Child of Thorns - A Pokemon Sinnoh Reimagining

The knife felt cold against Barry's side, though not as much as the pair of crimson eyes set on him.

Mars' lips drew close to his ear as she whispered. "Now, be a good boy and tell me where your friend is."

Her voice was no less sharp than the weapon she held. Mars must have expected him to be frozen by it, unable to refuse her demands. But something about her smile and fake-sweet intonation… His nostrils flared up in anger.

"You're… the one that killed Niss' Pokemon." His growling voice rose from his stomach to his throat. "You're the one that beat her up! Like hell I'm gonna–!"

Mars' left hand clasped at his wrist and twisted the arm behind his back. A jolt of pain exploded in his shoulder, cutting his breath short.

Her lips formed the hook of a cruel smile. "Come now, that was just a misunderstanding. Her Pokemon killed itself fighting mine, and I only attacked her in self defense."

"Don't lie!" he yelled through the pain, eyes squinted. "It's all your fault! You kidnapped a little girl and her father!"

"Pah." Mars let out a deep, exaggerated sigh. "It doesn't look like I'll be able to change your mind. Luckily, your assessment of me isn't a factor. All I need is for you to tell me where Inyssa is."

"Shut up!"

He wiggled his trapped arm, and felt a sudden pressure in his ribcage. The tip of the knife penetrated his clothes and ever so slightly dug into skin, making him yelp involuntarily.

Then he noticed something at the edge of his vision. A couple close to them had turned to look in their direction, and were now squinting with expressions that seemed to say 'Is that... does that woman have a...'. He smiled. Just needed to hold on a little longer.

"You don't seem to understand the position you're in, Barry."

Barry let out a pained laugh. "We're in the middle of a park full of people. What are you gonna do, stab me?"

"You know, if I were to actually stab you that would be a hilarious choice of last words," she said. "But no, I won't do that. You look like the kind of person who doesn't care about getting hurt, as long as his friends don't have to suffer. I can see it in your eyes."

The pressure of the knife disappeared as she lowered it to her hip and smiled. An actual smile, devoid of the cruelty it'd displayed just a minute before.

"Fortunately, I have another way to convince you."

Before he could ask what she meant, the sound reached him. Muffled screams, followed by the low rumble of a nearby explosion. Through the edge of his sight he noticed a puff of flame expand from between two buildings.

The park turned into chaos as everyone scattered in different directions, only a couple of them running directly to the source of the commotion with Pokeballs in hand.

"What is that?" He looked at Mars, tone furious. "What are you doing!?"

"This is my incentive," she replied, the two of them now completely alone in the park. "I knew I'd need a distraction, so I brought a few friends with me.."

He heard something collapse a few blocks from where they were. Thick clouds of smoke rose in the distance, painting the sky as grey as the houses. .

"I ordered my grunts to cause as much chaos as possible," she explained. "That way I can carry out my mission while the cops and Gym leader are busy stopping them."

Barry's fingernails dug into his palms as he spoke. "You're not gonna get away with…!"

Another painful tug and the flare on his shoulder came back. "This is the last time I'll repeat myself. Tell me where Inyssa is and I'll call off my people. You don't wish to see innocent people hurt, do you?"

Mars waited for his answer, a satisfied look on her face. More than five seconds passed in relative silence, while Barry listened to the chaos around him.

That's when he started laughing. It caught Mars off guard, and the confidence she'd displayed wavered as she narrowed her eyes in confusion. Barry kept laughing for a few heartbeats before finally speaking.

"Is that it?" he whispered, the edges of his lips forming a smile. "That's your big incentive? You really think I'm scared of a bunch of your useless grunts?"

Mars opened her mouth slightly, not able to hide the surprise caused by his statement.

"Are you going to sacrifice the citizens of Veilstone to save your friend?"

He shook his head. "Didn't you just hear me? I'm not gonna sacrifice anything because I know that your grunts aren't dangerous." His eyes, now a shining gold, met with hers and for the first time Mars felt the need to take a step back. "The people of Veilstone… the Gym leader… and Niss, I trust them. I know none of them would have a problem dealing with your friends. You're not gonna convince me with something as stupid as that."

Mars didn't know how to respond, and he'd be lying if he said he didn't enjoy the face she made. While she struggled to find her words he tried as subtly as possible to move his free left hand without alerting her, lowering it ever so slightly towards his belt.

"I see…" Mars' shoulders dropped, and she almost sounded sad. "You're not like most people I've met, Barry. I admit I was looking forward to seeing what kind of person you were when your life was on the line, but this is…" She closed her eyes and sighed. "Sorely disappointing."

His fingers reached the metal of one of his Pokeballs, and he had to contain a smile. The golden hue of his eyes hadn't vanished yet, and it filled his chest with a strange warmth, like a gust of hot wind.

