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--WARNING: THE FOLLOWING STORY CONTAINS SCENES OF GRAPHIC VIOLENCE UNSUITABLE FOR YOUNGER READERS. IF NEED BE, THEEEVEEWARRIOR WILL TURN ON THE MATURE FILTER. STILL, IF YOU ARE EASILY SCARED OR HAVE A FEAR OF BLOOD AND GORE, THEN TURN AWAY NOW. BY READING FURTHER, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THEEEVEEWARRIOR IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY TRAUMA OR LOSS OF SANITY THAT MAY RESULT--
--YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED--

CHAPTER NINE
Ashes to Ashes

"Having a nice nap, Peter?" Groaning, I forced myself up out of my cot. Daniel was sitting in front of a workbench, disassembling and cleaning his SPAS-12. "Yeah... no thanks to you." I replied with a yawn. Hey, even a ghost/dark type like myself needs to get some shuteye... at least, shuteye that isn't induced through blood loss or blunt-force trauma. I could've sworn I saw the ghost of a smirk on his face before he was back to his usual, stoic self.

My arrival at the safehouse hadn't exactly called for a red carpet- unless said carpet was stained with my blood, that is. Even though there were only 80 or so people there, half of the survivors cowered in fear at the mere sight of me and the other half either had their weapons ready or had them pointed at me at all times. Yeah, not exactly what one would call a warm reception. I knew I apparently had a really shitty reputation as of late, but I didn't know it was "torches and pitchforks" bad. Still, anyone that tried to kick my ass got a stern talking to from Daniel himself. Honestly, if I didn't know better, I'd say they feared him more than they feared me. When we finally got to his quarters- which, I'd like to add, were a refitted executive office- I had been planning on asking him a couple questions, but he told me to get some food and rest. Needless to say, I hadn't eaten since before the injection, so I was really freaking hungry. I ended up going through about five bags of potato chips and half a box of microwave corn dogs before finally drifting off to sleep.

"So," Daniel said, knocking me out of my thoughts, "You had a few questions for me?" "Yeah." I answered as he set down a well-polished firing pin and started cleaning the trigger mechanism. "First things first, what the hell happened?" The bisharp sighed. "Honestly, I'm not sure myself. After you were injected with Project Chimera, the entire power grid went offline for about a minute. The glass around the test chamber shattered, so I grabbed Gavin, sealed the room from the outside, and ran. After we got back to the city proper, we went our separate ways. I haven't seen him since." Damn... I hope Gav's okay... "After that, the hybrids started turning up. Lurkers were popping up out of nowhere, and I'd guess that the Wanderers from Seattle evolved into the Jesters. We managed to hold those off, but things really started getting out of hand when the Hydras showed up."

"Hydras?" I asked. Daniel nodded at me before turning back to his shotgun. "Yes, Hydras. Tyranitar/Hydregion hybrids. Something I've never seen before. From what I can tell, there are only two of them in the entire base, but they're damn near invulnerable. They look like three-headed, gunmetal grey tyranitars, only a hell of a lot stronger and with scales like titanium. Everything we've thrown at them just bounces off or shatters." "Got it." I said with a shudder. Good thing I haven't run into them yet. I've had enough trouble with The Beast. Speaking of which...

"Have you noticed anything... off about The Beast recently?" Daniel set down the part he was cleaning and looked back at me with a raised eyebrow. "What do you mean?" "Up until recently, The Beast has been almost feral, right?" "Yes, why?" "I think it's getting smarter." That got the bisharp's attention. "You're joking." "Not in the slightest. It's started talking, saying really ominous, creepy stuff. Hell, I saw it ordering around a horde of Lurkers just before I found you guys." I swear, his jaw dropped when I mentioned that. "You're telling me that The Beast is commanding the hybrids?" "From what I can tell, yeah. Ordered them to capture me and had a pair of 'em execute a leafeon they found in the area." For a moment, he just stared at me, then he suddenly flipped back to his stoic self. "So that's where Annie went. Damn... her mother's not gonna be pleased about this."

I coughed to get his attention again. "Moving on, I was wondering if you had a plan to get these people out of here." Daniel nodded before going back to his shotgun maintenance. "Yeah. Our scout teams have been trying to break through to the town hall. From what we can tell, the radio transmitter there is still working, as are the emergency signal relays throughout the framework of the base. If we can get a message out to Headmaster Williams at the Deep Pacific Base, we should be able to call for evac and get out of here." "Okay," I said with a slight grin, "that's all fine and well, but I've got one better." Daniel turned around again, clearly interested. "Really now?" "Yeah. There's an undamaged sub waiting at the main docking hub. Only problem is that there's a security bulkhead in the way." I swear, I never thought I would see Daniel Bryson in shock, and it was freaking glorious.

"Y-you're kidding me. There's a sub still there?" He stammered, his eyes as wide as dinner plates. I grinned and rolled my eyes. "No, I stole it and left already. Yes, there's a sub ready to go on a moment's notice, and it should seat about fifty people, although I think we can safely double that." For the first time, I saw Daniel smile. "This... this is perfect, Peter. If we get that sub, then we could get the hell out of here anytime. My benefactor status should override the security bulkhead." His hands became a blur as he reassembled his SPAS-12 with an ease that only came from practice. Once done, he loaded the thing and slung it across the magna-strip on his back. "It's perfect. We get out of here and leave The Beast to suffocate in about a week when the Oxygen Recycling System goes offline." He opened the door and motioned for me to follow him. "Now then, why don't you take that USP I gave you," I reached over and took it from the nightstand, making sure the safety was on before stuffing it into my messenger bag, "and go look around while I tell the remaining PRT members the plan. Then, we're gonna get the hell out of here."

We went out the main hallway towards the main production center, which had since been converted into a public campground. Daniel pointed towards a stairway down to the main floor, which was understandably crowded. He went off to meet with the rest of the surviving fighters while I made my way down to ground level. Honestly, I didn't really have anywhere to go, so I just... walked. Needless to say, I recieved my fair share of glares while wandering through the camp, but I ended up stopping as I saw one particular lucario lady sitting on a bench, crying as a grovyle tried to comfort her. Could it be...? I thought back to the picture from the Recycling Center, compared it with the lucario in front of me, and found a perfect match.

Slowly, I approached the two girls, immediately catching their attention. "What do you want?" The grovyle growled viciously, her wrist-blade glowing with a readied slash. I put up my hands to show that I meant no harm and replied "Easy, easy! I'm not looking for a fight." "Hah! That's rich!" The grovyle took a step towards me, only to be stopped by the lucario. "Amy, let's just hear what he has to say." Amy looked at her with a mixture of betrayal and shock. "Lil, you know who he-!" "I know, Amy. I know." She whispered softly. After a few seconds, the grovyle sighed and said "Well? Get on with it!" I nodded and reached into my messenger bag, only to freeze as Amy readied another attack. "Easy! Geez! Are you always this paranoid?" I muttered as I pulled out the photo of the lucario and blaziken.

Instantly, the lucario looked up and took the picture. "I-is this...?" She whispered, rubbing off some of the dried blood. I nodded as the grovyle looked over to see what her friend was so interested in. "I found that in the recycling center. Apparently the blaziken and a few others set up a camp near there." I saw tears welling in her eyes as she looked up at me. "You found Zeke? Is he okay?" Hoo boy. How to say this... Finally, I went with "Unfortunately not. I found his body a few corridors later. If it's any comfort, his death was likely painless. I'm sorry." Yes, it was a blatant lie, but what else was I going to say? "Sorry, I killed your boyfriend in self-defense?" She and Amy would gut me in a second.

The effects of my statement hit her like a brick. After a moment of stunned silence, Lily pressed the photo against her chest and started sobbing again. Amy sat down next to her again, trying to comfort the lucario as she grieved for her dead boyfriend. After about a minute, the crying died down and Lily looked up again. "T-thank you... for l-letting me know..." And with that, she got up and walked away, holding that photo as if it were the only thing she had left in the entire world.

