Riding on the open waves offered little comfort to James.  As much as he enjoyed being out at sea again, his mood was tainted by Isaac's own sour disposition.  Occasionally Sarah would try to talk to him as she rode on through the sea, the lapras trying to soothe his mind.  But the cubone was having none of it, softly bobbing with the waves beneath their carrier as the skies remained blue above.  Route 20 was a straight blocked-off corridor between two rows of rock formations, forcing one to head straight towards the islands themselves.
While the sea itself was not dangerous, a multitude of creatures within would try to assail them on their way, namely the venomous Tentacool jellyfish.  Tentacool were especially troublesome, having the tendency to flock together and annoy many travellers on the inner ocean waves, but James forced them back with flurries of wind or shots of fireballs to make them leave.  As they approached the Seafoam Islands, James eventually asked:
	"You alright Isaac?"
	"Cu."
	"You seem a little tense, something on your mind?"
	"Cu.  Cu, bone."
	"...if you wanna talk about it, then it's okay I-"
	"CUBONE!"
Even in another language James knew the words "I'm fine" when thrown in such an angry voice, as Isaac sat down with a stinging look in his eye.  James knew that sort of look, the kind of look that children would give when they were struggling not to cry.  Kirie tried to discreetly pour words into his ear without Isaac knowing.
	I know why he is like this, do not say a word.
James nodded softly in understanding as he listened.
	I took him to see that kangaskhan, the one that was wounded.  He heard about what had happened and was very curious to see if she was alright.  ...he broke down into tears when he saw her.  Even if she is recovering well, the sight of her clutching her child closely to her body in pain must have woken something in Isaac.  I believe he must be feeling the pain of his lost memory, from when he was but a child too young to even understand anything.  Do you understand?

Again James nodded, trying not to sigh at his little friend's back to him.  Now he wondered how much Isaac did know about his mother, or what had happened to him.  Was he feeling betrayed?  Had he unravelled the mystery at last in that there was no mystery for her disappearance?  Did he even know anything about her death?  He pondered all these thoughts in the hope that Kirie would answer them, as she replied:
	I do not believe that he is yet aware of his mother's death.  But I do feel that he has perhaps sympathised with the kangaskhan's pain, or more truthfully that of her child's pain.  Perhaps he is seeing something of himself in them, and as such it is hurting him more than he realises...or more than he wants to admit.
Soon they arrived at Seafoam Islands, the only way through towards Cinnabar Island.  The islands themselves were two large mountains upon a solid beach, formed of icy rock passageways tunnelling down deep beneath the ocean, connecting each other.  The slippery icy floors within was rather frustrating, the raptor trying to use his claws to keep a good grip before sliding across with a little help from Kirie.  The passages had been more cleared over the years by trainers coming to and fro, but that did not mean they were empty.
A variety of water-based pokemon lived amongst the islands, ranging from platypus-like Psyducks to clam-faced Shellders to the adorable Seels and Dewgongs.  Little else was to be noted for them as they forced their way through, even finding the Cinnabar Gym along the eastern cave territory.  But they soldiered on past and headed back out along Route 20 to the west, seeing now the large looming island of Cinnabar coming forth upon the horizon.
By late afternoon, they landed upon the shores of the volcanic island.  The rising monolith of igneous rock stood towering above all, shadowing the sea itself.  Only one building remained upon the island, a Pokemon Center which made James smirk with relief at such a place.  He saw that indeed it was still occupied, with nurse and all as she healed up James' team.  There was little information he could gather, other than that almost all of the buildings had been buried beneath the hardened magma rock, and that the gym had been relocated to Seafoam Islands.
	"So why are you here then?" asked the nurse.
	"Uhhh we were curious," lied James.  "That and uh, we're kind of circling back to Pallet Town, it is this way right?"
	"Oh yes, yes it is.  This place is perfectly safe now, but I must warn you."
	"Yeah?"
	"...don't go out on the beaches at night.  Lots of strong waves tend to be around those times, and...there's been quite a few disappearances around here because of that.  If you need to sleep, you can come rest here alright?"
	"Alright, thank you ma'am."

After resting up, Isaac's bell began to tinkle once more, pointing them in the direction of the northwest side of the isle.  It was a short but arduous climb upon the rocky mounds spreading out from the hopefully dormant volcano to the northeast, but with Red the charizard's assistance they were able to all pull up together.  Red was especially worried about Isaac, trying to reach out to him.  But the cubone again was resistant, sternly turning away to focus on his own mission, which in turn made Red rather remorseful.
	"Cu."
	"Hmm?" asked James.
	"Cu-cu-bone."
Isaac pointed down at one crevice within the cooled magma rock, the bell tinkling at its fastest, faster than it ever before as James said:
	"Shit that's DEFINITELY something down there.  Any ideas how to get down?"
Red pushed James out of the way softly before flexing his muscles, wanting to take a crack at opening the crack within the earth.  First he stomped, wanting to test its firmness before slamming down with one fist, then the other.  Despite the force of his strength, nothing seemed to happen.  The charizard roared with a growing frustration as he tried punching the rock again and again, until James said:
	"Red, Red stop it's not working!"
The charizard snarled before eventually stopping, the raptor adding:
	"We need some kind of rock-destroying move, something that at least moves this out of the way or shoves it down."
	...wait a minute.
	"Huh?"
	We DO have such a move.  James, remember long ago back in Pewter City, you were given that TM Case?
	"...OH, yeah!"
The raptor pulled out his TM Case, which contained only two single discs that he received from Brock and Erika.  Kirie formulated her idea alongside James' own as she took the one they had obtained from Brock.
	This move I remember was called Rock Tomb, it was the same move that was used to bury Red underneath a pile of rock.  Perhaps Red can learn this move in order to break through the rock, or at least move some of it out of the way.
	"That's a perfect idea.  You think you can handle a little on-the-job training Red?"
Red simply snorted confidently, pounding his fist into his other palm as he readily learnt his new move from the Technical Machine, sacrificing his Rage move at James' behest.  Once he understood the technique in proper, the charizard was ready, cracking his three-clawed hands by the knuckles as he bade everyone to step back.  He took his stance and spread his legs slightly before raising one arm, pointing his fist downwards.  He looked as if he was about break a block in a martial arts contest, readying himself.
With a brutal roar, he slammed down his fist straight into the smallest part of the crack, breaking it even further with a forceful fury as his hand scratched straight through into the fissure, widening it even further.  At first he thought he had nailed it.  Then they heard a giant crack grow beneath them.  Then their feet sank.
	"...ohhhhh god."

