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Team Valiant's lounge...

"WHOO!" Volcan cheered, jumping for joy while,

behind him, Sickle passed ten Poke'dollars to Hank, since he had won the bet.

"Way to go, Wade! I was worried for a second there."

Hank grinned and took the money from Sickle, then glanced

over to Volcan. "Cmon rookie, was there ever any doubt?"

"Well, when she got behind him and burned him with that

Will-o-Wisp, yes," said Volcan. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't

Hex amplify previously afflicted trauma?

Luke looked over to Volcan with a hint of surprise. "For

someone not of this universe, you're pretty well informed..." He

commented.

"I read it in a book I found on the yacht," said

Volcan. "It was a compiled encyclopedia of Pokemon types and the attacks

they can learn; Hex was in the 'Ghost-Type' section."

"Ah. Well then yes you're right." Luke said.

"Hex does amplified damage if the target is affected by an ailment."

"A devious strategy," stated Sickle. "But Wade

pulled through."

"Just as I said he would." Kage added in, his eyes

closed as he spoke.

"You sound proud of him," Volcan remarked.

"I AM his teacher..." He stated plainly.

Volcan only smiled back, and Kage promptly realized the

Blaziken had just stirred a reaction from the normally stoic Greninja...

something to which even Serena giggled.

Katsu also joined in. "It seems your friend managed to

make even Kage feel even a little emotion." He stated to Serena.

"He does that sometimes," she said. "Just as

he inspires confidence, he can sometimes bring out something in someone even

they didn't know they had." She smiled. "It's why everyone in the

Os-Nadarra is so fond of him; he changed their lives... my own as well."

"Os-Nadarra...?" Katsu queried. "I heard you

mention that name before."

"Our team," she replied. "Back home."

"Quite a unique group name...First I've heard of

it..." He returned

"It means 'Supernatural' in the native tongue of

Volcan's ancestors," Serena explained. "A testament to the uniqueness

of our members."

"Well. I think it suits them." He returned,

shuffling a little closer to her. "You certainly are unique..."

She giggled. "Oh, there's more to our uniqueness than

you think," she said, leaning her head against his leg. "One day... I

hope I can show you."

Volcan, oblivious to Katsu and Serena's exchange, since they

were so quiet, turned to Luke. "And, from what Kurtia said... you guys

just won your own boat! How do you like that?"

"Well it will make getting back home easier." Luke

returned, then his gaze shifted a little. "I guess there are some members

that understand honour and respect after all."

Kaen chuckled. "Impressing Kurtia? THAT was a feat in

and of itself; that lady has a lot of high standards."

"I suppose so." Luke returned, then he looked back

toward Volcan. "In any case, we'll be up soon....you ready for

this...?"

Volcan nodded, once again putting a hand over the shoulder

harness he wore to accomodate his mega stone. "As ready as I'll ever

be."

Luke nodded, then glanced back to the rest of his team, all

of them nodding to signal they were ready for this.

"I wish you guys the best of luck," said Kaen.

"And so do I," agreed Sickle.

