Through the Portal

Just as the guitarist fell, a bloodied servant came into the room, looking panicked.

"Master! The champions of Cresselia a-are storming the castle!! What shall we d-do!?" The man panted, looking just about to faint from the mixture of nervousness and bloodloss.

"Let them come. They are too late nonetheless. I have taken what I needed anyways." The Pitch Black Pokémon said, smiling eerily as he and most of the room looked at the outcold Hiroto. The hurt man nodded and dragged himself to the infirmary. Just as he got out, the champions of Cresselia arrived into the room, seeing Hiroto's unresponsive body.

"HIROTO!!!" Shou and the rest of Hiroto's bandmates ran to the small guitarist's body, hoping with all their hearts that he was not dead. Luxray stood there, frozen in utter shock that her trainer was laying there, hardly even breathing.

"Hiroto-kun, mezamete yo!! Onegai!" Nao said, trying not to cry from the fear of losing their youngest member to such a cruel being. But there was no response from the body Saga held. That was then, Shou looked up with death in his eyes.

"What. Have you. Done to him?!" The tall vocalist growled in such an anger that even Luxray and Shou's Mightyena took a step back from the angry man.

"Well, would you look at that. He's got a spine there." Georg mocked the already angry vocalist and what he didn't know was that Shou had a hammer with him which the older man did not hesitate to use on him.

"Georg achtung!!" Tom screamed, getting out of his hiding place as the vocalist unhesitatingly took out the hammer and hit Georg on the head, causing him to fall down with his head bleeding.

"Shou, no!" Said Nao, shocked at the younger man as he had no idea that the hammer was even with the tall man.

~Meanwhile with Kaoru~

Kaoru had to sit down at the news that the nurse gave him. He was shocked that Kyo wouldn't survive. That they would lose him before he or Toshiya had any chance to apologize.

And then, he decided to call the others, not wanting to let them be in the dark for this was probably the last time they would ever see Kyo. So the guitarist took his phone out with shaking hands and dialed Die's number. The other guitarist opened it in the second ring, obviously concerned.

"Kaoru! What happened?! Is-is Kyo alright?!"

"T-take it to the speakerphone, Daisuke... I don't think I-I can repeat it again..."

The other guitarist did so, making them all speak so that Kaoru knew that he was talking to all of them.

"What happened, Kaoru?! Is... Is something wrong?!" Shinya asked with fright.

"T-the doctors said... T-that T-Tooru isn't... Isn't going to survive."

"WHAT?!"

~Meanwhile in the throne room~

Tom watched with horror as Georg hit the floor with his head bleeding profusely. He could not move for the life of him and just as he was about to try, Shou turned his deadly eyes on the source of their problems; Darkrai.

"I will only repeat this once more. What. Have. You. DONE. To. Hiroto?!"

"I stole his soul." The Pitch Black Pokémon replied, not minding Georg who was left on the ground, bleeding badly on his head and showed the purple cloth that Hiroto had touched seconds before he'd fallen. In it, there was Hiroto, looking vacantly at Shou who looked back in horror.

~Meanwhile with Kaoru~

Kaoru saw the rest of his friends, even Shinya come through the doors, looking distressed. Die was supporting the drummer while the younger man tried to run. The older guitarist greeted them fastly, helping Shinya to walk a bit faster.

"So, where's he?! Where's Kyo, Kaoru?!" Asked Toshiya, panicked.

"H-he's... He's in there... Doctors don't think they can save him..." Kaoru whispered, showing the room Kyo was in and looking down as he tried his best to not cry.

"We should go in there and talk to the doctors. Maybe there is a way to save him and they're too scared of a person who came from the fortress." Said Die, purposefully not looking at either Toshiya or Kaoru.

"O-okay..." Shinya said, still looking exhausted but determined to see Kyo. The drummer shook himself out of Die's careful grasp and limped his way over to Kyo's hospital room.

~Meanwhile in Darkrai's fortress~

Tom ran to Georg's side, holding him in his arms. The guitarist tried to stop the bleeding on the older teen's head but failed as it was bleeding too profusely and Tom didn't have any bandages at hand. He then turned angrily to Shou who was still staring at the purple cloth in the pedestal that was being held by Darkrai in shock.

"Georg!! Georg, wake up!! What have you done?!" Tom said venomously to the singer but Shou wasn't in any shape to listen. Instead, he went up closer to the cloth, a plan starting to take roots in his head. A crazy one, but a plan nonetheless.

"Shou? What're you doing?!"

"I... I think I know how to bring him out of there..." Shou whispered, his mind going a mile in a minute. He thought if he could get in there, maybe by some very risky chance, he could save their youngest.

"What?! You're not thinking of going into that thing, right?!" Nao asked, his eyes wide with fear. He was scared that if Shou did what he was thinking of, they would lose the vocalist as well.

"What else is there to do, Naoyuki?!" Shou snapped. Just as the tallest vocalist finished his words, Cresselia came through the doors along with Shaymin, surprising everyone.

"Cresselia. And little Shaymin. What do I owe the pleasure for?" Darkrai mocked the two legendary Pokémon who looked at Shou and Hiroto's limp body which was obviously losing his life.

"What do we do, Cresselia-san?" Yomi asked quietly, concerned about the small guitarist.

"Your hunch is right, my child. But you cannot fight for him alone." The Lunar Pokémon said, looking into Shou's sad eyes.

"Then how?! How can we bring him back?!" He asked, scared that if they waited too long, Hiroto wouldn't hang onto life.

"I will come with you. But you need to bring something with you as well. It... It is going to be very risky, Shou. Are you sure that you still want to do this?" Shaymin said, looking worriedly at Shou. The vocalist nodded without hesitance.

"What is it, Shaymin-san? What do I need to bring with me?"

"This." Said Darkrai, grinning evilly as he sent out Gustav who was holding a Sphere of Life in his hand.

Knowing that the Pitch Black Pokémon was giving a Sphere this easily, all of them knew there was something wrong.

"Shou, maybe... Maybe you shouldn't... There may be another way..." Tora said, starting to get really worried at the look on his long-time friend's eyes. The others nodded as well but Shou shook his head and took the Sphere from Gustav who leered at him and then, turned to Shaymin.

"I'm ready."

"Then hold the cloth and see if your friend lives." Darkrai said with a nasty smile on his face. Shaymin turned into her Sky Forme and took Shou's soul with her into the spiritual world of the cloth, leaving the body to fall down like Hiroto's one.

"I hope he didn't make a wrong choice..." Hitsugi whispered, looking down at Hiroto's unresponsive body.

~Meanwhile inside the Spirit World~

Shou looked around when they landed slightly roughly, looking for Hiroto's spirit to leave the creepy place as soon as humanly possible. And soon enough, he saw it. The guitarist's soul was moving around, looking confused and scared.

"Hiroto!!"

"Shou-kun?!" Hiroto turned around in shock, not having expected that the vocalist was there. He saw a green Pokémon with his friend and understood that the Pokémon was responsible of bringing the vocalist into there.

"Daijoubu ka?!" The vocalist asked, running over to him immediately.

"W-what are you doing here?! What happened?!"

"I came here to save you! Come on, hold onto me, alright?" Shou smiled at the intimidated guitarist, motioning towards Shaymin.

"O-okay..."

"What do we need to do to get out of here now, Shaymin-san?" Shou asked, turning to the Gratitude Pokémon. Suddenly, Shaymin looked nervous.

"This is where the real risk begins, Shou. One of you must stay behind because I can only transport one person through the Spiritual Cloth." She said, looking worried.

"WHAT?! Shou, you go back, please!! Don't go kill yourself for me!"

"There's a way to return for the other though. You must use the Sphere of Life you have brought, Shou."

"Good then. See, Hiroto, I'm not killing myself." Shou smiled at the guitarist who looked shellshocked.

"Are you crazy?! Remember what happened to Bill-san when he used one of those!! Shou, please, don't do it!!"

Shou only shook his head and turned back to Shaymin.

"I take it you can bring him back to our world safely?"

At Shaymin's reluctant nod, Shou nodded back and made Hiroto sit on the Gratitude Pokémon, making sure he was both comfortable and safe and waved at them as they went away.

"Shou!!" Hiroto screamed as he was carried away.

~Meanwhile in Darkrai's fortress~

Everyone waited around to see what would happen. Almost all of them were nervous and scared for Hiroto and Shou's safety. That was then, Shaymin came back through the cloth, carrying a white light on her back which she threw at Hiroto's body. This caused Hiroto to gasp loudly and finally open his eyes. The others immediately crowded him, looking at him with concern.

"Hiroto! Are you alright?!" Asked Nao, always the mother hen. Hiroto looked around confusedly for a moment and then he started to shiver.

"S-Shou... Where's he?!" The petite guitarist asked, frantic. He obviously remembered whatever had happened in that Spirit World and was scared for Shou.

The only thing Nao and the others did was looking at eachother nervously. After looking around though, Hiroto saw Shou's lifeless looking body in front of Darkrai's throne.

"KOHARA!!!" He yelled and ran to his friend's side, tears already filling his eyes.

~Meanwhile in the Spirit World~

Shou dodged another attack from the vengeful spirits that were trying to feed on Hiroto. They were angry because Shou had taken their food away to the safety, at least the tall man hoped so. But as he was being swarmed by the dangerous spirits, he kind of wished he was able to get out along with Hiroto. Just as he thought he could get out as the spirits gave way to him, he heard a voice inside his head.

"You are a menace." It whispered in a woman's voice.

"W-what?! Who're you?!" Shou looked around, looking creeped out.

"You are not a good person or a decent vocalist. You know that, do you not?" She whispered again, making Shou look down. He knew what people thought of him very well. But he also knew that this was no time to feel down. Not when Hiroto and his other bandmates needed him to get back.

"Leave me alone! I-I'm not a b-bad person I just--" Just as he was about to finish his sentence, a vengeful spirit finally caught him off guard and slashed at his back. But thankfully, Shou didn't yell, not wanting to get somehow possessed by a spirit like that. Then the Sphere of Life came to his mind and looked down at it, slightly confused.

"Now how do I use this?.." He muttered.

"You cannot use me. I will use you." The same woman's voice echoed in his mind but Shou paid no heed to it. He knew there was a way to get this to work, he just needed to find it.

"I'm not your bitch! I can get out of here by only you and you will cooperate!!" He said, angry.

"This is why people call you names. This is why no one truly likes you, Kohara. You are weak and violent. Therefore you are trapped in here."

Shou didn't have anything to say about that. He was always worried that he was overdoing it with his remarks and protectiveness. But to have them thrown into his face hurt. He didn't know how to even make the Sphere of Life work in his favor. And then, a dark thought crossed his mind. Maybe, he thought, maybe they were better off without him.

