Out of The Shadows

[DuskOfTheStars]

Taint howled in outrage and pain before using Shadow Fire on the Hydreigon and then arcing it down to the ground. With that, the Shadow Reshiram lifted off. A hateful glare was aimed straight at foolish human. She snarled. Let him burn.

 

She flapped her mighty wings, the taint visible in the gloom. On her tainted body was a burn mark from the Dragon Pulse. Red eyes glowed. The blue-purple flames danced and shone, causing Taint to have a strange glow to her.

[Moonlight_Eevee]

Soul dreamed. She was having a dream where something came and picked her up. Then she was tossed in the air before free falling. It was odd to Soul that she was having this dream. Why was she free falling? Who was picking her up before putting her back down?

 

---------------

 

Shadow Master watch as the Reshiram snarled as it attacke she Hydreigon. Not his most powerfullest Pokémon since it quickly fainted before the Reshiram flew upwards. "No matter where you run," Shadow Master called out after it. "I will find you and the others." "Sir," a grunt said, approaching him. "Articuno escaped. Someone tried stopping it, but it got away." Shadow Master stood there unresponsive. Why were all the ones that could fly getting away? "Are the others on lockdown?" Shadow Master asked. "They should be," the grunt said. Shadow Master looked back up to where Reshiram flew off. "We're going to have to move base," Shadow Master said. "When we recapture them, we're going to have some place to contain them." "Sir!" the grunt said before scurrying off.

[DarkShinyLugia]

(But Silver! Most competitive Lugias use HP as one of their main EVs!)

 

Aquamarine continued to run through these stupid woods. On occasion, she'd pass by a Flying Pokemon... a Pidgeotto, or a Tranquill, or any number of these forest birds. The ground behind her was now littered with frozen birds and maroon splatters.

 

But she was going towards a different biome now, the air growing drier and the evergreens less green. Aqua huffed, sprinting towards a much more lit area. She'd never have to huff before. The wind would normally carry her. Where WAS the wind?

 

Aquamarine suddenly felt something different underfoot. On one foot- the unmangled left paw- she had sand. But on the other, there was a green, buglike wing. It moved quickly, knocking Aqua up and back. She flipped back over to see what needed to die.

 

A very angry Flygon was buzzing at her. These words were being drowned out, though, by the very fact that it had actually done something to her. The Flygon opened its ugly mouth and began charging up a Dragon Breath.

 

Aquamarine's crystal took the brunt of this attack. Now this thing was trying to hurt her! The tainted Pokemon would begin using Shadow Hold, keeping it in place. The Flygon began flapping in confusion as its torso held in place. Now it was ready to take a Shadow Blitz to the chest, which is a perfectly natural way of ending a fight, and one that Aqua will take.

 

Flygon spun out of control. As it hit the ground, it dug under, trying to get out of a losing battle. Aqua'd begin digging at the ground, but already she was beginning to get tired. Just need to take a nap... The Suicune would finally give in to sleep, falling sideways onto the hot sand, one foot still embedded in it and the other exposed.

[Sugar-Free]

((Imma filthy casul who needs to git gud . I'm assuming that attack put him out of his misery for a bit.))

 

He pumped and pumped his wings, gaining tremendous ground on his foe. Each beat inched him closer and closer, and the Limiters pierced deeper into his flesh. The fatigue would drive him. Every moment, he conquered ground, and the unsuspecting worm would be wrenched up and flung back to the ground it came from, abdomen-first, and he'd--

 

The red figure suddenly hoisted into the sky. Baffled, his head craned upward--

 

And a sharp crack shattered the darkness holding him tightly. From his cranium, down his spine, through his hips and across his tail, the mirror fractured and gave way.

 

His sails clamped down to his back and he fell, twisting upside down and violently crashing into the mounds. He skidded until friction held him, and his body fell limp under the beating sun.

 

 

 

-----------------------------------

 

For but a moment, he was sane. An eye flickered open, and Soren stared into the unfamiliar yellow ocean. There was no comfort here; his skin was damp with sweat and his feathers were sullied with playa. His throat was hoarse and dry.

 

For a moment, he hallucinated he was at the beach, relaxing in the shallow teal tide, being dressed in those tiny anemones the humans grew.

 

A thin liquid dribbled down his matted face.

 

Don't leave.

 

For a moment, he imagined an unknown Pokemon towering in the sky, blotting out the sun and sheltering him in shade. It wasn't unpleasant.

 

"Gghghh..."

 

For a moment, he thought he'd call out for the sea. An echo would welcome him home, and he'd follow it, and upon diving, wake up from the many...how long had it been?...and be washed of the sorrow heavy in his stomach, the ache in his head.

 

It was a moment. Soren weakly leaned his neck upward, thinking of the notes to sing---

 

The Lugia fell back.

Edited August 24, 2016 by Sugar-Free

[DuskOfTheStars]

Taint made her way clear of the base. Down below there seemed to be mass panic. The fire may have helped...

