Creeping Crawling Crevices

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Zorre
Energy: 37 - 16 (entrance) = 21
Items in Use: Defense Scarf (-1 energy to all pokemon rolls)
Inventory:
-Oran Berry (4)
-Sitrus Berry (1)
-Apple (1)
-Reviver Seed (3)


Zorre looked around the deep gulch menacingly as he approached the edge. There was a narrow path leading down into the depths of the ravine, a thick purple fog settling thicker and thicker as the crack in the earth disappeared under its heavy blanket.

The cracked mind of the scyther saw the gulch as an opportunity to fulfill his thirst for blood and hunger for flesh while blaming the death on a slip into the depths, or the weak succumbing to the heady poison in the air. It settled around the black scyther's collar like chains, but he ignored the harsh breathing he was acquiring from it and the heaviness it added to his limbs.

Only the weak would allow such barriers to stop them from their goal, and Zorre was no weakling. His insane red gaze trailed over the boulders that edged the gulch, and he let out a sinister laugh as he imagined his scythes slicing through muscles and tendons with the ease of a thorn through berries. This was his world, and all others were mere playthings for him to mess with.

Zorre
Energy: 21
Items in Use: Defense Scarf (-1 energy to all pokemon rolls)
Inventory:
-Oran Berry (4)
-Sitrus Berry (1)
-Apple (1)
-Reviver Seed (3)


Pain. It was all-encompassing, burning, icy pain. It was all that Zorre could focus on, as the glaceon pressed its paw onto the already-broken arm, humiliation on top of the wound as he was unable to do anything to prevent the paw from crushing deeper and deeper into the broken elbow, doing who-knew-what kind of damage on top of the already broken limb.

It was in this pain that the glaceon began to talk again. At first Zorre drowned out the sound with his own pain, not even registering what the glaceon was saying. Then it was like a damn broke and the glaceon's voice was thundering in his ears. "...fix you.... make you beautiful..."

It was then that Zorre experienced true terror for the first time since his mind had been cracked. He had been so used to being the predator that he'd never once stopped to think that any other pokemon was anything less than his prey. But now, now he was beginning to understand. This... Darling... wasn't a darling at all. But an equal, -NO- another predator, another... HIM, but more advanced, more... deathly.

"D-darling....?! Y-you..." he broke off in screams of agony as the glaceon finally let up on his broken limb. He panted heavily. "I.... I made a m-mistake, Darling.... You're not my... my Darling.... You... you're searching for your own Darling... I understand now... But why would you pretend, good sir? Why would you tease me like this? You must understand that I was only searching for a good female to make beautiful... you understand, no? Why would you pretend to be something you are not? You... tease...." he broke off into wails of pain again.

....Jeez, this was really sounding a lot less like the scyther was talking about murder and a lot more like something more.... awkward. S.S. wondered why the scyther seemed so hung up on the idea of him being a female, as if it were some secret that he was, in fact, male. He was a glaceon, he supposed, which wasn't exactly the most masculine thing in existence. Still, he certainly wasn't trying to look feminine; it was the opposite, if anything. But that wasn't of much concern at the moment, when there was something far more fun to think about. He'd found a way to make the crazy guy tick.... and he was planning on abusing this knowledge.

"Oh, but you picked me. It wasn't the other way around; I was just minding my own business, remember? And now.... I want to help you," he spoke, continuing to circle around the bug.
He doubted breaking anything else would be a good idea, as he wasn't quite sure how much a scyther would be able to endure. But that was alright, because now, he could offer torment of the mental variety. He giggled once more before speaking again: "You're so obsessed with making others beautiful, but I'm willing to bet no one's ever returned the favor. This is what you wanted, isn't it? You wanted beauty.... perfection.... Don't you want that for yourself, too?"

He wasn't planning on killing the scyther. That didn't mean he couldn't pretend otherwise, though. It was clear to him that this "beauty" was a one-way concept, one that the black creature did not want applied to itself. He wanted to see if perhaps he could get a more coherent, lucid response if he kept pushing. And if he couldn't, then at least he could panic the bug even more. That alone was satisfying enough to keep to his current course. He wasn't a therapist, so he didn't really care whether or not he gave some random insane individual a mental "breakthrough," but he had to admit the thought of getting a more sane reaction was enticing.