"Shou!! Shou, come back!!!" Suddenly, Hiroto's voice came to his head. He looked up, worried that Hiroto had done something stupid and gotten into the Spirit World once again to save him. But there was no sign of the young guitarist in anywhere he could see.

"H-Hiroto??"

~Meanwhile in the hospital~

"Kyo? A-are you awake?" Shinya asked, looking just about to cry. He hadn't really been able to see much of the vocalist's chest wound, being shaken out of his wits, but now, he could see the gaping mess of the older man's chest. Kyo didn't answer, still out of it.

"God, this is awful!" Toshiya whispered, eyes filling with tears of guilt.

"How could both of you do this to him?! He didn't know what exactly would happen to me!!" Shinya thundered at both Kaoru and Toshiya while the two of them flinched at the young drummer's tone of voice.

"And what's even worse, Shinya-kun, Kaoru was the one to find the solution to bring you back. And I bet you knew that this was not safe, didn't you, Kaoru?" Die said, glaring at the older man.

Just as he finished his words, a doctor came into the hospital room, making them turn with trepidation and hope.

"Kyo can be saved. But only if someone can give him blood." He said, brightening the members.

"I'll do it! It was partially my fault that he's in this state." Toshiya said immediately. None of them was about to make the bassist not do it because his words were the truth. But there was a bad feeling in Shinya's heart.

"Be careful, Toshiya..."

~Meanwhile with Bill~

Bill gulped as he got out of his hiding place with his Yamask. He really didn't want to kill any of his friends or twin brother, fake or not. But he seemed to have little chance to actually manage such a hard feat. Especially since Yamask was not really in a good shape.

"Oh, Bill~. Where are you??" Came the mocking voice of Tom, making the younger twin flinch in pain.

"I can't wait to make you our master's!" The thing masquerading as his twin said giddily. That, did it for the teenager vocalist. He frowned in determination to not become one with the Sphere of Death. He would go back to his world and help Tom find a way to bring Georg and Gustav out of the situation they were in.

"I'm here." He said, despite Yamask trying to tell him it was not a good idea.

"But you're never gonna bring me down, that, I can promise you."

~Meanwhile in Spirit World~

Shou was scared. He was sure that he had heard Hiroto's voice but it was gone now and with it, the vocalist feared that Hiroto might be gone as well. But then, he felt an invisible hand grab his right hand, making him jump.

"You will not use me, you useless being." Said the Sphere of Life. But Shou shook his head, he had to stay focused. He had to get back to his friends or everything they'd ever done would fall in ruins.

"Oh, they will not be missing a violent person like you. Let alone a useless vocalist like you."

"Y-you don't know me or my friends!! They wouldn't do that to me!" Shou said, tears filling his eyes. He didn't want to believe what the Sphere was telling him. The others would never let him down like that.

"Do you see any of them around? I think not. Admit it, they have abandoned you." She said. But right then, Hiroto's voice came through again, surprising both of them.

"Shou-kun! Please! Don't do this to us, come back!!" The guitarist was saying in an obvious crying voice. That, gave Shou the strength he needed to get the Sphere to work. He closed his eyes and relaxed. And then, the vocalist slowly put his hands onto the Sphere of Life, ready to get back.

~Meanwhile in Darkrai's fortress~

"Why did it have to be you, Shou?! Why?!" Hiroto sobbed as he held the lifeless body of the vocalist's hand. The others, even the enraged Tom, couldn't say or do anything as the guitarist continued to cry for his friend. But right then, a pure white light actually got out of the cloth he remembered having touched before and went into Shou's body, making him gasp and come back to life.

"Kohara!! Daijoubu ka?! Kibun wa dou desu ka?!" The guitarist asked, looking worried. But Shou just smiled at the younger man.

"I feel fine, Hiroto. Everything is alright." He said, swallowing slightly. Then he had the breathe hugged out of him by Hiroto followed by a hard smack to his head.

"What the HELL were you THINKING, you idiot?!" The guitarist gritted out, obviously unhappy with whatever had transpired in the Spirit World. He glared at the surprised vocalist who had no idea why his normally sweet friend was so riled up.

"What do you mean? What did I do wrong, Hiroto-kun??"

"Are you kidding me?! You used a Sphere, Kohara! You could've been in a seriously bad state right now!"

Hearing this, Tom's eyes widened in shock, remembering what had happened to Bill. He now knew that this tall man would stop at nothing to keep his friends safe and sound. Just as he was thinking that, Mightyena and Luxray came beside their trainers, obviously very relieved by the end state of their loving partners.

"Mightyena~, Might?" The Bite Pokémon cried, looking concerned about Shou. The vocalist smiled at his partner, wanting to reassure him that he was indeed fine now. And so did Hiroto for his Luxray. Things were starting to look up a bit from what it had been like.

~Meanwhile in the hospital - Kiro's room~

"Do you think they'll succeed?" Asked Luminor, frowning in concern for Hiroto and his friends. Taizo nodded.

"There's a good reason why the whole company of ours calls Shou "The Demon King". I kind of feel sorry for the retard who pisses him off, to be honest with you." The guitarist said with his bandmates nodding. Kiro and Yu's eyes widened in surprise.

"Why exactly do you call him that? He was quite a nice person after all." Asked Kiro curiously.

"Because if he gets mad, he's dangerous. Especially if he has any sort of weapon around him and I saw him take a hammer with him so, it's really not a good idea to piss him off right now since him and Hiroto are really close." Uruha replied, looking slightly worried. That was then, a merchant approached them.

"Hello. Care to buy an awesome Pokémon?" He said, looking at the people in the room.

"You should not be here." Bela said, frowning sternly. But Ni~ya stopped her and went up to the seller.

"What's this awesome Pokémon?" The bassist asked curiously.

"It is a Magikarp, a special one to be precise. Maybe, if you're interested, I can sell it to you for a small amount of 100 Pokédollars."

"Ni~ya, I really don't think this is a good idea... You do know that if this turns out to be a scam, Yomi will never let you live this down, right?" Sakito was saying but the bassist had already paid for the Pokéball in the merchant's hand and had taken it. The merchant went away, smiling to himself for some reason.

"Well, send that Pokémon, Ni~ya-san. I'm curious as to what you got!" Keiyuu said, smiling. Ni~ya nodded and threw the Pokéball only to freeze in shock as the golden Magikarp flopped around, crying out.

There was a silence in the room as the inhabitants looked at the Fish Pokémon in shock, especially the now proud owner of the said Pokémon. And then, almost all of them burst into uncontrollable laughter.

"I-I tried to tell you, Yuji-kun!" Sakito said through his laughter. Bela was also chuckling.

"This is why you shouldn't trust merchants, Ni~ya."

"Plusle, Plus~." Kiro's Plusle made her way to the flopping around Fish Pokémon and smiled.

"Oh Kami-sama!! What the hell am I supposed to do with something like this?!" Ni~ya groaned, facepalming.

~Meanwhile in Darkrai's fortress~

Hiroto helped Shou up from where he'd been laying in front of Darkrai's throne and checked him over, still worried despite what the vocalist had said.

"It's alright, Hiroto, I'm fine, I swear." Shou said at the look on his younger bandmate's face. That was then though, that Hiroto happened to look over at Tom and Georg who were still on the ground with Georg's head bleeding sluggishly and gasped in shock.

"Oh my God! What happened?!"

"I'll tell you what happened! That savage you have as a friend smashed my friend's head open with a goddamn hammer!!" Tom said, glaring at Shou. That made the rest of the members of Alice Nine wince, knowing how Hiroto would react.

"You mean... You mean that Kohara did this?!" Hiroto asked, looking on in shock and then, the smaller guitarist turned to Shou.

"What. The hell were you THINKING?!" He said but froze. Shou didn't look like he was listening anymore. His eyes looked vacant and he didn't answer Hiroto, scaring him.

"Shou, talk to me!! What's wrong?!" Hiroto asked frantic. But the vocalist didn't even seem like he'd registered the question.

"Mightyena~!!!" The Bite Pokémon cried out, trying to wake his trainer up from the trance he was in in panic.

"Shou?? A-are you alright?!" Saga asked, running beside them quickly.

"He has already been taken." Darkrai said, chuckling at the look of horror in all of them. Tora growled angrily at that.

"Taken by what?!"

"By the Sphere of Life, of course."

~Meanwhile with Kyo~

Kyo felt like he was floating in an endless abyss. He didn't know how long he'd been there or how to get out of there. He could hear voices talking here and there but he didn't seem to be able to identify them. All he knew was that he was close to dying.

"Maybe they are better off without a traitor like me..." He thought. But right then, a hand grabbed his left hand and somehow, a familiar voice echoed in his mind. It was Kaoru.

"Kyo... Please come back to us, please! I swear I will make this up to you! And Toshiya will too, I promise! Just come back! Just fight this, I know you can!"

"But do I want to?.." The vocalist asked to himself, frowning. After everything that had transpired between them, Kyo wasn't entirely sure if he should rejoin the painful world he was in. But then, another voice joined Kaoru's, shocking him. It was Shinya.

~Meanwhile in Darkrai's fortress~

Everyone gasped in shock at the reveal. None of them, even Tom wanted to believe that Shou might be gone for good. But as Shou looked vacantly at Hiroto, the younger man felt a chill run down his back. He didn't want to give up though.

"I don't believe you! Shou's too strong to give up like that!!" He exclaimed bravely to the Pitch Black Pokémon.

"Yeah, he wouldn't give up to a single Sphere, strong magic or not!" Nao added, frowning.

"But how exactly do you think you can bring him out of his own mind?"

"We'll find a way, you bastard. Shou isn't gone and won't be for a long time!!" Saga retorted, glaring angrily at the implications of the legendary Pokémon.

"Mightyena~!! Might, Mightyena!!" Shou's Bite Pokémon nodded in agreement. He didn't think Shou would go back on his promise of never letting something bad happen to him again.

"I would like to see you try."

"We need to get out of here though. We can find a way to get Shou back to his senses away from this cursed place." Said Saga, frowning. The bassist didn't want Darkrai to somehow influence Shou in anyway. Darkrai smirked at that though.

"Attack, my servants."

At that, everyone sent their Pokémon, ready to fight for Shou's safety. And then, Cresselia and Shaymin came in front of them.

"You run! We can take care of this!" Shaymin said, motioning towards the doors of the castle. Tora nodded and took Shou's body onto his back and started to run with the others running close behind the raven haired guitarist.

~Meanwhile in Shin's room~

Shin shook his head disbelievingly at the wound Romeo sported. He didn't want to believe that he of all people had done this to the older man. But as he remembered nothing after talking to Romeo over some trivial thing, he didn't know what to believe in anymore. Thankfully, before he could agonize himself over the matter more, Romeo gave a weak groan and came to.

"What... What's going on?.." He whispered before his eyes widened.

"Oh no... Marcel!"

