A Contender's Bonds

by Insane Dominator

Sequel to "The Fairy Contender". With the universe and Arceus saved, Nic can now enjoy his life in Fairy Tail and with Erza, but the adventures he's had are far from over. With Zeref and new threats on the rise, he and his Pokemon will learn that there was more to them than they had thought as they fight vicious battles, and learn more of their true power from within.

36. A Dangerous Game

"How much farther again?" Vanessa asked her brother.

"Another few miles."

"The air is still stale, but at least we were able to draw a large enough number in to clear a path." Erza noted, regarding that massive battle in the chambers.

Magnezone hovered overhead, looking at the darkness ahead with a still gaze. "Undoubtedly." He agreed. He wasn't at all stern around Mark and Laura like he was before, which was also a sure sign of transcending boundaries from enemy to ally. Wounds as such don't heal easily when you're treated as a slave for years on end, but change does come around if one endures long enough. At long last, Magnezone didn't have to feel vengeful, though he still felt responsible and must repent for the sins committed.

Traveling through the dark corridors of the expansive tunnel was one matter to deal with, but navigating was another. They all could only resume their path on foot, heading down the other side of the chamber mere minutes after the aftermath ensued from that grieving confrontation. Nic was able to pinpoint themselves using the Earth Form after their resolution was made, and that brought him to being the guide. With Charizard in his Poke Ball after that battle, Vanessa used a Hyper Potion, restoring Magnezone's energy after the energy he exerted. With Nic also using Heal Pulse to heal everyone, followed by a Recover, he and everyone resumed their search to get to ground-level.

Mark grinned. "Nic, I didn't know your Charizard could Mega Evolve."

Nic half-grinned in compliance. "I guess there's a lot we haven't caught up on then." He said.

"Well given we've been dead all these years, it's really no surprise." Laura joked.

"There's a big duh." Mark deadpanned.

Erza walked right beside Nic, keeping her pace with his, no matter what. She was there for him then, she was there for him now. If there were questions, she didn't mind answering. She knew so much about Nic that it was like she knew him from the day he was born, although technicality would be stretching it. Still, case and point for the redhead was that if she slept with him and loved him, then what's there not to love about him.

She had a soft smile on her face as she watched him and his family catch up.

Laura looked towards Vanessa with a questionable gaze. "So, Vanessa."

"Hm?" The 16-year-old looked up at her mother.

"Is it true?" She let a small pause reign as clarification followed. "You became a Pokémon Trainer too?"

Vanessa nearly stopped in her tracks, the question being so out of the blue. Then again, this was their clueless parents. If they were gonna be real parents just this once, they may as well deserve a little clarity as to what their children are professionals at.

"Yes." She answered. "Though…I wouldn't say I'm quite there yet."

"Come now, no need to be so modest." Erza chided proudly. "Your Gym battle against Valerie deserved genuine praise. It's not often that one manages to subdue enemies with Toxic and hold out for a victory with all three Pokémon remaining."

Mark and Laura looked back at their offspring with shock. "Really?"

Vanessa smiled nervously, caught shocked by how interested they were in her Pokémon Trainer status. "W-well, yeah." She looked over towards Nic. "But it's nothing like what Nic had to endure. We beat Diantha, the Champion."

Nic's smile wasn't at all nervous, but he seemed a little perplexed his sister now diverted the attention back at him.

"What?" Mark pivoted and looked at his son with greater bewilderment than before.

"Nic, you mean that not only did you find yourself a girlfriend, but you also became one of the best Pokémon Trainers?" Laura could barely hold in her own shock.

"I was surprised myself." Erza admitted. "He's overcome so many obstacles and held out in the end. He and Greninja even defeated one of the strongest in all of Ishgar if that counts as something."

Nic began to show signs of fluster. "I wouldn't milk it that much." He said. He then looked towards his parents, seeing their eyes wide, their faces brimming with such delight at their son's achievements. He was getting a little nervous about all the upcoming questions and stories. Good thing the sunglasses he had on shield his look of bewilderment. The questions about him and Erza was one thing, but now he was in deep water.

"This may as well take a while." He said low. This was gonna be a lot of explanation to cover up.

Erza and Vanessa smiled behind him, watching as we began telling his tales.

---

The sounds of panting were clear. As the gray skies outside darkened slowly around the isle, as they always were, Alpha was inside with the group, still intertwined with the circle he inhabited. He snarled and panted similar to an animal about to snack on helpless lamb. He was standing tall like a human being at last, though the effort put into it was rather gruesome. It took a lot of willpower for him to stand and take note of his surroundings, but he was able to adapt. He looked down at the dark purple lettering, eyes narrowing as he could feel the countdown until full power emerging.

"Ten hours." He muttered coldly. "Ten hours left, until this world and every bleeding heart is brought to its bitter end." He glared over at the Rivolta, who were all remaining sound in a safe-enough distance from the group. "…you all, do not pretend to be lions ready to strike fear. I feel it from you, and you do too."

"Feel what, exactly?" Imaci inquired.

"Explain." Mariah suggested.

Alpha smirked, seeing all of them stare with uncertainty at their feared leader. "…you all are afraid."

Saboth's yellow eyes widened. "What?!" His fighting spirit was restored, his rest catering him well to his and everyone's magic reserves. He wasn't gonna take crap, even if it was from his leader. His bloodlust tempted him to step forward, but a hold onto his shoulder made the predicament go south.

"Please, refrain yourself." Crowhaw enforced.

Saboth looked over his shoulder, staring coldly at the ghostly man all that was worthless of him. His eyes narrowed. "Are you holding me back?" He threatened.

Crowhaw retracted his hand. "I am merely warning you not to push your luck."

"Luck does not win my battles." Saboth countered coldly.

Out of the blue, Ivy have a grieving sigh. "Honestly, quit spouting your ideals already. You're giving me a headache." She ran her fingers atop of her smooth, wavy head of orange hair.

"This conversation is getting us nowhere." Mariah pointed out. She turned towards Imaci. "We have ten hours. That means whatever time we have in between, we cannot make a single mistake."

Imaci nodded in agreement. "Agreed. Has our little entertainment been contained yet?"

A small chuckle came from not too far away, resonating from Fernando. Thanks to that little sound made, he's gained the audience of his peers. There was a small shadow over his gaze, which still reflected white to make it so that it was hard to see his weary eyes. The scientist snickered as he glared at his board game, his teeth evident.

"I am taking care of that as we speak." He told the group. He once again moved Nic and the other pieces in sequence, slowly sliding them down on end to what appeared to be a labyrinth if not else. "I must say." He added. "This has to be very amusing. It's not often you get such worthy adversaries."

"Amusing? Now there's a first." Ivy questioned.

Fernando turned towards her, frowning. "What are you on about?

Ivy put a finger to her chin. "Well I don't mean to pry in your little focus there, but isn't it a little…excessive to declare this as fun?"

"Amusing." Fernando corrected.

"You never have fun." Ivy deadpanned.

Fernando looked away, disinterested. "The words of she who has lower rank mean nothing to the king of the board game. Rest assured, I have these desperate pawns right where I want them."

Vermilius glared over from the shadows, his massive scythe hidden in the darkness over his shoulder. "That's what you thought hours ago."

Fernando shot a glare at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Imaci took a step closer towards his comrade. "Fernando…" He reached out, but Fernando suddenly looked towards him next, his harsh frown telling him to back off.

"Stay away from my board." He threatened.

"Sorry, my apologies." Imaci said, holding noting against the game itself. "It's just…this behavior of yours, it's very much insecure. Have you been resting well?"

Fernando turned towards the gameboard once more, letting out a huff. "I assure you, I am more than well." He protested. "You are referring to one who has never let a pawn overcome him in his life."

"And yet the anxiety you have now says otherwise."

Imaci's note left the air silent. The Rivolta stared in silence, an uneasy pressure settled amongst them. The constant questioning was dragging heavy weight down on its peers. Alpha took notice and looked at them with a weary disposition. The distinction between awkward and shocking was clearly visible. Was this shocking? Definitely, yet Imaci said it so bluntly.

Fernando stared ahead at his gameboard, eyes wide as he processed what went through his noggin. He blinked, finally coming around. "…what are you implying?" He speculated. He slowly turned around to face Imaci with an exasperated look. He glared at him, his eyes showing not only the lack of prosperous sleep, but also increasing flares. "Are you saying that my abilities have been…inadequate?"

"It's not like that." Imaci defended. "I mean to say-!"

"Silence, pawn!" Fernando cut him off, and on such a sore note. "You're forgetting who is the king here. You seem to be forgetting who was it that helped inventing those mechanisms to suppress the almighty rage of the Pularis. You are forgetting who was it that planned every single move. You are forgetting, who has never made a single mistake in his life!" The scientist's eyes narrowed at Imaci. "I shall declare this once, so thus pay attention – I. Do. Not. Make. Mistakes. Ever." His eyes widened, somewhat shuddering to a small degree. "Never." He spited.

No one talked, nor could they possibly, especially with Fernando's patience wearing thin. Mariah could've said something, but knowing how calculative Fernando was, odds were that whatever she could say wouldn't help. Ivy wouldn't be much contribution, neither would the rest of the Rivolta. They all could only stare in deafening silence as Fernando's craze look was focused on Imaci, who continued to stare at him unemotionally.

At last, Imaci turned away, eyes shutting. "If what you say really is true, then I am sorry for pressing the matter."

Fernando let out a snort as he leered at Imaci's back. "Feeble apologies from a pawn?" He looked away, taking consideration of the situation. "Fine, the slate has been expunged, you can retain a knight. But mark these words. All of you. I have never made a feeble mistake in my calculations, and the die rolled will forever be cast with my hand." He raised his right hand, his fingers flexing themselves in and out continuously. The wrinkles beneath the middle-aged man's eyes seemed evident.

