The night past relatively uneventful. Late at night, Kirby fell asleep just after the restaurant closed.
At about five in the morning, Meta Knight woke up. He did some stretches and started practicing the sword. He did so, every day for the past five hundred years. Against a tree, and by the time his friends woke up, the tree fell down, so damaged by the sword slashes and cuts. He dragged the log into the forest (the tree was massive compared to him, but with his core strength and multiple tries, he managed to hide it.)
He then stood on the stump and started to balance on the tips of his purple metal sabatons. He swung his sword a few times while still balancing. He jumped in a somersault and landed perfectly in front of a startled James, who had woken up for the morning.
"You're back?" he asked eagerly. "You're back to normal?"
"Yes, I am quite fine, thank you. Once we find the Demon Beast, it will be as good as gone."
"What do we do now?" Jessie asked from the entrance of the base, Mimikyu on her shoulder. Meowth followed, a look of surprise passed his face for a split second before smiling his usual smug smile.
"Didn't think you'd be here so soon." He exclaimed.
"We should train until that demon shows up." Meta Knight answered stoically, his sword glimmering in the early morning sun, just beginning to rise. "First, we should eat."
As they sat on the bed of leaves, the four friends picked out fruit from Bewear's stockpile. Wobbuffet came out of Jessie's Pokeball, eager to join in after being left out for so long. Mareanie sat on James' lap, while Mimikyu sat in the corner.
"I haven't tried this one." Meta Knight picked up a large red fruit, spikes jutting out from the sides. It was bigger than his fist.
"That's a Tamato Berry. Its super spicy, it burns your mouth so bad that you can barely talk for a few minutes." Meowth explained. "I speak from experience. It hurts."
"Wobbuffet!" The blue Pokemon added. "Wobba-Wobba!" Meowth rolled his eyes at what the Wobbuffet had said.
"Okay. I'll try a bit."
"I don't know whether you'll like- oh."
Meta Knight faced away from his friends and shoved it in his mouth, ignoring his friends' warning. His mask lay next to him as he finished the Berry, showing no emotions.
All of a sudden, Mimikyu snatched up Meta Knight's mask. It put the mask up to it's face, the Mimikyu rags showing through the v shaped eye-hole of the mask.
"Mimikyu! Put that back!" Jessie said angrily, trying to grab the mask from her stubborn Pokemon and failing.
"Kyu. Mimikyu." It squeaked. "Ks!"
"Come on Mimikyu! Be co-operative! You know that's not yours, it belongs to Meta Knight."
"Kyu!"
"Mimikyu, please give me my mask back. If you don't, keep it. I've got many more in my cape."
"Kyu.. Ku!" Mimikyu still held the mask, but with more force. The Pikachu-disguised Pokemon, who nobody could ever steal the disguise, has stolen the disguise of another person. Oh, Mimikyu...
"Fine." Meta Knight dug around in his cape and found a spare mask. He clipped it on and turned around.
"Well? Did you like it?" Jessie asked.
"Well, you said it was super spicy. It was mild, but I still enjoyed it." Meta Knight picked out three more and ate them (turning around, obviously). How on earth did this puff like the most spicy berry in Alola?
"T-that was... MILD?!" The Rocket Trio yelped.
"WOBBAAAAA???"
"Mareanie-nie!"
"Kss??"
"Mild, and sweet." Meta's eyes turned a brilliant pink. "Now. Let's set off. The sooner we can find Tsurara, the faster we can kill it."
"Meta Knight, that thing is DANGEROUS. You saw what it did to you!" Jessie pointed out, mouth full of Sitrus berry.
"You could have died in the forest. I think we need to think this over." James added. Wobbuffet nodded in agreement.
"Don't forget, we've got Galaxia on our side, and we know more information than before." Meta Knight drew his sword, a particular sheen making it glow purple and gold.
"But... Still! What if one of us gets killed?" James asked. "This thing is much more powerful than us."
"We need to out think it. Find a weakness." The masked warrior said simply. He walked out and into the clearing. He spread his wings in a threatening manner.
"Spread out, all of you. That way we can cover more ground." He instructed. "And while you look, think about what it's weakness was, and why it would be it's weakness."
As he was about to fly off, someone yelled from inside the cave
"Jessie! James! Matori is ringing!" Meowth yipped. "We haven't decided what to do with Meta Knight yet!"
"Calm down, Meowth. I'm sure he doesn't mind. We can pass him off as a rare Pokemon or something." Jessie replied. "Or... Meta Knight could just not show up?"
"If we get busted by Matori for hiding something, we'll lose our jobs. But if we show Meta, then she would go get him and shove him in a Pokeball." James replied, crossing his arms. "we'll lose both ways somehow."