James could only say this before all four of them fell together, crying out as the earth opened up beneath them, falling into a hollow hole that went beyond a solid four feet of rock they had been standing upon.  Red grabbed Isaac and James quickly before using his wings to spread out, the natural heated air offering a good opportunity for him to glide smoothly down below.  Kirie floated beside them easily, smirking at the rather dangerous event that had just transpired.
	Well, at least SOMEONE took a crack at it, ha ha ha.
	"Shut up Kirie."
Red smirked uneasily at almost hurting his friends by accident, as he soon landed upon soft underground soil.  What they now saw before them however was far more bewildering to their very eyes.  Underneath the rock, covered in its own shelter of long-cooled magma, was a large mansion of brown and beige, almost blending in with the cave around it.  It looked to be in a state of disrepair, either from long abandonment or the events of the island.
	"...woah."
	I...I forgot about this place.
	"H-huh?!"
	The Pokemon Mansion.  Long ago, researchers at this place were trying to genetically engineer a brand new pokemon.  They called it Mewtwo.
	"Mewtwo?"
	Yes.  But the experiment was a failure, and in its escape it burned down the facility before disappearing somewhere to the north.  It was also rumoured that the project was sponsored by Team Rocket's leader, before they disbanded five years ago.
	"...Team Rocket were part of this place?"
	Possibly.
	"...we were definitely meant to come here then-NNNGH!"
The raptor suddenly fell onto his knees, shuddering hard with agony in his heart.  He knew that feeling well, shivering hot breaths as he struggled to control his pain.  Kirie felt an intense surge of darkness pulsate forth from James, knowing full well what it was as both Isaac and Red crowded around him to make sure he was alright.
	James, are you alright?!
	"...yeah...I'm fine."
He softly got up with a deep heavy sigh, trying to compose himself once more.  He realised that time was running short on how long he was able to stave off the darkness, after nearly a month without slaughter and violence by his own hand to satisfy Him, as he soon said:
	"Come on, let's go in."
Entering the mansion itself presented them with a darkened main hall, ruined purple carpet running between faded white marble walls and pillars, accented also with purple linings and ceiling above.  Chandeliers occasionally appeared between rows of windows, now showing nothing but shattered glass and the rocky walls outside.  The light was dim, but not impossibly so, as they navigated through the halls tenderly with Isaac out in front.
The Pokemon Mansion stirred two feelings within James.  Abandonment and irritation.  The latter for the fact that he was going through yet another "abandoned" mansion, which of course was still inhabited by the occasional ghost pokemon.  The former was obvious due to the dilapidated setting, ruined fuchsia carpets of faded purple between crumbling marble pillars and cracked stone floors.

Despite the fact the manor was long buried beneath the volcano's fury, the foundations remained solid enough to traverse in, at least some of it.  Several rooms were well-destroyed, crushed by the pyroclastic flow that had swamped into the side rooms along the eastern wing.  As a result, the basement was no longer inaccessible, but the second and third floors were due to stairways on the west side of the mansion.  Spirits occasionally roamed the place, still tied to this mansion by its darkened history.
Yet none of them would dare approach the group, for the moment they came near they would suddenly flinch back, fleeing into darkness with eyes of shivering fear.  Kirie found it amusing, as well as FG who said:
	"Hahah, they scared of us or something?"
	No...they're scared of you.
This did not please James, as he marched on towards the various halls and siderooms of the Pokemon Mansion.  Wooden tables and hard marble floors, rotting journals and deadened plants against faded white walls.  Isaac's bell became something of a detector, ringing either louder or quieter as they passed from room to room.  The first floor proved fruitless, as did the second floor despite the various texts and reference books that laid scattered amongst the ruins.
Even more disturbing were the long-deceased bodies of pokemon left buried within.  Large huge-fanged Raticates, puppy-sized Growlithes and Vulpixes whose fires had long died out.  James had to ask:
	"How did they end up here?"
	Not all pokemon were able to escape the destruction of Cinnabar Island, despite the humans' best efforts to do so.  Just as the creatures of this land can control nature, so too can nature claim power over their lives...and deaths.
	"Cubone!"
	"Huh?!"
	"C-c-cu!  Cu, CU!"
Isaac was gesturing wildly towards the third floor, his bell ringing far more powerfully than ever before as they rushed off with him.  Heading into a central room somewhere near the third floor's east wing, James and his companions found several computers stacked up against the wall.  They were rather old, with dials and tape-recorder designs upon their cold steel expressions.  But what Isaac truly found interesting, was a large set of filing cabinets set flush in the corner of the computer room.
	"Cu!  Cu-cubone!"
	"Hey, Isaac found something."
	What is it?!
	"Looks like a buncha files, is this it?"
	"CU!"
	"Alright, let's look through them, be careful they're old."
James and Kirie opened up the cabinets and glanced through all of the seemingly meaningless data, various files shuffled away in some dark crevice never to be read upon again until now.  It was only when he pulled out one stapled essay that Isaac's bell rang with such intensity, that James' ears shivered from the noise.
	"A-AAGH AGH dammit okay I get it already!"
	"Cubone, cu-cubone!"
	"I know I know I have it, just...lemme read it...some sorta study about pokemon neurology."
They began to read it together, the haunter reading it aloud in everyone's mind in order to keep everyone up to speed.  Occasionally she would scroll past references, sources and general academic fluff before reaching whatever truly interested her, reading as thus.  It was only when she reached one particular paragraph that she read only to James, for fear of revealing a most terrible truth about Isaac himself.

