After their break, the group of knights wasted no time to pack everything up and continue their journey, mostly because Soul threatened to beat the crap out of them if they didn't hurry up. She could be scary sometimes, but she just wanted them to keep moving forward as soon as possible. It seemed unusual for Soul to have her team take a break so early. Perhaps it was because of her lack of sleep the other knights noticed no matter how hard she tried to hide it. Aaron had in fact convinced Blake to talk her into taking a break, so maybe the idiot blond actually pulled through and convinced her.
Either that or Soul couldn't resist going back to sleep. They were on their break for almost three hours, and no one dared to wake her up. Her teammates were nice enough to let her sleep in since she was the leader of this group. Now here they were, walking through a rather rocky terrain. Although, based on the large lake near them, they must be getting closer to Azure Village.
Azure Village received its name due to the beautiful blue waters of their ocean and how vivid it contrasted against the azure sky. Akira had been there before while on a mission months ago. It was a distant memory, but he recalled guarding a noble who was to attend the village for an important event. All he could really remember was being mesmerized by how blue the village was.
As they continued walking through the now forest-like terrain, Akira couldn't help but get the feeling that the group was being followed. It might've been just a hunch, but his instincts were almost always right. He slowed down his pace and eventually stopped, causing the rest of the group to stop as well. Mark looked back at him, raising an eyebrow.
"Akira, what's wrong?" he asked. As soon as that question left his mouth, Soul unsheathed her sword and pointed it at a tree nearby.
"Show yourself!" she demanded.
"Heh, looks like you were right, Brother. They're sharper than they look."
Two men appeared out of their hiding place with smirks on their faces. They looked very identical, almost like clones. It was obvious they were twins; they were practically hard to tell apart. They had the same spiky brown hair, suspicious red eyes, and mischievous smirks. They even wore the same outfits that consisted of black slacks, grey long sleeved collared dress shirts, black boots, and black coats that reached past their knees.
Who were these goofs?
"Well, Brother." One smirked. "They appear to be part of Kanto's elite knights, so it's to be expected."
"You're right, as always," the other complimented.
An irk mark made its way onto the side of Akira's face. How the hell was he supposed to know which one was which?
"Who are you?!" he queried, already fed up with them.
"Who are we, you ask?" The one on the left rolled his eyes. "I guess we might as well introduce ourselves, right Brother?"
"Might as well." The one on the right shrugged in response. "Mama didn't teach us manners for nothing."
Out of instinct, the white haired knight reached for his samurai sword that was sheathed in its scabbard on his back. These guys seemed suspicious, so it's only natural for him to allow his instincts to take control. The one on the left smirked when he saw Akira reach for his weapon, causing him to narrow his brown eyes.
"Don't you think it's a bit rude to reach for your weapon while a stranger is trying to introduce himself to you?" he asked the rhetorical question.
"It's called instincts," Akira spat, keeping his brown eyes hardened. "You don't just stumble upon people out here."
"Fine, but don't expect me to be nice." He shrugged.
"Just tell us who you are!" Soul demanded, annoyance and authority clear in her voice.
"My name is Lucius." The one on the right smiled wickedly.
"And my name is Lucifer." The other one copied his brother's actions.
"We're the Devilry Brothers!" they announced, showing the knights that mischievous smirks of theirs.
Akira noticed Blake stiffen at the introduction they gave them. His blue eyes glared daggers at the two identical brothers as he placed a hand on his sword's hilt. Blake's Arcanine bared his fangs at the brothers and glared harshly at them. What's up with those two? Akira understood they could be potential enemies, but why take them so seriously?
It seemed like Axel also noticed this sudden change in Blake based on the strange look he gave him. Blake's hand gripped the hilt tighter, almost making his knuckles go white. Before either Axel or Akira could say anything, Blake unsheathed his sword and walked forward, his Arcanine following him as well. Soul's gaze went from the Devilry Brothers to Blake.
"Blake, what are you—" She was cut off by the blond male himself, but paid all his attention to the twins.
"You..." Blake spoke in a scary low voice.
Everyone seemed surprised by Blake's sudden change in attitude. He was no longer that obnoxious goofball that played around. This person in front of them wasn't like the usual Blake at all. Instead, the Blake in front of them was dead serious, cold, and furious. The blond knight rose his sword and pointed it directly at the twins, who surprisingly were not fazed at all.
"Oh?" Lucius questioned, tilting his head to the side slightly.
"What do we have here?" Lucifer added.
Blake's Arcanine growled more ferociously, his pupils shrinking into slits. He seemed ready to pounce and tear the two brothers into smithereens. All he waited for was the signal from his master. Akira had never seen those two so mad before, and it was honestly kind of scaring him.
