PROLOGUE: In Cerulean City...... At the Cerulean Hotel......

He looked up at the sign. Cerulean Hotel. Yes, this was the place. He walked inside.

He was wearing a black, flowing cape, with a dark sweet shirt under it. His cape had a hood on it, pulled up over his head. He walked up to the secretary sitting at the desk. She smiled at him with a warm grin, "My I help you?" She said, with usual bouncy deposition. How fitting..... he thought to himself.
"Why yes, in fact, you can" He said, forcing a smile. "I'm looking for a......friend of mine, whose supposed to be staying here. His names Mark. Mark Dillion." The secretary tapped her keyboard a few times. "No. I'm afraid there's no-one here by that name. Might I ask you why you are looking for him?" He grinned grimly under his hood. "We're both here to attend a funeral." He said.
"Oh. I'm sorry. Your pain must be very great." She said in reply. "Oh no. He'll be in much more pain then I am." He quickly caught himself. "At the funeral, I mean."
The secretary smiled at him once again. "Will you be wanting a room?" She said sweetly. "Why yes. Yes I would." he replied. She took out a pad and a pen. "What name is it going to be under?" She asked.
The man pulled his hood away from his eyes, reveling pure white eyeballs, and a long, thin nose. "Put it under Edgar. Edgar Winters. And could please notify me when my friend arrives."

LFL, Book 2: Chapter 7.

"Roar!!!!!" The massive rock snake darted forward, nearly missing the Man-Scyther. The beast fluttered forward, and caught Onix in the eye. It reared back in pain, trying to blink away the pain. The world was becoming a blur to it. A greenish shape flew past, slashing at Onix. It didn't hurt, but even the smallest annoyance will grow painful over time.
"Gravel!!" The huge rock pokémon did a rolling Tackle into the Man-Scyther, knocking it to the ground. Just as Graveler was preparing to do a Rock Throw into the monster, it darted up, and smashed into Graveler. The two Titans were just engaging in a game death, when three very familiar moles popped up, creating a gaping hole that. Then the earth swallowed the beast whole.
The Man-Scyther was struggling for a ground on which to pull itself up. Then Jerium came.
The Man-Scyther looked up at him with sharp insect eyes. "So-o-o-o-o-o, Y-u-u-u- Come-e-e to f-f-finish the j-o-o-b??" It said in it's shaky voice. "No, fiend." Jerium replied. "It is now time for us to once again to become one." And then he unsheathed his sword.
Meanwhile...... Chris' body was exploding..........

Marian screamed at Chris. "Take my hand!!!! I think I might be able to help you!!" Chris struggled for air. "No. It's too late...... I can see the abyss looming up..........." Then the green flame that had engulfed him sputtered and went out. He fell forward, his eyes rolled back in his head. He laid down next to his fallen friend, Primeape. They would be together forever, in the eternity.
Marian slammed her fist down the ground. Tears formed in her eyes. "No." She said calmly. "It will not be like this. It is not your time. Either of you." She put her two glowing blue hands down on Chris and Primeape. Energy flowed through them, to her fallen comrades. She gasped. "Live!" She cried, and then collapsed.
Meanwhile, Joe and Robert were fighting a losing battle against the Scythers......
"Nidorina, Poison Sting! Tanguela, Wrap! Beedrill, Pin Needles!" Robert commanded his pokémon. They followed their commands to a 'T', taking a couple Scythers out. Unfortunately, there were many more were they came from. It was almost as if for each one they took out, three more would appear.
"Mankey, Thrash! Slowpoke, Confusion." Joe was a very skilled trainer, but he would never realize, or admit, it. Slowpoke stood next to him one a ledge, using Physic powers to KO the Scythers. To put him into battle would be suicide. Mankey, on the other hand, flew through the air, smashing into Scyther after Scyther, bringing them to the ground. They could never defeat them all, but they could at least take some down with them.
Nidorina slammed against a Scyther, bringing it down. The thing still had a little fight left in it, and Nidorina attempted to trample it. The bug dove out of the way and quickly flew up. It was soon out of Nidorina distance. She climbed up onto a rock and leapt up, and grabbed the Scyther in her teeth. The thing smashed against a rock, cracking it's hard carapace open. Green fluid gashed forward, staining the ground. Another one was gone.
Suddenly Jerium's pokémon came crashing through the arena. Pinser had a Scyther grabbed in it's mandibles, and one under each arm. Jerium's Scyther was engaged in a vicious sword fight with several bugs. Each time he would knock one away, more would come up, ready to continue the fight. It was a losing battle.
Robert looked over at Charm, Chris' mom's Charmeleon. The lazy thing was lounging in the shade of a tree. Robert looked flustered. "A little HELP here??!!" He yelled at the pokémon. "Char!" She yelped, and stood up, a little bit of flame flailing out of her mouth. She looked at the many Scythers around the clearing. Yet again, it was time for battle. She sighed and trudged onward.
Meanwhile.......again.........