"I will not rest, until I have crushed these good for nothing scoundrels that are nothing more than wasteful space on my board. This…" He began to pick up a brown block, similar to the ones he's put up in the past. "…is my game, and therefore my rules." There was an immense spite in his words, thicker than venom itself.

Gengar snickered from the shadows, looking at Fernando dominating the board game, his own little reality. "Hehehehehe. Looks like the scientist lost it." He snickered. "Seems as though Nic's really pushing his buttons."

Imaci kept his back turned towards his associate, looking away as the candle flickered around the gameboard. His eyes showed a dreary look in them, half-open, and barely regarding everyone else. 'The fool…'

Mariah looked away in a sense of disgust and shame. She said nothing that could alleviate Fernando's fixation on reality.

"I am a king on this board. I have been, and always will be." Fernando said. "No one, will be anything above a king." He picked up a second block. "And these five pests – these pawns – have played their cards to where I cannot bare them any longer!" His eyes were seen again, the pupils small and dilating out of anger. "My rules, and no one breaks my rules and gets away with it."

---

"I get it now." Mark repeated. "So you turned down the Champion title because you'd rather be something purely of yourself than let a position take control of your life and reputation."

"And these so-called Wizard Saint titles you were given numerous chances of they were no different." Laura reiterated. She had a lot to process about her baby boy's adventures; his last few stands in Kalos being him against Lysandre in the far past for one thing, and how he's gone into a complicated roller coaster with Erza. "These stories are so wild, but I guess we should've known."

"Don't worry so much about it." Nic assured. "Granted, all these thrill rides have been arduous to handle at times, but we're all still here. That's what matters, right?" He looked ahead, grinning in mild satisfaction. "It's as a saying goes. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

"He isn't wrong. It's really more drastic here than it is back home." Vanessa noted, still following behind her older brother's steps.

"A lot of tough calls, but we did whatever it is that we could to assure ourselves we'd make it out in some way." Magnezone said.

The group had continued their travels down the long tunnel, still taking the few miles by foot. It was long, arduous, and feet were getting sore. The only way to assure they find a way to pass time before they reach their destination was telling stories of Nic and Vanessa's adventures. Despite the several hours left until hell pounces out and takes over, it was reassuring to speak so tentatively with two devils turned angels.

"I'm still stuck on how you trained an Arbok to fight with its hood. And to top it off, jump through trees and lift several massively heavy objects. From the way you make it sound, it's like it lifts Golem for morning exercise." Mark exaggerated.

"Well, there's one way of looking at it." Nic said.

"At any rate, Nic and I eventually made a decision after the war to build a house, and-!" Erza stopped in her tracks, unable to finish her sentence as her body and senses were getting something. Following right behind, Nic did too. Their sudden stops made a chain reaction. Something was up.

Magnezone looked back, confused. "What's wrong?"

Erza looked around with a weary gaze. She looked right, and left. "Something isn't right." She looked towards Nic. "Nic."

Nic nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I felt it too."

Mark and Laura turned towards the other in suspicion, eyes full of uneasiness. Whatever was transpiring, their Aura Magic wasn't picking anything up other than the same, skin-crawling energy that's been looming like fog all throughout the chambers and tunnels. Vanessa was apparently in the same boat, figuratively of course.

Nic looked around and up to where he noticed the darkness and pitch-black in the ceilings. It was true that they fell quite a ways, but for some odd reason, he and Erza's sixth senses were feeling it, and it wasn't liking them one bit.

"Are you sure it isn't nothing?" Magnezone inquired.

"Mom, Dad, are you picking up anything?" Vanessa asked,

Laura shook her head. "Not as far as we could tell." She regrettably admitted.

Back to back, weary of this odd sensation, Nic and Erza looked in all directions, unable to let this energy go over their heads. For some odd reason that they can't describe, it was as if they felt this strange energy before, but the question was where?

"…"

They all remained desolate as an unsubtle silence loomed over their heads.

…

Fernando narrowed his eyes and smirked maliciously as he tenderly put a block behind the pieces grouped together.

…

The tunnel began to quake unexpectedly, the vibrations resonating at an unfair level.

"What's all this shaking?" Mark exclaimed.

"Earthquake?" Laura wondered.

Nic's eyes widened as he and Erza stared over their heads. "No! Look up!" He warned.

Everyone did as told. They all looked up at the darkness over their heads and saw rocks coming down, a fashion similar to rock slide. They all began to fall and crumble behind Nic and Erza, prompting them to leap away as the rocks began to pulverize the earth. They both reeled back with the others, seeing how they were back far enough to avoid falling rocks.

Mark began to reel in the opposite direction of the falling debris. "Quick, everyone, this way!" The father got to his heels and began to run.

…

"Oh. No, no, no." Fernando flicked Mark's piece, making it fall over.

…

Mark gagged as he suddenly tripped, his haste getting the best of him. He fell onto his stomach, making a loud thud that rattled through his inners.

"Mark!" Laura shouted.

…

Fernando's smirk intensified. "Now to seal the deal." He placed a piece of block that rivaled the same one from before in front of Mark. After that move, his smirk darkened and his eyes widened. "Worthless trash!" He knocked both blocks down, falling into Nic's group pieces.

…

Rocks suddenly started falling at a faster level than before. Several were starting to come down onto Mark, which was barely on his hands and knees trying to get up. He gasped as several heavy rocks were starting to make way onto him.

Mark was too slow to act. He was gonna get crushed to bits. Thankfully, there were those who were reflexive. A teal wave of aura stretched out of the blue, solid as can be and snatching up Mark by the abdomen. The deceased man reeled back as rocks fell in his place, where they would've buried him. He thudded loudly as the aura dissipated.

"Ow!" He grunted.

"Are you okay, Dad?" Vanessa asked, kneeling down at her close call. She and her father were starting to push up, only to realize that above them, hell was coming down.

"What's going?!" Laura exclaimed.

Nic glowed, shifting to his Fist Form. "Ask questions for later! Everyone, make a break for it!" He exclaimed.

Immediately, everyone began to make way through the falling rocks. They all hurried with what speed could carry their individual legs. In Magnezone's case, magnets. Magnezone veered left and right, constantly dodging falling rocks and floating his way towards the end, where the rocks were piling on.

A rock fell in front of Nic, but it wasn't something he couldn't handle. "Jump Kick!" He lunged ahead, crouching and driving a glowing knee into the thick boulder. The large structure instantly shattered apart, blowing chunks all over for them to trample on.

Erza requipped a sword, slashing through a falling rock that would've crushed her. Following her lead, Vanessa used her Aura Magic, beaming rock overhead and clearing a path. Magnezone was firing his Mirror Shot attack in conjunction with his Trainer.

Mark and Laura dodge another rock, diverging and running around it. They pressed on running disregarding how they were lagging behind.

The rocks ahead piled on, creating a wall with crumbling rock afoot. They were all met with shock as all around them, they had little room left. They could only go straight, and unfortunately, this was no easy way out. But thankfully, Nic was there.

Gathering focus as fast as possible, Nic spread his legs, put his arms together, and began manifesting a bright ball of energy. The energy gathering inside made it give off a shimmering veil of light. Without hesitation, he threw it. "Focus Blast!" The projectile Fighting-type attack shot like a cannonball, flying through the atmosphere and making way for the rock wall that piled on. The attack made contact, evident destruction afoot. The rocks all crumbled, exploding into a dust cloud that everyone tried to take full advantage of.

"Come on!" Nic, Erza, Vanessa, and Magnezone all made a break and jumped, all of which sprung through the dissipating dust cloud. Everyone there saw the other side as they flung themselves through, sliding their way towards the other side.

Erza looked around, seeing Nic and Vanessa present. "Are we all okay?"

Vanessa gasped, her eyes widening as she turned around towards the area where rocks were falling. "Wait! Mom! Dad!"

Nic whipped his head around, looking with shock as he saw his parents jumping around falling rocks. They both hurried to the best of their abilities, barely dodging another large, boulder-like rock. The husband-wife team hurried as small pebbles showered down onto them, yet they were holding out.

"Almost…there…!" Mark grunted.

Erza looked up, her shock again surmounting. "Look up!" Her warning caught the note of Nic, Vanessa, and Magnezone, all of which saw what she was referring to. They stared in shock as massive boulders the size of Steelix now crashing down, making way for Mark and Laura.

"They're not gonna make it at that speed!" Magnezone worried.

Nic pulled out a Poke Ball. "We say otherwise!" He threw the Poke Ball outwards. "Kecleon, reel them in!"

The Poke Ball popped open, revealing Nic's almighty Kecleon. The Color Swap Pokémon appeared on the ground, blinking. "Rocks are heavy!" She exclaimed, pointing out clarification. She opened her mouth, lashing out her long, sticky tongue with a small bulbous end. The long tongue blitzed through the falling rock like a beam, making its destination at Mark and Laura. The tongue coiled around their waists, holding them tight.

"Woah! What the-?!" Mark's breath hitched. As he felt a harsh tug. He and Laura suddenly found themselves pulled through the falling rock, without their own doing. The pink tongue brought them back in time as the wall of rocks came down again, crumbling and making a solid space of rock that would've reduced them to mush.

"Oof!" Mark and Laura fell on their rumps as the sticky tongue retreated into Kecleon's mouth.

Nic and Vanessa knelt down, the respective genders picking up their father and mother by supporting their shoulders. The two needed a moment to catch their breaths, barely doing so from that bewildering experience.

"Are you alright?" Erza asked.

Mark breathed in and out, managing to find some solace in the fact that rocks weren't constantly hitting his head. "Y-yeah. Thank you." He looked towards his son. "Nic, thanks."

Nic grinned. "You're welcome." He allowed his father to get up on his own. He and Vanessa backed away from them as they stood up once again. He looked down at Kecleon next. "The actual thanks really belongs to Kecleon. She's the one who pulled you both put."

