FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Zillian inhaled deeply through his nostrils for a moment before saying "Left" while leading on like a hunting dog after a rabbit. But after only a few steps Zil paused mid-step to completely freeze for a moment until he finally cocked his head to the side then began shaking his head while saying "wait no it's right"

I rolled my eyes as went down the right path of the what felt like the hundredth fork that we had ran into on our journey for some grub "You don't sound completely positive... but then again after the thirtieth dead end I wouldn't be sure of myself as well. Still I don't wanna waste energy walking if all we are going to find is another heap of garbage/ piles of dead bodies." What was once a simple and joyous skip down the hallway had turned into a frustratingly long journey with seemingly no end in sight.

To make matters worse we had gotten lost. Not our fault in the slightest since the place was so freaking huge! I mean who was the idiot that makes a place this size and not have a map anywhere so people won't get lost trying to find their way around? Thanks to Zil's memory we knew who to blame since this was the same exact facility that Cressilia had held Zil the night before. From what Zil heard it turns out the duck thing helped developed the place. I'm not too much of an idiot not to see that a labyrinth was a very nice idea... in theory.

Sure in a labyrinth the enemy has to split up in smaller groups which makes it very easy to pick them off one by one which is made even easier when the enemy is lost, confused, frustrated, and tired. But the big space also means that the place was almost impossible to defend during a large scale surprise attack or if you did what Darkrai done: Plant powerful double agents to gather info before attacking simultaneously from different points.

So now the duck's facility was now being used against her as a the enemy's main base.

Which begs the question of why? Having such a flawed design and in piss-poor condition made it a horrible choice for a base. This again was answered by my favorite rat; From Zil's understanding the place was made out of some sort of material that blocks Legendary perception and the ability to make portals, which makes it the perfect base even though it was trashed to all hell.

Completely useless information that I honestly didn't care very much at all about seeing as how I didn't have much use for it; but we had to talk about something considering we were doing nothing but walking around on empty stomachs. Sure we could have asked for help from the many people and Pokémon that had passed us but we were both equally stubborn and furious at the place to the point we made it our goal to get back at it by finding our way to our destination, eat, and then attempt to burn the place to the ground.

The latter was a joke considering the consequences of that action but it did make us feel better plotting it. What we actually planned to do was paint graffiti everywhere the first chance we got.

We were just about to give up and just ask someone for directions when a door slammed open and two bodies came flying out and would have crushed us if not for the fact Zil and I were small enough that they just barely went over our heads.

I love being small.

Ignoring the unconscious, super model material, blonde women collapsed on the floor with what I assume was her fainted Zangoose lying right next to her I let out a uncharacteristic whoop of glee because right above the door she came flying out of was a label that read CAFETERIA.

"Didn't we go down this same hallway dozens of times?" Zil muttered with while slumping face first into the floor. Poor Zil looked like he wanted to curl up in a corner and cry for missing such a obvious sight. But I on the other hand was nearly on the floor laughing from both relief and glee "So!? It's FOOD dude!"

"Good point. sniff sniff" I heard Zil gasp as he began inhaling whatever he was snorting like a mini vacuum sniffsniffsniffsnort "I...smell...MEAT!" I blinked in surprise and then regretted that action because Zil was eating distance like a bullet towards the source of the smell.

"Damn it dude I'm the one with the dough to pay for it all so you have to wait for me!" Zil wasn't listening though, which meant I had to chase after him before he got us both in trouble. After a few steps I noticed that the cafeteria was deadly silent; as if someone did something unexpected or just died. This made our silly entrance that much more sillier then it actually was yet it did nothing to break the tense atmosphere. One of those 'read the mood' type of deals but I was never good with those when they didn't pertain to me and guiltily I admit sometimes not even then. Didn't become embarrassed about for our stupidity though (too much of my father's son for that nonsense) nor did I pay any attention to what was going on but what I did hate was feeling every single pair of eyes dissecting me by appearance alone.

What is this high school? I know damn well that I'm not the only weird one in this room...Whatever let them stare. Let them judge. Their opinions don't matter since I'm not here to make friends...Besides I have two stomachs to fill.