"I'm here, Romeo. I'm fine." Shin said quietly, trying not to let his worry go through. He was their enemy after all. But hearing this, Romeo looked over at Shin and relaxed when he saw that the drummer was okay.

"Oh, thank goodness."

"What happened to me though? Do you know?" Shin asked curiously. At that, Romeo averted his eyes.

"I dunno, Shin. One moment we were talking and the next, you attacked me all of a sudden. Your eyes looked... Dead when you were attacking me. After that, I remember nothing."

Shin looked down, he had been the reason Romeo was hurt after all.

~Meanwhile in Kiro's room~

Kiro chuckled as he watched Ni~ya call his new Magikarp back into its Pokéball, looking disgruntled. It was pretty funny to see his fellow bassist so very unhappy because of a scam like that.

"It's okay, Ni~ya-san, maybe that little guy you got there has an evolution you can use." Keiyuu said, smiling kindly at him.

"God, I hope you're right, Keiyuu-san, or else my bandmates will never let me live this down. Especially Yomi..." Ni~ya said, wincing at the thought. Just as he finished his words, in came the others, Tora carrying the unresponsive Shou on his back while Hiroto lagged behind, wishing he could do something for the vocalist.

"What happened?! What's with Shou-kun?!" Uruha asked, alarmed. And Tom trailed behind them, carrying Georg on his back. Seeing this, Bela ran to Tom, calling for the other doctors.

"What happened to him?!" The short nurse asked in shock. The wound Georg sported on his head looked a little scary to even her.

"That Shou guy smashed his head like a savage with a damned hammer, that's what!" Tom snapped.

~Meanwhile in Shou's mind~

Shou tried to make himself small as a woman appeared out of nowhere, obviously searching for him. He didn't know what had happened. One moment he was standing in Darkrai's fortress alongside Hiroto and second, he'd found himself in a stormy clearing.

"You cannot escape me." The woman whispered in a creepily serene voice. Shou flinched at that. It was the very same voice that the Sphere of Life had in that Spiritual World.

"Where am I anyways?!" He whispered, frightened.

"You are inside your own worthless mind." The woman said, suddenly right beside him and made the vocalist jump, startled even more.

"W-what do you mean?! If this is my own mind, why can't I get out!?" The tall man asked, looking really scared.

"Because nobody needs you. Not anymore."

~Meanwhile in the hospital~

"So, what do we do? How do we get Shou out of his own mind before he gets destroyed by the Sphere of Life?" Ruki asked, very worried about his kind protege. He hoped that Darkrai did not try to harm Shou anymore than he already had. Meanwhile, Tom stayed close to Georg who still hadn't regained consciousness. He hoped that they would be able to get Shou out of his mind so that he could give him a piece of his mind for hurting Georg.

"Oh Bill... How I wish you were here right now..." The teenager whispered, closing his eyes in pain. Then he decided to listen in on what the friends of the taller man were saying.

"We'll find a way, don't worry, Ruki-kun. I just hope Shou can survive till we find a way to do this..." Aoi was saying while he was frowning in concern for the young vocalist. And then, Yomi turned to Hiroto curiously looking at him.

"What?" The short guitarist asked, frowning lightly at the look on Yomi's face.

"What happened before we stormed the fortress and got you out, Hiroto-san?" The short vocalist asked curiously.

"Lux, Luxray~??" The Gleam Eyes Pokémon also nodded, still looking worried about her trainer.

"At first, they put me in a cell and w-when I tried to run..."

"Yeah??" Uruha asked, looking really worried about the younger guitarist.

"They threatened me..."

"With what?? You usually don't care about threats, Hiroto-kun. What happened to make you care about that one??" Asked Saga, gently holding Hiroto's hand while looking at him in concern. He didn't want to tell the youngest of them, but the fright of seeing his unconscious body, had frightened Saga half to death.

"They told me that they had put a bomb here and if I didn't do what they said, they'd activate it and blow you guys up." Hiroto said, still shuddering at the thought of his friends getting blown up.

"Oh, Hiroto... There never was a bomb here. You should've never listened to them, my friend." Nao said, hugging the guitarist tightly.

"Oh, by the way, Ni~ya found his partner Pokémon, guys." Sakito said, smirking.

~Meanwhile in Kyo's room~

"Kami-sama, Kyo I'm so, so sorry. I should've known that you would get hurt by this..." Kaoru whispered through his tears. Shinya and Die were watching the older guitarist cry with stony looks on their faces. Neither was about to tell Kaoru anything comforting as they both thought that it was his fault. But then, a miracle happened; Kyo groaned and opened his eyes slowly.

"K-Kyo?! You're awake?!" Die asked, shocked at the vocalist.

"What's... Going on..?" Kyo whispered, obviously in much pain. Then the doctor who had Toshiya go came into the room, looking at them.

"What happened?! Where's Toshiya-kun?!"

"He's quite alright. He just has to rest due to the taken blood. Now we only need to get this blood inside you, Kyo. One of you might want to help your other friend here though."

Kyo just nodded exhaustedly. It was as if he didn't have the energy to object anything. Shinya and Die immediately nodded and went out of the room to find their bassist.

~Meanwhile in Kiro's room~

"Really?! Show us!! Please!!" Yomi said, looking like a little kid as Sakito tried his hardest not to laugh. Ni~ya's eyes widened at that. Then the bassist sent a death glare at the snickering lead guitarist and shook his head.

"Hell. No!"

"But-But why?!" Yomi whined. Hitsugi nodded as well.

"Why are you hiding your partner, Ni~ya-kun?" Hitsugi asked, looking curiously at the bassist.

"Or were you lying, Ni~ya?" Ruka asked, grinning as he knew that Ni~ya wouldn't be able to keep it to himself once he got baited into showing his new Pokémon.

While they were talking though, Hiroto stayed close to the unresponsive body of Shou, looking sad. He didn't know what to do to bring Shou out of his mind and that, even though it shouldn't have, made him feel guilty. Then Shou's Mightyena came close to him, gently headbutting the sad guitarist. He could see how much Hiroto was hurting over this. And what was worse, he could see that the younger guitarist was blaming himself over this.

"I'm sorry, Mightyena... If I didn't--"

"Mightyena, Might~, Mightyena!" The bigger Bite Pokémon shook his head, he never had blamed the guitarist in the first place. He believed that they would find a way to bring Shou out of this state, especially with how protective Hiroto seemed to be of the vocalist. That was then, Cresselia came into the hospital room, surprising everyone with her presence again.

"Cresselia-san!! Please, please tell me that you have a solution for Shou!"

~Meanwhile in Shou's mind~

"I don't believe you and won't give up! I-I'm not a bad p-person!" Shou stuttered even though inside, he didn't feel as confident.

"Oh, I know what you are thinking. You are never good enough. You never have been, Kohara. Why would anyone want to rescue someone like you?"

Shou started to cry at this, it was what he'd been thinking, true. But would his beloved bandmates just abandon him like that? Truth was, Shou didn't know. And not knowing made him fear that they would just leave him be and find a new, better vocalist. But then, a voice slipped into the stormy clearing that Shou was inside.

"Shou! Fight it, I know you can! Please don't leave us, please!"

"Hiroto!.."

~Meanwhile with Emile~

Emile silently went into the library of the Forbidden Wing, hoping he could find a key to his friends' cell. The conversation he'd made with them was still ringing in his mind. Even though he knew they wanted the best for him, the young man couldn't leave them in here, not after what he'd heard from others in the castle.

~Flashback, 1 hour ago~

"Hey! Guys!!" Emile whispered, getting the attention of the people in the cell.

"Emile?!" Both Tim and Jon chorused, looking absolutely shocked.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Jon asked with a worried frown on his face.

"I came here to save you two, what else?! And don't even begin to tell me that it's dangerous because I already know that, Jon!"

"Then why the hell are you still here?! Save yourself, you dumbass!" Tim said, glaring at the other man.

"Hell no, you guys would've done the same thing for me and I'm not endangering two of my best friends here!"

"You are crazy, Emile, that's all I can say..." Tim replied, shaking his head.

"If saving my best friends is insanity, Tim, I wouldn't want to be sane anyways." Emile said, looking uncharacteristically serious. This surprised both of his friends.

"Wow, you didn't even make one bad pun! Are you sure you're okay?"

Emile chuckled at that and nodded. Then he said;

"I'm going to the library, maybe there's something useful there to bring you two out of here."

"Be careful, Emile. I think Darkrai is planning to do something serious about us and I really don't like the thought of you getting in the harm's way on that." Jon said, looking seriously concerned about the younger man. Whatever the Pitch Black Pokémon was planning couldn't be good so he was worried that Emile would do something reckless and get himself hurt in their place.

"I'll be fine. I promise I'll get you two out of this, okay?"

~Flashback ends~

Emile shook his head as he neared to his destination. Truth was, he was worried about Jon and Tim, especially since he didn't feel as confident as he sounded to them. Because he had no Pokémon with him yet and this place was very dangerous, after all.

"I'll save you guys. No matter what it takes, I'll save you, just you wait."

~Meanwhile in the hospital - Kiro's room~

"I have the solution, yes. But the ones closest to his heart must take a risky action." The Lunar Pokémon said, looking slightly concerned.

"Good. So, what do we do?!" Hiroto asked, looking very determined to save their beloved vocalist.

"Yeah, we're ready to do anything for him. Especially now when he needs us more than ever before." Said Tora, already beside Shou's unresponsive body.

"He must go under four trials. One for every weakness of his spirit. And you, as the ones whom he considers closest to his heart, must be the ones to help him through it. But beware, one wrong move can and will cost him his life."

"Okay! Just tell us what we need to do and we will do it." Nao replied, looking very brave and determined to save the vocalist.

"You must go one by one. And the youngest must go first while his oldest friend will go second. The other two, you must decide by yourselves. But hurry, because if you do not, the Sphere of Life will drain him of his life force."

Every one of the Alice Nine members nodded, each looking worried. Then Hiroto held Shou's hand tighter, ready to go into his friend's mind and bring him out of the trouble he was inside of.

"I'm the youngest. Tell me what I need to do, Cresselia-san." The guitarist said calmly.

"Focus on your friend. As you do so, you will merge your own consciousness with his. But beware, if you do this for too long, you will be lost as well."

Hiroto only nodded and took a deep breathe, relaxing himself and holding Shou's hand tightly in his own hand. Then a visible shudder went through the guitarist and his eyes became as blank as Shou's ones.

~Meanwhile in Shou's mind~

"Shou! I'm here!!" Hiroto called out, suddenly materializing in front of Shou.

"What are you doing here?!" The Sphere of Life said, looking angrily at the small guitarist.

"I came here to save him from his huge mistake!"

"Hiroto... Arigatou..." Shou said, his eyes filling with tears.

"No problem, Shou-kun." The younger man said, smiling at him. But their happiness did not stay for long. Because suddenly, the scenery changed into a castle.

