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.

12. The Battle of LC - Part 3

Chapter 12: The Battle of Lumiose City – Part 3

HEY GUYS!

The Mad Dragon is back again! AND HE'S LOST HIS CRAZY PILLS!

THE TURTLE FROM DBZ STOLE MY CRAZY PILLS! I'VE LOST MY TINY MIND AGAIN! AH! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

I'm calling on all Walrus slayers reading this, I need your help. A demon Walrus, sent from Hell, has been given my crazy pills by the turtle, now he's demanding I finish this arc and get on with some amourshipping, otherwise he won't give them back.

I say…. FUCK YOU WALRUS! I DON'T WANT MY CRAZY PILLS BACK! I'M MAD AND PROUD OF IT! BUT HE NEEDS TO DIE! NO ONE THREATENS A MAD MAN AND GETS AWAY WITH IT!

But seriously now guys, this chapter's a good one, especially at the end, but it's nothing compared to what's coming next time. Hehehehehehehe… Next Chapter WILL be an end of this arc, then we'll move on and inject a bit of romance in.

Que the cheesy violin music!

Shoutouts to everyone who has hit that Follow/Favourite button with their face, it really helps and gives me that boost to write more and more! Also, I really shouldn't be saying this, but… Wolf, nice review. Eat a dick Guess Who.

One last thing, chapters 1 through 4 have now been updated, 5 through 9 will be redone by the next update… So yeah, take a look at them as many things have changed. If nothing else re-read Chapter 4, BIG changes involving the Beast. If you don't read that one, then future shit won't make as much sense, don't read at your own risk!

ENJOY GUYS!

Disclaimer: (Standing in a church, surrounded by holy men) Holy man: Place your hand on this bible and swear you don't own Pokémon. (Places his hand on said bible) I swear I don't own Pokémon… Why am I even here? I'm banned from the church. (The book under his hand erupts into flames) ARGH IT BURNS!

---

Previously

When we last saw the Invincible Monster, he was on his knees and chained up… No there's no kinky shit going down, he was being stripped of his Aura, the life force he needs to survive.

Lily narrowly avoided the cold sting of the Paladin spears; in her place two of her oldest friends took each one of them… They both died the deaths of Knights. A mystery figure gave them their final rights, allowing them to rest in peace.

And now we return to the Battle of Lumiose city…

---

The crushed world around the dragon of fire grows darker with every passing second, having taken too much damage; he begins to drift into the world of dreamless sleep. Charizard has lost his battle against the near-immortal Garchomp, causing him to begin a new battle, one he cannot hope to win, a battle to stay awake.

Garchomp's claw glows white and grows longer, forming a Slash attack. This has been a long and painful battle for her, but finally she has her opponent cornered, there's no escape for him now. She makes her way towards him, moving as though she hasn't taken a single hit.

Despite his injuries Charizard fights to stay awake, he must, if he surrenders and drifts off to the realm of the unconscious, then his head will be severed and mounted on a spike for the world to see. He's tired though, so very tired, he's been fighting for hours, but it feels like an eternity. He's given so much in this battle, more than he thought he could give, all so he could buy Red as much time as possible to kill Eis… But he just hasn't got anything left to give, he's exhausted.

"Sorry Boss… I think I'm beat. Got ya as much time as I could though, it's up to you now… Kill Eis for what he's done to us" He growled very weakly. "I know you've got more fight left in you… Rip his heart out and send him back to Hell where he belongs"

Garchomp raises her claw high above her head, allowing for a single swing which will sever flesh from bone. "In the glorious name of the Eternal Master of Darkness, the one true god, I kill you lizard"

The sound of the air being torn fills his powerful sense of hearing, alerting him to his inevitable end. She's had enough talking now and is going straight for the kill. "Just try it bitch, stronger bitches than you have tried and failed… I can still fight" He weakly rasped.

He braces for the pain of her claws gliding through his flesh, then his bones, he's felt pain like this before and it's not goanna be pleasant. At least it will be over soon.

Yet the pain he has been anticipating never comes, no claws rip his flesh apart. Instead her howls of agony fill his ears, tantalising his sense of hearing and offering him a flicker of hope that he may survive this battle.

Before Garchomp can deal the final blow and end his short life, the fire coated foot of her newest challenger slams into her jaw, knocking her away from him and breaking her attack. Blaziken's Blaze Kick seemingly comes from nowhere, to defend Charizard and challenge Garchomp in a single act.

The immense force behind his attack more than makes up for the severe type disadvantage. She staggers backwards, clutching her burned scales and cursing the name of the one who attacked her. Refusing to give her a chance to recover, Blaziken strikes her jaw with a Sky Uppercut, lifting her clean off the ground and into the air.

While she's vulnerable, he delivers a powerful Mega Kick to her chest, sending the Dragon of the earth flying through the air uncontrollably. Her flight is interrupted by the remains of a crushed building, his attacks where enough to wind her, but not enough to cause serious harm.

The sounds of battle tempt Charizard; tempt him to leave his lonely world to embrace the battlefield once more. He never was one to ignore temptation, well, when it comes to battling anyway. His eye opens a crack, just enough to allow him to see Blaziken standing over him in a defensive stance. His talons drip with the blood of Paladin scum, his wrists burn with the flames of war and his feathers are matted with the bodily fluids of those he has slaughtered today.

"Hey! I don't fucking need your help; I can gut this bitch by myself! NOW FUCK OFF BEFORE I RIP YOUR FUCKING FEATHERS OUT ONE BY ONE AND JAM THEM UP YOUR ASS!" The death threat forms in his mind, but fails to pass through his jaws.

His eye catches the sight of Garchomp clambering out of the rubble, snarling like a mad woman at her new challenger. Blaziken's stance doesn't waver in the slightest, he knew that last barrage of attacks wasn't enough to knock her out, just slow her down a little bit.

"Garchomp I is not wantin' ta fight yawl" Blaziken said, with a southern accent. "Yawl gotta a babe ta think of, is yawl wantin' 'em to see ya like this?"

She refuses to answer him, at least not with words. Her body language and snarls are more than enough to tell him she's not backing down simply because he's asking her to.

"Garchomp if I fight yawl, you'll be hurt somethin' fierce. Yawl babe be needin' yawl, yawl got more than ya self ta think of now… Please Garchomp, yawl be my friend fer years now, please control yourself… I is NOT wantin' to hurt yawl!"

She ignores his desperate pleas, and throws herself forwards in a Dragon Rush attack. His quick dodging skills allow him to avoid her, but just barely.

As she passes him, he catches a glimpse of her eyes. His own organs of sight widen at what sees, she's been possessed. There's nothing he can ever do to calm her down, he's not got a close enough bond with her to do it, there's only one thing he can do.

She turns around mid-air, then charges towards him once again with Dragon Rush. The emptiness of her eyes fills him with pity, this isn't her fault, none of it is… She's been turned into a puppet, controlled by Eis. But that doesn't change the fact that she needs to be taken down.

"I's sorry Garchomp, but I gots ta open a can o' whoop ass on ya!" He called out, with what looks to be tears in the corners of his eyes.

A swift roundhouse kick to her jaw breaks her concentration, ending her most powerful attack in an instant. Now that she's free from Dragon energy, Blaziken's able to lung forwards and slam a sizzling Fire Punch straight into her face.

Her feet once again find the ground; she stumbles backwards, clutching her burned face once again. Without hesitation, but with mercy, he pounds a Brick Break into her diaphragm, forcing the air from her lungs, leaving her stunned and open for yet another attack.

Each blow hurts him far more than it hurts her, she's had her mind stolen from her, she can't choose what she does. It must hurt her a lot to see herself doing all these horrible things, but at least she knows she's not choosing to do it… It hurts him far more to choose to hurt one of his close friends.

While she's stunned and unable to attack, he forms a Focus Blast attack between his talons, a large blue sphere of Fighting energy. "I'S SORRY!" He cried out as he hurled the sphere straight into her torso.

The ball of energy explodes the moment it makes contact with her scally skin, sending her flying through the air uncontrollably. Her 'pleasant' flight is interrupted when she crashes into the remains of the crushed fountain, her eyes tightly shut as she quietly moans in pain.

For a moment all he can do is watch her, lying in the rubble and water, in agony. He bones were probably broken by that attack; she won't be able to move properly for days, maybe weeks. He drops his head into a bow, with his eyes tightly shut out of respect.

He knows all too well that Garchomp's not a battler; she can't take attacks as well as a Pokémon who does battler regularly. Even attacks that she's strong against will hurt like a bitch for hours.

With a heavy sigh, he turns away from her and raises his head. He had no choice but to take her down, he made a promise the same as Lily did, to do what must be done, no matter the cost. She had to be taken down. There's no two ways about it, someone had to do it and he was the only one who could.

He crouches down beside Charizard, offering him a hand up. "Is I interuptin' yer nap?" He asked with a sassy grin.

Enraged by the sassy comment, as well as the silent offer of help, Charizard finds the strength to force his eye open all the way. "Shove that hand up your ass; you must've had a lot of practise at that before… Why the fuck are you talkin' so weird?"

The giant red bird like Pokémon stands up again, withdrawing his offer of help by crossing his arms. "Blame the writer, he dog gone decided my per-so-nality were bland. Dum idgit dog gone made me sound like this" He said with a death glare towards the writer. "I's talkin' ta you Mad Ass Dragon"

Charizard's battered face floods with interest, so much so that he forgets he's supposed to be injured and tired for a moment and lifts his head up to look the same way as Blaziken. "You mean that dumb fucker actually listens to us? HEY! Don't screw me over in the fucking gym battle! I wanna wreck shit you hear me?!"

The roar of dragon, whose tiny mind is long since lost, calls out across the battlefield. "SHUT THE FUCK UP THE PAIR OF YOU AND STICK TO FUCKING SCRIPT! JUST FOR THAT CHARIZARD, I WILL SCREW YOU OVER IN THE GYM! NOW GET BACK TO WORK!"

With an angry scowl across his face, Charizard drops back down to the ground, once again tired and in severe pain. "Dumb ass, you just got me screwed over… Watch out Blaziken, the bitch'll be back up soon" He weakly growled.

Blaziken shoots one final evil glare towards the writer, before returning to face Charizard. "What ye talkin' 'bout? Garchomp be down fer good" He said with a flick of his wrist.

From the remains of the crushed fountain, that now runs red with blood, an angry snarl forces the water to ripple. In a burst of blood and water, Garchomp rises, fully healed and ready to rip both Blaziken and Charizard limb from limb.

Both Blaziken and Charizard turn their attention straight towards the fountain, to see Garchomp stomping her way towards them both, with her eyes bursting at the seams with darkness. Blaziken's eyes twitch in their sockets, while Charizard grins smugly. "If she's down, why does she look like she's goanna rip your feathers out one by one?"

Are his eyes playing tricks on him? How did Garchomp recover so quickly from that barrage of attacks? She looks good as new. "I's can't believe my eyes… She be back up and fightin' again… Maybe yawl isn't as weak as I reckoned" He weakly stammered.

Charizard snorts out a lung full of smoke, growling darkly at his counterpart. "I'm goanna get you for that one you walking bucket of KFC. Once this shit's done, I'm goanna beat the crap out of you" He growled under his breath.

---

Elsewhere, a brave soul suffers the agony of having his life force ripped from his body. While the Dragon of the earth has been facing off against both the Fire starters, Red's life has begun to slip away from him.

The cold steel of the tower stabs into his knees, but it pales in comparison to the pain the chains wrapped around his wrists and throat are causing him. Their shimmering black surface reflects the pure red light of his Aura, as it is stolen from the depths of his soul.

His flesh is growing dangerously pale, as though no blood is being pumped through his body anymore. How can it be pumped, if his heart is going into a spasm in his chest?

While the chains are draining his Aura, every last drop of it and sending it straight to Hell, the Beast begins its attack. It finds that there is no resistance in Red; his will to fight it is far too weak. Taking advantage of his weakened state, it begins to whisper into his ear. "You're so weak… So vulnerable… So pathetic. You have incredible power at your fingertips, but you're so weak you can't even break these pathetic excuses for chains"

As it whispers into his ear, he feels the pain in his heart intensify, as though it's being crushed inside his ribcage again. "Eis can drain you dry for all I care, my Master will undoubtedly enjoy the taste of your power. I couldn't care less how much power you lose, but I do want to tell that interfering bastard who's boss"

The chains have stolen near enough all of his power from him; he has barely anything left now. He's far too weak to resist the Beast; he's wide open for possession. As the pain in his heart heightens, a black hue forces its way out of his head, swallowing it entirely. His eyes slowly open, revealing the Liepard like pupils of the Beast.

The ice inside Eis' soul seeps out into his well-aged body, freezing him in place, like an ice sculpture waiting to melt. The sight of the black hue fills him with a mixture of conflicting emotions, fear being the dominant and most powerful of them, followed closely by a flicker of hope and anxiety. Years of waiting and planning have finally led to this moment… The Beast will finally become the man.

The chains that both bind Red in place and drain the energy he needs to live, don't seem to be affecting the Beast whatsoever, it's as though it's immune to their cold sting. It's able to force Red's head forwards, completely cutting off his source of oxygen. Despite this, it pulls his face to form an angry snarl.

"(I am NOT your pawn Eis. You cannot use me to do your dirty work. If this city is to be destroyed, it won't be by my hand. YOU HEAR ME!?)" It angrily screeched through Aura Message. "(I have my own plans to achieve freedom from this rotting piece of meat. I DON'T NEED HELP FROM ANYONE!)"

The venomous words of the Beast shatter the frozen mind of Eis, drilling intense terror straight through his eyes and into the fleshy brain behind. A cold sweat pours down his face, stinging his flesh as it goes down. His lungs begin to suck air into their folds, faster than they were ever meant to; he's on the brink of hyperventilating.

As if the tone of voice wasn't enough of an indication of its hatred, he can literally feel the hatred flowing from its Aura. It's hatred for him remains as strong as the day he killed both it and Red; it seems that the Beast does not forgive, nor does it forget.

"Beast… You have been trying for years to gain your freedom; the only way to do it is to break the Boy. You can't do it alone, you need help" He said slowly, his voice trembling in terror.

The shimmering red light flowing across the surface of the blackened chains begins to weaken, indicating that their task is almost complete, Red's almost drained dry. This is bad, very bad; if Red runs out of Aura he'll have nothing to keep himself alive.