"Yes, of course you would want to experience the perfection you obsess over so very much.... If these are truly your beliefs, there's no possible way it could be any different," he answered his own question on behalf of the scyther.
If it truly didn't know what it was doing, if it really thought it was doing something "good," there was no way it would refuse such an offer.... Perhaps the scyther was making excuses to itself to justify killing, but deep down, it seemed to know what it was doing.

Zorre
Energy: 21
Items in Use: Defense Scarf (-1 energy to all pokemon rolls)
Inventory:
-Oran Berry (4)
-Sitrus Berry (1)
-Apple (1)
-Reviver Seed (3)


"Ah, but you called to me, Darling," Zorre responded with a groan, now cradling his broken appendage against his chest weakly. "I didn't... didn't realize... everything... is in shadows, you see? Like lines drawn against parchment, the visualities come to me, tell me what would make most beautiful in others... It's my destiny, don't you see? And now, it's your destiny too... Will you accept the destiny the shadows have given you, or will you turn from them... that's the question..."

Zorre was lost, cast adrift in a sea of nonsense. With his typical actions blocked, indeed, he was adrift. He couldn't kill this creature, make them beautiful like he had made so many others. Instead, he was lost in his own madness, trying to plead for his life but the words weren't coming out right, like some thing was speaking through him, that was not him.

"My beauty was never in question, Darling. It's the beauty of the outside world.... I didn't recognize your own completeness, and that was my failing... my shortcomings, but surely good sir, you won't hold a grudge against a fellow who made a mistake...?"

S.S. couldn't help but giggle once more at the scyther's speech, everything constantly contradicting things that'd been previously said.... The bug seemed to just be making this all up on the spot, probably in the hopes of getting out of dying. More importantly though, the questions he was asking were being dodged around, and he could feel the topic constantly being pulled away from "beauty." He wanted to bring this to light, but he was unsure if it was even possible to enlighten the blind. Either way, he was going to try if for no other reason than for fun.

"Your beauty, as you call it, is in question. And you don't seem to be telling me the truth about it.... You don't seem confident in your own state, you seem.... afraid. You're trying desperately to change the topic.... Why are you afraid of being made.... beautiful?" he questioned as he moved toward the front of the scyther.
He then sat down and stared for a moment, giving an eager smile. He stared right into the scyther's eyes.... and then he spoke once more. "I think I know the answer."

The glaceon got up and slowly approached the opposition whom he'd effectively crippled. He turned his gaze from the eyes of the creature to its other arm, wondering it perhaps he would need to.... prove his point a bit more. "I think you're afraid because you know exactly what it is you do, and you don't want it done to you. You know you inflict excruciating pain on others.... and kill them. You don't want that done to you. You're nothing more than a sadist who makes up excuses to absolve himself of guilt for his actions," he explained, stating his theory.
Maybe it was wrong, but he had a pretty good idea for how to test it. Of course, he would only need to test his theory if the scyther denied what he was saying.... but he kind of hoped it went that way.

Zorre
Energy: 21
Items in Use: Defense Scarf (-1 energy to all pokemon rolls)
Inventory:
-Oran Berry (4)
-Sitrus Berry (1)
-Apple (1)
-Reviver Seed (3)


Zorre blinked. The glaceon wasn't making sense. Killing? Maiming? Excruciating pain? He already knew the excruciating pain, it was in his currently broken limb. But what else was the glaceon meaning? Him, killing others? It was impossible, the leaps of logic the ice pokemon was making.

He shook his head. "No, no, no, Darling. You've got it all wrong! I don't kill, I don't maim! I make pokemon beautiful again! Why would you say such things... I don't understand, good sir. Why do you accuse me when you have no basis for your theories? You see, this is where you and I should part. I've obviously made a mistake, now we can move on from that, you see?"

He was getting desperate at this point. He struggled to rise to his feet, to get away from the other predator -the better predator. All he was in this moment was a facade of words, worth less than the lowest speck of dust on the planet, for he knew that his time had come. The deeds he had stained his black scythes with were coming back to haunt him, and he had no choice but to accept it or run from it, and run from it he did. He forced himself to his feet, through the pain bolting through his arm, and attempted to flee.

He would not make it far, if the glaceon were really true to its words and actions up to this point. He was like a single blade of grass in a hurricane compared to the glaceon. This was the end.

