Chapter 83:

Bleeding Smile

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During my life I had my fair share of crappy gifts, one time I even got duct tape for Christmas. Most of the time I just pretend to be happy with it, not only because I did not want to hurt feelings but also because I never really know what I want anyway. I'm difficult like that.

Still, I never thought a corpse would make its way onto the list of shitty gifts, yet Froslass acted like it was the best gift ever.

Her eyes, concealed behind her mask, looked as if she genuinely expected me to cry out in happiness. To make matters worse this was supposedly my replacement so she could freeze me and have that corpse take my role in this twisted world. To twist the knife even deeper a smiley was carved onto its head.

I don't know what came over me but I just burst out laughing. Maybe it was the cold, or the stress and tiredness. This all just seemed so ridiculous. I felt sick, and wronged and wanted to freak out.

{Dust?} A small voice asked.

Froslass narrowed her eyes at me. The smile disappeared.

Here I was, boxed in between a locked elevator and an ice demon who might or not have a deadly romance planned for us. I was so close to the exit with key information regarding Team Galactic, this was a desperate situation, nothing funny about it.

I bellowed over as my laughing started to hurt my stomach. I took a few steps back, feeling lightheaded and sick. My feet stepped into a red liquid. I gazed back and saw the dead guard lying slumped over.

And just like that I was slapped in the face by reality. The dizzy feeling dissipated as my mind began to feel more clear. I kept laughing though but now I felt like I knew I was not doing it to release stress. I had to buy time so I could find something.

Luna picked up on it first, of course she did. That emotion sense thing was really useful. She narrowed her eyes at me but I didn't say anything.

"Did he snap?" I heard Project Z ask. I still had my eyes cast down and was laughing my lungs out.

"He can't," Fay shakily answered from behind me, "He won't do that to us."

She was right, I had to bring us back to the surface. For tomorrow's sake.

My eyes found the thing I was looking for. Before the Froslass could realize what I was doing I fell over next to the dead guard. Without looking I grasped the thing he was holding in his hands. Somehow the guard was still holding onto it but with a quick jank I managed to pull his weapon free. I spun around while at the same time bringing his assault rifle to my shoulder. It was actually really heavy and was not at all built like a rifle I had ever seen before, however it looked simple enough.

I aimed it at Froslass in one quick movement, making sure the visor perfectly lined up with the spot between her eyes. I had never fired a weapon this size in real life before but I actually felt like I knew what I was doing. My fingers wrapped around the trigger like I was merely pointing my finger at her. My breathing steadied, my breathing steadied and I felt perfectly calm.

Gotta love adrenaline.

Froslass could only gape in shock at the turn of events.

'Arceus, don't screw me over please.' I pulled the trigger.

3 yellow bursts blinded the room. The weapon shook with every shot. Fizzling sounds crackled through the air, it felt as if the air was being charged with electricity and for a brief period it was.

My aim was off because of the unexpected recoil but most of the jolts did hit her.

Froslass did not make a sound as she was repeatedly struck, she kept maintaining eye contact with me as her body coiled in pain. Her eyes showed hurt and confusion, the stark combination made my skin scrawl.

I stopped pulling the trigger but I kept my weapon ready.

A dead silence filled the room. Froslass gave me one final look of pain before her eyes rolled up. She stopped floating and unceremoniously dropped to the floor and landed next to the frozen body she had brought along. Her eyes were closed and at that moment I couldn't even say if she was dead or alive. That was until a soft snoring noise came from her body. It almost sounded like a winter wind, weird but somehow I felt at ease knowing I did not kill her.

When it became clear Froslass wouldn't make a sudden move I let out a sigh of relief. I spun on my heels and faced the three Pokémon who were looking at me with aghast looks. With what must have looked like a mad grin I spoke. "Well, you could say that was super effective."

Get it? My Pokémon were looking stupefied. Luna ultimately gave me a hesitant hug on the leg.

{We did it!}

A small smile was visible on Kirlia's face. It was a strained smile, we were not out of the facility yet but I felt like we were getting closer. A sense of finality dawned on us.

"How did you...but…" Fay was stammering and ultimately she decided to shut her mouth.

"Meh," Project Z recovered rather quickly and had a sly smile on her face. "You really could have done a one liner like I did."

