FSE

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Hey there! This is a new series that I'll be writing called "Armageddon"! It is a story based on the Pokemon universe, with some slight twists. Therefore, some scenes in this story series may be slightly disturbing to some readers. There will also be a few 'suggestive' scenes as well. However, those will be very few and far between. For a lot of reasons, this story series is going to be focused on plot development for the most part. Also, keep in mind that I am not the most knowledgeable about Pokémon, so excuse any spelling errors or mistakes in the naming of certain places, items, etc.

Pokémon™ is intellectual property of Nintendo© and Game Freak, Inc. respectively.

Here is some information about the story format:

'Character Thought' (Not projected to other characters)

---

^^^Story break or a switch between character scenes/perspectives ^^^

~XXXXX~ Represents a lapse in time. But not a character perspective switch.

'Character Thought' (Projected to other characters)

(Pokémon Speech)

"Character Dialogue"

I think that's about it. Enjoy the story!

Armageddon: Chapter 10 - "Torment and Deception"

"This is going to get very interesting."

"Why do you say that, sir?"

"We're only one match away from the halfway mark, you know what that means?"

"Uhhm... that there are only sixty-five matches left?"

"..."

"..."

"No. Well... sort of."

"...So, what will be making this more interesting, sir?"

"Let me show you!" *click*

"Arena reconfiguration sequence - enabled."

---

'Congratulations, you've killed your first opponent!' A mocking, ghastly voice reverberated through Richard's head.

He visibly cringed slightly at the sensation of the ghost's thoughts penetrating his mind. "That 'opponent' was a child... I don't appreciate the sarcasm." Richard said angrily through gritted teeth, while also giving her a resentful glare.

'Psh, give me a break. I've seen things that would make killing a child look like amateur hour.' The Mismagius proclaimed while crossing her arms over her chest, seemingly unfazed by the razor sharp glare aimed directly at her.

Richard gave an irate sigh. "How can you be so heartless?! Doesn't it bother you that an innocent baby Pokémon just DIED because of some asshole who wants nothing more than to be entertained?!" Richard exclaimed with exasperation while motioning with both of his arms towards the wall to his left.

'...Getting a little feisty now, are we?' She taunted; her 'W' shaped grin growing a little sharper.

Richard didn't respond, and proceeded to stare at her with pure hostility.

'...But, if I must answer your question. I suppose it is a little hard to resist a bit of entertainment when you are already halfway into the grave.' She said in a sinister tone while rubbing her chin with a hand thoughtfully.

"Oh, I see. This is some sort of GAME to you, isn't it?!" Richard shouted while jumping up from his sitting position.

'Must I spell it out for you?' She questioned, and then gestured both of her arms towards herself. 'Look at me, I'm an Arceus damned ghost! The untimely deaths of others is something that I hardly even care about, let alone my own!'

"I get it now, you don't have empathy for the hundreds of helpless souls that have gone through this hell, only to be thrown at death's doorstep. Guess I shouldn't have expected anything more from a ghost." Richard blurted out in a harsh manner.

The Mismagius recoiled slightly and stared at Richard with a blank expression while sinking towards the ground a few inches.

"To think I've actually tried to trust someone like you, despite what perceptions society has forever cursed you with! Although, now I'm starting to think that it's nothing but a lost cause." He continued in a bitter tone, while stretching one of his arms behind himself to accentuate his point.

The Mismagius' eyes widened as her grin faded into a soft 'M' shape and then suddenly turned her back to him. Silence permeated the air for a few moments, until the Mismagius finally spoke once more.

'You really think I don't care about anyone?' She softly said in a wistful manner while the blood-red irises of her eyes slowly drifted towards the ground.

Regret immediately flowed through Richard's mind as he slowly lowered his raised arm. Obviously, what he had just said struck an emotional chord within her. "Uhm, I... I didn't mean..." He started with as delicate of a tone as possible.

'Even ghosts have fears...' She interrupted as she turned her head sideways, and glanced over her left shoulder at him with a dispirited look in her single, visible eye. 'Why do you think we haunt people?'