S.S. chuckled. His laughs grew louder, into a sort of cackle as he decided to go through with what he had planned. Then.... impressively.... the scyther ran. The scyther.... got up.... and ran. This feat alone was enough to make him kind of want to let the guy go, as it was impressive after the beating he'd delivered. However, he'd already made his mind up and the course of action he'd decided on did not involve letting his toy go just yet. He wanted to torment the scyther into admitting fault, then gloat about it. He didn't even really care much if it was truthful, as long as it was demoralizing!

He casually followed along behind the scyther, laughing the entire time at the pathetic display before him. Why wasn't he allowed to kill this guy? Not that he wanted to.... but.... what, exactly, was the redeeming quality that made this life worth sparing? He wasn't seeing it. A deluded killer, and while not one who was particularly dangerous to himself, perhaps the scyther had the potential to be more threatening to others. Still, he didn't care much who lived and who died, and Sova had asked only one small thing of him that he intended to abide by: don't kill anyone. Sova would probably be upset with him if he simply let a killer go, though.... and he quite liked toying with the black creature.

He casually walked along behind the scyther who was gaining distance on him. He stumbled around a bit, appearing as if he were dizzy.... then he suddenly stopped moving and fell silent. He needed to remember not to use Double Team for too long in a single burst. It was difficult to control and exhausting when used in such a manner, and so that was only for emergencies. He suddenly bolted forward at near-teleportation speed, leaving behind an afterimage and stopping a few times on the way to the scyther, leaving behind another image every time he did so. He just had to pace himself and make sure he didn't run for too long at a time. Simple.

He was in front of the bug in no time, and he purposely put himself right in front of it, literally inches away with his body blocking the path. He then ducked, appearing almost like a puppet whose strings had been cut with motions so fluid they seemed inanimate. Without even a moment of hesitation, he forced his whole body forward, aiming to trip the scyther. What a fool to even try to run from him.... but it only proved him right. This little insect was afraid of him. Fear.... meant he was right.

Zorre
Energy: 21
Items in Use: Defense Scarf (-1 energy to all pokemon rolls)
Inventory:
-Oran Berry (4)
-Sitrus Berry (1)
-Apple (1)
-Reviver Seed (3)


Zorre did not see the glaceon in front of him until it was too late. Down, down he went, head-over-heels and flipped over the glaceon's icy body, landing on his poor head, which by this point had suffered quite a lot of trauma, both of the physical and mental types. Zorre was done, just done at this point.

He collapsed and did not move from his place on the ground, shuddering from the cold and the fear that was racing through him. His cracked mind was shattered into many pieces, and he was laid bare for the glaceon to pick through.

"Not..... bad... nooo!" he screamed from his place on the ground. "Meaning not to! Shadows they force things bad! Understand, not you!" Zorre was flipping back and forth between his cracked mindscape and the bug he had been before the shadows. But the glaceon wouldn't know this. What would the icy pokemon think of this new development?

S.S. started up giggling once more at the bug's odd pleading.  He understood.... that these were all excuses, meant to save the life of the murderer.  He didn't really care for the sins of others, so making excuses like this wasn't really accomplishing anything, but it was certainly entertaining.  It was also funny to see someone beg and plead for their life when it wasn't even going to be taken.  He was currently not allowed to take lives, or at least, not if he wanted to stay on good terms with Sova.  Well, maybe "good terms" was a stretch, but he was allowed to roam free right now and he really didn't want to push that.

"It's not my job to understand, now shut up for a second," he ordered, expecting silence as a result.
He paused as he moved around toward the front of the scyther, making sure he was visible to the creature.  "You know what it is you do.  I know this because you wouldn't be afraid of having it done to you otherwise.  I know you're afraid because you tried to run," he spoke clearly and calmly.
He was expecting this little debate to come to a close soon if he was right, and by now, he was fairly certain he was right.  He wondered if the scyther would be at all appealing to be around without all of the delusions.

He wanted to know.  "We both know you're a murderer.  Now, admit it," he demanded.
If the scyther continued playing dumb, maybe he would just continue demonstrating what this concept of "beauty" really was.  The scyther would have to decide it wasn't so beautiful eventually, right?

Zorre
Energy: 21
Items in Use: Defense Scarf (-1 energy to all pokemon rolls)
Inventory:
-Oran Berry (4)
-Sitrus Berry (1)
-Apple (1)
-Reviver Seed (3)


Zorre sobbed openly now, broken out for the world to see him shattered. "Y-yes..." he cried out at the glaceon's words. "Stained, scythes are be these," he looked at his arms disgustedly. His one arm was still throbbing with the pain of being broken, but this Zorre welcomed the pain, it was a fitting punishment for what he had done, what he had been doing under the shadow's influence.