"Blake, stand back. I'll take care of this," Soul ordered, sensing the sudden tension.
However, Blake didn't move once from his spot and still kept his blade pointed at the brothers. Arcanine was no better. He still growled loudly and ferociously. The Legendary Pokémon began to shake in anticipation, or possibly bloodlust. Akira wondered who the Devilry Brothers really were considering the circumstances.
"Disobeying your leader? My my, how rude." Lucius shook his head in mock disappointment.
"Didn't you parents ever teach you to respect your superiors?" Lucifer asked with the same mocking tone.
That really seemed to set Blake off. He dashed right toward them, his sword ready to slice the two in half. Right as he swung, the two brothers swiftly moved out of the way. However, it seemed like Blake already knew that because of that smug smirk.
"Arcanine, Flamethrower!" he shouted.
Arcanine ran with all his speed and jumped into the air, his mouth filled with bright orange flames. With a loud battle cry, the Legendary Pokémon released a huge pillar of fire aimed directly at the Devilry Brothers.
"Tch my, what a nuisance." Lucifer scowled before shifting his weight and kicking Arcanine at the side, stopping his Flamethrower attack right then and there.
Much to Akira's surprise, Arcanine was sent flying away a few feet and crashed into a tree. He let out a cry of pain as his back made harsh impact with the tree. Blake's eyes widened in surprise at how powerful that kick was and how much it hurt his partner. Akira thought everyone here was surprised at the strength the opponent had for him to kick a huge creature that far. Any farther and Arcanine could have landed in the lake, which wouldn't be very good.
Akira looked back at Blake, and his eyes widened at that look the blond had on his face. His pupils shrank, almost becoming slits. His mouth was pulled back into a nasty scowl and his entire body shook with fury. He seemed ready to kill them, which worried the white haired knight.
What's gotten into Blake?
Soul stared incredulously at Blake with wide eyes as he seemed ready to kill those brothers. She could sense an overwhelming amount of fury emitting from his aura alone. This overwhelming force was too powerful for an average human to consume. Just who were the Devilry Brothers? And how was Blake involved with them? What have they done to cause Blake this much fury?
Whatever the reason, she must keep Blake in his place before he ended up killing them. Even if they did appear sketchy, they were not their main priority right now. Anything outside the scope of the mission was irrelevant to them. The blonde woman walked forward toward the blond male, Gallade walking beside her as well.
"Soul, what are we going to do?" he asked.
"I need to calm him down before he goes on a rampage. If he gets out of control, go ahead and apprehend him," she informed the Blade Pokémon.
"Okay, but be careful. The fury he's emitting is pretty scary," he warned.
They stopped a few steps away from Blake and his Pokémon partner. Any closer and his aura would be a pain to deal with. The more passionate and stronger the emotion, the more intense and powerful a person's aura becomes. Just for safety measures, Soul's grip tightened on her sword, ready for her to use if anything were to happen.
"Blake, fall back," she called out to him.
Instead of doing what she commanded, he stayed in place and didn't bother to move a muscle. The Devilry Brothers looked bored, no longer finding Blake's fury interesting anymore. Now was not the time to deal with those unwanted guests. Because Blake wasn't responding to her, his leader, Soul decided to take a step closer to him.
"Major, be careful!" she heard Akira warn her.
Once she took a step forward toward Blake and his Arcanine, Soul froze, suddenly feeling intimidated by his intense aura. The blonde woman couldn't move. It was as if she was paralyzed by... fear? Soul looked to her left and saw that Gallade wasn't fazed at all. Why was she the only one being affected?
Gallade looked at his master, suddenly looking worried at her current state. Was her fear obvious? Soul gritted her teeth and pushed away the sudden fear that had tried to consume her. As she was about to tap Blake on the shoulder, she saw him turn stiff and slowly look over his shoulder. Her eyes widened when they made contact with his blood red eyes. Soul stumbled back a bit at the sudden change of her comrade.
He no longer held those kind light blue eyes that everyone knew never glared at anything harmless. Now they were a crimson red, glaring intently at her with the pupils shrinking into slits. Soul glanced at his Arcanine, and sure enough he had the same hateful eyes as his master. The Legendary Pokémon barred his fangs at her, a drop of foaming saliva leaving his mouth and falling onto the ground. This wasn't like them; they wouldn't act like this at all!
Blake completely turned around to face Soul, his Arcanine now focusing on Gallade. She heard the others behind her gasp at Blake's and Arcanine's new intimidating eye color. The blonde woman scowled and looked behind him at the Devilry Brothers, who still looked bored.
