Chapter 29

I slowly opened my eyes that morning and lazily blinked the sleep out from my eyes. I looked up at the ceiling and looked at the iron lantern, which swung gently from the ceiling. Its light was slowly growing in intensity, signaling that the sun was starting to rise.

"Might as well get ready…"I grumbled as I slowly rolled out from my pile of hay.

My paws gently touched the cold, hard, packed, dirt floor as I slowly rose. I lazily screeched my legs and then arched my back to stretch it. Once that was all finished I quickly made my way to my door and gently pressed my head against it. I could hear the sound of muffled voices coming from the other side.

"DJ must have come back last night." I thought as I pushed the door open.

My eyes fell upon Sophie and Megan, who were calmly sitting at the meeting table. Megan had one of her front paws gently resting on Sophie's shoulder, and Sophie was silently mumbling.

"Good morning everyone." I said.

Megan looked over Sophie's shoulder and nodded. Sophie just looked over Megan's shoulder and gave me a small node. This struck me as odd, as Sophie's usual morning routine was more excited and filled with squeals of joy. Today, she looked at me with eyes filled with worry and fear.

"Is everything alright?" I asked.

"No…"Sophie mumbled. "DJ…he's…he's…"

"Sleeping?"

"Different…"Sophie spat. "Something happened to him in the medical ward that changed him."

"How so?"

"Well, he came back last night with bandages over his hands… they were like two giant cocoons hanging from his arms. He also seemed annoyed by me and he even pushed me…"

"He's probably having a rough time," Megan said. "You heard what the doctor said, fighting types tend to have mood swings whenever they get beaten."

"No, something is wrong…" Sophie said. "This morning he woke up early, and I got really excited because I thought he wanted to talk."

"And?"

"And he just walked past me…as if I didn't exist. I asked if he was alright and he…and he…he gave me a look…a mean look…like a look you give a bug buzzing around your head."

"Again, he's probably just tired." Megan muttered. "You said he got back late, so he might just be grumpy."

"Maybe…" Sophie mumbled.

She looked over at me, her eyes were filled with fear and concern for our comrade. Truth be told, I was curious about this sudden change in personality. Half of me wanted to believe Megan and the other half wanted to side with Sophie. This could just be a phase brought on by the experiment or almost being blown up by our combined attacks explosion.

I returned the look of concern to Sophie, and gave her a small reassuring smile. She returned my smile and gently rubbed the brimming tears from her eyes.

"Is DJ planning on joining us on today's mission?" I asked as the three of us walked towards the door.

"He didn't say, but he might join us later after the briefing." Sophie said.

"I doubt he'll miss breakfast," Megan said.

"Yeah." I said.

The three of us silently walked out of our room and down towards the briefing room. As we walked I continued to process what was happening. It could all just be a phase, but what if it isn't? What if it's something really bad? I looked back at Sophie and found her happily chatting with Megan.

She looked happy, but I could still see the worry in her eyes, the concern and worry for our friend.

"Man you guys should have seen it!" Ted exclaimed excitedly. "Some of the shit we find in those old lab silos are incredible."

Megan, Sophie, and I had just been released from the briefing room with or new mission in hand. The three of us made our way up to the mess hall, and along the way we ran into Ted and his squad.

"The silo we went to yesterday had a huge glass tube," Ted said. "And it was apparently used to house a failed cloning experiment."

"Like mewtwo?" I asked.

The food line shifted and our group moved up.

"Our boss thinks it was used for something more…gruesome." Amelia said. "Ted likes to think it was used for cloning."

"You never know," Drake added. "Early Team Sandstorm apparently was obsessed with creating the super pokemon."

"Super pokemon?" I asked as we approached the food counter.

The six of us grabbed our trays and walked over to our favorite table. Sophie had grabbed DJ a tray, just in case he did show up to breakfast.

"So Drake, continue?" I said as I began to eat.

"Apparently back then, before the Topaz project was even a thing. Team Sandstorm had this strange obsession to create what they called the "Super Pokemon."

"I guess naming their projects wasn't a high priority…"Megan joked.

Drake ignored her comment and continued.

"Apparently they had five projects going, all focused on the creation of this super powerful pokemon."

