FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

After leaving the others in the woods, Volcan welcomed the chance to stretch his wings again; after spending so many days without them -an alienating feeling at that. It had been quite an unusual experience for him, being turned into a completely different, and utterly flightless species. But overall... not unpleasant; he'd made some new friends thanks to it, friends he would not soon forget, and who had helped him through that strange time.             Now, however, the roles were reversed. Now Luke and his team were trapped in Volcan's world; they had changed to unfamiliar forms, taking on anthropomorphic variants of their original selves, and now they were in an area even Volcan didn't know... at least he was not certain he did. The place seemed very familiar but no matter how much he wracked his brain trying to find out he couldn't remember why...             Looking back once more to make sure his friends were safe, Volcan flew towards the mountain; maybe some high ground would give him some clue as to where they were.             The feeling of the wind rushing over his feathers calmed Volcan's mind, helping him think and to fully assess his situation. He was home -almost home; he was back in his own world, and now he had a chance to see his other friends again. Better yet, he could even introduce them to his new friends. At least, soon as he found a way to get back to them.             Then, something caught his eye; a building on the mountainside. Not large, but noticeable, and possibly inhabited. Turning about, the phoenix flew towards the building, surveying the area for any signs of life before he reared back to slow his descent, landing gently on both feet outside of the building.             Volcan examined the structure; it reminded him of Overwatch Station, back near Unity Falls -a favorite hangout of his when he was younger. The seclusion of the abandoned ranger station was often a good way to clear his head, and it had proven a nice hideout during the gang war. But the wear on the building was all wrong; it looked like it had been in operation at least up until recently and was still in good condition.

            Volcan walked up to the door, knocking on it. When there was no answer, he turned the handle and shouldered open the door, getting a beak-full of dust as he stepped in. "Blah! Pfft! Nasty," he complained, rubbing his nostrils. "Okay, clearly unoccupied," he said, matter of factly, flapping his wings to blow some of the dust away before he stepped inside, surveying the room.             The inside was a complete mess; furniture was strewn about, minus the couch which was covered in dust. The desk in the far corner was the victim of termites, most of it having been eaten away by the voracious little insects. The chair had fared no better -it was collapsed on the floor, an entire leg of it missing from the frame, and the floor beneath had several holes; every floor board creaked ominously as Volcan stepped, and more often than not he expected it to break right under him. So far, it held though.             On a whim, or perhaps out of reflex, he felt around for a light switch, eventually finding one and flicking it up. Much to his surprise, the overhead light actually turned on, illuminating the room around him. "Well, that's handy," he said, looking at the light for a moment before he grimaced, realizing it might be better if he left it of; flicking the switch back down, the room became dark and gloomy again. "Could probably use this to hideout if need be."             He looked to his left, and spotted an adjacent room at the corner next to the ruined desk. Curious, he crossed the cabin, and peeked into the room, looking inside and spotting a table that, luckily, had been left untouched by the termite problems facing this cabin. But it was not the table his eyes fixed upon; resting on top of it was an old-model, long range radio transceiver!             "Oh man, please work, please work, please work," Volcan repeatedly pleaded as he dashed over to the radio, reaching for the on/off switch with a shaky hand. He switched it on, and felt his heart sink when the lights didn't activate. "Mother fu-..." he paused mid-profanity as the lights suddenly flickered on, and some static fizzed through the receiver. "Yes! Fucking A!" He cheered, before covering up his beak with both hands. "Yikes... better keep a lid on it, or a something unfriendly is going to hear me..."             He sat down in front of the radio, tuning the volume a little bit before he raised his head and raised his head to look at the ceiling. ...I'm trying to operate a radio when I have absolutely no idea what channel I'd need to contact... well, anybody! He grabbed his head in frustration. Ah sack of monkey shit; what the hell do I do now? I just mess with this thing and someone on the island will probably hear it. He looked around the room, and spotted a book lying on the floor next to the table; an instruction manual for the transceiver. He reached down and picked up the manual, leafing through the pages until he came to a chapter about operating the radio, reading it over quickly. During his study, though, something caught his eye -a paragraph on using the radio as a phone. "Radio-phone; of course!" He whispered, slapping himself on the side of the head. "I can call for help that way."             Following the directions, he set up the radio phone, and dialed the first number that came to mind; there was only one person he knew that had a plane and would be able to come and get him and the others. Kyle. He listened as the radio transmitted the call, hearing the ringing sound to indicate the call had connected, and waited for an answer. "Please man, answer..."             A click. "Yeah, this is Kyle; who's calling please?"             "Hallelujah!" Volcan cheered, and swore he heard something falling to the floor with a metallic clamour on the other end. "Uh, Kyle?"             "What the shit was that about? Who is this?"             "Kyle, it's me, Volcan!" The phoenix replied, holding the mouthpiece close to his beak so the human could hear him.             "Vol...! Holy shit, you're okay! Man, you've been giving us heart attacks here; where are you calling from?"             "Well, I don't know for sure; I'm on radio phone, in this rundown old shack," Volcan replied. "I'm not sure where this place is exactly, though."             He heard Kyle sigh. "Least I know you're alive... where the hell have you been?"             "It's... a very long story," Volcan replied. "But enough about that, I..."             He paused mid-sentence as he heard something outside, a sound like a growl. Evidently it was loud enough Kyle caught it as well, because he quickly asked "Volc... what's that noise?"             "Hang on," Volcan replied. "I don't think I'm alone... wait there for a sec." Volcan stood up from the chair as slowly and quietly as possible, eyes furrowing with suspicion as he slowly crept out of the room, glancing over to the nearest window, where he could hear the growls continuing to sound.             He ducked back immediately as he saw a canine muzzle appear by the window, concealing himself back inside the tiny, windowless room with his eyes wide in surprise. A werewolf! Damn his luck, he was in lycan territory; really bad place to be!             Daring a peek around the corner, he saw the lycanthrope outside, rearing up on its hind legs and sniffing the air, its gaze slowly turning to the cabin Volcan was in. If that thing cornered him in there, he was in for a painful experience; fighting lycans up close rarely ended well for their opponent, no matter how strong they were. He prayed it would lose interest in leave, standing perfectly still and quiet as he waited.             The lycanthrope elicited a sharp snarl, and in a second, Volcan heard heavy footfalls bound away from the cabin. Cautiously, Volcan emerged from his hiding place again, peering through the window before he stepped out of the room and walked over, seeing the werewolf running, down on all fours, away from the cabin. Something had caught its attention and sent it on the prowl -he just hoped it wasn't Luke or the others.             But then, over the treeline, Volcan saw something. He contracted the pupils in his eyes to use his telescopic vision, honing his gaze in on that object rising high into the air, resembling a massive spear jutting up towards the clouds. He focused on it, waiting for a little haze to clear -oh wait that was the window he was looking through that was hazy. He wiped the window with his arm, clearing some of the dust away until he could see through it a little more clearly, and saw what he was looking at, mere miles away. It wasn't some giant spear or unusual rock formation, it was a tower; a construct often built attached to a castle, and when a little bit of fog cleared, he saw more towers, all of them leading down to a structure the trees concealed.             Without being able to see clearly, Volcan dared to get a better look, walking over to the cabin door and stepping outside. He jumped as high as he could to see over the tree line, and get a better look at where those towers were coming  fr-.             He could have sworn his heart stopped when he saw the castle. The towers were attachments, built up from a massive stone structure of Russian-esque architecture, resembling a building that would have existed in the time of the Tzar's, but it was brand new, standing tall over the land below, but it paled in comparison to the lone mountain it was resting on the hip of, built upon a plateau in the shadow of the great escarpment. With a quick swivel of his head to see more of the land below, he suddenly knew exactly where he was...             "Ooooh shitoshitoshitoshitoshit!!" He cursed repeatedly as he fell back to the ground, whirling around so fast he kicked up a cloud of dust before he practically dove back into the cabin, shutting the door and running back into the radio room. His heart was thundering as he grasped for it, juggling with the transmitter before he finally got a firm grip on it.             "Volcan? Volc, what the hell's all that noise...?" Kyle demanded with concern, hearing Volcan's clumsy attempts to grasp the radio until the phoenix finally had it.             "Kyle... I need you to get your plane ready, and haul ass to the west," Volcan informed, trying to keep his voice even. "'Cuz I just figured out where we are over here!" "Volcan, calm down; what're you talking about?"             "Bud..." Volcan started, drawing a long pause until he managed to bluntly force out the words. "We're in Lycanthria..."

Volcan had been gone for an hour already; the sun was beginning to set, and the air was becoming colder. Serena, being a deep water dweller, was already used to the cold, but she looked to her friends, hoping they were alright. Luke sat relaxing against the tree he sat in front of, taking a deep breath and sighing as he felt the cool air rush through his fur. Kage remained stoic as always, hanging upside down from a branch above Luke, almost like a bat. While Katsu was taking a rock and polishing off his Seamitars, holdint them up ti teh setting sun and watching them gleam for a second before he smiled, sheathing them in his forearm guards. "I'm honestly a little surprised you can still do that in Anthro form," Serena admitted, pointing at the sword now sheathed in his arm. "But it seems all of your powers still carry on in this world too." "I suppose as long as it's part of my anatomy, then they remain." Katsu returned, turning back to look at Serena with a small smile. "I just hope my attacks carry over as well.." "Well, if they have changed to Hydromancy, this time I can teach you," she remarked, smiling at him. He started to laugh. "Oh the irony." He returned, covering his eyes as he laughed. Serena laughed with him, though hers was much softer, but before long to was looking back at Luke and Kage as well. "How are you two holding up to this change?" "I'm managing." Luke returned, glancing at his paw and lifting it in front of him. "It's still hard to believe I now have hands..." Kage didn't say a word in response, slowly flipping to an upright position on his branch and keeping his eyes forward. "I know it'll take time... but if I was able to adjust to being a Quadruped, I have no doubt you'll learn your new bodies," she said, confidently, or perhaps with forced confidence as she was not usually one for displaying it, probably trying to keep their hopes high. "Well I still have my Aura, so that's a plus." Luke returned. Serena was about to speak again, when suddenly a blood-curdling howl split the silence of the dusk, echoing over the woods like a mournful scream. The howl made their blood run cold; although it sounded wolf-like, it was louder -or perhaps the wolf making it was not far away- and carried with it an eerie, foreboding sensation... Serena, however, seemed familiar with this howl... she was visibly shaking after hearing it. "Serena?" Katsu asked, scooting closer to her. "What's the matter?" "That howl... it sounded like a werewolf," she replied. "Hearing that just... brings back some bad memories." Katsu nodded and gently stroked her shoulder. "If you'd rather not talk about it, I understand...I will shield you as best I can..." He returned. "That may prove to be a little more difficult than you think, stranger," a sinister voice spoke from the shadows of the nearby trees. Serena froze in horror. "Poseidon, no..." she whispered, her eyes as round as dinner plates. All three of the Pokémon twitched, then in a flash Katsu quickly pounced into Serena and skidded back, quickly turning around and drawing his Seamitars, glaring at the stranger and making sure Serena stayed behind him. Both Luke and Kage were also at his side, Bone Staff and Ninjato at the ready. A winged figure was standing in the darkness; a figure who, in the shadows, looked very much like Volcan. But he wasn't alone; two large, hairy creatures stood at his sides, both of the beasts bearing eyes that shone in the darkness like small embers. Both of the creatures were massive, easily dwarfing the strange avian if they were to stand upright. As they watched, the avian stepped out, the two creatures staying at his sides as he walked, and when he stepped into the light, they were met by the sight of an avian who, as they suspected, looked very much like Volcan; their anatomy was identical, musculature very similar, and even had matching patterns to their feathers, but that was where the similarity ended. His feathers were as black as oil, with the purple streak running from the tip of his crown, down his face and neck and disappearing behind a golden cuirass, and purple flame-patterns on his wings. He wore gray pants, matching the gray skin of his beak, hands and feet, and had purple coloured eyes that just brimmed with wicked intent. In his hand, he carried a staff, tipped by a strange cross-like object with a looping top. "Long time no see, Serena," the avian remarked. "I thought you of all people, having the least backbone of the Os-Nadarra, would know better than to come here." "Oh gods..." Serena breathed. "If you're here then... we're right in the middle of Lycanthria!" "Correct," returned the avian, grinning like a devil as he stared down at the group. Both Katsu and Kage kept their weapons at the ready, but Luke's gaze widened a little. He remembered Volcan telling him about an avian that looked similar to him, but at the same was not. This must have been Calhoun! "Listen, Calhoun," Serena pleaded -speaking his name confirmed Luke's suspicion. "We landed here unintentionally; it's difficult to explain but if you just let us leave, we'll go peacefully." The avian burst out laughing, lifting his staff from his shoulder to pound it against the ground, kicking up dirt with each swing before he glared menacingly at her. "Not even on my best day, girl," he replied. "Those who set foot here are wolf meat." He held out his hand. "All yours, boys," he bade. At his word, the two beasts at his side charged forward, their muzzles salivating at they ran to what would surely be fresh meat for them to feast upon, down on all fours as they charged. Kage quickly weaves a sign and stunned them with an Extrasensory attack, attacking them with a psychic wave to make them flinch. Katsu then darted in with Aqua Jet and quickly made short work of the wolves with his Razor Shell, slicing each wolf once with his blades before he returned to his ready stance. Unfortunately, his blades did not cut as deep as he'd hoped; the hides of the beasts proved to be very resilient, the lacerations caused by Katsu barely even bleeding as he looked back at them. Calhoun laughed again. "Not that easy to kill a werewolf, rookie," he taunted. "Tsh..." Katsu growled and backed up slowly. However, before they could even move once again, they were bombarded by impossibly fast strikes that struck the wolves in all angles, hitting as hard as fast moving boulder. Luke then appeared in front of both the Wolves, then he roared and blasted them both HARD in the chests with Force Palms. They went flying; not even the density of their hides could protect them from Luke's onslaught. One of them fly towards Calhoun, but with a light jump, he launched himself right over it, letting it fly under him before he touched back down, eyeing Luke curiously. "A Chi Fighter, eh?" He asked. "Well, at least your new friends aren't boring, Serena." "Kage!" Luke commanded, glancing back at the Greninja. He nodded and quickly weaved a sign, then he exhaled a HUGE swath of Smokescreen at the black phoenix. Luke and Kage both grabbed Katsu and Serena and made their escape using Kage's SHadow Sneak, silently zipping into his shadow and crawling away quickly under the cover of the smoke. When they emerged again, they were a good distance away from where Calhoun had encountered them; they saw the avian take to the skies, and begin searching for them. "We need to find cover," said Serena. "We can't hide from Calhoun long; he can see body heat and his vision lets him see several kilometers ahead of himself." She crossed her arms over her chest, holding her shoulders. "Why... why did we have to land on Lycanthria?" "I