Nightmare (King of Hearts Contest Entry)

Nightmare
King of Hearts Entry
Part 1

WARNING: THIS STORY IS THEMED FOR HORROR. THAT MEANS THAT THERE WILL BE GRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS AND A FAIR BIT OF SWEARING. THERE IS NO MATURE FILTER ON THIS BECAUSE I DID NOT FEEL IT WAS NECESSARY, AND I WILL ENABLE IT IF THE AUDIENCE INSISTS. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

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Ow... everything hurts... why does everything hurt...?

Groaning, I sat up in the middle of... wherever the hell I was. "What the...?" I whispered as I looked around. I couldn't see much in the darkness, but it was perfectly clear that I wasn't in my room anymore. But as for exactly where I was... I don't know. If I didn't know better, I'd say that I was in a padded white room.

How the hell did I get here? I thought to myself as I slowly pushed the cell door open. The thing creaked and groaned more than a 90-year-old man with arthritis- a clear sign that wherever I was, nobody had been here for a looooong time. Beyond the door was a small hallway, almost like that of a hospital, or maybe-

"An asylum." I jumped high enough to touch the ceiling when I heard that voice right fucking behind me. I whirled around to see what looked like a ghastly. Wait, no... that's not right. Ghastlies have a little sphere as their core and ethereal flames around them. This just looked like a floating ball of black fog. Correction; a floating ball of black fog with glowing red eyes.

"He he! I didn't mean to scare you!" It, or rather she, giggled. "Oookay... what the hell are you?" I asked her, although I was more concerned with my location than my company at that point. The ball giggled again and said "He he he! You mean you don't know?" "Know what?" The orb just giggled and darted off down the hallway, leaving me alone once again.

I started to run after her, but tripped over something and fell heavily to the ground. Muttering a number of curses, I picked myself up and looked back to see what I had tripped over-

Holy shit.

I didn't know corpses came in the "burnt to a crisp and skinned" variety.

"What the fuck...?" I whispered to myself as I bent down to examine the dead body. It was human, I could tell that right off the bat, but I couldn't tell much else about him. Now that I looked closer, I could see a large puddle of blood splattered across the walls and ground around him. What the hell happened to this guy? I thought as I continued my examination. He didn't have anything on him, not even a pair of pants. And you can rest assured that nothing was exposed; whatever had roasted and skinned the poor bastard had taken the time to neuter him as well.

"Holy Arceus..." I muttered, praying that this guy had been dead before this happened. My attention was then drawn to his right fist, or rather, the piece of paper clutched in it. Carefully, I peeled his crispy, crunchy fingers off the paper and unfolded it. The top-right corner was soaked with blood, and the bottom-left was partially burnt. However, fortunately for me, those parts were blank. The only text on the paper was a single sentence scribbled in pencil: "Destroy the Heart." What the hell does that mean? I thought to myself, refolding the paper and putting it back where it belonged.

Making sure not to step on any more dead people, I ran down the hallway in the direction of that strange talking orb. While I ran, my mind flashed back to what she had said. An asylum. Did she mean an insane asylum? How the hell did I end up in an insane asylum?! One second I'm in my room, and the next I'm... here! What the fuck is going on?!

After about five minutes, I finally caught up to her. "Hey!" I panted, leaning against the wall for support. "You owe me some answers!" The eyes changed to a disappointed pattern and she said "Aw... you're no fun. All right, I'll let you in on a little secret. My name is Nightmare, and I own this little asylum." As if the words weren't chilling enough, remember that she sounded like a playful ten-year-old girl. If that's not creepy, then I don't know what is. "All right then, Nightmare. How the hell did I get here?" The orb seemed to be shaking its head. "Don't curse, mister! That's how the monsters find you!" "The what?!" I said, looking around anxiously. "The monsters! They like to play with people, but they're meanies. They always hurt their playmates." Nightmare paused. "I think I hear one coming, mister! Hope you like playtime!" She giggled and flew off through a window. I ran towards the same window, hoping to see where she went, but a solid steel plate slammed down onto the window frame before I could reach it.

"Dammit!" I yelled, pounding my fist against the sheet metal. Now how the hell was I supposed to find her? Or anyone for that matter?

I would've thought more about that, but my attention was interrupted by the sound of footsteps echoing down one of the side halls. A set of footsteps accompanied by a distinct sobbing noise. "Is someone there?" I called out, walking in the direction of the sobbing. Slowly, I walked around the corner to see a small ralts crying about fifty feet down the hall.

Slowly, I started to walk forward, only for the ralts' head to snap up. "D-don't come any closer. P-please." I slowed my approach and calmly said "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." The ralts frantically shook his head. "I-it's not me that I'm worried about." He said, slowly starting to get up. I kept walking forward, making sure to check the shadows. Whatever this kid was scared of, I didn't intend to let it catch me off guard. I was looking everywhere; the rafters, the empty padded cells, everywhere.

Everywhere except for the ralts.

As soon as I got within twenty feet, my entire body froze. I couldn't move an inch. The ralts started to writhe around, and I could see now that his little robe was smeared with blood. More importantly, I realized that his horn, which should be pink in color, was a bright crimson. Suddenly, the writhing stopped. Slowly, the Ralts got up, but he wasn't crying anymore.

He was snarling.