"Here's the thing," Amilia added. "Only two projects were successful, the other three failed and amounted to high casualties of both scientist and pokemon."

"Do you guys know what these were called?" I asked.

Amelia opened her mouth to speak, but she was stopped by a hand signal from Drake. The auromora looked at us with an apologetic gaze and gently shook her head.

"We can't tell you…were under oath to keep that a secret…" She said.

"Really," Sophie mumbled. "That sucks, I really wanted to hear about these projects."

"Yeah, we would love to tell you guys…" Drake said before his voice trailed off.

The buizel rose from his seat and waved his arms over his head. I turned to see who he was waving too and found a familiar shape moving through the crowd. DJ, slowly weaved his way through the crowd and towards our table.

The bandage cocoons that Sophie had described earlier were gone, and only a single bandage remained covering his bloodied knuckles. His shoulders were slumped and he shuffled his feet against the ground. His eyes were tired and small, black bags had started to form beneath them.

I looked towards my friends, and found both of them in shock. Sophie was almost on the verge of tears, and Megan's mouth sat gaped. Whatever happened after that fight must have been bad to make him look this bad.

DJ quickly noticed us looked at him he quickly picked up his feet and marched over towards us. He gave each of us a false smile before he sat down at the table.

"So," He said as he began to shovel food into his mouth. "How is everyone this morning?"

"We're good," I said. "How are you feeling?"

"Like a million dollars!" He said. "I got up early and trained in the training center."

I glanced down at DJ's paws and took note of the loosely wrapped bandages around his fists. Small pools of fresh blood were slowly starting to seep through the dirty bandages.

"So, do you think you'll be fit enough for our mission?" Megan asked as watched DJ shovel another handful of food into his mouth. "I mean your hands, and your eyes."

"The blood is old wounds, and I am rested…"He said before he opened his mouth and yawned. "Ok, maybe I'm a little tired."

The riolu pushed his tray away from him, and wiped his mouth with his arm.

"Alright, let's get to work!" He said excitedly.

I looked over at my other team members and nodded. They simply returned my nod and we quickly gathered our plates. We said our good byes to Ted and his team and walked towards the exit.

DJ led the charge and the three of us followed close behind. Every now and then DJ would slow down and would grab onto his chest, or he would gently press his fist against one of the stone walls.

"Are you alright DJ?" I asked.

He slowly turned to face me, and in that moment I caught a glimpse of something in his eyes. What I saw reminded me of the eyes of Stacy the day she began to change. Except, this was more violent and feral. It almost looked like it was struggling to dominate and DJ was losing.

"I'm fine." DJ responded.

But I had a feeling he wasn't fine, something was happening to my friend. Something was changing him, and it was taking over. It was winning, DJ was losing the fight to contain it.

As soon as we blinked into existence I was blinded by the harsh sunlight, and a burning sensation on the pads of my feet. The smell of old, hot garbage and emissions entered my nostrils.

My eyes slowly adjusted themselves to the harsh sunlight allowing me to survey my surroundings. We were in a small courtyard that was surrounded by five, tall, brick buildings. Each of their backs had four windows that faced towards a small park that sat in the center.

"So," I said. "This the place?"

The abra lazily nodded and pointed towards a shaded, gravel path way that lead into the park. Thick foliage surrounded the trail, and the shadows casted by the thick tree canopy made the path way almost seem sinister.

Before I could ask him another question he winked out of existence, leaving only his foot prints and the calling stone. Sophie quickly scooped up the stone and placed it into her the small bag that rested against her side. I gave each of my team mates a reassuring nod before I turned and began to walk towards the gravel trail.

The three of them followed close behind as we were slowly engulfed into the shadows and foliage. The gravel was jagged and rough against the pads on my paws, and my body brushed up against hidden thorn bushes. Deep within the brush I could make out strange stone figures, and old crumbled stone walls. They had probably once given the park a sense of place and a border. Now they were buried beneath the thick foliage, hidden from the eyes of anyone who might travel through.

As we continued our trek through the small trail I suddenly felt like I was being watched. I stopped walking for a few moments, and looked around me. The thick brush made it hard to see if anyone was there, and the deep shade made it even harder for me to see far into the park.