 

The Shadow Reshiram flew up, banking sharply, before swooping down. The Eevee didn't have tine to react before Taint struck it with Shadow Wave. It yipped as she grabbed it in her mouth. Then smalll bones broke and blood dripped down Taint's face. Eevee made no more sound.

 

After Taint had torn apart and eaten the Evolution Pokémon, she lifted off again. This time, she flew with purpose, over a great forest. The air was chill but the Reshiram barely noticed it.

Edited August 24, 2016 by Dusky_Flareon

[Lemniscate]

((From Bulbapedia: A Shadow Pokémon, when encountered, is generated in the same way that a wild Pokémon is generated in the Generation III games, with its personality value and individual values generated together and no effort values. Going to assume that for these Pokemon.))

 

Now she had two defenseless legendaries lying on the ground. Glancing at the bright red blood dripping down the Lugia's face, she took a mental note to hit with a bit less force next time. If only she had a healing move or something that woke Pokemon up, she wouldn't have to hover over the legendaries. Hopefully, the rest of the legendaries weren't in such a battle rage by now and she could talk some sense into them. Energy spent fighting each other was energy wasted that could have been used to rip the humans apart. Checking to make sure the area was free of hostile creatures, Alter flew up and searched for water. While she had been flying towards the Yveltal, she had spotted a river. Landing next to it, she fired a Shadow Hold at a portion of it. It was a bit annoying not being able to use her standard moves, but she could deal with it. Carrying the water back to the two legendaries, she stopped halfway when she saw a patch of blue fur.

 

It was a Suicune, fainted from exhaustion like the Yveltal it seemed. A deep cut was on one of its paws, something which Alter poured some water over. The caked blood washed away, leaving a red patch in the sand. Picking the Suicune up with her tendrils, Alter used Shadow Hold to grab more water before heading back. The Suicune was actually surprisingly heavy for its size, not far from the weight of the Yveltal which was comparatively larger. Setting the Suicune down next to the Lugia, she poured the water over the Lugia's head. Bringing the Yveltal over, she repeated the process for it. It would be quite annoying if she had spent so much energy saving the legendaries only for them to die of dehydration.

 

((Kinda funny how probably the least caring of all the Pokemon is taking care of them.))

Edited August 24, 2016 by Silverphoenixx

[Moonlight_Eevee]

After a while of not dreaming, Soul felt something her head. She jerked awake when she felt cold water on her. She gasped in shock at the feeling. Soul rubbed her eyes with her wings, trying to get her bearings straight. She remembered Cipher and the lab. But where was she now? It was a blur. She remembered a screech and then her emotions ran from her. She then noticed a serpentine Pokemon staring at her. A white bird and a blue creature were laying unconscious on the sand.

 

"W-what happened?" Soul rasped. She yawned before stretching her talons out. She was trying to remember the name of the serpent. "And am I free?"

[Lemniscate]

The cold water had woken the Yveltal up, a good thing. "There appears to have been a mass breakout of legendaries previously contained by Cipher. I am one of them, as are these Pokemon you see next to you. This Lugia attempted to kill you, however, I intervened. It would not be a pleasant repayment of debt to attack me, nor do I wish for you to attack your fellow legendaries. We have a common enemy, the humans. With our combined might, we shall crush them to pieces and scatter those pieces far, far away. We cannot do that if we attack each other. As for the Suicune, I found it lying next to a river. It appears to be an escapee as well. Your help in tending to these Pokemon would be appreciated." Alter said, her voice strange and echoing from years of inactivity.

 

((well I guess I'll just wait to edit till other people post. I got a LOT of RPing done today O.O ))

Edited August 25, 2016 by Silverphoenixx

[Sugar-Free]

((Alter is secretly a super-serious micro-manager business Poke who's actually a maternal Giratina-shaped beanbag of subdued concern.))

 

A bloom of coldness unfolded over Soren's face. He squealed out a rank note from where he had left off...singing...

 

He brought his wings up and rubbed the coldness from his face. A wince came over him as he brushed an especially sore spot. As he ruminated on his foggy memories, he eased up onto his haunches, feeling the hesitance and strain in everything. He groaned.

 

He looked down. There was sand everywhere. The wind whipped, displacing his feathers; he shook and fluffed himself out to the best of his ability. He didn't have a sense of time or place. Everything was there...and now? It was here.

 

Soren gulped, his scratchy esophagus raw from overuse. He wanted water, in more ways than thirst. The memory of his song came back to him. Attempting to ease the dryness, he brought up saliva in his mouth and continually swallowed. When the chance arose, he would call to the ocean. He needed to get to the Whirl Islands, check up on the friends he'd left behind...

 

A pang went throughout him. He shook it away. He needed to focus.

 

Beside him, he heard several voices. One, in particular, caught his attention.

 

"...This Lugia attempted to kill you, however, I intervened. It would not be a pleasant repayment of debt to attack me, nor do I wish for you to attack your fellow legendaries. We have a common enemy, the humans. With our combined might, we shall crush them to pieces and scatter those pieces far, far away. We cannot do that if we attack each other. As for the Suicune, I found it lying next to a river. It appears to be an escapee as well. Your help in tending to these Pokemon would be appreciated."