do not know." Luke returned. "But I remember Volcan telling me about Calhoun, and how we must never face him head on..." He stated. "This could be troublesome...there has to be a way to disguise our body heat..." "It's not just Calhoun we need to fear," Serena stated. "The Overlords, all of them, live on this island. There are ten of them total, including Calhoun; some of them are even worse than he." "How worse?" Katsu asked. "There's no time to explain; we have to find Volcan and escape from this place," she urged. "If we don't, one of the others may spot us." "Agreed..." Kage returned. "Stay close..." He said as he took charge, leading the group through the most secluded path he could find to try and find Volcan. They didn't get far though. After running through the woods for a while, they stepped out into a clearing, and a sound, like the rush of air, caught their ears. "Get down!" Serena screamed, immediately leaping at the others, tackling Luke and Katsu to the ground and nearly tripping Kage with her tail as an object soared over their heads, striking a nearby tree and exploding with a deafening blast and a blaze of fire that utterly demolished the tree. "BLOODY HELL!!" Luke cried out as he felt the heat that close to him. "He's mad!!" "That wasn't Calhoun!" Serena exclaimed. "It WASN'T?" Luke said back. "Then who??" Katsu demanded. Serena turned her gaze in the direction the explosive object had come from. "Him!" She replied, pointing towards the edge of the clearing, where yet another person was stepping out into view. This one was not an anthro, however. It was hard to see his face, due to a hooded trench coat he wore; throwing in dark pants, knee-height steeltoe boots and some gloves, the only part of him they could see at all was his chin, which had pale skin and an flatlined mouth, displaying no emotion as he tossed aside a tubular object he'd been holding -no doubt where that explosive had been fired from. The figure reached into their jacket and drew a new weapon, but not one the group could identify; it was an odd-looking contraption to them, but clearly it was not a harmless item. "What was that contraption he just fired?" Katsu asked as they slowly rose to their feet. "Not a good time to ask questions!" Serena pointed out as she held out her hands. In seconds, water erupted from the ground around them, forming up around her with each motion she made with her hands, and with a thrust of her palms, the water soared along a single trail towards the figure. But she missed. Or rather, he dodged; he ducked down and rolled out of the way, before raising the item in his hand. An orange flash of light erupted from the tip, and suddenly blood exploded from Serena's shoulder, splashing through the back and to the ground around her. Whatever had hit her had been so fast the eye could not follow it -not even Luke's keen eyes, but it did the trick; Serena screamed in a mix of pain in surprise before falling from her hooves and onto her back, clutching her shoulder. "SERENA!!" Katsu hollered, falling to her side to examine her would. He saw red -not the red of her blood, but the read of anger. He growled before shooting to his feet and holding his blades at the ready, his eyes fixed on the hooded figure. "Those swords of yours will not stop my bullet, stranger," the man said plainly, aiming his weapon at Katsu. "Surrender yourselves... or don't. I get paid either way." The way he stood allowed some light into his hood, revealing part of his face, which caught Luke's attention immediately. The blue eyes, nose, ears and hairless face all sparked something in him; not a face he knew, but of a race he did. A human. Luke's eyes widened in shock at first, then slowly his paws clenched so tight they were bleeding, and his eyes showed an intense rage as flashbacks entered his mind again. With a rage induced roar he lashed out, charging at the human with Extreme Speed and aiming to pummel him right across the jaw. "Luke no!" Serena called. The man reacted with surprising switftness; he shot at Luke, but the Lucario felt nothing hit him, and so the man brought up his other arm defensively, catching Luke's fist in his hand -a hand that gripped with much greater strength than any human should have been capable of, unless they were much bigger than this man was. Then, Luke caught a glint of metal coming from the man's wrist, evident that hand was not all it appeared to be. Luke's gaze met the humans'; his expression was much like Kage's, completely without any regard to the one he was looking at, but as they watched each other, the man's one visible eye narrowed with suspicion. "I see a lot of anger in you," he said. "But, not directed at me specifically, I sense." Luke growled in a deep seated rage, quickly winding his other paw back for a Force Palm. "BURN IN HELL!!!" He roared as he lashed out again. The man ducked under Luke's attack, turning about his weapon in his other hand before proceeding to club Luke across the face with the handle, dazing him just before pulling his other arm back and delivering an uppercut to Luke's stomach that utterly emptied his lungs of air, making him feel a hundred pounds heavier as he was launched back several feet. He hit the ground hard, feeling as though he'd been dropped onto the back of a Steelix from thirty feet in the air; he instinctively curled into a fetal position, coughing and gasping for breath. "Such misguided anger will only lead to your death," the man said coldly, before turning his eyes back to Katsu and Kage while Luke lay sprawled out, his lungs screaming for air. Katsu roared out and charged forward with his Aqua Jet, while Kage weaved another sign and disappeared without a trace. The man blocked Katsu's first sword with that unusual left arm of his once more, which rang with a metallic clang as Katsu struck at him, and then blocked the other one with his weapon. "Now there's a more focused warrior," the man remarked. "However, you left yourself too open!" He then kicked Katsu square in the sternum with his steel-toed boot. The anthrofied Samurott grunted and doubled over for a moment, and then he quickly straightened up and backhanded the man with the pommel of his Seamitar. He then sung both his blades and discharges a Water Pulse as the man stumbled back. Not expecting the attack, the man was blown clear off of his feet, drenched and stunned by the Water Pulse; he grunted as he was sent flying back and again as he hit the ground, fighting to clear his head again. But he never made it back to his feet; the stranger received a hard smack to his neck from behind, followed by a low sweep, then his back was nailed with a couple Water Shuriken as he was sent forward. "...You underestimated my colleague..." Kage's voice said in a low tone, spinning his Ninjato in his hand a few times. The stranger caught himself on his hands despite the attacks he'd taken, cart-wheeling and landing back on his feet, glaring at Kage. "And you apparently forgot I'm not alone on this island," the man pointed out. "That explosion caused by the RPG I fired will have been heard by every werewolf within fourteen kilometers, not to mention perhaps a colleague of my own." Kage did flinch for a second, and then he narrowed his eyes and cursed under his breath. Katsu glanced over to Luke, then to Serena, then back at the hooded man, trying to think of a way out of this scenario. "Too late!" The man barked, before suddenly tossing something into the air and shielding his eyes. The object combusted and a seizure-inducing explosion of colours burst from it, blinding and confusing both the Greninja and the Samurott. "GAH!!" Katsu screamed and quickly covered his ears and closed his eyes, thrashing about violently, a loud riging present in his ears. Kage too hollered and shielded his eyes, hopping back a few times instinctively and hiding in the shadows as best he could. The man shot to his feet as the colours subsided, dashing over to Katsu first and punching him in the back, before he whipped around like a viper, kicking Kage hard enough to bruise bone. They both cried out and were sent on their backs, though Katsu was quick to return to his feet thanks to his incredibly durability and tenacity. He shook his head as the ringing subsided, but his vision was still gone for the moment, seeing those colours flashing repeatedly across his gaze, with nothing else clear to him. "Damn you..." He growled. He heard a mechanical click, and the man elevated his weapon towards Katsu again. But just as his finger began to squeeze the trigger, the blinded Katsu heard something very large hitting the ground, followed by the man yelling out in surprise, his weapon discharging, and something whistling past Katsu's ear, but he felt nothing hit him. The next sound he heard was a scrap; two people in a fight on the ground, fists striking bone, and growls or yelps of pain behind heard. "What in the blazes...?" Katsu shook his head a little and tried blinking his eyes open to clear his vision to no avail, oblivious to what was happening.    The fighting dragged on, more of the shots from that strange weapon being heard, but soon, an especially loud impact of bone meeting bone later, and all became quiet for a moment... "Katsu?" Katsu felt relief was over him as he heard the voice of Volcan. "Hey, you alright?" "Volcan!" Katsu said out loud. "I can't see. That man managed to blind both myself and Kage!"           "I figured; I'm over here," Volcan remarked. "Your eyesight will clear up in a couple of minutes, but I have to get you guys away from here; there's a whole swarm of lycans coming this way!" "Lycans?" He asked, still trying to see. "Where's Luke? He was critically wounded from that man after he lashed out!" "I see him," Volcan replied, and then heard footsteps next to him. "I've got Kage; grab my arm!" Katsu felt something touch his shoulder. Katsu instinctively grabbed Volcan's arm. "And Serena! She's wounded too!" He added. "She's okay; the bullet only grazed," Volcan replied. "I'm right here Katsu," he heard Serena's voice. "I'll get Luke; Volcan, can you fly them away from here?" "Yeah, but how the hell do you intend to outrun those Werewolves?" Volcan asked. "There's a river nearby; I'll use that," replied Serena. "Just get those two somewhere safe; Luke and I will be fine!" "Be careful Serena..." Katsu bade to her in a worried tone. "Don't overstress your injury..." "Trust me; the water will take care of that," she said. "Now go! Hurry!" "Better clench up, Katsu," Volcan warned as he pulled Katsu closer to him, feeling the phoenix wrap his arm around his waist and gripping the Samurott firmly with his arm. "One... two... three!" And suddenly, the air rushed around the Samurott as he was lifted off the ground; wingbeats were heard, and he could feel Volcan's arm around his waist, holding him tightly, but his feet found no purchase. Katsu's mind could barely fathom what he suspected was happening at that moment. Was Volcan actually -flying- with the large Samurott AND Kage in tow?! "By the gods!" Katsu cried out as he was suddenly lifted quickly into the air, struggling to fathom what just going on around him, wishing her could see. "I'm...Flying?" "You sure are, now hang on! And if you're going to blow chunks, warn me!" Volcan replied, Katsu feeling the rush of wind caused by the phoenixes' wingbeats ~~~~~ "Luke!" Serena urged the Lucario, trying to get him back on his feet. "Come on; you have to get up! We need to get out of here!" He finally managed to breathe properly, his lungs burning as he finally managed to fill them with air, coughing and slowly rising to his paws and knees. "Guh....damnit...!" He growled. "That man will PAY!!" "Now is not the time!" Serena urged. "Volcan said an army of Lycans are bearing down on us; we need to get out of here!" Luke cursed, then slowly rose to his feet and looked to Serena. "Fine...let's go..." At that moment, numerous forms burst out from the trees; werewolves, like those that had been accompanying Calhoun before, only much more numerous, poured out into the clearing, all of them making a beeline right for Luke and Serena. "Come on; to the river!" Serena urged, grabbing Luke by the arm and pulling him as she sprinted off across the clearing towards a body of water cutting between the two sides of the forest. "Whoa!!" Luke cried out as he was yanked, losing his footing for a moment before he started trotting alongside Serena. "Can they swim?" "Yes," she replied plainly. Luke rolled his eyes. "Great..." He groaned. She smiled at him. "But not as fast as I," she returned. "Take in as much air as you can." He nodded, and then he took a few short breaths before he gulped in a HUGE breath of air; his lungs still hurt from having the oxygen forced out of him by the human's oddly powerful fist before, but he managed to keep it in, nodding a second time to Serena to signal he was ready. Suddenly, she pulled him right against her, wrapping him in her arms before she sprang; his face was almost pressed into her neck, but that was not on his mind as they were suddenly soaring, arcing across empty air before plunging into the cold water of the river. Luke blushed a little as she pulled him in close, though he remained calm even as he felt the cold sting of the river hit him. He exhaled in light, short bursts as they travelled through the water, keeping his eyes closed all the while as well. The water was rushing around him swiftly; he couldn't see without getting water in his eyes, yet he was quite certain by the lack of strain in Serena's movements that they were swimming downstream, outrunning the very current itself; he'd never imagined she'd be so fast in the water! Unable to see, Luke tuned to his Aura Sense as they travelled to get a better idea on what was happening around them. Her powerful tail propelled them with impressive speed; a Werewolf dove into the river in front of her, but she tucked in her head and rammed it with such force it was launched back out of the water again, and she kept going. He did jolt when he felt Serena impact with the werewolf as they travelled, almost exhaling his air in surprise. For a moment, they kept swimming; it wasn't until Serena noticed Luke's discomfort from the lack of air that she surfaced, rising out of the river and swimming over to the shore. With one arm holding Luke and the other to pull them up, she seated him on the bank to let him gather his breath. "I'm sorry about all that, but it was the fastest way to escape the werewolves; they can't follow our scents now." "It's fine..." Luke said as he gasped for air. "That was...well...incredible!" "What was?" She asked, tilting her head curiously. "Well...You." He returned. "I've never met a being that can swim that fast. Not even Katsu or Kage can travel like that through the water." She giggled. "Well, Brent remarked once that I could move like a torpedo through the water," she remarked. "But really, I am an ocean being; many of my people swim as fast as I do, some even faster." "I see... I'll keep that in mind." He returned. "So now what?" "We need to rejoin the others," replied Serena. "We should stay near the river until Volcan finds us. I just hope it is him and not Calhoun that finds us first..." "Agreed. Lead the way, Serena." Luke returned. She took in a deep breath to calm herself, and after letting Luke get back to his feet, they began to walk along the shore of the river, following it towards the coast. Before long they found themselves in the woodlands again, under the cover of trees -at least Calhoun would have a harder time finding them now. But the island was eerie when it was dark... not to mention cold; every passing moment, the night became colder, and it was beginning to get to both of them. They could even see their breath when they exhaled. "Damn it's cold..." He muttered, rubbing his arms to try and keep warm. "How does anyone live here without freezing to death..?" "The people of this land are very adapted to it," replied Serena. "Volcan's own homeland of Canada is like this much of the year as well." "I see." Luke returned, and then he looked to Serena. "You know...I can see why Katsu likes you so much..." Serena blushed. "What... What do you mean?" She asked. "Well...believe it or not, behind that warrior pride, he does have a soft heart...and I think he's drawn to yours." Luke explained. "He doesn't seem to mind your timidness, which is well...kind of weird considering how much of a warmongrel he can be sometimes." She smiled. "I do not see that in him," she stated. "I see much more than a warrior... I see a golden hearted person with the soul full of courage; one who will go to any length for those he cares about. He..." She paused as something rustled further in the trees. It was too dark for them to see who it was, immediately prompting both of them to duck behind a shrubbery as a bright red light illuminated the trees beyond, moving as if on the end of a torch. Luke crouched as low as he could as they entered the shrubbery, peeking out just enough for him to see, but not to give away their position. But to their relief, the one who stepped out from behind the trees was not an enemy; it was Volcan, looking frantically around the woodland -undoubtedly for them, his right hand alight with fire -the source of the glow. "Whew..." Luke sighed, then he poked his head out. "Volcan!" Luke whispered sharply over to him. "Over here!" The phoenix looked over, and immediately ran over to the two. "Thank Aingeal," he muttered as he neared both of them. "You guys okay?" He asked. "We're alright." He returned. "What of Katsumoto and Kage?" "I put them in a cabin I found on the mountain," replied Volcan. "But I couldn't wait for you guys so I came down to look for you." "Can you take us to the cabin?" Luke returned. Volcan nodded. "I'll fly us up there; makes us harder to track," replied the phoenix. "You two look like you could use some warming up anyway." "Yea...it's cold as hell out here..." Luke returned, rubbing his shoulders again. "Come over here," said Volcan, opening up his wings. "I may not look like it, but, I'm practically made of fire, so I'm a living furnace." Luke nodded and walked over closer to him. "I'll take your word for-WHOA." He said as he immediately felt the warmth radiating off of Volcan; with his body so cold he instinctively