The Making of a Monster?

Lurk was the runt of the litter, and often set upon by his older and stronger siblings. Then one day he was snatched from safety by a Murkrow, and when he finally managed to struggle free he found himself a long, long way from home. He was quickly found by two powerful Nidoran, Brutus and Thor, who bore a grudge against his father and thus decided to manipulate him into a tool of their devising. And then they found Lindra, a most beautiful Nidoran with a grudge against her sister, Lurk's mother. And thus, our tale begins...

Dark felt something. When he looked at the sunset it did not look
like a normal, beautiful streaking of pinkish hue, but like blood.
He barely suppressed a shudder.

"There is a darkness coming," he said nervously to his mate. "Can
you feel it?"

* * *

Brutus's little gang had made their way to the far side of the
stream. They crouched low in the bushes, watching, waiting for the
time to be right.

"That's it?" Lindra seemed a little disappointed, as though she had
expected to find a huge colony of Nidorans to beat up on. There was
just the two black adults, grazing in the twilight, and their two
kits, playing and nibbling the grass around them. The kits looked
pretty old - old enough to start finding mates of their own.

It was also obvious in the way the male moved that he was injured.
Lurk noticed this with some satisfaction.

Thor stamped one foot on the ground, and Lurk saw the mute buck was
staring, as if bewitched, at his mother. His spines rose as he
stared at them. Ever the happy family. Happy without him, the
outcast, the reject.

The weakling.

His eyes narrowed. He would show them.

* * *

Dark startled, as a sense of impending doom overwhelmed him.

"Lerla, get the kits inside! Bury in the hole! Something very, very
bad is about to happen here."

His nostrils twitched as he scented the air. He could smell nothing
out of the ordinary, feel nothing odd except this great doom pressing
down on his heart.

With a nod, Lerla quickly led the Skip and Darla into the burrow. She
smiled reassuringly at them "Don't worry...everything will be
alright. Just stay here, and stay safe, alright?" With those words,
she quickly did as Dark had instructed her.

Afterwards, she ran back to Dark's side "The kits are safe.."

Dark helped her as best he could with his injured legs. "A
darkness has fallen," he said.

His nostrils twitched, but the air held no scent of danger, nothing
but the musky odour of Nidoran. However, even the Flitterbees were
quiet.

He hopped forward. "Whereever you are, show yourself!"

Lerla's spines stood up, ridgid and ready. Her eyes misted over
slightly for a moment as the image of the odd scarred nidoran flashed
past her...

Shaking her head, she stood ready.

* * *

Brutus nudged Lindra. "Well, go on doe, do as he says!"

Beside him, Lurk shuddered. He glared at his father, his one non-
swollen eye glowing red with anger and rage. His father had hurt
him, called the bird to kill him and had failed.

Lurk would have his revenge. And as for his siblings? Any fool
could dig them out!

"Oh, Lerla..." Lindra called, walking out into the open. "It's
time to settle the score." She took a battle stance.

Lerla's eyes widened "L-Lindra...? What are you doing here? It's
been...so long..." It had been a long time since she had last seen
the white nidoran...but...how had she found her out here? And after
all this time...

The iridescent Nidoran snarled. "Why, you ask? For vengeance. You killed
them. You killed mother and father. You killed our brothers and sisters.
You killed..." Lindra gulped, blinking back tears. "You killed Blizzard.
You killed everyone!" A light of madness came into her eyes. "And for
everyone... you must die." Lindra lunged...

Lerla's eyes widened as surprise as she did her best to dodge the attack
"W-what?!"

"You caused the Growlithes to attack, and you caused the humans to find
us. You're bad luck. You're a curse. You need to be killed." Lindra
lunged again, forgetting in her mad rampage to use her horn.

"Growlithes..?" Lerla asked, eyes wide. She let out a cry as her sister's
shoulder rammed into her own, sending her tumbling backwards.

Pulling herself up, a fire seemed to be appearing in her eyes "I don't
want to have to fight you Lindra...but..."

She took a deep breath "You aren't leaving me a choice!" With that, she
rammed back into the white Nidoran.

Lindra compensated for the force of the blow, and was only forced back
slightly. She lashed out with her small claws, aiming for Lerla's eyes.

Lowering her head, slightly bleeding scratches appeared on her forehead,
matting her fur as the blood slowly ran down.

Glaring, she lashed out in return.

Lindra screeched as one of Lerla's claws scratched just below her eye -
any higher, and the eye would no longer work. In retaliation, Lindra used
her most powerful attack - Hyper Beam. Releasing the gold-tinged beam
from her horn, she waited for the after image to wear off, and also for
her stamina to return.

