The Animal Within: You can't cage the Beast

by Mad Ass Dragon

The Invincible Monster of the Forest. That's what they call him. The boy who was murdered, and then reborn from the depths as a Monster. Death. All it did was make him stronger. He is hunted day and night by his enemy, who seeks to finish what he started. It comes down to the age old question. How do you kill what's already dead? WARNING!: Dark story.

10. The Battle of LC - Part 1

Chapter 10: The battle of Lumiose City – Part 1

Hey guys!

The Mad Dragon is FINALLY back!

SSSSSOOOOOOO sorry for how this took me guys, the shit has been hitting the fan of my life. I won't bore you all with details, but trust me it's been VERY difficult for me to write, so I've been taking a little time off. Anyway, enough moaning about that and on with the rest.

I've not been idle during this time though, I've been doing SHIT TONES of planning. Me and my new Beta WolfBlade84 have been thinking of lots of new ideas for chapters and between us we've come up with some great ideas.

Shoutouts to WolfBlade84, Acidplatypus & everyone who clicked that favourite and follow button, thanks for the reviews and the support. So long as you guys are enjoying this story, I'll keep it going…. Oh fuck this, I'M NEVER GOANNA ABANDON THIS STORY! IT WILL BE COMPLETE! Lol, maybe this is why people think I belong in the mad house… Eh, who cares?

Before you read this next part, I warn you, foul language WILL be used for a moment.

Guess who…. I shouldn't even waste effort in typing a message for you, but I'm going to vent my overpowering rage out. First, I will take a deep calming breath…. Now, let's begin.

FUCK YOU! WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?! THIS IS NOT YOUR STORY! IT'S BEEN WRITEN BY ME! WOLF HAS GIVEN ME SO MUCH FUCKING SUPPORT HE NOW HAS A CLAIM IN IT TOO, BUT YOU FUCKING DON'T! WOLF'S RIGHT, YOU GOTTA HAVE A ONE INCH FUCK PIN!

You have NO right to order me around, to demand I do this or that, if you think you can do this any better, then write a story of your own. If you can fit it in between your ass fucking Dad sessions.

If you have any suggestions for chapters, then by all means submit them and I'll see how to put them in, but DON'T demand I do something 'cause you fucking tell me to! GO FIND A BITCH AND FUCK HIS ASS RAW! DON'T COME BACK UNTIL YOU ARE READY TO START A FUCKING FLAME WAR!

I've devoted enough time to you now. OK, angry rant over with :) I'm in no way homophobic; this rant is not to be confused as such.

I've decided to edit my old chapters to fix some errors and generally improve the quality…. And make Alex suffer some more, Red didn't really get to teach him some manners. Hehehehehehe. Once they're done I'll post them.

Whoever's wondering who the man with the Pikachu is, or you might remember him as the man who's worried about his nuts, he WILL be explained soon… You must be patient ;)

Acidplatypus, sorry I forgot to give you a shoutout last time, I was so focused on trying to get it done as quick as I could that I forgot to check…. Sorry :( Thanks for the support; it really helps to know people are enjoying this.

Again I'm sorry guys, this chapter proved to be too much to chew on, I've had to split it up. It was either split it, or make it a 50,000 word chapter which nobodies got the time or patience to read. But don't worry I updated twice to make up for it.

Credit to my new Beta reader, Wolf, whose help is extremely appreciated, and without who this story wouldn't be anywhere near as good as it is, and this chapter wouldn't even be half as good.

Disclaimer: Own Pokémon not I do. Hmmm. Yoda talk like I am. Hmm.

---

Previously

Serena bid farewell to her home in Vaniville town, to begin her journey with her childhood crush. The family that was split apart by misfortune was finally reunited and questions surrounding the mysterious Eis were answered.

Red seemed to be having heart problems, which led to a questioning session with the Beast itself. Revealing that it is not some simple demon or anything like that, it is not even someone who is trying to control him… It is something worse.

Someone passed on a message from Eis, to the new mother Garchomp, who resides at P. Sycamore's laboratory. She has now been possessed and is ready to serve Eis at a moment's notice. She belongs to the Eternal Master of Darkness now.

When we left them, they were enjoying the morning in the warmth of the city park. Their morning was interrupted by the cold killer; Eis began an attack on the city of Lumiose. The Battle of Lumiose City has begun.

---

Blood. The precious life giving fluid runs freely through the streets of Lumiose, tainting the concrete with its crimson stain. The desperate pleas of the dying for the lives of their loved ones shatter the cold silence. Many of the cries die before their message can be given; the swift and merciless blades of the Paladins crave the flesh and blood of innocents.

The smoky Barrier above, which binds every living soul within its dark confines, remains strong. Dozens of splinters break off from its surface, quickly forming smoke covered Pokémon. Tyranitar, Rhyperior, Snorlax, Donphan and Forretress all fall freely from the smoke, crashing into the city, loosing attacks as they go. The city crumbles as roaring fires break out all across its surface, destroying everything in its wake.

From the depths of the Barrier, a single colossal stream of darkness crashes through the smoky surface, falling through the air and down towards the burning city. Through the darkness, gleams of silver shine through, revealing the Steelix behind it.

Many people refuse to bow before the might of the Paladins and their Pokémon, taking up their own arms and turning them against their attackers. Their fight is in vain, they aren't armed to face opponents of this calibre, you can't fight fire with ice. Only fire can fight fire.

The hopes of the city and its people rest on the shoulders of three Knight Apprentices, the only known Knights remaining in this city. The city's defences should never have been thinned out this much, leaving only two Apprentices left to protect it, by chance a third returned, bolstering the pathetic excuse for a defence. Many would say that another Apprentice couldn't make a difference, but in this battle that is one more person to fight, one more person to help, one more person to save lives and one more person to kill Paladin scum.

Add in the fact that this Apprentice is apprentice to Mew herself, then the hopes of the city's survival grow significantly stronger.

Paladins begin to invade the park, their foul darkness defiles the very earth, poisoning it and destroying the life giving soil beneath. Each of them armed with their blades and their shields, ready and willing to spill the blood of innocents.

The Ketchum twins each turn their heads on a swivel, taking in the sheer number of their opponents. So far only Grunts have made themselves known, the most basic form of Paladin there is. As is the case with all Paladins, they have undergone the ritual to become one with darkness, truly one with it. In doing so, they have gained power over it and gained a set of armour and weapons. They are able to use basic Aura abilities, but lack the power to perform many of them.

Individually they are weak, like a single twig, but what they lack in strength they make up for in sheer numbers. Numbers can easily overwhelm even the most powerful of opponents.

Red and Lily's faces light up at the prospect of such a challenge, their excitement builds to extreme heights. Their eyes burn blood red and hot pink, signifying their powers are flowing through their bodies. They are both ready and willing to fight to the death.

Lily rolls her eyes towards Blaziken; the two of them lock their gaze onto each other, communicating silently within a second. Blaziken nods his head, then leaps through the air towards the city. His instructions are clear; kill any and all Paladins upon sight, human and Pokémon alike, they're taking no prisoners here. They are at war now, in war countless die, his job is to ensure as many of the losses are on the side of the enemy, a job he's looking forward to.

Chatot fluffs up his feathers aggressively from his position on her shoulder, glaring daggers at the approaching enemy. "Bitch you dead" He growled angrily. "Oops, BITCHES are 'bout to die"

Lily scowls lightly at him. "Get your feathers out of here, find Willey and drag his sorry carcass here now" She growled back at him, while shrugging her shoulder.

His glare shifts to her instead of the enemy. "OK OK! You don't have to growl… Bitches, you pissed off the wrong…. Well bitch" He squawked as he took flight and began his search for their brother in arms.

The twins both draw dark grins, reading themselves for this battle. Their bodies are quickly enveloped in their own Aura, which begins to take shape around them and become physically real.

Lily's clothes quickly turn to light, which dissolves away from her slender body, allowing her Aura to form new clothes in their place. The light prevents her bare body from being seen, preserving her dignity and hiding her modesty from the eyes of her friends and family, as well as her soon to be opponents.

The light of her Aura wraps around her body, solidifying into hot pink robes that leave little to the imagination. A fresh wave of light climbs up her body, pooling together on her most vulnerable points and solidifying into opaque pink coloured steel armour. Her torso is the first, a thin layer of armour clings to her robes, protecting her vital organs from harm without weighing her down too much. The same armour forms across her stomach and lower back, allowing her to move freely as well as be protected. Her arms are almost completely exposed, only a pair of elbow length gloves shields her skin from sight. A pair of knee length boots form around her legs, attached to each of them is some more armour.

Finally, two points of light form on both of her temples, they make their way across her forehead, to meet in the centre as a downward point. As the two points of light become one, they solidify and become solid silver.

The light fades from her body, revealing her in her armour and robes. She cracks her neck to her side, her dark grin still firmly plastered across her face. "Ooooh yeah, that feels ssooo good…" She holds her arms out and summons her own weapon from the depths of her Aura.

A wooden staff emerges from the depths, made from beech wood and covered in red grip tape. The bottom end has a large steel blade, both edges of which are razor sharp; a hollow line runs through the blade's centre. The top end of the staff holds a clear crystal, the wood branches off and holds the crystal in place.

(A/N It's the same staff from the Dragon Age 2 trailers, Hawk's staff)

She grabs the staff in her hands, the moment her flesh connects with the wooden handle her Aura flows through her weapon, melding with the crystal atop it. The crystal turns rose pink and emits a matching glow; she turns the staff in her hands, showering herself in sparks of pink light.

Lily is ready for battle.

---

While Mages rely on their Aura abilities to battle, their staffs enhance their abilities and focus their powers. With a flick of the weapon, a Mage can fire what is known as an Aura Bolt. A Bolt resembles a miniature lightning bolt, baring the colour of their users Aura.

While a Bolt is similar to an Orb, they are unique to Mages and are far more powerful than a simple Orb. They are the Mages version of the Aura Orb, and can only be fired from a Mage's staff.

---

Red steals a quick glance at his sister, noting how her armour is made from her Aura, he smirks broadly. "My turn" His Aura forms bright red flames against his skin, burning away his clothes and replacing them with armour and robes against his skin.

First, red robes form across his flesh, keeping him warm and acting as a cushion for the armour to rest upon. Unlike his sister, his robes hang freely from his body, hiding his physique from those who watch him. A fire sparks across his robes, enveloping him within seconds. The flames quickly take physical form across his entire body, minus his head and feet, which remain untouched.

The flames quickly become opaque red coloured steel armour, much like his swords and axe, without the rising flames. The armour is far thicker than what Lily wears; it seems to be considerably heavier than hers is too. His armour is undoubtedly stronger than hers is, as it covers most of his body and is thicker. His torso, stomach, arms and legs are all covered, the undersides of his hands remain free from the protective gear, as do his feet and head.

Rather than forming gear like Lily wears, Red's armour forms what looks to be a scaly hide, it looks more like a thick layer of natural armour than man made protective gear.

He summons both his swords from the depths of his Aura and clutches their hilts tightly. He too cracks his neck to the side and grins darkly. "I see what you mean… It's been far too long since I've worn this. Feels so good"

Those who stand together behind the twins watch them with wide eyes, amazed by the sight of them in their armour and holding their weapons in their hands. The two of them look ready for a long and bloody fight.

The Paladins freeze in their tracks momentarily, stunned by the sight of their opponents readying themselves for battle. There weren't supposed to be any Knights here, this city was supposed to be a sitting Ducklet, waiting for them to destroy it. Well, except for the one that Eis seeks… He alone is supposed to be here, not these people.

The moment of shock doesn't last long; they begin their attack with a charge against them. A few nervously mumble to themselves, nothing audible or coherent.

"Hehehehe, only got weapons made from Aura? I've got a real weapon, Master gave it to me a couple years ago, when I first transformed… It's not even an apprentice practise staff, it's real" Lily said smugly to her brother.

He offers no response to her comment; he doesn't even draw a breath. Pain stabs into his heart, stealing his breath from him as well as taking his ability to speak. He tries hard not to let the other see his pain, it'll only make them worry more than they already are. More than that, if he shows weakness to the enemy, he'll give them the advantage.

(A/N I don't own this song, nor any others. War by Sick puppies)

Let's do this!

Unbeknown to him, Lily detects a slight surge in his Aura, indicating severe pain or stress. His facial expression and body language give no indication that he's afraid or stressed, her sense of smell picks up no scent of either of these emotions either. That means he's in pain, but from what?

Deciding that now is not the time to ask questions, she makes a mental note to question him later and focuses her attention on the battle here and now.

He locks onto the nearest Paladin and sprints forwards with his swords raised to strike, with each and every step he fights through the agony in his chest.

Faking falls, stop and stall take it all back 'cause I'm taking mine

I'm taking mine!

Blade uses Double Team, creating dozens of copies of himself. Each one looks identical to the original, it's impossible to tell the difference between them by simply looking at them. Each them uses Quick Attack against a different Grunt, ready to spill some blood in the name of Mew and Arceus.

Unlike the boys, Lily remains in place, smirking confidently as she watches them charge on ahead of her.

Red reaches his target; the Grunt raises his shield to defend himself from them impending strike, his swords slide off his shield harmlessly. The Grunt pushes against the swords, staggering Red slightly and giving himself the chance to strike.

Lily finally moves from her spot, her body twists and turns on itself, she seems to vanish into a ball of pink light. The light rushes through the air towards one of the few free Grunts, who raises her shield to defend herself. The light rematerializes before the shield, forming Lily once again.

She leans her head over her opponent's shield, a confident smirk across her face. "BOO!" She screamed. Once again she turns to light, then rematerializes behind her opponent. Before the Grunt can react, Lily thrusts her free palm into her back and releases a burst of Aura into her; the blast pushes her forwards and onto the ground.

Time is up

Out of luck

Should have stood up when you had the time, but you're out of time.

Without wasting a second, Lily slams the crystal end of her staff down onto her back and surges her Aura through the staff. A Bolt bursts through the crystal and burns its way into the Grunt's back. Lily turns to light once again and charges off towards her next opponent, leaving her first victim to die a slow death.

Blade and his copies each use Metal Claw, covering their pincers in metal to both block the swords of their opponents and counter strike in a single motion.

Let's do this!

FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!

Red's face feels the cold sting of steel be smashed into it, the Grunt doesn't stop there though, he pushes harder to try and stagger him. Red takes the chance to exploit the lapse in the Grunt's defence; he buries his left blade in the Grunt's chest.

One of Blade's copies makes a simple mistake, allowing his pincer to linger for a second too long, giving his opponent the chance to strike swiftly and without mercy. The copy dissolves away into nothing, allowing his opponent to attack those who can only watch this battle. Her opponent defeated, she sprints towards them all with her shield raised so she bowl them over and pick them off one by one.

Serena is the only one who was watching her battle with Blade, she alone saw him fall and see her charging towards them now. "HHHEEELLLLPPP!" She screamed in reflex, catching the attention of the others who cannot take up arms in this fight.

