A/N - If you've already read the first three chapters, I've started adding illustrations. Also, the cover has been redone. Woo! =D I'm really enjoying revisiting this fanfiction. I hope you're all enjoying!

4 – A Worrying Development

Cleo and Spark stood side by side looking down at the unconscious whimsicott.

"Wow." Spark looked up at the bloodied body of the noivern then back at Mischief. "What... happened to him?"

"I've no idea." Cleo glanced around the forest, the floor now scattered with black feathers, the bodies of unconscious murkrow and marred with the thick, crimson blood from the noivern. She looked back down at Spark. "Thanks for helping me there. I could have ended up like our large friend."

Spark shook her head. "Don't mention it. I'm sure you would have done the same for me. But can I suggest something?"

"Go on."

"That we get out of here? It has a very morbid, uneasy feeling to it now."

"Yes. I have to agree." Cleo turned to leave, but froze, looking back at Mischief. She sighed and unfurled her ears, raising the whimsicott into the air and moving him along ahead of her.

"You're bringing him?" Spark's voice came out unusually shrill even for her.

"I don't feel comfortable leaving him there. What if those murkrow wake up before he does?"

"But..." Spark glanced back nervously. "But you saw what he did!"

"Yes."

"He attacked you, Cleo!" Spark almost bounced with fury. "And you're just bringing him along?"

"Yes."

The dedenne sighed. "Fine. I don't understand you though."

Cleo said nothing, moving on with more speed than before. She just wanted to put the forest behind her now and reach New City before Mischief woke up. She had a feeling Spark hadn't noticed what she had – that look of confusion in his eyes, almost as if he hadn't been aware of his actions and wondered what had happened.

No, she couldn't leave him there. He might have attacked her, but he also saved her life.

Didn't he?

It wasn't just that. She had to show the whimsicott to Tinker. Any pokemon that could withstand a dragon pulse – a powerful dragon type attack – without even receiving so much as a scratch... she'd never met a pokemon like that. She wasn't sure anyone had. She had her doubts, but she found herself wondering if Mischief was actually immune to such an attack.

If that was the case... She glanced sideways at the floating whimsicott and shook her head, turning her attention back to her destination. It was a ridiculous idea, maybe whatever madness had took over him had merely rendered him unable to feel any pain.

It wasn't a long walk now. Cleo could see the stretch of wild undergrowth in the distance, the rocky moors that spread across the vast plains, expanding out into wide mountains that obscured the view beyond them.

She checked around them, eyes scanning their surroundings and the skies. There were no pokemon, no more noivern or murkrow, not even a single pidgey. Desolate and eerie, but reassuring.

Finally, their feet reached the tough grass of the moors. Mischief was still unconscious, bobbing along beside Cleo.

A few feet into the moors, wild thorn bushes sprawled across the grass, once filled with berries but now sporting nothing more than sharp, jagged leaves.

Cleo parted them and scrambled inside, pushing Mischief along ahead of her. Inside the bush was a flat, round rock with a groove in it the perfect shape and size to fit the Guild badge. She removed it from her bag and stuck it inside, turning it anticlockwise. The stone slid along, revealing a steep, winding staircase. This only gave a few seconds before it moved back in place. Cleo slipped inside and Spark followed, keeping the whimsicott between them. The stone slid shut, clicking into place.

"Yeesh!" Spark squeaked. "It almost claimed my tail!"

She hopped down the stairs after Cleo, clutching her black tail in her paws.

"Then you should have sat on my shoulder."

"I don't like being so close to your ears when they're open, you know that." She shuddered. "What if I get caught in a crossfire or something?"

Cleo shook her head slowly and stifled a laugh.

The winding stairs ended in a well lit tunnel. Candles adorned the walls, held on strong, iron rods. Voices filled the air, reverberating off the cold walls. Stone archways stretched above them every few feet until the tunnel finally stretched out into a massive hall. A huge chandelier hung from the ceiling casting the place in a bright light.

Hundreds of pokemon busied about, nattering, visiting the little market stalls and shouting out advertisements for their work. In the far walls of the hall were windows where pokemon had set up more permanent shops.

Cleo and Spark moved through the crowds, drawing looks of confusion from any pokemon that noticed the floating whimsicott bobbing along beside them.

Due to its confusing layout, each corridor leading off the hall was clearly signposted. Many of them led to the different nest rooms for the pokemon that lived there, amongst other accommodations, but Cleo had been here enough times to know where she was going. One specific corridor led directly to the Guild Headquarters.

The Guild Headquarters was home to many facilities – rescue teams, meeting rooms, item shops, the medical ward, the Guild food hall and of course Tinker's office, the latter of which stood before them in all its pride and glory.