 

Its words didn't register. He was dumbfounded.

 

It was...a sort of serpent. Its narrow head was crowned in gold, suspending a gem of some sort between its tines. Its body was long and grey, striped with deep black and red stripes; along its length, regal, terrible spines protruded.

 

"W...what...?"

 

He looked to its side. The familiar red being was lying down, talons stretched out. Its body was, too, the dark red and black, and a white mane emblazoned its neck. It was almost like him in appearance, with its wedge-shaped head, fingered wings and long tail. But it was broad-bodied, and glyph-like in shape. Two dark horns loomed over sky-blue eyes.

 

He panicked.

 

"Wh...what are you? I've never seen your like in my life!"

 

He stared at the wyvern.

 

"A...and you? Are you of my kind? Is...is this what's become of you?"

 

In his state of fear, he completely overlooked a familiar blue-bodied quadruped lying still unconscious on the ground.

Edited August 25, 2016 by Sugar-Free

[Lemniscate]

(( she's in this for the "servants"))

 

Before the Yveltal got a chance to respond, the Lugia woke up. Its battle rage appeared to have faded, leaving it dazed. So this was what the other legendaries were like. Foolish and sheltered. However, they would not need much knowledge to defeat the far less intelligent humans. "Then you have lived an extremely sheltered life. We are not the same species as you. It would be foolish to assume so, even if Cipher is powerful they are not powerful enough to change the very body of legendaries. They are but ignorant pieces of flesh who are impudent enough to dare and trap us." Noticing the harsh tone of the Lugia's voice, Alter clamped the beast's mouth shut with her tendrils before it could talk further. "Water." she ordered, using Shadow Hold to grab the Lugia and flying over to the river. Dunking it in, she released the Shadow Hold and did a quick scan of the area.

 

Suddenly, a large shadow fell over her. Snapping her head up to the source of the light blockage, she saw a Reshiram. Was it friendly? She could likely defeat it if it chose to attack her, but it might go for the other legendaries. It was best not to risk it. All her previous effort would be wasted if it killed one of the legendaries. Completely ignoring the now wet Lugia, she quickly rose up behind the Reshiram and fired a Shadow Hold at it, chaining it in quick succession with a Shadow Down. This way, it would be vulnerable should it choose to attack.

 

((:/ I'm no good with lots of dialogue, I feel like everything is a lot shorter than I'd like it to be.

 

Edit: AHHH sorry DarkShinyLugia for ninja-ing and moving Soren so now your post has to be changed or mine. But you read my mind on the position of the legendaries))

Edited August 25, 2016 by Silverphoenixx

[DarkShinyLugia]

((Ah, I forgot that the EVs weren't awarded until they're purified. All things considered, their EVs were probably wiped when they became Shadowed, because they're not caught with any ingame.))

 

Aquamarine'd have an awfully strange dream this time around. Most of the time, when she fell asleep, she'd find herself having nightmares (generally of Cipher). This dream was different. Aquamarine was flying, really more like running through air, but it was enough to pass as flying. She'd 'fly' over a pure body of water. It had been touched by neither Pokemon nor human, and seemed to stretch beyond the horizon. Aqua stepped down, touching the water lightly, and it splashed onto her face. What?

---

The Suicune would wake up, shaking her head. As soon as she felt a little resistance-something hitting the crystal while she was half-asleep-Aqua'd stand up straight. She'd begin staring down this new creature in front of her. This wasn't a Pokemon she recognized, although it was definitely a Pokemon. Aquamarine'd stare it down. It couldn't mean harm- if it did, she'd already be dead.

 

The words of this conversation were becoming clearer now. The extra clarity was always appreciated. But now was a good time to see what she'd hit (by accident, of course!). Aqua'd look up.

 

"Oh... hey." She was looking up at a semi-familiar figure. Aquamarine'd shake her head again, putting it into greater focus. It didn't help much. Still awfully fuzzy from the dream. It's just a slightly less-than-silver bird... surely she'd remember what it was soon? Still no idea what the worm was, though.

 

((And no notice of the red eagle; of course it'd be on the other side!))

((EDIT: Naturally, I'd post too late. I gots it!))

 

---

 

And then the bird would be flying! Kind of. Actually, it didn't look like flying so much as being tossed. Aquamarine'd shake her head again, staring at the worm. So, either it's trying to help, or it's screwing with us.

 

Honestly, one was good and the other was bad, but there's no real time to decide. Aqua'd stare up at the worm. The stare'd turn into a questioning look as soon as it [the worm] was in the center of her vision.

 

((Done! The color code is darkcyan, by the way.))

Edited August 25, 2016 by DarkShinyLugia

[DuskOfTheStars]

Taint rired in pain as she hit the ground. Hearing something behind her, she turned to see a Giratina in the right place to have fired the attack. The Giratina was lucky the Reshiram had slipped out of Darkness mode while flying or eating. Or Taint would surely have attacked as soon as she saw it.

