AN: This is a crossover with the Pokemon Universe and Tower of God. Don't worry, the story will be following Pokemon Master Red's experiences after he stumbles across the entrance to the Tower by "accident."

"Why Pokemon?" You might ask when you see this; to which my answer would be Why not? I thought about doing a crossover for a little while and weighed a couple of ideas centered around inserting a character from anime/manga into the tower as an irregular. Red seemed different enough from many of the characters already present while also not being overpowered enough to break the main plot line of ToG.

The story takes place alongside canon events as I understand them through ch. 121 of the Tower of God webtoon. If you are new to reading Tower of God, I don't recommend reading this until you get through to part 2, because there may be some slight spoilers, especially in the later chapters.

III

Red wasn't sure how to describe how he felt at the moment. What he could gather however, was that it wasn't at all pleasant. It wasn't Mt. Silvers constant Blizzard that was getting to him; he had been on the mountains peak for almost 2 years now. He wasn't injured, yet he was; and in a way he had never expected.

Before him lay a purple cat-like creature, slumped over in the snow, unconscious. It was Espeon, the most recent addition to his party of pokemon, and in this case the last to fall. Directly across from his fallen pokemon, another trainer, Gold he remembered, was jumping up and down, celebrating with his Typhlosion.

I lost…, it occurred to Red. It took a few moments for his brain to process this most recent bit of information, and why wouldn't it? This had never happened before in Red's career as a trainer. He was the undefeated pokemon master, the one who single handedly defeated the Rocket terrorist organization years ago at the age of ten. During his official time as champion, people had stopped challenging him for fear of their pokemon's lives.

"Hey." A voice snapped Red out of his daze. He returned his injured Espeon to its Pokeball, it would be fine there for a while, but he would have to treat its burns soon. After doing so, he turned his gaze to fall upon the other trainer. The other boy was dressed in a red hoodie and black shorts, a black and gold cap turned backwards over his black hair.

That's right… Red thought. He reached into his pack to pull out his wallet. They had made the customary wager at the beginning of the battle. As he pulled out the money he owed to his opponent, his entire body fought back. It felt so wrong, he was the one who got money, not the one who handed it out to others.

"Hey, I don't have all day." The trainer called out with annoyance. "I have to get off the freezing mountain before the sun sets." He flinched as Red's gaze sharply turned back to him, Red eyes almost ablaze from under the brim of his signature hat. He gulped and took a step back, inching closer to his Typhlosion. He may have beaten the legendary trainer in battle, but his instincts were screaming at him to keep his mouth shut.

Red moved forward without a word and held out the money to Gold, his face once again shaded by his cap. The other trainer took it gingerly, watching Red the entire time. Once it was in his grasp, he turned around and began sprinting back down the mountain, his Typhlosion following closely behind.

*SLAM* Red's fist echoed as he slammed it against the side of the cave wall. It had been two days since his defeat at the hands of Gold, and instead of calming down, he had instead gotten angrier. "DAMMIT!" the frustrated trainer shouted, punching the wall again.

"Pika?"

Red looked down and saw his first pokemon looking up at him. Red's gaze softened. His Pikachu was obviously worried about him. With a sigh, he turned away from the wall and started to walk towards a small campfire s short distance into the cave. The rest of his pokemon were gathered around it, trying to keep warm. The blizzard atop the mountain had gotten worse over the past couple of days, forcing Red and his pokemon to seek shelter in a nearby cave. The sheer boredom wasn't doing much for the master trainer's frustration, leaving him little to do but loaf around. The zubat in the cave had been eliminated effortlessly quite awhile ago, and the rare Golbat didn't put up much of a fight either. As he sat by the fire, he looked over his team.

Pikachu had followed him back the fire, still regarding him with obvious concern. It had been the first pokemon he had ever received back in his hometown of Pallet. It hadn't liked him much at first, but over time the two had grown on each other. Now the electric mouse was one of his most loyal and trustworthy companions, and while it may not look it; arguably one of the strongest.

