Chapter Eleven: An Explosive Encounter

Keldeo flopped down onto the sand, the dust spraying everywhere. His mood was foul. He wanted nothing better than to escape this hellscape and to just reunite with the Swords of Justice. The once blue sky had turned grey, matching his mood all too well. Keldeo proceeded to bury his head in the ground in the same way that Excadrill or Durant would, wishing he could just stay there forever. He didn't care how stupid he looked at the current moment. On the contrary, he thought it might be a good way of hiding from any of these stupid hunters that wanted his body. He shut his eyes tight and tried to close off his hearing. Nothing is going to get me out of this hole, he thought, the smoothness of the sand tickling his cheeks. Absolutely nothing, I'd have to be mad to let anything push me away from-

'Keldeo.'

Immediately at the sound of her voice, Keldeo's head ejected itself from the earth, his horn smothered in brown gunk. Yep nice one Keldeo, he cursed at himself internally before turning round to greet Lopunny.

'Lady Lopunny...' he realized how disheveled he looked and brushed most of the dirt off. Lopunny watched him with a raised eyebrow.

'Why did you have your head in the ground?' she asked, causing Keldeo to flush violently.

'Look,' he said indignantly. 'I don't know about you but I've had a really shitty time recently.'

Lopunny's cheeks turned bright pink.

'Don't know about me?' she exclaimed. 'Would you like me to list off all the things I've been through?'

'That's not what I meant!' pleaded Keldeo, pawing the ground nervously.

'I understand how you're feeling,' Lopunny said, reverting back to her kind demeanor. 'but no good will come from literally burying your head in the sand. I mean seriously man it's a metaphor, you don't need to actually do it.' Once more her playful laugh sent Keldeo's stomach upwards.

'Yeah well...' Keldeo looked into the distance sadly after gathering himself up. '...I don't like feeling powerless. It's such a shit feeling you know?'

'I feel you.' Lopunny said, remembering those days of offering nothing. 'Here.' She held her hand out, the bottle of green medicine clutched in her fingers. 'I can finally patch your leg up.'

'That would be most welcome.' nodded Keldeo appreciatively. Lopunny knelt down on one knee, unscrewing the lid while Keldeo unsheathed his makeshift bandage with his mouth. Once more, he winced badly as the stinging liquid was applied by a gentle touch by Lopunny. Keldeo gritted his teeth until he became used to the pain.

'I should have known nothing would have come good from this.' said Lopunny idly, continuing her healing process. 'Between you and me, the reason I wanted to come here is to find out everything I can about Scizor.'

Keldeo clenched his jaw. She's talking about Scizor, he thought. Shocker.

'Find out everything you can?' he said skeptically, deciding to engage head on. 'Didn't you two date for a bit? How much more do you need to discover?'

'We got together in the most dangerous situations of our...well my life.' said Lopunny, shrugging her shoulders. 'I don't blame him for being secretive really. He did well to bottle it up.'

'Could of done it out of courtesy.' Keldeo said, the red blotchy mark stitching itself up. 'Spare you worrying, you know?'

'I don't think Scizor thinks that far ahead honey.' smiled Lopunny, attempting to be frivolous. It didn't work.

'You know for someone who is infatuated with him you sure do fire some insults at the guy.' Keldeo said critically.

'Infatuated?' Lopunny lowered her arms and stared at Keldeo incredulously. 'Why would I be infatuated with a guy who constantly lies through his teeth and actually blew someone right in front of me?'

'Uhh...' Keldeo paused before attempting a grin. 'We all like a bad boy?'

'Very funny.' she scowled, resuming her medical work and examining the injury. Keldeo stood where he was, resenting his inability to be firmer to Lopunny. A bat of her eyelids and his subservience was all hers. He had almost zoned out of what Lopunny was saying now.

'I have a friend, Sceptile, who has a pretty nasty scar on his shoulder. You'd be lucky you don't end up like him with the amount of injuries you-'

'He's your project isn't he?' Keldeo interrupted uncharacteristically. Lopunny blinked.

'What are you talking about?'

'Scizor.' Keldeo clarified, his tone and demeanor very direct. 'You want to see what can be done with him. You didn't have enough time together when you were off saving this land and now you see it as a chance to bring things full circle. I understand.'

Lopunny caressed the container gently with the tip of her finger, analyzing what Keldeo just said. She didn't even notice the three shapes of Durant, Primarina and Excadrill in the far distance all standing back to back and looking very odd indeed.

'It's complicated.' Lopunny eventually said, her voice husky.

'How so?'

Lopunny took a deep breath, trying to think how she would formulate her sentences.

'Imagine if you had met someone right?' Lopunny started to explain. 'They were obviously...morally questionable, lets say. But the first thing they ever did for you was a good deed. All the way through your travels you question what their motives are and how they conduct themselves to others but you constantly exert your gratitude to them for doing that act of honor at the start.'

'Aha...' said Keldeo slowly, believing this sounded all too familiar.

