Maka tiptoed out into the DWMA grounds, doing her best to calm the butterflies in her stomach. Vulpix followed close behind. She crept over to the area where Lord Death kept his Pidgeot. Maka's eyes bulged at the size of the flock; many of them were deep in slumber, and others were preening their feathers.

Which one was the one I used to get to Johto?

Maka browsed through the flock of the Pidgeot, but they all looked exactly the same to her after a while. Upon closer inspection, however, she noticed that one of the Pidgeot had most of the yellow feather on its head missing.

"Hey! Remember me?"

Pidgeot lifted its wing, and tilted its head. Maka snapped its beak shut when it chirped at her.

"Shhh, be quiet! I need you do help me out again. I'll give you one of these to show my thanks," Maka said, holding a Sweet Poffin in her hands. She kept them as flat as possible so that Pidgeot wouldn't also eat her fingers.

Pidgeot sniffed at the pink Poffin, nudging it with its beak. Its soft, spongy consistency was something not even the tamest of Pokémon could resist. Pidgeot knocked the Poffin out of Maka's hands, and pecked at it with delight. The other Pidgeot began to bicker over the Poffin, and all began jabbing at it. Vulpix decided to gobble the entire thing in one bite, much to the anger of the birds.

"SHHHHH!" Maka whispered, with her finger to her lips.

The other Pidgeot calmed down, and returned to cleaning their glossy feathers.

"Come on, Pidgeot…I really need something that can fly as fast as you can!"

Maka's flattery made the Pidgeot spread its wings in an incredibly vain bent down until Maka was able to get onto its back. Vulpix returned to its weapon form. Maka thanked the bird with an extra Sweet Poffin, and Pidgeot gained altitude before heading for the Johto region.

Maka looked around the tremendous views. A trail of flames circled the grass outside of Mt. Silver, which appeared to be a heard of galloping Rapidash as Maka got a closer look. Magikarp splashed around in the Lake Of Rage, and the scales of the elusive Red Gyarados could be seen poking out of the water. A trail of rainbow light shot across the horizon.

"Pidgeot! I think that was her!"

Pidgeot swiftly turned and began its pursuit. Every bend and every move of the trail failed to deter the Pokémon, as it beat its wings tenfold to keep up with it. Pidgeot swooped towards the ground to avoid a blast of fire, but it burst into a star- like shape and burned the tip of its wing. Pidgeot could feel itself beginning to fall and it flapped its wings even faster, desperate to remain airborne.

"Get away from me, little girl, or I'll take down your Pidgeot like I did with the other one!"

Maka noticed that the Legendary Bird Ho-Oh's wings had sprouted out of her back.

"Ancientpower!"

Giant glowing rocks arose from the ground, and Ho-oh-na shoved them towards Pidgeot. Pidgeot swerved to avoid them, but one of the rocks smashed on the cliff side. Part of its shrapnel hit Maka square in the face, and she dropped onto Pidgeot's back.

"Vulpix!" screeched Maka's weapon.

Vulpix transformed, stood on her meister's chest, and kept licking her cheek. Despite Vulpix's efforts, Maka was still out cold. All of a sudden, swords shot into the air and impaled the Witch's arms and legs.

"Keep attacking, Suicune!"

Suicune shot another blast of water, and it hit Ho-oh-na so powerfully that she hurtled towards the ground. A huge cloud of muddy dust dispersed into the air, and Suicune jumped to the side to slow itself down. It skidded across the ground for a second before coming to a halt.

"Yay! The Witch lady is dead!" cheered Angela.

However, Mifune knew that there were many more witches that would need to be taken down, some worse than even Medusa and Arachne. His work was far from over. He saw Pidgeot land on the ground next to him.

"What's going on…"

Maka could only hear a faint buzzing, and she could only see a blue blur.

"Wait-Mifune? You bonded with Suicune?" she asked, rubbing her eyes and focusing again.

"It was a challenge, but it was well worth it," he replied.

"Hey! Were you after the Witch, too?" asked Angela, in a childlike voice.

"Yeah. She killed my friend, so I'm gonna trick her into bringing him back to life for me- if she's still alive."

Mifune bowed to Maka. "Good luck. Suicune and I are off to the Kanto region. Apparently a large gang known as Team Rocket are causing trouble. Farewell. I hope you can get your friend back."

Maka waved goodbye, receiving a small wave back from Angela. Suicune bounded into the distance. Maka took a breath, and made her way gingerly into the forest.

I hope she isn't dead just yet…