It doesn't have much time left; if it uses up the last of Red's energy it'll kill him, along with itself. It needs to wrap this up quickly. "(I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP OR ANYONE ELSES! I have my own plans for freedom, I WILL break the Boy myself, your crude methods failed before and they will fail again… Mine won't)" It hissed with a death glare across its face.

The evil look in its eyes screeches out to Eis, telling him that if it were able to possess Red fully, without fear of killing him, it'd rip his face off and piss on it.

The fear trickling down his face grows stronger with each passing second, making even being near the Beast an incredible effort, his fear is overpowering him. Why? Why is he so terrified of it?

Because he has felt its limitless furry for himself, he's felt the Black Fire and knows just how it kills you, he's felt first-hand how much pain the Beast inflicts upon those it hates. He's experienced some horrible things in his long life, things no one should ever go through, but nothing compares to the furry of the Beast… It was even worse than what he went through to get his powers.

He forces these thoughts from his mind, he doesn't have time for thoughts of the past, he must focus on the task at hand. To end the endless cycle of hatred between them, to end his obsession, the Beast must be free.

"You can be free Beast; I was planning for this moment long before either you or the Boy were even born. Master tasked me with setting you free, he knew it would be a difficult task, but he knew I could do it… I admit I made a mistake, I got greedy and tried to save myself time, but it's the past. You need to-" His trembling voice is cut off, before he can get to the point of his babbling.

The evil cackles of the Beast clamp Eis' jaws shut tightly, sending a river of fear flooding down his face. "(You will NEVER break the Boy. I know your plan, it's so simple a… Small thing could have thought of it. Force the Boy to his knees, drain his power from him, to try and get back on our Master's good side again. Then force him to transform into his Burst form, then while his mind is weak and unable to resist, you expect me to possess him and use his power to stay in control for a long time. But then what do you want from me?)"

"(Don't answer; I can't stand the sound of your voice. I already know what you want from me… You want me to destroy what's left of this city, to kill every living thing here, including the Boy's family. Well I won't do it)"

While the Beast rants on how it won't be used like this, the light flowing across the chains grows fainter with every passing second. Time is running out. As long as the Beast maintains its hold over his head, he is unable to transform. The Burst is essential to Eis' plans, without the power of the transformation; years of work and patience will never bear fruit.

Just this once, it needs to let him go, it needs to release its hold over Red. They'll both die if it doesn't.

The Beast seems to be unaware of its own imminent death, as it continues to monologue. "(I couldn't care less about those cattle that share his blood; given the chance I'd slaughter them all in a heartbeat!)" It spat venomously. "(But I won't do it because YOU want me to! I WILL NEVER BEND TO YOUR WILL!)"

With that last hiss of venom, the Beast vanishes from Red's form, taking with it the black hue surrounding his head. His exhausted mind returns to his body, just in time to feel the final shreds of his Aura be stripped from his flesh.

Before he drifts off into unconsciousness, he feels the darkness inside the Mark stop spreading through his flesh, the pain it was causing him finally dies. The forced transformation comes to an end before it can truly begin, without it he has nothing left to keep his heart beating.

The fear that was dripping down Eis' face loses its source, allowing his overpowering rage to clench his fists together tightly. "You're far too proud for your own good Beast. You have extraordinary power; you might even be the strongest of us right now, but even you need help sometimes" He thought angrily. "How ironic, you're just as proud as the Boy. It's one of the two things you have in common with him, along with a burning hatred for myself of course. You are the same as him in this regard; your pride blinds you both and will be your downfall"

Despite the Mark's loss of power, the smoke continues to flow from his eye sockets. He watches the last shreds of Red's Aura be ripped from him, with a curious grin on his face, this will be interesting to watch. "I wonder, how will you escape this one Boy? Without life force, how will you survive?"

Truth be told Eis couldn't care less about accidentally draining too much power from Red, the Beast won't let him die. Not yet anyway, as it requires him for its own existence. He knows Red's heart won't stop.

Deciding that there is no need for concern, he decides to reflect on what he has done to warrant such white hot hatred from the Beast. "Perhaps I did go too far when I ended the Boy's short life, and by extension the Beast's. But that was such a long time ago, why does it still harbour such a strong grudge? It's alive now and that's what's important… Somehow it was able to pull the Boy back from death itself, so what does it matter anymore?"

The light that shines in the eyes of every living creature dulls in Red's organs of sight; he has mere seconds to live now.

Eis continues to ignore the death of his opponent, in favour of pondering his thoughts more. "I may have gone too far, but you must understand that I was not thinking clearly Beast, my mind was taken over by fear. I was desperate for results. I didn't have a choice. You know as well as I do the cost of failure…" A lump forms in his throat, one he can't seem to swallow. "Failure, means assimilation"

The swirling red light that was previously climbing its way across the surface of the chains finally dies, there's nothing left in him to be taken. Their purpose fulfilled, the chains around his arms dissolve away link by link, into puffs of black smoke. With nothing to hold them up, his arms drop through the air and hang freely from his limp body.

Cracks spread across the surface of his opaque, bright red armour that covers his body. The cracks deepen and evolve into splits, causing chunks to break free from the whole. The chunks of Aura made steel rise from the whole, dissolving away into clumps of red light; the light coils its way up the final chain around his throat.

Within seconds all of his armour dissolves away into light and is absorbed by the one remaining chain, leaving him with nothing but his robes to preserve his dignity. At the time the loss of his weapons seemed like the end of the world, but now it's more of a blessing in disguise, if he still had them they too would have been stolen from him.

The final chain around his throat finally releases its hold over him, uncoiling itself from his flesh and climbing back up into the smoky Barrier above. With nothing to support his weight, he finally drops to the cold steel below. His senses have failed him, leaving him trapped in his own tiny, lonely world without sensation. He can't even feel the sting of the cold against his cheek.

Despite this loss, he can still feel his heartbeat, growing weaker and weaker.

Finally, the sweet embrace of death comes for him yet again. "This time I'm not coming back… I won't wake up to find even more pain waiting for me. Finally my pain will end" His eyes slowly shut, in a final submission to death's embrace. "Yveltal's comin' for me again, comin' for my soul. Finally he's goanna take me to the other side, and this time he's goanna leave me there… Finally I'm goanna know true freedom"

As these final thoughts flow through his mind, his heartbeat finally dies, coming to a complete stop. With the faintest of smiles across his pale face, his heart gives out.

As the chain climbs back up into the Barrier, the smoke finally stops flowing from Eis' eye sockets, revealing his one good eye. He watches his victim with lazy disinterest, he knows that he'll be back on his feet again soon; he always gets back up and starts fighting again.

He may only have a single eye left, but it still provides him with perfect vision, minus depth perception. This superior sense of sight catches the smile across Red's face; his powerful ears detect a distinct lack of thumping from his heart. "Your heart has actually stopped… Well, that's unexpected"

Despite these lazy words, he does nothing but watch. He knows the Beast will take matters into its own hands soon, it will take control and heal his broken body, not enough to restore his strength, just enough to save him from Death's talons.

Several minutes pass, several minutes of unnatural silence, sure enough the sounds of the war wagging on around the city around them are still going strong, but to Eis there is nothing but an empty void of silence. Nothing has come from Red's body, no darkness, no hue, no Black Fire, nothing. He's just lying there, unable to move, unable to die.

"This makes no sense, why aren't you dead yet?" He thought with a panicked tone. "How can your soul remain linked to your body when your heart has stopped beating?!"

Despite being trapped in his own lonely world, Red's still aware enough of himself to know he is still alive. "Why? Why am I still alive? I can't breathe and my heart's stopped, so why can't I die? I WANNA DIE! WHY CAN'T I JUST DIE?!" He thought silently, unable to make a sound of movement. "Am I not meant to be free? Am I meant to suffer my entire life? Am I just Mew and Arceus' idea of a cruel joke?… Am I meant to be nothing but a shell, that can do nothing but suffer an eternity of agony?"

"Please… Please Yveltal, take me away. End my miserable excuse for a life… I want to die"

"You want to die?" A soft, gentle, feminine voice called out to him, answering his silent pleas for death. "Red you're not goanna die today, you can't, you must live"

His lonely world is finally broken by the voice of Mew, his Master and friend. She has heard his desperate pleas and linked their minds together, allowing her to speak to him directly and answer his cries.

"Mew… I have nothing left to give. I've given everything I have, more than I thought I ever would when I first answered your call… I tried so hard… Can't I have a rest now? Can't I finally be free?" He managed to respond, through their linked minds.

Before he's even able to end his part of the conversation, she snaps back at him with the furry of a woman scorned. "YOUNG MAN SHUT YOUR MOUTH! YOU DON'T SPEAK TO ME LIKE THAT! YOU ARE MY APPRENTICE AND WILL SHOW ME PROPER RESPECT, OR YOU'LL BE OUT ON YOUR EAR! NOW GET YOUR LAZY ASS UP AND FIGHT! IF YOU DON'T I'LL COME OVER THERE AND GIVE YOU SOMETHING TO MOPE ABOUT! YOU HEAR ME?!"

Silence. Silence is her only response from the man who left his entire world behind to come to her, having chosen to simply accept his death, he sees no reason to answer.

Sensing the defeat in him, Mew sighs heavily in frustration. Her voice softens, returning to her soft motherly tones once again. "Red, listen to me… You can't afford to just roll over and die, not now. There's more resting on your shoulders than just your own life. As there has been ever since you were a child"

His response is instantaneous, forged without thought. "What? What do you mean?"

His answer comes in the form of a new voice calling out to him; he hears the sound of a sweet, high pitched, excitable voice speaking in his head. "Big Brother you have to get up! You have to! You're not allowed to die! If you die then I'm goanna kill you!… I need you Big Brother, you've always been there for me before, you won't let me down now… Will you?"

Before she even finishes her first word, he recognises the voice as his baby sister Nibbler, whom he saved as a new born, so many years ago.

Another voice joins the group conversation, this one is far stronger than that of either Nibbler or Mew, it undoubtedly belongs to a guy. "Dude you gotta get ya ass up, if ya stay down fer too long Charizard'll never let you hear the end of it. Come on bro, we both know you're not a weakling; you're the toughest bastard I know. Come on, if ya stay down fer too long people'll start calling you weak, we both know what happens when someone calls yo ass weak. Get ya ass up and send Eis back ta Hell… Ah fuck it, just use the Burst, just this once… You won't have ta clean up the mess after so what's stoppin' ya?"

Like the ones that came before it, he recognises this voice as well. His friend Zaru's also trying to get him fighting again.

Yet another soul joins the fight to get him up again, this one's voice belongs to a woman, but one who is very strong. "YOUNG MAN WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?! GET YOUR BACKSIDE UP AND DESTROY HIM SO YOU CAN COME HOME! AND DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT DYING BEFORE YOU GET BACK HERE, BECAUSE I AM GOING TO KILL YOU WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU MR! I AM GOING TO SKIN YOU ALIVE!"

Maw Maw always gets angry with him whenever he leaves without saying goodbye first, always gives him some kind of death threat or another, although skinning him alive is a new one. "I'll have to avoid her when I get back… Wait, am I goanna get back?" He thought.

A fifth voice calls out to him, one far younger than any of the other voices he's heard so far. It belongs to a child, one scarcely old enough to leave the nest to play, let alone fend for itself. "You're goanna come back… Right Red? You're coming back right? You always come back… We need you Red; it's lonely without you, Charizard and Blade to play with us. Maw Maw's going nuts; she's tearing her hair out and calling you all kinds of bad names, please come back so she'll be happy again… I miss you all… You can do anything, I know you can, you just need to keep trying and you'll be able to do it. Remember what you taught me… Never surrender"

If he could move a single muscle right now, he'd pull his face into a smile. Cobalt's innocence allows him to believe even the most obvious of all fairy tales, even allowing him to believe that his brother Red is immortal and can do magical things. "Cobalt… I can't do anything, I'm only human. And I'm so tired… So very tired. I need to rest, I'm sorry, but I'm done now… Be good for Maw Maw and Chrono for me"

One more voice joins the conversation, but this voice is one he was never expecting, one far older than the overs he's heard. "Red, if you can hear me my son, you need to breathe again. Just take a breath and start your heart up again. Lily hasn't given up yet; even now she's fighting her way through them all to reach you, desperate to help. Charizard has been beaten into the dust, and yet he still refuses to surrender. Blade's fighting as hard as he can to protect us all, he's giving everything he has and more… We're all fighting to defend our home, but we need you to help us. You are the only one who can end this nightmare, you have the power Red, I feel it inside you, even now… You just need to let it all go, you are your Grandfather's son, he never once surrendered and neither will you. He could transform, his fire never once extinguished, it may have flickered from time to time, but he never once let it go out… You have his fire, I can see it in your eyes, you just need to let it burn. Now be strong, be brave and start your heart up again… Please Red, prove to me that those years you were separated from us weren't in vain, make me proud and show us all your deepest powers. But most of all, NEVER surrender"

"G-Grampa? How're you talking to me like this?… It's finally happened, I've lost my tiny mind" He thought with a definitive tone.

The voice of his sister once again blesses his mind, reminding him why he left home in the first place. "Please Big Brother, please get up again… There's lots of things you've never done in your life. You've never had a bath, you've never once failed to protect me, to protect our family, and you've never just laid down and died… Don't start now"

If he still had the ability to, he'd cry right now. The sound of his baby sister's desperate pleas stone the rock in his chest, he never was able to deny her anything, or even scold her properly… So how can he start now?

Mew's voice once again graces his mind, bringing with her a warming sensation across his head, as though she's petting him gently, to comfort him in his moment of pain. "Now do you see Red? You're not fighting for your own survival anymore, you haven't been since the day you came to the forest, you're fighting for us all. You're fighting for those who depend on and love you; you're fighting for your family. If you won't fight to save yourself, then fight for us"

The warming sensation across his head focuses onto his forehead, filling him with the pleasant sensation that comes from a mother's tender kiss. "Remember Red, there's always something to fight for. No matter what, you find something to get up and fight for… You find something you're willing to die for. We'll be waiting for you, when you come back to us… We want to meet the rest of your family"

With those words of encouragement, the voices leave his mind, and yet he can still feel them all, they're all with him, lending him their strength. He can feel their hearts beating inside his chest, encouraging his own to join them in a symphony of thumping. "You're right, all of you, I can't die now…" His eyes force themselves to bolt open, revealing his burning blood red orbs. "I WON'T!"

