[Pokémon] Vaults of Reflection: Thrasher's Tales

[Greiger]

{T}
The following story is based on the roleplay, Crimson Dawn: A Tale of Conquest

The Date - 1034 AP​

Demetrus was obviously flustered. He kept on looking into the mirror as he rubbed his hands together nervously. He kept on glancing back every so often at the others, but their reassuring smiles weren't enough to get him to calm down. He soon found himself pacing and Drake finally had to step in. The Noivern grabbed hold of Demetrus with his wing tips and stared down at him, "Demetrus. Listen to me, you are going to do fine. Just remember that advice, don't talk too fast and keep things slow and smooth. The music in there will help to calm you down alright?"

Demetrus looked up at the dragon's face and let out a weak sigh< "I know, I know Drake. I just… what if I say something stupid? Not 'oh laugh about it stupid' but something REALLY stupid?"

Drake chuckled, "We've all been there. I would say you puff out your chest, take in a deep breath, and say you're sorry. You're just feeling nervous is the only thing. There is nothing wrong with being nervous you know."

"No worries Demetrus! It ain't like your head isn't going to explode or such!" Braxton added in. The Sandslash snickered a bit, "Just take it calm and steady. Just try not to think about this possibly ruining the relationship you two have been building up for all this time and causing it to crash in a flaming pile while you two never speak to each other ever again and forever loathing each other whenever you think about the other!"

Drake glared at the Sandslash and bopped him in the head, "Hey! He needs to destress, NOT be stressed!"

He turned around and let his grip wrap around the fleeing Primeape, pulling him back, "Hey now! You aren't leaving that easily! If you did go what would I have to say? Just that you backed out and you're too scared? No, you're Demetrus Sinclair! You're going to head in there, puff out your chest, and going to do this right!" This time Drake angled his wings and pushed the Primeape in through the doors.

Demetrus squeezed his eyes shut as he could already feel himself starting to hyperventilate, but another push of Drake's wings helped him to get moving. He made his way through the crowded restaurant until he finally got to the table, sitting down awkwardly and couldn't help but fiddle his thumbs together.

"More interested in your thumbs than me?" The soft voice asked.

Demetrus gulped and looked up at the Leafeon, smiling weakly, "Sorry, I… I'm sorry." He hung his head, "Drake and Braxton tried their best… but I just suck at this."

The grass type chuckled playfully, "Well with that attitude you're never going to get better. Remember, this is our first time, so we're going to be nervous."

Demetrus couldn't help but smile weakly as the waitress came over and took their orders. Of course Demetrus fumbled with his and he groaned as she left, "I'm sorry. I wanted this to be so special and I'm mucking it up."

"Hey, don't feel that way." The Leafeon said cheerfully. "This is the best first date I've been on yet. Though… it is my only one so far."

Demetrus smiled at that, "Uh… so how was your week? Did he keep you busy that much?"

The Leafeon shook his head, "Not really. He knew you were planning this." He smiled at the Primeape, "You know, I thought he would be like the others, but he's far more considerate. I know we've said that before, but this really proves it."

Demetrus nodded and rubbed the back of his neck, "Um… so, how's the weather?" Demetrus quickly facepalmed and his date smiled, "Weather's fine Demetrus. A bit too cloudy for my tastes, but fine still."

Demetrus thought for a moment more, "Well, uh… let's see. Oh I know! I guess this might seem silly, but I never asked what books you really enjoy. Do you have any favorite genres?"

His date smiled, "Several, though I will have to say that my all time favorite is mystery. I just love a grand old mystery, particularly if the author handles it right. There can't be any cheap twists, nothing where it was never foreshadowed. I like thinking and having my thought processes challenged. In essence thinking outside of the box."

Demetrus nodded, "That's essentially what we do anyways, isn't it? I have to say my favorite is action novels. More when they are about made-up nations fighting others and heroes rise up to save the people. Heroes always win in that stuff so it's not as dramatic, since you know what will happen, but then again I read it just to see what happens in the journey."

