to do. Then we're leaving.' 'Leaving? For where? Why?' Alex demanded as he looked around the room with confusion, observing his new surroundings. 'I led the Sector, the black suits, to believe you were taken by the legion. The legion won't be fooled though, and they'll be about town. You can't stay here, so we're leaving for Solaceon soon. There I can begin leading you to your destiny.' Merlin threw Alex a bundle of clothing. Alex unfurled it with growing shock. What appeared to be a heavy pair of white shorts, a white singlet, underwear, socks and a pair of shoes. 'All flame retardant, should you get into trouble. A very expensive and rare material, so don't ask me where I got it.' 'Wait, you're not going to advise me to stay low and not use my powers or something?' Merlin laughed and shook his head with amusement. 'Not at all. I encourage use of what you can do when you have to. I'm not going to tell you to try living normally and staying low. Use your strength. Discover what you can do.' 'Sweet...' Alex muttered as he pulled the jacket on over his shirt. Merlin grinned and left Alex with his Pokémon, closing the door behind him. Alex jumped out of the spare bed in merlin's house (as far as he could imagine) and pulled on the rest of his clothes, then checked his new threads in a mirror. 'Vulpix!' Haley barked approvingly. As he did a quick twirl with a grin. 'Pretty cool huh?' He headed back to the bed and scooped Haley up in his arms, petting her as she smiled and murred. 'Let's get going Teri.' 'Lucario...' She said quietly as she followed Alex out the door. Alex felt her presence strongly behind him. It was heavy feeling on him. He stopped and confronted her as he headed out the doorway into the Lounge. 'Teri, are you alright?' 'Lucario.' She said with a faint nod. Alex frowned and shook his head. 'No you're not. You're lying.' Teri's head drooped and she whimpered. 'Teri. Come on...' Alex sighed stepped towards her and put a finger under her chin, tilting her head up to look at him with her sad eyes. 'Teri it's okay. If you aren't feeling alright you can stay here.' Teri lunged at Alex and grabbed his arm, shaking her head wildly and leaning against it, clinging to him as Haley watched on from the ground. 'I'll come back for you, I promise...' Alex said as he gently pried her off him and took her by the shoulders, looking into her eyes. 'I promise I'll come back for you.' Teri sniffed and nodded as Alex let go of her. 'Now go back to bed and sleep. Rest easy. I'll be back for you, okay? I'd never leave you like that.' Teri nodded and backed into the bedroom again, watching him was she closed the door slowly. '(She's got problems.)' Haley advised Alex with a little nudge to the leg, curling her tails around it as Alex gazed deeply at the doorway. 'Your Lucario's a bit off, you know that?' 'Yeah.' Alex reluctantly turned around to find Merlin standing there. 'She can't handle the heat.' Alex cocked his head a bit and asked: 'What do you mean?' 'She's too frail Alex.' Merlin explained with a sigh as he walked past Alex and placed one hand on the door. 'You're changing a lot. You're going to be travelling soon. You're going to be running and fighting and hiding. Can she live like that?' 'I don't know...' Alex confessed as it dawned on him what things would be like with Teri clinging to him all his life if he was going to become a traveller. 'I can wipe her Alex.' Alex looked up with confusion as Merlin placed a hand on his shoulder. 'Derrick. He can perform a memory wipe on Teri. Wipe out her memory of her life. Wipe out all the pain we both know she's been through and still can feel, wipe out all the sadness, guilt, everything.' 'What? No!' Alex stammered as he stepped away. 'I can't do that to her!' 'Leave her with somebody nice.' Merlin suggested. 'Somebody stable and nice who she can be happy with. She will be safe. No danger.' Alex would have protested if he had the slightest bit of evidence why that wasn't a good idea, but with his mouth half open he realised he had nothing. He closed his mouth again as his own head hung. She had been abused her whole life. She was broken. She was mentally broken by it all, and she had been left weak by it. And now she had killed somebody... it was only worse... 'I said I'll come back to her.' He stated simply. 'I will come back this afternoon. Then I will decide what to do with her.' 'So be it.' Merlin said with a nod. 'I'll get her some food if she becomes hungry. Go do what you have to do.' 'Thanks Mr M.' Alex said gratefully as he headed for the front door. 'Call me Tim.'
'I still can't believe that just happened...' Alex murmured as he walked across a street separating two blocks. 'I can burn things... I can use fire...' '(So can i.)' Haley grunted as she followed closely. '(Big deal.)' 'Are you jealous Haley?' Alex asked with a grin at her. 'Jealous I can use fire as well?' '(No.)' She muttered as she followed him. 'Are you grumpy now?' Alex teased with a grin. '(I'm not grumpy.)' Alex prodded her with a foot lightly. 'Grumpy-grumpy-grumpy.' He continued infuriatingly. '(Stop it...)' Haley smiled a bit and went red. Alex stopped suddenly and crouched down. He caught Haley off guard and pushed her, rolling her onto her stomach. '(What are-)' Haley rolled and wriggled, laughing as Alex tickled her stomach. '(Stop it stop it stop it!)' She laughed as she swatted at his hand. '(Stop it!)' She burst into a fit of giggling as Alex stood back up and let her. '(You suck.)' She grinned as she stood and followed after him. 'So I was thinking.' Alex began as he continued walking. 'I've got some stuff left at home I'm going to pick up, after that I thought we I might go to the mall for a while.' His brow furrowed a little as he continued to plan out his day. 'I've also got some business to take care of.' Alex reached his block after a twenty minute walk. As he approached his house he cursed to himself. Shit, I should have seen this coming. There was a crowd around the entrance to his house, and yellow tape keeping them back. Alex moved in and waded through them as they watched silently, occasionally whispering to each other harshly. 'Behind the fence please.' An officer warned as Alex came to the front of the group. 'What... the...' the police officers were emerging from the house in a line. Each one was carrying a Pokéball In each hand. Alex remembered the tape recorder now. He had confessed to that woman with the tape recorder. The police had raided the house. Alex could see the looks on the faces of the police officers as they emerged, looking sick and disgusted by what they had seen, some red faced after crying. Alex had never been in the basement before. He knew better than to do so. 'Psst!' Alex tugged on a man's shoulder, who was standing beside him. The man turned to him slowly, still focussing his eyes on the police officers. 'Huh?' 'Did they get the guy who did this?' Alex asked inconspicuously. The man shook his head. 'They say he ditched before they could get him.' 'Fuck...' 'The whole family was fucked up though.' The man continued as he watched the officers. 'Even the son was arrested for manslaughter a few days ago...' the man paused briefly as an image entered his head from what he had seen in the paper. 'Hold on...' He spun around suddenly. Alex was gone. He had left already. Chapter eight For all our sins * Yours is lust. Mine is ignorance. Today, I make amends. 'Dad's got a safe house.' Alex explained as he emerged from the crowd with Haley close in tow. 'That's where he'll be.' Haley could feel something as she followed Alex. He was walking quickly. His frequency of blinking decreased dramatically. She could feel him heating up. '(What are you going to do?)' Haley asked with worry. It almost seemed like Alex heard her, because he directly answered her question. 