moved closer to the phoenix, feeling the heat of his friend's body filling him with comforting warmth. "Damn... you weren't kidding." Volcan chuckled, wrapping both Luke and Serena in his wings. "This is my real body, after all," he stated. "I'm an Elemental now, not a Pokémon; I embody the element of fire itself." "I see...well thank you." Luke blushed a little as he felt his body warm up, but the warmth from those plush feathers of his friend was soothing; he even went so far as to admit he felt safe, wrapped in those wings. But, much to his disappointment, the phoenix eventually pulled his wings away. "There'll be more of that when we get to the cabin; unfortunately, a side effect of my heritage is that I also smell of ash," Volcan pointed out. "Makes me a little easy to track on the ground." He wrapped his arms around both of them and held them tightly, opening his wings again and taking to the air, carrying them over the treeline and towards the mountain with barely a warning. Serena was clearly used to this, as she barely reacted, but Luke was not so accustomed to having his feet suddenly leaving the ground and the air rushing around him. "WHOOOAA!!" Luke cried out as he was taken high over the treeline, grabbing Volcan's arm tightly as he stared with horror at the trees shrinking away beneath him. Volcan shushed him gently, reminding him they were in hostile territory. "Relax; I'm not going to drop you," Volcan assured him as they flew. "S-Sorry...just...never flew before." He returned. "It'll be short, I promise." They flew low, staying just above the treeline; it was a wonder Volcan could see where he was going with how dark it was, but there was a big moon in the sky above, so he probably was having an easier time than he would on a cloudier night. Before long, they were flying up the slope of the mountain, and emerged at the top of a ridge to find an old but intact log cabin at the top. Volcan led them up to it, looking back down to the land below to make sure nobody was following them, his eyes glowing brightly as he surveyed that area. That was new; seeing Volcan's eyes glow a bright yellow like that. "You never told me your eyes could glow in the dark." Luke pointed out. "Must make quite the nightlight for you." "Actually, they only do that when I'm using infrared vision, allowing me to spot sources of heat." Volcan correct. "Thankfully I'm not seeing any down there; I think we're clear for now." He blinked, and his eyes returned to normal. With that he turned back to the others. "Let's get inside," he bade. "Let's." Luke returned, turning to the door and opening it slowly to peek inside first before stepping in. "You made it..." Kage said as he turned to see Luke walk in. "That's a relief..." Katsu turned and quickly trotted over to him. "Are you alright?" He asked him. "I'll live..." He said with a sigh. "I'm glad to see you're both alright..." "Your eyes healed?" Serena asked. Katsu looked over and nodded. "More or less." He returned, quickly striding over to her and wrapping her in a gentle embrace. "Thank Arceus you're safe..." He whispered to her. She smiled and returned his embrace. "I'm happy you are as well," she said, stroking his back for a moment before she pulled back from him, her expression souring. "But now we have an even bigger problem... we're trapped right in the middle of a country owned by people who despise us; beings who are evil and relentless... how do we escape Lycanthria?" "Already took care of that," replied Volcan. "See this shack is actually a ranger station; when I got here it still had a working radio. I used it to call Kyle." Serena looked over at Volcan, her ears flicking up. "You got in contact with Kyle?" She asked, hopefully. Volcan nodded. "I did," he replied. "I told him our situation; he's on his way to get us out of here." "Finally some good news..." Katsu said as he stroked Serena's back slowly, glancing to Volcan. "How long until he arrives?" "Unfortunately it's a long way from here to southern Alberta," replied Volcan. "Even flying full-throttle the whole way he'll have to stop to refuel his plane at least once; with that in mind he estimated at least twelve hours. So he won't get here until dawn tomorrow." "Twelve hours..." Kage repeated. "Against forces such as what we experienced today, we'll be hard pressed to defend ourselves..." "We just need to lay low," replied Volcan. "Since we flew up here there's no way their lycans can track us. The only one who might find us here is Calhoun but if we're indoors and keep ourselves covered, he won't be able to see us." "A sound plan." Luke returned, and then he groaned and shook his head. "All that excitement's catching up to me...is there a bed nearby?" Volcan shook his head. "Just the sofa's; ranger station unfortunately doesn't double up as a bunkhouse," replied the phoenix. "Which reminds me." He walked over to a nearby closet, opening the doors and pulling out what appeared to be blankets. He took a moment to beat some of the dust off of them; though they smelled old and stale they were functional at least. "You guys will need these; it gets deathly cold around here at night," he informed as he passed one to each of the others, starting with Luke. He took it and gently wrapped the blanket around himself, snorting a little at the smell but feeling himself starting to warm up as he sat down, keeping the blanket loosely hung around his shoulders. "I guess it will have to do." He said, walking over and taking a seat on the couch. "All of you get some rest," urged Volcan. "I'll keep watch for now." They nodded, each taking a spot on the sofa and bundling up. Katsu though bundled up with Serena, still keeping her against his large form and laying on his back with her on his chest. Volcan seated himself in a lone chair, facing the door by staying close enough to his friends that by keeping his wings open, he could blanket them in some of his warmth. He looked back at the group briefly... Kage, Katsu, and Luke, strangers to his world and now standing right in the middle of enemy territory; enemies who would kill them without an afterthought, and in bodies unfamiliar to them. It was deja vu all over again, but now the roles were reversed; now they were the outlanders and he was the one acting as their guide and protector. Kage seemed to have entered a meditave state as per usual, though to everyone else around him, it looked like he was indeed sleep. Luke was already out like a rock, and Katsu was sharing a small moment with Serena before he shut his eyes, holding her in a protective embrace. Turning back to face the door, Volcan silently made a vow. "I won't let anyone hurt them," he stated, keeping his voice low. "Even if I have to die for them, I won't let Calhoun harm my friends." ~~~~~ Luke slowly awoke; it had not been  long since he had fallen asleep but his restlessness forced him from his slumber. With a yawn and a shake of his head as he woke up, he cast a cursory glance towards te nearest window. "...Still dark out." He muttered as he sat up, then looked around to everyone else sleeping soundly, except for Volcan who was still seated at he had been when Luke had fallen asleep, staring at the door. "You're still awake too huh? Volcan glanced over his shoulder at Luke, chuckling. "Well I wouldn't be much of a guard if I let myself doze off," replied the phoenix, although he was clearly exhausted himself. "Perhaps you should rest...I'll take over." Luke offered, standing up from the couch. "Well, I guess I could use a rest myself, yeah," agreed the phoenix without argument. "Okay..." He stood up from the chair, trading places with Luke. "With your Aura Sense you're better suited for this anyway; I can see heat but I can't see through walls." Luke nodded. "Yea heh." He then stopped and gently placed his paw on Volcan's chest. "I'm sorry things turned out the way they did today." "It's not your fault," said Volcan, speaking softly as he brought up a hand and placed it on Luke's shoulder, squeezing firmly in reassurance. "Fate just seemed to feel like dealing us a curveball by dropping us right in Lycanthria." He sighed. "I'm just glad you got away from Calhoun and Devilshade. Not many people can say they survived an encounter with those two, and for good reason." He gave a wry smile. "If all goes according to plan, we'll be out of here and heading for safety soon, and then it'll be my turn to look after you." Luke nodded, and then gently he embraced Volcan in a friendly manner for a moment, expressing his thanks to the phoenix for his comforting words before he took his spot in Volcan's chair and tuned to his Aura Sense. Volcan sat down on the couch, wrapping himself with his wings and shutting his eyes, falling asleep fairly quickly. The morning was quiet beyond the occasional wolf-howl, but nothing close; nothing was in range of Luke's Aura Sense, so it was safe to say they were alone for the moment. But if that were the case, why did he feel so nervous? He shifted in his seat uncomfortably. Could it be his unfamiliarity of this world that was getting him? Perhaps it was the forces they were up against? Either way, he didn't like it one bit... A couple of hours passed, but the feeling didn't wane. However, his Aura Sense began to pick up something; he detected two life signs coming in range, very near to the shack -not approaching it, but not far from it either. He jolted and kept on the edge of his seat, trying to home in on the signals to get a better picture of whom or what they were. As if his motion was loud, Serena suddenly stirred in Katsu's arms, looking over at Luke curiously. "Everything alright?" She asked. "I'm picking up two signals not too far away...I'm trying to identify what they are." He returned. "Stay quiet, and stay still." Serena looked over at Volcan, reaching over and tapping him. The phoenix awoke, but Serena pinched his beak shut to keep him quiet, whispering the situation to him. Immediately, Volcan was up from the couch, but stepped lightly so he didn't make a sound as he approached the door, peering through its window. "How far away?" He asked Luke. "Not too far...maybe...10 meters." He returned. "Shit," he mutttered as he looked through the window again, wiping away some of the dust with his forearm and squinting his eyes to peer through. "Oh hell; I see them." "Who is it?" Serena asked. "I see three; one's definitely Rovdyr, I think the second is Hayagake, and the third I'm pretty sure is Hakam," replied Volcan. ...Wait, three? "Three?" Luke asked, also looking out the window. "But...I only picked up two signals." But sure enough, there was a third in the group; had Luke missed him somehow? Or was something else amiss? "The hell's going on?" Luke asked. "My Aura Sense is supposed to pick up all lifeforms." "Just lifeforms?" Volcan asked. "Well that explains why you can't see Hakam; he's already dead." Luke almost blurted out in response. "He's dead??" He asked, but quickly lowered his voice. "But...how?? He's right there in front of us!" "Well, the better term is 'Undead', actually; he's a being that exists between life and death," replied Volcan. "He was human once -an Arabic Caliph back in the medieval era, but that was 1,000 years ago; today, he's an undead abomination, completely unkillable and very, very dangerous -perhaps the most of the entire Overlord's roster." Luke shuddered at the thought. "He's among the dead....and yet he lives." He then backed up until he was sitting on the sofa. "The hell are we up against.?" "True faces of evil," replied Volcan, plainly. "We don't stand a chance against Hakam without some way to immobilize him; the bastard can't be destroyed. And with Rovdyr and Hayagake there with him our chances are even..." He paused. "What are they doin' here anyway? None of them are coming towards the shack." Luke returned to the window and watched them, narrowing his eyes in suspicion. "Perhaps they wouldn't think we'd hide out here?" He asked, and then he shook his head "No...that's a stupid thought..." "If only we could hear them," remarked Volcan. But then he looked at Luke. "By the way, whatever you do, try to keep your thoughts under control; that big snake there? He's telepathic; you think too much he'll sense your brainwaves and that'll draw him right to us." "You're kidding..." Luke returned almost hopelessly, glancing to Volcan. "This just got even more dangerous than it needs to be." He remarked, shaking his head with disgust before turning his gaze back to the window. "Believe me, the Overlords are no joke," stated Volcan. "When we're flying away from this island, I'll fill you in on them." His eyes narrowed. "Looks like they're moving out..." The snake, Rovdyr, was the first to depart, slithering off into the forest, with the undead human known as Hakam slashing the air with his sword, a bright red tear seemingly in space itself appearing, which he passed into. The opening closed behind him, leaving just the strange reptile, who mumbled to himself for only a moment before breaking off into a sprint... "Down!" Volcan hissed, pushing Luke downward as the lizard suddenly accelerated, and the windows shattered following a 'FWOOMPH' emitted by an unknown source; the shattering windows immediately woke up Katsu and Kage. In the span of half a second, Kage already in a crouch on the sofa with his hand on his ninjato, eyes surveying the room for danger. Katsu though scrambled somewhat before he landed on his feet and had his own paws on his Seamitars, ready to draw them. "What just happened? Have they found us?" "No, we're good," assured Volcan, waving his hand slightly. "That was just Hayagake taking off at full-speed." "Hayagake..." Kage muttered. "With a name like that, it implies he is incredibly fast." Volcan nodded. "Faster than sound, in fact," replied the phoenix. "He's the weakest of the Overlords in terms of strength and power but by far their fastest member; not even Pavan can catch him when he's at maximum velocity." "Hold it. Faster than sound??" Katsu exclaimed. "That's impossible! Not even Eagle Eye is that fast!" "His full alias is 'Project S Mark 3', more commonly called 'Hayagake' by his cohorts," Volcan explained. "He was genetically engineered to be the fastest living being in the world. Currently, I've never met anyone who can even keep up with him, let alone outrun him." "Fascinating..." Kage muttered, standing tall and crossing his arms in thought. "However, you did mention he is the weakest of the group. If speed is all he has going for him, then I don't have much concern for him." "Like I said, I'll fill you in when we have a better time," said Volcan. Almost as if on cue, the group heard a static noise coming from the adjacent room. "Air-rescue to Volcan; you there, buddy?" Volcan was on his feet in a flash, running into the next room and kneeling by a small radio, picking up the microphone and speaking into it. "Go ahead Air Rescue." "You made it through the night; great job, Volc! I'm just about to the island; you guys ready for a rescue, over?" The voice on the other end asked. "You're damn right, Kyle," said Volcan. "What's your ETA?" "I'm just ten minutes from their airspace, approaching from the south-east," the voice replied. "I've got to put it down in the water though; can you guys make it to the coast, over?" "That's a stretch, but we can try," replied Volcan. "You just make sure that plane is ready to go soon as we jump on board, over." "Roger that; see you in a few... be careful Volc; we just got you back, don't want to lose you now." "Don't plan on it, Kyle; over and out." And with that, he returned the microphone to its previous position. "I love that Los Angeles man," he muttered, before he stood up and turn to the group, a serious look on his face. "Time to go." Luke looked over to Volcan, then to the rest of his team. They nodded to him in response, then Luke turned and nodded to Volcan. "Lead the way." "Okay, we're going to have to be quick," said Volcan. "But, with the Overlords looking for us, I can't risk flying; Calhoun would be able to spot me effortlessly and he'll be just as fast as me -faster if I'm carrying all of you. Plus, by now I have no doubt their best tracker, Vadim, is out there too; we keep moving, we don't stop, and when that plane lands, you guys get on without delay no matter what happens. Got it?" "Got it." Luke returned. Both Katsu and Kage nodded together as well to show they understood. "Now, let's go!" Volcan urged, heading for the door. Serena was up just as quickly, and as soon as it opened, she was off in a run right alongside him. "Follow the rising sun!" Serena reminded, recalling that Kyle said the eastern coast of the island, so without a compass handy, the rising sun was their best guide. The three Pokémon stayed as close to Serena and Volcan as they could. Kage travelled on foot as opposed to leaping from tree to tree as he normally did, while Luke and Katsu held up the rear, occasionally glancing back to see if they were being tailed as they made their break. Their trek through the woods was smooth. But it was when they were out of the woods they had to worry; they were now on open ground with no cover, a few kilometers from the island shoreline where Kyle would meet them. All the while, neither Volcan nor Serena slowed down, but the hippocampus in particular wasn't looking so good at the moment... Katsu noticed this and sped up a little so he was running at her side. "Serena, is something the matter?" He asked, looking over to her as he caught up to her. "Nothing... I'm fine," she replied, but was clearly lying; she looked flushed. Volcan glanced over. "Crap, she's dehydrated," he stated. "She's been away from water too long." Katsu growled a little, and then he sped up and was now in front of her. "Hop on. I'll carry you." He returned, glancing back to her. "And I will not take no for answer..." She reluctantly agreed, and, the group stopping just briefly, she climbed onto his back, before all of them resumed their trek, picking up the pace. "Stupid of me," growled Volcan. "I should've remembered Serena dehydrates three times quicker than anyone else does." "Is there any way we can find some source of water to help her?" Katsu asked. "I understand we are in haste, but she can't suffer like this..." "We're almost to the coastline," replied Volcan. "Salt