Last time, on Explorers of Prehistory...

Iron and Blade met with two members of the Eeveelution Resistance, named Tracen and Celeste, before remembering that Shadow and Laura were lost on Moor and rushing to help them, unaware that Celeste and Tracen are following them... Meanwhile, Shadow and Laura were attacked by the mysterious Black Scyther, a ruthless bounty hunter who managed to badly wound Shadow before Iron and Blade came to his rescue! However, a duo of shady Pokemon abducted Laura while they battled, and are carrying her to heaven knows where!

What will happen next? Find out now!


The sound of crumbling stone filled the air as the Black Scyther slammed into a destitute and abandoned building - hard. He growled as he leaped back to his feet, shaking dust off of his cloak, and trying not to let the injuries he had sustained get to him. Iron shot forward again, gnashing his shark-like teeth in rage. "Crunch!" the Garchomp shouted, leaping at the Scyther with his mouth wide open.

The Black Scyther's wings became emerald and white blurs as he shot to the side. "Air Slash!" he hissed, firing off a rotating blade of wind at Iron.

Iron was a monster when it came to brute force, but he wasn't super agile. The Dragon-Type snarled as the attack struck him, leaving a long red mark on his arm, and drawing some blood as well.

"Iron!" Blade called, concerned for his friend's safety.

"I've got this punk!" snarled Iron, facing down his foe. "Get Shadow to safety!"

Blade hesitated, but nodded, rushing over to help Shadow.

Iron growled as the Scyther leaped into the air, and shot down towards him, sharpened blades reaching right for him, gleaming with both his and Shadow's blood.

"Dragon Pulse!" roared Garchomp, unleashing a blue burst of flames towards the Bug-Type.

The Black Scyther shot to the side again, so quickly it almost looked like he had teleported. Shooting higher into the air, he descended, spinning in a furious Swords Dance as he approached Iron, building his strength up, just as he did with Shadow.

"Dragon Pulse!" Iron snarled, firing off another burst of cerulean fire at his foe. But the Black Scyther merely smirked as he rolled from side to side, dodging every blast that Iron fired off at him.

"X-Scissor!" he snarled, swinging his sharpened arms and striking the Garchomp fiercely across the chest.

"Raaugh!" cried Iron, hitting the ground. He groaned as he clenched his now bleeding chest.

The Scyther landed in front of his, glaring down at the wounded Garchomp. "Time to finish this..." He raised his blade into the air, and brought it down.

CLANG!

Another sword intercepted it, almost identical to his own.

Iron was partially relieved, but partially annoyed. "I thought I told you to take care of Shadow!" he shouted.

"I'll be fine." Shadow limped over to the Garchomp. "I've been through worse."

"Oh... Yeah," said Iron, struggling to his feet and trying to remain upright. "Me too! Ugh..." he groaned, as blood crept down his chest. "That's gonna last a while..."

Blade glared into the second Scyther's eyes coldly, as he parried the Black Scyther's own attack. "Surrender. Now."

The Black Scyther's eyes widened. "Y-you?!" he said, in his raspy voice.

"Slash!" Blade snapped, slicing into the other Bug-Type while he was distracted. The strike tore into the Scyther's cloak and exoskeleton, sending him to the ground.

Blade shoved his sword against the Black Scyther's throat. "Alright," he growled. "I want some answer... Who...?" A sudden look of realization came over him. He blinked as he stared at the other Scyther, looking eyes with him. A name appeared in his mind.

"Sabre?"

"Blade," the other Scyther confirmed.

Blade slowly rose from where he had been, retracting his weapon from the other Scyther's neck. "It's... been a while..." he said. He sounded ashamed.

"Yeah," Sabre said in his raspy voice. "It has."

Then, he brought his sword back and smacked Blade across the face with the flat side, surprising both Iron and Shadow.

Blade wasn't surprised, and he wasn't angry. "I deserved that," he admitted.

"You did," Sabre said, coldly. "So, all these years of being way from your home... and here you are. Hiding out on some blot of an island, working for someone like Madame Lepyuf. How the mighty have fallen."

"Hey!" Iron said, his rage allowing him to forget the wound on his chest. "Who do you think you are, talkin' to Blade like that!?"

"Iron," Blade said. "It's fine. I know him. This is Sabre. He's a friend of mine."

"Not anymore," Sabre said. "You lost the right to call me friend when you abandoned your home and people."

Blade sighed. "I made a mistake," he said, honestly. "I'm sorry."

Sabre clearly wasn't very forgiving, and Blade's humility about the subject simply made him madder. "A 'mistake'," he snarled. "You left your family, your friends, your people - and all to pursue some mythical master of combat! And where did that take you, hmm? You're on Moor, working for a piece of trash Lopunny, and you can;t even recognize your old friend!"

