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To Another Abyss - A Gritty Pokemon Novella

Kanto has changed a lot in the past ten years. The League is no more, and trainers have become tools for the rich and powerful, either mercenaries or dogs of the government.

Sabrina is the latter. She is to play the role of Gym leader in a sick, twisted mockery of the art she once admired, bearing the name of her childhood idol: a woman who is now wanted across the region. All for the entertainment of Kanto’s shadowy new rulers.

It’s a role she doesn’t mind playing. At least until an unusual challenger comes into her Gym, into the life she’s worked so hard to build, and begins to slowly unravel it all.

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A gritty tale of tragedy and redemption set in a Kanto that's fallen to ruin. Chapters will be short and quite punchy. This will be darker than your usual Pokémon fic, without veering into overt grimdarkness.

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Schedule: Updates every day.

Mt. Coronet – 18:50, Day of the Moonless Night

The entire cavern shook violently with each step Heatran took as he climbed out of his hole, dust and sparks and rocks falling from the ceiling and walls all around them. Reiko didn't need to look down. With one final push, the beast jumped higher than his massive weight should've allowed him to and fell in all fours in front of her, cracking the ground under his feet.

"RWHAAAAAA!"

Force and heat slammed against Reiko, summoned forth by Heatran's roar. It smelled sharp, like sulfur and ammonia. Her fingers gripped her blade tighter, but she didn't raise it just yet. This actually seemed to confuse the Pokemon, as it blinked a couple times, simply staring at her.

The thought of something not being afraid of him probably confuses him, she thought with a smile.

"I don't have enough time to be wasting it on a pointless fight," she said in Kantan, loud and clear. "We've had people inside of Mt. Coronet for a while. It's only a matter of time before Cyrus and his men are apprehended. Cut your losses and tell Heatran to stop."

"Hmph… that dialect…" Charon's muttering rung through the air, amplified. When he spoke again, he did so in Kantan as well. "A scorned child of Cinnabar? The Champion sure is talented at choosing her pawns. Are you here for revenge?"

Moltres' flame burst to life around her, like a visible heartbeat, a sure of heat and pressure that shook the entire cavern. Reiko grit her teeth and forced it down by will alone.

"And Moltres, as well… I'd heard the legends," whispered Charon. "Sorry to disappoint you, girl, but I have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Heatran: kill her."

Heatran shrieked loudly enough to make Reiko's ears ring. Stomping on the ground, he opened his mouth wide and released a staggering torrent of what could only be described as something halfway between fire and lava. The pseudo-liquid explosion of plasma swallowed Reiko whole, lighting up the entire cavern with its light. It crashed against the other side and dispersed in all directions before finally vanishing into gas, leaving every speck of rock it had touched a scorched black.

The beast's body relaxed, too soon. From within the yellow gaseous cloud, a voice was heard.

"I guess I'll be smelling of sulfur for the next week, huh."

A grunt was picked up by Charon's microphone, and Heatran made his shock known as well, eyes going wide and taking an unconscious step back as Reiko stepped out of the heated gas, not a scorch mark on her.

"You're wrong, by the way," said Reiko. "You do have something to lose."

"Tsk! Heatran, just crush her!"

Another roar shook the floor and walls of the cavern. Heatran ran forward much faster than Reiko would've expected from a creature of his size, crossing half the distance between them before lowering himself and jumping. And as she looked up, her vision was nothing but Heatran. It was like a train heading straight for her, ready to crush her bones to dust.

Falling to her knees, Reiko inhaled the heat from the gas around her and jumped, rising like a shooting star, the light emanating from her body so bright it painted everything white. Heatran opened his maw to catch her, but as the massive jaw fell closed all it bit was the trail of flames left behind her. She rose higher, pushed by the beat of invisible wings. There in the air, in that precise spot above the falling Heatran, she became aware of how easily she could slash at his exposed back with her blade, how simple it would be to make the beast bleed. Moltres flared inside her, urging her to do so, but she refused.