 

The Shadow Reshiram snarled, "Let me go now or I'll do my best to torch you like those idiotic, criminal humans."

[Moonlight_Eevee]

(omg wait for me ;-; )

 

Soul listed to the Giratina as she spoke. She looked over at the white bird to see that indeed his feathers seemed really out of place. Some of the white was red with the blood of presumably what he attacked. She then looked at the other one, Suicune. "Where's Xerneas?" Soil asked quietly. Xerneas would know what to do. "I remember Xerneas. Xerneas said something about a Pokémon who could heal us."

 

She watched nervously as Giratina picked up Lugia and took him somewhere else. She was wondering if Xerneas was one of the escapees. She was hoping Xerneas was free and already searching for a cure.

Edited August 25, 2016 by Raptor of Dragons

[Lemniscate]

((I now live in constant fear of ninjaing people in this thread. ))

 

"That would not be wise. I am in a strategically superior position to you, being uninjured and nearly fully rested. I apologize for suddenly attacking you, but I could not risk the possibility of you being in a battle rage. We have a common enemy it seems, and it would be advantageous to join forces." Alter stated, her tone devoid of emotion. "However, as a precaution, I will not let you go until you have declared peaceful intentions." Managing these legendaries really was a lot of work. Possibly unnecessary work. She toyed with the idea of simply slaughtering this one, but discarded it as it would probably drive away her "would-be servants". Why do the work when you can have the pawns do it? They owed her anyway for her care. Briefly wondering if she would have to deal with more legendaries, she turned her full attention back to the Reshiram.

 

((too shooorrtttt noooooo))

Edited August 25, 2016 by Silverphoenixx

[DarkShinyLugia]

Aquamarine'd look over at the red eagle. She hadn't heard of this one, either, but she HAD encountered a Xerneas at one point. It was close to a pool that Aqua had tried to purify.

 

"Xerneas? I haven't seen a Xerneas in an awfully long time... I don't remember seeing any when I was running out, either." Aquamarine was barely above a whisper. She'd been tempted to go back to giving the worm the questioning look of the century, but instead Aqua would hop towards the eagle, laying back down.

 

Now she could see the other Pokemon. Was that..? No, she didn't really recognize it. But Aquamarine hadn't seen it before it had gotten to the ground. Did it attack? She couldn't tell from this angle. Well, if a battle were to start, Aqua could just stay down here. This bird hadn't done very much yet, after all.

 

((I'm trying to help the ninja-ing by copying the text I have and then refreshing to see if something's added.))

[Sugar-Free]

((No brakes on the RP Train! WomphWooomph!!!))

 

"Now, just wait a se--!"

 

Soren's mouth was clamped shut by the serpent's odd tentacle-legs, and he rolled upside down as a dark energy held him still and lifted him. He shifted in vain, trying to get the physical bonds free, when he finally saw the dark turquoise of a dog-like guardian.

 

STOP IT! I know you! I know that Suicune! STOP!

 

Before he knew it, the snake's tendrils slid off like celebration bows, and his still-clumsy body tumbled into a body of water. Once in it, he swirled upward, regaining the muscle memory of flight-in-water. Gathering a mass of water in his mouth and swallowing, he shot up and dipped onto the bank. This time, his stance was perfect.

 

Soren's head was clearer now. He stood for a bit to look himself over, look for any damages to his body. He rubbed at the painful wound on his head, and took his hand away to look for blood.

 

He froze.

 

The entire palm of his wing was covered in red. It was fainter than expected, considering his impromptu bath, but the imprint was clear: the four limbs splayed out; one arm hidden, tucked underneath the body as pressure bore down; a head, deformed. He jolted forward and retched, holding himself up with the bloody palm. The other was still held aloft, and he caught the sight of another, too-similar imprint, both arms up to shield itself..

 

"I...I did this, didn't I?"

 

His repressed memories came in full: the lab, the thousands of days and hours and weeks of torture, the escape, the sickening squeals of dying humans, the chase, bloodlust...

 

Overhead, the serpent coiled, and a single white feather, graying in flashes as it fluttered downward, landed before him.

 

It sickened him.

[DarkShinyLugia]

Aquamarine had too many things to look at now. Between an off-white wyvern, a Lugia that she could have SWORN she'd seen before, this red eagle-like being, and this big worm, there were too many unfamiliar things around. Well, except the Lugia. That seemed too familiar. Aqua kept trying to think of his name. His? Yeah, his. It's gotta be a "he".

 

The red marks made her stop and think, though. Those bloody silhouettes reminded her of another thing that had happened pretty recently. Aquamarine couldn't see the state of her crystalline head, but the end of the hexagonal center was a dark color, even more than the rest had become. That section didn't shine at all, whereas the other parts were just a dulled reflection. Apparently some human had been in the way of her uncontrolled Blitz... and paid a bit more of a price than most of the people Aqua had charged through who had simply taken large bruises or gashes from the side crystals. They'd been in the direct path, and too early in her charge. Whoever had gotten impaled probably wasn't okay in any sense of the term.