I started to walk away, only to stop as I felt claws dig into my shoulder. Slowly, I turned around to see Amy standing there with a stern expression. "Now that Lil's gone, why don't you tell me what really happened?" Fuck. I thought, reluctantly making my way over to the bench and sitting down. "All right. I stumbled over their camp on the way to the Itonium storehouse. They started shooting at me, and I tried to run. Something exploded, and I looked back to find most of them dead and Zeke dying." Not a lie, but not the full truth either. "I found the picture while looking around afterward. And now..." I sighed, expecting for the grovyle to gut me for lying to her friend. Instead, I felt her slowly put her claw on my shoulder. I looked over to see that, while she still clearly hated my guts, she was at least willing to look past that for the moment. "You lied to Lil to protect her, didn't you?" "Y-yeah." I said, looking back at the ground. Finally, after a moment of silence, Amy got up and said "You did the right thing." I looked back at her in surprise, only to see a faint smirk on her snout. "Don't get me wrong, you're still a bastard, but at least you've got your heart in the right place." And with that, she walked away, leaving me on the bench.

Huh. Hadn't been expecting that.

For a minute, I just sat there in stunned silence, shocked beyond belief that I had managed to get out of that without a fight. Then, "Peter." I blinked and looked up to see Daniel standing there, his SPAS-12 loaded and ready to go. "We're moving out. You and I will be scouting ahead for the main group." I jumped down from the bench and pulled out my USP, holding it up. "All right then. I don't suppose you have any spare ammo for this thing?" He just smirked and replied "I'll show you a few tricks once we get out into the field. For now, don't worry about it." With that, he walked off towards the exit, leaving me to follow him.

As we walked, I looked around again to see that the tents were being left up, people just grabbing what they had and getting into line. Within a minute, the entire camp was like a ghost town, save for the large bundle of pokèumans near the exit, surrounded on all sides by armed PRT members. Daniel was waiting for me by the massive exerium blast door that marked the entrance to the Mechanical Wing Safehouse. "We're going to be running a good five minutes ahead of the main group." Daniel said as the technicians began to unseal the blast door. "It'll be our job to take out any major threats and clear the path for everyone else to follow. I hope you're ready for a fight." I smirked and rolled my eyes. "What do you think I've been doing since I woke up?" Daniel opened his mouth to retort, but was cut off by the earth-shaking rumble of gears as the ultra-heavy blast door was raised.

Daniel took off like a rocket, and I followed him as we ran back out into the city proper. "The Mechanical Wing is only a few miles from the main lobby." Daniel yelled back to me, vaulting over a flattened Smartcar. "As long as we keep this road clear," He pointed down towards a faraway door along the edge of the cavern. "Then the civvies will have a clear shot to the rescue sub."

It was about then that a titanic roar echoed the city, deeper and less demonic than The Beast's, but not necessarily less terrifying. I looked over at Daniel as he tightened his grip on his shotgun. "Peter, you know how to harness your body's dark energy, right?" I gave him a weird look. "Yes, why?" "Being a ghost/dark type allows to focus that energy into objects. Put it into your USP and it'll fire for as long as you can maintain the energy drain."

My eyes widened at the implications of this. Shadow-based enchanting that actually works on regular objects? By all laws of pokèmon, that should not be possible. Then again, since when have physics and pokèmon ever truly cooperated? Immediately, I began pumping shadow energy into the hand holding the pistol, feeling the usual tingling of ethereal darkness writhing under my skin. Then, like moving a phantom limb, I forced that energy out of my hand and into the gun itself, allowing it to completely encompass the weapon. As I watched, a wave of flowing black energy wrapped around the gun, covering it in an ooze of ghostly shadows before finally sinking into the metal, leaving behind glowing purplish-black trails all across the gleaming metal of the USP. The markings seemed to pulse in unison with my heartbeat, and, strangest of all, I could feel the gun as if it were an extension of my body. And I don't mean like that crap that swordsmen talk about with their blades; I mean literally feeling the damn thing- kinda like my shadow tentacles, actually. Damn, that's awesome... I looked over to watch as similar markings began to glow all over Daniel's SPAS-12, although his markings were red and black rather than purple and black. How did-? Oh, right. He's got Nightmare's old powers. That explains that.

More shrieks filled the air, much higher than before. Lurkers. I thought, raising my USP and preparing for a fight. "Here they come!" Daniel yelled just as the first of the abra-hybrids leapt out of the shadows to attack us. I pulled the trigger and was surprised to feel the USP barely kick back in my hands, in complete contrast to the actions of the gun itself. The slide slammed back fast enough to put a dent in a titanium plate, but, instead of a shell being ejected, a small jet of ghostly white/purple energy puffed out. Even more interesting was the bullet-shaped blob of pure, glowing violet energy that shot out of the barrel, hitting one of the Lurkers in the chest and- I shit you not- detonating with the force of a grenade, splattering its fellows with its own innards. The crack of gunpowder was replaced with a subsonic bang, causing visible ripples in the air like a trail behind the round.

That's cool.

The other Lurkers didn't even have time to blink as I adjusted my aim. One round took off an arm, the next put a hole in the thing's chest worthy of a hollow-point. A third bullet hit one of the corrupted abras in the eye, its head snapping back from the force before exploding in a shower of black blood. One of the Lurkers pounced at me, only to be knocked out of the air by a shadow tentacle, splattered against the road while I fired off a three-round burst to obliterate a small group fifteen meters off. I looked over at Daniel to watch as the blasts from his shotgun decimated the Lurker hordes.

A loud, feminine shriek split the air- Jester- as I continued to mow down the abra/weavile hybrids. I saw the burnt husk of a school bus flying towards me out of the corner of my eye and decided to try something. If it worked for Maya... I thought, leaping into the air and charging a shadow wave in my free hand. Just before the bus hit me, I unleashed the blast and watched as the bus was promptly thrown backwards at three times the speed. I heard a shrill cry that was cut off almost instantly as the bus slammed into and through a wall, taking the entirety of a two-story bakery down with it.

Without breaking pace, I landed feet-first on a Lurker's head, crushing it into mush on the pavement. A sound like claws on asphalt echoed from right over my shoulder and I lashed out with a shadow tentacle, spearing a Lurker in the heart before throwing him into two more.

This continued for what seemed like hours. Blood flew as me and Daniel kept the road clear, obliterating everything that dared to attack us. Five lurkers pounce from five different directions- two speared by my tentacles, a third decapitated with shadow rounds, and the last two turned to dust by Daniel's SPAS-12. Two Jesters and a Lurker- stab the Lurker, throw it at the Jesters, and shoot them both as they dodge. At some point, I realized that I should've run out of ammo about twenty rounds beforehand, only to realize that each bullet was conjured from my own energy reserves- which were damn near limitless at that point with all of the dark energy lingering in the air from the dead hybrids around us.

We were an army of two, completely devastating anything that dared to attack us. Nothing could even touch us- not Lurkers, not Jesters, nothing. If it wasn't for the Lurkers' tendency to vaporize upon death, we would've quickly been knee-deep in corpses- and the Jesters' bodies were doing that job well enough anyway. We weren't just powerful, we weren't just dangerous; we were invincible. An entire army of hybrids was trying to take down the two us, and you know what was going through my head?

The Beast should've sent more of these bastards.

Finally, a gunshot, punctuated by a bang rather than a shadow-charged zap, split the air, knocking a Lurker out of the air to my right and sending it sprawling across the pavement ten feet away. "Cavalry's here, Peter!" Daniel yelled, blasting a Lurker into pieces with a single shot, "Cover the group until we reach the lobby!" "Got it!" I yelled back, putting a couple of rounds into a Jester as she tried (and failed) to attack a galvantula. A cacaphony of gunfire and various ranged moves opened up on the hybrid hordes, mowing them down and forcing a large number to retreat to a safe distance. "Let's move, people!" Daniel called out before running ahead towards the exit.