The Maternal Bond: A Study in Pokemon Neurology And Evolutional Divergence
By Nicholas Swift

The minds of Pokemon have always been a mystery to scientists since time began.  While we have theorised upon the physical and some of the physiological, the neurological still remains an open wasteland where a fountain of knowledge may one day spring anew with time.  It is a great and daunting task to even begin to comprehend how these creatures' minds work, and one of the problems of our limitations is that we can only conceive purely on a physical level.  Perhaps there are ways that they can communicate on even a near-psychic level.
Psychic pokemon we of course know, some of which have communities where they are able to sense each other's ways and woes.  But there are other pokemon who may have a much stronger connection that we may romanticise about, but it may well actually be real.  The maternal bond is one example.  While most pokemon do have some form of maternal instinct, there are those who have an even greater deeper connection.  For the sake of this essay, two examples of which I will write on are the Kangaskhan and the Marowak species.
Both are rather fascinating species that live on opposite sides of the coin, while also dealing with the same subject as their central concept of existence.  Motherhood.  The Kangaskhan rears its child and constantly protects it until it is old enough to leave the pouch, taking along with it the love and lessons of its mother as it grows on in later life.  Even then Kangaskhan tend to colonise in small groups, brooding maternal parties where they act as both friends and midwives, some even raising a child together should circumstances demand it.

But on the other side of life, the Marowak deals with a mother's influence in death.  All cubones remove the skulls of their mothers in order to wear her skull upon their heads, before wandering off into the world alone and orphaned as part of their species' philosophy of both isolation and the memory of love's labours lost.  The skulls are even perfectly designed by pure natural evolution to have strong acoustic qualities to further resonate a cubone's cries, mourning for one's mother.  Once they evolve, it is only then that they no longer grieve for their mother's passing, and as a result, they in turn become like their parent, the skull of their mother molding into their own facial structure permanently.
The Kangaskhan and the Marowak.  Life versus death.  Two species with such an emphasis on motherhood and able to express such with a neurological complexity that it boggles the mind for some.  A marowak's mind is much different from a cubone's, its entire synaptic layout having completely reoriented itself in almost developing a new trait of personality, due to the molding of its skull with its mother's.  Comparing this to neural scans of humans in various stages of bereavement, it appears that one reason for this change is to further resist against the neurological effects of depression.

In contrast to this, Kangaskhan are absolutely devoted to keeping their child alive, which is of course a normal reaction for any creature for one's offspring to survive.  But a kangaskhan has a much more unique response to this.  When a kangaskhan's child cries out in distress, the mother's brain overloads into a state of painless frenzy, not unlike that of an adrenaline rush within humans and some other pokemon in order to rescue the child, and destroy whatever threat exists.  But unlike humans, it is a specific trigger that remains consistent across the entire species, over a study based on 37 Kangaskhans and how they reacted to their child's cries of distress.
It is also not a trigger that works for any child, but only for their very own.  When another kangaskhan's child is in danger, some will react and assist, but for their very own child in danger, it will always override any logical thought.  It is actually not even dependent on adrenaline, as adrenaline does not override completely one's thought processes.  When a kangaskhan is in this mode of maternal protection, it completely rewrites their neurological process in order to feel less pain, as well as attack harder and faster even to their very death, which they will not even feel the pain of should it ever come to that.
All they have in mind, literally, is to save their child.  Any other thought is literally impossible to think of for a frenzied kangaskhan, and until that child is safe from harm, there is absolutely no method of stopping it, beyond more dangerous means.

Once they had finished reading, with Kirie omitting the part about cubones so Isaac remained in the dark always, the spirit softly put her finger upon the name of the essay writer.
	I recognise this name.  Nicholas Swift.
	"...hey yeah, that kinda rings a bell, didn't we-NO WAIT!  ...ohhhhh shit I think it's all coming together now!  I knew it!  It has to be that same guy who runs the delivery company!"
	Let us not jump to conclusions James, remember what Corck said.  This is an essay that was penned several years ago, even before the Mother Marowak case.  ...wait, what's this?
Hiding at the back of the essay's comprehensive sheets, was a blue-shaded bill of documents that had been stapled firmly on the inside of the pages.  It appeared to be a Xeroxed copy of some form of travel visa, approving a Mr. Swift for access to a place called Chrono Island.  The visa was also marked with a series of letters and numbers which James immediately recognised by pulling out the copy Corck had made.  C6C2B22C 509A58D3.
	"...I KNEW IT!  I was right, I KNEW I was right, it's the guy who ran the company!  We gotta tell Corck about this!"
	But wait!  Why would the owner of a delivery company want to commit that crime of five years ago?!  What does he have to gain from it?!
	"What if the delivery company's a front?!  They been shipping pokemon back and forth, some of it probably illegal that nobody even noticed until now!  All I know is that this guy penned out a fucking essay about cubones and marowaks and kangaskhans, in a place that once had connections to Team Rocket and guess what we've been seeing those guys steal a lot of recently!  Here's a hint, it begins with K!"
	Alright, yes, it IS coincidental, but what motive does he have?
	"Who cares, we'll figure it out when we get to this Chrono Island or whatever and hear it straight from the asshole himself!  Now come on, we gotta tell Corck about all this before it's too-...Kirie?"
	What?
	"...where's Isaac?"
Looking around themselves, the cubone had suddenly disappeared.  James started to panic slightly, calling out:
	"Isaac?!  ISAAC!  ISAAC WHERE ARE YOU!?"
	Why did he run off?!  We have what we need!
	"I-i dunno, I wasn't paying attention, Red you know where he went?!"