My ears picked up on the sound of something moving through the brush, but when I turned I didn't see anyone. I turned and looked at my friends who were patiently waiting for me to continue walking.

"Man, this client picked the weirdest place to have this meeting." I said

"This place gives me the creeps…"Megan shuddered. "I feel like I'm in some old horror movie.

"Yeah," Sophie added. "Whatever a horror movie is…"

"It's lucky we haven't…"DJ began before he stopped.

The riolu's eyes darted around the area around the path. His hands shook with excitement and his gaze was hopeful. It reminded me of when Uno was an evee and he would hunt in my back yard. He would have that same look in his eyes, and his small feet would be twitching with anticipation.

"Something is here…"DJ said with a bit of excitement. "Someone is watching us."

I followed his gaze and noticed a fairly large tree branch. I squinted my eyes and just for a split second I thought I saw a small bit of movement. I looked back the riolu and shook my head.

"Whatever it was its gone DJ."

He gazed over at me, and for a split second I saw that feral look again. Except this time it had a stronger presence in his eyes. At first glance it seemed like he was turning, but something was different. When Stacy turned her eyes were ruthless, and wild. DJ's eyes looked sinister and annoyed, as if everyone around him would ruin his dangerous fun.

Just as quick as it had appeared it vanished and DJ's normal, calm, gaze returned to his eyes. He looked over the three of us and gave us all a small reassuring smile.

I returned the smile and motioned for him to lead the way. As he walked passed me to take his position in the front I suddenly felt a chill run down my spine. The energy his body emitted was strange and untamed. I didn't say anything and began to follow DJ deeper into the park.

After ten minutes of walking, the gravel path eventually opened into a small, gravel clearing. The tree canopy above us was much thicker than the paths, and the entire circle was surrounded by large shrubs. The four of us stood there in silence, checking our surroundings for any movement.

"Well, look who decided to finally show up!" A voice chuckled from in front of us.

The four of us quickly turned, and found a very large rabbit. His chest was puffed out and a large ring of fur encircled his stomach. Two small arms were positioned just a foot away from his neck. A large brown beard dangled from his chin and encircled his mouth. The most promote feature of our client was the pair of large hand like ears. The tips of these strange ears were divided into four, finger shaped tubes that wiggled independently.

The diggersby lazily scratched his stomach with one of his large, hand like ears as he continued to approach us. Once he was within the clearing, he took in a large breath of air and let out a loud, hearty chuckle.

"I have to say, that was quiet the hike!" He laughed. "I started out in a small park just north of here, burrowed my way over to Fifth Street, and walked over here!"

He raised one of his small arms and gave his large stomach a playful pat.

"I must be getting out of shape, Wahahahahah!"

I just made a small smile and tried to laugh along with him. Megan and DJ rolled their eyes at his joke. Sophie laughed along with him, and mimicked his stomach pat.

"Now then," He grunted as he lowered himself to the ground. "Too business. I got something you want to know, and you will give me something in return."

"Sounds about right." I said.

"Alright then!" He laughed.

"So, what do you know about Jojo?" I asked.

The diggersby gently stroked his beard with one of his long ears. A small grin spread across his face, and he let out a loud sigh.

"Jojo and I are actually close friends, I've saved his ass on multiple occasions. He's a pokemon who demands respect, and expects his allies to always be willing to assist him. He only has a few close friends…all of which know some of his most well kept secrets."

"Really?" Megan asked. "I'm guessing you're not going to tell us?"

The diggersby smiled at her and laughed.

"Young lady, there are things I know about him that would make you scared of anything that goes bump in the night."

"I doubt that." Megan smirked.

"Jojo is a very secretive pokemon. As I said, only his closest friends know his darkest secrets. Especially those that involve a certain team."

"You mean Team Sandstorm?" I asked. "Jojo has…involvement?"

The diggersby smiled and slowly nodded his head. His smile appeared to be harmless, but it sent a chill down my spine.

"So," He continued. "It's clear that I have some information that you will most defiantly find interesting."

"Sounds like you know some interesting pieces of info." I said. "We are happy to pay you or give you any piece of information you might need."