Now things were getting interesting. The hybrids quickly realized that the "overwhelm with numbers" plan wasn't working, so they started making more tactical, focused strikes against the PRT, hitting us in seemingly random spots just about constantly. I grabbed a Sig-Sauer off the ground and charged it with dark energy, turning both pistols against the waves upon waves of hybrids that were attempting to overwhelm us. Strangely enough, the Sig-Sauer had a different effect when charged with dark energy; instead of firing explosive shots, the shadow rounds seemed to be made of an ultra-corrosive acid that burned through flesh and bone like a knife through butter, but anything non-organic wasn't affected.

While I was experimenting with my dual pistols, the PRT was really starting to get into the fight. A stray Lurker pounced at a cowering ralts, only for a Machop armed with dual PLRs to turn the damn thing to ash midair. A line of grass-types were standing under a wall of UV lights, absorbing the ultraviolet energy before unleashing devastating solar beams into the hordes of enemies, blasting them apart without remorse. And at the very front of the group with me and Daniel, wearing a pair of very determined expressions, were Amy and Lily. And holy fuck, could they kick ass. Amy was moving like Neo, ripped clean out of the Matrix, tearing the hybrids into bloody ribbons with a pair of machetes. Lily, not to be outdone, had closed her eyes and lapsed into aura vision, dual-wielding a sawed-off shotgun and what I could've sworn was an ancestral katana. To be perfectly honest, by the time we got about halfway to the lobby, they were getting close to my own kill count.

And, of course, it was about then that things started to fall apart.

The same, deep roar from earlier split the air, only this time it was much, much closer. I looked down a side street to see... something pick up a freaking cargo truck as if it was nothing, throwing it at us like a javelin. "GET DOWN!" I yelled, diving to the side as the massive 18-wheeler flew overhead and slammed into the side of the cavern, detonating with enough force to knock most of the group off their feet. I looked back up to see a tyranitar, but... not. Just not. It was massive, standing at least fifteen feet tall while slouched over in a feral igor-like stance. Its scales were the same, dull grey as the steel on a riot shield and about as strong. Sprouting from its shoulder were three- yes, three- heads, each one smeared with blood and glaring hungrily at the survivors. And its eyes... if I didn't know better, I'd say Nightmare had fucked a tyranitar and this was the bastard child; its eyes were a solid, glowing crimson- no pupils or anything. Just demonic, gleaming red.

A Hydra.

Fuck you too, Murphy.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!" Amy screamed, ducking behind a street corner as two of the heads unleashed a pair of hyper beams, scissoring across the street and blasting at least three PRT members into the wall, leaving bloody stains behind. The third head acted like a sort of spotter for the other two, watching high over the battlefield and picking off any targets that the other heads missed. PLR lasers and bullets rained down on the thing, but the shots just ricocheted off, shattering windows and blasting holes in the nearby storefronts. Daniel was yelling out orders, telling people to fall back and stay behind cover as the Hydra advanced ever closer. Come on... there's got to be a weakness on that thing! Think, dammit!

Of course, I didn't have time to think as the center head suddenly spotted me, its eyes narrowing in rage. I cursed and ran like hell as twin hyper beams scorched the ground behind me, the intense heat of the beams melting the pavement itself. Suddenly, a tremendous blast erupted from the ground, slamming me through the window of a coffee shop and sending the Hydra reeling. I looked back at the street to see the edges curled up in a crater with a large pipe in the center gouting flames. I never thought I'd say this, but thank you, shitty gas line placement. I thought, pushing myself to my feet as the shadows of the coffee shop healed my numerous burns. I turned around to try to take a potshot at the Hydra-

Only to be punched through a wall by a very scaly fist, sending me flying out the back end of the coffee shop and into a construction site, where I painfully slammed into the side of an I-beam. Starbursts of multicolored light filled my blurred vision, my thoughts reduced to a haze as I stumbled over my own feet, desperately trying to get up. Come on, come on... Can't let it- My thoughts were abruptly cut off by a roar that deafened me, filling my ears with the echoing screech of eardrums being pushed to their limits. Well, my right ear, that is- my left was still deaf from Maya's shotgun. I managed to get to my feet, forcing myself to lean against the titanium shell of a building under construction-

And ducked instantly as a hyper beam shot over my head, tearing a clean gash through the building's outer supports. I blinked the dots out of my eyes just in time to hear the structure above me creaking and groaning under the weight. I looked back to see the Hydra's left and right heads snapping at each other, the left having a slight gash under its snout, while the center was snapping at both, trying to calm them enough to focus on me. I looked down-

And blinked.

Oh, FINALLY I get this back!

I wasn't standing on anything. If you recall, after I had been injected with Chimera, one of the main problems I had had was my loss of ability to float around like a ghost, defying gravity and the like. Well, at some point in the past twenty seconds, that little feature had come back, and it felt great to be defying the laws of gravity once more. I looked up at the roof to see a large crane perched on the edge, and a plan began to form in my mind. If I can't shoot holes in its armor, maybe I can crush it...

"Hey, ugly!" All three heads whirled around to face me, their quarrel completely forgotten. I grinned, floating ten feet off the ground and casually leaning against the half-built concrete wall. "Your mother was a cornsnake and your father was a wyrm!" Needless to say, this little jibe, albeit slightly altered, worked exactly as well as it did in Monty Python, if not better. All three heads roared at once as the Hydra pounced at me, only for me to suddenly float up another five feet. The Hydra hit the wall with a startled yelp that quickly became a growl as it dug its claws deep into the concrete. "Did you kiss your mother with that mouth?" I asked with a grin before shooting skyward, rewarded by the heads unleashing a Beast-worthy roar of rage and leaping after me, using its claws to create hand-and-foot-holds as it pounced its way up the building.

In under a minute, I landed on the roof and waited a grand total of two seconds as the Hydra pounced over the edge and landed on all fours, unleashing three hyper beams that shredded most of the structures on the roof and considerably weakened the supports on the crane. When the lasers died down, the Hydra had a perfect view of me standing next to the crane with a grin on my face. "Sayonara, beyotch!" I yelled with a smile before firing three shots from each pistol into the supports facing the three-headed hybrid. Dark acid melted one set of bars into liquid as shadow-based explosions shattered the others into dust, sending the massive, fifty-foot crane tearing loose from its base and falling towards the direction of its weight- which was, conveniently, the same direction as the titanic hybrid.

The Hydra screeched in surpise for about half a second as the crane slammed down on the edge of the building, tearing a ragged gash in the roof before falling over. I heard the building below my feet let out one last, shrill cry of strain as I calmly floated back to the ground, watching with a grin as the entire, towering structure collapsed, sending fifty floors worth of stone, steel, and masonry crashing to the ground in a cacophony of destruction and dust.

When I finally made it back to the group, I saw that about fifteen people were either missing or dead, with the more intact bodies being floated along by psychic-types. Daniel stormed over to me and yelled "What the fuck was that?! We thought-!" "The Hydra's dead." I said, cutting him off as well as anyone else who had a problem with my plan. The bisharp blinked. "Dead." "Dead." "You killed-" "a Hydra by dropping a building on it? Yes." I said, looking back at the column of smoke drifting across the city. For a moment, everyone just stared at me, some in awe, some in fear, and some in just plain shock. Daniel was the first to shake himself out of his daze, turning back to face the group and saying "All right, people, let's move! If we're lucky, we should be able to make it to the lobby without any more problems!"

