Anima Ex Machina (PG-15)

**JX Valentine** · 29th February 2012, 1:48 AM

Spoiler:- Responses!:

In the meantime, the first extra! I was thinking of doing a profile for it, but really, GM's post made me just want to break out the world building stuff. So!

Extra #1: The Ixodida Hierarchy
Spoiler:- Whee, semi-spoilers!:

**JX Valentine** · 15th March 2012, 7:52 PM

I should be finishing a paper and preparing an oral report. What am I doing instead? Posting this. Because my priorities are awesome.

Also, a huge thank you to The Great Butler for betaing this chapter. And probably subsequent chapters unless he tells me, "lolnope." Or something to that effect.

Lastly, not to spoil anything, but in the middle of the chapter, you're going to be introduced to the Ixodida homeworld. Play this as mood music. You'll thank me later.

Anima Ex Machina
Twenty-Six: In the mist of a memory, you wander back to me.

Purple eyes.

Bill couldn't look away. They hovered in his field of vision, staring deep into him. Their pupils contracted, narrowing into slits as the violet of the irises flashed. The creature's mouth tensed until it formed a straight line. At the same time, the skin of the rest of the face – the oval, hairless face – pulled back until it looked like someone was grasping the creature's flesh from the back of her head.

He wasn't sure how he could tell this was a female; something inside him simply knew. More importantly, he felt as if he had seen this being before, but he couldn't place his finger on where.

That was not a good sort of déjà vu. In fact, as she floated in front of him, he had never felt as terrified in his life as he was right then. He tried desperately to move, to squirm away from her, but his body felt distant, like he was floating inside it.

Because of that, he could do nothing but watch as the creature extended her willowy arms towards him. Her long, thin fingers brushed his face. Each fingertip felt ice cold.

Then, all of a sudden, it felt as if every part of Bill's body burst into flames all at once. He tried to scream, tried to move, tried to do something to cope with the pain, but all he could do was float inside himself and feel every last part of him burn. The purple eyes continued to burn into his skull as if in search of something while the ice-cold hands drifted to his chest.

He could feel cold fingers stabbing into burning flesh and curl around his heart.

His hand rose without his consent to grasp the creature's head. But it didn't look like his hand. The fingers were too long. The arm was too spindly.

As his claws dug into the other being's skull – bone cracking beneath each finger – he could hear a woman's voice whisper from everywhere all at once.

Ereshkigal.

Then, the last thing he saw was a flash of blue, human eyes, and the last thing he heard was a long, piercing wail.

---

Bill jolted awake. Much to his relief, instead of purple eyes, the first thing he saw was a blue sky and the branches of trees moving above him. His body no longer burned, but it ached. It wasn't with the lingering sensations of his dream; rather, it was because he was crammed in an uncomfortable position between boxes of supplies in the bed of the truck. He stiffly pushed himself to sit up as his tail unwound itself from the tight, tense coils it created around one of his legs. His hands reached down to grasp it, rubbing feeling back into it as his shoulders pulled back in a half-stretch.

"Hey! Look who's awake!" Thom called.

Bill looked up to see the young man sitting on the edge of the truck bed. Between Thom's knees was a plastic bag, from which he drew out a strip of jerky. As Thom bit into it, Bill caught the smoky, salty scent of meat, and involuntarily, the tip of his tail began smacking against his hand in an attempt to wag. Realizing what he was doing, Bill quickly shoved his tail under his feet, but by then, it was too late to keep Thom from noticing. With a loud guffaw, Thom tossed the bag at Bill, letting it fall awkwardly in his lap.

"Saved the rest for you," he said. "You haven't eaten anything today, right?"

Bill shook his head and reached into the bag. "Not really, but I'm not sure if I can eat this."

"Why not? It's meat, isn't it?"

At that, Bill threw his companion a startled glance. Noticing his expression, Thom frowned.

"What? Something I said?"

"No, it's just…" Bill laughed and slapped a hand to his forehead. "It's all too simple! I should have thought of it ages ago!"

Thom leaned forward, letting his hands droop between his knees. "Okay, now you're creepin' me out. What are you talking about?"

"Cooked meat!" Bill drew a strip from the bag and held it up. "All this time, I've been trying to force myself to kill pokémon for food, but it never occurred to me that meat is meat! I could eat the same things you can, just not plant matter!" As if to punctuate his point, he bit off a piece of the jerky and relaxed. "Assuming, anyway, that we're right about this."

"Well, yeah, I figured you already knew that," Thom said. "When the ixodida invaded Mauville City, they ate any kind of meat. Didn't even matter where it came from. I thought it was really stupid that Lanette's making you go hunt for food, honestly. Everyone knows ixodida can eat all kinds of meat. They just like pokémon meat more for some reason. And she probably wants you to train, but that's stupid because we said we'd help you with that."

As soon as Thom said that, Bill's face dropped from excited to annoyed. "Everyone… already knew that?"

"Yeah, but hey!" Thom leaned over to punch Bill lightly in the shoulder. "Now you know, right?"

"Oh yes," Bill replied with a light hint of sarcasm in his voice. "Now I know."

Ripping off another bite, he watched the trees of the forest pass by as the truck continued ambling down the road. He wondered idly if the Caravan was nearing Fortree City, if somewhere close by, Brigette's grave lay. His mouth slowed as he thought about last night – Lanette trembling in his arms for the first time in months, sobbing into the dirt. They must have spent hours in the forest without a word passed between them, with the only sound coming from Lanette's soft whimpering. She wouldn't look at him at any moment after that. Even when she had stopped, wiped the last of the tears from her face, and pulled herself away from him, she had refused to let him see her expression.

She had been avoiding him ever since. When dawn came, she had busied herself with breaking down camp, packing up the supplies, and arranging the passengers and drivers of both vehicles. No matter how many times Bill had come to help, she turned her head away and gave him orders while diverting her attention to some other task. Eventually, she had stopped addressing him altogether, opting instead on sending Thom to tell him what to do and where to go. Then, when the Caravan started moving, she had given up her usual space in the bed of the truck, taking Thom's in the cabin next to Vito. Looking over his shoulder, Bill could see the back of her head and the occasional sliver of her face as she spoke to her human partner. She was so close, yet she was separated from him by glass and metal and an expanse of awkward silence.

That, Bill decided, was far more aggravating than having her hate him. He couldn't figure out why.

"Hey, you okay?"

Bill turned back to Thom. "Sorry, what?"

"You've been acting a little weird," Thom said. "Spending all night out in the woods with Lanette, only to have her look all fussy when she gets back." He cracked a grin. "Be honest with me. Did you…?"

The ixodida's expression instantly turned horrified. "I beg your pardon?!"

"You know. Did you…" Thom bobbed his head. "Go at it like rabbits. Know each other biblically. Dance the horizontal tango. Make love."

"I…" Bill furrowed his eyebrows. "I honestly don't know how to respond to that."

"Simple yes or no question, Bill. I mean, it's not like there's anything wrong with that. You guys are just picking up where you left off, right?"

Bill coughed, choking on his own words in surprise. "W-what?! What on Earth are you talking about?!"

Thom leaned back and made a small, circular motion with one of his hands in the air. "Y'know. You guys were awfully close, right?"

"You… you think Lanette and I were in a relationship?!" Bill squeaked. "An intimate relationship?!"

"Well, weren't you?"

"No!" Bill sighed. "We were partners, Thom. Colleagues! Didn't I mention that before?!"

"No."

Pausing, Bill took another bite of jerky. Hadn't he mentioned it? Everything from the time Lanette appeared in Mauville onwards had happened so fast. Bill couldn't remember how much information he had shared and with whom, and all of a sudden, he realized that despite the fact that Thom was probably the closest thing he could call a friend in the Caravan besides Ellen, there was a lot they didn't know about each other. Swallowing, Bill straightened in his seat and tried to explain.

"Lanette and I are both researchers, Thom," he said. "We worked on a number of projects together, and before the quarantine and my transformation, yes, we were close. But we were close as friends, not as… good gods, do you normally think that two people who fight…?!"

Thom shrugged. "Why not? It's pretty classic. Girl violently denies that she even likes guy. Guy acts all protective and caring and soft towards girl. You see it all the time."

"In fiction!"

"So?" Thom shook his head. "Anyway, point is, a bunch of us got worried about you."

Bill couldn't help but crack a smile. "A bunch of you?"

"Okay, only me and Nurse Joy. But still, the way you were following around Lanette like a puppy and how bad you looked when she just blew you off… I might not be the smartest guy around, but I know how heartbreak is sometimes."

At that, Bill looked at his lap as his smile faltered. "Thom—"

"'Sides, you didn't look like you were having a good sleep."

The ixodida looked up. "What?"

"Yeah." Thom slid into the truck. "You were shaking. Tossing. Turning. Your tail looked like it was wrapping around your leg pretty tightly. You just looked like you were in pain. I would've woken you up ages ago, but Lanette told me to let you sleep."

"She did?"

Bill forced himself to smile, but his throat felt dry. He had spent the past few minutes trying to forget the dream, but now that Thom brought it up, he could almost see the burning, purple eyes again. One of his hands drifted to his chest. He tried to make it seem as if he was simply wiping it on the front of his shirt, but his fingers grasped the jewel over his heart.

"It was… it was just a nightmare," he said. "That's all."

Yes, Bill, Adam whispered. Do not concern yourself with it now, but we will need to talk about it eventually.

"Adam," Bill murmured.

When the human cannot hear you. It has been far too long since we have last spoken, anyway.

"Bill?" Thom leaned forward. "You okay?"

"Huh?"

Shoving the rest of the jerky strip in his mouth, Bill shakily stood. His arms flailed against the movement of the truck, but he managed to remain on his feet. Swallowing, he looked up at the sky, narrowing his eyes in thought.

"H-hey, Bill? You're gonna fall over or something, and Nurse Joy's gonna be pissed," Thom said. "Why don't you sit back down, and we can talk about it?"

Bill frowned. "I'm fine. I just need some time to think."

"Well, okay, but you can think—"

"Magnet Rise!"

Quickly, Bill surrounded himself with a golden aura, and his translucent wings burst from his back. Thom reached out to grab him, but without another word, the ixodida crouched and sprang off the truck bed, pushing himself into the air.

"…By sitting down," Thom muttered as he watched his companion rise several feet into the sky.

Above the treetops, Bill drifted forward, following the convoy down the road. In his mind, he searched for any sign of Adam's presence.

"Indeed we do need to talk," he snapped.

Upset, are we? Adam purred.

"I'm not upset. I'm just… disoriented." Bill exhaled. "Adam, were you in my mind while I was asleep?"

Yes.

"Then you know about that vision. About that-that creature with the purple eyes."

Yes.

The conversation lulled briefly. Bill huffed and pushed himself higher, rising into the air until the Caravan looked more like toys racing along a thin, brown line.

"What was that?" Bill asked softly. "What did I see?"

A memory.

The answer came so suddenly and so nonchalantly that Bill halted in mid air, righted himself, and glanced down at the parasite.

"A memory?" he repeated. "What, yours?"

You are falling behind, Bill. Pay attention and follow the Caravan, Adam snapped. Yes, mine. This is only one consequence I was afraid of when you asked me to teach you how to use those moves. Forcing parts of my knowledge onto you and opening up your mind that wide requires more direct contact with you than simply reading your memories or speaking to you telepathically. Parts of my subconscious entered yours. I apologize.

"Only one consequence?" Bill swooped down, speeding after the Caravan in an attempt to catch up with them. "What about the others?"

There is only one other consequence. You know how the move works, but you have not mastered it. There are no guarantees that you will be able to use that move successfully the next time you attempt it.

Bill smirked. "That doesn't sound too bad. I can learn. It's not like it'll take my arm off the first time I use it or anything, right?"

That is actually a distinct possibility.

For a second time, Bill abruptly stopped. "What?!"

But that is hardly relevant.

"How can that not be relevant?!"

In any case, I feel that there are quite a few things that we need to discuss.

"No, really!" He threw up his hands in frantic gestures in front of him. "Are we talking about a 75% chance that I will severely injure myself in my next attempt to use it, or is it more like a 5% chance?"

Bill, concentrate. We must talk. There are many things I have never told you that you must know now.

"And that's the other thing," Bill growled. "It seems you're very fond of keeping me in the dark. Wouldn't it be easier for me to keep us alive if you answered my questions in the simplest and most straightforward manner possible?"

It would if you knew what to ask, which you do not. Your first question, for example. "Who is that creature with the purple eyes? Is she dangerous?" One of these is irrelevant, and the other is obvious. But I cannot blame you. Humans think too simply.

"If humans think too simply," Bill answered impatiently, "then what should I be asking?"

The parasite didn't respond. It simply left Bill to hang in the air in complete, utter silence.

"Adam?" Bill asked, his voice slightly softer.

When the silence only lingered onward, Bill huffed and swooped towards the Caravan for a second time. It was all strange to him. When he was a human, he couldn't recall ever feeling this frustrated, this confused, this spectrum of extreme emotions, but now – now that Lanette began avoiding him, that Adam refused to speak to him, and that everything else in the universe dictated his life to him, all he could think about was how there were walls all around him that he wanted so badly to tear down. It wasn't the first time he felt trapped, caged by things outside him, and he never did like the feeling. Yet, these moments were different. In the past, he knew he could overcome a mental wall by thinking through them or avoiding them altogether, but the walls that blocked him now from the truth or happiness or whatever else he was trying to seek were going to be there for the unforeseeable future.

That and he didn't like the fact that those walls were being purposefully erected. He wouldn't mind if he had any sort of clues to go on in order to piece together answers, but Lanette and Adam, at the very least, left him with absolutely nothing. It wasn't a game anymore. Bill couldn't remotely call the numbers of times he was left to figure things out fun. He wasn't sure what he could call his relationship with both his parasite and his former partner, but all he knew for certain was he didn't like a piece of it.

That was probably the reason why, when Adam finally spoke again, Bill wasn't entirely willing to listen until he caught the echo of the last syllable.

--Gal.

"Excuse me?" he said tonelessly.

"Who is Ereshkigal?" Adam repeated. That is a question you may ask, but I am afraid you would not understand the answer unless you asked a better one.

"And what question might that be?"

That is obvious. "Where are you from?" Naturally.

Bill scoffed. "Naturally."

Sarcasm. Your sense of humor is growing. That is a good thing. Humor allows one to survive the most horrific of challenges.

By then, Bill caught up with the convoy, but he skirted the treetops above its tail end. He trained his eyes on the metagross bringing up the rear; the last thing he wanted was to draw the attentions of either of the champions riding it. So far, they kept their gazes on the van ahead of them. Even though he knew it was unlikely that they could hear him, Bill's voice dropped in volume, lowering to a near mumble.

"Is this another conversation where I end up more confused than I was when we started talking?" he asked Adam.

Of course not. I am only making idle conversation so that you may be in the best mood to handle what I have to tell you.

It was roughly at that point that Bill decided he just didn't care anymore. For a third time, he paused mid-flight, but this time, it wasn't out of surprise. Instead, he closed his eyes in exasperation briefly as he carefully constructed an appropriate response.

"Adam," he said slowly – deliberately. "Please."

Right then, Bill got the distinct feeling that Adam was amused. A light, warm sensation tickled his chest, as if his nervous system was laughing while the rest of him wasn't. Behind his closed eyelids, he could see a flash of a smile that wasn't his. Instinctively, he snapped open his eyes and pulled himself backwards.

Of course, Adam answered. And I will, as you say, answer them in the simplest and most straightforward manner as possible, but I must warn you, it is a long story. Close your eyes.

"Close my eyes?" Bill glanced all around himself, scanning the area carefully. "Now?"

Now. I would suggest landing as well. You are far behind as it is, but the Caravan will stop soon. You will be able to catch up soon enough.

Bill hesitated. In his silence, he drifted forward and downward slowly as he watched the metagross grow further and further away from him.

Do you not trust me? Adam asked. Or do you simply not want to know the truth after all?

That was all it took. Bill's boots hit the dirt path, his aura faded, and his wings burst into crackles of golden energy that fizzled in the air behind him. Exhaling, he shut his eyes and relaxed.

"Okay," he said. "Tell me."

A blue flash flooded his field of vision. With a shocked cry, he doubled over and clutched the sides of his head with both hands. He squeezed his eyes shut, but the harder he did it, the more he began to see stars.

It eventually dawned on him that he was seeing literal ones.

Taking a step back, Bill craned his neck but didn't open his eyes. He didn't have to. In the darkness behind his eyelids, stars appeared before him: first one by one and then flooding the void as if it was the night sky. At the center of it all, a blue and gray spot appeared. Bill focused on it until it resolved from a haze to form four perfect spheres: a small, azure-and-brown one with white streaks floating across its surface and a massive silver one with purple flashes of lightning illuminating the clouds rolling across its atmosphere. Beyond the first two were the last objects, a faint red dwarf just barely noticeable next to its brilliant, blue sister star.

"What is this place?" Bill asked breathlessly.

My home, Adam replied with uncharacteristic patience. This is Nila, the blue moon, orbiting the storm-ridden planet Avani. My kind made their homes in the jungles of Nila. It was far different from Earth, Bill. You would have liked it.

The scene before him became consumed by a white flash, and when it cleared, Bill found himself floating far above the surface of the blue moon. Lush, green forests spread out beneath him, with vast, blue oceans skirting the edges of the sprawling continent. As Adam guided his vision close to the jungle, Bill slowly realized that many of the plants he was looking at weren't trees. Most of the forest was a vast sea of floating, bulbous, green balloons huddled in swaying bunches that shadowed the earth beneath them. The rest of the forest consisted of tall, thick-trunked trees with broad, waxy pads branching from them instead of leaves. Wherever thick trunks of the pad-leafed trees didn't grow, the long, thick vines anchoring each balloon plant to the continent sprang from the soft, black earth.

Beneath the canopy, the ground was dark and shadowy, with a few beams of light filtering through the balloon plants and the thick, waxy pad leaves. Every so often a shadow – a broad-winged, stingray-like creature with glowing, red eyes and two long tails – swooped between the vines and trees and sang softly with a high-pitched cry. Bill followed one with his gaze until he spotted a dark puff of fur with six, long arms propel itself from pad-leaf to pad-leaf just before the skate snatched it from mid-air. As the creature gracefully soared back towards the balloon plants, Bill stood beneath it, trembling in wonder.

"It's beautiful," he whispered.

The ixodida came from forests like these. Not this particular one, however. I am making you see this place because it is where the original hosts made their greatest city.

"The original hosts?" Bill's voice tumbled across his lips almost inaudibly. His concentration wasn't on speaking at all, and he almost didn't realize he said a word.

Another flash of light brought him to someplace new. In the heart of the forest, massive, violet crystals rose high into the air, parting the balloon plants just enough to reach the sunlight above them. Light filtered down their shafts, illuminating the clearing enough to reveal the mouth of a stone tunnel. The vision guided Bill into the earth, following the twisting corridor for several yards until, finally, he came to a massive underground chamber illuminated by countless glowing crystals of all colors embedded in the smooth, rock walls. Terraces were carved out of the walls of the cave, and on each terrace was a cluster of stone buildings. Tiled roads twisted throughout the cave, connecting terrace to terrace in an intricate web. Silver machines shaped like the flying creatures outside of the cave darted over and under each bridge to smoothly land on terraces throughout the cave.

And on every road and on the backs of every silver skate, Bill saw the exact creature from his dream.

The ones on the roads didn't so much walk as glide while the hems of their long, colorful robes brushed the tiled road and concealed each creature's feet. Every last one of them was tall and willowy, with the smallest being only a head shorter than him. They held their pale, hairless heads high as they moved, and no matter which facial expression their long, oval-shaped faces made, their white skin seemed to pull towards a point on the back of their skulls. Their eyes glittered each time they turned their heads; each face possessed a different, vivid color of the rainbow. When they spoke, their hands and long, thin fingers made sweeping gestures with each word, and their voices echoed throughout the chamber in tongues Bill couldn't begin to decipher.

These, Bill, were the original hosts, Adam explained. The Relians.

"The Relians?" Bill repeated in a soft voice.

Those of the Empire of Relia.