"Matori doesn't like waiting, guys." Meowth grumbled and answered the video call just as Jessie and James made it to the better part of the base, with Meta and Wobbuffet trailing behind.
"Hello. You were sluggish in answering. What is the problem with you? Anyway, I'm calling to ask why you're work has slowed to a stop. Once again." A short, bob-cut haired woman with the deepest indigo coloured hair said, seemingly mad already.
"Well, uhm... Uh..." James stuttered.
"We have been tracking down a really rare Pokemon that we only just discovered!" Meowth raced to find a quick explanation. Mimikyu hissed at the white lie. Tsurara was rare, one-of-a-kind, and they could easily say they were hunting.
"Is that it there?" Matori pointed to the strange, blueberry-like being with a mask on. "If so, it's not very impressive. What is it?"
Meta Knights eyes turned a crimson red with anger.
"If you must know, madame, They are not talking about me. I am a Star Warrior and the monster who sent me here is what we are looking for. It's name is Tsurara, I have heard, and it very nearly killed all of us."
A dark grey Meowth looked suspiciously at Meta Knight. The grey Meowth put it's face right up to the camera, so its face covered most of the screen.
"Meow meow... Meow meow meow." It purred.
"He's asking you how you defend yourself." The cream-coloured Meowth explained. Meta Knight drew his sword, and flashed his wings in response.
"Meow meow, meow?" the grey Meowth mewled and smiled, baring little fangs.
"No, you can't come and take him back to headquarters." Meowth replied, crossing his arms. "That's his decision."
"That is a shame. Bring us the monster and we'll be happy for now." Matori drawled. "And if you don't, you will hand over that so-called 'Star-Warrior'. If you fail to hand over either of these things, your jobs will be handed over. That means you would be fired."
"Well look here, four-eyes! Meta Knight has a will of his own, and I'm sure he'd rather go back to his own home than go to headquarters!" Jessie said angrily.
"Then get a move on. Giovanni and I will be waiting for news on this beast."
***
Tsurara sighed. She sat on a snowy mountain a few islands away. Erasing the most powerful warriors on Planet Popstar was hard. Couldn't they see she was doing a good thing? The less powerful people there are, the less chaos would occur from the power-hungry powerful people.
When Kirby destroyed Nightmare, it was proof he was to be eradicated, for if he went power-hungry, then all of the Gamble Galaxy would be in peril! When Meta Knight defeated Galacta Knight in a battle (before they knew each other), it was a sign he was to be decimated too. Galacta Knight was named the strongest warrior in the galaxy, so she was to get rid of as well.
Great Galactic Nova... It was hard to get rid of them. Tsurara sniffed, her mind racing to a conclusion. Of course there would be other strong villains in Dreamland! But which one should she choose?
"What monster from their world could kill them easily? What could be stronger than me, if that's possible?" She stuck her paw into a portal and brought out a sticky black glob. It had a bloodshot eye, and weird orange spheres jutting out the back of it.
"Creature of the Gamble Galaxy. Tell me who you are." Tsurara instructed, her ice cold claws digging into the blobs' sides.
"Who am I? I am Dark Matter. I serve Zero, and Zero alone." The blob of Dark Matter hissed in reply, the two creatures speaking in telepathy.
"Do you have the power to possess people?" Tsurara asked. "I have wondered what you are for some time now."
"Yes, I do. Why? I won't serve you." Dark Matter replied.
"Your job for me is to go out and find Kirby, Meta Knight or Galacta Knight and destroy them. That is an order." Tsurara growled. "You do not want to get on my bad side, Dark Matter."
"Kirby? He's here? I'll follow your orders. Lord Zero wants Kirby killed too. We can work together and both get what we want." The Dark Matter said, flying off.
"Look into certain people's minds of you can. They might know where Kirby or the Meta Knight is." Tsurara replied, baring her familiar canine teeth stained with the blood of an unsuspecting Pokemon who Tsurara had eaten.
***
"Where is Meta Knight?" Galacta Knight asked. Everyone was at the school building. They were ready for a normal class, but they wanted to know if Meta was safe. Professor Kukui wasn't there either.
"He wasn't at the Pokemon Centre, either." Sophocles said.
"Nor was he at any of our houses." Rotom added.
"That's because he'd probably be where Team Rocket lives." Kiawe explained. "He trusts them more than us."
"But why would he trust Team Rocket of all people?" Ash replied. "Like, Team Rocket of all people!"
"When Kirby and Galacta Knight fell down, it was Kiawe who found Kirby and my mother who found Galacta Knight." Lillie said. "I think Kirby trusts Kiawe the most and Galacta Knight probably trusts all of us. Meta Knight most likely landed near them."
"I think they live near the forest, or even in the forest." Mallow suggested. At that moment, the professor burst through the doorframe, panting. His arms were full of papers.