I disagree, doing such a thing would be stupid, not only would it tip off the Froslass and give her the time to counteract me, it would also make me look incredibly stupid if I failed.

Project Z lowered her voice. "You could have said so many cool things, like; Project Eternal Queen, freeze and don't move!"

The unconscious Froslass stirred in her sleep.

"Eep!" The Zorua stared at Froslass with wide eyes. Luna cautiously walked over to Froslass and knelt down next to her, watching the ice Pokémon with a weird gaze.

I ignored them and knelt down next to my backpack that was still lying on the ground, so was my Pokédex which I had carelessly dropped when Froslass came through the door. I picked it up and saw Froslass' file was still open. I closed it and tapped a few buttons on the Pokédex before putting it back inside my backpack.

"She just…" Project Z struggled to find her words.

I dropped the rifle, which I decided to keep, down my backpack, making sure the butt of the rifle stuck out so I could quickly reach for it if I needed it.

The backpack was slung over my shoulder. I decided to hold onto the knife, not sure why but it gave me a good feeling. Overall I was feeling a bit more optimistic.

With a smile I turned towards the Pokémon, "Let's move before the queen wakes up."

"You're not gonna kill her!" Project Z asked perplexed.

I frowned while looking at the strange snoring Froslass. An odd sense of tranquility washed over me.

She looked so cute and peaceful it would almost make you forget that she wants to turn me into an ice statue for all of eternity.

"There's no point in killing her, one she is defenseless which means it will be a war crime or something," though that was a rule in my old word, I think at least it was, but there was no point in telling her that. "Two we know what can stop her so we won't be taken by surprise again."

I pointed at the rifle on my back. "And third, I am not a murderer."

No more words were wasted on the subject. Yet I kept thinking about the Froslass. I could still feel her gaze on me even though her eyes were shut. The expression on her face made me feel like she was accusing me. It made me wonder if there had been a peaceful option, she tried to compromise in her twisted way. But this is the real world, peace isn't always available.

With a final sigh I turned to Zorua and told her to lead the way. She gave me a skeptical look before shrugging and jumping through the gap in the metal doors.

Fay and Luna followed them while I gave the Froslass one more look.

I duck down and dodged a sharp jagged piece of metal that was in the way Project Z called out. "We are really getting close."

A big cut was carved into the wall above the Zorua. It ran across the length of the hallway like someone dragged a large butcher knife along the wall. Ominous as shit, I know.

As we walked Fay was fiddling with her paws. After a frustrated look she finally opened her mouth and said. "How did you do that!"

"Do what?" I asked innocently. Pretending not to understand her because...well I was getting rather tired of it all.

"How could you beat Froslass while none of us even harmed it?" Fay muttered in defeat. "I tried everything and I could not even land a scratch."

I was tempted to say something along the lines of 'I am just that awesome' but now was not the time for Fay to become unsure of herself.

"It isn't your fault," I quickly patted Riolu on the head. "Project Eternal Queen was literally built to be indestructible, her only weakness was electricity which none of you could wield."

As Luna had demonstrated in the dinner area, the weapons here shot electricity based bullets. I had assumed the rifle that the dead guard had would be similar, or more like hoped.

"Remember how her room had electric wiring running through the door? That should have tipped us off but it slipped my mind, only when I read her file I realized it. If someone's to blame it's me."

"No it's not!" Fay protested.

{No,] Luna interrupted me. {Fate's just a bitch!}

I am so proud of my team. A grin came up on my face.

"Very sappy," a sarcastic voice interrupted us, it was Project Z ofcourse. "I can almost feel the juice dripping off the atmosphere."

Before I could even mouth a response I was interrupted by a sudden horrendous scream. I stopped moving as the sound roared through the hallway, sounding suspiciously close. The scream could only be described as monstrous and lasted for a couple seconds before a dreadful silence fell all over us.

Ahead of us the white stainless hallways split off into three directions. Well I say stainless but one of them had a big splash of red paint thrown onto the wall and two people wearing lab coats lying underneath it. That hallway ended with two big sliding doors.

"Say Project Z," my voice was high pitched for some reason, "Our exit doesn't happen to be that way." I pointed at the bloody hallway.

