(Welcome to the Prelude! Not much to say here really, enjoy the fic and give Waruiyana's a chance! It's like a big protest march or something! Anyway, this fic is by Kirshner Mortis (that's me) and I hope that ya actually care what happens next! ^_^)

Dokushu reached forward to touch the Moon Stone, a chilled but satisfying sense of foreboding in the back of his mind. He had wanted to change for so long, and now he would finally...but what if...

He reconsidered, trying to seriously line up the pros and the cons. What was there to think about? He looked at Calisto who had evolved just days before. "After the initial pain it's great!" ...the initial pain...Calisto stretched out his wings and raised his eyebrows.

"What are you waiting for? Come on! Trust me!"

"Come on Dokushu!" she wanted him to do it. He smiled at Ninki, and placed a hand on the stone, visibly shaking with excitement.
Nothing happened for a moment then the stone began to glow, a bright pink-white colour. Dokushu gasped as he felt something within his paw changing, something was merging into him. The stone?...Was it meant to do...

The first major change that started was the Halo, it was becoming more insubstantial. A ring of light... Dokushu smiled this wasn't so bad. A sickening sound suddenly pierced the air and he knew something was wrong. He cried out in shock and agony as he felt his skull slightly enlarging, and...something was growing. He grabbed at his head with his paws; sub-consciously noting that the golden fur that covered them was fading out into the snowy white that covered the rest of his body. His horns were lengthening, he realised suddenly. This was fine, part of the process, he looked up at Calisto for reassurance, but...

Something was wrong, something was wrong. He could tell just by looking at his friend's horrified face that something was wrong. The stone had entered his body entirely now. The fur on his chest was changing to a grey silver shade now, and becoming bushier, but he didn't notice. His cries intensified as something else began, at the base of his spine. He fell forward onto his hands and knees, grabbing his tail and staring in fear as the hairs began to merge into one long silver tail, demonic in appearance. He could see something happening, a smaller ring of light was forming around the very tip, the arrow shaped point. It had to be over, there couldn't be-

"No?"

"Oh!"

The feathers of his wings were falling away, first one, and then a few, becoming a small downpour.

"Oh no!" he looked up went he felt two paws roughly grab his furred shoulders, and looked up to see Ninki, tears clearly running down her cheeks. "Stop! Stop!" he could feel her shaking, her voice sounded distraught, cracking as she spoke "Your changing wrong!"

The feathers had totally abandoned him now; he knelt there in her arms terrified with two bare wing structures jutting from his back. The muscles in his back twitched violently, and his felt his wings being drawn inwards, something forming in the gaps the feathers had left. Bone was jutting down, bridging the newly forming expansions of flesh.

"Stop Dokushu!" her tears were falling onto his fur, the only warmth he was feeling right now, bar his own tears which where freely flowing. He tried to reassure her, but he couldn't make a sound, bar a pathetic whimper. He had no voice left.

His wings suddenly shot outwards, demonic wings. Blood spattered slightly where the skin had newly been formed. It had just about ended, the fur still growing a little on his chest, the colour still forming.

"Oh...Dokushu?" Calisto took a step towards his friend, eyes wide.