"We'll need it," Luke returned.

~~~~~

The call was made... Team Valiant was to report to the

battlefield immediately. Exiting through the secondary doors in their room,

they entered a long hallway that gently curved around to the battlefield,

stopping at an iron gate, which was lowered to allow them out into the

Colisseum. As they stepped out into the light, the audience applauded their

entrance, many of them cheering the names of their members as they stepped out,

the names being called out the most being Luke and Katsu's; someone even threw

a rose down to Katsu, which landed on his shelmet before awkwardly falling off.

He glanced at the rose that fell off his shellmet for a moment,

then back up at the audience to whoever threw it and nodded softly before

turning his attention forward again. THey all maintained a steadfast composure,

doing whatever they could to hide their nervousness or anxiety.

They reached the center of the fighting ring, before the gate

on the other side was lowered, the creaking of the iron hinges ominous and

disconcerting even to them. And then, out of the darkness of the corridor,

their adversaries emerged, starting first with Torolf. Timber and a Mightyena,

who no doubt was Redfang, evident by his missing eye and the curiosly tinted

fangs that showed as he bared his teeth. The Skarmory, Razor, was perched on

Timber's back, eyeing the memebers of Team Valiant with a sinister stare. Leon

was the last to emerge from the hall, but there was no sign of Shamshir yet,

though they had no doubt he'd be along soon.

Each of Team Valiant looked back at their pre-decided

opponents with an angered stare of their own, though Kage remained as deadpan

as always. Luke was frowning intently at Torolf, even clenching his paws tight

at his side.

And finally, up above in the announcers stand was Oceana, who

began to speak in order to address the audience, her voice amplified by the

intercom system. "This is it, Pokemon of the world; the moment you have

all been waiting for! Today, the six strongest warriors of Team Warmachine face

off against their new nemeses, the fighters of Team Valiant! This battle will

be a Last-Team Standing type match; two opponents will enter, and when one is

defeated, another may step in and take his place to defeat their opponent!

Whomsoever has even one member still standing will be declared today's winner,

and appropriately granted the title of Top Rescue Team! Without further ado,

let the first round begin! Team Warmachine and Team Valiant, choose your first

fighters, and give us all that you have!"

At that, the first one to step into the field was actually

Leon; as he stepped forward, his team members moved back, giving him plenty of

room for his upcoming battle. The Empoleon had a hard stare directed at the

members of Team Valiant, his gaze a mix of determination and some suppressed

anxiety.

In response, Kage stepped forward while the rest of the team

moved back to the sidelines. Unlike Leon, Kage's expression never changed. He

showed no signs of anxiety nor determination. His gaze was as hollow as a hole

in the ground.

"This fight could drag on a while," Volcan

remarked. "As Kaen warned us, Leon won't strike first; he's a

counter-specialist, so he'll be letting Kage come to him, and this guy's got

the patience of the mountains."

"The way I see it, this might just be the world's

longest staring contest." Eagle Eye said in jest. "May as well get

comfy and grab a snack while we're waiting."

Leon stood watching Kage as he stood, defensively, and

patiently waiting for the Greninja to make a move, his flippers held

defensively over his front, ready to block any oncoming attack

"Your posture remains calm...but your eyes tell me

another story..." He said in a low tone. "You act as if you're calm, but

in reality you're holding back just how nervous you really are."

"Perhaps I am," returned Leon in an equally calm

tone. "But all fights breed anticipation. Make no mistake, however; I do

not fear my chances against you."

"Let's see how long that confidence lasts," replied

Kage, then in a quick flash he weaved a sign and exhaled a large Smokescreen

from his mouth, clouding them both in a thick, dark gas.

Leon didn't move. He simply waited, biding his time, no

longer relying on his eyes, but on his other senses to try and find the

Greninja. The next thing he knew, his mind was them assaulted by a powerful

mental wave aimed right at his brain, yet there was no sign of movement from

within the smoke. Leon took the hit, and triggered a Mirror Coat, sending an

identical wave back in the direction its caster in retaliation.

There was the sound of the attack hitting its mark, though

when the smoke started to lift, Leon could see what looked like a large mat

standing upright. A Mat Block. The rudamentary shield had protected Kage from

the Mirror Coat.

"Interesting," said Leon, before he splayed out his

flippers and unleashed a Blizzard at the Greninja. The mat was quickly blown

away, only to reveal Kage was nowhere to be seen. Not a trace of where he went

next. Leon was then hit from behind with an elbow from the Greninja, who had

used Shadow Sneak to appear behind his foe before the mat was blown over. Kage

then began to unload a barrage of Power-up Punches on his foe, once again never

hitting teh same target twice, and his punches growing stronger with each hit

he landed.

After the first punch, Leon immediately returned to his Bide

position, taking the progressively strengthening punches before he very

suddenly retaliated, blasting out with a powerful burst of energy that sent

Kage flying, feeling the power of his own attacks brought back on him

double-fold, and Leon himself was already left panting from the onslaught,

miraculously still on his feet, though shakily.

Kage rolled back on his feet, some bruises were present on

his body after he recovered from the attack and even a trickle of blood ran

down from under his tongue scarf. He wiped it away with his hand and narrowed

his eyes at his opponent before he stood tall once more.

"This... may be... a short battle," remarked Leon,

panting.

"Worn out already...?" Kage returned, keeping his

gaze stern and deadpan.

"As if you are not?" Leon asked, seeing through

Kage's ruse; despite the determination the Greninja displayed, he could not

deny that the attack had done a tremendous amount of harm to him... one more

like that, and even he would be finished.

Kage cracked his head a little. "Maybe I am...hard to

tell..."

"Well then, let us carry on," Leon stated, before

he splayed out his flippers and was suddenly launched towards Kage, using an

Aqua Jet to propel himself forward at Mach speed.

Kage leapt up and over Leon as he travelled forward, quickly

weaving a sign and producing two Water Shurikens in his hands. He hurled them

down at the passing Empoleon, then he weaved another and this hurled a

multitude of Spikes down at the ground before he landed

Neither attack inflicted much harm on the Empoleon, however;

being Water and Steel type, both of which were resistant to Water-type attacks,

the Water Shuriken deflected harmlessly off of his body, and the spikes did

little more to his iron-hard skin, causing only a mild discomfort. Leon turned

back to Kage again, this time holding his flippers out to his sides. At that

moment, water began to rush in through open holes in the sides of the colony,

brought up from the ocean, and he rushed towards Kage atop a mighty tsunami,

riding the Surf with perfect balance.

Kage gazed up at the tidal wave for a moment, then quickly

weaved another sign and thrust his hand down, launching him high into the air

with a Hydro Pump. He then angled himself and charged right at Leon, drawing

his Ninjato and preparing to attack with a Night Slash. In retaliation, claws

sprouted from the tips of Leon's flippers, and as Kage came in range, he lashed

out with a powerful metal claw, the two attacks colliding simultaneously as the

surf subsided, and both fighters landed back on the ground, going still, and

for a moment, nobody could tell who had won...

Kage landed in a crouch after the attacks collided, though

upon his landing, he grunted an dropped to a crouch, his injuries finally

catching up to him.

"And now I finish it!" Leon called, turning on Kage

and sending one last Hydro Pump at him; the attack struck Kage before he could

react, and sent him spiralling into a nearby wall, successfully knocking him

out...

Volcan gawked at the sight. "I don't believe it..."

He said.

"No way!!" Hank called out as he saw Kage fall.

"That guy NEVER gets beat!"

Volcan looked at the group. "Next one better get in

there before Leon can recover; we can't let him swap out!"

"Leave that fuck to me!" Hank growled and charged

in, standing before Leon before he could switch out, baring his fangs at the

Empoleon. "Yer figting ME next asshole!!"

Leon turned to face Hank, still panting as he struggled to

gather his breath. "I'm not... beaten... yet," he said, though

stumbled somewhat. "Or maybe..."

Hank flashed a grin. "Sorry pal, but yer done like

dinner..." He said in a sinister tone, then he quickly exhaled a

Flamethrower from his mouth in a wide swath at his opponent.

Leon's eyes widened and he put up his flippers defensively,

but the attack was too intense for him to absorb, and he dropped down heavily,

hitting the ground with a long groan as he finally succumbed to his injuries.

"Intermission!" Oceana called. "Retrieve

fighters!"

Volcan strode over to where Kage had fallen, picking up the

Greninja and draping an arm over his shoulder to support the ninja as he

carried him back over to the team. With Warmachine, Torolf himself stepped out

and did the same, hoisting up Leon and carrying him back over to where the

others waited, casting a glance at Redfang, who nodded back to him before he

charged out to the field, making a mighty leap to cover the distance between

him and Hank, landing only three meters away from the Zoroark.

"It's time I teach you some humility, little

whelp," the Mightyena growled, fixing his one good eye on Hank as he bared

his fangs.

"You're one to fuckin talk!" He growled back, spreading

his arms out and flexing his claws. "I don't fuckin revel in glory and

abuse my status, and I DEFINIETLY don't go around threatening to off my own

teammates if they decide to leave..." He added, glancing over to Timber

with an intense leer in his gaze.

Redfang narrowed his eye at Hank, and glanced over his

shoulder to follow Hank's gaze. "So... what he said was true, eh?" He

asked, before turning back to Hank. "Well, it doesn't matter... by the

time I'm done with you, boy, I'm going to find Kaen next, and I'm going to

remind him why nobody leaves Warmachine." With that, he stood,

wide-legged, and readied himself for a fight.

"Case in fucking point, asshole..." Hank stated

back, hunching forward and preparing for a beatdown.

At that moment, Redfang charged forward, his mouth suddenly

going ablaze as he leapt at Hank, attacking with a Fire Fang ---

However, Hank quickly darted forward and socked Redfang clean

on his jaw. "FWAH! SUCKER PUNCH BITCH!!" He roared, then he crouched

and swung his leg at Redfang with a Low Sweep to trip him up, then he snapped

his claws and bound his legs with Grass Knot as he hit the ground.

After the onslaught of attacks, and finding his legs trapped,

Redfang struggled to pull his limbs free. He saw Hank coming at him to attack

again, and spat at Shadow Ball from his mouth as Hank approached. Having little

time to charge it, the Shadow Ball barely hurt, but it slowed Hank down enough

for Redfang to bite the vines and pull himself free, leaping away just in time.

At this, he launched another Shadow Ball at Hank, but this one missed, soaring

behind Hank harmlessly before striking the ground.

Volcan irked an eyebrow. "Wow... Kaen was right; this

guy can't hit a barn door with a bullseye painted on it."

"That will work to Hank's advantage...he might not even

need his illusion ability for this battle." Katsu added in.

"Don't

celebrate yet," said Serena. "Kaen also said Redfang was quick-footed

and a close-range righter. Hank may need his illusions to keep him at

bay."

Almost as if Serena's observation were a prompt, Redfang was

already coming again, this time an icey mist pouring from his mouth as he

promptly closed the distance between him and Hank, snapping his jaws at the

Zoroark. Hank hopped back and dodged rather artfully from the attack.

"Whoop!" He barked before he retaliated with a Night Slash, following

through with the attack and spinning on the spot. When he came full circle, he

was holding a Focus Blast in his claw, thrusting it toward Redfang's face point

blank.

The night slash barely harmed him, and miraculously, he

managed to sidestep the Focus Blast before it was unleashed. Left vulnerable

for only an instant, Hank suddenly found the Mightyena lunging right for him,

successfully biting his arm with an Ice Fang.

"GAH!!" He roared as he felt the cold snap of the

fangs dig into his arm. He then bared hsi fangs and lashed out with a Fury

Swipes from his other claw, swiping at Redfangs face with his claw over and

over until he let go.

When the Mightyena finally backed off, it was only for an

instant, before he lunged at Hank again, this time aiming to Tackle him in the

stomach. This time, Hank caught him before he could make contact, skidding a

bit as he held Redfang back.

"Let's see how YOU like it!!" He roared, then

pushed him back with a knee to his chest, then he slammed into him full force

with a Retaliation. Since a member of his team had been KO'ed in the previous

fight, the attack hit Redfang with even more force than normal. He then exhaled

another Flamethrower at his opponent as he staggered back.

