Oh goooods @_@ I finished it. This is the last part right here. Again, make sure you've read chapters 6, 7, and 8.
Thanks again to all my readers, I love you guys xD
-Chapter 9-
Lysis had vanished from the flower meadow, leaving only Tara and Valaura. Tara was completely silent, as though she were thinking on something intently. Valaura was unsure as to what to do, whether she should protect Tara's essence here, or her body out there.
After a moment, Valaura figured that the body was most logical, for what use was Tara's personality without a body? Before she could leave Tara spoke.
"I… had a vision…" she explained slowly. "I'm not even sure what it means, it was so unclear. Help Lysis…" she said slowly. "She'll also need a lot of firepower," Tara looked at Valaura very seriously before the Gardevoir returned to her own body.
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As soon as she was conscious Valaura aimed an attack at Ephidel and fired, distraught to see it blocked. She let out an audible cry of fury as Lysis vanished with the Gengar.
Closing her eyes, she thought quickly, remembering what Tara said. Valaura rushed over to one of the secret compartments hidden in the walls, forcing it open telekinetically. As soon as her hand clutched the handle of the large black box inside she teleported away.
The psychic appeared in a different part of Kanto, expanding the tendrils of her mind as far as they could reach, searching for Lysis and Tara. She repeated this multiple times as quickly as she could, covering all of Kanto and Johto in a matter of minutes, moving on to Sinnoh. She hoped to find them soon; knowing that too much far-distance teleporting would deplete her psychic reservoir of energy and leave her drained. Valaura grew more and more frantic with each teleport.
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The arrival of the Steelix confirmed there was life in the desert, more than likely placing Lysis in the Gran Desert. The Steelix towered above the dunes, body segments rotated in different directions as it watched its prey.
The young woman stood alert, leg muscles poised to move at any second. The moment was tense.
Then the Steel-type charged.
Lysis opened fire immediately, watching as the bullets pinged off the metal body expectantly. The Steelix reared its head and dove down at the girl, who cart-wheeled out of the way and resumed fire from the side. Steelix roared in annoyance and swung its massive head to the side.
Lysis jumped, flipping over the sweeping head. Her own head looked down at the creature as time slowed, noticing finer details of the head as she flew, such as scratches and the moving glare of the sun; she noticed the ping of bullets leaving tiny marks as she opened fire from above, not stopping until she landed on the other side. She focused psychic energy into her leg, a lot of it, and leapt towards the Pokémon, spinning around and bringing the heel of her foot against the side of the snake's head.
Shockwaves of dark blue aura rippled from the point of impact as Steelix's head was thrown into the ground with a thud. The assassin landed and touched her heel with a hand. "What I wouldn't give for my boots," she sighed, lamenting that she was in Tara's attire, before rushing up to the Steelix to resume her onslaught while she had the chance.
The metalic-snake rumbled and growled loudly, firing a peculiar reflective beam, a Flash Cannon, at Lysis. The woman dodged off to the side and continued running, jumping and bringing her leg down, right onto of Steelix.
More shockwaves.
Balancing herself on the massive head she pulled out her knife and made to swipe it across the Pokémon's left eye. The steel lid slid over the eye as she slashed at it, bending her knife. Lysis snarled. "That was my favorite blade, worm!" she yelled as she fired on the closed eye twice, denting the thin layer of steel.
Steelix roared in pain, throwing Lysis off of its head. The dents were deep enough to cause pain whenever it opened or closed its left eye - a plus for Lysis. Slowly she advanced towards the beast, dropping the old magazines from her guns and inserting new ones.
The serpent shook its head, preferring to keep its injured eye closed instead of open. It watched her from the side as she advanced - never before had it been threatened by something so little.
"Are you realizing now, worm?" Lysis started. "I will be your end," she told it, intimidating the beast with simply her tone of voice and her air of supreme confidence.
Steelix's head wobbled from side to side in contemplation, growling softly to indicate that it still had plenty left to dish out.
"Let's see it then!" Lysis shouted and immediately felt more rumbling about her. She realized after a second that the vibrations were much weaker and most likely not living creatures. The girl jumped just in time to avoid being imprisoned by four slabs of stone coming up from the sand. Rock Tomb.
The ex-Rocket agent deftly and agilely avoided each attempt at her immobilization, jumping and flipping out of the way. Frustration took over the steelix and began firing various special attacks, many of which Lysis barely avoided, but dodged all the same.
