FSE

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After a long night's rest, Luke and his allies awoke early

the next morning, separating into their designated groups and gearing up for

their objectives. Luke, along with Volcan and Howler, were waiting just outside

the orphanage with Kage and Sickle, with Katsumoto and Serena inside to protect

Kira and the children. "Alright..." Luke stated. "Is everyone

all geared up for their missions?"

"Kage and I will head to Blackcoast and find out who's

the cause of these extortions," said Sickle, before looking at his

teammate, Howler, who stood with Volcan and Luke. "You ready,

Howler?"

The Arcanine nodded.

"Alright. We'll meet back here tonight," stated

Volcan. "Everyone, be careful; with demons and greedy thugs alike out

there, this area isn't safe." He looked at Serena and Katsu. "You two

take care, okay?"

The Samurott nodded. "You as well...do not get in over

your heads..." He bade them.

"We won't," promised Volcan.

"Definitely don't," stated Kima. "I may

appreciate what you all are doing for us, but I don't want your willingness to

help me to be the cause of your deaths, you hear?"

Luke nodded back to Kima, then looked to the other groups.

"Well, no point in dawdling any longer..." He said as he then waved

his arm in front of him. "Scatter!"

Sickle and Kage were off, taking to the trees and leaping

from limb to limb as they began to make their way to Blackcoast, while Volcan,

Luke and Howler leapt over the property fence and were off into the woods,

searching for the demons.

Serena watched as both groups departed, and silently prayed,

"Poseidon watch over them... even if this is not your world, please

protect them all." She said, almost in whisper.

"Arceus will watch over them." Katsu said to her,

gently placing his large paw on her back. "Just as I will protect you and

this orphanage."

She looked at him, and nodded half-heartedly, but her mind

was still on her friends, worried for their safety. Kima looked at Serena, and

walked over to her, also putting her paw on the Vaporeon's back. "Come,

young miss. How would you like to meet some more of the little ones who stay

here?"

She gave the elderly Marowak a weak, but pleasant smile.

"I would be honored," she replied.

~~~~~

Hours later, outside of

Blackcoast...

The stench rising from the city of Blackcoast nearly made

even Kage want to retch; the whole place stank of a million Grimer, and a

million corpses, the buildings were filthy and falling apart -even from this

distance, he could see the entire corner of a five story complex crumbling to

the ground below with signs of damage clear; battle damage, water damage,

general erosion, stuff that would normally be managed was being overlooked.

Through the city ran a canal of water, so polluted and grimy it was a sickly

gray -a thriving habitat for Grimer and Muk, and back alley's piled high with

trash, making them ideal homes for Trubbish and Garbodor. The city was truly a

sickening sight to behold.

"Disgusting..." Kage whispered as he held his nose

to relieve himself from the stench. "There's no possible way anyone not of

the Poison typing can survive here."

"Except those who grew up here," Sickle reminded.

"Remember, Torolf came from this slime hole too."

"It's a wonder he did not develop any health

problems..." He muttered, then shook his head. "We're getting off

track...we're low on time as it is..."

"Right," agreed Sickle, before he passed something

to Kage. "You might want this; it's some antidote. Like you said, there are

a lot of Poison-Types here, so we better both be ready. I brought plenty of it

to go around."

He nodded and took it graciously, shoving the medicine into

his satchel. "I might not need it....I do possess the Protean ability."

"Only works if you use a Poison-type move, which won't

do much good here," Sickle reminded, winking at Kage. "I know my

stuff." He looked forward. "So, how you want to head in? There are

two ways into the city I know of; the main road, and the canals. Neither of

which are pleasant; there are thugs at the entrance who demand tolls from

anyone who enters."

Kage glanced to Sickle. "I am known as the Shadow for a

reason..." He said lowly. "Hold my shoulder."

"Okay," he replied, reaching over and gripping

Kage's shoulder gently.

Kage then quickly weaved a sign, and then he leapt off the

branch they were on and were plummeting toward the ground, dragging a startled

Sickle with him. However, rather than landing, they both seemingly vanished

into the ground, leaving only a shadow of their landing spot. The shadow then

began to move at a moderate pace, easily slipping past the thugs guarding the

entrance and slipping into a nearby abandoned building. Once inside, they both

emerged from the shadow and took cover within the building, in case there were

patrols scouting the building they were in.

"Shadow sneak," whispered Sickle. "Nice

move."

"I am a master of stealth and deception." Kage

returned. "Now comes the hard part..." He whispered, slowly peeking

around a corner to check if the coast is clear. "We'll need to find someone

to interrogate in order to find the location of the gang bosses. From then, it

only gets more difficult."

"Yeah; first we need to know we're going after the right

henchmen," stated Sickle. "But I know something that might narrow it

down; most of the gangsters here have tattoo's or articles of clothing that

carry the colours and symbols of their gangs. The guys we dealt with had a black

Pangoro head on their left shoulder."

"Then that's where we'll start." Kage then pointed

up. "We'll spy on them from above; no one ever looks up." He said as

he then bounded for the roof above.

"Good call," agreed Sickle, following after him

with light-footed steps.

Upon reaching the roof, Kage glanced back to Sickle and

motioned for him to stay low as they crawled toward the edge of the building.

Once they reached the end, he scanned the streets below for a thug wearing the

tattoo of the boss they sought.

"Can you really see down three stories?" Sickle

whispered.

"I don't have to." Kage returned, closing his eyes

and using Extrasensory to scan the streets below, helping him pinpoint out

possible targets. He then turned his head slightly to the left. "Three of

them. Building to the northeast..." He whispered.

Sickle followed where he was looking, spotting the building

in question. "Alright, I'll take your word for it," he said.

"Careful; we'll have to jump over the canal to reach that building; fall

in there and the Grimer will smother you in seconds."

"Noted." Then he motioned for Sickle to climb onto

his back. "Do not let go..." He whispered in a stern tone.

"No worries there; I don't want to drown in Muk

either," he replied, hopping onto the Greninja's back.

When Sickle was on his back, he sprang into the air with a

powerful leap, clearing the canal below in a single bound before he landed as

quietly as he could on the next building. He then bounded along several

buildings until they landed on an adjacent building, immedieatly seeking cover

and peeking around to spy on their movements. Luckily the three suspects hadn't

spotted them yet.

"Okay, I've got an idea," said Sickle. "I'll

use a Bullet Seed to draw them closer to the ledge; when they get there, you

pull two of them over and drop them to the alley below; they'll have their

hands full with some Trubbish down there. When you do that, I'll get the last

one."

Kage nodded, and then leapt for the side of the building

without a word. He stuck to the wall and slowly scaled the side of the building

until he was in position, giving Sickle a flick of his tongue scarf to signal

he was in position.

"Okay, here we go," said Sickle, before he fired a

bullet seed towards the wall; three seeds shot from his mouth, leaving audible

-clicks as they hit the side. The three Pokemon reacted immediately; they

turned and stepped towards the ledge. One of them, a Machoke, foolishly peered

over the side to the alley below. Kage made his move in that instant; he

grabbed the Machoke by his face and quickly yanked him over the edge and down

to the alley below. Seeing as he only got one, he quickly sprang up and

discharged two Water Shuriken at the other two, then he darted in close and

knocked another down to the ground and pinned him, then he weaved another sign

and discharged a Scald at the final thug with enough force to send him over the

edge and into the alley below as well.

Sickle appeared on the roof a moment later. "I said I'd

get the third; you're making me feel like I'm not doin' my part, bro,"

Sickle remarked, but then noticed the Pokemon Kage was standing on; the Pokemon

in question was a Croagunk, who Sickle eyed suspiciously. "Hey..."

"Oh

no..." The Croagunk whimpered when he saw Sickle.

"You're one of the same knuckleheads I chased off from

Kima's two weeks ago," stated Sickle. "Well aren't we lucky to run

into each other again? How's the leg, partner?"

"Not in a cast anymore, but I've still got a limp thanks

to you!" The Croagunk shot back. "When I get this bimbo off of me,

I'm gonna...!"

He tried to push himself up, but Kage slammed his face hard

into the ground, then pulled his arm back in a painful hold and leered at him.

"Stay down....or you'll join your companions below...." He said in a

low, threatening tone.

"What do you want?" The Croagunk asked.

"Well for one," began Sickle, kneeling down by the

poison frog, grinning menacingly at him. "How about we start with you

telling us who your boss is?"

"Bite me!" The Croagunk shot back.

Kage pulled on the Croagunk's arm back a little more, sending

another sharp pain through his arm. "Answer the question..." He said

again. "Who do you work for?"

"If you think I'm going to tell you guys, you're

crazy!" The Croagunk replied defiantly. "If I tell you who he is the

guy will snap me in two; you don't know who you're dealing with."

"If you do not tell us where he is, I will do FAR

worse..." Kage threatened, and then he got off of him, holding him by the

leg and holding him over the edge, letting him dangle above the alleyway below.

"Who do you work for, and I would answer soon... My arm is getting sore."

"Dude, seriously? I'm a frog too, remember?" He

pointed out. "You'd need to be somewhere a loooot higher to even scare me

with this."

"Really? You don't say," remarked Sickle, tapping

Kage on the shoulder and pointing straight ahead, to a ten-story building just

a couple of blocks away.

"Oh Shuckle-buttons..." the Croagunk whimpered.

"Indeed..." He then leaned closer to the Croagunk's

face. "Shall we take this to higher ground? Perhaps then you'll be more

talkative."

"No man! You don't wanna go there; there's a-a-a-a

monster in there! Biggest freak you've ever seen lives in that place!"

Sickle grinned. "Really? Maybe we ought to go knock on

his door," the Grovyle taunted.

"Okay! Okay! I'll talk; just don't take me there!"

The Croagunk pleaded. "That place is rival territory; they'd tear me

apart!"

Kage then pulled him back from the edge and hurled him back

to the roof again. He then drew his Ninjato and pointed it right at the Croagunk's

throat. "Talk....now...." He threatened.

"Okay... you're looking for a Pangoro named Alcapo; big

brute of a guy," the Croagunk explained. "These tattoo's? It's his mug

we're all plastered with; he works out of the district furthest from the canals!

It's him who keeps sending us out to Bluegrove and to that Orphanage."

"And what is it he hopes to gain from a helpless group

of kids and an old Marowak?" Sickle asked sternly, getting in the

Croagunk's face. "If he thinks he can get rich off of a place that relies

on donations to thrive, he's got some nerve."

"He's not there for just the money; he wants some of the

kids too!" The Croagunk exclaimed. "There's a lot of types there he

wants in his gang; he went there once claiming he wanted to adopt some of them

but that old wench saw right through him and told him off, so he has us

harassing the place hoping she'll crack! She doesn't know it's him though so

we're just pushin' her for cash; it's the only thing keeping HIM from going

back there himself!"

Kage then withdrew his Ninjato and sheathed it on his back

again. "Your assistance is appreciated..." He said in a stern tone

still, then in a flash he was in his face and he slammed his elbow into a

pressure point on the Croagunk's neck, rendering him unconcious. "Enjoy

your sleep."

"Sounds like this Alcapo guy's a real piece of work, but

he shouldn't be hard to find," said Sickle. "Can't be a lot of

Pangoro's living in this city."

"Not with an atmosphere this toxic." Kage added.

"We better be off." Kage motioned Sickle.

"Right with ya," returned the Grovyle.

Kage leapt off toward an adjacent building, then he began

leaping from rooftop to rooftop, making sure Sickle could keep up with him

while remaining as silent as ever.

Sickle had no problem keeping pace with the Greninja, being

quite acrobatic himself. "So, the district furthest from the canal; safest

place for a Dark/Fighting type from all the filth," Sickle remarked.

"Sounds like he a rough guy though; got a plan for dealing with him?"

"He'll be a brute...all muscle and hardly any brains."

Kage returned. "We'll use that to our advantage."

"Didn't your buddy Katsu try that with Timber?"

Sickle pointed out. "Sometimes no brains means even more dangerous."

"I'm not as straightforward as Katsumoto..." Kage

returned.

"Maybe not, but still, don't get overconfident,"

stated Sickle. "Anyone who survives in this city is not going to be 'no

brains'; fools die here."

"I always have a plan..." Kage returned.