His espeon was still recovering from the burns it had received in the battle, but it looked like she wouldn't be out of commission for too much longer. He had raised the psychic feline from a young and energetic eevee. The two of them had been through a lot together.

Over in the corner laid Red's largest Pokemon, his massive snorlax. The large, almost bear-like creature spent almost every minute of the day flat on its back asleep. The few times it did awake were to eat massive helpings of food. Due to this, the pokemon had grown quite fat, tipping the scales at close to one ton. While Snorlax may seem like a lazy, and gentle giant; if ever awoken or attacked by an enemy, the ball of fat could turn into a force of nature when angered.

His fourth pokemon, Venasuar, would seem like an odd choice for an area so covered in ice and snow. It was a Grass type, with a large flower growing out of its back. Originally, Red hadn't wanted to bring it along, knowing that the environment was hostile towards plant life, but had eventually relented. While the year round winter weather had been rough on the pokemon at first, it seemed to have built up an immunity to the frosty conditions.

His Blastoise yawned in the dim light of the fire, drawing further into its rock hard shell. The large blue turtle was one of Red's more versatile pokemon. It could easily carry him across large bodies of water, through whirlpools, and even up completely vertical waterfalls. With the Pokemons two massive water cannons, it was even possible to hover in the air for a short time.

A roar echoed through the cave, shaking the walls, causing the other pokemon to snap to attention. A bright flash of light lit up the back of the cave, a wave of intense heat rolling in shortly afterward. Recognizing the roar, Red shot up and looked back into the cave., Pikachu jumping up to his shoulders. Snorlax grumpily sat up, annoyed that its slumber had been interrupted. "Pikachu, Flash." Pikachu gave a quick nod and began to glow, giving off enough light to clearly see in the dark. With a nod to the group, Red dashed off deeper into the cave, Pikachu illuminating the way. The other pokemon stretched out and followed after. As the trainer and his pokemon ventured deeper into the cave, darkness crept in around them. Pikachus glow was the only thing lighting the way, aside from the random blasts of light and heat coming from deeper down.

Before long, the group came to a large open space in the caves. "Pikachu, brighten this place up." With a nod the rodent intensified its glow, casting light throughout the area. The open area was quite large, much wider than the tunnel they had taken to get here. The area seemed half destroyed somehow, large claw marks and cracks emanated through the rocks.; many of them broken and deformed. The heat in the room was comparable to a sauna, Red could feel himself begin to sweat the moment he walked in. With another flash of light and heat, the trainer found what he was looking for.

With a great bellow, flames poured poured out against the wall, causing the rocks to glow red and begin to melt. A great orange dragon was raging in the back of the large room, slashing at the rock walls and spitting out jets of fire. This was the sixth member of Red's team, and it hadn't taken kindly to losing.

"Charizard!" Red barked out with authority. The fire pokemon paused its rampage and looked back at its newly arrived trainer. "Stop all this; you're going to bring the ceiling down on us." The trainer stated, looking around at the almost completely demolished area his pokemon had carved out in its rage. The pokemon growled back in response, baring its teeth. Red returned the glare with its full intentsity; showing he wouldn't take no for an answer. After a short time the fire type stopped growling and looked away. It extended its arm and slammed it into the side of the cave once more, causing the room to shake with its impact. "Charizard!" the dragon seemed to smirk before beginning to walk back to its master, seemingly satisfied. The fire type had always been the most temperamental of the group, quick to anger and slow to cool down. As it crept closer however, it began to shrink in the glare of its trainers disapproving crimson eyes.

A rumble set the group on edge. The cave began to shake, rocks beginning to fall from the ceiling. "Shit!" Red shouted, ducking down to cover himself and Pikachu. The others followed suit, Blastoise popping into its shell, Charizard throwing a wing over its exposed trainer. It wasn't long before the rocks seemed to settle, and luckily enough all of the pokemon had escaped without a scratch. Red moved out from under his Pokemons wing to survey the damage. Some of the room they were in had collapsed, but their way back out still seemed to be open he noticed with a sigh of relief. As Pikachu's glow once more began to intensify, he saw something in the far end of the half destroyed room that caught his eye. He slowly began to move towards the other side, careful to avoid the debris on the floor. His pokemon followed after him and the glow from Pikachu. As the trainer approached the other side, he could fully see what he had glimpsed form the other side.