Finally there was a cease-fire and Lysis looked across an attack-riddled length of desert between her and Steelix. The jutting stones led straight towards her enemy, and she knew she could use them.
Running into a sprint, she kicked off the nearest Rock Tomb-formation towards the next, doing the same and gaining speed with each kick-off. After about five jumps she surrounded a leg once again in psychic aura, which flared out behind her like a large flame as she continued zigzagging towards her prey.
In a matter of seconds she was coming up right under the metallic serpent. She launched herself straight up into a back-flip, connecting with the beast's chin as she flipped. The flash of the resulting impact was insanely bright and the Steelix was actually forced up into the air about a meter, falling onto its back.
Lysis landed softly on the sand, breathing heavily. She could not see through the large cloud of dust that had been created from the falling steelix, so she was unable to tell whether it was down or not.
The roars of sheer pain and annoyance told her she still had a battle to fight. The girl ran a ‘system's check' of sorts on herself, checking to see what was left in her. She only had two more attacks like that tops in her, and then she would be completely defenseless. She needed to think of something fast or else she was a goner; narrowing her eyes, she frowned.
"I'm not going to be brought down by the likes of you!"
"Very resourceful indeed, Lysis," she heard Ephidel's voice. "Such power; I would indeed be a god."
"Face me yourself!" Lysis shouted in response.
"Not yet," his dark chuckle echoed across the desert. "Oops, I distracted you for too long: watch out!"
Lysis had barely any time to act as she saw a massive tail swing down at her from the cloud of sand. She threw her arms above her head to block, exerting all the psychic power she had into her arms.
The resulting flash was even brighter than the last.
The weight of the attack almost completely submerged Lysis within the sands, held up by her own psychic will, with most of it still focused on her arms. She was still alive and the tail was not about to break through, but she would only be able to hold up this much energy exertion for a minute tops, after that she would be crushed.
"Curse you, Salem…" Lysis spat as she strained under the sheer weight she was fighting. She had to survive, she must survive. The girl did not want to die, and her will to live was stronger than any part of this beast. "Nnnaugh!" she yelled loudly, every ounce of psychic power in her went to her arms in an instant and she instead grasped the tail. She gripped it powerfully and literally swung the Steelix. The swing was barely any distance at all, but it was enough to get it away from her.
Lysis fell to her knees, gasping for air as psychic aura flickered around her. She was spent. Sweat dripped from her face and she felt that she simply could not gather enough air into her lungs. Struggling to stand, feeling strange without any psychic power at her disposal, she waited.
-------
The steelix rose contently from the ground, knowing she could no longer offer resistance. Rearing its head, it opened its massive maw with a triumphant roar. It had won.
Or so it thought.
Another creature had appeared next to its prey, a black and white creature. It took hold of its prey and disappeared. Steelix looked around, bewildered and enraged before spotting them a short distance away. It charged.
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"Valaura!" Lysis gasped as she was teleported away. "I have no more power left," she shook her head.
"Nor do I," Valaura looked at Lysis gravely. "I used too much finding you, that last teleport was all I could muster,"
"You still have your elemental energy," Lysis remarked.
"And you still have this." Valaura set the black case down before her.
Lysis dove for the box and opened it quickly, slowly pulling out the bazooka within. "Hehe," Lysis chuckled. "Hahaha!" she laughed in an even more deranged manner as she loaded the weapon with the single rocket provided, delirious with joy. "Not going down, not me, hnn…" the girl uttered as she aimed her weapon at the charging Steelix, who had its mouth wide open with an attack ready to fire.
"It is being assisted by Ephidel," Valaura informed. "That is a combination of attacks."
Lysis studied it quickly, noting the fire, electric, and ice-energy around the teeth, mixing with a green attack of-sorts, most likely Dragon Pulse.
"You like colors, worm?" Lysis asked as she looked through the scope. "Open wide then," she beckoned as the crosshair locked on the open mouth. "Taste the rainbow, mofo."
She fired.
Her aim was flawless, so much that the rocket went a bit down the monster's esophagus before exploding. Flames shot out of its mouth and eyes and created small holes in the steel carcass. The only reason it was still moving was because of the momentum it had. It slid forward, creating waves of sand until slowly stopping some distance away. It was down. Lysis cackled.
"Hmph, again, very resourceful," Ephidel's voice sounded again, though sounded somewhat disappointed. His human-form appeared briefly before them before teleporting them away from the desert scene, leaving the smoking body of the Steelix for others to find.