"It's not like you didn't recognize me!" Blade said, becoming angry. Sabre always did know how to push his buttons. "How could I recognize you, when you're wearing that cloak and speaking like that?"

Sabre removed his cloak, revealing a hideous scar going across his throat. "I got it from an assassin," he snarled. "A Beedrill. Stabbed me right in the throat before I could take him out. The doctor said that some of the damage will be permanent - namely, it destroyed my voice."

Sabre sounded angry; Blade didn't blame him. Back in the lands of the Scyther, Sabre had had a very beautiful voice in his youth. He could have pursued a career in singing if he desired, and he was skilled in the arts of poetry, which was held in high-esteem by the Scyther Clan. Now, his voice was a rasping, creaking sound, devoid of warmth and kindness.

"I'm sorry," said Blade for the second time. To Sabre, it felt like the thousandth.

"You gonna explain who the heck this guy is?!" demanded Iron to Blade. He hated feeling out of the loop.

"Allow me," Sabre said. "Blade and I knew one another, growing up. We both were the heirs of wealthy samurai lords of the Scyther Clan. By the blood of our ancestors, our lands were kept safe from invaders."

"We were in the same sword fighting class as young men," said Blade. "We learned everything about the way of a warrior together - poetry, prayer, and battle."

"And then," said Sabre, angry that he had been interrupted, "Blade decided to leave - and forsake everything he ever knew - to pursue a fairy tale."

Iron and Shadow looked at Blade, their faces filled with confusion and demanding an explanation.

Blade sighed. "When I was a young man - I heard a story from a traveller. The story of a Pokemon whose skill in combat surpassed all. I... I believed in that story. I left my family, to search for the ultimate of masters..."

Sabre glared at Blade. "And..." he rasped, "did you... find him?"

"...No. I did not."

"Of course you didn't!" hissed Sabre. "It was a stupid story, told by some stupid traveller - and you, you are twice as stupid for even believing it!"

"Hey!" This time, Iron was the one who shouted. "Is callin' Blade stupid gonna solve anything?!"

"No," Sabre admitted. "It won't." He glared hard at his former friend. "But it is the truth. You are stupid. You left our nation - just in time for it to be destroyed."

Blade sighed. "The Scyther Nation was not destroyed," he said.

"For hundreds of years..." growled Sabre. "For hundreds of years we were an independent people. We lived alongside the Dragonite Empire, but we never bowed our heads to them. Even as the other tribes... The Parasect Tribe, the Ariados Tribe, the Beedrill Tribe, the Pinsir Tribe... Even as they all gave their loyalty to the Dragonite... we remained solitary but respected as equals. What happened, Blade? Why is the Scyther Nation now yet another simple providence in the Dragonite Empire, one nation among many others?"

"...The Houndoom Invasion..." Blade admitted.

Iron and Shadow nodded. They weren't Scyther, but even they knew about the days when the Houndoom Tribe raided the Scyther Tribes' lands, and destroyed many lives and villages. The Dragonite Empire had to step in to stop it. The Scyther Nation survived, but their new leader, an inexperienced shogun, gave his tribe's service to the Dragonite Empire. Eventually, the Houndoom would do the same thing. As such, most Scyther worked as bounty hunters, explorers, or soldiers for hire - but some still remembered the days when they were honorable and respectable samurai. Even Sabre himself fell to such a fate, becoming a bounty hunter to avenge his slain family.

"You should have been there..." snarled Sabre. "I lost everything, and everyone... We were short on leaders, on warriors." He glared fiercely at Blade. "You should have been there..." he growled.

"Will blaming me really make things any better?" asked Blade.

"No," admitted Sabre. "But this will!" He raised his blades and swung them at Blade, who caught and parried them.

"Are you mad?!" Blade said, getting angry. "I admitted to my mistake - whether you accept the apology or not! Will killing me make things any better?!"

"Get out of my way!" snarled Sabre. "I'm taking Lepyuf in!"

"Who?" Shadow, Iron, and Blade said in unison.

"Lepyuf," growled Sabre. "You know who she is. I'm taking her in. I'm willing to kill you if I need to." He raised his swords again, the pain that filled his body forgotten.

"We don't know who the heck you're talkin' about!" Iron snapped.

"That Lopunny!" Sabre shouted. "The one with the Umbreon Body guard! I'm taking her in!"

Blade stood firm. "That is not this... Lepyuf person you speak of," he said, calmly. "Her name is Laura."

"And what kind of stupid name is Lepyuf?" demanded Iron.

