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Author's Note: For those who read this story it's about the events that occured between Chapters 22 & 23. Enjoy it but, be warned it's the darkest piece in the series.
James stood admiring himself in the mirror. His hair now black, his stubble taking shape of a beard and he wore a leather jacket.
"If you can pry yourself from that mirror James I would like you to meet someone." Ace was laughing with someone in the other room.
"Who?" James took one more glance, sliding his sunglasses into place slowly. "Dangerous!"
"James meet Philly Slims! The town's hugest gossip!" He laughed as she slapped his shoulder.
"Please to meet you James." She seemed pleasant to James, though a friend of Ace's he had expected to be loud and rude like him.
"As well as I." James kissed her hand.
"Now you have some friends with class!" She jabbed Ace's side.
"You're right Philly, you have no class." Everyone laughed.
"Meeeeoooow!" Meowth mewled.
"Oh! Does the cute kitty want some milk?" Philly went to the fridge to get it.
"Cute my butt!" Ace whispered to Meowth.
"Hummph!" Meowth padded off after Philly.
"So how do you know this woman?" James asked casually.
"She used to write for the local paper. I guess the Rocket's would allow her to write now if she took up sewing." He surveyed the shop. "Looks like she's doing alright for herself."
"Oh! I do make more money here. Just..." She put the bowl down for Meowth, who devoured the milk.
"Just what?" James saw hurt in her eyes.
"I miss writing, the feel of being out there and trying to out scope everyone for the big stories." A soft grin was on her face as she remembered those days.
"Well you might write again and soon." Ace winked.
"The resistance is far from freeing Emerald Ace. Quit dreaming so big." She sat down.
"So the display at the festival didn't impress you?"
"Four dead Rockets? Oh let's declare it V-day! Ace when people get their hopes high is when they get hurt the worse. Out there these people have no hope, they can't get hurt. You have to accept things as they are Ace. When you get hurt you will have a long time to fall."
"I already fell Philly, I never landed yet. So hope is the only damn thing keeping me going. Life is pointless without hope, might as well be dead without hope!" Ace shifted in his seat.
"I'm sorry Ace, after all you've been through. I'm sorry but, I had my hopes too and nothing good came of it. Ace don't fly too high again."
"I'm healing! See!" He gave her a weak smile. "Philly? What happpened to my parents?"
"Oh, honey you don't know?"
"Philly, what happened?" He leaned forward, even Meowth stopped lapping up milk.
"Ace, you don't want to know. Not now." She tried to leave.
In a twist of his body Ace blocked her from leaving into the other room.
"Philly what happened to them?" He had a low rumble in his throat, Draco escaped from his ball.
"The Queen...put them before a crowd. She had them executed." She watched her feet.
"How?" The rumble was building into a growl.
"How! Please Ace! Isn't the subject morbid enough!"
"How Philly! I need to know."
"She had their heads cut off!" She wept.
"God no! How could she know!" Ace tumbled over the table pounding it with his fist. "I'll kill her I swear!"
James leapt back, he swore he saw fangs in Ace's mouth. Ace leapt out into the streets with Draco stomping behind.
"I'm sorry Ash there was no stopping him. He ran off." James reported.
"Don't be sorry. You have no control over Ace. It's in his hands what he's going to do. We worry about ourselves." Ash moved them away from the newest hiding spot.
The month went with an unexpected surprise. Night after night the city rocked with huge explosions. Rockets ran with stories of a dragon setting the city on fire. Stories of a lone warrior destroying training grounds, attacking grunts, bombing Rocket gyms.
A grunt sat sleeping in front of a Rocket gym. Two nights of silence made them lax. Had he looked toward the sky he would have seen Draco soaring above with Ace riding proudly on his back. His FBI hat set upon his head, vest displayed before all. Draco arched his back sending a massive fireball. The gym errupted into a volcano of rubble.
New stories floated of a massive wolf tearing Rockets to shreds. Stories of it appearing out of nowhere and dragging down slavers and grunts alike. The bodies were found and the Queen ordered Ultra to return. He opposed for the frontline for Greenfield was growing thin.
"Do it Ultra! The creature's egg has to be protected. That egg is the most important thing that matters!" She cut the transmission without a further word.
Ash couldn't believe what was happening in the city. It had been three weeks since Ace's revenge began. Nero saw the state of the city. James cowered from the sight of the mangled bodies on the news report.
"There will be nothing left of the city to free at this rate." Nero shook his head. "Ace has lost his mind."
"Have I? Or have I wakened to the true path." He sat a block away listening to them. "Draco, we have some more fun tonight."
That night the bodies of aerodactlys, dragonites, and fearows rained upon the city. A huge wolf appeared again. A young woman reported sighting the man like wolf eating from a Rocket's chest. It ran slashing up the Rocket. Reports of a green winged charizard cutting the Rocket Flying Brigade to ribbons in the air ran rabid. Fires burnt again.
Ace sat licking a wounded shoulder, it would soon heal on it's own. For the honor of his family he was sacrficing his soul. Giving into the creature inside his soul. A wild heart beat there, one that didn't squirm from the kill. His snout sniffing the air, all was still. Day was coming, he would travel far into the woods to hunt. He was experienced in tracking.
Ash, Nero, James entered the city at dusk. It was time to try reaching Ace. He was out of control, they couldn't guess what else he lost control of.