 

So Aquamarine would stare at the water. Only two reasons to go over there. Her heart sank as Aquamarine realized that, a long time ago, there would have been a third. She'd like to see who that Lugia was... Still too fuzzy to remember his exact name. But the other reason? Aqua needed to see what damage had been done as she'd left. Hopefully, it wasn't as bad as what the Lugia had been seeing. It couldn't be... right? He's bigger. He's got the strength to do whatever the hell he did. I'm not particularly strong in that respect...

 

The darkened Suicune began to walk towards this river, a slight limp in one leg from the wound. She'd start accelerating slightly as Aqua realized a third reason to go there that wasn't "purify it": A Suicune that's parched isn't a Suicune at all. Aquamarine'd take a look at the giant bird on the bank before taking a few sips of the water herself. It wasn't that bad, actually. Slightly coppery, but otherwise acceptable.

 

Staring at the crystalline structure on her head, Aqua realized the full extent of her corruption. It didn't glint as much anymore, and had made itself much darker. But the main structure of the crystal troubled her even more. Aquamarine hopped out near the bank of the river, pausing her water-walking for a moment to sink under the current. As soon as the tip of her crystal was completely under, Aqua began water walking again, jumping clear out and landing. She was still over the river, but a bit closer to the bank than the Suicune had been before.

 

Now Aqua would just look at the Lugia. Still gotta remember this name...

[Moonlight_Eevee]

Soul was disheartened. Xerneas didn't escape with Suicune. That didn't mean Xerneas was still caged. She looked around and there was one thing for certain. She was frightened. She recalled bot having the ability to suck life around her up, so that was a good thing. She noticed Suicune getting up before following her to a river. Realizing how thirsty she was, Soul lowered her head and gulped down water. After quenching her thirst she became a bit more relaxed as she looked around at the trees. It had been a while since she actually saw any form of life other then Cipher.

 

Soul shivered, thinking back to the day shad had been captured. The Shadow Master's calm yet cold voice. She remembered that he put his boot on her beak claiming she was his Pokemon. Her feathers flattened in fear of that memory. She closed her eyes and started panicking. She didn't want to go back. They would have to kill her first before that happened.

[Sugar-Free]

(Awaiting Esko; posts on mini-hiatus!)

 

Soren massaged a temple with a knuckle. The amount of suppressive squinting he has been doing was giving him a tension headache. He eased his eyelids open and glanced at the two forms that had edged up the bank. The look-alike was sitting perfectly rigid, wings outstretched to the ground, eyes closed like his own had been. He could tell she was in pain, that she was reliving an experience he couldn't and wouldn't dare to imagine.

 

He was stricken by the realization that this wasn't normal.

 

His demeanor brought a form of sympathy with it---not pity, as he was careful to never insult another Pokemon with contempt. He felt the overwhelming need to go to them, try to console them with his lullabies and water tricks--

 

But he stopped. He stopped, and his chest grew tight and his heart beat erratically.

 

He was afraid.

 

He knew Cipher had captured her for a reason, even if it was just her pure strength. Soren didn't know the details, as he barely understood the reasons for his own. What if she was dangerous? The dark aura that she'd carried out of the lab still lingered, though it was admittedly more akin to natural Darkness and not the darkness of the mind. But even then, he was a Guardian! If she were to overtake him as the sky-serpent had, what then? Would he risk the lives of thousands just to prove he wasn't biased?

 

 

Wait...what am I thinking?

 

This was never the case, ever! He could never hold a grudge, nor unfairly judge the misunderstood. That was the strength of his character: an undying devotion to those he swore to protect, even if they were different. He could never...never...

 

But as he looked on, his body would not move. He could not help her. He would not. His heart was hard and brittle. This was the undoubted work of the shadows.

 

He instead looked away from his discomfort to the dark-teal Suicune. Even under the stone, his heart leapt as she approached and sat, watching him. He took a short hop and a flap over to her position, and smiled. It had been too long.

 

"Aqua! You...you're still here! You're alive! After all these...nngh, I'm not sure how long it's been...but it's been so long, I thought we weren't friends!"

 

He knelt down and folded his wings to his side, sitting face to muzzle.

 

"You must tell me why you've been so absent so long...I've been so lonesome without you."

 

In the back of his mind, he wondered if she'd always looked so...unvarnished. But they were both older, and his memory seemed so distant at times...

Edited August 25, 2016 by Sugar-Free

[Moonlight_Eevee]

Macaroon stared bored at the cage walls. Alarms were going off but he didn't care. All he cared about now was how much of a freak he was. Half shiny and half normal. That wasn't normal. He looked over at the Peons coming over to him. They were saying something. He looked up at the alarms going off. Wait. Alarms. Going. Off. He sat there and blinked up at them. Was...were others escaping? He then noticed one in particular. Shadow Master. The human claimed that Macaroon was his. No. He belonged to Evan. Macaroon blinked nervously. He had to get out man! Away from the Shadow Master and somehow back to Evan. But would Evan want him like this? Being a freak.