Before him was what seemed to be a large carving in the side of the wall. He couldn't make out what it was supposed to be, all that was visible were a series of rectangles grouped together, seemingly becoming thinner as the rose higher on the carving; which extended high above him and his pokemon. Charizards tantrum must have revealed this… he thought. Something a massive as this carving wouldn't have missed his initial scan of the room. Looking around, he saw a large amount of debris, some chunks of stone bigger than the pokemon that had caused the damage. The trainer reached out to the carving; freezing when it began to move at his touch. He pulled his hand back in surprise. Something this massive moving so easily? Curious, he reached out again; this time pushing on the stone carving.

He noticed it wasn't giving, but swinging like some kind of door. A clean line was visible in the gloom as he continued to push it open. After a few feet however, it stopped. He pushed harder, trying to open the door further to no avail. Red looked into the gap that now existed between the two sides, an obvious pathway leading further back into the cave. Curiosity getting the better of him, he decided to check it out. The small gap was barely enough for him to get through however, much less his larger companions. Looking back at his pokemon, he saw that his Snorlax had managed to make it down with the others and surprisingly wasn't asleep. The commotion from the cave almost falling it must have been enough to wake it up for a while. "Snorlax, see if you can move this door any further." The large pokemon complied, lumbering over to where its trainer stood. After Red had gotten out of the way, it thrusted itself against the weight of the door, trying to pry it open further. After a couple minutes of fruitless effort, the pokemon slid down, tired out. "That's fine." Red said, trying to cheer up the heaving pokemon. "Guess you guys'll just have to jump in your balls for a little while." He pulled out the red and white pokeballs and returned all of his teammates except Pikachu one by one. They may not be able to squeeze into the small opening the door provided, but there was no way he was heading into unknown territory without his team.

Once everyone as packed up in their pokeballs, Pikachu jumped back on its trainers shoulder, lighting the way once more. Squeezing himself into the small opening created by the doors, he found himself in another empty space, this one more like a hallway. He began to walk forward careful to check for any pitfalls in the ground below or zubats swooping down at him from the dark. After a short time a bright light appeared far off in the distance. Sunlight? He thought, stopping to think. To his surprise, the light began to intensify rapidly; almost seeming to race towards the master trainer, threatening to engulf him for being where he wasn't supposed to. Red covered his eyes reflexively to guard himself from the suddenly much brighter area. The ground gave way beneath him, Red felt himself falling down into some dark abyss, Pikachu's light seeming to disappear. A soundless scream rang out from the trainers throat as he felt his consciousness leave him.

III

Red opened his eyes slowly as he slowly crept back to consciousness. He sat up with a grunt. He looked around to gauge his surroundings, mildly surprised at what he saw. He was in a large circular room with a stone floor and walls. Carvings covered the walls, with dimly burning torches interspaced between them. He noticed Pikachu was lying still at his side. Reaching over, he shook the mouse gently.

"Pika." Pikachu stirred to his side, responding to its trainers touch.

Red turned his attention back to the room around him. Where am I… he thought. The last thing he remembered was forcing the large stone door opened followed by a bright flash of light.

"Piii…" the mouse began to growl, something in the dark drawing its attention. Red followed its gaze. He jumped up when he made out two glowing eyes in the corner of the room. What's this… A bright flash of purple light flashed, causing him to shield his eyes.

"My, my…. It seems I have a guest…It's been a while."

Red lowered his arms, his eyes slowly readjusting. When his eyes came back into focus, he took a step back in surprise. "What?" he muttered softly, Pikachu growling by his side. Before him stood a strange humanoid creature. It was completely white and seemingly dressed in some sleeveless purple shirt and shorts. Each Hand only had three fingers, and its wrists and feet had some sort of blue gems embedded in them. The most notable features of the strange creature however were its long rabbit like ears and its featureless face. It seemed to be spinning some sort of long rod with a blue-green sphere on either end. Red was confused, he had never seen something like this before. Was this some kind of undiscovered Pokemon?