He's not our enemy. I won't hurt him unless it's necessary.

Instead, she simply vaulted over the beast and fell to the ground near the edge of the crater, while Heatran himself crashed face-first against the other side of the cave, cracking the ground and unearthing stones all around his fall. Reiko spared him a single glance before turning toward the metal refuge again.

"This is pointless," she said. "Heatran is certainly powerful, but compared to that Charizard we fought in Lake Verity, he is nothing."

"Hgh–Heatran! Stop playing around!"

Reiko sighed as she heard the roar behind her again, followed by the violent shaking of the ground as the beast charged toward her like a rampaging Tauros. Rapid, feral, it made it to her in only a couple seconds. And as he neared the point of impact, he threw himself forward with enough force to shatter steel, the plating covering his head glowing with a powerful energy.

And Reiko didn't even look at him as she extended her hand behind her, like an exasperated mother stopping an angry child. She felt the impact against her fingers, but Moltres' power repelled it. Like a shield of light, it stopped the behemoth in its track and, the force from his charge having to go somewhere, the ground exploded into pieces behind him, rough and jagged stones melting off the cave floor in a shockwave.

The sounds that came out of Heatran and Charon's throats were full of shock and bewilderment, though they were soon replaced by Reiko's voice. Heavy, judging.

"You know, I've imagined this day every day of my life for the past ten years."

"W-what?"

"Half the time, I wondered why you'd done it. Why you'd condemned all of Cinnabar to that fate," she said. "The other half, I didn't care. All I wanted was to see you dead by my hands. But now I know. What is it that you have to gain from this. And what is it that you have to lose."

"You precocious brat… You know nothing about me."

"I do, actually."

Finally out of his stupor, Heatran panicked and took a few steps back and away from Reiko's hand, which dropped with the rest of her arm to her side.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"I know why you volunteered for the M project back near the end of the war, even if the pay was nothing compared to what Silph. Co offered," she said. "I know why you were so adamant on using that soulless Ditto as the base for the first Mew clone. I know why, even after Cyrus arranged for your escape, you risked everything to get that Ditto back, and then orchestrated that eruption to cover your tracks."

Charon sounded like he was about to say something in the middle of her speech, but his voice froze at that last part. "H… how do you… who are you?"

A smile formed on her face. "I told you, I'm just a girl. A trainer. The second coming of Cinnabar's flame." The red of her eyes flashed. "And the weight of your sins coming back to bite you.

"I know, Charon. I know what your goal is. It's not the same as Cyrus'. You've only ever been interested in the creation of that second Mew clone, this time using the right Ditto as its base. If I were to guess, he probably promised the clone would be yours once he was done with it. But you don't care about its combat capabilities. You have no use for a mindless soldier, so why would you be so desperate to get your hands on it?"

"I-I…"

"Your wife, Kasha." That single name was enough to drive a stake into the man's heart. She heard his gasp over the speakers. "You loved her, and you love her still. That's why you wanted to start a family with her. But a few years into your marriage, something went wrong, didn't it? Your only son…"

"Silence!" The audio peaked, Charon's scream bouncing off the walls. "You know nothing! Heatran, kill–!"

"Oh just shut up already, you stupid fucking geezer."

Charon's voice caught in his throat, not because of what he'd heard but because that was a distinctly different voice from Reiko's. A choppy, electronic and… familiar voice.

Reiko raised her wrist casually, showing the screen of her Poketch. There was a flash. A zip of light, and suddenly that familiar voice, Hao's voice, was talking through the speakers as well, clearer than ever.

"My expectations were already through the ground, but finally hearing you again… you're even more pathetic than I thought."

Unlike with Reiko's taunts, no angry retort came from Charon, only dumbfounded, unintelligible mutters. Behind her, she could feel Heatran start to stir again due to the man's orders. He took a step forward, ready to attack, but he was cut off quickly.

"Heatran, w-wait, stop!" Charon finally regained his voice, though it sounded weak, strained. Heatran stopped at once, and the man's attention was turned elsewhere. "…Rotom? M… Mikhae–"

"Don't call me by that name!"