Lock and load, rock and roll

Bitch it's all over you're goin' down, YOU'RE GOIN' DOWN!

Red rips his sword free from the chest of his now dead opponent; the desperate plea drags his head towards its source. Time slows down for him, as he watches Serena raise her arms to shield herself from the blade of the Grunt.

The Paladin in question changes tactics; instead of bowling them all over and picking them off one by one, she's going to just kill this screaming bitch. She plants her right foot into the dirt, lowers her shield and raises her sword high to cleave Serena's head in two.

Red turns on his heel and hurls his right sword through the air, towards the Grunt's arm in a single fluid motion. The blade spins in a circular pattern as it sails through the air, thirsty for human blood.

The Grunt swings her sword down to end Serena's screams. It never gets to satisfy its dark thirst for blood, Red's crimson blade reaches her first. The blade slices her arm clean off and continues to sail through the air, as if it never touched her.

Her arm drops to the earth, her sword still firmly in its grasp. The severed limb writhes and twists across the ground, the blood quickly abandons it as does the darkness that filled it. A mixture of smoke and blood drains from the wound, causing it to shrivel up and turn black.

The blade that liberated her limb from her body finally stops flying through the air, as it embeds itself in the trunk of a tree. Blood erupts from her new stump, showering them all in her twisted and corrupted fluid.

Acting purely on instinct, those who cannot join this battle step away from the crippled Paladin, avoiding the worst of her blood as they go.

Get ready to settle the score!

And get ready to face the floor!

Cause it's time to remember it's WAR!

Lily wizzes around the battlefield in her light form, rematerializing briefly to launch a Bolt from her staff and then returning to her light form to find another opponent to kill.

Blade and his copies are struggling to kill their enemies, more and more of the copies are dissolving away. The split has divided his power and strength between them all, making them far weaker than he would normally be. On the good side, each time a copy is destroyed its strength is divided and given to the remaining copies and original.

Whenever Lily kills one of his opponents, the copy who was fighting it dissolves away, making the fight of the remaining copies and original easier.

THIS IS WAR!

And it's on tonight, so get up and fight! Get up and fight!

You had all your life, to run and hide!

Red Aura Sprints towards his target, who has dropped her shield and is clutching her new stump and screaming in agony and shock. "NEVER TOUCH MY APPRENTICE!" He shrieked in blind furry. As he sprints, he hurls his remaining sword through the air, towards her chest. His shriek catches her attention; she turns to face him as she continues to scream her head off.

The crimson blade ploughs into her chest, her eyes widen as she drops to her knees, staring at the blade that has bored its way between her tits. Red stops dead in front of her, she lifts her head up to face him and stares into the eyes of her killer. He grabs either side of her head and smashes her face down onto his right knee. As she collides with him, he releases her and allows her to fall back, blood oozing from her shattered nose.

As she falls, he grabs his sword and rips it out from her flesh, she gurgles out a mouthful of blood as she tries to make her last words known to the world. Nothing but blood and tears escape her though; she is denied her final words.

NOW STEP UP!

NOW STEP UP!

LET'S DO THIS!

He spits on her corpse, as he does the sight of a Paladin destroying one of Blade's copies catches his eye. He gives the Paladin his undivided attention, who turns his own head to face him, with anger swelling inside his stomach.

Red smirks darkly at his newest challenger. "Next in line" As he speaks, he reaches out for his lost sword. The blade rips itself from the tree and flies back to his hand, blood surges through his hand as man and weapon are reunited once more.

The exertion of retrieving his weapon drains his strength momentarily; he drops to his knees and buckles over, panting heavily. The pain in his chest kicks up a notch, sweat floods down his face as the blood drains from it.

Second round, goin' down

How about a little reaction man

You can barely stand

The Paladin snarls darkly at the crouching Red, his anger burns brighter in his gut. "She was my fucking sister you piece of shit!" He tosses his sword and shield aside, before they hit the ground they turn to smoke and are reabsorbed into his body.

Red fights through his pain to smirk darkly, it's obvious to everyone who can see that this guy is very angry. Drawing on the pain, he forces himself to stand and fight again. "Did I upset you when I killed her? Or was it when she cried like a bitch?!"

The Paladin summons a new weapon, a large and vicious spear. He aims his newly formed weapon directly at Red's heart, to end his battle in a single strike.

Red's common sense screams for him to move, to avoid the strike. But his pride screams louder, telling him he is the Invincible Monster of the Forest, he has survived countless blows before, this'll be no different. He confidently holds his arms out at his sides, leaving himself fully exposed and open for attack. "Bring it on bitch… Stronger Paladins than you have tried and failed to put me down!"

Bitch slap, slow attack

Man that was practically suicide…. Next in line

The great fire dragon, known as Charizard, has completed his count of the enemy. By his count there are a grand total of, too many scum bags to count, it's easier just to kill them rather than count them. He abandons his task and turns back towards the park.

As he closes in on his new target, something large catches his eye. He recognises it as a new Paladin, one far stronger than a simple Grunt, walking along side it are two Pokémon. They are not like the ones that fell through the Barrier, these two where with the Paladin before this began.

Through his Connection with Red, he can feel the pain in his chest is getting worse; it's getting far too strong now. "Boss you stubborn jackass! You can't fight this soon after having a fucking heart attack! You'll have another one!"

He quickly catches sight of his brother, as well as the Grunt who's aiming a spear at him. A groan escapes his jaws. "And you say I'VE got a big head… You're too proud for your own good Boss; if you die then Blade'll kill ME!"

Fight! Fight! Fight!

Fight! Fight! Fight!

Fight!

Charizard unleashes his Flamethrower around the edges of the park, effectively creating a Barrier of his own. The roaring flames block the path of those who wish to enter the fray.

Red rolls his eyes and holds his head to the side, daring his opponent to try and do what no one else has managed to do, kill the Monster. The Grunt angrily hurls his spear with deadly accuracy; the air is torn apart as it makes its way to heart of the enemy.

Lily rematerializes behind a group of Grunts, who managed to kill Blade's copies and are preparing to strike at those who remain. They all turn on the spot to face her, as they do she swipes her staff through the air, loosing a series of Bolts from her staff as she does.

The Bolts boor their way into the flesh of the Grunts, who all look down at their chests in defeat. The energy crackles in their chests, these Bolts aren't meant to kill them, but give Lily the ability to gain a small portion of control over them.

With diabolical pleasure, she clenches her free fist, activating the power locked inside those Bolts. The Bolts inside their chests explode, ripping their flesh apart from the inside out. They drop to the ground. Dead.

The stand-off between Red and the Grunt catches her attention, her eyes widen in horror when she sees him expose himself to the spear, it's like he's asking to be killed! "YOU MORON!"

Get ready to settle the score!

And get ready to face the floor!

Cause it's time to remember it's WAR!

Drawing on her Psychic energy, locked deep away inside her mind, she concentrates hard. Her growing Psychic energy pools into her free hand, making it faintly glow luminous blue. Her eyes change from hot pink to luminous blue as well, signalling that she has gathered enough power to attack.

She thrusts her hand forwards, releasing a weak telekinetic wave towards the spear. Her attack knocks the spear off course slightly, but not enough to save him from its deadly bite. While her intentions were to save him from the strike, she has actually made the strike more deadly. The weapons of Paladins absorb elemental attacks and add their power to their strike.

THIS IS WAR!

And it's on tonight, so get up and fight! Get up and fight!

You had all your life, to run and hide!

Step up, step up. Let's do this.

The stick of death's tip glows blue with the stolen Psychic energy, while its course has been altered it still ploughs through Red's armour and tears through his flesh. It continues to fly, carrying Knight blood with it. Its journey finally ends, when it collides with a tree trunk.

Red's sword drop from his grasp, as his eyes widen in agony. He howls in agony as the pain surges through him. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Blood pours out from the left side of his abdomen; the spear split his flesh in two, but missed his vital organs. Barely. His now free hands clumsily clutch his bleeding side, in an attempt to ease the blood flow.

The pain from his heavy flesh wound pales in comparison to the pain in his heart, it feels like its being crushed in a vice again, while a Snorlax sits on his chest. He's closing in on a second heart attack in as many days.

'Cause we're all, about ready to break

And we're all about ready to break

Yeah we're all, about ready to break

Yeah we're all, about ready to break

His blood pours from the wound, despite the pain from his heart, staining his hands crimson. Pulses of red Aura flow from the wound, far weaker than they would be normally, they aren't enough to heal the wound, but they are enough to ease the bleeding down to a light trickle.

The mighty dragon of fire swoops down through the air and snatches the Grunt who threw the spear, he roars into the his face. "NOBDY KILLS THE BOSS! BUT MMMMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" He rips the Grunt's armour off with his talons, then lunges his head down and chomps his teeth into his exposed flesh.

This is war… And it never ends…

So get up, get up, get up, GET UP!

You had all your life

To run and hide! Step up! So step up!

Red's vision betrays him, blurring badly and preventing him from being able to see the battle around him. His other senses are as sharp as ever, alerting him as to what is making its way through the flames. "Bring it on… I can still fight" He rasped.

Like her brother, Lily too knows what's joining the fray. She turns to light once again and recommences her attack against the Grunts, trying to eliminate as many Paladins as she possibly can before their newest challenger joins the fray.

This is war! And it never ends!

This is war! And it never ends!

The flames part, giving way to the power of the Paladin who seeks entrance to this battle. A very large brute of a man walks through the newly formed gateway; he's wielding a brutal Warhammer, a heavy two handed weapon, in one of his ham like hands.

He's a Sentinel, a far stronger Paladin of Fear than a simple Grunt. Sentinels are far larger than any normal man or woman, they easily clear heights of seven feet and are usually very broad shouldered to go with their towering height. Their bodies are far physically stronger than any normal person, while they don't look it; they are able to lift almost anything they desire.

The process of giving them their powers warps their bodies; it causes them to grow far bigger and stronger than Grunts do. They typically wield large two handed weapons, making the most use of their strength. More than their physical strength though, their Aura is stronger than any Grunt. They have more abilities over their Aura and are able to attack with it directly.

Standing either side of the Sentinel is a pair of Houndoom, snarling at Blade and his copies. "Kill them" He spat darkly.

The Houndoom twins each release powerful Flamethrowers, the flames twist and turn through the air, splintering out and forming dozens of smaller Flamethrowers, each one targets one of Blade's copies.

The flames quickly dissolve the copies away, while destroying the copies; they are also bolstering the original's strength. He reaches forwards in a flash and snatches his opponent's neck, without hesitation or mercy he snaps the Grunt's neck and drops his lifeless body to the ground. He turns towards his newest challengers. "I'll deal with you two later"

THIS IS WAAAARRRR!

LET'S DO THIS!

LET'S DO THIS!

Charizard rips out the liver of the Paladin he snatched, satisfied that he has the tastiest part of his prey, he hurls the remains down to the ground, like the discarded wrapper from a candy bar. He too drops down to the earth with a heavy thud, munching away on his liver as he does.

Without Blade's copies to keep their attention, the Grunts are free to gang up on Lily. Red's injured and is unable to fight right now, he poses no threat, attacking him now would make killing him easier, but then they'd have to deal with his Charizard and Scizor. Lily is currently a major threat, she's picking them off one by one, and she doesn't have any Pokémon with her to defend her right now. She's their best target.

Lily rematerializes to strike a group of them again, the moment she does a large group of them charge in towards her, surrounding her within seconds. There's too many of them for her to attack, she'll be struck down long before she gets the chance to kill any of them.

If she can't attack, then she's left with only one choice. She throws up a small pink Barrier of her own around herself, protecting herself from the bites of their blades, which bounce of the shield harmlessly. She swipes her free hand around herself, activating the secondary effects of her Barrier. In a flurry of pink light, it explodes, hurling her challengers back and onto the ground.

FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!

FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!

FIGHT!

Let's do this…

The Sentinel catches sight of the injured Red, who is still trying to heal himself, his eyes widen for a moment. He shakes his head to clear his thoughts; he then clenches his free fist and holds it high, signalling to the other Paladins to cease their battle. He wishes to address their opponents.

The Paladins raise their shields defensively and pull their blades back, the Sentinel outranks them and is far stronger than them all, it wouldn't be wise to defy his will.

Lily acknowledges the Sentinel's silent request for a momentary truce, simply because it will give her the chance to rest for a moment and will give Red the time to finish healing. She stops attacking, but maintains a firm hold across her staff, ready to end the truce at a moment's notice.

Lucario takes this momentary break to assess the battle, so far the three of them are doing great; they've managed to kill most of the Grunts with relative ease. "This battle would already be over, if Charizard would get off his fat ass and help!" He thought bitterly.

Red's hands are stained with his own blood, but he has managed to heal the wound enough to stop most of the bleeding now. He's no longer at risk of bleeding to death, at least through the wound as it is now. He lifts his hands away from his flesh and summons his swords from the ground. The pain is still crushing his heart, but he can't afford to let it hold him back anymore. He must fight through it and end this battle, before any of the others get hurt.

Charizard rips his liver in half and chews on it slowly, savouring the flavour and texture of the delicacy. "What the fuck are you stopping for? Burn 'em to a crisp already Boss, if you need some fire just say so"

Blade charges his Steel energy through his pincers, turning them into a Metal Claw attack; he won't be taken by surprise again. "Get this over with" He rolls his eyes towards the Houndoom. "I'll take you both on next"

The Houndoom twins snarl at him in response, as they slink away from their Master's side towards him. "Poor little bug, you don't stand a chance against either of us, let alone both of us at once. This isn't a fair fight" They split apart as they walk, hoping to distract him so they can hit him with a sneak attack.

Recognising this cowardly tactic, Blade un-focuses his eyes, allowing him to see his entire surroundings at once. "Yeah, you're right… This isn't a fair fight. Why don't you get some back up, you'll need it to take on this bug"

The Sentinel puts on toothy smile, as he does he rests his hammer across his shoulder. "Well well well… I don't believe what I'm seeing here. A man with red Aura, who stares death in the face without bothering to defend himself. A man who commands a Scizor as well as a one eyed Charizard… Lookey here boys, we're in the presence of the infamous 'Invincible Monster of the Forest'… The Monster himself has come to fight us"

A wave of horrified gasps flow through the Grunts, followed by stares of horror and fear. "WHAT?! HE'S FUCKING REAL?!" One of them shrieked in fear. "I thought he was just a myth, a story to scare us into being careful" Another whispered. "Shit. We're all fucking dead" Another cried. "MERCY! PLEASE HAVE MERCY ON US!" One pleaded, as he soiled himself in fear.

Lily can hear the terror in their voices, smell the fear flowing from them, they're truly terrified of Red. Rather than being pleased that he's feared by the enemy, she's angry, have they forgotten she's here to?

The 'Invincible Monster' is panting heavier and heavier with each passing second, the strain of all this stress is getting to be too much for him. A shooting pain is climbing up into his left arm; the taste of copper is filling his mouth. "Bring it… On… Piece of shit. I don't give… Mercy to your kind" He breathed back.

