I’ve never told anyone the full reason I named Gengar Matariel. True, it’s the angel of rain…but it’s also the angel of spiders.

Morton was paralyzed. The girl’s eyes became wide with terror. He stared at the reflection of the ebon ears, unmoving. Slowly, four long, thin appendages stretched out in an “X” behind him. They were bone-thin, about five feet long. A wicked scythe tipped the spears, and they were jointed in the middle. They looked almost like giant spider legs…

Matariel plunged its four extra limbs into John Morton’s back. The sickles cleaved the tough fabric of his combat gear, bursting back out through his chest. Black vapor rose off the spider legs, blood dripping thickly to the ground. Drops of it splashed onto the innocent little girl’s horrified face. Morton coughed wetly and went slack. He would never again see his dear Jessica. Matariel withdrew its scythes and watched the agent lie in his own blood. The Gengar reabsorbed the appendages and lifted one clawed arm in triumph.

I didn’t watch Morton suffer. I had jumped off my high podium and was holding Heather’s head in my lap. It was too much like that night at the Pokemon Tower. “I won’t let you die,” I told her through choking tears. The rain started again, washing away the smudges of dust on her beautiful face. I looked up through my pain and saw Nagoya on the huge screen, smiling smugly and leaving the arena. “BASTARD!” I screamed. Jack was kneeling beside me, his eyes panicked. I slipped him a small, purple ball and a notebook in my right hand and returned to stroking Heather’s hair, keeping her conscious. Jack looked at me mournfully.
“This is goodbye?” he asked.
“Goodbye, Jack,” I answered. “For now. You know what to do.” He nodded at me.
“See you around,” he mumbled through tears of his own. Without looking back, he sprinted out the low concrete exit of the arena.

Heather shuddered and clenched her teeth. Her breath was shallow, her skin cool. I kissed her forehead and whispered to her softly. “Don’t…don’t leave me,” I pleaded. “Thank you for everything.” She didn’t answer me. The authorities showed up a minute later, taking her away.

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