He was right, too. The entire time we were moving, the only hybrids we saw were strays, and they quickly fled- even the Jesters. It was eerie, really, just how quiet the city had become in the aftermath of the tower's collapse. Occasionally, I would look back at the smoke rising from the downed building, watching as every hybrid in Marianas swarmed towards the noise.

We made it to the lobby in record time, everyone pouring into the open space as PRT members kept their weapons trained on every angle, watching the city through the doors as if an army would arrive at any moment. Finally, everyone made it inside and Daniel walked over to the main doors, swiping his green keycard across the scanner. A loud triple-beep echoed through the lobby, followed by the loud, mechanical rumble of gears grinding, forcing the twin bulkheads guarding the front door of the Marianas closed. With a clanging echo of finality, the doors slammed shut, sealing off the Marianas facility for good.

We did it. I thought, walking over to the submarine access door with the dark bisharp beside me. We actually did it. Marianas is sealed, and the hybrids inside will suffocate to death before the week is out. I let out a sigh of relief as the sweet sound of gears lifted the massive exerium bulkhead open, revealing the access hatch to the docked, flourescent-orange ship, waiting for us to take it and leave. All around us, the voices of the survivors filled the room, excitement and relief raising the spirits of those who had previously thought themselves condemned.

We had made it.

"All right, people! Listen up!" Daniel said, wading past the crowds of people to the ship access hatch. "Me and Peter are going in first to make sure there are no hybrids inside! We're this close to the end, and the last thing we need is a stowaway killing us in our sleep!" The crowds of people nodded their assent, spreading out through the docking bay to talk and enjoy themselves after so many long days in captivity. The bisharp swiped his keycard across the scanner and we watched as the hatch slid open allowing us to walk into the ship.

It was about then that an important thing entered my mind, something I had forgot to mention earlier. "Hey, uh Daniel?" I said nervously, not sure how he was going to react to that news. "Yes?" He replied, tapping on a command console just past the door. There was something in his voice that I couldn't decipher- probably just relief. "I'm sorry I forgot to mention this, but... I figured you ought to know." "Go on." He said, still not looking at me. Nope, definitely not relief... what is it? "Well, um... I've encountered Nightmare a number of times in Marianas, and-" "I know." That's when I finally identified what was in his voice: hatred. Pure, unfiltered hatred. He looked at me and I saw his eyes glow red, just like-

Just like Nightmare's.

I barely had time to raise my hands in self-defense before Daniel raised his SPAS-12, pulling the trigger and blasting me out the hatch into the lobby. Thankfully, I landed in a shadowed spot, and the wounds regenerated quickly. Not quickly enough, though- just as I managed to get back up, I saw Lily rush forward to help me- only to take a 12-gauge round to the chest, sending her to the ground beside me in a cloud of blood. "NO!" I'm not sure who screamed that, maybe Amy, maybe me, maybe both- all I know is that, in an instant, we were both at her side trying to patch the wound. An audino medic ran over and started trying to heal the lucario as I tried to figure out what the fuck was going on. Every last one of the survivors had taken notice of these events by now, running over to see what was going on- only to watch in horror as Daniel sealed the escape hatch, the reinforced exerium blocking us off from our only hope of escape. Frantically, I ran over and started banging on the door, trying to force it open, but there was nothing I could do but watch as the submarine detached from the base with a clang and floated away.

For a moment, we were frozen in shock and horror, staring off at the sub as it vanished into the darkness of the trench. That son of a bitch. Somewhere behind me, I heard a middle-aged mother break down in tears, sobbing as the reality of our damnation set in. After everything that happened here, he betrayed us... Within seconds, the lobby that had once been full of excitement and hope was a haven for nothing but disorder and sorrow. Why?! Why, goddamnit?! Why would he do this?! I could hear PRT members trying to calm everyone and failing miserably as the atmosphere of the base sank into depression and hopelessness. Why would he abandon us? Why...? Futiley, I weakly punched the door one last time, as if the sound of my fist hitting metal would somehow undo the events of the past minute.Why, Daniel?

Why?

Slowly, I turned around to see Amy kneeling next to her dying friend, the audino nurse trying and failing to save her. As I walked over to them, I saw the audino look up at the grovyle and give an ever-so-slight shake of her head. Tears flowed from her eyes as she waved the nurse away, leaving me to kneel down next to them. "How bad?" I asked, looking over Lily's dying body. The shotgun wound itself was gone, but, from the arrhythmic rise and fall of her chest, I could tell that there was still some damage, likely internal. Lily herself was barely conscious, her eyelids fluttering as if she would fall asleep at any moment, never to wake up. Amy looked up at me and hesitantly "The shot grazed her heart. Too much-" she was cut off by a sob, then whispered "Too much damage." "Shit..." I muttered, resting my hand on the grovyle's shoulder. She had to be taking this hard, especially since her friend's murderer was the one who had been supposedly trying to save them.

Then, I heard Lily's voice whisper "I'm not dead yet..." We both looked up to see the lucario struggling to speak as her heart threatened to give out. "Amy... I'm sorry to have to leave you like this... At least I'll-" She went into a coughing fit and I half-expected that we would lose her right then and there. Finally, she managed to force the fit down and continue "At least I'll be with Zeke..." And then she turned to me... "I know who you are, Peter... I know what you've done... everything... And you know what...?" I gulped in guilt, expecting her last words to be scolding, a declaration of damnation upon my soul. Instead, I was shocked to hear her whisper three words: three, simple words, that I will never forget.

"I... forgive... you..."

And with those words, Lily's eyes closed and her head limply fell back, her last breath escaping her in a quiet sigh. Amy let out a wail of sorrow as she hugged the corpse of her friend, and I just sat there, my mind reeling at her words for reasons I couldn't even hope to understand. What had I been forgiven of? And if it really was so bad... why forgive me? Why now?

BANG.

In an instant, the entire lobby fell silent.

BANG.

As one, we looked up at the twin exerium gates leading back into the base.

BANG.

A dent appeared along the microscopic crack between the doors, causing those close to the gates to jump up and back away.

BANG.

The dent deepened, and I could see the outline of a fist in the solid exerium plating. No orders needed to be given- everyone that had a gun raised it and everyone else readied their strongest moves, cowering in fear as our last line of defense began to crumble.

BANG.

The dent was smashed even deeper into the metal, creating a miniscule crack in the gates through which I could see back into the base- and, for that matter, hear the triumphant screeches of Lurkers and Jesters beyond. Thousands upon thousands of screeches, draining what little hope we had left.

BANG.

The dent shattered outward as a scaly, grey fist slammed through the plating before grabbing the edge. As we watched in horror, a second claw reached through and grabbed the other gate, its grasp accompanied by a deep, monstrous roar. The second Hydra. I thought, readying my pistols for an impossible fight.

With a titanic, earthshaking, unholy screech, the multi-ton exerium doors were forced open, inch by impossible inch, allowing Lurkers to pour through the gap as the Hydra's heads fought for the privilege to strike first. We opened fire on the hybrids, raining down lead and lightning and fire and water and ice and plasma, knowing even as we rent the first attackers asunder that it would never be enough.

With one final, damning crack, the gears holding the doors closed shattered, allowing both gates to be thrown aside and allowing the full force of the army of hybrids to pour into the cramped lobby. For every one we struck down, a dozen more took its place, shattering our lines and overwhelming us with sheer numbers. I lashed out with shadow tentacles, spearing and smashing and slicing through any that dared come near us, unloading into the crowd with both pistols at the same time.

I saw the Hydra turn, all three heads focused on me. I saw it breathe in deeply in all three mouths, saw plasma condense into form, saw three hyper beams fire at once, cutting clean holes in the air. I felt the three beams slam into my body, blasting me back with the force of a speeding cargo truck, slamming me into the wall of the lobby with enough force to dent it. I felt my skin catch fire, the plasma burning away at my very essence, my very soul.

And the last thing I heard was Amy's scream of rage being cut off into eternal silence.