"We shall see how long that friendship stands." The woman who was the Sphere of Life whispered ominously, smiling creepily at the two of them.

~Meanwhile in Kyo's room~

"I'm sorry, Kyo. I really am." Kaoru said, looking down in shame as the younger man just didn't answer. He looked exhausted and probably also didn't want to talk to the guitarist still.

And then, the vocalist turned his head to look at him, trying to find the lie he was sure he'd find in Kaoru's expression. But he saw nothing but an immense amount of shame and pain.

"Do you mean it?" Kyo whispered weakly after a long moment, trying to understand. Kaoru nodded immediately without hesitance. Kyo nodded back reluctantly, still trying to think about the lies Kaoru might be telling him.

"Where are... The others?" He asked next. He didn't like to be alone with only Kaoru in the room.

"They're tending to Totchi-kun. He gave you his blood so I think he needs some assistance to come here himself."

~Meanwhile in Shou's mind~

"What do we do now?!" Shou asked nervously. Hiroto only thought for a moment before he motioned towards the deeper parts of the castle. Shou paled at that though, scared out of his mind. Seeing this, the younger man came and held his hand.

"I'll help you out of this. Just trust me on this one, alright, Kohara?" Hiroto said, looking very worried about how Shou reacted to the thought of going deeper into the castle. Whatever he thought the place held, it was scary to Shou.

"I-I feel like i-it'll k-kill me, Hiroto, I can't do this! I just can't!!" Shou said, looking like he was about to cry.

"Like hell you can't! You'll die if you don't do this!! Come on, come with me." The guitarist said, tugging slightly on Shou's hand that he was holding tightly. Shou swallowed and tried to stop his shivering. Then he nodded slightly, letting Hiroto lead the way deeper into the castle.

But when he saw the interior of the next room, Shou froze, shock flooding through him. Hiroto's eyes widened at the scene. It showed all of them, with various injuries and seemingly dead.

"Oh God..." Hiroto whispered, looking on as Shou ran to the others' bodies. Thankfully, his shock wore off quickly and he ran to Shou's side.

"Kohara! It's not real! Everything is alright with the others, I swear!"

But when Shou turned to the guitarist, he didn't seem to truly see him. Instead, his eyes widened in absolute fear. Instead of Hiroto whom Shou swore was right beside him, he saw a giant ogre like creature, right beside him and looking intimidatingly at him. The vocalist shrieked and scrambled away from what he perceived as danger.

Meanwhile, Hiroto looked at the older man who was panicking and trying to stay away from him in confusion.

"Shou? What's wrong??" Hiroto asked with worry. He was afraid that if he didn't pull the taller man out of his panicked reverie soon, his time would be up before he could help the vocalist.

Then, it occured to him that the Sphere of Life was making Shou see things that weren't truly there so it must be doing this with Hiroto. Quickly deciding, Hiroto held Shou by the arms, trying to make him see the truth.

"Shou, it's me, Hiroto! You need to see this! There's nothing to fear!! Come on, come to your senses, it's not real, whatever you're seeing right now, none of them is real, Kohara, you need to fight this! Please, Shou-kun, I'm here for you, but I don't have much time!"

Hearing this, Shou started to shake his head, trying to see Hiroto again.

"This isn't real. It can't be real!!" Shou whispered, focusing on the warmth his friend's hands which were still on his arms, gripping them rather tightly. Then he gasped and looked down, finally able to see Hiroto. Hiroto's nervous features eased after seeing Shou clearly relieved. Then, the vocalist hugged him tightly, still shivering.

"Thank you, Hiroto..."

"Not important. Listen, if I stay any longer, I'll probably die. So I need to get back to the real world, okay? But don't you worry, you're not gonna be alone for long." Hiroto said softly. Shou shuddered at the thought of Hiroto dying so he nodded reluctantly and let go of the younger man.

Right after Hiroto was gone, the Sphere of Life changed the location once again. Shou was now standing on rain clouds, nervous once again.

~Meanwhile in the hospital room~

"I really hope he succeeds, I can't bear to see Shou this way..." Ruki said, looking worriedly at the pair of friends. Then, Hiroto gasped and woke up. And looking at Shou, his eyes seemed less glazed than before.

"Hiroto-san! Are you feeling okay?!" Asked Taizo, looking really worried.

"Lux, Luxray?!" His partner cried, gently headbutting him.

"Yeah. I'm just fine. Don't worry about me."

"Good. You have managed to bring him out of the first trial of many, Hiroto. Good work."

Hiroto nodded exhaustedly, collapsing into the chair beside Shou's bed. The mind-merge had taken a lot out of him. Especially after seeing what Shou feared the most.

"Hiroto-kun? Are you alright?" Asked Nao, concerned about how tired the younger man looked. Hiroto nodded again though.

"I'm... I'm fine, Nao-shi. I just need some rest that's all." Hiroto whispered and then, went into a deep sleep.

"Then who's going next, Cresselia-san??" Asked Tora, nervously standing still in front of Shou and Hiroto.

"The one who he met first out of you, must go second." Cresselia said. Tora nodded at that.

"Then it's me next." The raven haired guitarist said, sitting on Shou's bed and holding his hand tightly. And then, he merged his consciousness with the vocalist like Hiroto had done before him.

"Be careful, Tora-kun..." Reita said, looking on as Tora began fighting for Shou's safety.

~Meanwhile with Bill~

"You think you're so tough, don't you, little brother?" Tom sneered, smirking at the determined look on Bill's face.

"I might not be tough, Tom wanna-be. But when they need me, I will not stop at anything to get to them." Bill replied, sounding calmer than he actually felt.

"Yamask!!" The Spirit Pokémon cried out, ready to defend Bill. Bill smiled at the nervous Pokémon before giving his first command.

"Yamask, use Shadow Ball on him!"

~Meanwhile in Shou's mind~

Shou didn't know what to do as he waited for something, anything to happen. But nothing seemed to happen. And just as he was about to give up and lose himself, suddenly, a white light appeared and Tora materialized in front of him.

"T-Tora-kun?!" Shou whispered, looking slightly more hopeful. But he knew there would be a catch for his best friend to be here. That was then, the impersonation of the Sphere of Life appeared before them, prompting Tora to gently push Shou behind him so that he didn't take any damage from the dangerous entity.

~Meanwhile in Shin's room~

"What did I miss, by the way?" Shin asked curiously. Romeo shrugged as he had no idea what was happening around them. The rest of them, however, nervously looked at eachother.

"Well, something really big happened while you two were outcold, actually. Darkrai and his minions came here." Said Strify, still shuddering at the remembrance of the event. Shin and Romeo both looked shocked.

"What happened then?! How are you even still alive?! Is everyone alright?!" Romeo asked frantically. He was still afraid of the Pitch Black Pokémon's wrath.

"Not really... None of us are hurt but as for the champions of Cresselia..." Yu trailed off, still worried about their new friends.

"What the hell happened, Hannes?!"

"They took Hiroto, that blonde guitarist and the rest went to save him. I don't know what really happened in the fortress but when they came back, Shou, the tallest vocalist of them was in a catatonic state and wouldn't respond to anything." Yu said, shaking his head.

"And Kiro? Is he alright?" Shin asked curiously. Even though he was ordered to kill them, he still couldn't stop his curiosity and wanted to know if the bassist was alright. Strify nodded with a smile.

"Yeah, though doctors had to tie him up after him trying to sneak away to help you out of your crazy stupor, he's alright."

Shin nodded. Even though he did not want to admit it to himself, he was quite relieved that the older man was actually resting instead of trying to do something that was not possible anymore to him.

~Meanwhile in Kiro's room~

Ni~ya gulped as he saw the very eager looking Yomi and Hitsugi and grinning Ruka. He really did not want to show his new, practically useless partner.

"Come on, Yuji! I wanna see your partner! It's not fair of you to hide it like this!" Yomi said, slightly whining. Ni~ya sighed at this.

"Alright. But do not laugh or I will kill you with it." The bassist said, about to toss his Magikarp out of its Pokéball. Yomi nodded and then, watched as the older man threw the Pokéball. And when it came out, everyone of them just stared at the flopping Fish Pokémon for a moment and simultaneously they started laughing. Ni~ya facepalmed at that.

"Where the hell did you find this, Ni~ya?!" Hitsugi asked, chuckling as their bassist grunted and shrugged, not very happy.

"H-he bought it from a Merchant." Sakito said, still snickering. That earned him a glare from Ni~ya and more laughter from Yomi and Ruka.

~Meanwhile in Shou's mind~

Shou smiled timidly as Tora glared at the dangerous deity. He was glad that his best friends were still there and caring about him.

"Leave Shou alone! He doesn't deserve this!!" The raven haired guitarist exclaimed, protectively shielding Shou from the danger.

"He is a violent person and thus, he deserves everything I throw at him." The Sphere of Life said, still totally calm.

"Kohara is not a violent guy!! Not without a good reason!!"

Just as the taller man said that, the Sphere of Life changed the location once again. Now they were standing in the middle of a livehouse, much to their confusion.

"You shall see how violent your good friend is and how much he deserves being in here."

After saying that, the deity disappeared. Shou and Tora looked at eachother, both nervous.

"I'm scared, Tora..."

Tora smiled reassuringly at the timid singer, holding his hand.

"It'll be okay, Kohara. I've got you, don't worry about a thing." The guitarist said gently. He was concerned about the situation as well, not knowing what was about to happen, he couldn't be prepared for anything. But what happened next, shocked him to his very core.

~Meanwhile in Kiro's room~

"So funny, you guys! I bet you're having fun with my misery!" Ni~ya said, looking very irritated.

"It is funny, Ni~ya-kun! Especially since you kinda always fall for this kinda thing." Hitsugi said, smiling apologetically. Ni~ya shrugged, still not very happy with the laughter. Then Hiroto yawned and woke up, looking confusedly at Magikarp.

"Where did that come from??" He said, interested and curious at the same time.

"Lux, Luxray~!" His partner Pokémon was immediately beside Hiroto, still concerned about the guitarist.

"I'm fine, Luxray. I'm just worried about Shou-kun. The things he saw there were really bad."

"He'll get through this. Shou isn't the one to give up so easily, you know that, Hiroto-kun. By the way, apparently, Ni~ya-san got this new Pokémon from a merchant." Said Saga, trying to comfort the younger man and try to make him laugh a bit. Meanwhile Yomi's Eevee went near to Magikarp which was still flopping about.

"Eevee~. Ee, Eevee~." The Evolution Pokémon chattered to the golden Fish Pokémon. The other Pokémon nodded to whatever Eevee had said.

"Good to see that they're at least getting along well." Yuura said, looking at the amount of Pokémon that had gathered around the new Pokémon.

~Meanwhile with Emile~

When Emile went into the library, he had thought it would've been much darker since the cruel Pitch Black Pokémon was certainly not into bright colors like some of the other legendary Pokémon. But instead, he found a library that was almost exactly like a library from back home.