"Hahaha, imagine if that would be the case." She chuckled back, looking quite horrified herself. "But it's the only exit."

"Anyone thinks this is a stupid idea?"

Fay raised her paw, no one else did.

I sighed and began walking towards the door, every step painful and my heart beating like hell, still I wore a strained smile on my face, after all I wouldn't want my Pokémon to chicken out.

When I came close enough the door automatically opened up in front of me with a smooth hiss. It startled me briefly.

A thick darkness was again revealed, the lights in the hallway showed that it led to something looking like an office or something but the light didn't reach farther than a few meters before the darkness became too thick to penetrate.

"Everyone, get ready for battle." I muttered while I put away the knife and retrieved the flashlight. The beam flashed to light and pierced through the darkness beyond the doors.

The scream had come from this direction, I had recognized it as the one that I had heard multiple times while being down here, louder each time I came closer and knowing Fate I would most likely run into it.

"I sense something inside," Fay warned.

{Same.} Luna murmured, {Can't get a grip on what it is though.}

"Project Z, got any ideas what it might be?" I asked.

The black furred fox Pokémon shook her head.

Great.

"Well, nowhere left to go but into the darkness I guess. Fay, make sure to keep your Aura sense open."

She nodded and went in first while I followed directly after her, making sure the beam of the flashlight was trained on her.

As soon as I stepped through the door I noticed the difference in the atmosphere. The air felt rusty and heavy, like I was walking through a mine or abandoned factory.

The door didn't close behind us, allowing a little extra light to be shone in the room.

The beam revealed I was in neither of those, instead I was looking at a couple of office chairs, control desks and big windows. Big switches and circuit boards were stored on big metal cabinets. On the desk were computers and even more buttons and switches.

"This must be the control room," I said out loud. "You think the exit is somewhere in here?"

"Of course not," She replied with a cheerful tone that sounded awfully fake. She darted underneath me and jumped onto the desk, not even bothered by the fact she was stepping on a switch or something. Zorua pointed out of the big window placed in front of the control room.

I pointed my flashlight out of the window.

Underneath us was another, bigger, room. It was almost as if I was looking down from the top seats of a theater.

I saw rows of seats placed in an oval shape, placed alongside a descending staircase that was not too dissimilar from an actual theater but they did not seem to be very stylish, rather they were simplistic in nature and design. My beam extended further down the room and saw that the seats faced towards a wide black painted stage. The flashlight didn't reach much further but I could make out vague shapes in the darkness. Something was kneeling on the stage, hunched over with its back toward us. It silently bobbed back and forth, whatever it was. The creature was surrounded by large shapes. I did not recognize them or the creature.

When I saw it I immediately pulled my beam off it. Luckily it did not seem to notice or care about the beam.

"The backstage." Zorua whispered. "There is our exit."

I paled, "Good one. Now seriously, where is our exit?"

"Wasn't joking." Project Z growled. "Behind that stage is a backroom that has a vent with a ladder going to the surface."

"So what now?" Fay nervously gazed out of the window. "You want us to attack it or…"

"Can we sneak past it?" I asked Project Z.

"Again, I don't know what this creature is, so I am in the dark as well." A small chuckle followed. "Hehe, dark."

"We'll try sneaking past it, if not just try to make a dash for it." I was not comfortable with this idea at all but I was kind of at my own end.

I put the knife away and switched it for my newly acquired rifle. Hopefully it would be as effective as it was with the Froslass but a gut feeling made me doubt that sliver of hope.

With some tape I fixed the flashlight to the rifle, it did unbalance it a little but at the moment I did not want to risk being blind in the dark. My eyes were somewhat adjusting but I couldn't see more than a meter ahead of me without flash light.

A black door on the left side of the current room seemed to lead us down into that room. I waited for anyone to complain, to call it a bullshit plan or chicken out but in the end nobody protested.

With a sigh of resignation I pulled it open. It creaked loudly and my heart dropped for a second.

Nothing happened.

I opened it wider, this time it didn't make a sound.

A metal catwalk hung suspended in the air held up by thick bars of steel that protruded from the wall. Only a set of thin iron bars prevented me from tumbling down. My footsteps were making rhythmic clangs, each sounding ear shattering to my nerve wracked ears. The ambience was making even the smallest sound feel like an earthquake.