I watched as he snapped his wrists forward, causing two razor-sharp psycho-cuts to pop into existence. With an unearthly shriek, the ralts started running towards me. I struggled as much as I could, but this thing had me paralyzed. It's a psychic-type! The damn thing's blocking my nervous system! I realized. Of course, that wouldn't do me much good now. The ralts pounced at me, psycho-cuts raised to take off my head-

A loud bang split the air and the ralts yelped, crashing to the ground in front of me. My body unfroze and I fell to the ground, stunned at what I was seeing. Standing there, in the middle of the hallway, was a zoroark wearing a pokèxtinction badge. Cradled in his claws was a SPAS-12 shotgun, smoke wisping from the muzzle. Before I could think of anything to say, he stormed over to me, picked me up, and pinned me to the wall with the shotgun.

"All right, how the fuck did you get here?" He said, and I detected more than a hint of aggression in his voice. "What, you're asking me?!" I choked, trying to push the heavy gun off my throat. "Who the hell are you, anyway?" "Agent Zeta, Pokèxtinction. Now, you are going to tell me exactly what the fuck happened, or I will blast your damned brains all over the wall." "I don't know! One second I'm in my room on base, the next second I'm here!" We just stared at each other for a minute, then Zeta released me, and I fell to the floor gasping. "Let me guess; she came to talk to you as well?" the zoroark asked, reloading his shotgun in the meantime. "If you mean Nightmare, then yes. I saw her all right." I coughed, slowly getting to my feet. The zoroark growled and said "Follow me."

As we walked, I asked "So... you work for pokèxtinction?" "Yes. Shut up." "Did you know this place?" "I said, shut up." Taking the hint, I swapped to a different subject. "Do you have a name?" "I already told you. I'm Zeta." "I meant a real name, but okay. I'm Daniel. Daniel the bisharp." He glared at me. "Do you ever stop talking?" "Occasionally." "Unless you like the taste of buckshot, then I'd suggest zipping the lip, runt." "My name's-" "I said, shut up!" Zeta snapped, and I decided to listen to him for once.

A few minutes passed, and we finally got to our destination; a small storeroom. "Get in." the zoroark said, opening the door. I walked inside and he followed, shutting the door behind us and throwing all the locks. The storeroom was filled with two things; shotgun shells and canned food. Over in the one corner was a small pile of rubble. And throughout my little observation, I realized that he was still throwing the locks. I raised an eyebrow and asked "Is that really necessary?" "Yes. You learn things after a few weeks in this hellhole." He said, moving a heavy steel cabinet in front of the door. Once the cabinet was in place, Zeta placed his SPAS-12 on a nearby table and asked "Did you find anything out there?" I nodded and said "I found a dead guy clutching a small note. It read 'Destroy the Heart.' Any idea what that means?" The zoroark froze. "The Ace of Hearts..." He whispered. "What was that?" "Nothing." He snapped. "You said you met Nightmare, correct?" "Yeah." "Where did she go?" "Out a window. A steel plate slammed down over it when I got close." "We need to find her. Now."

Zeta picked up an old winchester and tossed it to me. I shook my head and handed it back to him, saying "I think my moves will do well enough." The zoroark glared at me. "No, they won't. These things are extremely powerful. Without a weapon, you will die." He shoved the shotgun back into my arms and I (reluctantly) accepted it. As I loaded shells into the old shotty, I asked "What was that thing back there?" "That was a Wanderer. Some dumbass over in R&D put the aggression of a zangoose into the body of a ralts. If anyone gets within twenty feet of them, they go into a controlled rage, paralyze everyone around them with their psychic powers, then..." He made a slicing gesture and I got the hint. I let off a low whistle. "This place was making hybrids?" "Damn right. Thousands of them. Then that bitch Nightmare showed up and tore the place apart. She let the hybrids out and, well... I think you can guess the rest."

As I finished reloading, Zeta grabbed his own shotgun and said "Follow me." "Where are we going?" "To find Nightmare. She'll know where that 'Heart' is." Shrugging my shoulders, I hefted the winchester and followed him over to a small patch of debris on the ground. Silently, he moved a few pieces of rubble out of the way, exposing a hole in the floor. "Ladies first." He growled, pointing at the hole. "Very funny." I said, sarcasm dripping from my voice, as I dropped down to the floor below. Zeta followed, and we started looking around. "Any idea where she could be?" I asked, checking around a corner for a stray Wanderer. "If I had to guess, I'd say she's in the library. If we're lucky, then the Sirens will keep any of the other hybrids away while we search." "Sirens?" "You'll see." He muttered, kicking open a set of locked doors.

We managed to make it halfway down the hall before the hybrids found us. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a jet-black figure in the shadows. Raising my shotgun, I looked at the spot- but it was gone. "Hey, Zeta?" "I saw it. Lurkers." Before I could ask what he was talking about, the zoroark stiffened. "Fuck." He swore, raising his SPAS-12. "Cover my back!" I got behind him and pointed my winchester down the opposite hall in the intersection. For a moment, everything was silent. Then, I heard a faint noise, like a sword scraping against metal. In under a second, Zeta pointed at it and fired. There was a yelp from the darkness, then silence. "Don't. Move." The zoroark hissed. "These things travel in pairs. Watch the shadows. If you see motion, shoot it." I nodded and kept watching down my two hallways. Then, I saw it; an abra with scales as black as night darting out of the shadows rightfuckinginFRONTOFME-

I pulled the trigger and let the abra have it, putting a buckshot shell right through his chestplate. The now-dead abra flew back into the wall, but I saw that it wasn't bleeding, it was misting. Where blood should have been pouring out was a faint trail of ethereal smoke. "What the fuck...?" I whispered as the thing suddenly vaporized. "That was a Lurker. Abra/Weavile hybrid. If you've seen the Predator movies, you know what to expect." I cringed and asked "Are they really that bad?" "Yes. Predators can't teleport. These things can." Now officially scared, I followed him down the hall, keeping my winchester raised at all times.