The Sentinel slowly shakes his head in disappointment, he expected more from Paladins of Fear. This so called invincible monster is obviously a greatly exaggerated myth, look at him, he can barely stand. "I don't know why my men are so afraid of you, look at you, you're barely standing… I'll prove here and now, that you aren't invincible" He lazily aims his free hand at Red's chest, forming a black Orb in his palm. "Let's see just how 'invincible' you really are"

A colossal beam of black Aura explodes from his hand, ending the short truce and reengaging battle once again. In a blink of an eye, the beam hits Red square in the chest, knocking his swords from his grasp and sending his body through the air and into a tree. "AAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!" He cried out as attack burned through his armour and hit his flesh.

His armour melted upon the touch, like a flaming sword through a wall of ice, leaving his bare flesh exposed to the power. The force of the attack has shattered his ribs, while they have avoided his lungs for now; the pain still hits him hard. His eyes widen in agonising pain, not from his flesh that doesn't matter, that's not going to kill him. His heart is what's hurting the most; he's at the brink of a second heart attack in as many days.

All eyes focus onto him, in a single instant he has become the centre of attention. Many of the eyes watching him are filled with joy, the eyes of the Paladins watch eagerly as their most dangerous opponent dies before them.

Lily's mind races with thoughts, no matter how strong or tough Red is, he won't survive a hit like this for too long, eventually his body will fail him and be destroyed by the pure Aura in an Aura Wave attack, it's inevitable.

That means she's alone in this fight now, she's the only one left who can take on this many Grunts at once. She doesn't have a choice, she's got to use her best group attack, the fact that it's one of her favourite attacks has nothing to do with it… Nothing at all. She turns to Lucario. "GRAMPA! THROW UP A BARRIER AND SHEILD EVERYONE! NOW!"

The aging Pokémon turns to face her, blinking a little in surprise at her command, it's been a long time since he has been issued with a command. It provides him with a sense of nostalgia, but now is not the time for such trivialities, now he must do his part to end this nightmare.

With a swift nod of his head, his eyes glow blue and his head appendages stiffen out. In an instant a blue bubble forms around him and the rest of the ones who can only watch. A Barrier of his own, while much weaker than anything Lily has and could make, it'll do for now.

"THE BIG GUY'S MINE!" Red screeched over the sound of the Wave, catching his sister's attention.

She rolls her eyes and shakes her head, even when she's trying to save his life and the lives of their friends and family, he has to one up her… His pride has blinded him to the severity of the situation he is in. "FINE! JUST KILL HIM QUICK BEFORE HE KILLS YOU!"

Grasping her staff in both her hands, she slams the blade into the earth and focuses her power into the weapon, charging it for this attack, which will end their struggle. At least in this place it will, as for the rest of the city, they'll have to reclaim it the old fashioned way.

Red grinds his teeth and tries to focus his mind on something other than the pain, he hasn't got a clue what Lily's about to do, but he knows she needs time.

Time, it's a precious commodity to few, but it's invaluable in this battle. "BLADE! GUARD LILY! SHE NEEDS TIME!" The red pincer Pokémon abandons the focus of his attention, the Houndoom twins, and uses Quick Attack to reach Lily in the blink of an eye. He stops dead in front of her and then uses Double Team to surround her with his copies. Each one uses Metal Claw to defend her; each one is willing to die to obey their Master's call.

The Sentinel stands exactly where he was when he began his attack, he's truly astounded that Red's able to communicate, the force from the attack alone should have ended his miserable life, yet he's still alive and talking. There might be some truth to the myth surrounding him after all, perhaps he truly does hold some unseen strength that should be feared, or perhaps he's simply a tough opponent.

Either way this cannot continue, he pumps more power into the attack, making it grow wider and spreads across Red's chest and abdomen, enveloping them in its burning touch. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!" He screeched in agony, as the sound of his own erratic heart beat fills his ears.

Such a sound would send chills down the spines of many, but to him it is a comfort, a sign that his body still functions. The sound of a beating heart has provided him comfort for years past, it is one thing that binds humans and Pokémon together, they all have a heart as well as a heartbeat. When times seemed darkest for him, he found comfort in the gift Serena gave him as a child, but he also found comfort in the beats of the hearts of those close to him.

His teeth grind together, threatening to crack under their own pressure, his eyes burn brighter as a fresh wave of power comes to his aid. The comforting sound soothes his heart slightly, easing his pain and allowing him to recover the power he needs to fight back. "NO! YOU CAN'T KILL ME, BECAUSE I'M ALREADY DEAD!"

Lily's staff gains a rose pink hue, as her power begins to build up within the weapon. She'll need to focus all of her power into her staff to use this attack, fuck knows how she'll be able to fight after this is done, but right now isn't the time to be thinking of things like that, if she doesn't destroy the Grunts they face now, they won't live to fight later.

The Sentinel stares at Red in horror, he can feel that his power isn't decreasing anymore, it's rising. He's getting stronger and stronger; soon he'll be able to fight his way through this attack. Fear stabs into him, what if the legends are true? What if he really is invincible? How can they beat him if he really is immortal? He'll have to weaken him first, Knights have a fatal weakness in their power, the pain of loss can steal their power from them. "IDIOTS! DON'T JUST STAND THERE! KILL HER!"

The Grunts drop their defensive stances and raise their blades towards the young Knight, surrounded by copies of a pincer Pokémon. Blade raises his pincers high and takes an aggressive stance, he won't fail again.

Red clenches his fists, the power that has returned to him isn't his full, but it'll be enough for him to end this little game of wills. He pushes himself forwards, against the beam of Aura, against his own pain. No matter what happens 'cause of this, he won't be beaten by a mere Sentinel. On the bright side, the heat from the attack is sealing his wound shut, effectively healing it for him.

Charizard lazily lifts his head up again, having polished off around two thirds of his liver now. He tilts his head curiously, as he watches his brother push back against a deadly attack; he can feel the raw anger surging through his veins. He shakes his head slowly as he chews, Red won't fight with his rage, despite it being his strongest source of power, it baffles the dragon. "Careful with that anger, you don't wanna lose your shit again. Last time you burned fuck knows how much down, took us weeks to fix everything" He said lazily.

His brother pushes on, gaining more and more momentum with each step; he's barely even feeling the burn now, the only pain he's registering is coming from his heart. Through sheer will, he's pushing through it all, his burning desire to end this battle fuelling his movements. "I CAN'T BE DEFEATED! I'M ALREADY DEAD!"

The Grunts quickly take up their positions, circling Blade, his copies and Lily, searching for a weakness in his defence to exploit. He won't give them the chance they need though, a second wave of copies are spawned into creation, these copies leap forwards and slam their Metal Claw attacks into the flesh and armour of the Grunts, shattering their bones upon impact.

Lily's staff fills with more and more power with each passing second, rose pink light swirls around the weapon, flowing into the crystal above. Her attack is almost ready, she just needs a few more seconds and she'll be able to end this.

Red's all but striding through the Wave now, it's like he can't even feel it. His eyes lock onto those of his enemy, fear has claimed them and has blocked out all other emotions from sight. The Sentinel's attack loses more and more power with each passing second, what point is there is maintaining such an energy consuming attack? He's dead no matter what. "You… You're a fucking monster"

Their original target having escaped them, the Houndoom twins begin circling Charizard, waiting for the perfect chance to tear his scaly hide open. The dragon in question swallows the last chunk of liver in his mouth, licks the blood off his lips and smirks devilishly. "He was delicious… I'll enjoy eating you two next" He growled.

Bloodlust. That's the only thing going through the mind of the male Knight, the pain has been pushed from his mind, the urge to spill blood is the only driving force going through him now. The Wave that was previously trying to end his life finally breaks. The Sentinel behind the attack has lost the will to carry on fighting him, what point is there? He's come face to face with the Monster all Paladins fear, and worse still he's pissed him off… Very few actually see him in the flesh, even less survive the meeting.

The monster in question stands before the brute of a man who leads this ragtag force of Grunts, his eyes burning with uncontrollable bloodlust. The eyes of the Sentinel widen in pain and shock, he looks down to his chest, and sees the hand of his opponent has delved into his flesh. Driven by pure uncontrolled furry, Red's right fist smashed through the steel that shielded his flesh, tore through his flesh and ribs, to reach the beating organ hidden inside.

The cold talons of Yveltal wrap around the Sentinel's throat, as his eyes roll into his head and the life giving blood drains from his face. "I am the Invincible Monster for a reason Paladin scum. You cannot kill me, because I'm already dead" He whispered, before he ripped the heart from the man. The Sentinel releases his final breath and falls back to the cold unforgiving earth. Dead.

(A/N I know it's not technically possible to rip someone's heart out, but honestly who cares? It's badass)

Lily's eyes rip open, the crystal atop her staff ignites in perfectly clear pink light, her attack is ready. "TIME TO END THIS LITTLE GAME!"

The power locked away within her staff erupts out through the crystal atop it, dozens of rose pink beams burst through the crystal and climb towards the Barrier above. The beams twist and turn around themselves as they rise towards the sky, all eyes lock onto them, enthralled by their magnificent beauty. They look like fireworks climbing up to the sky, to explode and provide a beautiful show for those who set them off. The dazzling beams break apart and dive towards the earth, each acting as a miniature darkness seeking missile.

---

At the base of the magnificent glass tower, the concrete ground runs red with the blood of innocents, the streets are lined with the bodies of the dead, both human and Pokémon alike. Some people bravely try to defend their homes and loved ones from the might of the Paladins and their Pokémon, despite their efforts; they aren't even making a dent in their forces.

Many buildings have been crushed, the rubble that was once countless homes litters the blood soaked streets. The screams of the dying and the terrified drowns out the roars and blasts of the Pokémon of darkness.

A small boy, no older than Bonnie, runs through the streets, avoiding the rubble and bodies of the dead as he goes. Tears stream down his cheeks, having been told by his mother to run, to run as far away from their home as he could, as said home collapsed around them, burying his family in the process.

An equally young Eevee rests on his shoulder, his fur matted from soot and tears. Like his trainer, he too is searching for one who leads this gang of murderous bastards.

Together they run towards the tower, they've both seen these murderous people turn towards it and bow, it's their best chance to find their leader. If they can get rid of him, then the rest of them will go away, they have to. Their eyes scan their surroundings, but don't absorb the sights around them.

A gentle tap on the boy's shoulder, alerts him to what his Eevee sees, a man stands atop the tower, with a Pokémon either side of him. "THAT'S HIM! I KNOW IT!"

Tears continue to sting the boy's face as the roll down his swollen and reddening face. "YOU THINK YOU'RE SO TOUGH?! TAKE US ON!" He cried out as loud as his small lungs allowed him.

The young cat like Pokémon growls up at the tower, while details obviously can't be seen, he knows Pokémon when he smells them. "I'LL TAKE YOU BOTH ON!"

Their small voices aren't strong enough to reach the top of the tower, nor are they loud enough to be heard above the sounds of battle. Regardless, Eis knows they are here, he sees all through the Barrier he has created here. Lowering his gaze, he spies the two challengers to his rule.

His hand aims itself down at the challengers and forms an Orb as black as the night sky in the palm. Froslass follows her Master's eye; she too spies the boy and his loyal Eevee and scowls at them, as though they are nothing but shit on her foot. "Master, allow me to deal with this vermin. There is no need for you to dirty your hands with such filth"

"Silence" Eis hissed back, as a dark grin formed on his face. "I will destroy the vermin myself; no one threatens me and gets away with it"

She quickly bows to her Master, as a sign of submission to his rule. "As you wish Master"

The eyes of the boy and his Eevee widen, as they see a strange ball like object drop down from the tower towards them. Unbelievable fear fills both of them, fear that restricts them from moving, they can't even breath. What's coming towards them? Is it some kind of weapon? Is it a Pokémon attack?... It doesn't matter; they both know this will kill them.

Before the Orb can strike the children, a flash of light rises up from the bettered city. A bolt of lightning rises from the light and into the air, it curves through the air towards the tower.

The arch of lightening seeks out its target, the Orb of darkness. With a single jolt forwards, the lightening crashes into the Orb, flooding it with electricity and changing its trajectory. The Orb crackles with electricity as it crashes into a relatively undamaged building.

Eis simply stares for a moment, confused and baffled by the unexpected Thunderbolt attack. He and Froslass turn towards the source of the attack, while Glalie simply stares at the remains of the crushed building, waiting for the Orb to come back out and kill the child. Eis' keen eye sight detects traces of light from the source of the attack, despite being blinded in one eye by Red; he still has one good eye left.

Blood boils and bubbles up into his face, as a bloodlust fuelled snarl breaks out, a strong anger point throbs on his forehead. "DESTROY THAT MEDDLING ELECTRIC RAT! MAKE IT SUFFER!" He bellowed.

His head snaps back to face the boy who dared to challenge him, forming a second Orb in his palm as he does. He's gone, the boy and his Eevee are both gone, not even leaving a hair behind. They must have run off when his attention was drawn away.

His snarl grows stronger, his face burns brighter with fresh rage, the anger point grows larger and is joined by a pair of small points either side of it.

Sensing his growing anger, Froslass bows to him once again and tries to defuse the situation. Eis must conserve all his power if their plan is to bear fruit. "It matters not Master, that vermin is meaningless"

Her Master turns on his heel, foaming at the mouth with rage. "Destroy them. Destroy them both. No one escapes me and lives to tell the tale"

---

The once lush and green park, now bares the bodies of dozens of young men and women, cut down in the prime of life. Many of their bodies bare wounds inflected from blades and claws, but most have wounds inflicted by Bolts.

The young lady, who ended their lives, now leans on her staff in an effort to stay standing. That last attack took most of her energy to fuel it, while she has plenty of power left inside her, what good is it if she lacks the energy to use it?

Her brother lies on his back, his arms sprawled out either side of him; the pain in his heart has returned with renewed passion and heat. The blood has been stolen from his face, leaving his lips a faint shade of blue. A cold sweat drips down his pale face, as he struggles to draw breath.

Whatever energy he had left after killing the Sentinel has been stolen from him, by his own heart. The pump in his chest is beating irregularly, struggling to force his blood through him. Starving his body of life giving oxygen.

Lucario broke the Barrier shortly after Lily's attack ended, deciding it was better to conserve what little energy his body will allow him. Each of those who can only watch is having a different reaction to what they have just witnessed.

The youngest of them all, Bonnie, clings to her brother's leg for dear life. Her petite body is clearly shaking, her eyes are wide as dinner plates and her small delicate fingers dig into her brother's jumpsuit. The older brother to the girl is having a similar reaction, the blood has been drained from his face, but his eyes are the size of pinheads. His bladder threatens to empty itself from fear at any moment.

The helpless mother remains fairly composed, her blood remains in her extremities, but her face is completely blank and devoid of emotion. Shock. Shock has claimed her as its own, preventing her from absorbing what she has just witnessed.

Lucario's wrinkled face holds even more lines, his mouth forms the broadest smile and his eyes shimmer with tears of pride. Never before in his long life has he been so proud, his grandchildren just handled a difficult situation like Masters.