A few minutes of stacking food on top of food and a swipe of a plastic card later we left the food and buying area of the cafeteria. In the end I was stuck carrying a tower stacked high with portions of just meat that could be used to serve five people in a feast quite comfortably.Took all my strength and Zil guiding to even make it to the table since I couldn't see around the meat without leaning too and smearing BBQ sauce all over my face and chest. Under that feast was four large boxes of pepperoni pizza. Zil was the lucky one carrying/dragging bags full of stuff that would both our sweet tooth's very happy later.

"I still think this is a bad idea dude since you can only hold a tiny portion of meat before throwing up...Is there one bit of vegetable or berry in here?" From looking all that he wanted to purchase I had a feeling I knew the answer to that question.

"No isn't any green; can't even think of green without stomach and instinct screaming in protest. Ever since change appetite has flip flopped. Like pizza is any healthier " Zil snapped as he plopped down on a seat in front of the spot that I chosen to begin to lay down our food.

"Good point"

The atmosphere was still tense and eyes were still on us unfortunately with a few whispers saying "No way they can eat all that" "Not possible"

When we haven't eaten since 8:00 a.m. which was only a small breakfast and now currently being well past dinner time, Now stack on top of that tons of physical activity and stressors between a thirteen hour time frame and we'll just see if it's possible to eat all this.

"The book says you're supposed to be an omnivore" I paused to sigh "Then the book that I brought with me and studied a bit is very wrong when it comes to you then...fucking fantastic! Hopefully your diet is the only surprise; if not then I have to write a book, which is lame" I paused when hit with a sudden thought "Hmm I wonder if there are any other Raticate handlers here? If so I can get their notes and tips. Food first though." By now I was done organizing all of our stuff so that way we both had easy access to it and then turned to my partner who was waiting very patiently. I smiled before saying to my friend that was already making a small puddle with his drool "Let's begin!"

I won't bore you with the detail's but if you really want mental picture of the scene then picture two starving male lions pouncing on a zebra and gazelle, all that can be made clearly is fangs and claws. When one lion gets bored of either zebra or gazelle the two switch places or eat from the same plate if the lions have a close relationship and there is plenty. If not one warns the other to back off or there will be another round of fangs and claws. Our meal was like this for the first half of the meal until we both managed to settle down, come to our senses and eat normally.

By the time our appetites were almost satisfied around 70% of the pizza was gone along with about 90% of any meat Zil could smash together on one plate. While looking at our handiwork I noticed I somehow managed to get BBQ sauce and pizza sauce all over my hands, face, and chest so I did what any human who wasn't raised in a cave would do: got up to get napkins.

By now all the rooms attention went from Zil and I to the scene that we walked in on: a tall man in muscle shirt, military pants, and large black over coat that was tied to his waist which was too much of an overkill for the current only a tad bit chilly weather. Probably had something special meaning behind it or had a Pokemon that was a flyer, hell maybe even both. Anyway I couldn't help but watch him grill a girl that was the mirror image of the one in the hall but with red hair and a Serviper; both looked like they were going to wet themselves from just the man's glare.

"-don't care what the problem is whether it's a new boy toy that your bickering rights over or a hair dryer to a piece of candy or whatever else you two find reason to fight over these days. I. don't. give. a. fuck. If there is a problem take it outside so you won't make a scene and drag anyone else into it. and you" this was directed at the women close to tears and now he was turned his attention to the Serviper who looked like he was going to void his bowels/flee at any moment "I don't care what any instinct demands of you to do or that you 'can't' control yourself when things get heated between the four of you; there is no reason to attack an ally unless they have done something that has/will affect our side in this war. If the Zangoose has done something to you that is big enough to offend you on a personal level then you have my permission to kill him...But it won't go that far now will it...no you and I both know that despite these petty scrabbles you two care about each other deeply. So deeply that your instincts scream at you to take yourselves someplace private despite being the same gender and your blood rivalry." From the shiver from the Serviper the man was right on the money. "Same goes for you girl and everyone in this room knows what you and the other girl do behind closed doors even though you are siblings. The walls are too thin for secret meetings of the flesh. Am I right?" A few chuckles and wolf whistles bounced around the room which cause the two under scrutiny to blush and try to hide their faces. "Don't hide. Nothing you do in your spare time is anything to be ashamed of or vile enough to disgust us-"

"It's hot! helps get my partner and I get off every night" one man shouted as others both male and female agreed with a loud cheer.