The charizard looked around frantically in turn, sniffing the air in hope of finding him.  His sharp natural senses allowed him to catch Isaac's scent, growling as he pointed towards the stairwell.  Putting the essay into his satchel, the three of them headed downwards, with Red out in front as he lumbered ahead to keep track of the cubone's scent.  Charging down to the first floor, the spirits kept out of their away and especially well away from James himself, as they found Isaac just about to head out the front door.
	"ISAAC, STOP, WHERE YOU GOING?!
	Isaac!
But he did not hear them, as he opened the door before heading out into a strange grey light beyond the mansion border.  James rushed out, desperate to catch him before anything else.  The light was blindingly alien, unnatural to the point of swallowing them whole before they fell onto soft sandy shore.  Their eyes began to adjust once the pale glare had gone from them, as they looked upon a strange outside world.
An entirely grey world, trapped within shades of monochrome including themselves.  The waves of the sea all around them lapped at the shores with the sound of static.  The town was empty, not a single other soul could be seen or felt throughout the entire island.
Despite still being the island of Cinnabar, it was now completely different in its layout.  Houses stood firmly upon the grey blocky sand, completely rectangular with uniform similarity other than being of different sizes.  To his left towards the east, the volcano was no longer there, but a far larger building with the word GYM upon it.  A few more houses were now down towards the south, joining alongside the Pokemon Center itself in a much simpler hue.  For once James was scared by Kirie's reply to his question.
	"Wha...where are we?"
	I...I do not know.  This has...this was the island before the volcano erupted.
	"But...everything's grey and...blocky, all the houses look so similar!  How can it...Isaac?!  ISAAC!  ISAAC WHERE ARE YOU!?  ISAAC!"
	Look back inside the mansion, maybe we might find out something!
He cautiously went back towards the mansion, only to find that the door was locked.  No matter how hard he tried to pull or push, the manor would not let him back in.  Fear and uncertainty rose up within them as he said:
	"...okay.  This is really weird but...we need to find Isaac.  That's the first thing we gotta do, find Isaac, and get the hell out of this place back to the real world...or whatever's real anymore."
	I agree, I do not like this place.  It feels like a lost memory, ancient yet not our own.
	"We need some backup so let's get the gang out."

Releasing the three other pokemon of his team, James watched their own surprise and fear come at such an unfamiliar place, allowing them to process this before saying:
	"Okay I dunno where we are, but it IS Cinnabar somehow, just bear with me.  What we need to do now is find Isaac, he's gone missing and he can't have gone far.  Red, you fly off to the north and east side of the island.  Spike, you take the west.  Shin, you go south.  Sarah, you prowl around the beach areas.  Kirie, stay with me, we'll scout out the inner area.  The moment you find Isaac, bring him back to me alright?"
All of his team nodded before heading off in their various directions, disturbed by the strange world around them but not letting it distract them.  Even the sea was grey and demure, and while it acted like water in any other place, it troubled Sarah greatly as she slowly made her way around the Cinnabar shoreline, from the west to the east in a sweeping southern arc.
The static-ridden sea was the only thing Red could see, flying high above with monochrome wings as he roared out for his friend.  The horizon blended into an off-white, the ocean beyond stretching out into infinity from every direction of the island.  Far from his friends he could show his own fears, his roars turning into muted whimpers as he called out for Isaac.  The more he flew, the more fearful he became, his greyed snout turning heavy with despair.
Spike soon met up with him upon the northern shores of the isle, seeing his friend's expression and trying to reassure him.  Red flapped in mid-air, growling with tears in his eyes at both being in a strange foreign land and at seeing his younger friend gone.  The beedrill looked oddly at Red, before gently yet awkwardly putting a limb carefully around Red's shoulders.  In that moment, Spike was reminded of when he had first met James long ago, back in Viridian Forest when he was but a small insignificant little bug.
Suddenly, a heart-piercing scream shattered throughout the air, forcing everyone to look towards the eastern shore.
	"Wh-what was that?!" cried out James.
	That was Sarah!  She's in trouble, come on!
Without a moment of hesitation, James ran across the island with blades drawn out, as did every other member of his team as they flew in from behind him.  As they neared the eastern part of the isle, the sky began to turn darker.  A black wind howled across the grey-spotted sky, turning it into a fine nightly ink as he saw Sarah floating upon the shoreline, shivering with unseen agony.  But what he saw standing upon the lonesome shore near her, was something he wished never to see again.  Kirie's words shivered into his mind, infecting him with her fear.
	Wh-what...n-no...oh Arceus no...

What stood before them now was a garbled howling mess of unidentifiable shapes, rising above the waves at 10 feet tall.  Perhaps they were bones structured into an ineligible effigy, souls transfixed within a wailing wall of sorrow upon this island.  Or even just rocks piled upon a windy shore, carved into some ancient relief long spoken of by an insane tribe of ages past.  Had it been there before, James would have thought less of it.  But there now laid a sense of dread from it as his group stood perhaps 20 feet from it.  All except Isaac, who stood directly in front of it.
	"What...what is that?"
	I...I don't...I-i don't-
	"What the fuck is that Kirie?!  WHAT IS IT?!"
	Th-there were legends of s-something, urban rumours, superstitions, nothing nobody could believe in!  This can't be real!  IT CAN'T BE!
	"You're arguing about superstitions when you're a FUCKING GHOST?!"
	BUT I AM REAL, THAT ISN'T!  THAT THING IS NOT REAL!  IT'S NOT!  REAL!
Kirie screamed with a sudden horror overcoming her, sobbing into her hands as something struck deeper than James could ever imagine.  The wind cried as if begging him not to go near, yet it also tempted him.  He had to.  He needed to.  Yet he was not certain if it was an unseen force that emanated from this thing before him, or if it was his own fears of Isaac standing humbly before it, bone club in hand.  Silent as a lamb.  The pillar seemed to gaze at them, motionless, eyeless, voiceless, yet it spoke of everything to them.
He could see his friends around him, all staring with their own fears now realised within the pillar of agony that stood upon the island shore.  Red's wings balked in cowardice, Spike sat onto the ground and backed slowly away, Shin struggled to control his breathing as his eyes twitched with increasing anxiety and Sarah herself was desperate to keep within the water.  Kirie was crying, her thoughts paralysed within a single breath.  Only Isaac stood fearlessly before the pillar.