"Sorry... I'm... Late." Kukui panted. "I couldn't find Meta Knight anywhe-"
"We know we can't find him." The class interrupted.
"Oh... Maybe we can go find Team Rocket and ask them if they've seen Meta. Everyone, go to the forest." He dumped the papers on the desk and began to write. "I've got some work I need to catch up on. I've been so forgetful lately... Sorry."
"He seems stressed." Lana said.
"And disorganised." Mallow sighed.
In the forest, the children split up in two groups, each guarded by a Star Warrior.
Mallow, Lana and Lillie went with Galacta Knight, while Ash, Kiawe, Rotom and Sophocles went with Kirby.
***
Kirby bounced on ahead and sang a little song about ice cream and rainbows. Kiawe, Ash, Sophocles and Rotom trailed behind.
"He can be so happy sometimes. It's like he doesn't even know that Tsurara is trying to destroy him." Rotom murmured.
Togedemaru and Pikachu raced up to Kirby.
"Hi!" He smiled. "Pikachu, Tog'd'm'ahwu!"
"Pika Pika!" Pikachu patted Kirby on the head while Togedemaru rolled around like a bowling ball, squeaking in delight.
"I'm wondering if Team Rocket actually live in the forest." Sophocles said.
"I mean, when I first came to Alola, that Bewear was in the forest. And every time they show up, Bewear goes and grabs them. So maybe they live in its den?" Ash wondered.
The next few minutes they walked in silence.
"I wonder why Tsurara is out to get Kirby. Why them, of all living things, she chose a child." Kiawe questioned. Kirby stopped and jumped onto front of Kiawe.
"Scawy monstahs always come for me. They fink I'm too stwong, or just underestimate my stwengf." Kirby explained. "Meda Kni teaches me how to fightz though." Kirby put up his little fists. Pikachu grabbed Kirby's paw and dragged him through some trees.
"Hey! Pikachu! Where are you going?" Rotom and Ash yelled, running after Pikachu, his friends following.
*
Nearby, Meowth was walking around aimlessly. He didn't feel like looking for Tsurara, because it would probably kill him without hesitation. Tsurara didn't hide the fact she detested cats of all sorts, despite the fact she is part cat, with the retractable claws and stuff, but she also seems to have wolf DNA mashed in her like some sort of Frankenstein monster.
Meowth sat down and thought. Where would Tsurara go? It's an Ice type, and you don't get a lot of Ice types in Alola. And why was he even looking for something that can control him using telekinesis? It could easily throw him off the nearest cliff or bridge. It could crush him with a boulder or-
Rustling came from behind him. He hid behind a tree and bared his claws.
Three short faces appeared in the bushes.
"Pika Pika..."
"Where are ya going, Pikachaa? Poyoooo!"
"TogeDE!"
Pikachu, Kirby and Togedemaru leapt into the clearing. Ash, Kiawe and Sophocles followed.
"Oh, it looks like a clearing." Kiawe puffed, putting his hands on his knees. "And it's empty."
"I wonder why Pikachu ran here." Sophocles huffed, tired from chasing Pikachu.
Pikachu looked behind the trees and saw Meowth.
"It's not very empty, don't you think?" He hissed, casually picking at his claws. Pikachu yelped and ran back to Ash.
"Who said that?" Ash asked.
"Who do you think, ya twerps?!"
"Meowth?" Kiawe guessed. Meowth showed himself.
"Actually, we were looking for you." Sophocles said.
"Why?" Meowth frowned. "I don't really see a reason for you twerps to look for Team Rocket."
"Yeah, we've got a reason, Meowth. Have you seen Meta Knight?" Ash asked.
"Yeah, I have. He told us to split up so we can find that Ultra Beast thing. I don't know why, for all we know it could be on another Island."
"Well, do you know where Medi Kni is?" Kirby asked.
"Not right now. Why do you guys need to know?" Meowth crossed his arms.
"For one, we want to see how he is-" Rotom began, but the flying Pokedex was cut off by the cat.
"He's back to normal. Sarcastic, stubborn... Waves that sword around like a baton, Etc etc."
"And we need to come up with a plan to defeat Ts-" Rotom added, but was interrupted by the little cat.
"He told us to do that too."
"What?" Everyone said.
"Meta Knight told us to think of what it's weakness would be. And how to defeat it. I don't know anything about it, how can I think of a weakness?"
"He can act wike that sometimes, poyo." Kirby shrugged. "Let's go find-"
Suddenly, a scream came from deep inside the forest. The screaming continued. It sounded like the person being tortured or in pain.
"Who was that?" Ash asked.
Meowths eyes widened, and his ears tilted back to the direction of the noise. Suddenly he realised who it was; The scream was so familiar to him, because it was-
"JAMES!"