'I'm going to do something I should have done a long time ago.' And he went quiet. * Haley silently followed Alex as he walked quickly. He was intent on something, and she didn't know what, though she had her suspicions. As they walked the buildings around them began to decrease in quality and increase in quantity. The buildings in this part of town were less maintained and dirty looking, like the people roaming the streets and alleyways around them and glaring at them. Alex recognised some of them as they did him. They would disappear from view into side streets or alleys shortly after seeing him. He couldn't help but wonder if they knew something. Alex reached a dirty street sign reading "Hall-" the rest of the sign was broken off. He turned right down the street, and was immediately faced with a tall imposing tenement standing at the end like a great tall guardian. The windows were mostly boarded over and the brickwork was mossy. 'Don't be surprised if we meet a little resistance.' Alex said calmly as he headed for the building. People peered through boarded up windows of houses along the street, glaring at Alex. He didn't return their glances and just continued on towards the building. 'Just remember, when things get hot, get hotter. Right Haley?' 'Vulpix!' she confirmed happily with a little growl of excitement. 'Alright then, just don't get hurt or I'll hate myself.' As Alex and Haley approached the door, it opened first and a fat man came out. He reached up and removed half a grubby cigarette from his mouth and grunted. 'You Jarod's kid?' 'So he tells me.' Alex said with a nod as he approached the man, standing at eye level with him and staring back closely. 'He don't want to see you.' 'Oh, well that's a shame...' Alex sighed as he turned around and took a step to leave. 'I guess I'll just be leaving!' Alex kicked backwards and caught the man off guard, smacking his gun aside and banging his wrist into the wall roughly as he yelled. Alex turned and charged straight into him, punching up into his gut as he barged his way inside. 'In here Haley!' Haley jumped in quickly just as gunfire began outside aimed at the two. Alex slammed the door as a couple of bullets penetrated through and went back for the man, kicking him in the stomach as he tried to stand again. 'C'mon!' Alex scooped up the man's pistol and ran for the stairway. A door burst open on his right suddenly, flying into him. He reacted quicker than he thought he could and punched out, smashing his fist clear through the door and bashing the guy in the nose and causing him to stumble back. 'Slam!' Haley dived around Alex's side as he pulled his fist free, and she leapt at the dazed man, spinning around in mid-air and smacking him with all six of her tails and knocking him over. Alex slammed the door shut again as he went for the kill, raising his leg and kicking down onto the man heavily and breaking a few ribs. 'He'll be at the top!' Alex motioned to Haley behind him as he raced up the stairs he was heading for earlier. He brought up the pistol and fired at two men before they could reach their Pokémon, hitting each in the chest and dropping them. Alex felt it with each shot still, a strange pang with the thought he had killed someone, but his innocence had died long ago when he was young, seeing what his dad did. This was just something bad he was doing. Nothing more. 'Machoke!' A Pokémon smashed out a door on the left of the corridor and leapt out facing Alex and Haley. 'Flamethrower!' Alex barked with one arm pointed at the charging Pokémon. Haley was now fully capable of using a flamethrower, and did so eagerly. It wasn't nearly as powerful as those she had used against the Poochyena or in that training session she and Alex had, but it was still a good attack. The Machoke put his head down and charged at the two through the torrent as it washed over him, doing his best to ignore it. 'Keep at it...' Alex commanded as the Machoke got neared. 'Keep at it... now!' Haley cut the flamethrower as Alex leapt out in front of her and swung with an uppercut, hitting the Machoke in the chin and almost toppling him backwards. 'Slam!' Haley jumped as Alex stepped aside, finishing their tag-team attack with a slam attack to the Pokémon's face, knocking it cold on the floor. 'Way to go!' Alex cried with violent enthusiasm as he rushed down the corridor again for the staircase at the other end. A man and a Mightyena came from around the bend of the stairs to see Alex and Haley running for them. 'Shadow ball!' 'Flamethrower!' The two attacks collided with a black/red explosion, creating a smoggy cloud of dust and smoke between the sides. Alex took a chance and threw a random fireball through the smog, and heard an explosion. 'Shock movement! Charge them!' Alex and Haley ran into the smog, ready to dig into their enemies when they found them, but they weren't there. The wall at the end of the staircase was blown out(to be fair, it was already crumbling), and the man and his Mightyena were lying on the ground outside a floor below them, but the Pokémon was still conscious. 'Flamethrower!' Haley spewed a torrent of fire across the injured Pokémon, knocking it out for good this time. 'Up here now!' The third floor. Three out of four floors. 'Hold up...' Alex held an arm out to stop Haley as he caught sight of a door closing on his right in the corridor. 'It's a trap...' '(What do we do then?)' In reply, Alex drew in a deep intake of breath, and exhaled heavily. Haley's eyes widened as the corridor suddenly combusted before her eyes. It started with the walls and floor and roof just in front of Alex, and went on as the heat wave continued, lighting the corridor and making it a flaming tunnel as the walls burst into flames. 'Fuck!' Alex fell forwards briefly, breathing heavily as there was a sharp pain in his gut. 'Arceus that took it out of me!' He grimaced as he looked down the tunnel. 'Go Haley!' Alex called as he rushed into the wave, still holding his stomach. Fortunately, Haley's flash fire ability meant that she wasn't hurt by fire of heat; in fact it helped her condition. Alex also seemed to be fireproof, which was good. Out of the half dozen men hiding in wait for them, only a few ventured to open their doors and proceed with the plan. Alex could tell as he heard their screams of pain behind him as the heat wave rushed through and seared their flesh. A bad move clearly. 'Last floor! He's up here!' Alex had just rounded the corner to move into the last corridor when the doors burst open. 'Shit!' He spun and dived back down the stairs, grabbing Haley as he fell down under the gunfire ringing overhead. 'Motherfuckers!' Alex looked up to see a few bullets still flying over his head randomly, but he was safe here. 'I'm putting out smoke...' He advised Haley. He drew in another breath of air, now heavy with light smoke from the burning floor below, and expelled it into the corridor. The cloud materialised in seconds, very effectively obscuring anybody's view as bullets whizzed overhead still. 'Come on, we're not going that way...' Alex turned and raced back into the burning third floor as the panicked men fired randomly. This whole place had been set up to keep him or the police out it seemed. 'Here's the spot...' Alex said as he stopped at the opposite end of the third floor corridor and looked up. 'More than one entrance.' He crouched for a second as he judged things, then jumped up with an uppercut. His fist smashed right through the mouldy burning floorboards and into the fourth floor. His hand caught on the side of the hole as he fell back, and he quickly hoisted himself up in the confusion, raising his pistol. He fired four rounds as the men spun around to see what the noise was, hitting each in the chest. He dropped back down and lifted Haley through the hole, then followed after. Haley was already using flamethrower to take out the last remaining men, but Alex shot the last before she got to it. Alex finally decided that was all of them, and ran for the door at the end of the fourth floor corridor. 'KNOCK, KNOCK!' Alex kicked the door right off its hinges, straight into a man holding a gun up and knocking him over. Alex dived onto the man before he could ready his weapon again and tore it from his grip, throwing it aside. 'Hey dad...' Alex grabbed his dad by the collar and hoisted him to his feet. 'Long time no see.' 'Fuck off you little ass!' Jarod yelled as he grabbed at Alex, only to receive a punch in the gut. 