It was a magnificent weapon. It's green handle glowed with a soft light. It's four-and-a-half foot blade shined, clean, with not a scratch on it. It was beautiful. The Man-Scyther seamed terrified of it.
Jerium looked down, smugly, at the monster. "You know what this is, don't you?" The Man-Scyther tried to turn away from it, but in it's position in the ground, it couldn't. "It's the blade know as The Kings Knife." Jerium answered his own question. "It's what will make us whole again."
"NO-O-O-O-O-O-O!!!" The creature shrieked. "I will-l-l-l not be j-join-n-n-e-e-d-d with y-y-y-u-u......" The flame of hatred burned in it's eyes, an ember in a forest of white, ready to burst forth at any time and engulf itself. "And y-u-u know what I'm-m-m doing-g, cor-r-e-ec-ct?" It asked Jerium.
Jerium took a fighting stance. "Your using The Frenzy. An ancient technique, that we have mastered. That one move can raise your strength, agility, and stamina. But there is a catch. You lose control of yourself, lose all of you will. You must be desperate." The Man-Scyther didn't say a word; it just lifted itself out of the pit-trap and hovered above Jerium. Saliva dripped off of it's beak. It was huge now, almost twice the size it had been.
It growled at Jerium, it's voice now steady. "Now. You. Die."
It dove at Jerium, it's blades ready for the kill. Jerium rolled away, ducked under it, and brought the sword down on it. Or, it would have hit, if the Man-Scyther had still been there. It was not though, it was right behind him. It slammed one of it's fists into Jerium's back, knocking him to the ground.
"Now. You. See. How. The. Frenzy. Makes. Me. Powerful." It rumbled. It kicked Jerium in the face, knocking loose a couple of teeth. Jerium spat out a bloody cough. "Evil beast. If you destroy me, you will destroy yourself. You will know, as I know now, that we cannot live separately. We will both be destroyed before long."
"I. Care. Not. For. Your. Pathetic. Words. Puny. Human. I. Am. More. Powerful. Than. You. Can. Ever. Hope. To. Be." It backhanded Jerium in the jaw, sending him flying. "Your. Time. Is. Now." It roared, and brought it's claw down one Jerium's neck, like an ancient guillotine.......
Meanwhile........once more...........
Marian's body was rebelling against her. She had been trained to contain the amount of power that Chris' body had produced, but this was more than two time that amount of power!! "I.....must.....keep it......under.....control!!!" She gasped. All this power was going bringing Chris and Primeape back to life.
She screamed, a sound that made all combatants stop and look. The Man-Scyther stopped in mid-swing. Jerium rolled away to safety, and stopped to rest. His Scyther burst out from the living pile of evil bugs that had consumed it. Mankey smashed a Scyther, and punched another one in the chops, just for good measure. Mark stopped in mid-command to Graveler, and looked at the spectacle.
The dead would dance, our they would be joined by their comrades....
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PROLOGUE: In a cave, far away from the Cerulean Forest, two old, blind men sit, seeing nothing, yet seeing all........
Finally, one of them breaks the silence.......
"There, are you satisfied? Three of them are dead. More are about to follow. If you had listened to me, and directed them towards Gyran, we would not have this problem. Jerium the Second is unpredictable! Unreliable! His father was a much better trainer. His son will never be able to take his place."
"Don't count them out yet. Stranger things have happened. The Dark One, for example. If they die here, the prophesy is wrong. It says that 'A King with No Crown, Nor Kingdom, will Lead The Chosen One to Victory.'" He paused for a second. "New lines are being written all the time. Old ones are erased. If he dies here, obviously, he is not the Chosen One. The Chosen One is destined to battle the Dark One on behalf of the Thirty Great Ones. Or there decedents. He will live. They all will."
He paused once again. "If they don't, then were all buggered."
LFL, Book 2: Chapter 8.