***
Lillie, Lana and Mallow skipped through the undergrowth, with Galacta Knight following.
"I think Meta Knight will be alright." Galacta said brightly.
"Last time you said something like that he ended up with a sword in his back." Lana smirked.
"Don't say that, Lana!" Mallow scolded. The blue haired girl stuck her tongue out in a joking way.
Tsareena, Brionne, Sandy the Eevee and Snowy the Vulpix were having their own conversations in their own Pokemon language. Galacta Knight jumped over a massive log.
"Where do you think Team Rocket is?" Lillie asked. Snowy barked in reply.
"Well, we just got in the forest, so it will take some time to find them." Mallow said. "Then, they could tell us where he is."
"Its kind of strange, how all this time, we've been avoiding Team Rocket and they keep showing up, and now we actually want to find them, and we can't find them." Lana muttered.
"Wow." Galacta Knight giggled.
After some time, they sat down and took a break. Mallow took out a malasada bag and shared a few amongst her friends and. She split a malasada in three for their Pokemon.
"Thanks, Mallow!" Her three companions grinned. The Pokemon chattered in thanks.
"No problem! I made them this morning, before Kirby woke up. He inhaled about five of them at once." Mallow replied. Everyone laughed, but Galacta Knight couldn't stop giggling.
"Its been five hundred years since I spent proper time with them and Kirby still does it. I mean, our species does mature at about one thousand years, and Kirby's about seven hundred hundred years."
"Can you explain how you your species age?" Lillie asked.
"Well, the average Puffball lives to thirty thousand years and matures about five thousand years. I'm approximately ten or so thousand years old and Meta is... Twelve thousand? Thirteen thousand? I don't know. Ten thousand years is about our age of thirty. So I'm about thirty and Meta is like, late thirties, maybe forty or so, but I act like I'm younger. Five hundred years isn't all that much when you think about it, but seriously... Five hundred years stuck in a crystal has got to be one of the most boring times of my entire life."
"Woah. That's so weird!" Lana exclaimed.
"Yeah, but in our world, dying at age 80, around when you guys pass of old age, is so sad. Its like, dying when you're less than a month old or something."
"That's terrible. Let's switch to a less sad topic." Lillie frowned. "Like... What Kirby does or something."
"What Kirby does is sleep. An average baby puffball sleeps about fourteen hours a day. He loved eating non-edible things, and he likes to steal and break masks. Meta's in particular." Galacta Knight went on, looking at nothing in particular as she was thinking about Kirby.
***
Meanwhile, Jessie was talking to Mimikyu. Wobbuffet, like always, was left in charge of the base instead of going with Jessie. They had Meta Knight on their team, so Wobbuffet was now not all that useful apart from breaking out of his Pokeball in comical timing.
"Why do we have to look for Tsurara? That thing is probably going to eat us for breakfast."
"Mimi. Kyu kyu." Mimikyu hissed, obviously not paying attention.
"Well, instead of looking for something super dangerous, let's think of a weakness."
"Mimikyu. Kss ks!"
"If it's an ice type, it would clearly have a weakness to fire, but what else?"
"Kyu."
"Shut up for a second. It would be weak to... Steel maybe? But we don't have any steel type Pokemon..."
"Who's talking over there?" a voice asked. Other voices replied. A rustling revealed Tsareena, Brionne and a white Vulpix. They all tensed when they saw Jessie sitting on the tree stump along with Mimikyu.
"Hang on, I know you three!" Jessie pointed to them, like they were still enemies. Well, they were, but for now they were allies. They nodded as Lillie, Mallow and Lana showed themselves. "You're the twerpettes! Just the twerpettes, actually."
"Actually, we were looking for you." Lillie piped up.
"What? You're probably looking for Meta Knight or something."
"Well, can you tell us where he is?" Mallow asked. "After all, we are in a truce."
"I don't know exactly, but if you would fly up, you might see him in the forest somewhere." Jessie yawned, not bothered at all.
"We need to see if he's okay! Can you at least help us find him?" Galacta Knight pleaded.
"Yeah, yeah, okay. I'm only doing it because we're on a truce, and you're looking for Meta Knight."
After she said that, a scream pierced the forest. It was the same scream Meowth encountered.
"What was that?" Lillie asked. Jessie gasped, suddenly remembering who screamed like that.
"Uh oh... I think that was James! He needs help!" Jessie yelped. "You have no reason to trust me though, but I swear on my life that wasn't planned at all."
An awkward silence was burst by another bout of the screaming brought everyone back to the present. Everyone winced at the shrieking, everyone wondered what James was going through.
"Where did it come from?" Lana asked.
"It came from over there!" Galacta pointed east. "I don't care that these guys are the villains. Whoever James is, he's in trouble! Come on, let's go!" she sped off.