"Well, that certainly makes things a bit easier." The gamer said to himself. But right as he entered the room, some alarm sound went off, making the young man panic.

"Oh crap!! What am I gonna do?!"

Then it occured him to just wait out of sight so he can steal a book and get away with it. And he managed to get right behind the door just as a young, nervous woman came through. She looked around a bit and then, she went away, making Emile sigh with relief.

~Meanwhile in Shou's mind~

Tora and Shou stared in shock as a replica of Alice Nine minus Shou came on stage, with another vocalist no less.

"What the hell?!" Tora whispered, thoroughly confused and starting to feel a bit scared. Meanwhile Shou stared on with a white, shocked face. And then, the fake-Tora noticed Shou, smirking evilly and pointing him out, making the real Tora get really worried.

~Meanwhile with Kyo~

After Kaoru said that, Die came into the room, looking slightly concerned. And when he saw that Kyo was awake, his eyes widened and he quickly rushed to the vocalist's side.

"Kyo-kun! Are you alright?!" The rhythm guitarist asked, nervous.

"My... Chest hurts... Die, is Shinya... Okay?" Kyo managed to ask, his eyes slightly glazed. It was obvious that he wasn't in any shape to talk. The vocalist also didn't notice how Kaoru bowed his head in shame, making both of them really concerned since it was obvious that Kaoru totally was ashamed of himself.

"Don't worry about Shinya, Kyo. He's just shaken badly about what happened to you, that's all. He's alright, I promise. But you need to rest, alright?" Die said softly. Kyo just nodded, too exhausted to argue. Then the vocalist went back into a deep, hopefully repairing sleep.

~Meanwhile with Shin~

"Thank goodness Bela had the mind to tie Kiro up. Or he would never have gotten enough rest to heal that awful wound." Romeo said, shaking his head in amusement. Strify nodded at that, smiling as well.

"Totally! Knowing Kiro, he'd be an anxious mess beside Shin if he was not contained."

Just as he said that though, Plusle came running into the room. She looked pretty upset for some reason.

"What's wrong, Plusle? Is something wrong with Karsten?"

"Plusle, Plus!!!" The Cheering Pokémon nodded, looking panicked. It alerted all of them, even Shin.

"What's wrong?!" The drummer asked. He didn't want to admit it to himself but he felt like he should at least try to be worried about the man who tried to keep him safe even from Darkrai himself.

Plusle went right up to Luminor and pulled at his leg, trying to lead him into Kiro's room. The keyboardist immediately nodded and quickly started to walk towards the room along with Strify. Upon arriving, they saw a flurry of doctors coming in.

"What's happening?! Is Kiro alright?!" Strify asked, looking scared for the safety of his best friend. Upon seeing them, Bela came right up.

"I don't know what happened, he was fine a moment ago and then, he started to spasm." The nurse said, making them both pale. Luminor quickly pushed Bela over and ran into the room with Strify in tow.

~Meanwhile with Tom~

Tom stood close to Georg who didn't wake up and had a whole load of bandages wrapped on his head. He glared towards where he knew Shou's unresponsive body was held in and turned back to watching Georg and over Bill who was still inside the Sphere of Death. He truly wished that Bill was with him so they could take Darkrai on together.

"Ugh... What... Happened?" Georg said, slowly waking up.

"Georg!! Geht es dir gut?!" Tom asked, frantic immediately.

"My head is killing me... What the hell happened to me?.." The bassist replied, closing his eyes again, trying to reduce the headache he was feeling at that moment.

"What do you remember, Georg?"

The bassist frowned slightly, trying to remember. Then he opened his eyes wide, surprised.

"I... I can't remember anything! Who are you anyways?!"

~Meanwhile in Shou's mind~

"Would you look at that. The useless bastard is back." The fake-Tora said, an evil glint in his eyes. Tora looked confused as Shou paled even more. Tora decided to silently watch what was going on till he understood what exactly was happening.

"Why are you here? I thought we'd told you that you're not good enough." Said the fake-Saga, glaring at the timid vocalist.

"Yeah. Go away! We don't need you anymore!" The fake-Nao added, looking at Shou with disapproval and something akin to hatred. That did it for Tora. He immediately pulled Shou away from their angry glares.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! Shou's not someone you can give up on!!" The angry guitarist said, hugging Shou to his chest so the other man didn't see the painful mirage anymore. But the older man didn't let the guitarist hug him for too long, seemingly ashamed.

"You are useless, Shou. You know that yourself. You never write songs, never really are into clubbing or even doing something remotely fun. Not to mention, you're madly violent. That's why you're out of this group." The fake-Hiroto said.

Tora got shocked at that. He now understood what part of Shou's mind this was. The insecure part. Quickly he went in front of Shou, making him look at him in the eyes. What he saw there broke his heart. Shou was crying silently, trying not to make any noise so that they wouldn't mock him more.

"Kohara, look at me! You, are not useless! You're the best vocalist and the kindest heart I've ever met in my damned life!! You have absolutely no reason to think like this. We could never, ever replace you with anyone, band-wise or friendship-wise. So please, come to yourself already. We're waiting for you." Tora said as he got transparent. He knew his time was up. Thankfully, the illusion shattered as the guitarist got out of Shou's mind.

"Tora... Arigatou..." Shou whispered before finding himself in a field full of stars.

~Meanwhile in Kiro's room~

Strify and Luminor came running inside the room only to find that Bela was right. There was Kiro, still tied onto the bed and his body spasming like crazy. Both of them ran to the bassist's side, trying to understand what was going on.

"Karsten!! What's going on?!" Strify asked frantically, scared for his best friend. The doctor who was trying to pin the older man shook his head, indicating he didn't know either.

"Plusle, Plus!!" Kiro's Plusle stayed right beside her trainer, scared out of her wits that they might lose Kiro like that. But in a few minutes, the spasms of the short man came to a stop. After that, Kiro laid completely still, unresponsive to any of the doctors' tries of waking him up.

"I don't know what the hell just happened but I know Kiro can get out of this." Luminor said, gently petting Plusle to soothe her fears.

~Meanwhile with Emile~

Emile immediately went to the nearest book around the library, hoping against hope that he could find out just what the Pitch Black Pokémon was trying to do with his friends that he abducted. He silently opened the book, hoping to be able to read it quickly and get out of there. But what he saw there made him freeze on his tracks.

"Oh no..."

~Meanwhile with Tom~

"What do you mean you can't remember anything!? It's me, Tom! Gott, that savage bastard must've hit you too hard!" Tom said, looking distressed. And what was even worse for the young guitarist was Georg's eyes were still crimson red, meaning that he could still be influenced by Darkrai's evil ways.

"I really don't, Tom. I'm sorry."

Tom softened even further at that. He knew that the Georg he knew and loved was still in there and it showed. He just hoped he had enough time to make Georg remember who he really was before Darkrai would interfere.

"Are you alright? You look so distressed." Georg said softly. Tom nodded, trying to keep his tears in check.

"I-I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

~Meanwhile in Kiro's room~

"Plusle, Plus, Plusle!" Plusle cried, wanting to go near Kiro while the doctors were working to understand what had caused the uncontrollable spasms of the short bassist. But Luminor didn't let her go. To keep the doctors' area of work free but mostly to reassure himself that Plusle was there with him.

"It'll be okay, Plusle. I promise, it will be okay." The keyboardist whispered, trying to reassure himself as well as the Cheering Pokémon. He had tried to not show his fear to Plusle but the small Pokémon had already sensed why Luminor was keeping a hold of her. So, she did her best to reassure him by hugging him as tightly as she could.

"Plusle... Thank you." Luminor whispered as Strify asked the doctors about what was wrong with his best friend.

~Pokémon side~

"Oh, Plusle... I hope both of them will be okay. I doubt Plusle would be able to survive Kiro's death..." Said Floette, looking worriedly towards the room Kiro was in.

"I'm sure Kiro will be okay. Both him and Plusle are made of tough material, they won't bend easily, Floette." Said Zangoose, trying to be reassuring. And just as Sableye was about to say something, Mightyena came out of Shou's room, looking very worried.

~Meanwhile with Kyo and Kaoru~

After Kyo went back into unconsciousness, Die turned to Kaoru, looking at him with an almost cold look in his eyes.

"Do you... Do you think he's ever gonna forgive me?" Kaoru asked, his eyes still on Kyo's now peaceful form. Die sighed at that.

"I don't know, Kaoru. But I think you've got a long way towards deserving that forgiveness, to be honest with you."

Kaoru nodded at that, knowing full well that Die was right. That was then, Toshiya slowly made his way towards them, trying not to disturb anyone. Shinya trailed behind the bassist, looking really worried about Kyo.

~Meanwhile in Darkrai's fortress - library~

Emile stared long at the horrifying plan of the Pitch Black Pokémon. The Legendary Pokémon was going to use his friends' souls to unseal the evil spirits residing in the Spheres and take over both his and the gamer's worlds. But this made Emile all the more determined to save Jon and Tim. This simply could not happen.

"Now I should find myself a Pokémon so that I can hold my own against him..."

"You are too late to do so."

~Meanwhile in Shou's room~

Tora woke up with a loud gasp and shudder. As soon as he woke up, he looked at Shou whose eyes had become much more clear than they had been before. And the vocalist was now grasping his hand very tightly as if to reassure himself that they were there, which made Tora feel even more worried about Shou.

"Are you okay, Tora-shi?! What happened?!" Hiroto asked, looking really worried. Tora just nodded wordlessly. He couldn't believe what he'd seen inside Shou's mind. Couldn't believe that his beloved vocalist had thought that they would forget him in a minute if he were to be out of the band somehow.

"Mightyena, Might??" Mightyena gently headbutted the guitarist, worried about what might've happened.

"I'm fine. But we've got to give Shou a serious talking to once he's out of this nightmare." Hiroto nodded at that as well, remembering how afraid the vocalist had been when he was inside his mind.

"What do we do now, Cresselia-san?" Saga asked softly. He was honestly concerned about Shou and about how the two of them who were inside his mind before were acting.

"That, is what you have to decide. I cannot help you anymore than I already have. But hurry, your friend will not be able to stay alive as you know him for long if you do not take action soon." The Lunar Pokémon said quietly. Saga and Nao looked at eachother worriedly.

"Well, what are you guys gonna do, Saga-shi, Nao-kun??" Uruha asked, frowning. He also hadn't liked the way Tora and Hiroto were acting after getting out of Shou's mind. Something was amiss with this kind of acting.

"I... I don't know, I want to go in first, but what if it's something Saga can do rather than me?!" Nao whispered.

"I'm scared that if we wait too long, Shou will expire or something." Saga said, looking at the younger man's pale face.