I could even hear Project Z's furred paws touch the metal underneath her feet.

A metal staircase descended downwards running alongside the wall like a grim shadow. I slightly aimed the beam of the flashlight towards the mainstage to check if that 'thing' was still in its place.

It was, I could make out more details. It was taller than I thought, definitely not human sized. Its head, assuming that triangular shape was his head, was stuffing its face into something. Muffled moaning noises came from his direction, like flesh being mauled. It gave me the idea it was eating. Then it struck me what those smaller shapes near the creature were. Human bodies.

I heaved in a deep sigh. 'Almost out of this hellhole.'

Without startling the creature I drifted the flashlight away and focused on getting down the stairs trying not to make noise.

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The moaning became louder as I descended down the stairs, first it was like a background noise but when my feet came in contact with solid ground it had swelled to a chompy eating sound, loud enough to overshadow my own footsteps, not sure if that was a good thing or not.

I gazed around. We were in a corner, a set of doors was to our right and the left wall led deeper down the rows of seats, towards the main stage.

"What is that?" Fay whispered from my right.

{It's hungry.} Luna calmly answered. {I can sense that much.}

No shit. I gazed towards the main stage.

I could see it had humanoid legs and was roughly shaped like a human, though in a very broad sense. It still had its back turned towards us and I suspected it couldn't hear very well.

"Lead the way." I whispered towards Project Z.

She gulped but moved forward, hesitantly walking past the rows of empty seats. I deduced that this must have been some sort of lecture room. The monster kept making noises as we drew closer to the main stage.

I took small steps, one foot in front of the other while I kept the flashlight beam aimed ahead of us but made sure that the light didn't touch the monster. I could barely hear another sound besides the moaning and my own heartbeat.

Suddenly the monster began making a choking noise, its body began to stir and twitch, as if he was in pain or something. We all stopped walking and I dimmed the brightness of my flashlight.

It stood upright and dropped the thing it was holding between its arms, no not arms. The creature had no arms, instead it had two huge blade-like appendages. When it stood up I could see I had severely underestimated the size of this thing. It was tall, much taller than a human. Maybe twice even. It had stalky long legs and an insect-like head. It stood on its hind legs, stretching out into one big monstrous shape. In the faint light coming from the control room I could see a triangular shaped head that reminded me a lot of those old alien movies. It had a wide gaping mouth that it pointed up at the ceiling, slowly widening its jaw to an impossible length.

Looking at it felt like seeing a 'what is this Pokémon' trivia question, except more twisted and impossible.

When its jaw had stretched out far enough it unleashed a hellish shriek. The ground began vibrating, the air rumbled and dust fell down from the ceiling. An almost physical wave of air tore through the chamber, every muscle in my body tensed and a sick feeling of sickness came over me while my eardrums were assaulted on all sides.

The scream quickly faded away and the feeling of sickness was replaced by a sense of extreme dread. The creature in the shadows shifted its head towards us with a dry clicking noise.

Without thinking I aimed the gun, and by extension my flashlight, onto its head.

The first thought that crossed my mind was abstract horror. It had no eyes, only empty sockets. Its impossible big mouth was only held together by a few narrow strings of deep red flesh but besides that its face was a weird skull with only a thin layer of skin.

When I saw its hands, or long scythes that had replaced its hands, I understood what I was looking at.

A Kabutops. A monstrous bastardized version of that fossil Pokémon at least. It's mouth was covered with blood, the same went for its two massive scythes, each one bigger than I was.

I couldn't move. My mind was terrified, I could not move. I know I should but my body refused to work.

This thing was so big. Much bigger than a normal Kabutops would be. A pile of mangled corpses laid down his feet, not just human corpses, I saw the bodies of different Pokémon as well. All put together into a throne of gore.

I could not pull my gaze away. I knew I should move but fear took over me.

My flashlight suddenly began to flicker, that probably saved my life. The monster appeared and disappeared with each flicker, everytime it came a little closer. I don't know what caused my flashlight to go haywire but it managed to distract me long enough to regain my senses and pull my gaze away. When it stopped flickering and the beam became steady again I saw a silver gleam above my head. Instinctively I duck to the right, underneath a row of seats. A high pitched whistling noise was followed by a loud clang. The view in front of me was replaced by my own reflection.