"DIE!!!" The monstrosity roared and slammed against Jerium. He was now bleeding from many parts, and was in very rough shape. The Man-Scyther pounced on Jerium, knocking him against the ground with a dull 'thud' "Oof!" Jerium cried out, as his head hit an imbedded rock. His sword was knocked away from him, out and under a tree.
"Where. Is. Your. Precious. King's. Knife. Now. Ha. Ha." The Man-Scyther laughed, sending spittle all over Jerium's face. He grasped around trying to grab something. Finally, his hand connected with what he was looking for. He quickly pulled his arms up, a huge rock in each hand. "I don't need the Knife to do this job!" Jerium smirked. He slammed the rocks into the beast's dart-shaped head.
It raised it's arms to it's face, and screeched in pain. "How. Dare. You. Do. That. To. A. More. Advanced. Race. Insolent. Fool!" It growled, and tried to sock Jerium in the face, but Jerium was already to his feet. One of his eyes was purple, and swollen closed, and his shirt was ripped in several locations. He stood defiantly against the fiend and said:
"A more.....advanced race? Scythers? Or do you mean freaks of nature like yourself? I can't believe that you could think such a thing. I created you. I will destroy you, by bonding you back into me. This madness has to end." With each breath, he seamed to grow stronger. With each word, the Man-Scyther grew angrier. The Frenzy that it had started, consumed it. It had no control over it's body. It was a living, breathing, fighting mass of pure anger. It was unstoppable.
It looked Jerium. It tackled him. It pinned him. I brought it's beak-like face don level with his. It's eyes were blood red. It's razor sharp teeth gleamed. It said one thing. "Time. To. Die."
It brought it's claw up, ready for a deadly, final strike. "Son." It hissed. Jerium screamed. "NOOOOOOOOO!!!!! You cannot be my father! You are only the physical embodiment of my hatred! My dark side! My father is dead! I saw him die! The Scythers killed him! I can show you the exact place where he died!"
Jerium looked around with the little movement that the Man-Scyther allowed him. "In fact..... it's right......here......." Jerium suddenly felt very small. "I was very young. I was trying to run away from him. He was evil. He hit me. He killed mom. He brought the Scythers on me. So, I turned them on him. He died. I lived. And that's how it was....."
The red flowed away from the Man-Scyther's eyes. It stood up, all the Scyther-ness flowing away from him. His blade-arms shrunk, and disappeared. The other arms lengthened to normal length. Jerium looked up at the person standing before him. He was six-foot tall, with wide shoulders, and short black hair. He had dark, cold eyes.
"Stand up." He said in a normal voice. A very familiar voice. Jerium coincided, and stood up. "You now accept what you did. You killed me. I am a part of you. I am separate from you. I took on the shape of the Man-Scyther to make you fight me. I did what I had to do, to make you do what you had to do. And it all turned out right in the end."
The ghost of Jerium the First came up and put his hands on Jerium the Second's shoulders. "Now, my son, you will see what it is REALLY like to be Jerium." The ghost melted and oozed into Jerium's body, filling him up. "No!" Jerium screamed. "I will not be the vessel with which you return." He struggled over to where the King's Knife lay. "And now, dear father, I will sever the line that connects the two of us!" Then he stabbed the sword into his chest.
Meanwhile.......

Robert put up his fists. Nidorina had just gone down. That was his last pokémon. Now he would have to fight by himself. Joe was in the same position. "Well, bro, looks like this 'hello' is really going to be a 'good-bye'!" Robert said, as the Scythers were closing in. The fainted pokémon lay in heaps around the area.
The first Scyther lurched forward. Joe punched forward as hard as he could. He closed his eyes tight. When he discovered that he wasn't dead, he opened his eyes. "Wow. I guess I hit harder than I thought!" He looked over to Robert. "And the thing was, I didn't even feel it connect!" Joe was obviously very excited about this. "Hate to burst your bubble, kid, but it didn't connect. All the Scythers are dead." Joe looked around. "Well, I guess your right. Were not dead. That's a good thing, right?"
Robert kicked a Scyther. "Yep. Their all dead. Either we did something very good, and someone up there likes us, or something very strange is going on." He sighed. "And knowing my track record, I going to guess that latter."
Meanwhile........