He looked upon it with wonder and intrigue as if it were a revelation, his bone club lazily hanging from his tiny fingers as he turned his head slightly.  He could hear something, a voice faintly drifting from the farthest corner of his mind, deaf to the shrieking madness that tore around the very island itself.  James however was the only one moving.  His nose began to bleed once again, not that he noticed from the blinding headache that tore his head wide open with every twitch of his veins.  A voice began to speak inside of him.  One he already knew.
His blades came forwards, shakily drawn with closed eyes as he stepped forth towards the cubone.  Isaac did not turn, as James raised his weapon high above the little skull.  His eyes opened, black as the night above.  A smile slithered across his lips slowly, as Kirie's scream tore through James' mind, directed towards the infernal pillar.
	NOOO!  STOP THIS!  WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!  I DID NOT WANT THIS!  I NEVER ASKED FOR THIS TO HAPPEN, I NEVER AGREED TO THIS!  WHATEVER YOU ARE, PLEASE, DON'T DO THIS!  JAMES!  WAKE UP JAMES PLEASE!  JAMES!  JAAAAAAAAAMES!
The scream of her last words brought a sudden flash of a thousand memories all at once, his brain turning haywire as everything and nothing came to him all at once.  An experience he had not felt since the day the A.R.M.E had experimented on him.  His hand spasmed against the blades, the raptor falling onto his knees as the screams of static began to resonate within his mind.  At first it sounded like the most horrifying noise a machine could make, shrieking, piercing, screaming to the point of making his teeth vibrate and clench hard until they could crack.
He was starting to see and hear double.  Everything layered on top of its own ghostly image with the same words and sounds repeating, only this time a dark trembling whimper crackled through his head like static noise.  What he soon heard was-

Kirie screa[b]########[/b]ith a[b]########[/b]horror overcom[b]########[/b]obbing into her[b]########[/b]somet[b]########[/b]ent deep[b]########[/b]uld e[b]########[/b]ne. wind [b]####[/b]s if beg[b]####[/b] 
not to go[b]####[/b]go near[b]####[/b]yet it [b]####[/b]tempted.[b]####[/b]had to. [b]####[/b]eeded to be[b]####[/b]did not[b]####[/b]ot cert[b]####[/b] unsee[b]####[/b]force tha[b]####[/b]ember[b]####[/b]from this[b]####[/b]ng be[b]####[/b]
own fear [b]####[/b]fear of[b]####[/b]Isaac i[b]####[/b]humbly b[b]####[/b]fore it, [b]####[/b]club in ha[b]####[/b]silent [b]####[/b]lamb th[b]####[/b]The howl[b]####[/b]pillar gl[b]####[/b]to gaze[b]####[/b]motionless[b]####[/b]on [b]####[/b]
He could [b]####[/b]friends[b]####[/b]near him[b]####[/b]staring [b]####[/b]they saw[b]####[/b]agonisin[b]####[/b]hearing[b]####[/b]ealised[b]####[/b]tower of[b]####[/b]pillar of[b]####[/b]agony t[b]####[/b]stood upon the is[b]#####[/b]land 
Red's wi [b]####[/b]balked [b]####[/b]cowardic[b]####[/b]pike sat[b]####[/b]o the gr[b]####[/b] and bac[b]####[/b]slowly a[b]####[/b] Shin st[b]####[/b]led to co[b]####[/b]l his br[b]####[/b]ing as h[b]####[/b]yes twitched with[b]####[/b]ing
herself S[b]####[/b] was d[b]####[/b]rate to ke[b]####[/b]erself wi[b]####[/b] the wat[b]####[/b] Kirie wa[b]####[/b]ying, he[b]####[/b]oughts [b]####[/b]lysed wit[b]####[/b]a singl[b]####[/b]eath.  O[b]####[/b]Isaac stood fearl[b]####[/b]ore the
He looked[b]####[/b]n it w[b]####[/b]wonder a[b]####[/b]ntrigue a[b]####[/b] it were[b]####[/b]evelation[b]####[/b]s bone [b]####[/b] lazily h[b]####[/b]ng from h[b]####[/b]iny fin[b]####[/b] as he tu[b]####[/b] his head slightly[b]####[/b]uld
 voice fain[b]####[/b] drifti[b]####[/b]rom the fa[b]####[/b]st corne[b]####[/b] his min[b]####[/b]eaf to the[b]####[/b]ieking [b]####[/b]ess th[b]####[/b]ore around[b]####[/b] very [b]####[/b]nd itself. [b]####[/b]es however was[b]####[/b]y one
 nose beg[b]####[/b]o ble[b]####[/b]nce again[b]####[/b]t that he [b]####[/b]ced fro[b]####[/b]e blinding[b]####[/b]dache [b]####[/b] tore h[b]####[/b]ead wide o[b]####[/b] with [b]####[/b]ry twitch [b]####[/b]is veins.  A voic[b]####[/b]to speak
His blade[b]####[/b]me fo[b]####[/b]ds, shakil[b]####[/b]awn with[b]####[/b]sed ey[b]####[/b]s he stepp[b]####[/b]orth to[b]####[/b]s the c[b]####[/b]e.  Isaac di[b]####[/b]t turn,[b]####[/b]James r[b]####[/b]d his weapon hi[b]####[/b]
eyes ope[b]####[/b] black[b]####[/b]the night [b]####[/b]e as Kiri[b]####[/b]scream[b]####[/b]e through [b]####[/b]s' mind[b]####[/b]rected[b]####[/b]ards the in[b]####[/b]al pilla[b]####[/b]of nigh[b]####[/b]darkness before[b]####[/b]
The screa[b]####[/b]of he[b]####[/b]st words [b]####[/b]ght a su[b]####[/b] flash of[b]####[/b]housand m[b]####[/b]ies all a[b]####[/b]ce, hi[b]####[/b]ain turning[b]####[/b]wire a[b]####[/b]erythin[b]####[/b]d nothing came [b]####[/b]ll
 he had n[b]####[/b]elt sin[b]####[/b]he day th[b]####[/b]R.M.E h[b]####[/b]xperime[b]####[/b] on him.  H[b]####[/b]and spa[b]####[/b] aga[b]####[/b] the blades[b]####[/b]e rapt[b]####[/b]alling [b]####[/b] his knees as the[b]####[/b] of
 resonate[b]####[/b]hin hi[b]####[/b]nd.  At fir[b]####[/b]t sounded lik[b]########[/b]orrifying to the[b]####[/b]a machi[b]####[/b]ould[b]####[/b]e, shrieking[b]####[/b]ercin[b]####[/b]cream[b]####[/b]to the point of ma[b]####[/b] teeth.