I gazed up and saw one of the massive scythes had pierced the ground right in front of face. The second scythe was already in motion as I registered the first one. I ducked my head just in time as the blade tore through the air above me. I swear I felt my hair being moved by the wind.

"Fucking fight!" I screamed from the bottom of my lungs. The monstrous Kabutops opened his mouth wide and howled a high pitched scream of its own which almost peeled the flesh of my skin.

It took a step forward, causing tremors as he did.

My Pokémon sprung into action. Luna fired a Psybeam while I saw Fay disappear into a quick attack. I had no idea where Project Z was. She had apparently enough presence of mind to hide like a coward.

The Kabutops created an ear shattering crunching noise. It slashed in front of itself and tore through a section of seats like they were made of butter.

Luna managed to jump out of the initial slash but was hit in the head by the top end of a chair that was blown away by Kabutops' powerful slash.

The Kirlia stumbled for a second and Kabutops raised its gigantic scythe overhead.

Fay suddenly smashed into Kabutops' leg and slashed away at it with her shining claws.

It did not do much damage but the gigantic monster got distracted and peeled its gaze away from the unbalanced Kirlia and faced Fay.

The monster answered by lowering its gaping head and it tried to snatch Fay up with its wide jaw.

Fay leaped back just as the jaws snapped close. A LSD colored laser hit it in the face and another scream was unleashed by Kabutops.

It angrily kicked Fay aside and charged blindly towards Luna, every step an earthquake in its own right. Before it could however I had aimed my rifle on the monster and pulled the trigger.

All of the sudden the dark room was suddenly lit by multiple bright flashes.

The air fizzled and crackled as I unloaded charge after charge on the beast. All my anger and frustrations into pulling the trigger and keeping it on the monster. Years of playing fps games finally paid off as I successfully managed to land most of the shots.

Between the violent flashes of blue and yellow I saw the Kabutops struggle underneath my constant barrage of fire. It had collapsed and was now lying on the ground with the cut up furniture.

I didn't let go of the trigger. With sick satisfaction I simply watched the giant monster crumble.

However its spastic movements became less frantic every second that passed.

The smile on my face turned into horrified shock when it slowly moved its scythe in front of its body and started deflecting all my shots.

No deflecting was the wrong word. Every shot of electricity that came in connection with its two scythes completely disappeared. It didn't get absorbed or traveled down its blade. It straight up got erased from existence.

Between shots it had managed to shield its body and now it slowly rose to its feet. I adjusted my aim accordingly but the monster moved its scythe again to block it.

I snarled and bit my lip as my weapon had become useless. I stopped shooting it as a sense of dread came over me.

Purple rays were shot across the room but Kabutops swung his scythe towards them and dispelled the psychic energy, erasing it like waves destroying a message left in sand.

Kabutops rose to its full length again and screamed.

It moved its body into a different position and without a warning it shot towards me with an explosive burst of speed.

I realized I should totally run when the monster was already in my face, ripping through the interior of the room like it was made of mere cardboard. Its gigantic jaw opened right in front of me.

Without even thinking about it I hit him with the butt of the rifle, bringing it down onto its lower jaw like it was an actual dagger.

A painful wail followed as I felt the rifle hit something soft and fleshy.

I pulled it out and tried to get over a row of seats as I saw one of its blades swing my way.

My heart sagged as I immediately realized I could not move fast enough to get outside its range.

The blade swung down but was intercepted by a second, much smaller, blade.

Fay stood on top of a torn down chair holding a flaming sword above her head. She was holding off the scythe with all her efforts. Sweat was dripping down her face but despite her tiredness she still held a furious expression.

"I won't let you hurt him!" The Riolu spat.

It was like witnessing a David vs Goliath scene, an Arthurian legend played right in front of me. The ghostly blue flames were burning more voraciously than ever before. Casting the entire room in a soft blue haze.

The monster screamed and took a step towards Fay, its empty eye sockets somehow managed to contain so much rage.

It pressed on and with a loud scream it broke through Fay's Aura sword, turning it into a mess of glowing blue shards.

Fay's eyes widened. The scythe continued its descent and ripped down on Fay. She managed to roll to the side but was caught in her back by the edge of the Kabutops' blade.