or fresh water; doesn't matter. She just needs to hydrate her body." "Then we must hurry." Katsu urged, picking up the pace some more. "Take it easy Katsumoto." Luke said to him. "You'll burn up your stamina if you keep-" "I do not care!" He snapped back at Luke, quickly silencing the Lucario. But then, their worst fear happened; as the group ran on, a blood-curdling howl split the air; Volcan and Luke looked back over their shoulders to see a... a human, running on both his hands and feet alike like a quadrupedal beast, gaining on them, but he wasn't alone; six werewolves were likewise following him, all of them running on all fours as they erupted from the forest in hot pursuit. "Fuck! He found us!" Volcan exclaimed. "All of you; full speed, move! I'll try to slow them down!" With that, Volcan flared open his wings and took to the air, flying about in a circle as fireballs formed in his hands, which he lobbed towards the werewolves, bombarding them with flames as they chased. "You heard him! Full throttle!" Luke ordered, then he took off like a rocket. Katsu was quick to follow suit, speeding forward with Aqua Jet, while Kage also followed suit with Aqua Jet as well, increasing his momentum even further and travelling alongside Katsu. "Vadim..." Serena stated, recognizing the human instantly as she looked back. "He'll have warned the other Overlords... they'll be on us soon." "Then we must hurry...The coast line can't be too far off..." Katsu returned between breaths. As they passed over the next rise, they saw sandy beaches up ahead; they had finally reached the ocean, a vast body of blue expanding out before them as far as the eye could see. A few small islands were visible off of the shore, one in particular that was linked to the main island by a long, narrow piece of land. But the ground out there was vastly wide open, and with danger imminently approaching, they would need somewhere defensible to hold their ground... the linked island caught Luke's attention; with such a narrow approach, it'd be perfect for bottlenecking their pursuers. "To that peninsula!!" Luke shouted then he veered toward the narrow stretch of land. Kage and Katsu glanced over to said landmark and veered toward it as well. Once they were on the narrow path, Kage reached into his satchel and pulled out some Caltrops, then he leapt into teh air and exhaled a Smokescreen at his pursuers. He landed and scattered the Caltrops at his landing spot, then turned back and dashed after the others. Volcan flew over the smoke, letting the werewolves recklessly run into it; pained yelps and a surprised man cursing in an unknown language soon followed, said man emerging from the smoke hopping on one foot before he pulled a caltrop from his other boot, throwing it aside and glaring after them with bared teeth. He was close enough Luke and the others could see it; this man did not have the traits of a human up close; his eyes were yellow and canine-like, while his teeth... he had a mouthful of fangs, also canine-like; this 'human' was clearly not as human as he appeared... Regardless of those features, Luke still bared his fangs angrily at the human, his paws clenching tight and shaking as he stared the adversary down. Katsu gently set Serena down next to the water and ushered her to dive in before he turned and drew his Seamitars. Kage also drew his Ninjato in one hand and held a handful of Kunai in the other. Volcan landed next to Luke, grabbing him by the shoulders. "Keep it together, Luke; you don't want to mess with this guy!" He warned. "He fights dirty and he's as underhanded as they get. Furthermore, I don't know if you're immune to Lycanthropy or not; he bites or scratches you, you could end up becoming a Werewolf too." "I won't ever give him the chance..." Luke growled angrilly, shrugging Volcan's hands off his shoulders and tensing his body further. This time, Volcan looked ready to punch him. "Don't let your anger towards humans ruin your focus!" He scolded. "You give this guy any opening at all and you're dead, got it?!" He pointed towards the island. "Focus on getting your team out of here; I'll handle this." He turned back towards the oncoming onslaught of lycans as they shrugged off Kage's caltrop trick and resumed their pursuit, charging towards them with their muzzles dripping with hunger for flesh. "Tsh....fine." Luke agreed...though VERY reluctantly. He forced himself to calm down and turned toward the island. "Keep going!" He said before breaking off into a sprint, with his teammates following close behind. The werewolves were bearing down on Volcan as he stood in their way, his eyes glowing and his body ablaze. The closest one leapt at him, maw open to bite... WHAM! The sound of Volcan's fist hitting bone actually made Luke look back to see what happened, and see the lycan that had pounced towards Volcan FLYING through the air, cartwheeling almost comically before it hit the ground nearly thirty feet away; the second one leapt at the phoenix, only for him to catch it by the throat, swing it around and use like a baseball bat to smack away the third, and then throw it towards the fourth. His strength... was ridiculous. As he punched the fifth werewolf with an uppercut, this one flew easily twenty feet upward before falling back down, nearly landing on Vadim, but the sub-human ducked out of the way just in time, and the sixth suffered a fireball right to the face, lighting its fur on fire and sending it flailing, desperately trying to put out the fire. "Get him Volcan...." Luke muttered softly before he turned his head forward again and kept moving, putting his faith into his friend. Vadim was the only one left, charging in to attack the phoenix. Volcan readied himself as the sub-human brandished two knives, and the two began to trade blows, scrapping with one another for a moment before Volcan successfully landed a punch on him, knocking him back. "You weren't able to beat me before, Vadim; you don't stand a chance wearing that fake body," Volcan taunted. "Why don't you ditch the disguise and show us all what you really are, you freak?!" "Idiot Canadian; I don't need to change to kill you!" Vadim retorted before he moved to attack again. The rest of the group was now at the island while Volcan fought to buy them time; with Katsu's help, Serena managed to get into the water, finally able to rehydrate herself. In less than a minute, she already looked refreshed, and stood on her own quite easily. "That's better," she said, and looked at Katsu. "Thank you." "It was my pleasure. I'm thankful you're alright." He returned. "What is the plan now?" "Now we have to wait for Kyle," she replied. "It should not be long..." But then, a rift opened across the water; not one like the spacial rend that had brought them here, but rather the same kind of crimson portal Hakam had stepped into when they had seen him at the cabin. This one, though, was much larger... and something other than the dead man was coming out of it. Maulers, the demons that Luke and the others had fought prior to coming to this world, and worst of all they were led by Calhoun and one other he didn't recognize; a tall creature dressed in a long coat and pants. A long tail slowly swayed behind him and he had a piercing gaze in his eyes as he leered at the four ahead of him. In his left hand was a katana, sheathed in a brown scabbard and had gold and black markins along the hilt. Luke and the others turned toward the portal and held their weapons at the ready, Luke even materializing his bone staff and holding at his side. "That's a new face." He said softly as he gazed at the new figure. Volcan knocked down Vadim once more, but as before the man was getting back up, only for Calhoun to grab him by the shoulder and stop him; Vadim looked back at him angrily, but calmed when he saw who it was. "Calhoun? Lord Sash?" He asked. "You're out of your league against him, Vadim," stated Calhoun. "Nyet! I can kill him!" Vadim assured. "No, you can't... and you're not going to," Calhoun returned sternly. "That honor is mine, not yours." "...Da; forgive me, Calhoun," Vadim returned, stepping aside. Volcan was already back in the air, crossing over to the island to rejoin the others... he looked afraid, on the verge of panic, even, at the mere sight of the stranger. Serena also looked terrified by the sight of him, her eyes wide and body shaking. "No... not him!" "We're in trouble," Volcan said. Kage kept his stoic gaze, though Luke glanced over to see even Volcan shaken up by this newcomer. He glanced back toward the creature and narrowed his eyes. "If even Volcan is frightened. then this adversary must be powerful... Stay on your toes!" He said to his teammates. "Dammit, where is Kyle?!" Volcan demanded. "Sash, Calhoun, an army of Maulers and..." Almost as if to pour salt on the wound, another rift opened, and two dozen armoured figures marched out; some of them were human, others were anthro's, but were all masked, making them hard to identify, and each one carried firearms of various types. "Mercenaries," Volcan groaned. But the hired guns weren't alone either; they were followed shortly after by this hulking behemoth of a monster with a completely red body, carrying a spiked club in its right hand. But what stood out most about this beast was its head; the entirity of its head was engulfed in green fire, and what little of its face that could be seen appeared almost skeletal and primate in appearance, the eyes and inside of its mouth not visible through the fire. "And a Chaos Troll... FUCK!" Volcan cursed. "What in Arceus' name IS that monstrosity??" Katsu demanded when his eyes were set on the troll. "Focus..." Kage said sternly to Katsu. "It's a Chaos Troll," said Serena. "Another creature from the realm of Destruction, just like the Maulers... a Major Demon, just as powerful as a Salamander -perhaps moreso as they are far stronger and more resilient." "Any noteable weaknesses...?" Kage asked her. "None," she replied. "They are juggernauts; the only way to stop them is to overpower them." "They are clumsy though," said Volcan. "And with that hulking form I doubt they can swim too well... Serena, if it comes out here, can you knock it into the water?" "I'll do it," she promised. Meanwhile, across the way, Calhoun glanced over at Sash. "Told you I wasn't exaggerating; Volcan has some strange new friends with him," he stated, referring to the three newcomers. "Asya's no doubt going to want to know where these guys came from, so try not to eviscerate them, a'ight?" Sash scoffed and clicked his blade free from its scabbard. "...No promises..." He said in a cold, low tone. Calhoun chuckled. "Suit yourself," he said with a grin before stepping forward. "Hey, Volcan!" He called, catching the attention of the phoenix. "What?!" Volcan called back across the peninsula. "I've got a proposal for you!" Calhoun began. "Those new friends of yours are intriguing to me. I'll tell you what; you let us keep them, and I promise them the best of care; I'll let Serena go, and we'll just keep you and them!" "Like I believe that!" Volcan bellowed. "You must think me some kind of moron!" "Well, either way, Volcan... your friends aren't leaving this island alive," Calhoun taunted. Vadim eyed Calhoun curiously. "Did you actually believe he'd surrender them?" He asked curiously. "Of course not," Calhoun returned non-chalantly as he opened his wings. "But it pissed him off... that's all I needed... I'll be right back." As Calhoun took to the air, Vadim and Sash both quickly noticed that Volcan's body was ablaze again, this time with fury. The phoenix was absolutely fuming with anger, powerful heat radiating from him, enough to make the others around him sweat, after Calhoun's taunt set in. The black phoenix had actually turned Volcan's protective side to his advantage by making him imagine what would happen to Luke and the others, and was about to go rushing headlong into what could have only been a trap... Kage saw through Calhouns taunt and looked back to Volcan. "Calm yourself! He's playing you right into his hands!" Then he twitched and quickly swung his ninjato around. The sound of swords clashing was heard and the Greninja was now staring right into the cold, murderous eyes of Sash, who had closed the gap between them in a blink of an eye. "Impressive reflexes..." The sergal said softly. "This might actually be fun." Katsu roared and swung his blades full force down at Sash from behind...only for him to hit nothing but air as his opponent was once again gone in the blink of an eye. "What??" He demanded. "Sash is quick; keep your guard up!" Volcan warned. "HAHA!" Calhoun barked out a laugh as he came soaring at Volcan while he was distracted, carrying him into the air and away from any backup he could get from Luke and the others. "Look out for yourself, idiot!" Calhoun yelled in Volcan's face as he delivered the first punch. Meanwhile, Vadim decided to give the order. "Maulers, advance!" He called, sending the demonic footsoldiers crossing the narrow bridge of land towards the island, with only Luke, Serena and Katsu to stand in their way while Kage dealt with Sash and Volcan fought Calhoun in the air. Luke tensed up and let out a roar, a blue flame exploding around him as he entered his stage one Aura Release state. "BRING IT!!" He roared, twirling his staff in his paws before he charged forward at impossible speed, smacking the first mauler in his sights and sending it flying into the ocean. Katsu roared and reared his blades back, then discharged several Water Pulse attacks to assist Luke as he beat down the enemy forces. Serena raised her hands, and made a sweeping motion with them, a small tsunami of water forming from the ocean and rushing across the landmass, taking eight Maulers with it; she repeated, and sent another six in from the other direction. The Maulers, though capable of swimming, were in no position to try and get back into the fight as she moved her hands in a circular motion, forming whirlpools underneath them that eventually sucked them below the surface. Up above, Volcan and Calhoun clashed in a tangle of limbs, fighting for control as several times, they tumbled back towards land, only to break off at the last minute and return to the sky, where they resumed their clash. Calhoun and Volcan locked gazes as they grappled in the air. "I don't know where those new pals of yours came from, but I'm going to enjoy watching Hakam dissect them for us!" "Over my dead body!" Volcan retorted, before he punched Calhoun across the face, and the two went into a spiralling dive towards land again, colliding with a hillside in a burst of dust. Meanwhile, more sounds of metal clashing metal was heard as Kage and Sash continued their duel. The Greninja, despite having quite a disadvantage, was managing to keep up with Sash's incredible speed. This further impressed the Immortal Dark Knight as they entered another stalemate, both of them leering intently into each other's eyes. "Credit where it's due; you've impressed me... Very few can keep up with me in a fight." Kage narrowed his eyes further. "I am always full of surprises..." He said in a toneless voice, then he quickly lashed out with his tongue, landing a glancing blow on the Sergal's cheek, which forced him back a bit. Sash rubbed his cheek then he charged in, slashing instantaneously with his blade. Kage made no move to dodge, as Sash's sword went through him, but no blood was spilled, nor was there any wound present on his body. Sash's eyes widened a little as he passed through Kage, then he quickly turned and skidded to a halt, narrowing his eyes further. He then weaved a sign and discharged some Hinotamas from his hand, to which Kage responded by weaving a sign of his own and discharged several Water Pulses at the fireballs, each of them exploding in a mix of smoke and steam. From within the smoke, Kage and Sash continued their duel, now relying solely on their other senses, as their sight was hampered by the steam around them. The Maulers continued their reckless charge, easily warded off by the combined strength of just Serena and Katsu, while Luke knocked down any strays, but their numbers seemed limitless; unlike the portal the mercenaries and Chaos Troll had come through, the one with the maulers had not shut, and was still producing more Maulers. "Damnit! There's no end to these things!!" Luke roared as he smacked another into the ocean, then looked on at the approaching numbers and panted slightly. "At this rate..." "Just hold on a little longer!" Serena called. Volcan and Calhoun suddenly came soaring into view again, but this time Calhoun had the upper hand, swinging about and hurling Volcan towards the island; the phoenix hit the ground hard, leaving a deep indent in the ground where he landed just behind Luke and the others, looking battered. Luke glanced back and saw Volcan on the ground all beaten and battered. He bared his fangs and scoffed. "Screw it!" He growled, then he faced toward the oncoming army and touched his Lucarionite. With a macabre flast of light and the explosion of an crystal like sphere, Luke had transformed into his Mega form. He tensed his body and roared even louder, his blue flame quickly changing to a violently burning red aura, then he held his paws over his head and began charging up his last resort. Calhoun was flying over the battlefield, and saw what Luke was doing. He grinned, and ordered his army to a stop and to back up, before he landed at the front, his staff appearing in his hand as he began to storm towards Luke. Serena immediately seemed to recognize the danger, and looked at Luke. "No, wait!" She cried. "Luke don't!" But too late... "AURA STORM!!!!" Luke roared and discharged a huge blue beam of energy at Calhoun, pouring all of his reserves into his attack, aiming to take Calhoun AND the army behind him out in one fell swoop. Nothing could prepare him for what happened next. Calhoun held his staff forward, and Luke's attack seemed to be devoured by it; before even reaching him, it suddenly shrank down, flowing into the ring of the staff as if entering some kind of portal, the entire Aura Storm taken by that weapon, and doing absolutely no damage to the phoenix himself. When the light of the blast cleared, Luke saw Calhoun's staff glowing with his own Aura attack... He had