It was only when the screech of the same static reached its highest point, that he realised who it was, twisted and resonating through some sort of filter.  Faces came to him all at once, all of them with blackened eyes and dripping tongues.  All of them he knew, friends and lovers twisting and warping into cruel psychotic mockeries.  The faces ended upon his own, screaming at himself, his eyes black as night, his jaw lengthened hanging from his skull.  When he opened his eyes once more, the vision of himself did not go away.
He stood before himself, with hanging jaw and blackened eyes, an eternal scream that never stopped as tears began to streak from his eyes.  He did not even notice them turning more and more red with each drip down his cheek.
	"KIRIE!  KIRIE HELP ME!  HELP MEEEEEEEEE!"
But she could not answer, or she could not hear him.  It mattered not for she was unable to approach either way.  The moment she tried to charge forwards, the constant shrieking gale intensified unto her specifically, forcing her back as her own scream pierced deeply into James' heart.  To hear spirits themselves cry with agony was a pain he had not wanted to feel again.  Sarah, the lapras still struggling to maintain herself on the waters, tried to attack the pillar in a desperate move.  But the moment her beam of ice burst forth from her mouth, it would shatter in her throat.
Her choking scream as she felt her throat bleed profusely joined Kirie's anguish inside James' mind, pouring down her chest and reddening the sea.  Red tried to charge, the raptor seeing his winged shadow fly past briefly before a violent gale tore straight through him.  The wind became a banshee, hands flashing briefly in the rising storm that tore apart the charizard's wings, his roars of horror shaking the very island.  But James heard something worse.  He heard Red scream as a charmander, back when he was little.
The scream of a child that ripped his heart asunder.  Yet it was that very sound that allowed him to break free.  The horror of himself standing before him, long-jawed and eyeless with judgement, staring down at him, knew this too.  It stopped screaming, as James screamed back at him.  But not entirely with fear.  He saw Isaac through the haze of agony in his mind.  The little one had started to walk closer towards the eldritch pillar.
	"ISAAC!  ISAAC NO!"
Forcing himself to stand against the deafening cries of his friends all around him, he focused only upon Isaac, the fearless young cubone softly walking ahead of him.  Every step he took was more than two of James' own, the raptor's footsteps heavy with an alien sorrow.

	cried for you

					i love you

										why did you die

															help

	"NOOO!"
James roared with a rising fury, the pain making him fight back as his muscles tensed up, eyes twitching with bloodshot red.  He did not take his blades out, but instead his claws flinched with the urge to destroy in order to protect.  He pressed his feet into the cold sand, screaming towards the monolith.
	"I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE, BUT WHEREVER THE FUCK YOU CAME FROM, YOU'RE NOT TAKING ISAAC FROM ME!"
	"fRoM...yoU."
	"WH-WHAT?!"
A voice came from beside his leg, a strange mechanical voice that sounded strangely familiar from within his satchel.  He carefully dipped his hand inside, feeling something metallic within.  The pokedex was flickering, its automatic voice continuing to speak in its same stern tone, but with a dark echo underneath its voice, warping its tone to a deep scratching snarl.
	"yOuR...sorrrrrroW. i tAkE...fRoM yoU."
	"Wha-...what are you?  What the hell are you!?  WHAT FUCKING MONSTER ARE YOU!?"
	"yoU. aRe. LiKe mE. nOt. tO. ExIsT. bEyOnD tHiS wOrLd, LiEs inFiNiTy."
	"...what do you want?  Why are you here?  What do you want with Isaac?!"
	"sorrroW. LiFe...bLooD. HiS...fAtE, iS miNE."
	"NO!  Why do you want him!?  Who are you?!"
	"nUmBeRs MiSsiNG. cAnNoT vEriFy. nAmE noT recOgNi-i-i-iSeD jAmEs cAmPbell, LevEL fiFTy-fOuR."
	"...how do you know my name?  H-how do you know anything about me?!"
	"yOuR sssorroW. a SeA i sHaLL tuRn cAlM. yOuR rage. a gALaXy i ShaLl si-si-si-lence. jOy. i shAlL bUrY wiThIn a tOwEr of mAchInEs, one-three-seven."
	"...you.  You brought us here, didn't you?  Me and Isaac.  You brought us here with that bullshit number, I knew there was something about that old man, that was you wasn't it?!  WASN'T IT!?"
He stormed a few steps closer, struggling to keep standing as his throat turned dry, gasping out:
	"What do you want from me!?  WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!"
	"frEeDoM."
	"Huh?!"
	"frEeDoM frOm pluToNiAn sHoReS. mUsT. fReE."
	DON'T LISTEN TO HIM!
	"What?!"