~~~~~

It took them a short time to find Alpaco's hideout, but

eventually, while passing over a building, they got an unexpected tip. They

heard someone yelling, and when going to investigate, they saw him. Alpaco,

roughly the same height as any Pangoro, but with an interesting body build; he

was muscular, clearly, with big beefy arms and legs but also a big potbelly,

throwing off his physique.

His large black eyes stared down at the henchman he was

scolding -a Gligar who was cowering behind his wings, trying to hide from the

Pangoro's wrath. When the scream-fest ended, the Gligar took off in a hurry,

while Alcapo stormed back into his building, slamming the door in the face of

one of his other henchmen. "I'm havin' mah dinner; stay out!" He

barked through the door.

Sickle irked an eyebrow at the display. "Anger issues

much?" He asked.

"So it would seem." Kage returned, adjusting his

tongue scarf a little. "We'll have to slip inside carefully..."

"Shouldn't be hard, since he just locked his guards

outside," Sickle pointed out. "I think I see an open window on the

third floor we can try."

"It will have to do; stay on guard." Kage said as

he leapt for the building, landing silently on the side next to the window and

peeking in to see if the coast was clear. He then motioned for Sickle to leap

over before he hopped inside.

"Alley-oop!" Sickle whispered before he made a

running jump for the window, front-flipping as he arced towards it and diving

through. He rolled as he hit the floor, reducing the sound he made as he

landed, and landed back on his feet, a Leaf Blade already set in case the room

had enemies, but the coast was clear, allowing him to relax. "Phase 1

complete."

Kage nodded, then he travelled through the hallway silently,

his hand on his Ninjato just in case. He closed his eyes and pinpointed

Alpaco's location with Extrasensory. "...He's close."

"Alrighty," agreed Sickle. "I got your

back."

Kage nodded, then they were at the door he sensed Alpaco was behind.

"We'll lure him close and then strike when he is within range." Kage

said, then he slowly turned the knob on the door and pushed it open a little to

catch the Pangoro's attention before he let go and leaned back behind cover.

But the Pangoro didn't even glance over at them. Seated a

dining table, he was stuffing his face with all varieties of roasted meat,

eating very informally as he chowed down on a leg of meat faster than he could

possibly chew it, and finishing off with a long swig of what smelled like ale,

letting loose a horrible belch as he stopped drinking, and going back to his

meal.

"I can't imagine

why Kima didn't let this guy adopt any of the kids," Sickle remarked, the

sarcasm in his voice as clear as Alcapo's horrible table manners. "They

would've been so well brought

up."

Kage remained silent. "This makes things easier..."

He said as he reached into his pouch and pulled out a few small pellets.

"Ready your Bullet Seed."

"Ready and waiting," stated Sickle.

Kage nodded back at his confirmation, then he quickly hurled

the pellets over at the Pangoro's feet. Upon making contact with the Pangoro's

feet, they exploded, creating a huge plume of smoke and smothering Alpaco.

"BLAH! What the blasted...?!" The Pangoro spouted

through a mouthful of food.

Sickle sprang into action, unleashing a bullet seed at Alpaco,

firing where he knew the Pangoro was even as the smoke engulfed him, and

pounding him audibly with dozens of seeds. The Pangoro roared, falling out of

his chair audibly before getting back to his feet, barking out through the

smoke for them to show themselves when Sickle stopped shooting.

Kage then quickly moved into the smoke, keeping within the

cover and attacking the Pangoro with quick strike and retreat attacks, nailing

him when he was most vulnerable and striking at a pressure point each time he

attacked, and then faded into the smoke.

The Pangoro growled, his muscles bulging as he tensed.

"You little creeps interrupted my supper," he said. "NO ONE

interrupts my supper!" And with a stamp of his feet, a tremor rippled

through the building, visibly cracking the floor and racing in all directions.

"Whoa!" Sickle yelped, jumping to avoid the attack.

Kage quickly leaped up and over the cracks. Upon landing, he

noticed the smoke was thinning and quickly acted by using Shadow Sneak, sinking

quickly into the floor and moving toward the Pangoro's shadow, seeking cover

there. But the Pangoro jumped again, changing the size and location of his

shadow; the Greninja appeared in another part of the room as Alcapo sprang up

and dropped back down with both feet, causing another tremor. A cracking sound

was filling the room, catching Sickle's attention; he turned and looked up at

the ceiling, seeing cracks forming all across the tiles of the roof.

"Crap! Kage; the whole building's coming down! We gotta

get out!" Sickle exclaimed.

He glanced up, noticing the cracking and quickly bounding

back toward the door. "Through the window!" He called to Sickle as he

crashed through the window ahead of him toward the ground below.

Sickle was quick to follow, diving through and down one floor

to the street, tumbling as he landed. The entire structure shook violently,

dust expoding from the windows as the inside began to collapse, shattering

glass and scattering debris. The henchmen who had been outside fled in terror

from the crumbling structure, covering their heads as they fled for cover. Soon,

the entire structure crumbled completely, and was left nothing more than a pile

of ruins as the collapse finished, the decrepit old warehouse now completely

destroyed.

"Dayum," muttered Sickle. "Not exactly how I

expected this to go down but, guy just buried himself alive."

"Stay sharp." Kage stated. "He's not down

yet..."

"What? The whole place just collapsed on him; how can

he...?" He paused as the rubble shifted, going cross-eyed as the shifting

continued, the look quickly turning to a scowl. "Well shit," he

muttered before diving for cover as the rubble exploded.

Alcapo erupted from the ruins, throwing out his arms as he

roared into the sky in fury. Stepping out from his destroyed headquarters, he

made a beeline right for Kage, sprinting on his short, stumpy-yet-strong legs

with surprising speed, arms flailing menacingly as he neared.

Kage quickly lashed out with a Lick, nailing a glancing blow

on Alpaco's arm as he charged him. That glance was all he needed to change into

a Ghost type, which led to Alpaco passing right through him.

Of course the Lick itself didn't stop him; he immediately

followed up his assault with an Arm Thrust, only to see the attack pass through

Kage. This only seemed to make him angrier though, and he began to jump attack

to unleash another Earthquake...

But Sickle was faster; he sprang up and kicked the Pangoro

hard in the stomach; not enough to hurt him but enough to throw him off and

send him dropping to the ground thunderously, hitting the street with another

burst of dust. Kage then leapt up and over Alpaco, quickly shooting down and

stomping HARD on his back, then he leapt off and hurled a multitude of Water

Shuriken at the downed Pangoro, slicing him all over his body.

When Kage landed, Sickle stood at his side. "Nice move

with that Prothean ability of yours," he complimented. "He can't hit

you except with Earthquake; long as we keep him from doing that, we should have

this."

"I have many attacks in my repertoire....even attacks to

nullify his Earthquake..." Kage returned. "Your natural resistance to

ground attacks will make this easier as well..."

"Long as he doesn't have a way to use Flamethrower, I'm

good..." He paused and looked ahead as the Pangoro suddenly leapt back

into the fight; despite the wounds on his body, he merely looked even angrier,

and his claws had a dark energy around them. "Shadow Claw!" He warned

Kage.

Kage twitched, then he quickly lunged forward with a Quick

Attack, again it was only a glancing blow, but it ensured that the Shadow Claw

did no harm to him. Kage then weaved a sign with his hands. "My

turn..." He said in a low tone, then he hopped back and discharged another

Scald right at Alpaco's face. "Now Sickle!" He called back to him as

he leapt back.

"Leaf Blade!" Sickle barked, lunging forward and

swiping his arm across Alpaco's chest, and as the Pangoro tried to retaliate,

he countered with a Detect, immediately sensing an oncoming Hammer Arm attack

and stepping out of its way, the failing attack leaving Alpaco open for what

came next; a kick to the face from both Sickle and Kage, which sent him flying

backward and falling onto his back noisily.