Bill's vision moved rapidly through the sea of Relians. All around him, he heard the rolling syllables of their language, saw the bright colors of ornately embroidered robes and sparkling eyes, even smelled the smoky scent of incense and spices wafting in the air. Yet, his brain felt like it was on pause, like it was overloaded with the massive loads of information assaulting three of his basic senses. He floated, allowing Adam to pull him through a memory until the vision ascended to an entranceway at the very top of the cave. The lights there were dimmer, with the crystals embedded in the walls emitting a soft, violet light.

The Relian Empire, Adam continued. It is difficult to find words to describe it. The Relians were the only kingdom on the entire moon of Nila, and that is not without good reason. For eons leading up to the final days of their world, they were a peaceful race, united under one crown. They knew no war, no famine, no disease, and no poverty, and their technology was the envy of the galaxy. By the time your planet was young, the Empire had already developed instantaneous space travel and had already mapped much of the known universe. By the time you were born, they had assisted in the civilization of hundreds of planets. Never Earth, however. They wished to reach you, but alas, tragedy befell the Relian Empire.

Upon Adam's last word, the vision passed through a flash of bright, purple light, and the next image Bill saw was a smaller chamber. The walls of this place were made of pale violet crystal, and the floors were made of smooth, white stone. Silks of various colors were hung from the ceiling, stretching across the room to create a rainbow canopy. In the center was a bed covered with shimmering, white sheets and golden pillows. Relians in plain, white robes darted back and forth across the room carrying trays piled with bowls and cups. The only place where they stopped was by the edge of the bed to speak in their rolling language.

On the other side stood a figure that made Bill's blood freeze. The female, the same one from his dreams, stared down at the bed with her deep, purple eyes. She stretched one of her long hands towards the center, fanning the sleeves of her colorful robes out beneath her arm. Her fingertips caressed the forehead of the bed's occupant, a sickly, gray Relian with dull, blue eyes.

Beneath her touch, the Relian trembled and turned its head with a long, deep moan. Other Relians – nurses, Bill realized – immediately stopped what they were doing to gather by the bedside.

Relians once had extraordinarily long lives, Adam said. They had no disease on their moon, and their medical technology was far more advanced than you could imagine. But they were not immortal by any means, and the last emperor's reign lasted for many, many years.

The Relian's – the emperor's – head lolled to the side to stare at the female. One of his hands shook as he raised it to touch her face. A single fingertip grazed her cheek before the hand fell to the bed with a thump.

So it should be natural to say that he died.

Another flash of purple flooded Bill's vision, and in the next instant, he saw a large, familiar chamber: the one from his dreams. This place was largely bare. It was only a hall with violet crystal walls and the same smooth floors of the emperor's bedchambers. The only decoration was the red carpet running from the massive arch serving as a doorway at one end of the room to the elevated platform at the other. On the platform was a stone bench with red cushions covering its surface. Otherwise, the only color came from the rainbow of robes worn by the crowds gathered on both sides of the room. The female from the bedchamber stood at the foot of the platform, dressed in the flowing, white robes Bill had seen in his dream. Before her was an older Relian flanked by two younger ones, all of whom were in gold robes embroidered with red trim. The elder held a bowl in one wide hand as the other reached into it and wet itself on the rose-scented oils inside.

While the emperor had been widowed for years before his death, he did not leave this world without a successor, Adam told its host. Shortly after his funeral, his eldest daughter ascended the throne.

The female bowed before the elder, who placed its oil-slicked hand on her head. All around them, the crowd erupted in cheers as the female straightened her back. Without looking at her subjects or changing her neutral expression, she climbed the stairs, turned, and took her seat on the bench.

But while the last emperor was a kind and wise man, his daughter was not.

Another flash erupted across the vision. This time, Bill could only see a dark room, and in the dark room, he saw the red glow of molten metal and heard the deafening roar of machines and hammers on steel.

It was during her reign that the Relians came to know war.

There were no flashes this time. The scene simply changed to the silhouette of the empress and several Relians in armor standing at the mouth of a cave entrance similar to the one Bill had seen earlier. Only this one was massive – a giant chasm gouged into the earth. The empress stood at the edge of stone with her gaze on the sky, on the gray planet Nila orbited. A buzz filled the air, and the glow of green lights filled the mouth of the cave. Within seconds, hundreds of silver skates burst from underground with armored riders, flanking a giant skate-shaped ship. All of them quickly filled the sky, the smaller skates cutting down treetops to make way for the larger one's ascent.

I cannot say who the Relians fought or why. I never cared, and it is irrelevant. The fact, though, is that the Relians would never know victory with their technology alone.

The vision cut to another forest, one full of pad trees but no balloon plants. Here, the air was still and quiet, without so much as the shriek of one of the six-legged monkeys. But more importantly, the main difference between this forest and the one at the mouth of the Relian city, was that the trees and the forest floor were covered with glowing, red creatures.

Ixodida parasites.

So they found the ixodida.

A hum signaled the approach of silver skates. Through the trees, Bill could see their green lights descending until they landed gracefully. Their riders dismounted and walked into the red-lit clearing. There, they stood in thick boots in a sea of parasites. Armored tails swept behind them, brushing parasites off their thick, bird-like feet. It was then that Bill realized that when in full-bodied, plated armor and helmets, the Relians looked uncannily like ixodida. He was about to say something about it when one of them strode forward and stooped down to spread a spindly hand on the ground. One of the parasites crawled onto one of the long fingers, and as it stood, the Relian tilted its head and examined the creature. Then, its other hand rose to take off its helmet, revealing deep, purple eyes that resembled those of the woman in Bill's dreams. Yet, there was something different about this pair. They looked weary and angry.

Without speaking to its companions, the Relian soldier placed the parasite on its head and closed her violet eyes.

The clearing filled with the sound of its ensuing scream.

That was the first host, Adam said. My kind had victims in the past – attempts to invade other creatures and escape our isolated jungle – but the Relians were the first intelligent hosts, the first to truly allow us to escape our home. It was the first time I had tasted power.

"That was you?" Bill breathed, watching the female collapse in writhing pain.

The soldier's companions stood silently. Then, the largest among them took off its helmet and stooped down to pick a parasite of its own. The others followed in unison.

Yes, Adam replied. We were one from that point onward, and I felt the pain of the Relians. I knew that for the good of the people – our kind – I had to fight the Relian throne, to help usher in a new era.

Abruptly, the vision returned to the Relian city, but this time, it wasn't peaceful. Relians in colorful robes dashed across bridges in a panic, chased by soldiers. Ixodida flew through the air, diving at soldiers and blasting attacks through corps. Bridges fell, and the sounds of Relian screams and falling rock roared through the air.

So I did.

The vision entered the throne room. Bodies of soldiers and ixodida lay in piles along the edges of the room, and green smears of parasite innards streaked across the crystal walls. At the opposite end of the chamber, the empress rose from her stone bench and glided down the steps towards Bill. Her hands reached for him, and her purple eyes glittered. All around him, he could hear the voice of a woman whisper.

"Ereshkigal."

Bill snapped his eyes open. As he panted, he looked around himself frantically. Earth trees. Earth sky. The soft cry of Earth wingull in the distance. He placed a hand over his heart and doubled over. A lingering, uncomfortable feeling crawled across his chest.

You must understand, Bill, I did only what was necessary.

"What… what happened?" he murmured. "What happened after that?"

The empress was overthrown. Nila was destroyed.

Bill bowed his head. "How?"

How what?

"How?" he asked, a little louder this time. "How was Nila destroyed? What happened? Why are you here? Why are you telling me this?"

After a long pause, Adam answered, The empress was overthrown but not killed. She escaped, and I sense that the ixodida empress of this planet is connected to her.

As Bill straightened, he stared in the distance, struggling to process this information. The uncomfortable feeling in his chest grew, but he was too preoccupied to grasp it. Still, he was vaguely aware of the fact that the air seemed to grow heavier and hotter.

Ereshkigal, Adam finished, was the last empress on Nila, Bill. And she is here.

"She's… here." Bill swallowed. "Ereshkigal."

"You must be quite a brave creature to have the audacity to speak that name."

Bill whirled around, only to find the fire-typed ixodida hovering behind him. Prometheus smirked and held out his hands, allowing a flame to arc between them.

"I would address you as the Lord of Iron, but the truth is that I am surprised you exist at all," he said. "Her Majesty is quite intrigued by this and requests your audience. Accept and come with me."

His body burst into flames. Bill, startled by the sudden show, tried to back away but tripped over his tail and went sprawling into the dirt.

Smiling at this display, Prometheus added, "As you can see, denying this request would be far from your best interests."

**The Great Butler** · 16th March 2012, 9:55 AM

Originally Posted by JX Valentine

I should be finishing a paper and preparing an oral report. What am I doing instead? Posting this. Because my priorities are awesome.

Also, a huge thank you to The Great Butler for betaing this chapter. And probably subsequent chapters unless he tells me, "lolnope." Or something to that effect.

I'll be betaing as long as I don't get infected and turn into an alien hybrid. XD

Anima Ex Machina
Twenty-Six: In the mist of a memory, you wander back to me.

Purple eyes.

Bill couldn't look away. They hovered in his field of vision, staring deep into him. Their pupils contracted, narrowing into slits as the violet of the irises flashed. The creature's mouth tensed until it formed a straight line. At the same time, the skin of the rest of the face – the oval, hairless face – pulled back until it looked like someone was grasping the creature's flesh from the back of her head.

He wasn't sure how he could tell this was a female; something inside him simply knew. More importantly, he felt as if he had seen this being before, but he couldn't place his finger on where.

That was not a good sort of déjà vu. In fact, as she floated in front of him, he had never felt as terrified in his life as he was right then. He tried desperately to move, to squirm away from her, but his body felt distant, like he was floating inside it.

Because of that, he could do nothing but watch as the creature extended her willowy arms towards him. Her long, thin fingers brushed his face. Each fingertip felt ice cold.

Then, all of a sudden, it felt as if every part of Bill's body burst into flames all at once. He tried to scream, tried to move, tried to do something to cope with the pain, but all he could do was float inside himself and feel every last part of him burn. The purple eyes continued to burn into his skull as if in search of something while the ice-cold hands drifted to his chest.

I'm glad I beta'd it right now, if for no other reason than I won't think Bill is about to get some freaky alien action here.

He can't though. It would cause the end of the world like in Species or something.

He could feel cold fingers stabbing into burning flesh and curl around his heart.

His hand rose without his consent to grasp the creature's head. But it didn't look like his hand. The fingers were too long. The arm was too spindly.

As his claws dug into the other being's skull – bone cracking beneath each finger – he could hear a woman's voice whisper from everywhere all at once.

Ereshkigal.

Then, the last thing he saw was a flash of blue, human eyes, and the last thing he heard was a long, piercing wail.

---

Bill jolted awake. Much to his relief, instead of purple eyes, the first thing he saw was a blue sky and the branches of trees moving above him. His body no longer burned, but it ached. It wasn't with the lingering sensations of his dream; rather, it was because he was crammed in an uncomfortable position between boxes of supplies in the bed of the truck. He stiffly pushed himself to sit up as his tail unwound itself from the tight, tense coils it created around one of his legs. His hands reached down to grasp it, rubbing feeling back into it as his shoulders pulled back in a half-stretch.

After that dream, I'm glad it was his tail he grabbed when he woke up.

"Hey! Look who's awake!" Thom called.

Bill looked up to see the young man sitting on the edge of the truck bed. Between Thom's knees was a plastic bag, from which he drew out a strip of jerky. As Thom bit into it, Bill caught the smoky, salty scent of meat, and involuntarily, the tip of his tail began smacking against his hand in an attempt to wag. Realizing what he was doing, Bill quickly shoved his tail under his feet, but by then, it was too late to keep Thom from noticing. With a loud guffaw, Thom tossed the bag at Bill, letting it fall awkwardly in his lap.

"Saved the rest for you," he said. "You haven't eaten anything today, right?"

Bill shook his head and reached into the bag. "Not really, but I'm not sure if I can eat this."

"Why not? It's meat, isn't it?"

At that, Bill threw his companion a startled glance. Noticing his expression, Thom frowned.

"What? Something I said?"

"No, it's just…" Bill laughed and slapped a hand to his forehead. "It's all too simple! I should have thought of it ages ago!"

Thom leaned forward, letting his hands droop between his knees. "Okay, now you're creepin' me out. What are you talking about?"

"Cooked meat!" Bill drew a strip from the bag and held it up. "All this time, I've been trying to force myself to kill pokémon for food, but it never occurred to me that meat is meat! I could eat the same things you can, just not plant matter!" As if to punctuate his point, he bit off a piece of the jerky and relaxed. "Assuming, anyway, that we're right about this."

"Well, yeah, I figured you already knew that," Thom said. "When the ixodida invaded Mauville City, they ate any kind of meat. Didn't even matter where it came from. I thought it was really stupid that Lanette's making you go hunt for food, honestly. Everyone knows ixodida can eat all kinds of meat. They just like pokémon meat more for some reason. And she probably wants you to train, but that's stupid because we said we'd help you with that."

As soon as Thom said that, Bill's face dropped from excited to annoyed. "Everyone… already knew that?"

HAHAHA OH WOW. I DIDN'T THINK OF IT EITHER. I bet that poor Zigzagoon from earlier really wishes SOMEONE had though, right?

"Yeah, but hey!" Thom leaned over to punch Bill lightly in the shoulder. "Now you know, right?"

"Oh yes," Bill replied with a light hint of sarcasm in his voice. "Now I know."

Ripping off another bite, he watched the trees of the forest pass by as the truck continued ambling down the road. He wondered idly if the Caravan was nearing Fortree City, if somewhere close by, Brigette's grave lay. His mouth slowed as he thought about last night – Lanette trembling in his arms for the first time in months, sobbing into the dirt. They must have spent hours in the forest without a word passed between them, with the only sound coming from Lanette's soft whimpering. She wouldn't look at him at any moment after that. Even when she had stopped, wiped the last of the tears from her face, and pulled herself away from him, she had refused to let him see her expression.

She had been avoiding him ever since. When dawn came, she had busied herself with breaking down camp, packing up the supplies, and arranging the passengers and drivers of both vehicles. No matter how many times Bill had come to help, she turned her head away and gave him orders while diverting her attention to some other task. Eventually, she had stopped addressing him altogether, opting instead on sending Thom to tell him what to do and where to go. Then, when the Caravan started moving, she had given up her usual space in the bed of the truck, taking Thom's in the cabin next to Vito. Looking over his shoulder, Bill could see the back of her head and the occasional sliver of her face as she spoke to her human partner. She was so close, yet she was separated from him by glass and metal and an expanse of awkward silence.

That, Bill decided, was far more aggravating than having her hate him. He couldn't figure out why.

I think Lanette doesn't know how to feel now that Bill knows her darkest secrets. The events back there really smacked of her hitting rock bottom, and I almost think that she had no plan for handling herself after all those revelations.

"Hey, you okay?"

Bill turned back to Thom. "Sorry, what?"

"You've been acting a little weird," Thom said. "Spending all night out in the woods with Lanette, only to have her look all fussy when she gets back." He cracked a grin. "Be honest with me. Did you…?"

The ixodida's expression instantly turned horrified. "I beg your pardon?!"

"You know. Did you…" Thom bobbed his head. "Go at it like rabbits. Know each other biblically. Dance the horizontal tango. Make love."

CLEARLY I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE EXPECTING THIS. THANK YOU THOM.

"I…" Bill furrowed his eyebrows. "I honestly don't know how to respond to that."

"Simple yes or no question, Bill. I mean, it's not like there's anything wrong with that. You guys are just picking up where you left off, right?"

Bill coughed, choking on his own words in surprise. "W-what?! What on Earth are you talking about?!"

Thom leaned back and made a small, circular motion with one of his hands in the air. "Y'know. You guys were awfully close, right?"

"You… you think Lanette and I were in a relationship?!" Bill squeaked. "An intimate relationship?!"

"Well, weren't you?"

"No!" Bill sighed. "We were partners, Thom. Colleagues! Didn't I mention that before?!"

"No."

Colleagues... in mattress research.

/turns around 360 degrees and moonwalks away to the IT'S GENDO theme

Pausing, Bill took another bite of jerky. Hadn't he mentioned it? Everything from the time Lanette appeared in Mauville onwards had happened so fast. Bill couldn't remember how much information he had shared and with whom, and all of a sudden, he realized that despite the fact that Thom was probably the closest thing he could call a friend in the Caravan besides Ellen, there was a lot they didn't know about each other. Swallowing, Bill straightened in his seat and tried to explain.

"Lanette and I are both researchers, Thom," he said. "We worked on a number of projects together, and before the quarantine and my transformation, yes, we were close. But we were close as friends, not as… good gods, do you normally think that two people who fight…?!"

Thom shrugged. "Why not? It's pretty classic. Girl violently denies that she even likes guy. Guy acts all protective and caring and soft towards girl. You see it all the time."

"In fiction!"

PSSSSSSSHHHHHHHH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAH OKAY. Why does it not surprise me that 1) you make jokes about the stereotypical tsundere relationship and 2) I can't get the image of Asuka out of my head now. Seriously.

Yes, Bill, Adam whispered. Do not concern yourself with it now, but we will need to talk about it eventually.

He's baaaaaaaaaaaaack. Been a while actually.

"Adam," Bill murmured.

When the human cannot hear you. It has been far too long since we have last spoken, anyway.

"Bill?" Thom leaned forward. "You okay?"

"Huh?"

Shoving the rest of the jerky strip in his mouth, Bill shakily stood. His arms flailed against the movement of the truck, but he managed to remain on his feet. Swallowing, he looked up at the sky, narrowing his eyes in thought.

"H-hey, Bill? You're gonna fall over or something, and Nurse Joy's gonna be pissed," Thom said. "Why don't you sit back down, and we can talk about it?"

Bill frowned. "I'm fine. I just need some time to think."

"Well, okay, but you can think—"

"Magnet Rise!"

Quickly, Bill surrounded himself with a golden aura, and his translucent wings burst from his back. Thom reached out to grab him, but without another word, the ixodida crouched and sprang off the truck bed, pushing himself into the air.

"…By sitting down," Thom muttered as he watched his companion rise several feet into the sky.

Poor Thom. Why do I get the feeling he's going to be out the money if anything on that truck got damaged?

Above the treetops, Bill drifted forward, following the convoy down the road. In his mind, he searched for any sign of Adam's presence.

"Indeed we do need to talk," he snapped.

Upset, are we? Adam purred.

"I'm not upset. I'm just… disoriented." Bill exhaled. "Adam, were you in my mind while I was asleep?"

He's always in your mind Bill. Alwaaaaaaaays.

Yes.

"Then you know about that vision. About that-that creature with the purple eyes."

Yes.

The conversation lulled briefly. Bill huffed and pushed himself higher, rising into the air until the Caravan looked more like toys racing along a thin, brown line.

"What was that?" Bill asked softly. "What did I see?"

A memory.

The answer came so suddenly and so nonchalantly that Bill halted in mid air, righted himself, and glanced down at the parasite.

"A memory?" he repeated. "What, yours?"

You are falling behind, Bill. Pay attention and follow the Caravan, Adam snapped. Yes, mine. This is only one consequence I was afraid of when you asked me to teach you how to use those moves. Forcing parts of my knowledge onto you and opening up your mind that wide requires more direct contact with you than simply reading your memories or speaking to you telepathically. Parts of my subconscious entered yours. I apologize.

I'm kind of liking Adam showing a bit more emotion here. It's giving his character a bit of a new angle, and it is easy to forget sometimes that a glowing parasite is still a character.

Bill, concentrate. We must talk. There are many things I have never told you that you must know now.

"And that's the other thing," Bill growled. "It seems you're very fond of keeping me in the dark. Wouldn't it be easier for me to keep us alive if you answered my questions in the simplest and most straightforward manner possible?"

It would if you knew what to ask, which you do not. Your first question, for example. "Who is that creature with the purple eyes? Is she dangerous?" One of these is irrelevant, and the other is obvious. But I cannot blame you. Humans think too simply.