-------
"Your strength is amazing, Lysis, simply amazing," Ephidel commented upon their return to the penthouse. Both females were in defensive positions, though each realized that with their psychic strength drained, they had no resistance to offer.
Lysis stared him in the eye maliciously.
"You've helped us make up our mind; we will possess you," Ephidel nodded, crossing his arms.
"In your dreams, filth!" Lysis retorted.
"Oh, Lysis…" the Gengar rolled his eyes. Suddenly, he rushed forward, his body melding into Lysis' with her or Valaura unable to fight back. The girl yelled as she felt the ghost fitting himself within her, taking over. She underwent a slight transformation as the possession completed.
When she opened her eyes she spoke in both her own and Ephidel's voice. "Not to worry Valaura, she's not been devoured yet," she looked at the Gardevoir, who unsure on whether or not to attack. "I'm simply going to make her an offer." She walked around, her body no longer entirely physical; her legs and hair moved like smoke in the air, or like dye in water; fluid, smooth.
"You can do almost anything now, Lysis…" Ephidel closed her eyes, summoning bolts of lighting to Lysis' hands. "You could rule with absolute authority; no one could stop you." She moved around the room, teleporting instantly in puffs of ghostly smoke. "And with us fused with you, your body knows no limits. You could become anything, or anyone." Ephidel glared at Valaura with a sadistic grin, mimicking Lysis' body to mimic her form. Valaura looked on helplessly.
"We'll make you deal, Lysis," Ephidel explained as fired danced through Lysis' fingers. "We'll simply fuse with Tara and leave you alone; we'll share this body as one; your intentions are our intentions," Ephidel rose up into the air and allowed Lysis to speak.
"Why would I let you do that?" Lysis asked with contempt.
"Because…" Ephidel took over once more, hovering around the penthouse. "We all know you only care about yourself; you're as black-hearted as we are. If we leave you alone, you live, and with us inside you, you live forever. Nothing to kill you, nothing to stop you. You know us; we simply love the chaos you can bring, and we would leave you perfectly alone if you promise to do just that."
Lysis was given a turn to speak once more, but she remained silent.
"Think about it… Anything you could ever want is within your reach, and you would never die. It's all you've ever wanted," Ephidel explained seductively.
"I-I…" Lysis stuttered, looking slightly ashamed, yet alive with the possibilities presented to her. "I really want to… I do… And I would do it…"
"But?" Ephidel asked as he returned to the ground.
"But you need Tara's permission," Lysis grinned, in spite of their situation.
"Fool." Ephidel spat.
And then Lysis' vision went black and was pulled back into the mental plain.
-------
Tara was there already as Lysis and Valaura appeared once more in the field, though all the life was gone, and thunder rumbled over head.
"You've chosen your fates then, we'll consume you all!" Ephidel yelled. "And none of you can do anything to stop us!" he flashed his teeth hungrily.
The girls looked at each other, expressions of uncertainty and fear clouded their faces. Tara looked at Valaura, who looked strangely calm and was looking directly back at Tara.
"You're not alone," she stated.
The younger girl immediately felt the strange warmth overcome her. She closed her eyes, attempting to remember as it caressed her very soul. The familiarity was so complete, as it touched every part of her mind, cradling it in warmth and peace, despite the terrible situation. Her eyes flew open.
"Muku?" Tara was shocked to see the Mime Jr. hovering before her.
"What?" Ephidel snarled, curling his lip in annoyance.
Muku smiled at Tara, touching her cheek with his tiny hand. A tear rolled down both her mental body and real body. She gasped as she felt a wealth of power flowing into her, energizing Lysis as well. Muku eyed Tara bitter-sweetly, lovingly rubbing her cheek before turning to face Valaura, nodding with what one would describe as acceptance, as she was also given strength. Turning to Lysis, he eyed her with a strange expression, one of both worry and relief.
"Wait!" Tara choked as his hand left her face. Muku faced Ephidel, and took one last look at his lifelong friend before launching himself at the Gengar. His aura burned so brightly around his body that the girls were blinded. The blue light brought the field back to life as Muku transformed himself into pure energy, sacrificing himself to severely weaken Ephidel.
The Gengar let loose an unearthly cry of pain as his image shifted between his human, haunter, and gengar forms, along with many others.
"Now!" Valaura yelled, rushing forward with her own red aura alive around her. Lysis and Tara followed, giving their all into their attack.