'When you think you've brought them over to your side then all is revealed.' Lopunny carried on. 'That spark of goodness they performed was all an act to deceive you. At least at the start. What you achieved with them in the time between the first act to the revelation struck such a chord that they were willing to change their behavior for you.'

'So what you're saying is that you turned Scizor from a bad pokemon to a...' Keldeo thought for a second. '...Less bad pokemon?'

'Whatever you think it is something did change in him thanks to me.' said Lopunny. 'So in a way you're right. He is my project in a way. That doesn't mean I don't care about him though. I think I actually care about him more seeing as I've made more discoveries.' She shrugged her shoulders. 'I think this will help us in the long run. It's important to be happy.'

Keldeo sighed deeply.

'Controversial opinion here,' he stated loudly for her to listen to. 'but I don't believe consciousness evolved for us to be happy.'

Lopunny shook her head in confusion.

'What do you mean?'

'We're always going to have sad moments in our life, there's no avoiding that.' he explained. 'Those moments of despair and pain are what makes the good moments all the sweeter. Give yourself purpose and direction, that way you can channel your energy into converting the inevitable bad into the unforgettable good.'

Lopunny stood where she was, looking into Keldeo's eyes. She thought of the balance of good and bad times she shared with the Shining Beacons and how much they had struggled. Their fights against the darkest of forces, pushing them to their limits yet the end result boosting all of them to hero status. Accidental hero status maybe but still setting the stage for these broken and hard-done-by pokemon. She knew deep down that if Scizor did it once he can do it again. And she knew even more about her potential, how this journey could prove her accomplishments were not a fluke.

'When you're been reduced to your weakest state but you come out of it at your strongest. That's a hero.' Keldeo said softly. Lopunny nodded.

'I know that.' she managed a faint half-smile. 'I'll continue my progress. I'll relish the dark times cos there the biggest learning curves and there is nothing better than learning.'

She rested her hand on Keldeo's cheek. He immediately started a quick succession of breaths, doing his best to cease them. Lopunny was oblivious once again.

'You're a good friend you know?'

The words seemed to echo in slow motion through Keldeo's ears. As childish as it seemed and how valuable Lopunny was to him at the moment, he couldn't help but tweak several heartstrings at this statement.

'...Thank you.'

Eventually Keldeo and Lopunny broke out into smiles and embraced in a warm hug, failing to notice the distant three all making a beeline straight towards them, their sprints full of intent.

The candle continued to flicker, the small beam of light contributing very little to the absolute chaos that was Scizor's old family room. The three pokemon inside were all separated by considerable distances considering the small size. None of them had spoken in a good while. Papa-Scizor was still lying on his bed, frequently emitting gargling coughs and talking quietly to himself. Zayden was standing before a small table, whipping up a small meal for himself that looked like a mix of porridge and baked beans, his head facing downwards either due to concentration or despair. Scizor was sat in a chair, his arms folded over the back and his legs spread far apart, his expression that of deep contempt for his situation. They had come all this way for nothing apparently. Nothing apart from witnessing the state that his father had succumbed to and discovering that his former home was just the same as every other run down, dilapidated mess that dotted every few miles of Shan'rala. Scizor's grip was tightening on the cross rail of his chair, the wood splintering ever so slightly as he thought of the others. Of Lopunny seeing his roots and where he was from. He had no idea what she would be thinking of right now. Whether she had expressed more sympathy for his past plights or just validated her thoughts of him being a complete psychopath even more. Scizor clenched his jaw tight as the overwhelming positives of having Lopunny in his life flooded his brain and just how scared he was of losing her...

SNAP!

The head of his seat broke into multiple pieces, the unintentional strength Scizor was applying too much for it. Zayden whipped round, his claw soaked in paste to see his brother sitting awkwardly holding shards of wood in both claws. Scizor sat where he was and contemplated the situation before flinging the chunks to the side of the room simultaneously and standing to his feet.

'I'm going.' he said. Zayden started abruptly.

'You can't go!' he placed his bowl down on the table and checked the clock behind him.

'Why not?' Scizor asked him as his father rolled round on his bed, his stump of an arm waving randomly. 'I have nothing to gain here Zayden. I hate you, I hate that prick on the bed there, I hate everything to do with Fort Dolorem. I'm out.'

Scizor turned round to leave but was hauled round by an irate Zayden, his good eye flaring in fury.

'You're not getting out of this! You're going to suffer it for once!' he growled. Scizor threw his arm off his shoulder with aggression.

'I've suffered enough!' he retorted, gesturing over Zayden at the bed. 'I have done all my life! Having to put up with him, with the war and a fucking pokemon from another world trying to kill me!'

'And look at you now!' Zayden replied, his right arm holding Scizor's wrist in a vice-like grip. 'You're a hero! Everyone knows who you are, they look up to you when I know the truth of what you're really like. Don't forget, you're the one responsible for this.' His free hand pointed up at his ruined eye, Scizor's reflection shimmering in the pure white. 'Do you know how it feels to be stuck in the shit while my coward of a younger brother has every chance of living life to the full yet he insists on drinking and wasting his existence away?'