"Aaaah!" A painful shriek chilled the room. The Riolu fell to the ground and let out a continuous wail. I aimed my light over her and saw that she was struggling to get up.

Red liquid seeped down her back and colored her blue fur in a deep red color. She forced her mouth closed and tried to get up but her legs were shaking too much. She fell over and revealed a deep gash running over her back where the Kabutops had hit her.

'Impossible.' I thought blankly as I stared at the blood seeping out. That should not be happening.

"Recall her!" A voice hissed. I looked down and saw a small purple rat hiding underneath a seat. "She's going to bleed to death!"

That shouldn't be possible. Pokémon almost never sustain lethal damage during a fight, their weird powers made sure of that. Only when damaged badly or caught by surprise, besides that they don't really receive any real damage to their bodies.

Yet reality said no and a red pattern was spreading across her back.

Luna had picked up the fight with Kabutops and was throwing chairs across the room which only served to annoy Kabutops as it literally cut its way towards Luna.

With cold sweat on my hands I grabbed Fayś Pokéball and pointed it at her.

"No!" Fay protested. "I can still fight."

I pressed the button and a beam of light sped towards the bleeding Riolu. It engulfed her completely and I could see her horrified expression on her face before the light sucked her in.

Across the room the Kabutops had singled in on Luna. She was firing rays and lasers but each one was deflected by its scythes.

It opened its bloody mouth and lurched forward like it tried to swallow up Kirlia. She stumbled out of the way just in time.

A fake version of her had appeared but the monster ignored them completely and focused on the real Luna like it could not even see the fake ones.

I pulled the trigger on my gun. I completely missed my target and hit the wall.

Kabutops turned its empty skeletal head towards me. With an almost impossible calm I adjusted my shot and pulled again.

My aim was true but Kabutops had learned from its last encounter and used its massive scythes as shields again and every shot was dispelled.

"We need to head for the exit." The small Ratata was still audible, even as I kept firing at Kabutops. It was slowly moving its bottom body behind its scythes like it was preparing for a sprint.

"I know," I groaned back. "Can you turn into something that can fly me?"

I spotted Luna running towards me, making a wide arc around the room in order to avoid my fire. I kept hitting the monster with electric bullet's and even though they didn't seem to harm it they managed to pin it down and my rifle didn't seem to require a reload.

A source of light swelled up next to me, from the corner of my eyes I could see a small rodent grow in size and shape until it became bigger than me.

Luna had finally reached me and without waiting I yelled. "Get up!"

I felt tiny arms wrap around my back. As the ballerina Pokemon jumped onto my back and latched onto me, the Kabutops hurled a scream and I saw its leg bend inwards.

I let go of the trigger and looked left. A big avian bird with brown talons had taken its place. There was no time to admire it, or her considering it was still the Zorua, just in the form of a Pidgeot.

I jumped onto her back, trying to find some semblance of grip while still holding onto the gun for my dear life. Slippery feathers provided absolutely no grip and I was forced to swing my arms and legs around the bird's body,

This was all while the bird was trying to take off. It was hastily flapping its huge brown colored wings, clearly struggling to lift herself off the ground.

Project Z managed to do it against all odds and with a sudden swoop she flew straight up, generating a shockwave in the process.

Underneath us the monster slashed through the air, only a mere second away from us. Its skeletal head looked up and screamed towards us.

I was about to yell at Project Z to fly higher when I almost hit my head against the ceiling of the room.

Panicked, I gazed down and saw that the Kabutops couldn't reach us despite his monstrous size. It noticed the same thing and started howling and screaming at us while it was blindly slashing above its head, thrashing around like a blender that came to life.

"What is that thing?" I muttered horrified.

{Don't know,} Luna said from behind me. {Please just leave.}

Pidgeot began flying towards the mainstage where our supposed exit was but the monster kept following us from the ground.

When we flew above the big stage at the end of the room it jumped onto which caused a minor earthquake. Project Z swooped up before it could catch us out of the air.

"Well what are you waiting for?" An exhausted voice came from the Pidgeot, "Shoot it and kill that thing. It can't block the three of us."

The angle the Pidgeot provided was amazing, it allowed us to attack the lengthy monster from above where it couldn't even reach us. If we inflict enough damage we might be able to put it down.