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Outside of the mental plain, in the real world, Ephidel was wailing as he was being forced further into the body he possessed. His ghostly effects on Tara's body left as he was pulled deeper and deeper within Lysis. All of him was being dragged into the mental field where the psychics battled with him, destroying his essence. With one last feral cry the spirit was destroyed.
The sun returned instantly to the imaginary place. They all breathed heavily, spent once more, having used much of their power to destroy Salem.
"He came back…" Tara whispered as she placed her hands on her knees. "He saved us," she fell to the ground, crying softly.
"He sacrificed himself to save you," Lysis said.
"How did he survive, how was he still alive?" Tara shook her head as she rocked back and forth.
"His love could not bow to death it seemed…" Valaura assumed. "His life-forced continued on and found you, he has been ever-present with you for many months now,"
"Why didn't you tell me?" Tara asked quietly.
"I received the impression that he would rather you not be told," she answered. "Or that, you should at least figure it out on your own. He thought it best not to meddle with the healing process..."
"Well, now I've been ripped right open again haven't I!?" Tara raised her voice angrily, looking away.
Neither of them said anything, and Lysis did not interfere, she simply looked down at herself as she rested against the tree.
"I'm sorry," the younger teen apologized. "I won't take what he did for granted. He gave me life, so that I could continue on," she stood. "He would want me to continue to be happy. And I will, for him, and for me…"
Valaura nodded in approval.
Lysis stood as well. "Well, now that this is all over-"
"It's not over," Tara shook her head, turning to face Lysis. "I'm thankful for what you've done, but this is still my body, and I'm taking it back. I won't let you run around and endanger me. You almost died against that Steelix, you're not as invincible as you think."
"No," Lysis slowly turned her head from side to side. "No! You're not locking me up too!" she smiled. "There's no way."
Valaura took hold of Lysis by the shoulder. "She is right."
The young woman looked confused as Valaura gripped her, and her expression turned to worry as Tara approached. "Valaura! You can't do this to me! You're loyal to me!" she yelled, defiant.
"And I will be loyal to you until my end," she confirmed. "Your last command was to keep Tara safe, and so I am."
Lysis blinked, running the words through her mind quickly. She then stopped struggling at once and smiled vainly. "So I did." Bowing her head, she allowed herself to be enclosed in a metal cage that appeared around the tree. The bars were many and were very thick, surrounded by blue energy; the empty spaces too thin for Lysis to slip through.
Tara held a key in her hand and placed it in the lock of the door, turning it. The lock clanked as it slid into place. Looking one last look at Lysis, she was surprised to see the woman still smiling.
"You've not seen the last of me, darling," she winked as she took a seat on the stone bench, lifting a flower to her nose.
The younger girl answered with a grave expression before returning to her body.
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Tara decided to leave a few days later instead, too tired to do anything but sleep most of the time. Before leaving she called for someone to come fix the floor and replace the windows. Since part of the roof was also glass, they were able to blame the damage on a meteorite that Valaura was not able to stop completely before it hit. The man seemed to buy the story with some 'encouragement'.
Once again Tara had her bag slung over her shoulder on the morning of her departure. Walking out of the penthouse with Valaura right beside her, she didn't take a second look back, thinking quietly to herself as they rode the elevator down to the bottom floor.
Tara paused as soon as they were out in the cool morning air of Saffron City, looking expectantly at Valaura. The Gardevoir nodded and they both disappeared from the sidewalk, leaving only a few confused stares in their wake.
When they reappeared they were against the wall of a building, hiding in its shadow; the smell of the sea filled their nostrils. Tara took a deep breath and looked around the corner, seeing a young girl at a stand not too far away. The sign atop the portable stand read, "Water-type Ocean-race!" The silvery-blonde girl, who had her hair up in a single ponytail, was apparently registering for the event.
"She grew…" Tara noted. She looked briefly at the older boy standing next to her, who seemed to be interested in an article in a newspaper. There was a Sableye on his shoulder, and it was looking directly at her with a chilling smile, gem-eyes shining brightly with reflected sunlight.
Tara shuddered slightly, though a bit amused.
"Mm, one of two banes of a psychic's existence…" Valaura noted as she eyed the Ghost/Dark-type. "It knows we're here, it senses us in the shadows."
"Did you tell Elvia?" Tara asked, prying herself away, back around the corner.
"I did."
"Alright then…" she sighed.
"We must leave or you will miss your ship,"
"Right, let's go."
And Tara and Valaura vanished silently.