Scizor could have gone mental but instead decided to switch his voice to a mocking tone.

'Oh boo hoo.' he screwed up his face in fake anguish. 'The victim card doesn't work here. You had every opportunity to leave and sever all ties with this place. Make your own destiny. But no...You sit about and feel sorry for yourself. Pretty pathetic in my estimate.'

'I...' Despite Zayden's tight grip, his facial expressions were showing signs of weakness. '...I have a duty of care.'

'No you don't.' Scizor softened his voice as well. 'He's going to die soon. The sooner you let go, the happier you'll be.'

'I'm never happy.' Zayden said, his voice cracking slightly. 'My life means nothing now. I thought being a war veteran would give me something but now I realize that I'm not special. I'm just another speck of sand in this seemingly infinite desert.'

Despite Zayden's emotional quivering, his grip remained water tight on Scizor's wrist who was now becoming concerned about his blood flow. However, they were stopped in their raving tracks by a shout from over the older brothers shoulder.

'Blaze!'

The two scizor's looked round to see the third and oldest one sitting up on his bed, his eyes half-gummed together and multiple liquids trickling from his mouth. He was staring at Scizor with a curious expression that neither of them could interpret. It was as if he was still enraged at the sight of him but at the same time, trying to decipher what it was that made him so angry.

'What is it?' Scizor said dully. Papa-Scizor tilted his head before beckoning forward with his good claw. Scizor reluctantly did so, Zayden finally releasing his wrist and picking up his food dish.

'Closer.' Papa-Scizor said.

'I'm fine here.' Blaze-Scizor said in response, sitting at the edge of the bed, the stench of his fathers feet wafting into senses. 'What is it?'

Papa-Scizor's eyes met Blaze-Scizor's and they shared an unblinking silence, neither of them wanting to give the other the satisfaction of winning the staring contest.

'...Remember your mother?' Papa-Scizor eventually said. Scizor's breath quavered a little.

'Yeah? And?'

Papa-Scizor leaned back on his bed, his musty breath filling up the room. He looked down at his chopped arm in a rather pathetic motion.

'As far as I know...She was the last female Scizor in the desert...Meaning she might have been the last one in Charom.' Papa-Scizor shook his head in deep sadness. 'I have no idea.'

Scizor said nothing, his claws clutching his knee. He knew where this conversation was going to go from here.

'So seeing you with that fucking buneary...' Papa-Scizor seethed, spitting everywhere. 'All it does is further our genocide.'

'I told you I can't make a child with her!' Scizor shouted, punching the bed with his claw.

'Then you have a choice to make.' Papa-Scizor growled, sitting up again. 'Continue a degenerate lifestyle of mingling or find a scyther or scizor woman to continue our species' existence...Even if it means leaving Charom.'

Scizor furrowed his brows in a look of deepest contempt.

'You're being hysterical.' he muttered, his voice low. 'We're not going to die out. This land is huge, you've barely scratched the surface. There's bound to be more of them.'

'I just...' Papa-Scizor coughed before continuing. '...Always thought I would value you more than Zayden to bear me grandchildren.'

Scizor looked round at his brother who had frozen midway through eating his food, his mouth gaping slightly and a spoon clutched in his pincer. Scizor shot him an apologetic look before turning back round.

'Thanks but I wouldn't have them purely for your happiness.' Scizor said.

'Look,' Papa-Scizor leaned forward with intent. 'I am...proud of you, Blaze.'

Scizor refrained from standing up at this piece of information. He rested his claws on his knees and stared at his dads face, refraining from eye contact. Was this a deception? What would there be to gain from this? Scizor decided to take his time with this.

'What are you talking about?'

'Zayden told me of what you've done.' Papa-Scizor said, his voice adopting the softest tone possible. 'You're a hero.'

Scizor shot another look at Zayden, who was refusing to look anywhere but the contents of his bowl.

'I'm not a hero.' Scizor shook his head.

'You tell yourself that.' Papa-Scizor managed a slight chuckle. 'I'll be the first to admit that what I did to you was unacceptable.'

'You don't say?' Scizor said flatly, his right claw moving down to grip the mattress hard.

'It's how you made a man out of yourself after that.' Papa explained. 'You made mistakes along the way sure. In all honesty it would be better for everyone if you had killed me the day you left home. I've been wasting away here for years now and I just don't know when the day will come when I finally fall. Could be tomorrow or could be in another few years time.'

'Where are you going with this?' Scizor's voice remained unsympathetic.

'I'm saying that it's every parents dream to see their child become better than they ever were.' Papa-Scizor clarified, edging closer to him. 'You've achieved that. And I know you'll reply saying it's not saying much but you managed to bounce back from being subject to the worlds shittiest dad and become as good a scizor as you can be.' Papa-Scizor's faint smile widened. 'Your mother would be over the moon if she could see you now.'