Redfang howled in pain as he was burned by the Flamethrower,

but managed to grit his teeth through it, staying on his feet -albeit barely.

He turned back to Hank once more, and threw back his head as he unleashed a Howl

to the air, and broke into a run at Hank, once more his fangs ablaze as he

pounced at him with another Fire Fang, but this time he also had the claws on

his forepaws outstretched -he intended to make this attack count.

"NIGHT DAZE!!" Hank roared and discharged a

damaging shroud of dark energy at his foe, damaging him minimally, but also

lowering his sight slightly. Hank then reared his claw back, clenching it into

a fist and throwing the hardest punch he could muster as Redfang approached.

With his already hindered eyesight thrown off, Redfang could

not see the punch coming; it struck his muzzle with such force that one of his

fangs actually broke upon impact, and he was launched backward, landing on his

back before toppling over and falling onto his side. This time, he didn't move

again.

"Redfang is down!" Oceana called.

"Intermission; Team Warmachine, collect your comrade."

"No need!" Redfang suddenly called out, before

coughing and returning to his feet, far too shaky though to continue fighting;

a fact he himself knew; he held up his left paw in surrender, and then began to

stumble his way back over to his teammates. "Blast... gettin' too old for

this," he grumbled.

The next one to step up -or rather, fly up to the field, was

Razor; the Skarmory cackled madly as he flew over Hanks head, circling around

and dropping to take his position.

"Hank! Swap out!" Volcan called. "You're not

quick enough to handle that guy; let Eagle Eye take over while the Intermission

is still active!"

Hank growled, then quickly jumped out of the arena and Eagle

Eye quickly zoomed in, landing on his taloned feet and flapping his wings in

preparation. "Aw yea, time for some fireworks!!"

"So, you think you can keep up with me, do ya?" The

hyperactive Skarmory asked, flexing his wings. "Think you can keep up with

the Razor of the Wind?"

"Ain't NO one faster than me chump! And I'm gonna prove

that to ya right now!" He said as he flapped his wings again, whipping up

a Tailwind before he became aloft.

"Ya think a little breeze is gonna stop me?!" Razor

called, before he swung his wings forward, unleashing an Air Cutter that

slashed its way through the Tailwind towards Eagle Eye. He grinned and quickly

zoomed toward the air, then dove down and slammed into him with a Flame Charge

before zipping up again, staying aloft in the air. The added Tailwind plus the

speed increase of his Flame Charge making him all but a red blur as he flew.

Razor grinned widely, clacking his metal beak together.

"Finally, some real excitement!" He exclaimed before he soared off

with Agility, moving in hot pursuit of the Talonflame.

Eagle Eye glanced back as Razor gave chase. "Catch me if

ya can!!" He taunted before zooming off, leading Razor on a high speed

chase all around the arena, banking abruptly in tight corners as he flew.

Every step of the way, Razor chased him, at once point

managing to make a tighter turn than even Eagle Eye, putting him just in range

to let loose a Screech at the Talonflame ---

He winced and abruptly stopped, letting Razor pass him by. He

shoook his head and glared at the speeding Skarmory. "Alright...It...Is...ON!"

He squawked and chased after him, immolating his body as he caught up to Razor

to hit him with a Flare Blitz.

Razor banked out of the way of the attack, letting Talonflame

soar past before he performed a U-turn and went after him, wings splaying wide

open and glowing brightly as he soared full-speed at Eagle Eye with a Steel

Wing. Eagle Eye glanced back and took the attack, squawking in pain from the

sharp wings cutting into him. However, thanks to the flames around him, his

wound almost immediately cauterized and he swerved quickly back toward Razor.

 "Eat Flaming

Sparrow muthafuckaaaaah!!!!" He exclaimed as he charged full tilt at

Razor, still using Flare Blitz.

Razor had his back turned to Eagle Eye as the reckless

Talonflame came at him, and the tenacity of Eagle Eye paid off; the attack

landed, burning the steel body of the Skarmory -although ramming into it did

Eagle no favors either- and thrown off balance, scraping against the arena wall

just below the spectator's stands before rebounding away, losing some altitude

but struggling to stay aloft. Eagle Eye grunted as he quickly regained himself,

flapping his wings to slow himself down and stay aloft. He grimaced more as he

felt the recoil damage take its toll.

Razor managed to correct himself, a glowering expression

crossing his features as he circled around until he faced Eagle Eye again.

"Try this for size," he said, opening his beak wide, sending a Flash

Cannon at the Talonflame.

"WHOO BOY!!" He exclaimed and quickly flew away

from the attack, then veered to the right and narrowly avoided the attack. He

veered once again and faced Razor. "Back atcha!!" He roared before

expelling a Fire Blast from his beak.

Razor barrel-rolled out of the way of the Fire Blast; the

attack struck a nearby chunk of the stone wall and left a visible burn in the

surface of the wall. Razor made a beeline straight for the Talonflame to once

again strike at him with a Steel Wing. Eagle Eye flapped his wings to create a

sort of wind barrier, shielding himself from harm with Protect. He then soared

up and over Razor after the attack hit his Protect move, quickly swooping down

with another Flame Charge, striking him and quickly retreating, gaining another

boost in speed.

Razor lost control of his flight, and this time he -did- hit

a wall, impedding his beak in the stone. Panicking, the Skarmory clawed at the

wall, leaving scratches in the stone as he tried to pull himself free.

"Now for the finish!" Eagle Eye exclaimed as he

expelled another Fire Blast from his beak. "TOASTYYYY!!"

And Razor, unable to pull free in time, took the attack head

on; it was all it took to finish off the Skarmory. He went limp, fainting with

his beak still stuck in the wall and simply hanging from there. Oceana called

for another intermission, and a few helpers were called up to pry Razor free of

the wall, carrying him off to be treated by medics.

Three members of Team Warmachine were down, while Team

Valiant had only lost one. Torolf and Timber looked clearly frustrated by the

outcome, and were talking with one another, before Timber began to make his way

into the battlefield.

Eagle Eye took the opportunity to swap out, flying over to

the sidelines and stumbling a bit as he landed, tapping Katsu's chest with his

wing. "He's all yers big guy."

Katsu looked over to the Haxorus, narrowing his eyes and

slowly approaching the ring, stepping up and staring his opponent with that

glare of his.

Timber only glared back, rubbing his claws against the blades

on his face to sharpen them as he approached Katsu, letting them gleam in the

sunlight as the two faced each other. "This time, Maggie won't be here to

save you little runts from me," he said, coldly.

"Assuming you can get past me," the large Samurott

returned, then in a blink of an eye he was holding both his Seamitars in his

paws, standing upright and waving his swords in a fluid motion before taking a

stance.

"Your quick-flying friend may have beaten Razor, but

it's going to take a lot more than running me into a wall to stop me," he

growled.

The match was signalled to begin, and the Haxorus opened with

a Dragonbreath attack launched from his mouth. In return, Katsu opened with a

Hydro Pump, shooting a large blast of water from his blades to clash with the dragonic

flames approaching him. But the Dragonbreath attack proved the more reslient as

Timber continued exhaling, slowing pushing his way through the Hydro Pump,

making it even harder as he took a step forward, pushing Katsu with the deadly

breath attack.

He growled and quickly weaved out of the way just as the

breath was about to hit him. He glared at the Haxorus and charged forward with

a Fury Cutter with his blades. The Haxorus ceased exhaling, and tucked his body

in to let his armor-plated back take the hits, letting the blades graze off of

his natural defense, and immediately retaliated with a backward swing of his

head, Slashing at Katsumoto with his axe-bladed head.

Katsu quickly brought his offhand blade up and blocked the attack,

sliding back a little from the impact. Katsu then shoulder bashed him to send

him back, then used False Swipe to feint him out before turning and stabbing

behind him with both blades to his stomach, then turned around and sliced along

his chest with both blades using X-Scissor. The impacts clearly affected the

dragon pokemon, but once again that tough hide of his still held on; Kaen

hadn't been exaggerating when he said the Haxorus had a very thick body, if not

even the Samurott's Seamitars could pierce it.

And then, as Katsu tried to recover from his last attack,

Timber let loose another Dragonbreath; this time, the attack was too close to

evade, blasting Katsumoto with the forceful attack. Miraculously he didn't

suffer paralysis from it, but it stunned him long enough for Timber to charge

in and attack with a Dual Chop, swinging his head from side-to-side and hacking

at Katsu with his axe blades.

He growled as he took the hits, leaving gashes along his body

and sending him skidding back even more. He covered his wounds with his arms

for a moment, then took a deep breath to calm himself down and look back at

Timber. "Looks like I'll have to get serious...."

Timber took an imposing step towards him, although hadn't

heard what he said before, and growled at him. "Is that the best you've

got? At this rate you might beat me by boring me to death," he insulted

the Samurott.

He winced at that comment, and then he closed his eyes and

relaxed for a moment. A ring of water soon formed around his feet that slowly

grew more torrential as time went on. He then flashed his eyes open and let out

a mighty roar, tensing his body so hard that his muscels literally grew in

size, shredding his kimono top entirely. Soon after that, a huge torrent of

water erupted around Katsu's legs and shot out in all directions. He then

looked at Timber with an intense glare in his eyes, almost as if he was going

to kill him.

Timber only grinned. "Finally, things are heating

up," he observed, lowering himself down in preparation to charge.

"Well, come on then!" He bellowed before he began to charge forward,

firing off another Dragonbreath as he strode towards Katsu.

Katsu barreled forward with Aqua Jet, charging THROUGH the

Dragonbreath and slashing at Timber with another X-Scissor, this time his

blades actually slashed through his armour and hit flesh before the Samurott

leapt up and kicked him HARD right on the snout. Timber growled in pain as he

felt the sting of the blade, peering over to where the attack had pierced his

body; the wound was shall, but visible. This served only to anger him more, but

not enough to avoid the kick to his face that actually knocked him back

somewhat, but only for a moment. Immediately after recovering, he stomped the

ground, causing boulders to erupt from the ground around them and arch towards

Katsumoto.

Katsu landed and roared once more, cleaving through teh

boulders with well timed Razor Shells. He then reared hsi blades back and

discharged another hydro pump right at Timber's face once more with much more

force than before. Timber braced himself, angling his body just right that the

pressurized water attack glanced off of his armoured hide, and fired an

unexpected attack, sending a Dragon Pulse at Katsumoto while he was still

firing the Hydro Pump.

Katsu wasn't prepared to defend himself and took the blast

head on. He skidded back again, wincing as the pain set in. He then flashed his

eyes opened and pounded his chest hard. "That's it!??" He roared.

"I've taken Thunder attacks that hit 10 times as hard as that excuse of an

attack!!" He taunted.

"Then perhaps you'd prefer this?!" Timber returned

as he threw back his head, an a hurricane-force wind surged around them as he

unleashed a Dragon Rage towards Katsumoto, blasting him with all the

devastating fury of a Dragon-Type Pokemon.

Katsu only scoffed. "Child's play..." He stated,

then he reared his arms back and gathered huge surges of water around his

blades. When his blades were completely coated with water, he roared and swung

hsi blades forward as hard as he could. "HYDRO CANNON!!!" He roared

and discharged a HUMONGOUS blast of water right at the Dragon Rage attack,

slamming into it full tilt.

However, the attack proved futile; as it was always known to,

Dragon Rage powered its way through Katsu's attack, eventually reaching the

Samurott. Though the blast was significantly reduced thanks to how hard the

Hydro Cannon had dispersed it, Katsu was still blown back almost twenty feet,

while Timber was left untouched.

Katsu roared as he was sent flying back, skidding on his back

and laying there for a while before he pushed himself back up onto his feet. He

shook his head and spat out some blood before he retook his stance, panting a

little as he prepared for battle yet again. But the instant he looked up, he

saw a shadow looming over him, and felt a powerful force come down on him,

immediately putting him right back on his stomach as he was Stomped into the

ground, and then again, and again, and again, each time pushing him into the

dirt and making his bones groan in protest, threatening to break at any moment.

"Hey! That can't be legal!" Volcan called out in

protest, enraged that Timber was stooping so low as to metaphorically kick his

opponent while they were down.

