FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Zoroark kept her eyes closed and arms crossed while thinking of the past, subconsciously copying Seif's behavior. She had experienced a great many things outside of the desert, most of it so unlike what the hot sands had shown her that it was seemingly part of an alternate dimension. However, there was a blight that both worlds shared, awoken in one and dormant in the other. Whatever it took, she refused to let anyone else suffer what she had faced.

Slowly opening her eyes, the scientist gazed at her with confidence as Lucario's face was filled with apprehension. She realized the latter would be difficult to win over, but knew it could not be helped.

"The others are still fighting up there," Zoroark finally said, rationalizing her actions while reaching out her hand, "Give me the virus, doctor. We should put an end to this before anyone gets hurt."

"Whoa, hold on there!" Lucario exclaimed as he stepped in front of Zoroark, knocking her arm away, "What're you planning to do with it!? We're gonna destroy it, right!?"

The two of the stared at each other. Lucario's expression was surprised and confused, but Zoroark's was simply bitter and distressed.

"Lucario..." Zoroark whispered as she slowly withdrew her hand, never blinking or breaking eye contact, "... I really do not have the time to explain things right now. Just trust me."

"You will wrap your head around it eventually," the scientist suddenly interrupted as he patted Lucario on the shoulder, "And then you will see that humanity must die!"

"You shut the hell up!" Lucario yelled as she knocked away the human's arm as well and kept his fists clenched, "Zoroark, are you crazy!? You'll kill humanity! Billions of lives!"

"I am not planning to destroy all humans!" Zoroark responded quickly, "I shall only use the virus as a deterrent, so that I can stop them from doing as they please and accidentally killing all life on Earth!"

Lucario mouthed a curse as he looked off to the side for a moment, annoyed to not understand what anyone was talking about. Zoroark kept her face straight, not about to show any weakness when so close to accomplishing something so important.

"... The only one about to kill all life on Earth is you! Use that virus and you'll be halfway done!" Lucario shouted accusingly while pointing at Zoroark, "I was human... No, I AM human! Why the hell would I destroy the world!?"

"I wonder... How much of you is really human?" Zoroark answered calmly before closing her eyes, "Fauna and Pokémon entered divergent paths of evolution eons ago... The ancestors of us Pokémon were peaceful and received sustenance from berries, while the ancestors of you humans killed and ate each other, waging endless wars! If you were still completely human, violence would be too deeply engraved in your nature to hinder."

Smacking his forehead, Lucario heard a snicker from behind and felt like backhanding the scientist for having put him in this difficult situation to begin with.

"What the hell... Those were primitive beings! Bugs and animals!" Lucario argued angrily, "We've evolved since then, stupid, we don't kill each other anymore!"

"Wrong. You hide yourselves behind civilization, but I have seen the true face of humanity...!" Zoroark said with a chilly tone when she sensed her memories bubbling to the surface again, "You are just as bloodthirsty as your ancestors were, and you are taking it out on us Pokémon by forcing us to do battle for your amusement! If we were to disappear, you would be fighting and killing each other instead! Everlasting peace is not possible in a world where you exist!"

She wanted nothing more but to explain her upbringing to elaborate on her actions. However, they had already wasted too much time, and the sooner she could get to the rest of the revolutionaries the sooner she and the virus would be safe.

"They tanned my mother... They ate my father... Do you know why?" Zoroark summarized the source of her anguish while showing a defiant expression, "Because they could. Humanity has dominance over Pokémon, and they abuse it every day. We might have shared more equal ground in the past, but that position has been steadily slipping. Soon we will be nothing but cattle for them to slaughter, our flesh and bones used as food and tools!"

Pushing away the memories of the desert, Zoroark noticed something change in Lucario's stance. His confused expression began to clear up and transformed into hostility, taking a step away from her. The suspenseful atmosphere surrounding them was now anything but friendly, reminding her of the two times they had fought in the past. Lucario could feel it too, but in his case it was mixed in with a strong sense of doubt.

"... I can't believe what I'm hearing!" Lucario shouted in disbelief, "Is this another one of your illusions? Disillusion yourself!"