'Stop bringing her into this!' Scizor screamed, standing up and swiping to his side, knocking the table contents everywhere and causing his relatives to flinch. 'Don't you get it!? She's dead! She's dead and buried somewhere in this fucking desert, she's just bones now.'

'Oh I get it alright. I've lived with that for years. Papa-Scizor muttered, flicking at his sheets. 'She died in my arms, with me feeling powerless to save her. You know how it feels to know there was nothing you could do to save the one you loved?'

Scizor hunched his shoulders, remembering telling Durant how insignificant he felt up against Giratina.

'...Good thing I'm not going to be powerless.' Scizor said, taking steps towards his dad. Behind him, Zayden kept peering over at the clock on the wall.

'And how will you manage that?' asked Papa.

'I know what to do now.' Scizor told him, now a foot away from each other. 'I have a purpose. It's what we all need in life, to use the skills I have to forge my own destiny. I was told that the other day and it was the best piece of advice anyone's given to me.'

'I'm glad.' Papa-Scizor nodded. 'I owe you this explanation though...' He sat up once again as Scizor sat down on the edge, his back facing the wall but his head turned and listening. 'Blaze... You have her eyes.'

The quiet between the three was testament to the sensitive subject that was Mama-Scizor. Scizor felt another choking feeling in his windpipe although he knew it wasn't the anxiety, this was sheer emotion.

'The same eyes.' Papa-Scizor said in a hoarse croak. 'The guilt I felt when I knew she couldn't be saved...The image of her staring up at me right before she died has been imprinted in my memory ever since. I see her every time I wake up. Every time I fall asleep. Every time I dream. And every time I see you.'

Scizor clenched his teeth hard, willing himself not to tear up.

'Then why did you...' he shook his head, unable to prevent the cracks in his voice. 'Why did you do this to me? To both of us!?'

'I didn't know what to do...' Papa-Scizor groaned while Zayden taking a huge mouthful of his food. 'It could have been me trying to toughen you up. It could have been me trying to destroy the painful past. Maybe it was me losing all my trust in Charom that I would turn on my own sons... It made me a monster.' It was then that a single tear slowly clambered it's way from Papa's eye. 'And to see you rise from all the pain and terror that I forced on you... It's nothing short of miraculous.'

Scizor couldn't help himself this time, and a solitary tear of his own fell down his cheek. The emotion seemed genuine. Despite his mistrust of his father he felt coursing through his veins, he could see the husk of a pokemon he was now. He really didn't have long to go. This truly was the revelations and final affairs of a dying man.

'I don't know what to say...' Scizor looked back round at Zayden, who had his arms folded. 'Is this true?'

'I think so.' Zayden muttered, his face cloudy. 'He always talked about you. Always brought it up with me. When was the last time you saw Blaze? What has be been doing? I need to see him!' he performed a decent impression of Papa-Scizor's rusty voice. 'So yeah. This is why I needed you to come back. Think he was just so taken aback by the appearance of Lopunny that he couldn't say anything.'

Scizor lowered his head, more glistening tears forming in the corners of his eyes. He wiped them away and looked up, his arm instinctively reaching out and grabbing his father by the good arm.

'...Dad.' Scizor managed a forced croak out. Papa-Scizor managed a chuckle. To an outsider, he looked more like a weary yet kind old grandfather as a pose to a mentally scarred war veteran.

'If you still hate me I totally understand.' Papa-Scizor said, not objecting to his boy holding on. 'I just want you to continue your journey knowing that I am happy you never turned out like me. You shouldn't waste time here anyway. You have a fulfilling life ahead of you.' Papa-Scizor nodded at the door. 'Leave this place. Create the path you want and follow it immediately. I encourage it.'

Both of them performed an understanding nod and Scizor lifted his arm away. What needed to be done was done and now he could move on. He didn't really know what emotion he felt at the present moment but he knew that the constricting nervous feeling that had plagued his well-being for a few days now was quietly evaporating. There was a feeling of satisfaction floating around in Scizor's emotionally resonant mind as he stood up, the sight of his sickly father no longer producing the same sense of loathing. As he turned, he felt Zayden come up to him immediately, his intact eye rather wild looking.

'Like he said,' Scizor half smiled. 'let's get out of here.'

'Not yet.'

Scizor kept noticing Zayden's constant looks at their clock and instantly grew wary.

'What are you doing?' Scizor asked but Zayden ignored him, this time switching his attention to Papa, his turn to seethe with rage.

'This is what I've put up with all these months.' Zayden growled, shaking with anger. 'No apologies. No explanations. No credit. Nothing! I'm the one who's had to take the backseat here!'

'Look I'm sorry...' Scizor groaned, patting Zayden on the back. 'Why don't you come with us? We could use you on this mission-'

'Yeah, use!' Zayden snapped, swiping Scizor's arm away. 'That's all I'm good for isn't it? Being used. Well don't worry...I've embraced it now. I have my own destiny planned.'

'Well that's good.' Scizor said. 'I've been saying you need to control your own fate.'

'I have to do this.' Zayden said, his good eye falling upon the clock once more and lighting up ever so slightly. 'Like you said, kill the past. Lucky for you...I have everything I need now to do it.'