'NO FUCK YOU!' Alex shot back as his dad collapsed in front of him and he raised his gun. 'Now I want you to tell me Jarod...' Alex leaned back down to whisper to his dad. 'Who, and where is my mum?' Jarod shook his head, making a funny gagging sound. That gagging sound, eventually turned into a laugh. A cruel laugh. 'You know what, fuck you.' Jarod looked up at Alex with a spiteful stare. 'I'm not going to tell you.' 'But why?' Alex questioned with a shake of his head. 'Why are you like this? Such a cruel heartless ruthless son of a bitch? Why can't you just FUCKING TELL ME!?' Alex roared furiously as he pressed the muzzle of the pistol into his dad's fore head. His face was set in a serious, angry expression, only intensified by the eerie light that the flames were casting onto him as they rose from the third floor. 'Because I hate you.' Jarod breathed madly as he didn't hold up in his own glare. 'I never wanted you. I hated you, but I just couldn't kill you...' He shook his head frustratedly. 'I would fucking wait beside you at night, a gun in my fucking hand telling myself "just shoot him, just shoot him and that'll be it. No more stupid fucking kid mooching off me", but I couldn't.' He growled a bit. 'I just fucking couldn't and I don't know why. And I fucking hate you for doing that to me... so fuck you. I'm not telling you where she is.' Alex looked down at his dad with a hurt, confused expression as the gun shook. 'You really are a heartless bastard...' He muttered in disbelief. 'I had always thought maybe there was some decency in you, but no. You're a cold, vicious, mean bastard and that's it.' Alex bit his lip and shook his head again. 'I should kill you right this second, but I'm not.' 'Oh for the love of...' Jarod moaned as he threw his head back. 'Shut the fuck up! Shoot me or fucking don't!' 'I won't.' Alex lowered his gun and threw it aside. 'You're not even worth the bullet.' He hissed. 'As far as I'm concerned, you're already dead.' Alex turned away as Haley stared at Jarod in shock. Alex began walking away. 'I hope your life is living hell until you get there properly.' He commented as he headed through the doorway, leaving Haley stunned and staring. 'I could never bring myself to kill you...' Alex stopped short, halfway through the door. Haley backed towards Alex as Jarod pulled himself clumsily back to his feet, looking down at the ground as his long black hair covered his eyes. 'I could never bring myself to kill you...' He raised his head, and his pistol. 'Until today.' 'Vulpix!' Alex dived aside too late. The gunshot rang out as he was in mid leap. Alex crashed to the floor as the gunshot died, and lay there unmoving. 'Alex!' Haley bawled as she ran for him, but something wouldn't let her go. She couldn't get through the doorframe to help Alex. Something invisible was blocking her way, like a wall. There was a second thump. Haley spun around and saw Jarod there, on his knees. His gun was lying at his side, and his shirt was bloody. He stared at the roof blankly for a few seconds as he made a strange gurgling noise, then fell forwards on his face with one sharp thud. He didn't move any more. 'Alex!' Haley barked to Alex as he stood up again quickly and looked down at his unscathed body with confusion. 'Haley?' He demanded as he spun around to face his Pokémon, the two separated by some kind of barrier. 'Oh my... how are you doing this?' He asked as he ran to the barrier and placed his hands on it. 'I don't know!' She said with a whine, placing a paw on the barrier opposite Alex's hand. 'I just saw-' 'How are you talking to me?' Haley's mouth paused in mid movement. 'Talking to you?' Alex nodded slowly as he continued to stare at his Pokémon through the barrier. Wait, dad's dead, Haley put up a barrier and she's talking to me now? He closed his eyes and shook his head disbelievingly. This is a dream... When I open my eyes, thing will be normal again. Alex kept his eyes closed for about fifteen seconds. He couldn't hear anybody. Maybe it was a dream... there was just this weird, sudden feel to the place... radiating a strange warmth... it was so ethereal. It had been a dream... but how much of it was a dream? Was Haley even- He cringed as he felt a tongue on his cheek. It's not a dream? 'Alex, open your eyes...' 'What is go-' Alex's words caught in his throat as something stared back up at him. Two great dark red eyes set in gold fur. 'Nine.' Haley's words came out as that, but at the same time Alex heard something in his head. A familiar but distant voice echoing through his mind. It said "Alex". 'You've... you're...' Alex stuttered as he pointed at Haley, confused even further now. 'A Ninetails?' Haley nodded with a vulpine grin. 'And you put up that barrier? And you evolved?' Haley nodded again as Alex looked past her at his dad, dead on the ground. Killed by his own bullet after it bounced off Haley's barrier. 'I killed him.' Haley licked Alex's face again as she spoke, asking for forgiveness as she whined a bit. He could literally feel her guilt in his mind. 'No Haley...' Alex crooned as he wrapped his arms around her neck and crouched down to her level. 'He killed himself.' He stroked her soft golden fur down her neck and back. 'He's been dead for a while now. Years. He was simply an empty husk of a man. Just a little bit of hate trapped inside a man's body. Hate always gets itself killed some way or another. Directly or indirectly. That's what he did today. You're not responsible.' Alex smiled further as he continued to stroke her fur, feeling its new texture. 'Thank you.' Haley said approvingly as she leaned into his hand and murred into it the way that she would. 'Why aren't we touchy-feely today?' She added as Alex ran his hands over her head and muzzle. 'What, can you blame me?' Alex asked with a short chuckle. 'You evolved like, two seconds ago. You're suddenly a lot different now. But if you want me to stop-' 'No...' Haley cut in as she licked his face. 'Don't.' 'Then I won't.' Alex sat beside Haley and crossed his legs with one arm draped around her neck and touching her fur, watching the flames as they rose up and set fire to the room around them. 'Alex, are you just going to sit here and wait for the building to collapse on you?' 'I just might do normally.' He said distantly as he hugged Haley a bit tighter and scratched just below her neck above her underbelly. 'It's so beautiful... the flames rising around up from below, it's as if they're going to kill us here, but they can't... I would just let the flames come up around me and burn me. I'd let them burn the building and let it collapse on me, just to end my miserable life and to die with the fire...' 'No...' Haley whined as she nuzzled at his neck. 'Don't...' She begged with another lick and placed a paw on Alex's back. 'I won't.' Alex assured her. 'Maybe a week ago I would. Die with the fire and end my shitty life. But why would I now?' He slapped a hand lightly against Haley a few times, but not hard enough to hurt, just to recognise her presence. 'I always thought that I would die with the fire. Die with something I loved...' His eyes were fixated on the plumes of flame overwhelming the room around him with fascination. 'But now I have you. I can live with something I love.' Haley went a bit red and looked down at the floor, which was now wholly ablaze beneath the two. What does he mean by that? She thought with embarrassment. 'So please...' he held her muzzle in his hands and turned her to look at him, giving her a desperate pleading look. 'Just tell me you feel the same...' He begged softly while he stroked her lightly, and moved his head a bit closer to her snout as her eyes wavered, staring back into Alex's. 'I thought... I thought you felt something for Teri...' She said as she pawed the ground nervously, her head drooping as she waited for a response. 'I thought I did too.' Alex confessed with another affectionate stroke of her fur. 