"Oh, I don't need any of that skitty litter you pay people with. I want to know something that only you four would know about."

"And what might that be?"

The smile slowly stretched until it touched his cheeks. The finger like appendages on the top of his ears moved with anticipation, and his normal hands gently rubbed against each other.

"I heard through the grape vine that you four have had some contact with one of our most agents who left Jojo's crew."

Just looking at his huge smile gave me the creeps, and it made me want to dash back towards the entrance of the park. However, I had the feeling he wasn't going to just let us go. Not after he just told us about his connections with Jojo.

"What do you want to know?" I asked as I slowly got into my battle stance.

"Simple, I want to know where Octavius is hiding." He said. "That squid has something that Jojo wants back."

"Sorry to burst your bubble," Megan growled. "But we haven't had any contacts with him in a long time."

The diggersby gently pulled at the large clump of fur beneath his chin. His finger like appendages continued to fidget with anticipation.

"You may have not seen him," He said. "But you can take me to where he's hiding."

"Again, we don't know..."

His large hand like ears slammed against the ground causing the whole ground to shake.

"Don't lie to me!" He said sternly. "We know your hiding him in your secret base, and we know that you four have had contact with him. Heck, my spies have even said you took him to your base to keep him safe!"

His hands slammed against the ground again, casing another miniature earthquake.

"Now, you're going to tell me where he is, or I'm going to make you do it by force!"

"There's four of us and one of you tubby!" Sophie yelled. "We have the advantage.

The creepy smile quickly repapered on his face, and he let out a loud, cruel, laugh. He looked down at the four of us and gently shook his head.

"Well, missy you're wrong I never come alone."

In that instant he rose his ear like hands into the air and slammed them together. All around us patches of air began to shimmer as six keckleons appeared. Three of them were different colors, and the other three were their normal green.

The diggersby let lose another round of laughter as he opened his hands up to the sky.

"I am The Dutchman! Jojo's most trusted and deadliest smith!" He yelled. "And you four are going to take me to your base, or"

He lowered one of his giant ears and pointed the tips towards our group.

"It's curtains for all of you!"

The keckleons rushed towards us with blazing speed. The three normal ones quickly ran for DJ, the other three ran towards Megan, Sophie, and I. The keckleon that faced me was a light brown color, red lines were drawn beneath his eyes, and held his fist close to chest like a boxer preparing for a fight.

He gently shifted on his feet and motioned for me to attack. I reposed myself back into my battle stance and began to collect my power. My opponent rushed towards me, his fist outstretched and poised to slam into me.

I quickly moved out of the way and lashed at his back with my front claws. A pair of three, small, thin, red lines appeared on his back, but the attack didn't faze him. He quickly recovered and launched himself at me again. This time he managed to slam one of his fist into my chest and then slammed his second fist into my back.

My body erupted with pain as I quickly jumped back. I ignored the pain in my back and in my chest and surged forward, and I quickly willed the power into my front claws. My opponent ran forward and attempted to hit me with his fist again.

I quickly dodged out from his attack and unleashed the stored energy. Long dark claws made from pure shadow grew form my paws as I quickly turned to attack. I racked them across his back, right alongside the first set of scratch marks.

This time, he grunted with pain as two pairs of long, deep cuts appeared on his back.

"You're a pest!" He growled. "I'm going to enjoy pummeling you into the dirt!"

The keckleon lunged forward and slammed his fist right into my chest. I let out a loud cry of pain before I rolled away, avoiding his second attack.

"Keckleons are normal types…" I thought to myself. "My shadow claw should have done more damage."

I dodged another one of his attacks, and swiped at him with my claws. He jumped back out of my reach and charged at me again. As I moved out of the way I noticed a small stone hanging on his neck. It was smooth, tan, and it had a small fist carved into the surface.

"That stone has to be the thing making him stronger."

I quickly prepared myself for his next attack and waited for him to strike. My opponent lunged at me, he swung his arm around in an attempt to grab me into a head lock. I quickly moved out of the way and swiped at the small cord around his neck.

As soon as the stone feel from his neck his body quickly changed back into tis normal green color. His fist fell to his sides, and his body posture became more open. He let out a loud curse before he sloppily lunged at me again.