Tork began to track Ace. He lead the group, Pikachu helping Tork followed right beside. Ash didn't really want to find Ace, he was fearing what he became. Nero didn't understand, Ace had seemed to be at peace that night he stopped him from fighting with the kids messing with him.
James remembered that look in Ace's eyes the night he ran out. He saw his lips curl revealing the fangs. He shivered, Meowth saw them too. He nervously glanced around at the ruined buildings.
"Tooooooork! Ooooork!" Tork barked and lifted a paw pointing in the direction Ace was.
"What do you want!" Ace spat from the shadows.
"Ace this has to stop." Ash stepped forward.
Draco appeared, he set a paw on Ace's shoulder.
"Dracooo. Draa. Charrrr." He pointed to Ash.
"Listen to a kid!" Ace backed away growling.
Draco removed a pokéball from Ace's belt.
"Ace look at the city! Is there anything left to save!" James shouted.
"A city can be rebuilt! Freedom will be roaming these streets again!" He was agitated.
"Hey! You stand still! Who's there!" Ace snarled as the guard came round the corner.
Ash felt his stomach churn, James wasn't lying. Fangs jutted from Ace's lips. His eyes were glowing with green fury. A flashing light from a burning out streetlight made Ash sick as it gave off a strobe like affect. In between the light spilling on Ace and darkness he saw him develope more animal characteristics.
The flashlight shined on Ace. Howling the werewolf launched at him. Ace swung a paw sending the guard flying ten feet into the air. The solid thump of his body mad Nero jump. Ace ran on all fours after him. The Rocket tried to crawl away.
"Stop!" Ash threw himself in front of Ace. "Ace this is wrong!"
"What is wrong? What is right? Is for me to decide!" The gruntal voice boomed, Ace threw Ash aside as he raised a paw to finish off the Rocket, drool washing over his lower jaw.
"No! It isn't!" Nero threw a rock nailing Ace in the back of the head.
Turning around Ace was losing his human side by the seconds. The wolf was waking. His brown fur tossing in the wind he had a rumble in his throat as he advanced on Nero. His blazing silver eyes locked on him. Lips curled exposing the polished fangs.
Nero was paralized by the glare. He felt an unescaping scream in his throat. The rumble in Ace's throat exploded into a howl. His paws raised he leapt after Nero. James sprang forward pushing Nero away. Screaming James curled as the claws smashed into pavement inches from his body.
He threw his hands up grabbing the jaws before they could grab hold of flesh. James was barely keeping those deadly instruments from his throat. His hands felt every tremor from Ace's mouth as he growled. He swore he was going to die this night.
"Ace! He's your friend!" Ash shouted standing with a limp.
The wolf merely spat drool at Ash, before lounge at James again. Ace was neither man nor wolf he was both and more wolf than man. His stomach craved flesh. Again the mortal fool kept his teeth from gripping the soft flesh surrounding the juglar.
Draco grabbed Ace tossing him away. He snarled. Ace laid on his back, trying to understand why his mind was telling him not to attack the dragon. Draco tossed the ball releasing the pokémon within.
"Drowxena! Use hypnosis on the Master." Draco asked the yellow monster.
"Ace you are getting sleepy! Very sleepy! You can not stay awake!" The Drowzee female waved her hands before Ace, the wolf swiped his claws at her. "You will become a man again!" She clapped her hands.
Ace began to revert but, he was confused and panicked. Why were these people surrounding him. Why? Ace ran, he didn't stop. The others tried to keep up but, the long triple jointed legs carried Ace far better.
That night they all sat bruised and batter. All worried about Ace. At dawn Ace stumbled toward them. He fell upon the ground. He looked at them as he forced words from his lips.
"Help me. I never lost control of my other side until now. I need your help to keep me from going into a bloodlust again." He stood wobbling as he drew his cloak over his shoulders.
"How long have you been a werewolf?" Nero asked.
"Since birth. When Emerald was young a great dragon came to the settlement. He saw a great city would rise from it. He wanted to assure it would be so. He found a den of Lupus Garou near the city's edge. He asked them to rule over the humans there. They agreed to for the garou is far older than man." Ace sat down.
"Werewolves have ruled the kingdom in great peace and prosperty. The dragon died a hundred years ago which foretold the fall of Emerald. I didn't think it would happen in my lifetime."
"Then why have you been killing if your kind is peaceful!" James asked.
"Shao Lin tainted our blood centuries ago to force us to fight his war, this taint was the bloodlust. Few suffer from it now but, as you've seen I have the mutant gene in me." Ace felt depressed, everything that could go wrong for him already took place. "We refused to fight so he found a way to force us to."
"Who's Shao Lin?" James inquired.
"The greatest wizard that Atlantis bore!" Nero answered.
"A shaman to the merfolk. The Queen has killed my family. You see we the Lupus Garou are different from ordinary werewolves..."
"You call any werewolf ordinary?" Ash was shocked.
"We can only be killed by losing our heads! Kill the brain you kill our power to heal instantly. I want you to remember that! If I ever go on another bloodlust you are going to have to kill me." Ace walked out of camp. "You defied my wolf spirit. It will seek revenge if I ever lose myself to the lust again."
"Do...do you think we could really kill him...if we had to?" Nero got no answer, James and Ash just looked at him.
"Who knows kid." Meowth shuddered.
The End.
Now that Ash and co have agreed to help Ace will they have the strength to kill him if necessary? What is the egg the Queen is protecting? Next Chapter the war on Team Rocket continues! -JLB