'But as hard as I thought I did, a part of me didn't. A part of me stopped me from thinking that. Because there was always something about you... something I have never seen in anybody else and don't think I ever will. And I couldn't find that thing in Teri... and only seeing you now I realise. I had always looked on you as somebody so helpless; you were so small and felt I was looking after you. Like I was some kind of babysitter, but seeing you like this... evolved... I suddenly see you as something more... so please just tell me you feel the same...' * 'Ssssshh... it's okay...' He cooed as he stroked it a little with one digit. 'I just want to help you... I'm not like them...' He was not like them. * 'It's okay...' He told her once more, using the most convincing tone he could, fixating his eyes on hers. 'The bad men are gone. You're safe here. I won't hurt you.' He assured her. Vulpix just stared back, the boy's thumb stroking her back was interfering with her thought process. 'I would never hurt you.' He had the best of intentions. * 'You need a real name.' He told her. 'Not just Vulpix, something special.' Something special? She thought with interest. He made her feel special. Someone special. * 'But you aren't going back to that, alright?' Alex replaced the brush on the side of the bath and picked up Haley, turning her to face him and holding her in front of his face. 'Coz' your my partner now and I'm going to treat you right.' He told her with a sharp nod and a grin. Haley cocked her head, something new coming over her. She couldn't understand this boy. She hated humans. She hated them all, except this one... Your partner? She thought, He gave her meaning, and value. * 'I will never hurt you Haley.' Alex's voice rung with that same thing she had felt yesterday. That same quality which Haley couldn't understand, but made her only sure he wasn't lying. Nobody could lie in a voice like that... Hayley stepped forwards a bit more. She stuck her tongue out and licked Alex's middle finger in forgiveness. Her opinion mattered to him. * 'I ain't like Jarod.' Alex told her softly as he stared straight ahead. 'No cunt's gonna tell me otherwise, and no cunt's gonna pick on you, or I'm gonna smash them.' Haley actually grinned a little hearing him say this. 'And by the way...' Haley turned her head up to look at Alex, twitching her ear a bit. 'That was cool what you did at home.' Haley was confused, and cocked her head in her special way to show she didn't understand. 'That ember. Lighting the table on fire? That was awesome!' Alex whispered excitedly as he petted her, stroking her back. Haley grinned up at him, happy he didn't disapprove of her move. She didn't know where it came from, but Alex's approval suddenly became important to her. She felt something for him. * 'Fire comes from the spirit.' He reached out and placed a finger just under Haley's chin. 'Haley, you have the most spirit I've ever seen in a Pokémon.' Haley listened with fascination and amazement at how Alex could describe this. She felt warm as he complimented her. 'I saw you yesterday. No energy and tired but still fighting back against me.' Alex grinned at the image. 'That's spirit, and you've got a hell of a lot of it. You just need to believe in yourself as much as I do.' He believed in her. * 'Remember my dad!' He called out. 'Remember what he did to you! All those things he did to you for years and years and he still didn't break you!' Alex was almost screaming by this point. 'That's because you're stronger than this! Are you going to let a little fatigue get you down after everything you've been through!? You're strong Haley! Show me!' He inspired her. * 'Fuck you Tracey!' Alex yelled back. 'Don't listen to him Haley! You can win this! I know you can because you're better than this!' Haley heard that thing again. That strange thing which echoed in his voice, that inspiring touch, suddenly fuelling that fire she felt. 'Flamethrower!' 'Flamethrower?' Tracey laughed. 'She can't use-' Haley had finally had enough. All her life she had been told she was weak. Told her she was expected to be nothing more than a good little cock-sucking bitch. Told what she could and couldn't do. And now, finally, somebody had encouraged her. Showed her what she could do... and she had realised her potential. She couldn't let Alex down. He showed her what her potential was. He showed her... she could do anything... * 'But now I have you. I can live with something I love.' Haley went a bit red and looked down at the floor, which was now wholly ablaze beneath the two. 'So please...' he held her muzzle in his hands and turned her to look at him, giving her a desperate pleading look. 'Just tell me you feel the same...' He loved her. * Haley had no control of her body. Her subconscious mind and emotions just seized control of her body, and threw her forwards into Alex. Alex was actually taken off guard, but nethertheless he kissed her snout back, wrapping his arms around her neck and head and pulling her in as much as he could as she tried to fit her tongue awkwardly into his mouth. But they made it work somehow. It still held so much feeling as they went at it. 'Thank you...' Alex whispered as he withdrew with a smile, shutting his eyes and stroking Haley lovingly as he hadn't before, with very long, softer strokes through her coat as her head rested on his shoulder. 'Thank you Haley...' He sniffed with a nod, then stood again and wiped his eyes. 'I love you.' Haley confessed unsurely as she looked up at him. 'Yeah, I love you too.' He said with a warm smile. A smile he had never used before. Something in his life was finally going right. Living with a deadbeat rapist sex-slaver son-bashing pimp, everybody at his school hating him for his dad, being kidnapped by the government and shot at by an army of cultists dedicated to killing him... it almost seemed worth it now as he bend down and gazed into Haley's glistening red eyes. 'Thank you Haley... for making my life something...' He whispered as he looked into her eyes, but was aware of the flames growing higher around them. 'Come on. Let's get out of here.' Haley nodded in agreement as Alex stood up and began walking, but stopped again as he looked out the window beside him to see the city through a small gap in boards. The vast city in the distance, then the world. 'It's just us Haley.' He began softly. 'Merlin's there too, but when it comes down to it, it's just us against the world...
Alex and Haley got out of the place just as the fire department arrived. The two fled into town just as Blastoises set to work on the fire behind them. Fortunately they weren't noticed. 'Where are we going Alex?' Haley asked as she ran beside him. She could now run much faster with her longer legs, and her body was much more efficient. 'Are we going back to Merlin?' Alex shook his head as he ran, slowing down a bit. 'Not yet.' He said as he came to a stop and turned around to Haley. 'Do you remember that truck at dad's place?' Haley nodded. 'Where they put pokéballs?' 'Yeah, that one.' Alex murmured for a second as his head dropped in thought. 'Are you ready for just a little more action today?' Haley smiled and nodded, her tails swaying as she sat. 'As long as I'm with you I can tackle anything.' She confirmed with a bark and a smile. 'That's the spirit.' Alex smiled back. 'But if you ever feel worn out or tired, just please let me know alright? I would hate myself for pushing you too much when you're really tired. I know you've a lot of spirit, but everybody gets tired, however much spirit we have.' 'Well I've got shitloads of energy for whatever this is.' Haley barked happily without her enthusiasm budging an inch, sweeping the footpath behind her with her tails. 'But before I tell you what I'm thinking...' Alex knelt in front of her. 'I didn't think that through properly. What we just did. I didn't consent you first, and I'm sorry.' 'Consent me? What are you talking about?' 'Well I kind of dragged you in after me, didn't i?' Haley didn't reply. 'I should have checked you were okay with it first, so sorry.' 'It's all good.' Haley said as she flicked her head sideways a little. It sort of resembled a shrug. 'You don't feel guilt?' 'I've been through hell Alex.' Haley said as she nuzzled against Alex's face for comfort. 'When you're been through what I have, you feel no remorse for evil men.' 