The familiar sensation of his beating heart returns to him, free from the previous pain that had it swallowed. His lungs force down an involuntary breath, followed by more in rapid succession, desperate to take in as much life giving oxygen as they possibly can. "I'm alive, and as long as my heart is beating I will fight. When I die again, it won't be by your hand Eis"

A tiny spark of Aura reignites inside his heart, relighting the fire that is his burning passion. This spark of strength gives him the energy he needs to keep his heart beating again, this time he won't let it stop, no matter what.

The tiny flame burns brighter, giving him the power he needs to move his aching body once again. His senses return to him once again, banishing his lonely world of darkness forever, there's no way he'll let himself go back there ever again.

His shaking hands struggle to find solid ground again; he must find the cold steel so he can push himself up. He may be alive and kicking again, but he's still tired, very tired. He'll need time to recover his full strength, but he has enough for now and that's what matters.

"I can't give up, I won't!" He mentally growled, as his hands find the cold steel they seek. "I WILL NEVER SURRENDER! I'll stand and fight forever!" His teeth grind in his mouth, as he struggles to push himself off the ground.

"My fate doesn't matter anymore, all that matters is that my family is safe. That means this nightmare must end, no matter the cost. I'm not fighting for myself, not anymore; I'm not fighting for survival, not for revenge… I'm fighting so they can see the sun again, Lily, Grampa, Mom… Serena… All of you deserve to see the sun again, and I swear on my blood I will make this end, one way or another" His eyes lock onto the blood soaked ground, sending a wave of determination down his spine. "Even if I have to destroy this entire city to do it, I won't let you all down. NOT AGAIN!"

His noble attempts to resume the fight with Eis are quickly destroyed by said Fear Master's foot, slamming itself down onto his right temple. Pain returns to his short list of sensations, grinding his attempts to stand to a halt. With so little power left in his body, he's left weak and vulnerable, Eis' foot threatens to crush his skull inside his flesh.

The foot of the Master of Ice grinds of its own accord, while its owner's attention is firmly fixed on his growing frustration. "It seems my frustrations are reaching new heights today. The Beast had a chance to possess him there, so why didn't it do it? Maybe it couldn't, yes that has to be it, I drained the Boy's body so badly that the Beast couldn't take control without killing him, something that must be avoided right now"

A cold grin breaks out across his face, all he needs to do is restore Red's strength, but also weaken his resistance enough to allow the Beast to take control over him. "Simple enough, I'll just trigger the transformation" He thought with pride.

But there's a problem, the Beast is blocking the effects of the Mark. That means he cannot use the power he infused into it, to force Red's deepest powers out to the surface. He cannot force the transformation again. "Your pride is too strong Beast, without my help you will never be free… This time though, I might be able to help regardless of whether or not you want me to or not. Knights are able to trigger the transformation with a powerful emotion, I simply need to force that emotion to reach its breaking point, and he will transform" He thought again.

"However, I can't afford to waste time by relying on my suspicions alone, I must be certain his rage will send him over the edge" As this venomous thought formed in his mind, his foot ground itself into Red's soft head harder.

He clamps his trio of elongated toes down across Red's face, filling his prey with disgust and the urge to vomit. "Why won't you transform Boy? Why are you resisting me so much? You know as well as I do, how good the power feels when it flows through you… You must miss it, your true form. Tell me, how does it feel to burn from the inside out?"

Silence is his response, the Knight of Fire is all too aware of how limited his strength is right now, he can't afford to waste it by talking to Eis.

The Master of Ice lifts his clamp like foot from the head of his victim, allowing him to take a few steps backwards. He'll need a little room for this minor change to his master plan. His hand rises towards the smoke covered Barrier above.

The frozen duo of Glalie and Froslass watch him with expectant looks across their faces, waiting for the moment where Red finally breaks. From behind the safety of the structure, baby Chomp the Gible finally turns his gaze from his mother, to the one who saved him. He can see he's hurt, or maybe just tired, either way he doesn't like it.

A black hue radiates from Eis' risen hand, calling out to the Barrier above. "ALAKAZAM! I SUMMON YOU NOW!" He called out to the sky above.

No sooner than he said it, than a river of smoke floods from the skull of above them, flowing from its open jaws. The darkness flowing from the symbol of the Paladins lands softly on the steel, behind Red. The smoke forms together, to form the shape of Alakazam.

The body of the Psychic type vaguely resembles that of an old man, humanoid in shape with a long, thin snout and a pair of spikes for ears. His cold eyes reflect a buzzing beehive of thought, as well as a powerful mind. His body is thin and skeletal, little to no muscle mass is present across his frame, he has no need for it, when his species has one of the most powerful minds there is. Brown armoured plates cover his chest, shoulders, forearms and knee caps. He has only three digits across his hands and feet, along with a huge drooping moustache. It his hands, he holds a pair of sterling steel spoons.

Across the face of the powerful Pokémon, resides a trio of deep gouge scars. Starting in the upper right corner, close to his ear and ending at the start of the left half of his moustache. These scars seem to be old, but deep enough to remain, perhaps they will never heal.

Both the Psychic Pokémon and his Master lock their eyes onto each other's, staring straight over Red, as though he is nothing but furniture.

The frozen duo narrow their eyes in fiendish delight upon seeing him form before them, their old friend has finally returned to their side. Chomp can no longer ignore his mother's cries of pain, along with her snarls of rage, his gaze finally returns to the battle below.

Without breaking the eye contact with his Master, Alakazam's legs rise from the steel to cross themselves and allow him to float two feet of the ground. "What is your wish Master? Name it and it will be done" His lipless snout doesn't move so much as an inch, his voice is carried by his mental strength. Telepathy.

Eis' arms cross themselves tightly, sending an Aura of dominion and control across his frame. "Invade his mind; find everything you can about the Burst. I must know his trigger" He demanded coldly.

The digits that hold the steel spoons in Alakazam's hands uncoil themselves, allowing the spoons to float around him, circling slowly. His hands press against each other, as though he is praying or deep in thought. His eyes shut themselves, to block out external distractions. "As you wish Master"

Instantly his mental powers attack the Warrior's mind, forcing their way into his head like a power drill. The weakened Knight tries hard to resist this mental attack, but with so little strength left, he can't stand up to the superior mental prowess of Alakazam.

Unable to do anything but lie on the ground and rest, the Psychic Pokémon explores his mind, rummaging through it as though it's a chest of treasure, just waiting to be taken.

After a moment of exploring, Alakazam leaves his mind and opens his eyes. "Master, he has no memory of the Burst. He knows what the Burst is, but he has no memory of ever transforming, let alone what his trigger is" His eyes slowly roll down towards the Warrior of Fire, the sight of those cold eyes sends fear flooding through Red's body, but he doesn't know why.

He's never met this Pokémon before, so why is he so afraid of him?

"He doesn't even remember what we did to him, all those years ago. He knows you killed him, but he has no memory of dying or how he died" Alakazam finished, with a predatory tone of voice.

Eis' smirk is knocked clean off his face, replaced by a genuine look of shock. The lack of knowledge regarding the Burst isn't unexpected, based on what he has seen of his transformation, it was the most likely explanation. But the fact that he doesn't remember how they met is very surprising, he holds a burning hatred for him, despite not knowing exactly what he did to him.

Fear has Red paralysed, to the point where he doesn't even hear Alakazam's statement. Why is he so afraid of him? He's never even met him before, how can he fear him?

His terror of the Psychic Pokémon reaches the next stage of its development, causing his body to break out in an uncontrolled bout of trembling. It's his eyes, those horrible empty eyes, when he looks into them, he feels like a scared eight year old child again. He shuts his eyes tightly, in the hopes it will abate his fear.

Alakazam won't allow this though, instead of forcing his eyes open, he simply places an image of himself inside his mind. Now he cannot escape the terror of his past.

"He has repressed the memories, deep down inside his mind, locked them away from both the world and himself. I could easily force these memories to the surface once again, but it would come with a high risk. The process of forcing such well-hidden memories to the surface would likely destroy his mind, the strain of that would also likely force him into cardiac arrest. Combined, these effects would likely result in his premature death… Again. I will do it if you wish it, but I wouldn't advise it, as our Master wants the Beast alive"

The sadistic grin of Eis returns, broader than it was before. "That won't be necessary Alakazam. Tell me, is there no way for him to remember?"

Alakazam's unblinking eyes remain fixed on the trembling man at his Master's feet. "It is possible for these memories to return to him, but only under the right circumstances. He must return to the sight of the events and synch his Aura with the residual Aura that was left behind. In doing so, he will be able to tap into what he has repressed. But he must WANT to see it all again, he must want to relive the horror of what we did to him"

Red's eyes hesitantly flicker open; he heard the words this time. He is greeted by the blank stare of Alakazam, he forces his eyes shut again, as he whimpers like a child on the half frozen steel.

Alakazam bows his head to his Master, before returning his attention to Red. "I am surprised by you Red; I thought you would have been killed years ago. You were always so weak, how the Beast hasn't killed you yet is beyond even my superior intellect. You haven't changed at all; you're still a snivelling child, whimpering at my feat… Tell your lizard that I will repay the gift he gave me" His spoons revolve around to his face and point to the scars as he speaks. "I will return the favour"

His duty done, the Psychic Pokémon returns to his smoky form and returns to whence he came.

The whimpering Red watches as the source of his petrification leaves his sight; with it gone his fear vanishes, leaving him in a state of shame filled confusion. He doesn't have time to question himself though, as the cackling of Eis bombards his sense of hearing.

"You are pathetic Boy! You are a joke, the joke of the Knights. You are one of the few who has the ability to tap into the deepest depths of Aura, but you don't even know how you do it… I can't believe how ironic that is" He said with a sadistic grin across his face.

If Red could do anything but glare up at his captor, he'd be telling him to rip his own heart out and do the world a favour. In place of speaking, he tries to send his Aura out to do it for him. "Unhinge your jaw and finish me off, you ice cold Seviper wanna be" His thoughts are unable to leave his mind though.

The Master of Ice drops his arms, but allows one to hold his chin. He circles his prey, like a hungry Sharpedo circles a helpless Magikarp. "I've heard of something like this before, if your kind can't control the Burst, then it'll control them. If this is the case, then each transformation feels like the first time" He thought aloud. "If this is your case, then the overwhelming power flowing through you would wipe your mind when it leaves you, taking away all your memories of the transformation… That means you can't trigger it yourself, and have to rediscover how to do it each time you need to transform"

He finally stops his circling, standing before his head. His hand drops from his face, to meet with his other hand before his chest. "I'll have to find your trigger for you; we'll have to experiment to find it. We'll have to find what forces our power out to the surface and pushes you over the edge"

He crouches down, allowing him to loom his head over Red's face, close enough for the Warrior to smell the stench of his breath. "I do hope you'll enjoy it as much as I will" He said sarcastically.

The young Knight Apprentice can only lie on the ground, unable to do anything but listen to him and endure the stench of his breath. The only power he has left is being used to keep him alive, he has nothing to spare that can be used to fight back with. He'll need time, time to recover his strength. "Why does it seem like I'm spending this entire battle waiting for more power?"

The horrible feeling of Eis' talon running down his cheek sparks a fire of rage inside him. The one running his talon down his flesh grins sadistically once more, taking the first step to completing his new plan. "Do you think you're special? Do you think you're the only one who has ever been… Afflicted, by a creature like the Beast?"

Red's interest in what he has to say spikes, sparking the rage to grow stronger. "The fuck're you talkin' about?" He thought, stronger than before.

The talon running across his face lifts itself away, before stabbing into his cheek again harder, hard enough to break the skin. "You're not the first, nor shall you be the last. What has happened to you has happened since the birth of humanity… Creatures like the Beast have been plaguing the Knights ever since my Master… Well, the rest you know"

Red's eyes abandon the disgusting face of Eis, in favour of the blood soaked steel around them both. "Am… Am I really not the only one? There're others?" He asked himself silently.

The tantalising, life giving, crimson fluid drips down his face, tempting Eis to remove it from his body and drink it down. He resists this temptation; he can't afford to break his rage with disgust. "You are undoubtedly the only one who is still alive, as well as the first to appear for a very long time. It's been hundreds of years since the world was last blessed by a creature like the Beast… I've lived a long time, longer than any other human has ever dreamed of, and I met the last one… I killed her and took her power for my own, but that was such a long time ago and I don't feel like giving you a history lesson"

The feeling of his blood dripping down his cheek is of little consequence to him now; his mind is focused on only one thing now. "How fucking old are you Eis? Hundreds? How old's that? How the fuck do you know all this shit, why are you telling me this bullshit?"

"You should have asked her Boy…" Eis' cold tone forces the thoughts from Red's mind, calling his eye to meet his own. "You should have asked your precious Mew about the Beast, throughout history it has never, never ended well… And it won't end well this time either. You should have asked her about it when you had the chance, now you'll never know… After all, she's always known exactly what it is and how you can be free of it… She's been lying to you for years, Boy"

The cold, harsh words that pass through the lips of the Fear Master fuel the fire inside Red's heart, his anger returns to him, bubbling up inside the pit of his stomach. The rage brings new strength with it to replace a fraction of what was stolen from him by the chains. "W-what?" He whispered.

---

The blonde haired beauty of the Ketchum family rematerializes in the tower courtyard, her armour and robes are stained with the blood of her fallen foes. The blade at the end of her staff drips with the crimson glory of Paladin blood.

Her emerald green eyes ravage the carnage that has been unleashed upon this once beautiful place, there's blood everywhere, some of it has been spilt from the bodies of Paladins, a bit of it is from Pokémon, but most of it belongs to innocent people.

She quickly spots her brother's first Pokémon, Charizard, lying in the remains of a destroyed building, covered in wounds and his own blood. Blaziken stands in the midst of the battlefield, large chunks of his feathers have been torn out by Garchomp's claws, instead of exposed flesh all that can be seen are patches of blood. He's panting heavily and clearly exhausted, just how long has he been fighting for?

She quickly spots Garchomp, standing opposite him; she looks as though she hasn't taken a single hit yet. "How the fuck is that possible?!"