Marian struggled for a grasp on the string of life. It was blue. There were also a wisp of green mixed in, with a hint of a faint red. [i] The lives of Chris and Primeape.......[/i] She thought to herself. [i] As well as my own![i/]
This was the Realm of the Dead. Almost. A place the Channelers called "The Span between the Worlds" The name fit it as good as any. It was where those of great power come to be sorted. To have their destinations chosen. It was empty, a place of nothing.
They had to get out.

In this world, they had no forms. They were just a blob of energy, one of many here. It was time to leave. Here, they had no voices. It was a place of eternal silence. It was time to escape.
NOW

The Span began to shift. Colors mixed together. Things........dissolved. And then they were back. More or less.
They looked down, still as one form, a hulking thing, with huge arms, blue eyes, and blond hair. Good thing no-one could see them. On the ground where their bodies. [i] Time to get out, each to his or her own body....[/i] One of them said, although they could not be sure which one.
Three beings left their bodies, three beings returned. All to their rightful place and direction. They were separate, they were whole. They were here. They were there. They had known what it was to be together as one, as apart as much as possible. Three separate beings returned, and the world was restored to it's natural state. For, it is not the way of Ghosts to be separate from their bodies for long. It is not the way of the world to let itself be destroyed by those who should, and will, be among the deceased. Three beings, a boy, a girl, and a pokémon, returned to their rightful place, although they may never know how they were returned, nor to they care, they are back.
And in the end it is all that matters.
Meanwhile............

Mark sat on a hill. He stared out at the wreckage that had become the battle field. Chris, Marian, and Chris' Primeape had apparently come back, as they were now walking around looking fairly dazed. Joe and Robert had found each other in the midst of battle, and came through unscathed. The man known as Jerium was now fighting a battle against himself.
Now was the time to act.

He threw his cape behind him. The cape. A reminiscent of Pewter Gym. He looked at it. It was made of the finest silk in the area. It was the costume of a child, who had pretended to be a gym leader. A child who had died in the flaming cinder of that same gym. Now was time to bury that child.
He thrust off the cape, now in tatters. It fell to the ground.
Now was the time to act.

He walked over to Jerium. The man was bleeding, from a self-inflected sword wound. Mark had never seen a happier man. "Well, Mark. Believe it or not, I've been watching you for quite some time now. Your destined for great things." Jerium looked at himself, the King's Knife laying on the ground, still clean and shiny. "I've been in worse situations. I'll live."
Mark looked skeptical. "What was thing you were fighting? I saw the Man-Scyther melt away, but I could see no more. Then you stabbed yourself. What the heck is going on here??!"
Jerium smiled. "I was fighting the spirit of my father, who died many years ago. He took the shape of the Man-Scyther to make me fight him, so he could beat me. He never expected me to draw the Knife on him. He used an ancient attack called The Frenzy as a last ditch attempt to destroy me. After he reveled his identity to me, his form melted away, so that only I could see him. He then tried to take over my body, and use it to bring himself back. I killed him, again, using the Knife. He has finally gone on to the Great Beyond."
He seamed tired, "But the Man-Scyther still exists. I was wrong about it's identity, this time. But there is another one. It is the embodiment of my hatred. It still exists. I though this one was it, but no. We will have to fight it."
Mark raised an eyebrow. "'We'? What do you mean by that?" Jerium looked smug, "I'm coming with you. So are they." He said pointing to Chris, Robert, Marian, and Primeape, now huddled around the unconscious Kevin. Joe was there too. Jerium looked up at Mark. "He'll have to be taken to a hospital. Soon. We all could probably use a check up. The pokémon will need to be healed at a center. You know where the closest one is."
"Yeah. Cerulean. Where we were going in the first place." Mark stood up. "Well, lets move out."


EPILOGUE: Later that night, at the Cerulean Hotel....