Laura looked towards the Normal-type. "I see." She bent down, graciously smiling at Kecleon. "So, you're the one who pulled us out, aren't you?" She said. "You're Kecleon."

"Thank you for saving us." Mark grinned.

Kecleon tilted her head off to the side, blinking. "Stick and stones break bones." She said in her creepy and near-monotone voice, like a child.

The odd statement made Mark and Laura blink. Both looked at each other, trying to process what she was saying.

"That they…do?" Laura said nervously.

A strong silence passed around the group, the awkward statement of the infamous Kecleon hanging in the air. Kecleon tilted her head in the opposite direction, adding a follow-up.

"Wooden doors make for good use on hard knock days."

Mark and Laura turned towards Nic for answers to Kecleon's logic, but all he did was shrug.

"She says she was found fortunate enough for this occasion." He pointed out for all to understand.

"Oh." Mark said. "Uh…okay…?" He looked behind, looking up at the stone wall of rock. None were falling it seemed, but they didn't seem steady either. "Guess we got one way then."

"Very well, we'll have to make do." Erza said. She turned around, requipping her sword away. She walked right next to Nic, managing a small grin. "Shall we resume?"

Nic grinned back at her. "Let's."

Everyone thus resumed their trek down the tunnel, the one-way apparently their only option. Magnezone and Kecleon followed behind, the latter straightening her head.

---

"Damnit…" Fernando growled in frustration. "Damnit…" His anger was getting the best of him, teeth gritting as he looked down at the gameboard. The block pieces that were intended to fall onto the group were on the sides, while Nic's group pieces held the other up, unhindered. The sight of what was meant to happen did not occur, nothing like Fernando would understand. "Damn it all…!" He had fists clutched on the sides of the gameboard, careful enough to bang against it so as not to make anything jump out of place.

Mariah looked at Fernando, seeing his growing flare. She remained unemotional, unafraid. "What has happened?"

Fernando stared at his board game, eyes wide. He remained silent.

"Fernando?" Crowhaw asked.

"Uh oh, looks like someone's got a little screw loose." Ivy warned.

"Watch it." Vermilius warned.

At last, Fernando straightened his posture, his gaze partially dreadful to look at. "My turn has been…been…ended too quickly." He digressed.

"Fernando…" Imaci spoke, but was cut off.

"Quiet! My theories and my calculations on the board are indisputable!" He snapped. "I can assure you, our adversaries merely had aces stored away from us, we just hadn't been prepared to intercept early enough."

"And yet you didn't see it." Saboth interjected.

Fernando harshly turned towards him. "Silence! You implying this is a -"

"Mistake?"

Once again, another unsubtle silence dawned as Ivy pointed out the interpretation. She was so blunt about it, yet the case and point was evident all throughout the gathered group. The pressure was set on her, yet the female put on a straight face as Fernando diverted to her direction.

"Let's face it, Fernando. We all know these so-called 'pawns' are putting up a fight. Look at yourself, you went through sleep just to dispose them because they made such a big deal for you." She put a hand to her hip. "We know they're strong, but if you couldn't se-!" She went to talk, but she suddenly fell backwards. An unknown force made her fall over, making her squeal as her thud to her back felt very harsh.

Everyone part of the Rivolta stared ahead without emotion, unable to even show emotion, as they witnessed their own harshly shoved down when Fernando was seen flicking her piece. There was a dark swell of aura around Fernando, the scientist's eyes beneath his gaze looking abstract. He didn't bother straightening up her piece.

Ivy tried getting back up, despite how much of a struggle it has become. "Fer…nando~..." She growled.

"Idiot animalistic pawn." At last, he arose from his seat, straightening out the legs so as to turn and face his colleagues properly. "All of you!" He turned away from Ivy, referring the Alpha. "This is my game. No one goes unnoticed on my board. Nobody, and nothing. Every little abstract concept is always there. Our little pawns are merely using their experience to their advantage. I was able to calculate the chance of the dark energy backfiring, and look what happened. You dare question me for the last time?" He looked so delusional, though his forehead had a grimacing shadow so no one could really tell how in-check his sanity was.

"Fernando, quell yourself." Crowhaw insisted.

"Do not patronize me!" Fernando spited. "I am always 100%, as a king must be if he wishes to rule his subjects, and kill enemies who dare defy his order." Fernando's eyes narrowed. "Are you all not aware of the term subjugation?"

As Fernando spouted in the background, Ivy managed to stand. The mage winced as she tried to get her footing, managing without attracting the attention of the scientist. She looked at him, her face showing anger, hostility, and perhaps frustration. "That miserable fool. No wonder he needs glasses. She can't tell the difference between his own and mice." She muttered beneath her breath. As she bitterly thought of the deranged man, her attention drew down to the gameboard right beside her.

"Hm?" The orange-haired woman looked at the various pieces of the board. She never realized until now, but the gameboard was so detailed with so many labyrinths and so many pieces. She didn't notice before because her and the Rivolta normally wouldn't go anywhere near Fernando's precious game. She looked back at Fernando, seeing him bitterly telling off his own. She looked back down and mischievously smirked.

Saboth was ready to draw Demon Karbia. "You dare treat us as such mere mice?"

"We don't go scurrying around and squeaking, less we want to be food to predators." Crowhaw pointed out.

"And yet you speak as though I'm the mice?" Fernando shouted in exaggerated shock. "Good heavens, has anyone been paying attention? Did you or did you not look and see all the work I have done?! I have invented mechanisms to trap the most potent energy in the universe! The king has always been planning ten steps ahead in every single probability, that you cannot deny. You have no say in what I have achieved as I overlooked the pawns and knights on my board."

"Remind us again why we don't have a look." Mariah insisted.

"Because it's mine!" Fernando countered. "Only one gets to rule the board, and that one is the king!"

Vermilius huffed from inside the dark shadows, his animal, like demeanor contained as he narrowed his eyes. "Then who is the king exactly?"

Alpha stared at the commotion from the dark purple lettering all around him. He remained quiet, eyes focused, and he looked more than a little intrigued as to what was being said, sort of speak. Gengar was watching as well, intrigued with Fernando's insistence.

"Well if it's not obvious, the king is…" His voice trailed off when he heard the very faint sound of a piece leaving the solid board. His eyes widened, his upset look turning around towards Ivy, his shock leaving his heart to turn black when he was seeing her do the unthinkable.

Ivy was picking up a brown block, one of the many Fernando has been using this whole time to intercept paths for Nic. She was looking at it suspiciously, turning it over with a quizzical expression. "Huh, I wonder what these are used as?"

"Ivy!" Fernando fumed, his rage was intense from the sound of that shout. "Drop that right now!"

Fernando's exasperated shout traveled through the atmosphere. Ivy went wide-eyed and nearly jumped from the bellowing of the one who uses the board. The piece in her hand fumbled in her constant grasp, until at last, the piece twirled and fumbled down onto the gameboard. The small instrument of manipulation slowed down as Fernando looked as though he's seen a ghost. The horror on his face was all too clear.

The piece landed and bounced in place right besides Nic's piece. The brown block landed flat on its side, making a small connection from one segment of a chamber towards the narrow direction Nic's group was taking. The Rivolta had mutual shock, but otherwise never showed it, the only one who seemed to be in shock was Fernando, his so-called game ruined.

"…no."

---

"So that's how Nic lost his left eye?" Mark asked.

Erza nodded sadly. "The same could be said with that scar across his right side. A crude battle, but at a great cost."

Laura looked at the ground, trying to make sense of it all. "We never knew Lysandre was really a nutcase. How tragic for him."

Nic didn't say anything to compensate the mourning going around. Lysandre was delusional, as he had no faith in humanity. While he can't deliberately say he is aware that everything is limited and conflicts arise, he doesn't believe that killing off the consumers would benefit. If you can survive without it, at least you know you can live in a world where selfishness and greed doesn't affect you.

Mark looked ahead, grinning. "Mega Charizard and Mega Gyarados. Now there's a battle I'd pay to see." He mused.

Erza was walking right beside Nic, smiling as she kept her hopes high, grinning as Nic was still thankfully with her right now.

A sudden rumble caught their attention. Nic and Erza abruptly halted as they felt a harsh tremor shake up everything around them. The vibrations were strong, likewise for what transpired earlier.

Kecleon was atop of Magnezone, looking up at the ceiling. Despite a few fragments of dust, nothing was coming down onto them, which was a relief. The Normal-type tilted her head and looked towards the wall right beside them, seeing the rock cracking apart.

"Look!" She pointed out.

Everyone turned towards the side, seeing the tunnel right beside them opening up. They all began to retreat towards the other end as the rock from said wall was splitting open, coming apart at the scene. Nic readied to attack in the events of any circumstances like last time, but he and the others remained still as the rock crumbled to dust, revealing a dark incline.

Everyone stared ahead in awkward silence, but they slowly walked step by step towards the small, dark tunnel that manifested.

"What…just happened?" Vanessa wondered.

Nic looked all around with wonder. "Hard to say. If I could make an accurate assumption…perhaps whatever was behind that cave-in." He said.

"That's a safe bet. These circumstances can't all be on a whim." Erza speculated.

Laura looked up at the steep climb up the smooth trail. "Where do you think it leads to?" Her eyes narrowed. "No, the better question is, is this a trap?"

Erza began a slow walk in towards the location afoot. "Only one way to be sure."

Kecleon tilted her head. "Fallen trees make for good bridges." She pointed out.

Nic remained steadfast as he advanced. "Kecleon is right. We'll make do with what we have. If it'll give us a way up towards ground-level, then it's worth the shot. Come on." And thus, taking a gander at the problem unfolding, Nic and everyone – reluctantly of course – began their trek up the dark incline. Nic and Erza followed first, using their own senses to pull themselves ahead, with the last ones being Mark and Laura. All ascended up to where they may find a glimmer of hope, if not a trap.