Luke's paws were clenching tighter as he watched the fight

unfold. His teeth grit as he saw his comrade get beaten down mercilessly. Finally,

Timber finished the onslaught with a Dragon Tail, which was the final strike;

it sent Katsu soaring through the air, directly into the wall of the Colisseum.

Serena watched in horror as the Samurott was sent flying, and hit the wall with

such force an impression of himself was actually left -in- the masonry.

Slowly he fell off the wall and landed on his front, coughing

up some blood and his body shrinking back down to his normal size. Despite the

beatdown he took, he STILL struggled to get back on his feet, using his blades

as props.

"No Katsu!" Serena protested, running over to him

before he could try to get back into the fight again. "You've taken too

much damage; you might have broken bones after all that!"

"I cannot...let

my team down..." He grunted, still trying to stand, but his legs wouldn't

obey him.

"Katsu, please!" She begged him, looking to be on

the verge of tears. "You've done all you can; don't push yourself further

than you can go."

He looked into her eyes for a moment, sensing she was about

to lose herself in a fit of sadness. Slowly he released his swords and fell

forward gently, resting against her with his head on her shoulder, grunting as

the adrenaline died down and his injuries took their toll.

She struggled not to let him fall, propping both herself and

him up on her legs, tears of relief finally streaming out from her eyes.

"There, Katsu... you did wonderfully... after all, it was you who made sure

the team was able to enter this contest, was it not?" Her gaze shifted to

Timber, becoming a hard expression. "Don't worry... he won't get away with

what he did to you."

"You're damn right he won't," said Volcan, his fist

clenching so hard his palm was actually bleeding. "That dirty fucking

dragon just crossed the line of my last nerve!" Flames exploded from his

wrists as he spoke, and without another word, the Blaziken marched forward,

intent on finishing what Katsumoto started. Briefly, he looked in Katsu's

direction, seeing the injured Samurott as Serena, with help from Hank and

Talonflame, brought him back over to where the group had gathered, laying him

down next to Kage. "Guys... I won't let you down," he promised,

turning his gaze to a hard glare as he faced Timber. "Not here, and not

ever again."

Timber, having now gathered his second wind, turned to see

Volcan approaching, and only laughed. "The rookie?" He asked.

"Please... at this point they should've sent their team captain, but

instead they send you?" He started chuckling, under suddenly Volcan

grabbed him by the throat and pulled him forward to look him in the eye.

In that -glare- the Haxorus found himself frozen with fear,

seeing absolutely no hesitation or regard left in the gaze of the Blaziken.

But, in his own hesitation, the Haxorus left himself wide open, and suffered a

punch right to the stomach that knocked the wind out of him, and sent him

stumbling back.

Volcan stood, watching with only an enraged expression as

Timber fought to gather his breath, not even flinching as the dragon glared

back at him. "Why you...!"

"Get im Rookie!!" Hank called out to him.

"Knock that asshole flat on his arse and give him hell!!!"

"Hear that?" Volcan asked Timber. "They've got

faith in me, and right now, I have faith in myself as well... by the time I'm

done with you, Shamshir will be smart not to show up, because when he does, I'm

going to be ready for him."

"YOU?! Beat SHAMSHIR?!" Timber asked, and broke out

into a fit of laughter. "You impossible fool; I just beat one of the

strongest members of your team, and you think you, a rookie without a Mega

Stone, is going to beat Shamshir, the only one of our group who even holds a

candle to Torolf?! I've never heard something so outrageous in my life!"

"Well then," Volcan said, and beckoned mockingly at

Timber. "Come and test me out for yourself, unless Katsu left you too worn

out to take on a mere 'rookie'."

Timber's eyes narrowed with anger. "I'm more than

capable of taking YOU down!" He barked before he lunged forward, and swung

at Volcan with a Dual Chop, which the Blaziken ducked under the first, before

jumping over the second, using the greater agility of his body to outmaneuver

the Haxorus.

'Katsu is tougher than me, there's not even a doubt there,'

Volcan thought. 'But I'm more acrobatic and hit just as hard as he does; I've

got to make use of that to beat this guy.' At that thought, he jumped over a

slash attack, front-flipping over the Haxorus and landing behind him. Promptly,

Volcan grabbed Timber front behind, seizing him by the tail, and made a mighty

leap high into the air, the Dragon-Type yelping in surprise as he was carried

fifty feet above the arena floor, and higher still, until nobody in the

coliseum could adequately see them.

"How... how did he do that?" Serena asked Luke, her

eyes wide with surprise.

"I... have no idea, " Luke returned, just as

surprised as she was. "From the looks of it, he's using a Sesimic

Toss...but...he's still getting used to his body? How'd he pick it up so

fast??"

Serena smiled meekly. "Well... he always has been better

at learning hands on," she said. "Especially in a very heated

moment."

"So it would seem..." He returned. "We might

just win this...."

As if to answer that, someone called out in surprise, and

they saw Timber falling back towards the ground, flailing his limbs in complete

panic as he dropped, unable to stop himself straight back to terra firma. He

hit the ground so hard that it sent of cloud of dust up all around him. And not

three seconds later, Volcan came down, both feet outstretched, and fell right

into the dust, sending yet another cloud -this one even bigger, billowing out

as he struck, forcing Serena, Luke and the others to cover their eyes as they

were met with a faceful of dust.

Luke was able to tune to his aura sense to get a better view

of what was happening inside the dust cloud, even with his eyes closed.

And he saw the two Aura's within; one was lying on the ground

with his head stuck in the dirt, while the other stood over him. As the dust cleared,

Luke was able to revert his sight back to normal, and he saw Volcan standing

triumphantly over an unconscious Timber, who lay limp with, as Luke had

noticed, his head stuck in the ground.

"Owned," Volcan said plainly. "That was for

threatening Kaen, and all those cheap shots you took at Katsu."

"Whoa..." Eagle Eye and Hank blurted out

simultaneously.

Luke slowly smiled at the sight. "So full of

surprises..."

Volcan then proceeded to non-chalantly pull Timber out of the

ground and drag him back over to his team mate, tossing him to the feet of

Torolf. "That was number four," he stated. "And right now I only

see one left; where's your sixth guy, that 'Shamshir' fellow I've heard so much

about?"

Torolf glared at Volcan. "Watch your tone with me, small

fry," he warned. "Or Shamshir will be the least of your

worries."

"Then where the hell is he?" Volcan demanded.

"I'm ready for either of you, so either bring on the next or step into the

ring with me."

A metallic 'THUNK' sounded by Volcan's ear. "You speak my

name... but you do not know me," a sinister voice said in warning behind

him.

Volcan immediately spun around in alarm, and behind him stood

the Scizor that he and the others had seen upon their arrival to the island,

glaring at Volcan with a look of one with no regard for the life of others -a

stare that already had Volcan on the defensive, but he stood his ground.

"You wish to challenge me yourself; is it perhaps though you belief you

have a type advantage?"

"I'm here to prove Team Warmachine's members aren't as

tough as they think they are," said Volcan, trying not to sound at all

intimidated by the Scizor, even though he somewhat was; the Bug/Steel Pokemon

had appeared seemingly from nowhere, and that expression he bore... it was not

one Volcan liked seeing. "But Luke wants Torolf himself, so that just

leaves me to deal with you."

"Very well," he said. "But I shall not be

holding back on you; whatever becomes of you shall not be my

responsibility."

"I'd expect no less," Volcan retorted, before he

started to lead the way back to the ring.

Serena visibly shuddered at the sight of Shamshir. "Just

the sight of him makes my skin crawl," she said.

"Indeed; honestly I think even Kage would feel

intimidated by this guy..." Luke admitted. "I hope Volcan knows what

he's doing..."

The two combatants took their places in the middle of the

stadium and faced each other. The Scizor stanced himself in preparation, but

Volcan did not. "Aren't you going to Mega Evolve?" Volcan asked.

"I do not need my Mega Form against the likes of

you," Shamshir returned.

"Oh, I think you will," said Volcan as he grabbed

his shoulder strap, rotating it and revealing the mega stone imbedded in the

leather accessory.

Shamshir saw the stone, and was visibly caught off guard by

seeing the Blazikenite. Torolf, however, reacted much more audibly. "Where

did you get that?!" He bellowed. "That was the stone we were offering

as part of the contest; you miserable thief!"

"Wrong, Torolf!" A voice shouted from behind Luke,

making him and Serena peer over their shoulders to see Kaen stepping out of the

tunnel. "Volcan didn't steal that stone; I gave it to him!"

"You had no right to do that, Kaen!" Torolf

bellowed.

"I had every right!" The Charmeleon retorted.

"The stone belonged to me in the first place; I'm the one who found it,

and even though I was offering it as a prize, when you guys finally showed me

what you really are, I decided it deserved to be in better hands than yours! So

I got it back from my room, and I gave it to Volcan; no rules have been broken,

and this fight is still on!"

Luke turned his gaze back toward Torolf to see his reaction,

ready to stop him should he try and attack Kaen. The Swampert was absolutely

fuming with anger, and clearly looked like he wanted to charge across the

stadium and smash the Charmeleon until his bones shattered, but doing so would

be a violation of his own rules, because Kaen was not a contestant, and having

Luke step in to protect him while Volcan's fight with Shamshir was just

beginning would make things even worse for the Swampert.

And then, came the murmuring from the audience. It appeared

their faith in Team Warmachine was becoming more and more frail with every

passing moment, and the closer the contest came to conclusion, the worse things

were looking for them. Reluctantly, the Swampert calmed down, and turned to

Shamshir. "Break that Blaziken like a twig, Shamshir," he stated.

"As you say," returned the Scizor, before he raised

his left claw, opening it and revealing the Mega Stone inside, which began glowing,

enveloping the Scizor in crystalline energy before shattering and revealing the

changed form beneath. Anatomically, he was similar, but a black, four-pointed

crest had appeared on his forehead, and his claws had morphed to an even more

terrifying shape, becoming lizard-like heads with rows of sharp teeth within,

and his legs no longer ended in feet, but in two narrowing spikes like the tips

of a spear.

Volcan touched the Mega Stone on his chest, and already it

began to react, prompting the Blaziken to look down at it as the same violet

crystalline light that had enveloped Shamshir encompassed him as well, and when

he reappeared, he was changed; the normally downward-curving crown of feathers

that grew from the back of his head were now angled upward, forming an

upward-pointing V with a curved horn resting in between them, and the white

feathers around his chest had changed also, becoming X-shaped, and showed a

hint of black feathers with flame patterns underneath, which a similar colour

around the middle of his legs stretching from below the knee, up to the upper

thigh.

Flaming ribbons extended from his wrists, trailing out to his

sides like small flags as he stood. Volcan held his arms crossed over his chest

for a moment before throwing them out, fists clenched, and letting out a

battle-thirsty cry to the air, and then looked down at himself, studying his

change of appearance, and nodding in satisfaction before he faced Shamshir,

stancing himself for the battle ahead.

"Go get him, Volcan," said Serena.

"Kick his ass Rookie..." Hank muttered.

"Cmon Volcan..." Luke whispered softly, crossing

his arms and watching intently.

The fight was on.

Shamshir performed the opening move, rushing in with a Metal

Claw attack aimed for Volcan's arm, which the Blaziken slapped aside, and

retaliated with a punch to the face that sent Shamshir stumbling back, clearly

not expecting him to counter so easily. The Mega Scizor narrowed his eyes at

Volcan as he rubbed his face. "Seems I am foolish to expect an easy win,

even against a novice."

"I'm not as 'novice' as you think, pal," Volcan

retorted.

"I better not let my guard down against you,"

admitted Shamshir before he charged in again, this time ducking under Volcan's

punch, and elbowing him in the stomach hard enough to stumble him; Volcan took

the hit, but stayed on his feet, and deflected another metal claw aimed for his

face. Soon, the two were exchanging blows almost in sync; strike, parry,

counter, strike, counter, parry, parry, strike, counter; their hands were too

fast to follow to the untrained eye.

"Hot DAYUM look at him go!!" Eagle Eye exclaimed.

"Even I can barely keep up with how fast they're fuckin moving, and my

eyes don't miss ANYTHING!"

And then, it happened, Volcan managed to catch Shamshir's

claw, pull him towards himself, and then land the same elbow strike he had used

on Rigel, once more performing the technique he called the Aikido Reversal,