"If humans think too simply," Bill answered impatiently, "then what should I be asking?"

The parasite didn't respond. It simply left Bill to hang in the air in complete, utter silence.

"Adam?" Bill asked, his voice slightly softer.

Yeah, I'm really liking how Adam is showing a much more distinct personality here. Maybe this is just how it happened, or this is foreshadowing of more ominous events forthcoming, like Adam beginning to infect Bill's mind further.

When the silence only lingered onward, Bill huffed and swooped towards the Caravan for a second time. It was all strange to him. When he was a human, he couldn't recall ever feeling this frustrated, this confused, this spectrum of extreme emotions, but now – now that Lanette began avoiding him, that Adam refused to speak to him, and that everything else in the universe dictated his life to him, all he could think about was how there were walls all around him that he wanted so badly to tear down. It wasn't the first time he felt trapped, caged by things outside him, and he never did like the feeling. Yet, these moments were different. In the past, he knew he could overcome a mental wall by thinking through them or avoiding them altogether, but the walls that blocked him now from the truth or happiness or whatever else he was trying to seek were going to be there for the unforeseeable future.

That and he didn't like the fact that those walls were being purposefully erected. He wouldn't mind if he had any sort of clues to go on in order to piece together answers, but Lanette and Adam, at the very least, left him with absolutely nothing. It wasn't a game anymore. Bill couldn't remotely call the numbers of times he was left to figure things out fun. He wasn't sure what he could call his relationship with both his parasite and his former partner, but all he knew for certain was he didn't like a piece of it.

That was probably the reason why, when Adam finally spoke again, Bill wasn't entirely willing to listen until he caught the echo of the last syllable.

--Gal.

"Excuse me?" he said tonelessly.

"Who is Ereshkigal?" Adam repeated. That is a question you may ask, but I am afraid you would not understand the answer unless you asked a better one.

"And what question might that be?"

That is obvious. "Where are you from?" Naturally.

Bill scoffed. "Naturally."

Sarcasm. Your sense of humor is growing. That is a good thing. Humor allows one to survive the most horrific of challenges.

Naturally, right. I'd never think of that, Adam.

Why does he know about sarcasm and the benefits of humor? Just how intelligent is this thing?

By then, Bill caught up with the convoy, but he skirted the treetops above its tail end. He trained his eyes on the metagross bringing up the rear; the last thing he wanted was to draw the attentions of either of the champions riding it. So far, they kept their gazes on the van ahead of them. Even though he knew it was unlikely that they could hear him, Bill's voice dropped in volume, lowering to a near mumble.

"Is this another conversation where I end up more confused than I was when we started talking?" he asked Adam.

Of course not. I am only making idle conversation so that you may be in the best mood to handle what I have to tell you.

It was roughly at that point that Bill decided he just didn't care anymore. For a third time, he paused mid-flight, but this time, it wasn't out of surprise. Instead, he closed his eyes in exasperation briefly as he carefully constructed an appropriate response.

"Adam," he said slowly – deliberately. "Please."

Right then, Bill got the distinct feeling that Adam was amused. A light, warm sensation tickled his chest, as if his nervous system was laughing while the rest of him wasn't. Behind his closed eyelids, he could see a flash of a smile that wasn't his. Instinctively, he snapped open his eyes and pulled himself backwards.

I'm beginning to get a little alarmed. It almost seems like Adam is starting to get more and more control that he didn't have before.

The ixodida came from forests like these. Not this particular one, however. I am making you see this place because it is where the original hosts made their greatest city.

"The original hosts?" Bill's voice tumbled across his lips almost inaudibly. His concentration wasn't on speaking at all, and he almost didn't realize he said a word.

Another flash of light brought him to someplace new. In the heart of the forest, massive, violet crystals rose high into the air, parting the balloon plants just enough to reach the sunlight above them. Light filtered down their shafts, illuminating the clearing enough to reveal the mouth of a stone tunnel. The vision guided Bill into the earth, following the twisting corridor for several yards until, finally, he came to a massive underground chamber illuminated by countless glowing crystals of all colors embedded in the smooth, rock walls. Terraces were carved out of the walls of the cave, and on each terrace was a cluster of stone buildings. Tiled roads twisted throughout the cave, connecting terrace to terrace in an intricate web. Silver machines shaped like the flying creatures outside of the cave darted over and under each bridge to smoothly land on terraces throughout the cave.

And on every road and on the backs of every silver skate, Bill saw the exact creature from his dream.

The ones on the roads didn't so much walk as glide while the hems of their long, colorful robes brushed the tiled road and concealed each creature's feet. Every last one of them was tall and willowy, with the smallest being only a head shorter than him. They held their pale, hairless heads high as they moved, and no matter which facial expression their long, oval-shaped faces made, their white skin seemed to pull towards a point on the back of their skulls. Their eyes glittered each time they turned their heads; each face possessed a different, vivid color of the rainbow. When they spoke, their hands and long, thin fingers made sweeping gestures with each word, and their voices echoed throughout the chamber in tongues Bill couldn't begin to decipher.

These, Bill, were the original hosts, Adam explained. The Relians.

"The Relians?" Bill repeated in a soft voice.

Those of the Empire of Relia.

Bill's vision moved rapidly through the sea of Relians. All around him, he heard the rolling syllables of their language, saw the bright colors of ornately embroidered robes and sparkling eyes, even smelled the smoky scent of incense and spices wafting in the air. Yet, his brain felt like it was on pause, like it was overloaded with the massive loads of information assaulting three of his basic senses. He floated, allowing Adam to pull him through a memory until the vision ascended to an entranceway at the very top of the cave. The lights there were dimmer, with the crystals embedded in the walls emitting a soft, violet light.

The Relian Empire, Adam continued. It is difficult to find words to describe it. The Relians were the only kingdom on the entire moon of Nila, and that is not without good reason. For eons leading up to the final days of their world, they were a peaceful race, united under one crown. They knew no war, no famine, no disease, and no poverty, and their technology was the envy of the galaxy. By the time your planet was young, the Empire had already developed instantaneous space travel and had already mapped much of the known universe. By the time you were born, they had assisted in the civilization of hundreds of planets. Never Earth, however. They wished to reach you, but alas, tragedy befell the Relian Empire.

Once again, I am glad that I beta'd this. This time, it's because I would have begun speculating upon the how Adam knows so much about the Relians and the nature of the tragedy that hit them.

Upon Adam's last word, the vision passed through a flash of bright, purple light, and the next image Bill saw was a smaller chamber. The walls of this place were made of pale violet crystal, and the floors were made of smooth, white stone. Silks of various colors were hung from the ceiling, stretching across the room to create a rainbow canopy. In the center was a bed covered with shimmering, white sheets and golden pillows. Relians in plain, white robes darted back and forth across the room carrying trays piled with bowls and cups. The only place where they stopped was by the edge of the bed to speak in their rolling language.

On the other side stood a figure that made Bill's blood freeze. The female, the same one from his dreams, stared down at the bed with her deep, purple eyes. She stretched one of her long hands towards the center, fanning the sleeves of her colorful robes out beneath her arm. Her fingertips caressed the forehead of the bed's occupant, a sickly, gray Relian with dull, blue eyes.

Beneath her touch, the Relian trembled and turned its head with a long, deep moan. Other Relians – nurses, Bill realized – immediately stopped what they were doing to gather by the bedside.

Relians once had extraordinarily long lives, Adam said. They had no disease on their moon, and their medical technology was far more advanced than you could imagine. But they were not immortal by any means, and the last emperor's reign lasted for many, many years.

The Relian's – the emperor's – head lolled to the side to stare at the female. One of his hands shook as he raised it to touch her face. A single fingertip grazed her cheek before the hand fell to the bed with a thump.

So it should be natural to say that he died.

That should go without saying. Adam's really stating the obvious here.

Another flash of purple flooded Bill's vision, and in the next instant, he saw a large, familiar chamber: the one from his dreams. This place was largely bare. It was only a hall with violet crystal walls and the same smooth floors of the emperor's bedchambers. The only decoration was the red carpet running from the massive arch serving as a doorway at one end of the room to the elevated platform at the other. On the platform was a stone bench with red cushions covering its surface. Otherwise, the only color came from the rainbow of robes worn by the crowds gathered on both sides of the room. The female from the bedchamber stood at the foot of the platform, dressed in the flowing, white robes Bill had seen in his dream. Before her was an older Relian flanked by two younger ones, all of whom were in gold robes embroidered with red trim. The elder held a bowl in one wide hand as the other reached into it and wet itself on the rose-scented oils inside.

While the emperor had been widowed for years before his death, he did not leave this world without a successor, Adam told its host. Shortly after his funeral, his eldest daughter ascended the throne.

The female bowed before the elder, who placed its oil-slicked hand on her head. All around them, the crowd erupted in cheers as the female straightened her back. Without looking at her subjects or changing her neutral expression, she climbed the stairs, turned, and took her seat on the bench.

Wait, what gender is the elder? It feels a bit odd to be using specific pronouns for one but "it" for the other.

But while the last emperor was a kind and wise man, his daughter was not.

Another flash erupted across the vision. This time, Bill could only see a dark room, and in the dark room, he saw the red glow of molten metal and heard the deafening roar of machines and hammers on steel.

It was during her reign that the Relians came to know war.

This is a stupid point, but the Relians must have "known" war if she knew how to introduce it. I get what you meant here, it just maybe could have been worded a bit better.

There were no flashes this time. The scene simply changed to the silhouette of the empress and several Relians in armor standing at the mouth of a cave entrance similar to the one Bill had seen earlier. Only this one was massive – a giant chasm gouged into the earth. The empress stood at the edge of stone with her gaze on the sky, on the gray planet Nila orbited. A buzz filled the air, and the glow of green lights filled the mouth of the cave. Within seconds, hundreds of silver skates burst from underground with armored riders, flanking a giant skate-shaped ship. All of them quickly filled the sky, the smaller skates cutting down treetops to make way for the larger one's ascent.

I cannot say who the Relians fought or why. I never cared, and it is irrelevant. The fact, though, is that the Relians would never know victory with their technology alone.

The vision cut to another forest, one full of pad trees but no balloon plants. Here, the air was still and quiet, without so much as the shriek of one of the six-legged monkeys. But more importantly, the main difference between this forest and the one at the mouth of the Relian city, was that the trees and the forest floor were covered with glowing, red creatures.

Ixodida parasites.

So they found the ixodida.

A hum signaled the approach of silver skates. Through the trees, Bill could see their green lights descending until they landed gracefully. Their riders dismounted and walked into the red-lit clearing. There, they stood in thick boots in a sea of parasites. Armored tails swept behind them, brushing parasites off their thick, bird-like feet. It was then that Bill realized that when in full-bodied, plated armor and helmets, the Relians looked uncannily like ixodida. He was about to say something about it when one of them strode forward and stooped down to spread a spindly hand on the ground. One of the parasites crawled onto one of the long fingers, and as it stood, the Relian tilted its head and examined the creature. Then, its other hand rose to take off its helmet, revealing deep, purple eyes that resembled those of the woman in Bill's dreams. Yet, there was something different about this pair. They looked weary and angry.

Without speaking to its companions, the Relian soldier placed the parasite on its head and closed her violet eyes.

That's actually a brilliant way of tying up several plot points here. The Relians tried to use the Ixodida parasites to increase their own power, didn't they?

The clearing filled with the sound of its ensuing scream.

That was the first host, Adam said. My kind had victims in the past – attempts to invade other creatures and escape our isolated jungle – but the Relians were the first intelligent hosts, the first to truly allow us to escape our home. It was the first time I had tasted power.

"That was you?" Bill breathed, watching the female collapse in writhing pain.

Something amuses me about Adam's original host being a female warrior.

Yes, Adam replied. We were one from that point onward, and I felt the pain of the Relians. I knew that for the good of the people – our kind – I had to fight the Relian throne, to help usher in a new era.

I'll be honest, this part feels a little strange. It feels a little... abrupt, maybe? ... that Adam suddenly has or had a noble goal. I kind of think that maybe he is not being totally forthcoming about his motives.

Abruptly, the vision returned to the Relian city, but this time, it wasn't peaceful. Relians in colorful robes dashed across bridges in a panic, chased by soldiers. Ixodida flew through the air, diving at soldiers and blasting attacks through corps. Bridges fell, and the sounds of Relian screams and falling rock roared through the air.

So I did.

The vision entered the throne room. Bodies of soldiers and ixodida lay in piles along the edges of the room, and green smears of parasite innards streaked across the crystal walls. At the opposite end of the chamber, the empress rose from her stone bench and glided down the steps towards Bill. Her hands reached for him, and her purple eyes glittered. All around him, he could hear the voice of a woman whisper.

"Ereshkigal."

Bill snapped his eyes open. As he panted, he looked around himself frantically. Earth trees. Earth sky. The soft cry of Earth wingull in the distance. He placed a hand over his heart and doubled over. A lingering, uncomfortable feeling crawled across his chest.

You must understand, Bill, I did only what was necessary.

"What… what happened?" he murmured. "What happened after that?"

The empress was overthrown. Nila was destroyed.

Bill bowed his head. "How?"

How what?

"How?" he asked, a little louder this time. "How was Nila destroyed? What happened? Why are you here? Why are you telling me this?"

After a long pause, Adam answered, The empress was overthrown but not killed. She escaped, and I sense that the ixodida empress of this planet is connected to her.

As Bill straightened, he stared in the distance, struggling to process this information. The uncomfortable feeling in his chest grew, but he was too preoccupied to grasp it. Still, he was vaguely aware of the fact that the air seemed to grow heavier and hotter.

Ereshkigal, Adam finished, was the last empress on Nila, Bill. And she is here.

Something doesn't feel right about this. I'm immediately asking myself why Adam spared Ereshkigal in the past; it smacks of an ulterior motive. It's just too suspicious.

"She's… here." Bill swallowed. "Ereshkigal."

"You must be quite a brave creature to have the audacity to speak that name."

Bill whirled around, only to find the fire-typed ixodida hovering behind him. Prometheus smirked and held out his hands, allowing a flame to arc between them.

"I would address you as the Lord of Iron, but the truth is that I am surprised you exist at all," he said. "Her Majesty is quite intrigued by this and requests your audience. Accept and come with me."

His body burst into flames. Bill, startled by the sudden show, tried to back away but tripped over his tail and went sprawling into the dirt.

Smiling at this display, Prometheus added, "As you can see, denying this request would be far from your best interests."

And then **** just got real.

Now for my thoughts on the chapter as a whole:

The biggest comments I have are in regard to the backstory of Adam, the Ixodida, the Relians, Ereshkigal, and Nila. This was simply magnificent. It must have taken an extraordinary amount of careful planning to devise such an intricate and vast setting along with the history alongside it. As far as the planet - or perhaps all of the settings seen - goes, the sheer level of inventiveness in just how elaborate everything was was what impressed me. You really put in a lot of thought to come up with the native planet and animal species, distinct visual cues for all of the settings, the very well defined appearance of the Relians, and so on. The story was very impressive as well; while the idea of a peaceful species that turned warlike upon the ascendance of a new ruler is somewhat simple in detail, the way you built on it pushed it over and above, especially the detail about the Relian warriors apparently deliberately infecting themselves with the Ixodida parasites to increase their powers.

I'm becoming a little confused by and more than a little suspicious of Adam's motives, however. He seems to be subtly gaining more and more control over Bill and influencing his mind more as well, but that's minor compared to some of my suspicions regarding his history with Ereshkigal. I can't imagine that he spared her, so if it isn't that she merely stunned him and escaped, the biggest question is why Adam supposedly made it his mission to end her reign of terror but then let her live. I am very suspicious that he may have an ulterior motive in sparing Ereshkigal and her appearance on Earth may not be a coincidence.

**Diddy** · 16th March 2012, 11:07 AM

Yes, Adam replied. We were one from that point onward, and I felt the pain of the Relians. I knew that for the good of the people – our kind – I had to fight the Relian throne, to help usher in a new era.

Abruptly, the vision returned to the Relian city, but this time, it wasn't peaceful. Relians in colorful robes dashed across bridges in a panic, chased by soldiers. Ixodida flew through the air, diving at soldiers and blasting attacks through corps. Bridges fell, and the sounds of Relian screams and falling rock roared through the air.

So I did.

The bit in the middle, "diving at soldiers and blasting attacks through corps." I don't think that's quite right somehow...

Dunno, it just jumped out at me.

Also, I would give my opinion on the whole backstory thing, but TGB said this:

The biggest comments I have are in regard to the backstory of Adam, the Ixodida, the Relians, Ereshkigal, and Nila. This was simply magnificent. It must have taken an extraordinary amount of careful planning to devise such an intricate and vast setting along with the history alongside it. As far as the planet - or perhaps all of the settings seen - goes, the sheer level of inventiveness in just how elaborate everything was was what impressed me. You really put in a lot of thought to come up with the native planet and animal species, distinct visual cues for all of the settings, the very well defined appearance of the Relians, and so on. The story was very impressive as well; while the idea of a peaceful species that turned warlike upon the ascendance of a new ruler is somewhat simple in detail, the way you built on it pushed it over and above, especially the detail about the Relian warriors apparently deliberately infecting themselves with the Ixodida parasites to increase their powers.

QFT. This was a brilliant chapter purely for this backstory. It really gives the Ixodida a new kind of legitimacy, they have a homewolrd, they have a history... they apparently assimilate intelligent species like some kind of primal, tribal Borg. I'm surprised Ol' Prometheus didn't say "Resistance is futile" xD

Speaking of, that ending was great. Cliffhangery as all hell and badass to boot.

**Bay** · 16th March 2012, 8:51 PM

"You know. Did you…" Thom bobbed his head.

"Go at it like rabbits. Know each other biblically. Dance the horizontal tango. Make love."

"I…" Bill furrowed his eyebrows. "I honestly don't know how to respond to that."

Thom shrugged. "Why not? It's pretty classic. Girl violently denies that she even likes guy. Guy acts all protective and caring and soft towards girl. You see it all the time."

"In fiction!"

LOL oh Thom, that's why I love you. XD I'm also going to have to agree with The Great Butler when he mentions of Bill and Lanette researching in mattress. :P

Oh, quite like the setting of Nila. I like jungles and forrests, LOL. I too love the backstory of Adam and the Relians. Nice bits on the Relians' culture ike medicine and the throne cereamony. Am quite nterested in Ereshkigal already.

Overall, really like this chapter a lot. Looking forward to Bill's meeting with Ereshkigal.

**JX Valentine** · 17th March 2012, 8:01 AM

YOU DID NOT SEE POSTING FAIL. I DID NOT USE THE POST QUICKREPLY BUTTON INSTEAD OF THE GO ADVANCED BUTTON. *magic handwaves* >_> <_<

Originally Posted by The Great Butler

I'll be betaing as long as I don't get infected and turn into an alien hybrid. XD

Le awesome!

And because there's actually massive hints dropped throughout this post, I'm putting massive amounts of my response to The Great Butler behind a spoiler tag and all the definite hint-droppings behind another spoiler tag. Just so those of you who would rather have me screw with your mind completely will have ample warning to avoid reading the spoilery things.

Spoiler:- Also, it makes this post a lot less massive.:

Originally Posted by Diddy

The bit in the middle, "diving at soldiers and blasting attacks through corps." I don't think that's quite right somehow...

Now that I look at it, I have to agree. It's the "corps," I think. And the wordiness. I'll have to go back and fix that up so that it's not as unwieldy a sentence. And uses something better than corps. Seriously, wtf, self? >_>

QFT. This was a brilliant chapter purely for this backstory.

Thank you~!

I'm surprised Ol' Prometheus didn't say "Resistance is futile" xD

~~That's Pandora's line. ;D~~

Speaking of, that ending was great. Cliffhangery as all hell and badass to boot.

Haha, thanks! Here's to hoping the beginning of the next chapter ~~doesn't start with Bill getting slaughtered~~ is just as exciting for you.

Originally Posted by Bay

LOL oh Thom, that's why I love you.

He's seriously my favorite OC to write. XD I need to bring him in more often.

(Hey, maybe he can go help save Bill too!)