"I tried..." his voice sounded different to him now, slightly more guttural, slightly harsher. Calisto visibly jumped at the sound, horrified. Dokushu could feel Ninki's embrace tighten, he could hear her soft weeping, "I really tried to stop..."

~~~


Dokushu sat down look put across the cavern absently. His thoughts weren't with all those creatures whom were flying around down there, playing their games, running errands, or whatever else they supposed like doing. His mind was with a Gencey, a beautiful Gencey, the only Gencey he had ever felt anything for, despite the numerous advances he had received. A Gencey who only looked at him now with, pitiful, pain filled eyes.

How had he ever thought he had had a chance with her? What had ever made him think he would ever be able to make her love him just as strongly as he felt for her? What the heck had he been thinking! He felt like an idiot...he'd been doing that a lot recently.

He narrowed his eyes as several Clegencyana flew past, glancing at him briefly and waving half-heartedly. He just raised his eyebrows and they turned away, flying to wherever they were headed. It was okay for them, they had evolved right. They were beautiful and loved, with their spectacular feathered wings and bright, beautiful eyes. They could just go about their happy business, not giving anything a thought.
It had never occurred to him before how Clegencyanas were such airheads.

He shuddered slightly and brought his wings around his body in a futile attempt to warm up. He knew the reason he was shaking wasn't because he was cold; it was because he was angry, angry at what had happened to him, and how he was treated differently now. The bat-like wings wrapped around him easily, he found them simple to manipulate, they really were a part of him. He had expected them to be terrible to control, he could picture how much more difficult they would make flying, how much more difficult they would make life in general. But that wasn't the case; he had found this new body just as simple to move as his old one, soon becoming accustomed to his new size, and strength. He was surprised to find himself moving faster than he was ever capable of before, surprised to find that he could glide through the caverns with far more ease, and with a grace that although not like the Clegencyanas, was beautiful in it's own way. At least that's how he felt, and although others may not admit it, he knew it was true. His reflexes were better, and his mind was clearer.

That was one major change he refused to acknowledge. He found himself look at things differently. Conversations he would otherwise have felt compelled to join now seemed to unbelievably stupid to even consider. The childish immaturity of the Gencey's struck him in a way he had never noticed before, the terrible emotional behaviour often exhibited by the Clegencyanas annoyed him immensely, although he would be left wondering afterwards what made them seem so different. They left themselves wide upon to an attack, letting all their inner emotions be laid bare to the world. They were willing becoming vulnerable, but...had they always been like that. Something in him had changed, something that let him see these character flaws, and he refused to admit it.

All but one Gencey of course. Her, Ninki. With her crooked smile, her shining eyes, her velvet fur, and sparkling wings, she was the only one here who looked like an angel. Something about her, he could see her in a crowd no problem, his eyes were always drawn to her.

"So where was she now?"

"Hey!"

Dokushu visibly jumped when he heard the other boy's voice. He gave Calisto a severally sarcastic look, annoyed with how the other had crept up on him. He unfurled his demonic wings and raised his eyebrows inquisitively, curious to know what his friend wanted. Calisto simply took a seat next to him, although perhaps a little further away than he used to, perhaps the smile was a little more forced than it ever previously needed to be.

The Moon Stone...to become a Waruiyana, like he had, then the stone would have had to be handled by humans. Calisto and Ninki had found it, just lying there on the ground. The idea had been to find one that was embedded in the rock, then take Dokushu to it, instead they decided to bring it to him. It would be quicker, and easier, Calisto had argued. They hadn't realised that it had been handled by humans, that some careless Pokémon Trainer had dropped it there. (NOTE TA SELF! DROPPED BY A TRAINER KILLED BY THE MANACHU!) Calisto had carried it back, if Ninki had touched it, she would be the demon. Dokushu didn't realise it yet, but his new view on life, his new calculating mind, had subconsciously decided that this was all Calisto's fault.

"Well, is there anything in particular you want or are you just here to torment me?"

"Excuse me! You don't have ta be so rude! Anyway, me, Ninki and a few others are going into the caverns for a while, better than sittin' around here, wanna tag along?"

Dokushu had to admit that he did, Ninki would be there. And he always had time for a game or too, he hadn't changed that much....Had he?

"Fine, why not?"

Calisto's face split into a grin and he moved to take off, turning to look back over his shoulder,

"Keep up if ya can!"

Calisto took off at a leisurely pace, and was surprised at the speed Dokushu caught up to him. The Clegencyana smiled jokingly, although a slight glint in his eye seemed to defy his laid back attitude as he gained speed. Dokushu quickened his pace to match this new speed easily, smirking at the discomfort on his friends face.

"You wanna real race, let's go!"

Calisto flexed his wing muscles and began to gain some speed, sending a cloud of Gencey, which happened to glide into his path, flying. Dokushu followed suit, snickering at the Gencey's angry cries.

He had to admit, he had been waiting for this to happen. He and Calisto had used to race frequently, although not since his pal had evolved almost a week ago now. Then he had evolved, evolved wrong, that was true, but evolved none the less. He'd had a few days to get used to the changes, now was the time to see who was the better for it.

The stalagmites made minor obstacles; he had no difficulty swerving among them. He had taken his course many times before; he knew where the race would end. He also knew he generally won on this particular route, which was a minor comfort as he scanned ahead for a flash of gold and silver wings...there! Damn, he was far ahead.

Dokushu redoubled his efforts, praying that he could win this. He really felt that if he could then maybe the pity filled looks would stop.