sending Shamshir to the ground, and where Volcan attempted to punch him.

But Shamshir was quicker to react than Rigel had been; he

caught Volcan's fist with his claw, clamping it and sending white hot pain up

the Blaziken's arm, and then shot back to his feet and bludgeoned the Blaziken

with his other claw, stumbling him. Finally, the Mega Scizor rushed past and

struck him with a Wing Attack, dealing highly effective damage to the Mega

Blaziken.

"Ooohhh... that'll leave a mark, " Hank mttered

after seeing Volcan suffer such a critical hit. "Didn't think a Scizor

could learn Wing attack."

"I can learn Dragon Pulse if I wanted to..." Luke

pointed out.

"...Touché..."

Volcan jumped back to his feet again, and was back into the

fight, although with his good arm hindered now by the visible cuts left by

Shamshir's claw, forcing him to be more careful how he used it. Soon, he was

forced to jump away from Shamshir, back-flipping to gain some distance, but

Shamshir wasn't going to had it; before Volcan even touched ground, Shamshir

shot forward with incredible speed, appearing below Volcan and catching him by

the legs with his claws, yanking him as the Scizor kept flying onward, and

Volcan suddenly found himself being involuntarily carried into the air, hung

upside down and trying to get free.

"Not good!" Luke muttered, uncrossing his arms and

widening his eyes, fearing the worst.

And then, Shamshir released Volcan, letting the Blaziken fall

back towards the ground, before diving after him; Volcan was in the process of

righting himself when Shamshir dropped at him, and clamped him by the head with

his claw!

But he didn't stop there; he stopped flying, and dragged

Volcan back down to the ground with him, slamming him into the dirt head-first,

which stunned Volcan. Finally, the brutal Mega Scizor lifted him back up,

tossing him into the air before lashing out with both claws to clamp him around

the arms, hard enough to draw blood and making Volcan cry out in pain as his

arms were clamped with enough force he was certain his bones cracked.

"Oh no!" Serena cried in horror.

"Volcan!!" Luke called out, taking a step forward

and wanting badly to step in and help him, but he restrained himself.

"C'mon rookie!! Don't throw in the towel yet!!"

hank called out.

Then, Shamshir began to fly again, carrying Volcan into the

air, and pulling at his arms; the bones of Volcan's limbs groaned in protest as

the Mega Scizor threatened to pull them right out of their sockets. He tried to

resist but Shamshir was much stronger than him...

"You truly thought you could beat me at your

level?" Shamshir asked, coldly. "Your ignorance is boundless; I

should tear your arms off entirely for having such foolish delusions."

"The only one foolish here is you, bug breath,"

growled Volcan. "Because you forgot something..."

"What?" Shamshir asked.

Suddenly, Volcan, fighting against the pain in his arms,

swung himself forward and wrapped his legs around Shamshir's middle, pulling

their bodies together. "I don't need my limbs to attack!" Volcan

barked before he exhaled a cone of flames right in Shamshir's face!

"Yea!! That's the way Rookie!!" Hank said as he

pumped his claw. "Roast him alive!!"

Shamshir, in desperation, let go of Volcan's arms to try and

escape, but the Blaziken had him in an iron grip with his legs, and with his

arms freed, he kept breathing until the Mega Scizor swooned and fell back down

to the ground. Then, and only then, did Volcan release him and leap away,

letting Shamshir hit the dirt first, his entire upper torso ablaze. Shamshir

shot back to his feet, flailing around and snarling in pain as he tried to put

out the flames. And then, Volcan charged at him again, leaping up and spinning

himself around with his left foot ablaze.

"BLAZE KICK!" He bellowed before striking Shamshir

with so much force that the Mega Scizor was sent flying across the arena,

launched with such force the flames on his body went out, only for him to

instead suffer a high velocity impact with the wall of the colisseum. Mere

seconds after hitting the wall, he reverted from his Mega Evolved form back to

his original self, and fell away from the wall in a still heap, hitting the

dirt and going limp.

Volcan stood, struggling to gather his breath as he let his

injured arms hang free, a mild amount of blood dripping from them as he fought

to get his second wind.

"He did it!" Serena squealed with delight. "He

beat Shamshir!"

"YEEEHAAA!!" Both Eagle Eye and Hank cried out,

hopping on the spot a bit. "THAT'S how ya get it done!!"

Luke let out a sigh of relief, putting his paw on his chest and

smiling. "Good job Volcan...way to pull through..."

Volcan turned back to the group, and was about to make his

way back over to them when he felt a presence behind him; he spun around, and

there was Torolf, his expression contorted with rage as he punched Volcan and

sent the Blaziken flying. Volcan managed to correct himself with a backflip,

landing on his feet and facing Torolf.

"From behind? You freakin' coward!" Volcan barked.

"There was no intermission called; you shouldn't have

turned your back on me," Torolf returned, before he raised both of his

arms high over his head, and then brought them down with such force he created

a mighty Earthquake. Volcan, realizing the danger, quickly jumped into the air

to avoid the tremor, touching back down seconds later, but Torolf immediately

came at hm again with an Aqua Jet, rapidly closing the distance and punching

him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him; normally, such a blow would

has sent Volcan flying, but Torolf had already grabbed his arm to stop him from

going anywhere. Then, he seized Volcan by his hip, raising him over his head,

and brought the Blaziken belly first onto his knee.

Bones cracked audibly; Volcan's eyes shot wide open, and the

horrible scream of pain that left his beak could be heard clearly by everyone

in the audience as several of his ribs snapped from the force of the strike.

Serena screamed as well; not in pain, but in horror.

"Whoa WHOA!! FUCKING CHEAP SHOT!!!" Hank roared out

angrily.

Luke's eyes widened in utter shock at what he just saw,

staring at Volcan for a moment, then at Torolf. Slowly that shock gave way to an

immense anger, his paws clenching tight and his fangs bared. And then, Torolf

callously threw Volcan back to the group; the Blaziken flew, limp through the

air, as he arced towards them, reverting back to his regular form as he was

thrown.

Kaen, reacting completely out of instinct, suddenly shot

forward, pouncing towards Volcan and spinning around, catching him by the torso

and putting himself between Volcan and the ground to break the fall, almost

having the wind knocked out of him as they landed, but spurred on by adrenaline

he pushed himself back up, turning Volcan over so the others could see him when

they ran over.

"Rookie!!" Hank called as he ran over to check on

Volcan. Eagle Eye and Luke quickly joined him and crouched around him.

Serena was practically crying all over again as she ran

around to the other side, standing by Volcan's shoulder and calling out his

name twice. After the second time, the Blaziken stirred, groaning, but that

groan quickly turned a snarl of pain as he tensed up, both arms over his chest.

"AHHH! Fuck; my ribs!" He cried.

Kaen prompted Volcan to relax, and, as gently as he could, he

touched Volcan's chest, wincing as the Blaziken hissed in pain at several

touches. "Dammit; Torolf broke four of his ribs," he said, his face

contorting with rage as he suddenly turned back to his former team leader.

"How the hell could you do this to him?! He was already half-beaten by

Shamshir; you didn't have to shatter his ribs!"

"You should know by now, Kaen," Torolf returned.

"Those who fight me better expect to walk away with tremendous damage; I

don't fight to lose."

Kaen growled in fury, but stopped himself from charging out,

knowing he'd get Team Valiant disqualified if he attacked Torolf. "You

slimy...!"

"Enough!" Luke exclaimed, standing tall and glaring

at Torolf angrily. "Kaen, take Volcan and get him immediate medical

care... Torolf is mine."

Kaen looked at Luke briefly, and then back at Torolf. "I

can't believe I ever looked up to

scumbag like you," he growled. "You're nothing but a thug!" He

turned away and looked at Hank. "Give me a hand with Volc; if one those

fractures pierced his lung, he could have internal bleeding; we have to get him

to the medical ward back on the ship."

"On it." Hank returned, gently helping Kaen lift up

the Blaziken, propping him up against their backs with his arms over his

shoulders; the grit his beak in discomfort, but tolerated it.

"Find Luke's brother, MIkhail, too!" Serena called.

"He can help him!"

"Will do; where is his cabin?"

"Directly across from Luke's," Volcan replied

weakly.

"Easy man, yer gonna be ok.." Hank said in a calm

manner to the Blaziken, glancing back at Luke staring Torolf down before

turning and trotting away with Kaen and the injured Blaziken in tow.

Serena looked at Luke, a desperate look on her face as she

spoke. "Don't let him do that to you, Luke," she begged.

"When I'm done with him, HE'LL be the one with broken

ribs and sitting in a medical ward." He growled angrily, slowly stepping

up toward the ring and before his opponent. His eyes had a look of extreme

anger toward the Swampert, his paws clenched tight and shaking with absolute

fury. "Hard to believe a selfish brute such as yourself has earned you the

respect of countless of Pokémon lives; you're no hero, far from it. You're just

a common thug that craves attention so desperately that you'll go out of your

way to make others suffer for it..."

"Like I

said to Kaen, I fight to win," stated Torolf as he and Luke began to

circle one another, never taking his eyes off of the Lucario as they stepped.

"And I've done plenty of good for the world; I stopped Groudon from going

on a rampage when some idiot thought it'd be funny to wake him up, I saved

entire towns from floods and landslides, and I've put many renegade rescue

teams far worse than me, on ice. Why shouldn't I be respected for everything I

do, and my team rewarded for all the things we have to go through on a daily

basis?"

"Your idea of a reward is a paycheque and the attention

of all those around you," Luke retorted. "After all this time you've spent

revelling in your own fame, you've forgotten what it TRULY means to be a Rescue

Team.." Luke then bared his fangs at him. "You disgust me...you and

your team ought to be ashamed of yourselves, because of your selfish desire to

win, you've gravely injured my friend when his back was turned. Only a coward

would strike their opponent when their back is turned!!"

"His fault for looking away, believing the fight was

over while I was still standing," retorted Torolf.

Luke was now seething in anger, and the air around him began

to shimmer like a small heat wave around him. "...Torolf....by the time

I'm done with you, you're going to wish I put you out of your misery." He

growled.

"Well then, by all means," he reared up on his hind

legs, revealing the Mega Stone on his belt. "Let's finally finish this, no

holds barred, and find who is truly the mightiest."

Luke then tensed his body and the shimmer around his body

erupted into a raging blue aura flame. He quickly took his stance, glaring at

Torolf with intent to beat him to within an inch of his life...

Torolf tapped his mega stone, and with his touch, it began to

glow. He became engulfed in light, surrounded by the crystalline orb that

marked the process of Mega Evolution, and vanished from sight for a few short

seconds, before the orb burst and revealed the already-large Swampert into his

even more enormous Mega Evolution. Torolf flexed his arms as he became a fully

formed Mega Swampert, bellowing out to the sky in anticipation before he faced

Luke again, his face sour, but ready.

In return, Luke touched the Lucarionite around his neck and

he too was engulfed in a crystalline orb for a few seconds before it burst

outward, revealing his Mega Evolution to Torolf. He tensed his body again as

the blue flame around him quickly turned to a surging red, glaring angrily at

Torolf as he finished his transformation.

"Alright, little Lucario," Torolf growled, standing

tall over Luke. "Let's finally decide this, and after I flatten you, I'll

take down that Zoroark and Talonflame too -maybe I'll fight them both

simultaneously hoping to break a sweat!" He pounded his fists together.

Above, in the announcer's booth, Oceana was hesitant to

declare a start to the match -in fact, since Torolf's ambush of Volcan, she had

been oddly silent, and she was looking at Torolf as if she didn't recognize him

anymore. The Milotic was clearly distressed, unable to clear the chaos in her

mind as she eyed her employer...

"You won't even get the chance to touch the rest of my

team you heartless bastard..." Luke growled in return. "I promise you

that you will be BEGGING me to end your misery after I'm finished with

you..." He added, shifting to his stance and waiting for the announcement

to begin.

"We'll just see about that!" Torolf retorted, and

then turned to look up at Oceana. "Well, what're you waiting for?!"

She snapped back into reality, and as soon as Torolf turned

back to Luke, she made the call; "Begin!"

The second she gave the signal, Luke let out an rage induced

roar, the aura flame around him surging even further and even growing in size.

In a mere blink of an eye, Luke was right in Torolf's face using Extreme Speed,

socking him HARD along his jawline before darting out of range and striking at him

from another angle, repeating the process a few times before he appeared at his