Richard couldn't help but subtly raise an eyebrow. This was the person that had just said she enjoyed being 'entertained', because she was already halfway to the grave. What could she possibly fear?

The Mismagius caught the subtle raise of an eyebrow that Richard gave her, and turned her head back to its original forward-facing position. 'Do you honestly believe that we only do it to terrorize? I mean, it can be fun... at times. I'll give you that.' She said as she raised her both of her arms slightly in a pitiful attempt at a half-hearted shrug. 'But the real reason we do it is because... we don't want to be alone.'

The Mismagius then turned back around to face Richard, while her eyes were downcast to the ground and the slight 'M' shape of her mouth was still prominent.

'Great. Now I feel like a total dick.' Richard thought as he sighed to himself. "Listen, I didn't mean what I said." He spoke in earnest as he took a small step towards the ghost floating in front of him.

The 'M' shaped frown on the Mismagius' face grew sharper at his words. 'No, no. I understand.' She started while her gaze then fixated onto Richard. 'As you have said, we ghosts don't care about anything... we don't have feelings.' The Mismagius continued in a condescending tone as her eyes narrowed. She then slowly floated backwards out of the cell while maintaining eye contact with Richard at the same time. 'Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a match to attend.'

Richard's posture slouched slightly as he watched the Mismagius slowly float towards the steel doors at the end of the long hallway. Like clockwork; the steel doors opened with a loud clicking noise as an Unown made its way inside, then immediately looked up at the Mismagius floating in front of it. With only a small buzzing noise breaking the silence, it then turned around and flew in the other direction, she then in turn followed it without response.

---

'You know you won't be able to hide in here forever.' The Mismagius chided as she subtly shook her head at the naive Sandslash.

"Like hell I can't!" The Sandslash replied irately while pointing one of his clawed hands directly at the ghost floating several feet in front from him. He then proceeded to position himself further into the shadowy corners of the sparsely lit room. "Can't see me now, can ya?" He spoke out triumphantly.

'I'm a ghost, you dolt! I'm in my element with the darkness!' She responded with indignation. 'Must I remind you that the Unown who guard this facility are also psychic? They know you are here.'

"Then explain why I haven't been found yet!" He said with confidence while motioning the same clawed hand that was pointed at the Mismagius back towards himself.

'They probably find it to be hilarious.' She quipped as she slightly shrugged her shoulders.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." The Sandlash dismissively replied while sitting down on one of the worn out concrete slabs positioned next to him, and taking a quick glance at the opposite side of the room.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, It is now time for our sixty-third match-up!' Victor's foreboding voice reverberated throughout the complex in the same fashion it had always done so in the past. "A Mismagius, by the name of Amethyst, and a Human, by the name of Dianna!"

Amethyst's expression suddenly turned into one of disbelief. That name sounded so...familiar. Could it possibly be who she thinks it is, her trainer that she had been separated from?

The hysterical cackling of the Sandslash broke her out of her train of thought, clutching his stomach with both claws. "Y-your name is Amethyst?!" He stuttered out in between breaths. "That's the most-"

Amethyst's demeanor suddenly turned more hostile than usual, as what Victor had said moments before began to sink in.

'Shut your damn mouth.' Amethyst scolded while forming a fierce gaze onto her features. 'My trainer gave me that name, and I'm proud of it.' She continued in a venomous tone as the jewels on her chest began to glow in a deep shade of red. 'You have no right to insult my name, nor my trainer's judgment. So, shut your trap, or I'll do it for you.' She threatened while slowly floating closer to the now frightened Sandslash. Amethyst deliberately floated through his body, causing him to visibly shudder from the chilling sensation. She then briefly glanced over shoulder, her 'W' shaped grin becoming sharper from the satisfaction of startling him. Amethyst then refocused her attention to the door in front of her, and stopped not more than a couple of inches away from it, waiting for the countdown to begin.

Several thoughts made their presence known in her mind. She was going to have to betray her very own trainer in order to survive. Could she even do such a thing? Dianna had been so good to her, and yet, she still found herself thinking of a myriad terrible ways that she could murder her. What kind of childhood friend was she; to think of such things?