Description
--WARNING: THE FOLLOWING STORY CONTAINS SCENES OF GRAPHIC VIOLENCE UNSUITABLE FOR YOUNGER READERS. IF NEED BE, THEEEVEEWARRIOR WILL TURN ON THE MATURE FILTER. STILL, IF YOU ARE EASILY SCARED OR HAVE A FEAR OF BLOOD AND GORE, THEN TURN AWAY NOW. BY READING FURTHER, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THEEEVEEWARRIOR IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY TRAUMA OR LOSS OF SANITY THAT MAY RESULT--
--YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED--

CHAPTER NINE
Ashes to Ashes

"Having a nice nap, Peter?" Groaning, I forced myself up out of my cot. Daniel was sitting in front of a workbench, disassembling and cleaning his SPAS-12. "Yeah... no thanks to you." I replied with a yawn. Hey, even a ghost/dark type like myself needs to get some shuteye... at least, shuteye that isn't induced through blood loss or blunt-force trauma. I could've sworn I saw the ghost of a smirk on his face before he was back to his usual, stoic self.

My arrival at the safehouse hadn't exactly called for a red carpet- unless said carpet was stained with my blood, that is. Even though there were only 80 or so people there, half of the survivors cowered in fear at the mere sight of me and the other half either had their weapons ready or had them pointed at me at all times. Yeah, not exactly what one would call a warm reception. I knew I apparently had a really shitty reputation as of late, but I didn't know it was "torches and pitchforks" bad. Still, anyone that tried to kick my ass got a stern talking to from Daniel himself. Honestly, if I didn't know better, I'd say they feared him more than they feared me. When we finally got to his quarters- which, I'd like to add, were a refitted executive office- I had been planning on asking him a couple questions, but he told me to get some food and rest. Needless to say, I hadn't eaten since before the injection, so I was really freaking hungry. I ended up going through about five bags of potato chips and half a box of microwave corn dogs before finally drifting off to sleep.

"So," Daniel said, knocking me out of my thoughts, "You had a few questions for me?" "Yeah." I answered as he set down a well-polished firing pin and started cleaning the trigger mechanism. "First things first, what the hell happened?" The bisharp sighed. "Honestly, I'm not sure myself. After you were injected with Project Chimera, the entire power grid went offline for about a minute. The glass around the test chamber shattered, so I grabbed Gavin, sealed the room from the outside, and ran. After we got back to the city proper, we went our separate ways. I haven't seen him since." Damn... I hope Gav's okay... "After that, the hybrids started turning up. Lurkers were popping up out of nowhere, and I'd guess that the Wanderers from Seattle evolved into the Jesters. We managed to hold those off, but things really started getting out of hand when the Hydras showed up."

"Hydras?" I asked. Daniel nodded at me before turning back to his shotgun. "Yes, Hydras. Tyranitar/Hydregion hybrids. Something I've never seen before. From what I can tell, there are only two of them in the entire base, but they're damn near invulnerable. They look like three-headed, gunmetal grey tyranitars, only a hell of a lot stronger and with scales like titanium. Everything we've thrown at them just bounces off or shatters." "Got it." I said with a shudder. Good thing I haven't run into them yet. I've had enough trouble with The Beast. Speaking of which...

"Have you noticed anything... off about The Beast recently?" Daniel set down the part he was cleaning and looked back at me with a raised eyebrow. "What do you mean?" "Up until recently, The Beast has been almost feral, right?" "Yes, why?" "I think it's getting smarter." That got the bisharp's attention. "You're joking." "Not in the slightest. It's started talking, saying really ominous, creepy stuff. Hell, I saw it ordering around a horde of Lurkers just before I found you guys." I swear, his jaw dropped when I mentioned that. "You're telling me that The Beast is commanding the hybrids?" "From what I can tell, yeah. Ordered them to capture me and had a pair of 'em execute a leafeon they found in the area." For a moment, he just stared at me, then he suddenly flipped back to his stoic self. "So that's where Annie went. Damn... her mother's not gonna be pleased about this."

I coughed to get his attention again. "Moving on, I was wondering if you had a plan to get these people out of here." Daniel nodded before going back to his shotgun maintenance. "Yeah. Our scout teams have been trying to break through to the town hall. From what we can tell, the radio transmitter there is still working, as are the emergency signal relays throughout the framework of the base. If we can get a message out to Headmaster Williams at the Deep Pacific Base, we should be able to call for evac and get out of here." "Okay," I said with a slight grin, "that's all fine and well, but I've got one better." Daniel turned around again, clearly interested. "Really now?" "Yeah. There's an undamaged sub waiting at the main docking hub. Only problem is that there's a security bulkhead in the way." I swear, I never thought I would see Daniel Bryson in shock, and it was freaking glorious.

"Y-you're kidding me. There's a sub still there?" He stammered, his eyes as wide as dinner plates. I grinned and rolled my eyes. "No, I stole it and left already. Yes, there's a sub ready to go on a moment's notice, and it should seat about fifty people, although I think we can safely double that." For the first time, I saw Daniel smile. "This... this is perfect, Peter. If we get that sub, then we could get the hell out of here anytime. My benefactor status should override the security bulkhead." His hands became a blur as he reassembled his SPAS-12 with an ease that only came from practice. Once done, he loaded the thing and slung it across the magna-strip on his back. "It's perfect. We get out of here and leave The Beast to suffocate in about a week when the Oxygen Recycling System goes offline." He opened the door and motioned for me to follow him. "Now then, why don't you take that USP I gave you," I reached over and took it from the nightstand, making sure the safety was on before stuffing it into my messenger bag, "and go look around while I tell the remaining PRT members the plan. Then, we're gonna get the hell out of here."

We went out the main hallway towards the main production center, which had since been converted into a public campground. Daniel pointed towards a stairway down to the main floor, which was understandably crowded. He went off to meet with the rest of the surviving fighters while I made my way down to ground level. Honestly, I didn't really have anywhere to go, so I just... walked. Needless to say, I recieved my fair share of glares while wandering through the camp, but I ended up stopping as I saw one particular lucario lady sitting on a bench, crying as a grovyle tried to comfort her. Could it be...? I thought back to the picture from the Recycling Center, compared it with the lucario in front of me, and found a perfect match.

Slowly, I approached the two girls, immediately catching their attention. "What do you want?" The grovyle growled viciously, her wrist-blade glowing with a readied slash. I put up my hands to show that I meant no harm and replied "Easy, easy! I'm not looking for a fight." "Hah! That's rich!" The grovyle took a step towards me, only to be stopped by the lucario. "Amy, let's just hear what he has to say." Amy looked at her with a mixture of betrayal and shock. "Lil, you know who he-!" "I know, Amy. I know." She whispered softly. After a few seconds, the grovyle sighed and said "Well? Get on with it!" I nodded and reached into my messenger bag, only to freeze as Amy readied another attack. "Easy! Geez! Are you always this paranoid?" I muttered as I pulled out the photo of the lucario and blaziken.

Instantly, the lucario looked up and took the picture. "I-is this...?" She whispered, rubbing off some of the dried blood. I nodded as the grovyle looked over to see what her friend was so interested in. "I found that in the recycling center. Apparently the blaziken and a few others set up a camp near there." I saw tears welling in her eyes as she looked up at me. "You found Zeke? Is he okay?" Hoo boy. How to say this... Finally, I went with "Unfortunately not. I found his body a few corridors later. If it's any comfort, his death was likely painless. I'm sorry." Yes, it was a blatant lie, but what else was I going to say? "Sorry, I killed your boyfriend in self-defense?" She and Amy would gut me in a second.

The effects of my statement hit her like a brick. After a moment of stunned silence, Lily pressed the photo against her chest and started sobbing again. Amy sat down next to her again, trying to comfort the lucario as she grieved for her dead boyfriend. After about a minute, the crying died down and Lily looked up again. "T-thank you... for l-letting me know..." And with that, she got up and walked away, holding that photo as if it were the only thing she had left in the entire world.