"I think you should do it, Nao. Call me insane but I really feel like this is something you can help him with." Said Tora. Nao gulped at that and nodded, coming beside him.

"Be careful, young one. For his mind is not safe as it should be at the moment." Cresselia said, making Nao tense even more. But the drummer didn't let it slow him down from what needed to be done in order to save Shou. So he held the taller man's hand in his, feeling him grasp it tightly and merged himself with his vocalist.

~Meanwhile in Shou's mind~

Shou looked around scaredly as the field of stars suddenly became a closed cell. He didn't understand what was going to happen to him. Then, all of a sudden, Nao appeared right outside the cell.

"N-Nao!! Help me!" The vocalist exclaimed. Hearing this, Nao immediately ran to the bars of the cell, trying to get them to bend. But as soon as he touched them, his hands got badly burnt.

"Shou! I'll save you, I promise! Just hang on, alright?!" Nao said frantically. He knew there must be a key somewhere, he only had to find it.

"Nao! Your hands!!"

"Nevermind me right now! Focus, Kohara, this is your mind! Do you know where the key is?!"

Shou focused, trying to find the key. Nao was right after all, this was his mind. But when he did so, a horrible thing happened. The impersonation of the Sphere of Life had returned and smiled creepily at the scared Nao.

"That pathetic being does not deserve the key. He's better off isolated."

"N-no!! S-Shou-kun is not pathetic!! He deserves t-to be alright and w-with us!" Nao said, trying to keep himself calm. He knew if he fell now, Shou would have no chances of getting back on his feet.

"But does he want to? After all, you never call him to have fun with him. You are always out whenever he needs something from you."

"No!! Shou wouldn't want to d-die! Right, Shou-kun?!" Nao asked, wide eyed with horror at the implications the dangerous being was making. He immediately turned to Shou who was shame-faced. It didn't take Nao long to understand what Shou had been thinking and in his rage, the drummer forgot to be scared.

"You've hurt Shou enough already! Let. Him. Go!!" He said, shaking with fury.

"What can you do to make me do so?" The Sphere taunted the oldest of Alice Nine. He now understood what was wrong with Shou in this cell. Shou, was lonely. And then, Nao did something very unexpected, he attacked the entity, holding her up by her throat and making Shou wide-eyed at the anger of the short drummer.

"Leave. Shou. ALONE!!!" He yelled and then, throwing her, he ran back to Shou's side.

"Shou, I think you have the key inside you. Just... Just trust me and accept this." He said holding out his hand to the vocalist. Shou thought for a moment and then, he managed to hold Nao's outstretched hand and that, made a golden key appear in between them. Nao smiled and nodded at Shou who smiled back shakily and used the key.

~Meanwhile with Bill~

The Spirit Pokémon cried out and put her arms together in front of her, forming a purple and black orb of static energy between them and sent it right at the Tom impersonator. The guitarist though, immediately dodged it, smiling crazily at Bill who looked more than slightly distressed. The teen obviously did not want to hurt anyone but he had no choice either.

"Yamask, I know I'm asking too much of you right now. But can you hold them off while I run away to find a way to get out of here?" Bill whispered to Yamask. She immediately turned to him in confusion.

"Ya? Yamask, Ya??" She cried, looking adorably confused. Bill's tense features softened at the confusion of his partner.

"I don't think killing them will work. The Sphere of Death can bring those things back to life anytime he wants to after all. So there must be another way to get out of this." He explained to her. Yamask nodded and turned back to the impersonators, filled with determination.

"Yamask! Ya, Yamask, Ya!!" She cried out to Bill and understanding what she was trying to say, Bill nodded and ran away.

"You can't run away forever, Bill! You're going to be his for eternity!!" Tom-impostor yelled from behind him.

"Never! I won't let this happen to me." Bill whispered, even more determined to get out.

~Meanwhile in Shou's room~

"Do you think Shou will be really okay??" Hiroto asked in a quiet, concerned voice. He felt guilty about the vocalist going to save him alone in Darkrai's castle. Saga put a hand on the pained guitarist's shoulder, gently supporting him without words.

"If I know Shou-kun, he'll bounce back as soon as possible. He's simply too strong to not be able to." Ruki said kindly. That was then, a nurse came in with Ruki's Sableye. The Darkness Pokémon's legs looked much better than it had been before and she came beside the short vocalist, plastering herself to his leg and making the people in the room smile at her.

And just as they looked up from the cute scene, Nao gasped and woke up. This took all attention to Shou whose eyes had cleared from the glazed look but still wasn't quite there, from the looks of him.

"Nao! Are you alright?!" Hiroto asked, truly worried. Nao shook his head to clear it and then, sighed quietly.

"I'm fine, Hiroto. But I really hope Shou wakes up soon. We need to talk to him seriously." The drummer said, looking down at the out-of-it vocalist with gentle worry in his eyes.

"Okay, now it's my turn! I'll bring Kohara back to us!" Saga said, determined.

"Be careful, Saga, it can still be dangerous for you as well as him."

~Meanwhile in Kiro's room~

Strify, Plusle and Luminor were staying close to their unconscious bassist when he stirred.

"Ugh... What's going on??"

"Karsten!! Are you okay?!" Strify asked, frantic immediately.

"Plusle, Plus!" The Cheering Pokémon cried, really worried about her trainer. Kiro smiled at their concern though.

"I just feel tired. What happened to me though, do you know??"

"Bela said you suddenly began to spasm like crazy for some reason. None of us knows why either." Luminor said, trying not to show how worried he had been. But Kiro immediately saw through his façade, calmly holding the keyboardist's hand to reassure him that he was fine now.

~Meanwhile with Bill~

Bill ran through the halls of the castle of the Sphere of Death, trying to find a way to get to a library or something. As he was running, his mind went a mile in a minute, trying to get what to do to get out of the Sphere completely. Then, a very dangerous idea came to him. What if he killed himself in this twisted world of the Sphere?

"Well, I need to confirm this so I can get out, I guess." Bill whispered before finally finding the library.

~Meanwhile in Georg's room~

"You don't really look like okay, Tom. Maybe I can help. It won't do to keep everything in yourself, you'll break eventually." Georg said calmly, holding the distressed teen's hand. He didn't know why, but this young man came very familiar to him. He felt as if it was important that he remembered his name.

"It's just... Everything came way too fast at me. My twin is trapped in some magical and dangerous Sphere, you and Gustav were in danger and Gustav still is... And then you got your head open by a savage bastard. So I don't know what to do anymore, to be honest with you, Georg." Tom said, words gushing out of him now that he had the chance to tell the bassist how worried he was.

"I... I don't know what to say, Tom. But from the sound of the stuff you went through, you seem like a good and strong person. So I'll trust you to bring my memory back, okay? Does that sound okay to you?"

Tom's eyes widened at that. He was starting to see a ray of hope now that the bassist was actually trusting him.

"It'll be okay, Tom. It really will." Georg said and then, he laid back on the bed, closing his eyes.

"Are you feeling okay, Georg??" Tom asked, truly worried. Georg only nodded slightly, grimacing when it made his head wound smart a bit.

"I'm just tired, it's okay." He said and then, fell asleep. After the younger teen was sure that Georg was fully asleep, he decided to listen in to what those champions of Cresselia were doing and if they had brought Shou back.

~Meanwhile in Shou's room~

"I have a bad feeling about this, Saga. Please be careful, alright?" Tora said, frowning slightly. Saga nodded at that and going up to Shou's side, he held his hand tightly, feeling the vocalist gripping his hand almost as tightly as he was. Then, the bassist merged into Shou's mind.

"Oh, Shou-kun... I really hope you'll be okay after this." Yasuno whispered, looking worried about the singer. He admittedly didn't know Shou all that well but to see the normally cheerful man fall like this, scared Yasuno a lot more than he would willingly admit.

~Meanwhile with Kyo~

After Toshiya came into the room, looking drained, he immediately asked what had happened while he was gone. Kaoru didn't answer, too lost in wallowing in shame. Die though, gave him a small synopsis of what had happened.

"So Kyo did wake up?! Do you think he'll ever forgive us?" The bassist asked, looking at the unconscious body of the vocalist.

"Yeah, he did. And I don't know, Toshiya. I really don't know." Kaoru said in a barely above a whisper tone. He now felt so foolish to hurt Kyo in the way he had. And his only hope for forgiveness was to tend to the shorter man and help him get better as soon as possible.

~Meanwhile with Bill~

Bill finally managed to find the library, hoping that his plan was right and he wouldn't die in vain. He went inside and saw the only thing that was standing in between of him and getting the solution to his dilemma; Gustav's impersonation.

"Hello, Bill. Did you think it was going to be that easy to get away with running away from us?" The impostor said, smirking at his distress.

"You will never keep me inside here! I'm gonna break away and soon! I promise though, that I will never let you and Georg down within the hands of Darkrai. I will save you guys no matter what happens." Bill said, saddened at the remembrance of the fact that Georg and Gustav were still in Darkrai's influence.

"I'd like to see you try. You can't even help yourself, how will you ever be able to bring us out of that?!" The drummer said, making Bill flinch.

"I... I don't know, but I will find a way to do it, just believe in me, please." The teenager vocalist said, voice trembling slightly as he held his tears back. And then, he decided to wing it and hope to hell that it would bring him safely to his body. Giving himself a mental nod, he took the nearest sharp object in his hand which was a sharp piece of glass. Gustav looked confusedly at him before realizing what the younger teen was about to do.

"No, stop!!" But he was too late. Bill had already stabbed himself through his own chest.

~Meanwhile in Shou's mind~

Shou suddenly found himself in the middle of a jungle. He timidly looked around, not knowing what to expect from this place. He just hoped there wasn't any danger to his bandmates like there was in that castle where Hiroto had helped him out.

"So, you are alone this time." The impersonation of the Sphere of Life said, suddenly appearing right next to Shou and making him shriek and try to get away from the dangerous entity.

"No! I-I know they will come t-through for m-me!" The vocalist stammered, looking scared and unconfident. At that, the Sphere of Life just smiled serenely, looking like she knew something that Shou did not.

"He might. That is, if he can find you in the first place." She said and then, disappeared. Shou's eyes widened at that, he was sure that something was wrong and whoever had come to save him this time, might be in a great danger. He decided to run and find his friend before the dangerous spiritual being killed him.

Not too long after he'd started running, he saw a mass of brown hair just up ahead. He'd recognize that hair anywhere.

"S-Saga-kun!!" He called out to the bassist. But when the other man turned around, the vocalist got a shock. Saga looked at him with hatred and disdain in his eyes.

"You're back, you meddling little scum." He said, glaring at Shou.

"W-what?! S-Saga, what are you talking about?! What did I-I do wrong?!"

~Meanwhile with Kyo~

Kyo came back to life with a weak groan, making all of the others turn to him in worry.

"Kyo? Are you... Are you feeling better?" Shinya asked worriedly, hoping for an affirmative with all his heart.