To add salt to the wound, Kage weaved another sign and hurled

his arms out in a wide arc, hurling many Spikes along the ground around the

Pangoro. If he dared to rise to his feet or even attack again, he would certainly

have punctures all around his feet.

But Sickle wouldn't let him regardless. He sprang up, and

dropped onto the Pangoro's chest, pinning him down. "Evenin', pal,"

he said, sternly, despite the sarcastic choice of words.

"When I get my hands on you, little green...!" He

paused as Sickle held a Leaf Blade near his face.

"Manners, fatty; you're in the wrong spot to be making

threats," warned Sickle.

Kage also backed him up, aiming his Ninjato at the Pangoro's

throat. "Move, and I slice your wrists... continue to resist, your throat

will be next."

"Do you two know who you're messin' with?!" He

demanded. "I swear when I get up from here, not only am I going to break

you two, my men are going to feed on your pieces!"

"I know you're the leader of a gang that is harassing an

elderly Marowak and her orphanage all because you wish to recruit children to

your pathetic excuse of a gang..." Kage returned, still keeping that low,

threatening tone in his voice.

"Those kids are on my turf, therefore they're

mine," growled Alcapo.

"Wrong," Sickle warned. "That Orphanage, AND

Bluegrove, are under my protection,

both mine and Team Valiant's; your thugs are going to stay far away from there

from now on, or I'm going to start sending them back in body casts. Do I make

myself clear?"

The Pangoro still growled defiantly, but even he understood

he wasn't in a position to refuse. "This ain't over, shorty... but for

now, I'll keep my men away from that Orphanage."

"AND Bluegrove," warned Sickle. "Keep your

thugs in this slimehole where they belong; I see those guys near my town again

and you're all going down, got it?"

Kage jabbed his Ninjato at his throat to further emphasize

Sickle's point.

"Fine! Fine! Keep your little backwater," he

barked. "Not worth my time anyway."

"Good," stated Sickle. "I see your thugs

again, they better hope I haven't evolved yet, because if I come after you as a

Sceptile, you'll need Giratina to save you, kapeesh?"

"Kapeesh."

"And our business here is done," stated Sickle,

leaping off of Alcapo and relaxing his wrist leaves, letting them return to

normal.

Kage retracted his Ninjato, twirling it twice before he

sheathed it on his back again. He leapt off of the Pangoro shortly after.

"Now, on your feet, and out of our sight. Call your gang off as well."

He commanded. "If any of them attack us as we leave, I'm coming for you."

Then he got close to him again. "And there will be no force in this world

that will save you from my blade."

"Get up?! I've got spikes all around me you twat!"

"Oh yeah, forgot about that," said Sickle.

"Guess we'll have to just leave you to deal with 'em, huh Kage?"

"You best watch your feet then..." Kage said with a

sneer, then turned away. "We're done here..."

"Why you miserable!" He started to get up, but his

paw landed on a spike. "Ow! When I get -ow!- my claws on you -ow ow!- I'm

gonna -ow!- OH FORGET IT!!"

Sickle suppressed a laugh until they were out of earshot, and

when they were safely out of sight he burst out in a fit of laughter. "Oh

MAN I wish I'd brought my camera for that," he remarked, rubbing his eye.

"A stupid fool to the bitter end..." He said lowly,

crossing his arms. "Regardless, our mission is a success...all that

remains is for Luke and the others to complete their task.."

"Right; wonder how they're making out?" He asked.

"Hey, if we hurry we might get back before they do."

"My thoughts exactly....let's go." He said, then

broke off into a sprint.

Sickle was

quick to follow, eagerly catching up to the Greninja. "Don't gotta hold a

knife to my ribs; I've had enough of this dump," he stated, gruffly.

"Remind me to take a long bath when we get back; I feel filthy." As

they ran, he glanced over at Kage. "Hey... nice working with you man, and

thanks for doing this. Those guys needed to be taken down a notch, especially

Alcapo."

Kage glanced over to Sickle as they exited the town, then

glanced ahead and narrowed his eyes. "You handled yourself well; it

was....fun....partnering with you..." He returned. His tone was cold and

deadpan, but his sincerity was clear as water.

"I appreciate that, coming from you," he said.

"Though it wouldn't kill you to smile, bro." And with that, he

sprinted on ahead, jumping over a downed lamp post as they exited the city.