After a few minutes of walking, Zeta froze and held up his paw in a fist. "What are you-" "That means 'stop.' Don't you pokèumans learn hand signals in the PRT?" "Not really." "Then now you know. Don't forget it." We were quiet for a moment, and I heard the faint, yet distinct sound of giggling off to our right. "She's close. Keep quiet, and don't touch anything." the zoroark hissed, quietly walking towards the noise. As expected, it got louder as we approached, but it was also joined by the sound of at least ten women singing. "Is that... Lugia's song?" I whispered. Zeta grunted. "Is that what it's called? I thought I knew it from somewhere." The noise seemed to be coming from a set of double doors. I could see light pouring out from the cracks.

"Before you ask, the library has its own independent electrical system. You get on that side and wait for my signal." the zoroark whispered, pointing to the far door. I nodded and crept up next to the door. Zeta took the other side and made a motion like a fist slamming into a wall, followed by holding up 3 claws. Then two. By the time he held up one, I finally figured out what he was planning. In unison, we kicked open the doors to the library and readied our shotguns. Waiting inside were what looked like... ghostly blue gardevoirs? I saw that, despite our interruption, the gardevoirs just kept on singing like we weren't even there. "How rude! These girls are trying to rehearse!" I jumped back again, tumbling into Zeta and sending both of us crashing to the ground. Yes, it was Nightmare again. I could see her eyes in an angry pattern, almost as if she were scolding us. "Luckily for you, they ignored your little tantrum."

Groaning, Zeta shoved me off of him and got up, lowering his SPAS-12. "Nightmare." "Ah, Ste-" "Don't. We're here about the heart." I saw Nightmare's eyes widen. The gardevoirs suddenly fell silent. The zoroark glared at the orb and said "Where. Is. It." It was more of a command than a question. As expected, Nightmare twirled around and said "I'm not telling and you can't make me." Zeta raised his shotty and pointed it at the floating ball of shadow. "Tell us, or I will put a round of buckshot through you." Five seconds passed. Ten. Finally, Nightmare turned around, grumbling about "meanies." "Where is it, Nightmare?" "I'll tell you..." The orb vanished, and her voice echoed throughout the library. "...If you can find me! He he!" Growling, Zeta pointed at the right half of the library and said "Check that side. I'm getting sick of her games." "Let me guess; hide and seek?" "Damn right."

Slowly, I checked around one of the library's massive rows of bookcases. Nothing. As I moved onto the next, I thought about the conversation between Nightmare and Zeta. It almost seemed like they... knew each other. My thoughts were interrupted by a faint giggling noise off to my right and... above? I looked in the direction of the noise to see Nightmare floating on top of the bookcase, giggling like a maniac. Quietly, I slung the winchester onto my back and started to climb. Gotcha now, Nightmare. Unfortunately, the second I thought that, a book that I was using as a handhold came loose and tumbled to the ground with a loud smack. I winced and looked at the orb-girl to see that she... apparently hadn't heard it and just kept on floating back and forth. Thankful for her extreme ignorance, I kept on climbing and finally reached the top of the bookcase.

Quietly, I crept up behind her. She had scared the ever-living shit out of me twice now, and I was anxious for some payback. However, when I was right behind her, she spun around and yelled "BOO!" I yelped and fell backwards off the bookcase, hitting the floor hard. Meanwhile, Nightmare was laughing like crazy. "You're fun to play with! I think I like you!" She said, still giggling. Groaning, I got up and said "I found you, Nightmare. Time to uphold your end of the bargain." Her eyes went to a pouting pattern. "Aw... you're right... Oh well! It was worth it! He he!"

At that moment, Zeta came running up behind me. "Looks like you found her. Nice work." Despite his sulking attitude, I detected a faint trace of pride in his voice. Before he could interrogate our little "friend," Nightmare started spontaneously giggling- more than usual, I mean. "What's so funny?" the zoroark growled, only to blanch a second later. He turned to me and said "Please, please tell me you didn't knock anything over." I scratched my head and answered "One book. I didn't touch anything el-" "You did what?!" He yelled, looking around frantically. Nightmare's giggling grew to uncontrollable laughter. "~The Angel is coming to play..." She said in a sing-song voice.

"We're leaving. Now." Zeta said, grabbing me by the shoulder and pulling me towards the doorway. "But- what about-" "We'll catch her later! Just run!" He yelled, sprinting towards the door with me in tow. Just as we got through the doorway, a deafening roar split the air. We both turned around to see an absol standing there, but there was something different about it; its eyes were a brilliant shade of purple.

"What the hell is-" "RUN!" the zoroark yelled, firing off a shell at the "Angel," which immediately dodged and counterattacked with the largest hyper beam I ever saw. We both dove for the floor as the beam tore past us, filling most of the hallway and blasting the far wall to pieces. Once the beam faded, we both jumped to our feet and ran like hell. We raced through the hallways, taking turn after turn to confuse the thing. But no matter how much we ran, I could still hear it just around the previous corner. Suddenly, Zeta grabbed me by the shoulder and threw me into a padded cell. He dove in a second later and made a slashing motion over his throat- keep quiet. I thought. Three seconds after we took cover, the Angel rushed down the hallway and slid to a stop right in front of the cell.