front, then roared as he unloaded a brutal Close Combat on Torolf's stomach,

striking fast and hard with a multitude of rage induced attacks.

Torolf stumbled back when the onslaught was over, but did not

loose his footing. He simply simmered for a moment before turning to Luke back

at Luke, his expression unchanged. "My turn," he called before he

used Aqua Jet to launch himself at Luke, following it immediately with a

Power-Up Punch.

Luke quickly retaliated with a Force Palm, slamming it

against Torolf's Power-up Punch and skidding back a faid bit. as he skidded

back he sidestepped, letting Torolf follow through with his punch, then he

slammed his knee again into the Mega Swampert's stomach, then quickly weaved

around and quickly conjured not an Aura Sphere, but a Focus Blast in his paw.

He slammed the attack into Torolf's face before darting back and and taking his

stance again.

Torolf was launched back a fair distance this time, skidding

as he landed back on the ground. Shaking his head to clear it, he opened his

mouth and launched a Hydro Pump at Luke, firing with enough force to leave a

shallow indent in the ground as he attacked.

Luke scoffed, darting to the side and letting the attack pass

by him. "Typical brute." He growled. "All power and nothing

else...It takes more than brute strength to win a fight Torolf...As a team

leader, you should know that by now..." Then he sneered. "Oh right, I

forgot...you don't know HOW to be a proper team leader..."

"Try this for size!" Torolf bellowed before raising

his mighty arms up, and slamming them back down, a split forming in the ground

as he sent a Fissure straight under the Lucario, causing the ground to

seemingly open up under him!

Luke did

manage to avoid the split in the earth, but the shaking that followed with it

did cause him to stumble and crouch low to keep his footing steady. With his

balance thrown off -if only for a second, Torolf launched himself at Luke with

another Aqua Jet, managing to grab him with his big paws, lift him up, and then

slam him back down in the dirt, stunning him for a moment. And then, Torolf let

go of Luke's body to grip him by the legs, swing himself around and THROW the

Lucario threw the air like a ball & chain.

Luke cried out as he was thrown through the air, slamming

into a wall and coughing as he made impact. He was limp for only a moment

before his eyes shot wide open, fueled by a even deeper seated rage as he

tensed his body and broke out of the wall, landing back in the arena and

discharging several Aura Spheres in rapid succession at Torolf.

Torolf then punched both of his fists into the ground

repeatedly, burrowing into the soil and successfully evading the Aura Spheres

as he tunneled into the arena floor, Digging his way out of sight. Luke

growled, then tuned to his Aura Sense to track his movements as he dug underground.

He caught his aura signal and started hopping away, making sure not to get

caught in whatever the Swampert had in mind.

This maneuver bore fruit as the Swampert suddenly tunneled up

at him from below, and just as he jumped away, Torolf exploded from the ground,

throwing sand and gravel everywhere as he emerged, only to find his target was

already out of reach, growling in frustration.

Luke smirked, and he flashed his eyes open and charged

forward. At the same time, he mentally commanded the Aura Spheres he hurled

earlier to circle around and shoot back toward Torolf. Luke punched and kicked

him a few times in the head and chest to send him back, then he darted back as

the Aura Spheres hammered into Torolf's back seconds after Luke darted away.

Torolf roared in a mix of fury and pain; despite his great

pain threshold it appeared the damage was finally starting to catch up to him.

He turned to face Luke again, punching the ground and sweeping his arm across

it to hurl a Sand-Attack in Luke's face; the Swampert had to know Luke's Aura

Sense would allow him to fight even if the attack blinded him, but was more

likely attempting to imbalance the Lucario with an irritant to his eyes.

The attack did land successfully, growling as he took a few

steps back and covered his eyes before he started rubbing them and tuned back

to his Aura Sense. "You fight dirty as well, you have no shame or any sense

of honour." He growled. "I said this to Timber and I'll say it to

you... YOU'RE A DISGRACE!!!"

"With all I have on the line in this fight, I will not

allow myself to lose; my team will not lose everything they have to a piece of

dirt like you!" Torolf barked defiantly before he spat a Mud Bomb towards

Luke; unlike Torolf himself, the attack didn't have any aura for Luke to see,

since it was made up of inorganic matter, leaving his only indicator to the

attack to be the sound of Torolf spitting it towards him.

Luke's ears did twitch at the sound, but as he dodged he felt

the attack nail hsi shoulder and send him stumbling onto his side. He skidded

along the dirt before he was back on his feet, trying to blink his eyes a bit

to try and clear his vision. "Case in point! All you care about is your

stupid reputation!! You think only of yourself and have no regard for

others!!" Luke retorted.

"My team began from nothing; all of them were born with

nothing but what skills they gained for themselves!" Torolf bellowed.

"I won't let all of that be lost! This island, our fame, the team we have

built; we bled for them, and we will not let you ruin it! We will never be

outclassed!"

Luke then finally lost what was little of his temper,

shooting his eyes open regardless of how irritated they were. "I HAD

NOTHING SINCE MY CHILDHOOD!!!" He roared furiously. "All of my team

have suffered just as much, if not more, than you Torolf!! don't you go

preaching to ME about beginning from nothing!!!!" Luke roared, still

seething in rage. "You spent ALL your resources on building this stupid

fortress on this island that NO one knows about, all to add fuel to your

senseless ego!!!"

"I've seen little from you to prove that you would not

do the same if the opportunity ever presented itself!" He raised his arms

again, unleashing an Earthquake as he brought his fists down heavily on the

soil.

Again Luke lowered himself to keep his balance, keeping his

eyes on Torolf the whole time. "You don't know jack SHIT about me Torolf!

The only reason I accept payment is to put food on the table for my family!! I

come from a quiet town where we make do with what we have!!"

"And what do you think you know about me, boy?" He

demanded. "Do you know how I was brought up; how I began? Well, if you can

beat me, I'll tell you, and I can guarantee you, once you know my past, you

won't be so quick to judge me..." He reared back. "For not wanting to

go back to it!" And with that, he unleashed another Hydro Pump, this one

with even more force -and speed- than before, shooting across the air like a

jet-stream of wind.

This time, Luke conjured a much larger Focus Blast in his

paws, then he thrust the attack forward and met with the Hydro Pump barrelling

toward him. He growled as he strained to keep the attack from hitting him,

skidding back a little at a time. Then, Torolf dug his fists into the ground to

brace himself, before exhaling even harder, adding more force to the attack.

Luke grimaced as he felt the force of the attack hit his

Focus Blast, makign him skid back even more until he was right at the edge of

the ring. He cried out as his body began to overstrain itself just keeping the

blast of water from slamming into him. Finally, though, Torolf ran out of

breath, and had to stop, giving Luke a chance to recover as the Mega Swampert

quickly gained his second wind, and then used Earthquake once more.

It began to become clear to Luke why Torolf wanted to finish

the tournament here in this arena, rather than on the yacht; with water a short

distance away just outside the the colisseum, and solid, malleable ground below

their feet, he had full use of his roster of both Water-Type and Ground-Type

moves. In other words, he had a field advantage, not to mention having strength

and stamina far surpassing even Luke's.

Luke gasped when the struggle ended, though he stumbled and

fell forward onto the ground from the earthquake. He knew he had to end this

quickly. He was running out of power quickly, and his Mega Evolution would

expire soon. He forced himself back to his feet despite the intense shaking of

the ground, waiting for it ti subside before he made hsi next move.

Torolf stood, watching Luke for a moment as the Earthquake

ended; miraculously, the Lucario had not been harmed by the attack, and now

Torolf waited to see what his adversary would do next. Luke panted for a bit to

regain his composure, then he tensed his body and let out one last roar, then

he darted in a zig zag motion toward Torolf. When he got close though, he

vanished, then started appearing all over the Swampert before he elbowed his

side, then unleased another Close Combat, this time striking him from all

angles before he uppercut his solar plexes as hard as he could to try and wind

him before he vanished again.

In response, Torolf tensed himself and held his arms in front

of him to take the first few blows, but the uppercut caught him by surprise; it

didn't wind him completely, but it was enough to give him pause. Luke appeared

high above Torolf, his arms held up high as a huge amount of aura energy gathered

into his paws. "THIS TIME TOROLF....YOU LOSE!!!" He roared, then

thrust his arms down to the Swampert and discharged his final attack, the Aura

Storm.

Torolf

quickly retaliated with another Hydro Pump, but it was futile; the Aura Storm

blew through his water attack and struck him head-on, launching him back across

the area and leaving a deep gouge in the soil as he was sent skidding through

the dirt, leaving a deep groove as big around as his back as he slid, and hit a

wall head-first, dazing himself enough that Luke was able to move in to pin

him. Luke quickly slammed his arm into Torolf's neck to keep him pinned against

the wall, his eyes showing a calmer look, but still had some anger left in him.

Torolf clearly wanted to keep fighting, but at this point,

trying to continue would be fruitless; he was in a position where Luke could

easily strike something more serious than just his body. But then, the

unthinkable happened; his body suddenly glowed, and his mega form dissipated,

leaving him returned to the form of an ordinary -albeit very large and

muscular, Swampert.

His mega form had actually expired before even Luke's...

Luke narrowed his eyes as he saw Torolf's Mega Evolution

expire, then shortly after, Luke's also expired, his body glowing for a moment

before he too was back to his old self. "You lose, Torolf...."

"Damn..." he growled, letting himself slump back

against the wall. "To have come all this way, battling the Deity of

Continents himself to a standstill, only to be beaten by a Lucario I never even

heard of... truly, irony deals a cruel hand."

Luke slowly released Torolf and stepped back from him. His

paw clenched and he wanted so badly to sock him one last time for what he did

to Volcan, but he clenched his eyes shut and he slowly relaxed, taking a deep

breath and calming himself as best he could.

"Well... this battle is yours then," stated Torolf,

his eyes shutting as he rested. "And everything I fought to gain now goes

to you whether you want it or not... nobody will ever forget that I was beaten."

Luke bared his fangs in anger. "That's what separates us

Torolf....I don't give a Rattata's ass about fame. My team and I competed

purely to test our limits, and after hearing about how ruthless you are, to

bring you to justice."

"You apparently don't understand how fame works,"

stated Torolf. "It finds you, whether you want it or not; you either take

it and nourish it, or futilely ignore it, pretending there aren't people

clamoring for it as well, either to get an autograph, a souvenir or, in the

case of many who competed here in this tournament... to beat you in battle and

gain that glory for themselves." His eyes opened and looked at Luke.

"Whether or not you want it, your name is now known, and you'll find

people challenging you far more often.

"I did not want this fame at first; I just wanted a

better life than I had. But after battling Groudon I could not escape it;

everyone wanted to be like me, or to beat me so they could have something to

boast about. Rescue teams formed inspired by my deeds and those of my comrades.

Rather than ignore it, I chose to let it become part of me, and always remind

people I'm here.

"But, the problem with that kind of fame is that it can

just as easily be lost," he stated, pointing at Luke. "And it only

takes one person to do it."

"...Maybe that is the case...and maybe you're right."

Luke returned. "....But to go to such great lengths just to retain that

fame..." He growled. "It's a wonder your team has stuck with you this

far...you gravely injured my friend, and your teammate was ready to kill one of

your own so that your repuation and your fame would remain untarnished,"

Luke added. "Fame may have found me today, but I don't care for it. Putting

my own desires aside for others has always been on the forefront of my mind. THAT

is what it means to be a TRUE Rescue Team."

"Everyone on this team began like I did; I gave them

lives better than what they had, and to leave that behind, I simply find

insulting... but not to the point I'd threaten them," he stated, firmly.

"I don't know what you said to Kaen that made him want to leave, but I

never went after him when I found out. I'm his leader, not his owner."

...He sounded truthful.

But what did he mean about what Luke had said to Kaen? Luke

hadn't played any role in Kaen's decision...