---

"Well, that happened." Ivy bluntly said.

"This isn't good." Crowhaw said. "They're making way as we speak."

"Not helpful, but I do agree. This situation's caliber has steadily increased." Mariah added.

Ivy looked ahead and saw Fernando standing there with a stiff look. He was paling, his body shuddering in place, barely moving. He was helplessly reaching out for his board game when he could only take in the realization that a single piece has been moved out of place. Horrific truth was, that someone took his reality for a small moment. There was a mistake he made, a single mistake, and it cost him terribly.

Ivy raised a brow. "Uh, Fer…nando-!"

A harsh force smacked Ivy across her cheek. The mage didn't even have the mentality to realize that she had already fallen to the ground before the pain caught up to her. Her cheek and her back flared with pain, the traumatic revelation of Fernando slapping her.

"You miserable bitch!" He scolded. "You ruined it! You ruined everything!"

Ivy tried to sit up, her eyes wide with shock. She had a hand across her cheek, where Fernando gave her a beating. "Fernando! What is wrong with you?!"

He accusingly pointed at her. "You're all too dumb! That's why you're a pawn who never learns from the king's hand! That board, and all of its pieces were mine, and mine alone!" His hands were stretched out to the side, violently shuddering. "Do you know what separates the king and the pawns? You know why has the power over the other? Why beggars can't be choosers? Have you thought about that?" He retorted, his Magic Power starting to fluctuate. "It's simple. Their capacity and lust for domination. A king has anything he desires with the authority and power behind him, anything that is beneath him is nothing more than a tool that he must diligently use, and dare not make a single mistake." His gloves were balling, the blood beginning to cut off. "But now…a mistake, on my board, has been made. And I don't make mistakes! I am the king of the board, and I will dispose of pawns like you!"

"Fernando, enough of this!" Imaci warned.

"Shut up, pawn!" Fernando began to manifest his magic, raising a hand to attack, but he was cut off from his path to her when a Shadow Ball passed him. The attack hit the wall, making it quake just a little. Fernando stood there, turning his head with shock.

"What…?" He looked to find Gengar standing there, a large smirk across his face from seeing Fernando's intentions being shown. As Gengar let a single scoff escape, Alpha began walking passed him, slowly and quietly marching towards Fernando. "A-Alpha, sir…!"

"You need, to get a grip." The leader threatened. "Now."

Fernando looked back towards Ivy as she was getting back to her feet. His head shuddered as he looked back and forth between her and the fearful ruler. "B-but, she…she ruined my plans!" He pleaded.

"I don't care who tarnished you. Whether or not you made a mistake and refuse to accept it is on you, because as of now, we have ourselves a situation that is now beyond our control." He announced. He walked passed the baffled Fernando, disregarding his personal shame and walked slowly towards the remainder of the Rivolta. Everyone there gave affirmative looks, not daring to look afraid and look him dead in the eye; the face of death it seemed. If they showed fear, odds were he'd end them.

"The spell has not even half a day. If these fools intend on proving themselves a hassle, then we shall dispose of them properly. Everyone, be prepared." He dismissed the Rivolta, making sure that they got the message.

Nic's group was being a real nuisance, and so if they can't rely on Fernando and his perfect calculations, then it's the old fashion way.

They all exited, and when they all departed, Alpha turned away from Fernando, who just stood there with a stiff gaze. "As for you, Fernando…" He looked over his shoulder, eyes glaring like that of Satan himself. "This is your mess, so I expect you to fix it."

Fernando glared ahead, his supposed sanity at last in check. "…that's exactly what I intend to do."

---

The narrow passage was dark and nothing more. Like the rest of the caverns, the air was cold, and exceedingly foul. The temperature and the decaying odor did not sit well with everyone's stomachs as they trudged up the path. How far up were they heading exactly, they didn't know. The farther they went up, the more the temperature began to differentiate. It was getting warmer, only to drop off like a bomb.

Still leading them was Erza and Nic. The two and their pacing was pretty much inseparable, neither slowed down, nor did they speed up. They were a constant, just like their solidified bond. They were maintaining a weary disposition as they charged up the incline, going on for what felt like miles on end.

Mark and Laura looked from in the back, seeing their son and the long-haired redhead seem passively fine with the way things are now. When the parents looked at them longer, they could feel their hearts softening; warm and inviting.

"She is…beautiful." Laura pointed out, noting Erza's brown eyes and red hair.

Mark grinned. "I never thought I'd see our boy become a man."

"What was that?" Vanessa asked, looking over her shoulder towards her parents. She seemed perplexed. "Something about Nic being a man?"

"Nothing." Mark waved off, hoping Vanessa wouldn't catch on. By the looks of her turning back ahead, it worked.

"We've come quite a ways up. You suppose we've managed ground-level?" Nic wondered.

"I hope so, for all our sakes." Erza hoped. "With this Impure Underworld, and the fact we don't even have nine hours left to go, we can't rely on the guild. We'd never make it there and back with reinforcements."

"That means we're on our own." Nic said.

"As unfortunate as it is."

Kecleon tilted her head. "The lone tree with its sharp leaves houses salvation." Despite their low numbers, they pack a deadly punch. Looks can be deceiving, another point the ever-side Kecleon has configured.

Vanessa's pace jerked, her sudden jolt making her pounce.

"What is it, Vanessa?" Magnezone asked. "You sense something?"

Vanessa's pacing was slowing down a bit, but not too much. She wearily trudged on, unnerved by this bizarre energy looming around in the air. It wasn't so much as an odd energy, other than Impure Underworld's potency reaching high levels; rather, it was the aura. "It's…it's odd. I'm getting aura."

Mark began to use his aura, getting an unusual energy vibe. "Yeah, now that you mention it. Laura, can you?"

Laura nodded. "Yeah, I think we're just about there."

Nic halted for a moment, eyes widening upon realization. At the far top of the incline ahead, he saw a dim light. It wasn't much, but he could see it. "Hey, I think we see the exit." However, he added a follow-up. "Everyone, watch yourselves."

Erza slowly trekked besides Nic. "We'll be careful." She smiled. "We won't let anything happen to each other."

Nic smiled back at her, feeling his concerns get soaked up by the knight's own confidence in him. If they could hold hands, they would, but alas, this was a serious time, so their affection would have to wait…for now.

Once everyone had reached the light, they found themselves standing in a chamber once again. This chamber was still dark, but manageable. They looked around, finding that everything around them was flat rock, the sides still seemingly clean of blood, though the stench was another grotesque story.

Vanessa looked around quizzically, her nerves still standing on end. "Does everyone else feel that?" She suspiciously asked.

Nic looked around, inspecting the area. "Yes. This Magic Power is potent compared to down there. I think we're closer to that spell than we'd thought."

Erza, Magnezone, Kecleon, and the others looked around, seeing the chamber empty, all but something amidst in the far end, which captured Laura's attention. The mother took a small step in said direction, looking with squinted vision at the other side of the chamber.

Nic looked at his mom, noticing her look. Getting the idea, he looked where her eyes followed, and he too saw something at the far end. His eyes narrowed beneath his sunglasses, seeing a dim candle. "A light." He said low.

"Is that a candle?" Vanessa asked.

Everyone got a little closer, being sure to maintain a safe distance away from the possibility of a trap. They all looked steadily at the shocking reveal of what they could've sworn been…chess pieces.

"Are those…board game pieces?" Mark wondered.

"It looks like it. Right?" Laura turned towards her son for his thoughts, but all Nic did was glare at it.

"Hard-pressed to say. A flat game board lit by a single candle. Whoever pictured this has a very skewed perception."

"But why is a game in a chamber such as this? It just doesn't make sense." Erza said.

Kecleon tilted her head. "Seven."

Magnezone looked down at her. "What? Did you just say seven?"

"Seven." Kecleon pointed straight ahead, directly at the pieces gathered in the center of the gameboard.

Nic followed his Pokémon's criteria and stared at the seven pieces. "Seven…there's seven pieces." His breath suddenly hitched, his eyes widening with sudden realization. "And there's 7 of us…"

Erza began to feel a cold chill run up her spine. She caught on as well. "Seven pieces…and seven of us?" She looked ahead, eyeing the gameboard. "What's all of this? It can't be a coincidence, can it?"

Mark was looking around, seemingly more distracted compared to the others. He was brimming with curiosity, his Aura Magic picking not just the unknown aura that dies off with the animals, but a feeling that felt…familiar. He looked slowly around the chamber, getting a bad feeling.

The shift in caliber made his spine crawl. "Now wait a minute." He began to count down the reasons. "Spacious chamber…aura…gameboard near the center…!" His eyes flashed open, his horror brimming bright as he turned towards his family. "I know where we ended up!"

"You do?" Vanessa asked.

"Where are we?" Laura asked. She was suddenly clutched by the shoulders, her husband holding her and staring at her dead in the eye. The look he gave unnerved her greatly. It left her almost shaking.

"Look around. What do you see?" He told her.

Laura looked around with a raised brow. "Hmmm…?" She looked at the walls, which didn't look appealing, and then checked the aura, which felt her uneasy. Then she looked at the board in the distance. She thought about it for a second and looked down towards the earth, her gaze zipping left and right, gathering up the pieces and finally recognizing the place. A gasp escaped.

"No…"

Nic looked back, worried. "Mom? Dad? What's wrong?" He turned towards them. "What is this place?"

Mark and Laura remained close to one another, their uneasy gazes all around the chamber. Mark couldn't look at his son, for he was getting paranoia it seemed. "This chamber…this is the same exact one as where we found that board game."

"You mean Beggars and Choosers?" Erza questioned.

Mark gave a slow nod. "…and where we were ambushed."