He turned towards Kirie, her tear-streaked face fighting against her fear.
	DO NOT LISTEN TO HIM, THAT THING IS A DEMON!
	"...I don't care what you want."
James turned back towards the monolith and stepped forwards.
	"I won't let you take Isaac.  I'm responsible for him."
	"pOkEmOn iS yOuRs?"
	"No.  He's my friend.  I promised I would look after him and if you want him..."
He raised his scissors with steeled resolve, baring his teeth as he stepped closer.
	"You'll have to take him from me."
	"...rEgIsTeR."
	"Huh?"
	"Non-registers spotted.  S-sun...shine.  Can...you feel...sunshine-designation-one-three-seven, one-three-seven-"
	"Wh-what the heck's that?!" said a squawking voice to James' left.
A strange whirring sound echoed to his ears, as the world suddenly shifted to a large green metallic hall.  Two static-infused shadows, one tall and lean, the other fat and short, stood on either side of him as a dark creature stood where the monolith had been.  A doll-sized shadow with faded orange, speaking in a robotic whine that scraped through his mind.
	"Can you feel the s- - -shine, does it brigh- - - -your day, don't you fee- - - -seven, seven, seven, three, one, three-
	-seven.  One.  Three.  Seven."
	"STOP IT!" screamed James, "STOP TRYING TO FUCK WITH ME, LEAVE ISAAC ALONE!"
The world had changed from green to silver-blue within an instant, a circular dais where a strange metallic creature stood staring straight at him.  Its musculature was almost human, sinewy wires pulsating black and blue as a single circular blue light glared from its robotic head.
	"One for...sorrow.  Three...joy.  Empty...seven.  James.  Campbell recogni-i-ised."
	"H-huh?"
The illusionary voice, a stuttering robotic sound, had briefly disrupted his fury at hearing his name.
	"Combat-Si-si-simula-a-a-ator.  Registry complete.  Error, please refer to hexi-de-de-de-de-de-decimal cinnabar-ar-ar."
	"WHA-what the hell are you saying?!"
	"I SAID HOLD ON!"
Storms lashed at his face as his body suddenly jolted to one side, the scraping of wood beneath his feet as a sailmast flapped wildly above him.  The sea raged all around him as he saw a familiar face far back from his memory right beside him.  A reptile of some sort, long-snouted with brown scales who roared amidst the storm:
	"WHAT'S OUR COORDINATES?!"
	"ONE-THREE-SEVEN SIR!" cried a voice from the helm.
	"...no.  It can't be..."
A rumbling even greater than the sea itself came forth from beneath the ship's bow, just off of starboard side.  The skies thundered above as if trembling with fear, as a dark rising shadow tore itself up from the raging waters.  A shadow that screamed with cruellest eyes down unto them within a pillar of flesh, ever-changing into purple and amber shapes that forever crossed its solid unmoving form.

The shore had returned to its original colour, dark purple skies above with faded yellow sand beneath.  The totem of the Cinnabar shore remained where it was.  James tried to step forwards once more, as Isaac continued to walk towards it.  With pokedex in one hand, and his scissors in the other, he tried to scream out:
	"LEAVE HIM ALONE!  HE'S JUST A KID, LEAVE HIM THE FUCK ALONE!  I WON'T LET YOU TAKE HIM, I PROMISED, I-"
	"Mister James."
	"H-HUH!?"
	"It's okay mister James."
The voice from the pokedex was now different, still the same robotic voice but now with an innocent childish tone.  Isaac softly turned his head back towards him, the voice still speaking.
	"I know the truth now."
	"...I-isaac?"
	"I know where my mommy is now.  I found her.  I found her mister James."
	"...Isaac, Isaac no, that's not her.  THAT'S NOT HER!"
	"But-"
	"LISTEN TO ME, PLEASE!  DON'T GO!  PLEASE!"
	"I have to mister James.  I need to go back to my mommy.  She misses me...but I had lots of fun with you.  And Red.  And Miss Kirie and Miss Sarah and everyone else too!  Please don't be sad...you've done so much for me.  Thank you...mommy says thank you too."
	"...ISAAC!  ISAAC COME BACK!  COME BACK ISAAC!"
But he was too late, and his body would carry him no further against the violent screams of the maelstrom all around him.  He could see the lone cubone stand within the shadow of the monolith.  He raised his bone club towards it, unflinching with a smile of relief.  He struck out towards it, wordless amidst the thunder, deaf to the cries of his friend as the wind suddenly turned silent.
	"ISAAAAAAAAAAAAC!"
The moment the bone clanged against it, a terrible light came forth from it, a dizzying ray of purple and black shattering through the cubone's form, squares and rectangles minutely splintering in stop-motion movements.  Isaac began to scream, piercing through James' heart.  At first they sounded like the screams of any normal child in pain, high-pitched to the point of nail scraping on glass.  But eventually the scream was broken, interjected by random screeches and beeping sounds, the sounds of tortured technology breaking through Isaac's anguished cry, his body following suit when it began to break down.
Patches of flesh and bone began to pixellate, his screams turning evermore artificial as if a virus were creeping throughout his entire being, through his veins and penetrating every organ possible.  James and his team watched with horror, unable to help as the otherworldly aberration claimed its latest victim.  Infecting Isaac bit by bit, his skin breaking into perfect little squares of brown and white, snaking towards his eye.  His whimpers ebbed away, as his body disappeared, broken down into pieces, absorbed by the monolith.