"It's been such a long time since a person has opened and entered through the door." It spoke. It approached Red at a casual pace, giving only a passing glance to the electric mouse at his feet. "I welcome you to the tower."

III

"Another one already?" a man with silver hair commented, looking down at the scene below him. He was wearing a green jacket, and a large backpack. "Wow, seems things are going to be busy on the first floor today."

"Evan come on, we don't have time to wait around." A female voice called back to him.

"Seems he brought some kind of pet with him too, weird."

"Pet?" A woman walked up beside where the silver haired man stood. She was wearing a white long sleeved jacket, over a black shirt with a red tie, matching the color of her skirt. Her hair was tied to the side in a long black ponytail, decorated with a spiky red ornament. Her red eyes almost glowed in the darkness. "That's odd, but he doesn't seem all that special either." It had been a rather disappointing outing for Yuri Zahard, first the news of an irregular entering the tower turned out to be some random kid, and while he did turn out to be rather cute, he took off with the weapon she had loaned him. "Just another regular ,Evan?" She asked with a sigh, turning back to the path they had been walking down.

"I…" Evan muttered, not sure where to begin. "I'm not sure." There was something different about this boy, he could tell. But he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

III

It was speaking to him, good. Red was carefully analyzing the situation. The thing before him obviously wasn't human, so it must be a pokemon of some kind. There were very few Pokemon that could communicate with human language; and almost all of them were the Psychic type. Psychic types were not the most common variety of Pokemon out there, his own Espeon was considered a rarity. He hadn't seen something like this in some time, not since Mewtwo anyway. His teeth gritted at the memory. That was a day he wished he could have back. He shook his head to clear his thoughts, this wasn't the time to be thinking about that. An undocumented Pokemon was ahead of him, and if Red had his way, it wouldn't be for too much longer. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

"Pika-!" The yellow rodent started to spark. "-chu!" A large bolt of lightning shot out at incredible speed, arcing towards the now motionless figure.

"?" The creature jumped back, avoiding the blast of electricity.

Good, it worked. Red thought, smirking. He had created some space between him and the unknown pokemon. Now he had time and space, the time and space necessary to pull out a certain frustrated lizard. He reached into his bag and pulled out a red and white pokeball. He reared back and threw the ball into the space between him and the creature. "Go, Charizard!" In a flash of light, the orange dragon appeared in a literal blaze of glory, blasting fire into the air.

"What is this…" the creature muttered, obviously confused at what it was seeing.

"Charizard, Shadow Claw." The pokemon roared its approval and with one great flap of his wings, charged toward its unknown opponent. Red was still smirking, this was going to be an easy capture. Psychic type pokemon were weak to ghost type attacks. Usually he would use his Espeon for ghost type moves, but she was still too injured to battle. The bunny eared creature stood still, gazing upon the approaching dragon with interest. When it slashed down with its claws, the unknown pokemon side stepped almost lazily. It seemed so interested in the fire pokemon, it almost missed the seeing the actual attack…almost.

Red squinted in disappointment when the creature before him dodged black shadow claws coming down for his head. Shadow Claw was a tricky attack, one which counted on the opponent dodging the first attack to get hit with the surprise attack from the opponents shadow soon after. Now that the Psychic type had seen through his attack, he doubted it would work again. Time for the direct approach. "Charizard, Flamethrower!" His pokemon reared its head back, inhaling sharply. It exhaled with a roar, firing a jet of white hot flame towards its once more still opponent. The Fire seemed to envelope the target completely, but Red could tell something was off.

"Enough of this." As the jet of fire came to a halt, it was revealed that the unknown creature was unharmed. A blue sphere of light completely surrounding him, some fire still blazing on its surface.

Barrier… Red thought, remembering the move he had seen several pokemon use over the course of his travels. This one seemed to be exceptionally strong, perhaps on par with Mewtwo's.

"I have no intention of fighting you child." The creature released the barrier and turned to face Red once again. "Call off your pets."

"Pets?" Red asked, honestly confused. "Don't you recognize a pokemon when you see it?"