 

He stared back at Shadow Master as the human stared at him before turning and walking off. Macaroon blinked. What was that all about? He pressed his paws up on the glass, observing as the Peons left. What was going on out there? He looked around before spotting something in the glass that he must have overlooked a thousand times. He looked back at the door the Peons left before flying up to the crack in the glass. He stuck a claw in, hoping it would crack further. He winced as blood ran down his finger before he felt his claw aching.

 

Come on. Come on. He kept ramming his claw into the glass. "Oh no," a voice said. "Oh," Macaroon said, looking down to see a Peon running to get a tranquilizer. "No!" Macaroon cried as anger rushed through him. The crack had spread. He found himself engulfed in a black flame as he rushed towards the glass. He smacked into it quite painfully. Then his head entitled in abother black flame as he lowered his head and shattered through glass. He knew glass would be stuck in the V part of this ears, but he couldn't think at the moment. All he wanted more then ever was to get free.

 

He paused as the Peons raised the tranquilizer at him. "Hold on," a voice said. "I got this one." "Sir?" the Peon said as Shadow Master came back. Macaroon sneered at him. "You've done quite the damage," he said. "But I'm afraid you won't get that far unlike the others. Your trail ends right here Victini.

 

(Possibly waiting for Sliver on this one)

[Lemniscate]

He - Essence - no, he didn't deserve that name anymore. He was a mere echo, a hollow husk being made to take life instead of giving it. He feared himself and the humans which hurt him, changing him so that he could no longer give life. It went against the very fiber of his being to take life, yet his fear controlled him, making him lash out. He had watched the Pokemon escape, felt the anger of the Lugia, and sensed the energy of many more leaving. When Soul escaped, his heart felt like it tore in two. Half of it was filled with joy that she had escaped, the other half was afraid. Afraid of what he would have to do next. Afraid of the look in her eyes. Afraid that she was no longer the same, nor was he. Would the humans blind him with fear again? He knew he would be used to track down the escaped Pokemon and possibly kill them, a thought that weighed him down with guilt. This was not what he was meant to do! His sense of life energy was supposed to help him heal, not hurt. But he couldn't do anything about it. He was a slave to the humans, a slave to his fear.

 

Alarms rang outside of his cell, but even their sound was gray and muted to him. He couldn't take any joy in the other Pokemon escaping when he was going to be the one to end their escape. During these moments, he wished that he were less powerful. He had never known how much damage he could cause until now, and seeing it made him even more afraid. He barely noticed the Shadow Master come up to his cell and start tapping on a monitor. His head barely moved as the cell door opened, his will to escape long since crushed. He felt tired, so tired of it all. He just wanted to go back to sleep, to dream that he was free with Soul again. But the Shadow Master didn't leave. Instead, he tossed an oddly shaped sphere at Echo - yes, that would be his name now. The sphere bounced off one of his antlers before shrouding him in red light.

 

All of a sudden, he was in a different place. It was a spherical shape, covered with grass. The faint sounds of bird Pokemon chirping reached his ears, though he couldn't see any. A single oak tree grew out of the ground, its shade providing a comfortable resting place. Getting to his feet, he looked around him in surprise. Was he free? Running up the side of the sphere, he found that gravity did not obey its normal pattern. His legs were now firmly anchored to the ceiling, something which made him quite dizzy. Returning to the "bottom" of the sphere, he was just settling down for a nap when he felt the sphere move. Suddenly, he was back out in the open, this time in front of a Victini. Instantly he was afraid, backing away and almost running. But before he could, the Shadow Master pressed a button. A device attached to his chest beeped, and he was consumed by a vision.

 

Inside it, the Victini was rushing towards an injured Soul, intent on killing her. Crying out in fear, he rushed in front of Soul, absorbing the attack with his own body. Falling to the ground, he coughed a few times before getting up again. He couldn't let this Victini hurt Soul! However, it didn't appear to be giving up anytime soon. Seeing this, his eyes steeled with determination. Digging his feet into the ground, he readied a Shadowmancy. In his concentration, he barely noticed the grass around him crackling and turning a sickly purple, nor did he notice the trees withering into dark purple skeletons. He was afraid of the Victini and of it hurting Soul, and that fear became determination to hurt it. The Shadowmancy finished charging as the Victini readied another attack. Feeling power course through him, he charged up a powerful Shadow Storm. The Victini charged, unaware of the pain it was going to experience. When the Victini was mere feet from him, he released the storm, relying on the sheer force of the storm to stop the attack.

 

((Just in case you couldn't tell, the vision is basically what's happening in real time except layered over with additional images. He used Shadowmancy (probably killing a few grunts around him) and then Shadow Storm at Macaroon.))

Edited August 25, 2016 by Silverphoenixx

[Esko]

He remembered how it all began much too clearly.