just absorbed Luke's attack into his weapon... Luke's jaw fell agape, his eyes so wide with horror that they looked as though they could drop out of their sockets as he stared in disbelief at the dark avian. "What the HELL??" Luke hollered, lowering his arms. "That... he just absorbed my most powerful attack!" "Aw, hurt your feelings?" Calhoun asked, before he reared back his staff. "Hey Sash; might want to move!" He warned the sergal of what he was about to do. Sash looked back toward Calhoun, seeing his staff reared back. He glanced back to Kage and allowed a small smirk before he seemingly vanished into thin air. Kage flinched, expecting an attack from the sergal, but then glanced over and saw Calhoun poised to launch an attack to Luke. "No!" He muttered, and then quickly started bounding over to his leader. "GET OUT OF THE WAY LUKE!" "Have your attack BACK!" Calhoun hollered before swinging the weapon forward, stopping mid-swing and sending Luke's own Aura Storm back towards him. Luke felt a pair of hands seize him; Serena grabbed Katsumoto and sprang towards the water with him in toe as Luke was suddenly pulled into the sky. Kage, thankfully, was still ghost type thanks to the successful Lick he'd landed on Sash before; the Aura Storm, still counting as a Fighting-Type move like Aura Sphere, passed around him harmlessly. The Aura Storm kept going out to sea, striking another island a short distance away, which resulted in its demise. The blast was so powerful it utterly destroyed the island upon contact. Luke looked back in complete shock at what just happened, and then he turned to look toward Calhoun, a look of genuine despair on his face. He had discharged his last resort, and Calhoun effortlessly absorbed it and turned his own attack against him. "What kind of being is this...?" He said with a quiver in his tone. "Is he...a God?" "No,he's not," returned the exhausted Volcan as he dropped back down to land, placing Luke on the ground. "But that staff of his... it's one of the deadliest weapons ever conceived... and you just saw why; it can consume energy of any kind, and allows Calhoun to turn it back on its user." Serena and Katsu emerged from the water seconds later, the hippocampus looking at Katsu, ensuring he was okay before she spotted Kage. "Are you alright?!" She called to him. He nodded back to them. "No damage suff-ERK!!" He tensed up and flinched as the sound of a blade piercing flesh was heard, then he slowly looked down and saw a sword had run him through, coated with dark magic. He turned back and saw Sash behind him, a calm, yet murderous look in his eyes. "Im....possible." Sash quickly withdrew his blade and swung it to the side, flinging the blood off his sword before he sheathed it slowly. With a click, Kage had fallen, curled up and grasping his wound tight in his webbed hands. "Careless..." He stated coldly as he turned and looked at Kage. "Be grateful I avoided any vital organs, Mortal..." Volcan looked back at Sash, his eyes wide with horror as he saw Kage was down. With Sash behind them and Calhoun approaching with an army of Maulers, they were in trouble. "This isn't good..." He said. Calhoun grinned as he neared the group, but paused as a sound filled the air, glancing around for its source. It became louder progressively, and finally he located it; he spun around, facing to the south, seeing a huge plane coming towards them, engines on both wings roaring as it soared towards them. Volcan's terrified expression turned to glee. "Finally," he said. The airplane circled around, slots opening up on the nose of the plane as it angled towards the peninsula. "Shit!" Calhoun barked, taking to the air to avoid the oncoming attack. "Get down!" Volcan urged, prompting Luke to duck for cover. The guns began firing in rapid succession; each shot was loud, evidence to very large caliber ammunition, which tore through the horde of Maulers by scores as the plane shot into the crowd; so closely packed together, they could not get out of the way, discolored blood spraying everywhere as at least two dozen of the Maulers were wiped out by the spray of bullets. "Haha, yeah!" Volcan barked as the plane pulled up again, beginning to angle back for a landing. "I LOVE that Los Angeles man!" "Geronimo!!" A voice bellowed from above, making the group look up to see a figure dropping towards the Chaos Troll like a bomb, evidently having leapt out of the plane and landing on the Chaos Troll with both fists leading; the following pillar of dust from impact eliminated both from sight, rocks spraying out into the water as the unknown figure pile-drove the behemoth. "What in the??" Luke hollered. "Only one guy in the world who'd jump out of a moving plane like that," said Volcan. Suddenly, he looked back over his shoulder, noticing Sash was distracted by the very sudden and unexpected spectacle. "HA!" He launched a Firebomb at the sergal, catching him off guard, but not too much for him to evade it. However, the explosion that emitted from the bomb was enough to send Sash spiralling through the air, landing in the water. "He's mine!" Katsu roared, then dove into the water and sped toward Sash at breakneck speeds. He grabbed at Sash's leg and dragged him under the water, leaving only bubbles popping at his location. Then, as the dust cleared, Luke and Volcan saw this hulking figure standing on top of the downed Chaos Trolls; the creature's head-fire had gone out, and its body was bent very awkwardly, broken by the impact of the massive, scaled anthro standing triumphantly on its carcass. This figure, which Luke recognized as a dragon, was HUGE. Easily dwarfing Volcan in height and bulk alike, with a body covered in midnight blue scales that weren't very shiny, but clearly quite dense. He wore only a pair of pants, no shirt, leaving his massive upper body completely visible. "Behold the king!" The dragon bellowed, flexing his muscles. "The king of kings!" "Yep... it's Tristan," said Volcan. "He's...even bigger than even you!" Luke stated, and then he glanced over to Kage and quickly ran to his side. "Damnit; he's bleeding out!" Luke growled, quickly taking off his scarf and wrapping it around Kage's middle to help create tension over the wound. But Volcan stopped him. "I got this," he said, kneeling over Kage with his eyes fixed on the wound. As Luke watched, Volcan's eyes began to tear up, as if crying over Kage's death, but the Greninja was still alive, so why... Drip. One tear fell onto Kage's wound... and Luke could have sworn he saw it starting to heal... Luke's eyes widened in shock as he saw Kage's wound healing up by itself. "What in the...  what'd you do?" He asked Volcan More tears dripped from Volcan's eyes, each one sealing up the wound further. "The tears of a phoenix have healing properties," replied Volcan. "I usually keep a flask of them but, with a little precise muscle control I can force them up when the need arises." Luke's attention was drawn as he heard gunshots; he looked back towards the fight to see Tristan battling the mercenaries... with the fight rather one sided. They emptied their guns at him, but the bullets were pinging off of his scales as if they were made of rubber, the dragon taking his time to storm up to them before he punched the one nearest, sending him flying; another one charged closer to him, putting their shotgun right in his face and shooting point-blank into his forehead. Tristan's head snapped back, but he lowered it back down, grinning widely before he snatched the shotgun from the mercenary, taking it in both hands, and chomping it in two with his teeth, before grinning at the mercenary toothily, his mouth full of metal fragments lodged between his teeth. The mercenary fainted. Just outright fell flat on his back, unconscious. Tristan laughed as the other mercenaries started running away in terror. "Ain't nobody to give me a challenge?!" "How about me?!" Calhoun roared suddenly as he dive-bombed Tristan from behind, sending him face-planting into the dirt. "Oh, cheap shot!" Tristan protested as he leapt back to his feet, turning to face Calhoun and chuckling. "Hehe... I've heard of shadowboxing, but boxing with Volcan's shadow? Now I've seen everything." "Sha-Shadow?!" Calhoun repeated, eye twitching with rage. "When I'm done with you there'll only be a scorch mark left!" He lunged forward, and the two entered a brawl. Vadim scoffed, and turned his attention towards Volcan and Luke. "Want something done, do it yourself," he said, but paused in his advance as he heard the plane from before having already circled around touched down in the water, creating plumes as it skimmed over the surface towards the island. "Chush' sobach'ya!" Luke glanced over to the plane as it landed on the water. "That's our ride out of here I assume?" He asked Volcan, helping Kage to his feet once his wound was completely sealed up. "That would be it," said Volcan, and then looked over to Serena. "Get Katsu; we're leaving!" "Okay!" She replied, before diving under to go look for Katsu. "Oh no you're not!" Vadim called. "Charge!' The surviving Maulers, and those Mercenaries who had not fled from Tristan, charged across the peninsula, heading for the group. "Get to the plane; I'll hold them off!" Volcan urged Luke, picking up Kage and passing him to the Lucario carefully before he ignited his fists again, hurling fireballs at the charging Maulers. Luke nodded and took Kage in his arms before he shouldered him and made a mad dash toward the shoreline, preparing to make a leap into the water if he had to.  Under the surface of the water, Serena found Katsu still battling with Sash, though the Sergal managed to send Katsu back with enough force to launch him out of the water and back on terra firma again. Sash soon followed and surfaced, leaping out of the water and landing before the Samurott. Both of them stood with their sword poised to strike at any given moment. But Serena was quicker; bellowing out in defiance she launched herself out of the water and double-kicked Sash HARD, sending him soaring through the air in a horizontal direction. He grunted as he soared through the air, skidding along the dirt and leaving behind a trail of dust in his wake. Katsu turned to Serena and nodded in approval. "Good strike!" "Come on; the plane is here!" She urged. "We need to leave, now!" She was right; the plane had pulled up as close to the island as it could. Luke was at the shore with Kage in two, with Volcan fighting the incoming horde of Maulers, and Tristan battling with Calhoun across the way, the two of them colliding with great force. Some of the Maulers slipped past Volcan, though. Luke didn't see them coming, but as the door to the plane opened, he saw a human stepping into view; time seemed to slow as he saw a dark-skinned man standing in the doorway of the plane, armed with another of those firearms, and raising it in Luke's direction... he was going to shoot him! Or not. The gun fired, but Luke felt nothing. However, he did hear a Mauler cry out in pain behind him, and looked back to see several of the ones that had snuck around Volcan were going right for him. More shots from the man's rifle downed them, giving Luke some cover fire. "Pardon me!" Another voice called, and the man stepped aside as a pale-feathered avian charged out, thrusting his hand towards the floor; a stream of snow and ice erupted from his palm, rapidly solidifying and forming out from the plane before reaching the island at Luke's feet, creating a boarding ramp. Vadim, who was now near Volcan, was looking past the phoenix with a scowl. "Ah derrmo!!!" He cursed. Volcan turned towards the plane, and he smiled gleefully. "Vinge!" He exclaimed. "And Kyle!" "And this one makes three," Kyle remarked as he stepped aside for another to step out of the plane. A second human, this one garbed in a long black coat with white lightning around the tail. His pants were black as well with a few tears in them. His torso was bare under his coat, showing off his physique even more, and on his back rested a huge single edged sword. He smirked and saluted at Volcan and the others. "Seems you stirred quite the hornet's nest Volcan!" He called out. "Don't I always, Minato?" Volcan called. "Mind lending a hand and keep Sash off of us while Vinge and I deal with these Maulers?" "Do you even need to ask?" He called before he crouched low and took off toward the army of demons, using his Ki to amplify his speed as he soared over Volcan and the others. He then shot down to the ground and slammed his fist into the dirt, creating a HUGE shockwave that sent any unfortunate foe around him flying in all directions. Luke gawked back at what he just saw. "That human....can use Aura?" He muttered, then his face contorted to another look of anger as he watched the man beat down the enemy forces with precise, yet powerful strikes. Vinge charged over to help Volcan, slashing at the first Mauler that came in reach of his sword; a strange looking blade, covering in blue runes. Volcan, however, was still left with just fists and flames, punching and burning every Mauler that came near him. "Volc needs a weapon," said Kyle, shouldering his gun and running across to the other end of the plane, before he came back out, and held out a sword in a scabbard to Luke. "I'll take your friend; you gotta get this over to Volc, pronto! It's his." Luke looked at the sword for a second, then back at the human and scowled. "Give me on reason why I should trust the likes of you..." he growled. Kyle gawked at him, rolling his eyes in disbelief. "You bein' serious with me right now?! You got me in front of you and a hundred demons at your back; this don't seem like a hard decision to me!" He stated in a very commanding tone. Luke didn't flinch at his response, supressing a sneer as took the sword out of Kyle's hand, letting him take Kage into the plane. With that, he turned back and ran back toward the island. "Volcan!" He called, and then tossed the sword over to the phoenix with all his might. Volcan looked back and saw the sword dropping towards him, and grinned widely before he caught it in his left hand, grasping the handle and drawing the blade forth with his right, revealing a bronze-hued sword that seemed to burn with its own aura, made entirely of a light but visible fire that coated every inch of the blade, from the scabbard and held it with a diabolical look on his face. "Thanks Luke!" He called, before turning back to the Maulers, gripping the sword tightly. "You guys are fucked now!" He called before he slashed the first Mauler clean in half, the two pieces of the demon cauterize upon contact with the sword, not even leaving any blood as the blade seemed to literally burn its way through the target -while- cutting; the phoenix went on to display expert swordsmanship as he moved and slashed every Mauler that came at him; on the narrow path, only four Maulers could come at a time, but with him and Vinge blocking their way, and Minato currently fighting off Sash, there was nothing that would stop them from getting away. Kyle carried Kage over to a bunk bed, carefully laying him down on it, and checking him. "See Volc's been here... alright then," he said before running back over to the door. "Air rescue now boardin' so get your asses movin'!" He called before he ducked back inside, running up towards the cockpit of the plane, taking a seat in the pilot's chair and revving the engines. "Oh, there's my ride!" Tristan remarked as he grabbed Calhoun by the arm. "Been fun but gotta run!" He said before he punched Calhoun across the face, knocking him clean out, and turned towards the plane. Rather than fly though, he decided to go the long way... by running through the Maulers. "Excuse me; coming through!" He called as he knocked one demon after another aside, charging through their ranks like a bulldozer. Vadim was in the mix as well, turning to see Tristan too little too late before he was backhanded through the air, flying like a ragdoll over the water. "Pardon me, asshole!" "Blyad'!" Vadim screamed before he hit the water. Minato glanced back as Tristan ploughed his way through the demons and Vadim, rolling his eyes and sighing. "Typical brute..." He muttered, and then glanced back to Sash. "Seems our fight is postponed for now..." He said as he jumped back and pulled out a tome from his coat. "Allow me to leave a parting gift for you and the rest of the Overlords..." he said as he flipped open the tome and was surrounded by a ring of light. "Reign over the heavens above! Scorch everything to ashes!!" He changed, and then he slammed the tome into the ground. "BELLATOR!!" He roared, then he was surrounded in an ever increasing flash of light, enough to make Sash jump away and shield his eyes from the light. When the light faded, Sash lowered his eyes and flinched at what he saw. Behind Minato was a HUGE feral dragon, its eyes a deep crimson and its scales as black as the night sky. Minato jumped up on the dragon's head and stood tall as the dragon beat its huge wings and took off into the air. "Sayonara, Sash...Give my regards to Assminik when you next see her..." He said, then when the dragon was high enough into the air, it took a deep breath and exhaled a massive swath of blue flames down at Sash and the army below. Sash growled and used his speed to quickly escape the island before the flames nailed him. "Come on Katsu!" Serena urged the Samurott aboard the plane, and the same to Luke just as Tristan ran past and dove into the plane as well, while Volcan and Vinge slowly backed up towards it, slashing away any demons that came at them. "Think we've delayed enough!" Volcan said. "Agreed; finish it off!" Vinge replied. Volcan took in a deep breath, drawing in as much air as he could, before exhaling a cone of flames from his beak; the flames rushed over the Maulers, lighting them up like torches and causing a pause in their advance. Volcan and Vinge moved back a little more before Vinge created an ice wall to delay any more advances if the flames went out. Volcan skipped across the bridge, followed promptly by Vinge, who with a wave of his hand, broke the bridge and the last anchor holding it to the island; it began to ease forward with the power of its propellors, skimming over the water, creating plumes as it picked up speed. At the front, Kyle angled