'Well that's... good... I think...' Alex muttered unsurely. 'You're stronger than Teri when it comes to this.' 'I'm sorry?' 'Come on. I'll explain.' Alex began walking, and Haley followed beside him. 'She killed that guy in the facility place.' 'Oh...' 'She's a bit overwhelmed. She's clinging to me for some comfort I think.' Haley understood. She felt a little comfort around Alex. 'Huh. Makes sense I guess.' 'I'm going to make this better.' Alex said ultimately. 'I dragged her after me through that, I told her to attack that guy. I'm going to make things better, and that's why we're going to take that truck of pokéballs.' 'What?' 'I won't do it if you don't want to go.' Alex told her as he continued walking. 'Why are you taking the truck? What does this have to do with Teri?' 'Come here...' Alex leaned down to whisper to Haley, explaining his plan as her eyes went wide. 'You... you'd do that..?' She sniffed with tears forming. Alex nodded grimly. 'I can't not do it, presented with the opportunity.' He explained. 'Alex...' He stopped as Haley curled a tail around one of his legs, stopping him. He crouched down to her level as she began crying a bit. 'Thank you.' She nuzzled into his neck again and wrapped her tails around him. Her equivalent of a hug. 'Thank you for doing this. Thank you so much...' Tears of joy. Haley thought she didn't cry anymore. When people did things to her, she would just take it silently. But this was just... wow... 'I'm a bad person Haley.' He said as he hugged her back. 'I have to make things better again.' * 'So... How are we going to do this?' Haley asked as she observed the tall VCPD building before them. Alex shrugged as he continued to walk towards the building. 'I was thinking I would just walk in and see what happened.' He said unsurely. 'Can you even drive?' 'Not legally.' He hid how nervous he was. He was only on his learners. Strangely enough, it wasn't breaking into the region's biggest police facility that worried him, it was driving a truck across the city. 'But then again, what does legally matter to us now?' He tossed his pistol into a bush beside the entrance. 'Shit all nothing?' 'Precisely.' A pair of glass doors slid open and allowed Alex to pass through them into the lobby. There were people sitting around and a reception desk. He approached the desk without any particular plan in mind. 'Hey.' He waved a little as the receptionist chick looked up at him. 'How can I help you?' 'I'm Alex.' He said meekly. 'Alex Black.' 'Okay then. Hello Alex black.' She said in an inoffensively patronising way. 'How can I help you?' He smiled a bit now that the woman had lightened the atmosphere. 'Idunno.' He confessed. 'But my dad's an illicit Pokémon pimp and the boys in blue just raided his house and found dozens of abused Pokémon in there and my dad got away. I figured there's got to be somebody looking for me.' The woman's pen dropped out of her hand and she stared. 'Oh... you're that kid...' She realised with wide eyes. 'Yes... I think there's a lot of somebodies looking for you...' 'This is so dumb...' Haley hid her head under her paws with an exasperated whimper. 'Great.' He smiled. 'Where can I find them?' 'Um... I can bring them here for you. If you would like that.' 'Thanks.' Alex headed for a vacant pair of seats as the woman picked up a phone. 'Maxley? We have a kid here claiming to be Alex black...' He heard her begin. His hearing was much better now too. 'Yes, that Alex Black... no, nobody's brought him in, he just showed up... he's in the lobby here...' Alex waved a bit. The woman smiled and waved back. 'He just waved to me then. I'm serious, I'm looking at him right now. He's just sitting there with a Ninetails waiting for somebody to come down for him... all right then.' She put the phone down. 'Somebody will be down shortly.' Alex only had to wait a minute, and a pair of policeman emerged from an elevator. 'Alex Black?' Alex stood up and waved shortly. 'Yeah. That's me.' 'Can you come with us?' Alex sat up and walked towards the men. 'Also, return your Pokémon thanks. We can't have it walking around here.' 'I can't.' Alex told them. 'I don't have her pokéball. I'm not sure if she has one.' 'Prick didn't give me one.' Haley told Alex only. 'I was small enough he said I didn't need one. Bastard preferred to let me live off scraps of food rather than buy me a pokéball.' Pokéballs weren't cheap. Although Pokémon didn't use energy when in a pokéball and subsequently needed to be fed significantly less often, Jarod had simply thrown Haley whatever leftover scraps he had after meals. It was easier. 'She's wild?' 'Technically.' Alex explained. 'Well don't try anything.' The men advised as one moved around behind Alex. 'We've got men all through the building.' 'No problem.' Alex lied. There would be shit. * 'Alex Black.' Maxley placed himself opposite Alex, on the other side of the table. 'Hey.' Alex said with a confident but polite smile. 'Son of the infamous Jarod Black.' 'That's the one.' 'What are you doing here kid?' The man asked as he leaned across the table to him. 'You turning yourself in?' Haley watched through a one-way mirror in another room. 'I wasn't aware I did anything wrong.' Alex shrugged. 'I'm here about the Pokémon.' Maxley opened a folder in front of him with a murmur. 'One count of manslaughter.' 'Crap...' Alex had forgotten about that. 'I forgot about that...' 'You forgot that you killed a boy?' 'I didn't know he was dead at the time.' He shrugged. 'And I think I fainted afterwards.' 'You had plenty of time to think about it after you escape our custody.' Maxley accused. 'Escaped? Yes. Your custody? No...' 'Could you clarify that?' 'It's a conspiracy. It's hard to explain.' He said weakly. 'Government thing. Now can we talk about the Pokémon?' 'Thirty female Pokémon.' Maxley said as he opened another folder. 'Semen traces were found in every one of them, most of them traced to your dad.' 'Yeah, I know.' Alex confirmed. 'I want to know what you're planning on doing with them.' 'Why does that concern you?' 'I want them.' Maxley stared at Alex for a few seconds. Alex stared back. 'My dad fucked those Pokémon up, and I'm going to make things better.' 'You understand we can't just do that.' Maxley shook his head. 'They will be taken care of.' 'You understand that I've lived in that house with those Pokémon all my life.' Alex retorted quickly, and spoke from deep down. 'Those Pokémon were fucked over by my dad. MY dad. And I was the guy who cleaned up. Every cum-stained, ripped-ass, shredded-pussy, bloodied, beaten, abused, mentally unstable, broken, crying, choking-on-cum Pokémon. ICleaned up after them every single time and healed them back to health and I had to see those looks on their faces after that thing I you call my dad fucked them over and over and I didn't break down because I had to be the strong one and look after them, so YOU LOOK ME IN THE GOD-DAMN EYES AND TELL ME YOU CAN DO A BETTER JOB THAN I CAN!' Alex was roaring and standing by this point, glaring at Maxley as his chest heaved in and out, then said more softly: 'Tell me you know them better than I do, because I swear if you let those Pokémon out of their pokéballs and ask them the one person in this shithole world who gave a crap about them, and watch where they point, you're gonna be looking me dead in the eyes.' Maxley was rendered totally incapable of reply by this point. Haley herself was just staring with disbelief. 'For all our sins, I must atone. So give them unto me so that I will undo that which has been cast upon these broken souls.' Maxley was shaken by the force of the words Alex directed to him. Each word linked into the next seamlessly and carried such strength and sway. Each would strike, but leave no time for recovery as the next and next would hammer themselves home and carry their meaning. His voice echoed and reverberated more than it should have. 'Wait here please...' Maxley climbed weakly to his feet and headed for a door behind Alex. He returned a couple of minutes later, a briefcase in each hand. 'These are the Pokémon.' 'Put them on the table.' Maxley did. 