"Please... no live, I... Kill must you me...." he begged, turning his eyes onto the glaceon. "Live not with these hands on me murders!" His speech was warbled and garbled, unintelligible now. It was a sign that Zorre was back.... for now. He didn't know how long he had before the shadow took over him again. "Kill me!" he begged. "Shadow before back, it comes!" He couldn't stand to go back to the shadow-ridden creature he had become. He wanted death rather than to go on living with the knowledge that he had killed, and would again if the shadow came back.

((Don't actually kill him, hmm?))

S.S. fell silent as the scyther.... began to cry. But not just that: the bug finally did what he wanted and admitted to being a murderer. Oh, how satisfying it was to pick someone's mentality apart. Or course, picking one's body apart was also fun, but this was fairly satisfying too. Maybe not quite as satisfying, but it was by no means unpleasant to him. When the scyther's oh-so-sad pleading finally seemed to finish, he simply fell silent, neglecting to respond for a few moments. He stared, and stared....

....And he began laughing. This time, the glaceon was not merely giggling; he was now cackling loudly from the hilarity of this situation. The scyther wanted to die now, was he understanding this correctly!? Well, that was too bad, because he'd said he wouldn't do any killing. And even if this weren't the case, there was absolutely no way he was going to kill the scyther now. "If I'm understanding this right, y-hah, you want me to kill you now!? Of everything you could say, I didn't expect you to be such a bipolar idiot!" he paused his maniacal laughter long enough to exclaim.

It took a moment, but his laughter finally calmed down enough for him to speak more: "I'm not going to kill you, especially not after you gave me what I wanted. I don't care if you're "evil," and besides, I'm enjoying your company...."
This scyther was too valuable as a source of entertainment to even consider killing.

Zorre
Energy: 21
Items in Use: Defense Scarf (-1 energy to all pokemon rolls)
Inventory:
-Oran Berry (4)
-Sitrus Berry (1)
-Apple (1)
-Reviver Seed (3)


Zorre looked on in agony as the glaceon just... stood there and laughed at him. The raging monster who'd been about to end his life just stopped and laughed. Taking away the blissful thought of ending the horrid life he'd become and instead tearing it away from him to watch him flail. That was when Zorre comprehended that he had truly met his match with the glaceon. It was just as evil as his shadow half was.

"Noo...." he moaned, throwing himself to the ground in front of the glaceon. "Please!" he begged. "Not good! Bad! Please, death better, is!"

But it was no use. The glaceon would prefer to see him in agony than end his pitiful existence, and it was too late for the scyther. He gasped, tears leaking out of his eyes as he lay prostrate on the ground in front of the glaceon, the pain in his arm still rending through his body.

It was at this point that the scyther gave up. There was no use in fighting the evil inside him anymore. No one was going to save him from the shadow that enveloped him, so why not embrace it? The shadow returned in full force, and this time Zorre gave no resistance to it, letting it fill him with dark thoughts and feelings once more.

He chuckled, pushing himself half-upright again on the one unbroken arm. "Well, Darling... If you won't kill me, then perhaps you're not as dark as I thought." The shadow Zorre and the broken Zorre were one and the same now, and there was no going back. He still wanted someone to kill him, but if they wouldn't, then he would reign havoc on the world for the pain that he felt, until someone did.

S.S' laughter stopped and turned to an unamused stare as the scyther groveled before him.  Meh.  As nice as having someone grovel to him sounded in theory, it wasn't nearly as fun in practice.  Maybe it was just hard to top physically and mentally torturing someone, but he really wasn't feeling the whole "groveling" thing.  Luckily, that stopped soon enough, though with a price.  The scyther suddenly stopped begging and pleading, starting back up calling him "Darling" again.  It was weird.  Even to him, being called Darling was just really odd.

"My name isn't "Darling," it's S.S.  If you can't memorize it on your own.... I hear pain is a great motivator," he spoke, eyeing the scyther's other arm as he did so.
The smirk he loved to wear oh-so-much crept back onto his face as he spoke.  It was very hard to upset him, even with things that were "annoying."  He was in a constant state of mania, which meant he never really felt sad solely because he simply wasn't capable of it.  He could feel anger, but the most he usually felt was agitation and no such negativity ever really lasted long.  He was just too easily amused, and he could too easily.... entertain himself.