"The one living in an illusion is you, the illusion that deep down, humanity is good!" Zoroark replied while raising her voice, hoping she could get through to him before things escalate, "You do not understand that in this world, there are people unlike you. Bad people. If you did, you would never hesitate the chance to wipe them out!"

"Damn it, not all humans are bad!" Lucario argued while thinking of his hometown, Lyra and many others he had met on his long journey as a Pokémon trainer, "I could name hundreds that are a whole lot better than you!"

"I know there are exceptions, many of them... But humanity as a whole will eventually destroy everything, even themselves!" Zoroark snapped back while throwing a hand out to her side, setting her long flowing hair into motion, "Nothing can excuse that! Who would not prefer that every human dies instead of the entire world perishing under their foolish rule!?"

"You underestimate the world if you think humanity can do that!" Lucario continued, unsure of how Zoroark could think that a couple of bipedal apes were somehow a bigger threat to the world than enormous hounds that dribble lava or puke thunder.

"Am I?" Zoroark responded while making an effort to calm herself down and get her bearings together, "All that machinery you love so much, and the fumes they spew out... The resources you consume without a second thought... Every second with you on the planet cuts our world's lifespan by another hundred years! How about we take humanity out of the equation? The Earth will remain fertile until the sun vaporizes the oceans in a billion years!"

"Then grab a weapon and go kill everyone!" Lucario yelled while making a cocking motion with his hands, wondering if Zoroark even knew what a gun was, "Sounds really rational when I put it like that, doesn't it!?"

"Do you think I would even consider this if not for the virus!?" Zoroark shouted back before searching the room for the virus, "Can't you even imagine the idea that humanity might be bad for the world? Are you that egotistical? I suppose you wouldn't be alone in that, and at least you'll never have to meet the people and Pokémon to suffer for your foolishness!"

Lucario had heard enough. Clenching his fists, he summoned up all his anger as he felt like rushing Zoroark's face into a nearby wall, not entirely unlike what he had done in the forest outside of No Man's Land. Zoroark noticed his intentions and quickly formulated an illusion that would misdirect his blow and allow her to counterattack.

However, as Lucario continued staring into Zoroark's face he felt his rage wane. Looking at her reminded him of the many things she had told him about herself, her sleeplessness and strife to do what's best for everyone. He hesitated, the frightening idea that he was misjudging her again and making a mistake striking him. Zoroark also felt similar emotions, remembering when they had finally reached an understanding with each other in the cage. Halting her illusion she dropped the idea of fighting back, thinking that maybe she deserved a punch to the face for the unspeakable crime she was about to commit.

In the end they just stood and stared at each other, but a conclusion had been far from reached.

"... And we're the monsters, huh?" Lucario spoke after the long period of silence, "Need I remind you of Deoxys? You Pokémon are far more violent and dangerous than-"

He had barely gotten the full sentence out when another highly annoying snicker sounded from behind. Turning around and seeing the scientist as gleeful as always, he decided it was time to give a stern warning.

"You seem real happy for a guy one lame excuse away from getting his head ripped off!" Lucario roared as loud as he could, but the scientists only kept on laughing.

"Ah, it is quite amusing to hear someone who knows nothing have an opinion on matters," the human said while waving his hand to the side, "Deoxys, for instance."

"I'll have you know, I have more experience with Deoxys than either of you!" Lucario shouted, not really possessing any memories from their climactic battle but recalling everything Mew had explained, "What? You're gonna tell me that psychotic monster was just misunderstood? Confused? That poor widdle Pokémon didn't MEAN to kill all life on earth!"

"Ah, well, yes, he was quite intent on doing that," the scientist replied very quickly while shrugging, "Of course, that was simply because he was not a Pokémon."

His sinister little snicker echoed throughout the facility once more, but this time both Lucario and Zoroark were too focused on what he was saying to call him out on it.

"He was human," the scientist said with a smile, deriving pleasure from having dropped another bombshell on the two gasping Pokémon.

"Asshole, I've had it up to here with your bullshit!" Lucario immediately responded by taking an aggressive step towards him, "Are you really THAT insane that you can't see Deoxys for what he was!?"

"Still your tongue, mutt," the human warned while standing completely still and refusing to be intimidated, "It is you who cannot see him for what he was. I am the one who created him, after all."