the plane eastward as it accelerated. "Hey, what about Minato?" He asked. "Don't worry; he'll catch up," Volcan called back. Luke looked out toward the island as they began to steer away, letting out a huge sigh of relief. He started to glow and reverted back to his old self, leaning against a wall and catching his breath as exhaustion kicked in. "That was FAR too close..." Volcan sat at his side. "You're not kidding," he said in agreement. "I thought we were screwed back there..." He looked towards the front. "I owe you one, Kyle." "I'll collect debts later," the man called back over the engine. "Right now, let's get you home; you and Serena have been gone quite a while, and everyone's scared witless about you." "Twenty-two days to be exact," said Vinge. "What happened to you two; where have you been?" "And what the HELL were you doing on Lycanthria?" Tristan added. "Ugh... long story," said Volcan. "I'd rather tell everyone at once... but... twenty-two days? Is that really all it's been?" He looked at Luke. "Looks like Dialga was right; the timelines of our worlds ARE merging." "So it would seem..." Luke returned, sighing once more, then looked back to his teammates. "At least we're free of those maniacs." "Agreed..." Volcan returned. "Oh, how rude of me..." He smiled, and looked up at Vinge and Tristan. "Luke, meet Vinge," he gestured to the white avian, "and Tristan. Up front of course, is Kyle." "Happy to be of help!" Kyle called back, giving a two-fingered salute. "Hello," Vinge replied politely, nodding to the three as he finished cleaning his sword and slid the rune-encrusted blade back into is scabbard.. "Sup?" Tristan added. "Guys, meet Luke, Katsumoto," continued Volcan, gesturing to the Lucario and Samurott respectively, and then pointed to Kage, who was back up, sitting upright in the bunk. "And that's Kage." Katsu lowered his head toward all of them. "It's an honour to meet you all...You have my thanks for rescuing us." Kage said nothing, merely nodding his head toward the group in acknowledgement. "Pleasure..." Luke returned, though he shot a small angry look at Kyle before he turned his gaze away. The sound of huge wingbeats caught his attention and he looked outside. Then he let out a yelp of shock and took a step back. "The HELL is that???" He demanded. Volcan followed where Luke was looking, peering outside and smiling. "That, would be Bellator," said Volcan. "Minato's dragon-friend. And the man on his back is, of course, Minato, our resident, master Chi-fighter." "Room for one more?" Minato called out to them. "Open the door, Tristan!" Kyle called back. "On it, captain!" Tristan returned, heading over to the door. "Hang onto something," Volcan stated, bracing himself as Tristan put his hand on the door handle. Everyone else also held on as Tristan opened the door, a powerful vacuum of air rushing out of the plane and nearly pulling everyone with it but they had anchored themselves down. The open door was brief as the dragon outside flew closer to the plane, where Minato then hopped off of Bellator and turned to the dragon as it slid back behind the plane a little and leaned its head forward to look at him through the open door.. "Thank you, Bellator...Head on home now. I'll be there soon..." He said as he gently rubbed the dragon's snout. Bellator gave a low rumble and huffed in acknowledgment, then backed away and turned to face a different direction, then roared as it flew back to its home. Minato then turned to Volcan and crossed his arms. "You have quite a lot of explaining to do, my friend..." "I know I do," replied Volcan as Tristan shut the plane door again. "You wouldn't believe the adventures Serena and I have been on." "Judging from how long you were missing, I don't doubt it," He returned, then glanced at the three Pokémon with interest. Though when Minato's and Luke's eyes met, he saw Luke's expression sour even more, which in turn led to them staring at one another intently for a while, neither of them saying a word. "...Okay, this just got awkward," Tristan whispered to Vinge. "Indeed," agreed Vinge. Finally Minato broke the silence. "Your eyes tell me a lot about you..." He said softly. "You seem to harbour some kind of grudge toward my kind..." Luke scoffed and clenched his paws tight. "With good reason....." "Perhaps...it's not my place to judge you for it, but know that I am not your enemy." He returned. Luke stared into Minato's eyes hard. While he looked like he was ready to attack at any moment, Luke could also see that this man's gaze was not one of malicious intent, but rather the opposite. His aura seemed to radiate with benevolence. Regardless; Luke turned his back on Minato and walked away, taking a seat on a bunk and crossing his arms. Minato glanced to Volcan for a moment. "Well he's certainly a charming fellow...." "I've never seen him like this," Volcan whispered to Minato. "I don't know why he hates humans... but even when I mentioned Kyle to him the first time, it seemed to upset him, and Serena told me he completely flipped out when he saw Devilshade; I saw the same thing when Vadim was chasing us." "Curious..." Minato returned, then glanced over to the Lucario for a moment. "Well let's not pressure him into giving us his reasons. He'll tell us in his own time." "Agreed... but in the meantime, it might be better if you stay up front with Kyle," suggested the phoenix. "Fair enough." He returned, and then clapped his hand on Volcan's shoulder. "Good to have you back." He said as he walked past him. "Good to be back," agreed the phoenix. Kyle switched the ship to auto-pilot and stood up from his seat, walking back to the hold where the others were. "I'm willing to bet you guys are hungry," he said, and looked at Luke and his party. "And these guys could use some threads. Luckily, I came prepared for both." He walked over to a cabinet, pulling it open and pulling out three camo-patterned uniforms. "Some of my old stuff, but, it should suffice," he said, leaving one next to Luke, to Kage and handing one to Katsu. "As for food..." "Please tell me you have more than just MRE's," Volcan pleaded, interrupting Kyle mid-sentence. "MRE's...?" Katsu queried, unsure of what the term meant. "Meals Ready to Eat," Volcan replied. "Preserved food that can last for years on end and has substantial nutritional value... but tastes like it came out of something really nasty." Kyle laughed. "They're not THAT bad once you get used to 'em. But no, I don't have them," he assured Volcan as he went back over to the cabinet again, pulling out a box full of sandwiches. "I got egg salad, PB and J, ham & cheese, chicken bacon ranch; take your pick." "Ah, fantastic," replied Volcan. "Do you have any water?" Serena asked. "Big cooler of it, right back here," replied Kyle, gesturing beside the cabinet. "Help yourself guys; what's mine is yours." "Which reminds me," said Volcan as he took the box of sandwiches, taking it around for people to pick from. "Kyle, did you and Brent get that computer terminal hooked up?" He gestured to the terminal at the rear of the plane. "Yeah; why? Want to catch up on your email?" Kyle asked. "Want to show Luke and the others stuff about the Overlords," replied Volcan. "Ah. Alright; I'll fire it up for you," replied Kyle, heading back to the front., stopping just behind his seat and tapping a few buttons on a smaller terminal there. The large terminal at the back whirred to life, its screen alighting with blank, white screen, and after a few more button presses, the screen changed to a light blue, with white letters reading 'LOADING...' on the front. "Okay; it's up. You can use the remote on the terminal to control it." "Thanks Kyle." Luke, Katsu and Kage all grabbed a sandwich and gathered around the terminal with Volcan. Katsu took a bite of his, which was a PB and J, and smiled softly. "Delectable..." He muttered and took another bite. "Feels like it's been a week since we've eaten," said Volcan, taking a chicken bacon ranch with just brief reluctance. "I'm bird of prey again; not a chicken." Vinge and Tristan looked at him oddly. "Uh... part of the explanation later." After the group enjoyed their snack, Volcan proceeded to the terminal. "Now... Luke, Katsu, Kage; it's time I showed you more about the Overlords," the phoenix stated. "Bringing up an image of all of them... now." The screen came to life with pictures of ten individuals, most of them they recognized. One was Calhoun, one Sash, then Devilshade, Hakam, Vadim, Rovdyr and then Hayagake. But the other four, a female wolfess, a female wyvern with metal-clad limbs and a male, seven-tailed fox; these were newer to them. And, they got a better look at the images of Hakam, Rovdyr and Hayagake; the first was virtually concealed, his entire body clad in ancient, tattered clothes, including a veil that covered his face; only his eyes were visible, and the sockets around them, revealing that much of his flesh was gone; what held him together was a mystery. The naga, Rovdyr, was the largest of the group, with a body covered in light blue-ish silver scales and black markings all along his back, carrying a staff-weapon with a razor sharp blade, and Hayagake, with the image showing him in the middle of the leap, carrying two compact firearms with stocks and short barrels, a belt of grenades across his chest, and two daggers on his belt. "Here they are," said Volcan. "All ten of them; the Overlords of Lycanthria." "And we fought against only a few of them today..." Katsu muttered. "A fearsome group indeed. Especially the samurai..." He returned, gesturing to the image of Sash. Vinge scoffed. "That bastard is no samurai," he stated. "That's Sash, the half-brother of our friend, Korban, who believes he can resurrect the long gone race known as 'Immortals', of which he and Korban are both heirs of. He's ruthless, cunning and has little regard for others, not to mention, as you saw, he's swift; perhaps the only one faster is Hayagake, but no other is his equal." "I'm not so sure about that. Kage was able to hold his own against this one," Katsu pointed out, glancing to Vinge. "He was?" Vinge asked, clearly impressed. "Well done, then; few who face Sash have ever survived." "Amen to that; even I had trouble with that light footed little loonie," agreed Tristan. "His style was indeed swift... but I adapt quickly to any situation..." Kage returned. "Given enough time to prepare though, I could come up with at least 5 ways to subdue him." "And of course, you met Calhoun," said Volcan. "My... unfortunate doppleganger... His powers are virtually identical to mine, and he carries the Staff of Lucarinai, which you all saw, can absorb any sort of energy attack, even Luke's Aura Storm." "So THAT'S how he did it," Luke muttered. "But to contain all that power..." Katsu added. "It's almost inconceivable. Luke's Aura Storm has enough power to level entire mountain ranges." "I'm afraid that staff remains a mystery to all of us," said Vinge. "It was forged over 5,000 years ago; the only ones who might know its origins and how it was made are long dead." "5,000 years ago???" Luke exclaimed, almost spitting out his sandwich. Volcan nodded. "You remember that tale of the demon Lucarinai I told you about? The staff was forged for him," replied the phoenix. "And Calhoun can use it because...he's an essence of that demon?" Luke asked, thinking back to the story Volcan told him at the daycare in the Pokémon world. "Precisely," replied Volcan. "The staff is empathic; it responds to him, and even if it's destroyed, it can reform overtime; disarm him, he can call it back to his hand from any distance. That armour he wears is the same, but I don't know what the armour does beyond protect his body." He gestured to the next one, Devilshade. "And this man is called 'Devilshade'; otherwise known as North America's deadliest assassin; he's a professional killer with a specialty in defeating superhumanoids like me, Vinge or Tristan. First time I clashed with him he utterly trounced me; he's only human but he has a repertoire of gear that let him handle any situation, including fire extinguisher grenades, rocket launchers, semtex explosives, and his custom-made color-blast flashbang grenades." Luke's paws clenched tight again at the sight of Devilshade, even crushing what was left of his sandwich in his grip. "Let's move on from him." "Okay," said Volcan. "Vadim, you guys saw as well. Don't be fooled; he only looks human, but he's not... not anymore. He gave up his humanity to become a werewolf, willingly. He just keeps his human form because it's more agile. He's an expert spy, specializing in sabotage, espionage and computer hacking; he's not their best fighter but he's no slouch either. Beyond that I don't know anything else about him." He moved onto the next. "Now, Rovdyr, who Luke saw with me at the shack, is their psychic. He's telepathic, telekinetic, and capable of screwing with your mind by combining the two together, and he's a viper, so he also possesses venom and has reflexes like lightning. Back before he joined the Overlords, he was a rapist, assaulting women and men who wandered near his home; if he let any of them go, he'd erase their memories, guaranteeing they would not be able to tell the police where he was. "After he joined the Overlords, he became one of the most dangerous people in the world, especially when he was given a Psionic Amplifier that allowed him to control minds..." He looked at Vinge, and towards the front at Minato. "And used that to turn us on one another. Tristan wasn't with us at the time but Rovdyr turned almost everyone I knew into mindless servants and turned them on me." Vinge hung his head. "Not... a pleasant time," he stated, his eyes furrowing with anger. "I see," Katsu said softly, seeing the anger in Vinge's eyes. "I'm sorry to hear that...truly I am..." "Most of us despise Rovdyr for that," said Volcan. "Korban especially hates him for making him have to fight Tsume... and I hate him for what he did to Kodaku, his sister, who's also on our team as I mentioned before." "A despicable fellow indeed." Katsu returned. "Anyway, do go on." "Right..." He gestured to the raptor. "This one's Hayagake, their fastest speedster. He's fragile in a head-on fight; usually one clean hit can knock him down, assuming you're fast enough to catch him. He fights from a distance using a pair of machine pistols and hand grenades, keeps yapping the whole time too to annoy the hell out of you, and when he needs to get close he's got a pair of Arabic Jambiya daggers, which are damn sharp and quick blades." "What are...pistols and hand grenades...?" Katsu asked, tilting his head in confusion "Kyle, mind if I open your weapons locker for a second?" Volcan called. "Go ahead, but don't fire any of those things in here; you'll punch a hole in the plane!" The human called back. Volcan walked over to a footlocker in the corner, kneeling down and opening it, pulling out three objects. "Now, these are very dangerous items so, don't touch," Volcan instructed as he set the three down on the table. "This one here, you might recognize," he explained, pointing to the first item with a long-length front end, and a cylindrical device in the center; it closely resembled the weapon carried by the human called Devilshade. "This is called a revolver; it's a six-shooter -carries only six bullets, but it's very reliable," the phoenix explained. "Never jams, never fails, highly accurate, and depending on the caliber of the bullets it's loaded with, often very devastating." "The same weapon that man used to injure Serena..." Katsu said with a small growl. "That will never happen again." "Devilshade employs a .44 Magnum revolver, one of the most high-powered handguns in the world," Volcan stated, running his hand over his chest. "Hits you anywhere up here, the temporary cavity it causes will kill you. So if someone is aiming that at you, take cover." He quirked an eyebrow. "On second thought, take cover no matter what kind of gun is aimed at you." "Noted..." Katsu returned, then looked at the other two guns. "These look so... dishonourable. Something no warrior back in our world would never be caught dead with..." "They came around about 500 years ago," Volcan explained. "Gunpowder was never originally used for weapons; it was actually used for fireworks, invented by the Chinese. Unfortunately, human and anthro kind alike have a tendency to turn things into something they were never meant to be, and usually wars are the reason for that." He cleared his throat. "Now, this..." he touched the round object. "This is a hand grenade; this little thing is far more deadly than a gun, as it's packed full of explosive powder. Pull this pin," he pointed to the pin. "5 seconds later, it explodes, its entire casing becoming shrapnel that tears into flesh, and the blast wave powerful enough to collapse organs." "It looks similar to one of my smoke bombs," Kage remarked. "No pin on them though. They explode on contact." "We have stuff like that too, but they're more commonly used by our Law Enforcement," explained Volcan. "Non-lethal equipment used to take criminals into custody; flashbang grenades, concussion bombs, or stingball grenades. They hurt, and can cause some harm, but unless the person they're meant for is lying right next to them when they go off, they won't kill, only incapacitate." He pointed to the last of the three items. "This is another example of a handgun, but this one is different from the revolver; it uses smaller bullets, less powerful, but the trade is it can carry more ammunition. This particular one is capable of carrying fifteen bullets; deciding between the two is really a matter of preference." He picked up the three items, returning them to the locker and closing it. "Very dangerous tools, nonetheless." "Indeed; definitely not something I want to be on the receiving end of..." Luke stated. "Seconded." Katsu added. "Moving on," the phoenix continued. "After Hayagake is, of course, Hakam. Easily one of the most dangerous of the Overlords, if not THE most, not only for the fact that he's dead, but he's also... fucking invincible." "That I find hard to believe; EVERYTHING has a weakness." Luke returned, narrowing his eyes. "Well he has one that can incapacitate him, but that's all," said Volcan. "Even ask Minato; he hit Hakam full-force with everything he had, blew the bastard straight in two; he just fused his two halves back together and got back up again." "Volcan speaks the truth," stated Vinge. "Hakam was the victim of a curse that granted him unlife, but he became so spiteful of the one who cursed him he ended up becoming a Revenant; a vengeful spirit that returns from the dead seeking to destroy whoever has angered them. Until he has his revenge, he's immortal; nothing can kill him. To top it off, he's a sorcerer, an alchemist, and a talented swordsman." "1,000 years ago, he was an ordinary human; a Saracen Caliph during the third crusade," Volcan went on. "But he betrayed the Saracens, nearly costing them the war that was to preserve their very existence; thanks to him they were almost wiped out by the Christian Crusaders. As punishment, Izrail, the Demigod of Death, cast that curse on him, and sealed his castle in the Arabian Desert for 1,000 years until somehow, Calhoun and his possy uncovered him, and he now serves them, seeking revenge on Izrail." Volcan rubbed his eyes. "Problem is, because Izrail is a Demigod, he's ALSO immortal; the cycle between him and Hakam doesn't seem to be breakable." "So neither of them can die," Kage muttered and crossed his arms. "No seals will restrain him, no weapon can kill him. A terrible existence..." "Well one thing does stop him," said Volcan. "See, Hakam seems to be a fusion of two other types of undead; Wraith, and Zombie. The Zombie part is where he's vulnerable; sever his brain from the rest of his body, he becomes paralyzed as long as something remains lodged in there, and he's not immune to illusions either, so he can still be hypnotized or put into a trance. That is how we've stopped him in the past." "Then Hank would be vital in subduing him," Kage returned. "His Illusions stem farther than just altering his appearance or phasing in and out of existence...He can call upon a being's greatest fears and turn them against the target..." "Too bad we didn't bring him," Serena remarked grimly. "Alright, moving on," said Volcan. "Let's see... Ah, here's one you really need to look out for." He gestured to the black-furred wolf with ruby red eyes. "She's called Assiminik." Luke looked closer at her image and was silent for a moment before he spoke. "...Not going to lie... she's rather stunning."             "Yes she is," Volcan agreed. "But that's how she makes you let her guard down. Assiminik here is professional assassin, just like Devilshade, but just being a killer wasn't enough for her; she hungered for power, and is a master of strategy, so she had the means to obtain it; she led the attack on Alaska against the United States, which resulted in her getting that island we just left, not to mention an entire U.S State for a full year. We wrested it from her, but she remains at large. She's not only all that, but also a werewolf just like Vadim and those others you saw; she's the source wolf, the alpha of every lycan on that island." "Another of those hairy beasts," Katsu said, rubbing his chin. "Seems this world is ripe with extraordinary creatures...It's both interesting and unnerving." "Next one," Volcan carried on to the next female. "This is Cyber Project: Dawn, created by two scientists -one of them the same one who created Hayagake. She's a cyborg, equipped with technology and skills that make her the ultimate weapon against Super humanoids. Beyond that she's also an expert technician and engineer, and has knowledge of all modern technology; the woman could almost literally make a nail gun out of a stapler and a paperclip, she's so resourceful. And worst of all, emotionless; work on her wasn't completed, and half of her brain is electronic; she feels little to no emotion at all. She's, literally, an unfeeling weapon." "I'm starting to notice a pattern; most of your adversaries are either insane, or emotionless..." Luke said as he looked over Dawn's profile. "It's amazing they get along so well." "You can thank Calhoun for that," said Volcan. "Unfortunately, after he separated from me, he inherited some of my traits... including bringing the most unlikely of allies together. And you want insane..." He tapped the image of the seven-tailed fox. "THIS guy is completely off of his rocker." "Ah yes... Kumori," said Vinge. All three of them looked at the image of the seven tailed fox silently, as if waiting for an explanation from either of them, which Volcan gave. "This guy, is a bloodthirsty maniac; he is by far the craziest of the lot," said Volcan. "Though trained as a ninja, this guy's about as stealthy as a mad dog; soon as the thrill of the chase gets to him he comes in blades flying. Don't be fooled though; he's skilled, and as a Kitsune, slippery; he can vanish into shadows, then pop out of another one miles away, and he has minor reality-warping powers, including his own favorite trick of throwing over a hundred shuriken from his tails. And, being over 600 years old,  he has a lot of experience; his weakness is in his blood thirst and uncontrollable urges, making him reckless and, often, overzealous... but still deadly." "The way you describe him, he sounds unfocused and foolhardy. I will not fall for his tricks if he and I were to cross blades..." Katsu stated proudly and beat his chest once. "Did I mention he can make himself immaterial and walk through walls?" Volcan asked. "He also really loves jumping out of mirrors," Vinge added. "And he deliberately shapeshifts to match your reflection so that you don't know he's there until he leaps out at you." "A tricky bastard... but not impossible to deal with," Kage stated. "He's not the only one who can become immaterial, after all..." "But can you shapeshift?" Volcan asked. "He can make himself look like a bottle of wine on your shelf," Vinge added. "I don't need to shapeshift..." Kage returned bluntly. "I can sense thoughts and read minds with my Extrasensory..." "Right... just stay away from mirrors if you know he's after you," said Vinge, evidently doubting Kage. "If you hear someone scream 'Bloody Mary Attack'... you're dead." "You doubt me already..." Kage said as he glanced to Vinge. "I am the one who held up against someone even Volcan quivers in fear from; I may not be as fast, but my reflexes are second to none." "Uh, Kage?" Volcan stated. "Vinge has beaten Sash twice." "You've got a long way to go before you can impress him," Serena remarked. "We'll see..." Kage returned, glancing forward once more. "Well, that covers all of the Overlords," said Volcan, shutting off the monitor. "Now we're faced with the next challenge..." "What next challenge?" Tristan asked. "We know what's causing the anomalies," said Volcan. "It's Kalo'Temir." "Kalo who?" Tristan asked, and then perked up. "Oh, wait a minute... he's that demon you guys told me about." "Correct," said Vinge, his expression having turned firm. "He's the one causing these dimensional distortions?" Volcan nodded. "Yes... he's trying to pass over into Luke's world, or rather, as we were informed, trying to pull someone from there back into his." "What's stopping him?" Tristan asked. "isn't Kalo'Temir like, rival to Gods or something?" "From what we gathered, Kalo'Temir is trying to break through the Space-Time Barrier dividing our worlds and force his way into the Distortion World..." Kage explained. "He's trying to absorb the power of the Deity of Antimatter, Giratina...Out of all the legendary pokemon in our world, only he has the power to rival even the God of Pokemon himself." "That fits Kalo'Temir's M.O of trying to gain more power," said Vinge. "But what's keeping him from reaching it? He's never had trouble moving between spaces before." "The God of Space in Luke's world; a Legendary Pokémon called Palkia," replied Volcan. "He's fighting Kalo'Temir even now, but he's losing... we have to contact Izrail, and somehow he has to find a way to stop Kalo'Temir from going any further. If Kalo'Temir gains Giratina's powers, there's no telling how dangerous he'll become." Vinge put a hand to his chin, slipping into deep thought for a moment before grunting. "You're right... this is beyond any of us..." He pointed at Volcan. "But first thing's first... we need to go home, and tell the others you and Serena are alive." "They'll be waiting for us when we land," Kyle called back. Volcan perked up, and a gleeful smile actually appeared on his face; the first time he'd actually seemed legitimately ecstatic since Luke had met him. A similar expression was on Serena's face, and she clearly was suppressing the urge to squeal with delight. Katsu saw her expression and smiled a little himself. Seeing her so estatic also filled his heart with a special warmth. "I'm eager to meet the rest of your comrades." He said to her softly. "You'll like them," promised Volcan. "For now you should all get some rest," suggested Vinge. "It'll be a while before we get back to Alberta so, best to make the most of it." "Agreed..." Luke said as he headed to a cot and flopped on his back, sighing in exhaustion. "I've had enough excitement for one day..." "On that, we're agreed," said Serena, leaning against Katsu and closing her eyes. "Definitely," said Volcan, finding himself a chair to sit in, letting the others decide how to share the two onboard cots. ~~~~~ "Very fascinating," said Assiminik as Rovdyr projected the knowledge of the incident from the minds of both Calhoun and Sash. "Those three who were with Volcan and Serena do not appear to be of this world, yet closely resemble beings from here... perhaps some sort of parallel dimension?" She leaned back in her seat, pondering. "One of them used a technique similar to Chi-fighting," said Devilshade. "Much like Yahiko and Minato's methods, but in a different style." "He was pretty powerful too," admitted Calhoun, holding up his staff. "I've never felt my staff filled to such capacity, not even when I absorbed Izrail's magic with it. It was quite enticing, really..." He grinned. "The opponent I faced was also well versed in stealth and ninjitsu tactics...He also seems to be able to make himself intangeble. I swiped at him with my blade and passed right through him..." Sash stated, then narrowed hsi eyes. "Yet, when I coated Muramasa with Dark Magic, I was able to run him through." "To be able to avoid even Muramasa... that's something worth checking," stated Assiminik, putting her hands together. "And yet, Volcan was with them, yet Vadim has been monitoring news reports from Canada; that phoenix has been missing for over three weeks, yet very suddenly appears here on Lycanthria? Quite curious, isn't it?" "Indeed," Sash concurred, crossing his arms as he thought. "Regardless, those three are forces to be reckoned with. They must not be taken lightly." "But more than that, we should find where they came from," said Assiminik. "There could be great things for us to find." She grinned. "Have Hakam and Dawn search the island for signs of recent space-time anomalies; if we can find where they appeared from, we may be able to find our own passage to this other world with Hakam's Gateway spell." "Understood..." Sash returned, then turned around and walked off to find Dawn and Hakam to relay Assiminik's orders. ~~~~~ "Hey Luke, you sleeping?" Volcan's voice sounded in the Lucario's ear, kept to a low whisper. "Mgh..." He grumbled and slowly opened his eyes. "I was; what's up?" "We're about to start landing," replied Volcan. "We'll be there in a couple of minutes." "Ah. Good." Luke said as he sat up. "Starting to feel a bit cramped in this cot." Volcan chuckled. "Well, this plane isn't exactly first class; Kyle's done some work, but, it's still basically a cargo plane." The plane suddenly began to tilt. "Oop. He's descending." As the plane began to lower, Luke felt an uncomfortable pressure in his ears, like bubbles of air building up in the eardrums and expanding into the canals. "Agh. The hell's happening to my ears??" He exclaimed, grasping his ears and flattening them, then poked his paws inside his ears. "It's the pressure here in the cabin; don't poke them, you'll just make it worse," instructed Volcan. "Hold your mouth open as if yawning and close your eyes; that'll help relieve the pressure, but don't poke, else if your ears pop it'll hurt like hell." "Alright," Luke returned and opened his mouth as wide as he could, clenching his eyes shut. "That helps a little." "Just hold that until you feel the wheels touch the ground, you'll be good," instructed Volcan, before he sat down at Luke's side, repeating the process. Moment later, Luke felt a sudden jolt through the plane, and could hear the wheels of the landing gear gliding over rocky, slightly rugged ground as the plane glided down its landing path, slowly decelerating before it was moving at only a gentle crawl. "And voila," said Volcan. "A perfect landing." Luke closed his mouth and twitched his ears a little. "Ugh; that was new... but then again I've never flown before." "Be glad this wasn't a jet; nothing worse than jet lag after ten hours of flying," said the phoenix. "Hey Volc!" Kyle called from the cockpit as the engines began to power down as the plane came to a full stop. "The group's waiting by the control tower; you better get ready to greet 'em!" "Are we at Vinge's airstrip?" Volcan asked. "Yep!" The human replied. Volcan chuckled. "Perfect... I wager they'll ALL have some choice words for me." "I imagine they would." Minato called back as he stepped out of the cockpit. "Just try not to take it personally.I imagine a few of them might get a little...physical." "I'm expecting that; already prepping my stomach muscles for it," replied Volcan. "They wouldn't... would they?" Luke asked. "You don't know them," Volcan replied, snickering as he stood up. "But whatever happens Luke, just let it go; none of it will be for malicious intent." "I'll take your word for it," Luke returned, standing up from the cot and stretching his arms and legs. The side door of the plane opened, and Kyle slid down an off ramp to the ground. "Thank you for flying Os-Nàdarra Airlines; please watch your step on the way down. Goodbye." The human jested. "Heh, nice one," said Tristan, hi-fiving Kyle as he stepped out. Luke, Kage and Katsu all exited the plane one by one, landing on terra firma and looking around at their new environment. Katsu took the time to help Serena off the plane as well; truly a gentleman at heart despite his warrior demeanour. Volcan was the last to step out, and immediately spotted the group approaching. At the lead of them was a black and white husky, who looked very displeased. "Here it comes," said Volcan, stepping towards the husky. "Hey, Korban; long time no see!" He called, non-chalantly, pretending he didn't know what was coming... The first thing to happen when he got close was a HARD uppercut to Volcan's solar plexus, aimed to knock the wind out of him. "You mind explaining to me why you were MIA for THREE FUCKING WEEKS???" Korban demanded of him. Volcan stepped back from Korban, rubbing his stomach. "I wish I could give you a better answer, Korb but... I can't -ow- pick when I get slurped into another dimension," he said. Korban twitched an ear at that notion and sighed, shaking his head and placing his hands on his hips. "Again..? Really?" "What, don't believe me?" Volcan asked. "Oh no I do, considering ya got a few new friends to add to your possy." Korban retorted, glancing over to the three Pokémon behind him. "Yanno, I SWEAR I've seen those kinds of things in a video game once..." "Worry about that later," said the phoenix. "Is a punch to the gut the only way you're welcoming me home, Korban?" "Nah I had PLENTY to choose from...Hell one of em involved slapping your shoulder with a VERY cold hand." He said with a smirk. "Though yer lucky I decided against it you flaming chicken. Get over here." He added and pulled Volcan into a hard, yet warm embrace. Volcan chuckled as he hugged Korban. "I've missed you, man..." He admitted. "VolCAN!" A stern voice interrupted the moment, making both of them jump as an electric blue avian stormed up to them. Serena's ears flattened. "Oh dear..." Luke seemed to jump a bit at the sound of the blue avian's voice. Though he tilted his head when he saw how noticebly short he was compared to Volcan. "...For a short guy, he has a huge voice." He muttered. "That's not all he has," said Serena. "That's Volcan's older brother, Lighris... if you think Korban's violent, Lighris is FAR worse." "...That doesn't make me feel any better," Luke returned. Korban stepped back from Volcan, giving Lighris free access. The blue avian cracked his knuckles on approach. "I should beat you to a bleedin' pulp for SCARING THE SHIT OUTTA ME FOR THE LAST THREE WEEKS!!!" He screamed. "Ehehe... I was kinda expecting it..." Volcan admitted. Lighris grabbed Volcan by the shirt and shook him. "Where the hell have you BEEN, bro; you have any idea how much you freaked us all out?!" Volcan babbled ceaselessly, trying to get some words out in reply but was being shaken too roughly to come up with anything coherent. After a moment though, Lighris eased off. "But... lucky for you, you caught me in a good mood, and Korban already punched you for me...So instead..." He went on to hug Volcan as well. Volcan sighed with both relief and happiness. "Good to see you too, big bro." "Don't scare me like that again, Volc, alright?" Lighris asked. "Real switch-hitter, that Lighris," remarked Kyle, rubbing the back of his head. "But, honestly cares about his brother." "So it would seem," Kage remarked tonelessly. "Threatening to hit a family member is CLEARLY the proper way to show how much you care for someone..." He added in a sarcastic tone. "Everybody has their methods?" Kyle asked, shrugging helplessly at the Greninja. "A poor method at best..." Kage returned. At that second, a figure erupted from the ground in front of Serena and Katsu; a green and brown avian girl -one without wings, standing with her arms crossed, eyeing Serena with a smug grin on her face. Katsu jumped back a little when the girl popped up from the ground before them. "Arceus Almighty!" he exclaimed. "Volcan's not the only one who has some explaining to do, sister," the girl remarked. "Tsume!" Serena squealed, throwing herself at the avian and hugging her tightly. The girl's eyes popped wide open, and she