Hao's voice burst through the speakers, loud, shrill, drilling into Reiko's ears and making her wince. She'd expected this. As much as Hao had claimed he was completely detached from the situation, that it didn't affect him at all, she knew how empty those words were. It had taken her ten years to reach the point of barely not wanting to kill Charon. Hao, on the other hand, had only learned the truth less than an hour ago. It was cruel to make him go through this, but…

Then kill him, a voice said in her head, all of Moltres' intent behind it. Kill Charon. It would be quicker, easier. It is selfish to spare him just because you changed your mind, isn't it? What about your duty?

The hand holding the sword shook, and in that moment Reiko was almost convinced. Quickly, however, her other hand fell upon her wrist and stopped her from raising the blade. She breathed in deep, keeping the anger in check. The voice was right, in a way. Killing Charon was undoubtedly simpler and less selfish than what they had planned, but the counter-argument to that was even more simple.

Reiko just didn't want to kill again. And no amount of righteous arguing would convince her otherwise. If other people wanted Charon dead, then they would have to dirty their own hands.

As she took her next breath, the heat and power emanating from her body lowered to a simmer, barely a mantle of pale light. A flame, tamed. When she spoke again, her voice didn't echo like before.

"We had the Interpol look into your past," she explained, cutting through the short-lived silence, giving Hao time to calm himself. "We know it was the death of your son that drove you to join the M project. A soulless yet living body, no matter how alien and unnatural… it would have been the perfect vessel to bring him back."

Charon didn't answer, but that was more telling than any words could have been. A heavy silence came from the other side of the speakers.

"But a body is nothing without a soul, and you wouldn't have gone so far if you were missing one piece of the puzzle." Her eyes narrowed, judging. "When he died… he wasn't fully gone, was he? Whether from grief or longing, he came back to you."

Reiko knew that some souls didn't pass on after death, but were held back for one reason or another, stuck in the physical world. That truth was especially hard to swallow for the people of Kanto and Johto, considering their ties to spirituality. There were many who, to this day, adamantly refused to accept that some of the ghost Pokemon living among them had once been human. She couldn't blame them. She'd had a tough time herself coming to terms with it during her training in Lavender Tower, but it had been an important lesson to learn. No matter how fast you run from it, the truth will catch up to you eventually.

"Your son came back to you because he loved you," said Reiko. "But you couldn't accept him as he was. You didn't want to believe that was what he'd become, so you imprisoned him, experimented on him. You looked for a way to turn back the clock, to make things like they were before." Her brow furrowed, a furious look on her face. "He escaped death's grasp just so he could see his parents again, and you betrayed him."

"N… no, I…" Charon's voice actually sounded on the verge of tears. "M-Mikhael, my boy… I've been looking for you!" He yelled suddenly, his voice gaining strength, hope. "Your new body will be ready soon! P-please, come with me and you'll be–!"

"SHUT UP!" Hao's voice boomed, shaking the walls of the cave. Reiko knew the anger behind it by heart. "I told you not to call me that! And if you really think I'm gonna go back to a decrepit piece of shit like you then–!"

Reiko heard the crackle of electricity even from afar, and quickly stepped in.

"Hao."

Hao's voice recoiled, as though he'd been slapped on the face. Being a ghost, he couldn't really breathe heavily but she could almost hear it as he forcibly tried to reign in his anger.

"I… I know," he muttered. "I know."

From the other side of the speakers, she heard Charon stumbling on his words again.

"Then, then does that mean… you remember? You remember what…?"

"Yeah," Hao said bitterly. "It all came back to me once I read those Interpol files."

Reiko had heard it straight from Hao less than an hour ago. Even after coming back, he hadn't been able to fully remember his past life until today. All that drove him before had been the memory of the pain inflicted on him by Charon during his experiments.