'What?' Scizor attempted to back off in suspicion of Zayden's creepy words but quicker than a ninjask, Zayden struck upwards with a powerful claw. The blow clattered Scizor on the chin and he toppled backwards, banging his head against the corner of the table.

'Zayden!' Papa-Scizor sat bold upright, totally shocked at what just happened. 'What are you doing!?'

'Something I should have done a long time ago.' Zayden reached behind his back while Scizor's vision was flooded by stars and seized his finished food bowl. In one motion he flung it at Papa's head, the dish shattering and the old scizor falling back yelling in pain. As Scizor recovered his sight, Zayden backed off to the tapestry covering the door and smacked a part of the wall with a no-look backhand slap. The wall piece crumbled and a small device dropped into Zayden's outstretched claw. Despite his senses taking a beating, Scizor recognized what it was that Zayden was clutching, having come into conflict with it only the day before. His heart began to drum faster than ever before.

'I'm not the only one in Shan'rala who feels this way.' Zayden said, holding the trigger high. 'This is just the start of something special. It's time for me to let go.'

Scizor held his breath as Zayden brought the tip of his claw down upon his trigger, Papa-Scizor yelling out and attempting to stand to his feet. Suddenly, Scizor experienced something sharp and tight seize him by both arms. He felt himself being pulled sharply downwards by two pokemon, his body tearing through the granite ground as above him, Zayden had pushed the button and dived through the doorway holding his head. Underneath Papa's bed, a fiery explosion ignited and engulfed the room, consuming everything inside it. Where Scizor was dragged to underground, he could only watch with burning eyes as fire and smoke erupted through the hole he was peering out of. The whole scizor homestead was torn apart by the violent bang, bottles shattering, walls collapsing and a faint scream of anguish and agony. Scizor shut his eyes tight as beside him, Durant and Excadrill were gritting their teeth, the cacophony of noise too much for them both. No amount of sound or violence was enough to drown out the barrage of thoughts running through Scizor's head however with one arching question linking them all together...What the fuck just happened?

Finally the dust settled and the three underground all took their hands away from their heads, over half of their senses having taken a pounding. Scizor clambered his way out of the hole, coughing in the dense smoke and taking a look around, his eyes searing from the heat. The entire homestead had been ripped apart, chunks of brick lying scattered in the sand. As Excadrill and Durant slowly followed, Scizor caught a glimpse of charred mattress and smoldered steel bars once belonging to a bed. He put his hands to his head and began to breath hard, failing to notice any sign of his dad apart from the chunks of red spread far and wide...

'Sci...Scizor.' Excadrill spluttered, his face even filthier than usual. 'We need to get out. We're in serious-'

But Scizor ignored him as his eyes fell to his left and upon a slowly rising figure drenched in sand. It was Zayden, his armor burnt darker by the inferno. He groaned and cracked his neck, stumbling slightly as he straightened.

'Scizor!'

A voice came from behind the three but only Durant and Excadrill twisted to see Lopunny, Keldeo and Primarina slowly approaching them, all with the same worried expression. Lopunny had wrapped her cloak back around her neck due to the steady recovery of Keldeo's leg injury.

'I told you to get out of here!' Durant barked loudly at them.

'But the explosion!' Lopunny pleaded, wiping her forehead. 'Are you okay? What happened?'

It was then that Scizor began his furious march towards Zayden who had finally managed to regain his balance and just noticed the livid insect coming fast at him.

'Motherfucker...' Zayden wiped blood from his mouth and braced himself. Scizor sped up at the last second and landed a monumental punch to Zayden's face, knocking him against an upturned piece of wall balanced against a sand dune. Zayden grunted as he smacked against it and buckled ninety degrees when Scizor smashed him in the stomach with his devastating knee, winding him. Scizor used both arms to pin Zayden against the wall, their faces inches apart, their combined three eyes searing.

'Why...Why did you do that!?' Scizor roared, drowning Zayden's face in saliva. 'You killed him! What the fuck have you done!? Was that a bomb made by Hoodwink? Answer me!'

Zayden's lip curled in a sneer.

'That's just the start...' he muttered. 'I'm free from him now. Was easier than I thought it would be. As for the question of Hoodwink? Yeah you're right. He has our best interests at hearts.'

'What do you mean by 'our' best interests?' Scizor interrogated him further, the others behind him completely stationary.

'Shan'rala and it's pokemon.' Zayden said, wheezing to get his lungs back. 'He's going to bring us back to our glory days. As I rise, you're gonna fall.'

Scizor clenched his teeth again and raised his left hand high before bringing it hurtling back downwards, intending to land the most powerful bullet punch possible.

CLANG!

The punch was stopped dead in it's tracks by a red metal arm. Scizor was stunned for a second, perplexed to where Zayden brought this strength from, only to realize that something much worse had blocked the attack. He slowly turned his head to the left and saw who exactly it was that was holding his arm in place like it was nothing. His very being almost collapsed at the sight of him.