They had dropped Kevin off at the hospital. They were all ready for a rest, and a good nights sleep. Chris and Marian still looked a little spooked, after their ordeal of being dead. It was impossible to tell with Primeape. Jerium had gotten a little check up, and a few stitches for his wounds.
They checked in with the secretary, and got two rooms. It was all they could afford. Except for Primeape, Graveler, and Charm, the other pokémon where at the Center. They grabbed their respective keys, lugged what little luggage they had up to their rooms, and bid each other good night.
After they left, the secretary picked up a small intercom. "Mr. Winters? Edgar Winters? Mark Dillian is here. Do you want me to call him up for you?" They voice on the other end sounded deep and metallic. "No, my dear. I will see him in the morning."
"Is that when the funeral is?" The secretary asked. There was only a click on the other side.
Up in Edgar's room, he grinned to himself. "With any luck, it will be." Then he laughed, a sound that would chill any one to the very bone........

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PROLOGUE: "Schweeep!"

Jerium held the King's Knife in both hands. He twirled around and struck his opponent. He flipped over it, and landed on the other side. The adrenaline was really flowing today! The Knife glowed a bright blue. It was channeling it's owner energy. That was it's true power.
He struck again and again, a blinding motion. POOF!! His opponent, a sawdust-filled punching bag, burst open. Jerium breathed deeply. "Ahhh! That felt good! It has been such a long time since I practiced!" Mark sat on a bench in the makeshift battle ground they had put up in the middle of Cerulean Park. "Did I miss something, or did that serve no purpose what so ever?"
"No purpose??!" Jerium looked like he was fuming, "No purpose!!? That served every purpose! If one doesn't stay in condition, one will be slow and weak by the time combat comes."
Mark and Jerium had become friends since they had arrived in Cerulean City just the day before. But Jerium had....moments like this. It kind of got on Mark's nerves. Good thing the others were gone.
Jerium thrust the sword into Mark's hand. "Here, if you think you are so good!" He set up another bag. "Take this and slice that down."
The sword felt large and cumbersome in Mark's hand. He doubted if he could even swing it. Jerium was a huge man, and his sword was built similarly. Mark shook his head. How could he cut down that thing, when the sword was nearly as long as he was!! "I can't do this." Mark said and gave the sword back to Jerium.
Jerium looked down at Mark with hard eyes, frowning. Then, slowly a grin began to break in that slab Jerium called a face. "Well done Mark. You passed my first test. Knowing your own weaknesses is one of the keys to destroying them. You have now learned this. Maybe later you will be able to use the Knife, but not now." Jerium put his hand on Mark's shoulder.
"Mark, you have been chosen for a great task. Some might say that it is impossible, but you will succeed. I have been appointed to teach you, and make sure that your are ready when the time comes." He looked Mark in the eye. "You once told Dr. Jones that you weren't afraid. Are you now?"
Dr, Jones' words came back to him. You will be. You will be.... "Yes. Now more than any other time in my life. I am afraid to fail, but not to try. I will take your task, whatever it may be. I might fail, but I might win."
Suddenly, Graveler came bounding into the park, followed by Joe, Robert, Chris, Marian, Charm, Primeape. Joe was screaming. "He's back! I saw him! Jerium, He's back!!!!" Jerium walked up to Joe. "Whose back?" Joe looked pale. He muttered one word.
"Edgar"