"I said nothing to influence Kaen's decision to leave,

Torolf.. ]] Had Volcan and myself not intervened, Timber would have KILLED

Kaen, and he wouldn't be standing here right now watching this competition unfold."

Luke returned. "He conciously made the decision to leave...and your little

friend, Maggie, threatened to tarnish him and make sure no other Rescue Team

would take him in. Once again..." He growled and got in his face.

"All...for the sake...of your Arceus. Damned. Reputation!!"

"Hold on!" Torolf shot upright very suddenly,

throwing Luke off of him. "What do you mean Timber and Maggie threatened

him?"

Luke stumbled back a bit. "You heard me...Timber was

going to kill Kaen because he decided he had had enough of Team

Warmachine...And after we prevented Timber from carrying out his heinous act,

Maggie threatened to tarnish his reputation so he would never find work

again..." Luke reinstated.

"I never told either of them to do that," stated

Torolf. "Maggie told me Kaen was considering leaving because you talked

him into it, and that Timber had tried to talk him out of it when..." He

paused, and his eyes narrowed. "Hold on... how do I know this isn't some

trick to stir dissention in my team?" He asked.

"They didn't act on your command...?" Luke asked,

his eyes widening in surprise, then he looked back to Torolf. "If you need

proof, then just ask Kaen himself. He was present for the whole thing."

"It seems now, I'll have to," he stated. "One

thing I have learned, there always two sides to every story... but I have a

feeling Kaen will not want to see me. If you feel it will clear the air, will

you ask him on my behalf?"

Luke nodded.

"He's in the med ward...One moment..." He said as he turned and ran

as fast as his body would allow. He knew it was all the way back on the boat,

so he had a fair bit to travel. A couple times he stumbled, once on the gangway

plank, almost falling into the water below, and again right outside the door to

the med ward on the ship, slamming into the door and grunting in pain before he

burst into the room.

Kaen and Hank were both standing in the medical room when

Luke burst in, his sudden intrusion causing both of them to jump as the door

flew open and they spun around, expecting an attack, only for their expressions

to turn blank as they saw Luke.

"What the..." Kaen asked.

"Kaen..." Luke said as he panted. "It's

over...Torolf is beaten," he said as he caught his breath. "But it

turns out Torolf may NOT be behind Timber's attack and Maggie's

blackmailing...."

"Wait, what do you mean?" Kaen inquired. "I

was told he's the one who said no one was ever to leave the team."

"Well it turns out they were acting entirely on their

own...Torolf had nothing to do with it..." Luke explained. "He requested

that I ask you what happened in your own words on hisbehalf...but personally I

think you should tell him directly to his face...."

Kaen scowled at that thought. "I'm not sure I want to

see him, after what he did to Volcan... beating him in a fight is one thing but

nearly breaking him in two? That's going too far..." He sighed.

"Well... it's not going to change my mind about leaving Warmachine... but

I suppose I'd have to face this sooner or later." He looked over his

shoulder towards the medical room where the nurses were treating Volcan, along

with Mikhail.

"Go on bud. I'll watch him." Hank returned,

shooting a thumbs up to him.

Luke looked to Kaen and jerked his head toward the door.

"Let's go; I'm sure you want to get this over with."

"Damn right I do," stated Kaen, following Luke out

the door. He looked over the Lucario as they walked, however, his eyes on the

injuries he sported. "Hey man, maybe you should stay here; you're pretty

beat up yourself."

"I'll manage ;right now this takes priority." Luke

said as they made their way back to the arena. Again he stumbled a few times,

but managed to correct himself before they arrived back at the arena.

Kaen was able to keep pace with them as they moved, sprinting

back to the colisseum where they would meet with Torolf. Kaen's pace steadily

increased as they ran, which showed he was actually hopeful in finding some

answers to this problem.

But as they reached the arena door, they found their entry

blocked by three Pokemon; one of them was Timber, who although was clearly not

recovered from the beating he had received from Volcan, was back on his feet,

and looking ready to fight again. But along with him were Redfang and Maggie.

"What're you guys doing out here?" Kaen asked.

"Let us through; I need to see Torolf."

"You're no longer allowed in here," Maggie

retorted. "As of right now, Luke, having left the arena, has forfeited his

victory to Torolf, and has gone home." Her eyes furrowed. "And I

suggest you do just that. You as well, Kaen."

The Charmeleon's eyes widened with realization. "You...

you've been behind this whole thing! I always thought you were just acting on

Torolf's behalf, but he was never part of any of it, was he?"

"I told Torolf only what he needed to hear," Maggie

returned, smiling deviously. "That Team Valiant was planning on robbing us

of our glory by beating us in battle, and that you were talked into leaving the

team by them."

"But that's nothing but a two-faced lie!" Kaen

barked.

"Of course it is," replied Maggie. "If I told

Torolf the truth, then he wouldn't have fought Luke at his full strength; as

much as he enjoys this celebrity life I don't think he takes it seriously

enough. Losing a battle means we lose contracts, after all, so I had to make

sure he'd win... and once I tell everyone Luke has forfeited, he still

will."

Kaen's claws clenched in fury. "I can't believe what I'm

hearing..." He said. "Timber... I expected you were in on the dirty

dealings, but YOU Redfang?! I once respected you!"

"Respect is earned, boy," the Mightyena snarled.

"But if you lose it, it's even harder to win back."

So... the plot had been uncovered...

Luke's anger started rising again as he glared at the three

of them. His paws clenching tight. "You....selfish....FUCKS!!!" Luke

roared, once more his Aura flame bursting forth around him despite his

injuries. "You especially, you silver tongued bitch!! Feeding your leader

lies all for the sake of contracts??"

"Torolf wasn't the only one who started with

nothing," stated Maggie, her smile turning to a look of rage. "He had

to believe we'd lose it all if he lost... but it seems he couldn't pull it off

anyway; after all, even Shamshir could not best the weakest of you, so what

chance did we have of retaining all that is rightfully ours?" She floated

back, letting Timber and Redfang step forward. "But I suppose the time for

words is over now. You two will be leaving, one way or another. With Luke so

battered up as he is, there's no way he can defeat all three of us."

"He won't be alone," Kaen growled, flames spouting

from his nostrils as he spoke. "You guys are going down like a grounded

Aerodactyl."

"Two against three, then," said Maggie. "Well,

this still won't take long."

"You with me, Luke?" Kaen asked. "Who do you

think you can handle?"

"I still have enough fight left in me for these chumps,"

Luke returned, eying Timber first, then Redfang before he held his stance.

"I've got Redfang, then," stated Kaen. "You

take down Timber, then we'll both focus on Maggie. Remember, she's not much of

a fighter; she'll be focusing on using a barrier to keep us from getting into

that arena, but if we get these two out of the way and gang up on her, we can

probably overpower her."

"Sounds good..." Luke returned, still keeping his

eyes on Timber. "...You've had this coming ever since the day you

threatened to take Kaen's life...."

"Now I'm going to take yours, small fry," Timber

growled. "Let's see how well that steel skin of yours holds up against my

blades."

Right as he finished that sentence, Luke had already charged

forward and pummeled Timber's stomach with a hard elbow, then quickly assailed

his jaw with a heavy Sky Uppercut before flipping once and bringing his paws

down over his cranium with a double sledgehammer strike. Of course, with Luke

not quite at full strength since his battle with Torolf, the attacks did not

have the effect he was aiming for... Timber grunted after receiving the last

hit, and glared at Luke.

"A little tired, are we?" He asked, before he

lunged forward with Dual Chop, slashing at Luke twice with his axe blades.

Luke grunted and skidded back after he received the attacks.

Thankfully his Steel Subtyping saved him from a fatal blow, but he still took

enough damage to make him cry out. He changed tactics and fired a volley of

Aura Spheres as he hopped away, all of them aimed right for Timber's face.

Timber curled himself inward, letting the spheres hit his

armoured back instead; the attack still caused him some discomfort, but not

enough to stop him. However, lowering himself gave Luke a good look at the split

in his armour where Katsu had managed to breach the dragon-type's thick hide.

Luke narrowed his eyes and quickly charged in while he was

still curled up, quickly leaping onto his back and driving an Aura Sphere HARD

into the cut on his back, then another, and another, then he quickly leapt off

and stumbled some as he landed on the ground, panting as his injuries began to

catch up to him again and take their toll.

Timber howled in pain as he felt the first, and began to

thrash as Luke inflicted the second and third, after which the Lucario leapt

off. Timber stumbled around in pain for a moment before he snarled and turned

to Luke again. "Why you...!" And he exhaled a Dragonbreath attack

towards him.

Luke couldn't dodge in time as the attack approached him. He

threw his arms up and shielded himself from the attack as best he could,

praying he didn't suffer any paralysis.  Luck

favored him, though; the effects of the paralysis did not reach him, but the

attack still hurt. However, just as Timber charged in to attack him again,

Redfang suddenly soared back first into-him throwing him off balance; the

Mightyena had not leapt, or tripped, he had been thrown.

And then, Kaen leapt into view, leaping right at Timber.

"Dragon... CLAW!" He barked, before he raked his glowing claws across

Timber's flank, successfully breaching the dragon's hide and opening up a new

wound in his side, which had Timber reeling in pain.

Redfang, having fallen to the ground after slamming into

Timber, was getting back to his feet, and was about to attack Kaen from behind.

However, Luke managed to intercept him by speeding in front of him, then he

grabbed at Redfang's muzzle and slammed him in the chest with a Force Palm,

releasing him just as he was hit to send him flying back once more.

The attack was all it took to knock Redfang senseless, thanks

to his Dark-typing, and Kaen himself also used Dragonbreath to keep Timber from

getting back up, as the Haxorus was not so fortunate as Luke had been not to

suffer paralysis.

"Well now, that wasn't so hard," stated Kaen,

looking over at Luke. "You alright?"

"Battered, but still able..." Luke returned,

glancing back at Kaen. He then shifted his attention toward Maggie and took a

step toward her. "Only one left..."

Clearly panicked, the Mismagius flew back into the doorway of

the arena, casting a Barrier over the entrance promptly as Kaen and Luke

stepped towards her, causing them to stop at the door, unable to pass through.

"There! Now you will never get in!"

"Oh, won't we?" Kaen asked, grinning widely.

"I think you're forgetting who we just clobbered, Maggie. I know your

barrier's are tough, but it takes a lot out of you to concentrate them against

an attack. Now you got two to deal with!" He started to inhale.

"Wait, Kaen! Think about what you're doing! If you tell

Torolf, then everything I've made possible for this team will never work!"

She pleaded. "I orchestrated all of this; I made sure we got everything we

deserved! But if you do this, we'll lose it all, including everything you

contributed!"

"At this point Maggie," he stated as flames spewed

from his nostrils. "It's better off that way..." And with that, he

exhaled a powerful Flamethrower at the barrier; the flames burst out as they

struck, unable to push through, but the act caused Maggie visible strain.

Luke joined in as well, creatiing his Bone Rush and charging

in, twirling his bone in his paw before he began to beat down on the barrier as

hard as he could.

Maggie fought hard to try and maintain the barrier, her

expression tightening more and more as the two continued to assail it. But her

power was nothing compared to the two Pokemon warriors attacking it; struggle

as she may, the shield was breaking. And finally, it shattered, and she was

thrown again the wall, failing to dematerialize enough to pass through it and

slamming into the stonework hard enough to hurt her. She slid to the floor,

groaning with pain and exhaustion.

Luke strode toward her and leered angrilly down at her, his

paws clenched tight as he reached down and grabbed at Maggie by her shoulder,

forcefully yanking her up to his level. "I normally do not condone

violence on women...but to me, you are no woman...." And with that, he

slammed his Bone Rush into her forehead for a KO, releasing her after he hit

her.

"Bring her along," Kaen stated. "Torolf's

going to want a few words with her about all this."

"Good call." He returned, quickly hoisting her over

his shoulder. He then grimaced and stumbled some more as his injuries further

took their toll on him, but his sheer tenacity helped him to stay standing as

they headed back to the arena to speak with Torolf.

Kaen reached over to offer to help him ---

He ended up leaning on Kaen as they walked. "Th-Thanks..."

He groaned.

"Hey, no problem," he returned.