Through his fatigue, Blaziken's able to pull a smirk. "Well I be darned, yawl were right Charizard. She be tougher ta take down than Lily, when she on 'er monthly"

The normally pale cheeks of Lilian Ketchum flood with blood, causing a full faced, beetroot red blush to break out. The humiliation of her monthly cycle being compared to a dragoness is worse than when Delia caught her giving her ex a blow job. "HEY! I TOLD YOU TO STOP COMPARING ME LIKE THAT!" She screamed with a nervous tone.

The Fighting/Fire type looks over his shoulder, to see the embarrassed face of his beloved trainer. "Didn't ya Mama never tell you it be rude ta eavesdrop?" He said with a smart tone.

With a roll of her eyes and a shrug of her shoulders, the blush vanishes from her face. "Yeah of course she did, but I wasn't listening. Now shut up and help me take this bitch down"

Before Blaziken is able to respond with another smart remark, Garchomp creates a Sandstorm between her claws. The swirling torrent of sand is filled with Ground energy, and will surly hurt everything that hasn't got Ground, Rock or Steel traits.

"Blaziken! Leap into the air and use Fire Spin as a shield!" She commanded, with a thrust of her free fist. His response is instantaneous; his powerful legs kick off the cracked ground and propel him a good ten feet into the air. From his crimson beak, spinning flames flow freely. Twisting his body into a spin, he surrounds himself completely in the Fire Spin.

Garchomp thrusts her claws forwards, sending the barrage of sand directly into her opponent. The Ground attack destroys his shield of fire, but leaves him completely untouched by its buffing force. "Now hit her back with a Blaze Kick!" Without a moment's hesitation, Blaziken pulls his leg back and sets his foot aflame.

The memory of her burning face is still fresh in Garchomp's mind. She expels a strong Dragon Breath, the green flames climb through the air to meet the blazing foot of the giant red fighting chicken.

His Blaze Kick ploughs through the Dragon Breath, to meet its source, his foot slams into her jaw. "Don't let her recover! Dynamic Punch into Mega Kick!"

His glowing white fist crashes into Garchomp's diaphragm, forcing all air from her lungs and leaving her exposed for his follow up attack. "END THIS NOW!" Planting one foot on the cracked earth, he channels all his strength into a single, powerful strike directly into her face.

The blow knocks her through the air, to land in one of the craters that was formed when she fought Charizard, with her eyes clamped firmly shut.

The Fire starter of Hoenn jumps back to the side of his trainer, panting heavily as his fatigue catches up with him once again. Sweat drips down his matted feathers, as he struggles for breath.

With a proud grin across her face, Lily slumps her blood covered staff over her shoulder. "She's down and out" Pride not only dominates her face, but also her voice. Noticing the fatigue that has claimed her partner, she begins the healing process by bathing him in rose pink light.

As she repairs his wounds and removes the blood and bodily fluids from his feathers, he shuts his eyes and lowers his head in shame. "That little lady won't be down fer long, yawl need ta get Charizard back on his feet again"

Within seconds he's back to full strength and looking as fresh as he was before this battle began. Just in time for Garchomp to recover from her own injuries, and snarl at both her challengers, who are still conscious and alive. "Let's fix that, I like my KFC extra crispy" She snarled. "Time to die"

The snarls are completely inaudible to the ears of Lily, but the 'KFC' in question understood her perfectly. A nervous sweatdrop runs down the face of the Knight, as her face grows paler than normal. "This might be a problem… She got back up"

The eyes of Blaziken bolt open, as the flames around his wrists reignite, stronger than ever. "I'll by yawl some time, but you gots to get the fat ass back on his feet again, then yawl brother could use some help givin' Eis a good ol' fashioned ass whooin'. He obviously ain't gots the balls ta put him in the dirt on his own" He growled angrily.

His words are interrupted by the Dragon/Ground type's fangs digging into his arm, in a devastating Crunch. "Oh yawl 'bout ta pay fer that BITCH!"

While the two of them recommence their battle, Lily turns her attention towards her brother's partner. She sprints to his side, moving as fast as she can. She needs to get him back up and fighting again, Blaziken can't beat Garchomp on his own, hopefully the two of them fighting together will be enough.

The eye of said dragon opens, signifying his return to the realm of the conscious, just in time to be greeted by his brother's howls of agony. The howls of pain drown out the carnage of battle throughout the city, allowing all ears to hear his suffering.

"I… I'm comin' Boss" Charizard weakly growled. "I won't let you face that fucker alone"

He tries to lift his head again, but the pain surging through him outweighs his determination, forcing his head to remain on the ground. Instead of having the strength to fight for those he cares about, all he has left is pain; his every bone feels as though it's been ground into dust.

Through his Connection with Red, he can feel his flesh being split apart. His back feels as though it's being ripped apart, his flesh being ripped from his spine and ribs while he lies helpless on the cold floor. His every fibre screeching for an end to the agony.

A tear forms in his one remaining eye, threatening to fall across his scaly hide. His brother is suffering, at Eis' hand, again. Last time he was too weak to do anything to stop it, he was just a kid himself, how could a kid stop an animal like Eis?

Now he's no kid though, he's a man, a grown man. But still nothing has changed; he's still too weak to help him, too weak to protect him from something no one should ever endure.

He can feel it; he can feel his brother calling out to him through their bond, pleading for some sort of help… Oh god he's getting delusional, Red's never once asked him for help, he's only ever heard him asked for help once in ten years and that was when he was a kid… A vulnerable child, who had just gone through one of the worst experiences someone could go through, he'd been possessed. Sure there're worse things out there, but for a kid there isn't much that's worse.

"Boss… Listen to me, listen carefully. Do it. Get angry, let your anger flow through your soul, then ignite your fire and transform. You can't beat him without the power of the Burst, I'll clean up the mess, just do it and send him back to Hell where he belongs" He growled inside his mind, trying to send some sort of message to Red through their bond.

A warm sensation flows across his body, taking his pain away and restoring his strength. Someone's healing him. "Hell no" He snarled angrily.

Lily kneels at his side, holding her blood soaked hands over his body and sending waves of rose pink light across his muscular, overweight frame. An angry snarl hits her ears, along with the sound of claws grinding against stone. He looks very pissed.

Taking this as a sign that he doesn't want her to heal him, she abandons her attempt at help. From what she's seen of him, Charizard's just as proud as Red, accepting help must be hard for him. At the very least it's making him angry, that much is clear and an angry dragon is never a good thing.

"You're just as proud as our brother, aren't you?" She asked to try and calm him.

While he can't see her, as she's on his blind side, he knows she's afraid, he can both smell and hear it. It's a strange thing to hear; 'our brother', only a few have ever said that about him and Red… It's something he never thought he'd hear her say. He picks his head up, using the small amount of restored strength he's been given and nods. Knowing she can't understand him, to respond verbally would be pointless.

Sensing that his anger is quelling, she timidly pats his back. He offers no resistance or signs of not wanting her to do it, so she carries on. "I understand you want to help him Charizard, I can hear him too… He's in pain. But you're in no state to fight right now, if you won't let me heal you, you need to at least rest" Pain can be clearly heard in her voice, the loss of both Willey and Greninja is still fresh in her mind, as is the pain her brother is suffering right now.

Ignoring her statement about needing to rest, Charizard tries to stand again. His claws rake across the stone, trying to get a grip across its surface that will let him claw himself to his feet. Finding no help in the rockery beneath him, he tries to lift his head instead. He's unable to lift it off the ground more than a few inches, before the pain forces him back down again. "You mother fucker Charizard, if you don't get your fat ass up right now, I'll tear your wings off and shove 'em down your throat!" He grumbled to himself.

As he tries to get up once again, Lily stands back up and explores the area with her Aura Vision. Besides the standard blood, gore, severed limbs and carcasses, there's nothing in the immediate area worth her attention. She extends her sight to the tower, climbing her way up to its top.

The sight she is greeted by freezes both the breath in her lungs and the blood in her veins. Her eyes shrink, as her focus shifts to Eis, standing over Red with a blood soaked whip in his hand.

A single tear falls from her glowing hot pink eyes, there's so much blood, so much… "I-I-I-I'v-ve… I've a-already l-l-lost Greninja and Willey… You… You can't take Red away from, not again" More tears drop from her eyes as these words fall from her lips.

Gravity tugs her head down, but is unable to force anything else from her. Like a mountain, she refuses to yield to gravities tug. As her tears fall freely from her eyes, her power begins to swell inside of her, crackles of rose pink light run across her hourglass figure. These surges of power leap from her body, slamming into everything around her, reducing whatever they strike to tiny chunks no bigger than a pebble.

As the crackles collide with Charizard, they restore a tiny fragment of his strength. They feel like her hands, passing over his battered body and pulling him into a gentle hug. To most this would be a comfort, but to him this is an insult. He's no child that needs to be coddled; he's an Alpha male, stronger than all in the forest… Well except a couple, Mew being one of them and…

His thoughts are interrupted by the ear splitting screech of the woman standing beside him. "I WON'T LET YOU TAKE HIM AWAY FROM ME! NOT AGAIN!" She screamed towards the tower top.

In response to her screech of pain, her hair rises from her pony tail and splits apart to form five points, each flowing as though it's lying across the surface of a rippling pond. Starting at her roots, her hair begins to turn rose pink.

Her staff is swallowed by pink light, as it returns to the depths of her Aura. She has no need for a weapon now the transformation has begun, her next attack require both her hands, not a weapon.

Her hair erupts into a full rose pink shine, as it gains a metallic sheen. Hot pink light bursts out across her entire body, allowing her to glow like a lantern in a dark room. Her muscles build slightly, as her flesh grows sturdier and more durable. As her tender frame tightens and grows, her robes are pulled tighter against her skin, threatening to rip apart at any moment.

Her armour dissolves away across her body, but is quickly replaced by a new set, one that looks to be stronger as well as lighter. Her robes loosen slightly, while they hug her figure well, they will no long tear apart if she moves too fast.

As her power reaches its maximum, a powerful wave of hot pink light bursts out from her body. This shockwave sends nearby debris flying through the air, casts a ring of dust around her and even pushes Charizard across the ground a few inches.

She's almost transformed; just a little bit more and she'll be at her maximum power. Her tears continue to flow freely from her glowing eyes, but instead of falling to the risen dust, they rise into the air from the corners of her eyes. They sparkle as the light catches their surface.

In an explosion of blinding hot pink light, all eyes in the area turn to face her, abandoning whatever they're doing to stare at the shinning humanoid figure before them. They all stare at her, trembling in awe of her, even the possessed Garchomp abandons her attack to gasp at the sight before her.

Every single one of them can feel the power flowing through her, it rivals even Charizard's raw strength and yet she has it perfectly controlled. She's all but unstoppable now.

As the shining light dies, her transformed body is revealed. Her hands are coiled tightly into fists; her tears continue to rise from her eyes, which are glowing brighter than ever. She looks like a fallen angel, minus the wings and halo they're often depicted with.

As her lingering tears are lifted from her eyes, they take her pain away with them. She refuses to let Eis take her brother away from her, she's already had to lose him once and the pain was worse than anything she ever thought imaginable. She lost her twin brother, the one soul she'd been with since birth, the only one she was never separated from for more than a couple hours in their lives, but now she has him back again… There's no way in Hell she's ever going to let anyone take him away from her, ever again. "Granddad wasn't the only one of us who could transform Eis, the Burst runs in our blood, we can all transform" She mumbled to herself.

---

While the war rages on around them all, those who have found shelter in the park have abandoned Lucario in favour of finding shelter. Meyer and Ampharos never reached the safety of this sanctuary, they fell long before they could lay eyes on either Bonnie or Clemont again… Leaving the golden haired ones alone in this world.

Lucario's aging body is running low on strength; his breathing has become heavy and laboured, as sweat runs down his fur. Delia is trying her best to support his weight, as is the ever kind Serena, but it's making little difference to his energy levels.

The golden haired ones are ignorant of their father's death, there's simply no way for them to know right now. Their interest remains enthralled by the Orbs in his paws, in the war their new friends are fighting and dying to win.

None of them can believe what's going on around them; the blood has been stolen from their bodies, leaving them as pale as ghosts. The sight of Red being beaten down by the evil Eis, along with the sound of the whip cracking and splitting his flesh apart, is too much for some of them to handle.

Serena's eyes shimmer with tears, the same tears that have been dripping down her cheeks for what feels like eternity. She can't stand this, can't stand to see Red like this. The proud, strong man that she cares so deeply for is being tortured before her eyes, for what seems like to real reason… Find his trigger? What does that mean?

The shame of everyone here knowing she was almost rapped is horrendous, but at least she managed to get them to hold off asking questions until this ordeal ends. But even this shame pales in comparison to the pain in her heart, seeing him suffer like this is killing her, yet she cannot turn away. Watching somehow makes her feel like she's able to do something. She still has his sword in her hand, maybe there's a way for her to give it back to him.

Delia's eyes may be fixed on the Orbs, but she can barely see them through her tears. If she hadn't locked her knees in place earlier, she wouldn't be standing right now. The sight of seeing both her children fighting and dying has all but killed her. If it wasn't for Willey's noble sacrifice, she'd have lost her only daughter. She had someone who cared about her enough to sacrifice himself for her, but Red's alone. He's dying, all alone, in agonising pain… No one's there to save him, what'll happen to him? What does Eis want with her baby boy?

Lucario's entire body aches with fatigue, he's too old to maintain Aura Vision for this long, but he refuses to give in. He saw how much Red was suffering earlier, he'd never tell the rest of them, but he felt his heart stop for a few minutes there… He doesn't know if he heard him, but he tried to call out to him, to get him fighting again. It's all he can do now… Sit on the side-lines and watch his family die. If only he could Mega Evolve again, his full power would be returned to him, then he could help in this battle.

"Mr Lucario, is Red goanna be OK?" The sweet voice of Bonnie Citron asked, as she gently tugged on his fur.

Why? Why did she have to ask him a question like that? One that will undoubtedly be painful for him to say and for them to hear.

She is a child, an innocent child who knows nothing of the real world; the Knights prevent people like her from ever knowing the darkness of this world, the real darkness. She is not to blame here and to ignore her would be to punish her for something that is not her fault.

With a heavy sigh, he responds to her without emotion. "I don't know young one, he's very weak… He can barely breathe, but I've seen people in worse states not just recover, but come back stronger from it"

"W-what about Lily? What's happening to her?" Clemont hesitantly asked, not truly sure if he wants to know the answer to this question.