-there you go. We are the Dark Ones remember? All of us have morals but they are ones that we ourselves create. Neither one of us go by current society's morals since they don't fit ours. What disgusts others just makes us a little bit more unique and a hell of a lot stronger. Am I correct?" The man was just talking in a tone that held no emotion whatsoever. That only just barely breaking the line of a mutter and could only barely be heard in the large room yet these guys were treating it like some huge,loud pep talk. All of the were cheering so loud that the sound shook the room. Everything about this was getting on my nerves. From the subzero-cool-dude to the people that seemed to worship the ground he walked on.

Definitely high school. I thought as I made my way back to my little corner with my napkins trying to tune out the conversation but my damn curiosity made that impossible. Seemed Zil was listening in and following the event also but that wasn't a surprise considering he was very nosy and curious about gossip.

"I say all that to say this: Quit trying so hard to disprove what we already know is fact. It's very irritating, Do you don't want me irritated?"

" NO!" shouted everyone in the room excluding the man and I who were beyond such stupid things while Zil was still much too busy stuffing his face.

"Ok. Your dismissed. Oh and before you go help your motor mouth sister and partner to the hospital wing. Maybe next time she will listen when I tell her to shut up...though very doubtful considering the many other times I try to discipline her the very idea of silence hasn't seem to have rooted yet." the last part was the man muttering to himself

"She will this time. I promise" the girl whispered as she walked past me.

"Again doubtful" muttered the man as he began walking towards Zil and I.

Fantastic now it's our turn to be graced with this fucks presence. I can't wait for this conversation. I thought as I just finished cleaning myself up enough to have a passable appearance as I began digging through the scraps of mine and Zil's food to nibble on because I wasn't yet done with my meal.

"Behave "whispered Zillian as he tore into another piece of meat before finally gulping down his untouched water bottle; greedy bastard was mooching off my drink when things didn't go down smoothly during the first half of our feast. "Aren't I usually the best little angel usually?" I muttered

"No. If you were, would think you were sick even before change. All I ask is no stupid things. Guy has killed many. " Zil spat as he glared at the approaching figure

"and you can tell because...?"also glaring at the approaching figure

"Smells exactly like Darkrai. More subtle" snorted Zil as if taking a whiff a terrible smell

"Your damn intuition again...you do realize many of these people mostly have right? Even we have me once you twice"

"Yes but this guy different. Our kills accident and necessity to survival cause we sane. But this guy enjoys killing, has eyes of predator searching for next meal even thought there is plenty of food here. All he looking for is an excuse to flip switch, has more than enough strength to kill anyone in here. More dangerous than Darkrai this one, least Darkrai is sane enough to listen to reason. Be on best behavior." Perceptive little fuck, then again he wouldn't be my eyes or my voice of reason if he wasn't.

"Scary. Remind me which one of us is the Trainer again?"voice heavily drenched in sarcasm as I rolled my eyes a tad bit annoyed.

"Me. duh" Zil said nonchalantly just as the guy finally made it to us after taking his sweet time getting to our table.

The man did nothing but look at us for a long time, sizing us up from the looks of it. We did some analyzing of our own and we both came up with the same conclusion: If there was a fight this man was going to win no doubt about it with or without the Pokeball strapped to his hip. We had way too many unknown variables to be able to fight him in a game of wits so our only other option was to prepare our muscles to flee and pray that we were faster.

All Blake did however was hold out a hand for me to shake and say "Blake. you must be Elliot." My hands were steaming from the anticipation but I didn't want him to know of my only 'weapon' so I put them in my pocket as I turned back to look at my food in my usual uncaring way to say "Handshakes are lame. Spare me from the pretend pleasantries and tell me what you want then leave us be"

The room was apparently listening to our conversation since it turned to crickets again as Blake got over his surprise and began to laugh. and laugh. and laugh. Honestly what was it about me that psychos find so funny? Finally he stopped and said "Wow you're a spicy one! Not like the timid little mouse I was expecting. I'll do what you desire and cut to the chase-"the man drew a Pokeball and enlarged it. "I want a battle and I won't take no for an answer." I was rapidly shaking my head no as the taste of blood began to fill my mouth "I...I can't! please chose another kind of fight please anything just not a battle please!" Zil was shaking but he was slowly walking away from me instead of running into my arms.