Lerla's eyes widened again as she dipped as far to the side as she could.
The fur on her side smoked a bit, leaving Lerla shaking for a moment
before ramming her sibling from the side, too involved in the battle for
her life to keep from using her horn.

Lindra stumbled to her feet, moving away from Lerla. "And now... you'll
kill me, too." She said, panting as the poison took quick effect on her
tired body.

Lerla's eyes widened "No...." she whispered. "I-i can help you Lindra.
Please, I didn't want to hurt you!" she said, eyes tearing up.

Lindra scrambled farther away. "No..! I don't want your help! I don't
want to live, knowing that a devil has helped me!"

Lerla walked closer, eyes still shinning with tears "Why?! Why am I a
monster to you?!"

Lindra paused, her mouth open. "I..." How many times had she just
followed the crowd, always picking on her sister? How many times had she
spent listening to the elders, who'd said that the Black Nidoran wouldn't
take those who were kind and generous before their time? And here she
was, fighting the sister she'd never really known. What had happened to
her? "I... I'm sorry, sister."

Lerla smiled slightly, tears flowing "Sister..." Walking forward and
nuzzling her sister, she said shakily "I-I can help you..please, just
hang on long enough for me to..."

"No..." Lindra smiled up at Lerla. "No, it's my time to go. I'll tell...
mother... and... father... that... it... wasn't... your fault......."
Lindra's eyes closed, as she died, a smile still on her face.

Lerla's eyes closed as she nuzzled into the shell of her sister "I'll
miss you...please...make it to the rainbow land safely..." she said
quietly before sobbing.

Dark had attempted to intervene, since it hurt him to see his mate
being attacked, when suddenly, out of nowhere, streaked a black
shape. Although only two-thirds his father's size, Lurk still
managed to send him sprawling in the dirt, burying his teeth into
Dark's ruff.

His eyes blazed red, as suddenly two other Nidoran bounded up beside
him. Dark, had he not been currently struggling for his life, would
have recognised them as Brutus and Thor - his enemies from long ago.

He kicked, blood trickling down his throat as he desperately tried to
shake his own kit from him. The teeth were shape, and dug deep,
causing a burning, seering pain. As he scrambled, his weak rear legs
gave way and he collapsed. His son drew back, eyes blazing like the
dark Nidoran himself. One ear hung limp and his face was such a
demon mask that at first, Dark did not recognise him.

"You loathed me," Lurk snarled. "You will pay!"

Thor and Brutus pounced on Lerla, pinning her to the ground so that
she could not intervene.

"I never meant to hurt you," Dark replied, his voice cracking.

"Well you did! You hurt me more then you could possibly dream."
Blood trickled down his chin, his father's blood. His face was
terrible to behold.

Dark felt his heart flutter in despair. He was weakening. The teeth
had not penetrated too deep, but he was already ailing, and this last
blow was almost too much. "I'm your father," he said, his voice calm.

"You are not my father." His son's voice was bland, almost scaringly
so. "These two have been more of a father to me."

The words stabbed Dark to the heart, like a knife. He thought his
heart would shatter and kill him. If the bloodloss did not. "No..."
his voice was barely audible.

Lurk lunged, and his father barely dodged, his legs too weak to
support him, the horn, secreting its deadly poison, plunged deep into
his neck, severing his spinal column.

He flopped like a wet noodle, all feeling gone from his body and he
knew this was the end. "You little traitorous bastard," he
growled. "I should have killed you at birth, instead of loving you.
Now look what you've done, out of your own sheer stupidity."

Then his words became a wet bubbling, and he died.

Lerla screamed, trying her best to lash out with her claws to no sucess "Let
me go!"

With no luck, she thrashed more frantically "Please, let me go!"

Her eyes widened slightly as she took notice of one of her captors...the
nidoran SHE had saved. If she hadn't....then...

Lurk stared at the bloody mess that had been his father, unable to
fully grasp what he had just done. His chin and chest were soaked
with red, his horn smeared with blood.

His father had cursed him at the end. Of course, he always would.
He had called him a bastard.

And a traitor.

A tear trickled down his cheek and he stared at Dark, stared at the
pitiful remains.

It had been so easy.

Too easy.

And now his father was dead.

It was hard to believe it was true.

He stared at Thor and Brutus, they were grinning at him.

Rage and fear welled in him, and he felt revulsion at himself,
disgust at what he had done.

He ran, ran to the river, throwing himself into the chilly waters in
an effort to rid himself of his father's blood. The current snatched
at him, dragging him downriver, head over heels and towards the
great, forboding body of water.

Lerla's eyes, flooded with tears as it was, screamed again as she saw the
nidoran...Lark...her kit Lark...hers and Dark's...went into the water and was
swept off. She had to...

"LET ME GO, PLEASE!" she yelled to her captors, struggling again "I'M BEGGING
YOU!"