By this point their orders arrived and the two paused for a bit to eat, just carrying on a light chat but by the time they were finished they were yet again talking about books, mostly discussing what their favorite titles were or who their favorite authors were. Demetrus found himself swept up easily by the conversation and the initial nervousness had long since dissipated. Now he was truly smiling and making sure he didn't turn his attention from his date.

They had delved so deeply into their conversation that when they finally got up to pay for the meal they were still carrying on. From books they soon ventured into the topic of their favorite jobs, and from there even talking about the others.

The two were soon sitting on a bench, enjoying the night sky, "Drake really?" Demetrus has to ask. "Isn't he a bit old for you Clavis? I mean, I could see the appeal, but he's like, twenty something."

"Twenty five." Clavis replied, "But still, he looks appealing to the eyes and that voice. It's so deep and just pleasing to the ears."

Demetrus chuckled and rubbed the Leafeon's back, "How long did that little crush last and does he know?"

Clavis smirked and pressed his side against the Primeape's form, "I didn't hide it that well. I believe that after two days he knew, but he never reacted to it. I don't really think he minded to be honest. A guy like him probably has been crushed on before and knows how to act."

Demetrus grinned, "He's cool under pressure, that's for sure. He's been through a lot, I see it in his eyes."

"So do I." Clavis replied in turn. "Say, you know what I like to do a lot?"

Demetrus looked down at Clavis' mischievous grin, "What's that? And don't tell me we're already moving onto next base."

Clavis giggled and let a vine whip out to tickle the Primeape on his nose, "No, not that. Follow me. I have this great sight I found a while back."

***

"Doesn't it look amazing?" Clavis asked softly.

Demetrus nodded as his eyes looked about, "Yeah… it is."

The two were sitting on the stone floor as they looked down at a pond. Near the bottom of the water were glass planes that reflected the light that shined down from the stars. For some reason this caused the water to glow brightly with various colors. in all his years of living in this city he hadn't once thought to search for something like this.

"Everyone likes to keep to the houses and inner city because that's where all of the fun is and in turn they miss out on stuff like this." Clavis stood up and with a small leap landed in the pond. The Leafeon turned to face Demetrus as he padded about, "Come on the water's great!"

The Primeaape smiled, "I think I'm good sitting here." He said with a chuckle.

"Oh?" The Leafeon smirked as his vine snaked out in a flash and quickly twined around the Primeape's forearm, giving a strong tug. Demetrus barely let out a cry as he tumbled in and caused a small splash. Clavis paddled around as Demetrus surfaced, his fur clinging to him as he quickly swam to the Leafeon. "Oh you're in for it now!"

Clavis playfully stuck out his tongue and likewise began to swim, doing his best to outwit the Primepae until finally Demetrus wrapped his arms around the smaller mon and dunked him into the water, "Heh, you deserve it!" Demetrus laughed out.

The two took some time before they dragged themselves out of the water and laid on the stone, giggling wildly. "Well, you'll look like a puff ball once you dry off!" Clavis teased. "We should get back there. The night is getting late after all."

Demetrus stood back on his feet as water dripped from his form, "Yeah, you're right." He made his way along with Clavis following alongside him. "I have to say, best date ever."

 

[Greiger]

New Meat - 1028 AP​

"And of course they leave it like this." Demetrus muttered as he glanced about the disheveled room. He was the new guy, the fresh meat, so of course he was given the task of cleaning the house this whole month. And that gave his new teammates the excuse to trash it up. On the one hand, he had to say that it wasn't THAT bad. His opinion quickly changed when the large dish of pizza that was stuck to the roof suddenly fell to the ground with a sickly splat.

No, this was the worst assignment of his life.

He didn't know these people too well, sure he chatted whenever he was between getting lessons and some of them had taught him some skills, but for the life of him he didn't know what sort of diseases they had!

He set the bucket down and readied the mop, slowly working his way around the kitchen first, hoping to Arceus that it was the worst spot in the house so he could get that part over with. He did find all sorts of food stored in small corners and after a few minutes of cleaning he became quite convinced that the others were purposefully placing these items in such tight spots, how else did a bread roll manage to slide under the oven and just HAPPEN to be placed under the last leg of the machine? As he was busy holding up the fridge to pull out the green… gooey thing, seriously what was that?, out from it he felt a tap on his back.

