The calm before the storm (continued).

[Tara]

(Continued from here.)

Tara led Claudia to an area where she could go up to the balconies that spectators used to watch over the battles from a safe distance. It was a necessary safety precaution, because she knew that the Haxorus would go on quite the rampage, and she would have quite the difficult time keeping it away from herself, let alone trying to keep it away from two people.

"I hope you enjoy the view, Claudia."

[Claudia Donovan]

"Thank you. Everyone, come out!" Claudia said, releasing her four Eeveelutions from their Poke Balls. "Now you four watch closely, Tara is a master at battling, so you guys should learn something. Me too for that matter." She instructed the Pokemon, who hopped onto the balcony's little wall and sat down to watch the battle.

[Tara]

(Because I'm basically fighting myself, I'm not going to include the whole stats. It would take forever, and for something that the outcome has been decided previously for the sake of the plot, including blow-by-blow stats for each turn in battle isn't necessary.)

Tara smirked, taking her place in the center of the battle arena, after she had sent Lucius to the balcony. First, she summoned her entire team, having them remain beside her while she prepared for the battle to come. Her pokemon were a motley assortment; Darkrai, Mewtwo, Ninetales, Sneasel, Nidoking, and Haunter were not particularly a team with any sort of specific theme in mind. However, it was obvious from their appearance that they were hardened veterans in battle, and they greatly respected -- or perhaps feared -- their master to the point that they did not make a sound, simply waiting for her orders.

Without a word, she opened the Shadow Ball which contained the experimental subject, who was not pleased at being contained and became hostile the moment it was released. The pokemon roared its defiance, glaring at them as it seemed to size up its opponents. He obviously didn't seem impressed, snorting and stamping his clawed feet in challenge.

"Such a strong spirit you have there, Haxorus. Come, fight me. Let's see how long your will to defy me will last." Tara chuckled amusedly, prompting the hostile pokemon to become further enraged. It charged, heading straight for her and losing all control, the Haxorus completely Outraged. At a snap of her finger's, Tara's pokemon sprang into action. Mewtwo used Me First, stealing the power of the move and slamming it back at twice the power. The Haxorus was knocked off of its feet, dazed for a moment as it slowly recovered from the counterattack.

"Have you had enough, yet? You may be powerful, but with how untrained and uncontrollable you are, you are no match for me. Submit to me, heed my commands, and you will not have to endure this pain and humiliation. Your power could be much, much more, if only you would obey me. With my training, you could be the most powerful pokemon in the world." Tara said, her eyes on the Haxorus. Her prize, if she could manage to get it to obey her commands.

However, he was not up to listening to what his captor had to say. Within moments, he was on his feet again, snarling its anger. Not expecting anything less from her creation, Tara decided that this time, she would make the first strike. She gave a glance to her Sneasel, who understood what she had to do. The small, agile creature charged the larger dragon, its claws glowing blue as it sprang towards him for an ice punch. The Haxorus responded by attacking with its axe-like tusks, cutting his opponent off and nailing the smaller pokemon with two consecutive hits.

The Sneasel was thrown, but returned to her feet almost instantly, and sent a Blizzard towards the dragon-type pokemon. The attack landed, doing quite the amount of damage. The Haxorus swayed on its feet, but refused to go down without more of a fight. With a roar, he used a fire-type attack, Incinerate, on the Sneasel. Already weakened from the powerful blows she had received earlier, the Sneasel went down quickly, and returned to her poke ball.

Tara frowned. The Haxorus was stronger than she had originally thought. However, he was not all-powerful. She could see him weakening, and knew that it was only a matter of time before he was defeated. She could only hope that this would open his eyes to the fact that she was more powerful, and that he would be forced to submit to her, one way or another.

"This battle can only end one way, you must realize this. Stop resisting, and things would go much easier for you. Whether you like it or not, Haxorus, you belong to me. You will obey me, eventually. There is no escaping that fact. The more you defy me, the sweeter your submission will be for me." Tara said with a chuckle, a cruel smile alighting upon her face.

The Haxorus growled, before it began to glow with a dark aura as it powered up an attack. It charged at her, perhaps attempting to get in one last act of defiance before it was defeated. However, at a snap from the human's fingers, its attack was cut short. Each one of her remaining pokemon attacked at the same time, effectively neutralizing the threat, and knocking the Shadow Pokemon to the ground once more.

While it was still conscious, Tara walked over to the black and red dragon, standing over it to make one last taunt. "Perhaps that was quite a bit of overkill, but I hope that it teaches you a lesson. You cannot defeat me. The sooner that you accept that fact, and my commands, the more comfortable you will be. If this does not sway you, then we shall continue these 'sessions' until you allow me to control your will."

Tara returned all of the pokemon to their respective poke balls, before glancing up at Claudia. "So, was that interesting enough for you? If not, I'm sure that I will have to have at least one more round with the Haxorus before he begins to understand his place."