"Deoxys appeared from outer space," Zoroark chimed in, a million unanswered questions roaring around her head as she tried to figure out if she was being played for a fool, "Astronomers witnessed his descent. The crater is still present. There is no doubt that's where he came from."

"Indeed, AFTER we launched him there," the scientist clarified as he peeked out from behind Lucario to meet her gaze, "Why did people instantly assume the illogical option while disregarding the logical? The odds of a single extra-terrestrial being zooming through the enormity of space and crash-landing on this tiny rock are far beneath a fraction of a percent. We simply did not send him far enough, and the forces of gravity caused him to come falling back."

Feeling confident in himself, the scientist began to pace around the room. He had many memories of the place, thinking back to the fine experiments conducted there. Each dissected Pokémon one step closer to a solution, all while fooling his subordinates and superiors of his true intentions.

"Deoxys was both a success and a failure. We were tasked with creating the strongest Pokémon in the world through genetic engineering for the use of our benefactors," the human explained while occasionally throwing the two Pokémon a satisfied glance, "Past attempts had shown that altering a clone only led to complications, such as the resulting Pokémon being rebellious and difficult to control. We needed a different component, so our creation's mind would not be entirely pristine..."

Despite Zoroark and Lucario's disgusted faces, the scientist still thought of himself as a bit of an unsung hero. He had dedicated his entire existence to doing something he thought would save the world, even at the cost of his own life. Overcoming his own limitations as a human and playing both sides, all for the good of others.

"... In truth, even then I was planning on using Deoxys to save the world. Combining the forces of a Pokémon with the destructive senses of a human, I was to instruct him to destroy humanity with their own hatred..." he continued before a crude scorn crossed his face, "... But the wretched creature was a failure! He would kill anything! Humans, Pokémon and even inanimate biological structures! The humanity in him had woken his most primal desires, wanting nothing but death and destruction to all!"

Suddenly walking up to Lucario, this time it was the Pokémon's turn to flinch in surprise.

"Not only that, being both human and Pokémon meant we could not trap him, even with what we used against you in Saffron City," the professor said while jabbing a finger into Lucario's chest, "He was powerful beyond our imagination, and we could not risk another Mewtwo. Instead of trying to destroy him and accidentally waking his ire, we sealed him inside a rocket shuttle and sent him far into the reaches of outer space!"

He threw his hands up into the air in a glorious posture as Zoroark and Lucario stared at him. The former was stunned, and the latter was bored.

"Hey Zoroark, this guy sure seems nice," Lucario said with irony, "I'm glad you're betraying me for his sake."

"You still cannot see how the world would have been better off without humans like this?" Zoroark asked while feeling a headache coming on and rubbing her temples, "I believe whatever his employers has in store for him will be punishment enough."

"I am human, after all. Overcoming one's nature is quite difficult," the professor said in his own defense, "By embracing my own shortcomings, I was able to use it to fuel a solution for the world. Ah, if only I had been born a Pokémon..."

"A shame," Zoroark lied before reaching out her hand, "I am ready to accept the virus. Which is it?"

"Cylindrical canister, red markings," the scientist said clearly while pointing towards the cabinet, "One layer of plastic and one of steel, both unsealed easily enough. The virus still needs a few more components that should not be difficult for someone in your position to acquire."

As Zoroark took her first step towards the cabinet, Lucario knew this was it. Riddled by confusion and conflict, he could only do what felt right at the moment. Convinced that this should not under any circumstances be happening, he dashed ahead of Zoroark and straightened his back.

"Stop. I absolutely can't let you do it," Lucario said bluntly and clashed his fists together in hostility. As if having expected this, Zoroark did not bat an eye and only stared at him with an expression of disappointment.

"Lucario... I put so much faith in you, and this is how you repay me?" Zoroark said before pointing her thumb towards the exit, "Pikablu and the others are still up there fighting, we have a responsibility to get back to them as quickly as possible! What if Zerobi falls into danger while we are wasting time here?"

"... While getting the virus is my responsibility to them..." Lucario muttered while cracking his neck, "... Making sure it doesn't end up in your hands is my responsibility to the human species."

After that, he entered a battle pose. Lashing out first had proven to be a faulty strategy in the past, especially when fighting a master of illusions. Having an idea of what kind of assault Zoroark would attempt, Lucario made himself ready to counterattack at the sight or sound of any unexpected movement.