I'm also going to have to agree with The Great Butler when he mentions of Bill and Lanette researching in mattress. :P

They totally were. :P

Oh, quite like the setting of Nila. I like jungles and forrests, LOL. I too love the backstory of Adam and the Relians. Nice bits on the Relians' culture ike medicine and the throne cereamony. Am quite nterested in Ereshkigal already.

Thank you!

Overall, really like this chapter a lot. Looking forward to Bill's meeting with Ereshkigal.

Which will be soon, I assure you. *tents fingers evilly*

**Ememew** · 18th March 2012, 7:51 AM

I've been reading for a while but haven't really had anything to contribute up to this point that wouldn't just amount to "I like your story. Can I borrow your brain so I can be a better writer?" Anyway . . .

Originally Posted by JX Valentine

"She's… here." Bill swallowed. "Ereshkigal."

"You must be quite a brave creature to have the audacity to speak that name."

Why am I suddenly thinking of Voldemort?

Spoiler:- Just one question regarding Adam's past:

**JX Valentine** · 18th March 2012, 9:44 PM

Originally Posted by Ememew

I've been reading for a while but haven't really had anything to contribute up to this point that wouldn't just amount to "I like your story. Can I borrow your brain so I can be a better writer?"

~~Considering how many dirty thoughts are in there, that may not be a good idea.~~ Huzzah, closet readers! \o/

Why am I suddenly thinking of Voldemort?

Because Ereshkigal is totally a snake-faced wizard who can speak to serpent things.

Spoiler:- Just one question regarding Adam's past:

This is an awesome question.

Spoiler:- Le answer! Or most of it, anyway.:

**AbsolXWolf** · 4th April 2012, 2:15 AM

Back from the dead, guys!
I suppose this makes me a
ZOMBIFIED ABSOL.

(self-fulfilling prophecy much? And yes, I couldn’t resist making another haiku)

I, ZOMBIFIED ABSOL, HAVE COME TO EAT YOUR BRAIN (or at least the part of your brain that deals with writing) SO THAT I MAY BE A BETTER WRITER.

In other words:

Originally Posted by Ememew

"I like your story. Can I borrow your brain so I can be a better writer?"

[spoiler="Cut for people whose delicate sensibilities will be offended."]
Pfft.

Originally Posted by JX Valentine

YOU DID NOT SEE POSTING FAIL. I DID NOT USE THE POST QUICKREPLY BUTTON INSTEAD OF THE GO ADVANCED BUTTON. *magic handwaves* >_> <_<

What’s that? These ARE the droids we’re looking for? Well, all right then!
Yeah, I realize I’m going backwards post wise.

Originally Posted by The Great Butler

"You know. Did you…" Thom bobbed his head. "Go at it like rabbits. Know each other biblically. Dance the horizontal tango. Make love."

CLEARLY I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE EXPECTING THIS. THANK YOU THOM.

Oh hey. You too, huh?

Originally Posted by JX Valentine

It may come sooner than people think! ...Along with something that will make Absol happy. XD

I'm listening. INTENTLY. ....Or I guess I'm actually reading intently.

Originally Posted by JX Valentine

Haha, yeah. Poor guy's probably going to end up starving himself at the rate he's going. Also? That Kecleon's totally a recurring character now. (*pauses and waits to hear Absol scream*)

asshdjdhiejflejkdhiejdkj~~~!!!!!! *#$(*$E)!(

Originally Posted by GastlyMan

Haha, yeah. Poor guy's probably going to end up starving himself at the rate he's going. Also? That Kecleon's totally a recurring character now. (*pauses and waits to hear Absol scream*)

Ooh, I'm excited to see. |D

You're exicted to see me scream? ಠ_ಠ

EDIT: MORE STUFF:

Originally Posted by JX Valentine

On the positive side, all of the men are womanizing, idiotic, stuck-up, overstressed, dependent on women, and Bill, so whatever the female cast members have to say about my view on women is apparently better than what the male cast members have to say about my view on men. (No offense, guys!)

Bill doesn’t fall into the overstressed ~~or the dependent on women~~ category?

~~Professor Oak got a sex change at some point.~~ Thanks for that! It'll be fixed the next time I edit!

~~Old men need to amuse themselves somehow after all.~~

And Bill's going to form-change into it eventually.

*tries to imagine Bill fighting like Chuck Norris*--> *head explodes*

;_;

Now, if we were talking about these kinds of sailors, I wouldn't mind quite as much. *shot!*

FIGHTING EVIL BY MOONLIGHT! WINNING LOVE BY DAY—Good lord what the heck am I saying??!!

To this day, I still don’t understand why they’re called Sailor Scouts

Oh, cafeteria food. I do not miss that at all. *sage nod*

(College food only gets marginally better. You might as well start cooking for yourself, really.)

The sad part of your comment is the fact that it was college food. We have cafeterias on campus.
It’s been awhile since High School.

Seriously, if you read this comic, try to find a translation. Viz went out of their way to edit out a lot of the blatant fanservice and questionable content Ono put in, but luckily, that was largely only the character designs (large boobs, Misty in less than a Speedo, and so forth). There were a few other bits that got edited further (like May, Gary's sister, fully clothed and lying in a bed while tucking Ash in because he's having a "my babysitter is hot" fantasy),

Saywhatnow?

but really, those bits, Viz was in the right for editing. Also, they don't affect the story in any way. That's one good thing about this translation. Really, Viz didn't change anything – dialogue or what-have-you. So, you can still get what's going on, and what's getting across is still pretty much what was in the original. You're just missing the missile-boobs, and that's about it.

I can definitely live with that. I hate out of proportion body images. Female or male. It’s stupid to go over the top with a woman’s figure or give the guy muscles to the point where he’d probably topple over because then they just look like aliens to me.

So I guess the answer to your question is it's got suggestive stuff in it, but I'm not sure if it was explicitly designed for adults. Pokémon manga in Japan tends to be… weirder than what we get over here. (Let's not talk about the Pocket Monsters manga for the sake of everyone's sanity, but to put it in short, Electric Tale is pretty tame in comparison.)

I looked that up, too, and I wish I hadn’t.

Ah, but Wheatley was sociopathic at some point too, so…!

He only got worse when he was uploaded into the system, which makes me wonder if the system itself affects the personality uploaded. Or perhaps his delusions just got worse.

No, no. The only one in that family who does psychedelic substances is—

Actually, wait, you heard nothing.

Bill: I swear, Lanette! It was for the sake of research!

Alternatively, John woos her over successfully, and Bill stands on the sidelines, quietly angsting to himself.

She wouldn’t be weirded out by the fact that he’s the father of the research partner she loves to hate, who may or may not be seducing her for the sake of trolling his son?

And then John woos Veronica for good measure.

No.

Oh yes. He's into all kinds of freaky things.
…YOU HEARD NOTHING.

“Now Bill, how about I tell you the story of how you were born? Once upon a time there was a man named John. John was walking one day when he happened upon a very attractive Magmar…”

Absolutely, man! Tastiest part.

….
When I first saw this, I had forgotten we were talking about Gingerbread men heads.
….um….yeah….Darnyoubrainofmine.

….Mmmm….brains.

I'm surprised you didn't just keep going. XD

I’M NOT THE ENERGIZER BUNNY DARN IT!

**JX Valentine** · 5th April 2012, 9:05 PM

Originally Posted by AbsolXWolf

Back from the dead, guys!
I suppose this makes me a
ZOMBIFIED ABSOL.

Asdfghjkl; *CLING* Absol, I was wondering where you went! ;_;

(I, ZOMBIFIED ABSOL, HAVE COME TO EAT YOUR BRAIN (or at least the part of your brain that deals with writing) SO THAT I MAY BE A BETTER WRITER.

In other words:

Do you reeeeally want to do that? ;D

[spoiler="Cut for people whose delicate sensibilities will be offended."]
Pfft.

Yeah, inorite? What was I thinking, assuming anyone with delicate sensibilities are still reading this thread.

Oh hey. You too, huh?

I'm now wondering if there's anyone in the audience who isn't wondering when Bill and Lanette are going to hop in bed with each other. XD Because besides probably Steven, Wallace, Tate, and Hope, the cast sure is expecting it.

I'm listening. INTENTLY. ....Or I guess I'm actually reading intently.

Something to admit: Next chapter, I actually wound up not using the plot point I was talking about here. ~~Because I forgot.~~ But! You'll still get to see something awesome.

asshdjdhiejflejkdhiejdkj~~~!!!!!! *#$(*$E)!(

Ah, the sweet sound of success.

You're exicted to see me scream? ಠ_ಠ

We're all sadists here.

Bill doesn’t fall into the overstressed ~~or the dependent on women~~ category?

Nope! ~~He falls into the last three categories.~~

*tries to imagine Bill fighting like Chuck Norris*--> *head explodes*

You're going to like this next chapter. ;D

To this day, I still don’t understand why they’re called Sailor Scouts

What, the sailor bibs aren't enough?

You-you don't know any sailor who can use sparkly magic and the power of love to defeat the embodiments of evil?

The sad part of your comment is the fact that it was college food. We have cafeterias on campus.
It’s been awhile since High School.

XDDDD WELL, IN THAT CASE, yeah, you should totally start cooking for yourself. I feel you. ;_;

Saywhatnow?

Oh yeah, pretty much. Gary has an older sister named May, and Ash has the hots for her. It becomes a running gag… and part of the reason why he's a trainer. It's sort of glorious.

I can definitely live with that. I hate out of proportion body images. Female or male. It’s stupid to go over the top with a woman’s figure or give the guy muscles to the point where he’d probably topple over because then they just look like aliens to me.

Agreed so hard. Or they just look disgusting. Like, when it comes to men, if you've got this overly muscular figure, you can see their veins, and that's just not cool. With women, if you've got torpedo boobs, all I can think of is, "Oh, plastic surgery." And back pain, for that matter. It's just plain not attractive, so I'm happy Viz toned everything done so that women actually look a little more reasonable.

I looked that up, too, and I wish I hadn’t.

I don't blame you in the slightest. X_x

He only got worse when he was uploaded into the system, which makes me wonder if the system itself affects the personality uploaded. Or perhaps his delusions just got worse.

I personally think it was the system that did it. I mean, Caroline was pretty reasonable herself before she got uploaded, so…!

Bill: I swear, Lanette! It was for the sake of research!

XD Headcanon time: This is how the costumes actually work.

She wouldn’t be weirded out by the fact that he’s the father of the research partner she loves to hate, who may or may not be seducing her for the sake of trolling his son?

Nope! ;D

No.

XDDD I guess Ellen is out of the question too?

“Now Bill, how about I tell you the story of how you were born? Once upon a time there was a man named John. John was walking one day when he happened upon a very attractive Magmar…”

Funny story about how someone noticed I never mentioned Bill's mom in this version of the fic.

….
When I first saw this, I had forgotten we were talking about Gingerbread men heads.
….um….yeah….Darnyoubrainofmine.

XD Oh, time removing all sense of context.

I’M NOT THE ENERGIZER BUNNY DARN IT!

Aww. You mean you're not fluffy and pink?

Also, update! The next chapter is finally underway, thanks to the fact that my month of death is slowly winding down. Just Anime Boston, a paper, a final project, and job/internship applications left. Which sounds like a lot, but considering I just said March was my month of death… yeah. In any case, chapter will be coming soon~!

By the by, if any of you are in the Boston area and are going to Anime Boston, I will probably be the too-cool-for-cosplay chick hanging out near my friend's table on Saturday. Drop by her table at any time during the weekend, though, for she is cool and full of win. Or stalk me on Saturday ~~because I'm too poor for a full weekend and sort of busy on Friday anyway~~ as I do awesome things at conventions.

Aaaaand this is also my 100th post to this thread. Neat!

**AbsolXWolf** · 10th April 2012, 1:05 AM

Originally Posted by JX Valentine

Asdfghjkl; *CLING* Absol, I was wondering where you went! ;_;

I didn't realize people missed me ^ ^;

Do you reeeeally want to do that? ;D

>.> <.< ....Yes? :-D It's not like my dirty mind is any more innocent.

Yeah, inorite? What was I thinking, assuming anyone with delicate sensibilities are still reading this thread.

They packed up ages ago.

I'm now wondering if there's anyone in the audience who isn't wondering when Bill and Lanette are going to hop in bed with each other. XD Because besides probably Steven, Wallace, Tate, and Hope, the cast sure is expecting it.

With the exception of Bill and Lanette themselves.

Something to admit: Next chapter, I actually wound up not using the plot point I was talking about here. ~~Because I forgot.~~ But! You'll still get to see something awesome.

It's all cool. I'm still trying to catch up with everything, though. ;.;

We're all sadists here.

...Oooooh....that explains so much.

Nope! ~~He falls into the last three categories.~~

Bill is stuck-up?

You're going to like this next chapter. ;D

....Jx winked at me.

....Why am I suddenly very afraid?

XDDDD WELL, IN THAT CASE, yeah, you should totally start cooking for yourself. I feel you. ;_;

My idea of cooking=Spaghetti O's+Microwave

Oh yeah, pretty much. Gary has an older sister named May, and Ash has the hots for her. It becomes a running gag… and part of the reason why he's a trainer. It's sort of glorious.

The fact that Ash (not Red) is showing lustful emotions is rather...awkward. Considering that the Anime has done everything they can to prove that impossible and all.

Agreed so hard. Or they just look disgusting. Like, when it comes to men, if you've got this overly muscular figure, you can see their veins, and that's just not cool. With women, if you've got torpedo boobs, all I can think of is, "Oh, plastic surgery." And back pain, for that matter. It's just plain not attractive, so I'm happy Viz toned everything done so that women actually look a little more reasonable.

This is why I don't play many online games anymore. Seriously, game developers, if I wanted a four letter word that rhymes with corn...I would TYPE THAT INTO A SEARCH ENGINE. Do not invade the world of video games because it's not only distracting to the gamer, but it's most riddiculously unnecessary element in the whole dang thing. I have plenty of ways to look for that stuff if I really want to; I don't need it in any other aspect of my life.

I personally think it was the system that did it. I mean, Caroline was pretty reasonable herself before she got uploaded, so…!

That also could be because it was hinted she was forcefully uploaded.

XD Headcanon time: This is how the costumes actually work.

I think I may be out of it because I really have no idea what you mean

XDDD I guess Ellen is out of the question too?

Unless he feels like taking a bullet from Ellen's overprotective girlfriend: Veronica.

I don't know why, but I can't help but seeing those two in a relationship. Maybe because they have opposite personalities and are both from clone families.

Funny story about how someone noticed I never mentioned Bill's mom in this version of the fic.

Funny story about how I laughed when I imagined Bill saying Magmar's Japanese name in front of Lanette.

Well, unless John is really a Pokemon in disguise with the ability "Parthenogenesis", I guess it would be safe to assume Bill had a mother. Now we just need to find out the species. ~~It's a Cacturne, right? They're in the human-like egg group and sort of have green hair.~~

Aww. You mean you're not fluffy and pink?

I can't stay turned on forever either.

Also, update! The next chapter is finally underway, thanks to the fact that my month of death is slowly winding down. Just Anime Boston, a paper, a final project, and job/internship applications left. Which sounds like a lot, but considering I just said March was my month of death… yeah. In any case, chapter will be coming soon~!

I'm happy things are winding down for you. I, on the other hand, still feel the characters from "The Birds". A million things are flying at me at once, and barricading my windows doesn't seem to work well.

Aaaaand this is also my 100th post to this thread. Neat!

Let's go for 300!!! Then I can spam images of a certain Jack Snyder movie.

It felt like his new friend was trying to poke through his skin to the major artery underneath, and Bill knew that one good squeeze there would bring him to his knees.

Bill….my buddy, my pal….I really hate to tell you this but…a lot of things can bring you to your knees. I think all it would take is Lanette telling you to sit.

At the door, the intern who guided him by the arm swiped a card and proceeded through the rest of the security measures. Bill watched with mild interest. He didn't know who these people were, but he at least knew that they hadn't somehow broken in. The door swung open at that point, and he was led inside, passing through the doorway without another glance towards the first intern.

Hmm…took me a while to figure out which intern was which. I guess because I was under the impression that he was led inside by the first mentioned intern in the chapter.

It was just a little too wide and showed just a bit too much of her clean, white teeth.

Team Rocket: They may be horrible, ruthless, and willing to go to any lengths to steal your hard trained Pokémon, but you cannot deny they observe good dental care.

Or perhaps it was the fact that the girl looked a little too innocent, with curly, golden pigtails caressing the sides of a round face. It reminded him of victreebel: the kind of thing that lured prey in by looking appealing just before killing them off with one swift blow.

I’m sorry, but all I could think about was: She eats James?

"Don't you just love technology?" she asked

O.O She’s the one isn’t she?! I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT!

I knew that guy snooping around the starter towns who kept spouting “technology is amazing” was really a Rocket member in disguise. Leave it to Team Rocket’s expert con artist to come up with a way to spy on the labs without too much attention drawn.

I had something else for this chapter but it will have to wait until I can get images to work for me again.

The orange-haired girl huffed and frowned. Then, with a quick motion, she ripped open Bill's shirt and shoved him backwards.

My my, Cassidy. I always knew you were forceful type, but you could have at least have bought the poor guy dinner first.

What he felt next was pain. It was like feeling a large, hot needle getting jammed into his chest. It was like sticking a hand into a nest of rabid beedrill. It was like getting molten lava pumped into the veins.

Because of the beedrill reference, I keep thinking about his hand hurting and not his chest. XD

I like how you depict Team Rocket as a group of baddies trying to do nefarious super-evils, but fail horribly at the specifics (such as “keeping Bill alive and untainted for future purposes”). After all, just about every Rocket in the anime (or at least the ones we know about) fail horribly at what they try to accomplish.

Some things I forgot in the Chapter 3 review:

In the meantime, cookies to whoever can find the Joss Whedon reference in the middle of this chapter.

That guy did so much, I wouldn’t even know where to start. I’m going to go with “What is Firefly?”

**JX Valentine** · 11th April 2012, 7:24 PM

Originally Posted by AbsolXWolf

I didn't realize people missed me ^ ^;

*clings to you* ;_; You mentioned you were going to a con and then weeks of inactivity! I was like, "Oh goodness, something happened, didn't it?" Because my mind is totally overdramatic like that.

>.> <.< ....Yes? :-D It's not like my dirty mind is any more innocent.

Okay, fair point. XD

With the exception of Bill and Lanette themselves.

Oh, naturally. ;D

It's all cool. I'm still trying to catch up with everything, though. ;.;

It's okay. Take your time. The next chapter has been moving at a snail's pace. XD; Hopefully, though, it'll be finished by the weekend.

Bill is stuck-up?

Depends on which character you ask. XD

In fact, there's a list for this!

Spoiler:- Is this really even necessary?:

....Jx winked at me.

....Why am I suddenly very afraid?

My idea of cooking=Spaghetti O's+Microwave

Yet that's somehow better than dorm food. XD

The fact that Ash (not Red) is showing lustful emotions is rather...awkward. Considering that the Anime has done everything they can to prove that impossible and all.

Oh yeah. Toshihiro Ono pretty much threw that part out the window. XD Ash lusts after pretty much everything with boobs. It's sort of hilarious. (Some shots, you'd have to remember the manga is being told from his perspective, so you end up seeing panels of girls' chests and legs and realize this is what Ash is focusing on.)

This is why I don't play many online games anymore. Seriously, game developers, if I wanted a four letter word that rhymes with corn...I would TYPE THAT INTO A SEARCH ENGINE. Do not invade the world of video games because it's not only distracting to the gamer, but it's most riddiculously unnecessary element in the whole dang thing. I have plenty of ways to look for that stuff if I really want to; I don't need it in any other aspect of my life.

High five there. So much word. :/ That's part of the reason why I don't play, either (with the rest of the reasons being a whole list that would take forever to write). It's even worse if you're a girl and looking for a reasonable avatar to represent you. Your choices, if you don't want to walk around a gaming world looking and being treated like a sex object, are "play as a dude" and "play as one of the joke races." This is probably why, when I last played WoW, my only two mains were one of the cowpeople and a gnome. Joke races. :| And even the joke races sort of sexualized the females a little. (Why, armor? Why?)