Within a blinding flash of black and white, the nightly shore of Cinnabar Island became bare once again, with no trace of either Isaac or the pillar.  James found himself barely standing upon the eastern shore, now back in the present day where volcanic rock now stood.  Sarah was floating safely, yet with shock within the water.  James slowly fell to his knees with bloodshot tears in his eyes.  All he could do was weep.
He cried for the cubone's name, screaming into his fists which balled up against his eyes, begging him to come back.  Soon he was lost without words, sobbing as his team partly joined him in sorrow.  Sarah cried out across the night sea, tears lost within the ocean.  Red bowed his head with heaving shoulders, whimpering with remorse as his claws tightened with agony.  Shin and Spike simply bowed with remorse, neither of them able to give any comfort.  Kirie slowly drew herself towards James' side, trying to soothe him with a hand on his shoulder.
	I...I could not have predic-
	"Shut up."
	What?
	"Shut.  Up.  You could have stopped me.  You have your precious plan and you could have fucking stopped me from coming here.  But you didn't."
	I could never have known about that...creature, James I-
	"NO!"
He stood up with teeth snarling at the spirit, eyes turning red with tears of fury.
	"YOU FUCKING KNEW EVERYTHING THAT'S HAPPENED!  YOU KNEW ABOUT THE MOTHER, YOU KNEW ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO KILLED HER, YOU KNEW ABOUT ISAAC!  WHAT THE FUCK WAS YOUR PLAN KIRIE?!  WHAT WAS IT?!"
	I...I-i-i don't know, I-
	"YOU DON'T KNOW?!  YOU DON'T KNOW!?  WAS ISAAC JUST A FUCKING SACRIFICE TO YOU, YOU BITCH!?"
	James, please, stop it!  I did my best, I tried to stop it, I-
	"BULLSHIT!  ALL THIS TIME I WAS JUST YOUR PAWN, AND I HAPPILY PLAYED ALONG BECAUSE I WANTED TO HELP HER!  NOW HER SON IS DEAD!  HE'S FUCKING DEAD AND IT'S MY FAULT!"
	You cannot blame yourself James, neither of us knew that any of this woul-
	"SHUT UP!"
In his rage he striked Kirie across the face, the spirit flinching with horror at being struck as she shook in front of James.
	"YOU HAD ONE JOB!  YOU HAD TO USE EVERYTHING YOU KNEW ABOUT THIS ISLAND TO HELP ME GET THROUGH THIS!  AND YOU FAILED!  YOU FAILED, KIRIE!  BECAUSE OF YOU, I-
	NO!
The spirit flared back with a furious insult, tears rising in her eyes as her voice screamed inside James' head.
	I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS DEATH!  NO ONE IS!  You and I have failed to protect him, but our mission is NOT over James!
	"FUCK THIS MISSION!  FUCK THIS ISLAND, AND FUCK YOU, YOU STUPID WORTHLESS WHORE!"

His voice had turned hoarse, and soon he could hold himself up no longer.  He went down on his knees once more, exhaustion overcoming him as his own sorrow took over once more, filling up where his rage had once been as he sobbed and pounded the sand with his fists.  His voice had turned shaky, unable to hold itself up.
	"All I had to do was keep Isaac safe...I promised her, I promised I would do that.  And I failed!  I couldn't even save one little kid from anything!"
	You know it was not your fault.  You are still capable of saving others, if you-
	"HE WAS A KID!  A STUPID LITTLE KID ALONE IN THE WORLD, AND I KILLED HIM!  I SHOULD HAVE BEEN RESPONSIBLE, I SHOULD HAVE SAID NO TO THAT STUPID DREAM THAT WE HAD, BUT NOW HE'S DEAD!  HE'S DEAD, AND IT'S ALL BECAUSE OF ME!  ...I killed him.  I k-killed a...sweet, little..."
Tears sputtered from his throat, his head in his hands as Kirie tried to help console him.  But there was nothing she could say.  Nothing more that she could offer as a means of respite to soothe his troubled soul.  It was in that moment that James heard a bell, breaking him from his misery.
	"H-huh?"
Shining beneath a full moon, that he had not noticed until now, was a small silver bell with a nick in its lower casing.  Softly walking towards it, he also noticed something else lying beside it.  A solid thin piece of metal, marked with the picture of a rainbow.  James softly turned it over to see a series of numbers and letters, the exact same combination from his written clue.
	"What is this?"
	I...this is a...Rainbow Pass.
	"A what?"
	It allows access to the Sevii Islands upon the ferries.  ...we never had this but-
	"It has the same numbers.  But why is it-"
	Isaac.
	"Huh?"
	Before the end...he said he knew the truth, of where his mother was.  That thing that...took him was...a legend barely whispered of in Kanto.
	"What was it?"
	It has no name, but it is said to be a creature of sorrow and ruination, that all who near it are lost forever in a word of madness.  Never-ending, abstract and fractured like a broken stained-glass window.  A harbinger of blight...yet it is also said that it knows and sees many things.  Everything in existence it can see...and feel...right into the very fabric of our reality.  Do you think that perhaps...it gave us...or maybe...
	"...I don't understand.  But I don't care.  How long is it until the end of the month?"
	Five days.
	"We don't have much time.  We need to get to Vermillion City and grab a ferry.  I know where we're going now."
	But why do we not have much time?
	"Because if I don't finish this before the end of this month...you're gonna have to deal with another demon."
	...I see.  I know a shortcut back to Vermillion City.  It is a tunnel sculpted by pokemon naturally that goes east from Viridian Forest's outskirts, and stops outside Vermillion City.
	"Alright, come on.  Pallet Town's just north of here so we won't have far to travel.  Everyone...we're doing this for Isaac."
Despite the team's conflicted emotions, ranging from utmost sorrow to mere empathy, they dutifully obeyed James and headed out towards the north.  With a lot of ground to cover and a time limit now on his head, the FinalGamer struggled in his step to keep focused on ending his mission.  If he wasn't able to save Isaac, then at the very least, he swore to avenge his family.  All he needed now was some help from another ally.