Nic and everyone remained stiff as they suddenly felt a strong and uneasy pressure dwell behind them. All of them went wide-eyed and felt another harsh energy shift in the atmosphere. In the single flame-lit area where the game was, a dark figure was seen, barely having the very gloves visible.

"Very perceptive…for a meddling fool."

Vanessa could barely swallow. 'This aura, and this Magic Power…!'

A smirk could be seen. "And thus, the king meets his public." Everyone slowly turned around, facing the man who was speaking in such a low, venomous level. They glared with surprise at seeing Fernando with fingers folded and glaring coldly through the dim light with a cocky smirk. "Hello, pawns." He greeted.

Nic immediately spread his legs, taking a battle stance. "You." He growled. "I remember you."

Vanessa's glare at Fernando proved she also recalled him, though she offered nothing to say.

Fernando reached for something in his pocket, maintaining his smirk. "Well now, Nic Pularis and colleagues, I believe you have made it this far. It's only fair you get acquainted with the ruler of this divine game we call life." He placed his piece, a kingly one, in front of the 7 pieces. "I am Fernando, and I welcome you to the Rivolta."

Erza held her sword, not letting her guard down. "So you are affiliated with them after all."

"Affiliated? Now, now, what an acute term that is. I prefer 'manage' or 'guide'. Call me their game master if you'd like." He picked up a brown block. "After all…" He put the brown block in front of the block Ivy had suddenly dropped onto the board. "It's not like anyone else has been watching over your every move."

Nic and everyone heard crumbling from behind. They sharply turned around to see the entrance they took to reaching ground-level suddenly crumbling, getting piled by rock constantly, until finally, the crumbled entrance was nothing more than as such. Nic and everyone slowly looked back at Fernando, keeping themselves uneasy.

"Hold on…" Nic looked at the seven pieces, and the brown blocks, and back at Fernando. When it came together, his shock intensified. "You mean, this entire time we've been going in circles?"

"You set up those blockades and got us lost on purpose!" Vanessa gasped.

Fernando let out a hardy scoff. "As expected. It took you all long enough to figure out you've been playing in my backyard. I have to say that you all have been pretty entertaining for me to move around the board. It does tend to get dull when turns end too quickly."

"Where are you going with this?" Erza wondered.

Kecleon had her head straight. "The puppet master with too many strings to pull."

Fernando let out another hardy scoff. "Puppet master? No. I am a king, and you all are my pawns." He corrected, though his tone held a strong level of spite. He gestured to his board. "What you see before you is the reality of what is life."

"Life?" Magnezone questioned.

"Life is governed by a ruler. They're the ones who alters one's destiny, as they're destined to rule on their throne without exception. They make all the decisions, and all knights and pawns have no say in what the almighty demands. He controls their lives, as he controls their destiny. If they are chosen to be his noble horses to saddle up on, then no exceptions…and the same can be said for discarding the useless pawns that they bend to their desire."

Nic's eyes narrowed. "Destiny?"

"Destiny. Let me ask you, Nic Pularis, was it your destiny that was chosen by your hand, or was it Arceus who chose it for you, hm?" His inquiry left Nic a little startled.

"Whoever chooses my destiny cannot tame my life." He answered. "Arceus may have chosen me, but I made it my destiny that I changed for the better."

Fernando could be seen frowning. "You say that, but that's false."

"What?"

"You say you chose your path, but Arceus pulled you into one way without exception. You had to do anything and everything to keep him alive, isn't that true?"

Nic remained silent, not wanting to answer.

"Precisely my point. You see, the king decides who is moved to where, and who shall be expendable. Not one pawn has a say in his destiny, because the king shall kill him off if the pawn makes the wrong move. That is why the king makes every move, for everything, and everyone."

"You're speaking about manipulation!" Erza retorted.

"Anarchy!" Kecleon shouted.

"No one cares as long as they get to make a move in the end, that's all that matters. I've been moving your pieces accordingly, and you say it's what now? I do not accept words of pawns that I can bend to my will, because that's how all life is treated." He looked towards Kecleon and Magnezone. "Just look at those two, they're pawns. And what does that make you to them? Their kings and queens? Did they have a say when they were captured? Allowing their destinies to become subjugation to your desire?"

Nic's patience was growing thin. You can insult him, but you don't go and insult his family, nor his Pokémon. "You were wrong."

"They chose to follow us." Vanessa retorted.

"And who made that choice for them? Themselves? I doubt mere brainless pawns can't think for themselves if they abandoned themselves to the likes of human affiliation."

Kecleon and Magnezone growled at Fernando, but all the scientist did was smirk like he didn't care.

"You've all been pawns. Fate and god – the king of the game – has been guiding you and every word you say. You have no say in that, because on my board, you're the pawns, and I can't begin to tell you how foolish such unique yet annoying pests you've become."

Nic's fists clutched tighter. "What gives you the right to decide others and how they do things."

"Humans use one each other all the time for selfish gains." Fernando countered. "I don't see how this is any different."

"You're a monster." Erza lowly roared.

Fernando smirked. "It doesn't matter what a pawn like you says, because it won't change your fates. I decide it all, because this is my game."

"You're a madman." Mark growled.

"I can understand your plight, but alas, I don't care." Fernando sighed. "You're nothing more than pawns that we needed from the start. Your purpose has long since ended, so make use of yourselves and die."

Nic stepped forward, bitterly defying Fernando. "You have a very skewed perception on who defines what. Everyone gets to have a say. We get to decide our own moves." He began to glow. "If you truly believe we are nothing more than pawns…" He revealed himself in his Mind Plate Form. "Then we shall do the right thing, and banish you from your so-called throne."

"Ban the tyrant!" Kecleon shouted.

Magnezone slipped forward. "You're gonna regret declaring us subjugated."

Mark, Laura, Vanessa, and Erza stepped forward, ready to fight with Nic to stop Fernando.

The scientist's smirk suddenly dropped, his frown appearing. He let out a sigh as he began to get up from his seat from the stone table. "You all have been entertaining, yes…" Began to walk around the table. "But this king of the board game has lost his patience with you all. This was my game, and you've pushed your luck too far when you had the audacity to make me do something that I never thought I'd do…you made me make a mistake in judgment." His eyes narrowed. "I intend to make retribution unfold. Die, worthless pawns!"

Nic reached out ahead, Kecleon following the innuendo her Trainer was giving. "Kecleon, Screech!"

"Magnezone, Spark!" Vanessa followed up.

At their call, Kecleon darted ahead, while Magnezone floated through the air towards Fernando, his body cloaked in electricity. However, Fernando only stood there with eyes barely open, as though he looked bored already. "As expected, send in the pawns first." He looked disinterested as Kecleon jumped into the air and her mouth inside glowed orange. She exerted a high-pitched screech, sending red shockwaves that expanded out. Fernando grunted as he reluctantly covered his ears, feeling distressed from not even able to defend against the sound-based attack. His defense lowered, leaving him open for Magnezone to swoop in from a steeper climb.

As Screech came to a close, Fernando opened one eye, seeing Magnezone close in. "Naïve!" He extended his arm out towards the incoming magnetic creature, fingers stretched out. Out of the blue, dark beams blasted ahead at Magnezone, closing in with greater speed than he was going at.

"Hang on!" Vanessa reached out, extending her Aura Magic and making her Emanation Beam launch teal energy at the dark beams. The intercepted made an explosion, which made Magnezone back off.

As the smoke engulfed the area between them and Fernando, Erza glowed and requipped into her Heaven's Wheel Armor. She sprung through the smoke, making a solid path as she was followed by a number of other swords.

"Blumenblatt!"

Fernando smirked. "Hmph. Predictable." He reached out and snapped his fingers, pointing his index finger at Erza and summoning lightning all around him. The dozens of bolts discharged towards her, intercepting every swords with a massive jolt and deflecting them all elsewhere.

Erza's eyes widened. "Darkness Magic, now Lightning Magic?" She gasped. Making haste, she stopped her attack and ascended into to air, dodging the large discharge of ions and lightning that made the ground flashy. She glared down at Fernando who scoffed in delight.

Nic extended his reach outwards. "Psychic!" His eyes glowed blue, and then Fernando was outline din the same kinetic energy. The scientist found himself abruptly shot backwards with a small air ripple exerting out, the speed so sudden it wiped the smirk off his face. He slammed into the wall, suppressed by Psychic. The powerful force left him grunting.

"So you intend to make the dead rise?" Nic emphasized.

Fernando's frown turned to a smirk. "I don't answer to pawns." His eyes narrowed, concentrating his sight and magic at Nic's feet. Nic looked down and began to feel the earth rattle. He could feel the energy swell, and then he abruptly leapt backwards, dodging a pillar of rock that shot straight beneath. The sudden dynamics of focus was enough to free Fernando, letting him fall to the ground and land on his heels.

"Earth Magic?" Nic figured.

"He's got a lot of variety in magic. There's no telling what he has proficiency in." Laura cursed.

Fernando's sneering smile never failed to unnerve them. "You're all too naïve to know…" His body suddenly faded into a thick air that misted away.

Nic's eyes widened. "Air Magic." He sensed something behind him, in which there was Fernando, ready to throw out a kick.

"That a king has to be versatile!" He finished. He brought a roundhouse kick around, but Nic swiftly pivoted and caught the boot without a moment's hesitation. He didn't waste a breath as he threw Fernando overhead, leaving the scientist open to attack.

"Let's go, Laura!" Mark shouted.

"Right!" Laura followed in pursuit of her husband, both gaining afoot and firing green and blue beams of solid aura at Fernando as he was still in midair.

Eyes opening up again, Fernando swirled around in the atmosphere. "Saw that, pawns!" He swung his arm diagonally upward, summoning a crack in the ground that split apart, revealing a diagonal water geyser. The geyser was fairly pressurized, becoming an interception that blocked off the aura blasts that one time.

"And now Water Magic." Erza said.