At least with some of the crackier games (hello, MapleStory), you didn't have that. Unless you were really trying.

But anyway.

That also could be because it was hinted she was forcefully uploaded.

Okay, good point there. XD

I think I may be out of it because I really have no idea what you mean

You know how anime!Bill does his research by going around in costumes figuring out what Pokémon are like? In my headcanon, he gets high to figure out some of the tougher ones.

Unless he feels like taking a bullet from Ellen's overprotective girlfriend: Veronica.

I don't know why, but I can't help but seeing those two in a relationship. Maybe because they have opposite personalities and are both from clone families.

XDDD It's okay. I ship them too. I just haven't had a chance to bring out their relationship.

In fact, there's a list for this too!

Spoiler:- Really, Jax?:

Funny story about how I laughed when I imagined Bill saying Magmar's Japanese name in front of Lanette.

He would be slapped so hard. XD

Well, unless John is really a Pokemon in disguise with the ability "Parthenogenesis", I guess it would be safe to assume Bill had a mother. Now we just need to find out the species. ~~It's a Cacturne, right? They're in the human-like egg group and sort of have green hair.~~

XDDD Imagining Cactune doing the dirty makes me want to cross my legs.

But seriously, if anyone's really curious about Bill's mother, I wrote up a headcanon-filled profile for her here. Which reminds me that I should probably write up another extra because it's been weeks, hasn't it?

I can't stay turned on forever either.

You can't drum it that long either? ;D

I'm happy things are winding down for you. I, on the other hand, still feel the characters from "The Birds". A million things are flying at me at once, and barricading my windows doesn't seem to work well.

Thanks, but oh goodness. ;_; Finals month sucks, amirite? But still, good luck with everything! You can do it!

Let's go for 300!!! Then I can spam images of a certain Jack Snyder movie.

Well, we have only fifty more posts until the thread itself reaches 300. ;D

Bill….my buddy, my pal….I really hate to tell you this but…a lot of things can bring you to your knees. I think all it would take is Lanette telling you to sit.

Haha, pretty much. XD

Hmm…took me a while to figure out which intern was which. I guess because I was under the impression that he was led inside by the first mentioned intern in the chapter.

Yeeeeah, I seriously need to edit that bit. x_x Sorry about that. I'm not sure if I managed to clarify that part when I put it on FFNet, but if I didn't, I'll double-check when I'm prepping the edited version for this thread and try to fix it up.

Team Rocket: They may be horrible, ruthless, and willing to go to any lengths to steal your hard trained Pokémon, but you cannot deny they observe good dental care.

Their benefits package is amazing.

I’m sorry, but all I could think about was: She eats James?

XD Who doesn't in that organization?

O.O She’s the one isn’t she?! I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT!

I knew that guy snooping around the starter towns who kept spouting “technology is amazing” was really a Rocket member in disguise. Leave it to Team Rocket’s expert con artist to come up with a way to spy on the labs without too much attention drawn.

High five for noticing that. XD

I had something else for this chapter but it will have to wait until I can get images to work for me again.

Alas, when Serebii upgraded to vB 4, it disabled the ability to post images for whatever reason. ._. We're stuck pretty much linking to them.

My my, Cassidy. I always knew you were forceful type, but you could have at least have bought the poor guy dinner first.

XD ^ Summarizes most of Team Rocket's relationship with Bill.

Because of the beedrill reference, I keep thinking about his hand hurting and not his chest. XD

That's actually a good point. I never thought of that. O_o I'll definitely consider taking it out when I'm doing the preps for posting the edits here.

I like how you depict Team Rocket as a group of baddies trying to do nefarious super-evils, but fail horribly at the specifics (such as “keeping Bill alive and untainted for future purposes”). After all, just about every Rocket in the anime (or at least the ones we know about) fail horribly at what they try to accomplish.

Thank you! Part of my aim in this fic was to write a dark fic that still nods heavily to the anime canon, and attempting to capture Team Rocket's animeverse "spirit" (for lack of a way to put it without sounding crazy) was one of the ways I tried to do it.

That guy did so much, I wouldn’t even know where to start. I’m going to go with “What is Firefly?”

XD DING DING DING.

To be specific, the Pandora Tape was inspired and partly based on the R. Tam Sessions.

And with that said, hopefully, the next chapter will be finished soon. Working as hard as I can on everything, folks! o>

**Sidewinder** · 12th April 2012, 5:35 AM

Review time, whaaaaattt!!!

Lol, its taken me awhile but I'm here. I'm very glad I took the time to read your fic. It expanded on my ideas and sci-fi and the directions you can take the world of Pokemon into. Most of the reviews I do are chapter by chapter, and I can be really precise, but your fic has so many chapters, and really has so many points to cover that I'm going to skip that. Instead, I'm going to try and hit specific points that I liked, disliked, etc. In my rambling, poorly worded summary of your amazing fic, I hope Im able to tell you what it said to me (though I'm sure I'm going to fail miserably haha). So if this seems somewhat jumpy and poorly worded, I apologize lol

First off, the sleep powder laced flower. Very nice addition. I've always been obsessed with taking Pokemon moves further and somehow weaponizing them for humns. Stun spore bombs, dragonbreath land mines, fire blast trap doors! I like that you're able to think outside the box and show that if this world was real, things like this would happen all the time. I've seen things like this in other fics before, so its by no means new to me, but I feel like you presented it very well. It fit the character nicely, and is totally 'Rocket' style.

Another bit I really liked was the fact that Bill, Oak, and crew experimented on Pokemon. Using the Rattata to test the aliens reactions and time their consumption times was brilliant. Real world experimentation goes on all the time. Pigs, monkeys, rats, etc, nothing is immune when it comes to humans trying to make sure we're safe from this or that. So many fics I read nowadays are so afraid to treat Pokemon as anything less than 'darling friends and life partners', but they cn be less. Later on when you had Bill eat a Zigzagoon was another part that stoof out for me. Pokemon eat, and alot of them eat meat, so why is it shown in your fic and not in as many others? Because you're not afraid to cross that line, and I love it. The eating, and experimentation were awesomely realistic touches. good job!

Besides the very rare comma mistake or incorrectly spelled word, your grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure are all superbly done. Great job on that, as I know that you're aware that good grammar goes a long way in creating a story that everyone can relate to. BTW, I like the way you go back and edit every chapter to fix things. It shows that you can accept criticism and can LISTEN to what other people suggest (which is becoming increasingly now rareadays in some forums I visit >.>

Just to touch on Bill's, and to a lesser extent, Lanette's transformation, I think they were great. Especially Bill's. I felt like I was there when I was reading it. I could watch the events play out in my head so clearly that your reading was barely required. You gave me the start, and described it, and I let my mind just run wild with it. Not only are they wonderfully and grotesquely described, but they feel real. I hurt when the characters did, I want to cry when they do, especially when it comes to a surgeons hand getting sliced off, or seeing a metal exoskeleton inside you.

The grey forest is a great addition too! I've always liked the thought of a deep part of someone's mind that they can ask questions, run, get attacked, blah blah blah. Bill's bits with Adam are really nice, as it reaffirms that they are seperate (More than once as I was reading, I started thinking of them as so close they were one person with a primary name, Bill. And a nickname, Adam). The bit where Adam goes "You'll never reach the end", was really nice. I've always wanted to be a seperate entity in my own mind and thoughts, and Adam commenting that Bill will never reach the end almost brought me to tears for some reason. Not sure why, but it feels hopeless when he's in that forest. I know he comes out of it everytime, but its still sad to me (In a depressingly beautiful kind of way)

When you were talking about the ship incident in Johto, it really reminded me of the scenes from 'World War Z', and 'The Passage'. Not that I'm comparing your work to their's, but it was quite similar. Mainly in the sense that your's and their's are EXTREMELY well written and informative. I felt the tragedy when I realized that the ship was doomed, and before you even wrote it, what it meant for the people of Hoenn that were left behind. I hope that makes sense lol

Spinda kicks so much ***! She is BY FAR my favorite trainer owned Pokemon the fic. To be honest, I've never really much cared for Spinda in the games or the anime. I've always thought of them as weak, and frankly kind of uninteresting. You've changed all of that for me. The power it demonstrated was so epic I really wanted it to continue. You definately owe me a Fic with solely Spinda's in it after this story is over. Even if I'm your only reader, it's completely worth. Rock Tomb really tuck out for me when I saw Spinda use it, so much so that I went back and read it several times. On that note, the Pokemon moves you describe are always very well done. They seem realistic and appropriate for when they are used, and you really do have a talent when it comes to the pacing of a battle and how its described. Great job!

Main wise, Adam is my favorite. Seriously, once Bill man's up (and I know he is slowly starting to do so) I'll give him another go, but for the moment, Adam is the standout. From his cold calculating start, to the way he slowly starts to use sarcasm and jokes, he always stood out. His struggle with Bill, almost from the stance of an annoyed parent, ha really appealed to me. One thing that does bother me about him are his motives. When it comes to Bill and Earth, I'm starting to formulate theories of my own, but when it comes to Nila, I am still somewhat confused. I can tell he's good at heart (though I secretly hope he's not, haha) I don't think there has been enough explanation to justify him going out of his way to protect the Relian's and their way of life. While obviously noble and brave, I want to know his motives behind it. Obviously you have to keep some things back (even now I feel like I'm only scraping the surface of him), but when it goes into his backstory, I just feel somewhat unfufilled.

I really didn't hit on ALL the points I wanted to, mainly becuase I'm extremely sleepy, but I got the main ones out that I thought were important. If you noticed, there really is nothing I don't like about your fic. Except a hiccup here and there with a word I would have used differently, or a different one altogether, IMO there is nothing wrong with it. Your pacing is perfect, your description is brilliant, and your characters are relateable. Which are the three things I look for in every fic. You've really pushed the edge of how violent and real I thought Pokemon could be. Along with mixing Pokemon with pretty much the best parts of every science fiction movie I've ever enjoyed. You've done something really great with this fic, and I'm really glad I took the time to read it.

PM list please!

**AbsolXWolf** · 17th April 2012, 8:12 AM

Originally Posted by JX Valentine

*clings to you* ;_; You mentioned you were going to a con and then weeks of inactivity! I was like, "Oh goodness, something happened, didn't it?" Because my mind is totally overdramatic like that.

Oh...that...*sweat drop* I sometimes get depressed and when that happens I tend to drop everything. Sorry about that. It's kind of a sudden thing that comes and goes for me.

It's okay. Take your time. The next chapter has been moving at a snail's pace. XD; Hopefully, though, it'll be finished by the weekend.

Hopefully I'll have plenty of time over the summer to catch up. ;_;

In fact, there's a list for this!

:-D ...I love it when you do lists.

Spoiler:- Is this really even necessary?:

Characters' Opinions of Bill: A ~~Short~~ List
(In order of appearance!)

Tracey: Fan-worships him, but given the fact that Tracey fan-worships anyone who claims they're a researcher, this doesn't really mean much.

Yeah I noticed that too XD

Nettle: Oh, isn't this clear enough? She would like to have tea and crumpets with him. Clearly.

Oh I wouldn't doubt that.
Nettle: Would you like to have one arsenic laced sugarlump or two?

Domino: And on that note, would like to take him. Hard. And struggling.

KNOW YOUR PLACE, DOMINO. Lanette already placed dibs on him. She may not be aware of it, but she did.
~~No touchy until she submits to her innermost passionate desires which most definitely would involve that crowbar of hers in some way. Then we'll move down the list.~~

The Committee: Have him marked down under the column labeled "guinea tepig."

fixed

Veronica: Thinks he's an idiot and a stuffy Brit.

That's my Veronica. :-D

John: Loves Bill as a father (secretly). But still thinks he's got a stick up his ***.

Ouch...even his father. Poor guy.

Lanette: Thinks he's an idiot. ~~An adorable, soft-hearted idiot that she really would rather not be responsible for, even though she knows someone has to be.~~

It's ok, Lanette. Admiting to things like this doesn't make you any less kick-butt cool. Show the poor guy you care sometimes.

Vito: Is quite unsure as to what to think but already is of the opinion that Bill's a little stuck-up.

It feels like we haven't seen this guy in a while, not that I'm complaining.

Hope: Gods know. Apparently terrified of Ixodida in general but also seems ~~suspiciously~~ curious of him.

;_; Now I wonder if you got your inspiration from River Tam.

Steven and Wallace: Think he's an idiot.

Especially after that Valentine's escapade I can imagine.

Tate: Thinks he's an idiot and immensely stuck-up at that. (Like, seriously, Tate knows the situation is serious, but he's vaguely surprised Bill isn't walking around with a monocle and a cup of tea.)

I think I know what Tate is getting him for his birthday.

...*twitch*

Oh yeah. Toshihiro Ono pretty much threw that part out the window. XD Ash lusts after pretty much everything with boobs. It's sort of hilarious. (Some shots, you'd have to remember the manga is being told from his perspective, so you end up seeing panels of girls' chests and legs and realize this is what Ash is focusing on.)

...Does he still have Anime!Ash's cluelessness and (sometimes) blatant stupidity? Because that combination ought to be gold.

...wait....what did Toshihiro do with Brock then? No wait....maybe I don't want to know.

High five there. So much word. :/ That's part of the reason why I don't play, either (with the rest of the reasons being a whole list that would take forever to write). It's even worse if you're a girl and looking for a reasonable avatar to represent you. Your choices, if you don't want to walk around a gaming world looking and being treated like a sex object, are "play as a dude" and "play as one of the joke races."

Speaking of which, what kind of dude would want to walk around in a gaming world where everything is just one big distraction? Seems to me that type of person doesn't have much of a life.

This is probably why, when I last played WoW, my only two mains were one of the cowpeople and a gnome. Joke races. :| And even the joke races sort of sexualized the females a little. (Why, armor? Why?)

What armor? Oh, you mean that puny thing. How is that logically going to protect anything like, oh I don't know, your character's heart? Really, if you're going to aim to make a game "more realistic," don't do things in halves.

At least with some of the crackier games (hello, MapleStory), you didn't have that. Unless you were really trying.

I'm shamefully addicted to Mabinogi, and that's only because my friend got me involved a few years back. I can't seem to cut the habit because the story is intriguing, the combat system is unique, and I appreciate the fact that your characters are customizable to the extreme. The female outfits are still pretty bad, but at least there are some options where your character doesn't look like a dancer from a shady club. Robes are amazing.

I'm not even going to speak about Vindictus. "More realism" doesn't mean unrealistic chest bouncing and illogical armor selections. Also, a succubus boss where you tear off her clothing as you defeat her? Seriously? Wasn't it bad enough it was in Mabinogi? Did you seriously have to bring that back? Yeah...played Vindi for one week and never touched it since.

I'm also angry that looking up Pokemon stuff in a search engine on "strict" still brings up stuff unsuitable for children. Is it really too hard to put even a subtle censor on it?

Sorry...rambling again.

You know how anime!Bill does his research by going around in costumes figuring out what Pokémon are like? In my headcanon, he gets high to figure out some of the tougher ones.

So he gets high off of Gloom's fumes to get how a Gloom feels?

XDDD It's okay. I ship them too. I just haven't had a chance to bring out their relationship.

It's funny because I don't often ship same gender(not that I have anything against it, it's just never really been much of my "flavor" if you know what I mean).

In fact, there's a list for this too!

Yay! Keep the lists coming!

Spoiler:- Really, Jax?:

XDDD Imagining Cactune doing the dirty makes me want to cross my legs.

It hurts so good?

But seriously, if anyone's really curious about Bill's mother, I wrote up a headcanon-filled profile for her here. Which reminds me that I should probably write up another extra because it's been weeks, hasn't it?

I always thought Bill's obsession for Eevelutions stems from his mom being a Kimono Girl (with all their Eevelutions). It makes me wonder whether or not this was put in the game on purpose.

You can't drum it that long either? ;D

Once upon a time I played percussion for band. Does that count?

Thanks, but oh goodness. ;_; Finals month sucks, amirite? But still, good luck with everything! You can do it!

I hope so. Istryingtogetonaresearchproject.

There's something I've been wondering about after I'd read the Valentine's special...Sooooo if Bill were to use Attract on a mirror, would he infatiate himself with himself or (since I'm almost 99.999% sure it's Adam doing the attacking) would Bill become infatuated with Adam?

Second question: Tate wouldn't happen to know a mirror-like move like Light Screen or something would he? >:-D

Will respond to the rest soon!

**JX Valentine** · 18th April 2012, 1:56 AM

Spoiler:- Responses!:

In the meantime, GOOD NEWS, EVERYONE. Chapter 27 is getting sent off to my beta tonight, which means you should have it sometime before the weekend. In the meantime, how's about a new extra?

Extra #2: lol WHAT Moveset Limits?
Spoiler:- Extra #2: lol WHAT Moveset Limits?:

**Sidewinder** · 18th April 2012, 5:38 AM

Thanks, and high five. I have to admit, one of the challenges with Domino is the fact that she doesn't use pokémon, so at times like this, I had to come up with something she would use. I'm glad it came out all right, though; if I said I didn't have fun with it, I'd be lying.

That really was a toughie. I salute your ingenuity, because it turned out really well. Very inventive

…Although I haven't read The Passage yet, and something tells me I should be ashamed of myself for that.

Are you serious? From your writing style, I really think you'd like it. Its got my stamp of MAJOR approval for sure

It's good that you noticed that. Keep that in mind because there's a reason for it. A completely evil (on my part) reason that you'll find out soon enough. *tents fingers*

I can't wait. Seriously, I'm there with bells on

And you are very welcome. This was a great treat for me, especially because I read most of it in my downtime at work, lol. It helped passed two very slow days. I eagerly await the next chapter

**JX Valentine** · 18th April 2012, 6:41 PM

Originally Posted by Sidewinder

That really was a toughie. I salute your ingenuity, because it turned out really well. Very inventive

Thank you~!

Are you serious? From your writing style, I really think you'd like it. Its got my stamp of MAJOR approval for sure

Okay, it's totally going on my wishlist now. XD Thanks for the rec!

I can't wait. Seriously, I'm there with bells on

Luckily, you don't have to wait for long because my beta is awesomely fast. ;D In fact...

Author's Notes: And by that, I mean "Hope McKenzie's Translation Corner."

In today's ~~episode~~ chapter, most of what Hope says are actually lyrics from this song. Most of it is nonsense, then, except for a few lines. Meanwhile, the last thing she says in the chapter is simply, "It's going to rain."

Anima Ex Machina: Twenty-Seven
The war machine springs to life, opens up one eager eye.

Hope kept her eyes closed, breathing in deep as she listened to the crowds. A smile crossed her face as she tilted her head upwards and allowed the heat of the lights to warm her skin. She slowly opened her eyes and examined the rows of seats all around her, the glittering display on the contest hall's screen, the wide-open space of the field, and the three judges standing before her. At her side, she felt Squirtle press against her legs, suddenly aware of the crowds for the first time that night.

Part of her sympathized with him. It had taken her three contests to win, so with all the crowd's attention on both her and Squirtle – and on only them – she felt a little embarrassed by the flattery. Yet she didn't let it affect her. With her neck still craned, she took a deep breath and strode forward, approaching the judges with Squirtle trailing behind her.

When she stood before the center judge, the one she knew as Mr. Contesta, the older man smiled broadly at her and accepted a box from the Nurse Joy standing beside him. Opening the lid, he tilted it forward to allow Hope to see the ribbon resting inside. Its golden crest and pink ribbon almost shimmered in the light. Hope's breath caught in her throat as her hand twitched; she wanted to reach for it but knew the etiquette of the contest hall all too well.

But oh, how hard she worked to be able to hold that ribbon. It had been months since she left Johto, after all. Months of training. Months of losing. Months of learning.

"This is your first ribbon, isn't it, Hope?" Mr. Contesta asked.

Hope looked at her feet, clasped her hands in front of her, and smiled shyly. "Yes, sir."

"I could tell by your enthusiasm. You put on quite a show, young lady. The creativity you've displayed on the battlefield today shows you've worked hard to earn victory. We're expecting great things from you."