Kage watched him jumping away. "If you only

knew...." He whispered to himself, then bounded over to the nearest tree

and followed Sickle back to the orphanage.

~~~~~

Meanwhile, in the

forest south of Bluegrove village...

Howler had led Volcan and Luke through the woods for some time,

stopping often to sniff the ground and get their bearings, but every step took

them closer to a slight hill that led up. Signs of foot-traffic, even to

non-trackers like Volcan and Luke, were everywhere; crushed plants, broken tree

limbs, even a shattered log, but most of all, the footprints were clear

indication; everywhere a foot had dropped, there was death -dead leaves, grass

and tree pieces, even some small creatures; life was practically being drained

from this area...

"All the signs of corruption," said Volcan.

"We must be getting close."

"Stay on your toes." Luke cautioned. "We might

be walking into an ambush."

"Not likely," replied Volcan. "Remember what I

said about how only higher-class demons are intelligent? Well, so far these

anomalies only spit out corruption enough to make Minor demons; to make a more

intelligent, and in turn more powerful demon, it'd take a very powerful Pokémon

-unless one of the higher level demons came through themselves."

Luke shuddered at that notion. "I'd rather not think

about that..." He returned, tuning to his Aura Sense to see if he could

pick up anything within range.

As he surveyed the woods, he noticed there seemed to be a

large accumulation of Aura further up the slope; the entire Aura he saw was

corrupted, and if there was any pure left up there, it was far too packed

together for him to see for certain. Whatever the demons had been scouring for,

it seemed they'd found it...

"I've found them." Luke said, then pointed toward

the slope. "Just up here. Quite a number of them too." Luke

explained. "It's almost like they've found something of interest."

"Some sort of conduit of dark energy no doubt, or someone who's really angry," stated Volcan. "Let's move quietly; see

if we can't see what they're after."

"Good idea." Luke returned. "When we get

closer to the top, stay low." He stated as he began to ascend the slope

toward the demons up ahead. He lowered to a crouch until he reached near the

top, then he lay prone and slowly peeked over the edge.

It was not a pretty scene.

Corrupted Pokemon -dozens of them, were all gathered around a

single log cabin, which seemed to have some kind of barrier protecting it; they

clawed at the Psychic shield madly, trying to break through it, but the shield

was holding, but it was clear someone or something of interest to them was

hiding in that cabin... however their dark aura's were so thick, Luke could not

see through them to see what it was.

"Tsh...I can't sense who's inside that cabin; there's

too much dark aura." He growled softly before he opened his eyes. "Something

powerful must be inside that cabin..."

Howler

sniffed a footprint on the ground that was not covered with dead grass, and

looked towards the cabin again before turning to Luke; if only the Arcanine

could speak, because he clearly wanted to say something, but he kept looking

back at the cabin.

Luke glanced back to the Arcanine. "Too bad you don't

know sign language..." He said with a bit of a half smirk and a shrug.

Howler rolled his eyes, and then gestured with his tail

towards the barrier the demons were clawing at, before he found a bare spot of

dirt and dug into it with his claw, spelling out a single word:

'P-S-Y-C-H-I-C'.

"A Psychic type is in there...That would explain the

barrier..." He muttered, then he turned to Luke. "You have the most

experience with demons. What do you suggest would be our best plan of

attack?"

"Well, the moment we attack even one of them, the rest

will be alerted, and there's eight of them for every one of us," remarked

Volcan. "We need to thin out their numbers somehow, but there's nowhere we

can bottleneck them."

Howler perked up, and promptly got their attention. He

exhaled, a shimmering forming in the air, as he did, and held up one paw,

waving it from side to side.

"Wave... air wave?" Volcan asked.

Luke narrowed his eyes a little, examining Howler's gesture.

"A wind current to expand a fire...?"

The Arcanine

growled in frustration, and then turned to a nearby bush, exhaling on one of

the leaves again; the heat exhumed from his maw, so intense as it was, caused

the leaf to shrivel up and dry out in record time, before falling from its

branch. He then fanned the air with his front paw, as if waving goodbye to

someone...

"Intense heat... wave... Oh! heat wave!" Volcan

exclaimed.

Howler nodded vigorously at Volcan.

"Wait... heat wave? How does that help us?" Volcan

asked. "The temperature in this forest is pretty average."

Luke gathered it though... Howler was referring to the

wide-spread Fire-type attack, Heat Wave, which could inflict agonizing burns on

entire hordes of Pokemon. "He's implying to open our assault with a Heat

Wave, inflicting burns on the demons to slow them down and hinder their

efforts. It will make it easier for us to take them out."

"Wait... OH! Right! The Heat Wave attack!" Volcan realized. "I've never tried it, but I

remember reading about it back during Team Warmachine's contest..."

Howler gave a smile.

"...I think Howler's saying he knows how to use

it," said Volcan. "Can you hit that many at once though?"

Howler nodded confidently to the Blaziken.

"Let's trust in his ability." Luke returned, slowly

scooting away from Howler. "Fire whenever you're ready."

Volcan stood at Luke's side, watching with keen interest as

the Arcanine turned to face the cabin, waiting until the flaming wolf put his

plan into action. Howler took a few, deep, calming breaths, studying the layout

around the building for a long moment, crouching low and focusing all strength

to his back legs...

And he was off. Displaying that impossible speed as in his

battle with Hank aboard the Kyogre's Rest, Howler was off like a shot,

deliberately slowing down to let the demons see him and even launching a few

Embers to provoke them. Responding to his presence, they chased him,

immediately losing interest in the cabin, and trying to catch their newfound

prey; none of the corrupted Pokémon had a prayer of matching the swift

Arcanine, and he easily kept away from them, letting them crowd together before

making his move...

With a large exhale, he unleashed the powerful wave of pure

heat from his maw; the air shimmered eerily as he breathed, and the skin of the

corrupted Pokemon blistered in the incredible heat. They screamed in agony,

their woeful cries almost making the spines of both Volcan and Luke tingle if

they weren't already familiar with it, and causing a brief hesitation in them.

Luke cringed and clenched his eyes shut, his hesitation

getting the better of him for a moment before he shook his head and steeled his

nerves. "Let's get this done..." He said to Volcan.

"Remember Luke, you can't save these ones," said

Volcan. "Hold nothing back..." And with that, the Blaziken burst into

flames, launching himself into the fight with his body ablaze; the Flame Charge

attack slammed into the nearest demon, and a following Blaze Kick snapped the

neck of the first one in reach, ending it.

Luke charged in with Extreme Speed as his opener, slamming

his paw into another demon to stun it, then he materialized his Bone Rush and

snapped it into two sharp fighting sticks. "I'm sorry..." He

whispered before he impaled the demon in his head, ending it as well, before

darting off to another and ending that one as well.

The corrupted Pokemon were on the attack; immediately, they

tried to swarm the three. Volcan unleashed a Flamethrower, sweeping with it to

catch as many as possible with the flames, before he went back to fighting with

fists and feet. Howler snatched a corrupted Beedrill out of the air with Fire

Fang, swinging it around in his mouth before throwing it into another one, and

then blasted a charging Corrupted Primeape with Flamethrower, roasting it to

death swiftly.

For every Pokemon that fell, their corrupted aura's

dispersed, but no sign of their pure aura's remained, leaving nothing for Luke

to save even if he tried. These Pokemon were already far gone and could not be

saved; Volcan was right about how to handle this... they had to be stopped.

There was nothing else for it...

Luke impaled another through the head with his Bone Rush,

blood spraying all over his face as he ended its life. He flinched, grunting

and shaking his head a little before he backhanded another with his paw, his

paw spike impaling it through the temple and ending it in a matter of seconds.

The more Luke took down the more his composure started to wane...

Volcan, however, was far more adapted to this than the

Lucario was, able to kill the corrupted Pokémon seemingly without even

considering that they used to be normal; a testament to his past experiences.

Howler, however, was clearly disgusted, but he'd been briefed on the situation

when they had first set out, and though it was not something he wished to do,

he understood that the choice was only one; fully corrupted Pokémon could not

be saved, but others could be saved from them.

With this in mind, he fought with all of his strength.

Luke impaled the last corrupted Pokémon he could catch,

driving both his bones into its head. He pulled them back and took a few steps

back, watching the demon fall to the ground dead. His composure was broken now,

a look of both anguish and sadness in his eyes as he let go of his bones and

fell to his knees, looking at his blood stained paws as he trembled on the

spot.

But he hadn't stopped all of them yet; a Corrupted Heracross rose

up behind him, howling in fury as it brought its horn around; he looked over

his shoulder too late, and was sent flying through the air as he was bludgeoned

by the horn, smashing into the ground several meters away. "GAH!!"

Luke cried out as he landed and rolled for a bit, slowly getting back to his

feet and gazing onward to his attacker. He raised his paws in preparation to

attack, but mentally he couldn't go through with it anymore. He stood there,

waiting for the Heracross to charge him.

But Volcan got there first, leaping into the path of the

Heracross as it charged towards Luke, catching it by the horn and skidding

along the dirt as he tried to hold it back. His hands were forced back by the

impact bumping into his chest and making the Blaziken yelp with pain as his

not-quite-healed ribs took some of the impact. He lost his balance and fell

onto his back at Luke's feet, the corrupted Heracross, eyes ablaze with

bloodlust, drawing back its arm and stabbing at him with an elbow spike it

should not have had. Volcan moved his head out of the way of the attack, but it

drew back to do it again.

That spike... its warped horn... those feral eyes... the

Heracross didn't even look like a real Heracross anymore; it was a monster, and

it was going to kill Volcan if Luke didn't do something...

Luke clenched his eyes and roared loud, quickly grabbing the

Heracross' horn with one paw and rearing back his free paw, He then slammed its

head with the most powerful Force Palm he ever lashed out with, the attack

sending a shockwave powerful enough to destroy the Heracross' head from the

inside, blowing its brain out of its head.

The creature went limp, allowing Volcan to push it off of

him, sitting up and panting for breath, holding his chest. The last of the

Corrupted Pokemon were cleared out by Howler, using a powerful Fire Blast to

finish them off when they charged him. With them down, the last of the

demonized Pokemon had been cleared...

Volcan gathered his second wind before looking over his

shoulder at Luke, studying his expression. His composure had worsened even

more, his eyes shooting wide open and widening even more when he saw the

deceased demon Pokémon before him. He stumbled back a few steps before falling

onto his rear with a grunt, breathing erratically and looking at his trembling

paws.

"Luke," Volcan said, rolling onto his front and

crawling over to his friends side. "Luke, are you okay? Try to slow your

breathing; you're hyperventilating."

In his mind, Luke was experiencing a number of flashbacks,

all of which further deteriorated his willpower and composure. Tears began to

form in his eyes, clenching his paws tight before he clenched them shut and

roared once again, slamming his paws hard into the ground, making visible

indents in the soil before he started to go limp, sobbing silently at first as

the flashbacks ended in his mind.

Volcan reached over to Luke and placed his hands on the sides

of his face, raising Luke's face so that he forced the Lucario's gaze to meet

his. "Luke, listen to me!" He roared, his voice very commanding and

grabbing the attention of the Lucario. "I know what's going through your

mind right now; I know what you're thinking. I'm telling you now, you're not a murderer; I promise you, you've

done nothing wrong here."

He gazed into Volcan's eyes silently for a long while, then

his paws gripped his arms and he clenched his eyes shut, still sobbing, but not

as hard as when he began. His breathing slowed and he started to relax, his

forehead pressing against Volcan's as he tried to calm himself down. Volcan

pulled Luke closer to him and wrapped him in a tight, comforting embrace,

allowing the Lucario to let out his emotions into the warmth of Volcan's

feathers, holding him and whispering soft words to him. Howler stepped over as

well, eyeing Luke sympathetically as he sobbed and even walking over to lie

down next to him, letting him feel the comfort of his warm fur, and reminding

Luke that his friends were there.