"Zillian?"

"Elly we...have...too" he turned to face me and I saw that he was just barely holding back tears with a panicked look of terror in his eyes but on his face was set in one of grim determination that made my heart fall into my gut. "It's this or more punishment. Had enough watching you being tortured, won't have it anymore." wisps of darkness began to form around Zil as he yelled "We accept your challenge!"

Blake nodded as he backed away to standard battle range as the room around us began to rapidly clear of spectators who just huddled in front of the glass windows on the cafeteria doors."Good. This is going better than I expected. I was afraid I was going to have to do something drastic to force you since the little problem Master told me about before handing me your leash with a little file containing your personal history and quirks. Strangely he gave me no battle data."

Blake shrugged while allowing a small chuckle to escape just before saying "Doesn't matter though since finding out this way is more fun. The only purpose of this fight is so I know what I have to work with; so I don't expect anything from you besides your best." I watched Blake unclip the Pokeball from his belt before casually tossing the ball in his hand to the field once he was at the appropriate distance. Once the flash cleared a large black Dragonite with a dark crimson underbelly was revealed in the spot that the ball landed. The thing was intimidating as hell! Even though all the apparent she did was yawn and scratched her tummy lazily. I could see Zil was having second thoughts as he backed up a few paces before catching himself and recovering said distance.

"About damn time you let me out of that thing" the Dragonite mumbled as she popped her neck, stretching a little bit before shifting her gaze to us "These small fry are them? What the hell is Master thinking!" She giggled cutely before saying "Blake do all of us a favor and give the go ahead to make these two into blood stains. with their size there won't even be very much to clean up"

Blake sighed before saying "Yes these are them. No the Master didn't chose them. No Cecelia you can't kill them because it's our job to build them up to something useful ;so please please be easy with your attacks" Blake's tone sounded more than a bit exasperated as if he was explaining to a small child while they couldn't have junk food before dinner. While that conversation was taking place Blake dug into one of his pockets for something for a short length of time before flinging something dark colored at me.

Still reeling from the surreal situation I surprisingly was able to somehow manage to catch the thing even though it about shattered my hand. At least the pain snapped my frozen mind into a somewhat functioning state. "Normal Pokedexs tend to blow up when we point them at our partners at our side. We still needed the information they provide so we kidnapped and turned a few scientist over to our side, yada yada and that little dohicky is the result. It's already registered under you so all you have to do is point it at your partner and it will give you his stats and current move set."

Seeing no way out of this I shakily pointed the Dex at Zil but the thing didn't even get more than a half a second's worth of scanning done when I heard" Hopefully you learn quick on your feet because I'm not waiting anymore. Cecelia attack!" Blake ordered with somehow an excited looking sneer.

"Wait what? I need a minute here!" I was ignored however as the Dragonite rapidly ate the distance between her and Zil. "Elly! I don't know what to do! help!"Zil screeched as he began hopping from table to table with the Dragonite in hot pursuit.

"Just buy me time for this-ding! It's already done? I quickly looked at the screen and there was a picture of Zil with a chart showing his level and stats. They were basic stats for any Raticate on level 20 with a slight increase in attack and speed. Doesn't sound like much but considering the only way to break the standard cookie cutter Raticate takes a lot of training with special equipment and or forced breeding this was actually quite an impossible feat. Zil was nowhere near that level the last time I scanned him! There was that big of a jump in power with the change? Sweet! Maybe we actually have a chance! With a little scrolling I was able to find his move set. _Bite, Hyper fang, Quick attack and...am I reading this right? why does Zil have Slash? Oh wait he does have those claws now so I guess that makes some sense. _

"Elly!" Zil's scream yanked me from the strategies that I was forming and when I looked up I realized I was out of time. The Dragonite had Zil cornered up against a wall with nowhere to go without coming at her or past her "I'll give you a little piece of advice: battles are won by doing a little more than running" the bitch didn't even sound a bit of out of breathe as she somehow taunted Zil while priming some type of purple beam in her mouth though a bit garbled.

"Will you stop being a sore winner? Give them a break these two never participated in an actual battle not once in their lives... or at least that's what is says on file anyway. " the guy was looking a bit frustrated "was still expecting a bit mo-"

"Zil do what you did with the shadows the other night!" Zil nodded and was able to leap at the dragon's shadow and seemingly vanish. The dragon just glared at me in annoyance "More running away! really!? don't you two have at least one pair in between you?"