I took a deep breath. I was so done with this place and for the first time I felt no qualms about killing a living being. I am not a murderer but that thing, I was willing to make an exception for it. After all, it was barely alive.

I moved the muzzle of my rifle over the bird's shoulders and checked the crosshair for a brief second.

"Go to hell."

I pulled the trigger.

Both Luna and I unleashed fire upon it. Lasers, electricity and Psychic powers weaved together into a beam of pure light that shone down on the monster. Dark-red-ish energy came from the bird I was riding and shot down on the Kabutops, combining into the beam and feeding it even more power.

Like a vampire it crumpled under the light, its legs gave away and it fell to the ground. The blades tried to cover its body but the combined power was too much and passed through every gap in its defense, pinning it to the ground while the room bathed in the light.

It howled and shuddered and for a second it looked as if its leg was burned by the glowing blade of light.

A mad grin spread over my lips, it was a glorious sight. A light in the dark.

I kept pressing the trigger, not caring I was holding it down so hard it was starting to hurt. We were literally burning away through its legs like a laser from god.

Then the worst thing that could happen happened. My gun stopped working.

A panic spread over me as I repeatedly pulled the trigger but I got nothing, only dry clicks.

"Nononono." I started to yell, not sure if I felt angry or just straight up horrified. All I knew was that I wanted to unleash a scream of my own.

The beam of light faded in power, as if my rifle was the conductor; both attacks fell apart into two separated attacks that no longer had the supreme firepower they once held.

I kept pulling the trigger but nothing happened.

A victorious growl came from underneath us, I gazed down and saw Kabutops had maneuvered its blade up and blocked the incoming attacks with much ease. It bend through it legs, almost as if preparing for a-

"Dive!" I screamed.

Like a cricket Kabutops suddenly launched itself up, generating a loud crackle as it ripped through the air on a crash course towards us. Its scythes flashing silver in the dark.

Pidgeot glowed a fierce white and next second nothing was keeping me in the air.

Gravity took over and I suddenly fell face first back to the ground. I twisted my arms in the split second I perceived that I would land on my face.

The next moment I hit the ground and a horrible wave of pain set my nerves on fire. Up was down and the entire room was pitch black yet filled with stars.

I bit my tongue and felt something tasting like metal inside my mouth. Apparently I had landed on my arms and knees by sheer luck. Or atleast, those parts seemed to hurt the most. Every bone in my body protested as I tried to move but I refused to scream.

I swallowed the metal tasting liquid and tried to let the adrenaline take over.

My eyes were open and the stars had faded. I couldn’t see shit. My gun with the flashlight was lying next to me, still intact. I slowly got up and reached for it.

It felt as if my arm was made of wood and I was bending it too far. I continued regardless and managed to slip my hand around the barrel.

Finally being able to see, I swung my flashlight around, I found Luna lying somewhere to my left. She wasn't moving, I assumed, no, only hoped she was just unconscious. Project Z was nowhere to be seen of course. I really wanted to yell at her for dropping me like that.

I sluggishly recalled Luna using her Pokéball. I tugged it away and moved the beam around.

The short drop had taken me to the stage.

I was cold, confused and fucked out of my mind. The beam of the flashlight kept moving and they landed on a large blade that showed my own reflection.

Wondering where it came from I shone it up and saw a monstrous creature attached to the blade.

It raised the cleaver and in that moment I felt so small compared to this monster.

I could only stare up at the behemoth towering over me, my mouth wide and my mind blank. Perplexedly I wondered if this was Fate's plan all along. A long cruel joke that ended with her main hero dying in a dark pit, all alone.

If it wasn't me I would have thought it was kind of ironic.

There was just so much more I wanted to do, I wanted to know how this world came to be. How will it end and the most important question. Why me?

Then a strange sensation came over me, I felt something warm and soft wrap around my middle. With a sudden force I was pulled back.

A metallic clang was followed by the sound of wood splintering. The blade had forced it way through the stage and obliterated the spot I just sat.

The warm hands that pulled me away again pulled me closer. I was surrounded on all sides by this warm and soft feeling like I was being embraced. I gazed up and saw I was ensnared into a hug by a mask wearing Pokémon. A warm smile was on her face and 2 eyes stared at me with such warmth I felt my heart melt.