~~~


"It's not a big deal, Dokushu, calm down!"

"I am calm."

"Then stop glaring!"

"I'm not."

Ninki looked at him disbelievingly, and he gave her a weak smile, but she just looked even more upset. No matter what, she always thought he was angry, always thought he was going to shout, or fight, or cry, or burst into some other pathetic emotional outburst. She thought he was some sort of retard, some sort of crazy emotional retard who could no longer be trusted in a room with a sharp object. Like he was always privately striving to hurt someone, maybe some else, maybe himself. Like he was conspiring against her, against everyone.
Ninki tapped him on the shoulder, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Come on, we have to hide!"

Hide and seek...what had he ever seen in this game? Her eyes sparkled in excitement, apparently over her anger at his miserable behaviour, and she took off to hide behind a Stalagmite. Like always. Of course, if she thought it was fun he didn't want to disappoint her.
Where to hide? He would normally take up residence in a place similar to hers, or behind one of the many boulders strewn across the cavern floor. No way, that would be far too obvious, far to repetitive. He flew upwards quickly, trying to spot some sort of niche or crack in the walls.

There was a gap in the ceiling...Dokushu quickly zipped inside to find himself in a small hollowed out area of rock. Circular, unnatural, he wasn't sure what had caused it, but it was perfect for his needs. He settled down and glanced around again, wondering just what would have caused it. Almost certainly some ground type pokémon, maybe whilst it was performing some sort of attack. He looked straight up to find there was another hole directly above him. He considered for a moment, before cautiously looking through to see what was above. It was just another, higher floor in the mountain. He could smell a scent that he rarely found down in the Manachu's lair. Humans. This must be where the humans passed through. He ducked down again, fearful of being seen, obviously not wanting to be captured. On the other hand the scent was old, stale, no humans had passed this way for a while, that was obvious. He decided he would sit this one out; danger of being caught was minimal.

Lying down, wings spread wide so he didn't damage them; he looked upwards and thought about the past few days. Mainly about him, Ninki and Calisto. They were all very different beings now, and although the two of them either didn't have the capacity to think about it, or they chose to ignore the fact, it was going to have a direct affect of their friendship. Ninki seemed to think that he and Calisto had been acting strange around each other, although the Clegencyana of course avidly denied it. Dokushu wasn't afraid to admit that there was an increasing sense of hostility between them, although he would say that it was not his fault. Any resentment people felt to him, he would just return it, and Calisto was definitly behaving differently towards him now...now he was a Waruiyana...

The race had become a far more serious affair than normal; both combatants had been left exhausted, needing a long moments rest before they were capable of joining in any games. But Calisto had won, and it had been no joke. Calisto had laughed triumphantly, like always, but there was something a little different this time, something in it that actually made Dokushu angry, made him want to do something. Maybe he was an emotional retard...maybe he'd win next time.

Everything was different, but the hardest thing was being the only one willing to admit it, the only one who would face the contrast between the old and the new way of life.

Didn't seem like anyone was going to find him for a while. Dokushu dozed off slightly, trying to clear his mind of the thoughts no one else would have...


"DOKUSHU!"

He jolted when he heard a voice calling him. A girl's, a Gencey, but not Ninki. One of her friends. He crawled forward on his stomach and stuck his head downwards through the hole, quickly taking in the upside-down perspective of the world. The Gencey had obviously just gone straight underneath him, she had her hands to her mouth, and was calling her name. He was surprised at the worried look on her face, and had to wonder what was wrong. Her name...Kassinda, that was it. She was indeed a friend of Ninki, and someone who he had always got on with. He knew hat she had feelings for him, strong feelings, but he already knew that things were different now he had changed. Everything was different now...

"Hey."

She turned suddenly at the sound of his voice, and visibly deflated with a sigh of relief, before flapping towards him. He allowed himself to fall headfirst through the hole, spreading his wings to catch himself in mid-air, turning to face her in one swift movement.

"He's here!"

Dokushu was surprised as everyone came flying over, all of them clearly extremely upset. He felt someone grab his shoulders and spin him around, he found himself looking into Calisto's furious eyes.

"Where were you, you idiot?! You had Ninki worried sick! You selfish moron!"