The old man responds again, without any trace of emotion. Neither of these two know his grandchildren, they only met yesterday, how can they? But the fact remains that they're both still here, concerned for their one hope for survival. Regardless of their motives, it's more than any of the other survivors have done.

"Physically she's fine. The changes in her body are due to the transformation she's undergoing, she has a power than most of our kind can only dream of. She has the Burst, I can only guess why she's waited until now to use it, perhaps she wanted to save it until she truly needed the power… Hopefully she'll be able to do something to help Red"

Serena's tears continue to drip down her cheeks; each one carries a piece of a broken heart with it. "Is this nightmare ever going to end?" She muttered to herself, not even realising she said the words outside her mind.

"All nightmares end Serena, you can only dream for so long… Sooner or later, you have to wake up" Finally his words carry emotion; they carry his pain, as well as his hope. Hope that this ordeal will end soon and that Eis will lie dead at Red's feet.

---

"I want to play a game"

These cruel words are hissed from the sadist known as Eis, as his lips curl into a grin that matches his black soul. In his hand, a bullwhip with three knots throughout it materialises. Its leather covered surface is stained with blood, the blood of those whom Eis has tortured over the years.

The sight of this weapon shrinks Red's eyes to the size of pin heads, sending terror through him once again. The same terror he felt when he saw that Alakazam again, why? Why does it have him so petrified that he couldn't move even if he had the strength to run a marathon?

"I want to see how much pain it'll take to make you cry like a bitch" Eis added, as he raised the handle of the whip higher.

Without a moment's hesitation, he swings the whip through the air, to lash across the exposed back of Redmud Ketchum. With a terror inducing crack, his robes are split apart, chunks of flesh are sent across the steel and blood stains his flesh crimson.

He can only rasp out a breath as he tries to scream in pain, the strength that allowed him to whisper just moments ago has just been lost. "If you want another Boy, all you have to do is say 'thank you sir, may I have another?'" Eis taunted, as he raised the whip again.

With a second strike, he splits his robes further and sends more blood soaked flesh across the steel. Red's jaws wrench open, as he involuntarily arches his back in pain. The pain has robbed him of the ability to speak, if it had not, he would have been able to make a squeak.

Eis cups his free hand behind his ear, to exaggerate the fact that he can't hear anything from his victim. "I'll tell you what Boy; I'll stop hurting you if you beg for mercy"

The eyes of the young Warrior shine blood red, as his anger burns brighter inside him. The flames of rage burn brighter inside of him, restoring enough of his strength to whisper again, if he chooses to. Despite this surge of energy, he refuses to make a sound. He'd rather die again than beg Eis for anything.

Dissatisfied with this lack of reaction, Eis swings the whip for a third time. The result is the same as it was before, blood soaked flesh is sent across the steel floor; his robes split even more and turn a darker shade of crimson. This time though, Red grinds his teeth and grunts in pain, he has the power to scream now, but refuses to give Eis the satisfaction.

Baffled by the lack of screaming from him, Eis examines his handiwork, ensuring he has been striking him correctly. There are three splits across his robes; they meet in places to create hanging flaps of crimson. His blood has stained not only his robes and flesh, but has also forced the two together. There are five distinctive holes in his flesh, where the knots have struck him. It seems that his aim was off and allowed him to escape the full bite of his whip four times.

The pain from the whipping is taking a heavy toll on him now; he's beginning to drift off into unconsciousness. With a heavy slam onto the back of his head, he is prevented from joining the unconscious world. Eis' foot grinds down onto his head once again, like before Red refuses to make a sound.

Despite the lack of verbal reassurance, Eis knows he's hurting him, he's hurting him badly. Pain will almost certainly spark furry within him, as it does with the rest of humanity. But this is not enough; he needs him to be swallowed by his furry. "You're no different than when you were a child… Too weak to protect those you love" He lifts his foot from his head, the heat from his flesh is unpleasant to a being of the cold such as himself. "Once you are broken, I'm going for that beauty you were protecting before… What was her name? Ah yes, Serena… She escaped my minion before, but she won't be saved from me. I'll draw out her powers the same as I did you, then I will strip her Aura from her soft, tender, sexy flesh… I will enjoy the taste of her Aura"

The anger burning inside of Red ignites into a full-fledged inferno at the mention of his Apprentice. Strength floods through him, allowing him to briefly ignore the pain searing across his flesh. "I'm going to rip you apart Eis… Nothing's goanna hold me back" He rasped.

His pain returns tenfold, when Eis' foot slams down onto his spine and grinds against his flesh, tearing it apart. This time he cannot stop himself from screeching in agonising pain, the pain of his flesh being torn apart is too much for even him to deal with.

His howls drown out the sounds of the burning city, stabbing into the hearts of those who love him.

The Fear Master lifts his blood soaked foot away from the hot source of the offending fluid, to reunite with the cold steel. "How're you going to do that then Boy? You're at deaths door, you can barely breathe, just how are you going to kill me?… Do you even know how to kill me?"

Before he can get a response from him, his whip cracks for a fourth and final time. Yet another howl of agonising pain escapes his throat, carrying with it all traces of fear, there's no room for them anymore now his rage is taking over.

Eis intends to whip him again, but he finds his attention is firmly fixed upon a light. A rose pink light shining from the battlefield below has ensnared his senses and overpowered his better judgment. The whip in his hand turns to smoke, before being absorbed back into his Aura.

The only Knight atop this tower cannot see what Eis sees, but he can feel his sister's power growing stronger by the second. Her power quickly rises beyond anything he ever expected from her, and it keeps growing.

How? How can she possibly get this strong so quickly? Just a few minutes ago she wasn't even as strong as he is at his maximum, now she's exceeded that limitation and is still going strong. Then it hits him, his eyes widen and return to their natural electric blue, she's transforming.

She said yesterday she was a Psychic type, why didn't he think of this before? She transformed and gained the Psychic typing and she's doing it again now. If only he could remember how it feels to use the Burst, then maybe he could be certain that's what she's doing.

"Don't even think about it" He mumbled. "No one interferes with my fights. Don't do it Lily"

Like Red, Eis can feel her growing power, but unlike his tortured victim, he's not impressed. Even as he watches her transformation reach its completion, and feels her power reach its maximum, he remains unimpressed. While her power is indeed impressive for her age, it's still nowhere near enough to meet his, let alone exceed it.

"Oh look at that, she thinks she's strong" He mocked with a patronising tone.

For once Red has to agree with his enemy, Lily's nowhere near Eis' level of power now. She's not even half as strong as he is, if she fights him she'll be slaughtered. "Don't do it Lily, you're not strong enough. You'll only get yourself killed, think of Mom and Grampa; they don't want you to get hurt… I'd never forgive myself if I let you die" His fearful words will never reach her ears; they don't even hit Eis' sense of hearing.

---

Lily's hot pink eyes fill with Psychic energy, turning them into a brilliant shade of luminous blue. As her full Psychic powers are awakened with the transformation, a matching hue surrounds her entire body and lifts her up and off the ground. She rises twenty feet off the earth; her hatred filled gaze is fixed upon the tower top, where her newest enemy and brother reside.

She thrusts her open palmed hands high above her head, creating a beach ball sized Orb above them. "I can't afford to hold back here, I need to hit this bastard with everything I've got" She thought, as she poured as much power as she can spare into the Orb.

All eyes that can see her lock onto her glowing glory. Now she has taken to the skies, she truly looks like an angel, come to save them from the darkness and bring back the sun.

The Orb above her grows bigger and bigger, the light inside it changes from a pure white glow to a swirling mix of rose pink Aura. Her Orb has evolved into a new attack, her most powerful single blast attack. But it is not finished yet, she still has more power to put into it.

She concentrates her awakened mental powers into the attack; the luminous blue Psychic energy is added to the swirling torrent of Aura inside the ball above her. She tries hard to keep the power locked inside this Orb like structure; her will is all she can use to stop it from leaking out prematurely.

Her tears continue to rise from her eyes, rather than sparkle with her own glow though, they are dissolved before they even truly leave her face. Stray debris from the battlefield is sucked up into the ball, dissolved away upon the burning touch of pure Aura and Psychic energy.

As the final drops of her combined Aura and Psychic powers are enthused into the ball, hot pink electricity crackles across its surface, trying hard to leap out and attack the nearest soul that isn't its creator.

Eis' one remaining eye widens at the sight of her attack, he's seen it before and it's very dangerous to use. "There's no way she'll hurl an attack like that at me, she'd destroy the entire tower and half the city block if she did… There's no way she'll endanger all these people, she's bluffing" He said with a confident grin across his face.

Her attack reaches its full size, two meters in diameter. Her common sense has given way to her blinding rage and overpowering pain of loss, Eis is right, this attack is too dangerous for a place like this, if she were thinking clearly she'd realise that.

Before she's able to hurl her completed attack, a beam of midnight blue Aura flies out from the crushed remains of the city, to add itself to the power stored within the attack. Her hatred filled glare is broken momentarily, to allow her to stare up at the ball above her hands. She can feel the Aura of another Knight surging through it; it seems to be clashing with her Psychic energy, like the two aren't compatible.

"What the fuck?! How can there be more power in here? I can't feel anymore Knights here besides Red and our Pokémon. Yeah Serena's an Apprentice now, but she can't even concentrate her Aura yet and her Aura is aqua blue… Who the fuck gave me more power?"

These thoughts are quickly driven from her mind, as she remembers that Eis is torturing her brother. A dark grin forms across her face, as she realises that now she can destroy Eis. "EAT THIS! SPIRIT BOMB!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.

With an ear-splitting scream, she hurls her Spirit Bomb towards the tower top. As she hurls all her energy through the air, she drops back down to the earth with a heavy thud. A fall from this height would be enough to cripple or even kill any normal person, but Lily's not normal. If she were in her normal form, she'd walk away with cuts, bruises and maybe a broken bone, depending on how she landed.

But she's in her Burst form now, a fall from this height isn't even enough to scratch her face.

Even after pouring so much power into the Spirit Bomb, she still has enough energy left to fight some basic Paladin Grunts and maybe a Sentinel. She couldn't risk putting too much of her power into the attack, she'd leave herself vulnerable if she did that. No, she still has enough to keep herself safe, just not enough to maintain the Burst for much longer.

The Spirit Bomb sails through the air, drawing in a vortex of wind as it goes. Eis tilts his head curiously for a moment, surprised that she went through with it after all.

This look doesn't last long though; it's replaced by a dark grin after a few seconds. No fear can be found across his face, only crazed obsession for his victim. "You've clearly never faced a Fear Master before, girl"

The bomb gets closer and closer to them all, the Pokémon all stare at it with fear in their eyes, the attack may not kill them all, but it will certainly send them flying. The fall from the impending blast won't kill them, but the sudden stop when they reach the ground most likely will.

While they ponder their impeding deaths, Eis decides it's time to show her just how much stronger than her he really is. He thrusts his hand forwards, sending out his own Aura in the process. The Bomb's advance grinds to a halt, before it can reach its destination and detonate.

"THIS IS CHILD'S PLAY GIRL!" He cackled. He pulls the bomb in closer, without letting it touch the tower; he presses his hand against its surface.

She stands in the battlefield, petrified to point of paralysis. She put everything she had into that attack, someone else even contributed what must have been a good portion of their power as well and he fucking caught it! "How's that even possible?! That's raw Aura and Psychic energy! If he's touching it, it should be destroying him! HELL IT SHOULD HAVE EXPLOSDED BY NOW!" She screamed into the sky.

Black pulses flow out from the hand of Eis, draining the power stored within the Bomb and feeding off it. The Bomb begins to shrink as Eis drains everything that is stored within it. He licks his lips as he steals the final drops. "That was delicious… I want some more"

Young Lily drops to her knees, unable to comprehend how wrong she was. At the start of this battle Red told her she was no match for Eis and he couldn't have been more right, she's not even close to his level of power. "I'm… Totally outclassed in this battle. I have no place in this war"

Like his trainer, Blaziken's eyes tremble in his eye sockets. He's petrified beyond imagining, the level of power that Eis wields is far beyond anything he ever imagined. He knew he would be strong, maybe the strongest they've ever faced, but no one's ever survived one of Lily's Spirit Bombs, let alone caught one.

He's so enthralled by his own fear, that he doesn't notice the Drago Claw heading straight for his face.

---

The cold and lifeless lips of the Master of Fear curl into a toothy grin; he strides to the edge of the tower and gazes down at his new challenger. Her exhaustion couldn't be more obvious, it's impressive that she's still holding the Burst. "You're endurance is certainly to be admired… But if that was your best, then you are as pathetic as the rest of your kind"

Red's anger boils in his veins; she had no right to interfere with this battle. Eis was focused on him and him alone, no one else needed to be involved. Now she's practically sentenced herself to death. He tries to push himself from the half frozen steel, but he can't do it, he just hasn't got enough energy left to do something like that yet.

Eis watches as Lily struggles to pull herself back to her feet again, his head shakes freely atop his neck. "Oh Lily, you were always so determined to prove your strength. Always so determined to prove you're stronger than… Than…" His voice trails off, as his eye widens in realisation. "Your brother"

That's when the truth hits him like a ton of bricks; he's had everything he needs to push Red over the edge all along. His head slowly turns to give him a view of Red, as expected, he's trying to push himself off the ground.

A ghost of a smile forms across his face, he remembers that Red's anger burns brightest whenever his loved ones are threatened. To push him over the edge, all he has to do is slaughter the ones he cares about and there're plenty of them here.

He turns back towards the exhausted Lily; he looks upon her with Aura Vision. To his astonishment there's still a large nugget of power inside her, standing out like a hunk of gold in the earth. "Your power was delicious; Master will certainly enjoy the flavour"

Finally, finally he has everything he needs to break Red Ketchum. After years of planning, years of trying, finally he will break the unbreakable Monster.

He shoots him a final death glare, looking him dead in the eye, before acting on his newest plan. "I was expecting more from you Boy. You were trained by the most powerful being on this world, trained to be the best of the best… But you fight your true nature. You fight to supress your own power. You're pathetic"

His venomous words stoke the burning fire of rage inside him, forcing thoughts of his sister's interference from his mind and giving birth to new thoughts of ripping Eis limb from limb.

"You are an animal Red, a killer, the closest thing I've ever seen to the perfect killing machine… Once you're set off anyway. You were born to be a Paladin of Fear … But you throw it all away and for what?! A pair of false gods and those who share your blood?"