The Mankey set down the fridge angrily as he turned and saw his recruiter floating right behind him. "I see we're already hard at work, aren't we Demetrus?" The Beheeyem buzzed.

Demetrus sighed and got up to his feet as he dusted off his body as best as he could. "Yes Baron. Though I am suspecting that I'll be at this all day considering the many places that food has been placed in."

"Placed? You sound as if your teammates are having fun with playing practical jokes." Baron chided, though Demetrus could sense a light hearted tone among his words.

"What do you want sir?" Demetrus asked, "It's not to let me off of cleaning duty… is it?" Demterus asked with a bit of a hopeful tone in his voice.

"No." Baron said quite cheerfully. "This is something different. I just want to get to know my newest employee better. Know your likes, dislikes, and see if you understand the system. Please don't let this ruin your work though. Like you said, you might have to do this all day and I would hate to make you wait until night to start your work."

Demetrus sighed and got back down, lifting the fridge and couldn't help but shudder as he felt the green substance. Oh Arceus did it just move!?

"Now, I have been hearing from the others quite some questions." The Beheeyem said as Demetrus struggled to put the green blob in the trash and NOT throw up while doing so. "Particularly several have stood out to me, so let me ask if you understand now. Do you know why our group doesn't have many pokemon known for assassinations?"

"I do know." Demetrus said as he readjusted the fridge on its spot and went over to the microwave, sighing as he saw tomato stains inside of it. "Essentially you guys don't operate how the movies portray assassins. Instead of drawing attention to yourself with very obvious pokemon you have less than obvious pokemon, pokemon that aren't seen as assassins and can be seen as clumsy in the art of assassinating another."

"Right!" Baron chimed. "To blend in one must play the part of being a commoner. It would be quite the scene if ten Weavile all went to one place or paid attention to one passing pokemon, would it not? Now SOME groups are like that. They are tecnically assassins... yet not. I guess the best way to describe them is that they leave calling cards all over the place. Essentially if you mess with the wrong person and then you see specific calling cards near the murder scene it's a telltale sign of who ordered the hit. Of course, it's done in a subtle way so that really only those who know what was really going on in the background see clearly who killed the target."

"Oh?" Demetrus asked as he threw yet another dirty napkin into the trash. He opened the cupboards and THANKFULLY nothing in there was spoiled, yet as he walked out into the dining room he saw that many dirty plates and table instruments were left all for him.

"Yes, oh indeed." Baron said, "Now, another question I've heard is quite a logical one to ask." He floated right in front of the Mankey, almost causing Demetrus to drop the dishes he was carrying. "Why didn't I simply infiltrate your mind and mix up your memories?"

Demetrus made his way around the Beheeyem as he deposited the dishes into the sink, "Well… I mean, I've heard stories of psychics. I've just always heard that Beheeyem can get into your mind and mess it up, make you think in one second that you're suddenly someone else or leave you as a drooling idiot. Erase everything in your mind and laugh about it."

His words were quickly responded to be by blunt laughter. "Oh oh… you're one of THOSE mon, the one that lets absurd legends reach your minds!"

Demetrus turned on the water and began to bathe the dishes, "Well… is it true or not?"

Baron was silent for a bit, "It's true… to a extent. Let me explain. Rewriting a mind isn't a piece of cake, let me tell you that! You see, older memories are harder to rewrite because they've been set in the victim's mind for some time. I can't necessarily reach in and change the memories you experienced during childhood, but I can go in and say... poke around fresh memories. It's a common saying among my kind if you want to rewrite you start from the top. Essentially you go through the most recent of memories and can do essentially wahtever you want with them. Like... one of the most common activities my kind undertakes is where we're wipe our existence from someone we just met. It's why no one outside of our group here can remember me. If anyone gets close to remembering me all they see is a shadowy shape."

Demetrus grunted as he scrubbed at a dish and pulled it, groaning as he saw some sort of red paste was stuck like glue to the surface. "Dear Arceus." He muttered as he put it back under the soapy water and scrubbed like mad.