"It's Lopunny," said Shadow. "A rather common name there, actually."

Blade and Iron gave Shadow a look that demanded an explanation.

Shadow coughed. "Ahem... I've had dealings with Lopunny in the past. I know a bit about their culture."

"Ah." Blade turned back to Sabre. "She is not the Lopunny you are looking for," he said in a low voice.

"And why should I believe a traitor like you?" demanded Sabre.

"Have I ever lied to you?" Blade asked, calmly.

Sabre scowled. "No. You never did. You were open about abandoning your treason..." He closed his eyes, and lowered his blades by an inch or two. "But I cannot trust you..." He glared at Shadow. "Nor you."

"What has he done to earn your hatred?" demanded Blade. "Your anger is for me, not him."

"You really don't know a thing, do you?" Sabre returned his glare to his former friend. "The Umbreon Army is growing closer to the lands of the Scyther Tribe every day."

"So?" said Blade. "If they attack, then the Dragonite Empire-"

"Will sit on their tails, and do nothing!" snapped Sabre. "Do you really think that the Dragonite Empire will raise a finger to stop a war?"

"They fought against Kramzak and his army during the Desert Wars," argued Blade.

"That was Goldenscale!" Sabre shot back. "The old emperor - the stronger emperor. Now, we have his worthless son in charge."

Iron gnashed his teeth. "Emperor Comet-!"

"Is weak," finished Sabre with a harsh voice.

"He merely desires peace," said Blade.

"Yeah!" Iron shouted. "He does!"

"However, you are right on count, Sabre," Blade said.

Iron gave his friend a surprised look. "Wha-?! He is?!"

"The Emperor wants peace - however, sometimes peace can only be achieved by fighting," Blade said.

Iron folded his arms and grumbled. His father worked for the Emperor, and the Emperor's own father, the previous Emperor during the Desert Wars, and as such was very loyal to the Dragonite Empire.

"The Umbreon Army isn't satisfied with destroying the Espeon," snarled Sabre, glaring at Shadow. "They want to take over the rest of the forest lands. The Ariados Tribe, the Parasect Tribe, everything. The Scyther Tribe must never become a territory to those worthless mutts!"

Shadow didn't react to the Scyther's harsh words.

"Shadow is not a member of the Umbreon Tribe," said Blade, parrying his former friend's words like he would a sword strike.

Sabre growled. "You..." he snarled. "You... Had better not be lying to me. Fine. Let's suppose that you're telling the truth. So tell me, Umbreon..." He spat out Shadow's species like a curse. "Why did you try to ambush me, if you are not that Lopunny's bodyguard?"

"A strange Scyther I had never seen before was following us." Shadow's voice was calm, but he was struggling to conceal his own dislike of the Scyther. "What would you have done?"

"Hmph!" Sabre grunted. "Touche."

"Shadow," Blade said, "go and get Laura. We're leaving this island as soon as we can."

Shadow nodded, and walked off to the alley.

Sabre scowled. "So, she's not Lepyuf," he murmured to himself. He sounded like he was trying to convince himself.

"No, she's not," Blade confirmed.

"Blade! Iron!"

Shadow rushed back over, an unsual amount of fear written on his usually expressionless face. "Laura's gone."

"What?!" Iron said, surprised.

"She's not there anymore. She's gone."

Iron and Blade exchanged panicked looks and ran over to the alleyway. Laura was nowhere to be seen.

"You're sure this is where you left her?" asked Blade, anxiously.

"I'm sure."

"Ah, dang it all!" snapped Iron, smashing an empty crate. "Laura!" he shouted. "Laura, where are you?!"

"Laura!" Blade shouted.

"Laura!"

"Laura Lopunny!"

"How... How many Lauras do you think there are on this island, Blade? Laura!"

"Hmph."

Blade turned around. Sabre was looking down at the ground. There were a few footprints on the dirty ground, staining it an even darker color.

"Iron, Shadow, footprints!" said Blade, rushing over to see them.

Sabre had half a mind to use his foot and quickly rub them out, but decided against it. Blade quickly reached the footprints an examined them. "Three toes... About that size..."

"A Kadabra!" Iron swiftly deduced.

"Correct," said Blade. "And these..."

"Tangela," Sabre murmured.

"...Yes, of course," Blade said, surprised that Sabre thought it necessary to aid them. "And these ones are unmistakable. Lopunny tracks."

"The Tangela likely bound your friend and kept her quiet while the Kadabra used Hypnosis to put her to sleep," Blade said. "I've seen about a hundred variations of that tactic. Typical idiot criminals."

"Where did they take her?" Shadow asked.