The rage burning inside his heart begins to boil the blood in his veins, filling him with energy once again. This new found strength allows him to push himself off the floor, his arms tremble but push him up regardless. "You know nothing Eis. I'm not an animal…" He lifts his head to expose his burning blood red eyes. "I'm a Monster. A Monster that's goanna rip your heart out and feed it to Charizard"

The unscarred eyebrow of Eis rises up his face, surprised by the threat. Without saying a word in return, he abandons his discussion with Red and ponders his new plan. "It's working already; his Aura is swelling more and more with each passing second. It won't be long before he's pushed over the edge, then the Beast will do the rest"

He turns his attention to the battlefield; Blaziken and Garchomp have resumed their battle once again. Despite her seemingly endless well of power, he's holding up well and dealing some heavy damage. In the end it matters little, she's practically immortal now; he doesn't have the power to end her life.

The most vital aspect of his plan once again captures his field of vision, as soon as she is dead, Red will lose everything… "Enjoy your final moment's girl, you have mere minutes to live" He whispered.

His voice barely passes through his twisted lips, but carries far enough to reach the sensitive hearing of the Fire Warrior. Red fights through his pain, through his fatigue and through his better judgment to clench his hands into tight fists. A deep snarl breaks through his teeth, one that forces a smirk across Eis' lips.

"Even think of touching her, harm a hair on her head and I will erase you from existence" He snarled, with more venom than a Drapion.

The eye of Eis tempts him to turn and take in his form one last time, before he proceeds with his plan. But he doesn't give into this base desire, in favour of a far more sadistic idea. His hand rises towards the Barrier once again, gaining a black hue in the movement. "Darkness… Kill her" He hissed with a demonic tone.

Once again his eye sockets leak black smoke, rising towards the sky. Two shots of smoke burst through the smoky hue of the Barrier of darkness, seeking out the final shreds of Lily's Aura. Moving faster than any of them can follow; the smoky shackles reach their target and wrap themselves around her wrists and forearms tightly. With a snap of his fingers, Eis turns the smoke to black chains.

The moment the smoke abandons the chains, their black as night metal pulls her limbs against her chest, binding her hands against her own flesh tightly, preventing her from summoning her only weapon. Now she is vulnerable, the third and final chain bursts through the smoke, already formed and thirsty for her impending screams of agony.

The final chain coils around her torso, as if it's an Arbok and Lily is a tasty morsel of food. She struggles valiantly against her bindings, as they raise her from the security of the earth to the empty air above.

These chains serve the same purpose as the ones that shattered Red did, within seconds Lily loses her ignorance regarding their purpose. Rose pink light snakes its way around their dark surface, climbing their length to reach its destination. Straight to Hell, to feed the Eternal Master of Darkness.

Her screams of agony pierce the ears of every living thing within this crippled city, to most they are a delightful sound, but to a small number they are the worst sound imaginable. A fresh wave of tears crawls down her cheeks, inspiring pity in even the blackest of hearts.

Blaziken abandons his fight with Garchomp the instant her cries reach his ears, just long enough to him to stare in horror at the sight of the woman, who may as well be his sister, die before him. "LILY!"

She throws her head back, screaming as loud as she possibly can. "SOMEONE HELP ME!" She cried. "ANYONE PLEASE!"

Blaziken turns back to face a charging Garchomp, driven by the need to protect his trainer, as well as his burning furry, he delivers a single kick to her face. In this kick, is more strength than any blow he has dealt her during this long battle.

Without waiting to see the results of his devastating kick, he leaps straight towards the Psychic Mage, with a Fire Punch ready to shatter the chains that both bind and kill. "I'ma comin' Lily!"

---

Eis slowly cranes his head around to face his opponent, gauging his reaction to what he has just done. "I'm touching her… I'm hurting her… I'm killing her. What are you going to do about it?" He taunted darkly.

The electric blue orbs of sight, belonging to battered and broken Knight, cannot provide him with the sight of his sister's pain. But his razor sharp sense of hearing can't ignore her cries of agony, can't ignore her desperate begging for someone to save her… What his eyes can show him, is the light of her Aura as it climbs the chains to make its way to Hell.

He's so focused on his sister, that he doesn't even realise that Eis is facing him, let alone hear his taunts.

She's dying. His twin sister is dying, right in front of him… Any resistance he previously held for using his deepest powers is stripped away from him by the sounds of her impending death.

Fuck the consequences, fuck the damage he'll cause, FUCK IT ALL! His sister needs him, that's all that matters to him now. He has the power; he's seen the damage he can do when he needs to, whether or not it'll be enough to beat Eis… He doesn't know. But he must try.

He can't break the chains, there's simply no way to do it. Those darkness forged links of steel come from the deepest bowls of Hell; he felt it when they were bound to him. No mortal can break them, but he doesn't need to break them. All he needs to do is force Eis to lose his hold over them, then they'll return to whence they came.

"RRRRREEEEEEEEDDDDDDD! PLEASE HELP ME!" Lily begged at the top of her lungs, crying out for her lost brother.

The sound of her call drives all thought from his mind. For a moment the flames of rage inside him die, washed away by a flood of pain. "Stop it… Stop it" He muttered, finding his strength fading away from him.

His murmurs capture the attention of his captor, who adjusts his head to allow him to listen better, as well as watch his newest prey.

"That's enough… Stop it, that's enough" He added, the pain he now feels easily outweighing the pain from his countless injuries.

The dark chuckling of his greatest enemy crashes against his weakening sense of hearing, weakening his resolve even further. Eis turns to face him properly, smoke still pouring from his eye sockets. "If you want me to stop, you'll have to transform. Otherwise I'll drain her dry, just like I did you…"

Her cries of pain and pleads for mercy begin to lose their strength, growing weaker and weaker with every passing second. Lily's running out of time, if something doesn't give soon, she'll die.

"Only she's not as sturdy, as you are Boy… She won't survive losing all her Aura" Eis concluded. "If she dies today, you will have only yourself to blame"

That's it. The fire of rage, which was extinguished by the pain of his sister's suffering, returns to his body. Burning straight through his heart, to engulf his very soul in a blazing inferno of furry.

Instantly his blood begins to boil in his veins, burning him from the inside out. He shuts his eyes tightly, grinds his teeth as hard as he can, then forces his body to move.

Although horrific pain engulfs his entire frame, he ignores every bit of it. His hands reconnect with the cold of the steel below, as they push his battered and whipped body off its surface. Drawing on his new found furry, he slides his knees under him and pushes harder off the ground.

Through the pain, through the sound of his flesh ripping apart, through everything he forces himself to stand. His blood steadily flows down from his split flesh, dripping from his shredded robes and hissing as it meets with the half frozen metal.

Eis watches him struggle to his feet with an amused look across his ghost like face, so pale it resembles that of a surgical room's white walls. The man standing before him slowly wobbles forwards; he's barely able to move his feet. "Surely you don't intend to fight like that Boy, you couldn't even punch your way out of a wet paper bag like this" He taunted.

Carried on by the burning inferno that makes up his scarred soul, Red puts everything he has into a single attack. His right fist hurls forwards, crashing straight into the bridge of Eis' nose.

The blow hurt him more than it did its target, Eis barely even felt anything. The rush of air was mostly what he felt from that 'attack', judging by the heavy panting he's doing, Red can't have anything left. "This isn't even worth my time" He hissed, before extending his index finger, and pressing it against the forehead of Red.

The eyes of the broken Warrior roll into the back of his head, in the same instance his legs give out under the strain of his own weight, he falls backwards and slams onto the ground. Completely powerless.

He doesn't even have the strength to roll into a more comfortable position on his stomach, let alone stand and fight again. He's lost so much strength, almost all of it; he has enough to keep himself alive, but can do nothing else. He's forced to lie on the ground, listening to the sounds of his sister's death.

The humiliation of falling to a gesture can barely be felt right now; it is there, but is easily outweighed by the fear for his sister's life. She's about to die and there's nothing he can do to stop it… He has the power to do it, locked away inside of him, but how can he find it?

"Power come out, I need to be stronger" He thought. "I know I have the Burst, I've done it before and burned half the forest down! I need the Burst now… More than I've ever needed my power. I'm not fighting for myself; I'm fighting to save my sister… Please power, I beg you to come and save her for me. Do whatever else you want, just save my sister"

The chains tighten around her slender frame, squeezing her like an Orange that needs to be juiced. "SOMEONE HELP ME PLEASE! ANYONE!" Her cries stone the hearts of those who love her, but none of them feel the pain they cause her brother, who knows he's the only one who can save her now. But lacks the strength to do so.

The beautiful rose pink glow that surrounds her slender, feminine body dies. Taking with it the metallic shine of her hair, as well as the bulk of her Psychic abilities. She returns to her normal form, the Burst has been stolen from her.

---

Blade's right pincer lunges forwards, catching the throat of a female Grunt in its grasp. She abandons her weapons, in favour of clawing desperately at the pincer that both holds her and threatens her life. She stares in to the sharp eyes of her captor; they will be the last thing she ever sees. With a single, short, sharp twist, the light leaves her eyes as her neck snaps.

Blade hurls the body away from him; the stench of her voiding bowls has already assailed his sense of smell. The scared cries and whimpers of those who have survived this ordeal fills his ears, each and every one of them has placed their trust in him to keep them safe from harm, while he will do everything in his power to ensure their trust is well placed, he must ignore their pleas.

If he had the ability to comfort them, he would do so, but to even try would simply be a waste of time and breath. Humans cannot understand the Pokémon tongue, with the exception of his Master and supposedly the ones who rule the order of Aura Knights. The Knight Masters. Having never met a Master, he can neither confirm nor deny this to be the truth.

If only he could spare the time to tell Lucario what to say to them, then perhaps they could find the comfort they seek in his words.

But now is not the time to be thinking such thoughts, they waste precious time and distract him from his mission. To protect each and every one of those his Master, Lily and Willey have entrusted to his protection.

"Blade, come here I need your council" Lucario's words draw Blade's attention.

He quickly bows his head, as a sign of respect to his esteemed elder. "Of course Master, I am at your command"

In a red blur, Blade reappears on one knee with a bowed head before the elder Knight. Those who are looking to Lucario for an insight didn't even notice Blade's Quick Attack or his reappearance, all they can see is their loved ones fighting and dying to defend what remains of this once shining city.

Lucario lowers his head to meet Blade; he doesn't allow his paws to move in the slightest. "Now is not the time for such formalities, rise and help me"

In a second red blur, Blade stands tall and looks Lucario dead in the eye. He knows this must be serious for a man like Lucario to ask him for aid, during a time like this. "What do you require of me?"

Lucario looks at the Orb in his right paw, the Orb that shows Red and Eis, as he does Blade's eyes roll towards the same Orb of Aura. "Eis has been doing horrible things to Red and Lily, but he has promised to at least stop hurting Lily if Red transforms. He's trying hard, but he seems to be having trouble, I trust you know Eis better than I, tell me is Eis a man of his word? Will he release my Granddaughter if Red transforms?"

Blade's normally sharp eyes shrink in his exoskeleton, the pupils of which shake inside their yellow prison. Even without heightened senses, it's obvious to all those there that Blade is terrified. "Master… Don't do it Master, she's a grown woman and can take care of herself… It's not worth it Master"

Both Lucario and Blade are so focused on the events elsewhere in the city, that neither of them notices the tears cascading down the faces of the emotionally shattered Delia and Serena, as well as the traumatised Bonnie and Clemont. All four of them have their eyes firmly fixed on at least one of the two Orbs; Delia's eyes are freely alternating between the two. Both Clemont and Bonnie have found their eyes to be fixed on the left Orb, the one revealing the pain Lily's suffering at the chains of Eis. Serena's eyes are mostly focused on the right Orb, but occasionally flicker to the left to check on Lily.

Lucario takes in the fear Blade's eyes reveal, questions form in his mind. "Blade, why won't Red transform? Why don't you want him to do it?"

Blade slowly lifts his eyes to meet those of his elder; still they shake and show no signs of stopping. "… If Master transforms, then nothing will stop him… His power will reach a level that no one here will be able to challenge, let alone meet… If he's even in control, we might be lucky and the Beast will possess him, if it does, then there will be far less destruction" His voice is shaking with the weight of the steel behind them.

---

Charizard slowly forces his eye to open, his one remaining window into his soul is failing him, his vision is blurred, but he doesn't need his eye to hear Lily's desperate pleas for help, each cry sends chills down his pine.

He doesn't know Lily, he and Red left before he had the chance to get to know her. All he really knows about her is what his brother has told him. "You two caused so much trouble. You were just kids, but you caused shit tones of trouble. You had your Mom tearing her hair out some days. The Boss lost count of how many times someone dragged you both home to her by your ears… He'll never admit it, but he loves you Lily… He's too proud to say it, but he can't hide anything from me, he loves his sister" He growled to himself.

He summons what's left of his strength to push his claws into the merciless concrete. "If I let you die, he'll never let me hear the end of it… If I can breathe, then I can fight" He pushes against the ground with everything he has, he will lift his sorry carcass off the ground, even if it kills him.

---

Why won't it come? Why won't the power Red needs to come to him? "Come on power, I know you're there. I NEED THE BURST NOW!" He mentally screamed. As his anger rises, so does his power, but it's still nowhere near strong enough to even allow him to stand up again, let alone fight Eis.

His battered and broken body refuses to move, allowing the pain to intensify beyond measure. His blood continues to boil, the blood that should be keeping him alive is instead boiling in his veins; the flames of rage have turned his very blood against him. The heat from his blood begins to warm his flesh, restoring the colour and life back into it.

As his power grows, Eis' excitement grows alongside it, unable to contain it, his body begins trembling. He looks over his shoulder once again, the smoke still pours from his eye sockets. "Tick tock Boy, your sister is running out of time… I give her one minute to live, her only chance to survive is in your hands, does she live or die Boy? Make your choice" He said coldly.

Not a moment later, the light shimmering across the chains shines brighter, as more power crackles across their surface. A fresh wave of tears flood down Lily's delicate ivory skin, she can feel her consciousness slipping away from her. Perhaps the pain will go with her when her mind gives out on her, meaning her suffering will never end… Or maybe, just maybe, losing her grip on reality will mean an end to her suffering. Either way she'll find out soon. Her flesh begins to turn a dark shade of grey, just as Red's did when he suffered this fate.