"Not so tough without your special rock." I said as I slammed my head into his chest.

The keckleon let out a loud gasp of air as skidded across the gravel. He coughed as his lungs began to fill with air.

"The stone is just a way to get an advantage," My opponent growled.

He lunged forward and racked his claws against my side. The attack didn't hurt as much as the ones from earlier, but it was still painful.

"We spy on our opponents, we see what types they are, and then we lure them in." He said as he jumped back. "We don't need the stones to kill, but their a nice little power boost. BOSS!"

The keckleon held up his hand and waved at the Dutchman. The diggersby smiled and reached into his fur, and pulled out a small leather pouch. He reached into it and pulled out two colored stones. He let out a shrill whistle and lobbed both of them into the air. My opponent jumped and caught one of them, the second one sailed towards the three keckleon facing DJ.

As soon as his hand touched the stone he quickly began to change color. His skin became a lighter green, and his eyes became a deep red. He cursed under his breath and gripped the stone.

"I don't usually work with bug, but it will have to do."

He pushed his heal into the gravel, kicking up a small cloud of dust and loose gravel. I quickly jumped back and prepared myself for his attack. He ran towards my side, and I quickly side stepped avoiding his claws.

"STAND STILL!" He growled as he swiped at me again and again.

Each time I quickly dogged, and prepared myself for my attack. I willed my power to pool into the pads of my feet, and prepared to jump. He swiped at me again, and I jumped into the air.

As soon as my feet touched the gravel, a ring of dark energy emanated from my feet and expanded outward. My opponent didn't have enough time to react, he held up his arms and prepared to take the full force of my attack.

The ring of shadow slammed into him, knocking him off of his feet and down onto the gravel. I took the opportunity and ran towards him, quickly focusing the remaining bits of my energy into my paws.

The keckleon slowly got to his feet, he faced me, gritted his teeth, and charged. I let out a loud battle cry as I jumped and formed my shadow claws. Once he was in range I swiped my claws against his chest. He let out a loud bone chilling scream, as my shadow claws created a pair of three long, red scars across his chest.

With one last moan he collapsed onto the gravel and was motionless.

"One down," I breathed.

One of the keckleons fighting DJ quickly jumped back and turned to face me.

"Five more to go." I muttered.

My new opponent just smiled at me and licked his lip with anticipation. I slowly got into my battle stance and waited for him to strike.

"Good job taking one of us down," He chuckled. "But the real battle has just begun."

Before I could even respond, he opened his mouth and wrapped his tongue around my neck. He slammed my head into the gravel and then raised me into the air. He chuckled and then slammed me back down into the gravel.

"The one you took out was just a rookie," He said. "The other five are veterans."

He raised me back into the air and released me from his grasp. I toppled onto the ground and coughed as air began to refill my lounges. I struggled to get to my feet, and my opponent laughed.

"You really want to fight me." He said. "It took a bit of work to take him out, what makes you think you have enough energy to take me down?"

He was right, I was exhausted and all my energy was focused on healing the damage from my last battle. I only had enough to do one more special attack, after that I had to use my teeth and claws.

"We can end this," He said. "All you need to do is take us to your base, and we'll leave you alone.

"Ha," I spat. "I'll believe that when spoinks fly."

"No, Jojo just wants Octavius and nothing else." The keckleon said. "We only want him, and what he stole from the boss."

"What exactly did he steal?" I asked.

"That's classified." He said. "And besides if I told you, I would have to kill you."

"Nice, cliché bad guy phrase." I muttered.

The keckleon slammed his fist into my chest, forcing the wind out of my lungs. I coughed and took in large gulps of air.

"Pathetic," He muttered. "One of my squad members, defeated by you. What happened to all that gusto?"

He slammed his fist into my chest again.

"Where is all that energy that you used to beat him?"

He slammed his fist into me again, and I coughed again. Deep within my gut I could feel my power slowly starting to deplete. The last remains of my power was being used to heal my wounds, and there wasn't enough left for anything big. There was only one thing I could do, it was risky but it was the only option.