"No, I have never heard of such a thing." The creature answered simply.

Just where the hell am I? Red thought. Pokemon were everywhere, the idea that someone hadn't ever heard of them was ridiculous. It was as simple as going outside and finding something that moved. He motioned to Charizard to back off, the lizard did so, but not without growling at its former target.

"I can tell you are confused about your surroundings." The creature said, gesturing to the large stone room. "My name is Headon. Guardian of the lowest floor of the tower."

"Tower?" Red questioned. "What do you mean by that?"

"That's difficult to say." Headon answered. "The tower is many things to many people." He brought his hand under his chin. "I do not remember inviting you here, so you must have opened the door yourself."

"Yeah, I remember that." Red answered.

This seemed to bring Headon to pause for an instant before continuing. "So you are an irregular…tell me, what is your name?"

"…Red."

"Easy enough to remember." Headon said casually. "Might I ask why you have entered this tower?"

"I just opened a door." Red replied. "I didn't know what was on the other side."

"That doesn't seem like a very smart thing to do." Headon commented. "You never know what dangers could be on the other side."

"If you never take a chance you'll never get anywhere." Red countered. He had made plenty of risky decisions along the path to becoming a champion. The road hadn't been easy but he had made it through in one piece.

"Hmmph. Well said." Headon said, seemingly amused at the boys words. "Nevertheless, no one comes across the tower by chance, there must be something you desire.

"What do you mean by that?"

"What do you desire? Fame? Glory? Power? Revenge?" explained Headon. "…or is it something that surpasses all others?" The creature waved its staff at the ceiling once again. "Whatever you desire, that is here."

Whatever I desire? Red thought, relaxing his body and letting his mind wander. There wasn't much he really had a strong need for. He had already become the champion of Kanto, he had caught all of the pokemon, what more was there for him to do? Gold's face flashed into the forefront of his mind again, causing him to clench his fists in anger. The pain of defeat had weighed heavily on the champions mind ever since his loss to the kid from Johto. "You said I can get stronger?" he said, with a lowered head.

"The only thing I can tell you, is that the answer is at the top." Headon continued. "If you wish to have your answer, head to the top. Power, strength, if you seek abilities and answers which are like magic, head to the top. All of the universe's wisdom, glory and happiness, it has been placed at the top of this tower." The rabbit-man turned away. "However, climbing the tower is a long, dangerous and difficult journey."

"We can take whatever you throw in front of us." Red answered.

"Good, I like to hear such confidence. Then to see whether or not you have what it takes, shall we begin the test?"

"Test?" Red asked, raising an eyebrow.

"To determine whether or not you are worthy to go to the next floor, each floor holds a test." Headon explained."If you pass the test, you can proceed to the next level. The test is determined by the guardians of each floor. Of course, the difficulty increases with each level." Red nodded slowly, not sure what to think of this influx of new information. With a tap on the ground, a large portion of the wall slide away, revealing a large steel cage lit with blue light.

Red's eyes widened momentarily in amazement at what he saw inside. It was a monstrous eel. Black in color with two large horns extending from its head. The jaws clamped shut in an impressive display of force. Red found that the creature reminded him vaguely of the Gyarados he was familiar with.

"The test is ball." The rabbit man said, waving his staff. "It is a very simple test. The ball you see over there is about as large as a person, if a strong external force is applied to it, it will pop.

"So my goal is to go in there and pop the ball?"

"Yes." Headon replied. Somewhat surprised at Red's reaction, especially at his lack of fear in the face of the monster before him. "That monster's name is white steel eel, and it lives inside the sacred walls of the tower…normally it is very mild mannered, but…it is breeding season right now and it hasn't eaten anything in a month."

"Sounds like the Safari Zone." Red muttered to himself. The tourist attraction in Fuchsia had gotten quite dangerous during breeding season, especially for the Nidoking and Rhyhorn populations.

"This tank behind me is filled with water." The guardian continued. "Even with your little pets, I doubt they could help you too much with this test." Headon let out a sigh. "You don't seem to have any kind of ability on your own either. I wonder if it wouldn't be a better idea for you to turn back now?"