The kind of friend that wanted to survive, the kind of friend that would stab Dianna in the back the first chance she got...

The kind of friend that cared about her trainer's well-being, the kind of friend that wanted nothing more but to just be side-by-side with the person she had befriended with over many years...

'When does one draw the line?' Amethyst mused while crossing her arms. 'How far can I go, before I break down completely? I can't kill my own trainer, not after all she has done.' Her expression became sullen as she silently closed her eyes. She had vowed her unwavering loyalty to Dianna, and yet she still had thoughts of turning her back on her, just like that?

'I know when one draws the line; a line that no one should ever have to cross. But today, that line will be crossed. It is not a line of triumph, nor victory... but the line of shame, guilt, and ultimately... death.' It was simply not in Amethyst's nature to submit herself to such a fate. Even if it meant the unjust demise of someone who was close to her.

'Maybe Richard was right...' She numbly thought to herself. 'I'm a ghost. I can't feel emotions of compassion, or empathy. I can only feel fear and disparity.' She felt herself slowly begin to sink into the ground as her thoughts became darker. 'I cannot sympathize, I cannot feel sorrow, and I cannot express happiness...'

'...I can only be, eternally, alone.'

"Sixty seconds until the start of the match!" Victor's voice bellowed from the mounted speakers. "Open the doors!"

Clanking, and grinding of gears then began to fill the tense atmosphere, as the sound of metal scratching against concrete also made itself known, and the thick, steel door began to slowly raise itself from the ground. A sliver of light grew ever-wider as the door opened further; revealing the vast arena in its wake. Amethyst became more anxious as she slowly hovered into the blinding light, and set her focus onto the opening the door on the other side.

'Dianna...' She whispered to herself. A growing wave of joy began to well up inside of her; only to be stunted by a tsunami of guilt. Dianna's demeanor was the very definition of conflict between happiness and shame as well. Amethyst then changed her focus to a metal staff that was held within her hands; the long, chrome handle was accented by a blue jewel mounted at the top; resembling the majesty of a sapphire crawling with lethal blue sparks of electricity. At the bottom of the handle were what looked to be three electrically charged spikes, the tips of said spikes had a red pigmentation created from the heat of the bolts of electricity constantly jumping between them.

This weapon had been created for the sole purpose of eliminating ghosts; that much was for certain. It also didn't help that Dianna's short stature made the staff appear to be larger than it really was.

"...Amethyst?" Dianna reluctantly called out with a timid voice, while pointing the end of the staff in Amethyst's general direction; as if she wasn't sure if it was a different Mismagus or not.

'Dianna!' Amethyst shouted in excitement while rapidly flying towards Dianna.

Dianna flinched in surprise at the sudden intrusion into her mind, but quickly shrugged it off, and ran towards Amethyst in return with a wide smile on her face while dropping the staff onto the ground.

Nostalgia overtook both of their senses as the scenery and sounds around them began to melt into an entirely different environment. Amethyst stopped dead in her tracks as she once again found herself in the dense forest she used to call home; back when she was a Misdreavus.

Night seemed to last indefinitely in this place, which was one of the many reasons she chose it as her place of residence from the very beginning. Small specks of light, however, did manage to seep through the thick forest canopy, thereby casting a gentle glow onto whatever passageways could be seen by the naked eye.

Cries of a frightened child that echoed deep within the dark recesses of the dense undergrowth interrupted her train of thought. Amethyst focused intently on the sound, hovering in several different directions to find a direction for approach. A satisfied hum escaped her lips at the thought of consuming all of the delectable fear that was already sparsely present throughout the cool air around her, as she finally found an optimal direction to take in order to track down the source.

The wailing, accentuated by the occasional sob, grew ever louder. Sounds of water splashing against rock from a distant waterfall also became present in the otherwise silent soundscape. Previously dense underbrush now became noticeably thinner, as a visible clearing in the immense forest came within her line of sight.