I felt a drop of sweat run down my cheek. This was bad. If it found us here, we would have nowhere near enough room to fight back. We'd be slaughtered like fish in a barrel. I heard the thing sniffing at the air, picking up our scent, taking a few steps towards us-

A loud clamor erupted further down the hall. I heard a Wanderer shriek in pain, and the Angel ran towards the sound, probably expecting to find us there, or at least our dead bodies. We waited almost a minute before Zeta finally waved for us to go. From there, we hightailed it back to the zoroark's little safehouse. I gave him a boost through the hole and he pulled me up, then we both did our best to seal the entrance.

Exhausted, I collapsed against a wall. "What... the fuck... was that thing...?" I panted. "That... that was an Angel." Zeta said, sitting down on a small cot. "You remember seeing the Sirens, correct?" I nodded and motioned for him to continue. "Sirens are known to create bonds with other creatures, usually human or pokèmon. After about two months, the partner and Siren physically fuse into a single entity. The partner receives unbelievable levels of power, and gains the psychic abilities of its respective Siren. The only distinguishing feature is its purple eyes." "And let me guess... that combined form is called an Angel?" Zeta nodded and leaned back against the pile of cans. "Yeah. They're highly protective of Sirens and are known to attack anyone who threatens them. When you knocked that book out of place, the Angel thought that you were trying to damage the Sirens' home and responded appropriately."

I commenced a facepalm upon hearing this. "That explains why it tried to kill us." "Damn right. As long as we stay away from the Library from now on, we should be fine." I nodded and started to reload my winchester. "So... how are we going to find Nightmare again?" Zeta considered this for a moment, then said "Nightmare runs this place in a pattern. She already visited the Sirens, so next up should be the Lurker nest." I almost dropped my shotgun in surprise. "What?!" "You heard me. She's the only thing they ignore. Hell, I've seen a few running away from her. If we keep within... I'd say fifty feet of her, the Lurkers should leave us alone." "At least tell me you know where the nest is." "Damn right I do. Follow me." The zoroark walked over to the door and undid the locks, which took about a minute, then we both ventured out into the asylum once again.

He led me past the spot where I first woke up, a fact that I didn't fail to point out. "Not exactly a surprise." Zeta said. "For some reason, the hybrids stay out of this hallway. It's one of the safest places in the whole damn building." For a few minutes, we traveled in silence, then I asked "Did you and Nightmare know each other?" I saw the zoroark tense, then he growled "Don't. Ask me that. Again." I got the hint and shut up.

About five minutes later, we finally reached our destination; the cafeteria of the asylum. "...Really? This is their nest?" "Damn right. Lurkers are carnivores, and the chefs had one hell of a meat locker in the back. I wouldn't expect them to go anywhere else." Slowly, keeping one claw on the trigger of his SPAS-12, Zeta pushed the door open. The lights were out inside, and most of the cafeteria was pitch black. However, luckily for us, I could hear giggling inside. "Follow the sound..." "...find the bitch. You're starting to get the hang of this, runt." "My name's Daniel-" "I didn't ask." He growled, shutting me up once again.

He held out one paw and said "As much as I hate to do so, we'll have to hold hands to keep from getting separated." I wasn't exactly happy with the idea either, but I could understand his logic. Making sure I had a firm grip on his paw, we slowly, carefully ventured into the darkness. With every step, the sound of giggling got louder. "Get ready." Zeta whispered to me.

Suddenly, a lone light turned on directly above us, blinding us for a moment; our eyes had adapted to the darkness somewhat. "Oh, look who's back to play again!" Nightmare said happily from the darkness. Immediately, we abandoned the hand-holding tactic and stood back-to-back in case that twisted orb had anything planned. "We're not playing your games this time, Nightmare! You still owe us from the last one!" Zeta yelled. For a moment, it was silent, then I heard her say "Aw... you're no fun..." The orb girl suddenly popped up in front of my face, startling me. However, I was starting to get used to this, and I didn't fall over this time. "You know I hate it when you do that, right?" I said, glaring at her. She just giggled and said "But it's fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun!"

"Nightmare. Directions. Now." Zeta growled, still looking out into the darkness of the cafeteria. Sighing, the floating fog-thing said "It's in the basement. Tenth corridor down." Her voice was one of a scolded child, and her eyes were shifting around the room aimlessly. I looked back at Zeta and asked "You know where that is?" "Yeah. I'll show you the way." Before either of us could move, Nightmare flew in between us and said "Hey! I thought you were asking me for help!" "Not anymore, bitch." Zeta growled, pointing his SPAS-12 at the orb-girl, who simply turned away and said "Hmph! You're a bunch of meanies! I'm gonna find someone else to play with!" And with that, she vanished. The light above us clicked off, leaving us in the darkness once again.

I felt Zeta grab my arm. "Don't let go. If anything else touches you, shoot it. Without Nightmare here, we're sitting ducks for the Lurkers." "Got it." I said, prepping my winchester with one hand. We both ran for the light of the hallway, and were halfway to it when an unearthly howl split the air. "Shit! They know we're here! Move!" I heard claws scratching on the tile floor and shot at it. A loud yelp echoed through the shadows and I heard the sounds of a lot more Lurkers behind us. Swearing, I emptied the shell from the chamber with one hand and fired again. Another yelp, another thud, a thousand more scratching sounds.