'Slide them across.' Alex took the cases as they slid to him and opened them. Each contained fifteen pokéballs. 'That's all of them.' 'There's still the little issue of manslaughter.' Maxley reminded Alex nervously. Alex glared at Maxley, his eyes holding that strange look they had earlier. Maxley could swear they were red. 'You're read the witness reports?' Maxley nodded. 'Kicked across the room apparently.' 'That's right.' Alex confirmed. 'I kicked a guy my age clear across a room and killed him. You're a little bigger than him but it won't make much of a difference.' 'Wait,' Maxley stood up with an angry look, 'are you threatening me?' Alex jumped up too. 'I attacked and overpowered you.' Alex said with calm menace. 'I stole your key and broke out with my Pokémon and these suitcases. That's what you're going to tell your superiors.' 'You want me to let you out?' Maxley demanded shakily. Alex's look was scaring him shitless. 'And lie to my superiors?' 'If you don't cooperate, you won't be lying when you tell them.' The two stared back at one another for a few seconds. 'I'll make it easy for you.' He held up one hand as it sparked. Maxley watched in awe as the sparks jumped and flickered, then burst into a flame. 'Now, give me your fucking key.' * 'Wow, how did you do that?' Haley demanded as she followed Alex towards the exit of the building, a briefcase in either hand. 'Hell, Idunno.' He shrugged. 'I used lots of really complicated words and stuff.' 'But it was so loud and commanding...' Alex shrugged again. 'I can just do it sometimes.' He said unsurely. He reached and pulled open the door as a policeman with a cast on his arm walked in. 'Thank y-' The man stopped and stared. Alex stared. 'You...' The man pointed. 'You're alive?' 'You!' Alex pointed back. The guy merlin had shot. The guy who was with the woman, standing over him when he first woke up. Haley was growling at him. 'Fuck!' Alex bolted through the door as the man whipped out his pistol. He grabbed his pistol hidden in the bush and made a run to the right and sprinted, watching over his shoulder. The man rushed out and gave chase, but Alex was fast now. He smiled at first, but then he saw the man pull over a police car and jump in. 'Run Haley!' Alex turned away and began sprinting again with Haley. He didn't go faster than Haley could though. He chanced a glimpse over his shoulder as he reached an intersection. The car skidded around the corner just as Alex rounded it. The car shot forwards too quickly, and the driver skidded and cut him off, both men jumping out, going for their guns. 'Stick close Haley!' Alex drew a breath in, and then exhaled heavily, creating his usual obscuring smokescreen. 'Where is he?' The man in the cast called as he looked around randomly for any movement. Alex dashed straight. The man saw the movement. 'Got you!' The man just managed to fire before it reached him. He stepped back as he heard a thud against the car as the body hit it. 'Back the car up! I'll get him!' There was a screech of tires as the police cruiser was thrown into reverse and backed up. 'Got you now bastard...' He squinted and stepped forwards to see the figure lying in front of him. 'What the fuck?' It was the police officer. 'Then who the fuck is driving-' The man was unable to finish his sentence as the police cruiser slammed into him. He screamed in pain as the cruiser sandwiched him between the front of it and the wall of the building, crushing him a bit and splattering blood across it, but he was still alive. He managed to look up and see the figure in the driver seat as he stuck a pistol out the window. 'Yippee-kai-aye motherfucker.' Bang! 'Was that necessary?' Haley asked as Alex threw the cruiser into reverse again and backed up onto the road. She was sitting in the passenger seat. 'He was trying to shoot me.' Alex put the car in gear and accelerated, his nervousness suddenly lost somewhere as confidence instilled itself in him for the time being. On cue, there was a short bang from behind and both the car's occupants cringed. 'More police cars!' 'Fuck!' Alex hit the gas. 'Buckle up Haley. I might be able to survive if I fuck up and crash, but you're wearing a damn seatbelt!' Haley complied and grabbed her belt with her teeth, then buckled herself in awkwardly. 'I've only done this in need for speed, so hang on!' He threw the wheel left and wrenched the handbrake as he went into another intersection. 'Shit!' A truck coming from the left slammed into the front left corner as the cruiser skidded past, shunting it and spinning it to face the direction it was heading. Alex's original right. He floored it with reckless disregard for traffic and went after the truck as more cruisers came after him. He remembered roughly how to get to merlin's place. This time he slowed a little, but skidded a bit around the corner and just missed a car, then set off west. He swung an elbow into his window and smashed it into pieces. He threw his head out briefly and spewed out a smokescreen, blocking view of him by the following policemen. They slowed down and didn't risk it, stopping before the smokescreen as Alex took another right, and disappeared into midday traffic. * Merlin was having a last relaxing day in Veilstone before he left. He lay in a lawn chair wearing a pair of shades and drinking beer. He sat upright a little as he heard a distant screech, and lifted his shades to see a vehicle approaching. As it neared, he identified it as a police cruiser. As it neared further, he saw the dent in the front, and the driver. 'Great Arceus! What the hell?' The car threw itself sideways and into a crazy skid. It hit the curb and the wheels on the right got a little air, then slammed back down heavily. 'Alex! What the hell have you been doing?' 'Long story.' He noticed merlin staring as Haley jumped out after him. 'Really long story.' He explained with a grin. 'In short: I broke into a criminal safe house, shot five or so guys, broke out of a police station with thirty pokéballs, hijacked a police car and lost the cars chasing me.' He looked over his shoulder quickly. 'For now. Oh, and I also saw that guy you shot in the shoulder yesterday.' 'What?' Merlin exploded. 'What happened? Where was he?' 'That guy you shot yesterday, I slammed the cruiser into him and shot him in the head, and at the police station.' He answered in order. 'Oh.' Merlin's brow cleared. 'So he's dead?' 'Well I did the whole "yippee-kai-aye motherfucker" thing, and that usually works in the movie.' He said with a shrug. 'So I'd say he's dead.' 'Yep. He's pretty dead.' Haley confirmed. '(Alex!)' Alex only just turned as he found a Lucario throw herself onto him, hugging him tightly. 'Okay... Teri... please let go...' He coughed under her vice-grip hug as he looked over her shoulder at Merlin, who gave him a questioning look. Alex nodded as best he could, and pried Teri off him. 'Teri, there's something I need to do, okay?' Alex told her soothingly as merlin approached from behind her. 'I'm going to make everything okay...' He said softly. 'Face her towards me.' Alex turned her towards Merlin gently as she gave him a confused look. 'Keep still.' 'Cario!' Teri pulled away as merlin's hand approached her. 'Teri...' Alex grabbed her by the shoulders, but not too hard. 'It's going to make everything better, don't worry... just stay calm... when you wake up, everything will be better.' Teri sighed, and stayed still, unsure of what was going to happen. 'I'm sorry Teri... but this is best for you...' Her heart skipped a beat as Alex said that; Merlin stepped towards her quickly and placed a palm on her forehead. Alex cried out and caught her as she collapsed suddenly. 'Wait, how did you do that?' He demanded with shock. 'I thought derrick-' 'There is a lot you don't know about me Alex.' Merlin said. 'Now let's get her somewhere safe. We have plenty of time to take her somewhere.' 'Um... yeah...about that...' Alex raised a briefcase and opened it. 'I don't suppose you could do a few more?' * 'Who is it?' 'Alex.' There was a brief pause illustrated with the sound of unlocking and removing deadbolts, then the house's front door opened, revealing human Haley standing in a pair of shorts and a baggy t-shirt. 