A little girl with tangled brown hair, and a tarnished blue sundress, was sitting near a cliff on the edge of a cenote. The waterfall poured into the large, liquid-filled pit from somewhere on top of the visible mountains peeking through several holes in the foliage that populated the edges of the clearing. Creating a fine mist that penetrated the air. Lighting here was a tad more generous, as all areas of the clearing could be seen from Amethyst's current position, but gradually faded back into pitch-black darkness as her eyes edged closer to the outskirts of the open area.

The beautiful scenery wasn't the only thing to catch her eye, however. Not only was there a little girl crying, but another being was silently floating a few inches above her head; looking down with a sympathetic look in its eyes, and a curved frown, much unlike her 'M' shaped one. The differences ended there though, as vibrant, red, pearl-like gems hung on the beings' neck; casting a soft, maroon glow on the already gently lit rocks around them.

Amethyst's eyes widened slightly with surprise. 'That's...me, as a Misdreavus!' She mused with bewilderment.

The child slowly raised her head to meet the Misdreavus' gaze. "P-please help me... f-find my w-way out." She sobbed as the moist sheen in her hazel eyes was amplified by the sun's rays reflecting off of the miniscule droplets of dew hanging heavily in the air.

The Misdreavus cocked her head to the side slightly, until she suddenly turned around, and began to float towards the opposite edge of the clearing, while coercing the little girl to follow her.

'Wait. That's Dianna!' Amethyst thought to herself in shock. She was peering at a memory that was almost completely lost! But, if she herself was still a Mismagius, then that could possibly mean...

She suddenly snapped her gaze to a subtle rustling of bushes near her current position. Amethyst cautiously floated out of the spindly bushes she was hiding behind. The rustling became more prominent, until a much more adult version of the small child peered into the same expanse. The irises of her still hazel eyes slowly scanned the perimeter of the area, up until they both met each other's gazes.

"Amethyst!" Dianna yelled as she bolted out of the bushes towards her direction.

Amethyst immediately flew out of the bushes towards Dianna at a startling velocity in response.

As the distance between them shortened, the two figures of their past watched intently, with smiles on both of their faces from the other side of the cenote, while fading away into thin air.

Before Amethyst and Dianna made contact, they were snapped out of their trance as they both collided with a psychic barrier that formed between the two of them. The breathtaking scenery around them instantaneously melted back into the wretched concrete walls of the arena.

Amethyst clutched her forehead with one of her sleeves while giving Victor, whom was peering out of the viewing deck with great satisfaction, a ferocious glare.

Victor nonchalantly raised a microphone in his hand to his mouth; wearing a smug grin on his face.

"If I may interject, it is recommended that you finish up this... heartwarming moment... quickly." Victor mocked as he subtly snickered to himself, while his voice boomed through the entire complex. "Dianna, you have a match in approximately..."

Amethyst's hostile glare became even more immense as she recognized those very words she had spoken a few days beforehand.

'You were watching us?!' She suddenly burst out while pointing her right sleeve directly at his barely visible silhouette.

"Of course, I keep an eye on all of the pri..." Victor suddenly stopped himself, as a brief moment of realization flashed across his features. "I mean... contestants." He corrected in as pleasant of tone as possible. "Don't want you getting any ideas, do we?" He rhetorically asked in a condescending tone. "Now, where was I before I was RUDELY INTERRUPTED?!" He yelled; his demeanor rapidly turning more hostile with each passing moment. "Oh, yes. Dianna, you have a match in approximately... NOW!"

Suddenly, the loud noise of a buzzer that rivaled the roar of a Charizard permeated the air, causing Dianna to wake up from her nostalgia induced coma with a start. The intimidating staff that she had dropped before the flashback suddenly flew into the grasp of her hands, like a coin to a powerful magnet. A set of glowing, pink eyes could now be seen behind Victor's left shoulder while he crossed his arms.

Dianna quietly observed her surroundings, noting the set of eyes behind Victor's shoulder. He held absolute dominance over this place, that was for sure, but how far could that power reach in the real world? She felt a fierce determination well up from within her gut. Amethyst had saved her life in the past by helping her out of that Arceus forsaken forest; now, it was time to return the favor.