The young male can't bear to hear this anymore, he clamps his eyes shut, trying somehow to block the sound out. A lifetime of pain and suffering has given him a high tolerance for their icy sting, pain matters little to him now, even the pain of others has little meaning to him, after all, pain fades given time.

So why does this hurt so much? Why do Lily's cries for help stab the stone in his chest so badly? It's not like it's the first time he's heard cries of pain that aren't his own, he usually laughs at the sound… It's never hurt like this, why? Why does it hurt so much?

The man filled with confusion finds his hands lifting, allowing him to look upon them, no light shines from them; no hue of Aura surrounds them, why? Why have his powers forsaken him? Is he not meant to save his sister's life? Is she meant to die today? Has fate already written this? Does her story end here?

As these questions flow through his mind, his hands coil in on themselves and become tight fists. The boiling blood in his veins burns his flesh from the inside out, if only his body had a way for him to vent the heat. The burning from his blood only gets stronger with each question.

The frustration at not being able to help his sister is building too high for him to handle. "I NEED MORE POWER!" He roared into the sky. He manages to roll onto his stomach, just so he can slam his fists into the cold steel beneath him. "I NEED THE BURST!"

Eis' eye widens at the sight before him, he had thought that his anger would be strong enough by now, for some reason it's not. It seems he has to push him harder, perhaps her death will be enough of a push, if not… What will he do? If this isn't enough to push him over the edge, what will be? He could do the same to the rest of his family, but it would be pointless, after her death his anger will reach its peak. If it's not enough to send him over the edge, then nothing will be. "This had better work, if not then I throwing away my only ace" He thought with a hint of fear.

Red slams his forehead down hard, hard enough for the echo of banging metal to resonate with the other sounds throughout the city. He slowly lifts his head up, a sting in his forehead, combined with the sensation of being touched, tells him that a wound has been born where his head collided with the steel. The raw heat from his boiling blood runs down his face, he grinds his teeth and growls into the metal. "WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO?! TELL ME WHAT I NEED TO DO AND I'LL DO IT!"

The smoke flowing from Eis' eye sockets finally dies, the moment it does the light flowing across the chains fades, taking the screams of pain away with it. The chains that bind Lily remain, holding the dying Knight firmly in their grasp, suspending her above the ground. Eis slowly turns his head back to face her, a cold look of disappointment is written across his twisted face. "I see you made your choice. Your stubbornness has cost your sister her life. I trust it was worth it"

Red's eyes bolt open and shake in their sockets, why can't he hear her anymore? Why isn't she screaming for help? Did she break free? Has someone saved her?

His body is too weak to allow him to look with his own eyes, but his Aura can serve as his eyes for him. The orbs of sight glow blood red as his Aura reaches out and explores the battlefield for him.

His vision reaches the ground below; the carnage of war has destroyed the once peaceful scene. There is nothing but death, destruction and blood filling the streets. Charizard catches his eye; he's trying with everything he has to stand up. Blaziken lies on the ground, unconscious and covered in blood from where he was attacked by Garchomp.

The near immortal dragoness herself stands in the remains of the fountain, looking down at her newest victim, a young Donphan, whose tusks have been ripped out of his head and used to puncture his eyes. It seems she doesn't care who her challenger is, or who they are fighting in the name of, all that matters to her now is the kill. She turns her gaze towards the other dragon, who is trying with every fibre of his being to stand once again.

None of this concerns him now, all that matters is finding his sister, finding the woman who was crying out for her brother to help her, finding the woman who shares his blood and has felt the pain of having your Aura ripped from you. There is nothing to him now but finding his sister and saving her from Yveltal's talons.

Not a second later a horrific sight enters his vision, his twin sister, hanging in the air by four black chains. Her head hung low with the colour draining from her flesh. The brilliant rose pink light shining inside of her grows weaker and weaker with each passing second. She's dead. The chains drained every last drop of her Aura, thus ending her short life.

The sound of shattering glass echoes through the young Warrior's mind as his eyes shrink in their sockets, his vision darkens as his Aura returns to his body. For the briefest of moments, his pain comes to an end, the pain of his broken body ends. For a tiny fraction of a second, there is nothing but numbness, like he's been slammed in the chest by a Mega Punch made of steel, there is no pain strong enough to break through the pain of loss.

The moment of numbness ends as quickly as it came, the pain from his broken body returns tenfold, the pain from his boiling blood burns his flesh once again, add in the death of his sister… And you have a man that is filled with too much blind rage to have any form of self-control.

Eis turns sharply on his heel to face the dumbstruck Red, his arms remain crossed and a scowl has taken up residence on his face. Now it is time to see whether or not his gamble is going to pay off, all he can do is wait and see if Red's power will awaken or remain sleeping inside of him forever.

The emotionally numb Knight slowly lifts his head up, his eyes still shaking in his head. His vision is blurring, whether from the pain or his burning rage, he doesn't know or care, there is only one thought on his mind now. Revenge.

(A/N I don't own this song, Madness in me by Skillet)

The madness in me…

The madness in me…

The madness in me…

The madness in me…

The madness in me…

His gaze falls across the man with the white skin and black eyes, the moment it does, his body erupts in brilliant red light which morphs and twists into a roaring red fire across his body, his eyes burn in their sockets, maintaining their blood crimson colour. "I. Will. Destroy. You" He spat each word with more venom than an Arbok, a low and menacing snarl emanates from him, sending chills down the spines of those atop the tower with him.

Just one spark, is all it takes

I tried so hard, but it all goes up in flames…

The light surrounding him grows brighter and stronger with each passing second; before long it's enough blind the eye of Eis. The Fear Master of Ice raises his arms to try and block out the light before it claims his sight. This is it, he can feel it. Red's power is skyrocketing, going well beyond what it was when this battle began.

This is not the way I thought I would turn out to be

Tried to get but all that I got was more insanity

Broken everything that I've touched

Just gone against me

I can't get away…

His eye widens in shock, Red's power is rising much higher than he thought it would this quickly, just how strong is he? He can't be stronger than him, he is a Fear Master and the Boy is just an Apprentice, but yet… He's got so much power, too much power, if this keeps up he'll not only surpass his sister, he'll surpass Eis himself!

From the FIRE! That burns inside, consuming!

I fight to stay alive, but I can't breathe!

The voices scream, the enemy takes over everything

This is the madness in me!

The light surrounding Red's body lifts him from the cold steel, he rises like a raging fire without so much as moving a muscle. His feet quickly plant themselves firmly into the cold metal floor. His hands coil tightly into fists, so tightly that blood drips down from his palms onto the metal below. His blood hisses as it makes contact with the steel, within a second it evaporates into a red mist. His face twists in on itself, as his conscious mind is swallowed by his blinding and unforgiving furry, his eyes burn even brighter, shining beyond the fire like light surrounding him.

Madness in me!

The madness in me!

Madness in me!

Madness in me!

Eis parts his arms a crack, allowing the light to penetrate his defences once again. His eye takes a moment to adjust to the change, but once it does, the sight before him sparks his excitement even further. He can see it, the Burst, Red's drawing out his deepest powers and awakening the Burst.

Just one chance, is all it takes

Can't change the past, but I can fight to change today!

It seems his gamble has paid off; he didn't need to spare the girl. He stopped the chains from taking the last drop of her Aura, leaving her with just enough power to keep herself alive, at least for a short time. While some may question his decision, he decided it was best to keep her alive, so he could kill her before Red's eyes. So the Boy could look into her eyes as he ripped her throat out… But now, that's no longer necessary. She is of no concern to him now and will likely die once the transformation is complete, along with everything else here.

This is not the way that I thought I would turn out to be

Tried to get but all that I got, was more insanity

Broken everything that I've touched, just gone against me

Got to get away…

The flames of rage burn inside Red's chest, threatening to burn their way through his flesh, bones and explode out of him, consuming everything in their path, leaving nothing but a burning trail of ashes. He finds himself not caring in the slightest anymore, if he cared about anything else before this began; any and all traces of it are fleeing from the rage inside of him.

From the FIRE! That burns inside, consuming!

I fight to stay alive, but I can't breathe!

The voices scream, the enemy takes over everything!

This is the madness in me!

This is it, the point of no return; once the next phase of the transformation begins he will lose all control over himself. There's no telling how much damage will be done, not just to himself, but the city, there's no way to predict how many will die, how many will be hurt… None of that matters anymore, he's been consumed by blinding rage and hatred, all there is, is the single burning desire to destroy Eis.

Madness in me!

The madness in me!

Madness in me!

A shockwave of power bursts through his body, slamming into every living thing around him, Eis, Chomp and the frozen duo all feel the raw power flowing through his veins. His body heat is rising to extreme temperatures, temperatures that'd kill any normal man. The water in the air surrounding him evaporates into heavy steam, taking away the oxygen in the process.

Just one spark…

Is all it takes…

His Aura crackles across his glowing form, breathing new life into his battered and broken body, his bones reform and reseal into solid masses, stronger than steel. His flesh wounds knit back together, leaving no scars behind and toughening it to the point where even razor sharp steel cannot pierce it. The armour that was stolen by the chains that bind his sister reforms across his body, stronger and lighter than it was before.

For the FIRE! That burns inside, consuming!

I fight to stay alive, but I can't breathe!

The voices scream, the enemy takes over everything!

THIS IS THE MADNESS IN ME!

The metal beneath his feet begins to tremble under the weight of all his raw power, the trembling quickly spreads throughout the tower and then the earth bellow. Any lingering shards of glass across the surface of this once sparkling tower quickly fall from their home, to meet the shattered earth below.

FIRE! That burns inside, consuming!

I fight to stay alive, but I can't breathe!

The voices scream, the enemy takes over everything!

THIS IS THE MADNESS IN ME!

Within seconds the trembling becomes a full force earthquake, spreading throughout the entire city trapped by the bubble of darkness. The very earth is trembling in fear of the power flowing through the young Knight.

THE MADNESS IN MEEEEE!

THIS IS THE MADNESS IN MEEEEE!

THE MADNESS IN MEEEEE!

Whatever is left of the crushed city quickly crumbles away into smouldering piles of rubble, crushing anything and everything that is unfortunate enough to linger in range of what was once their homes.

---

The red pincer Pokémon, who calls himself Blade, takes a short sharp breath. As his Master begins the dangerous transformation, he can feel the rage flooding through their bond; he can feel it devouring his Master's mind, leaving nothing but pure instinct in its place. As the rage flows through him, his own power grows alongside that of his Master's, Charizard was right, what affects one of them affects them all.

Lucario can feel the tremors in the earth, while they are minimal right now, they will quickly grow into a full force earthquake. Right now that's not important, there is far more on the line than this city now, at least to him there is. His only Granddaughter is hanging by a thread, she's barely alive. Why did Eis spare her? He could have easily slaughtered her, so why didn't he?

Lucario stares into the Orb in his left paw, showing him and the others the young woman who has lost so much today. If only he had a Connection open with her, even a temporary one, he could give her what little life lingers in him, it may not be much but it'd be enough to save her.

A soft and gentle hand clasps onto his right gauntlet, snapping him out of his thoughts. He turns to acknowledge Delia, who has tears cascading down her delicate face. "Please tell me my baby girl's alive" She pleaded.

His eyes shut, how can he tell the woman who has given him a home for so long, that her daughter is at death's door? That she's just a breath away from the end? How can he tell his family that one of their own is dying and the other is causing an earthquake throughout the city?

A pair of small child like arms wrapping around his torso tugs his attention to his side. The golden haired girl looks up at her elder with pleading, puffy red eyes. "Please Mr Lucario… Is Lily goanna be OK?" Bonnie cried.

Two more hands make their way to the elder Pokémon, who has taken the family role as Grandfather, the first presses onto his left shoulder while the second holds his left arm. Both Clemont and Serena look at him with pleading eyes, begging him to tell them the truth.

With great pain, he gives them all a heavy sigh and lowers his head. "Lily is alive, but only just. Eis has drained all of her power out of her as well as most of her life force; she needs help if she is to have any chance of survival… If I could, I'd go to her side and give her every ounce of power that remains in my old body… But there's no way I'd be able to even get close to her, not with all this fighting… I'd be cut down before I even got close to her" He said bitterly.

A few gasps of fear and shock echo around him, but none of them relinquish their grasp on him in the slightest. To them, Lucario is their only lifeline to their loved ones and friends. Delia swallows her tears; she must ask one last question before she loses her nerve. "Lucario… Tell me the truth now, what's happening to Red? He looks so strange, what's happening to him? Are we going to lose him too?"

Lucario was expecting a question like this, how could they not ask him? He has his suspicions, but he cannot tell them something that might not be true, he turns to Blade for an answer to the question.

Blade's eyes are still shaking in their sockets, more so than before, the quakes are not causing it though, fear has claimed him. He looks at each and every one of those clinging to Lucario, he can see they are all just as afraid as he is and yet they don't have the faintest clue how much danger they're all in, they don't have the faintest idea how much worse things are about to become. "Master is entering the Burst mode… His body is changing; soon the Master we know will be gone"

Lucario looks into Blade's eyes as he speaks, he can easily see he's not telling them everything. "I am aware that Red is transforming Blade, but why are you so afraid of it? What do you mean by 'soon he will be gone'? What is it about the Burst that frightens you so much?"

Blade clamps his eyes shut and grinds his teeth, none of them could possibly grasp the magnitude of this, how could they? They haven't seen the horror of this transformation with their own eyes before. "Have you ever seen someone you care about lose control before? Have you looked into their eyes to see everything that makes them who they are die? Have you felt their mind vanish and their primal instincts take control?... Master is going to die, in his place the creature their kind fears and has made into a legend will be born. Master is going to lose his mind; he is losing everything that is him. He will see every living thing as a threat, including us, soon mine and Charizard's minds will follow suit, so I must make this quick. Submit to him. Submit to his rule. It is the only chance any of you have to live to see the sun again"

Lucario's eyes shrink in a mix of shock and fear; he slowly shakes his head, unable to believe Blade's words. "No… Not that, anything but that. Are you trying to tell me, that Red cannot control the Burst? Why? Why would Eis force him to use this power if he can't control it?... Unless… Oh god no, he doesn't want to destroy this place, he wants Red to do it!"

Before Blade can confirm his fears, the earth beneath their feet begins to shake, the tremors are becoming quakes. The quakes are penetrating the bowls of the earth, shifting them around, causing a full-forced earthquake.