"Anyways, fresher memories are easier to manipulate, but if you have enough time with someone you can delve deeper into memories and decide to rewrite them. Hell, you have someone think they are in your debt due to a memory you implanted into their mind that dates back around five years. Could be that someone is suddenly forced to think that they are suddenly your best friend and would do anything for you."

"So... why don't you use that more?" Demetrus asked as the gunk was finally scrapped off and he had to pull the red mess from the soapy sea and throw it into the garbage. "I mean you could be the king if you could rewrite memories."

"Did you listen?" Baron asked as he tapped on the fighter's head, "It takes time to make such memories, and not to mention for EVERYONE that existed in the realm. The mind is a complex thing and sadly it can repair itself. If people doubt their own memories then they can start to remember what was imprinted over. Repressing memories is easy enough but if they are reminded of their true ones by some trinket then poof! All that work is gone! If you try to delete memories the brain also subconsciously remembers parts of what was deleted and try to repair those as well! And implanting memories is no small feat. Yeah, fresher memories are easier to implant, but one wrong slip and BOOM! The whole mind could collapse! Compare brain surgery to simply making people forget memories and compare implanting or changing memories up to threading a needle, except if that thread doesn't go through the eye of the needle the first time and hits into the needle then the needle and thread disintergrate. That's what happens. Imprint over something wrong and the pokemon you just spent reworking to make him think you are his master suddenly can't even use the bathroom!"

Demetrus was sweating by this point as he put all of his strength into getting off the gunk on the last remaining dish, "Oh, so it's time consuming?"

"That and also you need to be an expert before doing such things. Have a young fresh Beheeyem moving through your mind means you might forget how to even talk. Enough of that though I want to get to know... you! So what do you like Demetrus?"

The Mankey had to think on that one for a moment, "Well... I guess I like baseball. Used to play it all the time with my friends. I always did like learning about history as well. I know odd for a fighting type right? But I could never do math or science, they were just so boring, but history I knew well enough."

"I see. Anything else you like?" The psychic asked with a growing grin.

"Um... I'm not sure?" Demetrus asked warily.

"How about a certain young Leafeon from around these parts?"

At that Demetrus blushed brightly and Baron chuckled, "No worries, I won't spill the beans. Just let it be known, I know everything my employees are thinking most of the time. It's how I ensure you all are working and make sure you do work when you're needed to."

The fighter sighed, "You know... it's funny. I can't remember the other's names, but his I can. Clavis..."

Baron nodded, "Yes Clavis is quite the fighter, a charmer too. He's outgoing and ready to have fun any time of the day. Anyways here in the assassination business we get a variety of targets. For the most part, as has already been explained to you, four of you go out on missions. Now I know Drake already asked this, but any specific mon you do NOT like going after? Children? Elderly? Certain types?"

At that Demetrus shrugged, "Can't really say." He let the water drain from the sink, "Honestly, I haven't really killed anyone besides... well you know. I've beaten some people up but that's common around here. I never really had gone that far before."

Baron nodded, "It was bound to happen though. Parents that act that way get what is coming to them. You didn't freak out that time so I expect you not to freak out during your first time either. Of course no worries, you still have a few monts of training to go before you get ouside of course! Though if you ever get a memory that is too... troublesome for you come and see me. I can repress it and get you focused again."

Demetrus nodded as he walked on out to the smaller living room and gasped as he saw that half the carpet was dyed with some sort of green substance, a wall had multiple darts thrown into it, and the television had bits of pasta on it. Baron patted him on the head, "Well hop to it new meat. Oh, and swallow this." He said as he thre Demetrus a red seed. "It's for something down the line, but a red seed a day helps to keep you alive when need be!" Baron floated on off as Demetrus stared at the scene and sincerely wondered if he would be able to kill his new teammates when they got back.

 

[Greiger]

First Blood - 1029 AP​

"-that's when we'll hit her hard. Well not 'hit' but you know what I mean. Remember, act casual during the whole thing and get in close to her. You have to touch her by the way. You can't blow it on her and you can't put it in a drink if she has one. It has to enter the wound. Now Clavis will be doing his best to make the cut on her wrist, but he could miss. Use your eyes and touch where appropriate, got it?"