Serena's barely able to stand; her legs are trembling and feel like they're made of jelly. They threaten to give out under her own weight; she doesn't even know what's keeping her up right now. She knew that eventually she'd have to see both Red and Lily spill blood; she also knew that it was a possibility that she'd have to do the same. But to see them do it, to see them spill the blood of other human beings… It's a horrifying realisation that can never be washed away from her memories.

The Houndoom twins lie on the ground; the body of the first is covered in slash wounds and has had one of its back legs ripped off. The ripped tendons and torn flesh indicate that this leg was ripped off, not cut by a Slash attack. Charizard licks his claws clean of blood and then begins to chew on the shank he holds.

The second bares no visible wounds; its neck has been snapped. It died a quick and painless death, unlike its counterpart. Blade stares down at his fallen foe; no emotion is visible through his cold glare. "I am Blade, faster than any blade in this world or the next. You'd have lived longer if you remembered that"

Every single one of them has blood splattered across them; some of it was spilt by the enemy, but most was spilt by their own blades.

Red's burned body struggles to draw breath, his face is as white as a ghost, but his lips are turning bluer with each passing second. The armour and robes against his chest have been burned away, as has the skin and surrounding flesh. His ribs remain relatively intact, each remains in a single piece, but they are all cracked and splintered in places.

Lily's eyes don't allow her to see his face; they're firmly locked onto the brutal wound on his chest and abdomen. The burns prevent blood from escaping, that could very well be the only thing keeping him alive right now.

Using her staff as a walking stick, she moves as fast as her drained body will allow her. She's barely even moving at all, she's so exhausted. But she can't give up, she must keep fighting, if for nothing else than for her brother's life. Without healing he'll be dead in a matter of minutes, he may be able to heal himself, but then he'll be left with brutal scars and the pain from the wound. If she does it, then it'll be like nothing ever happened.

"Get your lazy ass up… You can rest once we've cleared out this city" She said weakly, but with a hint of joy.

Lacking the strength to lift or turn his head, all he can do is lie there, as the pain from his heart intensifies. Along with the fresh pain, the sensation of having his chest crushed by the weight of a Snorlax also grows stronger; with each passing second it gets harder and harder to draw a breath. Pain is shooting down his left arm, beginning in his shoulder and ending at his elbow. The unmistakable taste of metal assaults his tongue.

Red is undoubtedly stupid, but even he knows what these symptoms add up to. He's having a second heart attack in as many days; maybe this one will end his life once again. Maybe the invincible monster will finally die… Again.

Summoning the last shreds of energy he has, along with the last of the air in his lungs, he makes one final attempt to preserve what little dignity and pride he has left. "I'll rest… When I'm dead again" His voice gives out before he can finish, he does not draw another breath. His lungs are paralysed.

The world around him seems to fade away, as he falls through a bottomless pit or emptiness. His eyes widen as he tries to breath, but gets no response from his lungs, the non-existent weight on his chest prevents him from taking another gasp of life giving air.

Fear stabs into Lily's gut, she can hear it in his voice, he's even weaker than she first thought. She pushes on harder, determined to reach him.

The battle has just begun, Red lies on the ground, but a breath away from death. Lily can barely even walk, let alone fight anymore and the only other Knight in this city is nowhere to be found. What chance do they have to survive this ordeal? What chance is there for this city? What chance is there for anyone to make it out of here alive?

Pushing these thoughts from her mind, she staggers on, determined to fight until her dying breath.

Those who were forced to watch the twins fight for their lives return to their senses, one by one they realise that Red's in serious trouble and desperately needs medical attention.

Lucario is the first to recover, as well as the first to make a move to help. He may be too old to fight, but he can still do what he does best, heal. Serena and Delia quickly join him and make their way towards the twins, not knowing if there's anything they can do, but finding themselves compelled to try. Bonnie recovers next, she tries to pull on her brother's leg to coax him into moving, but he has yet to regain his senses.

As Lily reaches her brother's feet, her eyes fill with horror as she sees his face. Instantly recognising his blue lips as the primary symptom for heart problems, she's able to put two and two together. "Shit" She muttered.

Ignoring the searing exhaustion and fatigue in her body, she locks her knees in place, stopping them from giving out under her own weight. She lifts her staff from the confines of the earth and turns it in her hands to aim the crystal at his wounds.

Still unable to breathe, and thus speak, Red manages to force a cold glare onto his face. Despite his wounds and heart problems, his pride won't let him be healed by anyone. More than that though, he's afraid. "(For the love of god, Charizard stop her now!)" He said to his partner via Message.

With a swift and powerful flap of his wings, Charizard floats through the air to meet them both. "Don't be so stubborn! Put your pride away for one fucking minute! If you don't you'll fucking die!"

A faint pink glow shines from the crystal, his wounds are bathed in its warming and soft touch, instantly his pain begins to ease. Fear stabs into his chest, far worse than any blade or heart pain. "(Charizard, please stop her. They can't see me. Please.)" He begged.

The fire dragon shakes his head, with his eye narrowed in on Red. "No fucking way. If she doesn't do this, then you'll bite the big one… Again, and this time you won't come back. What's a little… Humiliation, compared to your life?"

While she cannot understand the growls coming from him, Lily doesn't care. All that matters is that she heals her brother's wounds and fixes the problems with his heart. Judging by the look on his face, he doesn't want her to heal him. "You can be pissed with me… After you're on your feet again"

His exposed ribs reseal themselves under the warm glow, restored to the way they were before this happened. Next his flesh rebuilds itself, forming a fresh layer of muscle and tissue. The horrific pain in his heart abandons him, taking with it the shooting pain in his arm and metallic taste in his mouth, leaving him with only the crushing sensation on his chest.

Fear drives Serena ahead of the others; she reaches Lily's side before the others can even see his wounds. All three of them, Lily, Serena and Charizard, watch as his flesh is completely healed, back to the way it was before the attack. The muscles look deformed and twisted, like something has ripped them from his body and then sown them back on.

His skin regrows across his body, covering his muscles and revealing the source of his fear. His body carries many battle scars, deep and old scars that show he has been through many difficult battles.

The blue fades from his lips, as his blood flows through his body once again. The crushing sensation lifts from his body, releasing its hold on his lungs and allowing him to breathe again. He takes the biggest gulp of air that his lungs can take in, revelling in what countless take for granted each and every minute of every day. To be able to breathe again, to take in air, it's a relief he can never describe.

The pain in his heart has vanished, leaving his heart the way it was before last night, it actually feels stronger than it did before he even left the forest.

Delia and Lucario finally reach them; leaving Clemont and Bonnie behind, as they reach them Lily finishes off healing him. Their eyes all focus on the same thing, the horrific scars across his torso.

The biggest and deepest of his scars resides on his chest, it's far too cleanly cut for it have been inflicted anything but some kind of blade. A massive X has been stabbed into his chest, starting at his shoulders and ending at his abdomen. There are several smaller scars across his pectoral muscles, clearly inflected by various blades and claws; they pale in comparison to the biggest scar.

His abdomen has many deep scars as well, clearly inflicted by whatever gave him the X shaped scar. Sections of his flesh look as though they've been cut away, and then put back in place. There are also smaller scars, these have clearly been inflicted by claws or fangs, again they pale in comparison to the other scars across his body.

Finally there is another, far deeper scar across his right collar, it seems to begin at the front of his chest and climb back over his back. This scar was undoubtedly caused by a blade; whoever did it certainly knew what they were doing.

Serena's hungry eyes don't linger on the scars for too long, her attention is drawn to his muscular frame. She thought he'd look like a freakish body builder, but he doesn't. He has great muscle tone, not so much that he'll rip his clothes by flexing, but enough to show he lives a very active lifestyle, which makes sense considering where he lives. He looks just like she always dreamed he would, strong but not freakishly so. Her cheeks burn brightly, her knees buckle under her own weight and her mouth hangs open, allowing a thin trial of drool to fall out. A squeak of delight escapes her lips, which goes unnoticed by the rest of them.

His body visibly trembles as they maul him with their eyes, he doesn't have a lot of strength, but he has enough to conceal the object of their focus. His robes reform across his body, blocking his flesh and scars from sight. With a pulse of red light, his armour reforms across his body as well.

Serena groans slightly in disappointment, which again goes unnoticed by the others.

Finding he has more strength than he thought he would, after concealing his scars from sight, he rolls himself onto his stomach and pushes himself up to his feet. His breathing picks up, snorting in and out through his nose. Anger boils in his veins, anger which is firmly fixed on Charizard for his betrayal. The dragon knows of his phobia, he can't stand anyone looking at his body, so why would he deliberately let them see his scars?

He slowly turns around, his face black as thunder, and snarls at Charizard. "You bastard. I'll make you suffer for this. Just you wait, I'll have revenge" He thought bitterly.

Turning his sights towards those who saw him, he points a trembling finger into their faces aggressively. "Don't. Just don't fucking say a word. You all saw nothing, you hear me? NOTHING! There is nothing to see, so you saw nothing. You don't talk about nothing, 'cause there was nothing to see. You fucking understand me?!" He barked, with an undeniable core of fear.

They all just stare at him, with wide eyes, with the exception of the golden haired siblings who missed the sight. Each of them heard his fear, this is obviously a touchy subject for him, there must be a horrific memory behind these scars. A memory he doesn't want to revisit.

The silence between them is broken by the faint whimpering's off a single survivor. Red's neck cracks, as he bolts his head round to glare at the lone Paladin, who's trying vainly to crawl away to safety.

A single Paladin survived Lily's devastating attack; his torso has no serious wounds, just some minor cuts and slashes. His legs however, they are badly mangled; they look as though a Rhyhorn has run over them repeatedly. As he struggles to crawl, he leaves behind a thick trail of blood from his crushed legs, even if by some miracle he escaped, they would easily hunt him down, if he doesn't bleed to death first.

Delia's hands clamp down over her mouth; the shock of seeing her son's scared body has stolen her voice from her. She has been swallowed by this shock so deeply, that she can't even hear the whimpers than have drawn his attention away. "You don't get scars like those without being in one Hell of a knife fight… Who did this to you Red?" She thought.

If Lucario is shocked by the sight he has just witnessed, it is well hidden behind his mask of composure. Inside his heart is heavy; it would seem his worst fears came true a long time ago. His Master's vision did not lie, Red faced the worst thing he ever could have and survived. Perhaps if he had forewarned him of it, it could have been avoided… Then perhaps he would still be the same boy they all miss so much, and not this cold man before them.

He pushes these thoughts from his mind, and turns to face his granddaughter. "Why did you spare one of them?"

Ignoring his question, Lily rests the end of her staff against Red's chest, drawing his attention back to her. "You owe us an explanation. Why the fuck didn't you tell us you have a heart condition?!"

He offers nothing but a hard, emotionless stare in response to her question. Even as the rest of them panic and throw questions at him, he refuses to do anything but stare at her without saying a word.

Lily silently scowls back at him for a moment. "Grampa, we need a prisoner to interrogate. So I spared one of them. Got a problem with that Red?" She asked firmly and bitterly.

He finally breaks his icy stare with a swift and sharp turn of his head towards the Grunt, who continues to struggle to get away from this place. Without saying a single word, Red darts towards the helpless Grunt, with bloodlust written across his face and burning in his eyes. As he goes, Lily slumps her staff over her shoulder and focuses her attention on the crippled Paladin as well. "I guess not"

Without hesitation or mercy, the exposed foot of Red Ketchum slams down onto the shattered remains of the only surviving Grunt's leg, earning him a howl of agonising pain as his reward. The Grunt looks over his shoulder, to see the one he fears more than anything else right now pinning him to the ground. Complete and utter terror has written itself across his face, as tears build in his eyes.

Lacking the energy to use the majority of her abilities, Lily makes her way towards her brother the old fashioned way, by walking. As she walks towards him, with her staff slumped over her shoulder, Red pushes his foot down harder on the shattered limb. A fresh wave of blood oozes out from the Grunt's wounds, staining Red's foot deep crimson as it does.

The howls of agony and cries for mercy only drive Red's bloodlust further; he revels in the pain of his helpless prey. He feeds off the cries, off the pain and off the pleas, growing stronger from it all.

Lily reaches her brother's side, having seen him causing pain for no reason, without even demanding information, she glares coldly at him. "You've had your fun. We need information from him. Let him go" She spat venomously. He returns her cold glare; he still holds resentment for her healing him against his will.

"Fine" He spat, as he lifted his foot from his prey. With a single swift kick, the Grunt is rolled onto his back and left open to attack.

In a blink of an eye, Red's claw like fingers lung down and coil around the throat of the defenceless Grunt. With the strength of a Warrior, he hauls the Paladin up into the air and stares him dead in the eye. Sweat pours down the face of the terrified Grunt; tears threaten to break free from his eyes and stream down his face.

His legs hang down from his waist, completely useless and coated in thick blood. Even with healing, his legs don't have a hope for a full recovery, he'll never walk again. That doesn't matter though, it's not like he's going to live to see the sun again, he'll die here, today, alongside his brothers in arms.

Red tilts his head to the side, curious as to why his prey isn't trying to escape. Perhaps he has realised that he's not getting away and is resigned to his fate. Regardless, he needs information from him and he's going to get it. "You have a choice. A slow and painful death or a quick and painless one. Make your choice" His voice is dark and definitive, there is no room for negotiation.

"TALK NOW!" Lily bellowed into his face. Most of the others have turned their heads away, not wanting to watch the Grunt's pain. Only Lucario watches, he watches with keen interest, just how will they extract the information from him?

"Why should I tell ya anythin'? I'm dead already" The Grunt said. Red tightens his grip slightly, in response the Paladin spits into his face, 'causing Lily to wince in disgust.

The Knight silently and calmly wipes the filth from his face, with an even colder voice he speaks again. "Wrong answer" Without hesitation or the slightest hint of mercy, he hurls the Grunt through the air and into the trunk of a tree. With a new howl of agony, he drops to the ground, his already crushed legs crunch as they hit the floor.

The howls of pain cause a wave of cringing throughout them all, with the exception of Red, who seems to enjoy the sound. The Knight in question quickly scans the surface of the surrounding trees, searching for the perfect branch. "There you are" He thought with diabolical pleasure.

He quickly makes his way towards a tree with a low, but strong branch protruding from its trunk. The branch is strong enough to hold weight, but thin enough to allow him to break it. He snaps the branch off, leaving nothing but a splintered stump behind.

The Paladin watches Red work, terrified beyond imagining. "I DON'T KNOW NOTHIN'!" He pleaded.

The young Knight ignores his plea; instead he snatches his ankle and begins to drag him towards the tree he readied moments ago. The Grunt cries out for mercy and pleads for his life, all the while clawing desperately at the ground in a vain attempt for freedom. His earlier acceptance of death has apparently died, replaced by an overwhelming fear of Yveltal's talons.

His cries for mercy and his life fall on deaf ears, still he continues to plead, if nothing else it helps him to handle the incredible pain in his legs. The Knight continues to drag his prey through the blood soaked earth, his anger and furry only growing stronger as time goes on.