'Pleasure to see you again, Scizor.' Bisharp said slowly, his arm outstretched in between the two brothers. In another quick move, Bisharp struck upwards, making hard contact with Scizor's face and sending him falling to the floor. Lopunny stepped forward at seeing this but during Scizor's drop, Bisharp made himself visible to her and she screamed.

'Bisharp!' she quivered in terror. Keldeo's jaw dropped at the sounds of the name, knowing full well by the fear in Lopunny's voice just who this pokemon was. Bisharp turned to Zayden who was managing to breath at a normal rate now.

'Apologies for the delay.'

'No worries.' Zayden grunted, looking up at the party ahead. 'It worked out fine. The assets over there! His name is Keldeo!' he pointed at said pokemon. Bisharp followed his hand, micro-assessing the terrain and conditions around him at a razor speed.

'RUN!' Scizor shouted on the ground, gesturing madly at his companions. Primarina didn't hesitate, screaming at the top of her lungs and beginning to dash, stumbling over in the sand. However, the other four stayed where they were.

'We're not leaving you behind!' Lopunny yelled out, clenching her fists while Excadrill nervously sharpened his claws. 'We can take them!'

'Lopunny go!' Scizor shrieked, completely panic-stricken. 'I told you to never engage him!'

'You did did you?' Bisharp smirked above him as Primarina stopped where she was, looking to where her friends remained. ''Afraid of what I'm capable of to the likes of you?'

'You wish!' Scizor burst up suddenly, aiming a swiping kick. Bisharp deflected it but Scizor countered back, both arms striking against Bisharp. He shrugged it off like nothing and chopped Scizor's arm, causing a bludgeoning pain on his bicep. As those two engaged, Zayden tapped the back of his neck several times.

'Cut escape routes off now!'

'We're coming to help!' Keldeo tried to step forward but suddenly, the sound of engines echoed around the enormous sand plain. Almost immediately, a troop of dune buggies zoomed their way into sight, circling Lopunny and her friends ominously. One of them forced Primarina back into the circle with an aggressive rev of the exhaust. Lopunny, Primarina, Durant, Excadrill and Keldeo all backed off into each other while ahead of them, Bisharp gained the upper hand. He rolled underneath the physically compromised Scizor and stabbed back with his foot, Scizor collapsing in the contact.

'No point trying to move.' Zayden called out as Bisharp flung Scizor against the side of one of the buggies, the driving Krookodile expressing his annoyance at doing so. 'You're surrounded.'

Zayden approached the circle as one by one, the occupants of the vehicles all dismounted. Krookodile, Scolipede, Chesnaught, Beeheeyem and...

'Oh Arceus no...' Lopunny shrank back into Excadrill, the sight of which causing Nidoqueen to cackle loudly.

'Lopunny! Sweet child, it's been too long!' she crooned wickedly, stepping forward, her crew members all surrounding them. 'You're looking in better shape than last time we came face to face. All the more reason to just tear that face off...'

Her eyes were wild, basically psychotic. Lopunny's hair stood up and her heart could potentially burst out of her rib cage with how violently it was beating.

'We're not going down without a fight.' Lopunny said, trying to settle her voice.

'We ain't going down at all!' Durant snarled, snapping viciously at the approaching Scolipede.

'I don't know, he's done a pretty good job at it so far.' Nidoqueen pointed over at Scizor, whose limp frame was being held by the scruff of the neck by Bisharp on his right while Zayden stood to his left. Lopunny shuddered at this sight.

'Zayden, what are you doing?' Lopunny demanded an answer.

'You've walked right into my trap.' Zayden told her, his eye scanning where they were standing and an awful smirk attaching to his face. 'The timing was almost impeccable. I just killed two pidgeys with one very clever, very calculated stone. Eliminated the bane of my life, my dad, and cornered Keldeo. Good work everyone.'

'You fucking traitor...' Excadrill growled.

'This is Shan'rala, Excadrill.' Zayden laughed loudly. 'The fact that you didn't anticipate this just shows how naive you are. You should really know better.'

'Why are you working with them!?' Lopunny gestured at Bisharp and Nidoqueen. 'You know who they are!? They were part of the Clan of Shadows! They tried to destroy Charom!'

'We're survivors.' Nidoqueen growled, resting her hand on her chest. 'All of us. We're in this together and we will see our mission to tear down Charom's order whatever it costs. What else have we got to live for?'

'You haven't changed one bit.' Lopunny said, her voice seething with contempt for Nidoqueen. 'Always ready to strip others of their achievements instead of forging your own. I'd like to say that I expected better but to even think of giving you that much credit revolts me.'

While Lopunny was still paralyzed by fear, the satisfaction she obtained when seeing Nidoqueen physically squirm in disgust at her was enough to fuel her motivation to keep fighting.

'How did you track us?' Keldeo asked loudly. Zayden snorted.

