Salvation (Sam)

[Wolfe]

By the time the silhouette of a dark figure trudged forward unto the dangling mess of ancient ruins and modern skyscrapers, the sun had already began its descent towards the lands beyond. The brilliant colors displayed in the soon-to-be night sky served the purpose of highlighting a boy forging a twisted path into the city.

After his encounter with the ominous hunter, Marc had made painfully slow progress towards his destination. It had taken him a period of two days to progress into Nevali City. Ever so slowly, hindered by wounds sustained and reopened, and the vast wilderness that most of Aero was. Here he stood, at his destination, a sense of dignity at the result of making it so far, against all odds. As he walked into the metropolis, the ever-so-slight limp he had acquired from a rather nasty encounter with a flock of wild Pokemon became more and more evident. A few drops of blood slid down his bloodied and torn figure. He was beyond pain, beyond suffering. His determination remained unbroken even as he trudged into a nearby, dilapidated old building whose sign, faded by age, faintly read, "INN".

Shoving a wad of counterfeit currency onto the desk netted him both a surprised look from the receptionist and a rusted key with a number engraved into its handle. Putting aside his weariness for the moment, he walked on, ignoring the increasing pain that blossomed in his leg.

As Marc opened the door of his room, he was pleasantly surprised at the accommodations of his living area. Although small, the sheer amount of cash he offered was enough to net him, unsurprisingly, the nicest suite in the motel. A small radio, an adequately-sized bed, and a clean bathroom were more than Marc expected, and quite honestly, were a luxury to him. Placing a smokescreen on the bedstand for an easy escape, Marc allowed himself to rest for the first time in what seemed like years. It was not long before the night granted him the mercy of unconsciousness, and he left reality, at ease, and believing that he was safe.

Or so he thought.

[Sam]

Agent Cary stood in the darkness, his figure still as stone. No sound came from him, save the low hum of breath. No movement quivered in his muscles, except for the continuous motion of his cest, rising and falling. He was in his usual black, flowing coat of leather, turtleneck unbottoned. He had gotten back his crimson gloves, which had been made from the skin of a Salamence. It was a mark of power and a mark of cruelty. On his feet were dark brown boots, specially made to be utterly silent on the ground. And covering his right ear was his headset. Someone was talking to him, giving him a long list of orders he had to carry through in the next month. His mouth twitched slightly when he heard the name of the boy that had brought upon him his first failure. A mere boy by the name of Marc, a Pokemorph. Cary was still unsure of his threat to his plans. But so far, he had no taste for the boy.

Finally, the man's talking ceased and it was now Cary's turn to speak. His thin mouth spread into a smile and he said, in a slithering whisper, "Give me all the information you have of the boy, Marc. I have some unfinished buiseness with him."

"Gallade Pokemorph, member of the Iron Fist, wanted for disturbance of a Celestial hunter. I'm sorry, but this boy is rather unknown to us."

"It is accepted. His location?"

"Nevali Inn."

With a flourish, the headset disappeared and a Staraptor now stood in front of the Pokemon hunter. Agent Cary danced onto the back of his trusted partner and they were off. Fortunetely, they had camped not far from the city itself. Finding the Inn would be a little more of a problem. It could be any building. So, Cary took out a Net Ball and it expanded to his touch. He whispered instructions to the small circle in the center, and the Pokemon was released. In a flash of white, an Ariados dropped to the city. Around his head was another headset, only to be used when the boy was found. He would be found.

In the meantime, Cary would be flying high in the sky atop his Staraptor, waiting for the signal to attack.

Venus landed on top of the tallest building. He immediately set to work, moving his six legs to carry him across the city. He stayed in the shadows, avoiding the weak strands of light from windows and street lights. His eyes scanned the city for the Inn. It was twenty minutes later when he found it. An old, withering building. His eyes glowed as he carefully began to slip up the side of the building. He glanced in every room, each seemed to be empty, save a few. When he did find the boy, he was unsure. The face under the blankets was hard to make out. But as he looked closer, he realized that if this wasn't the boy, he wasn't in this Inn. As he carefully made his way closer, his foot slipped on an old plank on the roof and stabbing straight through. Panicking, he let his signal to Cary, slightly too loud, and quickly scuttled to the shadows, always keeping one eye on Marc, scolding his foolishness.

[Wolfe]

The caress of night was unforgiving on Marc. Phantoms - demons from the horrid past he had so struggled to put behind him made their appearance once again, in a cruel, tormenting form. He saw himself again, a different person, desperately vying for survival. Stability was a factor not present in his life. Marc had never known friendship, and he had never intended to do so. But there had been hope, at some point in the twisted past. He had already known that in Celestia, only the strong survive. The capital is a place riddled with darkness and corruption; beyond the gleaming image of Celestial ideals, there exists a place unforgiving of failure. Marc had grown up in the slums that surrounded the central city, without ever having a chance at a good life. He had learned to be strong, to be competitive. Otherwise, life meant death.