"Did you do this to him?!" she interrogated, only receiving a shrug from them as a response.
"No," Lucius answered bluntly.
"Seeing us must have activated the boy's hidden power," Lucifer added.
"What do you mean 'hidden power'?!" Soul heard Aaron ask from behind her. "Just who exactly are you people?!"
The twins smirked their trademark mischievous smirk instead of answering. They leaped up from the ground to a nearby tree, still smirking down at them. Soul tore her eyes away from Blake completely and paid all of her attention to the Devilry Brothers.
"You'll hear about us soon." Lucifer chuckled darkly.
"The lad will be bound to reveal his dark past to all of you. Until then we'll meet again, Knights of Kanto!" Lucius cheerfully added before they both left.
Crap, they couldn't get away! Even if this was out of the scope of the mission, they must know who they really were, even if they had to beat it out of them.
"Axel and Mark, go after them! NOW!" Soul ordered.
"Yes ma'am!" they replied before leaving the way the Devilry Brothers went, Mightyena and Houndoom following them as well.
A loud snarl ran through Soul's ears, catching her attention. She looked toward Blake and Arcanine and saw Arcanine pounce at Gallade. Gallade reacted by immediately putting up a protective barrier around him, causing the Legendary Pokémon to bounce back. Her eyes narrowed as she felt something coming toward her head. Soul moved to the side in order to avoid the sharp blade of Blake's sword, which managed to slice off a bit of her fringe.
That was too close, even for her!
"Soul!"
The blonde woman glanced back and saw Aaron and Lucario coming her way. Before she could do anything, she was already pushed out of the way before Blake could swing at her again. Soul fell on the ground, groaning a bit as she felt another body land on top of her. Whoever it was, they quickly got off of her while she sat up, rubbing the back of her head. She opened her eyes and saw Aaron's hand in front of her.
Without hesitation, Soul grabbed it and he immediately helped her up. A loud battle cry rang through her ears, causing her to look to her left. Blake was the one who let out that battle cry before swinging his sword at Lucario, who easily deflected it with his Bone Rush attack. Meanwhile, Akira and his Lunatone were helping Gallade with a very rabid Arcanine.
"Soul, what's going on?" Aaron asked.
"I would like to know the same thing," she replied. "Something is wrong with both Blake and Arcanine. They won't listen to me no matter what I say."
Before he could reply, a Flamethrower attack went directly toward them both. They both jumped back to avoid the powerful pillar of fire. The Flamethrower attack hit the ground, leaving behind a huge chunk of scorched earth. What was wrong with them?
"We have to find a way to stop them. If we don't, who knows what they'll do," Aaron claimed, watching as Lucario fought with the ferocious blond male.
Soul's unoccupied hand tightened into a fist as she glared at the ground. Her comrades were here, trying to fight against their own comrade. Those weirdos from earlier fled their sight and she had two more of her knights go after them, even if they probably already escaped completely. Her blonde fringe covered her green eyes, creating a shadow over them. Whatever those creeps did to Blake and his Arcanine, she'd find a way to stop it.
She looked up, seemingly determined more than ever. She's captain of this executive squadron. She would take full responsibility as to what happened today. A leader's job was to take charge, lead their group, and handle any situation that comes their way. If she wasn't able to do that, then she didn't deserve to be ranked Major. Soul came out here with five men and Pokémon, and she planned on bringing five back.
The blonde woman walked toward Blake and immediately intercepted his sword that was about to hit a tired looking Lucario. Their swords clashed with a loud clank, each of them trying to overpower the other. While she was trying to overpower Blake, Soul looked back at Aaron and Lucario.
"Go help Akira and Gallade with Arcanine! I can take care of Blake here!" she ordered.
The two reluctantly nodded and left her alone to handle Blake. The blond male took another swift swing at her, but luckily she moved out of the way just in time. However, once she did, Blake decided to land another hit at her. Soul was caught by surprise at how fast Blake suddenly became. He was much more faster than before. What happened to him?
Soul was able to avoid getting stabbed, but she wasn't able to avoid the sword completely. Blake's sword slashed at her arm, catching her off guard. He took this opportunity to land a kick at her, causing her to fall back. The blonde woman hissed in pain as she felt a stinging sensation travel through the new cut on her arm. She placed a hand over it and stood up, her other hand picking up her sword.
Soul could see her blood staining Blake's silver sword, causing her to grit her teeth. The Blake she knew would never hurt his own comrade, especially a captain that could kick his ass. Her eyes perked up as a new plan formed in her head. Maybe she should pretend his old self was actually there rather than getting him to snap out of whatever trance he's in. Yeah, that might work!