I started to walk away, only to stop as I felt claws dig into my shoulder. Slowly, I turned around to see Amy standing there with a stern expression. "Now that Lil's gone, why don't you tell me what really happened?" Fuck. I thought, reluctantly making my way over to the bench and sitting down. "All right. I stumbled over their camp on the way to the Itonium storehouse. They started shooting at me, and I tried to run. Something exploded, and I looked back to find most of them dead and Zeke dying." Not a lie, but not the full truth either. "I found the picture while looking around afterward. And now..." I sighed, expecting for the grovyle to gut me for lying to her friend. Instead, I felt her slowly put her claw on my shoulder. I looked over to see that, while she still clearly hated my guts, she was at least willing to look past that for the moment. "You lied to Lil to protect her, didn't you?" "Y-yeah." I said, looking back at the ground. Finally, after a moment of silence, Amy got up and said "You did the right thing." I looked back at her in surprise, only to see a faint smirk on her snout. "Don't get me wrong, you're still a bastard, but at least you've got your heart in the right place." And with that, she walked away, leaving me on the bench.

Huh. Hadn't been expecting that.

For a minute, I just sat there in stunned silence, shocked beyond belief that I had managed to get out of that without a fight. Then, "Peter." I blinked and looked up to see Daniel standing there, his SPAS-12 loaded and ready to go. "We're moving out. You and I will be scouting ahead for the main group." I jumped down from the bench and pulled out my USP, holding it up. "All right then. I don't suppose you have any spare ammo for this thing?" He just smirked and replied "I'll show you a few tricks once we get out into the field. For now, don't worry about it." With that, he walked off towards the exit, leaving me to follow him.

As we walked, I looked around again to see that the tents were being left up, people just grabbing what they had and getting into line. Within a minute, the entire camp was like a ghost town, save for the large bundle of pokèumans near the exit, surrounded on all sides by armed PRT members. Daniel was waiting for me by the massive exerium blast door that marked the entrance to the Mechanical Wing Safehouse. "We're going to be running a good five minutes ahead of the main group." Daniel said as the technicians began to unseal the blast door. "It'll be our job to take out any major threats and clear the path for everyone else to follow. I hope you're ready for a fight." I smirked and rolled my eyes. "What do you think I've been doing since I woke up?" Daniel opened his mouth to retort, but was cut off by the earth-shaking rumble of gears as the ultra-heavy blast door was raised.

Daniel took off like a rocket, and I followed him as we ran back out into the city proper. "The Mechanical Wing is only a few miles from the main lobby." Daniel yelled back to me, vaulting over a flattened Smartcar. "As long as we keep this road clear," He pointed down towards a faraway door along the edge of the cavern. "Then the civvies will have a clear shot to the rescue sub."

It was about then that a titanic roar echoed the city, deeper and less demonic than The Beast's, but not necessarily less terrifying. I looked over at Daniel as he tightened his grip on his shotgun. "Peter, you know how to harness your body's dark energy, right?" I gave him a weird look. "Yes, why?" "Being a ghost/dark type allows to focus that energy into objects. Put it into your USP and it'll fire for as long as you can maintain the energy drain."

My eyes widened at the implications of this. Shadow-based enchanting that actually works on regular objects? By all laws of pokèmon, that should not be possible. Then again, since when have physics and pokèmon ever truly cooperated? Immediately, I began pumping shadow energy into the hand holding the pistol, feeling the usual tingling of ethereal darkness writhing under my skin. Then, like moving a phantom limb, I forced that energy out of my hand and into the gun itself, allowing it to completely encompass the weapon. As I watched, a wave of flowing black energy wrapped around the gun, covering it in an ooze of ghostly shadows before finally sinking into the metal, leaving behind glowing purplish-black trails all across the gleaming metal of the USP. The markings seemed to pulse in unison with my heartbeat, and, strangest of all, I could feel the gun as if it were an extension of my body. And I don't mean like that crap that swordsmen talk about with their blades; I mean literally feeling the damn thing- kinda like my shadow tentacles, actually. Damn, that's awesome... I looked over to watch as similar markings began to glow all over Daniel's SPAS-12, although his markings were red and black rather than purple and black. How did-? Oh, right. He's got Nightmare's old powers. That explains that.

More shrieks filled the air, much higher than before. Lurkers. I thought, raising my USP and preparing for a fight. "Here they come!" Daniel yelled just as the first of the abra-hybrids leapt out of the shadows to attack us. I pulled the trigger and was surprised to feel the USP barely kick back in my hands, in complete contrast to the actions of the gun itself. The slide slammed back fast enough to put a dent in a titanium plate, but, instead of a shell being ejected, a small jet of ghostly white/purple energy puffed out. Even more interesting was the bullet-shaped blob of pure, glowing violet energy that shot out of the barrel, hitting one of the Lurkers in the chest and- I shit you not- detonating with the force of a grenade, splattering its fellows with its own innards. The crack of gunpowder was replaced with a subsonic bang, causing visible ripples in the air like a trail behind the round.

That's cool.

The other Lurkers didn't even have time to blink as I adjusted my aim. One round took off an arm, the next put a hole in the thing's chest worthy of a hollow-point. A third bullet hit one of the corrupted abras in the eye, its head snapping back from the force before exploding in a shower of black blood. One of the Lurkers pounced at me, only to be knocked out of the air by a shadow tentacle, splattered against the road while I fired off a three-round burst to obliterate a small group fifteen meters off. I looked over at Daniel to watch as the blasts from his shotgun decimated the Lurker hordes.

A loud, feminine shriek split the air- Jester- as I continued to mow down the abra/weavile hybrids. I saw the burnt husk of a school bus flying towards me out of the corner of my eye and decided to try something. If it worked for Maya... I thought, leaping into the air and charging a shadow wave in my free hand. Just before the bus hit me, I unleashed the blast and watched as the bus was promptly thrown backwards at three times the speed. I heard a shrill cry that was cut off almost instantly as the bus slammed into and through a wall, taking the entirety of a two-story bakery down with it.

Without breaking pace, I landed feet-first on a Lurker's head, crushing it into mush on the pavement. A sound like claws on asphalt echoed from right over my shoulder and I lashed out with a shadow tentacle, spearing a Lurker in the heart before throwing him into two more.

This continued for what seemed like hours. Blood flew as me and Daniel kept the road clear, obliterating everything that dared to attack us. Five lurkers pounce from five different directions- two speared by my tentacles, a third decapitated with shadow rounds, and the last two turned to dust by Daniel's SPAS-12. Two Jesters and a Lurker- stab the Lurker, throw it at the Jesters, and shoot them both as they dodge. At some point, I realized that I should've run out of ammo about twenty rounds beforehand, only to realize that each bullet was conjured from my own energy reserves- which were damn near limitless at that point with all of the dark energy lingering in the air from the dead hybrids around us.

We were an army of two, completely devastating anything that dared to attack us. Nothing could even touch us- not Lurkers, not Jesters, nothing. If it wasn't for the Lurkers' tendency to vaporize upon death, we would've quickly been knee-deep in corpses- and the Jesters' bodies were doing that job well enough anyway. We weren't just powerful, we weren't just dangerous; we were invincible. An entire army of hybrids was trying to take down the two us, and you know what was going through my head?

The Beast should've sent more of these bastards.

Finally, a gunshot, punctuated by a bang rather than a shadow-charged zap, split the air, knocking a Lurker out of the air to my right and sending it sprawling across the pavement ten feet away. "Cavalry's here, Peter!" Daniel yelled, blasting a Lurker into pieces with a single shot, "Cover the group until we reach the lobby!" "Got it!" I yelled back, putting a couple of rounds into a Jester as she tried (and failed) to attack a galvantula. A cacaphony of gunfire and various ranged moves opened up on the hybrid hordes, mowing them down and forcing a large number to retreat to a safe distance. "Let's move, people!" Daniel called out before running ahead towards the exit.