Marc, or "Wolfe", as he was called by his comrades rose meteorically through the ranks of the military. He possessed valor, courage, and intelligence, a combination of traits essential to leadership. What hampered his ascension, however, was his morality. He refused to utilize weapons of mass destruction. He refused to become a murderer. And most of all, he would never kill innocents.

Until the invasion of Aero. The war changed Marc. The true, gritty reality of aggression, of what Celestia stood for, became all too clear to him. Death and carnage were the only products of his efforts. And slowly, he began to realize that this was not an invasion. It was a massacre. Everything he had ever known was a lie. And truthfully, his commanders couldn't care less about the value of human life.

And it still hurt, the betrayal and deception of what he had previous so fervently believed in. But the worse part was that he finally realized the horrors he had committed. The voices still resonate in his mind, pleading for mercy as he cut them down, without remorse.

Marc was awoken from this torment by a small creak in the roof. Assuming the worst, he had ripped apart the lamp. He wielded the base like a club, ready to strike down any intruders. He lowered his guard for a second, listening. A faint pattering on the roof could be heard. What was it? Military training had taught him that nothing was a coincidence. Anything unusual was an ambush. And Marc had a strong feeling that he was under attack.

[Sam]

Cary heard the loud snap of Venus's voice, warning him that their cover might have been blown. He almost cursed aloud as he steered Strike towards the darkened city. He knew exactly where his Pokemon was, his sense of smell could tell him that. It was just the plan in which he would formulate to capture the boy. He carried a syringe carrying a sort of fluid that caused a person to become subdued and easy to handle. He didn't know if he'd get a chance to use it, but it was there just in case.

But how to get the boy in the first place? He could use Neptune for that. His hand reached for the Pokeball containing his third Pokemon, ready to swing it out at a moment's notice. As Strike swooped in to where Venus stood, Cary could sense the boy inside. He was awake, and ready to defend himself. That defeated the element of surprise, but he could still use tactics to trap the boy inside the room. Gathering the information Venus had to share, he found out that there were only two escapes: the door and the window. He exchanged a glance with Venus, silently instructing him to remove anything that could prove to be a flaw as he attacked.

He took out Neptune's Pokeball and poised himself for attack. He reached out a hand and Venus, getting the message, quickly tied a string of webbing around his hand and attached it to the building. He purposefully constructed it to snap off Cary's hand at will, but stick strong to the building. Such was his noble art.

Once Venus had secured a thread connecting both of them to the building, Cary was ready. In a whisper barely audible, he started the count down. "3...2...1." Strike rolled over in the air, sending Cary and Venus crashing through the window into Marc's room. Instantly, Venus sent his stickies webs at the smokescreen, pinning it to the table and creating a barrier around it. Cary released Neptune from her Pokeball behind Marc, blocking the door with her bulky form. Cary smiled.

"Give it up, boy, your finished. If you give in now, I'll be merciful. If not, there are, ah, harder ways to do this. They will be rather enjoyable for me, though, I think, not as nice for you."

[Wolfe]

Marc had gotten himself knee deep into all sorts of crap before this occasion. There was the classic hostage situations, then the ones where he had barely managed to limp away with several bullets in his body. But this, he had hardly anticipated. And to top it off, it was him with a bloody lamppost against three elite trained creatures that were bound to the will of a bounty hunter who, it seemed, would pull out all the stops in order to secure him. A quick glance out of the left side of his peripheral vision told him that the smoke device he had placed had been made useless, if not utterly disabled. In combat, he could hold his own against two of his opponents - at least, with one he had a tactical advantage against. He tightened his grip on his club - it wasn't exactly a katana, but with enough force, it could easily crush bones.

He steadied himself, listening, as it appeared, intently to the man's proposition. Either way, things weren't going to turn out well for him. If he was going to lose, he was ready to die here. Marc chuckled bitterly - he had always wondered what the realm of death truly held within its confines. Although he had toyed with it on numerous occasions, it hadn't yet come down to a situation like this. He had mentally steeled himself to strike when he noticed a peculiar shine.

The glass.

He possessed telekinetic powers. With a lucky shot, he could likely land a blow to a vital artery, crippling and landing a mortal blow to one of his adversaries. With that many pieces, at least one could find its Marc.

Marc looked up, slowly, casually, with no fear in his eyes. His lips moved slowly, as to cause no alarm. His tone in now way matched his demeanor, however, as he spoke with a tone full of malicious intent. "I have a counter proposition to your own."