A smirk found it's way onto Soul's face as she removed her hand from her injury and pointed her sword at Blake, who continued to glare at her nonetheless. Remember Soul, just pretend you're fighting the real Blake and everything should go smoothly. Besides, she might consider this battle as payback for his little outburst from day one.
"You're pretty cocky to have picked a fight with an aura guardian. You're also pretty damn stupid to defy your captain," Soul taunted, earning her a scowl from him.
"I'll tear you to pieces!" he bellowed before charging at her.
She scoffed before intercepting his sword with hers, creating a spark once the collision was made. He tried to overpower her, but little did he know that an aura guardian always had something up their sleeve. Soul focused all of her aura into her sword, causing Blake to be pushed back by the sudden strength and fall on his back. A little something her father taught her was that you could always use your own aura to add strength to a certain area, whether it be hands, feet, or muscle. It's the basics that could go a long way.
Blake got back up, looking more furious than before. Just by looking at him, Soul could tell that bloodlust was all on his mind. The blond male threw his sword to the side and began to charge at her unarmed. He was going to try and kill her with his bear hands? Even while possessed, he's still an idiot.
"You're going up against me unarmed?" Soul sneered. "Too much confidence will lead to your death!"
"Shut up!" Blake roared as he neared her.
"Major!" the others shouted.
"Know your place, Chadwick!" she warned.
Soul put her sword back in its sheath and prepared for Blake's attack. The blond male pulled his fist back, getting ready to punch her. She put her hand out, her palm facing upwards, and focused twice the amount of aura onto her palm. She wanted to have enough power to knock him out. Any more and she might accidentally kill him.
Blake was only a few steps away from her, giving her the signal to prepare herself. One shove to the chest would be enough to suffice. Once Blake got close enough to where she could touch him, the blonde woman placed her overpowered hand onto his chest and shoved him back. A normal shove like that would've just made him stop. However, once applying more aura to this hand, it had the strength of ten men.
Blake was pushed back far away and crashed harshly into a tree, denting the bark greatly. His head banged against it as well, which immediately knocked him out. One down, one more to go. As Soul turned to face the others, her entire body froze as Arcanine glared at her. It wasn't out of fear, she could almost be certain that this was one of his attacks.
Crap, she couldn't move a muscle! No matter how hard she tried, Soul wouldn't budge. She looked up and saw Arcanine running toward her, his fangs glowing with violent flames. If she doesn't get out of the way fast, she's done for!
"Soul, get out of the way!" Aaron yelled at her.
"I... can't... move...!" she panicked, trying her best to get that sentence out of her mouth.
The closer Arcanine got the more Soul's panic began to intensify. Dammit, she needed to move or else she'd be killed! Think Soul, think! Why couldn't she think of anything?! This panicking wasn't helping either!
Before Arcanine got any closer, Akira's Lunatone placed itself in between the blonde woman and Arcanine. Its sudden appearance caused the Legendary Pokémon to get distracted and slow down.
"Lunatone use Hypnosis!" Akira shouted.
Lunatone's eyes focused completely on Arcanine, who seemed to come to a complete stop. Its eyes glowed a light blue color as transparent signals were sent at Arcanine. The orange canine tried to keep his eyes open while fighting back the oncoming slumber. The harder he tried, the more he seemed to struggle. In the end, Arcanine was consumed by sleep.
The Legendary Pokémon fell limp on the ground, breathing heavily from exhaustion. Soul was now able to move again, thank goodness for that. She heard footsteps coming their way, and out of instinct, she placed her hand on the hilt of her sword. However, once she saw it was Axel and Mark, she dropped her guard.
"They got away," Mark reported, looking pretty pissed at their failure.
"It's okay, they weren't our priority anyway." Soul waved off.
"Woah, what happened here?" Axel asked as his eyes laid on the unconscious Blake and Arcanine.
"I don't know," she answered as her confusion of those two grew. "but Blake has some explaining to do once he wakes up."
Soul gasped as she felt a burning sensation on her arm. Crap, she forgot about the stupid wound Blake gave her during their fight. The blonde woman pinched one eye shut from the pain and placed a hand over her wound, already feeling her blood trying to seep through her fingers.
"Major, are you okay?!" Akira asked as he came to her side.
"It's just a cut, nothing to worry over," Soul assured him. "We've got to keep going. Azure Village isn't far. There we can aid Blake, Arcanine, and myself."
The others were reluctant, but eventually agreed. Mark and Axel carried Blake while Akira's Lunatone used Psychic to carry Arcanine. Whatever happened today, Blake had a lot of explaining to do once he regained consciousness.