~~~~~

Torolf had waited patiently in the arena for the two of them

to return, but was clearly surprised to see Maggie being dragged along with

them as they stepped back in. When she was placed at his feet, she began to

stir again, looking up at Torolf as her eyes opened.

The Swampert glared at Luke and Kaen. "What is the

meaning of this?"

"You wanted to see me, here I am," stated Kaen,

glowering at Torolf; clearly he had still not forgiven him for his earlier

actions, despite now knowing the Swampert had been manipulated all this time.

Torolf looked at Maggie again, who promptly floated up in

front of him. "Torolf, don't listen to him; they're manipulating him! He

doesn't know what he's saying!"

"The

only one manipulating anyone is you, Maggie," Kaen barked. "Now back

off!"

Maggie started to protest, but Torolf put up his hand,

silencing her, and turned back to Kaen, their eyes meeting. "Kaen... did

Timber threaten you? And did Maggie blackmail you?"

"Yes," Kaen answered plainly. "Both Luke and

Volcan can vouch for me; they were there. Timber was going to throw me into the

ocean but they stepped in and protected me."

"And you're being honest with me about this?"

Torolf asked.

"I wouldn't have bothered coming if I wasn't going to be

honest," stated Kaen. "Maggie was going to ruin my reputation if I

left the team, but I'd rather go with that and re-earn it than continue

doing... this..." He splayed out his arms, gesturing to the coliseum.

"This?" Torolf asked, looking around. "But

we're simply putting on a show Kaen, letting the people see their heroes."

"They don't need to see them to know they're there,

Torolf," the Charmeleon said, plainly. "The things we do as a Rescue

Team are what make us heroes, not shows or us winning these competitions. I may

have liked the attention but, this contest has gone a little differently than

the others, and, to be frank... it's opened my eyes to a lot of truths.

"Soon as I said I was going to leave though, Timber was

on me, and Maggie was threatening me by using her influence to tarnish my name,

so that I'd never find work again. Luke and Volcan protected me, and Luke even

risked his Lucarionite to do it, because Maggie stated that if he lost this

tournament, she'd be allowed to get away with blackmailing me, and she'd take

his stone, which I don't doubt she'd use as a means to draw in another crowd

for the next contest.

"Everything has been her doing," Kaen went on.

"She openly admitted to lying to you about what Team Valiant was here for.

I can honestly say to you they have no interest in our fame; they came here to

test themselves as a team, which is what we originally joined fighting

tournaments for. But as soon as Maggie had us hosting them, suddenly it was all

about money and glory..." He shook his head. "It suffocated me... and

I wanted out. To top it off, Maggie, Timber, and even Redfang, who turns out

was in on this dirty deed too, tried to stop Luke from coming back here, so she

could claim he forfeited and left; in doing so it wouldn't be chalked up as a

loss for Team Warmachine, and we'd suffer little in the end."

Torolf turned to Maggie, who was about to speak again, but

the Swampert spoke first. "Maggie... tell me the honest truth," he

practically commanded her. "Is Kaen right about what you're saying; did

you actually blackmail one our own team, lie to me about Valiant's goals, and

about what would happen to us they won?!"

Intimidated by his stare, the Mismagius was tripping on her

own words as she struggled to respond. "I... no! I mean, he's right about

Timber meeting him, but it wasn't to threaten him! And I...  I never threatened him either; I adore Kaen!

Or did, before he betrayed us for Team Valiant, wanting to go over to their

side since he knew they would win."

Torolf grit his teeth. "Going to their side? Last time

you told me he left because they tricked him!"

"They did! I mean, of course they weren't going to

actually beat us -or, so I thought... but perhaps he fed them information about

us! They cheated!"

"Learning about your opponent isn't cheating, Maggie;

it's strategy," Torolf retorted. "Palkia's mercy, he IS telling the

truth!" He advanced on her. "You've been lying to me, to the team,

about everything!" He looked visibly hurt behind his rage, struggling not

to lash out at her. "Why, Maggie?! You and I founded this team together;

why would you do this to us?!"

This time, it was her expression that turned to anger.

"Why?! Because if you had lost, then we'd be on the path of losing

everything we fought for; Pokémon are fickle-minded fools who would forget

about us as soon as it suited them -as soon as they knew there was someone

stronger than even you! And then... we'd end up back in the gutter again! Don't

you remember what life was like for you before you met me? How you FOUND me?!

Do you want to go back to that?!"

"I wanted to improve our lives, Maggie; we did that!

Look at how far we've come; do you really think we could lose all of that so

easily?!" Torolf demanded.

"I wasn't willing to take that chance," she

retorted.

"Even if it meant ruining this team?" Torolf asked.

"If it meant keeping our lives from returning to a slum?

Yes."

Luke looked a little confused for a moment. "Wait, what

do you mean FOUND you?" Luke demanded. "Last I heard, Torolf recruited you, or was that another one

of your lies as well?"

"Torolf and I formed this team together after he found

me at a circus set up near Lightning Pillar," she replied. "He saw my

talent for misdirecting tricks, and thought it'd be useful, so he rescued me

from there, and from then on we formed our rescue team. He and I are the

original members."

Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "Well I think it's safe

to assume your days are numbered as of today, but that isn't my call to

make," he said as he glanced to Torolf. "That's up to the leader of

Team Warmachine to decide."

"It'll be my last act as leader," stated Torolf,

looking at Maggie sharply. "I have no choice. As of now, Maggie, you are

off this team. You, Redfang and Timber; gather your belongings and get off of

this island..." His stare was hard. "And don't ever come back."

"You can't do that to me!" Maggie shouted. "I

helped build this place; it is as much mine as it is yours!"

"We ALL pitched in for this place, Maggie," Kaen

reminded her. "It belongs to all of us, but you've made a disgrace of our

team." He held up his claw, gesturing to the rest of the arena. "And

in front of witnesses. You've done more damage than you could have ever

prevented."

"Now... I'm giving you just six hours to leave,"

Torolf stated. "Take your boat and everything of yours that you can carry,

and get out of here."

Maggie looked at Torolf pleadingly, but he turned away from

her and stormed off, gesturing for Kaen to follow him, and the two walked

together as they crossed the arena, speaking to one another as they headed

towards the announcer's booth.

Maggie glared at Luke. "You... this is all because of you!" She screamed. "You've

ruined everything for me; where am I supposed to go now?! You just cost me my

home!"

"That's your own damn fault for being so deceitful,"

Luke spat back at her, showing her no respect or mercy. "You've brought

this result upon yourself and you have only YOURSELF to blame. Now get out of

my face before I kick you out myself." Luke growled at her.

She teleported over to him, looking him right in the eye as

she spoke only once more to the Lucario. "Watch your back, mister... one

of these days, I will get even with you..." Without another word, she

teleported away, disappearing from the coliseum grounds.

And then, Torolf's voice was heard over the arena intercoms,

for all to here. "This is Torolf; I'm speaking to all of you on behalf of

the members of Team Warmachine who are still honorable people. You all... I

thank you for attending this competition... but I now declare that this will be

the last competition we host for ourselves; this day marks changes for Team

Warmachine; changes I took far too long to realize needed to be done. As of

now, I declare this contest over... and name Team Valiant the undisputable

victors of the Team Divisions. Everyone, let your voices be heard for Luke,

their team Captain who stands before you now, and all of their members. And I

ask you all bear witness to my saying this for the first time ever in my

life... That I, Torolf of Warmachine, have lost. Congratulations, Luke. You

have earned your prize and more."

The audience erupted with applause, many of them calling out

Luke's name as they stamped their feet or clapped their hands -or just bobbed

about happily if they did not have any such limbs at their disposal, as they

cheered for Team Valiant. As Luke took in the applause, Sage suddenly appeared

on the field, carrying the case full of Mega Stones, which she held out to

Luke.

"Your friend Wade did not take any... but after what you

have done for Team Warmachine, we have all agreed you can find a better use for

these than we can. So please, take it... so that we can never be tempted to use

them for selfish gain again, and give them to someone who can truly make use of

them."

Luke nodded softly to her and went to grasp the box, carrying

it gingerly in his paws. "...Thank you..." He said softly before he

began to wobble a little, his legs buckling and he fell forward from his injuries

and his exhaustion.

Sage rushed forward and caught him, chuckling lightly.

"Oops. And something I forgot," she said, before she held up one

hand. "Heal Pulse," she whispered, before she emitted a wave of rejuvenating

energy to the Lucario, taking away some of the pain of his wounds and giving

him more energy to support himself with.

"T-Thank you..." He returned, slowly straightening

up again and holding up the case of Mega Stones in his arms more securely.

Sage reached for Luke's hand, and held it up above his head

as the audience continued to root for him. In he stands, he even spotted

Sickle, Blaster and Howler contributing to the applause, the Grovyle even

giving him a thumbs-up as it carried on.

He allowed himself a smile as the crowd cheered him on and

repeated his name over and over. For the moment, he revelled in this victory,

knowing it was a lot more than just a physical victory. As he took the

attention in though, he did feel a small pit in his stomach that made him lose

his smile for a moment and glanced downward a little.

"Something wrong?" Sage asked. "You should be

happy; you've won quite a victory today."

"Hmm?

Oh it's...it's nothing major." He returned. "I'll be alright."