Just as we reached the doors, they slammed shut. I heard the locks click, sealing them tighter than an airlock. We were trapped. "Cover your eyes!" Zeta yelled, letting go of me and running off into the darkness. Before I could even ask what kind of psychotic plan he had in mind, a Lurker tackled me and I fell to the ground. In the dim light from the hallway, I saw the dark abra raise its razor-sharp claws to take my head off. I raised my arms in one last futile attempt to save my life-

The lights turned on, temporarily blinding me. My hearing was fine, though; I could hear the Lurkers shrieking at the sudden illumination. At first, I thought they were blinded like I had been, but I was wrong. Dead wrong. One by one, the screams fell silent. Finally, after about ten seconds, my vision finally adjusted enough for me to see-

A pile of ashes on my chest.

Yelping, I jumped up and brushed them off me. How the hell did that get there? I thought, staring down at the small black dust pile. Slowly, I looked up to see hundreds more scattered across the now-illuminated cafeteria. More importantly, I saw Zeta standing next to the light switch ten feet away. "You see these ash piles?" He said, slowly walking back over to the doors. I nodded. "Those are the remains of Lurkers." "Wait, what?!" "Lurkers are extremely photosensitive. Quite literally, they vaporize when exposed to bright light." I let off a low whistle as I picked up my winchester from where I had dropped it. "Nasty way to go." "They're feral. It was either them or us, and I don't intend to die just yet, runt." I didn't even bother to correct him that time.

Now that we had dealt with the Lurkers, Zeta walked up to the door and put a shotgun shell through the lock. He then pushed the door open and we walked out into the halls once again. "Why didn't you do that before?" "Didn't have time. We'd have gotten mauled before I could fire." "Ah... got it." I muttered.

The zoroark led us to an elevator leading down into the basement. "Tenth corridor down." "Got it." Zeta said, hitting the button labeled "B10" on the keypad. The words "Please enter passcode" appeared on the screen. "Great. Now what?" I asked him. He didn't answer, instead typing in a ten-digit combination. Slowly, the elevator began to descend.

"...How did you do that?" I asked him. "Don't ask." He growled. I shook my head and said "Oh no you don't. I'm done getting the run-around. You are going to give me some answers." The zoroark was silent for a moment, then "Fine. I'm not really a pokèxtinction agent. I'm a hybrid, just like the rest of these monsters. Kidnapped, experimented on, evaluated. I was fused with espeon DNA, but it didn't take. I was still myself. I know that password because... because I spent three years of my life down here. Happy now?" I just stood there in shock. "I thought as much." He muttered, turning back to the elevator doors.

I was overwhelmed. He was kidnapped? Does that mean that he used to be a normal pokèuman? I didn't ask him these questions, though; I could tell now that he had been through a lot, and I didn't want to bring up any more painful memories. Instead, I asked "Did you and Nightmare know each other before this?" "...You could say that." Zeta muttered, shifting uncomfortably. "She's a hybrid too, and she has the DNA of every dark and ghost type in existence. She's as old as the legendaries, and about as powerful."

I just gaped at him. "What in the world would Pokèxtinction want with her?!" "They didn't care about her; all they cared about was her vessel. Due to generally being... unstable, Arceus and the other legendaries sealed her away inside a medallion shaped like Arceus' ring." "The heart." I muttered. "Exactly. Pokèxtinction found the medallion, but they didn't know about Nightmare. She waited as they started using the power of the medallion, the power binding her soul to it, to fuse the DNA of certain pokèmon together, creating hybrids. They didn't realize that her bonds were slowly fading as they used the 'Heart' to make their experiments. About a month ago, she broke free and starting wreaking havoc across the base. She possessed a number of their soldiers, freed the feral hybrids, let them tear the pokèxtinction soldiers apart. Four weeks later..." He didn't need to finish the sentence.

"Why didn't you just leave? Why didn't she leave, for that matter?" I asked him. He sighed and said "I can't leave because of Nightmare. Nobody can. No matter how fast you run, or how far away you teleport, you always end up right back here within a matter of seconds. As for the bitch... her soul is bound to the medallion. If she wanders too far away, it'll kill her." "So if we destroy the 'Heart'..." "...we destroy Nightmare, and we can get the hell out of here." "Say no more." I muttered as the elevator doors finally opened.

Beyond those doors was a long, dark hallway. I could see at least three different sets of blast doors, all melted and shattered. Past them was a simple black plastic curtain, keeping any insects or otherwise out of the main chamber. "This is it. One shotgun shell is all it'll take." Zeta said, climbing over the first set of blast doors. "So... what do you plan to do when you get out of here?" I asked him as I worked my way across. The zoroark's expression turned to one of longing. "Honestly... I plan to go home. I've been in pokèxtinction's custody for almost five years now."

I let out a low whistle. "Got any family at home?" I asked. He shook his head as he crawled through a giant hole melted in blast door number two. "My wife died trying to save me, and my only daughter is the headmistress of... the Oregon Pokèuman base? It's been such a long time since I last saw her." I did a double take when I heard this. "Your daughter is Headmistress Luna?!" He gave me a weird look. "Yeah. How did you know her name?" "I'm from the Oregon base!" I said, climbing after him. "Holy Arceus! She is gonna be so happy to see you!" For the first time, I saw Zeta smile. "Thanks. I'm looking forward to it." He said as we both vaulted over the pile of debris that was the third blast door. Bracing myself for a shock, I pushed aside the plastic curtain and walked into the chamber beyond.