Without a word Red strode right past the creature before him to stand in front the steel cage gazing out at the massive form of the steel eel before him. Now that he was a little closer, he could make out its detail more clearly. The upper part of its body was black and seemingly armored, while its lower half and tail were red and white, almost like a koi fish. He found it too be a strange mixture of intimidation and elegance. He could sense that this wouldn't be something easy to take down, he could also sense that he wanted it. He stuck his hand out, feeling it slide into a vertical wall of water. So everything behind these bars is one giant tank of water. He almost laughed. This was simply too easy, perhaps if this creature was in the wild it would be a bit more of a challenge, but locking it in this tank with him on the outside? Like shooting fish in a barrel. "Pikachu…" He said, looking down to his smallest pokemon. It turned towards him with a smirk, seemingly onto whatever plan his master was planning. "…Thunderbolt."

"Pika-chu!" with a cry, the yellow mouse once more fired a bolt of lightning, this time aimed at the water tank before it and its trainer. The electricity surged into the tank, flowing through the highly conductive water. As the bolts met the steel eel, it began to writhe in pain, the force of twenty thousand volts coursing through its massive body. Red kept up the attack for almost a minute before calling off his pokemon. This was almost unfair. By now the electricity had done its damage, the steel eel barely able to keep itself from sinking to the bottom. The master trainer reached into his bag and pulled out two more pokeballs, one red and white like before, and another black with a golden design on the top. He threw the red and white ball at the ground. With another flash of light, it was Blastoise, the large blue turtle which appeared; with Headon watching on with obvious curiosity.

"Blastoise, let's get in there and get that ball." The turtle grunted in acknowledgement. Reaching the steel bars, it simply bent them out of shape enough to allow its massive bulk entrance into the tank of water. Red pulled off his hat and pack, laying them beside his smallest pokemon. "Pikachu, make sure Charizard doesn't do anything stupid." The yellow rodent nodded in response. As Blastoise dove into the water, Red jumped onto its back, taking a deep breath. As the two entered the tank of water, Blastoise's water cannons sprouted out of the back of its shell. Using the force of the cannons was an idea read had gotten after a particularly powerful shot. Once he and blastoise had worked out the kinks, it had sped up water travel greatly. They reached the other side and seconds, and Blastoise picked up the black rubber-like ball easily. Red's mind was somewhere else though, his gaze drifting back to the almost crippled steel eel still trying valiantly to stay afloat. He glanced down at the black and gold ultra ball in his hands. He poked his blastoise on the head, drawing the turtle's attention.

Pointing at the ball in his hands, he then pointed at one of the cannon's on his pokemon's back. He couldn't throw a ball underwater, so why not shoot it? His pokemon seemed to get what he was implying. He readied one of his cannons, pointing towards the weak eel. Red jammed the ultra ball into the cannon with a smirk. With great concussive force, the ball was shot out at the eel, when it made contact, it bounced off, but not before the entire mass of the eel was transformed into red light. The light was then sucked inside of the now open ultra ball, which closed with a click. It settled on the bottom, shook once, twice, then finally came to a stop. The eel had been captured. Red had to stop himself from yelping at his success. That eel would be a great addition to his collection. Blastoise once again fired off his cannons to propel towards the exit, with the ball in tow; but not before picking up their new team mate.

"Hahaha, now that is priceless!" Yuri laughed audibly, her arms clutching her stomach. "Not only did he pass the test so easily, but he runs off with the eel!"

Her guide however, didn't share his partner's mirth. What are those things? He thought, glancing at the small metal spheres in Red's hands as he emerged from the water. He squinted, trying to get a better look. Was that red light Shinsoo? The guide had never seen anything that worked like the trainers tool before. He vaguely remembered some kind of shinsoo bombs being used in the upper floors that had a similar design, but that's where the similarities ended. The ability to carry around creatures like the steel eel so easily… The creatures below him seemed foreign as well. He hadn't seen anything quite like them in all his years as a guide. A turtle, mouse, or large lizard is common enough sure, but these things below him were completely alien…

"Impressive…" Headon muttered, the slightest bit irritation evident in his tone. This was his test to see if one was willing to face their own fears to climb the tower. It was far too difficult to actually count as the first floor test; all a new person had to do was prove they were willing to die for their goals. But this irregular…this…boy…hadn't just completed the test; he hadn't even broken a sweat. The rabbit's gaze ran over the three pokemon once more gathered around their trainer. "… but are you going to rely on those pets of yours forever?"