 

He was sleeping in his little human contraption, once again dreaming of ideal worlds. Evan was in the bed besides the team's Pokeballs, mostly unknowing of the great future he would bring. And, as always, he wondered about the whereabouts of his sister. But then he had woken to the whizzing of aircraft. Many sets of heavy footsteps marched up the stairs, and everyone else woke up to the scream of their master's mother. Evan had woken up as well, and ran to get his mother when he was stopped by Peons. He was challenged to a battle by the mysterious masked man only known as Shadow Master. With them all being half asleep, they were defeated easily. The boy didn't stop there. He threw himself against the Shadow Master and tried to fight for his Pokemon and family, refusing to stand down even though he lost a Pokemon battle. But the Peons electrocuted Evan. Shiko himself remembered screaming at the moment, watching their little master fall to the ground. He remembered the body occasionally jerking, and none of them were sure whether he was alive or dead. They took the boy away and brought the legendaries here. What were the whereabouts of the rest of the team?

 

He remembered the Master Ball he stayed in. The Pokeballs were wonderful devices, being so small and yet so comfortable. He longed for that feeling of it again, compared to the cage he stayed in now. It was an elaborate thing, with thick bars -bendable, except an army of Peons was on watch, and would capture him again and put him somewhere worse- to channel his electric bursts safely, and wires to power whatever. He might have even been a large source of the power in the facility. But his cage was cramped and terrible, and he often had to stand crouched. The position offered him little sleep. As his mind slowly unraveled, he released stronger bursts of electricity, once so much that the main power line short-circuited and backup generators had gone off. But unknown to him, he was slowly and surely damaging the systems, until one day...they wouldn't take it anymore.

 

He woke up after dozing off to sirens. There was an emergency, and Peons were running everywhere in a frantic fashion. He looked around. Almost nobody was there to watch him break. His tail-generator whirred like mad, and a high-pitched whine sounded. But shouldn't his electricity have been blue? Before he could ponder on why, he released the biggest pulse of electricity that he had since he arrived here. The bolts zipped up the bars and on the wires, and lights flashed bright until they fizzed out. The remaining Peons freaked out, running to get the spare generator working.

 

Finally.

 

Shiko grabbed each bar and pushed, his muscles straining. The metal groaned with being bent, until finally there was a hole wide enough for him to slip through. For the first time in forever, the Zekrom stepped outside of his cage, with a bent back and a wobbly step. His vision was beginning to go red. He stormed out while the power was out, taking the chance to look for Evan. "Little master! Little master!" He shouted, running through the empty halls. Then he came upon a room full of Peons. They were working on getting the power up. One of them spotted him, but before they could shout, he shot a wave of electricity. They were paralyzed with shock, and in a growing rage he took the chance to kill them all. He bit down, stomped, clawed, threw against the wall or floor. The entire room was splattered with blood.

 

As Shiko stormed out, he didn't notice the pod at the back...

 

---

 

Xorral looked like he was in an open area, but really he was in an electric cage. Every time he tried to wander outside the boundaries, he would be painfully shocked with a collar on his neck. He couldn't get the collar off, no matter how hard he tried. So, generally he spent his days curled up as his scales turned black. He was hungry. Very hungry. He felt like eating a whole cow. A giant basket of berries. Something.

 

When the lights went off, the Rayquaza immediately had an idea. He slunk out of his boundaries to feel no shock at all, and he found a sharp object to rip the collar off. Perfect. The fools don't know how to keep watch when things go wrong. I can be free once more. He rushed through the corridors, his snakelike body rushing through the facility. The joy rushed over him, and he broke through a ventilation system to get out unnoticed. Of course, the vents were stretched and broken by his long body.

 

"Dragon Ascent!"

 

He used his signature move. He felt energy course through him as he mega-evolved, then powered through the ceiling. The material broke and fell in chunks as Xorral zipped into the sky. Home, at last.

[DarkShinyLugia]

Aquamarine took a moment to glance at the red eagle that had now come to drink from the water. It's become fairly obvious that something had happened to all of the Pokemon gathered here. The eagle's wincing was a dead giveaway... Aqua'd shake her head, careful this time not to smack anyone with a crystal. The Suicune'd hear the deep thud of a landing next to her, and looked over.

 

"Aqua! You... you're still here! You're alive! After all these...nngh, I'm not sure how long it's been...but it's been so long, I thought we weren't friends!" Now Aquamarine remembered this Lugia. Wasn't this Soren? She could have sworn it was him; the voice was too familiar. "...Soren? You're right! It's been too long!" Aquamarine was sitting face-to-face with her old friend now. Now that she had the chance to think about it, Soren didn't look so different than he used to. Aside from being darker shades of blue and grey, he still had his original color scheme. For a moment, Aqua'd look at her flank, noting the black spots that were previously a snow-white color.