Thanks again to all my readers, I love you guys xD
-Chapter 9-
Lysis had vanished from the flower meadow, leaving only Tara and Valaura. Tara was completely silent, as though she were thinking on something intently. Valaura was unsure as to what to do, whether she should protect Tara's essence here, or her body out there.
After a moment, Valaura figured that the body was most logical, for what use was Tara's personality without a body? Before she could leave Tara spoke.
"I… had a vision…" she explained slowly. "I'm not even sure what it means, it was so unclear. Help Lysis…" she said slowly. "She'll also need a lot of firepower," Tara looked at Valaura very seriously before the Gardevoir returned to her own body.
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As soon as she was conscious Valaura aimed an attack at Ephidel and fired, distraught to see it blocked. She let out an audible cry of fury as Lysis vanished with the Gengar.
Closing her eyes, she thought quickly, remembering what Tara said. Valaura rushed over to one of the secret compartments hidden in the walls, forcing it open telekinetically. As soon as her hand clutched the handle of the large black box inside she teleported away.
The psychic appeared in a different part of Kanto, expanding the tendrils of her mind as far as they could reach, searching for Lysis and Tara. She repeated this multiple times as quickly as she could, covering all of Kanto and Johto in a matter of minutes, moving on to Sinnoh. She hoped to find them soon; knowing that too much far-distance teleporting would deplete her psychic reservoir of energy and leave her drained. Valaura grew more and more frantic with each teleport.
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The arrival of the Steelix confirmed there was life in the desert, more than likely placing Lysis in the Gran Desert. The Steelix towered above the dunes, body segments rotated in different directions as it watched its prey.
The young woman stood alert, leg muscles poised to move at any second. The moment was tense.
Then the Steel-type charged.
Lysis opened fire immediately, watching as the bullets pinged off the metal body expectantly. The Steelix reared its head and dove down at the girl, who cart-wheeled out of the way and resumed fire from the side. Steelix roared in annoyance and swung its massive head to the side.
Lysis jumped, flipping over the sweeping head. Her own head looked down at the creature as time slowed, noticing finer details of the head as she flew, such as scratches and the moving glare of the sun; she noticed the ping of bullets leaving tiny marks as she opened fire from above, not stopping until she landed on the other side. She focused psychic energy into her leg, a lot of it, and leapt towards the Pokémon, spinning around and bringing the heel of her foot against the side of the snake's head.
Shockwaves of dark blue aura rippled from the point of impact as Steelix's head was thrown into the ground with a thud. The assassin landed and touched her heel with a hand. "What I wouldn't give for my boots," she sighed, lamenting that she was in Tara's attire, before rushing up to the Steelix to resume her onslaught while she had the chance.
The metalic-snake rumbled and growled loudly, firing a peculiar reflective beam, a Flash Cannon, at Lysis. The woman dodged off to the side and continued running, jumping and bringing her leg down, right onto of Steelix.
More shockwaves.
Balancing herself on the massive head she pulled out her knife and made to swipe it across the Pokémon's left eye. The steel lid slid over the eye as she slashed at it, bending her knife. Lysis snarled. "That was my favorite blade, worm!" she yelled as she fired on the closed eye twice, denting the thin layer of steel.
Steelix roared in pain, throwing Lysis off of its head. The dents were deep enough to cause pain whenever it opened or closed its left eye - a plus for Lysis. Slowly she advanced towards the beast, dropping the old magazines from her guns and inserting new ones.
The serpent shook its head, preferring to keep its injured eye closed instead of open. It watched her from the side as she advanced - never before had it been threatened by something so little.
"Are you realizing now, worm?" Lysis started. "I will be your end," she told it, intimidating the beast with simply her tone of voice and her air of supreme confidence.
Steelix's head wobbled from side to side in contemplation, growling softly to indicate that it still had plenty left to dish out.
"Let's see it then!" Lysis shouted and immediately felt more rumbling about her. She realized after a second that the vibrations were much weaker and most likely not living creatures. The girl jumped just in time to avoid being imprisoned by four slabs of stone coming up from the sand. Rock Tomb.
The ex-Rocket agent deftly and agilely avoided each attempt at her immobilization, jumping and flipping out of the way. Frustration took over the steelix and began firing various special attacks, many of which Lysis barely avoided, but dodged all the same.
Finally there was a cease-fire and Lysis looked across an attack-riddled length of desert between her and Steelix. The jutting stones led straight towards her enemy, and she knew she could use them.