Demetrus nodded as he looked once more over the diagram. "Okay. Funnel them down here and strike here. I got it." He glanced at the knife that he wore on the belt around his waist, "So... why not just stab her? I mean I get the subterfuge stuff, but the knife I have and all..."

The Sandslash opposite of him smiled, "Easy, relax kid. The knife is for other things, but not this. You'll be told when you can use it but for this we go soft and easy. Now, when she's busy dying if you're close by pretend that you are trying to help in some way, but if you're already some distance away then keep on going. Act like a bystander in essence."

The Mankey nodded, "I can do that."

Braxton held a claw to his shoulder, "Remember, do NOT lick it yourself. Just don't let it get on your mouth and you should be good. Okay, get into position."

The Sandslash exited the room and Demetrus looked down at his right hand that held the invisible powder. If he hadn't been told it was on his hand he wouldn't even notice the very subtle feeling of it. It was so thin that whenever he rubbed his fingers together it hardly felt that there was anything on his hand.

He finally exited the room and moved through the restaurant and back into the busy streets of Wrothgar. Many mon moved along with some obviously having more respect being shown to them. He remembered the info he had been given about the female they were going after. He didn't know her name, but he knew that she was some sort of rival to their client, someone in the trading business. She was sucking up some profits and starting to turn her company into something big, something that could dwarf his profits. He didn't want that to happen. She was a Vileplume and so a poison that could actually work against a Vileplume had been sought after and finally secured by Baron.

It was funny in a way, given a Vileplume's natural defense to poison and that fact that some poison flowed through their veins no one would suspect poison. The poison itself also caused those who were exposed to it the signs of a heart attack. It was a a fool proof plan of attack.

Even though there was no way to trace it back to him, Demetrus still couldn't help but feel a blend of anxiety and adrenaline pumping through his veins. Drake has said that most mon felt this way during their first assassination, but it also meant he couldn't let excitement over take him.

Demetrus wandered along the crowd, keeping his eyes out for any sign of Clavis as well as for the sign he was supposed to wait at. The crowded streets weren't helping and he felt a bit of fear enter the system now. What if ended up late at the waiting place? What if the target was already passing him by? Would he fail his first test? He had to shake his head to clear his thoughts and thankfully as he pushed out from the crowd he saw the glowing blue sign on the street corner.

He let out a relieved sigh and made his way over. He leaned against it and acted as if he was waiting for someone to arrive, often checking the crowd or glancing about. He even made it a small habit of checking the clock as he tapped his foot upon the concrete. Minutes passed like hours and he had to wonder if they had gotten the right information when he did see a green leaf tip rise above the crowd.

He stood up straight and began to make his way along the road, whistling a tune under his breath when he caught a glimpse of Clavis. The Leafeon was right behind a Vileplume who had two Scizor bodyguards with her. The Leafeon gave no signal to Demetrus, instead running between the Vileplume and a Scizor bodyguard just as Demetrus was closing in. He ran on by as the Vileplume ended up falling back when one of Clavis' vines managed to trip her.

Of course the Scizor at first were more concerned with the fact that a Leafeon had run between them and were about to give chase, which meant Demetrus had an opening to get to the Vileplume. He held out his right hand to the Vileplume, "That Leafeon must have been in a hurry." He said with a weak smile.

Thankfully the Vileplume was a natural born Hesperian so she saw no qualms in having a civilian help her up. "Ah, thank you Mankey. I suppose she was." The Vileplume winced a bit and looked at her hand, "A cut already? I suppose I must have cut my hand on a rock when I fell."

"Are you alright Merry?" A Scizor asked as they quickly secured a perimeter around the Vileplume.

"Yes, quite Travis." She said with a smile, "Just a little cut is all. Nothing to worry about at all."

"Sorry about that miss. Do you want us to find the Leafeon?" The other Scizor asked.

"No no. He's long gone by now. Had an important meeting or something to get to I imagine." The Vileplume said with a light chuckle.