His Steel typing betrays him, the earthquake sends pain throughout Lucario's body. His legs buckle under his own weight, he just can't stand anymore. Instead of falling to the cold ground though, he stays upright, confusion races through him, why didn't he fall?

His answer comes in the form of those holding onto him; a moment ago they were clinging to him for support, now they're holding him up, stopping him from bearing the brunt of the earthquake. Serena has dropped the blade that was given to her, allowing her to join the others in holding him up.

The confusion dissolves away in an instant, replaced by shock and disbelief, his body may be old but his senses are as sharp as the day he was born, he can easily feel Red's power despite the distance between them. His eyes widen in awe of him, his jaw hangs open as he tries to comprehend his power. "It's unreal… How can one Apprentice possibly wield such amazing power?! I thought Lily was gifted, able to use the Burst at her age, but… She is like a Caterpie, while Red is an ancient Dragonite… And he hasn't even finished the transformation yet! HIS POWER IS ALREADY LEVEL WITH EIS'!"

Blade slowly lowers his pincers either side of him, as he does his head descends with them. Despite being part Steel type, the earthquake isn't harming him in the slightest, it's as if it isn't happening. He can feel incredible power flowing through him, shielding him from the effects of the quakes. His eyes slowly change colour, it's like a drop of food colouring has been dropped into his eyes, turning them blood red.

The disciplined Bug type raises his head up to normal height, displaying his newly coloured eyes to them all. Not giving them the chance they need to see his eyes properly, he bolts around on the spot to face the tower. "MASTER! STOP IT! STOP IT NOW MASTER! IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO END THIS NIGHTMARE BEFORE IT GET'S WORSE! RED! STOP IT NOW PLEASE! WHILE WE HAVE CONTROL PLEASE I BEG YOU!"

Common sense would normally be telling him that his voice isn't powerful enough to reach his Master's ears, but the new found power has addled his mind, there's no room for common sense anymore.

---

Elsewhere in the city, Charizard is also feeling new power flowing through his body. His eye opens wide; the normal blue colour has become blood red, just as Blade's did. His vision falls across the near immortal Dragon striding towards him, her claws glowing green with Dragon energy.

He finds his eye narrowing of its own accord, pure unrestrained aggression flows through his bond with his brother; the rage empowers and renews his body. His tail flame grows to twice its normal size, activating his special ability Blaze, doubling the power of his fire attacks once again.

He spreads his wings as far as he can, the blood flows through them once again. With a single powerful flap, he lifts himself up into the air and then slams his talons down onto the cracked ground. His powerful tail slams down onto the ground, cracking apart the rubble even further. He bares his razor sharp fangs and claws, ready to rip the scales from Garchomp one by one. "I'm through messing around; now I'm goanna rip your god dam head off!" He cranes his neck to look up at the tower. "Boss, do it. Transform and blow him to tiny pieces, leave nothing behind"

With his message to his brother sent, he refocuses his attention on Garchomp. He charges forwards, his Slash attack ready to render flesh from bone. She too charges forwards, her Dragon Claw ready to rip him to pieces.

---

Eis stands at the edge of the tower, his arms raised to shield his face from both the light and the heat flowing from Red. The Ice duo huddle together to try and stave off the heat, their natural body chill is their only hope for surviving the oven like inferno of heat the Knight is producing.

The man of Fire himself stands in the centre of the tower, the final shreds of his mind are fading fast, but his power is swelling faster. His face is filled with a mixture of pain and rage, his eyes are firmly clamped shut in an effort to try and block out the agony surging through his entire body.

The pain from this transformation is nothing compared to the pain from his own blood, the boiling heat from it is leaking through his flesh to heat the world around him, right now he might as well be an open fire pit. The heat is about to get hotter, the next phase of the transformation is about to begin.

With a pulse of red light across his flesh, his blood erupts into flames and liquid lava inside his veins. His eyes rip open and shrink to the size of pinheads. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!" He roared, to try and handle the pain.

The ground around his feet crackles and sparks, within a matter of seconds a raging fire erupts around his exposed limbs. The flames leap from the metal and clings to his armour, erupting his body is a frenzy of fire and pain. His flesh feels the heat of the flames, but does not bleed nor burn; the flames are as much a part of him as his skin. The fire burning across his body ignites the hair on his head, the newly formed flames dance across his skull as they reach out for the skull of darkness above.

His feet are fusing with the metal; even if he wanted to he couldn't move from this spot. He is trapped in the flames of his own uncontrolled furry.

The light shining from the flames bathes the rest of them in its warming glow, the young Chomp embraces it, it reminds him of the warmth from his mother's scally hide.

The human fire pit lowers his head, to glare at the only other human atop this tower. Eis can only try to shield his eye from the light; nothing can shield him from the raw heat of the fire, his cold and half frozen flesh can't stand much more of this. He expected power, he expected fire and he expected heat… But he never predicted this much of any of them!

"In… Incredible. He is far more powerful than I could have imagined… If he is this powerful, how strong is the Beast?" He thought in a hushed tone.

Red's body begins to morph and change once again, as he enters the next phase of his deadly transformation. His fingernails grow longer and curl into two inch long razor sharp talons, strong enough to rip through solid steel. His jaw opens wide, as wide as physically possible without breaking itself in the process. His canine teeth are growing longer and sharper, forming themselves into dragon like fangs; they're now perfect for tearing and ripping through flesh, strong and sharp enough to glide through bone like paper.

An invisible force grasps his head, forcing him to arch his back to face the skull of darkness above him. "RRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!" He roared at the top of his burning lungs, expelling the last remaining shreds of restraint from his body, surrendering what little control he has left. Running unopposed, his uncontrollable rage takes full control over his body, forcing his mind away.

A horrendous fire erupts like a volcano around him, engulfing his entire body is white hot flames. Power, in its most primal form, fire. No smoke rises from these flames of rage and war, it is not natural fire; they are an extension of his body. The flames of furry climb through the air, clawing their way towards their target, the skull of Darkness. The flames light up the city, drawing the attention of every living thing.

For a moment, the fighting ends as all eyes turn to the flames. For some these flames are a sign of their impending defeat, for others they are a much needed sign of hope. The hopes of the people fighting to defend their homes and loved ones rise like a volcano amongst an ocean of ice and darkness, signalling for them to fight back and destroy their enemies.

"RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The flames of war roared like a Druddigon challenging its opponent.

A trembling, terrified Eis struggles to hold on long enough for the transformation to be complete. The heat flowing from his enemy is burning him; it feels like he's standing amidst an erupting volcano, if this doesn't end soon, he'll be forced to flee. "Almost there now, just a little longer… I cannot believe I underestimated his power this much, once the Beast is free I won't be able to stop it… Without my sword I cannot flee fast enough, I will have to find a way to calm it long enough to reclaim my weapon" He thought with fear.

The flames crash into the skull of Darkness, within seconds it is completely swallowed by the rage of war. Eis lifts his gaze to the skull above, the symbol that this city belongs to the Eternal Master of Darkness, both Froslass and Glalie do the same. All three of them watch as the skull burns away into nothing but pure smoke.

The moment the skull loses its battle with the flames, brilliant blood red light bursts through the flames surrounding the Knight of Fire. In a matter of seconds, the flames coil around the male trying desperately to hold on, just a little longer. "RRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!" As the roar of pain rips the air around it apart, the flames that light up the tower top leap from their host and dance across the sky.

The flames swirl around themselves, dragging the rising smoke from the smouldering remains of the city towards them, together the flames and smoke crash down across the city. As the embers and flames dance and fall across this place, an almost Christmassy vibe falls across the city, making the whole thing come together like a giant snow-globe.

The metal covered floor has been burned black; the darkest burns reside at the feet of the enraged male, the steel beneath his feet has been warped by the heat. Both the light and the heat having faded, Eis slowly lowers his arms held across his face and looks hopefully at the man before him.

The young Knight has somehow turned on the spot to show his back to Eis, his knees have buckled completely underneath him; he has hunched over, with his head pressed into his chest. His arms are bound tightly across his burned head, no fire remains on his scalp, all that remains is short black, burned hair.

The male is making no sound whatsoever; even the sound of his breathing cannot be heard. It's as though the pain and heat have forced his lungs to shut down. Eis' fear begins to dissolve away, this is it. Years of planning have led to this moment, the moment where the Beast becomes the man. His cold and frigid lips curl ever so slightly into a faint smile. "Beast? Are you there brother?"

The male who was once thought to be Red doesn't respond, nor does he make even the slightest of movements. He just crouches there, doing who knows what. Eis steels his courage; this could go very wrong, very easily. He must be careful, as soon as he is certain the Beast is in control, he must flee. The Beast is an incredibly dangerous creature, that holds a burning hatred for him, he must be cautious when dealing with it. He slowly steps forward, being careful not to make too much noise or move too fast, any sudden movements could set it off. "Beast?… Are you in there? Brother? Answer me"

Still the male doesn't respond to the call, nor does he give any indication that he has even heard anything. Eis carefully steps forwards; as he does he lifts his head up to see if he is alone. To his slight relief, both Glalie and Froslass are atop the tower with him, like him they are both staring at the hunched over man, wondering just how he will react when he sees Eis standing before him.

Eis stands an arm's length from his target now; slowly a single shaking hand reaches forwards. "Beast… Answer me, I know it's you brother, you don't have to pretend anymore, I know why you acted like that before… You don't have to worry about killing him, you have more than enough power now… You can stand strong and face me, stand at my side and together we will set you free" He whispered delicately. His hand slowly drops down to the male's right shoulder and clasps onto it.

Upon the rather rough touch of his enemy, the male's arms slide off his head, unveiling his short burnt, black hair for them all to see, his arms drop to the ground either side of him, his hands press into the warped metal. Slowly his head lifts from his chest, forcing both of the Ice Pokémon to look upon his face and allowing his gaze to fall upon the crumbling city below.

All across the city, people and Pokémon alike turn their attention to the top of the tower, some continue with what they were doing, but most turn their attention to the tower. The fire raining down on them has caught their attention and drove it towards the peak. The same questions pass through their minds, is this it? Has their hope in the young Warrior been misplaced? Has he failed them?… Does this eternal nightmare finally have an end, or are they doomed to death in the dark?

The male atop the tower slowly turns his head, taking in the sights of the city; most of it has been crushed into rubble by the living bomb, Forretress. This city is all but dead, it has been forever scarred by the fierce battle, but somehow it is still standing.

Eis tightens his grip a little, in an attempt to coax a response from the hunched male. A low menacing growl is his reward, the growl cuts through them all like a knife.

Sensing danger, Eis slowly lifts his hand away and takes a step backwards, his hope rises even higher, the Beast is notorious for its menacing growls, he has done it, the Beast is free.

With nothing to hold him down anymore, the young male lifts himself up into a standing position, his powerful legs easily able to hold him up without issue. The blood and life drains from both Froslass and Glalie's faces, any hope they had for the plan dissolves away in an instant, replaced by pure terror.

The male, that mere hours ago was happily spending time with his lost loved ones, slowly turns around, his menacing growl only grows louder as he does. Eis' vison falls across his face, his eye widens in disbelief as his head slowly shakes on the spot. "It's not possible…" He whispered to himself. "You're not the Beast. You're not the Boy… What are you?"

The male's eyes are a cold shade of milky white, any and all colour and life has been burned out of them, he's clearly blind. His short burnt, black hair reignites into flames. They quickly form into spikes that rise towards the sky above; these spikes grow longer and longer forming several six inch solid spikes of fire. Once the spikes all grow out to their full length, the bright red metallic hair bursts through the flames, dispersing them into nothingness.

His armour strains and creaks as his muscles grow stronger and heavier. A brilliant red glow shines from his transformed body; it shines out of everything that comprises his very being, making him shine like a fallen angle.

(A/N Again, look up DBZ Teen Gohan Super Saiyan 2, he looks somewhat like that, just tweak the colours and remove the chunk of hair that falls over his face)

The transformation is complete. Eis pushed Red into a corner; he kept pushing and pushing him, forcing him to delve into the deepest depths of his power… This is the result; Red has transformed and entered the Burst mode.

He wanted to flood Red's body with power, while weakening his resistance enough to allow the Beast to possess him. While it would have been in control, he could have performed the next step of his plan; he could have forced the Beast to become the man… But he has failed.

Red is gone, his mind has abandoned his body, forced away into a cage. The Beast is nowhere to be found, like Red, it too is locked away in its cage. The creature that stands before Eis now is neither Red nor the Beast; it is the living legend himself.

The true Invincible Monster of the Forest has been awakened and he is blinded by rage.

The Fear Master of Ice has made the biggest mistake of his long life; he has unleashed the furry of a creature with near limitless power, a primal creature with no conscious mind, the Monster with only the instinct to destroy everything around him. He has sentenced not only himself, but every living thing in this entire city to death.

Nothing will stop this Monster, nothing will restrain him, he will not stop until everything in his sights is either dead or destroyed… Eis has provoked the furry of a living legend and he has no earthly way of stopping it.

"What… What I have I done?"

---

MAJOR CLIFF-HANGER!

NEVER PISS RED OFF! THIS SHIT'S WHAT HAPPENS! Red's just like me right now, HE'S LOST HIS TINY MIND!

But he's NOT me; I'm coming in later… Oops, shouldn't have said that. DON'T BLAME ME! IT WAS GUESS WHO! HE'S WORKING WITH THE DEMON WALRUS!

OK guys, as I said before next chapter will be the end of this arc. After the next chapter I'll be taking a break to do planning and get the time line sorted out. I've got some points planned out, like the ending… Don't even ask, only Wolf knows how this will end, and that's 'cause he's my Beta and friend.

The rest of you gotta wait! Be patient!

Last minute points, next chapter the mystery man with the Pikachu will be formally introduced, along with two more characters I'm looking forward to writing in. Trust me; you'll know them when you read them.

Remember…. I'M OUT OF MY FUCKING MIND! You read that, then you'll know who my favourite Character in this story is.

Also Wolf, remind me to dock Charizard and Blaziken's pay, they broke Character and called me names!... They're mean… DON'T YOU JUDGE ME!

Until next time guys, drop a review and let me know what you think of this chapter. Drop a suggestion for a chapter. Get angry with me for leaving it at yet another mother fucking cliff-hanger, do whatever you guys want.

But make sure you hit that Follow/Favourite button with your face!

DRAGON IS OUT OF HIS TINY MIND!... And out!