Running into a sprint, she kicked off the nearest Rock Tomb-formation towards the next, doing the same and gaining speed with each kick-off. After about five jumps she surrounded a leg once again in psychic aura, which flared out behind her like a large flame as she continued zigzagging towards her prey.
In a matter of seconds she was coming up right under the metallic serpent. She launched herself straight up into a back-flip, connecting with the beast's chin as she flipped. The flash of the resulting impact was insanely bright and the Steelix was actually forced up into the air about a meter, falling onto its back.
Lysis landed softly on the sand, breathing heavily. She could not see through the large cloud of dust that had been created from the falling steelix, so she was unable to tell whether it was down or not.
The roars of sheer pain and annoyance told her she still had a battle to fight. The girl ran a ‘system's check' of sorts on herself, checking to see what was left in her. She only had two more attacks like that tops in her, and then she would be completely defenseless. She needed to think of something fast or else she was a goner; narrowing her eyes, she frowned.
"I'm not going to be brought down by the likes of you!"
"Very resourceful indeed, Lysis," she heard Ephidel's voice. "Such power; I would indeed be a god."
"Face me yourself!" Lysis shouted in response.
"Not yet," his dark chuckle echoed across the desert. "Oops, I distracted you for too long: watch out!"
Lysis had barely any time to act as she saw a massive tail swing down at her from the cloud of sand. She threw her arms above her head to block, exerting all the psychic power she had into her arms.
The resulting flash was even brighter than the last.
The weight of the attack almost completely submerged Lysis within the sands, held up by her own psychic will, with most of it still focused on her arms. She was still alive and the tail was not about to break through, but she would only be able to hold up this much energy exertion for a minute tops, after that she would be crushed.
"Curse you, Salem…" Lysis spat as she strained under the sheer weight she was fighting. She had to survive, she must survive. The girl did not want to die, and her will to live was stronger than any part of this beast. "Nnnaugh!" she yelled loudly, every ounce of psychic power in her went to her arms in an instant and she instead grasped the tail. She gripped it powerfully and literally swung the Steelix. The swing was barely any distance at all, but it was enough to get it away from her.
Lysis fell to her knees, gasping for air as psychic aura flickered around her. She was spent. Sweat dripped from her face and she felt that she simply could not gather enough air into her lungs. Struggling to stand, feeling strange without any psychic power at her disposal, she waited.
-------
The steelix rose contently from the ground, knowing she could no longer offer resistance. Rearing its head, it opened its massive maw with a triumphant roar. It had won.
Or so it thought.
Another creature had appeared next to its prey, a black and white creature. It took hold of its prey and disappeared. Steelix looked around, bewildered and enraged before spotting them a short distance away. It charged.
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"Valaura!" Lysis gasped as she was teleported away. "I have no more power left," she shook her head.
"Nor do I," Valaura looked at Lysis gravely. "I used too much finding you, that last teleport was all I could muster,"
"You still have your elemental energy," Lysis remarked.
"And you still have this." Valaura set the black case down before her.
Lysis dove for the box and opened it quickly, slowly pulling out the bazooka within. "Hehe," Lysis chuckled. "Hahaha!" she laughed in an even more deranged manner as she loaded the weapon with the single rocket provided, delirious with joy. "Not going down, not me, hnn…" the girl uttered as she aimed her weapon at the charging Steelix, who had its mouth wide open with an attack ready to fire.
"It is being assisted by Ephidel," Valaura informed. "That is a combination of attacks."
Lysis studied it quickly, noting the fire, electric, and ice-energy around the teeth, mixing with a green attack of-sorts, most likely Dragon Pulse.
"You like colors, worm?" Lysis asked as she looked through the scope. "Open wide then," she beckoned as the crosshair locked on the open mouth. "Taste the rainbow, mofo."
She fired.
Her aim was flawless, so much that the rocket went a bit down the monster's esophagus before exploding. Flames shot out of its mouth and eyes and created small holes in the steel carcass. The only reason it was still moving was because of the momentum it had. It slid forward, creating waves of sand until slowly stopping some distance away. It was down. Lysis cackled.
"Hmph, again, very resourceful," Ephidel's voice sounded again, though sounded somewhat disappointed. His human-form appeared briefly before them before teleporting them away from the desert scene, leaving the smoking body of the Steelix for others to find.
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"Your strength is amazing, Lysis, simply amazing," Ephidel commented upon their return to the penthouse. Both females were in defensive positions, though each realized that with their psychic strength drained, they had no resistance to offer.