I have to say, I was still shocked by what I saw. The entire room, from floor to ceiling, was covered in what looked like carbon-fiber. The walls weren't flat, either; they were round, curving up to the ceiling like a dome. The center of the fifty-foot wide chamber had a strange structure to it.  From both the floor and the ceiling, the walls curved inward, forming two opposing spires about a foot wide at their largest point. Lights, faint but present, shone from the curved walls, all focused towards the spires. And floating there between them, gleaming in the darkness like a full moon, was a silvery medallion shaped like a miniature of Arceus' ring.

The Heart.

"Let's get this done." I said, aiming my winchester at the medallion. Without any hesitation, I pulled the trigger and heard the satisfying *bang* that followed, almost like a sign that this hell was finally over.

It wasn't.

Just as I fired the shotgun, a black ethereal shield popped up around the medallion. The pellets bounced off harmlessly and fell to the floor. I knew what caused it before she even appeared; not by the shield, but by the sound of giggling that filled the room. In unison, both me and Zeta growled her name. "Nightmare." "That's me! He he!" The orb-girl giggled as she floated up behind us. I moved instantly, readying my winchester. At this point, I had had enough of that happy little attitude. Without a second thought, I fired at her, only to watch as the round passed through her to the wall beyond. Nightmare only giggled louder as she continued floating towards the Heart. "That tickles!" She said, floating around the room without a care in the world.

"What the hell do you want?" I growled, keeping the shotgun aimed right between her glowing red eyes. "What do I want? Oh, I want plenty of things! More toys, more playmates, more everything! He he!" She giggled. "But most of all, I want to see the world! I've talked to so many people and heard so many things! I can't wait to see it all!" Her expression shifted to one of longing. "And yet... I can't leave my beautiful medallion behind. So I came up with a plan, a brilliant plan! And you both played along perfectly!" "Like hell. We're not playing any of your damned games." I said, preparing to put another shotgun shell through her. I glanced over at Zeta, fully expecting him to be doing the same, but he was just standing there, his SPAS-12 hanging by his side.

Nightmare started giggling again. "He he! You still don't understand, do you? These fancy-schmancy science people made all sorts of 'hybrids' with my medallion, and they never once realized that they were imbuing those creatures a piece of me as well!" Slowly, I realized what she was saying. "He he! These 'hybrids' are part of me, whether they like it or not! I can play with them anytime I want!"

She flew around the medallion like she was orbiting it, slowly returning to a simple hover, once again looking sad. "But none of them can play with me for long. Their bodies are too confusing for me, and they reject me after only a few minutes of playtime." Her eyes began to look mischievous, and her gaze fell upon Zeta. "So I convinced a friend of mine to bring someone a bit more... pure to my humble asylum, someone who could play with me for years on end!" At first, I was confused, then realization hit me like a brick. Slowly, I started to back away from her as she continued her little rant. "That playmate would take my medallion and follow me as I left this place to see all the world has to offer!" Her glowing red eyes fell upon me. "Ready to play, Daniel?" She asked, and, for the first time, I could hear the malice in her voice.

I turned to Zeta, who was still standing idly by. "What the hell is she talking about?" I asked. The zoroark was silent for a few seconds, then he whispered "I'm sorry, Daniel. I had no choice." Finally, everything made sense. Zeta had lied about the espeon DNA failing to take hold. He was fully psychic, although he had no visible characteristics of a hybrid. Nightmare had used him to teleport me to the asylum, then forced him to bring me here so that she could possess me and leave, bypassing the legandaries' curse.

Before I could fire again, four shadowy tentacles shot out of Nightmare's ethereal body and wrapped around my chest. And, let me tell you, it fucking hurt. Wherever those tentacles touched me, it felt like a bar of molten iron had been lain across my skin. Even through my armor, it felt and hurt exactly the same. I tore at those damned tentacles with everything I could muster, but all of it passed right through and only made the pain worse. I could hear Nightmare giggling incessantly as her ghostly tentacles burrowed into my body. I could hear her voice getting fainter and fainter as the tentacles wrapped themselves around my spine, slowly wriggling up towards my brain stem. Just as they reached it, I blacked out. But even in oblivion, she wouldn't let me rest.

I was standing in an endless black room, a void. The endless giggling of Nightmare echoed throughout. I clutched at my ears as the sound got louder and louder, finally becoming painful. I collapsed as the voice got even louder, blocking out any other possible sound. It felt as if the entire world was filled with the endless, wonderful sound of- no! Can't let her get a grip on me. Can't let her take control, can't let her possess me and make the entire world pay for trapping me in that damned medallion. He he he... the whole of humanity will- no... can't let that fucking bitch escape...

Needless to say, it was one hell of a losing battle. Slowly but surely, I could feel her taking control, could hear her voice become mine. That one last bit of me, that one piece that she still hadn't corrupted was barely holding her off, and even that was about to fail. I was finished. She'd take control and use this pathetic little bisharp to rule the world- better yet, all of existence! No... can't... let... her...

Then, suddenly, her influence vanished. My mind was once again my own. I looked up from the floor, now back in the Heart chamber, to see that Nightmare had disappeared. More importantly, I could see Zeta standing in the center of the room, the medallion clutched in his paw, with shadowy black tentacles working their way up his arm. "SHOOT... IT!" He yelled as Nightmare, who had been recalled to the Heart, worked her way into his body. I could see the winchester five feet away, but I was too tired. Nightmare had drained me, and I could barely move, much less stand up.