"You'll have to get used to that feeling."

His thumb pressed the button, and light exploded between them. The form which materialized out of it pushed their bodies in opposite directions, throwing them to the grass. Barry rolled once and jumped backwards, landing on one knee. Mars let out a gasp of pain as red coated her uniform, just below her right shoulder.

She opened her eyes to see a metal fin pointed towards her, stained with some of her blood. Pedri stood between the two of them, eyes dark and anger forming a terrible mask over his face. Three other bursts of light followed, and when Mars' eyes could adjust she saw a Floatzel, Staravia and Kadabra staring daggers at her.

"...Nice one. That's the second time now my scatter-brain has gotten me into trouble."

Barry didn't say a word as he approached, his gaze reflecting what he felt as clear as day. It was stronger too, ever since his eyes had changed color. It almost hurt now, clawing at the inside of his veins like a hurricane. He was having trouble concentrating on the world around him.

"That's some nasty fury behind your eyes," she said, as if she could feel it too. "Are you ready to kill, Barry? Because it certainly feels like you are."

The boy shook his head slightly and tried to regain his composure. When he spoke he could almost feel the wind roaring in his ears.

"N-no…" His voice was rough and wavy. "I'm… gonna capture you and give you to Niss so she can punch you in the face."

Mars effortlessly got to her feet and cleaned the dust off her outfit, as if she'd simply tripped. She didn't even seem to notice the wound on her arm.

"How brave. Look at yourself Barry; you're like a reborn Synn!" She let out a sharp and terrible laugh. "But I assure you that it won't end good for you or your Pokemon. This is your last warning. Tell me where Inyssa is and I'll call off this mobilization. Tell your Pokemon to attack me and I will not hold back."

A cocky smile formed on his lips. She was comparing him to Synn, wasn't she? Well, maybe he should show her just how heroic he could be. "You really think I'm that dumb? It's five against one."

"Numbers mean very little in the face of overwhelming power," she said. "But… as you wish. I hope the consequences of this decision will teach you a lesson."

Barry doubted slightly, though he reassured himself by realizing she didn't have any Pokeballs visible.

He nodded to himself, and pointed at Mars. "Get her!"

All four of his Pokemon leapt forward, somewhat fueled by Barry's wave of emotion. Paulette was the fastest one, and she reached Mars before her companions could. Her wings glowed with energy as she prepared to attack.

Mars smiled then, and time seemed to stop.

The next thing Barry saw was a spray of blood, followed by a ghastly shriek.

Inyssa ran back to town as quickly as possible, wind roaring in her ears. This time she wouldn't let them get away, she assured herself. She would do everything in her power to make those Galactic bastards pay.

She found the first two near the southern district after she entered town. Through the edge of her vision she noticed the white and grey of their uniforms, and almost sent herself flying forward with how sharply she stopped her running.

A man and a woman, she figured. They were slowly approaching three children who hopelessly tried to defend themselves with a Bidoof and a Chatot, who looked on the brink of defeat. The image of the first Pokemon made her blood boil, and with almost enough force to crush it she grabbed one of her Pokeballs and threw it forward.

"Bret, Razor Leaf!"

The Roselia was momentarily surprised and somewhat angry that he'd been called to action after such grueling training. But as he saw the situation in front of him his expression turned into a dark grimace and he punched the air with both hands, sending a torrent of petals towards them. The attack caught the grunt's Glameow off guard, and they could barely react as they were pelted against one of the nearby walls, collapsing immediately.

Inyssa allowed herself a satisfied smile. Even when exhausted, Bret's attacks had grown so much stronger.

"Who is that!?" the woman yelled as she elbowed her partner. "Quick, take out your…!"

"Grass Knot!"

The fury of her scream washed over them before the attack did. Bret put both petal covered hands against the ground and mere seconds after the cement broke under their feet. Thick vines climbed up their bodies, slithering until they were completely restrained and unable to even speak.

They fell to the ground with a weak thump, and desperately struggled and growled through the vines as they tried to free themselves.

No chance, assholes.

She ran to the three boys, and almost too late she realized she hadn't wiped the anger off her face, which explained the looks of terror they gave her.

"It's okay now," she assured them, trying to smile. They couldn't be much older than ten. "Did they hurt any of you?"

The one in the left shook his head, tears starting to run down his cheeks. The other two tried hard to play it cool but she could see they were just as terrified.

She stood up straight and put both hands on her hips. "There's no reason to fear, I already took care of them!" she exclaimed proudly, imitating Barry's booming voice. "But there might be more around. You need to get to the Pokemon Center and tell the nurse what's happening. You'll be safe there."

She didn't know how effective her approach would be, especially since she was awful at trying to make others feel better or just talking to kids in general. Thankfully, they seemed listen to her. Two of them started running immediately, but the one previously crying turned to her and smiled.