Fernando landed safely on the ground, huffing at them. He smirked maliciously, raising his arms to eye-level. "Burn away to ashes!" The ground caught whiff of a few embers, which ignited into fire. The fire flared and spiraled around, a fashion similar to Fire Spin. The small vortex of fire encompassed Nic and the others, trapping them inside.

"And now Fire Magic. Well isn't this nice." Mark rhetorically chided.

Nic didn't hesitate as he glowed and shifted to his Splash Form. He got to a knee and slammed his hands against the ground. "Muddy Water!" He summoned brown water that spiraled all around the group, closer than the fire itself. Nic forced the cyclone out, making a full-scale bloom of brown water dissipating fire. As the fire fizzled out, no one seemed to move, neither was Fernando, who was scoffing.

"You mind telling us what's so amusing?" Nic interrogated.

"Why, the fact that you pawns are not aware of the varieties of magic that I have studied. Don't you know the basics of battle? Knowing is half the battle…or in this case, it's all the battle." He answered.

Nic didn't bother with a reply. There was no reason to speaking to someone who didn't appeal to others and their reasoning. If anything, they needed another plan of attack. If Nic kept swapping forms, Fernando would catch on. They had to get close, as per how they'll manage. He swiped his arm across.

"Kecleon, use Slash!" He commanded.

"I'm a butter knife!" Kecleon dashed ahead, her claws glowing and expanding out to be almost three times as long.

Fernando reached out towards Kecleon. "Die already!" He fired darkness beams from thin air yet again, closing in on Kecleon, all the beams closed in and Kecleon just kept dashing forward like she didn't give a care to the world. Fernando watched with utter shock as Kecleon pointed her claws forward and darted right down the middle of the dark beams. She bisected them completely, slipping through them like she was a knife cutting into cake.

"What's this?!" Fernando exasperated.

"Like I said, I'm a butter-KNIFE!" Kecleon slashed through the darkness completely, making a white trail follow behind her attack. Slash made contact with Fernando, in which the professor of sorts felt a sharp and destructive force hit him hard. He shot backwards again, sliding on his back, the back of his coat getting tattered up.

Fernando got up to a knee, putting a gloved hand on his open wound, his eyes showing anger. "You dirty good for nothing pawn…!" He growled. "Know your place!"

Erza dashed ahead, taking full advantage of Fernando's setback. "Requip!" She turned to her Morning Star Armor, blitzing ahead with two katana in hand.

Fernando sneered as he raised a palm and slammed it against the ground. He made the ground around him protrude with various pillars of lightning that zapped straight up. Sheer lightning sprouted like geysers towards Erza, the assault prompting her to take evasive action. She veered left and rushed ahead, darting towards Fernando. She abruptly dodged by jumping to the side, almost losing footing as another pillar of lightning shot up.

"Damnit! He's not letting up!" She scowled, finding herself surrounded with various lightning pillars.

Nic glowed, shifting to his Earth Form. His body briefly flashed a glowing bright light. "Earth Power!" He got to a knee and punched the ground, sending large cracks with a shimmering golden light erupting its way towards the area ahead. The golden lights and the sundering cracks ripped through the lightning bolts, engulfing them from the ground up, saving Erza.

"Pests." Fernando scowled.

"Emanation Beam!" Vanessa blasted teal aura again at Fernando, the attack traveling in a pressurized form.

"Flash Cannon!" Magnezone followed it up with his Flash Cannon, the attack beaming in a silver light alongside Vanessa's attack. The two attacks met up as they traveled, swirling and becoming a blast of teal and silver. The ground shuddered as both attacks combined created a large area succumbed to its might.

Fernando's eyes were wide with shock. "A combination attack?" He turned the look over for hostility. "If so, then how about this!" He brought his gloved hands together, clapping them aloud, the sound reverberating through the quaking atmosphere.

Suddenly, his hands swirled in fire, which began to expand into a massive cyclone of fire that howled like that of a raging wild beast. His flaming attack met the combination assault Vanessa and Magnezone performed, all three assaults at last making a stand. An explosion erupted again, breaking the ground and making a large veil of smoke and cloud spit outwards, obscuring vision.

Vanessa and Magnezone grunted as they were engulfed by the smoke cloud, standing completely still.

Fernando's gloved hand was engulfed in darkness, his smirk definite. "I see you-!"

"Astonish!"

Fernando's eyes widened when he heard the attack name called to his right. By the time he turned around, he was too late. A dark ghost face resembling Nic's with glowing red eyes and a red aura expanded outwards, hitting Fernando. As the smoke cleared, the scientist reeled back, his face brimming with shock and pain as he was hit abruptly by that Ghost-type move.

"He's flinched! Everyone, rise up!" Nic declared, revealing himself in his Spooky Form. "Make your counteroffensive hard and fast!" He readied a ball of black and purple energy, manifesting a lot of energy into the ghastly attack.

"Right!" Everyone thus readied themselves and they began to charge up and fire their attacks. At once, they all unleashed them.

"Shadow Ball!"

"Shadow Sneak!"

"Photon Slicer!"

"Emanation Beam!"

"Mirror Shot!"

Mark and Laura followed up with beams of green and blue aura. All seven attacks stretched out and lunged at Fernando as the scientist was standing there, his shock still brimming from Astonish before.

As they closed in, Fernando was seeing a bright light combined of many attack flow and charge right for him. He seemed lost in his own world as he still recalled the pain inflicted from Kecleon's Slash. 'A pawn hurt his own king.' He thought back to how Nic overpowered his lightning assault. 'No…' He thought back to the Astonish. 'No, no, no~!' He could feel his temper flaring, his sadistic look flaring with twitching eyes. 'I will not be bested. I will win! That's all that'll matter!' His eyes widened, "I WON'T LOSE, NOT TO YOU!"

The bright light engulfed him, all the attacks erupting in an earth-shaking explosion. The cavern walls cracked apart, rock splattering about everywhere. Smoke and dust mixed, blowing passed everyone as they looked ahead at their combined efforts.

"Did we…did we get him?" Vanessa wondered.

Erza's eyes narrowed. "It's hard to tell. Stay on guard."

Everyone remained calm and still as the energy in the atmosphere was still brimming with Magic Power. The negative flow flourishing all around was scaling at constantly high levels. The dust and the dark energy alike remained stable as a figure could be seen hunched over, his fixation set on them and them alone.

Nic's eyes widened. "What?"

The dust cleared, revealing Fernando. His entire body was tattered. He was hunched over, eyes unseen by glasses that miraculously stayed intact. He had a bizarre, death-like aura around his body, the energy unnerving everyone.

"But how? We hit him with so much power." Erza emphasized.

"How is he still standing?" Mark wondered.

Laura stepped back, uneased.

His clothing was destroyed, barely in one piece. His body had a sharp number of bruises, and yet he didn't at all seem unnerved. In fact, he was intimidating with how his death-like aura was coping with his odd, catastrophic state.

"This aura, its potency thickened." Vanessa said low.

"What?" Magnezone muttered.

Kecleon kept her head straight, staring at the smirking Fernando. Something about his smirk felt very off.

Fernando opened his mouth, releasing a hot breath of air. His aura misted around his body, dark as vermilion fire. None could see the sanity has completely fell from his grasps. He kept his head angled down as he spoke. "You…you honestly believe that you can take my throne?" He wickedly chuckled. "I'll tell you what you all are. You're all phony losers, delusional from the prospect of hope. Hope doesn't guide you, it's the hand that moves your piece on the board. And that hand is mine!"

His Magic Power continued to rise. The ground beneath had begun to shake, the airspace quaking. An ominous gust blew passed Nic and everyone else. The breeze stung their faces.

"Do you all feel that?" Nic asked.

Erza bent and spread her legs. "Something's wrong with him."

"I know what you mean." Nic's eyes narrowed. "His Magic Power darkened, just as Vanessa said. It looks like he's barely hanging on by means of desperation."

"He's got all screws loose." Kecleon said.

The gust began to subside, in fact becoming a vacuum as air reversed, drawing its way around Fernando as the madman straightened back up. The vacuum around him began to draw in towards the aura around him, darkening to a black wind. The ground constantly shuddered.

"You'll never understand reality. Reality isn't hope, and it isn't dreams. Life is nothing more than mindless manipulation. Every day, humans use one another and discard them after their needs are fulfilled. Same goes for the knights and bishops if they can't serve their king…the same art of subjugation goes to those Pokémon too. Your holy knights who hold faith to their kings and queens!"

Kecleon and Magnezone took a second offense to the claim, but otherwise said nothing. They were smart enough to know he was unreasonable.

"You're the delusional one." Nic protested. "Kecleon and the others deliberately chose to follow us."

"That wasn't their choice! It was their mistakes that made them give up their kingly claims. A winner doesn't make mistakes, and their mistake was choosing to follow brainless pawns who give them orders!" Fernando was being far from reasonable, even though he has crossed that line years ago. "When you lose or an attack misses, whose fault is it?"

Nic glared at him. "It is no one's fault."

"Wrong! It's the pawn, the one who is fighting for his king! He messed up, and made a mistake. He deserves nothing less than to be disposed of. The blame casts on the one doing action, and if the king doesn't do something to fix that, he loses the game. Which is why I am always the winner!"

"He truly is a monster." Vanessa muttered.

"I have proficiency in the elemental magics, as means of planning ahead with calculations and strategy. They are what guided me my whole life. I have never lost a game, not in my life! If you think I'll let this little slip-up happen, I won't accept that! As the king, I will give you the sheer force of my wrath before I kill you! My true magic!"

Nic's fists clutched as he leered at the atmospheric pressure swirling around Fernando's arms. 'True magic?'

'He has more than just elemental magic?' Erza wondered. 'This is bad.'

Laura could feel the aura thicken around Fernando's arms, as well as the dark winds. "The energy is converging!"