Even the blood flowing through his callous covered hands doesn't ease the strength of his grasp; they reach their target in moments, which feel like an eternity for the Grunt. Red scowls down darkly at his prey, staring into his eyes and devouring his fear, it's delicious. He finally releases him and drops his blood soaked limb to the ground. "Squeal little Tepig… SQUEAL!" He bellowed.

The Paladin shakes his head desperately, shaking his tears free as he does. "I don't know nothin' I swear" He cried. "Have mercy on me"

Unconvinced or moved by his plea, Red crouches down before his mangled legs and grins darkly. He strikes quickly and without mercy, slamming his elbow down onto the Grunt's left knee, snapping the joint and bending it backwards in the process. The howls of agony echo through the warzone, along with the sound of crunching bone.

"I don't have time for bullshit. Hurry up and SQUEAL!"

The broken Paladin before the Knight desperately tries to draw breath; the pain is just so intense that his body is barely listening to him. "OK… OK… I'll talk" He wheezed.

Without giving him the chance to start talking, the young Knight slams his other elbow down onto the Paladin's other knee, also shattering it and bending it backwards. The Paladin's eyes widen in pain and shock, the pain has reached the point where his body refuses to do anything, he can't breathe, he can't scream, he can't cry and he can't move. He can only lie there, in absolute agony, pondering the reason for such brutality. He said he'd talk, why did this guy have to that to him?

With narrowed eyes and blood covered limbs and armour, Red simply growls out a message. "Well, start talking"

The Paladin looks down at his shattered limbs, if this psychotic bastard is willing to break his already broken legs, what'll he do to give him a slow death? It's better to just tell him what he wants to know, at least then he'll kill him quickly. "We're… Just followin' Eis' orders. None of us know why we're doin' this, I swear we're just follin' orders"

Red simply growls in response, then shakes his head slowly. "Bullshit. I know a lie when I hear it" He grabs the Paladins sides and hoists him up into the air, turns on the spot and slams his spine into the splintered branch. The branch stabs through his spine and into his organs, the sound of bone crunching and flesh tearing is more than enough to make those in the battlefield, who aren't accustomed to battle, lose their breakfast.

Lily is one of the few who manages to keep her food inside her belly, but she's still horrified by the raw brutality Red has shown here today. Breaking his legs was bad enough, as it wasn't necessary, but then impaling him on that tree branch… Well it's enough to send chills down her spine. Lucario remains perfectly calm; he's seen torture before, while it's gruesome, it is sometimes necessary. While he doesn't agree with Red's methods, the results will be worth it, besides, it's not as though he's hurting a person.

The male who's torturing his victim, grabs his throat, much tighter than before and screeches into his face. "BULLSHIT! Eis' ego's way too big for him not to brag about his plans! SQUEAL! Tell me why he's doing this!"

The shock and agonising pain of having his spine severed by a tree, has stolen the Paladin's ability to speak. He can only stare, wide eyed with his jaw hanging open, at the bloodthirsty Monster interrogating him.

Taking his silence as a sign that he needs more persuasion, Red decides to kick things up a notch. "Charizard, you got room for some more?" He asked without taking his eyes off his prey.

The eye of the fire dragon with a missing eye and a battle worn body, lights up and sparkles in excitement at the thought of more food. "YAY!"

Without even waiting for the lumbering dragon's response, the left hand of the sadistic Knight dives through the protective armour. His hand easily pierces the metal, with nothing to show for it but some minor scratches. His fingers easily slice through the metal, so the flesh has no chance whatsoever against it, there is nothing to stop him in his search for the precious organ inside.

The tortured Paladin finally regains his speaking ability, as well as the use of his arms. He grabs Red's arm, desperately trying to pull him out of his flesh. "MERCY! HAVE MERCY!" He pleaded desperately.

The word that pleads for compassion, for kindness, for leniency and for his life, only serves to infuriate the Knight even further. The word echoes through his blood drunk mind, driving his furry to new heights. "MERCY?! MERCY! DID YOU SHOW MERCY TO THOSE WHO BEGGED FOR THEIR LIVES?! HOW MANY HAVE YOU SLAUGHTERED WHO BEGGED AT YOUR FEET FOR MERCY?! YOU DESERVE AND SHALL RECEIVE NO MERCY!"

Heat surges through his hand and fingers; they quickly reach scalding temperatures, burning the Grunt from the inside out.

Red's anger over the word mercy, echo's throughout Serena's mind, dragging up the memory of when Red did the same thing to Calem, difference is what he did then was punishment for a horrific crime, now he's doing it to get information. At the time she put it down to overpowering rage, but it seems Red has a cruel and sadistic streak running through him, a streak that revels in causing pain and suffering. It turns her stomach over.

As a rush of joy passes through him, his lips tug either side to form a dark smile. Making this piece of shit suffer is so exhilarating, the last time he got to do this, he was denied the best part, well that won't happen this time. "It hurts, doesn't it?... You want it to stop?... Give Daddy what he wants… SQUEAL!"

Having been pushed to his breaking point, any and all resistance the Grunt has dissolves away. "OK OK OK! I GIVE UP! I SURRENDER! I'LL TELL YOU EVERYTHING!"

Red twists his hand inside the Paladin's flesh, enjoying the feeling of his blood on his hand. "SQUEAL LITTLE TEPIG!"

The Grunt's hands slide off Red's arm, his head drops down and stares him dead in the eye. With a calm and collected voice, he speaks, as though he's talking to an old friend. "Master Eis ordered us to destroy this city, to kill every living thing here that has not sworn loyalty to the Eternal Master… We're sacrificing them to him, sending him their Aura, to fuel his rebirth"

The Knight's hand freezes in place for a moment, he had suspected this. He partially pulls his hand out, then thrusts it in harder, earning a scream of agony from his victim. "WHY?!" He hissed. "Why're you feeding that sick fucker?!"

The Grunts grins darkly through the pain, it's his turn to revel in the anguish of others. "Why? Why would we give our Master, the one true god, power?... Because he's coming back… Soon he will be free from his prison… Soon, the filth of this world will be destroyed, leaving only us… Then, the entire world will be bathed in the cleansing touch of darkness"

His words draw in both Lily and Lucario's attention, the same question runs through their minds. What does he mean? Lily runs to Red's side, to make sure that she gets an answer to her question before he finishes him off. "WHAT?! What'd you mean he's coming back?! He was destroyed centuries ago!" She screamed. "We slaughtered him!"

"Hehehehehe… Your kind always thinks you've killed 'im for good. You forget he's immortal… You forget he's a god" The Grunt said, then spat a mouthful of blood over them both.

Lily wipes the blood from her face and scowls darkly at the scum her brother is torturing, she wants more than anything right now to make him hurt, she wants to switch places with Red and be the one inflicting pain. But she stays her hand, and allows her brother to do it in her place.

He twists his hand inside the flesh of the Paladin, and digs his fingers in deeper. "The fuck does that mean?! SPEAK PROPERLY!"

The Paladin lowers his head and locks his eyes onto Red's cold and empty orbs. His voice is but a whisper, but with their advanced hearing, all of the Knights here can hear him. "He's coming… The time is drawing near now, the Eternal Master of Darkness will return to this world… Master Eis is preparing for his return… As are the other Masters, we will slaughter as many as we can, sacrificing them to the Eternal Master… So when he comes back to us, none of you will stop him. He will be far too powerful for any of you to stop… Even that pathetic excuse for a BITCH won't be able to touch him!... Soon, the Master will destroy then world, then he will cleanse it in darkness and give birth to the new world of darkness"

Before Red can kill the Paladin for speaking about Mew like that, Lucario sprints between him and Lily, moving so fast the eye could barely follow him. With the speed of a Yanmega, he jams his walking stick into the Grunt's throat, forcing his head up. "We destroyed that bastard…" His voice is strong and powerful. "Two hundred years ago… Oh god" All traces of strength and power vanishes from his voice, replaced by fear and realisation.

The smirk across the Paladin's face doesn't waver in the slightest, if anything it's growing stronger. "Yes… Two hundred years ago… You know what that means don't you?... He will soon be free… You fools can only bind him in his prison for so long… Soon you will begin to feel it for yourselves, he is coming… He is coming" He whispered.

The blood drains form the eldest Knight and Lily's faces, as they realise he may be telling the truth. If he is, then what's happening now will be nothing but a drop in the ocean, if the Eternal Master is coming back to this world, then…

Their thoughts are interrupted, by the howls of agony made by their prisoner.

Red's hand delves deeper into the flesh of his victim, seeking out his prize. He finds the desired organ within seconds, which feel like years for the Paladin. The fleshy prize is quickly enveloped by the Knight's fingers, they threaten to rip it out from its home and expose it to the elements, all it will take is a single yank… Just one pull… So fragile, so weak, so… Pathetic.

"I know that's not the truth, not the whole truth. I know Eis, if he just wanted to kill then he'd join the fight himself. But he's not. He's waiting at that tall thing. Why?... SQUEAL!"

Feeling his fingers wrap around his vital organ, the Paladin male lungs his hands forwards and digs his icy fingers into his oppressors face, spreading his own blood as he does. "He's… After someone. Someone who got away from him, a long time ago… He always finishes what he starts, and this guy won't escape him for long" He hissed weakly, as death begins to claim his soul.

The interrogator smirks darkly, having heard no lies in his voice or traces of deceit; he no longer has a use for this scum. "Good little Tepig… I think you've earned a reward"

Before either Lily or Lucario can end their prisoners suffering, Red tightens his grip on the mangled remains of a Paladin's liver and rips it out of his husk of a body. He carefully examines it, making note of how unhealthy it looks, before hurling it through the air. The fleshy treat is quickly snapped up by Charizard, who instantly begins to much away on it.

The dark crimson fluid floods from the wound left behind, staining the armour and flesh of those close enough to be hit by it. The mangled Paladin desperately claws at his wound to try and stem the bleeding. "But I told you what you wanted to know!" He cried out in agony.

The empty and dead eyes of the Knight drill into the darkness filled eyes of the dying Paladin. "Yeah you did… And you earned your reward, a slow and painful death. If you kept your mouth shut, I would have rewarded your strength with a quick death… But you broke; you broke like a twig. You are a traitor and die a traitor's death"

The Paladin opens his mouth to speak, but all that comes forth is blood. There are no words to describe the betrayal he feels, he spilled his guts to him, told him everything he wanted to know, and he repays him by ripping out his organs and feeding them to that fat dragon… What did he expect? Humans are notorious for their betrayal, only darkness can be trusted. He manages to summon enough strength to send one last message before he dies.

"(Humanity was born from darkness, he created you all… Your kind owes him your loyalty, just as mine does. He designed you to be weak. To be pathetic. To be cattle for his power… Ugh!... S-s-s-soon… You'll feel his power… For yourselves)" He weakly rasped, via broad Message. Allowing them all to hear his final words.

Red stares into his eyes, as the light begins to leave them. "Is that it? Tell us your Master created us?... Well he may have changed us, but humans were created by Mew and Arceus, not him. He just modified us a little… As for your kind, you simply look like us. You're nothing like humans. Now shut up and die"

As the last drops of his blood drain from his body, the Paladin takes his final breath. The light leaves his eyes, as he dies.

With a dark smirk, Red spits in the eye of his latest victim, then turns his back on the corpse. As his Grampa and sister's faces fill his sights, he notes on how little blood seems to be in their faces. Clearly this has affected them worse than it did him.

With a snap of his fingers, he catches their attention. "Hey, hey, eyes focused. We kill Eis, we destroy any of these pieces of shit that get in the way. We end this nightmare now"

Lucario slowly nods his head in agreement; his mind is once again focused on the task at hand. "I agree, if Eis is defeated there will be nothing holding the rest of them here. He should be our focus, not these drones"

She puts the disturbing scene out of her mind; she can't focus on things like that right now. Once this is done, then she can be disturbed by the darkness in her brother's actions. She turns to face the tower, with her staff still slumped over her shoulder. "Who gets to fight him then?"

Red silently stalks across the battlefield, kicking the bodies of the fallen Paladins into rough piles as he goes. His objective is to retrieve his swords, without them he's like a lion without fangs or claws, useless. "Me. I'm killing that sick bastard. Besides I'm the only one who's faced him before"

The initial shock and rush of adrenaline of watching that torture wears off Lily, leaving her body wracked in fatigue. She stabs her staff into the earth to balance herself and lean on. Seeing this, Lucario holds his free paw up and begins to heal her. "I may be too old to fight, but I can still heal and restore stamina. Take a rest Lily, you've certainly earned it"

Blue pulses wash over her tired body, restoring her strength and replenishing her energy. "Thanks Grampa. Red I saw your fight with him; he's not that tough… Especially for a Fear Master, he's fucking weak"

As Red picks up his swords, a surge of heat flows through his tired and aching limbs, as weapon and man become one once again. "You think that was a fight? Ha. That was barely even a warm up; he didn't even use any ice on me. No. He was trying to do something, don't know what, but he was after something. If he really wanted to fight, then the… House? I think that's it, would have been destroyed. I held back so I didn't break too much shit, but Eis… Fuck knows what he was after, but it certainly wasn't a good fight. He's far stronger than he looks. You fight him, you die"

The aging Lucario lowers his paw, a thin trail of sweat runs down his fur, while he's tired, he's proud that he's been able to contribute in some small way. Lily nods at him, to show her thanks, then slumps her staff back over her shoulder and glares at her brother. "Are you calling me fucking weak?!"

With a roll of his eyes and a twirl of his swords, Red speaks again with a bored tone. "No. I'm fighting him. End of"

She slowly shakes her head in frustration, as she makes her way towards the others. "There better be a really good reason why I can't fight him… I've never had the pleasure of killing a Fear Master"

The young Bonnie finally finds her voice; the shock of what just happened is finally starting to wear off. She looks around, making sure the guys dressed strangely are really dead. "You…. You two…. You killed them"

All eyes turn to her; the twins both know that this must be terrifying for her, for them all. They're no strangers to battle, they're both used to the thrill of bloodshed as well as the rush of dealing a fatal blow…. The negative effects barely even make an appearance anymore.

Bonnie releases her grip on Clemont, clenches her fists together and starts jumping up and down on the spot in excitement. Her eyes sparkle in astonishment. "THAT WAS FUCKING AWESOME!"

Everyone there is surprised by this sudden change in attitude, they were all expecting her to break down and start crying…. Instead she's happy.

She pumps her tiny fists out in the air, as she starts air boxing. "It's like we're in an action movie! You guys ROCK!... But, what did he mean? About people?"

Before any of those who have taken up the fight, have the chance to do anything but sweatdrop at her enthusiasm for battle, and wonder how to answer her questions without revealing too much information, Chatot returns. A man dressed in robes and armour similar to Lily's follows the multi-coloured bird, the only real difference between his robes and armour to Lily's is the colour, his is forest green.