But she did not attack. All she did was make a half-hearted attempt at guarding, all while looking at him with sorrowful eyes.

"So... This is how it ends?" Zoroark asked, not budging from the spot, "After all we've been through, we hit each other until one of us loses consciousness and the other claims righteousness?" "No surprise here," Lucario lied while trying to justify the feeling of betrayal waking up again, "Ivy tries to kill me, Lugia talk shit, Celebi flips out over Zerobi and now this... You Pokémon are all out of your minds! Why am I the only sane one!?"

"It doesn't have to come to this," Zoroark continued with her persuasion, "If you understood the situation better, you would know something has to be done. We can have a friendly discussion like civilized people once we are out of here."

"Friendly!? Hah!" Lucario spat while throwing an arm out to the side, "Don't make me laugh! Like I'd ever be friends with a mass murderer!"

"I suppose only Zerobi gets a pass for that?" Zoroark muttered before crossing her arms and sighing, "Never mind... What if we leave the virus here? Will you hear me out then?"

Lucario considered it for several moments, her suggestion seeming reasonable. The spirit of battle slowly seeped out of him, again being reminded of their friendship and the fact that he really did not wish to fight her. Incredibly, he forced himself to stay alert, not wanting to take any unnecessary risks. Zoroark noticed this and visibly dropped her guard, thinking the fact that she was not using any illusions was proof enough of her desire to parley.

"This would not be the first of our misunderstandings," Zoroark explained calmly while placing a hand by her chest, "Human or Pokémon, man or woman... Deep down, we are not that different. Let us talk this whole thing over before making any hasty decisions."

"... Forget it!" Lucario yelled while rapidly opening and closing his fists, doing all he could to fire himself again and not lose sight of the battle at hand, "We're not similar at all! Unlike you, I'm not some lazy weakling who takes the easy way out!"

Barely noticing his preparations, Zoroark was instead taken aback by his crude statement. Memories of her hazardous childhood in the desert flashed through her mind, and she quickly withdrew her attempts at kindness.

"The easy way?" Zoroark muttered darkly while baring her fangs, "You know nothing of what I have been through. I have worked myself to the bone... Suffered horrors beyond this world... Given up everything..."

"And now it was all for nothing, wasn't it!?" Lucario suddenly shouted with a powerful voice. It took her by surprise, causing her fiendish behavior to instantly go away.

"I... Beg your pardon?" Zoroark exclaimed with confusion.

"All your work was worthless! Your revolution, your suffering, everything!" Lucario continued while pointing accusingly at the Dark-type he had once respected, "That virus would've handled humanity without you doing a damn thing!"

Zoroark's face scrounged up as Lucario felt that he had finally hit a nerve. For better or worse, he decided to keep pressing.

"You could've been lying on a beach and eaten berries all day, the end results would've been the same!" Lucario elaborated while making wild gestures with his hands, "Your efforts were useless! Your life was pointless! Not to mention, you betrayed those that gave their own lives for the revolution, thinking it was for a worthy cause!"

"... No..." Zoroark whispered in response, her mind going blank as she gained comprehension of what he was saying. What she had struggled and fought for all this time would never come true, in the end all she had done had been to trick whoever she could into following her towards ruin.

"All because you decided to take the easy way out, even when you had gotten so far on your own!" Lucario continued while occasionally looking at the scientist with disgust and rage, "You had your own idea on how to fix things, to establish relations with humanity and make sure they don't do anything stupid! Now you're giving up your dreams, your ambitions just because THIS FUCKING ASSHOLE gives you the lazy man's alternative TO KILL EVERYONE!?"

"... No...!" Zoroark repeated a little louder this time. Slowly but surely, she begun to realize that her entire purpose in life had been thrown out the window the instant the true nature of the virus had been revealed to her.

"Face it! You could've have been the greatest hero, erasing the rift between humanity and Pokémon while establishing a utopia for both species!" Lucario bellowed with all he had, "Now you'll just go down in history as the worst genocidal maniac who ever lived for doing something that would've happened even without you, all because you gave up - You couldn't go the full distance because you were TOO DAMN LAZY!"