He appeared fuming now, fire burning in his eyes that would easily scare a grown man.

"How about..."

YOU GO TO HELL!

With that, he swung his arm back, and snapped it forward with a sickening thud. However much his own discomfort though, a heavy iron lamppost was flying towards Ariados at a nearly inconceivable velocity. Marc wasn't watching, though, as in a split instant, he had changed his form into that of a Gallade. A purple mess of concentrated energy was picking up both speed and glass, arcing towards Venus. As he ran towards the massive creature, he sent one last message to Cary.

Welcome to Aero, b!tch.

[Sam]

Cary's face fell into a scowl. The kid just wouldn't give up, would he? He couldn't do this forever. Someday he would catch him and this mission would be at its end. But for right now, it was time to deal with sharp objects flying at his Nidoqueen and a lamp towards his Ariados. He didn't have anything to say to his Pokemon. They could deal with themselves. However, he was missing one. With a voice as loud as he could muster, he yelled, "Strike, stop him!"

Strike hurtled in from the window, already shooting an Air Cutter attacks one after another at Marc to try and stop him from leaving. Ariados had just enough time to aim a Psychic attack at the glass before the lamp smashed over his head and knocked him out. Had he had longer, the glass would have stopped all together. However, it was enough to slow the glass down so it harmlessly showered over Nidoqueen. The Pokemon didn't move from the door and, instead, reared tall and threw her claws down at Marc, covered with Toxic. Cary, meanwhile, was readying the syringe and running at Marc with it readied in his hand, thumb on the top ready to push down.

[Wolfe]

Disgruntled, but yet undaunted by the failure of yet another of his schemes, Marc stood there, battle-ready, observing closely his adversaries' movements. But he could see without looking, for his telekinetic abilities enabled him to detect pulse waves that would've otherwise gone unnoticed by the casual observer. The energy signature was vibrant from three; Marc was instantly disappointed; not only had the glass failed to piece Nidoqueen's hide, but it appeared unscathed. Ariados, on the other hand, was glowing faintly, indicating unconsciousness, but not death.

The near miss of several powerful blasts of air brought him back to reality; then, he felt the wind knocked out of him as a wave of concentrated oxygen caught him square in the chest. He stifled a groan - he was powerful, yes, but not a god. He made a mental note to be more careful in the future, for fear of death.

There were more pressing matters at hand, though, one being the crazed madman armed with a syringe loaded with who-knows-what. And then, there was a literal beast ready to crush him, claws tainted with the deadliest of toxins. He needed time.

And that was one thing that he could do.

Raising his arms, Marc concentrated all of his will and mental barriers to form matter from thought. A crystalline shield of green aura shrouded him from all attack - human or by Pokemon. He was safe - at least, for the next few seconds.

[Sam]

Cary averted his arm just in time to stop the syringe from bouncing off the barrier. His chest hit instead, rebounding him off to the other side of the room. The syringe was undamaged, but a bruise was spreading where he'd hit the protection and where he'd hit the ground. Nidoqueen was stepping back, her attack repelled as well. They all looked at Cary for a command. He growled and shouted out, "Well, what are you waiting for? Break it!"

More Air Cutters began to fly at the barrier and Nidoqueen charged forward with a Superpower attack. She began to smash at the green aura, her bulk barely bouncing her back, allowing for consecutive attacks. They continued to attack the barrier, each attack slowly weakening it.

Cary, meanwhile, stood up, his fury slowly consuming him, and gripped the syringe to almost breaking point. He knelt next to Marc and raised the point, ready to plunge it into his skin the instant the barrier broke. A crazed, maniac smile cut across his face.

[Wolfe]

Marc was quickly running out of time, and he knew he had to act fast or face certain death at the hands of his enemies. With each blow the barrier shuddered a little more; from where Marc was, the tremors grew to quakes, signalling the end of the barrier. An instant later, the green aura surrounding shattered into a thousand bright pieces, vanishing into thin air as each shard flew into oblivion. Time slowed - Marc knew he only had a precious few seconds of time to act - and he had to do something drastic. His will strengthened, adrenaline pumped through his veins. This was going to be a fight for the ages.

And then he looked into Cary's eyes.

Big mistake. For the first time in so long, Marc was weakened by fear. Not of death, but of imprisonment. And the removal of the freedom he cherished and had fought so hard for.

That was simply unacceptable. He limbered himself up, surveying the situation. A few milliseconds later, Cary would definitely notice the lack of a shield and plunge that syringe and whatever its contents into Marc, rendering him useless. That was his first priority. Realizing that one, he now had a large bruise forming on his chest, and two, that behind him lay the ruptured class of the window, he knew what he had to do.