I willed the last of my power into my forehead. My opponent pushed me away from him, forcing me down onto the hard, rough gravel. He slowly walked over to me, a cruel smile on his face, and eyes filled with anticipation.

"Well?"

"I have one question?"

"Yes?" The keckleon said as he leaned towards my head.

"Do you do well in hot climates?"

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"Because I'm sending you back to hell!"

I forced the energy to form into a ball of unstable, dark energy. The sphere quickly formed, and began to grow in size, engulfing my opponents head into a sphere of darkness. Bolts of purple lighting flashed across its surface, and a thin trail of purple fog emanated from the sphere.

I let out a loud painful cry as I forced the sphere forward. The sphere of unstable energy flew forward and exploded as soon as it made contact with the ground. I watched as my opponents body was tossed towards the thick brush that surrounded the clearing. His limp body slammed into a nearby tree, and he crumbled into the brush.

"Two down," I breathed painfully.

I painfully tried to get to my feet, but two large furry bodies slammed into me knocking me back down. I groaned in pain as I looked back towards what hit me. My eyes caught site of Sophie and Megan's motionless bodies. Their opponents stood over them with pride.

I tried to get to my feet, but something wrapped around my throat and slammed me into the ground. I tilted my head to see my attacker and saw a new keckleon standing at the edge of the clearing. The lower half of his body was still hidden in the brush, but his upper half was completely visible.

The Dutchman let out a loud, hearty laugh as he advanced over to me. His large, hand like ears swung gently above his head. Their furry, tube shaped appendages squirmed with anticipation.

"First rule of an assault," He laughed. "Always have a few men on standby, just in case something like this happens."

I grunted and tried to free my neck. The Dutchman laughed at my efforts and shook his head.

"I have to say I'm impressed. These guys are some of the most highly trained members of Jojo's organization." He gloated. "A fully groan aggron would have trouble getting himself out of their grasp."

As if to demonstrate, the keckleon holding my neck tightened his grip around my neck. I gasped for air and began to violently squirm to free myself.

"You lost this fight as soon as you walked into our trap, and once the pup is taken out we'll squeeze every drop of info out of you."

I didn't reply, my lungs were screaming for air and my vision was starting to become fuzzy. The Dutchman only laughed and looked towards the site of DJ's fight. The proud smile he wore on his face quickly vanished, and his face slowly morphed into a look of concern.

The keckleons grip on my neck lessened and I took in a large gulp of fresh air. A shadow dashed over me, as the new keckleon rushed to fight DJ. A loud battle cry filled my ears, and a loud scream erupted from the site.

The keckleons motionless body flew back towards me and landed beside me. His eyes were blank, and his face was frozen in a look of pure fear.

"THIS ISNT HOW IT WAS SUPPOSE TO END!" A voice called from the battle. "I HAVE ADVANTAGE!"

His yelled was quickly silenced and a small shadow flew over me. The grip around my neck loosened allowing my lungs to fill with air. It also allowed me to turn my head towards the fight.

DJ was slowly advancing towards us, and this gave me a good view of his state. His blue fur was coated in a thin layer of dust, and it was ruffled. His eyes glowed with a soft red light, they were untamed and wild. It almost looked like DJ was in the process of turning, but this was a little different.

DJ ignored our toppled bodies and continued walking. He grunted in displeasure at the sight of the keckleons and looked towards the Dutchman. A cruel, playful smile etched itself into his face as he prepared himself to attack.

The Dutchman only grunted at the sight and prepared himself. The remaining keckleons panicked at this and rushed towards him.

"Boss" They said. "You said do this, the doc said you can't be fighting!"

"Yeah boss," Another said. "Your back still hasn't healed and…"

"SILENECE!" He yelled.

The keckleons fell silent.

"I WILL NOT HAVE SOME PUP RUIN THE REPUTATION OF MY MEN!" He yelled. "This fight between us is for pride and honor…"

DJ didn't say anything and just smiled at the comment. Without any warning, DJ rushed forward. A cruel smile stretched across his face, and a wild look in his eyes. His fist slammed into one of the Dutchman's large hand like ears.

"IM SEIDNG THIS DEAMON BACK TO HELL!" He yelled.