'How did I track you?' he sneered. 'Pretty simple. I wanted Scizor to bring you to this spot days ago and when he didn't do what I wanted, I took matters into my own hand. One of Hoodwink's scraggy squads managed to hurt you and expose your trail so I recruited these fine warriors and told them to come here at a specific time. I was confident in my ability to lure you guys back. You genuinely think I was caring for that old shit day and night?' He jerked his head back, referring to the pieces of his father. 'Wrong. He was just part of my personal scheme in this elaborate plan. As is Blaze.'

'We can do this the easy way or the hard way.' Bisharp announced, still grasping Scizor tightly while he was slumping on his knees.

'Please do it the hard way.' Nidoqueen hissed, her eyes always fixed on Lopunny hungrily.

'Either you hand over Keldeo to us and we'll let you walk away.' Bisharp explained, Scizor beginning to open his eyes fully. 'Or we'll detonate where you're standing with the mine right under you.'

Primarina whimpered, her eyes shut tight and praying to herself quietly. Durant remained stony faced as he kept a staring contest up with Chesnaught who was finding it difficult to keep looking.

'You're bluffing.' Keldeo said, his blue light shimmering.

'Are we?' Zayden snapped at him before turning. 'Krookodile, give me that.'

Everyone watched as Krookodile handed Zayden another trigger. He turned to face them, his claw once again hovering above the red button.

'Do you want to really find out?' said Zayden. Excadrill slowly swished his foot in around the sand and his face turned red when it bumped into something metal embedded in the dirt.

'Guys they ain't lying.'

'You look familiar..' Nidoqueen raised her eyebrow at Excadrill, who perked up slightly.

'Oh now you should definitely remember me!' Excadrill said heartily, relishing the time when he defeated her in combat. Nidoqueen scrutinized him for a few more seconds.

'...No it must be someone else.' she dismissed the visibly annoyed Excadrill and continued her lengthy stare of Lopunny.

'You have ten seconds.' Zayden warned them, still holding the trigger. 'Ten. Nine. Eight...'

Primarina squealed out in terror, several bubbles emitting from her mouth in a form of resistance but they sadly floated upwards and burst. Durant and Excadrill lowered their bodies, willing to risk a burrow underground but not knowing if it would work in time. As Zayden's mouth shaped to say the word 'four' however, Scizor acted. He jabbed backwards and struck Bisharp in his damaged chest with his elbow, his grip relinquishing from his neck. He then struck out and pierced Zayden in the calf in a solid bullet punch which caused him to grunt loudly and drop the trigger. Scizor then lunged forward, his elbow directed downwards and dropped on to the device, breaking it into tiny pieces.

'Yes Scizor!' Lopunny cried out while Keldeo and Excadrill let out similar exclamations. Scizor looked up, his arms stretched out and his face covered in sand.

'Now quickly!' he shouted. 'You need to-'

Scizor's instructions were cut short by a furious Bisharp, who seized him by the head and tossed him violently to the side, his body crashing into a buggy wheel. Scizor barely had time to recover from this heavy blow before Bisharp was at him again, kicking him squarely in the jaw before squatting down to eye level with Scizor.

'You will watch!' Bisharp snarled, his aggression freezing even Durant to where he was. He raised his arm, blade extending and looked down at the rapidly blinking Scizor.

'NO!' Lopunny wailed but Bisharp plunged the blade deep into Scizor's chest, the steel piercing through his armor. Blood spurted all over the blade as Scizor cried out in agony, Bisharp slowly twisting his weapon, Nidoqueen cackling and Zayden dusting himself off.

'You come any further,' Zayden held out his arm to stop Lopunny from running up. 'and he dies.'

'Zayden how could you allow this!?' Lopunny screamed, her eyes filling with tears. 'Your own brother! You'll let him die right before you!'

'I think he's past that stage.' Durant muttered, visibly agitated. 'He just tried to kill his remaining family members in one move.'

'Yeah I'm really thinking you're not right in the head.' Primarina said, appearing to regain some bravery but still avoiding eye contact with the creepy Beeheeyem and Scolipede.

'If I move my arm forward by an inch,' Bisharp said, blood continuing to pour down Scizor's chest, his claws weakly trying to pull Bisharp off him but to no avail. 'then this blade stabs his heart.'

'Just kill him...' Nidoqueen was muttering sadistically, her words turning Lopunny's stomach. 'You know you want to, Bisharp. Do it!'

'Stop!' Keldeo said loudly, everyone turning to him. He took a deep breath and addressed Bisharp. 'Let him go and I'll...I'll come with you.'

There was silence apart from the gasps of Primarina and Excadrill and the laughing and whooping of the mercenaries.

'Told you they'd buckle!' Krookodile clapped his hands together as Scolipede chuckled. 'Not so tough now without the magical appearing car are ya?'

'You will?' Zayden asked Keldeo. He nodded.

'Just let him go. I'll do whatever you ask.' Keldeo told him. Scizor rigidly shook his head, his face turning white.

'Don't do it kid.' he breathed out, his arms still attached defiantly to Bisharp's arms. 'You don't want to give these guys your power...'