Demetrus was doing his best NOT to punch the Vileplume's lights out by now. Oh Arceus were all Hesperians so... cheerful? He knew that if someone pushed him down when running by he wouldn't waste time and give chase.

"Well I should get go-"

"Heaven's no!" Merry said cheerfully to Demetrus, "I must say first thank you for helping me here. I had always heard that Stygians can be callous beings, yet I've also met those who warm my heart. You are no different."

Demetrus rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "Thanks... uh but I've got to-"

"May I know your name?"

Demetrus blinked at that, "... My name?"

"Yes silly." Merry said with a giggle, "You didn't have to help me up, yet you did. It shows a good heart in that chest of yours."

"Thanks... uh... it's Brandon, can I go now? I have somewhere to be."

"Oh... if you insist." Merry said softly, looking a bit crestfallen. "I know how busy you stygians can be. Still... it would be ever so nice to have a new face to talk to..."

Demetrus stared as he felt that guilt talk working on him. The Mankey sighed, "Can I accompany you then?" He asked with a mutter.

"Of course you can!" Merry said happily, her cheerful state quickly returning. She grabbed hold of Demetru's hand and began to tug him along as her two bodyguards followed along. "It's so good to meet new friends in this city you know. It's hard to do so, most people are so guarded though I don't know why it's like that. Give this place a few flowers, brighten up the colors and you could have the loveliest city here."

"Eh..." Demetrus really wasn't sure what to say but Merry went ahead and continued. "Still it's a shame this place is so dreary. Why if I didn't have my green house most of my flowers would wilt. Still, it's good to start a business out here. Why, putting a smile on another's face is just what this city needs!"

"... I suppose?" Demetrus asked as he glanced about, hoping he could find some distraction and slip away.

"Bright colors are shown to help one's mood increase greatly!"Merry said, seemingly not noticing the drab tone Demetrus had, "Why just having a few red's and orange's in one's life helps to make them feel great throughout the day!"

Demetrus silently nodded and glanced to the side, seeing Braxton off near a building shooting him a questioning look. The Mankey gave a confused shrug back as they passed by with Merry still yapping on. For the most part Demetrus tuned her out and focused on where he was being taken. He hadn't really entered this part of the city before though as they kept on walking he could see something in the distance.

Unlike the other parts of the city that were kept dark and gloomy there was building that had a bunch of lights on it. As they got closer Demetrus realized that they weren't lights so much as vibrant colored plants. He had to pause to take in the scene, "That's... your greenhouse?"

"Yes it is." Merry said happily. "It doesn't blend in I know. But I look to that as a positive experience, giving this city something it hasn't had in quite some time now!"

Demetrus followed along, now a bit curious as the four entered the greenhouse. One of the Scizors was quick to lock the door behind them and Demetrus couldn't believe his eyes. All sorts of colors encompassed the buildings. Everything from blues, greens, yellows, all colors that was quite the stark difference from the world outside.

"Ah, here we are!" Merry said happily as she went over and grabbed a red flower that stuck out from the ground. She held it out to Demetrus and the Mankey took hold of it. "Smell it! It's quite the lovely scent!" Merry said with a smile on her face. Demetrus warily put his nose down and took a deep sniff. His nostrils were assaulted by a rather pleasant scent and he found himself quickly sniffing again.

"A flower a day goes a long way~" Merry sang out as she made her way to some blue flowers. Demetrus began following but soon a psychic voice bashed into his mind, Hey? Demetrus? Uh look, I know this is your first time and all, but seriously we don't walk around with the targets. We kind of leave and let them die, you know, like assassins are supposed to do?

Deemtrus sighed to himself, Sorry Baron, she dragged me along. What was I supposed to do? Besides it was in the plan that I was to help her up right?

There was a sigh on the other end, Fine. Look get out when you can, but while you're there has she been showing any signs yet?

No, not yet. I'll let you know when I see something Demetrus looked over as Merry stood back up and held up a few flowers. "So what sort of flowers are your favorite Brandon?"

Demetrus blinked, "Eh... I don't know much about flowers to be honest." He admitted. Between his training sessions he had no time to head out and sit down and just take in the landscape around him. Besides, no flowers grew in the city.