The wooden door had written on it 'knock before entering', so Cleo knocked. (In the past, she'd ignored the sign and just gone inside, but had received a berating from a rather unhappy riolu who was struggling to hide his inventions under a pile of papers.)

After a brief pause came a cheerful, "Come in!"

Yes, just as she thought, Tinker was currently in his office. She often wondered how he managed to beat her to each of the Guild's bases. She once wondered if each Guild HQ had its own Tinker, but that thought was soon dismissed as 'ridiculous' and she learned to accept the riolu's mysterious ways.

Cleo opened the door and stepped inside. Tinker gave her a warm smile, which was swiftly replaced with a mixture of concern and confusion when he saw the whimsicott.

"Well, Cleo... I think an explanation is in order!" he said as Cleo let Mischief drop to the ground with very little grace.

"Okay. This is a fuzzy nuisance who decided to force himself on us," Cleo told him. "He goes by the name of Mischief."

"A fitting name if I do say so." Tinker scratched his head as he looked down at the whimsicott. "Why is he unconscious?"

"I was hoping you could tell me that," said Cleo. She leant back against the wall. "He seemed to go mad when we were attacked by a noivern and some murkrow. He fought them off, then after he tried to attack me, he collapsed."

"He tried to attack you?" Tinker rounded on her. "And you brought him here?"

"My thoughts exactly!" Spark added.

"He seemed friendly enough before hand," Cleo went on. "And he did save my life."

Tinker let out a sigh of frustration and looked back down at Mischief. "I do want to trust your judgement, Cleo, but I do have my concerns." He turned back to her. "What of the pokemon that attacked you?"

"I can't speak for the murkrow but the noivern is well and truly dead."

Tinker's mouth gaped open but no words came out. After a few attempts he stuttered but Cleo cut him off with a wave of her paw.

"I can explain everything to you later – the battle, what he told me... But first, can we get him seen to?"

Tinker nodded. "Of course. I'll have Melody take him to the medical ward." The riolu strolled over to the wall and opened up a brass cylinder which he spoke into with careful clarity. "Melody, can you come to my office?"

He turned away from the cylinder, letting it snap shut behind him. He glanced over the whimsicott before turning back to Cleo.

"Now. What exactly happened?"

Cleo fixed her yellow eyes on the riolu. "We were attacked on our way here. I have no idea what a noivern was doing outside during the day, but it attacked us with a flock of murkrow. We tried to defend ourselves, but we were at a disadvantage. However, Mischief took on the noivern single handed after it tried to kill me."

Tinker fidgeted with the grey, oval stone about his neck and stared down at the whimsicott. "He managed to take out that dragon?" He didn't sound like he believed it.

"Flawlessly. If you don't count the fact he went mad." Cleo closed her eyes. "He was also struck with a dragon pulse and didn't even flinch."

Tinker's red eyes widened and he looked from Cleo back down at Mischief. "Are you sure?"

Cleo nodded. "He then proceeded to beat the noivern that attacked us, leaving the dragon in a rather unrecognisable state."

"And then he attacked you..."

"And fainted." Cleo's eyes snapped open and she fixed them on Tinker once more. "I thought that might pique your interest. I'm not wrong am I?"

There was a knock at the door and Tinker looked over his shoulder. "It's open, Melody. Come in."

An audino strode into the office, wearing a small apron adorned with pockets some of which had various medical implements poking out of them. Her eyes instantly fell on the fallen whimsicott and she looked up at Tinker and Cleo.

"I'm assuming this is my patient?" She pointed at Mischief. "What happened to him?"

"Exhaustion, I assume." Tinker scratched his nose. "If you wouldn't mind seeing to him in a private room? And give him a thorough check over please. We're not entirely sure who's side he is on, so please don't be alarmed when I assign guards to the medical ward."

Despite his words, Melody did indeed seem alarmed but she tried to hide it as well as she could. She waved her paw and Mischief rose into the air. Silently, she left the room, taking the whimsicott with her.

Spark gave a nod of approval as the door clicked shut. "I like it when pokemon can utilise psychic skills without the risk of blasting you with their ears."

Cleo nudged her with her foot. "Hey."

Tinker chuckled. "Well, if you wouldn't mind joining me for dinner? You can tell me all about this new friend of yours."

Cleo narrowed her eyes at him. "He's not a friend."

He shrugged. "Regardless. I'd like you to tell me everything. Then, you can get a good rest. You look positively tired."

Cleo tried not to look offended. It wasn't that obvious, was it?

Spark yawned. "Food and sleep. That sounds like a plan I can get on board with."

...