'What are you doing here?' She hissed as she backed away a bit with a frightened look 'You should be in the police station! You... did that to him!' 'Oh get over it...' Alex rolled his eyes as he stepped onto the doorstep. 'Don't worry. I don't murder girls.' 'That's not funny.' She said as she walked further inside, away from Alex. 'What do you want?' Alex walked inside and placed both briefcases on the table and began unlocking them. 'Happy birthday.' He revealed the case's contents to Haley, swinging open the lids. 'Pokéballs?' She inspected as she dared to take a step closer. 'Oh come on Haley, I'm not going to attack you.' He sighed. 'And they're Pokémon. Twenty five of them.' 'Twenty five Pokémon!?' She gasped as she took a running step towards the table and ran her hands over the balls. 'They are the Pokémon my dad had.' He explained sadly. I've had their memories erased of everything they've been through. I just need somebody I can trust to take care of them.' Alex didn't tell the truth entirely. He had kept five of them. The stronger Pokémon, who he thought could go on without too much pain from their past. 'But there are so many of them!' Haley gasped as she looked every ball over one-by-one. 'Alright then. I'll take half of them somewhere else...' 'No!' Haley called with a smile. Alex knew how much she loved Pokémon. This would be a dream come true for her, and he knew she would look after them. 'I'll look after them.' 'Thank you.' Alex stepped around the table to Haley and removed one pokéball from his pocket. 'But I want you to take special care of this one.' He placed it in Haley's outstretched hand carefully. There was a little blue sticker on the button. 'Her name's Teri.' 'Your Lucario?' He nodded reluctantly and bit his lip. 'She's been through things I can't humanely allow her to remember. I don't want her to feel hurt by them.' 'You erased all their memories to erase the pain?' Haley asked with a growing feeling inside of her. 'That's kind of you.' Alex shook his head and looked back out the door. 'Not kindness.' He said. 'Not yet. I haven't atoned yet. I'm just righting the wrongs I should have long ago.' Chapter 9 (Out)Law And (Dis)Order. * ¯I'm a lover I'm a rebel I'm a fighter. ¯ ¯Gonna set your world on fire. ¯ This is so intense- FUCK YESSSS! TRY MOTHERFUCKERS! FUCK YEASSSS! SUCK MY DICK FRANCE! (Half of France (the female half)) Where was I? Watching Rugby world cup. NZ 5, France 0 Crap! Missed the conversion... guts Weepu... stay strong bro, Kick some derrier! (French for ass (I think I spelt it wrong)). JI'm backing black J (ALL BLACKS 4EVER) Later... FUCK! YES! ALL BLAAAAAAAAACKS! Okay, I'm done. Good game France and all that carry-on. Where was i? ¯Gonna set your world on fire¯ 'You cleansed their souls.' Merlin nodded as Alex shut the door behind him, getting into the back of his SUV as he looked a bit confused. 'Whose souls?' 'Theirs.' Merlin nodded to Haley's house with an approving smile. 'You cleansed the taint and corruption.' Alex shook his head as he bucked in, and Haley promptly lay across his lap with a satisfied smile, her belly resting across his legs and half-curling up on the seat, resting her head on his knee and covering herself with her tails. 'You did that.' Alex said solemnly, stroking Haley's stomach as she murred. 'So thanks.' 'It was at your request I did so.' Merlin explained at he pulled away from the curb. 'I had the means, but you had the ideals, and the good will. You did a good thing.' 'Kay... thanks.' Alex replied unsurely as his face filled his window. A thing he did when he was a little embarrassed so others wouldn't look at him. 'He's right Alex.' Haley agreed as she lifted herself up and licked his chin, bringing a smile to his face as he watched the world go past. 'I don't know how to thank you for doing that for them. All that suffering I have seen them endure, I can put that to ease in my mind.' 'I didn't go right through with it though...' Alex lifted five pokéballs from his belt with a guilty look. 'I left them...' 'But they're strong Alex.' Haley licked one of the balls reassuringly. 'You chose to take only those who were the mentally strongest and unbroken. Those who can still live properly with their memories. They'll be fine.' 'I still wish I could have saved them from those years...' He said as he stared at the orbs. 'I still might, once whatever this is, is over.' A very important question suddenly arose in Alex's mind. 'Merlin where are we going?' 'Solaceon town.' Merlin answered quickly, he had already planned ahead. 'From there, we are going to Celestic town.' 'Why?' 'I can't tell you yet.' Merlin said with a shake of his head. 'But it is your destiny.' 'Ugh... dammit...' Alex banged his head back into the leather seat with a grunt. 'You keep feeding me all this destiny shit and don't tell me anything about it! Why am I even in this car?' 'Because you are curious.' Merlin grinned slyly. 'You're curious as to what this destiny is, so I'm going to make this all the more an adventure for you by not telling you.' 'You realise you're dragging me away from my dead family and school to escape an army trying to kill me?' Alex checked. 'I have no idea why you're so interested in me or why you're taking me to Celestic town or anything, you're just keeping me in the dark, so I want some answers!' He demanded, crossing his arms and glaring at the back of merlin's head. Merlin was silent for a few seconds, and he sighed. 'There's something you're wrong about.' Merlin said finally. 'Your family isn't dead.' 'Eiyvanaa?' Alex asked immediately as he almost jumped out of his seat. 'Eiyvanaa.' Merlin nodded. 'How do you know about Eiyvanaa?' 'Jarod told me she was my mum, where is she?' Alex demanded with growing excitement. 'What else did he tell you?' 'She's a Pokémon.' Merlin muttered a little with discontent. 'Wait, he lied?' 'No.' Merlin said reluctantly. 'He was telling the truth. I just had hoped he didn't tell you yet.' 'He did.' Merlin sighed again and shook his head, thinking. 'We're going to find her.' 'We are?' Alex's heart jumped with excitement. 'She's in Celestic town? What kind of Pokémon is she?' 'She's in Celestic town.' Merlin started. 'As for-' He saw something ahead and stopped in his sentence. 'Shit!' He grabbed something from the front seat and threw it to Alex, who caught them. 'Put these on! Your name in Reggie Briggs. I'm your uncle John Briggs, your parents are on holiday in Hoenn, got it?' Alex nodded confusedly as he slapped the shades and cap on. he leaned to see through the seats, and saw what Merlin was worried about. 'Good evening sir.' A police officer shined a torch through the window as Merlin pulled up in front of the barrier. It was getting dark now. 'Good evening officer.' Merlin rumbled jollily. 'What seems to be the problem?' 'We're on the lookout for a dangerous fugitive who escaped custody earlier today. Would you mind stepping out of the vehicle?' A second police officer asked past the first. 'Uncle?' Alex put his hands up in front of him and grasped randomly at the air, finally finding merlin's shoulder as he gave him a "what are you doing" look. 'What's going on out there? Why did we stop?' Alex tilted his head for his ear to face the front door. 'It's nothing Reggie. Don't worry.' Merlin assured him with an inwards grin as he unbuckled his belt and opened the door. 'You're coming back aren't you?' Alex groped at the air after merlin as he stepped out of the car. 'Where are you going?' 'Relax Reggie.' Merlin advised him as the second officer looked through Alex's window. 'I'm sorry for him. He's got...' He snapped his fingers together as if trying to jog his memory. 'I'm sorry. I can't remember what it's called, he's blind as a bat.' 'The kid has a Ninetails.' The second officer examined as he looked through the window. 'Our guy has a Ninetails.' 'She leads him around.' Merlin explained. 'She acts as his eyes. She's very good.' 'Is that so?' The first officer looked through the window at the Ninetails inside also. 'Could he be acting blind?' Thud! 'Shit!' Alex leapt away from the window as the policemen slumped to the ground, Merlin standing there. 