Blake was laughing "Cecelia your just mad you haven't mastered that little maneuver yet!"

"Requires too much concentration to shadowfy a body of this size! You know this you prick" Cecelia shouted angrily at her partner as she stomped up and down on her feet like a frustrated toddler.

I smirked at their in-fighting as I looked at the lump of shadows that I assumed Zil was and ordered"Bite Zil!"Suddenly Zil's face came out of the shadow underneath Cecilia to latch onto her foot/toes with teeth glowing with dark energy. But when the attack contacted it was Zil who yelped and whimpered as he leapt out the shadows clutching his two buck teeth in agony.

"What's wrong?"I asked not being able to stop myself from going to his side to check the damage.

"Foot too hard! Like biting Jasper's Lairon hard!" Zil's right buck tooth had the slightest chip in it but otherwise he was fine; just under a lot of pain.

Even if there was greater damage I wasn't really worried about the condition of his teeth considering that if they get too damaged Zil would lose them only to grow them back in a day or two; would have a terrible toothache during the process though.

I saw Zil 's tongue rake against his teeth once before his ears stood at attention and a millisecond later I was shoved out of the way and dove into my shadow just as a purple beam impacted the spot we were not even seconds before. Where the beam impact black colored ice spread until it was the height of a half car tire and the width of the full car tire's rim.

"You could have hit the boy you idiot!" Blake yelled with a more then a hint of anger in his voice

Cecelia's reply was an amused look with a raised eyebrow which only took a second to break her Trainer's apparently false expression as his too broke away into amusement as doubled over in laughter "Ha ha aww... why can't you ever at least humor me CC?"

"Cause it's a terrible joke since I'm sure the boy already figured out you don't give a damn if he's injured...well unless he's a naive little twerp like the others that is?" This question was obviously aimed at me as she toward her glance toward me.

In which I chose to reply with a roll of my eyes and a shake of my head. "Your Trainer isn't hard to figure out. Especially since he wears his heart on his shoulder; I know by now the only reason anyone follows him and kisses his ass is because they are afraid of him. I get it. This group is united by a single cause but it's still a cut throat business" I put a slight and subtle emphasis on the second to last word.

Please figure it out you perspective bastard.

I got my wish. I wasn't even finished saying the last word when suddenly Zil leapt out of the shadows and in a speed faster than anyone could blink managed to slash across the Dragonite's throat with his claws before falling into another shadow. Meanwhile once Cecelia recovered from her surprise she let out an ear splitting bellow as drops of blood dribbled down her neck. Over her screams Blake shouted "he can't have done that much damage"

"Neck has no scales on it after that fag Machoke froze them off with that one good Ice Punch he got off before I ripped him in half so yeah it fucking stings just a little bit!" slowly her hand was removed to reveal a decent gash on her neck "Not used to having the sensitive skin underneath the scales exposed or struck since it hasn't happened since I was a Dragonair." she mumbled as she suddenly looked scary serious.

Taking that as a sign that shit was about to get real I pointed the Pokedex at our opponent so at least we wouldn't be fighting blind. Looks like I was right about her having weak spots, all we have to do is find them. Meaning we can win if we keep using this hit and run tactic. The Pokedex beeped once letting me know the scan was done. Now to see what we are- I broke off as my hands began to shake so hard that the Pokedex escaped my grip and clattered onto the floor when my usual panic hit me like a truck.

"Zil she's level sixty, we can't win this!" I shouted as the taste of blood began filling my mouth

At my words Blake began to chuckle, there was a cocky smirk plain on his face as he said "Aww giving up already? I already said we were taking it easy but you're not even going to attempt now? Too bad...Damn I should have just told you his move set instead of giving you the device. Ah well I guess my fun is over, anyway good job for sticking it out this far for what it's wor- what is he doing?"

A familiar shadowy shape had detached from the dragons and made a beeline towards me, before I could react I was grabbed then experienced a moment of vertigo as I was pulled into the mass and into a world seemingly made entirely out of shadow forms of the current room we were in "What the hell? how is this pos-?"

