Chapter 13: A Dark Discovery
Raynar and his companions have sacked one of Cyclone's bases and have damaged it beyond all repair. Tragedy struck however, as Cyclone unleashed Project XM-2, also known as Mewtwo, who seemingly annihilated Darkrai in a heated, albeit brief battle to the death. Now Raynar, Eva, Derek, and Andre are on the run from Mewtwo, who will not stop hunting them down until either they or him are dead. As bad as the situation may be, it is about to get even worse; not too far away from their present location, the Leader of Cyclone has dispatched his enforcer, a warrior so skilled and so powerful that he could be more than a match for Raynar, at least until Andre comes to an astonishing realization: This warrior has something to do with Aranam K'Tal's disappearance 17 years ago...
"C'mon! We can't let him catch us!" Raynar shouted as he ran along a seaside cliff, Eva, Derek and Andre right behind him. Eva stumbled slightly and Derek helped her up while Andre watched behind them. Raynar motioned for the others to follow as he climbed down the cliff face and found an outcropping. Eva and Derek followed suit, but Andre stood at the top, keeping guard until he felt it was safe to climb down to the others
Mewtwo had been following the saboteurs for quite some time now. "They're good…very good…" he thought as he scanned ahead of him with his telepathy. Finally he picked them up and flew after them when suddenly, he lost them. He arrived at the edge of a cliff and looked over the side. It was a long way down to the sea, too far to survive jumping in, never mind the rocks at the bottom. Convinced his prey was finished, Mewtwo turned around and flew back in the direction of the ruined base, confident that there would be no more interference in his masters' plans.
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Raynar could no longer sense Mewtwo's aura and breathed a sigh of relief. "We lost him" Raynar said in hushed tone. Eva and Derek relaxed as well, but Andre was still on alert. Raynar didn't notice this however, and began climbing back up the cliff from their hiding spot. Eva did notice Andre's apprehension; "What is it, do you sense something?" she asked. "It's nothing…" Andre replied, "It's just that…something isn't right, but I'm not sure what…" Eva shrugged and started climbing back up after Raynar and Derek, Andre just behind her. Upon reaching the top, Raynar scanned the surrounding area and ensured that they were all safe. "Alright, we need to plan our next route…" he said, "any suggestions?" Derek shrugged and leaned against a tree, not quite sure what to say when he felt the ground beneath him shift. Suddenly it gave way and Derek fell down a hole, screaming and cursing as he bumped against the walls. Raynar, Eva and Andre looked down into the hole in stunned surprise; "Derek! Can you hear me?" Raynar shouted down. No response. "Dammit!" he thought; "Hang on Derek, I'm coming down there!" Raynar shouted just before jumping into the hole. "Raynar, don't!" Eva shouted, too late to make a difference; "Damn!" she thought as she jumped in after him. Andre looked down the hole and shook his head; "No way!" he shouted "I'm staying right here!" Andre thought for a few seconds more and shouted, "Oh, to Hell with this!" Andre turned around and leapt into the hole, not sure what to expect.
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Derek woke up and rubbed his head. "Ow, why did I have to land on my head?" he thought when suddenly he felt as if he had entered a whole different world; he was in a cave lit by the eerie blue glow of many luminescent crystals. "Will you look at that!" he thought in amazement. He stood up and looked around a little bit before walking over to one of the crystals. He placed his palm against it and felt a radiant energy emitting from the crystal; that energy immediately told him what it was and Derek's heart began to race from excitement. "This…t-this…" he stammered, "this is adamantite!" Derek looked all around him at the glowing adamantite crystals. "I'm set for life!" he thought ecstatically when suddenly he took note that some of the crystal's glow had changed from blue to red. Then Derek made out the silhouette of a Lucario standing in front of him. Thinking it was Raynar, Derek moved closer but immediately froze upon getting close enough to see his features. It looked a lot like Raynar in almost every aspect, but somehow it wasn't him; he wore black armor around his legs, forearms and torso and wore a swirling, tattered cloak. Then the figure drew some sort of weapon; It was a dual tri-spear, a double-ended spear with three points on each end, the blades were of adamantite and glowed a bright scarlet. "Oh shit!" Derek thought as the figure advanced towards him before everything suddenly went blank.
Andre woke up and slowly forced himself to his feet; "Not again…" he thought in annoyance, "hadn't I fallen down enough holes for one lifetime?" When his eyes adjusted to the low light, Andre was struck cold in awe at what was around him. "Adamantite!" he thought, "I've never seen this much of it in one place…this is quite a discovery!" He looked around him and realized that this cavern was massive, and that he was in one of several chambers. "Derek can't be far from here, I'd best start looking for him…" he thought as he exited into one of the tunnels he thought led to a lower chamber. The tunnel was also covered in adamantite crystals that glowed a light violet as he passed close to them. "Oh yes, I remember now…" he thought as he continued down the tunnel, "adamantite glows when a living creature draws near, and the color depends on their aura…a curious substance…" Andre exited into a chamber that was indeed lower than the others and looked around when he noticed a very familiar figure. "Derek!" he shouted as he ran to towards him. Derek was barely conscious and was tied to a large adamantite crystal. Andre was by Derek's side when Derek said weakly, "G-get out of here…" Andre didn't understand what he meant but knew that Derek had obviously been attacked, but then it struck him that the attacker may still be near. "Behind you…" Derek muttered before passing out, and which Andre spun around only to get a glimpse of the attacker before he was struck in the head and knocked out.