Sabre looked over the footprints. "Follow them and you might find out," he said, walking in the direction the footprints left the alleyway.

"Where do ya think you're goin'?!" demanded Iron. "Who said you could come?!"

"I did," Sabre said. "She was likely taken by Lepyuf's men."

"Who is this Lepyuf?" asked Blade, following his former friend closely.

"She's a Lopunny, and a black market dealer," said Sabre. "A big time one. She's had dealings with whatever scum you could name, Umbreon, Reaper Wings - I hear she's even working with the Kramzak Empire."

Iron stiffened. "That so?" he asked.

"She deals in whatever a scumbag could want," Sabre said with a nod. "Including slaves. Lopunny are supposed to sell high, to the right buyer."

"Thanks," grumbled Iron. "I really needed to know that."

"So, do you know where she is?" asked Blade.

"The financial district." This time, it was Shadow who spoke. "That's where they've taken her."

"What makes you so sure?!" demanded Iron.

"Laura and I met a Grimer while we were looking for a ship," Shadow said. "He told us to avoid the financial district, and that Pokemon like Laura are in danger there."

"Oh," Iron said. "A random beggar gives you advice! That's perfect to follow up on!"

"It is," Sabre said.

"What?!"

Sabre gave the Garchomp a snide look. "Lepyuf is a black market dealer - she needs a warehouse. The financial district is packed with them." He walked off. "I'm going there."

"Not alone you're not," Blade said, following. Shadow and Iron followed as well.

"Thanks, but no thanks," Sabre growled. "I already know how unreliable you are."

"We're coming," Shadow said, his voice low and harsh enough to make Sabre pause in his tracks. "Laura is... our friend. We are responsible for her. We will not allow you to rush into a situation that could possibly lead to your death and her being sold. We are more than willing to knock you out if we must, and go the rest of the way ourselves."

"Jeez," Iron murmured. "When did he get so chatty?"

"Peh," Sabre said, walking off again. "Come if you must. But I'd better not have to save any of you when you get in over your head."

"Thank you," Blade said.

"Stuff it! I'm not doing it for you," Sabre growled. "This is the only thing that will make things better... The only action that the Dragonite Empire is too frightened to do."

"Are you here to take in a criminal, or complain about politics?!" groaned Iron.

"I can do both."

The unlikely allies set off back to the financial district - unaware that an Umbreon and a Glaceon had heard every word of their conversation, and were intrigued by the Black Scyther's words. Silently, they followed them.


Breaker groaned. Again.

The Tyranitar was hunched over his desk, a cup of untouched oran berry juice in his claws. He sat there, an emotional wreck, barely able to speak after what happened to Chris, his mind in denial over the incident.

So he sat there, alone. Nicholas and Trinity were putting the children to sleep, and the others... well, Breaker didn't know, and he didn't really feel like getting up to find out. Blade, Iron and Shadow were skilled in battle. They'd be fine.

He slowly raised the cup, silently, up to his jaws. He moved it slowly to his mouth, paused, and then set it back down. Again.

He heard the door creak open. Normally, he would whirl around, expecting an assassin or a rival bounty hunter - it had happened before. But he couldn't even be bothered to look up.

"B-Breaker?"

Breaker slowly turned to see Faye standing by the door. The Kirlia looked almost apologetic as she stared at him with her ruby eyes from the doorway. "I had a bad dream," she whimpered

"Tell Nicholas," Breaker said.

"He's asleep," Faye said. "So is Trinity and Ghost. I'm scared..."

Breaker sighed. "C'mere," he said, placing his cup on the desk.

The Kirlia hopped up onto his lap without a second thought, and curled up against his chest. Breaker was both surprised and worried when she began to sniffle. Her eyes were redder than usual: she had been crying all evening.

"Are... you okay?" he asked, finally.

"No," Faye answered. "I'm not." She began to cry again, sobbing all over Breaker's scales.

Breaker hesitated. What should he do? He wasn't very good with kids. especially crying ones. "Faye..." he murmured.

"It's not fair..." Faye sobbed. "Chris is gone... It's not fair..."

Breaker put a claw on top of her head. "I... I know," he said. "Is that what your nightmare was about?"

"No," Faye sobbed. "No!" She burst into a fresh fit of tears.

Breaker groaned as the Kirlia buried her face into his chest again, sobbing loudly. "What happened?" he asked.

"You died too," Faye said. "And Blade, and Nicholas, and Trinity, and Iron and Ghost, and Shadow, and Laura!"