At his last words, Hope's cheeks burned with a blush, and her voice grew quieter. "Thank you, sir. I'm-I'm really… I'll do my best. But it's really Squirtle who deserves the congratulations."

"Modesty is a good trait to have, but remember that every contest relies on the teamwork between a coordinator and her pokémon. You're both deserving of this award." Mr. Contesta's hand grasped the ribbon and drew it out of the box. "Hope, it's my pleasure to confer on you and Squirtle the Rustboro Ribbon. Congratulations to you both."

The crowd went wild while Hope raised her eyes at last to the ribbon. Her hand moved from her side, inching upwards almost reluctantly. Eventually, her fingers clasped the satin and gold, and her blood pounded in her ears.

Suddenly, everything went dark and silent except for Hope's own scream.

She was running. Her squirtle wasn't by her side, and the ribbon was no longer pressed against her palm. The tall grass scratched at her knees and thighs as she tore past scrambling nincada. Behind her, she could hear several people. Most of the sounds that came from them were the rustling of grass and the huffing of running, but occasionally, Hope heard short screams, brief few seconds of different cries before their sources were silenced. She didn't dare look back. She didn't want to see what was making the growling and screeching that accompanied each short yell. Not when she knew they weren't that far away.

A pair of arms scooped her up. She screamed, but a hand – a human hand – covered her mouth. Looking up, she saw the silhouette of a large, bald man. He looked frantically over his shoulder as he carried Hope to the trees edging the field of tall grass. Glancing over him, she could see what was pursuing them: dark creatures with long tails and glowing, red eyes.

But more than that, she could see that they were fast – and, for that matter, that they were rapidly getting closer.

The man pushed Hope up the tree. Her arms wrapped around the closest branch she could grab, and with some effort, she managed to pull the rest of her body onto it. As soon as she was safe, her companion reached for a branch to pull himself off the ground. He got no further than a few inches up the tree before the creatures – four in all – appeared seemingly out of nowhere to yank him off the trunk.

Hope shrieked. It was the most natural thing she could think of doing as she watched the creatures descend on the man, ripping into his body with their sharp claws. That in turn saved him for a few precious moments. All four ixodida lifted their heads, their glowing eyes narrowing at the tree. One of them leapt at her, grabbed her leg, and pulled her down. She tried to cling to the branch, but the ixodida's grip was stronger. Her fingers slipped away from the bark, hands grasping at the air as she fell. Claws tore at her in mid-air, slashing through her clothing across her stomach and her arms. One of the ixodida's hands finally batted her away from the tree, flinging her to the ground next to the man. She hit it hard and instantly crumpled, her voice silenced as she turned her head. Next to her, she could see through the three other ixodida to the man's face. His eyes were wide and glazed over. His throat was torn open.

But he blinked at her.

The fourth ixodida joined its companions to tear at the man's torso and devour the slick, pink entrails. Hope could only watch, curled on her side as she cried quietly.

She could barely hear the faint pop of a ball opening. She could barely register the flash of white light or the sound of a low growl. She couldn't even watch as a black and white blur leapt at her attackers or sank its teeth into one of their necks.

All she could see was the face of the man.

Blinking.

---

Tate wasn't used to waking up in a cold sweat, so when he did at that point, he was momentarily confused by how cold and different the world was compared to his dreams. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, even as he took several deep breaths to calm himself. Ellen, who sat between him and the van, looked down and placed a hand on his forehead.

"It's good to see you awake," she said. "How are you feeling?"

The psychic gingerly rubbed his eyes and groaned. "Never better."

Ellen pressed her lips together for a second as she stood.

"Chansey took care of your injuries, but wait here. I'm sure you'll need to feed to recover the rest of your energy," she told him.

"Huh? Oh. Yeah, I guess so."

The nurse gave him one last concerned glance before she turned and strode towards the truck. In the meantime, Tate sat up, swaying slightly as his head spin. Even as the time ticked on, the vision he had in his sleep – the girl, the ixodida, the blinking man – refused to fade. His thoughts lingered on it, and he struggled to figure out why he simply couldn't shake it until something caught his ear.

"Pi po pa po pi po pa po pi po pa po pi po pa po…"

Turning his head, Tate stopped. At the center of the clearing, beside the roaring fire, was the exact girl he had seen in his dreams. She sat, her eyes wide and on the flames, as her other hand slowly waxed the shell of the squirtle sitting in her lap. The pokémon itself looked relaxed and happy while his owner's hand worked a cloth in small circles across his shell. Even the song the girl was singing seemed light and happy, almost whimsical. It was just her face. The empty eyes, the slight frown, the sharp, gaunt edges of her cheeks. Tate shuddered as he looked at her, yet there was something about her. He could almost hear something else deep inside her – something that sounded like a whisper.

"Pi po pa po pi po pa po kimi ni wa wakaru?"

He leaned towards her, preparing to get up and move to her side, when a boot came down hard in front of him. Jolting out of his thoughts, he looked up at Lanette's stern face.

"I need your assistance," she growled.

Tate cringed, backing against the van. "Uh… my assistance?"

"You're psychic, aren't you?"

"Well, yeah, but—"

"And, as an ixodida, you can sense others like you."

Tate shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah."

Lanette narrowed her eyes. "We're missing a member of our group."

"What?" Tate sat up a little straighter. "You lost Bill?"

"We did not lose him," she replied harshly. "The idiot wandered away on his own, and the other idiot did absolutely nothing to stop him."

"In my defense, neither did Steven or Wallace!" Thom shouted.

Without turning her head, Lanette shot him an icy glare out of the corner of her eye.

"I'll shut up," he quickly responded.

Lanette moved her eyes back to Tate, her expression melting into a slightly less cold look. "I need you to find him. He'll be of no use to us dead."

"That may not be necessary," another voice chimed in.

She cast a glance over her shoulder to see Vito approaching with a swellow flitting after him.

"Swellow spotted a plume of smoke," he explained. "It's not far from here. Probably about a half an hour's drive from us directly to the west. That matches up with the last time and place Thom saw Bill."

"You think he got into a fight already?" Lanette asked.

"Could be. And Lanette." His expression darkened. "There's only so many types of pokémon that could produce smoke in the middle of a forest."

She narrowed her eyes. Then, exhaling, she turned to the west and plucked a ball from her belt. "You. Ixodida."

"I have a name!" Tate snapped.

"If you don't help me get that idiot back safely, you won't need it," Lanette replied.

Tate's eyes began to glow. "What?! Are you seriously threa—"

Abruptly, the glow dissipated, and Tate swayed in his seat. Vito dropped to the boy's side and held him up. As if on cue, Ellen rushed to their side, dropping a small, plastic cooler as she knelt beside Tate as well. Her cool fingers wrapped around the boy's wrist, feeling for a pulse.

"You shouldn't be so harsh towards him," Ellen told Lanette. "He's still recovering. I'm sorry, Lanette, but I don't think he can help you."

Vito looked up at Lanette. For a few seconds, her face remained stony cold, and Vito was almost afraid that she would argue. However, she turned away from them at the last second.

"Fine." Lifting her chin, she raised her voice and announced to the rest of the camp, "Wallace, I want you to stay here and look after Tate. You're his traveling companion. You're the one who's best for keeping an eye on him. Steven, I'll need your metagross and rock-types. We may be battling an ixodida." Then, she turned to Vito. "Vito, your alakazam knows Rain Dance, and your swellow can lead the way."

He stood. "Are you sure you don't need me here?"

Lanette started for the forest. "If that smoke was made by the fire-type that appeared around Mauville City, I'm going to need all the help I can get, but I need one of the champions to stay behind and watch over the psychic."

"Excuse me?" Tate growled.

She ignored him, simply focusing on heading towards the woods. Vito fell into step behind her, and a gust of wind beside her signaled that Steven arrived. She held out her hand and allowed the champion to pull her onto his metagross's back.

"You're going out of your way to help him," he commented. "Change of heart?"

Lanette paused for only a few seconds. After they passed, she spat, "Don't read into it. I'm only helping him because he promised he would look after his sister."

Vito pulled himself onto the back of the pokémon, and as soon as he was safely onboard, the metagross shot into the woods. At the same time, Tate sat up on his own and looked towards the trees.

"Sister?" he asked.

Ellen pulled the cooler towards herself and opened the lid. "Didn't you know?"

As she pulled a plastic container from the cooler, she nodded towards the fire. Tate accepted the container as he turned his head, following Ellen's gaze until his eyes fell on Hope. The girl was exactly where he left her, sitting by the fire and waxing her squirtle's shell. All the while, her soft voice continued weaving the same quiet song.

"Pipopa-go shika ima hanasenai yo."

"A sister," Tate repeated.

He lowered his head. His fingers cracked open the container, and he stared at the raw meat inside. All he could think about was that word. Sister.

"Liza."

As if she heard, Hope's motions gradually slowed to a stop as her voice reached the last notes of her song.

"Pi po pa po pi po pa po pi po pa yurushite."

---

"Mirror Shot!"

Bill, no!

For the third time in the past several minutes, a bright, silver light exploded in the forest, sending Bill careening into a tree. His back slammed its trunk hard, and he fell into a heap at its foot. Groaning, he lifted his head and pulled one of his hands into view. The jewel in its palm fizzled and faded, and the remnant energies of one more failed Mirror Shot faded into the air.

"What were the chances of taking my hands off with that move again?" he muttered.

Increasing steadily the more you insist on using it. Bill, this is a serious battle. You cannot afford to wield a weapon you have not mastered.

"We don't have a choice, Adam! He's too strong for anything else I've got!"

"Correction, little rogue, you have a choice. A very simple one, in fact."

Bill lifted his chin just in time to see the source of the voice. Prometheus glided forward, igniting every tree he passed on his way. He had been chasing Bill for the better part of the twenty minutes that had elapsed since the two of them met, but throughout that time, Prometheus went at his own pace, catching up to his quarry whenever the steel-type made the mistake of attempting Mirror Shot. Now, he hovered, waiting patiently for Bill to do one of two things: surrender or start flying again.

Unfortunately, Bill had the bad habit of being immensely predictable.

"I'm not going anywhere with you," he growled. "Magnet Rise!"

Golden light swirled around Bill's body as he sprang off the ground and launched into a low flight path. Prometheus was ready for this. He held up a hand, palm facing his opponent, as the flames dancing across his skin grew larger and brighter. His entire hand became engulfed in a bright, blue fire that centered on a swirling ball hovering in front of his palm. With a boom, the orb exploded into a stream of blue light that tore through the air. Trees instantly burst into towering infernos the moment the stream touched them, and as Prometheus glided through the forest after his prey, he moved his arm to sweep his surroundings.

Although Bill flew as quickly as he could, the jet shot directly over him, engulfing multiple trees just in front of him. A strangled yelp escaped his throat as he twisted in the air to avoid hitting fire. In an attempt to slow himself down, he hit the ground with a knee and both sets of claws, sliding towards the trees until he stopped just short of the flames. The golden aura around his body flickered, and his translucent wings drooped as he knelt. Already, the heat was getting to him. Shaking, his body lowered close to the ground as he began to pant. His metal skin began to burn against his muscles, and it took all of his power not to scream. Prometheus landed and strode forward as his entire form erupted into brilliant, orange flames. Bill winced and buckled a little more under the added heat.

"Struggling to stand the heat, little rogue?" Prometheus sneered. "I can keep this up all day, long after you collapse. Why not give up now and save yourself the pain?"

"Your empress," Bill panted. "Your empress wants me alive, doesn't she?"

Prometheus shrugged. "Of course. But she never said anything about bringing you to her unharmed."

At that, Bill cringed. "Oh. I… I d-didn't think about that."

He crawled backwards, his wings spasming against his back as he stared at the flames surrounding Prometheus. The fire-type flicked his tail but stood his ground, waiting for the rogue's response.

Well, Bill. Now would be a good time for a plan. I assume you have one, Adam quipped.

Bill dug his claws into the ground and glanced from Prometheus to the trees around him. As he gazed through the flaming branches to the sky, a smirk played across his face.

"I do," he said. "First, let's put out a few fires."

His golden aura flared again, and he pushed off the ground to launch himself straight into the air. Drawing his limbs close, he summoned a green barrier of light just before unfurling himself and shooting through the fires to the forest canopy. Watching him, Prometheus tilted his head.

"Do you truly believe you can escape me? Perhaps this will be a bit more interesting than the Lady of Frost made it seem," he said.

With that, he extended his flaming wings and shot through the forest canopy.

---

In the clearing, Hope looked towards the sky. She squinted, studying the black clouds as they trailed across the clearing.

"Ame ga furu," she murmured.

Scooping her squirtle into her arms, she dashed towards the forest, heading in the same direction Lanette, Steven, and Vito had taken. Tate, who had been watching her for the past several minutes, perked up.

"Hey!" he cried after her. "Hey! Wait!"

He stood and took a step towards the trees, but he went no further before Ellen jumped to her own feet and grabbed him by the collar.

"And where do you think you're going, young man?" she snapped.

Turning, he flashed his eyes at her. The air rippled as rings of psychic energy ebbed from Tate to Ellen. Unable to look away, Ellen let her eyes lock onto Tate's before she began to sway on her feet. Within seconds, she let go of him and began to drop. A blue aura surrounded her body, and slowly and gently, she came to rest on the ground. As soon as she was safe, Tate snapped out of his psychic trance and leaned against the van. Gingerly, he held his head and shut one of his eyes. The other glanced in the direction of the forest.

"Wallace!" he called. "C'mon!"

Before he could explain, Tate dashed after Hope. The water-type champion, who sat by the fire, raised his eyebrows before getting up and starting after Tate. Behind him, Veronica and Thom leapt from the truck. Veronica immediately ran across the clearing to Ellen's side.

"What's going on here?!" Veronica demanded.

"I don't know, but stay here," Wallace replied.

As Veronica carefully knelt to pull Ellen into her arms, Thom stopped and stood. Neither of them could say a word while Wallace ran into the forest after the children.

---

High above the forest, Bill swooped to dodge a fireball. As soon as it passed him, he twisted in the air and shot back towards the atmosphere. Behind him, Prometheus soared, looping and bobbing through the air in a stubborn attempt to keep up with his opponent. Every so often, Bill looked back to ensure that Prometheus was still there or to block a fireball with Protect.

I hope that you do not take this to mean that I do not trust you, Adam said, but what exactly are you doing?

"You can't tell?" Bill asked.

No.

Smirking, Bill looked above him. The blue sky was thinning out, and he was already beginning to see the sparkle of stars just beyond the planet's atmosphere. He didn't dare look down, and he didn't dare stop. The cold air felt welcome against his skin, as did the fact that it was getting harder and harder to breathe. At least the latter meant that Prometheus was following him right into his trap.

"There are only two things a fire needs," Bill explained through short breaths. "Something to burn and…"

He could feel the heat of a fireball rush by his shoulder, but by the time it passed him, it was already barely an ember. It fizzled out a short distance away from him, which signaled him to stop. Carefully, he turned around to face Prometheus, who hovered silently close by. The flames that had once danced across the ixodida's body were now out, leaving behind nothing but the creature's bright, red skin.

"Oxygen," Bill finished. "Let's talk."

"Talk?" Prometheus repeated.

Bill nodded. Although the air protected him from Prometheus's flames, it meant that every second, he struggled for oxygen. Because of that, he knew that every word had to count, and when he spoke, it was slowly and haltingly.

"Yes. I want to know. Why me?"

Prometheus stared at the steel-type for a long while. Then, a shadow of a smile flickered across the creature's face. Just as quickly as it appeared, it vanished, leaving behind a blank expression that unnerved Bill more than usual.

"Why you? Why are we after you?" Prometheus asked. "Do you truly not know?"

"No," Bill growled, struggling to maintain his neutral expression.

"Oh, little rogue," Prometheus sighed. "Her Majesty simply wants to speak with you."

"Why?"

Prometheus craned his neck. "Why? Why, because somewhere out there, there is one of my kind who prefers manifesting itself as a steel-type rogue. This creature… it is a troubling monster. A creature responsible for the downfall of our peaceful little moon."

"But why do you want to take me to your empress in that case?" Bill demanded. "Why not just kill me?"

"Believe me, little one, I have asked the same thing every passing moment since I was assigned to collect you." Prometheus extended his arms. "Now then. Will you surrender?"

Breathing as deeply as he could, Bill tensed his body, balling his hands into fists as he stared hard at Prometheus. So far, step one had him lead Prometheus to a place where his fire powers would be useless, and step two entailed coaxing some semblance of answers out of the ixodida. With each breath, Bill began to feel lightheaded, and the longer he remained there, the harder it was to come up with a step three. Unfortunately, if he wanted to get out of that situation alive without leading Prometheus to the Caravan, he knew he was going to have to come up with something else. At long last, he extended his claws. He knew he was working with a type disadvantage and that Prometheus's type could resist the strongest attacks he had in his arsenal. Because of that, he prayed that he was right about the thin air severely limiting what Prometheus could do.

"No," he finally said.

"No?" Prometheus responded.

"I'm not going with you," Bill told him. "You can't force me, either. Up here, I have the advantage."

Prometheus quirked an eyebrow. "And what advantage is that?"

Bill held up his claws. All of them began to glow with a bright, white light. Behind him, his tail curled, and the arrowhead took on a silver aura of its own.

"I can still attack," he told the fire-type. "I'm giving you one warning. Stand down and leave me alone, or I'll resort to force."

Prometheus tilted his head. "Little one, if I could laugh, I would. I will give you my compliments, though. You are smart enough to know how to disable many of my powers. However… you forget one thing."

Bill refused to falter. His hands quivered briefly, but the glow remained. All he did to betray a sense of uncertainty was narrow his eyes as he focused his gaze on Prometheus.

"What's that?" he asked.

Prometheus held out both of his hands. "I can strike with more than just fire."

He lunged at Bill, claws out. Instinctively, Bill flinched drawing his arms in front of his face to intercept Prometheus's attack. The light from his claws faded, but as a trade-off, his tail stiffened and shone with a bright, silver shimmer. Swinging it around, he struck Prometheus in the side, throwing the fire-type away from him. Prometheus dropped through the air for a few seconds before catching himself. His eyes rose to find Bill swooping away from him with a faint, blue light flashing across his body before his aura turned bottle-green and back to gold.

The Lord of Flames flexed his claws and dove at the other ixodida again. His hand latched around the steel-type's tail and yanked him backwards. Ignoring the sharp wail his prey emitted, Prometheus pulled back his fist and readied his next strike. Although the flames he was used to producing were reduced to nothing but faint sparks in the thin atmosphere, his fingers began to glow red with heat just before he rocketed his fist into Bill's stomach while the other hand released him. To finish off the assault, one of the fire-type's feet slammed into the same spot as orange sparks crackled across his red skin.

Flipping through the air, Bill's aura began to flicker. Pain radiated through him from the point where Prometheus struck, and the wind that rushed past him as he plummeted made it difficult to straighten himself out. Luckily for him, Prometheus snatched his arm, yanking him out of a free fall. As if acting on instinct, the rogue responded by slashing across the fire-type's cheek with a set of glowing claws before jamming his feet against his opponent's stomach and springing away. His golden aura reignited, and with his second wind, Bill quickly cut through the air to put distance between himself and Prometheus. At the same time, Prometheus righted himself and growled.

You are doing very well, Adam commented, but we cannot run forever.

Bill glanced behind him, scanning for his opponent. "You're right. We're not. Need to wear him down. Much easier to fight in that case."

He closed his eyes. With the pain still throbbing across his torso and the oxygen still running low, his vision began to blur, and it felt like the world was spinning.

It seems like you are getting more worn out than he is. Perhaps it would be best to change tactics.

For a second time, he felt Prometheus's grasp, but this time, the Lord of Flames wrapped his arms around the steel-type's neck, jerking his victim out of a free fall jarringly. Bill's eyes opened wide as his fingers scratched and dug into Prometheus's arms.

"I will ask you one more time," Prometheus growled, ignoring the lacerations on his arms. "Will you surrender?"

"N-never!" Bill croaked.

Prometheus clicked his tongue. "Very well."