He looked at the scyther's other arm, remembering the snapping sound he'd heard earlier when he'd stepped on it.  This was quite a flimsy bug he was dealing with.  How would the guy do having to go around with only one good arm for a while.  He imagined that it would be fairly difficult to be a big, scary killer with such injuries.  Maybe a murderer with such injuries would even get themselves killed.  Probably not, but he didn't really care too much about that.  His job was not to kill the scyther himself, and currently, he was abiding by that.  Whatever happened later, after he left did not concern him.

Speaking of leaving, he'd already gotten all he had wanted, so perhaps now it was time to bid the poor trauma patient ado.  Since he was still free, maybe he would go find some travelers to harass....  No, he couldn't really do that.  He rather liked not being an outlaw, especially since he doubted Sova's ability to live as an outlaw.  He had to keep in mind what was best for his other half whether he liked it or not, due to them being pretty tightly bound to one-another.  Maybe he could harass someone less.... sentient, then?  Maybe something would attack him if he just wandered around long enough!  Wait, what was he even here for?  Or, uh, what was Sova here for?

....Mirage.  Right.  Yeah, he didn't care about that.  There was no way he was going to look for wussy's girlfriend; this was at least 10x more fun.

Zorre
Energy: 21
Items in Use: Defense Scarf (-1 energy to all pokemon rolls)
Inventory:
-Oran Berry (4)
-Sitrus Berry (1)
-Apple (1)
-Reviver Seed (3)


"Ah, but that doesn't have the same ring to it, S.S. But as you wish," Zorre acquiesced, mostly to avoid another breakage of his arms.

He looked out over the edge of the ravine, wondering if a fall would kill him or just leave a very big mess for him to clean up afterwards. But he knew that the darkness wouldn't let him off that easily.

"You never did answer my question about the darkness," he suddenly said to the glaceon. "Were you always like this or did the shadows grab ahold of you, too?"

S.S. chuckled at the question; one he'd already been asked, but he didn't mind.  It was actually a somewhat interesting question.  No one ever really asked about him.  Everyone seemed to want to know about Sova, but never him.  It was a shame, as he felt he was far more interesting than that pathetic wuss.  Well, maybe it just took someone entirely unhinged from reality to actually be interested in him.  Regardless, he wasn't really a big fan of talking about himself.... or talking in general, but while he had the capabilities to just walk away or silence the scyther, he decided to humor the question.  It only seemed right, considering the entertainment the bug had provided him thus far.

"That's honestly not a question for me...." he began, his tone a bit different from earlier.
It still had that bit of insanity, but it wasn't exactly manic.
It was difficult to answer things about himself, especially since he wasn't really born through.... traditional means, but he was going to try.  "But, if you really want to know.... I am one of two in this body.  I suppose you could say the "darkness" changed me, but really, I didn't exist before...." he trailed off and began to giggle, as if he were remembering something funny.
It was mostly ironically funny, but it didn't really make him feel good.

"The thing you call darkness.... I can remember it, and it feels real, like I experienced it.... but I know it wasn't me.  It was the other, weaker one.  I only exist because he couldn't exist on his own."
He tilted his head to the left as he looked at the scyther, his insane smile having faded.  "So, I guess "the shadows" did a little more than just change me....  They made me."
What he was saying likely sounded insane and difficult to understand, likely because it was. Honestly, though, did his new friend have any room to judge him?

Zorre
Energy: 21
Items in Use: Defense Scarf (-1 energy to all pokemon rolls)
Inventory:
-Oran Berry (4)
-Sitrus Berry (1)
-Apple (1)
-Reviver Seed (3)


The glaceon may have thought he wouldn't understand, but Zorre understood way more than the glaceon could have possibly imagined. After all, he had just been two personalities in one body before he'd decided to give up fighting the dark. He nodded to the glaceon.

"I suppose that makes sense. In a way, the shadows made me too. Made me dark. Made my.... tastes, darker, too," he added, thinking of the confession the glaceon had dragged out of him. "But the lesser side of me couldn't -can't- stand being that pokemon. That's why we wanted you to kill us."

He was using the plural, he hadn't thought of it, it had just slipped out. Well, now it was in the open. "IF anyone can understand, it would be you, I suppose. If you're telling the truth about you being two pokemon in one body."