Meowth and Jessie bumped into each other on the way there.
"Meowth! There you are! James needs our help, pronto!" Jessie shivered.
"I already knew that, Jessie."
"Which way is James?" Sophocles questioned.
"I don't know anymore. The screaming has stopped." Galacta Knight answered. As soon as she stopped talking, the scream had resumed, but now had turned into a weep or cry of some sort.
"This way!" Mallow pointed and ran. Everyone followed.
They found James. As soon as they saw him, he managed a weak smile. He had his hands propping him up against a tree, his knees buckled and he fell. Jessie dashed to him to try and catch him from falling, but she was too late. She watched in horror as her friend resisted the urge to scream out in pain. Jessie fell to his side as Meowth rushed to the two friends, as James tried not to scream again. His hands pressed against his forehead as if he had a bad heachache.
"J-jessie... Meowth... You've come... to save me?" Suddenly he flinched, his eyes rolled back he collapsed in the grass and his Mareanie squeaked. She curled up next to him in a protective way. His eyes scrunched up, as if something caused him pain. He was hugging his knees and tears were slowly formed in his eyes. Jessie and Meowth rushed to him. Galacta Knight signalled to everyone else to stay back.
"James, are you alright, friend?" Meowth asked consolingly, putting a paw on his friend's shoulder. "James, can you hear me?? JAMES???"
"Make it stop. Someone... Help me!" he wept. His face was pale. Meowth gulped in fear, internally hating himself for not being able to do anything about his friend's fate. "Its p-painful. Something came at me and... And I don't feel very good... Meowth, Jessie... someone help..." James fell limp, now unconscious.
Suddenly, Galacta Knight gasped, she realised what happened to the poor guy.
"Get away from him!" she shrieked. Jessie blinked but obliged. She picked up Mareanie, but Meowth sat there, confused and worried. What even happened to James?!
"What happened to him? There isn't anything around that would do that to him!" Rotom buzzed, looking around.
"He looks to be tainted with Dark Matter. He's being possessed by negative energy, negative matter." Galacta Knight snarled, summoning her lance and shield.
"Whats a Dark Matter?" Ash asked.
"Bad stuff." Kirby answered. "It can take contwol of peeple. Tsuwawa brought Da'k Matter to Awola!"
"Well, how do we get rid of it?" Jessie asked. Though it may seem that she was calm and collected, inside she was getting eaten up with worry. Her best friend wasn't responsive, something attacked him, and is deathly pale and needs urgent help.
"Usually we use the Love-Love Stick, or the Star Rod to purge it from the victim, but we are in Alola, not Dreamland." A voice from the trees thundered, two glowing eyes piercing the leaves. Suddenly, Meta Knight jumped down and landed next to the unconscious human. "So that complicated things."
"What?!" Everyone gasped.
"So you're saying that there's no way to get it out?" Sophocles said worriedly.
"Is he going to die?"
"Is he possessed?"
"What will happen?"
Everyone murmured among themselves. Despite having been worst enemies for many adventures across the world, Ash couldn't help but glance at James and feel pity rising from inside of him. He was suffering. No human or pokemon should ever have to suffer like he was now, no matter how evil or terrible they were as members of society.
"How are we going to get this 'Dark Matter' douche out if him?" Jessie asked. "If we can't... And I'm sure that won't happen, will he... Die?"
"He wont die if we get it out of him soon. If we are too late... he might be consumed by the Dark Matter." Meta Knight explained. "Right now, he is still alive, but his strength is dwindling. Dark Matter can look into your mind and find your worst memories as a negative fuel. he is fighting for control over his own body, but since he's fighting against it, he is feeling intolerable pain. Suffering through pain and worst memories how the Dark Matter takes away your strength. If we let him get possessed for too long, that means... He would not necessarily die, but he wouldn't have a soul any more. His mind would be pushed to the brink of insanity, losing his soul as his own conscious gets locked away in his mind. And if he was possessed and tortured even further, he would definitely die because of the Dark Matter shutting down his mind and brain. The emotional and mental strain on him, even now, would most likely have terrible effects."
Nobody said anything as they all stared at James. He was deathly pale now, eyes closed in peace. His breathing was shallow, and in short gasps, and his hands were clenched.
"CONSUMED?!" The rest of Team Rocket gasped. At this point Meowth was starting to really show worry. He was practically whimpering, his ears flattening against his head. James was his best friend and he couldn't imagine a world without him. To see him suffering in this way, it was practically torture for Meowth himself. The cat placed a paw gently on James' shoulder. James flinched and Meowth pulled his hand away. He couldn't believe it. James could barely recognize his paw. He looked at Meta Knight, who had a stern, concerned glare of deepest green.