Finally he calmed down enough that he wasn't sobbing anymore.

Slowly he pulled back and looked at Volcan, his eyes still saddened, but at

least he wasn't on the verge of passing out anymore. "I-I'm sorry..."

he whispered softly. "I just...I can't take this anymore...I know they're corrupted,

but... these were Pokémon... they were innocent Pokémon......"

"They were, once," said Volcan, looking Luke in the

eyes. "I know it's hard to accept Luke... but demonic corruption leaves

nothing of those it infects behind. Once it takes full control, there is only

the demon; the other being... the other Pokemon, has been forced from their own

body, and it has become a vessel of an evil power; there is no soul, there is

no mind, there is only a monster left." He shut his eyes, seemingly reminiscing.

"I swear to all gods of both your world and mine if there was any way to

save them, I would be doing it, but there isn't. There is no cure; it's not a

sickness. There is no freeing their minds; it is not mind control. Everything

they once were is gone." He kept his hands on Luke's shoulders, gripping

them tightly. "But you've given them peace."

Luke hung his head and shuddered a little more, then he

nodded and lifted his head up. "Thank you..." He returned, and then

he glanced to Howler and gently placed his paw on his head as well in

gratitude.

The Arcanine let Luke pet his head, and licked him on the paw

as he drew it back. Volcan helped Luke to his feet, and continued to speak.

"What you are doing for these Pokémon is the best thing for them; their

souls pass, but their bodies continue, performing deeds of evil -things that

the being who once owned the body would never condone. By killing the body, you

destroy the essence, and in doing so, you free them, and stop them from

committing anymore evil." He gestured to the Heracross. "That

Heracross; he was already long gone. What you killed was a monster, not a Pokémon;

a being of pure evil." He then pointed at the cabin. "But now,

there's another in that cabin who they were trying to get to; our job now is to

make sure that someone is safe, as a Rescue Team is meant to do, right?"

"Right..." He returned. "I'm sorry you had to

see that." He said, wiping his eyes and sniffling a little.

"It's okay; even I had to let it out at one point or

another," Volcan assured. "I'm a warrior, but I'm still a person with a

conscience, just like you."

Luke nodded to him before he turned toward the cabin. "C'mon...let's

see if the resident of that cabin is alright."

"I think the barrier has gone down now," said

Volcan. "Let's hurry; they might be hurt." He looked at Luke again.

"When we get back to the Orphanage, there's something I want to tell you.

Don't let me forget, alright?"

Luke nodded back to him, and then he approached the cabin

with Howler and Volcan at his side, the three of them making a running jump and

leaping over the stairs and porch to land right at the entrance. He gently

knocked on the door and called in. "Hello? Are you alright in there?"

<Stay away!> A voice called, but not a voice that

reached their ears. Volcan and Howler both looked around in shock as they

'heard' the strange voice. <Stay away from here; this place is evil!>

"Telepathy," said Volcan. "As Howler said,

definitely a Psychic type."

Luke shook his head a little. "The evil Pokémon are no

more." He called in. "We....We dispatched them. My name is Luke. I represent

Rescue Team Valiant." He stated, hoping that would get a less frantic

response.

<No! Not just the Pokemon; this whole place! The closer

you get the Spear Pillar the thicker it becomes; a shadow is falling over this

land! The Corrupted Pokemon are only the beginning!>

Volcan grabbed his head painfully, and Luke quickly found his

own head hurting as images began flashing through his mind; images of Corrupted

Pokemon the victim inside had been forced to dispatch for their own survival,

fleeing to the edge of Spear Pillar before a mournful roar from up the mountain

had them rushing back to the woods. Pursued by corrupted Pokemon the stranger

had ducked into the cabin and set up the barrier to protect themselves, wrought

with exhaustion. But the images flashed by with such speed it was hard to make

any sense of them; the sender's thoughts were erratic, as if conflicting with

some unseen foe...

"Fuckin' hell! Too much!" Volcan barked, grabbing

his head. Howler bonked his head against the ground a couple of times as if

trying to stop the images, but to no avail; the information was overloading his

brain as it was Volcan's.

"STOP!!" Luke roared both in pain and with a

commanding tone. "We're here to help with the corruption!! Stop sending us

these images and let us talk to you!!"

There was no answer; for the longest time, there was an eerie

silence. But then, they heard a sound, like a body hitting the floor, and the

images finally stopped flashing through their minds following the sound.

"That's not good," said Volcan. "Luke, check

for an Aura."

Luke nodded and tuned to his aura sense, sensing for any

signs of life. There was only one presence in the cabin, but he got an eerie

sight when he focused on them; the Pure Aura of the Pokemon inside had been

exposed to corruption; it was visibly battling with it, and the Pokemon itself

was lying prone on the floor, unmoving...

"Oh no!" Luke shouted, he said in panic before he

turned to Volcan. "There's signs of corruption in his aura!"

"Shit!" Volcan cursed before he took the lead and

rammed the door, bouncing back as it failed to yield to his initial charge.

This time, he kicked it, the door practically exploding off of its hinges from

the strength of his leg, clearing the way for them to enter. "He must've

been exposed to it while fleeing from those other Pokemon!"

The three ran inside. Searching the cabin, they quickly found

the Pokemon, lying behind the table in the middle of the room, curled up into a

tight ball. But when they saw what it was... all three of them froze in shock. The

Pokemon was tall, with pale, pink-ish skin visible where the corruption had not

mutated it yet, with a purple undertone running from below its chest, between

its legs and to a purple tail that was currently curled around it. Its legs

were strong, and shaped like one who walked on their toes, and its long, skinny

arms ended in small hand, short fingers with round tips, and its head was

almost cat-like in shape, but with no ears; just two short nubs that grew from

its skull. Its eyes were open, but unseeing; one was purple, the other turning

yellow as the corruption spread through its body.

"Luke... what kind of Pokemon is that?" Volcan

asked, having never seen one like it.

Howler, however, knew exactly who it was, for there was only

one like him in the entire world... his wordless lips mouthed the name, even if

his voice was not heard.

'Mewtwo'...

"This... is Mewtwo..." Luke he returned, his voice

shaky witih shock and fear. "The corruption has managed to infect the most

powerful Psychic Pokémon in the world." He said, before he frowned and

closed his eyes, immediately searching for his aura to try and purge the

demonic aura infecting his body.

"Can you save him?" Volcan asked.

"I'm trying! Let me focus!" He barked back,

straining to home in on Mewtwo's aura.

He found it. Mewtwo's Aura was powerful; it was what had

allowed him to remain untaken by the corruption, but his strength was fading.

Half of his Aura had already been forced out, and though he was clearly still

fighting, he was losing; the corruption that had tried to take him was even

stronger, no doubt the same kind found in those upper-class Demons that Volcan

spoke of.

Volcan stood ready at Luke's side; if Luke could not save

Mewtwo, the Blaziken was poised to end him before he could become a threat, but

he waited, and would not move until that became a fact.

"C'mon," Luke growled, focusing even harder to

reach Mewtwo's aura. "Just hold on a little longer..." He was visibly

straining just to reach his aura, sweat rolling down his face as he kept

pushing and pushing.

Luke heard Mewtwo's voice in his mind, even though Mewtwo was

not looking at him; Volcan and Howler remained unmoved, evident he was trying

to contact only Luke.

<Who is it?> The Psychic asked. <I feel someone else

reaching into me; who is there?!>

"My name is Luke. I'm leader of Rescue Team

Valiant." He returned. "I need you to try and lock onto my Aura

signal with yours, then I can purge the corruption from your body."

"Who're you talking to?" Volcan asked, but his

voice went unheard.

<You cannot... the power! It is too great; I cannot keep

it back much longer!> Mewtwo replied.

"You have to try!!" Luke kept encouraging him,

straining further to reach him. "You can't let the corruption take you!

I'm doing all I can to help you, but I need your help as well!" He

pleaded.

<A-Alright... I will try! Open your mind to me; let me

find you! The darkness is thick...!>

Luke opened his mind completely to Mewtwo. "Done."

He returned. "You should see a blue sillohuette of me. Find it."

<I... I see you...> Luke felt another presence, pulling

at him somewhat. <Beware! The darkness is trying to seize us both!>

"I won't let it." He returned. 'Hold on as tight as

you can!" He commanded, gritting his teeth as he strained to pull Mewtwo's

aura free from the corruption.

In his mind, he could almost see Mewtwo grasping onto him,

but at his back, tendrils of shadow were trying to pull the legendary Psychic

Pokemon back into the void, despite his efforts to battle it. When Luke began

to add to the resistance, his pure Aura, combined with what remained of

Mewtwo's, were successfully beginning to push it back, though it was fighting

hard to claim both of them; Luke could even see the tendrils trying to grab for

his Aura as well, attempting to claim him. Even physically he could feel one of

those vile tentacles grasping him, trying to drag him into the abyss.

"Grrr!!" He growled, yanking back on Mewtwo's aura.

"Let...him...GO!!!" He roared out, using every ounce of his strength

and more.

And then, Mewtwo's aura was pulled free, along with Luke's;

the tendrils were finally pushed back, retreating into the darkness, which was

rapidly becoming smaller. In the cabin, Luke visibly ripped the corrupted Aura

away from Mewtwo, struggling with it for a moment before he violently forced it

into a dark Aura Sphere, compressing it until it burst As he destroyed it, a

powerful backlash erupted around him, sending him, Volcan, Howler and the

downed Mewtwo flying as the walls of the cabin exploded outward, the roof

soaring up into the sky and out of sight, never to be seen again.

Volcan hit the grass, with Howler and Luke landing on top of

him, eliciting a groan of pain and annoyance from the Blaziken. "Ugh! Come

on, I'm not a cushion!"

Luke grunted and slowly rolled off Volcan and Howler,

coughing and laying on his front, visibly and mentally exhausted from the

ordeal. "Damn....that was....too close..." He said between heavy

breaths.

Howler lifted himself from Volcan, allowing the Blaziken to

sit up, rubbing the back of his head. "Fucking hell; that was a LOT of

Demonic Essence you ripped out of him." But then he perked up. "Hey

wait... where is he?!" He looked around.

Luke shot up and he looked around. "I...I don't

know." He said as he looked around, getting to his feet.

"Mewtwo!!" He called out.

Howler nudged Luke, getting his attention and pointing

towards the cabin, or rather past where it used to be, and there lay Mewtwo,

half-buried under the remains of the cabin.

Luke scrambled to his feet and he ran for the rubble,

kneeling down and quickly tossing the cabin remains aside before he gently

scooped Mewtwo up in his arms. "Hey...Hey are you alright?!" He

called to him, running his paw along his head and down his chest to check his

vitals.

He was alive, and still breathing, but like Luke the poor

psychic Pokemon was utterly exhausted, having been battling with the corruption

for a much longer time than Luke had, but he was alive, and his Aura, now

purified of the corruption, was beginning to recover, reclaiming the body that

it belonged to.

"He's alive..." Luke said with a huge sigh of

relief. "Thank Arceus...."

"He needs recovery time, though," said Volcan.

"We should take him back to Kima's place; he'll be safe there." He

knelt down next to Luke. "Can you sense any other demons in this

area?"

Luke shook his head. "None....we're in the clear."

He said as he gently cradled Mewtwo in his arms as he stood up. "Let's

hurry back..."

But Luke's fatigue quickly caught up to him; his legs

buckled, and he nearly dropped Mewtwo; if not for Volcan, the unconscious

Psychic would've hit the ground, but the Blaziken caught them both. "Hold

on there, you," he stated. "You're worn out; you need rest too."

He gestured to Howler who stepped over to Luke's side. "I got Mewtwo; you

go with Howler."

The Arcanine got down on his belly, making it easy for Luke

to climb onto him. Luke slowly climbed onto Howler's back, then when he was on,

his consciousness finally faded and he flopped on top of Howler. His mind and

body were exhausted far beyond his limits; in mere seconds he blacked out, his

breathing reducing to a steady, calm pace as his body fought to heal itself

from the strenuous efforts.

"Damn, man; you've been working harder than the rest of

us today," said the Blaziken, stroking Luke's back as he hoisted Mewtwo

over his shoulder, then looked at Howler, who nodded back, and the two began to

make their way back to Kima's orphanage, leaving the scene of destruction

behind.

Despite having been corrupted only moments ago, the bodies of

the Pokemon somehow had reverted back to their true forms, and lay as if at

peace, basking in the light of the sun...