exhaled painfully. "Ow! Okay, good to see you too; don't crush me, alright?" "Oh! Sorry!" Serena returned, meekly, releasing the avian girl from her grasp. "Just... really glad to see you." Tsume looked past her, keeping that grin as she noticed Katsu's startled expression. "What, never seen someone pop outta the ground before?" She asked, and then laughed at Katsu's confusion. "Just...not in front of me, no." He returned, calming himself down. "Well consider yourself initiated," returned the girl. "Serena, going to introduce me?" "Of course," the hippocampus returned. "But, it'd be more expedient if we just had it done all at once, wouldn't it?" "Point taken," agreed the avian. "Well, come on; let's go rejoin the others." Meanwhile, back over with Volcan... "Yo, Volcan-O!" A hyperactive-sounding voice chimed, before a blurry shape suddenly tackled the phoenix from behind, grabbing him with four limbs and making him stumble forward, almost falling on his face. "BWA-HA! Hey!" Volcan returned. "Where you been, you big lunkhead?!" The light brown avian on his back asked. "Where you been runnin' off without your old pal Pavan, huh; you should never go anywhere without me! You know how crazy I get when I get bored!" Even Luke couldn't help but chuckle at this one's hyper activeness, covering his mouth and snickering a bit to himself. "...Reminds me of Eagle Eye...." He muttered to himself. "Meet Pavan," Tristan said, snickering. "The most out of control little shit in the west." "I'm sure I've met others more crazy." Luke returned, glancing up to Tristan. "I'll believe it when I see it," the dragon returned. "Okay, Pavan; get off of me!" Volcan commanded the Wind Phoenix, pulling him off of his back. "I'll fill you all in, okay?" "Well I hope so," the orange-brown cat woman leading the rest of the group said. "After all the trouble we went to looking for you." "And then you pop up on Lycanthria?" Asked the hyena walking with her. "Of all places to take a vacation, Volcan, THAT was a dumb idea." "Not my choice Brent," said Volcan, before turning back to Luke's group. "Come on over guys." The three of them stepped forward and stood alongside Volcan, all of them looking at each of Volcan's friends with keen interest. "And these are your new friends?" Brent asked. Pavan suddenly popped up next to Kage. "WHY is this guy wearing his own tongue like a scarf? That's just creepy." "Pavan, manners," a impossibly feminine, and almost motherly voice, hissed from the crowd, before a pale snake emerged into view; a naga, like the one called 'Rovdyr' that Volcan had described, but her whole body was a pale, pinkish-white, and her eyes were also pink -traits of albinoism. She wore only one article of clothing; a leathery tube-top around her torso, covering her more intimate areas. But by the gods, she was beautiful to the eye. "And strangers to this place," the green avian pointed out. "Let's not do anything to scare 'em off, alright?" "Hey, what'd I say?" Pavan asked. "One of these days, yer tongue's gonna get cut off from one of yer remarks and I just hope I'm there when it happens." Jested another feline anthro, this one was completely grey with green eyes, like Minato he was dressed in all black, though on his left shoulder rested a holstered revolver, and on his right rested a black, spiked katana. "Yea what the kitty said." Came another voice from above, prompting Luke and his team to look up They saw a large white furred dragon with feathery wings and donning a long coat as well. The rest of his body was bare and he had quite a gut on him as well. He had silver hair that complimented his gold eyes as well. "Kieran and Shiryu," Volcan said. "Good to see you guys, too." "Likewise." Kieran said with a casual salute. "Hiiiii~!" Shiryu waved estatically at Volcan before he landed with a thud next to the female naga. All of them were quite taken aback by the new arrivals, Luke especially when he first laid eyes on the snake woman before him. 'My LORD she's beautiful....' Luke thought to himself. Or so he thought. The naga glanced over at him with a wry smile. he heard her voice in his head. He twitched a little and blushed heavily, shaking his head a bit Luke asked mentally, feeling rather embarrased at this sudden turn of events. She asked. He returned. she returned, winking at him. "I think someone's having a mind talk without us," Brent remarked. "Don't be silly," returned the naga, keeping that sly grin. "Time for the introductions, then," said Volcan. "Everyone, meet my new friends. These are Luke, Katsumoto, and Kage, of Team Valiant. Luke here took me in when I got transported to his world; it's thanks to him I'm still alive and healthy to come home." Lighris glanced at Luke. "We owe you, then," he stated. "Thanks for looking after my little brother." "It was no trouble. I'm not one to refuse someone that needs help..." He returned. "And Luke, meet my team; everyone I told you about," said Volcan, gesturing one at a time to everyone in the group. "Buniq, Kieran, Shiryu, Brent, Korban, Tsume, Pavan, Kodaku, and my brother, Lighris. The Os-Nàdarra Sentinels." "Wow, quite a lot of you..." Luke commented. "Back where I'm from, a team is usually limited to a maximum of 6 per group, sometimes less." "Well this ain't yer universe bud." Korban returned with a shrug. "Still any friend of Flamie's is a friend of mine." "...Flamie...?" Katsu asked. "My own little nickname fer him." the husky returned with a smirk. "Be glad you haven't heard my other names," Volcan remarked, snickering. "But, in all seriousness, I have something to tell you all." His expression changed. "Regarding the anomalies that took Serena and I to Luke's world and the one that brought us back, and brought them with us. We know now what's causing them." His eyebrow furrowed. "This is all because of Kalo'Temir." Korban, Kieran, and Minato's eyes widened a little in shock, and then Korban hollered out. "ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?? THAT ASSWIPE AGAIN??!" "Seriously, after the last time we threw down with him, you'd think he'd still be out of commission!!" Kieran added. Volcan shook his head. "Sadly not... he's back, and this time aiming for bigger fish," explained the phoenix. "The anomalies are being caused because Kalo'Temir is literally moving between spaces and reaching into Luke's dimension, trying to pull something back through." "What is he after?" Brent asked. "One of the deities of Luke's world," replied Volcan. "A being called Girtatina, the God of Anti-Matter." "There's a god of antimatter?" Minato queried. "Yes." Katsu returned, glancing back to the human. "In our world, there are numerous legendary beings that represent certain aspects of life. Continents, Oceans, the Heavens, Space and Time, Truths and Ideals, Eternal Life, Oblivion, and Order." Katsu explained. "All of them preside over those aspects, and they answer to the God of all Pokemon, Arceus...all that is, except for Giratina." "Not only is he a rogue god, but he's powerful enough to defeat any of the other ones and, if he's got power over Anti-Matter, means he'd be capable of destroying virtually anything," stated Volcan. "Kalo'Temir must be after his powers; it's the only kind of thing he wouldn't have been able to find invading this world because no one with power like that has ever existed here." "So he's, what, threatening the very fabric of reality?" Tristan asked. The entire group went deadpan at Tristan's remark, an uncomfortable silence falling over them... "I don't know what's scarier; what he just said, or that HE said it," said Brent, his voice a little shaky as he broke the silence. "But, he's right; if Kalo'Temir is pulling a deity from another world together..." He pressed his paws together. "The pull caused from that will result in the two worlds being pulled closer together; if that kept up they could collide on a cosmic scale and both worlds would be completely eradicated! Or, yanno, there's always that theory that they'd fuse together, or that the two worlds would..." "Brent," Kyle interjected. "Let's not go off on a tangent just yet and stay focused on the problem, a'ight?" "Sorry," the hyena said sheepishly. "Never thought I'd live to see the day when Lunkhead overe here would FINALLY say something smart...Guess that means we can bump your IQ up by one point." Korban muttered with a snicker. "Korban," Tristan said in a warning tone. "I may not be any scholar, but I can still smash you so deep into the ground you'll think yer a fossil, kapeesh?" "Yeah, yeah; keep talkin." Korban returned nonchalantly, clearly not taking his threat seriously. "I'd listen to him..." Katsu warned Korban. "He certainly can follow through with his words." "Yea well I ain't really afraid...since I'm PRETTY hard to kill..." Luke could not believe how arrogant this individual was. He even would give someone like Rigel a run for his money in that department. "And I thought Rigel was arrogant..." "If Rigel ever meets Korban, I foresee disaster," Volcan whispered to Luke. "Amen..." Luke whispered back. Volcan cleared his throat. "Fortunately for us, one of the deities is buying time," said the phoenix. "Palkia, the Deity of Space, is battling Kalo'Temir, and thanks to him he hasn't been able to fully enter Luke's world. Problem is however, the anomalies are carrying Corruption in them, and it's spreading through Luke's world like an epidemic; the inhabitants are becoming corrupted." Luke visibly shuddered upon that mention, remembering back to those demonized pokemon he was forced to slaughter. He closed his eyes and clenched his teeth, trying to shake those thoughts from his head. "So, what's the plan of action then?" Kieran asked with a shrug, speaking for everyone with his particular           question. "First thing, we have to tell Izrail," said Volcan. "He's the only one with the connections to let the other gods of our own world know; if they can stop Kalo'Temir from this side, then Luke's world can be safe from any further epidemic, not to mention stopping Kalo'Temir from reaching Giratina." "But Volc, how do we FIND Izrail?" Pavan asked. "Korb and I headed out to Egypt and tried to find him but the people there either say Hamunaptra is a myth or start swinging swords at the mention of it." "Yea, and frankly I'm not exactly looking forward to getting sliced up because some fucks think we're delusional maniacs." Korban returned. "I'd rather take my chances hunting demons, thank you." "Then we need to find another way to contact him," stated Volcan, looking at Kieran. "Maybe Kieran's magery could help us." "It's worth a shot." Kieran returned. "I ain't no summoner, but hey, no harm in trying." "We won't need to summon, just make contact," said Volcan. "We'll go to my Uncle's castle; that massive library HAS to have some sort of spellbook you could use to contact otherworldly beings." "Again, worth a shot." Kieran returned. "When do we leave?" "Well this is a priority... so I'd like to go ASAP," said Volcan. "First thing is first though. I have to take Luke and the others somewhere they can stay until we can get them home." "Ya got a place in mind?" Korban asked, crossing his arms. "They DO have a lot of places to choose from in Unity Falls." "True enough," agreed Volcan. "But I'll think of something." "You should probably find them better outfits than those military uniforms though." Tsume pointed out, gesturing at the old soldier clothes Luke and his friends were wearing. "Walking around in army uniforms would kinda stand out, don't you think?" "Shopping later, Tsume," the fire phoenix said bluntly. "Can anyone lend me a car?" "You can take my truck," offered Brent, tossing Volcan a set of keys. "Just bring it back with a full tank, okay?" "I will." "If possible, I'd prefer something...more traditional..." Katsu said as he looked down at his still tight fitting kimono and the borrowed camo uniform. "I'm still feeling rather chaffed..." "I'm not surprised," Kyle remarked. "That uniform is about two sizes too small for you; you're a big guy." "I'm not usually this tall...and I'm normally a quadruped." Katsu returned. "Richards XL; make sizes for any big guy," Tristan informed, pulling at his own shirt. "Even giants like me." "Alright guys..." Volcan said, looking at his group. "It's great to be back... I wish I didn't have to take off but we've all got a lot to do." "We understand, Volcan," said Vinge. "And, if you prefer, Kieran and I can go to your uncle's castle; he should know me well enough now that Kieran and I will be let in. You deserve time to get yourself reacquainted with your own world." Volcan smiled and nodded to Vinge. "Alright... but if you need me, don't hesitate." "I know... good to have you back." "What he said." Korban added, jerking his head to Vinge. "Just don't go running off on yer own to another parallel universe, k?" "I'll try not to but I didn't  exactly plan to go through the last one on purpose either," Volcan reminded. "Neither did I," Serena added meekly. "Just saying man." Korban returned. "Don't wanna have to sock you again...or worse..." he said with a devilish grin, holding up his hand, a cold mist forming around it. "You do, and I'll uppercut you to the moon," Volcan returned, winking. "Keep tellin' yerself that." Korban returned, winking back at him. "Now get going already." Volcan nodded, looking at Luke. "You guys ready?" He asked. "As ready as we'll ever be." Luke returned. "Then let's be off," he said, solemnly, leading them over towards a dark blue vehicle. ~~~~~ "Luke, Katsu, Kage... welcome to Unity Falls," Volcan said to the passengers as he drove the vehicle towards the collection of buildings that seemed to grow larger every passing second as he entered; structures so high they seemed to touch the very sky itself, people of all shapes, sizes and species lining the streets on either side of the road as they travelled. Parks fill with fresh plants, playing children and strange constructs that the children played catching their attention; there was even a man in the park selling what appeared to be food to a mother and her child from a wheeled cart; steaming hot sticks of potato -french fries Volcan called them. The city was unlike anything they had ever seen before; such things had not existed in their world. And now, seeing them here... it was true they were very far from home. "This... wow," Luke gasped. "I'm literally blown away right now...THIS is your home??" Volcan nodded. "Southernmost city in the province of Alberta, and the only one of its kind; sitting directly on the border between Canada and the United States of America, as a symbol of permanent alliance between the two countries. I was born and raised in this very city, and it's been good to me and my family." Katsu stared in a silent awe. He had no words to describe how blown away he was by the setting he was being introduced to. He never saw anything like this before... Serena looked at him, recognizing the same astonishment in him that she had the day she had first laid eyes on this city. "I know how you feel," she assured him. "Where I come from -a sea far to the east, structures like these are not seen. They are truly a marvel all on their own. "This...is...truly astounding," He finally spoke, slowly expressing his astonishment. "I'm not sure I'll ever get used to this." "You will," Serena said confidently. "If I could, surely you can as well." "Now, about where you guys will be staying," said Volcan. "I just got to thinking, it might be best to keep you guys close to me, and where you can easily find me if there's a problem." He looked at Katsu and Kage. "Being people of water I imagine you prefer to be near water?" "I can adapt," Kage returned. "I'd...prefer it, yes," Katsu returned honestly, glancing to Serena for a moment and blushing softly. "There's a motel near the Lakeview Park," said Volcan. "From there it's easy access to the beach; I can put you guys up there." "Thank you...We appreciate it." Katsu returned with a small nod of appreciation. "And what of me? Where shall I stay?" Luke asked. "Well, why not my place?" Volcan suggested. "It's only ten blocks away from the motel, and I've got a spare room you can have." "You sure?" Luke asked. "I don't want to-" He stopped himself, and then he chuckled and placed his paw over his forehead. "Intrude?" Volcan finished for him, grinning. "Sound familiar?" "I was just going to say." Luke returned "Yeah, welcome to my world... literally," said the phoenix. "It's no trouble; that guest room doesn't see much use anyway." "Well alright then." Luke returned with a nod. "Alright. We'll go to the motel first; I'll get Kage and Katsu rooms and sort out the expenses," said Volcan. "And don't worry about the cost; I did mention before but I'm actually fairly wealthy." "Yes I remember you told me." Luke returned. "Thank you for doing this for us..." "It's the very least I can do," the phoenix said in assurance. "You did it for me; good will or not, I'd say I owe you this much." He looked at Luke. "And, I'm looking forward to showing you more of my homeland." "I look forward to seeing more of it as well." Luke returned. "Likewise." Katsu added. "Hmm..." Kage added as well. "Oh come on Kage would it kill you to show even the faintest, SLIGHTEST, hint of enthusiasm?" Volcan asked. He looked over to Volcan with that stoic expression of his. "...I let my actions speak for me...." Volcan bashed his head against the steering wheel slightly. "Might as well try to mold a chunk of granite," he muttered. "Don't let him get to you, Volcan. Kage's always like this..." Luke said "I know, I know, but if even thrill of discovery doesn't get even a blink out of him, he's hopeless," said the phoenix. Luke then leaned forward and whispered to Volcan. "Catch him when he's on his own...you'll be surprised what you will discover about him....." "We shall see. For now, I'd say there's much more discovery to be had," he declared as they ventured deep into the city. As Luke, Katsu and Kage stared out to the vast community all around them, taking in the wonders of architecture of Volcan's homeland, their curiosity continued to race through their minds at the thrill of discovering this new place... but each of them had another, identical thought, cemented into their minds and constantly being asked... How would they ever get home?