"Ssshhh" Zil shushed, I could tell from the look in his eyes that his usual fear and panic seemed to have taken over again with the news of what we were up against. I was in the same boat ,so I didn't argue when I was yanked forward towards the exit.

Only we didn't get that far

The shadow of the man suddenly leapt of us with something long and slender in his hand "Nice try but you're not the only ones with power over shadow." Zil screamed as a slender shadow blade suddenly pierced deep into his back before either one of us could react . I started screaming but I couldn't hear anything as I felt another moment of vertigo which of course meant we were somehow dragged out of place we were in. I however didn't really care about that for the moment because all I saw when my eyes adjusted was Zillian bleeding lying lifeless on the floor. I cradled him into my arms trying to think of something to stop the bleeding but couldn't think of anything. My mind was a blank.

There was so much blood...

"It's kinda pathetic that one swing with me holding back is enough to cut so deeply into him...then again I might have also gotten too deeply into the moment there and may have applied to a bit more force then I meant to... Ha ha my bad!" I heard footsteps slowly approaching us but a combination of terror, numbness, and disbelief kept me frozen in place. "Still I don't think your worth my time. Too difficult to work with. Too overprotective. Too spoilt rotten. Too weak." Blake spat as I was lifted up by my throat with only one hand now which directed my gaze from Zil's soon to be corpse to Blake's eyes. The creepy thing was that they were the exact same match to Darkrai's, golden pupils and all but filled to the brim with something I never saw before but instinctively realized was pure insanity. A glance to his other hand showed me that Blake was wielding a katana made up of entirely of darkness "It honestly would be faster and easier to end your miserable life right now and then wait for the next one to show up..." My mind was still blank as I saw my death fast approaching but fury and desperation stole the steering wheel that controlled my body and I began moving only out of instinct

"Blake his hands!" Cecelia screamed but she was to late because I already thrust my hands alit with dark flames onto the only place his huge arm wouldn't block me before I could reach it: Blake's throat. A few seconds came and went before Blake started screaming, after that I was sent flying across the room.

The next moment all I knew was darkness.

---

I came too with a major head ache that felt like my head was being drilled into by a dull drill "What happened..."I groaned.

There wasn't even a knock as a voice suddenly burst into my thoughts Ahh finally sleeping beauty finally awakens after somehow managing to sleep through the night yesterday! I groaned again as I opened my eyes to see tops of trees. I yelped as I clung to the scaly hide covered butt that was making my flight possible.

"Yeowch hey! easy back there kid that area is bit sensitive!"

_Quit being a baby Cecelia There was a pause. Anyway to answer your previous question I was being stupid and lost myself then did something even more stupider and somehow managed to forget you're not completely powerless. As a result you fried my voice box and I may never be able to talk normally again cause literally no sound comes out when I try. Forcing CC here to be my interpreter after using a TM we had in storage on her so everyone wouldn't be forced to waste time learning sign language. _There was another moment of pause before the man continued _Dragon pulse you will be missed... Don't worry I'm not mad. In fact I want to sincerely thank you cause now I finally have an excuse to be a mute other than when speech is direly needed." _

I was about to ask the next question that popped up in my head when I 'heard':

Don't even ask; You will find your rat in the ball strapped to your belt and the psychic link is only one way. Meaning I can't read anything in your head nor will you receive anything that I don't consciously want to send through the link . Next question that has you panties in a twist?

Ass hole.

I glanced up to see Blake looking down at me with his throat heavily wrapped up in bandages, his face entirely blank besides a neutral almost friendly expression allowing me to believe that all that he said was true. I was getting sick of this guy, reminded me to much of Darkrai of how cold and uncaring he was about everything. They also shared the whole 'nothing you do or say can possibly surprise me enough for me to lose my cool'

Got on my nerves enough for my mouth to run away from me again "Does that mean I won't be able to listen to your 'riveting' speeches? Aww man the last one was so fabulous that I nearly swooned and fainted from the awesome" Blake just rolled his eyes at my sarcasm and there was a moment of silence before I said "So how long are you stuck acting and looking like person who smoked one pack to many?"