~~~~~

"Someone's coming," Serena started, jumping to her

feet as her ears caught movement outside of the property of the orphanage,

immediately walking down the steps and looking towards the entrance,

watching...

As Katsu stood at her side, they saw two figures moving

between the trees, concealed by the shadows until they stepped into the light.

Out of the darkness emerged Sickle and Kage, walking casually into the

Orphanage grounds. The door to the house opened and the Terrible Trio, Zackie,

Pyra and Iggy, charging out of the house, followed closely by Kima who was

using her bone as a walking stick as she stepped out. The three kids ran over

to Sickle, jumping for joy and pouncing the Grovyle when they were close,

knocking him onto his back.

"Whoa-ho! Hey, kids; try not to do what those thugs

failed to, alright?" Sickle pretended to beg as they cuddled him

vigorously and barraged him with questions, mostly about how many thugs he and

Kage had beaten up -no doubt tall tales would follow, in the form of bed-time

stories told by Sickle when the kids went to bed.

Kage glanced down at the three children smothering Sickle for

a moment, then shut his eyes for a bit before he headed back toward the

orphanage. Katsu approached the Greninja. "Your mission went well from the

looks of it."

Kage nodded. "Hardly any complications." Then he

looked to Kima. "You're safe now."

"Ah, thank Xerneas; finally things are back to

normal," she said, shutting her eyes and smiling. "Maybe I can

actually sleep tonight."

"I knew you'd succeed," said Serena. "I'm glad

you both made it back safely."

"The leader wasn't much." Kage informed her.

"Hank would have danced in circles around him were he here; he was

unfocused and wild."

Serena nodded. "Well, that's one problem out of the

way," she stated, and looked past him. "Did... did you see Volcan or

Luke out there? Or Howler?"

"None..." Kage returned, walking past her and

Katsumoto to head inside.

"Wait, so they aren't back yet?" Sickle asked as he

walked over, Iggy perched on his shoulder. "When I bet Kage we'd be back

before them, I wasn't actually expecting us to."

"They've been gone for some time now," replied

Kima. "And earlier this afternoon, we heard some strange noises coming

from the south -where they went."

"What sort of strange sounds?" Sickle asked.

"Almost like an explosion, but we saw no smoke or other

signs of fire," replied Serena. "I wanted to go check, but we were

still needed here."

"Well, now I'm back," said Sickle, picking Iggy off

of his shoulder and setting him down. "Sounds like there's some trouble

out there; I'll go look for them."

"I will accompany you." Katsumoto added, stepping

to his side.

"Alright; we'll head out, and..."

"Hold on you two whippersnappers," Kima stepped in,

and pointed towards the gate with her bone. "Look; here they come

now."

Sickle and Katsu followed her gaze, and sure enough they

could see two more figures approaching from the trees, although their shapes

were a little off. Serena immediately became alert until Howler stepped out of

the darkness, revealing the 'mishapen' portion to merely be Luke, lying fast

asleep on the Arcanine's back.

"Luke!" Katsu called out, quickly trotting over to

Howler's side. "What happened? Where's Volcan?"

Howler cocked his head behind him, and seconds after, the

Blaziken emerged from the trees as well, but he wasn't alone either; there was

someone hanging over his shoulder, looking battered and as exhausted as Luke

was. When he was close enough for the Pokemon to be identified, Sickle's jaw

dropped so low it practically unhinged, gaping in shock at who Volcan was carrying.

"Hubba-hub-ba-ba-ba...?!" He babbled, unable to

form coherent words at what he was seeing draped like an old rug over the

shoulder of the Blaziken.

"That's....M-Mewtwo!!" Katsu stated, quickly

closing his eyes and lowering his head in deep respect, even if the Psychic

type was out cold.

Even Kage perked up and glanced over his shoulder, his eyes

showing surprise in them as he saw the legendary Psychic type on Volcan's

shoulders. "Impossible...!"

"Seeing is believing, Kage," said Volcan in a glib

manner. "This guy was out there, trapped in a rundown cabin by the

demonized Pokémon we found."

"Is he... alive?" Kima asked.

"Yeah, but he was corrupted when we found him; there was

enough left for Luke to save him, but it tuckered them both out."

"Let's get them both inside!" Katsu quickly lifted

his head and darted for the door, holding it open for Howler and Volcan to

enter.

Howler was the first inside, with Serena and Kima quick to follow.

"Take 'em into the third room, down the hall straight ahead!" The

Marowak called, and pointed at Kage. "You, come with me; I need an extra

pair of hands. Sickle, keep the children out of the room for a while."

"On it, Kima," called Sickle, looking at Mewtwo

again as Volcan carried him inside, but then shifted his gaze to Katsu. "

'Demonized' Pokemon? What was he talking about; what was going on out

there?" He asked the Samurott, clearly mind-blown by everything that was

happening.

"It's...a long story..." He returned. "From

the experiences we've had, there is an esence that hails from a different

dimension and seeking out pokemon to corrupt and turn into mindless, primal

husks...once corrupted by this esence, they are no longer pokemon, and become

something truly horrifying..."

"Is that what happened to Mewtwo?" Sickle asked.

"What almost happened," Serena corrected.

"Caught in the early stages, Corruption can be removed before it overtakes

its host; Luke and Volcan must've been just in time to do so."

Sickle put a hand on his head, groaning in frustration.

"Sweet Dialga; what the hell is going on around here?" He asked.

"Sickle! The children!" Kima barked.

"Ah! Right; on it Kima!" The Grovyle returned

before he ran up the hallway to block the room where Luke and Mewtwo were,

ushering curious children back to the dining hall.

Serena looked at Katsumoto. "Who is this...

'Mewtwo'?" She asked.

"Mewtwo is possibly the most powerful Psychic type

pokemon in the world...However, he is also an artificial Pokémon...created with

the purpose of him being the most powerful Pokémon period..." Katsu

explained.

"So he's... a specimen of genetic engineering?" She

asked, and shuddered visibly. "I've met others like that... some are my

friends, but there are some who are horrifying..."

"I... guess. I confess I do not know of the details specifically."

Katsu admitted.

Kima and Kage crossed the dining hall, carrying bandages and

medicine into the room and immediately getting to work. "How long have

they been out?" Kima asked.

"About ninety minutes," replied Volcan.

"Mewtwo a little longer; he was knocked out after Luke removed the

Corruption from him."

"Does Luke have any injuries?"

"Just a bruise he suffered from a corrupted Heracross;

nothing else," replied Volcan.

"Alright; I'll get to him after. Watch him closely; let

me know if anything changes," instructed Kima.

"Yes ma'am."

Kage did not ask any question, already understanding what he

had to do to help Mewtwo recover quickly, which made it easy for Kima to work

with him...even if he was a Greninja of few words...

She gestured to Kage. "Heal Powder," she

instructed. "He's got some open wounds here; can't let them get

infected."

Serena and Katsu watched from the hallway, with Sickle and

Howler standing diligently outside, keeping the prying eyes of the children

back. "Wow... Kima really is something, isn't she?" Serena asked.

"She is well versed in medicine..." Katsu returned.

"With age comes wisdom..."

Kage passed her the heal powder upon her command, never a

sign of hesitation or doubt in his movements. She immediately applied some of

the powder to Mewtwo's injuries, dabbing each one with a damp cloth before

wrapping them in clean bandages. "Mph... I've never treated one like this;

his body seems as though it just fought off the biggest infection in all of

time," she remarked.

"In a way, he did," muttered Volcan, keeping his

eyes on Luke.

"Okay, pass me an energy root," Kima bade Kage as

she picked up a mortar and pestle from the table next to her, holding it out to

Kage as he passed her the root. After he dropped it in, she began to crush it

with the solid pestle, grinding it down to a tender, mushy substance before

adding a few drops of water and grinding it a little more. "Prop him up

and hold his mouth open," she instructed Kage. "Make sure his airway

is clear; don't want him choking."

He moved without question, propping Mewtwo up and doing as

Kima instructed, keeping his head level and using two fingers to force his

mouth open. With a steady hand, Kima poured the mixture into Mewtwo's mouth,

and gently prodded his neck muscles to cause him to reflexively swallow it.

"Okay, lay him back..."

Mewtwo's eyes suddenly opened, and he coughed, pushing Kage

away from him with one hand as he grabbed his chest with the other. The

contents did not come back up, but their effects were already working; they had

rejuvenated him somewhat, although as Energy Root was so prone to doing, it

left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"Ugh! What the...!" He demanded.

"He's already awake," stated Kima. "I thought

he'd be out a little longer."

Mewtwo suddenly looked at her, then at Kage, and finally

everyone in the room. "Who... who are all of you? Where am I?"

Katsu slowly approached him. "You are in an orphanage

under the care of Kima, the Marowak that treated your wounds." he said,

gesturing to the Marowak. "My name is Katsumoto...myself, Kage, and our leader

Luke, are of Rescue Team Valiant." He said, gesturing to each of the Pokémon

he mentioned.

"Luke?" Mewtwo repeated, and placed one hand on his

head. "That name... is familiar..." He suddenly jerked, and looked at

his hand as if it were foreign to him. "I'm... I'm back to normal."

He glanced at the others once more, and then saw Luke across the room on the

other bed; Volcan had jumped to his feet and was watching Mewtwo warily, but

had not left Luke's side.

"That one... he helped me," said Mewtwo. "That

is Luke, isn't it?"

"Yes," replied Serena.

Mewtwo shut his eyes. "Never did I imagine I would be

indebted to anyone..." He muttered, and tried to get up, but immediately

cringed and fell back onto the mattress. "Urgh... my body!"

"Don't you try to move, boy; your body has been under

considerable strain," stated Kima.

"You presume to order me, old woman?" Mewtwo

growled, glaring at Kima.

"Hey, that old woman has done nothing but care for you

ever since I dragged your sorry hide over here!" Volcan barked. "I

don't care how legendary you are; have some respect, pal!"

Mewtwo's glare shifted to Volcan, and their eyes met for a

moment; for a moment the others worried the two might come to blows, but

Mewtwo's eyes rolled back into his head and the lids closed while he fell back

into bed again, laying still. In a moment, he was snoring lightly, and the

tension in the room ceased.

"Seems he still needs some rest," said Kima.

"He'll be fine now; I can tend to Luke." She turned away from the bed

and walked over to Luke's bed, gesturing for Kage to bring her supplies and

ushering Volcan aside to give her room to work.

Kage carried the supplies in his arms, balancing them

perfectly until they reached Luke, gently setting the supplies down next to

Kima and himself. His glance shifted back to Mewtwo for a moment, narrowing his

eyes a bit at the legendary Psychic pokemon

Volcan felt a jab in his arm, and looked over to see Sickle

leering at him. "Are you trying

to provoke him?!" He demanded. "You realize Mewtwo could level this

whole house with an afterthought?!"

"If he could keep his own damn eyes open," retorted

Volcan.

"Even so." Katsu returned. "It would be wise

not to provoke a conflict with him. He may owe Luke a favour, but as far as he

is concerned, Luke is the ONLY one he owes a favor to..."