"That means we must find a way before he becomes a being of Dark Matter."
"What do we do?" Mallow asked. Meta nor Galacta answered. After a few minutes of a shocked silence, James gasped.
"James?" Jessie and Meowth murmured. James opened his eyes, but the familiarity was gone. No smile, no emotion. Eyes bloodshot and red, he stared blankly up at his friends. Team Rocket's cat gasped softly.
James really didn't recognise a friend. A pain in the other two in the trio struck hard in their hearts, a worry bubbling like magma spewing from a volcano. James sat up and stared at everyone for a long time. His eyes were blank, no happiness or familiarity in them like there used to be.
"Are you alright?" Kiawe asked, sticking out his hand in a friendly way, even though he was the enemy. James got up without speaking.
"Hey, old friend. The kid asked you a question," Meowth said.
"In which I didn't answer!" James gave a swift punt to the poor cat with his boot, who was sent tumbling down into the dirt. Jessie stepped away and picked up the cat, who was shaking in fear. It was clear that he wasn't himself anymore. He turned to face everyone.
"I am not that stupid 'James' anymore. I am Dark Matter, and I was sent to kill Kirby, Galacta Knight and Meta Knight." The Dark Matter growled in James' voice, blankly staring off into the distance. "But my host is in need of a change to help it, you think so? Maybe I could erase his memory permanently."
"NO!" Meowth and Jessie cried.
"No, I don't think so!" Lana replied coolly. "Brionne, use bubble beam!"
"Bri-onne!" Brionne yipped and sent a strong beam of bubbles at the possessed James. He threw his arms up to protect himself.
"Pikachu! Use iron tail!" Ash instructed. Pikachu jumped onto a tree trunk, pushing off it up to James, about to use the move-
He grabbed Pikachu's tail before it could hit his face. He threw Pikachu into a tree, stunning him temporarily. Kirby ran to Pikachu to check on him. Pikachu got back up, albeit slowly.
Everyone started attacking James, trying to force the Dark Matter out of him, but nothing was working. He was tanking all sorts of hits, like Magical Leafs from Tsareena and Zing Zaps from Togedemaru. Mareanie nor Meowth had the will to attack him.
"Please... Old friend!" Meowth choked, trying to talk to James. He edged closer, putting his paws out in an effort to calm him down. "You remember me? Remember how we used to always chase down the Pikachu? Don't you remember the adventures we had in our hot-air balloon? Please, remember me, your friend, Meowth-!"
James froze. He looked at Meowth for a solid second, eyes suddenly betraying how he felt inside.
Scared.
James picked up Meowth and held him up face-to-face.
"Please, come back to us, James!" Meowth howled. "You're our friend and we don't want you going insane or dying on us! You hear me?"
But James's stare was like old daggers. He gripped Meowth's paw so hard his fingernails dug into him. Something needed to be reminded. A strong memory that would be certain in his mind. A recent memory.
"Don't you remember when I nearly died from Mimikyu?" Meowth asked smugly. James's eyes shot open in a silent gasp. "You thought I died. Don't fail me like you nearly did back then. Don't you think that'd all be for nothing if you kill me? Wake up, now. Resist the Dark Matter! "
James smiled, a genuine heartfelt smile. Meowth grinned, feeling as if he had helped James stop the Dark Matter-
James drop-kicked him into a tree. Hard.
Meowth slumped to the ground, face bruised and battered where James's boot collided with his face. Jessie yelped in shock, watching the battle between all the Pokemon and James. It wasn't like James to do that whatsoever. He was sweet and strong-willed, completely unlike this monster before them.
But then she remembered that he wasn't himself. It was Dark Matter, not James.
"Meowth!" Meta Knight cried out, jumping in between the two, his bright sword keeping James at bay. "Meowth, don't remind him of memories like those! The Dark Matter, it feeds off of that energy! You've probably just made it stronger..."
"B-but he was okay for a moment!" Meowth replied.
"A facade. That's what the Dark Matter usually does." Meta Knight explained. "You see, the Dark Matter would now be stronger, pushing James's mind closer to giving up his own life to stop the suffering. He's probably remembering how worried he was for your life. Reliving the part over and over again, Making him suffer more and more. Whatever you do, try to make him think of better memories."
Meowth faltered, looking at his friend, shuddering. Did he make it worse? Was his friend going insane inside? James's eyes were angry, filled with hatred. Dark Matter's hatred. Mareanie jumped at James, but instead of attacking him, she latched onto his leg.
"Mareanie..." she squeaked. "Mareanie-nie! Mareanie-nie!"
James was about to shake Mareanie off, when something stopped him.
"Why can't I kick you?" The Dark Matter growled. He tried again and again, but something stopped him every time.
"He won't hit his own Pokemon!" Mallow said. "Somethings holding him back."