'Sir Scizor, with all due respect you're bleeding out.' Keldeo said calmly, walking towards Zayden slowly. 'If I don't do this quickly then you'll die. I don't have a choice here.'

'Yes you do!' Lopunny reached out for him. 'We can fight them!'

'No we can't!' Keldeo said to her firmly.

'He's right!' Primarina squeaked. 'We're outnumbered and surrounded!'

'So you'll come with us Keldeo?' Zayden asked, offering his hand out. Lopunny looked round at Primarina in disgust.

'Only if you let my friends live.' Keldeo said, gesturing at Scizor who was slowly losing consciousness. 'Don't harm these one and let Sir Scizor go, then I'll do what you want. Do we have a deal?'

Both Zayden and Nidoqueen looked down at the impaled Scizor, his body beginning to quiver and his claws slacking. The two of them desperately wanted Bisharp to just thrust forward and pierce Scizor where it mattered, killing him at last. The order was on the tip of Zayden's tongue...But it was too late. Bisharp slowly unsheathed his blood soaked sword from Scizor's limp body and stood up straight, nodding at Keldeo.

'We have a deal.' he said, wiping his blade clean. Nidoqueen clenched her fists tightly in frustration. You weak fool, she thought, glaring back and forth at Bisharp and Lopunny.

'Stay... where you are.' Beeheeyem warned Lopunny and her team in his haunting voice as Krookodile and Chesnaught walked round to where Keldeo was, lifted him up by the legs and dumped him on the back of one of the buggies. Bisharp jumped up beside him and held his blade to Keldeo's throat.

'No funny business.' he glared at the four survivors as Nidoqueen and Zayden hopped into the front two seats. Chesnaught, Beeheeyem, Scolipede and Krookodile all backed off into their own vehicles and turned on the engines, several of them keeping their eyes on their opponents. Lopunny was visibly shaking. She kept looking between Scizor, who had slid off the turning wheel of the buggy and was lying slumped on the ground, and Keldeo who's despairing eyes were fixed on her despite his proximity to Bisharp's weapon.

'We'll find you Keldeo!' Lopunny cried out, the buggies beginning to chug forward. 'All for one!'

'...One for all.' Keldeo hoarsely said, a tear dripping from his eye. Zayden shot one last look at his wounded brother, wishing there was a huge rock nearby he could drop on his head. He tutted loudly and turned the key on the ignition.

'See you around, Blaze.'

Zayden stepped down on the pedal and accelerated forward. Lopunny, Excadrill, Durant and Primarina could only watch with despairing eyes as the three vehicles picked up speed and shot off up the slope with ease, quickly disappearing out of sight, Keldeo's blue trail wafting sadly into the ether. Lopunny hiccuped and pulled her ears over her head while Primarina resumed her bubbling tears.

'Fuck!' Excadrill scuttled forward, his claws preparing to dig. 'Let me go after them!'

'And what? You'll kill all seven of them and save Keldeo?' Durant snapped at him. 'Besides, you'll never catch up with them. They're gone.'

Lopunny wiped her eyes and turned to the other issue at hand.

'Scizor!' she sprinted over to where he lay, the sand around him more scarlet than his drained body. She skidded to the ground and felt around her neck, only for her to touch her body rapidly in panic.

'My medicine!' she wailed, shaking profusely. 'Where is it!? WHERE!? Help me!'

'It's here.' Excadrill scooped his claw under the sand nearby and picked up the small green bottle. 'I hid it before I went in to the house. Good thing too.'

Lopunny took it hastily as Durant rolled Scizor into a recovery position. Lopunny couldn't stop trembling. She tried her best to apply the liquid to her hand but it kept spilling due to her constant shaking. On the third attempt, she dropped the bottle to the sand, her hands soaking. Lopunny couldn't help but burst into uncontrollable tears.

'There there.' It was Primarina. She gently picked up the bottle, more than half of it's contents still inside and handed it back to Lopunny, her fins there to act as support for her grip. Nodding in her angst filled appreciation, Lopunny gently rubbed her hands on the gaping hole in Scizor's chest as Excadrill flopped down on his behind. his mind an absolute wreck.

'What now?' he said in a defeated voice. Nobody answered. Durant watched Lopunny and Primarina tend to Scizor before looking back up at the sky. The sun was beginning to set, the sky was now burnt orange. The devastation around them had cemented Fort Dolorem as a remnant of the war with nothing inhabiting it, no signs of intact buildings. Just another relic of times gone by. Suddenly, Scizor let out a gasp of air, causing everyone to jump backwards before sighing in relief. Scizor turned his head to look around where Zayden, Bisharp and Nidoqueen were only for nobody to be seen. That could only mean one thing...

'Did we...lose?' he asked. Lopunny and Primarina looked at each other, their arms still resting on Scizor's body as the medicine slowly worked it's magic, neither wanting to admit what they knew. Excadrill was too crushed to talk so he fell backwards and lay on the ground. Durant sighed deeply and stared hard at his former apprentice.

'Yeah. We lost.'