His eyes are chocolate brown; they seem to be filled with the unmistakable sense of fear. His head is shiny, from a distinctive lack of hair, seems he's totally bald. His scrawny build suggests his muscles are rather weak. His dark skin reflects what little light there is better than either Red or Lily's does.

His weapon of choice confirms that, like Lily, he too is a Mage. His staff resembles a long tree branch, there is no blade attached to the base, the top of it has what looks like smaller branches protruding from it, each one holds a tiny fragment of a crystal.

While it is undoubtedly a staff, this is by no means the same kind of staff as Lily wields. This kind of staff is made for Apprentices; it allows the same basic functions as a full staff, but it isn't nearly as powerful. No blade is attached to it, to prevent injury when learning to wield the weapon. Rather than having a full crystal atop it, said crystal is broken and the pieces are split apart. This allows the power to be wielded, but it weakens it and prevents a lethal attack from being formed accidentally.

The multi-coloured bird Pokémon swoops down before his trainer, his tail feathers wagging quickly as he does. "You've got no idea how long it took to get him out of his hiding hole. Speaking of which, the shit's splattering on the fan right now… Blaziken's holding up well by the tower, he's taken down about four Donphan and a Tyranitar, these guys dish out a lot of power, but they quickly pass out when kicked in the gut"

Lily offers a quick nod of understanding. "Well what are you still floating around for? Get your feathers out there and help him! Tell any humans that can walk to come here where it's safe. WELL GO ALREADY!"

He rolls his eyes and nods his head. "Yes your majesty" He said sarcastically, before darting off towards the trees again.

The man dressed in green stares at Red in disbelief, his eyes fill with stars as he nervously points towards him. "Oh my god… You're him; you're Mew's apprentice… The legend himself, Red Ketchum" He whispered.

With a flash of red, the tip of Red's right sword presses lightly into the man's throat. "If you want to live, then stop worrying about who I am, and focus on killing. You understand me?" His voice is strong and powerful, there is no room for argument.

The man in green nervously and carefully nods his head, while Lily simply shakes hers with a sigh. "We don't have time for arguments, we'll trade introductions properly later. Red this is Willey, Willey Red. Now can we do our jobs and kill these fuckers?"

With a second blur of red, the sword is pulled from Willey's throat. His eyes fill with even more stars of amazement. "Wow… Red just threatened me"

"If you're a Knight then where's your partner?" Red asked with annoyance in his voice.

The male mage shakes his head, to clear his mind of unimportant thoughts. Lily's right, they have a job to do and he can't be star struck right now… Once this is over he can ask for Red's autograph. "Greninja's already out there, she left a while ago to kill as many of these…. Things, as she can"

Without waiting to hear his explanation, Red turns to face Blade. "Blade you're on guard duty. We'll send all survivors who can walk here, you gotta protect them all"

The pincer Pokémon nods his head in agreement. "Since I'm the only who actually defends himself from attacks, I know a few things about defence. I'll keep them all safe Master"

Red's eyes dart towards the great lumbering dragon, who has finished his liver and is currently licking the blood off his claws. "Fat ass! You're with me; we're going to the top of the tower"

The dragon in question folds his wings in close to his body and crosses his arms defiantly. "Give me one reason why I should even consider carrying your heavy ass around anywhere. Come on I challenge you to"

The Knight with the glowing red blades narrows his eyes, as they flush with a blood red glow. "I can feel that powerful opponent is out there. You take me to the top of the tower; I'll take you to 'em. Deal?"

Excitement fills the fiery dragon's face, he grins broadly. His wings spread out wide and flood with blood, they yearn to flap and split the air in two. His hands clench into fists and his arms pull themselves out to the sides. His mighty jaws rip apart and expel the deepest flames from the pit of his stomach. "DDDDDDDDEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!"

While the two of them agree on the terms of helping each other, Lily tries to ensure the safety of their friends and family. "Bonnie, if we survive this battle, I promise I'll explain everything to you… Even what that bastard said. Until then, you need to stay here; all of you need to stay here. It's safe… Ish, here. No arguments, you're all staying here"

Before any of the blood soaked fighters or watchers have the chance to speak another word, a cold and icy voice echoes throughout the burning city, sending chills down their spines. "I see that there are unwanted guests here, in my city… You and your kind are nothing but a cancer, destroying that which you don't understand!"

The blood drains from many of their faces, those who are accustomed to battle stand strong, but turn to Red. Looking for signs of strength, for leadership, for something to tell them what's going on. He recognises that voice; it's the voice of the man he hates more than any other, with the exception of the Beast. "Eis" He hissed.

Eis' voice carries on, continuing to chill the spines of those who hear him. "Boy… You have been interfering in my delicate plans for far too long, killing my drones, destroying my Pokémon, breaking my shit… Meddling in affairs that I have spent decades on… Well no more"

The apprentice with the shiny head clutches his staff with both hands, his entire body trembles. Something's coming, he can feel it in his bones, and whatever it is, it's not goanna be good.

"I know you're here Boy… I can smell your fear… It's such a sweet scent, second only to the scent of your blood… I have stayed my hand from this battle so far, I have allowed my drones to kill in my name, an honour not many are granted….. And yet you kill them, you crush them like bugs… I know you Boy, better than you know yourself; you are a very proud boy…. You're not even trying to kill them; the drones are far too weak… You want a true challenge, something to test your full power against"

"Well… I can give it to you… I challenge you Boy, right here, right now. Single combat, to the death… Come to me, seek me out and we will settle the score… But, if you decide to be a coward and don't come to me… Then I will join the fray myself and hunt you down…. The choice is yours Boy, come to me, or I come to you. Make your choice"

The 'Boy' in question chuckles lowly to himself, as he slowly shakes his head. "Some things never change" He muttered.

Lily turns to her brother with confusion written across her face. "Is that sick bastard talking to you Red?" With a swift and decisive nod of his head, he answers her question.

"I warn you Boy… If you chose to let me come to you, I will destroy every living thing in my path, none shall be spared. Make your choice, and make it fast…. If you survive my servant's wrath"

---

Elsewhere in this dying city, the newly possessed Garchomp hears her new Master's voice and feels an unmistakable pull to go to him. The lab around her has been shut down, every single entrance and exist has been boarded up and every Pokémon here is ready for battle.

P. Sycamore and his assistants are all readying themselves for one Hell of a fight; the poor fools are relying on Garchomp's power, seeing as she's the strongest Pokémon they have. Normally she wouldn't hesitate to protect her home, she wouldn't hesitate to die for her baby, whom she has named Chomp. But now, her loyalties have been forcibly changed. Thanks to that strange assistant, who said those words to her and passed along Eis' message to her… That strange man with the scar on his cheek is long gone, he disappeared during the night.

Her free will has been stolen from her; she can no longer control her own body. She can't even comfort her crying baby, who is squeaking up at her, pleading for her to hug him and make him feel better. All she can do is wait for the command from her Master.

Within minutes of hearing his voice, she feels what she has been waiting for, the darkness trapped inside of her pulls her into acting, she turns towards the boarded up entryway.

Her jaws open wide and form a ball of black energy, with a ghostly purple hue around it. A Hyper Beam attack, the power of which is boosted from the darkness inside her. The deadly attack rips the flimsy blockade apart, like tissue paper. An ear splitting explosion destroys the entryway and kills many of the assistants, and injuring those who survive it.

The explosion knocks back everyone in the room, including Garchomp herself. Once the smoke clears, several bodies lie broken on the ground, many with foreign objects protruding from them. Some of them are still alive but wounded. P. Sycamore lies on the ground, covered in soot and cuts, he was lucky enough to only receive flesh wounds from the attack.

The purple land dragon runs through the smoking exist she made, leaping into the air and angling her fins to catch the air. She glides through the air, towards her Master.

The scared and confused baby Chomp slowly waddles out of the smoking hole, looking around at the carnage around him with tears in his eyes. He calls out as loud as his little lungs will allow him to, desperate for his mother to come back to him. When no one answers his calls, he hesitantly waddles out of the rubble, looking around for Garchomp.

---

Blade stands before those who cannot protect themselves from the power of the Paladins; he has his back to them and holds his pincers high to maintain the bubble of pulsing green energy that covers them all. The sweet little Bonnie raises an eyebrow at him. "If you can use Protect, why didn't you use it to help Lily?" He looks over his shoulder to glare at the child; she holds her hands up defensively. "Point taken"

The colossal jaws of a mighty steel snake like Pokémon crashes down onto the shimmering shield, trying to bite their way through it and get to the soft fleshy humans inside. The owner of the jaws, a Steelix, at least thirty feet in length, with a massive head filled with rather dull brick like teeth.

From the side lines, the two mages hurl Bolts from their staffs at the beast; their attacks leave tiny scorch marks on the steel hide, but do little else. Regardless, they continue to fire attack after attack at the leviathan, even if they can only chip away at it, it's better than nothing.

The male Knight sprints towards the beast's head, from behind the Protect shield. With a powerful kick off the earth, he leaps forwards with his blades raised high, ready to boor through the Steelix's head.

Without any trace of hesitation, his blades crash down into the steel covered hide of the Steelix. They barely even pierce the tough outer shell, but hold a strong enough grip to prevent them from escaping.

The leviathan abandons his newest chew toy raise his head up high, a splitting headache overcomes him, the cause of which appears to be nothing but an irritating bug. He shakes his head wildly, in an attempt to shake the insect off.

Charizard swoops in low, taking advantage of his opponent's distraction, he coats his fist in fire then uppercuts the Steelix with his Fire Punch, dealing massive damage to him.

The impact from that one blow is strong enough to lift the great weight of Steelix's head up high, so high Red has to dig his feet in and hold the hilts of his swords tightly, just to stop himself from falling off. The Steel leviathan quickly catches himself; the sting from that attack remains just as strong as when it first hit him. "I'll get you for that one you fat fuck!"

"FLAMETHROWER!" Red commanded, before the Steel beast could counter attack.

The dragon of fire expels the deepest flames from his stomach, right at the great snake's head. The flames hit their mark, forcing it around and through the air. Steelix makes use of the momentum from the attack, to launch one of his own. With a swing of his powerful tail, he sends Charizard crashing into the earth below.

With an almighty thud, a thick cloud of dust rises from the earth. Before the dust even has the chance to begin to settle, Charizard bursts through it, with his Fire Punch attack ready for payback. Steelix opens his jaws wide, pools his Dragon energy into his mouth and forms fierce green flames in his mouth, Dragon Breath.

Sensing the attack building beneath him, Red pulls harder on the swords in his hands, sending pain throughout the beast's head. The momentary distraction gives Charizard the chance he needs to land his attack once more. The impact once again sends Steelix's head flying through the air, towards the earth once again.

The green flames in his mouth die, as he crashes down into the earth, ploughing out the earth as he goes. Seeing their chance, Lily and Willey abandon their attack and switch to a new form of attack. Their eyes glow brightly, as rose pink and forest green chains burst from the earth and wrap around the leviathan, pinning him to the earth and binding him in place.

"NOW'S YOUR CHANCE!" Lily bellowed to her brother.

With a nod of acknowledgement, Red pulls as hard as his powerful arms possibly can against his swords. Steelix writhes around in agony, trying to shakes his chains loose and force the irritating insect off his head, both the chains and Red hold strong.

Lily maintains her focus on her attack, but allows herself to growl in frustration at her brother's idiocy. "HEAT'LL MAKE IT EASIER DUMB ASS! TRY FLAMETHROWER!"

While muttering a death threat under his breath, Red turns towards the fat dragon hovering in the air and gives him an evil glare. "WHAT THE HELL'S WRONG WITH YOU?! GIVE ME ALL THE HEAT YOU'VE GOT!"

Charizard quickly gives his trainer the finger in anger, while taking the deepest breath his lungs will allow. He fires the most powerful Flamethrower he can at Red…. And Steelix, seeing as they're in the same place. "FUCK YOU!" The flames quickly envelop both Red and Steelix's head, burning them both intensely.

The Steel snake struggles even harder to break free from his chains, Lily and Willey hold strong and refuse to allow him to break free, the strain of their attack causes sweat to run down their faces. The cries of Steelix echo through the air, ending abruptly after a few moments.

At the same moment his cries end, he stops struggling against his chains, lying motionless on the ground. Charizard doesn't relent in his anger filled attack; he has enough breath left to keep on attacking for several more moments.

Those who are shielded by the Protect bubble can only watch in horror as Red doesn't come through the fire, nor does he make any sounds, something isn't right. Lucario remains perfectly calm; he can clearly feel that Red's Aura isn't getting any weaker, he's perfectly fine.

Red leaps through the flames, both his swords in his hands and coated in thick blood. Fire clings to his armour, trying to burn that which isn't there, his skin and hair remain untouched by the flames. As he lands he rolls, extinguishing any lingering flames on his armour. He quickly stands up, a broad smirk firmly fixed on his face, as pride swells inside him. He quickly raises his swords up either side of him in a victory pose. "I KILLED A MOTHER FUCKING STEELIX! IN YOUR FACE LILY!"

With a heavy slam, Charizard abandons his attack and drops back down to the earth, panting heavily as he does. Not from fatigue, but from using almost all the air in his lungs in a single attack. Two deep gouges remain in the Steelix's skull, which is glowing purple from the heat of that last attack. The Mage Apprentices release their hold over the dead Steel snake, the chains quickly dissolve away.

Seeing that the immediate danger has passed, Blade lowers his pincers and dissolves away his own shield. "And you were worried about Master" Lucario smirks at his Grandson proudly, nodding his head in acknowledgment as he does.

Clemont's jaw hangs open in complete and utter shock. "Did… Did they just kill a Steelix?" He murmured.

Bonnie rolls her eyes at him. "Yeah they did, what's the big deal?" She asked sarcastically.

Delia's eyes roll back into her head, she quickly loses consciousness and falls backwards onto the ground, she lands with a soft thud, which everyone ignores. All the fear that was built up in Serena's heart quickly dissolves away, leaving her with an undeniable sense of amazement. Red's completely unharmed by the battle and the fire, how can that be? Fire even harms Fire type Pokémon, while nowhere near as much as it would any other type, it still causes harm. So why didn't it hurt him?

Red drops his arms and twirls his swords in the air, the loose blood splatters across the ground. He struts confidently towards his sister, his broad smirk still firmly fixed on his face. Lily slumps her staff over her shoulder and rolls her eyes. "So you killed a Steelix… Big deal. Wouldn't have done it unless I told you how though"

He rolls his eyes back at her. "Whatever, we've got work to do" He stops dead and turns to Charizard. "Get your lazy ass up! You don't get out of this! It's an all you can eat Paladin buffet! You really want to miss this?"

That catches Charizard's attention, his eye widens and his tongue falls out of the side of his mouth, he starts panting like an Absol. "Food…. All I can eat… Oh I'm goanna be fat by the time I'm done"

Lucario chuckles lowly. "If you're this fat now, I'd hate to see how fat you get after" Blade crosses his arms and chuckles at the comment himself.