"What about me?! I'm his best friend!! Anyway... Mareanie told him to fight the Dark Matter, that he isn't himself." Meowth replied, crossing his arms. As James tried to shake off the Pokemon, his hand unclenched and his fingers spread out to balance himself.
Meowth felt hurt that while James could resist hurting Mareanie, he didn't resist kicking his best friend into a tree. Why couldn't he get to him? Was he seriously a worse friend than Mareanie? Who knows... James wouldn't openly admit to that.
But then again, it was Dark Matter. Dark Matter was controlling him, and the most recent memories in his mind were of Mareanie most likely...
"Wait! What's that on his gloves?" Lillie pointed to something on the palm of his glove. It was a red, bloodshot eye. The eye, with sharp spindly teeth for eyelashes, had ripped a hole in his glove, and it glanced at Lillie, who squealed in fear.
"The Dark Matter usually puts an eye on its victims. You need to aim for that." Meta Knight explained, aiming his sword at James.
"Togedemaru, use Zing Zap! Aim for his hands!" Sophocles shouted. Togedemaru was shocked by Pikachu, and then he the electricity at James. Since James was focusing on Meta Knight's sacred blade, he had no time to react; the blast send him flying into a tree. He was stunned, so Meta Knight took his hand, and stabbed it. The golden blade pierced right through the eye and came out the other side. Everyone winced at that sight. The weak spot had been destroyed.
The eye shrieked, black blood going everywhere. It slowly disappeared. His eyes changed back to green, and a black liquid seeped from his glove. The blob rose up and a single red eye formed in the blob.
"Curse you, mop-head!" Dark Matter shrieked. James looked up at the Dark Matter.
"For a couple of minutes, you were me, so I wouldn't curse me if I were you." He whispered before his mind couldn't take it anymore, and blacked out. Mareanie jumped in front of her owner's body in a protective sort of way.
"Maybe I should possess one if these animal things." Dark Matter chuckled in a creepy way. It leered at Tsareena, who instinctively put her hands up, then at Pikachu who squeaked in fear. Suddenly, it flew in the opposite direction,
At Kirby.
He yelped. It flew into him without warning. Kirby fell sideways and started crying out. This time Kiawe, Ash and Meta Knight rushed to his side, even with Galacta Knight's warning.
"Kirby. Fight the Dark Matter!" Meta Knight urged. "Think of the Star Rod, think of Dreamland!"
But the negative energy was too strong. Kirby was taken by surprise. After a few minutes if everyone panicking, Kirby stood up.
"Much bettew den that mop-head James." Dark Matter smiled, then frowned, putting Kirby's stubby paw over his mouth. "Is that weally my voice?"
Kirby's eyes went red. He inhaled Galacta Knight, and swallowed. Galacta Knight Kirby grew tiny little feathered wings. Her lance and shield formed in his hands. He looked exactly like Galacta Knight.
"Whats going on?!" Kiawe yelled, backing away. "What happened to Galacta Knight?!"
"She's gone for now. Remember when I inhaled Pikachu?" Kirby snickered in Dark Matter's voice, leering at Ash. "He appeawed onwy because I wanted him to. I don't want Gala Kni to intefewe."
"Give Kirby back!" Mallow yelled. Meta Knight drew his sword.. "Give Galacta Knight back too!"
"Which one do you want back? Kaabii or Gala Kni?" Kirby screeched, laughing hysterically. It was quite unsettling to look at. He lunged at Meta Knight, trying to bite him with small fangs which appeared when he was possessed, and trying to stab him with the lance. While they fought, The Pokemon fought Kirby too, while Team Rocket watched over James, who was still out cold.
"Use Aqua Jet!"
"Pikachu! Thunder Bolt!"
"Zing Zap!"
"Tsareena, Trop Kick!"
"Powder Snow!"
"Marowak! Use bonemerang!" Kiawe cried, throwing his pokeball.
Kirby deflected lots of the attacks. He opened his mouth to reveal a red eye. Marowak's bonemerang hit him in the mouth, forcing the Dark Matter out of him. Kirby passed out as the black goo seeped out of his mouth, forming the terrible black foam of Dark Matter.
The Dark Matter flew up above everyone's heads, glaring at everyone. It then jumped into the weakened Pikachu. Everyone yelled out in shock
"PIKACHU!!" Ash cried, picking up the poor Pokemon, who had been knocked out by the Dark Matter. "Stay in there, buddy!"
Everyone held their breath as Pikachu became possessed. It looked blearily at Ash, who smiled, then suddenly bit down on Ash's hand. He cried out in pain as the electric mouse dropped to the floor, a bloodshot eye opening on Pikachu's tail.
"Aim for the tail!!" Lana yelled. "Brionne, use Aqua jet!"