Lysis stared him in the eye maliciously.
"You've helped us make up our mind; we will possess you," Ephidel nodded, crossing his arms.
"In your dreams, filth!" Lysis retorted.
"Oh, Lysis…" the Gengar rolled his eyes. Suddenly, he rushed forward, his body melding into Lysis' with her or Valaura unable to fight back. The girl yelled as she felt the ghost fitting himself within her, taking over. She underwent a slight transformation as the possession completed.
When she opened her eyes she spoke in both her own and Ephidel's voice. "Not to worry Valaura, she's not been devoured yet," she looked at the Gardevoir, who unsure on whether or not to attack. "I'm simply going to make her an offer." She walked around, her body no longer entirely physical; her legs and hair moved like smoke in the air, or like dye in water; fluid, smooth.
"You can do almost anything now, Lysis…" Ephidel closed her eyes, summoning bolts of lighting to Lysis' hands. "You could rule with absolute authority; no one could stop you." She moved around the room, teleporting instantly in puffs of ghostly smoke. "And with us fused with you, your body knows no limits. You could become anything, or anyone." Ephidel glared at Valaura with a sadistic grin, mimicking Lysis' body to mimic her form. Valaura looked on helplessly.
"We'll make you deal, Lysis," Ephidel explained as fired danced through Lysis' fingers. "We'll simply fuse with Tara and leave you alone; we'll share this body as one; your intentions are our intentions," Ephidel rose up into the air and allowed Lysis to speak.
"Why would I let you do that?" Lysis asked with contempt.
"Because…" Ephidel took over once more, hovering around the penthouse. "We all know you only care about yourself; you're as black-hearted as we are. If we leave you alone, you live, and with us inside you, you live forever. Nothing to kill you, nothing to stop you. You know us; we simply love the chaos you can bring, and we would leave you perfectly alone if you promise to do just that."
Lysis was given a turn to speak once more, but she remained silent.
"Think about it… Anything you could ever want is within your reach, and you would never die. It's all you've ever wanted," Ephidel explained seductively.
"I-I…" Lysis stuttered, looking slightly ashamed, yet alive with the possibilities presented to her. "I really want to… I do… And I would do it…"
"But?" Ephidel asked as he returned to the ground.
"But you need Tara's permission," Lysis grinned, in spite of their situation.
"Fool." Ephidel spat.
And then Lysis' vision went black and was pulled back into the mental plain.
-------
Tara was there already as Lysis and Valaura appeared once more in the field, though all the life was gone, and thunder rumbled over head.
"You've chosen your fates then, we'll consume you all!" Ephidel yelled. "And none of you can do anything to stop us!" he flashed his teeth hungrily.
The girls looked at each other, expressions of uncertainty and fear clouded their faces. Tara looked at Valaura, who looked strangely calm and was looking directly back at Tara.
"You're not alone," she stated.
The younger girl immediately felt the strange warmth overcome her. She closed her eyes, attempting to remember as it caressed her very soul. The familiarity was so complete, as it touched every part of her mind, cradling it in warmth and peace, despite the terrible situation. Her eyes flew open.
"Muku?" Tara was shocked to see the Mime Jr. hovering before her.
"What?" Ephidel snarled, curling his lip in annoyance.
Muku smiled at Tara, touching her cheek with his tiny hand. A tear rolled down both her mental body and real body. She gasped as she felt a wealth of power flowing into her, energizing Lysis as well. Muku eyed Tara bitter-sweetly, lovingly rubbing her cheek before turning to face Valaura, nodding with what one would describe as acceptance, as she was also given strength. Turning to Lysis, he eyed her with a strange expression, one of both worry and relief.
"Wait!" Tara choked as his hand left her face. Muku faced Ephidel, and took one last look at his lifelong friend before launching himself at the Gengar. His aura burned so brightly around his body that the girls were blinded. The blue light brought the field back to life as Muku transformed himself into pure energy, sacrificing himself to severely weaken Ephidel.
The Gengar let loose an unearthly cry of pain as his image shifted between his human, haunter, and gengar forms, along with many others.
"Now!" Valaura yelled, rushing forward with her own red aura alive around her. Lysis and Tara followed, giving their all into their attack.