Jerium stood up straight. "So, the Winter has come at last."
LFL, Book 2: Chapter Nine. Winter's Sting, Part 1.
Edgar laughed to himself. He was actually enjoying a mission, for once. He was breaking up the center of town. Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee, both decked out in black clothes, were smashing the few pokémon that dared to get in his way. It was strange. The fact that Jerium and Mark had not showed up yet. Edgar had figured that a disturbance this big would have brought both of them flocking. And maybe even those others that were with them. It was very strange.
"Hey! Stop!" Edgar wheeled around. There was a boy standing there, looked about fifteen. "What do you want?" Edgar grinned. More pray to smash. "I said stop. There's no need to do this. Moron." Edgar's grin faded. "Moron? Who do you think your talking to, little rat?" "My names Mike, not little rat." Said Mike.
Edgar powered up his exoskeleton. It glowed. "I am Edgar. Prepare to die." He shot a laser beam straight at Mike's head. When the dust cleared, Mike was nowhere to be seen. Edgar smiled a death's-head grin. "And another one's gone."
"Farfetch'd! Far! Far!" A small duck pokémon started pecking viciously at Edgar's head. "Ow! Blasted duck!" He swung his heavy at Farfetch'd, knocking the bird far away from the raging assassin. "Now back to business."
"Shrew? Sand!" The small mouse pokémon popped out of the ground. "A Sandshrew!" Edgar began to laugh. The Sandshrew's eyes began to glow red, and it bit him on the leg. "Ow! Little mouse...." He struck out and kicked the Shrew into a building.
Edgar roared out loud, "I know your still there! Do you have any more annoyances for me to take out??!" "Hitmon! Chan!" A round, red fist smashed Edgar right in the face. "A Hitmonchan? Someone's been training well..." Edgar snapped his fingers. "Hitmonchan, come." The sprightly, black-clad fighter bounded over, ready to battle on behalf of it's cybernetically enhanced master.
Mike's Hitmo looked at Edgar's. Then it got a round of Comet Punches to the face. "HIT-HIT-HIT-HIT!!!" The black wearer growled at it's red-clad sibling. "CHAN-CHAN-CHAN!" It replied, wincing in pain with each hit. It countered the Punches with a Ice Punch directly to the head. The attack was met with a Fire Punch. Then, the hits exploded....
Meanwhile....

"Feet, don't fail me now!!" Joe streaked across the field. "Mank! Ey!!" The little pig-monkey followed close behind. The pokémon was doing everything it could to keep up with it's trainer.
It was time to take a big bite out of Edgar. The nut had to be put down. They were going to do it.
Jerium had the Knife waived high, as sort of a rallying marker for the group. The fact that thing had a blade about the size of Joe was just side story. Maybe.
Mark was riding high on Onix. So were Graveler and Scyther. It was time to smash.
Robert hovered above the lot of them, held up by Beedrill. His other pokémon were still held in their balls. The huge bug buzzed over his head. It, to, was ready for battle. It had never even fought Edgar, yet it felt compelled to sting him. Buzz, indeed.
"PRIME!!!" The hulking gorilla raged up from behind the group, flying almost as high as Beedrill. Chris, who was riding on Primeape's back, let out a whoop. "Whoooooo- Hoooo!!". Marian, who was also back there, looked pale. This was the first time she had ridden on Primeape. She would make it a point to have it be her last.
Edgar and his pokémon were straight ahead. He was fighting against another Hitmonchan. There was someone there that looked very familiar to Chris........
Meanwhile......

Kevin had woken up. It was the first time he had been conscious since the battle with the Man-Scyther. It seamed like he was the punching bag of life.....
He looked out the window. There was a whole concession of people riding, and being carried by, pokémon. His brother was among them. He would be needed. He leapt out of bed, put on some clothes, grabbed his pokéballs, and walked out of the room.
"Charm?!" The spoiled Charmeleon, Charm, was standing behind the door. She looked up at Kevin, and followed him out. she had always taken to him better than Chris......
They ran out and joined the battle. It had just gotten a little bigger, by a ten-year old boy, a pampered Charmeleon, a Squirtle, and a Bellsprout.
It was time to rock.

EPILOGUE: In an underground lair, far away from everything, the Minor Lord Dark was having a conference. His cloak was pulled around him, concealing every feature of his persona. He was an enigma, a riddle, wrapped inside a mystery.....
There was another cloaked figure there. It was wearing a gray rope, and appeared to be invisible. One could only see him if direct light was shown at him. His name was Specter. Or at least that was what the cultists called him. If the cultists ever saw him that was.
the one known as Mark may cause problems for us The wind sighed. the Dillion spawn will cause our downfall. so I have seen it, so it will be. that is, a cold draft blew through the room, if he is permitted to live The Minor Lord Dark breathed heavy, through a apparatus. "He will not live. He will be destroyed. Go help your brother Edgar, Specter. I will deal with,"
The Minor Lord Dark pulled back his hood, reveling as scar, but still recognizable face. It looked like an older version of Mark's. "my son." He finally finished.
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