Charizard turns on the spot and growls lowly at them both, one of them may be old and the other his brother, but they're on thin ice now. No one calls him fat and gets away with it. "Say one more word, and I barbeque you both" He growled aggressively.

Red quickly makes a beeline for the dragon, to prevent another war from breaking out. "Hey hey hey, easy. Save it for the enemy" As he passes the growling dragon, his gaze fixes itself on his unconscious mother, as if he just noticed that she's passed out.

Charizard does as Red asks; he backs down but continues to growl, if nothing else it makes him feel better. His bloodlust is getting stronger with each passing moment, if he isn't let loose on some Paladins soon, he'll be forced to rip someone else to shreds.

The Warrior makes his way towards the rest of them, his eyes firmly glued to his unconscious mother. He quickly scans her face and checks her breathing; she seems to be perfectly fine. As he does the others turn to her as well, suddenly realising that she passed out. "She's fine" He said quickly and definitively, before turning his attention to Serena instead.

She looks back at him, as she does visions of his exposed body pass through her mind once again, causing a light blush to fall across her cheeks. The both of them are covered in blood, Red has some soot thrown into the mix, and yet she couldn't care less. She got to see him shirtless… At least from the front. A mixture of conflicting emotions flow through her, fear, concern, temptation, exhilaration and a small twist of lust.

He quickly holds his right sword out before her, confused by this strange act, she just stares at it, unsure of what he expects of her. Realising that he's not exactly making his point clear, he returns his other blade to his Aura and takes her hand in his own. He doesn't linger though; he quickly wraps her fingers around the hilt and lightly squeezes her hand against his. Her cheeks burn brightly at the unexpected gesture.

"You take this blade, you don't let it go. You stab it into anything that comes too close to you. You understand me?" He asked firmly, but not aggressively. Concern. His voice is heavy with it.

The gesture made her blood pump harder, the words make her cheeks burn brightly, and the tone sends a chill down her spine. Instantly temptation and lust burst through as the dominant emotions raging inside her. She feels a lump form in her throat, she swallows to try and shift it. "Y-Yes…. Master" She found herself whispering.

He slides his hands away from hers, leaving her holding the blade. She was expecting it to feel heavy in her hand, but it feels weightless, lighter than air. It feels warm to the touch, it's ghostly, yet it feels solid. This weapon is a mystery to her, so much so that she feels she shouldn't be holding it. It feels like it's calling out for Red.

Lucario's eyes widen in disbelief. Did Red just do that? Did he just give her his weapon?... Not just any weapon, the weapon he forged himself with his own Aura, the weapon that is a physical part of him… Words cannot describe the level of trust he has in this woman. No Knight would part with their weapon while they still draw breath, much less a weapon they forged themselves by hand.

Red's eyes linger on the weapon he has just surrendered, feeling an odd sense of missing something important. The best way to describe it is to say he feels naked without the sword. He shuts his eyes and takes a breath to calm himself. "Blade will do everything he can to keep you all safe, but take this blade and strike down anyone who gets close enough to hurt you. You understand?"

She smiles weakly at him and slowly nods her head. "I… I'll….. I'll do my best" She whispered to him.

He opens his eyes and fixes them on hers, rather than on the sword. "Make no mistake Serena; they won't hesitate to kill you… Any of you" He whispered back to her.

Delia groans slightly as she begins to awaken. Lily and Willey both trade freaked out expressions. Like Lucario, they cannot believe that Red has just given Serena a part of himself... He just gave her something that is no doubt sacred to him. "Holy shit" Is all Lily can whisper.

Blade's raising an eyebrow at Red, very surprised by the unexpected gesture. He remains silent, not knowing the proper words to describe his level shock. Charizard rolls his eye at Red; apparently he's not as bothered by this as everyone else is. "Just fucking mate already… I want to get this done while I'm still young"

---

Red's clawing at the cold concrete with his hands, pulling himself forwards then slamming his feet into the ground to push himself further along, each stride is easier than the last. Lily and Willey have turned themselves into light and are moving either side of the young Warrior. With Charizard flying above them all, the four of them make their way through the burning city.

Red feels like he's lost a limb, to not feel his sword, to know it's not with him, it's a feeling he can't describe. He pushes on through it, if he loses focus on his objective, screw the sword a lot of people will lose a lot more.

"We have to split up! You two will only slow me down!" He shouted so they could hear him over the screams and pleas of the dying.

The rose pink ball of light that is Lily moves in closer to Red. "WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?! SLOW YOU DOWN?! WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!"

The forest green light also moves in closer. "We're not as strong alone; they'll pick us off one by one if we separate"

A group of Paladins see them coming towards them, they charge towards the trio of young Knights. Swords raised and ready to strike.

Red narrows his eyes and snarls at his newest challengers. "STOP YOUR BITCHING!" He jumps to his feet and charges forwards, he extends his left arm and summons his sword.

The first of the Paladin's reaches the trio; Red darts to the right and slashes his sword forwards. The Paladin falls onto the ground, his blood draining out onto the cold unforgiving ground below. His severed body's been sliced in two at the waist.

Lily's the first to rematerialize, she hurls a Bolt at the second grunt, it passes straight through his chest leaving nothing but a smoking hole behind. She turns back into light then rushes forwards, ready to strike the next one down.

Willey hesitantly rematerializes and attacks with a Bolt of his own, it's not as strong as Lily's but it kills its target none the less. Before the attack even hits its mark, Willey turns to light again.

Charizard swoops down in front of them all, his wings treble in length and turn to steel. He flies towards them all, ready to take them all down in a single attack. His Steel Wing attack stabs into the surrounding buildings, shattering the glass windows and crumbling the walls. He brings them down as he sails through the air.

Before the Grunts have the chance to react, Charizard's wings collide with each one of them, smashing into them all and carrying them with him. The sound of crunching bones hits each of their ears; Charizard re-angles his wings to allow him to climb through the air. One by one the Grunts fall from his wings down to the ground, most of them are already dead, their organs ruptured from the impact.

Red returns his sword to his Aura the moment Charizard swoops down and drops back to all fours, kicking out at the ground. Lily and Willey return to his sides, allowing them to speak again. Red's eyes are firmly fixed on the road ahead, he's got to get to Eis as fast as possible, the sooner that bastard's dead the sooner this ends. "Though the ones we face are strong, we must leap into this fight head on… Countless will die if we don't" He muttered to himself.

The bodies of the Grunts drop down to the earth with a thud. Lily has to dart to the left to avoid one of them. "WATCH IT!"

Red's keen senses detect a faint sound, like whooshing air, he knows that sound, it's the sound of an arrow being fired from a bow. The road they're on forks off in two separate directions. Seeing his chance, Red calls out. "SPLIT NOW!"

Lily and Willey group together and take the left path, that will lead them around the city centre, allowing them to carve a path through the city without confronting Eis.

Red changes direction, he turns towards the right and towards the sound he heard. Charizard hovers back down above him; his wings have returned to normal and are free of Grunts. He looks down at Red; he's amazed that he knows how to find his way around this place. "Boss, how'd you know we're going the right way?"

Red doesn't turn away from his target; his eyes are firmly glued to the source of that sound. "I don't. I heard something and I want to see what it is"

Charizard drops out of the sky anime style and sweatdrops. "You're a moron… The city is being destroyed around us, and all you're worried about is a stupid sound?! It's probably something stupid!" He growled as he climbed back into the air above him.

Red continues to sprint and shakes his head. "Just go ahead and find a route to the tower, I'm checking the sound out"

With a humpf of annoyance, Charizard climbs higher into the air and starts scouting out the city for a route to the tower. He charges off ahead of Red, having spotted an opponent he can battle with.

---

As Red sprints through the half destroyed city streets, countless horrors have offended his eyes. Too many people and Pokémon have had their lives stolen from them, their broken bodies lie in pools of their own blood, their homes crushed and destroyed around them. Even more lie dying all around him, pleading for help, crying out for someone to save their loved ones.

There's nothing he can do for those who cannot walk, he's no healer, the most he can do is heal their wounds but leave their pain. Most people can't handle a lot of pain, many think they can handle the pain of an injury, but when faced with it they discover they cannot. He must ignore their pleas for help; he must ignore their cries of pain.

The best thing he can do now is get through this warzone to face the tower. Once Eis is defeated, then the rest of the Paladins will crumble. "Cut off the head and the body will fall" He thought. For now, all he can do is kill any and all Paladins he finds and send those who can walk to the park.

An unusual sight catches his eye, a body, while not unexpected with the current events, this body is different. He extends his right foot out to grind against the ground, slowing him down.

He stands up and slowly makes his way to the body, despite only being able to see the back of it; it's obvious that he was a Paladin of Fear. Red summons his sword; despite being able to feel the man has no Aura, indicating he's dead, he still feels the need to be cautious. "Maybe this is one of the reasons Charizard says I'm paranoid" He thought.

He uses his foot to roll the body onto its back, holding the hilt of his sword tightly, ready to strike if he needs to. The empty, glassy stare that meets his own tells him all he needs to know. "So you are dead" He thought as he returned his sword to his Aura.

His eye is immediately drawn to the obvious cause of death, a single black arrow in the chest. Red carefully examines the wound. "Not much blood… Must have gone through your heart…." He smirks darkly. "Not giving 'em a chance to fight back huh?... Your first strike is your last" He crouches down beside the corpse.

He grasps the arrow firmly and rips it from the confines of the flesh. He holds it in both hands and examines the weapon; the main body is made of wood. "I don't use arrows, but I've had more than enough shot at me to know that they're not normally made of wood…. Maybe" He thought. The tail has three black Murkrow feathers to act as the fletching. "Feathers… Murkrow feathers… Aren't they normally something different?"

The eye is drawn to the deadly head, most arrows have a very small head that passes in and out of flesh easily, this head is very different. It's a good two inches long, stainless steel and has two nasty spurs that hold it in flesh. Clearly this arrow isn't meant to be pulled out easily.

Red sniffs the arrow; a faint scent lingers with it, a scent Red knows very well. He smirks as he plunges the arrow back in the flesh of the corpse. "You sneaky bastard… Hiding away in the shadows? You can't hide for long… I'll find you; I'll hunt you down… You can't escape the monster for long"

Time skip: 30 minutes

Elsewhere in the city Lily and Willey are sprinting through the city streets; they rematerialized into their physical forms shortly after splitting off from Red and Charizard. Lily's taken the role of the leader, speeding through the streets, taking down as many Paladins and their Pokémon as possible as well as healing injured people and sending them to the park. So far they've only been able to save a handful of survivors, but every life that makes it out of here safely is a victory.

There are bodies everywhere; most of them are those of civilians. There's evidence to say they were trying to defend themselves and perhaps others. Their bodies have wounds that aren't consistent of weapons, but Pokémon attacks.

There's more evidence to support the theory that people have been fighting back against the Paladins, there are various makeshift weapons littering the streets, as well as bullet casings and guns.

But not all the bodies belong to innocents, there are some that belong to Paladins, mostly Grunts but there is a Sentinel in the mix. Their wounds are consistent with Pokémon attacks, mostly burns and what looks like punches and kicks. The Sentinel has what looks like a shuriken made of water protruding from his forehead.

Lily's feeling the negative effects of sprinting all this way, sweat is pouring down her face and fatigue is racking her body. She looks to her side and see's Willey's suffering the same as her. "Let's take a break for a moment, can't kill Paladins if we're exhausted" He gives her a nod to show he agrees.

Willey buckles over, using his staff as a means of support and panting heavily; his bald head's glistening with sweat. Lily stands normally, with her staff slumped over her shoulder, but she's breathing heavily.

The duo takes a couple of minutes to rest and recuperate their strength. After a moment, something catches Lily's eye, something hiding amongst the shadows. She turns to get a better look at whatever that strange thing is, as she does it races away from her.

She chases after the creature, believing it's a Paladin Pokémon. "WILLEY! SOMETHING'S GETTING AWAY!" She bellowed. Willey looks at her like she's absolutely mad, then chases after her.

Lily aims her free hand towards her target, forming an Orb in the palm of her hand. "Time to die shit face" She muttered under her breath. Before she has the chance to fire her attack, a fist collides with her face.

The shock of the blow stagers her, a second blow shatters her nose and puts her on her ass. She loses the Orb she held in her hand and cups her hand over her bloody nose. "YOU SON OF A BITCH!" She looks around for the one who attacked her.

A pair of deep electric blue eyes meets her emerald orbs; the owner's face is covered by some black cloth as well as a black hood. There's no mistaking it though, those eyes belong to a man. The instant Lily locks onto them, she knows the owner of them could have easily killed her, but he didn't, he chose to spare her…. Why?

She's so focused on those orbs that she fails to see the body behind them begin to turn translucent and hidden, not true invisibility, but certainly difficult to see. If he stood perfectly still, he could easily pass for invisible.

She just lies on the ground, clutching her bleeding nose, enthralled by the sight before her. "What…. Who…. What are you?" She thought. The eyes staring down at her seem to be analysing her, as though they're studying her features, in an attempt to recognise a long lost friend.

Then, after but a moment, they vanish, as though they were never there to begin with. Lily remains enthralled though, the overpowering sense those eyes gave off has her short of breath. Just what was that she saw? Did she imagine it? The pain certainly feels real, but those eyes… There was something about them, something strange, something familiar but also… Exotic?

Slowly pink pulses heal her broken nose; the blood slowly runs back into its home. She stands up, and hesitantly probes the area that man must have been standing in with the bladed end of her staff, to her surprise there's nothing there. Nothing at all, it's like he was never there. "Whoever you are… Stay away from me, I'm far more dangerous than I look" She said weakly, while trying to sound strong.

The only sounds to respond are explosions, screams and gunshots. Whoever owns those eyes, they're either already gone, or don't feel the need to respond.

---

Red claws his way towards the tower courtyard, Charizard flies closely above him, guiding his trainer towards their destination. The route that Charizard has chosen has been badly hit by the battle, the concrete beneath Red's feet is cracking apart. All around them, the bodies of people and Pokémon alike litter the cracked street.

Red's mind is clouded, all he can think about is the pain all those people where in. "I should have ended their suffering" He thought. "It wouldn't have taken long. One thrust, and their pain would have ended. I should have given them the mercy they deserved"

Gun shots snap him from his thoughts, his mind focuses once again. A powerful desire to spill some blood overcomes him, he sprints towards the sounds of fighting as fast as his hands and feet will move. The sound diverts their path from the tower slightly, but not too much.

They quickly find the source of the gun shots and stop dead. A ragtag force of survivors has formed, each of them armed with a gun of some sort, most of them look like they've never held a weapon in their lives. A large man is leading this force; he has dark brown hair that forms a spikey beard. Standing beside him is a yellow Pokémon with a white belly, pointed ears with black stripes, a red gem on his forehead and a tail with the same gem at the end of which with black stripes around it. An Ampharos, an Electric type.

Their group focus, a single Sentinel. His body is surrounded by thick strands of ribbon like smoke, the strands are leaving the safety of his body to wrap around anything they can reach and lift it into the air.

The bulky man at the front extends his arm out towards the Paladin. "FIRE! GIVE THAT FREAK EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT!" He bellowed.