Now things were getting interesting. The hybrids quickly realized that the "overwhelm with numbers" plan wasn't working, so they started making more tactical, focused strikes against the PRT, hitting us in seemingly random spots just about constantly. I grabbed a Sig-Sauer off the ground and charged it with dark energy, turning both pistols against the waves upon waves of hybrids that were attempting to overwhelm us. Strangely enough, the Sig-Sauer had a different effect when charged with dark energy; instead of firing explosive shots, the shadow rounds seemed to be made of an ultra-corrosive acid that burned through flesh and bone like a knife through butter, but anything non-organic wasn't affected.

While I was experimenting with my dual pistols, the PRT was really starting to get into the fight. A stray Lurker pounced at a cowering ralts, only for a Machop armed with dual PLRs to turn the damn thing to ash midair. A line of grass-types were standing under a wall of UV lights, absorbing the ultraviolet energy before unleashing devastating solar beams into the hordes of enemies, blasting them apart without remorse. And at the very front of the group with me and Daniel, wearing a pair of very determined expressions, were Amy and Lily. And holy fuck, could they kick ass. Amy was moving like Neo, ripped clean out of the Matrix, tearing the hybrids into bloody ribbons with a pair of machetes. Lily, not to be outdone, had closed her eyes and lapsed into aura vision, dual-wielding a sawed-off shotgun and what I could've sworn was an ancestral katana. To be perfectly honest, by the time we got about halfway to the lobby, they were getting close to my own kill count.

And, of course, it was about then that things started to fall apart.

The same, deep roar from earlier split the air, only this time it was much, much closer. I looked down a side street to see... something pick up a freaking cargo truck as if it was nothing, throwing it at us like a javelin. "GET DOWN!" I yelled, diving to the side as the massive 18-wheeler flew overhead and slammed into the side of the cavern, detonating with enough force to knock most of the group off their feet. I looked back up to see a tyranitar, but... not. Just not. It was massive, standing at least fifteen feet tall while slouched over in a feral igor-like stance. Its scales were the same, dull grey as the steel on a riot shield and about as strong. Sprouting from its shoulder were three- yes, three- heads, each one smeared with blood and glaring hungrily at the survivors. And its eyes... if I didn't know better, I'd say Nightmare had fucked a tyranitar and this was the bastard child; its eyes were a solid, glowing crimson- no pupils or anything. Just demonic, gleaming red.

A Hydra.

Fuck you too, Murphy.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!" Amy screamed, ducking behind a street corner as two of the heads unleashed a pair of hyper beams, scissoring across the street and blasting at least three PRT members into the wall, leaving bloody stains behind. The third head acted like a sort of spotter for the other two, watching high over the battlefield and picking off any targets that the other heads missed. PLR lasers and bullets rained down on the thing, but the shots just ricocheted off, shattering windows and blasting holes in the nearby storefronts. Daniel was yelling out orders, telling people to fall back and stay behind cover as the Hydra advanced ever closer. Come on... there's got to be a weakness on that thing! Think, dammit!

Of course, I didn't have time to think as the center head suddenly spotted me, its eyes narrowing in rage. I cursed and ran like hell as twin hyper beams scorched the ground behind me, the intense heat of the beams melting the pavement itself. Suddenly, a tremendous blast erupted from the ground, slamming me through the window of a coffee shop and sending the Hydra reeling. I looked back at the street to see the edges curled up in a crater with a large pipe in the center gouting flames. I never thought I'd say this, but thank you, shitty gas line placement. I thought, pushing myself to my feet as the shadows of the coffee shop healed my numerous burns. I turned around to try to take a potshot at the Hydra-

Only to be punched through a wall by a very scaly fist, sending me flying out the back end of the coffee shop and into a construction site, where I painfully slammed into the side of an I-beam. Starbursts of multicolored light filled my blurred vision, my thoughts reduced to a haze as I stumbled over my own feet, desperately trying to get up. Come on, come on... Can't let it- My thoughts were abruptly cut off by a roar that deafened me, filling my ears with the echoing screech of eardrums being pushed to their limits. Well, my right ear, that is- my left was still deaf from Maya's shotgun. I managed to get to my feet, forcing myself to lean against the titanium shell of a building under construction-

And ducked instantly as a hyper beam shot over my head, tearing a clean gash through the building's outer supports. I blinked the dots out of my eyes just in time to hear the structure above me creaking and groaning under the weight. I looked back to see the Hydra's left and right heads snapping at each other, the left having a slight gash under its snout, while the center was snapping at both, trying to calm them enough to focus on me. I looked down-

And blinked.

Oh, FINALLY I get this back!

I wasn't standing on anything. If you recall, after I had been injected with Chimera, one of the main problems I had had was my loss of ability to float around like a ghost, defying gravity and the like. Well, at some point in the past twenty seconds, that little feature had come back, and it felt great to be defying the laws of gravity once more. I looked up at the roof to see a large crane perched on the edge, and a plan began to form in my mind. If I can't shoot holes in its armor, maybe I can crush it...

"Hey, ugly!" All three heads whirled around to face me, their quarrel completely forgotten. I grinned, floating ten feet off the ground and casually leaning against the half-built concrete wall. "Your mother was a cornsnake and your father was a wyrm!" Needless to say, this little jibe, albeit slightly altered, worked exactly as well as it did in Monty Python, if not better. All three heads roared at once as the Hydra pounced at me, only for me to suddenly float up another five feet. The Hydra hit the wall with a startled yelp that quickly became a growl as it dug its claws deep into the concrete. "Did you kiss your mother with that mouth?" I asked with a grin before shooting skyward, rewarded by the heads unleashing a Beast-worthy roar of rage and leaping after me, using its claws to create hand-and-foot-holds as it pounced its way up the building.

In under a minute, I landed on the roof and waited a grand total of two seconds as the Hydra pounced over the edge and landed on all fours, unleashing three hyper beams that shredded most of the structures on the roof and considerably weakened the supports on the crane. When the lasers died down, the Hydra had a perfect view of me standing next to the crane with a grin on my face. "Sayonara, beyotch!" I yelled with a smile before firing three shots from each pistol into the supports facing the three-headed hybrid. Dark acid melted one set of bars into liquid as shadow-based explosions shattered the others into dust, sending the massive, fifty-foot crane tearing loose from its base and falling towards the direction of its weight- which was, conveniently, the same direction as the titanic hybrid.

The Hydra screeched in surpise for about half a second as the crane slammed down on the edge of the building, tearing a ragged gash in the roof before falling over. I heard the building below my feet let out one last, shrill cry of strain as I calmly floated back to the ground, watching with a grin as the entire, towering structure collapsed, sending fifty floors worth of stone, steel, and masonry crashing to the ground in a cacophony of destruction and dust.

When I finally made it back to the group, I saw that about fifteen people were either missing or dead, with the more intact bodies being floated along by psychic-types. Daniel stormed over to me and yelled "What the fuck was that?! We thought-!" "The Hydra's dead." I said, cutting him off as well as anyone else who had a problem with my plan. The bisharp blinked. "Dead." "Dead." "You killed-" "a Hydra by dropping a building on it? Yes." I said, looking back at the column of smoke drifting across the city. For a moment, everyone just stared at me, some in awe, some in fear, and some in just plain shock. Daniel was the first to shake himself out of his daze, turning back to face the group and saying "All right, people, let's move! If we're lucky, we should be able to make it to the lobby without any more problems!"