"I had my suspicions from before. But to have it confirmed was…" Hao let out a sound that almost sounded like a chuckle. "You really… tortured your own son just 'cause you didn't like the form he came back to you in. It's so fucked up it's… almost funny. Too bad I wasn't reborn with the sense of humor."

"I… I did it for you!" Charon clamored from the other side of the speakers, his voice suddenly candid. "You can be alive again! We can go back to Kasha and–!"

There was that crackle again, only this time Reiko wasn't quick enough to intervene. Charon let out a grunt of pain and she could hear as he fell back on the ground, scrambling to get to his feet.

"Hao!"

"Tsk. It's just a little zap," Hao complained. "Just wanted to shut him up."

Reiko pursed her lips, but she couldn't in good conscience scold him. He deserved that much, at least. She heard Charon finish rising to his feet again, breathing heavily. Hao let out another scoff before continuing.

"The last thing I want is to listen to your voice for another second," he said. "So I'm gonna make this quick and simple. I'm not coming back with you. I'm not getting into whatever fucked up body you created for me, I am just fine the way I am."

"B-but…!"

"No. Shut the fuck up," he cut him off. "Here's the important part, so listen well. You've got two choices: you either stop Heatran and let Reiko take you to the surface so you can turn yourself in, or I kill you right here and now… and then go after Kasha."

Charon had been silent, listening, waiting for his chance to negotiate, until that last part. He couldn't help but splutter.

"What!? B-but she's your–!"

"Pftt. What, you believe I think any higher of her than you?" Hao said mockingly. "She might not have experimented on me, but she knew full well the situation I was in and decided to just up and leave. Didn't even tell anyone else. She chose to forget me, chose to believe I was still dead. She can rot in Giratina's grasp for all I care."

"No, you don't… you don't mean that, Mikhael."

"Don't call me that!" Hao bellowed, his voice echoing. "You and mom had your chance, and you chose to reject me. You're not my family. Reiko, Percy and Inyssa are. And I'm not gonna lose sleep over doing whatever's necessary to protect them, even if that means killing the both of you."

Charon kept mumbling brokenly, unintelligibly, and Reiko couldn't help but bit her lower lip, the words coming out of Hao's mouth sending an uncomfortable shiver down her spine. He didn't actually mean it. He'd said so himself not too long ago, when they were discussing how to best convince Charon to surrender. Even if the feelings he was airing were genuine, even if he genuinely despised both them, she knew Hao wouldn't hurt Kasha.

Even so, she couldn't help but be concerned over how genuinely he'd spouted that threat. Reiko had readily accepted the idea when Percy proposed it. Forcing Charon to fear for the only family he had left, after all the pain he'd caused relatives of those who died in Cinnabar… it'd seem perfect at the time. But now, listening to Hao, it just left a bad taste in her mouth.

Though she supposed it was still better than killing him.

"P-please, rethink this… you would never…" Charon kept stumbling on his words, trying to find the right ones, though she could hear his will cracking through his voice. "It wasn't Kasha's fault! Please, just come back with me and I'll–"

"I'm not bargaining here," Hao cut him off. "You seriously think I wouldn't do it? I got access to the Interpol files; I know where she lives nowadays. And with this body you gave me, I could travel through the net from Sinnoh to Kanto in the blink of an eye. I could do it right now, if you want. It wouldn't' take longer than a minute."

"No!" Charon hurried to yell. "P-please… Mikhael, why…?"

Hao scoffed. "I asked myself that every day you had me captured, every day you toyed with me, and I never got an answer. But now it's different. Now, you are going to give me the answer I want. "

"M-Mikhael…"

Hao ignored him. "This is your last chance. For once in your life, let go of that fucking pride of yours and accept that you lost, that I'm not coming back to you. Either cut your losses, or lose what little you have left. It's your choice."

Yet, by design, it wasn't much of a choice at all, and both Reiko and Hao knew that. They'd pretty much planned on it. And after a few seconds of silence that stretched to what felt like almost a minute, Charon finally spoke through the speakers, voice hollow, devoid of strength.

"I… I surrender. Heatran… stop the magma."