The ragtag force slowly points their weapons towards the Sentinel, most of them are afraid to pull the trigger though. Before they have the chance to act on his order, the Sentinel lifts a car up with his Aura, the smoke snakes across the metal surface. "OK then, I will" He muttered with a smirk.

Without a moment's hesitation the Sentinel hurls the vehicle across the street without so much as moving a muscle. The large man and his Ampharos instinctively roll to their sides, dodging the deadly attack. The rest of them aren't so skilled, the car ploughs into them all, crushing their bones and rupturing their organs. The vehicle continues to plough through them all, dragging their bodies along with it as it finally comes to a stop, in a flaming pile of wreckage. Blood seeps out from the twisted metal, along with petrol from the broken fuel tank, all it'll take is a single spark… And it'll light up in flames.

Both the large, bearded man and his Ampharos quickly recover and stand up again, they both focus their attention on the Sentinel. "THUNDRBOLT!" He shouted. Ampharos doesn't even wait for the command to be finished before his body erupts in crackling electricity.

A strong surge of electricity rips through the air towards the Sentinel, he doesn't even try to dodge or offer any form of defence. The Electric attack crashes into him, surging electricity throughout his body.

Red turns to Charizard, whose slowly shaking his head in disappointment. "That has got to be the weakest Thunderbolt I've ever seen… Doubt that asshole even felt it" Red nods his head in agreement.

Sure enough, the Sentinel looks completely unaffected by the Electric attack. A faint amount of electricity crackles across his armour, both the man and his Ampharos are shocked to the bone by this. "NO EFFECT?!"

The Sentinel breaks out into a crazed smile; he raises his hand and drops his head to the side. "My turn" As he extends his Aura out, enveloping the Ampharos in smoky darkness. Ampharos struggles against his bindings in vain.

Charizard sighs and turns to Red. "Do we have to help these weaklings?" He lazily asked.

Red screws up his face in indecision. This guy is clearly a weakling and has gotten a lot of people killed, but at least he's trying unlike some people they've come across… He sighs heavily; with a look of annoyance he nods his head.

The fire dragon drops his arms and sighs. "Why did I have to get stuck with the sentimental weakling?... I get the big guy" Red's fists clench tightly and a nasty snarl forms on his face, which he directs towards his so called brother.

While the two of them decide whether or not to intervene with the situation, the overgrown Paladin hurled the furless sheep like Pokémon into his trainer. The pair of them fall to the ground in a heap; strands of stray darkness linger around Ampharos, paralysing him.

In the same instant, more darkness filters off the Sentinel and envelops a second car, lifting it into the air. "Say goodbye" He hissed as he hurled the car through the air, using nothing but his Aura.

The man and his Ampharos' eyes widen as they watch the metal construct fly through the air towards them, they both shut their eyes tightly and brace for the impending impact.

The mighty fire dragon picks his head and arms up and sighs once again. "Might as well get this over with" He grumbled. He charges through the air with his powerful wings, as he does he lifts his tail up higher, ready to strike the Sentinel scum right between the eyes. The Sentinel turns his head, just in time to see a blur of orange scales and fire crash into his face. The force of the impact shatters the darkness surrounding him and hurls him through the air and into a relatively undamaged building.

The crash of the car never comes; the man and his Ampharos slowly open their eyes. To their great surprise, a man dressed similarly to the other guy is standing over them, with the car pressed against his back; his arms are stretched out to hold either side of it. His body is struggling to hold the weight of the vehicle, at first glance it's easy to think he's standing over them, but in reality he's on one knee, struggling to stop the weight crushing down on him.

Their jaws drop from their heads, their pupils tremble in shock. How is this guy strong enough to hold a car?! Why is he dressed like he's re-enacting a medieval war? Are he the other guy somehow connected? Is this guy one of them?

Red struggles to maintain his grip, his hands are soaked in sweat, making it difficult to hold his grip. A vein is visibly throbbing on his forehead, his teeth are grinding themselves to dust in his mouth, his eyes are filled with pure determination not to be beaten. "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! GET OUT OF HERE NOW!" He screeched as his other leg gave way and he was forced to his knees.

The man mindlessly nods his head, the darkness that kept both him and his Pokémon paralysed was knocked away by the force of the flying vehicle. "Wh-Who are you?" He found himself asking. "The name's Meyer, Meyer Citron… Thanks for the help"

The Sentinel clambers out of the building he was given a one way ticket to, his face is covered in blood. His teeth have been shattered in his mouth, his nose has been flattened and his cheek bones have been cracked badly. Charizard lands on the ground behind his brother; he slowly scratches his chin and yawns in boredom. "You still alive? Oh for fucks sake, just die already, I've got more important things to do"

The vein on Red's forehead throbs harder and grows larger; the sound of metal grinding on concrete indicates the car is slipping from his grasp. All three of them are running out of time. "I COULDN'T GIVE A SHIT WHAT YOUR FUCKING NAME IS! GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE I DROP THIS THING! GO TO THE PARK, THERE'S A SCIZOR WHO CAN PROTECT YOU! IF HE GIVES YOU ANY BULLSHIT TELL HIM RED SENT YOU!"

Meyer breaks open a smile; it seems he's forgotten the car that Red's trying to hold. "Well Red, thanks for the help. I don't know why, but I feel like I can trust you… Tell me, have you seen a little girl with golden blonde hair? She's wearing a brown blouse. Or have you seen a man around your age with golden blonde hair? He's wearing a blue jumpsuit. Please, they're my children I must know if they're OK" He pleaded.

Red's body is weakening; the strain of holding a car from falling down on them all is really taking a toll on him. "FOR FUCK SAKE! BONNIE AND CLEMONT ARE SAFE IN THE PARK! MY SCIZOR IS PROTECTING THEM BOTH! GET OUT NOW, OR I WILL DROP THIS THING ON YOU BOTH FOR BEING COWARDS!" He screeched in their faces.

Meyer's jaw drops again, how can this Red guy possibly know his children? Has he already met them both? These questions will have to wait; right now he and Ampharos need to escape to the apparent safety of the park. Both Meyer and Ampharos climb to their feet, give Red one last appreciative smile, and then nod their heads and start running towards their new destination. "It seems our glory days our behind us old friend, there seems to be a new generation of hero's out there now… All we can do now is try to stay alive" Meyer said with disappointment.

Ampharos nods his head in agreement. "Our days of war and battle are behind us old friend, we have our medals to prove our worth, but it seems the enemy is stronger than they were twenty years ago"

Within a matter of moments, they're both nothing but a memory to Red. His focus shifts to the hunk of metal in his slippery hands, the weight is getting too much for him now. His body simply doesn't have the strength to hold it up anymore. "I'm goanna be crushed… Ah fuck it, I'll heal once Charizard lifts it off me" He thought. "Who am I trying to fool; he won't get this thing off me while there's food around. Asshole"

He shuts his eyes and braces himself for the incoming pain, the pain of having incredible weight crushing down on his body. "My duty… Is done" He muttered.

The great metal weight slips out of his grasp, but instead of crushing down on him, the weight is lifted from his back. His hands drop down to the cold earth, he pushes down and uses the force to push himself onto his feet again. Turning on his heel, he summons his remaining sword and raises it to strike the Sentinel down. To his great surprise Charizard is standing in front of him, the dented remains of the car held tightly in his claws. "I'm borrowing this"

Without warning or hesitation, Charizard swings the car around on the spot; his tail narrowly avoids colliding with Red. The Sentinel's side meets cold steel; the force of the car crashing into his body snaps his spine in half. Charizard doesn't stop his relentless attack; he continues to swing the car into a building, carrying the broken Sentinel with it.

The half crushed vehicle crashes into a concrete wall, crushing in on itself even more. Blood splatters from the wreckage, covering the already cracked and soaked road. Red raises an eyebrow in surprise, he wasn't expecting Charizard to use a weapon, normally he only uses his own claws and fangs, sometimes his tail if he's in the mood.

The mighty dragon pulls the wreckage away from the building and examines his handiwork. The Sentinel's body falls to the ground; his back is bent backwards from his severed spine. Chunks of shrapnel are embedded into his flesh; a small amount of blood is escaping through these wounds. His body has been badly mangled by the blow, he's clearly dead.

Charizard grins slightly and raises the car up high. "One more for luck" He growled with pleasure. His muscular arms slam down towards the ground, dragging the crushed car with them. With a horrific crunch of snapping bone, the car hits its mark, draining the last drops of blood from the crushed Sentinel.

Red raises his eyebrow even higher and half shuts his eyes, his arms rise of their own accord and cross themselves against his chest. "Overkill much?"

Ignoring the remark from his trainer, Charizard lifts the car one last time; he carefully examines the pile of twisted metal, meat and blood, checking for any signs of life. Satisfied that his victim is in fact dead, he smirks proudly and nods his head. "Yep he's dead" He turns around on the spot to face Red and holds the blood soaked car out to him. "Here this is yours"

The man in question drops his eyebrow and holds his arms out defensively. "I don't fucking want it!" He shakes his hands to show he doesn't want the crushed car.

Charizard pulls the car back towards himself, he tilts his head curiously, he doesn't want this… Thing, back? "Why not?"

A look falls across Red's face; he looks like he's just been asked why he only has one head. "What do you mean why?! That thing almost crushed me! Why would I fucking want it back?!"

Charizard rolls his eye and drops the car on the pile of meat that was once a Sentinel. "You forgot you can make yourself stronger? You know by flowing your Aura through your body? Come on it took you ages to learn that one, don't tell me you've forgotten that….. Again. If you have I'm goanna laugh myself stupid again" He asked with a grin.

Red's face washes clean with a look of realisation, it doesn't last long though, it's quickly replaced by an angry glare. He darts his head to his right side and scowls angrily, he doesn't want him to see his face. "Not. A. Fucking word"

His vision falls across the courtyard around the tower, standing in the centre next to the fountain, is a large purple dragon. "A Garchomp?" Charizard darts his gaze towards the dragon as well, his eye sparkles with excitement at the thought of battling her. "Ppppllllleeeaaassseee tell me she was summoned here and I get to kill her"

The young Knight's eyes glow blood red, allowing his Vision to see the darkness filling Garchomp, after a moment's glance, his eyes return to normal. He slowly shakes his head. "Sorry bud, she's possessed… Can't kill her"

The mighty dragon drops his arms and head in disappointment, he sighs heavily. "Aaaawwwww! NO FAIR!... Well, who's possessed her then? Can I at least kill them?"

Red firmly shakes his head, no matter what Charizard's not goanna get to kill him. "Hell no, Eis is mine"

Charizard lifts his head up and gives Red and pleading look. "Oh come on… Eis has possessed her? FUCK!" He stamps his feet on the ground repeatedly, like a child who's throwing a tantrum.

Red facepalms and slides his hand down his face slowly. "How the fuck do I put up with you? You're a grown man act like it"

Charizard ignores him and continues to throw his tantrum, spouting gibberish about wanting a good fight. A small and obviously scared baby Gible slowly climbs out of a half crushed building, he calls for his mother again, still there is no response.

His tears stream down his scaly skin, he cries out louder for Garchomp. His cry doesn't fall on deaf ears this time, but they don't reach his mother, they reach Red.

The Knight pricks up his ears, easily recognising the nature of such a cry. "There's a baby here, and it's been separated from its mother" He thought. His advanced sense of hearing allows him to easily detect the source of the cries. He turns on the spot to face the crying baby.

Charizard hears the cries too; he finally stops his tantrum and looks around for the crying baby. "Oh god, even in the middle of all this shit… Why must the screaming shit machines ALWAYS go to the Boss? Why can't someone else EVER take care of them?"

Red finds the source of the cries first; the tiny infant stands amongst the rubble, crying out for his mother to comfort him, with tears streaming down his face. Every fibre of his being cries out with Chomp, his cries stab his cold heart like a Katana sword. Without him telling them to, his legs carry him to the baby. His legs crouch down, allowing him to gently stroke Chomp's fin comfortingly. "Sssshhh… Ssssshhhh…. It's OK, it's OK" He said soothingly.

Chomp opens his eyes upon Red's touch, he doesn't recognise the person crouched down before him, but there's something about him, something that the baby doesn't recognise. The tears stop flowing from his eyes and his cries quieten, Red doesn't stop reassuring him though, he continues to gently stroke his fin comfortingly. "It's OK little one… I'm not going to hurt you"

Charizard snorts out smoke along with angry sparks. "But I will. I'll crush you into a bloody pulp if you keep distracting him" He thought.

Chomp sniffles slightly, he doesn't know why or how, but he feels like he can trust this man. He squeaks up at him and raises his short stubby arms. Red instantly recognises what he's doing; a warm smile breaks out on his face. "OK then little one" His rough, large, blood soaked hands gently cup around the tiny baby and lift him out of the rubble.

Charizard's claws slam into his face; he shakes his head in frustration. "Why? What the fuck did I do to deserve being stuck with you?" He whined.

Red ignores his partner's whining and holds Chomp in close; he cups his left hand over him and drops his right to his side. "I'll keep you safe little one" He turns around on the spot to face Charizard; he scowls darkly at him and points his free hand at him threateningly. "Not a word from you fat ass. I kept you safe for years didn't I?"

The orange dragon crosses his arms and turns his head towards Garchomp. His face turns black as thunder and he snorts out smoke. "Put that thing back in your armour and let's go, I wanna fight already"

Safely nestled in Red's hand, Chomp looks around his surroundings, still searching for his mother. He doesn't have to look for long though, he quickly finds her standing at the base of the tower, waiting for a worthy opponent to reveal themselves.

He reaches out for her and calls out for her, his cries fall of deaf ears though. Red carefully tucks the baby in the folds of his armour and clothing, keeping him safe and comfortable.

Red strides towards his partner, his eyes ablaze with bloodlust. "We can't kill her, but we can still kick her ass"

Charizard slowly shakes his head and lowers his wing, to allow Red to climb aboard. "I still don't understand why we can't kill her… Just 'cause she's not in control" He complained.

Red climbs up the dragon and plants his ass firmly on his back. "Quit your yappin' and get flying, you know the rule. We don't kill innocents"

Charizard raises his wings and flaps them to get the blood flowing. "The fuck you talking about? We've both killed innocent people and Pokémon tons of times" With a second, more powerful flap, he takes to the air with his passengers in tow and heads for the tower.

The familiar feeling of rushing air against Red's face helps to calm him and focus his senses. "Mercy killing doesn't count fat ass! Now shut up and fly!"

---

There it is guys, The Battle of Lumiose City Part 1.

Death. Destruction. Pain. Fear. Bloodlust. This isn't a battle; it's a war.

Not got much to say here, just carry on to the next chapter and read the Author note at the end.

When I wrote this chapter, it and the next chapter were one whole chapter, and it was 52,000 words! Screw that, ain't nobody goanna read that, so I split in half.

See you in part 2, until next time guys, suggest, drop a review and… Hit that Follow/Favourite button with your faces!

Dragon out!