-------
Outside of the mental plain, in the real world, Ephidel was wailing as he was being forced further into the body he possessed. His ghostly effects on Tara's body left as he was pulled deeper and deeper within Lysis. All of him was being dragged into the mental field where the psychics battled with him, destroying his essence. With one last feral cry the spirit was destroyed.
The sun returned instantly to the imaginary place. They all breathed heavily, spent once more, having used much of their power to destroy Salem.
"He came back…" Tara whispered as she placed her hands on her knees. "He saved us," she fell to the ground, crying softly.
"He sacrificed himself to save you," Lysis said.
"How did he survive, how was he still alive?" Tara shook her head as she rocked back and forth.
"His love could not bow to death it seemed…" Valaura assumed. "His life-forced continued on and found you, he has been ever-present with you for many months now,"
"Why didn't you tell me?" Tara asked quietly.
"I received the impression that he would rather you not be told," she answered. "Or that, you should at least figure it out on your own. He thought it best not to meddle with the healing process..."
"Well, now I've been ripped right open again haven't I!?" Tara raised her voice angrily, looking away.
Neither of them said anything, and Lysis did not interfere, she simply looked down at herself as she rested against the tree.
"I'm sorry," the younger teen apologized. "I won't take what he did for granted. He gave me life, so that I could continue on," she stood. "He would want me to continue to be happy. And I will, for him, and for me…"
Valaura nodded in approval.
Lysis stood as well. "Well, now that this is all over-"
"It's not over," Tara shook her head, turning to face Lysis. "I'm thankful for what you've done, but this is still my body, and I'm taking it back. I won't let you run around and endanger me. You almost died against that Steelix, you're not as invincible as you think."
"No," Lysis slowly turned her head from side to side. "No! You're not locking me up too!" she smiled. "There's no way."
Valaura took hold of Lysis by the shoulder. "She is right."
The young woman looked confused as Valaura gripped her, and her expression turned to worry as Tara approached. "Valaura! You can't do this to me! You're loyal to me!" she yelled, defiant.
"And I will be loyal to you until my end," she confirmed. "Your last command was to keep Tara safe, and so I am."
Lysis blinked, running the words through her mind quickly. She then stopped struggling at once and smiled vainly. "So I did." Bowing her head, she allowed herself to be enclosed in a metal cage that appeared around the tree. The bars were many and were very thick, surrounded by blue energy; the empty spaces too thin for Lysis to slip through.
Tara held a key in her hand and placed it in the lock of the door, turning it. The lock clanked as it slid into place. Looking one last look at Lysis, she was surprised to see the woman still smiling.
"You've not seen the last of me, darling," she winked as she took a seat on the stone bench, lifting a flower to her nose.
The younger girl answered with a grave expression before returning to her body.
-------
Tara decided to leave a few days later instead, too tired to do anything but sleep most of the time. Before leaving she called for someone to come fix the floor and replace the windows. Since part of the roof was also glass, they were able to blame the damage on a meteorite that Valaura was not able to stop completely before it hit. The man seemed to buy the story with some 'encouragement'.
Once again Tara had her bag slung over her shoulder on the morning of her departure. Walking out of the penthouse with Valaura right beside her, she didn't take a second look back, thinking quietly to herself as they rode the elevator down to the bottom floor.
Tara paused as soon as they were out in the cool morning air of Saffron City, looking expectantly at Valaura. The Gardevoir nodded and they both disappeared from the sidewalk, leaving only a few confused stares in their wake.
When they reappeared they were against the wall of a building, hiding in its shadow; the smell of the sea filled their nostrils. Tara took a deep breath and looked around the corner, seeing a young girl at a stand not too far away. The sign atop the portable stand read, "Water-type Ocean-race!" The silvery-blonde girl, who had her hair up in a single ponytail, was apparently registering for the event.
"She grew…" Tara noted. She looked briefly at the older boy standing next to her, who seemed to be interested in an article in a newspaper. There was a Sableye on his shoulder, and it was looking directly at her with a chilling smile, gem-eyes shining brightly with reflected sunlight.
Tara shuddered slightly, though a bit amused.
"Mm, one of two banes of a psychic's existence…" Valaura noted as she eyed the Ghost/Dark-type. "It knows we're here, it senses us in the shadows."
"Did you tell Elvia?" Tara asked, prying herself away, back around the corner.
"I did."
"Alright then…" she sighed.
"We must leave or you will miss your ship,"
"Right, let's go."
And Tara and Valaura vanished silently.
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I like how Tara sealed Lysis without actually destroying her, it leaves room for Lysis to re-emerge.