Suddenly she was there, hugging him, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Oh, Dokushu! I thought..." she was overcome, her voice turning into sobs of relief. He let her hug him, although he didn't return the embrace as he once would have, instead glancing around in confusion.

"What, exactly, did I do?"

"We've been looking for you for an hour! Why didn't you come out from hiding, we really thought that something had happened to you!"
Dokushu knew he should have been guilty. He knew he shouldn't smile, he knew what deep down, he should have said. But he just snickered.

"Wow, that was a good hiding place."

So when she slapped him he shouldn't have been surprised, but he was. And it hurt a lot more than any of Calisto's meaningless insults. She flew off, her girl friends following, leaving just him, a paw to his cheek, looking at her disappearing figure in confusion, and Calisto.

"You're an idiot, you don't deserve a girl like her!"

Dokushu turned to look at the Clegencyana in surprise. His friend just shrugged and gave him an intense look.

"Don't keep hurting her, you're a lucky guy. Don't waste it."

With that Calisto flew after her. Dokushu watched, wondering why he felt so devoid when he should have been crying. He just felt...dull.

***


Dokushu floated in the air, wings spread wide to keep himself aloft. Since he had changed almost any problem presented to him was simple. Unless it involved her. She was confusing everything, messing up his thoughts.

He had to apologise. He was surprised that anything an airhead Clegencyana, especially Calisto, could make sense, but the words had stuck. "Don't keeping hurting her."

He was deep in thought, and didn't notice the figure behind him until she tapped him on the shoulder. He spun around in surprise, about to snap irritably but stopping abruptly. A Waruiyana, like him. She was clearly a little older than he was, her eyes even duller than his own, tired and somnolent, fed up with the world. She regarded him coolly, apparently he won her approval for she almost smiled and seemed to relax a little. He tried to keep a dignified air, having no clue what this was going to be about but certain that he was about to be judged.

He was about to initiate conversation himself, impatient with her cool gaze when she finally spoke.

"Are you coping?"

There was no compassion in the question, it was almost a statement. Her voice barely escaped being monotone, there was no feminine ring to her tone. Slightly grating, he almost shuddered but that his own voice was even more guttural. He thought how to answer, questions of his own slightly clouding his mind, most prominently "Why?". Was he coping? Was he the previously undiscovered Rainbow Manachu God?

"No."

Understatement of the century. She didn't seem all that surprised by the answer, not displaying any reaction other than a swift nod. He waited, curious to see where this might be leading.

"I see. You are troubled?"

An image of Ninki came to mind, her sorrowful eyes regarding him sympathetically, her voice likened to one speaking with a small child.

"Are you okay? Are you going to be okay?"

She was a Gencey, this Waruiyana a totally different being. Yet they both seemed to speak down to him, and it was undeniably beginning to get on his nerves.

"Yes, because you all think I'm a psycho." his own voice didn't sound particularly involved in the conversation, his tone wasn't angry, just blunt. He watched for a reaction and again didn't seem to receive anything, to his minor annoyance.

"It will seem strange at first. You will soon get used to it, it doesn't take long to realise how you are now superior to-"

"You mean become like you?"

He wasn't sure why he said it, only that he was right.

"Yes, to put it bluntly. It will be better for you once you leave you previous life behind and-"

"Previous life? I haven't died and been reborn, I'm still Dokushu, I'm still me!" he could hear a tone of desperation in his statement, something he didn't want to listen too. Now she could make an assumption of how he was feeling.

Just like everyone else does...

"And," she continued as if he hadn't said a thing, "embrace your new life. I have nothing more to say, except that on behalf of the Clegencyana Council you have been offered a placement in the senate."

What had he ever done to deserve being given "a placement in the senate"? Not a thing.

"No."

He answered. She left. Left him alone with his own confused thoughts. He was himself; inside this demonic body there was a Gencey still. He was himself; he still had the same friends, the same priorities, the same views, the same everything. No, that wasn't true at all, things were different but he was indeed still Dokushu. He didn't see things how he used to, but that didn't mean he couldn't try too. If he was uncomfortable with life now, then woe betide him, he didn't have to force that on Calisto and Ninki too. Especially Ninki. She was too innocent to deal with this.

He spread his wings wide and soared her way, a devil with an angel's state of mind.

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