Loosening his arms, Prometheus let the steel-type slide out of his grip until his red claws snatched one of Bill's arms. His free hand pulled back into another sparking fist just before it crashed down against his victim's temple. Then, he watched as Bill dropped, as the steel-type's golden aura faded away and as his golden wings fizzled into a shower of sparks.

Lingering in the air, Prometheus waited for his quarry to pick himself back up. When Bill simply continued to fall, the fire-type took this as a signal and swooped after him. For a third time, he drew his opponent into his arms, stopping him once more from falling.

"And now?" he asked.

His opponent lifted its head slowly and turned to look directly at him. Its eyes were open, but its face was completely devoid of expression. Tilting its chin back, it twisted in Prometheus's arms and placed a hand against his chest.

"Give my regards to Her Majesty," Adam hissed.

A flash of white light burst from Adam's palm, blasting Prometheus away from it. The fire-type, unable to regain control over his flight path thanks to the force of the point-blank Mirror Shot, sailed in a long arc back towards the forest. At the same time, Adam, barely conscious, began falling in a curved path towards the black clouds of smoke. Through half-open eyes, it saw the glimmer of a blue ball burst among the smoke, turning the black smog into gray storm clouds. As it punched through the topmost layer of gray, only one thought ran through its head, a thought that spilled across its lips in barely a whisper.

"You… you idiot."

---

Fat raindrops struck and rolled across Lanette's eyeglasses as she stared into the sky. Behind her, Steven and Vito stood, craning their necks as they examined the rainstorm right alongside Lanette. With a nod, Vito held up a poké ball to the alakazam standing beside him.

"Good work, Alakazam. Take a rest," he said.

The fox-like pokémon nodded and disappeared into the ball with a flash of red. Pocketing it, Vito turned to face the forest straight ahead, watching as the forest blaze flickered orange and yellow not far away. The group had stopped when it was not much more than a soft glow several feet away. Now, they could feel its heat. They waited for several minutes, watching the inferno creep to a halt, as if uncertain about licking the trees between them and it.

"It's slowing down," Vito said. "What now?"

"We wait," Lanette responded.

The men exchanged glances as Lanette lowered her gaze to the fires. Her hand drifted to the pouches on her belt, and her fingers snaked into one of them to feel for a poké ball. She remained quiet as she watched the flames die down and as she listened for something important.

"Lanette," Vito said, "what if he's… I mean, if he's in there, then…"

"Then he's what, Vito?" Lanette asked, her voice low and quiet.

"I think what he means to say is he's a steel-type," Steven said.

"I know that."

"I know you do," Vito replied quickly. "It's just a little unusual for you to go through all this trouble, isn't it?"

"Are you suggesting that we let him die?"

"What? No!" Vito shook his head. "It's just… I'm worried about you, Lanette. This isn't like you."

She looked over her shoulder, her eyes scrutinizing Vito carefully. He pressed his lips at her gaze and looked towards the forest.

"I mean," he said, "if you needed anything, you know you could come to me, right?"

Her gaze softened slightly. "I appreciate the offer, Vito. There is absolutely nothing wrong, I assure you. But as I've said…" She turned her head towards the forest. "He promised that he would look after that girl."

"And you trust him?"

"No. But he may be exactly what she needs to heal."

Vito sighed. "I really hope you're right."

Steven watched the two of them carefully, eyeing Lanette in particular. He saw her head tilt downward and her body slacken slightly, and though he couldn't see her expression, he had a feeling it wasn't the same stony look she always seemed to have on her face.

Before he could speculate any further, a bird's trill broke the silence. Looking up, all three humans spotted Vito's swellow circling above them. At once, Lanette launched forward, her boots squelching in the mud.

"Let's go!" she called.

Trilling in response, the bird swooped beneath the canopy and darted between the trees, leading the red-head through the forest and dying fires. The men dashed after her, calling out for her to slow down. She paid no attention to them, however, as she ran after the bird. Her lungs burned with effort and smoke, and her feet sank into the mud with each step. Yet, she refused to slow or stop. With each passing second, her mind focused on only one thought, repeated over and over until it became a mantra.

Please be alive. Please be alive. Please be alive.

Eventually, she broke through to a patch of forest where the trees grew further apart. Even here, the canopy and trunks flickered with the last flames as the rain continued to pound the earth. Swellow flitted between the trees carefully until he circled an indented patch of mud. After a few moments to catch her breath, Lanette ran forward to find a figure half-buried in the mud and lying face-down. She stood over the figure for a long while before nudging him with her boot until he rolled over onto his back.

"Lanette!" Vito called.

She looked towards the sky briefly before throwing a glance towards her companions. "Over here! I found him!"

Vito and Steven ran forward until they stood beside Lanette. Together, all three of them gazed down at the body lying on the ground.

"He looks like he's in bad shape," Vito said. "Is he…"

Lanette knelt beside the ixodida. "I don't know."

She pressed her fingers against Bill's neck, feeling the patch of flesh between his head and the metal plating running down his throat. Carefully, she undid the topmost buttons of his shirt, just enough to peer down it. Underneath the fabric, she could see the parasite core, flashing red in time with the beating of a heart.

"He has a pulse, and his core is still here," Lanette noted. "If he was dead, the parasite would have abandoned him by now."

Standing, she glanced at her gray-haired companion.

"Steven, call out metagross again. We'll need—"

She stopped short as soon as she felt something grasp her ankle. Calmly, she looked down to see the ixodida lying on his side, his hand circling her leg as he looked into the mud.

"Oh good," she said. "You're awake. That will make things easier. Can you walk, or will we need to carry you back to the Caravan?"

He turned his head slightly, and his voice hissed something that Lanette couldn't hear over the sound of the rain.

"What was that?" she asked harshly. Yanking her ankle out of his grasp, she knelt to his level. "Speak up. Go on. You pester me incessantly about friendship, you wander off, you force me to search a burning forest for you… I'm certain you have something to say for yourself, so go on! Say it!"

He lifted his head and stared at her with an expressionless face. She froze, her glare faltering.

"Feed," he whispered. "Must… feed."

Slowly, Lanette began to stand up. As soon as she reached half her full height, however, the ixodida sprang to life, leaping at her and pinning her down. It bared its teeth with a hiss as its claws pinned her arms to the ground. Right away, Vito and Steven jumped to action, pulling poké balls from their belts and throwing them into the air. With twin bursts of white light, two pokémon materialized beside their masters: an aggron and Vito's alakazam.

"Aggron, get that ixodida off her!" Steven ordered.

Grunting, the iron armor pokémon reached down and yanked the ixodida into the air. In response, the alien opened its mouth as its fangs began to glow white. An ear-piercing screech tore from its throat while faint, blue rings of air ripped from its mouth to wash over aggron and the alakazam. The aggron roared. His bulky paws released the ixodida and moved to his head as he writhed at the Metal Sound. In the same moment, the ixodida landed on all fours on the forest floor and scrambled towards the alakazam, leaping on to the psychic-type within seconds. It opened its mouth with another hiss and sank its teeth into the fox's shoulder. Screaming in response, the alakazam engulfed his body with a blue aura before telekinetically tossing the creature into a burnt trunk yards away. The monster dropped to the foot of the tree and growled before scrambling back towards the pokémon on all fours.

"Aggron, stop him!" Steven snapped. "Use Thunder!"

Bellowing once again, Aggron lifted his head to the sky as sparks danced across his metal skin. A twisting ball of yellow energy appeared between the three horns on his head, growing quickly in size as the sparks became a flickering, yellow aura. Once the ixodida was halfway back towards the group, Aggron tilted his head down, ground his feet into the mud, and jerked his head. A lightning bolt flashed between the earth, the sky, and his horns just before the yellow orb hovering over his head exploded into a massive beam of electricity. It slammed into the rampaging ixodida head-on, throwing it off its claws and slamming it clear through the burnt trunk. The dead tree creaked and snapped, and with a roar, it came crashing down in the space between the aggron and his opponent.

For a long while, there was only the sound of the rain. Vito stooped by his alakazam to assess its condition silently. At the same time, Steven helped Lanette to her feet, and the red-head leaned against the champion. Then, there was a rustle, followed by a scream.

"Get ready," Steven said.

The other two humans nodded. Rising to his feet, Vito balled his hands into fists, his thoughts flicking through all of alakazam's possible attacks. By his side, Lanette drew her crowbar and crouched in a fighting stance. Seconds later, the ixodida rushed towards them on all fours again.

This time, just as it was about to leap onto the alakazam for a second time, its body took on a blue aura and whipped into the air. An unseen force slammed the steel-type into a tree and let it drop with a thud back onto the muddy ground. Hesitating, all three humans turned in time to see Tate lower his hand as the blue glow in his eyes faded. Next to him stood Hope, clutching a squirming Squirtle to her chest like a doll. Wallace quickly approached behind them.

"Is everything all right?" he asked.

"You were about to miss all the fun," Steven replied.

"What happened?"

"It's Bill," Vito said. "He's gone berserk!"

As if on cue, the feral ixodida rose to its feet again. It narrowed its eyes at the troupe as a low growl rumbled from its throat. Tate only needed to glance at him to know exactly what was wrong.

"He's starving," Tate said. "He's trying to find something to feed on so he can heal."

"What do you expect us to do? Let him kill and eat us?" Lanette snapped.

Tate shook his head. "No. We've just got to knock him out or something!"

Once more, the ixodida lunged, heading towards alakazam for a third time. Before he could lay a claw on him, Hope flinched and screamed. Instantly, the ixodida skidded to a halt, resting his hands on the psychic fox's shoulders. Its expressionless façade broke into a mixture of confusion and weariness. Bill blinked several times, glancing from the alakazam to his sister.

"Hope?" he whispered.

A crowbar cracked against his skull. His eyes rolled to the back of his head as he slipped to the side and fell onto the forest floor. Lanette stood over him, glaring at his unconscious form for a second time. Then, she held up the Master Ball, cracking it open to recall the ixodida in a flash of red light.

"Idiot," she muttered.

**Ememew** · 21st April 2012, 4:13 AM

Originally Posted by JX Valentine

~~Considering how many dirty thoughts are in there, that may not be a good idea.~~ Huzzah, closet readers! \o/

~~So a dirty mind helps you write fanfiction, huh?~~
I’m not sure that this will be much of a review, since there’s not a lot that needs fixing in your work, but there are a few highlights.

Originally Posted by JX Valentine

Suddenly, everything went dark and silent except for Hope's own scream.

Peace and triumph never seem to last long around these parts.
I did like how you described the Contest Hall, though. I think the juxtaposition of the nice and safe Hall makes the switch back to the story’s more usual setting helps keep the alien attack scenes fresh.

But he blinked at her.

Well that’s . . . unnerving.

She could barely hear the faint pop of a ball opening. She could barely register the flash of white light or the sound of a low growl. She couldn't even watch as a black and white blur leapt at her attackers or sank its teeth into one of their necks.

A black and white blur to the rescue. Is this what you meant by “something that will make Absol happy”?

"We did not lose him," she replied harshly. "The idiot wandered away on his own, and the other idiot did absolutely nothing to stop him."

"In my defense, neither did Steven or Wallace!" Thom shouted.

Without turning her head, Lanette shot him an icy glare out of the corner of her eye.

"I'll shut up," he quickly responded.

This part made me laugh.

"You think he got into a fight already?" Lanette asked.

It’s Bill. Have you seen the luck this guy’s been having the past few days/weeks? Come to think of it, how long has it been now?

She narrowed her eyes. Then, exhaling, she turned to the west and plucked a ball from her belt. "You. Ixodida."

"I have a name!" Tate snapped.

"If you don't help me get that idiot back safely, you won't need it," Lanette replied.

At least Bill’s not the only one she treats like this. Look out for crowbars, Tate.

"You're going out of your way to help him," he commented. "Change of heart?"

Lanette paused for only a few seconds. After they passed, she spat, "Don't read into it. I'm only helping him because he promised he would look after his sister."

Whatever you say, Lanette. Whatever you say.

"Sister?" he asked.

Ellen pulled the cooler towards herself and opened the lid. "Didn't you know?"

Guess the Caravan hasn’t had much time for small talk.

"Your empress," Bill panted. "Your empress wants me alive, doesn't she?"

Prometheus shrugged. "Of course. But she never said anything about bringing you to her unharmed."

At that, Bill cringed. "Oh. I… I d-didn't think about that."

Ah, poor Bill.

Before he could explain, Tate dashed after Hope. The water-type champion, who sat by the fire, raised his eyebrows before getting up and starting after Tate. Behind him, Veronica and Thom leapt from the truck. Veronica immediately ran across the clearing to Ellen's side.

Just a nitpick, and it might just be me, but I was sort of thrown off by the term “water-type champion” when I first read through. For a moment I thought you were saying Wallace was a water-type, rather than someone who specializes in water-types. Maybe it’s just me, though.

As Veronica carefully knelt to pull Ellen into her arms, Thom stopped and stood. Neither of them could say a word while Wallace ran into the forest after the children.

Poor Wallace: from Hoenn’s champion to babysitter in an alien-plagued region.

I hope that you do not take this to mean that I do not trust you, Adam said, but what exactly are you doing?

"You can't tell?" Bill asked.

No.

Smirking, Bill looked above him. The blue sky was thinning out, and he was already beginning to see the sparkle of stars just beyond the planet's atmosphere. He didn't dare look down, and he didn't dare stop. The cold air felt welcome against his skin, as did the fact that it was getting harder and harder to breathe. At least the latter meant that Prometheus was following him right into his trap.

"There are only two things a fire needs," Bill explained through short breaths. "Something to burn and…"

He could feel the heat of a fireball rush by his shoulder, but by the time it passed him, it was already barely an ember. It fizzled out a short distance away from him, which signaled him to stop. Carefully, he turned around to face Prometheus, who hovered silently close by. The flames that had once danced across the ixodida's body were now out, leaving behind nothing but the creature's bright, red skin.

"Oxygen," Bill finished. "Let's talk."

Ah, looks like Bill likes showing off when the opportunity finally arises. This really shows how much he's started getting used to being an Ixodida and having to fight, too.

"Talk?" Prometheus repeated.

Bill nodded. Although the air protected him from Prometheus's flames, it meant that every second, he struggled for oxygen. Because of that, he knew that every word had to count, and when he spoke, it was slowly and haltingly.

For some reason I imagine someone, probably Lanette or Veronica, making a quip about how much oxygen usually reaches Bill’s brain.

"But why do you want to take me to your empress in that case?" Bill demanded. "Why not just kill me?"

Bill, by now one would think you would have learned not to tempt fate.

Oh, who am I kidding?

His opponent lifted its head slowly and turned to look directly at him. Its eyes were open, but its face was completely devoid of expression. Tilting its chin back, it twisted in Prometheus's arms and placed a hand against his chest.

"Give my regards to Her Majesty," Adam hissed.

I like the change of pronoun from “him” to “it” to denote the change of control to Adam. It makes Adam seem more alien, somehow.

Steven watched the two of them carefully, eyeing Lanette in particular. He saw her head tilt downward and her body slacken slightly, and though he couldn't see her expression, he had a feeling it wasn't the same stony look she always seemed to have on her face.

Before he could speculate any further, a bird's trill broke the silence. Looking up, all three humans spotted Vito's swellow circling above them. At once, Lanette launched forward, her boots squelching in the mud.

"Let's go!" she called.

Trilling in response, the bird swooped beneath the canopy and darted between the trees, leading the red-head through the forest and dying fires. The men dashed after her, calling out for her to slow down. She paid no attention to them, however, as she ran after the bird. Her lungs burned with effort and smoke, and her feet sank into the mud with each step. Yet, she refused to slow or stop. With each passing second, her mind focused on only one thought, repeated over and over until it became a mantra.

Please be alive. Please be alive. Please be alive.

Aw, she does care about him. Until Adam finds a way to mess it up, anyway.

"Steven, call out metagross again. We'll need—"

She stopped short as soon as she felt something grasp her ankle. Calmly, she looked down to see the ixodida lying on his side, his hand circling her leg as he looked into the mud.

"Oh good," she said. "You're awake. That will make things easier. Can you walk, or will we need to carry you back to the Caravan?"

He turned his head slightly, and his voice hissed something that Lanette couldn't hear over the sound of the rain.

"What was that?" she asked harshly. Yanking her ankle out of his grasp, she knelt to his level. "Speak up. Go on. You pester me incessantly about friendship, you wander off, you force me to search a burning forest for you… I'm certain you have something to say for yourself, so go on! Say it!"

He lifted his head and stared at her with an expressionless face. She froze, her glare faltering.

"Feed," he whispered. "Must… feed."

Yep. Adam sure knows how to throw a ~~crowbar~~ wrench into the relationship. As soon as she starts showing signs of seeing the "Bill" in the Bill/Adam hybrid more, Adam makes his way back to the surface.

Once more, the ixodida lunged, heading towards alakazam for a third time. Before he could lay a claw on him, Hope flinched and screamed. Instantly, the ixodida skidded to a halt, resting his hands on the psychic fox's shoulders. Its expressionless façade broke into a mixture of confusion and weariness. Bill blinked several times, glancing from the alakazam to his sister.

"Hope?" he whispered.

A crowbar cracked against his skull. His eyes rolled to the back of his head as he slipped to the side and fell onto the forest floor. Lanette stood over him, glaring at his unconscious form for a second time. Then, she held up the Master Ball, cracking it open to recall the ixodida in a flash of red light.

"Idiot," she muttered.

Of course, the poor guy comes to his senses just in time to take a crowbar to the skull. Also, “idiot” seems to be a favorite word of . . . *thinks for a second* about half of the characters.

So now we’ve seen at least some backstory for Lanette, Adam, and Hope over the course of the past few chapters. Who’s next? Tate?

**The Great Butler** · 21st April 2012, 9:54 AM

Originally Posted by JX Valentine

In today's ~~episode~~ chapter, most of what Hope says are actually lyrics from this song. Most of it is nonsense, then, except for a few lines.

I have to say, having access to those lyrics prior to reading the chapter really helped me frame the chapter's emotion in my mind a lot more clearly.

Hope kept her eyes closed, breathing in deep as she listened to the crowds. A smile crossed her face as she tilted her head upwards and allowed the heat of the lights to warm her skin. She slowly opened her eyes and examined the rows of seats all around her, the glittering display on the contest hall's screen, the wide-open space of the field, and the three judges standing before her. At her side, she felt Squirtle press against her legs, suddenly aware of the crowds for the first time that night.

Part of her sympathized with him. It had taken her three contests to win, so with all the crowd's attention on both her and Squirtle – and on only them – she felt a little embarrassed by the flattery. Yet she didn't let it affect her. With her neck still craned, she took a deep breath and strode forward, approaching the judges with Squirtle trailing behind her.

When she stood before the center judge, the one she knew as Mr. Contesta, the older man smiled broadly at her and accepted a box from the Nurse Joy standing beside him. Opening the lid, he tilted it forward to allow Hope to see the ribbon resting inside. Its golden crest and pink ribbon almost shimmered in the light. Hope's breath caught in her throat as her hand twitched; she wanted to reach for it but knew the etiquette of the contest hall all too well.

I have no explanation as for why, but I'm seeing Madoka standing here smiling right about now. That cannot possibly be a good thing.

But oh, how hard she worked to be able to hold that ribbon. It had been months since she left Johto, after all. Months of training. Months of losing. Months of learning.

"This is your first ribbon, isn't it, Hope?" Mr. Contesta asked.

Hope looked at her feet, clasped her hands in front of her, and smiled shyly. "Yes, sir."

"I could tell by your enthusiasm. You put on quite a show, young lady. The creativity you've displayed on the battlefield today shows you've worked hard to earn victory. We're expecting great things from you."

At his last words, Hope's cheeks burned with a blush, and her voice grew quieter. "Thank you, sir. I'm-I'm really… I'll do my best. But it's really Squirtle who deserves the congratulations."

"Modesty is a good trait to have, but remember that every contest relies on the teamwork between a coordinator and her pokémon. You're both deserving of this award." Mr. Contesta's hand grasped the ribbon and drew it out of the box. "Hope, it's my pleasure to confer on you and Squirtle the Rustboro Ribbon. Congratulations to you both."