"I... I kinda feel better... Less... Hurt..." The shorter man whispered hoarsely, trying to keep his eyes open.

"Thank Kami-sama... Kyo, I'm so sorry, please forgive us for hurting you like that, please!" Toshiya said, tears in his eyes. At that, Kyo looked away, contemplating it. It took the vocalist a few minutes to answer Toshiya's question but when he did, Toshiya was left speechless.

"I... I think I will... But give me... Some time... Okay?" He whispered. Toshiya and Kaoru looked at eachother and then at the shorter man, thoroughly shaken.

"O-of course, Kyo-kun! Take as much time as you need." Kaoru said quickly, glad that their friendship had not been gone.

~Meanwhile with Kiro~

"So, why do you guys think I spasmed like that?" Kiro asked curiously. Strify shook his head.

"No clue. But that, was really scary, seeing you like that." The vocalist said, shuddering still. Luminor nodded as well, looking a bit shaken himself.

"Guys, I'm okay now. You don't need to be worried about me." The older man said, looking worried about his friends.

"Plusle, Plus, Plusle!" Kiro's Plusle cried out, climbing onto his bed and snuggling the bassist and making him smile at the adorableness of the Cheering Pokémon.

~Meanwhile with Tom~

Tom was shocked that they still hadn't been able to bring Shou back to himself so he could give a piece of his mind to the vocalist. Something had to have gone wrong somewhere that the older man wasn't okay there still. Then he decided to go to Bill's side for a moment, just to feel his younger twin with him even if for a moment. But he got a shock when he came into the room Bill was staying in.

"No way..."

~Meanwhile in Shou's mind~

Shou took a step back from the death glare he received from Saga. He didn't understand why the bassist looked at him so angrily. Saga took a step towards the shocked and timid singer, looking threateningly at him.

"If you weren't so stupid, he would be alive right now!!"

"W-what?! Who do you mean, Saga-kun?!"

"I mean Hiroto, you dumbass!"

~Meanwhile elsewhere in Shou's mind~

Saga struggled against the conjuration of the Sphere of Life, a white tiger with red eyes. No matter what the bassist did, he couldn't out-smart the dangerous animal.

"Let me go you damned thing!! Kohara needs me!!" He growled. That was then, he saw the impersonation of the Sphere of Life coming beside the big cat.

"Your friend does not deserve to get out. But he shall be a good assist for me." The woman said, looking creepily serene. At that, Saga sent a death glare at the dangerous entity, knowing Shou's life was in his hands at the moment. Then he decided to wing it and hope to hell that the idea that had come to his mind worked.

"What he doesn't deserve is to be a goddamned slave!" He said and then, he backed away, confusing both the tiger and the entity.

Then he started to run right into the tiger and just as they were going to collide, Saga jumped, nearly not managing the distance but after flailing a bit, he managed to find his balance and start running again, in the direction where he knew Shou was at.

~Meanwhile with Tom~

Tom stared in shock as Bill got up with blank eyes. He didn't know what had happened but as the singer tried to walk on shaky legs, he felt that his twin was on his way to getting better.

"B-Bill?" Tom asked softly, hoping that he could talk so he knew what was wrong and hopefully, fix it.

"Tom..." Came the whisper from his beloved twin. That showed Tom that the vocalist was at least a little conscious now. And that gave him hope. Hope that Bill was still fighting no matter what.

"Oh Bill, I'm so sorry..." He whispered and then, helped his younger twin to sit on the bed since it was obvious that Bill was not able to see at the moment.

~Meanwhile in Shou's room~

"Hiroto, are you sure that you're okay? You looked so pale when we came into that damned fortress." Said Nao, still worried about the younger man. Hiroto nodded though.

"I'm just tired, Nao-kun. They... They didn't hurt me, not that much anyways. I'm just scared for Shou right now, that's all." The guitarist replied, looking at their singer's unresponsive body. He shuddered to think what might happen to him if they somehow failed to restore him.

"It'll be alright, Hiroto-kun. Shou's not someone to give up like that, you know that." Said Uruha softly, inwardly cursing Darkrai for upsetting these people so much.

"Yeah, but I'm still worried. He's one of the best people I know, I would never forgive myself if he d-died like this." The guitarist said, looking down at Shou still.

~Meanwhile in Darkrai's fortress - dungeons~

Just as Jon and Tim were talking amongst themselves, two people came into the dungeons, carrying none other than an unconscious Emile. They harshly deposited him into one of the cells, looking satisfied with the damage they'd done to the gamer.

"Emile!!! Emile, wake up!!" Tim screamed, frightened that the other young man was dead. The gamer didn't answer since he was not conscious.

"Oh God! Please tell me he's not dead!!" Jon said, wide eyed with fear that one of his best friends might be dead.

"I can check." A voice from the next dungeon came. They looked up to see a tall brunette who had managed to get out of his bindings.

"Who're you?! Why are you helping us?!" Jon asked suspiciously. He didn't want to trust anyone in this castle, even the other prisoners.

"I'm Robin. I know first-aid, don't worry." The young man said and then, shocked them with the keys to his own cell. And then, he proceeded to get into the cell Emile was put into. The breeder looked at Emile and felt his breathing for a moment and then, turned back to Jon and Tim who were worriedly looking at him.

"He's okay, just unconscious." He said, making both of them sag in relief.

"Thank goodness for that." Tim whispered. That was then, Emile actually groaned and woke up.

"Emile!! Are you alright?!"

"Ow... My head is killing me..." Emile groaned and then, looked up to a sight that shocked him.

"Oh my God! How did Darkrai manage to keep a Salamance inside here?!"

~Meanwhile in Shou's mind~

"W-what are you t-talking about?! H-Hiroto was o-okay! I saw him!!" Shou stammered, shocked and afraid.

"You were the one who hesitated to go to his aid! You don't deserve any help from anyone, you--"

"Stop it right there!!" A voice from behind Shou came, making him and the bassist turn around with shock.

There stood another Saga, glaring at the one in front of Shou. Shou didn't know which one was the real Saga and looked nervously between the two of them.

"How dare you blame Shou for something that never even happened in the first damn place?! In my face no less!!" The bassist yelled angrily.

"W-what is going on?!" The singer stuttered, not comprehending the situation. The Saga behind him took a step towards the older man, tentatively as if not wanting to scare him further.

"I'm here, Shou. I'll set you free, I promise." He said softly, looking worriedly at him. And then, the Saga in front of Shou suddenly transformed into the impersonation of the Sphere of Life, making Shou shriek and fall onto his back.

"Kohara!" Saga ran and helped him up, hugging the other man gently. He had heard what the Sphere had blamed Shou about and he wanted to reassure the vocalist that Hiroto was just fine.

"S-Saga-kun... I-I'm scared..." Came Shou's muffled voice from his chest.

"It'll be alright, Shou. We're gonna get out of here soon, I promise."

"T-thank you..." Shou whispered, scared even though the presence of Saga. He just hoped that Saga did not get hurt in his place or he'd never forgive himself. But just as the vocalist raised his head to see the bassist's face, a movement caught his eye and he froze, there was an angry White tiger right behind Saga, about to bite him.

"T-Takashi!!" He yelled, wanting to warn Saga before the wild animal took a big bite at him. Thankfully, Saga was quick on his feet and he managed to dodge the animal, making it hit the tree in front of them.

"Shou! Stay behind, I've got this!" Saga yelled as the vocalist tried to get up and help him out from the tiger. Then, he paused to think of his next move, hoping against hope that it didn't attack Shou instead. His fears were realised when the animal turned to the cowering singer.

"Hey!! I'm here, leave Shou alone!!" Saga yelled, taunting the dangerous conjuration. The tiger turned to the bassist with a death glare and attacked him instead. Seeing this, Shou screamed with fright, afraid that Saga had sacrificed himself for his well-being.

"Shou, I'm okay, be quiet! It's attacking at the noise!!"

Shou just managed to let out a whimper, too relieved to do anything else. The fight continued for only ten more minutes but when the tiger attacked Saga again, too close for dodging this time, making Shou pale even more, Saga managed to get under the animal and punch it hard in its ribcage, making the animal vanish in a smoke, surprisingly.

"W-what?! How?!" Shou said, not being able to understand how Saga had managed to prevail. But Saga just shook his head, smiling at his confusion and worry. And then, he held out his hand towards the confused vocalist.

"Come on, the others are waiting for us, Shou. Come with me." Saga said and finally smiling, Shou took his hand. They vanished from the jungle together.

"NO!!!" The Sphere of Life screamed in anger. She then vanished as well in a white light.

~Meanwhile in Shou's room~

Saga and Shou gasped and both woke up at the same time, making everyone crowd them at once.

"Shou!! Are you alright?! Does anything hurt?!" Hiroto asked frantically. He had been so worried about the older man.

"Mightyena, Might?!" His Mightyena had been just as worried, gently headbutting Shou. Shou smiled at him shakily, he was confused, his head was aching and he didn't really know what was going on yet but he wasn't about to worry people more by saying so.

"I-I'm... I'm fine, nothing hurts. But... What happened to me?"

"What do you remember?"

"I... I kind of remember being in Darkrai's fortress but nothing else, not really." Shou said, frowning.

~Meanwhile with Tom~

"Bill? Are you... Are you okay?" Tom asked, worried about his twin. Bill's head turned a fraction towards him, obviously listening.

"Tom... Help... Me..." The vocalist whispered, obviously not strong at the moment. Tom immediately kneeled in front of the teenager, ready to do anything he said to bring him back.

"Tell me anything, little brother. Tell me and I will do it!"

"Bring... Minun... Pl...ease..." Bill whispered, actually managing to hold his twin's hand and squeeze it.

"Okay! I-I'll be right back. Don't move, alright?!" Tom said and ran out of the room, knowing where the blue Cheering Pokémon was at that moment.

~Meanwhile in Shin's room~

Shin sighed, he was in between trying to kill the people that had helped him to the point of saving his life and not doing so. He knew if he didn't kill them, Darkrai would make him pay. But why should he try when they cared so much about him?

"What are you thinking so hard about, Marcel?" Romeo asked curiously.

"Nothing really..." The drummer said, not wanting to worry the older man more. Romeo shook his head though, knowing that they were close to bringing Shin back to them. If only they had the cure right in their hands. Just as he thought that, Bela came into the room, surprisingly supporting a weak but determined Kiro. Strify and Luminor trailed behind him, shaking their heads.

"Shin! Are you okay?! Gott, I was so worried about you!!"

"I'm... I'm fine, Kiro. Don't worry anymore, please."

~Meanwhile with Georg~

Georg woke up to find no one beside him. He was surprised by that too, not understanding where Tom had disappeared to. And his head was still aching like crazy.

"Ugh... Where did Tom go?.." The bassist whispered, looking around in confusion. He couldn't find any trace of the guitarist but then, someone came into the room, making him look up.