 

"You must tell me why you've been so absent so long...I've been so lonesome without you." ...Aquamarine had to think carefully about this answer. Why DID she leave Soren for so long? If she had to be truly honest, Aqua would say that she'd done it because of her duties as an Aurora Pokemon. The very same task that had gotten her caught up in this in the first place. And the one she can't even perform now. But that didn't explain why Aqua'd never gone out to the ocean. She'd go over the answer she was going to give even more. The most simple and honest answer would have been... "I left to cleanse some of the more inland rivers. I was going to help the Pokemon that had befriended humanity, and in the process, it also helped some of them as well... But I guess they didn't take too kindly to that. Maybe they wanted their water as it had been before I'd gotten there. But why wouldn't they like clean water? Maybe they don't truly like their Pokemon. Regardless, Aqua'd kinda nuzzle Soren's face, careful not to poke him by accident.

[Sugar-Free]

Soren returned the nuzzle, a genuine feeling of warmth spreading through him. He thought he heard a bit of hesitation in her voice as she explained, but he pushed the thought back. Right now, this was as close to home as he could possibly get. Aqua had always been there for him...hadn't she?

 

 

Somewhere nearby, a coolness tugged at his mind. Was there another of his friends nearby. He angled his head away from the friendly gesture and looked down the bank. There were large bird-like prints scrambled in the mud.

 

 

------------

 

 

"Please! Please, sir, let me go!!!

 

The grunt's face was messed with tears and mucus. His eyes were red and crusting around the lids as he cried.

 

"Not until I confirm these reports. Can't you understand how hard I've worked on this?"

 

Above his head, his hands floated slightly above a standard keyboard. His fingers feverishly tapped about the keys, never stopping or halting to erase or correct.

 

Even higher, following the dark aura seeming to emanate from his hands, floated a silky grey-purple cat-figure. It reclined against a deep grey bubble, sipping at a small piping mug sat snug between its delicate paws. Its face was lean, its eyes were narrow, and about its small body was a solid black turtleneck. It was almost comical, this little feline dictator, almost suited to a holiday card or a funny image for a friend.

 

It wasn't.

 

"Sir..."his voice wavered quietly, I've been nothing but good to you...I have a son at home who's going to trainer school--"

 

"To make the same mistake you did?" His tone was cutting. "To shape your life out of the barbaric task of enslaving creatures weaker than you? All in hopes of making it big, of being called a Champion? Was that the lofty dream you gave him?"

 

He floated down off his comfy couch, tail streaming out behind him, and stood near a personal brewing machine. He fetched the carafe from its nook and poured another cup of raspberry coffee. It was garishly sweet, just as he liked it, and nauseating to his human counterparts. Normally, he'd have one of the grunts or nearest Peon do this for him; the carafe was unpleasantly heavy. But he was busy being employed for a greater purpose--a means to finish this week's result papers. He could feel the resistance in the grunt's body as the day had passed, but he didn't really care. If his strength ran out, he'd grab another from Assembly. Arceus knew they weren't contributing anything of importance.

 

He replaced the pot and stood over the grunt kneeling beneath the table--the black-white marble was too good for this wretch to sit at. He set the cup down--emblazoned with the image of a pink Mew face; not his call--and stared over the edge.

 

"Look at you now. Pah! You're no hero. You're just a means to an end here.And he'll wanna be just like you, or how he thinks you are. 'Dad gets to meet all the Legendaries! He's so cool! I wanna be a Cipher Admin like him some day!~'"

 

He quickly directed the nameless grunt to save all his documents as he came close to an end. He opened up a folder with blueprints for Subduction Chambers and compiled them for an attachment. This time, he'd send it to Assembly Dept with his name on it.

 

His gaze still lingered on the grunt, shuddering with choking gasps and sobs.

 

"You're a liar. You're nothing."

 

As he raised up and prepared to send his strongly-worded letter--

 

A sizzling, sparking noise was heard.

 

Darkness fell.

 

The table tremored.

 

Porcelain smashed against the floor.

 

Save for the whine of a computer booting down, there was no sound. The grunt was silent.

 

He grimaced.

"That...was my favorite mug."

Edited August 25, 2016 by Sugar-Free

[Moonlight_Eevee]

Macaroon gasped as Shadow Master smirked. He released Xerneas as Macaroon tried to charge him. Instead he hit the Xerneas. No, no, no, no! Snarling, Macaroon charged again only to be hit by the Shadow Storm Xerneas let loose. Macaroon grunted as he skidded across the floor? His heart dropped. He knew Xerneas was a legendary but the fact he was willing to protect Shadow Master made him scared. "W-why are you protecting him?" Macaroon asked. "H-he closed us off." Macaroon clanked his claws nervously together as he looked at the Shadow Master. Shadow Master stood there watching Macaroon. Macaroon gulped nervously as he shuffled backwards. He heard a ball click and Macaroon's eyes widen. "Hold it steady Xerneas," Shadow Master said almost smugly. Macaroon's eye twitched. Here he was. Half-shiny half-normal. He was not about to go down like this. He growled, his temper flaring. All he wanted more then ever right now was to see Shadow Master burn. He started to engulf in blackness. Macaroon's head turned into a fiery blackness as he launched himself towards Xerneas, hoping to power through him and attacking Shadow Master.