"Be that as it may, I don't tolerate disrespect from

anyone," returned Volcan, crossing his arms. "Luke saved him, Kima healed

him; he might not owe me anything but he owes them plenty." He let himself

calm down and uncrossed his arms. "Still... based on what Luke told me

about him... this guy is powerful,

which only makes it more worrisome he could be corrupted." He raised a

hand to rub his forehead above his eyebrows. "And these images he threw in

our heads are still giving me a migraine."

"What images?" Katsumoto asked. "What did he

show you?"

"I'm not sure; they flashed through our minds so quickly

I could barely make sense of any of them," replied Volcan. "He was

speaking to us telepathically and I think during that link he tried to show us

what happened to him; where he went, what he did, how it happened." He

lowered his hand. "What worries me though is what he might've run into out

there; Mewtwo's damn powerful and it'd take corruption of equal or greater

magnitude to seize him the way it did."

"I see..." Katsumoto returned, rubbing his chin.

"This is foreboding news indeed. Whatever tried to corrupt even Mewtwo

must be incredibly powerful." He shuddered. "We might not be able to

suppress this invading force..."

"Not unless we find out what's causing it and take it

down," said Volcan.

"Time out!" Sickle interjected suddenly, making

Volcan jump a little. "I'm a little lost here, so, why don't you guys

start from the beginning and explain this to me - slowly so my mind doesn't

explode any more than it already has; what's this 'Corruption' and this

demonization stuff?"