Raynar woke up in a lot of pain. "Wait a minute, if I landed on my back, why does my chest hurt?" he thought when he realized Eva had fallen on top of him. "You okay Eva?" Raynar asked as Eva slowly got up off of him. "Yeah…" she replied, "sorry I landed on top of you." Raynar rose to his feet and dusted himself off; "Apology accepted" he replied as he looked around him, "Eva! Look!" Eva turned her attention to her surroundings and was at a loss for words. "Strange gems, glowing in the dark…" Eva thought, "Hmm…" Raynar placed his palm on a crystal and felt its energy resonate with his. "Adamantite!" he exclaimed, "This entire cavern is filled with it!" Eva stared at the crystals in amazement. "This is all adamantite!?" she exclaimed, "I've never seen a deposit so large!" Raynar was amazed as well but knew that they had a more important job. "Eva, we have to find Derek, and Andre if he followed us" Raynar said, beckoning for Eva to follow. "Right" Eva replied as she walked over to Raynar, who was staring at three paths. "Which one do we take?" Eva asked; Raynar closed his eyes and let his aura flow through him. He sensed Derek and Andre's auras deeper in, along with a trace of something more. "This way" Raynar said, walking into the center tunnel, Eva following behind him.
Raynar and Eva followed the tunnel into an even larger chamber with a large adamantite crystal in the center, and tied to it were Derek and Andre. "Derek! Andre!" Raynar shouted as he ran to their sides. He tried to undo the ropes, but they didn't even move; they were stronger than any rope Raynar had seen before as he couldn't even get close to removing them. "What happened?" Raynar asked Derek. "It's…a trap Raynar…get out of here…" he said weakly. Raynar was about to protest when he felt another aura, a very strong aura, almost overflowing with energy. Eva cried out suddenly and Raynar turned around to find her bound by the same ropes that held Derek and Andre! "Eva!" Raynar shouted as he ran to Eva's side.
The aura was stronger now, its source closer, the glow of the crystals in the cavern turning from blue to red. Raynar looked up from Eva and saw the aura's source: another Lucario, wearing some type of armor and a cloak. The fur on the back of his neck stood on end at the sight of the apparition, and he felt an almost overwhelming fear sweep through him. The Lucario drew a dual tri-spear, its adamantite blades glowing brightly in the darkness of the cavern. The Lucario leapt in the air and attacked Raynar with his spear. Raynar quickly stepped back and to the side, barely evading the lethal arc the spear's blade. His adversary slashed at him with the other blade, which Raynar blocked this time. "Who are you!?" Raynar shouted at his opponent as he wrestled with the spear, trying to disarm the latter. "A shadow, nothing more, nothing less…" the other Lucario replied in a voice so cold and calm it sent chills up Raynar's spine. Raynar continued to try to wrestle the spear from the other's hands as he replied, "And does this shadow have a name?" The other Lucario remained silent. He kicked Raynar back and got the spear back into his hands before charging towards his fallen opponent. Just as he was about to be impaled on the spear, Raynar rolled out of the way and swept with his leg, knocking his adversary off his feet. The other Lucario quickly sprang to his feet, Raynar doing the same as again the former slashed at Raynar. Raynar again grabbed at the shaft of the spear and was again locked with his opponent, desperately trying to disarm the opponent. Both pushed hard and suddenly the shaft of the spear snapped in half, releasing a pulse of energy that flung both of them back into the opposite walls.
Andre had been watching the contest in horror, but upon seeing the spear snap he remembered something from his past. "Of course! Aranam's spear could regenerate itself as well! That means Raynar can use it himself!" Andre thought when suddenly a feeling of dread overcame him, "then that means that…oh no…" Andre looked at Raynar and let out a sigh of relief upon seeing that the latter was conscious. "Raynar!" Andre shouted, "Channel your aura into the spear!" Raynar heard Andre, looked at the broken spear and realized that when his opponent wasn't touching it, the blade no longer glowed, and that told him that now he might be able to turn his opponent's weapon against him! He got up and grabbed the half of the spear; he let himself grow calm and focused his aura into a single point in his palm before slowly releasing it into the weapon in his hand. Suddenly he opened his eyes and looked at the spear, which had completely regenerated its other half, its blades glowing a bright blue from his aura. His opponent was also up and had regenerated their own weapon as well when for the first time in the battle; his adversary was caught off guard. "Impressive…very impressive…" he said in the same, cold voice, "but is it enough?" Raynar and his opponent circled each other and held back aggressive moves until they could determine each other's skill for certain. After a few tense moments, they attacked at the same time, the spears colliding with a loud crash. The two of them constantly struck and parried for several minutes when Raynar saw an opening and exploited it. He slashed with the spear, striking his opponent's flank. "Argh!" the Lucario cried out as he fell, clutching his side. "Now to finish you!" Raynar shouted as he charged an aura sphere on the tip of the spear. He fired the aura sphere with incredible accuracy, knocking his adversary away. His adversary slowly rose to his feet and said, "You truly are a threat to our plans…remember my name: Axxon." The Lucario disappeared, leaving Raynar and his companions alone.
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"Damn am I glad you weren't ambushed, or we'd all be dead by now!" Derek exclaimed as he stretched after being untied. Raynar nodded and untied Eva. "You alright?" he asked. "I'll live…" Eva replied as she got up and got to work untying Andre. "That warrior, Axxon, he must have something to do with Aranam's disappearance…that was his weapon he had…" Andre said, struggling to breath. "What!?" Raynar exclaimed, "How?" Andre gestured to Raynar's spear; "Your father carried the same type of weapon…" he replied as he got to his feet. "You can explain yourself more on the way out" Raynar said as he pointed down another tunnel, "that way." With that said and done, Raynar and his companions continued through the cavern to the supposed exit, unsure of what lay ahead, but confident that they could take anything thrown in their way.