"Well this is a rose." The grass type said as she held out a red colored flower. "It does has thorns on the stem, so be careful when handling it." Demetrus held the plant, lightly pressing a finger along the sharp parts on the flower itself, "Yeah... those could sink in deep."

"It's to help against natural predators." Merry explained. "Imagine how many feral pokemon would eagerly eat a rose if they had to have the thorns sticking into their tongue and tearing up their throat as they swallowed it?" She quickly hurried off to another part of greenhouse, all the while urging Demetrus to follow.

Of course the Mankey hurried along, mostly to keep up appearances but also feeling a bit curious as to what she wanted to show him. As the two went deeper into the greenhouse he found Merry had stopped. The large flower mon was bent over and taking in a few breaths. "Uh... are you okay?" Demetrus asked.

"Ah, just feeling a bit tight chested is all." Merry said as she straightened her back. "Anyway, look there Brandon."

Demetrus turned and had to blink to convince himself this wasn't all just some dream he was having the night before the actual assassination. There was a small grove that had been constructed and in the middle of it was a small tree, but the odd thing was that the various branches of the tree glowed different colors. Even more bizarre was the fact that the colors would keep on shifting around. He would have normally assumed from a distance that the tree had lights on it, but he could see that up close it had nothing wrapped around it.

He took a step closer and gazed upon it, "What is it?" He asked softly.

"It's my own project. It's a tree I've been doing work on for quite some time. I just know that if I can show the world such beauty... then maybe some things might change." The Vileplume had a small smile on her face, "Maybe it's my wistful thinking, but I know that this tree can be an inspiration of sorts."

Demetrus glanced back at the tree and he felt a tug at his heart. It was the same feeling he had experienced after he had killed his father. Guilt.

He didn't honestly know what to say. He had never seen such a strange, yet beautiful object in his entire life. He was about to ask something when Merry coughed loudly. Demetrus turned to see the Vileplume was sitting down, a puzzled look on her face, "Oh... this is new."

The Mankey blinked, "Um... everything okay?" He asked Merry awkwardly, the guilt only worsening as he knew what was to happen.

"Ah, just a bit of tightness Brandon, that's all. Can you fetch Travis for me? I'm not feeling too well."

Demetrus nodded and quickly made his way out of the small grove, "Hey Travis! Something's up with Merry!" He shouted out. The words barely left his mouth as a red blur flew past him followed by a second blur. He made his way back to see one of the Scizor kneeling next to the Vileplume and the other pacing around.

"Get the boy out of here." The kneeling Scizor snapped and he quickly regarded Merry again, "What does it feel like Merry?"

"Yes yes, just a tight feeling in my chest is all. I might have to stay down here for a bit. Oh my, I must have been walking around for too long today." Merry said as she coughed again, "Do you walk around much Brandon? I imagine in such a large city you'll have to in order to see the sights."

Deemtrus slowly nodded as his hands formed into shaky fists, "Yeah, I do. Here and there on some days."

Merry let out mor coughing as the Scizor gripped her petal with a Pincer. "Hold still Merry." He said as he placed a claw to her chest, "Hm... Merry stay seated, alright?"

"Oh, what is wrong?" The Vileplume let out another hacking cough. The Scizor frowned, "No worries Merry. It's nothing. Just stay calm and take in deep breaths."

The grass type gripped her chest and blinked her eyes rapidly, "Ah... it feels tight." She said softly.

The other Scizor was quick to face Demetrus, "I'm sorry, but you must leave."

"Oh, don't be so rude." Merry said with a weak smile. "At least give him a flower before he leaves. Just his own small way of bringing cheer."

The Scizor was quick to pluck a blue flower and handed it to Travis. He pushed the Mankey past the colorful array of flowers, to the door, and out into the street. Deemtrus stared at the door for a moment and he looked down at the flower. Hey, what's happening over there? He heard Baron relay. Is it done?

She's dead. Demetrus said. Heading back to base.

Good work then. Get on over here for some congratulations then!

Demetrus glanced once more at the flower in his hand and he dropped it on the ground. He made his way along the streets as slowly a content smile formed along his lips.