Blake shrugged I'll live. Luckily I managed to get you away from me fast enough that it just looks like I got real bad sun burn in the shape of hand prints. As you know medicine these days works so well that what would be a normal several month to possibly a year wait is dropped to a single month as long I don't try to talk or scream. I however am choosing to let it heal naturally. I see this injury as a punishment for underestimating an opponent and could have turned out a lot worse; for example you could have went after my sight which would kill me both inwardly and physically. Thanks for asking by the way. Doesn't seem you took the death threats and forcing you to fight personally. For someone whose is supposedly somewhat of a stubborn rebel you are almost too accepting.

"For someone who doesn't like to talk you are being a uncharacteristic blabber mouth Blake" said Cecilia with a small chuckle.

_What can I say, the boy has some sort of quality that pulls words out of me. There was a pause Possibly it's his small size that makes him seem so vulnerable that makes me feel comfortable arming him with information. _

So in other words he felt at ease around me because to him I was never going to be a threat.

I hate being small...

"Funny...Now that I think about it everyone, including Darkrai treats me the exact same way ever since they first meet me. So I guess you're not the only one who is being somewhat influenced" I'm highly doubtful that there was such a quality. More like people are more talkative then they care to admit and I just happen to be a great and easy listener. Still I wasn't going to correct this guy while we were so high up in the air. "So I'm guessing you found something that makes me useful or at least saw my problems were fixable considering you seem to have changed your mind about killing me."

Blake sighed _ I have. Too many humans rely too much on their Pokémon to get them out of tough spots. Makes it easy to cut them down which is why I'm usually the one stuck training our new recruits out of that habit because like you I'm a fighter. Another pause. Your problem is the exact opposite. Due to how this world of ours works this attitude towards battle this issue has made you both useless in a fight; which in turn makes you useless to us._

"I thought that much was extremely obvious but congratulations on having enough power with that jock brain of yours to be at least that perceptive enough to come to that conclusion without frying your brain" I began to slow clapping; my reply caused a small snort to escape from Cecilia but still gave me a token glare that said without words: Stop being smart ass or your ass is grass.

But Blake kept going as if I didn't say a word You have intelligence and a powerful will that has gotten you far in this life, but without the power to force your way forward, you will never grow. Lucky for you; power is very easy to come by given time and enough stimuli .

A hollow laugh escaped from my throat as I mumbled "Easy for you to say. Your both big and probably powerful enough to be on equal ground with Darkrai" This did pull a reaction from the pair but not the type I wanted to provoke. After they were done laughing they both said "We wouldn't even have a chance against him!" Then it became silent besides the sound of the dragon's wing beats for the next half hour before Blake tapped on Cecelia's back three times with his foot.

"Kay" came the unbidden reply as the Dragonite suddenly stopped in midair causing sliding me forward in my seat slightly until I caught myself. Terrified the piss out of me cause I nearly fell off!

"Warn me next time you prick!"

But I was ignored again of course. As I waiting for my heart to leave my throat as I watched Blake take out a combat knife out of the sheathe that held it to his belt, in response I just raised an eyebrow before glaring accusingly "You lied. You're such a fucking bastard for getting my hopes like that!" When I noticed we weren't flying downward to land I said "Can we at least land and receive at least a fighting chance to fight or flee? I thought you psychotics got off on things like."

Blake chuckled while lifting me by my belt but and without a word placed the knife and it's sheathe in my pocket. It wasn't until he finished making they were secure before Blake finally said Make sure you don't lose that. You'll sure as hell need it in the middle of the sentence Blake clicked off Zil's new ball and when my hand stopped him from moving any farther,Blake with a roll of his eyes yanked the ball out of my hands before explaining I would like to have a word with him before he joins you. A bit angry about how easily Blake was able to take what he wanted, but also thankful the man was kind enough to explain the reasons for his actions for only my benefit; so I decided not trying to wrestle for the ball back.

I was about to ask Blake what was going on and what he could possibly tell Zil that he couldn't tell me; but as soon as the words made it to my tongue: Blake tossed me overboard.

So instead I used that intake of breath to scream.

---

Below them Blake was 99% sure there was stream would carry the boy down the upcoming waterfall that had a pretty big drop but was not large enough to shatter bones or anything...or at least he hoped cause Darkrai would kill him if the boy died due to his laziness of not wanting to make sure.

Hell it took Blake a long time to convince the Dark Master that this risky gamble was the best solution possible to their little problem. Even armed with the knowledge that not even a legendary would be able to track the boy and his partner while they were in this dead zone that spread for several miles; Blake still had to show Darkrai the chips planted in both boys that constantly sent their current whereabouts and their current life signatures to Blake's phone AND teach Darkrai how to work a second phone that would also receive the same notifications.