Victor himself was getting impatient; he irately tapped his foot on the glass floor panels, and raised the microphone to his mouth once more. "Let me make this easier for you." He spoke with malevolence. "Either you two fight each other..." Victor paused to accentuate his point. "...Or you both die!" He finished with a shout, while stomping his left foot onto the glass panel below him with a heavy amount of force; the panel itself now sporting a small crack from the sudden pressure.

Dianna remained unfazed from his outburst. She slowly stood up from her kneeling position while maintaining direct eye contact. The grip on the staff in her left hand now tightening with both fear, and anger.

"No." She spoke coldly. "I will not betray a childhood friend. Amethyst had been my Pokémon for several years, until I just wasn't able to keep her anymore. During that time, however, I have discovered a lot about myself... things that I wouldn't have found out without her." Dianna stopped for a moment to take in another shallow breath. "You expect me to turn by back on something like that? I'd rather burn in hell!"

Amethyst slowly turned her head towards Dianna's general direction, she felt slightly taken aback by her words. Having been separated for six, long years; she almost expected to have been forgotten about entirely. The flat line that her mouth was previously, now crept back into the familiar and shallow 'W' shaped grin. Her expression betrayed her thoughts, as she felt a slight sinking feeling making its presence known.

'...Did I really just consider betraying her, mere moments ago?' She thought to herself in a wave of self-loathing. Her eyes downcast to the ground for a brief moment, before she turned her head to look straight up at the massive, dome shaped ceiling. 'Who am I... to think of such shameful things...? Why am I pretending to be a cold, and heartless being, when I clearly am not?!' Amethyst shut her eyes tightly; darkness consuming her vision as a startling realization made itself crystal clear in her mind. She slowly lowered her head, while gently opening her eyes. '... I'm going to stop pretending. I'm going to be what I truly am...'

'...a force to be reckoned with!' She loudly echoed into the heads of both Victor and Dianna, causing them to reflexively flinch. A dark, swirling ball of purple light formed at the tips of her sleeves; multiple bolts of bright, red energy traveled up her arms, and around her body. Without premonition, she instantaneously raised both sleeves, and let loose a powerful torrent of said energy aimed directly at the viewing deck Victor was standing in.

The set of eyes behind Victor glowed brightly while a spherical, green-tinted barrier formed around the deck hardly even a few milliseconds later. The mass of dark energy collided into the psychic barrier with unrelenting force. Spectacular colored rays of red, green, and purple light exploded from the point of contact, resulting in a spectacular light show. Shockwaves of air, powerful enough to shake the surrounding area, kicked up dust from the floor and created a giant cloud of sediment that obscured all vision.

Amethyst stared in the general direction of where she attacked with great satisfaction. As the dust settled, she was dismayed to find the psychic barrier was still standing; the Espeon that created the shield showing little fatigue, if any at all.

Victor continued to stare at the both of them with a mischievous grin on his face, and arms crossed over his chest. "It's going to take a lot more than that to snuff me out." He said gravely through the microphone that was being held in his fingertips. Victor's grin widened as he uncrossed his arms in order to reach for a device in one of his trench coat pockets. Pulling out what looked to be some sort of gray square with several buttons of multiple colors mounted into the top. "Guards..." He started, with the microphone still held up to his face. "...Kill."

With a simple press of a button, several hatches in the dome shaped ceiling of the arena quickly opened; accompanied by the sounds of mechanical gears and belts. Once the hatches were completely open; hundreds of Unown poured out of the hatches, filling the airspace above Amethyst and Dianna almost completely in a sea of black and white.

Dianna carefully gripped the staff with both of her hands, and presumed a defensive stance. Amethyst held both of her arms slightly apart from her body; two spheres of purple light glowing from the tips of her sleeves.

The Unown began to slowly descend from their original positions while forming a circle around the human and Mismagius in question. Both Dianna and Amethyst subconsciously turned around and backed up against one another, in an attempt to gain a prehensile view from all angles.