"Fros." She whispered into my ears.

I couldn't move, even if I wanted to. The surprising warm hug was all encompassing and in that moment it felt endless.

If only I could close my eyes and just slip away.

A monstrous scream interrupted that moment of serenity. The eyes behind the mask shot up and narrowed into a glare. The warm hug faded away, the arms unwound and I was released.

For some reason it felt way too quick.

Froslass moved in front of me, floating over the stage like it was made of ice. She looked back and I saw she had that smile on her face...the same smile as before but it felt different. It looked as if she was somehow happier.

How did she even get here? My mind still felt fuzzy.

"Froslass." The masked creature said, giving me a final look before turning away to face the monster.

It was towering over her, despite that she did not falter or show fear in any way. Kabutops moved its head down to snatch her up but she plunged her arm forward and shoved it off the stage with an almost explosive force.

In the dark I saw the silver gleam of its blades. Froslass chased after it just as a crescent shaped doom sliced horizontally towards her. A pillar of ice spurted from the ground and stopped the blade dead in its tracks. It hit the ice but bounced off. A hateful growl followed and was answered by a furious snarl from Froslass. They began attacking each other in a deadly dance of blades and shields. At that moment I felt like I was witnessing a fight between two gods.

It went all too fast for me, I heard the sounds of battle and saw flashes of silver and blue meet in the dark but I couldn't understand anything of it. It was as my mind was moving through a pool of glue.

I couldn't take my eyes off the spectacle anyway, it was so entrancing.

"We can escape now," A Zorua appeared next to me. She was hissing and had one eye focused on the battle.

"Shouldn't we…" I tried to look for the right words but I couldn't find them. My thoughts felt sluggish.

"Do what?" Project Z asked. "We are out of our league here, let's move it. You promised to help me escape!"

Did I?

I wasn't sure but I did know that I had to get out of here. I don't want to die here, not like this. I ignored all the pain in my body and got up. There was a door in the wall at the end of the stage. Only a couple meters away. A sign above the worn door read: Employees only.

Zorua opened the door, she turned into an Aipom to reach the doorknob before turning back. She was urging me to move faster.

A yellow old looking lightbulb burned inside the room, I could see boxes and crates inside it alongside a fire extinguisher and a green painted ladder that was barely a ladder, more like metal bars attached to the wall then a ladder.

I struggled my way towards the door, my body was hurting like hell but I had to keep going. I just focused on moving one foot in front of the other, ignoring the sounds of battling behind me.

The realization that I looked more like an automaton than a human in that moment crossed my mind, despite the soreness I made it to the door.

It was a small room, barely a storage closet. My gaze went up and I saw no ceiling, only a ladder that stretched out into the darkness.

"Come on, let's go!" Project Z urged.

I was about to start climbing when a shouting cry stopped me. I turned around and looked back at the stage.

The battle had ended.

Kabutops had blue marks of frostbite rotting out over its body and was noticeably in pain. It was making raspy breaths that sounded like it could die any moment.

The entire room was littered with random structures of ice. Amidst the torn open floor and shredded seats was a Froslass lying on the floor. Her mask was cracked, a thin line was spreading over it like it was made of glass. Blood flowed down her face from underneath her mask.

She was pinned to the floor, one scythe had pierced her main body and created a red gaping wound. The other blade was raised up in the air, midway down for a final descent to the head.

Time seemed to slow down, her eyes met mine. Blood covered and beaten badly yet she still managed to look like it was the happiest moment in her life. She mouthed a single word before returning to that smile, blood leaking out of her mouth as she kept smiling.

Then, I saw nothing. Ice began to crystallize the thin air in front of me, I stepped back and witnessed a white layer of ice barricade the entrance, spreading out like a pool of ink across a 2d dimensional surface.

Dazed, I hit it with my fist, only to confirm that it was very cold and didn't even budge the frozen barricade. I couldn't see through the ice, it was almost pure white.

I stared in silence at the wall. Confused, scared and worried. I heard Project Z talk but I didn't say anything, just kept staring.

I couldn't see what happened but when I heard a deafening crack followed by a loud splash I felt a knot in my stomach twist and turn.

Without saying a word I slung the gun over my shoulder and turned to face the ladder.

I began climbing.