He was right, too. The entire time we were moving, the only hybrids we saw were strays, and they quickly fled- even the Jesters. It was eerie, really, just how quiet the city had become in the aftermath of the tower's collapse. Occasionally, I would look back at the smoke rising from the downed building, watching as every hybrid in Marianas swarmed towards the noise.

We made it to the lobby in record time, everyone pouring into the open space as PRT members kept their weapons trained on every angle, watching the city through the doors as if an army would arrive at any moment. Finally, everyone made it inside and Daniel walked over to the main doors, swiping his green keycard across the scanner. A loud triple-beep echoed through the lobby, followed by the loud, mechanical rumble of gears grinding, forcing the twin bulkheads guarding the front door of the Marianas closed. With a clanging echo of finality, the doors slammed shut, sealing off the Marianas facility for good.

We did it. I thought, walking over to the submarine access door with the dark bisharp beside me. We actually did it. Marianas is sealed, and the hybrids inside will suffocate to death before the week is out. I let out a sigh of relief as the sweet sound of gears lifted the massive exerium bulkhead open, revealing the access hatch to the docked, flourescent-orange ship, waiting for us to take it and leave. All around us, the voices of the survivors filled the room, excitement and relief raising the spirits of those who had previously thought themselves condemned.

We had made it.

"All right, people! Listen up!" Daniel said, wading past the crowds of people to the ship access hatch. "Me and Peter are going in first to make sure there are no hybrids inside! We're this close to the end, and the last thing we need is a stowaway killing us in our sleep!" The crowds of people nodded their assent, spreading out through the docking bay to talk and enjoy themselves after so many long days in captivity. The bisharp swiped his keycard across the scanner and we watched as the hatch slid open allowing us to walk into the ship.

It was about then that an important thing entered my mind, something I had forgot to mention earlier. "Hey, uh Daniel?" I said nervously, not sure how he was going to react to that news. "Yes?" He replied, tapping on a command console just past the door. There was something in his voice that I couldn't decipher- probably just relief. "I'm sorry I forgot to mention this, but... I figured you ought to know." "Go on." He said, still not looking at me. Nope, definitely not relief... what is it? "Well, um... I've encountered Nightmare a number of times in Marianas, and-" "I know." That's when I finally identified what was in his voice: hatred. Pure, unfiltered hatred. He looked at me and I saw his eyes glow red, just like-

Just like Nightmare's.

I barely had time to raise my hands in self-defense before Daniel raised his SPAS-12, pulling the trigger and blasting me out the hatch into the lobby. Thankfully, I landed in a shadowed spot, and the wounds regenerated quickly. Not quickly enough, though- just as I managed to get back up, I saw Lily rush forward to help me- only to take a 12-gauge round to the chest, sending her to the ground beside me in a cloud of blood. "NO!" I'm not sure who screamed that, maybe Amy, maybe me, maybe both- all I know is that, in an instant, we were both at her side trying to patch the wound. An audino medic ran over and started trying to heal the lucario as I tried to figure out what the fuck was going on. Every last one of the survivors had taken notice of these events by now, running over to see what was going on- only to watch in horror as Daniel sealed the escape hatch, the reinforced exerium blocking us off from our only hope of escape. Frantically, I ran over and started banging on the door, trying to force it open, but there was nothing I could do but watch as the submarine detached from the base with a clang and floated away.

For a moment, we were frozen in shock and horror, staring off at the sub as it vanished into the darkness of the trench. That son of a bitch. Somewhere behind me, I heard a middle-aged mother break down in tears, sobbing as the reality of our damnation set in. After everything that happened here, he betrayed us... Within seconds, the lobby that had once been full of excitement and hope was a haven for nothing but disorder and sorrow. Why?! Why, goddamnit?! Why would he do this?! I could hear PRT members trying to calm everyone and failing miserably as the atmosphere of the base sank into depression and hopelessness. Why would he abandon us? Why...? Futiley, I weakly punched the door one last time, as if the sound of my fist hitting metal would somehow undo the events of the past minute.Why, Daniel?

Why?

Slowly, I turned around to see Amy kneeling next to her dying friend, the audino nurse trying and failing to save her. As I walked over to them, I saw the audino look up at the grovyle and give an ever-so-slight shake of her head. Tears flowed from her eyes as she waved the nurse away, leaving me to kneel down next to them. "How bad?" I asked, looking over Lily's dying body. The shotgun wound itself was gone, but, from the arrhythmic rise and fall of her chest, I could tell that there was still some damage, likely internal. Lily herself was barely conscious, her eyelids fluttering as if she would fall asleep at any moment, never to wake up. Amy looked up at me and hesitantly "The shot grazed her heart. Too much-" she was cut off by a sob, then whispered "Too much damage." "Shit..." I muttered, resting my hand on the grovyle's shoulder. She had to be taking this hard, especially since her friend's murderer was the one who had been supposedly trying to save them.

Then, I heard Lily's voice whisper "I'm not dead yet..." We both looked up to see the lucario struggling to speak as her heart threatened to give out. "Amy... I'm sorry to have to leave you like this... At least I'll-" She went into a coughing fit and I half-expected that we would lose her right then and there. Finally, she managed to force the fit down and continue "At least I'll be with Zeke..." And then she turned to me... "I know who you are, Peter... I know what you've done... everything... And you know what...?" I gulped in guilt, expecting her last words to be scolding, a declaration of damnation upon my soul. Instead, I was shocked to hear her whisper three words: three, simple words, that I will never forget.

"I... forgive... you..."

And with those words, Lily's eyes closed and her head limply fell back, her last breath escaping her in a quiet sigh. Amy let out a wail of sorrow as she hugged the corpse of her friend, and I just sat there, my mind reeling at her words for reasons I couldn't even hope to understand. What had I been forgiven of? And if it really was so bad... why forgive me? Why now?

BANG.

In an instant, the entire lobby fell silent.

BANG.

As one, we looked up at the twin exerium gates leading back into the base.

BANG.

A dent appeared along the microscopic crack between the doors, causing those close to the gates to jump up and back away.

BANG.

The dent deepened, and I could see the outline of a fist in the solid exerium plating. No orders needed to be given- everyone that had a gun raised it and everyone else readied their strongest moves, cowering in fear as our last line of defense began to crumble.

BANG.

The dent was smashed even deeper into the metal, creating a miniscule crack in the gates through which I could see back into the base- and, for that matter, hear the triumphant screeches of Lurkers and Jesters beyond. Thousands upon thousands of screeches, draining what little hope we had left.

BANG.

The dent shattered outward as a scaly, grey fist slammed through the plating before grabbing the edge. As we watched in horror, a second claw reached through and grabbed the other gate, its grasp accompanied by a deep, monstrous roar. The second Hydra. I thought, readying my pistols for an impossible fight.

With a titanic, earthshaking, unholy screech, the multi-ton exerium doors were forced open, inch by impossible inch, allowing Lurkers to pour through the gap as the Hydra's heads fought for the privilege to strike first. We opened fire on the hybrids, raining down lead and lightning and fire and water and ice and plasma, knowing even as we rent the first attackers asunder that it would never be enough.

With one final, damning crack, the gears holding the doors closed shattered, allowing both gates to be thrown aside and allowing the full force of the army of hybrids to pour into the cramped lobby. For every one we struck down, a dozen more took its place, shattering our lines and overwhelming us with sheer numbers. I lashed out with shadow tentacles, spearing and smashing and slicing through any that dared come near us, unloading into the crowd with both pistols at the same time.

I saw the Hydra turn, all three heads focused on me. I saw it breathe in deeply in all three mouths, saw plasma condense into form, saw three hyper beams fire at once, cutting clean holes in the air. I felt the three beams slam into my body, blasting me back with the force of a speeding cargo truck, slamming me into the wall of the lobby with enough force to dent it. I felt my skin catch fire, the plasma burning away at my very essence, my very soul.

And the last thing I heard was Amy's scream of rage being cut off into eternal silence.