[Claudia Donovan]

Claudia looked down from the balcony in stunned silence. That Haxorus was completely insane, and maybe Tara was too, but no way in hell was that gonna leave her mind. She gulped and began hugging Lush too tightly again, resulting in a squeak from the Espeon, who was not thrilled.

"That was... wow." Claudia said, not trusting herself to use an adjective. That wasn't a battle Tara fought, it was a beat down, like an order sent to a firing squad. It terrified and thrilled her, and she wasn't sure which she felt more, but it was not something she was going to get used to quickly.

"Owch!" Claudia gasped suddenly, jerking backwards, dropping Lush who by now probably has developed a breathing problem. Verdant had nipped her leg to help Lush, who was breathing again. "Huh? Lush what happened to you?" Claudia asked him, clueless, to which the Espeon responded with a glare that only cats can make.

[Tara]

Tara chuckled slightly, watching Claudia for a moment. Lucius made his way down the balcony towards his trainer, now that the battle was over. "Do I make you nervous, Claudia? This is, after all, the second time that you've nearly strangled your Espeon." Tara paused a moment to observe the ball that contained the Haxorus, smirking softly before she continued.

"My methods are quite.. harsh, yes. But if this is what it requires to break the will of this particular specimen, then it must be done. As I told you before, he is uncontrollable.. for now. I intend to mold his will to my own, train him, and harness his power. He could be very useful, in the future."

[Claudia Donovan]

"I - what?" Claudia stammered. "I'm not nervous, nope." She stated unconvincingly, gently stroking Lush's velvety soft head, as he tried to catch his breath again. "Nope, not nervous. Haxorus, tool. Got it. But not all Pokemon are tools, are-are they?" Claudia asked, almost pleading. Her Eevees were not tools. They were her friends and pets (she didn't mean to suffocate Lush) and she didn't wish to treat them with indifference. Claudia started stressing out again, and Lush ran under a chair where he'd be safe, and the other Eeveelutions followed suit. "They're not all tools are they? Are they?"

[Tara]

Tara ignored the stammered denials, though she did find them amusing. She considered Claudia's question, frowning as she did so. It was a good question, after all. She was silent, before she did begin to speak.

"I suppose it depends on the trainer. To me, they are tools to wage battle, and they are my symbols of power. Lucius is more of a pet than much else, but I keep him around for.. personal reasons. It is my belief that a pokemon becomes whatever its trainer wants it to be: a powerful tool, merciless in battle, or a more gentle soul, who cares for its master. I don't much care for how others treat their pokemon; they are my tools in battle, and I do not care if they like me or not. The only thing that matters to me is that they obey my every command, without hesitation."

[Claudia Donovan]

"But if they don't like you, how do you know they won't try to kill you in the night? Poke Balls aren't exactly inescapable." Claudia said, returning her own Pokemon to their Poke Balls. "I mean, what if you woke up in the middle of the night held down by psychic energy with Haxorus's blades at your neck? Makes me shudder." Claudia said, shuddering at the thought just like she said she would. "Maybe I watch too many murder shows, I dunno. But that thought frightens me."

[Tara]

"My poke balls have been designed so that the pokemon inside will not come out until I let them out. But I do understand what you mean. The answer is simple: ordinary pokemon would never kill a human, and definitely not their owner. Especially not the ones that fear their master. Trust me, my team has learned not to do anything against my will, no matter what it is." Tara said with a soft smirk, knowing that the only one that posed any threat to her was the Haxorus. That would be taken care of in due time, especially once she had equipped him with a shock collar.

[Claudia Donovan]

Claudia frowned and thought a moment, her Pokemon love her, two of them only evolved after they bonded with her! She stood there a bit awkwardly, unsure of what she ought to do next.

[Tara]

Tara was silent, watching Claudia for a moment, before deciding something. She figured she might as well test the mettle of her new recruit, since now was as good a time as any.

"Claudia, would you like to come with me on a little mission? Just for a bit of fun, really, since it's been so quiet in these parts."

[Claudia Donovan]

"A mission? Cool! I should get my Flareon from my PC first... She's always helpful in a tight spot." Claudia said, managing to avoid mentioning that the Flareon had actually heated things into expanding when she'd gotten herself stuck. A lot.

[Tara]

"If you'd like to, it's fine by me. While you're at it, I'll heal my pokemon and return the Haxorus to his containment cell. Afterwards, I'll meet you... hmm. What day is today? Friday? This'll be fun, then. I'll meet you outside of Diglett's cave. I hear there's an archeological discovery in there, and I'd like to check it out. As a 'curious onlooker', of course." she said, with a small chuckle.

[Claudia Donovan]

"M'kay! Maybe we'll luck out and see the mysterious feet of a Diglett while we're there!" Claudia said, getting her laptop out, using the special program she 'borrowed' from a Pokemon center to pull Blossom from her box.

[Tara]

"Maybe, maybe not. We'll see." she chortled, before turning to leave. First she headed back towards the labs, where she could heal her pokemon from their fight, and reseal the Haxorus within its custom-made cage. And then they were off to Diglett's Cave.

(Continues here.)