Sidestepping the bulk of Cary's frame, Marc spun around a delivered a powerful roundhouse kick aimed toward Cary's solarplexus. The purpose of this attack was not to harm, or impair, or even to cripple. Marc aimed to kill.

[Sam]

The very second the barrier shattered, the syringe went straight towards where Marc lay. However, the Pokemorph was too quick and was gone before the needle could break his skin. Cary managed to keep the syringe from hitting the floor, just managing to maneuver it away. He almost screamed in frustration until he realized that Marc wasn't there anymore. He whipped around to see a very concentrated looking Neptune holding Marc's foot up with her arm.

What had happened was the when the shield broke, Neptune knew that Cary, even with his enhanced senses, couldn't beat a Pokemon in speed. She knew that Marc would be attacking in the next instant, that was obvious. Wildly, to protect her master, she flung one arm out, still glowing red with Superpower, and the two forces collided. The swift kick of Marc smashed right into Neptune's powerful arm. She was surprised at first, but then managed to attach her other arm as well. Her claws sunk into his leg and she used her power, enhanced from Superpower, to attempt and flip and pin Marc to the ground.

Cary, seeing this, swiftly moved towards his opponent and once again raised the syringe to plunge it into his body. He was going to win this. His wild eyes flashed with anger and the snarl that broke his face was terrible enough to make a grown man flee. But this was not a man. This was a chunk of hard steel that wouldn't give in easily. But he intended to do so. The needle whistled through the air as it came down on the Gallade.

[Wolfe]

Now this was really getting annoying. It seemed the two of them were at a stalemate - one involving the concepts of both their lives, his freedom, and about everything in between. The guy wouldn't give up, would he. He raised his head slowly, preparing his final gambit. No, scratch that - more like his parting present. Zuletzet's eyes betrayed no compassion, no sympathy - no humanity at all. What surprised Marc was that he knew that look. It was, in times past, the look of his own. But the glare he had returned to his adversary was one of defiance. He would live free, or go down on his own terms.

In a moment's notice, the great Gallade that had occupied the room just seconds past had been replaced by a eighteen-year old boy, one who had no qualms about killing anyone in the room he stood in. Before anyone else could react, he dove between Nidoqueen's legs and grabbed a small, black object with a button emblazoned with a single skull. Marc smiled, one filled with bitterness and regret, but hid a faint spark of hope. It didn't matter, though, as no one would ever be around to see it.

Marc turned around, now standing, his full stature evident to Cary. On his face was plastered a staunch frown, a look of defiance in his eyes, ready to accept their fate. He didn't bother with threats - they only delayed the inevitable. And his bravado would certainly do him no good now. Now, it was just life and death here. Without warning, he pressed the button, and the blast of the bomb instantly blew him away from reality - from the room, out the window, and into the darkness.

One thing came to mind as this was happening:

At least I'm be warm in Hell.

[Sam]

Neptune thought, over her last victory keeping Marc at bay, that she would be able to stop him again. Not this time. His speed was far beyond hers, even in human form. She lumbered around, getting ready to attack again, but stopped when she realized that he was gone. Blasted out the window by his own bomb. Disappointment flooded every inch of every vessel of her body. She'd failed her master again.

But there was no one more disappointed then Cary himself. If he had not known that there was not a hope at catching this boy, then he would have screamed in rage and would have found a way to destroy every bit of anything in the room. Instead, he stood and stared out the open cave in the building, destroyed in the blast. The syringe's body fell into his palm, and he crushed the whole thing in his hand, the glass piercing his skin.

The pain was what he deserved. The pain was what he wanted. The pain was everything. The world was pain. The disappointment of this mission was pain. So why not add a little more? He closed his eyes and breathed deeply as he felt the blood rush out his palm. Shaking the glass away, he clenched his fist and felt the red blood in his palm, imagining that it was Marc. Imagining that it was the blood running out of the boy's gapping chest, into Cary's, no, Zuletzt's hand. And his own words whispering into the ears of the boy's cold, dead body, "I am the last."

Zuletzt smiled.

But that was only a dream. He would never catch this boy. He was too good for the Pokemon hunter. But eventually, Zuletzt would watch the dream blossom into reality. Not yet, though. He needed better methods, better capture efficiency. Of course, the boy would become stronger as well. He needed to think of that.

But for now, it was goodbye Marc and the dark red liquid falling from his body and a welcome home to capturing powerful Pokemon and eliminating those that threatened the way of the Celestial government. Maybe, once he had the power of Arceus in his hands, he could destroy the boy, in just the way his dream had envisioned for him. But that was a long way away.

And he needed to be ready.

END THREAD