"They're not my pets." Red's crimson gaze turned towards the guardian of the first floor. "They're my allies, my companions…" he turned to look at Charizard, who had made his way back over to his trainer, still glaring at Headon. "…my allies."

"…Allies.." Headon trailed off, his mouth curling in a grin.

III

"Allies?" Evan muttered, cocking his head to the side. He had met summoners and anima before during his time in the tower; but he had never heard their servants referred to with such a phrase. Beasts, summons, servants, thralls, even pawns; to give them such a familiar term was odd.

"Evan!" The guide tore his gaze away from the Pokemon trainer. He saw his partner once again moving quickly towards the exit. "Hurry up. We need to get to the second floor!" The guide sighed before heading off after her. She could be such a pain sometimes, tearing him away from the events below just when something interesting happened.

"So, what do you think of that one." Yuri asked as Evan caught up to her, a glimmer of interest in her eyes.

"Well, to be honest I'm still not completely sure." He replied, placing a hand on his chin. "I didn't sense anything special coming off of him, but his mastery over those creatures of his was amazing; not to mention how he went through a test worthy of the twentieth floor with seemingly minimal effort."

"Hmm." Yuri hummed. When she had heard an irregular was possibly coming into the tower, she had admittedly high expectations. The reputations of Phantamium, Enryu, and Urek had made sure of that. Baam had initially been a bit of a disappointment, but after seeing just how strong his motivation was, she was intrigued. The addition of another irregular, this one with abilities even her guide wasn't sure how to make heads or tails of was just icing on the cake. Her face broke into a grin. "Seems I have two reasons to get to the second floor then."

III

"Call them what you will." Headon added, his own grin diminishing. "Before you pop that ball, I have something to ask of you." Red simply turned to look at the floors staff wielding guardian, an eyebrow raised. "You are quite talented, more so than many of those who enter the tower; what I ask of you is a favor."

"What kind of favor?"

"Someone came to me a short time ago with hopes of climbing the tower." Headon began. "However, she was unable to complete the test."

Someone who failed? Red thought. What did this have to do with him?

"You see, a friend of hers is on the second floor." Headon continued. "What I ask of you is that you get her to the next area."

"Why would I do that?" Red asked. It wasn't that he didn't like the idea of helping someone out, it was the suddenness of the request. Something just didn't feel right about it.

"Surely it wouldn't be difficult." Headon added. "For someone as skilled as you, moving one girl from this floor to the next shouldn't be too strenuous a task."

"I think I'll just go by myself thanks." Red replied, reaching into his bag to pull out a knife. If what he had been told before was true, he would need to pop this ball to move on.

"That won't work." Headon pointed his staff at the large black ball. "You would need something much more powerful to pop that ball; I doubt your…allies…would be able to do it either."

"Then what am I supposed to do…" Red growled out impatiently.

"With my help breaking such a thing would be simple." The guardian began. "But I don't know if I can help out the type of person who refuses to help young women in need."

Damn. Red gritted his teeth in annoyance. The rabbit wasn't going to let him go alone would he? "If I bring her with me, you'll pop the ball?"

"Perhaps."

The master trainer let out an annoyed sigh. "Fine then, where is she?"

The guardian grinned once more before tapping the floor with his staff. A small section of the far wall slid open to reveal a small hidden room. "Come on out." A few seconds later a figure stepped out of the room. It was a person, Red saw, one that came up about shoulder height. The only features he could make out about the girls features were blond hair and matching eyes; the rest was hidden under a long brown hooded cloak. She walked up to stand slightly behind the guardian who had been testing him minutes before. "This…is Rachel."