Volcan regarded him for a moment, and put one hand on his

head again, sighing in frustration. "Alright... explanation time. It's

like this, Sickle..."

~~~~~

Luke woke up a short while later in a bed he didn't

recognize. His body was sore and his head hurt, but he was alive, and warm. He

could feel a patch of warmth on his side where the Heracross had hit him

before, and felt a damp cloth had been laid over his bruise, warmed overtime by

his own body heat.

"Guh..." He groaned and reached up to hold his head

in his paw. "What... where am I...?" He groaned, his eyes fluterring

open a little and scanning his environment.

"You're in Kima's house," he heard a voice, and

looked behind him to see Volcan seated at his bedside, legs propped up on the

corner of the bed and chair leaned back as he lounged. Letting his legs drop he

turned to Luke fully, looking him over. "How you feeling?" He asked.

"Like a Donphan just trampled all over me..." He

groaned.

"Take 'er easy, or Kima might whack you over your head

with that bone of hers like she did to mister sunshine over there," He

jerked his thumb over his shoulder to the opposing bed where Mewtwo sat,

propped up against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, seemingly

staring off into space.

Luke let out a small sigh. "Good...he's

recovering..." He said, then he looked to Volcan and flattened his ears.

"That was far too close for comfort...I felt the corruption trying to take

me over with much greater force."

"I was thinking on that," said Volcan, leaning

forward and propping his elbows against his knees. "Based on what you told

me about how powerful Mewtwo is, it..."

"I can hear you," Mewtwo called across the room.

"Do not presume you're being respectful by keeping your voice low."

Volcan looked back at Mewtwo, and then turned back to Luke

again. "Based on how powerful you said he is, it'd take corruption of

great magnitude to nearly overtake him," stated Volcan. "I think the

anomalies may be getting worse."

Luke nodded. "So it would seem..." He returned,

still rubbing his head. "If it gets this bad, then I don't think I can

keep going with this purification process much longer...I feel like a mess."

"We got to step up our time frame," stated Volcan.

"If Mewtwo was capable of being corrupted it means powerful levels of

corruption are seeping into this world; if I had to compare Mewtwo's power to a

demonic class, I'd say he's at least at Major level, if not just below Arch

Demon, so essence of that magnitude is present here. The rifts are opening

wider."

Mewtwo suddenly appeared behind Volcan; the Blaziken started as

he felt the presence behind him shooting to his feet and whirling around

defensively, finding his blue eyes staring into Mewtwo's amethyst-coloured ones.

"You know something of all of this?" He asked.

Volcan relaxed, and nodded simply. "I do... I've been

battling things like this for a long time."

"That power is not of this world... which means you must

not be either," Mewtwo stated.

"Got it on the first try," remarked Volcan,

half-jesting. "Yes, you're right... I'm not actually a Pokémon."

Mewtwo continued to meet his gaze for a moment, before he

suddenly shut his eyes. "Open your minds... I will show you what I

found."

Volcan glanced at Luke, gauging his reaction to Mewtwo's

request. Luke nodded to him, and then looked back to Mewtwo for a moment before

he closed his eyes, allowing his mind to open up to the Psychic Pokémon. Volcan

followed suite, closing his eyes and bracing himself for the imminent Psionic

probing. In seconds, Mewtwo's mind linked to theirs, and they began to see his

memories as he had. The legendary Psychic had been flying -or rather,

levitating, but going very quickly, over the woodlands around Bluegrove, when a

white flash of light in the distance had caught his eye. Sensing something

otherworldly, he turned his course and made a beeline for that light, shortly

finding himself at spear pillar. Just as he neared the pillar, a mournful cry

echoed down the mountainside, a cry so full of agony and terror that it made

Volcan and Luke's blood run cold.

<That sounds like the pained scream Sickle was describing

before; the one that supposedly belongs to Palkia,> Luke heard Volcan's

voice, but felt it echoing in his mind. A side-effect of the psychic link, it

seemed, allowed the three to communicate telepathically. <It seems those

rumors are true.>

<It seems so...> Luke returned, mentally nodding at the

Blaziken sharing this vision with him; they were on the same page with their

own thoughts. <Palkia must be in excruciating pain.>

<That was my thought as well,> explained Mewtwo.

<So, I began to investigate.> As the memory carried on, Mewtwo was flying

up the mountainside, heading for where Palkia lived, but as he flew into a

white cloud near the peak, he suddenly found himself heading back towards the

ground. Instinctively he stopped himself, and peered back the way he came,

finding himself staring at the same cloud he had just flow into. <Space

itself was so distorted around him, I could not reach Palkia... but something

found me.>

A flash of white erupted before Mewtwo, blinding him briefly,

but out of the center of the light, a dark hand with claws shaped like the

blades of a harvesting scythe emerged and grasped Mewtwo in a death-grip; Luke

and Volcan could even feel what he felt as the hand enclosed around him, and

the brief moment of surprise before he used his powers to break free. More of

the darkness emerged, and half of a body appeared; only half, but enough to

reveal a figure that Volcan knew well -both Mewtwo and Luke felt the surge of

terror rushing through his mind as he saw the creature. Only an arm, the

shoulder, and the head appeared; a head like a canine and a shoulder with a

large, curving spike protruding from the shoulder bone itself. Two bright,

emotionless yellow eyes stared back at Mewtwo hungrily, but the Psychic type

was already fleeing from the portal. However, he could feel something was

wrong; merely coming into contact with that presence had placed something in

him, and he could feel it spreading.

The link ended. "You can guess what happened after

that," stated Mewtwo. "I fled to the forest, but those... corrupted,

you called? Corrupted Pokémon pursued me, and I was too focused on trying to

purge the evil infection from my body to battle them, so I hid in that cabin. I

had been in there for nearly four days before you finally arrived."

"Four

days???" Luke blurted out in surprise before he calmed himself down.

"Arceus almighty... And that...figure." He muttered. "That's

what spread the corruption onto you...and with a mere touch."

"Sweet ancestors, no..." Volcan said, his voice

breaking, making his emotions all too clear and catching the attention of the

other two Pokémon; they looked at him, and could see his eyes wide with horror,

both hands on his head as if trying to relieve a headache. "By all the...

I was right... it WAS him!"

"You

know who that was??" Luke queried Volcan.

"Know it?" Volcan repeated. "Luke... that's

the one I guessed may be behind all this; the same demon I told you abducted me

once." His gaze hardened. "THAT... the one who attacked Mewtwo; that

was Kalo'Temir."

Luke's fur seemed to go pale for a moment. "That...was

the demon that you encountered before? The one you and your allies took

down??" He asked, fear rising up in his voice. "HOW in Arceus' name

did you beat a monster like that the first time????"

"By the skin of our teeth," Volcan replied. "Er... if I

had teeth," He added, before he turned to the Psychic-type. "No

disrespect to you, Mewtwo... but you're fortunate you got away from him. If he

had captured you, he could've consumed you and taken all of your powers."

Mewtwo's eyes narrowed. "Truly a monster..." He

stated. "I could sense his power... it far surpassed even the Legendary

Birds and the Great Guardian. And you say he is behind these anomalies?"

"By what you saw, I have no doubt now," replied

Volcan. "He's behind it... but why? What the hell could he be after here

on this world?"

"I could not make contact with his mind," replied

Mewtwo. "What grasped me was a mere piece of his being; he had not fully

materialized on this world yet. It appears that he cannot yet pass into this

world, if that is what he is indeed trying to do."

"Wait, what do you mean?"

"The anomaly that I encountered seemed to try and pull

me in, not pull itself out; it was like a vacuum," replied Mewtwo.

"Based on that, I'd say he's not trying to come to this world; he's trying

to bring someone else through to his own. Judging on how he let me go so easily

without so much as pursuit, I don't believe I am the one he is after."

"Then what could this...Kalo'Temir be after?" Luke

muttered softly. He thought long and hard before his brain began to hurt again.

"Agh...damn it!"

"We have to get to Spear Pillar," said Volcan,

speaking firmly. "We have to try and help Palkia."

"You cannot reach him," stated Mewtwo. "Space

itself is distorted all around him; try to enter and you will have no better

luck than I."

"So we just give up?" Volcan asked, annoyed.

"No," replied Mewtwo. "If you cannot see

Palkia, then you must speak with his counterpart and the only other one who

might be able to help you."

"You mean... Dialga? The God of Time?" Luke asked.

Mewtwo nodded. "As one who can see across the streams of

time, he knows all that Palkia does," replied Mewtwo. "He may have

answers for you on what Kalo'Temir seeks, and how he will obtain it."

"Better than sitting on our asses and doing

nothing..." Luke returned. He rubbed his head and sighed. "How could

things have gone this horrible? On that note, WHY?"

"I know what you mean, Luke," agreed Volcan.

"How in the hell did we all get pulled into this..." He shut his

eyes, clenching his fists. "First thing in the morning... we're heading

for Spear Pillar," he said firmly. "We need to get to Dialga."

Mewtwo agreed. "On foot it would take you another five

days at least to reach the pillar," stated Mewtwo. "But..." He

turned to Luke. "As it happens, I still owe you for helping me. I shall

teleport all of you to the Pillar, to Dialga's shrine, where you will meet with

him."

"We'd appreciate that." Luke returned, nodding to

Mewtwo. "On behalf of my entire team, and of my friends here, I thank you for

your help in our journey. I'm just...I'm glad I was able to stop the corruption

from taking you as well."

Mewtwo actually cracked a gentle smile to Luke. "That

makes two of us."

"I better go get the others," said Volcan.

"They need to be filled in." He looked at Luke. "You should go

back to sleep for now; I'll probably be heading to bed soon myself. We'll need

all of our strength for tomorrow."

"Wait." Luke said, gently grasping Volcan's arm.

"You mentioned you had something to tell me before I passed out..."

Volcan blinked, and looked at Mewtwo. "Sorry to ask,

but... can you give us a moment alone?" He asked.

Mewtwo regarded him for a moment, but soon nodded. "Very

well... I wanted some fresh air anyway," he replied, and with that, he

turned and walked out of the room, stepping out into the hallway, where Sickle

was still standing watch. He looked at Volcan and Luke briefly before he

followed Mewtwo towards the main door.

With that, Volcan walked over to the door and closed it, and

then returned to Luke's bedside, taking a deep breath and exhaling as he

prepared himself. "I... I have no doubt by now, you wonder how I know so

much about the Corruption caused by demons; how it's virtually irreversible..."

He began, and shut his eyes. "It's time I told you how."

Luke nodded softly, sitting up a bit more and perking his ears.

"Start from the beginning."

Volcan sighed once more. "Okay... but I warn you, it's

not a happy tale."

"I'm prepared..." Luke nodded reassuringly.

Volcan sat back in his chair, and stared at the ceiling.

"Over eight centuries ago, there was a very powerful demon brought into my

world; a force so powerful, it promised complete and utter destruction to the

entire planet. This demon, known as Lucarinai, was more than capable of doing

just that, and those alive at that time, knew it was was more than capable of

doing just that, because over four millenia before, it HAD done just that;

completely obliterated the entire world, wiping out all life that did not hide

itself from it. Then, it destroyed itself, and the world was restored, for this

creature -this ultimate demon, but the embodiment of chaos: Destruction, and

Creation, all in one.

"Over four thousand years later, however, an order of

magi, known as the Order of Five, resurrected this demon, believing they could

use it to conquer the world, but its resurrection consumed them, giving it

their power as well as its own. The only ones who stood against it were four

heroes; two human men, Oronos Necroslayer and Ganroth the Hunter, a feral

dragon named Scilane Spirit-Bound, and Falamaran the Orphan, a feral Phoenix.

Together, they found a way to destroy the demon; combining their powers, they

destroyed Lucarinai, and seemingly the world was safe from its wrath.

"But, Lucarinai was such a powerful monster, even death

was not enough to stop him," Volcan went on. "And this is where my

story begins, because his essence, his corrupted soul, became a wandering

miasma that floated across the world. Since my planet is mostly ocean, it had a

lot of ground to cover -metaphorically speaking of course, but eventually it

found its way to my homeland, Canada. My mother was out one day, just a

pregnant avian woman taking a walk, trying to keep fit, and unknowingly... she

walked into the miasma.

"She sensed the corruption immediately, and tried to get

out, but she was in there just long enough for a fragment miasma to be placed

into the soul of her baby..." His eyes shut. "That baby... being

me."

Luke listened intently to the whole story, trying his best to

keep calm, but shock was quickly setting in as Volcan continued. He only nodded

in response, prompting him to keep going. "For 18 years, that evil sat

inside of me, growing with me; whenever my emotions were clouded by fear, rage

or terror, it would emerge," Volcan explained. "A corrupted,

disgusting duplicate of me would take its place; a being who is exactly like me

in every way, except colour... and mind. Whenever he emerged, he would rampage,

causing mass destruction all around him, until my friends would manage to stop

him.

"At one point though, I actually combined with him;

while battling a maniac scientist known as Jacob Rex, when my life was in

danger, he and I... fused, somehow. I became a completely new elemental, but by

my ancestors I never could've imagined what else it would start. Somehow, by

combining with me, this other being... this... Black Volcan, evolved rapidly,

developing a sentient mind, and then tried to take control of me. But I got

lucky; two powerful beings sensed his presence, recognizing it, and came to me,

took me under their care and tried to exorcize him from me, but it didn't turn

out as expected."

He placed his hand on his back as he went on. "Rather

than be purged... he tore his way out of me; I don't have it in this body, but

if I were in my true form, there'd be a warped, disgusting scar on my back

below my wings; that's where he came out. I nearly died, but one of the guys

who exorcized him was a Celestial Kitsune -an expert healer, and he saved me.

But the being that came out of me... it took form; it became a perverted

duplicate of me, carrying the weapons and armour of the demon whose essence

created it -he bears, to this day, the staff and armour worn by Lucarinai

himself, and he took for himself a name. He dubbed himself Calhoun

Demonfire."

Calhoun... Volcan had mentioned that name before, during the

tournament on Kyogre's Rest, when Luke had been talking about his uncle.

"This...Calhoun; he's an EXACT clone of you?" He

asked. "Arceus almighty, this...I can't even begin to imagine how that

feels...having someone out there like you, but at the same time, isn't like

you."

"He's

not exact anymore... as the years went on we both developed differently,"

corrected Volcan. "We developed our bodies; I became stronger, he became

quicker. We developed our powers; his are still greater than mine, since he

commands two elements. But everything about me up until he separated... he

knows it all. How I think, who my friends are -at least before the separation,

and even has a perverted version of my personality. When he went after that

person I was close to... Obsidian, the dragoness I told you about before... he

didn't go after her just to anger me, but because he had his own longing for

her.

"He trapped her in her house, molested her, and nearly turned

her into a demon..." His hands clenched into fists, and tears dropped from

Volcan's eyes. "Calhoun is the reason I'm so afraid to get close to

anyone; why I fear bringing others into my life, because I know he'll find out... and he'll hurt them." His eyes

clenched. "He's the reason why I can't find happiness... and,

unfortunately, why I have first-hand experience dealing with corruption. I was

never claimed by it because he never evolved enough to be stronger than me, and

he wasn't sentient; he couldn't break my will... but when that changed, I

nearly lost myself to him."

Luke was completely silent as Volcan went on, seeing the

tears roll down his cheeks made his heart sink, getting a feel of how traumatic

this must have been for Volcan. "I'm....I'm so sorry..."

Volcan nodded. "So now you know..." He stated.

"My darkest secret, and the reason I know so much about the

corruption." Volcan looked at Luke. "Calhoun is a corrupted copy of

me; our bodies may have developed differently but his mind is just as sharp as

mine, and his ferocity is matched only by his bloodthirst. That is why I can't

bring people into my life... because I know he'll do anything to hurt them...

just for his chance to kill me."

Luke let out a small sigh, seeing the pain on the face of his

friend. Without a second thought he scooted closer to Volcan and gently pulled

him into a comforting embrace, just like the Blaziken had done for himself when

he broke down after the demon slaying. Volcan remained still and silent for a

moment, before he raised his hands and placed them on Luke's back, at first as

if to pull him away, but then he pulled Luke closer to him, returning the

embrace, feeling Luke's paw gently stroking his back as they held each other

for a long time.

After a while, Volcan eventually pulled back and looked at

Luke. "I'm sorry you had to learn all that... but I thought it was time...

and I thought it might help you understand our enemy."

"It does...even if just a little." He returned,

rubbing his friend's shoulder. "I...guess you should know a little about

my past as well...though after what I heard from you tonight, it probably isn't

as dreadful as yours."

"I'll leave that up to you," returned Volcan.

"But if we ever end up in my world... if you ever see Calhoun... do not

fight him. Just promise me that if you see him you will run."

Luke nodded

softly. "I'll try." He returned.

"You'll

know him when you see him... he looks just like me, but his feathers are black

and purple," explained Volcan. "And he carries a golden staff and

wears matching armour; if you see that coming for you, just run, as fast as you

can."

Luke nodded, still patting Volcan's shoulder for a moment.

"I guess we should rest for now...I can share a bed with you for the night

if it will help ease your mind."

Volcan waved his hand. "I appreciate it... but that

won't be necessary... besides; what would your wife think if she found

out?" He asked, half in jest. "Don't worry; I've been coping with

this for years; I'll be fine."

"It's not like I'm offering myself to you." Luke

returned with a bit of a smirk. "Still, if you're sure."

Volcan nodded. "I do appreciate it either way," he

replied, and stood up from the chair. "Now... we've got a long day ahead

of us tomorrow; there's no telling what we'll encounter at Spear Pillar."

Luke nodded. "Rest well Volcan...I'll see you in the

morning." He returned as he laid back and rested his head onto his pillow,

watching as Volcan stood up from his chair.

"You as well, my friend," returned Volcan, before

he stood up and slowly, thoughtfully, left the room.

Luke's eyes lidded shut again for a moment, but opened once

more as his thoughts drifted back to what Volcan said, and that image of the

demon Mewtwo encountered... Kalo'Temir. The demon had been even more horrifying

than Volcan had described, and what they had seen through Mewtwo's eyes was

nothing more than a piece of him; it was not even all of Kalo'Temir's

horrifying form, something Luke was not looking forward to seeing.

"What in hell have we gotten ourselves into?" He

whispered softly as his eyes finally shut, and he slowly drifted off to sleep.