"T-thanks, miss!"

She had no idea why, but she winked at him and made finger guns.

Oh my god what's wrong with me?

Shaking the thought off, she returned Bret to his Pokeball and looked down at the two grunts still trying to free themselves from their binds. The strength of the vines told her they would be like that until someone found them, which was good enough. She didn't have time to personally bring each one of them to Maylene.

Without thinking it over she kicked the man in the leg and turned around to run towards the Gym. Chances were Barry would be there with Maylene, and she wanted to make sure he was fine before allowing herself the pleasure to beat up as many Galactic grunts as possible.

She saw him barely two minutes later, walking along the pavement road leading away from the Gym. He was scowling at something.

"Barry!"

Her scream had more than its fair share of desperation mixed in. The boy turned towards her with eyes widened, and she put a hand on his shoulders as soon as she reached him. His left arm was stained in a little bit of blood.

"Are you okay?" She didn't gave him time to respond. "What happened!?"

He took a step back and gulped, heavy shadows under his eyes. "Nissa! It's… it's nothing, I just ran into a couple of them."

Silence. Inyssa narrowed her eyes, dread creeping up her spine.

"We'll make them pay for that," she said. Then she stopped, choosing her words carefully. "Where's the... Gym leader?"

He turned around and pointed south with his left hand. "Mary's fighting in front of the Gym and told me to come look for you. She wants us to go back to the Pokemon Center."

She stared at him for a few heartbeats, and slowly nodded.

"Come on, we need to hurry!"

She followed as he walked down street towards the western edge of town, the path that led to the woods she'd been training near.

"I'm glad Mary's taking care of the situation," she said, eyes fixed on Barry. "She'll clean the floor with those idiots in no time."

He let out a small laugh. "Yeah… we'd probably be a nuisance if we tried to help."

She nodded slowly. "By the way, I have some gauze in my backpack. I could cover that wound you have on your arm."

As subtly as possible she grabbed it by its thin strap and put a hand inside, closing her fingers around a small, metallic handle.

"Thank you. You're so nice, Nissa," Barry whispered, eyeing the forest at their left.

Inyssa bit her lip and swallowed her emotions down. A deep, deliberate breath, and she let the backpack fall to the ground.

Barry had no time to react. She lunged towards him as fast as her legs allowed and punched the air forward with the switchblade. The feeling and sound of sharp metal against flesh sent a shiver through her spine and the base of her clenched teeth.

A forceful gasp of air escaped his lips. Wasting no time, she took a step back and raised her leg, kicking just below the knee. He tried to regain his balance by landing on the other foot, but due to the confusion and pain he wasn't fast enough and collapsed onto the ground face first.

Inyssa jumped back, hands trembling. A long lock of hair covered one of her eyes. With the remaining one she saw the knife sticking out of Barry's previous wound. He didn't scream. Didn't curse either or turned around to ask what the hell she though she was doing. He simply raised himself to his knees and grabbed the handle of the knife with his right hand.

He pulled it out effortlessly, shadows covering his eyes.

"How did you know?"

Mars' voice hit her with enough force to steal her breath. Pure, cold malice washed over her, making every inch of her skin shiver.

But the voice did something else. It brought back a fresh, painful memory and lit up her insides only a moment after, dispelling the cold with ease. Inyssa put the knife in her pocket and took a decisive step forward, grabbing two Pokeballs from her belt with each hand.

"Your imitation was downright terrible," she said, looking down at her. "Barry never calls me Nissa, and he wouldn't suggest that we go hide while the city's being attacked. You also don't seem to know that Maylene is the new Gym Leader of this town." A defiant smile stretched across her face. "Besides, you fucked up your transformation. Your right hand's a lot paler than your left one."

Mars' eyes went wide for a moment, as if that last tidbit had surprised even her. Letting out a sigh, she let her disguise dissolve into that gum-like pink paste, making it contract into her own body. She lazily turned around to look at Inyssa, caring none for the blood dripping down her arm.

"You're wrong about that last thing, though I doubt you'd understand even if I explained it. Still, how embarrassing." She tittered. "Outsmarted by kids twice in the same day. I must be losing my touch."

It really was her. The realization was almost too heavy, too upsetting. There was so much Inyssa wanted to tell Mars, so much she wanted to do to her. But before she could get to any of that…

"Where's Barry?"

Mars arched up an eyebrow at her question. Curiously, like a Purrloin.

"That's the first thing you ask, huh? Such a good, faithful friend. Tell me, just how close were you to him?"

Prickles of anger grew from under her skin, and all attempts at being calm were thrown out the window as she opened her mouth.

"Shut up!" she growled. "I asked you a question, now answer it before I do something worse than stab you."