"NO!" Zoroark burst out with indignation, causing even the loudmouthed Lucario to flinch and fall silent. Teeth showing behind a snarl and below a fierce set of eyes made her look more like a monster than ever, and Lucario wondered if he had gone too far and stirred awake something terrible.

Her mind a vortex of raging thoughts, Zoroark leaned her head back, closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. When her head returned to its original position, she had reverted to her regular demeanor.

"Doc, you forgot to put me into your calculation," Zoroark said while calmly turning towards the nearby scientist without missing a beat, "We do not need a virus to fix the world. My revolution wil handle it just fine without unnecessary loss of life."

"Hmpf... What a dull conclusion," the human responded disappointedly, but made no attempts at stealing the virus or running away. Lucario had a slightly shell-shocked appearance as Zoroark approached him, not having seen her in such a ferocious state before. Preparing himself for an attack or at least a slap, she instead lowered her head as a sign of respect. "Sorry. I suppose I am a bit prone to sacrifice at this point," Zoroark said humbly as if her earlier outburst had never even occurred, "I let my emotions get the best of me. Had I been given more time to think about it... I wouldn't have used the virus. Can you forgive me?"

Frozen in surprise and wonder, Lucario's earlier animosity had all but disappeared. His will to fight was gone, and so was his reason to. Although unable to grasp the gravity of what had just happened, a strangely pleasant feeling emanated from his chest. He had actually won the seemingly hopeless argument without resorting to violence.

"... Fine," Lucario answered quietly, still not able to bring himself to sound happy, "Our main goal is to reach an understanding between Pokémon and humanity, right? This is just... Another step along the way."

"If there are more humans like you out there, it will be easier than I'd thought," Zoroark replied with a relaxing smile, apparently feeling the same sense of relief he was. He smiled back, not thinking too much about how close he was to smashing her face to bits, certain that she was doing likewise. Any further apologies would have to wait as Zoroark stepped aside, giving Lucario free access to the human sharing the room with them.

"Alright. How do we destroy the virus?" Lucario asked haughtily while pounding his fists together. He had absolutely no qualms about beating up a psychotic professor or smashing a vial to pieces.

"No need," the scientist replied bluntly with a sneer, "It is not finished yet."

"Handle it carefully, it might still be moderately dangerous," Zoroark warned as Lucario turned and stepped over to the cabinet, "We need to analyze it before we can properly dispose of it. I've prepared a team back in No Man's Land for this."

Picking up the cylindrical canister, Lucario found it strange that such a small thing could potentially eradicate humanity. It was barely half the size of one of his fingers, which of course were fairly large to begin with. Getting a steady grip on it, he nodded towards Zoroark.

"We should hurry," she mentioned while nodding back, hoping their little quarrel had not cost the lives of the fighters upstairs. Picking up the pace, they headed towards the exit, and the silence made Lucario fall deep in thought.

He was eager to see Zerobi again, wondering if she had heard any of their earlier screaming. He also felt really good about himself, having stopped Zoroark from making a huge mistake while successfully retrieving the virus. Probably not able to boast about the former for Zoroark's sake, he looked forward to flaunting the latter as much as possible. Zerobi would be proud, for sure. Even the grumpy Pikablu and Kabutops would have to admit he did well. Celebi would congratulate him and grow him as many mints as he wanted, but the reaction he was most expectant of was Mew's. He had put everything she had taught him about human and Pokémon coexistence to use, and had succeeded in making a huge difference in creating the world of her dreams. She was bound to shower him with praise and maybe even make him an honorary legendary to the dismay of Lugia, Mesprit and all the other jerks that had mistreated him earlier. A satisfied sigh escaped his lips as for the first time in his life, he felt that his long and difficult journey had been worthwhile.

"I believe you both misunderstand," the scientist interrupted his thoughts with a cold voice, "I said... 'It'... Is not finished yet..."

"You've said enough," Lucario replied automatically while eagerly pulling at Zoroark's arm, "Come on, let's get out of here and celebrate!"

"I think not," a disembodied voice sounded throughout the locale. Feeling no aura and knowing that no living creature could possibly produce such a formless sound, Lucario turned his head up to see if there was a loudspeaker anywhere he had missed.

But all he saw was a black shadow descending through the ceiling.