'They were asking too many questions.' He explained as he jumped into the driver seat. 'You just knocked them out!' 'You killed one a few hours ago.' 'Oh.' Alex remembered. 'Right.' Merlin hit the pedal and backed the vehicle up as a third officer emerged from the squad car. 'Hey!' Merlin hit the gas as the officer fumbled with his pistol. The man jumped aside as the SUV screamed past and smashed through the barrier blocking its path. The man climbed painfully to his feet with gritted teeth as he raised his mic to his mouth. 'Gerard, we have a situation...' There was silence as the SUV accelerated into the distance and an earpiece in the "cop's" ear. 'Yeah, I found him. The guy who took off with him too. Black SUV, heading west on the 215.' * 'Shit, this is not good.' Merlin muttered as he checked his rear view mirror. 'They're going to be looking for us now.' 'So?' Alex shrugged. 'We can't just knock them all out?' 'We need a new vehicle.' Merlin decided as he eyed a truck on the road ahead of him. 'They'll be looking for this one...' 'You are not going to hijack a truck?' Merlin nodded grimly. 'I'm afraid-' 'Fuck yeah!' Alex threw off his seatbelt and leaned towards his door. 'That's an unhealthy attitude.' Merlin grunted as he flicked his hazard lights. The truck ahead of him pulled over to the side of the road and stopped, its brake lights lighting up the darkness. 'Come on. I'll take care of the driver, you clear out any crap in the back of the truck. Merlin and Alex climbed out of the car as the truck driver did so also. Haley followed after Alex, and he closed the door after her. 'What's wrong?' The truck driver asked as Alex headed for the roller door at the back of the truck. Alex heard a thud from the front of the truck as he twisted the handle, then threw the door upwards and open. 'Oh...' Alex found himself frozen as he stared at the dozen-or-so armed men in white tuxedos staring at him with looks of equal shock and surprise. 'It's him...' One mouthed as they all stared back with wicked grins. 'Shit!' Alex dived aside as every gun swung towards him. Bullets pinged and ricocheted off the pavement as he ran for the front of the truck. 'Merlin! Cultists!' He grabbed the first pokéball he felt on his belt and chucked it at the ground as he spun on his heel. 'Gar?' A angry looking Gardevoir appeared before Alex's eyes, but then a look of confusion crossed her face as she found herself somewhere unfamiliar. 'Protect!' Alex screamed as he saw the men leap out the back of the truck. She looked at Alex, then back at the men, then threw up a screen of energy at the last second as bullets assailed them. 'Gardevoir?' She called with confusion over her shoulder. 'I'll explain later!' He ran for the barrier as bullets continued to hit it. He hit it and ran up the side of it, then jumped off backwards at the top and threw a fireball into the group. They scattered as it landed in the centre of them and blasted them apart. Alex grabbed another two pokéballs as Haley used a flamethrower on one man who landed out of the way of the barrier. 'Blaziken!' 'Espeon!' Both Pokémon stared back at Alex as they desperately tried to come to terms with the situation before them. 'No time! Gardevoir! Psychic! Blaze kick and psybeam! Haley! Flamethrower!' The Pokémon obeyed and the Blaziken charged for the barrier. The Gardevoir threw her arms forwards as the men got back to their feet, but before they could get their pokéballs free the barrier surged forwards as a psychic wave and crashed into them, knocking them clear off their feet. The Blaziken landed beside one and sent a vicious blaze kick into his stomach as a stomp. Haley hit another with a flamethrower and the Espeon struck another with a psybeam. These Pokémon were the tough ones. The ones who were unbroken, and they admittedly held a lot of hate for humans, and had no problem letting it loose on them. Alex's dad actually had to have his own personal Pokémon, his pair of Nidokings, to hold them down while he did his business with these Pokémon because of how they fought back. They were violent. 'Razor leaf! Seismic toss! Shadow ball! Slam!' A hail of razor sharp leaves shredded two men as they stumbled to their feet, and cut them down, slicing and slashing their clothing and skin and bloodying their bodies as they collapsed under the stinging pain. Another man managed to get free a Pokémon before the Blaziken got hold of him by the throat. She jumped up high into the air with freakish strength, bringing the man up with her, and then threw him down with a brutal choke-slam onto his just-released nidorino, impaling him on the Pokémon's back spikes as he landed. The Pokémon was quickly put out of its horror by a shadow ball slamming into it and exploding. Another man released a Golbat, but Haley grounded it with a super slam attack with all nine of her tails, then finished the job with a flamethrower onto it. 'Now psychic!' He called to the Gardevoir. 'Bring them together!' The Gardevoir lifter her arms and brought them down, lifting the remaining four into the air and flinging them into a central area as Alex ran for them. He jumped into the air as he neared them, lighting his entire body as they stared up at him in shock. 'JUST TRY AND KILL ME!' They men had no hope against his flare blitz attack. One of the strongest fire type attacks known. All the other Pokémon could see was a cloud of dust after the impact. The Espeon jumped in shock as a body suddenly landed beside her, fallen from the sky after impact. It was scorched and broken looking, eyes frozen wide open in horror. 'Alex!' Haley ran for the smoke as it cleared and found Alex lying in a small crater, about a foot deep. He coughed as he doubled over, clutching his stomach as pain bit into him with every breath. 'Crap...' He wheezed. 'I shouldn't have done that...' The other Pokémon had surrounded him in an instant with looks of concern. '(Alex! Who hurt you!)' The Blaziken demanded, eyeing merlin suspiciously. '(it was him, wasn't-)' '(Settle down)' Haley snapped. '(He hurt himself. He does with that attack. You idiot Alex.)' 'I hurt myself with all attacks...' He murmured as he held a hand to the Blaziken. 'Could you?' The Blaziken leaned down and took his hand, then pulled him to his feet, catching him as he fell as all the Pokémon made exclamations. '(Where are we?)' The Gardevoir asked as she looked around her environment with curiosity. '(I do not see the demon...)' 'I am translating to you.' Haley explained as she sensed Alex's confusion as to how he could explain the Pokémon's speech. 'You're free now.' Alex told them as the Blaziken led him to the truck. 'Are you alright?' The Blaziken growled and Merlin jumped back with surprise. 'It's alright girl.' Alex tapped the Blaziken's shoulder comfortingly. 'He's with me.' '(Where is the demon?)' The Espeon asked as the Blaziken sat Alex on the edge of the truck. 'He's dead.' Alex sighed as the Pokémon gasped. 'You're all with me now, if that's okay with you.' '(Whatever you wish, I am there.)' The Blaziken grinned as she put one arm around Alex's shoulder and sat beside him. '(You are a friend to me.)' '(As are you to I.)' The Gardevoir agreed as she sat on the opposite side of him and imitated the Blaziken. '(You showed care for me.)' '(I owe you.)' The Espeon confirmed as she stood at his feet with a smile. '(You have been good to me... not like him.)' '(I think this goes without saying.)' Haley smiled as she sat beside the Espeon. '(You got me all the way.)' 'Well that's good.' Alex smiled. They did appreciate him. After all, he was the one who looked after them when they were recovering from their injuries and cared for them. 'Because I got a little problem with an army of guys trying to kill me.' '(Kill you?)' The Blaziken gasped. '(Not if I kill them all first!)' 'Settle down.' Alex laughed as he tapped her shoulder again. 'We can kill them all together.' 'Sorry to interrupt on your little family reunion...' Merlin interrupted, causing the Pokémon to jump and stare at him. 'But we have to get out of here before more show up.' There's part two. Bring the good shit.