"I've developed this magic, as it is mine and mine alone. No one else has it, because it's only fit for he who sits on the throne! That's me!" He reached out both arms, where the gusts finally ceased entirely. The ground stopped vibrating as dark galaxy spirals were encompassing his hands. He sadistically smirked at his victims, the true face of a sociopath.

"What…are those?" Mark wondered.

"They look like galaxies almost." Laura speculated.

Erza stared ahead with wide eyes. Her shock never ceased to mount. Seeing the spirals brought back some bitter memories. 'Those dark spirals, and this Magic Power…' She recalled the image of a certain someone who had a style very much aligned with the technique used in front of her. 'But how is he able to do such a thing?'

'Wait…didn't we see that somewhere before?' Nic recalled those dark galaxies, remembering a certain time at a certain place back in Autumn. He only recalled the one time such dark spirals were used, and it left a chill up his spine.

Fernando's sadistic smile intensified. "Now, fall into an eternal nightmare! Nebula Hold!" He threw both purple galaxies like saucers that traveled after the group. Instinctively, Nic and everyone else dodged the two saucers as they went blazing across the scenery. They all stopped their footing from sliding and looked back, seeing Mark and Laura still struck with shock as the saucers aimed right for them.

"Duck! Get out of the way!" Erza yelled.

Erza's warning reached their ears in time. They both ducked, but just barely to get away. Mark and Laura fell to the ground as the two saucers flew over their heads, hitting the cracked chamber walls behind them, making a loud rupture that rattled the air.

Mark opened his eyes, blinking a little to look around and see he and his wife were still in one piece. "That was a close one." He huffed.

Vanessa looked at Erza with worry. "Erza, what was that just now?" She asked.

Erza looked back ahead, eyes narrowing at the sadistic Fernando. "…Nightmare Magic." She answered.

Fernando kept a straight face, but even he could've been read so easily. He was shocked.

"It allows him to take over you. If you have a weak constitution, then his magic will make you fall into a comma, and the only way to wake up is by will or him remotely." Erza explained. "This brings untimely memories." She didn't want to think of how Minerva was manipulated back during the Grand Magic Games, but she was glad to get detail on Bellona's magic at the banquet.

Fernando wasn't gonna sit around forever. "Grrrr! Succumb to my rule, fools!" He violently unleashed more saucers, unable to allow the information leak.

"Everyone, look alive!" Nic warned. It was then that a great battle of dodgeball was initiated. Nic, Erza, and everyone else began to dodge, using whatever skills they had in dodging attacks left and right, maneuvering at a constant. Fernando brought his arms back and forth, spitting dark spirals left and right. Each shot was as deadly as the last, and Fernando's psychotic laughter certainly wasn't helping his cause. Purple explosions flourished, bombarding and flaring up a storm. Nic was lunging and shifting constantly, keeping himself on his toes. When a saucer came after him, he became a ghost and faded into a shadow, thinning away and the saucer hitting the wall.

"Whoa!" Mark and Laura were barely keeping up. They were barely hanging on with their lives. They dodged left and right with how their bodies were keeping up.

Fernando laughed all the way, watching as everyone struggled to dodge. Kecleon back flipped constantly and leaned off to the side, the only other one easily dodging. "This is why I'm the king! You all are weak! My board game is survival of the fittest! None are fit!"

As Fernando was spouting his nonsense, he didn't account for his shadow to thicken somewhat. An arm latched out and gripped his leg. Fernando's eyes widened as he abruptly found his attack cut off. His balance was pulled apart when Nic arose from his shadow and pivoted, driving the mad scientist into the ground behind. The brutal impact of back to earth made Fernando gag blood, which Nic disregarded.

As Fernando laid there on the ground, Nic backed away applying vigilance as he inspected his enemy. Everyone was given a breather and regrouped as Fernando was trying to stand.

"You've forgotten something." Nic threatened. "Your magic doesn't help if you can't even touch us."

Fernando got back up, his eyes full of insanity. His sociopath look intensified, his facial expression darkening. "Hands off my throne!" He tiredly scolded. "Get off! Get off! GET OFF!" He reached both palms out, a large, dark spiral forming. "Reaper's Claw!"

From the purple galaxy, dozens of massive and long arms with untrimmed sharp claws reached out, reaching out towards Nic as he remained stiff. He made no subtle movements as the attack closed in. When it did get close enough, he attacked.

"Shadow Claw!"

In a pace faster than what many could not have foreseen, Nic passed the dozens of dark hands that were reaching him, his right arm cloaked in Shadow Claw. As he slid along the ground, a purple glint resonated from the hands, engulfing them in negative explosions.

"Damn you!" Fernando scowled.

Nic looked back over his shoulder. "Erza!"

"Right!" Using her beloved's back as a stepping stone, Erza gained high altitude, having both swords wield and ready to strike. She came crashing down on Fernando, crossing her blades and slammed into him. The scientist scowled as he barely held her off with his gloves, grabbing the blades by the flat end, but fingertips by the sides. He slid back to a halt, maintaining ground as he held Erza off. He glared at her menacingly with the short proximity in between, his delirious look trying to melt Erza.

"Tell me, how do you know my magic?" He growled. "Tell me! How!"

He was given a response in the form of a headbutt. Erza bashed her head against his own, causing Fernando to recoil backwards from pain. Erza stood there, glaring stoically at him.

"I know because I've seen it before." She answered. "This isn't the first time I've seen Nightmare Magic before my eyes."

Fernando's eyes widened as a gasp escaped his throat.

"Your demeanor and the next to be the best on this so-called gameboard of yours, and this dark magic, you'd think I wouldn't understand, but you remind me of that very same woman. Such bitter ambitions of using others to claim power is despicable." Her eyes narrowed. "To think Bellona's faulty heart would be so low, but to know someone's just as low is deplorable enough."

Fernando suddenly snapped yet again. His eyes widened as his ears rang. He violently planted a boot to Erza's abdomen. "Don't even speak that name, pawn!" He scowled.

Erza screamed as she was shoved back, but fortunately Nic caught her. He helped her stand and they both glared at Fernando as the mention of Bellona rang around.

"Names that define losers should be forgotten. The mere notion of the failure one brings is out of jurisdiction. One must look towards the future rather than the failures that brought him ahead. It's nothing more than discarding trash that just missed its mark in the trash bin of pity."

Mark and Laura looked at him quizzically, the former more inclined as to what he was telling of. "I'll bite, what is this guy's beef?"

"I don't know, but it sounds like he's taken a real hit from just that name." Laura figured.

Erza leered at Fernando, the mad scientist growling ferally at them with dread. "There's something not right here…I can feel it."

"I didn't help give a legacy that can make mistakes. A legacy is meant to uphold tradition, achieve perfection. No one has been able to achieve perfection, no one except me of course. I make no mistakes, so to discard trash meant abandoning mistakes that make themselves useless." Fernando continued.

Nic narrowed his vision. "A legacy…?" His eyes suddenly widened. "Wait a minute…!" Realization dawned upon him, but Erza caught on.

"This odd resemblance in behavior, and this bizarre aspect of life as a board game…" Erza trailed off, overlapping Bellona and Fernando's sadistic point of views. Something was very off, and not just the fact that Fernando's long bang going around his head like a ring had a familiar color. When a suspicion crawled upon her, she gasped. "It can't be!"

Kecleon tilted her head. "A big oak sprouted a rotten leaf?"

Nic's eyes beneath his sunglasses dilated. "No way." He muttered. "At first, I thought it was of preach, but looking at it now, I was wrong…" His teeth gritted, his blood starting to boil. "No wonder Bellona is who she is now. You're her father!"

Shock ran throughout the group as they caught onto said revelation. The very resemblance of the one who Nic and Erza confronted was indeed Bellona, and she was as cruel as they came, but looking at it now, one had to wonder how she got her…issues. Now they all knew the answer.

Laura raised. "So this weird girl you speak of, you mean this guy help gave life to something like him?"

Fernando abruptly lashed out at Laura, kicking her right in the abdomen. "I HAVE NO DAUGHTER!" He shouted. He pivoted to find Mark going on offense as means of getting back, but Fernando swiped his arm, sending a wave of air that sent him in the general direction Laura went off to. "I have no general legacy! I didn't give a legacy to be passed down to others so that they can rule in my stead! Bellona was nothing more than hopeless trash that I got rid of when she realized the mistake she made!"

Nic glowed and shifted into his Zap Form. His body manifested into lightning, which he guided himself and speed through the atmosphere above, trying and hopefully catching Fernando by surprise. His lightning speed was too fast for the scientist to keep track of. "What do you mean by trash? What did you do to her?" He shot down onto Fernando, his quick assault, spouting electric bolts like a discharge all around. The ground flashed as Fernando barely blocked using his forearms, but the electricity flourished through his body with excessive voltage.

Fernando managed to hold his own as the lightning faded, the mad genius grunting as parts of his face and body was charred. His teeth gritted with anger. "Why do you care? She's trash, like you!" He swiped his arms, making Nic backflip away and slid to a stop. "Bellona wasn't a daughter, she was nothing to the likes of a king if she could hold up her own expectations. That bitch got what came to her the moment she made one flaw visible!"

Nic's eyes widened, dilating with frustration. "So just because of her being accused as a mistake, you deliberately cast her aside?" He asked in disbelief. "You're worse than any monster!"

"Shut up!" Fernando made more dark spirals visible, throwing them towards Nic. Without hesitation, Nic gathered lightning into his veins and extended his arms forward, screaming out a Thunderbolt. The massive voltage raged across the ground, making the rock beneath split apart. The two attacks met in the middle, making another burst of lightning and darkness, cancelling out.