Cleo's dreams were full of morbid images – dragons ransacking pokemon villages as she watched from inside a berry bush, screams splitting through the air like sharp claws. She watched the panicked faces of pokemon she knew falling to the ground as they were brutally maimed by dragon pokemon – zweilos, garchomp, fraxure, druddigon...

But something caught her attention, a voice tearing her eyes away from the massacre. No, not a voice... a laugh... and there, in the distance, jumping from one dragon to the next was a deranged whimsicott, reducing each one to a pile of bloodied, shattered flesh and bones, staining the very ground into a dreaded scarlet.

"You need to be careful."

She span on her heel, her eyes wide. Leaning against a tree, as nonchalant as ever, was Mischief. In the background, she could still hear that hysterical laughter from the battlefield.

He gave her a smile. "It might be you next."

Cleo sat bolt upright.

The nest room came into focus, the laughter in her mind fading into soft snores. Spark was still sleeping soundly a mere few inches away from Cleo.

She lay back down with a flop. Nightmares... she should be used to those by now.

She looked over to the wall, expecting to find a window to give her some idea of what time it was. Of course, they were underground. No such thing existed here. She could have been asleep for a mere few minutes for all she knew.

Regardless, she felt like she could use a walk after that. She stood and stretched, and made for the door.

"Where you goin'?"

She paused and looked back. Spark was watching her, groggily rubbing a paw over her large black eyes.

"Just for a walk," said Cleo. "You get back to sleep."

"Iss mornin'?"

Cleo shrugged. "No idea."

"I'm comin'." Spark stood up and waddled over to her.

With a sigh, Cleo bent down and scooped up the dedenne, setting her on her shoulder. Spark burrowed into her fur, immediately followed by soft snores. Cleo shook her head slowly and left the room, strolling down the candlelit hallway.

She'd always told herself not to go back to sleep straight after a nightmare. They just continue. It's best to go for a walk until it wears off, then try to sleep again. A little stroll down the hallways of New City should do her some good.

Then why had she stopped by the elevator to the medical ward? She let out a sigh of frustration. For some reason that nightmare had really struck a nerve.

Almost like she needed some kind of reassurance.

Reassurance that Mischief was still held securely behind closed doors, guarded and unable to wreck havoc on the innocent pokemon here.

"Oh! Cleo!"

She looked round to see Tinker walking towards her. He gave her a warm smile.

"You're awake?"

She nodded. "I felt like I needed a walk."

"Or are you visiting your friend in the dead of night?" He stopped at her side and indicated the elevator.

Great. So it was still night.

She gave him a sideways glance. "No, I... just happened to stop here."

"Well you can rest assured. He's still out. Melody gave him a sedative. He'll be asleep until morning." He stepped inside the elevator. "Care to join me? I may as well tell you what I've found out while you're awake."

She hesitated for a moment, warring with the idea of continuing her walk or facing whatever Tinker needed to tell her. She glanced down the hallway then dismissed the idea of a walk to follow Tinker into the medical ward.

Using the simple pulley system, Tinker took them down into the ward. The smell of medicinal berries reached their senses as the ward came into view. Several nests raised on wooden tables lay neatly throughout the room. Sat in one of the corners were two pokemon – a pikachu and a growlithe – both wide awake and watching them curiously. They gave Tinker a nod when they saw him.

'They must be the guards,' Cleo told herself. She honestly thought Tinker would assign more than two.

"I smell berries." Spark poked her little head out of Cleo's fur. She looked around them. "Wait, this isn't the dinner hall..." She rubbed her eyes. "Why are we here?"

Cleo didn't answer. She followed Tinker to the back of the room where there were two doors leading to private rooms. Tinker opened one and the first thing Cleo saw was Mischief lying on a low table covered in a thick mattress of hay.

"You'd told me about him mentioning a 'clean place'." Tinker spoke in a low voice. "I may have found out what he was referring to."

Cleo raised a brow. "How?"

"Here." Tinker reached out a paw and pushed some of the thick, white fluff back from Mischief's right shoulder.

Spark let out a gasp but restrained herself from shouting.

Cleo's eyes widened. Etched on his shoulder was a black outline of a crescent moon, the outside curve traced with points resembling the sun's rays.

"The Heretic's symbol?" Cleo looked up at Tinker. "So he's-"

"A Heretic?" Tinker nodded. "Apparently."

"But he seemed to have no memories of it."

"I'm curious about that too. But the 'clean place' may refer to one of their laboratories." Tinker turned to Cleo and ushered her back out of the room. "You recall the pink liquid you gave me a couple of days ago?"

"Oh!" Cleo looked back at him as he closed the door to Mischief's room. "I'd almost forgotten about that."

"What of it?" Spark asked, now clearly wide awake.

Tinker looked at the guards then turned to Cleo and Spark. "Come to my office. I'll explain there."