With every ounce of will I could muster, I pulled myself towards the shotgun. My attention was focused solely on reaching that weapon, then finishing Nightmare off once and for all. I didn't notice as Zeta's screams of agony turned to insane giggling. I didn't notice as the zoroark's deep voice became Nightmare's soft feminine one. But I certainly noticed as I grabbed the shotgun and tried to lift it- only to have a black claw, ethereal black smoke pouring off of it, slammed down on the barrel. Zeta- no, Nightmare grabbed me by the throat and hauled me into the air. The zoroark now had an aura of swirling shadows around him, similar to the orb-girl's little aura. And I could see that she was wearing the Heart like an amulet on a chain of pure shadow. "What's wrong, Daniel? Don't want to play anymore?" She laughed as the tentacles rolled down her arm towards me.

But I was ready this time.

And I.

Had had.

Enough.

Yelling in defiance, I grabbed her claw with both hands and twisted as hard as I could. I was rewarded with the loud snap of her wrist shattering. Nightmare dropped me, letting out an unearthly scream as she backed away a few steps. I grabbed the winchester and fired at the medallion, only to have the shadows form an armor covering over the item. I wasn't just worried about that; by my calculations, I only had one shell left. One more chance to finish her off, and I did not intend to waste it.

Keeping my gaze locked on the corrupted zoroark, I slung the winchester across my back and assumed a combat stance. Nightmare, meanwhile, was cradling her broken paw, or so I thought. As I watched, the bones snapped back together. She tested the joint for a second, then glared at me. "That wasn't very NICE!" She roared, launching at shadow ball at me. Any other day, I would've dodged it, but I was determined to stand my ground. As the sphere of dark energy approached, I brought up my hand and slapped the attack away. It careened off to the side and detonated on the wall, putting a fairly large dent in it.

The explosion was like a boxing bell; we both charged at each other, ready to fight for our lives. She brought down a shadow claw at me, only for me to block her paw and deliver a solid mach punch to her stomach. The zoroark gasped and doubled over, putting her in the perfect position to receive the uppercut that followed a second later. Nightmare reeled back and I brought my other arm around to hit her with a mach punch, but she dodged under the blow and brought her left foot-paw down on the back of my knee.

I yelled in pain as the joint gave out, only for those yells to become screams of agony as she brought a shadow claw down on my face. Immediately, my depth perception vanished. My left eye went completely dark. Screaming, I brought both hands to the wound, only to feel nothing but a bloody mess. In my right eye, I could only watch as four shadowy tentacles shot out of the zoroark's back, and I knew that it was over.

But then she stopped. I watched as her paws flew to her head, writhing as if she had a migraine. "No, no, no! You're gone! I'm in control now!" Suddenly, her voice shifted back to that of Zeta. "Get out of my head, Nightmare! There is no way in hell that I am letting you get out of this asylum!" Despite the agony I was in, I still felt like cheering; Zeta was fighting back! The zoroark turned to me. "Daniel! Shoot the medallion!" I watched as the armor over the Heart vanished into dark smoke. "No! Don't you dare, Daniel!" Nightmare screamed, and I saw the armor starting to rebuild over her chest.

Ignoring my missing eye, I grabbed the winchester off my back and ejected the empty shell from my last shot. "Destroy it!" I got up to a one-knee pose and raised the shotgun. "Think about what you're doing, Daniel!" It was hard to aim. My sudden loss of depth perception was really messing with me now. "Fire, dammit!" Finally, I got the aim right. Nightmare was really putting it on now, returning to the "innocent little girl" act. "Daniel, please! You wouldn't kill a little girl like me, would you?!"

I only had two words to say to her.

"Fuck."

"You."

I pulled the trigger and heard the oh-so-satisfying sound of buckshot firing. But that noise, and all other noises in the room, was overshadowing by a single sound; the sound of the Heart breaking, the sound of Nightmare's treasured medallion shattering like glass.

"NO!" Nightmare screamed, clutching at the pieces of the shattered medallion. The zoroark's ethereal aura began to fade like a mirage. I watched as the remaining shadows around Zeta pooled together into Nightmare's orb form, but it wasn't complete. The shadows that she was made of were getting more and more volatile, writhing around inside her. "NO! NO!" She screamed, trying to piece the medallion back together with her tentacles, but those turned to dust as soon as they touched the Heart. Her glowing red eyes wide, Nightmare let out an unearthly, monstrous shriek as the dark energy inside her blasted free.

I raised my arms to shield my face as the shadowy winds buffeted the room. It felt like I was trapped in a tiny black hurricane, but I wasn't moving an inch. After about ten seconds, the winds disappeared, almost as if they had never existed. Slowly, I lowered my arms to see that, in the faint light of the chamber, Nightmare was no more.

It was over.

Slowly, minding my injured leg, I got to my feet. I let my empty winchester clatter to the floor. With my left hand, I covered the mess of my missing eye and looked around with my intact right eye. With the Heart destroyed, the slight darkness of the room seemed less threatening and more... passive. It still wasn't exactly welcoming, but it no longer seemed dangerous.

A pained gasp caught my attention. I looked over at the Heart pedestal to see Zeta sitting up against it, both paws clutched around his stomach. I limped over to him and pulled his paws away to see a ragged, bloody hole in his belly. Wincing, the zoroark said "Looks like that shotgun shell hit more than the medallion." I looked around frantically for anything to help him, but the room was bare, save for my empty winchester. Zeta grabbed my head and forced me to look at him. "Listen... I want you to do me a favor..." His breathing was ragged, and I could tell that he wouldn't last long without medical help.