"Tsareena! Magical Leaf!" Mallow called. Pikachu avoided both the attacks, flinging electroball after electroball at the children. Mallow was too slow and got the full force of an Electroball at full power. She was slammed into a tree and collapsed to the ground, whimpering.
Pikachu stood before her, the tail eye leering at the girl. She screamed and tried to back away but the tree blocked her way. Pikachu threw an electroweb at Mallow, who became trapped under an electrical web prison. Mallow squeaked in pain, her eyes scrunched closed.
Pikachu threw an Electroball at Team Rocket, who dove out of the way, but instead it hit the unconscious James in an explosion of smoke, who flipped over and stayed still.
"MALLOW!" Everyone screamed.
"JAMES!" Team Rocket screeched. A pain tore through their hearts as they saw the downed friend attacked once more by Pikachu. Meowth dove at Pikachu, claws outstretched. Like a feral cat, Meowth used Fury Swipes, the pained fury in his tearful eyes. He had had enough. He gave a powerful kick to Pikachu, who was sent into the air. Meowth looked at Ash, expecting him to be angry at him, but Ash wasn't. He was filled with worry, just like Meowth had been.
Tsareena jumped in front of her trainer and delivered a strong kick to Pikachu. Marowak threw its bone and it hit the yellow mouse directly. Pikachu was sent flying into a tree, collapsing just like Mallow did. The Dark Matter, now weakened, seemed out of Pikachu, and flew away.
"I should have known Kirby and Pikachu were going to resist." Dark Matter echoed through the air. "I'll come back, just you wait! I may even surprise you..."
Ash and the rest of the Pokemon School children ran to Mallow, the electroweb dissipating. Lana pulled Mallow to her feet.
"Are you okay??" She asked. The green haired girl nodded. She was a little battered, but mostly okay. Ash picked up Pikachu, who was out cold.
Suddenly, Galacta Knight suddenly appeared out of thin air. She was disorientated for a few moments, then studied her surroundings. She found Kirby, who was in Kiawe's arms.
"What happened?" She asked. She saw Kirby, and screamed.
"KIRBY! What happened? What attacked us?" She wailed. The poor thing was unconscious.
"Why did we even go in the forest again?" Lillie asked, still frightened. She held Snowy closer to her chest.
"We were looking for Meta Knight." Lana explained. "We found him, but James, Pikachu and Kirby were attacked by Dark Matter."
"If you children had not gone to he forest, James might have been killed." Meta Knight replied, sheathing his sword. "We are thankful for your help."
"Yeah!" Meowth and Jessie said.
"They're not wrong." The cat added in a whisper.
"Who would think that we would thank the twerps?" Jessie whispered back. "How long is James gonna be asleep or something for?" She added louder.
"Getting possessed is energy consuming. He'll be knocked unconscious for a few hours at most." Galacta Knight said, nodding at James before nodding at Pikachu. "He'd probably be asleep for quite some time too. Kirby can wake up within a few minutes, as he has a resistance to it. It also depends on how pained your past is."
"Pikachu's had a great life with me, so I doubt he'd be out for more than an hour!" Ash boasted before sobering. "So... What will we tell Professor Kukui?"
"We should tell him the truth." Meta Knight replied. "Tell him that Dark Matter has been released by Tsurara and we need to vanquish it along with the beast. We do not have the required tools to instantly kill it, so this may be a problem."
"Which way to the school?" Mallow asked.
"Uhh..." Everyone replied. They looked around. They were quite lost, in another weird little clearing.
**
They soon found their way back, after an hour or so. Pikachu woke up in Ash's arms, feeling horrified at what happened. Team Rocket decided to go back to their base to patch up their injured friend, and Meta went with Galacta and Kirby.
"Professor! We're back!" Lillie called up to the classroom, but no one answered. "Professor? Are you there?" After the Dark Matter incident, everyone was still on edge.
"He might just be doing work, and can't hear us." Ash said, lightening the mood a bit. The Professor was just doing work... Yeah... Just work. He's fine, right?
"I'll fly up and check." Galacta Knight decided, giving Kirby to Ash and flapping her wings, with Meta following.
They landed on the balustrade and found Professor Kukui, her internal fears instantly confirmed in a shattering of her heart. She gasped so loudly that everyone else could hear something was up.
Something had gotten to him.
He was slumped against the whiteboard with a blank expression. His breathing was in jagged gasps as a pen fell from his hand and rolled away.
"KUKUI!" Galacta Knight rushed to his side.
Oh no...
The Dark Matter had taken over Professor Kukui.
________________________________________________________________________
THE PLOT THICKENS!!!
Stay tuned for Chapter 13!
What will happen to the Pokemon Professor?
Find out in the next chapter!