"Hello? Who are you?" He asked with curiosity.

"I'm the man who has your memory, Georg." The man said, smirking with his blood red eyes glowing slightly.

"W-what?!" Georg whispered, shocked. The bassist had the feeling that he also knew this man, just like Tom.

"All you need to do is to come with me, Georg. Our Master will easily bring your memory back." He said. But for some reason, his wording sounded odd, as if he was lying to him. Just as he was about to say something, Tom came in and froze.

"Gustav!.." The teenager guitarist whispered, shocked. And then, he hurried to get in front of Georg protectively.

"You're not taking him, Gustav. Not on my watch!"

That, made Gustav pause in surprise. He hadn't expected to see Tom so protective. But when he saw that his trainer was not going to do something painful, Graveler cried out in anger.

"Graveler, Gra!"

Hearing the cry, Gustav's eyes flashed a brighter red and running, he slammed his fist into the wound Tom had on his stomach, making him gasp out a pained sound and collapse.

"Tom!! I don't know you, mister, but I am not going to come with you! Tom did nothing wrong to you, leave us alone!!" Georg said as he helped Tom to get into a chair as his wound bled.

"G-Georg... I n-need something from you..." Tom whispered, his eyes glazed with pain.

"What is it, Tom? I'll do it, don't worry." The bassist replied, looking at him with worry.

"F-find the blue Pokémon with Minus markings on his f-face and bring him to the r-room 572, please... My... Brother... He needs that Pokémon to come back t-to us..."

"Alright. Don't worry about that, Tom. I'll find it." Georg said and managed to get out of the room with Graveler chasing after him.

"I'm so sorry, Gustav. I s-should've... Been able to protect you..."

~Meanwhile with Bill~

Bill felt like he was falling apart. After he'd stabbed himself, he had found himself floating in an abyss, not knowing how to get back to his own body again. He could have sworn that he'd heard Tom's voice right beside him but now it was gone. That was then, a young woman's voice slipped into his mind, startling him.

"Bill..."

"W-Who're you?! What do you want with me?!"

At that, the voice chuckled slightly, as if amused. Bill frowned at that, feeling like he was being mocked. That was then, Yamask appeared, obviously tired but smiling at him

"Oh, it was you, Yamask?" The vocalist said, smiling back at the Spirit Pokémon.

"Yes. I'm going, Bill. I came to you to say good-bye." She said in his mind, coming a little closer to him.

"What?! Where are you going???"

"Back to the heavens. I was never alive, Bill. Darkrai just awakened me and many other Pokémon like me to do his evil deeds. Some liked it, like your brother's Misdreavus. But I never did. Many times, I tried to go back to my dear family but they caught me and managed to bring me back, saying I'd be useful for them somehow. But I am glad to be able to come to you. You never treated me wrongly even though you weren't in your right mind. Minun is very lucky to have a trainer like you."

"That's... That's horrible!! I promise I will try to bring the others like you back, Yamask, Darkrai has to be stopped!" Bill said, eyes wide in shock and horror.

"Thank you. Farewell, Bill." Yamask said, suddenly transforming into a blonde girl and disappearing. Bill smiled painedly after she was gone. The pain was spreading fast into his whole body and he didn't know if he could hold on for much longer.

~Meanwhile in Shou's room~

"That's... That's pretty far back, actually, it's been two days since we saved Hiroto-kun, Shou..." Tora said, looking worried. Shou's eyes widened at that, shocked.

"What?! But... But what am I doing here then?! Is... Is Hiroto okay?!"

"Luxray, Lux, Luxray~." The Gleam Eyes Pokémon headbutted Shou and smiled at him, pointing at the tired looking Hiroto.

"I'm okay, Shou-kun. But we need to talk, alright?"

"O-kay? What's the matter, Hiroto-kun?" The taller man asked with concern. But just as he said that, a noise from Tom's room alerted everyone.

The people in the room immediately got up but just as Shou was going to get up as well, Ruki stopped him with a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"You stay behind. We've got this, you need your rest, Shou-kun."

"But-But I want to know what's going on, senpai! I'm not feeling tired, I swear!" Shou replied, looking confused. Ruki just shook his head though, not letting the taller vocalist to get up and see what was going on. Shou groaned with annoyance at the shorter man's insistance but didn't try to get up again, quietly wondering what might have had happened to him in those two days that he did not remember.

~Meanwhile in Tom's room~

Tom whimpered as Gustav pressed him hard onto the ground, everywhere in his body burning with searing pain, especially his stomach.

"I knew you'd be a hindrance to our quest ever since you got weak, Tom. But you're not going to be able to be so once I finish you once and for all." The drummer said as he brought a small but very sharp dagger onto the guitarist's neck, grinning at the look of shock and horror on Tom's face.

"N-no! Gustav, y-you wouldn't do that to me!! Please, at-at least think of Bill, he needs me!"

"No one can save you, Tom. Not anymore." Gustav said as he started to press the dagger into Tom's throat.

~Meanwhile with Bill~

Bill didn't know how much time had passed since Yamask had departed to her family's side. All he knew was that the pain would not stop spreading through his body. Suddenly though, a very concerned male voice slithered its way into the teenager vocalist's head, making him look up.

"Bill? Bill are you there?"

"I-I'm here... But who are you??" He asked curiously. He could swear that he knew this person from somewhere. The voice chuckled slightly, still not sounding too happy.

"Bill, it's me, you know who I am, just think."

Bill frowned, trying to get who it was and then, it hit him. It was Minun.

"M-Minun?!"

"Yes. You need to come back, Bill, Tom needs you big time and so do I. We're all waiting for you. Please pull yourself together, I miss you." The Cheering Pokémon whispered to him, making Bill finally get determined to wake up.

"I-I... I will, Minun. Please wait for me..." Bill whispered and then, decided to pull himself together without any help from the others. Closing his eyes, he concentrated hard, trying to put the pain aside from his mind. And then, he gasped, opening his eyes back.

~Meanwhile with Tom~

Tom closed his teary eyes, accepting his death as the punishment for not being able to protect Bill and his bandmates. But the finishing blow never came. Instead, he heard Gustav swear and the weight on his body disappeared suddenly. Looking up, he saw Yasuno and Ni~ya pulling the angry drummer off of him.

"D-don't hurt him! Please!" He whimpered weakly, making the other men look at him confusedly.

"Are you sure? He tried to kill you after all."

"Yes! He's still my friend, no matter what happens."

Just as he said that, Gustav managed to elbow Yasuno and get away with his Graveler coming beside the angry and influenced drummer.

"Yasuno-kun! Daijoubu ka?!" One of the short people came beside the doubled-over man, worried about him.

"Hai, daijoubu, Keiyuu-kun." He said through pained gasps.

"You may stay alive a bit longer, Tom. But remember, I will come for you when you least expect it." Gustav said, glaring at the younger teen who looked about ready to cry.

~Meanwhile in Darkrai's fortress - dungeons~

"A what??" Came Jon's voice from behind Emile, obviously confused. Emile didn't answer though, too busy looking in surprise at the fallen Dragon Pokémon.

"Isn't that a Dragon-type Pokémon, Emile?" Said Tim, clarifying things by quite a lot for Jon as well.

"Well, technically, it's a Dragon and Flying-type. And it's extremely powerful! But somehow, it's hurt..." The gamer said, going closer to the Salamance.

"Are you sure you should get closer to it though? A wounded Pokémon can be quite violent, you know." Robin said, looking worriedly at him.

"What do you think you're doing, mister?! Come back in this instant!" Jon exclaimed, worried that the Dragon Pokémon could wake up.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm do--"

"SALAMANCE!!!" In a moment, what Jon and Tim had feared happened, Salamance did wake up, roaring at Emile to keep him at a safe distance. Seeing this, Emile immediately took a step back, both intimidated slightly and not wanting to anger the Pokémon and possibly harming it more than it already was.

"Salamance, I know you're hurt and probably scared. But you're a strong Pokémon, you can get over this and we can foil Darkrai's plans together, if you want of course!" Emile said softly, as he didn't want it to be angry at him.

~Meanwhile in the hospital - Kyo's room~

When Shinya saw Kaoru look like he was about to cry again, he softened a little. Even though he was still kind of mad at both him and Toshiya, he could not find it in himself to remind Kaoru of what he had done wrong. Instead, he put his hand on the pained lead guitarist's shoulder and squeezed it comfortingly.

"It'll be okay, Kaoru. Kyo's strong, you know that, he's not going to die like that."

"I... I don't know, Shinya. His wounds are so... So deep!.. I just hope he'll survive and forgive us for the shit we've done to him."

"He will. You know he cares deeply for all of us. Too much to give up on the friendship we have." The drummer replied, starting to get concerned that Kaoru was as always thinking too hard.

~Meanwhile in Shin's room~

Kiro immediately came beside Shin, wanting to take a closer look at his wounds. After seeing the small but deep wounds on the drummer's wrists, he looked about ready to cry.

"Gott, I should've protected you from that madman. I'm so sorry, Marcel..."

"It's... It's alright, Kiro. I'm fine now, aren't I?" Shin said, smiling at him gently even though the evil part of him wanted to kill the bassist right then and there. Kiro returned the smile shakily, trying to get their Shin that he knew was still in there back.

~Meanwhile in Tom's room~

After Gustav departed from the hospital with his Graveler, Tom's Poochyena came beside her trainer, really worried.

"Poochyena, Pooch!!"

"I'm-I'm fine, Poochyena... It hurts but... I'm fine..."

And then, he saw Shou coming into the room along with Georg, looking in curiously. His eyes darkened at the sight of the tall vocalist almost instantly.

"Georg! Get away from him!!" He yelled at his bassist who was confused.

"Shou-kun?? What the hell are you doing up?! We told you to rest!! Anyways, I think we need to have a small talk, okay?" Said Hiroto, looking worried about him. Then he came up to the taller man and dragged him away. The others shook their heads at the scene, most knowing how protective Shou and Hiroto were of eachother.

"What the hell was that?!" Georg asked in confusion.

"He's the one that cost you your memory, Georg. Don't get near that bastard." Tom growled, remembering that horrifying moment in which Shou had hit Georg so hard on the head with a shudder.

"Okay. I guess you're right, he shouldn't be approached." Georg said with a shrug, which made the rest of Alice Nine glare at the two of them.

"Shou was just trying to keep Hiroto-kun safe, he's not a monster because of that!!" Tora said, looking murderously at Tom.

"Yeah, Shou-kun is fiercely protective of us and what your friend said before he lost his memory pissed him off which is not a safe thing when Shou is concerned." Nao added, also looking angrily at Tom.

Just as Tom was about to retort, he stopped short at the person that came into the room. And as they were defending Shou, nobody, not even himself, noticed that Saga's eyes had turned completely white for a moment.