The crowd went wild while Hope raised her eyes at last to the ribbon. Her hand moved from her side, inching upwards almost reluctantly. Eventually, her fingers clasped the satin and gold, and her blood pounded in her ears.

Suddenly, everything went dark and silent except for Hope's own scream.

And there's the Jax we know and ~~fear~~ love back to screw with us again. One thing that struck me as odd, though - where does "blood pounded in her ears" come from? It sounds awfully ominous, yet the dark content wasn't until the next line.

A pair of arms scooped her up. She screamed, but a hand – a human hand – covered her mouth. Looking up, she saw the silhouette of a large, bald man. He looked frantically over his shoulder as he carried Hope to the trees edging the field of tall grass. Glancing over him, she could see what was pursuing them: dark creatures with long tails and glowing, red eyes.

I wonder if it's important to know who this is, or who he even was in the first place.

But more than that, she could see that they were fast – and, for that matter, that they were rapidly getting closer.

The man pushed Hope up the tree. Her arms wrapped around the closest branch she could grab, and with some effort, she managed to pull the rest of her body onto it. As soon as she was safe, her companion reached for a branch to pull himself off the ground. He got no further than a few inches up the tree before the creatures – four in all – appeared seemingly out of nowhere to yank him off the trunk.

Boy, that guy sure fell to a fate that we're all familiar with - almost escaping only for the pursuing creature to grab you at the last minute.

Hope shrieked. It was the most natural thing she could think of doing as she watched the creatures descend on the man, ripping into his body with their sharp claws. That in turn saved him for a few precious moments. All four ixodida lifted their heads, their glowing eyes narrowing at the tree. One of them leapt at her, grabbed her leg, and pulled her down. She tried to cling to the branch, but the ixodida's grip was stronger. Her fingers slipped away from the bark, hands grasping at the air as she fell. Claws tore at her in mid-air, slashing through her clothing across her stomach and her arms. One of the ixodida's hands finally batted her away from the tree, flinging her to the ground next to the man. She hit it hard and instantly crumpled, her voice silenced as she turned her head. Next to her, she could see through the three other ixodida to the man's face. His eyes were wide and glazed over. His throat was torn open.

But he blinked at her.

The fourth ixodida joined its companions to tear at the man's torso and devour the slick, pink entrails. Hope could only watch, curled on her side as she cried quietly.

She could barely hear the faint pop of a ball opening. She could barely register the flash of white light or the sound of a low growl. She couldn't even watch as a black and white blur leapt at her attackers or sank its teeth into one of their necks.

All she could see was the face of the man.

Blinking.

What the?

I know this is almost certainly embellished by her memory, but I still get the feeling that something happened here that is going to be important to remember later.

The nurse gave him one last concerned glance before she turned and strode towards the truck. In the meantime, Tate sat up, swaying slightly as his head spin. Even as the time ticked on, the vision he had in his sleep – the girl, the ixodida, the blinking man – refused to fade. His thoughts lingered on it, and he struggled to figure out why he simply couldn't shake it until something caught his ear.

"Pi po pa po pi po pa po pi po pa po pi po pa po…"

Turning his head, Tate stopped. At the center of the clearing, beside the roaring fire, was the exact girl he had seen in his dreams. She sat, her eyes wide and on the flames, as her other hand slowly waxed the shell of the squirtle sitting in her lap. The pokémon itself looked relaxed and happy while his owner's hand worked a cloth in small circles across his shell. Even the song the girl was singing seemed light and happy, almost whimsical. It was just her face. The empty eyes, the slight frown, the sharp, gaunt edges of her cheeks. Tate shuddered as he looked at her, yet there was something about her. He could almost hear something else deep inside her – something that sounded like a whisper.

"Pi po pa po pi po pa po kimi ni wa wakaru?"

So it was Tate seeing memories of Hope's in his own dream. Interesting. That's certainly an ability that will likely come into play again...

Knowing what the song Hope is singing means in English only makes it more soul-crushingly depressing, but that's Jax for you, eh?

Lanette narrowed her eyes. "We're missing a member of our group."

"What?" Tate sat up a little straighter. "You lost Bill?"

"We did not lose him," she replied harshly. "The idiot wandered away on his own, and the other idiot did absolutely nothing to stop him."

Such is the power of a Combee honey addiction. You know what I mean.

She narrowed her eyes. Then, exhaling, she turned to the west and plucked a ball from her belt. "You. Ixodida."

"I have a name!" Tate snapped.

"If you don't help me get that idiot back safely, you won't need it," Lanette replied.

That could mean one of several things. Oh, Lanette, you crazy yet badass *****.

"You're going out of your way to help him," he commented. "Change of heart?"

Lanette paused for only a few seconds. After they passed, she spat, "Don't read into it. I'm only helping him because he promised he would look after his sister."

Vito pulled himself onto the back of the pokémon, and as soon as he was safely onboard, the metagross shot into the woods. At the same time, Tate sat up on his own and looked towards the trees.

"Sister?" he asked.

Ellen pulled the cooler towards herself and opened the lid. "Didn't you know?"

As she pulled a plastic container from the cooler, she nodded towards the fire. Tate accepted the container as he turned his head, following Ellen's gaze until his eyes fell on Hope. The girl was exactly where he left her, sitting by the fire and waxing her squirtle's shell. All the while, her soft voice continued weaving the same quiet song.

"Pipopa-go shika ima hanasenai yo."

"A sister," Tate repeated.

He lowered his head. His fingers cracked open the container, and he stared at the raw meat inside. All he could think about was that word. Sister.

"Liza."

And now I just suddenly got a really ****ing ominous feeling when, at the same time as I was reading this scene, I realized we don't really know much about Tate's parasite. How do we know a stress factor like this is not going to lead to something really, really bad happening?

As if she heard, Hope's motions gradually slowed to a stop as her voice reached the last notes of her song.

"Pi po pa po pi po pa po pi po pa yurushite."

The placement of this specific lyric is beyond excellent, and I would encourage anyone who hasn't clicked that link up top yet to do so and understand just why I say it's so chilling when used here.

"Mirror Shot!"

Bill, no!

For the third time in the past several minutes, a bright, silver light exploded in the forest, sending Bill careening into a tree. His back slammed its trunk hard, and he fell into a heap at its foot. Groaning, he lifted his head and pulled one of his hands into view. The jewel in its palm fizzled and faded, and the remnant energies of one more failed Mirror Shot faded into the air.

"What were the chances of taking my hands off with that move again?" he muttered.

Increasing steadily the more you insist on using it. Bill, this is a serious battle. You cannot afford to wield a weapon you have not mastered.

"We don't have a choice, Adam! He's too strong for anything else I've got!"

"Correction, little rogue, you have a choice. A very simple one, in fact."

Bill lifted his chin just in time to see the source of the voice. Prometheus glided forward, igniting every tree he passed on his way. He had been chasing Bill for the better part of the twenty minutes that had elapsed since the two of them met, but throughout that time, Prometheus went at his own pace, catching up to his quarry whenever the steel-type made the mistake of attempting Mirror Shot. Now, he hovered, waiting patiently for Bill to do one of two things: surrender or start flying again.

Unfortunately, Bill had the bad habit of being immensely predictable.

"I'm not going anywhere with you," he growled. "Magnet Rise!"

Golden light swirled around Bill's body as he sprang off the ground and launched into a low flight path. Prometheus was ready for this. He held up a hand, palm facing his opponent, as the flames dancing across his skin grew larger and brighter. His entire hand became engulfed in a bright, blue fire that centered on a swirling ball hovering in front of his palm. With a boom, the orb exploded into a stream of blue light that tore through the air. Trees instantly burst into towering infernos the moment the stream touched them, and as Prometheus glided through the forest after his prey, he moved his arm to sweep his surroundings.

Although Bill flew as quickly as he could, the jet shot directly over him, engulfing multiple trees just in front of him. A strangled yelp escaped his throat as he twisted in the air to avoid hitting fire. In an attempt to slow himself down, he hit the ground with a knee and both sets of claws, sliding towards the trees until he stopped just short of the flames. The golden aura around his body flickered, and his translucent wings drooped as he knelt. Already, the heat was getting to him. Shaking, his body lowered close to the ground as he began to pant. His metal skin began to burn against his muscles, and it took all of his power not to scream. Prometheus landed and strode forward as his entire form erupted into brilliant, orange flames. Bill winced and buckled a little more under the added heat.

I wish I could describe such scenes as well as you do. There's just so much beautifully described detail here, yet it never goes into purple prose. It just reads like a really well-written battle scene.

"Struggling to stand the heat, little rogue?" Prometheus sneered. "I can keep this up all day, long after you collapse. Why not give up now and save yourself the pain?"

"Your empress," Bill panted. "Your empress wants me alive, doesn't she?"

Prometheus shrugged. "Of course. But she never said anything about bringing you to her unharmed."

At that, Bill cringed. "Oh. I… I d-didn't think about that."

Bill, you're a genius, right? Thinking is your job, do it when it will save your *** too.

In the clearing, Hope looked towards the sky. She squinted, studying the black clouds as they trailed across the clearing.

"Ame ga furu," she murmured.

Scooping her squirtle into her arms, she dashed towards the forest, heading in the same direction Lanette, Steven, and Vito had taken. Tate, who had been watching her for the past several minutes, perked up.

Oh no. This can't end well.

High above the forest, Bill swooped to dodge a fireball. As soon as it passed him, he twisted in the air and shot back towards the atmosphere. Behind him, Prometheus soared, looping and bobbing through the air in a stubborn attempt to keep up with his opponent. Every so often, Bill looked back to ensure that Prometheus was still there or to block a fireball with Protect.

I hope that you do not take this to mean that I do not trust you, Adam said, but what exactly are you doing?

"You can't tell?" Bill asked.

No.

Smirking, Bill looked above him. The blue sky was thinning out, and he was already beginning to see the sparkle of stars just beyond the planet's atmosphere. He didn't dare look down, and he didn't dare stop. The cold air felt welcome against his skin, as did the fact that it was getting harder and harder to breathe. At least the latter meant that Prometheus was following him right into his trap.

"There are only two things a fire needs," Bill explained through short breaths. "Something to burn and…"

He could feel the heat of a fireball rush by his shoulder, but by the time it passed him, it was already barely an ember. It fizzled out a short distance away from him, which signaled him to stop. Carefully, he turned around to face Prometheus, who hovered silently close by. The flames that had once danced across the ixodida's body were now out, leaving behind nothing but the creature's bright, red skin.

Remember what I said about thinking, Bill? I take it back, even if Robert Downey Jr. did something similar to stop Iron Monger. Takes a certain level of creativity to put out a fire without using water, you know?

"Oxygen," Bill finished. "Let's talk."

"Talk?" Prometheus repeated.

Bill nodded. Although the air protected him from Prometheus's flames, it meant that every second, he struggled for oxygen. Because of that, he knew that every word had to count, and when he spoke, it was slowly and haltingly.

"Yes. I want to know. Why me?"

Prometheus stared at the steel-type for a long while. Then, a shadow of a smile flickered across the creature's face. Just as quickly as it appeared, it vanished, leaving behind a blank expression that unnerved Bill more than usual.

"Why you? Why are we after you?" Prometheus asked. "Do you truly not know?"

"No," Bill growled, struggling to maintain his neutral expression.

"Oh, little rogue," Prometheus sighed. "Her Majesty simply wants to speak with you."

"Why?"

Prometheus craned his neck. "Why? Why, because somewhere out there, there is one of my kind who prefers manifesting itself as a steel-type rogue. This creature… it is a troubling monster. A creature responsible for the downfall of our peaceful little moon."

And I was right, Adam's not telling the whole truth. Not that we had any reason to think he would, though.

"But why do you want to take me to your empress in that case?" Bill demanded. "Why not just kill me?"

"Believe me, little one, I have asked the same thing every passing moment since I was assigned to collect you." Prometheus extended his arms. "Now then. Will you surrender?"

Breathing as deeply as he could, Bill tensed his body, balling his hands into fists as he stared hard at Prometheus. So far, step one had him lead Prometheus to a place where his fire powers would be useless, and step two entailed coaxing some semblance of answers out of the ixodida. With each breath, Bill began to feel lightheaded, and the longer he remained there, the harder it was to come up with a step three. Unfortunately, if he wanted to get out of that situation alive without leading Prometheus to the Caravan, he knew he was going to have to come up with something else. At long last, he extended his claws. He knew he was working with a type disadvantage and that Prometheus's type could resist the strongest attacks he had in his arsenal. Because of that, he prayed that he was right about the thin air severely limiting what Prometheus could do.

"No," he finally said.

"No?" Prometheus responded.

"I'm not going with you," Bill told him. "You can't force me, either. Up here, I have the advantage."

Prometheus quirked an eyebrow. "And what advantage is that?"

Bill held up his claws. All of them began to glow with a bright, white light. Behind him, his tail curled, and the arrowhead took on a silver aura of its own.

"I can still attack," he told the fire-type. "I'm giving you one warning. Stand down and leave me alone, or I'll resort to force."

Prometheus tilted his head. "Little one, if I could laugh, I would. I will give you my compliments, though. You are smart enough to know how to disable many of my powers. However… you forget one thing."

Bill refused to falter. His hands quivered briefly, but the glow remained. All he did to betray a sense of uncertainty was narrow his eyes as he focused his gaze on Prometheus.

"What's that?" he asked.

Prometheus held out both of his hands. "I can strike with more than just fire."

I'll give Bill a pass this time for not thinking, because of the low oxygen. ~~He better not get used to it.~~

Loosening his arms, Prometheus let the steel-type slide out of his grip until his red claws snatched one of Bill's arms. His free hand pulled back into another sparking fist just before it crashed down against his victim's temple. Then, he watched as Bill dropped, as the steel-type's golden aura faded away and as his golden wings fizzled into a shower of sparks.

Lingering in the air, Prometheus waited for his quarry to pick himself back up. When Bill simply continued to fall, the fire-type took this as a signal and swooped after him. For a third time, he drew his opponent into his arms, stopping him once more from falling.

"And now?" he asked.

His opponent lifted its head slowly and turned to look directly at him. Its eyes were open, but its face was completely devoid of expression. Tilting its chin back, it twisted in Prometheus's arms and placed a hand against his chest.

"Give my regards to Her Majesty," Adam hissed.

A flash of white light burst from Adam's palm, blasting Prometheus away from it. The fire-type, unable to regain control over his flight path thanks to the force of the point-blank Mirror Shot, sailed in a long arc back towards the forest. At the same time, Adam, barely conscious, began falling in a curved path towards the black clouds of smoke. Through half-open eyes, it saw the glimmer of a blue ball burst among the smoke, turning the black smog into gray storm clouds. As it punched through the topmost layer of gray, only one thought ran through its head, a thought that spilled across its lips in barely a whisper.

"You… you idiot."

Hey, maybe fighting in low oxygen was stupid, but it worked, didn't it?

She looked over her shoulder, her eyes scrutinizing Vito carefully. He pressed his lips at her gaze and looked towards the forest.

"I mean," he said, "if you needed anything, you know you could come to me, right?"

Her gaze softened slightly. "I appreciate the offer, Vito. There is absolutely nothing wrong, I assure you. But as I've said…" She turned her head towards the forest. "He promised that he would look after that girl."

"And you trust him?"

"No. But he may be exactly what she needs to heal."

Why so tsundere, Lanette?

In all seriousness though, I think this would have even more impact if we could get just a little more out of Hope herself. It's not that I'm saying Hope is poorly written or unemotional (she is far from either) but she would be even more effective if we knew just a little bit more about her and her situation, I think.

Please be alive. Please be alive. Please be alive.

This is really, really surprising coming out of Lanette.

"What was that?" she asked harshly. Yanking her ankle out of his grasp, she knelt to his level. "Speak up. Go on. You pester me incessantly about friendship, you wander off, you force me to search a burning forest for you… I'm certain you have something to say for yourself, so go on! Say it!"

He lifted his head and stared at her with an expressionless face. She froze, her glare faltering.

"Feed," he whispered. "Must… feed."

Slowly, Lanette began to stand up. As soon as she reached half her full height, however, the ixodida sprang to life, leaping at her and pinning her down. It bared its teeth with a hiss as its claws pinned her arms to the ground. Right away, Vito and Steven jumped to action, pulling poké balls from their belts and throwing them into the air. With twin bursts of white light, two pokémon materialized beside their masters: an aggron and Vito's alakazam.

You know, this situation is so horrible that I can't even make jokes about Lanette being tsundere again. This is bad. I don't think they've been in a position this bad in a very long time.

The other two humans nodded. Rising to his feet, Vito balled his hands into fists, his thoughts flicking through all of alakazam's possible attacks. By his side, Lanette drew her crowbar and crouched in a fighting stance. Seconds later, the ixodida rushed towards them on all fours again.

This time, just as it was about to leap onto the alakazam for a second time, its body took on a blue aura and whipped into the air. An unseen force slammed the steel-type into a tree and let it drop with a thud back onto the muddy ground. Hesitating, all three humans turned in time to see Tate lower his hand as the blue glow in his eyes faded. Next to him stood Hope, clutching a squirming Squirtle to her chest like a doll. Wallace quickly approached behind them.

OH NO.

"Is everything all right?" he asked.

"You were about to miss all the fun," Steven replied.

"What happened?"

"It's Bill," Vito said. "He's gone berserk!"

As if on cue, the feral ixodida rose to its feet again. It narrowed its eyes at the troupe as a low growl rumbled from its throat. Tate only needed to glance at him to know exactly what was wrong.

"He's starving," Tate said. "He's trying to find something to feed on so he can heal."

"What do you expect us to do? Let him kill and eat us?" Lanette snapped.

Tate shook his head. "No. We've just got to knock him out or something!"

Once more, the ixodida lunged, heading towards alakazam for a third time. Before he could lay a claw on him, Hope flinched and screamed. Instantly, the ixodida skidded to a halt, resting his hands on the psychic fox's shoulders. Its expressionless façade broke into a mixture of confusion and weariness. Bill blinked several times, glancing from the alakazam to his sister.

"Hope?" he whispered.

A crowbar cracked against his skull. His eyes rolled to the back of his head as he slipped to the side and fell onto the forest floor. Lanette stood over him, glaring at his unconscious form for a second time. Then, she held up the Master Ball, cracking it open to recall the ixodida in a flash of red light.

"Idiot," she muttered.

Ah well, nothing a good crowbar to the head can't solve.

I think you can gather that I really liked this chapter, as usual. There was an exceptional balance of action and emotion this time out. I think that's when it's most effective - when you can balance several different things. The plot moved along nicely, too.

I'm sorry this review isn't the best I've done. I wasn't feeling well tonight.

**Diddy** · 21st April 2012, 10:22 AM

You see, this is what happens when you don't check SPPf as often as you used to. Things pass by under the radar.

Luckily however, I managed to catch this latest installment of "Love/Hate Relationship: A Jax and Bill story"

"We did not lose him," she replied harshly. "The idiot wandered away on his own, and the other idiot did absolutely nothing to stop him."

"In my defense, neither did Steven or Wallace!" Thom shouted.

Without turning her head, Lanette shot him an icy glare out of the corner of her eye.

"I'll shut up," he quickly responded.

THOM IS BEST PONY. I swear you must have so much fun writing Thom. He's just the perfect lovable idiot, what with his cheery attitude, also (now that I've watched Firefly and am allowed to reference it) he reminds me a little of Wash in so far that no matter how bad things get, he's always ready with something that will make someone laugh.

I'm also rather proud of Bill at the moment, he took on Prometheus and actually did rather well. His flying high into the air plan might not have been a winner, but at least it gave him some time and he was also doing pretty good with his offensive abilities (unmastered Mirror Shots notwithstanding) it was only when he thought up another plan that he resorted back to his defensive abilities. Our little man is growing up, *wipes away tear*

I also never expected his (or was it Adam's) reaction after he fell, trying to eat everyone and such. It was good though- realistic (you know, as real as parastic space monsters invading pokémon can be)

Yay for character development and yay for Thom! Great chapter.

Thread: Anima Ex Machina (PG-15)

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