"You should learn to bluff better," Mars said nonchalantly. "You don't have the guts to kill me, as evidenced by your choice of where to stab me."

"Stop talking! I'm sick of hearing you, just tell me where Barry is!"

Mars laughed at her. A short, casual laugh which did little to ease the knot that had formed in her stomach. Why wasn't she telling her? She couldn't have…

Stop thinking that, she told herself, Stop fucking thinking that.

The woman scratched her cheek with the hand of her wounded arm, expression devoid of any pain or worry. She looked like someone in the middle of a peaceful evening stroll, and Inyssa hated it more than anything.

Mars savored the silence for a few more seconds before answering.

"I really liked that kid. It's such a shame…" She lifted her head, the cold red of her eyes clashing with the burning green of Inyssa's. "I hope you can find solace in knowing he fought so, so bravely."

The wind seemed to still, one last gust gently moving Inyssa's hair over her face, covering her eyes in shadows. She hung her head for a moment, lower lip trembling, hands shaking violently. Something cracked inside her, evidenced by the burning pain she felt as she tried to breathe. Her rib-cage felt made of broken glass.

And when she looked up, when her eyes became visible beneath the shadows once more, the sheer, animalistic fury behind them managed to startle Mars, if only for a moment. The woman's breath caught in her throat. Her foot slid back a few inches, a shiver running through her body.

Inyssa's hands moved unconsciously. Four lights exploded in front of her, materializing into her trusted partners. The voice which came out of her mouth didn't sound like hers.

"Kill her! KILL HER!" She bellowed at the top of her lungs, face contorted by rage. "LEAVE NOTHING LEFT!"

Only Kuro and Shadi obeyed, the first due to his questionable moral code and the second thanks to her undying loyalty to her trainer. Bret and Steven watched in horror as their companions jumped forward without hesitation, fangs and scythes brimming with energy.

In the daze of her burning fury Inyssa barely saw what happened. All she heard was the sound of something sharp cutting the air, followed by Shadi's body flying backwards, cushioned only by the scarf around her neck. An arc of blood followed her trajectory, falling on top of her as she laid on the ground. Kuro barely managed to get out of the way of the slash.

"SHADI!"

Desperation clung to her voice as she ran forward without even looking at Mars. She threw herself to the floor and landed on her knees in front of Shadi. Holding her in her trembling hands, she turned her body over to get a better look at the wound. The cut was long and wide, though it thankfully didn't look as deep as she had expected.

Shadi was still conscious, and with clear effort tried to free herself from her trainer's hands, something Inyssa refused by pulling her even closer. Hot, sudden tears began running down her face as she gasped in fear.

"How…"

She raised her eyes toward Mars, and the shock stole her breath. She had to be dreaming, the logical part of her mind assured her. It was the only explanation for what she was seeing.

Where her right arm was previously located now was a long, white scythe slotted into a segmented green arm. She recognized it immediately even though it wasn't attached to the Pokemon it belonged to; a Scyther's arm.

"Wh-wha…" she whispered in disbelief. "That's… that's not…"

Mars winced while she moved the scythe around, as if she were getting used to it. She didn't pay any mind to Inyssa until she finished the examination of her new limb.

"I would've thought a kid like you would know how to take a joke." She turned to her, smiling. "Don't worry, I didn't kill your friend. I just roughed him up a little to get him out of the way."

A strange mix of happiness and bewilderment flooded her as she failed to react to her words, eyes still as wide as plates. She couldn't… she couldn't be lying again, could she? She needed to believe that Barry was still alive. He had to be.

"I adored your reaction, though," she added. "You caught me off guard, which is why I had to use this."

She raised her Scyther arm casually, showing it to her. "You like it? I've been working on this transformation for a few weeks now, trying to polish all the details to perfection."

Inyssa was barely listening, eyes fixated on Shadi's wound. All heat had evaporated from her body, leaving her a cold, confused husk. She heard the rest of her Pokemon slowly approaching, eyeing her carefully as if she were a fragile thing about to break. They surrounded her, shielding her from Mars.

She then noticed that the wound on her arm had completely disappeared, and that was the most painful blow of all.

"It doesn't make sense…" she whispered, almost low enough for Mars not to hear her. "That's not… how it works. How did you…"

"Sorry to disappoint you, but Ditto won't let me die even if I wanted to." She shrugged, almost stabbing herself with the tip of her scythe. "You can thank Charon for that, though I doubt you'll ever get the chance to."

She had absolutely no idea what Mars was talking about, and didn't really care either way. Her hands were trembling so strongly she had trouble holding onto Shadi, and her eyes lacked all the fire they'd displayed only a few minutes before.

The sound of footsteps reached her, followed by the combined growl of Steven, Bret and Kuro warning Mars to take a step back. She did not.

"So," she said, moving her arm back and forth casually. "What now?"