When questioned about his mother hen behavior Darkrai said "Both the brats are trouble makers and magnets. You can't look away for five minutes without them poking a bee hive...figuratively speaking of course they aren't that stu-" Darkrai appeared to have zoned out for a moment as he began mumbling to himself "Bees have honey...honey is food and its sweet...hmm ok yes that possibility is still there" Another moment passed by before the Dark Master shook his head to clear his thoughts and said "What I'm trying to say is if you dangle a carrot in front of their faces, they will follow that measly little carrot off a cliff. Trust me my paranoia is needed. I won't stop them from doing so of course because they have to learn not to do such things. But if they get in a situation that is way over their heads like let's say accidentally stumble upon a enemy base or a neutral legendary or one that is on the other side then and only then will I will interfere."

They can't be that bad! the look on Darkrai's face told Blake otherwise. "I don't see why you haven't killed them off then. Sounds like they are worth to much trouble then they are worth"

"The thing is...how can I explain... the way things are currently they are not worth nothing but a easy win/loss. It's their potential that makes them a very valuable asset. It's the fact they somehow managed to remain blank slates their whole lives with no leanings to one certain role. It's like we were given putty and told to mold and shape it into anything that we wish for. That's why I'm a tiny bit protective"

Now back to the present.

Blake had finally heard the splash he was waiting on. Knowing the boy landed safely Blake finally released the perfectly intact rodent from its prison. Zillian just looked around in his surroundings in confusion before Blake grabbed his attention with a few snaps, said 'ready' through the constant connection he had with Cecilia, and then said Hey look at me. Good. You'll join your boy in a moment but for now let me give you a bit of advice that you best commit to memory and heart: Quit trying to pretend you're human. Hey! don't give me that look because we both knew this is true. All this time the only thing you have been truly afraid of is what the boy will think of you if you listen to that demon that takes pleasure seeing the blood and suffering of those you best in combat... maybe you even want to consume them. "

Zil's jaw dropped "How did-?"

The man snickered Please the boy may be blind to it with that look of longing always just behind your eyes you might as well be screaming it. Probably even before the change. Anyway as I was saying quit trying to pretend something you're not. It's in your DNA to be a blood thirsty animal. If you can't accept that you and your boy are as good as dead before the year you are to spend in the forest even begins. Now... humor me and say the truth we both already know just to make sure you do get it.

"I'm a blood thirsty animal"

and what does the bloodthirsty want?

"wants to consume...wants...no... needs to get strong... needs to protect what is mine"

Great job. Off you go then Unlike the boy the rat didn't make a sound on his way down. So Cecelia supplied him with another way of seeing without seeing his progress in a the form of the shrill whistle one would hear in a old cartoon.

Is that really necessary? asked Blake throwing the rats ball over his shoulder as if in afterthought.

"Kersploosh!." splash "Yes yes it is"

_You..._Blake began before wising up and putting his foot in his mouth

"You...?"mirrored Cecelia in question just waiting for the chance to continue her fun but sadly Blake just sighed and said "just mush"

"Do you wanna walk?"

"No m'am"

"Then shush." they circled around a few times just for shits and giggles before Cecelia decided it was time to go home "Get cozy boo; it's a long flight back and I don't have any entertainment facilities...well unless you want me to sing?"

_ No. My ears are still healing from last time_

"Ouch right in the heart boo boo *sniffle* I hate you... *sniffle* *sniffle*you big meanie"

Yea yea save your crocodile tears for when you have audience gullible enough to believe them

---

When the two disappeared into the sunset (as cheesy as that sounds it's the truth) I knew Zil and I were on our own for a lengthy period of time. I'm not a idiot which meant I knew throwing me out in the wilderness with basically nothing was a ploy to help Zil and I kick our fear of battle while getting stronger in the process. I was fine with that. Hell I welcomed the chance to rough it up in the forest like I always dreamed and learned about in school. I felt like hitting that ground running but there is only a teensy tiny bit of an obstacle getting in the way of that.

I can't find Zillian. What's worse is that a message that Zil left me before his disappearance tells me that he doesn't want to be found.

End of Book 1