I shook my head and said "Oh no you don't. Don't even start talking like that. You're gonna make it out of this, Zeta." The zoroark shook his head and said "Don't... call me Zeta... My name... is Stephen." "I don't care! You're not gonna die here! Not after all you've been through!" Zeta, no, Stephen gave me a wry smile. "I knew that I was a dead 'mon the second that psycho got loose. I've already made my peace." My mind was racing. There had to be something I could do to save him!

"Listen... I want you to go back... to the Oregon Base..." He said, his voice getting fainter by the second. I nodded, tears starting to run down my face, even from my missing eye. "Tell my daughter... that I'm proud of her..." His voice was now little more than a whisper. I felt his grip slacken, and his head fell to the side, a happy expression on his face. "My story... ends here... farewell... Daniel..."

And with those words, Stephen "Zeta" Owens, the bravest zoroark in the history of the world, died.

I held back my tears with every fiber of my being. With one hand, I closed his eyes. "May Arceus watch over you." I whispered in a half-choked voice. Making sure not to disturb his body, I took his SPAS-12 from his slackened claw; he would've wanted to me to take it. He also had a humanizing ring on his finger, although it wasn't working on him. I guess the hybridization had messed him up too much for him to turn back. I took the ring as well, knowing that it would make it easier to return home to the Oregon Base, make it easier to fulfill his last wish.

Quietly, I limped back to the elevator and hit the button marked "ground." The doors slid closed and I felt the elevator begin the long journey back up to the surface. Finally, in the privacy of that elevator, I lost it. The tears streamed down my face like rivers. I leaned against the elevator wall and slid to the ground, sobbing inconsolably. It was done, the Heart was destroyed, and Nightmare was gone forever.

But the price was almost too high to pay. Zeta had gone through all of this, survived Nightmare's hellish asylum, only to die at the very end because of his friend's terrible aim. No matter how I looked at it, the truth rang in my head loud and clear; I had been the one to kill him. Not Nightmare, not chance, only me.

And yet... I wasn't completely convinced. Stephen had said that he had been ready to die for a long time. It dawned on me that this was his plan all along. If he hadn't let her take control, it would've been impossible to destroy the Heart. And he had known that destroying the medallion would result in his death as well. He hadn't brought me here to be Nightmare's new vessel- he had brought me to this asylum so that there would be someone to pull the trigger on them both.

Slowly, my sobbing dissipated as this realization sunk in. I got to my feet and looked to the sky. "May the world never forget you, Stephen." I whispered, hoping that, somewhere out there, the zoroark was listening. I could almost see him smiling as I waited for the elevator to reach its destination. Half a minute later, the elevator came to a stop. The doors slid open to reveal-

An army of hybrids waiting for me. At least fifty Lurkers, two Wanderers, and ten Sirens. Oh, and did I forget to mention that the Angel Absol was standing not ten feet from the doors? I raised the SPAS-12, knowing that this was my last stand as well. "All right. Who's first?" I growled. For a moment, nobody moved, then, in unison, the hybrids bowed to me.

I just stood there in shock, wondering what the hell just happened. Slowly, I lowered my shotgun, gaping at the vast crowd of hybrids. Recovering from my shock, I took a tentative step towards them and watched as they cleared a path for me. All except for the Angel, who stood up slowly, as if addressing a royal. "The Queen of Hearts, Nightmare, has been slain. All those bound to her will are now free. We are forever in your debt, oh King of Hearts."

It took a moment for this to sink in. "What do you mean...?" I asked him. "You are the one who killed her. Her title and powers now fall to you." "Her powers?" I asked, now slightly nervous. Instantly, one of the Sirens flew over, a small fragment of a mirror clutched in her hand. I looked into it to see myself, but I looked... different. For one, I looked more mature than I had mere hours before. But the main thing that caught my attention was my left eye. Instead of a bloody mess, which I was fully prepared to see, my eye had healed itself completely. However, it too was different. The whites of the eye were black as night, and the pupil and iris were crimson and violet respectively.

"What the fuck...?" I whispered to myself. Only then did I realize that the pain from the eye had completely vanished. Cautiously, I closed my right eye and focused completely on the left. Immediately, my vision went from solid blackness to... I don't even know what to call it. Everything was an outline of itself, a bright silhouette. I remembered a couple of lucarios back at the Oregon base describing their Aura vision, and this seemed pretty similar. The only real difference that I could see was that all of the outlines were crimson.

Slowly, I opened my right eye and the outlines vanished. The Angel said "You have discovered the power of Dark Vision. Given time, you will master all of Nightmare's former powers." I didn't even know what to say. I now had access to everything Nightmare could do? What would that make me, then? A dark lord? I had so many questions, but I knew that I would have to find the answers myself.

Bowing, the purple-eyed absol stepped out of my way and I continued walking towards the doors, towards the exit of this damned asylum. Slinging the SPAS-12 onto my back, I pushed the massive iron doors apart and stepped outside into the crisp autumn air. Somehow, I knew that I was only a few miles out of Seattle, Washington. More of Nightmare's stolen powers, I guess. I watched as the sun began to ascend on the horizon, almost as if to signal the end of her reign.

I looked back to see only the Angel and the Sirens remaining, the rest having run off to Arceus knows where. "I can sense that you have a mission to complete. We will not impede your progress any longer. Farewell, Daniel." I shook my head and said "Don't call me Daniel."

"My name is Zeta."

THE END