Several Unown suddenly rushed from the large mass; attempting to grab a hold of Dianna. Amethyst quickly responded by firing both of her charged shadow balls at the attacking Unown, causing them to dissipate into a thin cloud of black dust on contact. Dianna immediately fired a large bolt of blue electricity from her staff at the swarm of Unown directly above them. The lightning rapidly branched from one Unown to several others surrounding it, a flash of bright light accompanying their immediate demises.

An immense and powerful pulse of air originating from the swarm threw Dianna and Amethyst towards the opposite side of the arena, with Amethyst able to catch herself in mid-air, while Dianna violently slammed against the concrete wall with a near bone-shattering amount of force; harshly hitting the ground as soon as her body made contact with the unforgiving surface. Amethyst's demeanor turned into panic once she caught sight of Dianna's condition, and she immediately dashed towards her injured body.

'Dianna!' She yelled with an overwhelming amount of worry in her voice.

Dianna slowly planted both of her hands onto the ground, and managed to rise into a kneeling position. She coughed up a small amount of blood in the process, immediately wiping it from her mouth without much fuss.

"I-I'm fine." She stuttered as she finally rose into a standing position with a pained expression.

Amethyst hastily flew over to where the staff had landed, hurriedly picked it up off of the ground, then flew back to Dianna and carefully placed it back into her hands.

"Thanks." Dianna said tiredly.

Amethyst responded with a quick nod of her head, unaware of a small group of hieroglyphic Pokémon quickly approaching her from behind.

"Look out!" Dianna suddenly yelled as she unleashed another bolt of lightning from the staff; effectively destroying several Unown as Amethyst dodged under the lethal beams of electricity.

"We're even." Dianna remarked with a snarky tone.

Amethyst gave her a soft grin and nodded her head again in acknowledgment.

"...Looks like I have to up the ante." Victor's voice resonated throughout the arena in a very dark tone.

"Guards, interlink into C formation!" He bellowed with confidence.

The mass of smaller Unown still hovering in the air approached one another, communicating with what was heard as thousands of buzzing noises sounding in unison. They then interlinked their appendages in order to form a single, much larger Unown representing the letter 'C' in their language.

Amethyst and Dianna gawked at the sight before them, the newly formed giant Unown filling their field of view. A sudden burst of wind that nearly knocked Dianna off of her feet originated from it, as the thousands of Unown it took to form it suddenly melded together; creating a mirror perfect image of the smaller version of itself.

Victor balled up his right fist and held it out in front of himself while an evil smile formed onto his features. "Unown..." He started with a tone that radiated animosity. "...use Hidden Power."

A near deafening screech; resembling that of a dragon mixed with the sound of a buzzing alarm, echoed throughout the arena, shaking the entire complex in the process. An aura of light formed over the massive eye of the giant Unown; the flood lights flickered from the inane amount of power surging through the environment, and the sound of circuit breakers popping in the depths of the complex filled the air.

'Get behind me!' Amethyst yelled to Dianna in an attempt to overpower the overwhelming amount of noise.

Dianna complied without question, and stood as close as she possibly could behind her as Amethyst hastily formed a shield of her own with as much strength as she could muster.

The aura of light forming at the eye of the giant Unown grew brighter by the second as the violent shaking increased substantially. Worried for the integrity of the complex, Victor shouted into the microphone. "Fire It now!"

The loud screeching noise resounded once more in confirmation as the aura of light condensed into a miniscule speck of pure, white luminescence; then promptly exploded into a subsonic pulse of air that shattered the windows of Victor's viewing deck, and broke the several floodlights illuminating the arena, leaving them in near total darkness. An exception being the light glow from Amethyst's shield and the rapid flashing of warning messages in the monitors of the control panels further into the viewing deck.

The subsonic wave of air collided into Amethyst's shield; immediately tearing it to shreds and throwing the both of them across the vast open space. Massive amounts of sediment was displaced from the excessive force associated with the attack. Creaking sounds from support beams filled the air as a massive crater formed into the adjacent concrete walls, causing a large fraction of said walls in the arena to collapse.

