Welcome to my haunted manor. Bwahahaha- Oh, wait. Um, never mind. Er, let's get back to the battle.

Peach awoke to chaos.

All throughout the week, all she could remember is darkness and horror, keeping a glimmer of hope in her heart that Ronald would come to save both her and Omega.

Now, she woke up and found herself tied up next to Omega in a strange room, watching Ronald battle a Scizor. A situation that confused her to great lengths. She looked at Omega, whose face was entirely void of emotion as he stared at battle unfolding before him. She nudged at the Lucario with her foot, and his blank look faded as he turned to Peach.

"You're awake!" he bluntly stated.

"Yeah, I just woke up." She shifted slightly to lessen the irritation the chains were having on her wrists. "Mind explain what happened while I was out?"

With great unease, he began to recall the events that had occurred in the last couple of minutes, from Alpha's partnership with Team Cosmos, to Ronald busting down the door, only to fall into Alpha's well-placed trap. When Omega revealed the identity of the Scizor now battling Ronald, Peach uttered a horrified gasp.

"A-Are you saying that that...thing is Ronald's human friend?!" Peach sputtered in anger. "How is that possible?!"

Omega sighed. "My best guess is that he used a more advanced version of the serum he used on me. How many more he performed experimentation on is beyond my guess, though."

Peach gritted her teeth. "And now he's making them fight each other. That's just sick."

Omega nodded and turned back to the battle. "I just hope Ronald has the strength to conquer this challenge.

Peach stared at the battle and watched as hoof met claw met horn. She saw Ronald tumble away after being whacked in his side with a Bullet Punch. Damon reared up and, as Ronald rolled swiftly to the side, lodged his claw into the ground where Ronald once was.

While Damon was immobilized trying to get his claw, Ronald had some time to stop and rest. Panting heavily, he began to try to observe his situation. 'This isn't working,' he thought to himself, 'He's strong and sturdy. At the rate I'm going, he's going to wear me out. If that happens, I'm doomed. What do I do?"

A faint recollection from his training dawned on him, something that allowed him to clear his head and think his actions through.

Panting, Ronald leaned next to the mountain, barely being able to keep himself on the tiny foothold he was on. He looked up the mountain, seeing all the distance he still had to make. He made a sound that a little in between a whimper and a wheeze.

"What's the matter, Ronald?" Virizion inquired. She was standing a good distance above him, having climbed this mountain with effervescent grace. "Are you about to give up?"

Ronald growled and shook his head. "No. It's just that this climb would've been done a lot faster if I still had fingers to grab with."

Virizion smiled lightly, sympathizing with his frustrations. "Ah, but, you don't. And that's the point of this little exercise. As I've said, your goal is to get to the top of this mountain. It's to get you used to your new body and to help you think like a Pokemon, instead of only looking like one."

Ronald sighed. "Yeah, I understand. Still, it would be nice..." Ronald gathered himself together, and made another leap to another foothold. Steadying himself, he leaped to the next foothold, but a portion broke off and his feet started to slip. "Aah! Virizion, help!"

Instead of assisting him, Virizion just stood there, watching him. She scoffed. "Men. Always boasting about their power, but as soon as things begin to go wrong, they always cry and whimper for help." She leaped down to a lower foothold. "Ronald, don't give in just because things look bleak. If brute force can't work, use your head and think your way out."

Ronald, who was now hanging off the ledge with two of his legs, tried to lift himself up a little bit, but he faltered and one of his legs slipped off, leaving him hanging by one leg. Suddenly, a trick he had used in a previous battle came back to him. Virizion gasped as Ronald let go of the ledge, only to be propelled up by water blasting out of his hooves. Like he was riding a jet pack, he soared up and eventually landed on the top of the mountain. He turned back and called down. "Hey, you coming, or what?"

Virizion, brushing off the initial shock, started to laugh. She quickly bounded up the side of the mountain and met him at the top. "A bit unorthodox, but it got you all the way to the top. Well done!" As Ronald started to laugh, Virizion noticed a faint glow around Ronald's horn, which faded as soon as it appeared. 'Could it be...' she thought to herself, 'I should tell Cobalion when we get back. But, for now, I should let him enjoy his victory.'

And then she began to laugh as well.

Just as Damon managed to dislodge his claw from the floor, he had to duck as Ronald came in swinging with his legs from above, receiving a glancing blow on his head from the attack. Before Damon could retaliate, Ronald blasted him with a Hydro Pump and bounded away. 'If he's relying on strength to win, then I'll have to use my agility to outmaneuver him.'

Damon audibly was starting to become frustrated with the Keldeo, for he started attacking him wildly with reckless regard. But, Ronald smoothly dodged the attacks, and smashed him attacks of his own. Alpha was visibly getting agitated in his glass box as well, much to Ronald's pleasure.

Finally, after bombarding Damon with many attacks, he collapsed to one knee. "This is it!" Ronald announced. And, using his water jets, he fired himself horn-first at Damon to deal the finishing blow. Suddenly, as he reached him, Damon brought his claw up and struck him with a Bullet Punch head-on.

Ronald was knocked away, sprawling on the ground. After a few tense minutes, he rose to his feet, thrashing his head from side to side, understandably dazed.

When Ronald's vision cleared, he looked up at Damon, and saw that he was now holding something white. Ronald's eyes grew to the size of saucers when he realized what the object Damon was holding actually was. "He- He broke my horn off."

What?! He did?! How could he?! There's no way he actually broke off his horn, is there? Holy mackerel, he did! Ronald doesn't have a horn. It's not supposed to happen like that, is it? You have just got to stay and see what happens next time! This isn't good...