Breaker sighed. The child wasn't used to the concept of death. She was scared that they all might die now. Breaker didn't fear death anymore. He stopped being afraid when he was about sixteen (he did some insane stuff when he was that age), but Faye likely never had to deal with this kind of thing before. She had lived on Jade Island before it sank, but it was sparsely populated, and she likely only knew Ghost. This was something new, and horrifying to her. It was new to Breaker too. He had never seen an ally die before. Or probably die. They didn't really know if Chris was dead, after all. But even a Blastoise can't hold his breath forever.

"Why did he have to die?!" demanded Faye, more to whatever being out their, divine or not, who could answer that question than to Breaker. "Are... Are you going to die, too?" she cried, looking up at him with her eyes filled with tears. "Please don't die..." she murmured quietly, grabbing him by the wrists.

"Hey," Breaker said, after yet more hesitation. "It's... it's gonna be okay..."

"But... But Chris..."

"Chris... He wouldn't want you to be acting like this," Breaker said, calmly. Faye sniffled and looked up at him again. Continuing, Breaker said, "Chris died - ahem, or went missing - to save the life of someone else, kid. He died doing what he did best - helping... Pokemon." He went silent for a moment, then said, "He loved you and Ghost - and everyone. Like we were his family." Inwardly, he thought that he gave a horrible speech that wouldn't help the girl feel better at all, but it seemed to work. Faye's eyes dried slightly, and her shivering and sobbing stopped.

"Do you feel better?" Breaker asked.

"Yes. And you do, too," Faye answered, quietly.

Breaker raised an eyebrow, momentarily wondering why and how she knew that. Then it came to him: she was a Kirlia, and unlike other Psychic Types, who relied on their mind power, her kind relied on their empathic abilities. Her grief was not only her own - every speck of sadness, every tear that was shed, every horrible feeling she felt in full. She was suffering not only her own sadness, but everyone elses' as well. He sighed. Better tell her what's what.

"Chris wouldn't have wanted to see you crying like this..." Breaker muttered. "He... He wouldn't."

Faye sniffled. "M'kay."

There was a knock on the door. "Faye? Breaker? Are you in there?"

"We're here, man," Breaker said, standing up and placing Faye on the ground. "Come on in."

Nicholas opened the door and entered, looking very relieved. "Thank goodness," he told Faye. "I thought you might be in danger. You should have woken me up."

"Sorry..." Faye murmured.

Breaker didn't pay any attention to them. He was too busy scolding himself. Here he was, spouting little speeches for Faye about learning to accept the fact that Chris was gone and to move on with her life, when he himself had been moping about for days now.

"I'm an idiot," he said to himself.

"Hmm?" Nicholas asked. "What did you say?"

"Nothin', nothin'," Breaker said. "Blade and the others back yet?"

Nicholas shook his head. "No they aren't. They've been gone for a long time... I should go..."

"No, I'll go look for 'em," Breaker said. "Lock everything up, okay? And make sure this one" he pointed to Faye and gave her a fond pat on the head "gets back to sleep. Little kids shouldn't stay awake past their bedtime."

"Oh... Uh, yes!" Nicholas said, surprised that Breaker seemed much less morose than before. "I will, thank you. Please hurry back. The sooner we put an ocean between us and this place the better. Say goodnight, Faye."

Faye hugged Breaker's leg. "Goodnight. Thank you..." she said, quietly, with a small but real smile across her white face.

Breaker nodded as he saw to it that Nicholas and Faye made it back to their cabin. After making sure that the hull was firmly locked up, he pulled up the gangplank and leaped down to the pier. He gazed out to the wretched island with topaz eyes, expecting a horde of criminals to come out and attack him all at once.

Breaker gritted his teeth and cracked his knuckles. "Alright boys," he said, as if Blade and Iron were right next to him. "Let's see how much trouble you got into this time."


Author's Note:

Heck yeahz! Breaker is back, baby!

Oh, and some other stuff happened. But who cares?!

...I do.

Okay, so we got to meet Sabre, who doesn't like Blade at all. Well, when I knew there were gonna be two Scyther in this fic, I knew one thing: they had to be rivalish samurai guys, who were also once friends. A lot of reading Usagi Yojimbo went into their fight scenes and their voices, and the way they acted. You can easily see that they may look similar, but they are different: Blade is calm, cool, and confident, but he also has a troubled past that does come back to haunt him. Sabre sees Blade as a traitor, and not just that, but a traitor who has it pretty good. He has lots of friends, he still has a good voice, and he's still skilled in combat. Sabre also isn't fond of the Dragonite Empire, just like Tracen and Celeste. Hmm...

Also, Breaker is finally done being emo, and back to kickin' arse. What, I already said that? I don't care.

Review please! Breaker would appreciate it!

Tune in next time, folks! We're off to save Laura and bring down Lepyuf!