When it was all said and done, Amethyst and Dianna's motionless bodies were left lying on the now stainless steel floor that was used to support the sediment, and appeared to be arranged into several, smaller, hexagonal pieces. Along with the rubble that shed from the broken walls.

---

Victor sat up with a pained grunt among a plethora of shattered glass. His face lit up as he turned his head to view the sight below him, the Mismagius and the human both sprawled out on the floor. Appearing to be dead. He then gave an unsatisfied sigh from the amount of damage the attack had caused, and the large amounts of Unown now piled onto the floor.

"A job well done." He whispered to himself with a slight chuckle. His gaze suddenly fixated onto a minute amount of movement coming from the Mismagius. His demeanor turned into one of shock and disbelief. "Impossible." Victor breathlessly muttered.

Amethyst gradually managed to float a few inches off of the ground; her body was now adorned with several new evenly placed gashes, with thick, luminescent white smoke sparsely exuding from them.

Victor hurriedly pulled the remote out of his pocket and clumsily pushed one of the buttons to power the emergency lighting system. While being nowhere near as bright as the floodlights, it was serviceable for the moment.

'Would you like me to take care of this pest, master?' The Espeon whom was calmly sitting behind him spoke out into his mind in a monotone voice.

He quickly glanced behind him at the Espeon in question, and then subtly shook his head. "That won't be necessary." He spoke in a mix of malevolence and assuredness as he slowly withdrew his chrome plated revolver from its holster, and loaded several titanium plated rounds filled with a bright orange substance into the cylinder.

'Are you sure antimatter-grade rounds are necessary?' The Espeon questioned.

"If that Mismagius didn't get obliterated from a Hidden Power attack of that scale, it is my only option." Victor mumbled gravely.

A wave of realization rushed through his mind. "Did...did this get broadcast to the public?" He hesitantly asked.

'No, I turned off the stream just before that ghost attempted to attack you. Nor do I think we would still be on-air anyway, not after the immense subsonic pulse.' The Espeon explained with nothing but nonchalance.

Relief overtook Victor's senses for a brief moment, before he regained his composure.

"Excellent."

---

Amethyst weakly raised her head, and turned herself in the direction of Dianna's body that was resting against where the floor and wall met, amongst several large pieces of cement, surrounded by the large pit that had formed from the displacement of soil. With an expression of immense worry, she silently floated over to Dianna's body, hoping there was still a slim chance of her still being alive.

But as she got closer; the harsh reality became all too apparent. Greif crushed Amethyst like a ton of bricks once the realization hit, as Dianna was the only other being in the entire world that she had held such a close bond with. Amethyst tightly shut her eyes for a moment; a thousand thoughts rushing through her head, until she opened them to briefly glance at the now fractured staff that Dianna previously equipped. The blue gem at the end of the broken staff was no longer radiating with elegance, but with faded condemnation.

'M-my greatest f-fear has been realized...' Amethyst solemnly thought to herself while covering her face with both sleeves.

After several moments of silence, Amethyst raised her head slightly, in order to gain one last look at her deceased trainer.

'I'm sorry, that I couldn't be stronger for you.' She desperately called out to her, as if her cold, lifeless body would respond.

'Especially, when you would be strong for me.' Dozens of memories briefly flashed in her mind; memories of them playing hide-and-seek together as children, memories of Dianna embracing the fact that she was a ghost and not being afraid, memories of them going their separate ways due to unfortunate circumstances.

'I should have never left.' Amethyst whispered as her grief hit an all-time high. 'I could have protected you from them, like you had protected me from a living hell, filled with loneliness.'

She lowered her sleeves from her face and let them hang limply to her sides as she idly floated not more than several inches from Dianna's body.

'I just wish that... for once... I could have been brave enough to save you. But when given the opportunity, I ultimately... failed.' Amethyst briefly glanced up at the viewing deck that Victor had been standing in, only to find the Espeon staring back at her. She immediately returned her focus back to Dianna, to say her final words to her, before they would be separated forever.

'My dearest friend, I'm sorry for putting you through the hell that I caused. I'm sorry for getting you kicked out of your own home...'

'...and I'm sorry... for letting someone else take your life away from you.'