They followed Tinker wordlessly into the elevator, then down the hallway towards his office. He sat back on his stool and watched as Cleo closed the door behind them.

"Take a seat." He indicated the other stool on his right.

Cleo sat down on it and leant back against his desk, keeping one eye on him. He swivelled round in his seat to fix her with his good eye.

"That pink liquid," he began, "turned out to be pokerus."

Cleo felt her eyes widen again.

"What?" Spark squealed. "Pokerus?! Isn't that like... super rare?!"

"Yes," Tinker answered. "But before you get excited, it's a mutated strain."

"Too late." Spark flopped onto her belly on Cleo's shoulder. "You just took the wind outta my sails."

"What do you mean it's mutated?" Cleo asked. "Does it only effect dark pokemon or something?"

"No. It's worse than that." Tinker scratched his nose and sighed. "This one works much the same as normal pokerus – it allows a pokemon to enhance their abilities at an escalated rate. What makes it differ is that it enhances them further than they would go naturally."

"So why did the weavile have it? Is Hydreigon amassing a super-powered army?"

"I thought that at first," Tinker told her. "But Melody ran some tests on your whimsicott friend. He happens to have... or have had... this strain of pokerus."

Cleo opened her mouth to speak but words failed her. Instead she looked down at her paws. Tinker was silent for a moment until she finally found her voice.

"So... that explains why he managed to defeat the noivern?" She looked up at Tinker. "And withstand the dragon pulse?"

Tinker shook his head. "Not exactly. You see, what this has told us is that the Heretics, or a group of them, are involved with the Darkness in some way. Maybe they're working with Hydreigon. Or maybe some of his followers have deviated and have joined the Heretics. Whatever is going on, it may turn out to be quite dangerous and as of now I have no idea what their plans are. All I can assume is that Mischief isn't the only one who has been given this strain of pokerus and there are some more dangerous pokemon out there. In the morning, I am going to ask Grey to read his memories and see if they really are as damaged as you claim they are."

Cleo nodded slowly as she let all this sink in. So something was going on... something terrible, maybe.

"I'm also wondering," Tinker went on, "if this strain of pokerus can drive a pokemon to madness."

Cleo looked up at him again. "What makes you think that?"

"Your description of Mischief's attack on the noivern led me to this theory. However, there are other things that could have caused that little episode." He tapped his claws on the desk in thought. "External influence, or a fight or flight response. I have no idea if he has any memories of that event either, but we shall soon find that out."

"Is it permanent?"

"Well, he seemed okay when he came too earlier today, before Melody sedated him again. From the limited knowledge we have, I'd quite like to run some more tests on him, but I don't know if madness is a triggered response. As such, I don't wish to risk the lives of those here in New City." Tinker paused and took a breath. "But I do fear it may be that essentially what the Heretics have created here is a biological weapon."

Cleo blinked, unsure of what to say to that. Many questions rose in her mind, but each one seemed to confuse the other and leave her wordless once again.

"I don't like that," said Spark. "I don't like that one bit. What are they doing?!"

"I've no idea, but I plan to find out sooner or later. Especially if there are others out there like him." He fixed his red eyes on Cleo's. "Now on to the next thing. Melody found something in your friend's fur."

"What was it?" The look in Tinker's good eye filled Cleo with an icy dread.

"A tracking device."

Spark sat up so suddenly she almost fell backwards off Cleo's shoulder with the motion. "What?! And we brought him here?!"

"Calm yourself, Spark," Tinker told her. "I had it destroyed. And it wouldn't work under ground. If anyone was tracking him, they'd find it had disappeared here."

"Isn't that a bad thing?" Cleo snapped. "If it just vanishes in a wide area like this, wouldn't they assume there's an underground hideout?"

"You brought him here, Cleo," Tinker told her flatly. "And this place is inaccessible to those who don't have a Guild badge. With no pokemon freely coming and going, it won't be immediately obvious. But as a precaution we'll be increasing guards at all gates."

Cleo nodded and let out a flustered sigh. How could she be so stupid? Did Mischief know he was being tracked? Did he know he had pokerus?

"Until Grey has worked with Mischief," Tinker told them, "I don't want you to speak to him. Okay?"

Cleo nodded. She suddenly felt very tired. She looked up at Tinker. "What time is it by the way?"

"The sun hasn't risen yet." Tinker stood and moved to the door. "I suggest you get back to sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

Cleo nodded and stood up. Tinker opened the door and shooed them out of his office, letting it click loudly shut behind him.

"I think he's annoyed with you," Spark whispered in her ear.

"That's hardly surprising." Cleo moved away from the door and headed back down the hallway. "I'm annoyed with myself."