The smoke cleared, with Fernando angrily extending his arm out, firing lightning from his palm. "You were nothing more than a pawn of yourself! You, Nic Pularis, were a selfish mistake, whose space was wasted on your own gameboard! The kings and queens thus used you as they saw fit, and finally defaced you from your own game!" He trailed lightning all around to attack Nic, but he just stood there, swiping his arm and using his powers to deflect the lightning, altering the directions to constantly strike walls. "Like you to your king and queen, I disposed my own trash! She disappointed me, and so I forgot about her! Good riddance!"

He ceased his attack, instead spreading his arms out above. Nic and everyone there glared at his insanity.

"Children all other life are but pawns! You all are nothing but waste on my board!" He began to glow a frightening orange-golden light. His Magic Power was once again manifesting large quantities. "Life is nothing but a game that I watch over and muse, because I want life to go my way. Anything I dislike, I can just kill off. My turns are flawless, so one flaw meant the end, and thus I can't be perfect! I am perfection, like a god!"

"He's gone mad!" Nic yelled.

Erza grunted, her fists balling.

"His aura is pitch-black. He's lost any and all reasoning. His sentences aren't even aligned with what he says the previous time. He's saying the same thing over and over." Vanessa said.

Nic stared ahead, Kecleon jumping right to his side,]. They both stare ahead as Fernando's sadistic and insane look intensified to no end. Nic glared distastefully at the man who had no reason left in him. 'So, this is Bellona's superior…'

A golden and massive magic seal was made over Fernando's head. "It's over for you, pawns!" The markings were all so intricate on the magic seal that it resembled something unpleasant, and not just because the color, something more ominous that brought unpleasant times.

Erza's eyes widened. "That spell…" Her heart pounced. "This can't be!"

Vanessa turned towards Erza. "What is it? What is that spell?"

"That's the Abyss Break!" She answered. "He's gonna destroy the whole chamber with that size, including himself!"

"Fernando, stop this!" Nic implored.

"NEVER!" Fernando psychotically laughed. "NEVER! I DECIDE YOUR FATES! AND I SAY YOU ALL DIE! OFF MY BOARD!"

Everyone prepared for the unholy, but suddenly, Fernando went wide-eyed and screamed out loud as explosions erupted behind him. The assaults seemingly struck his back, rendering him fairly harmed. He fell forward, the Abyss Break circle breaking apart.

"What?" Magnezone wondered.

Kecleon blinked. "Huh…?"

Fernando grunted, his back flaring from the sharp pain inflicted. "Grrr! Gah!" He yelled and looked back at where he was shot. "Who did that?!"

Behind him was Mark and Laura, both opposing the mad scientist as he had no reason in him left. They both had a nasty look in their eyes, one that put Fernando's psychotic demeanor to shame. They looked mad.

"You know, for someone who's lost in his own reality, I can understand where you're going with this." Mark despondently answered. "We know what it's like using others for amusement." He thought of Nic and how he and his wife mercilessly thrashed him. "But unlike you, we've come to accept our mistakes, and learn from them."

"We didn't know better, but hence that reason, we'll do whatever it is we can, and prove that we're not above our own kin, but as equals." Laura announced.

That notion made Nic and Vanessa grin as they knew what they were talking about.

Fernando's eyes widened. "Equals?!" He clutched a fist and socked Laura across the face. He turned towards Mark, angrily punching him in the chest, and next the face. "The world is not of equality, it's of control! Subjugation is what the strong live and breathe! I will use whoever and whomever I desire, and I will make sure that they bleed every ounce of their own existence away if they are not deemed as useful!"

He moved to attack them again, but a harsh kick to the back of his head, sent him flying. The professor flew forward and slammed against the wall harshly. As he laid there, slumped, something fell out of midair, revealing a red stripe. Kecleon turned visible and landed, looking straight ahead.

"The blind leads his troops into fire." She said.

Fernando turned around, his face red with fragments of blood freshly caressed all over him. "You disgust me!" He extended his arm out towards her, sending a fresh wave of water ahead. The stream of water drew closer towards Kecleon, and she merely sidestepped out of the way, evading the stream with no problem. This served to annoy him further. "GRRRRR~! STOP RUINING MY CALCULATIONS! DO NOT PATRONIZE THE HAND THAT CONTROLS YOU!"

Kecleon tilted her own head again. "Keep hands to yourself at all times."

Fernando was panting, his dark aura starting to manifest yet again around his body. "No! This is my world you all live in! Mine!" He brought his hands overhead, gathering Magic Power yet again. "Don't you see?! I am the king, and have been, as I never lose! The Impure Underworld Spell is my only chance to finally achieve my highest point! It is I who was destined to lead this world and manipulate every pea-brained human being! Alpha, the others, all of them are nothing! They are dumb! I am superior! I guided their pieces, as I will guide and manipulate the world as it shall be my gameboard!"

Nic looked wearily ahead. "So that's your ultimate intention…"

"I AM A KING-NO! I AM ABIVE A KING! I AM A GOD! AND MY RULE FOR YOU ALL IS ABSOLUTE!" The dark spiral that began manifesting over his head began to slowly expand throughout the vicinity.

"What's he doing?!" Mark yelled.

"That trash Bellona didn't deserve to know this divine spell of Nightmare Magic! No one does! It's mine and mine alone! Flash Eclipse!"

The whole galaxy began to expand outwards, making the ground shake and shudder as a purple wave exerted outwards.

Erza stepped back with Nic. "If we get hit, we'll fall into a nightmare!"

Nic spread his legs, angrily looking at the incoming veil of purple that began to reach him and everyone else. He had no choice. He had to make this fast. He knew what exactly could counter just a distasteful power as such.

Clasping his hands together, his body flared intensively as a bright yellow light encompassed the area. Lightning and electricity flare constantly…

Everything thus was encompassed in pitch-black for that brief moment. Everything went blind and a pillar of purple shot up, creating a hole in the caverns. Outside, the pillar reached up and out, dissipating through the pitch-black clouds slowly expanding outwards through the area.

The darkness began to fade, revealing Fernando as he was panting. His forehead had a number of veins as he was looking as though he was about to explode. He had a wicked smile as he huffed and puffed profusely. Slowly, and quietly, he laughed. He laughed, and said laugh began to break into a steady climb, reaching to where he raised his head, laughing bitterly up towards the skies. His laughter, it was proof that he has lost all means of sanity.

"You see?! You all deserve a fate worse than death! You all deserve to die by the hand of your god! I wiped your pieces off my board and into hell! Sleep and have your bodies decay as you never wake up!" He continued to mockingly laugh as the darkness faded, but as it did, the atmosphere felt odd. His laughter subsided, his frown slowly returning when he felt so much static in the atmosphere. He felt the electrifying atmosphere, his uneasiness expanding. "What?" He looked down at his hand, noticing how it and the ground was brimming with static. "What's with this electricity all of a sudden? Where did it come from?"

The darkness faded, revealing a serious gaze from a certain someone. Nic looked at him through the dissipating darkness. "You've given up on the reality before you."

Fernando's eyes widened in horror. "Impossible!"

It wasn't just Nic, but all around, Erza, Vanessa, Kecleon, and everyone else was in one piece. They all glared at Fernando, and at the same time, the atmosphere was static-brimmed, and the chamber was engulfed in a hue of yellow for some odd reason.

Fernando's hair stood on end. He frantically looked at his surroundings. "What's going on? Why aren't you all lying on the ground?!" He shouted.

"If you'd paid attention, you'd understand." Nic glared. "I used Electric Terrain."

"Electric Terrain? What does that have to do with my calculations?!" Fernando testified.

Vanessa stepped closer towards her brother, her gaze equally as serious. "Because Electric Terrain does more than amplify the power of Electric-type attacks. It has one more quality that you completely overlooked."

"What quality? I overlook nothing!" Fernando denied.

"It's clear now." Nic's eyes narrowed. "Sleep. Electric Terrain nullifies any means of sleep as well."

Fernando's eyes widened, the shock yet again baffling him. "W-what?" He looked at the static in the atmosphere, his horror coming to fruition. "N-no! No! NO!" He looked back at everyone with bitter frustration. "It does not! Die! Nebula Hold!" He made another dark galaxy in his hold and threw it horizontally towards Nic. The attack reached him, but upon contact, Nic wasn't forced backwards, nor did he immediately fall to the ground. The vortex dissipated, revealing Nic unscathed. He looked as though nothing happened at all. Once again, Fernando was looking sadistic and psychotic. "NO! I'M CONTROLLING YOUR PIECES! ME!" He blindly rushed for Nic as he had dark spirals in hand. "NONE MAKES THEIR DECISION! YOU DIDN'T GET THE CHOICE! THOSE PUTRID CREATURES DIDN'T EITHER! IT'S NOT DESTINY, IT'S ME! ME! I ALWAYS WIN! I WON'T BE DEFEATED! IMPURE UNDERWORLD SHALL BE MINE TO COMMAND!"

As he blindly closed in, his senses and reason completely gone, Nic narrowed his eyes, only to widen them once more. "Now!"

Erza requipped into her Lightning Empress Armor, twirling her spear around. "Understood! Let's go!" She jabbed her spear forward. "HRAH!" With a strong shout, she attacked with shooting lightning, which the voltage was twice as large due to Electric Terrain.

Vanessa extended her arm forward. "Magnezone, Zap Cannon!" Magnezone complied with his Trainer's command and generated a very potent sphere of green and yellow electricity. The discharging energy was manifesting very intensively that the Zap Cannon turned out to be twice as large. When it was unleashed, the attack blitzed across the rocky ground, making rock fly on either side.

Nic put his hands together, generating a ball of yellow electricity. The energy he was exerting made the sphere larger than normal, and it was making more static flare. He threw the sphere with all he had. "Electro Ball!"

All three electrifying attacks closed in on Fernando, while he recklessly charged with his desire to win. His conscience was so lost he didn't notice the attacks hitting him. He violently shook as his vocal chords screeched. He screamed in agonizing pain as he was engulfed in lightning and electrocuted to no end. Millions of volts ran through his body, splitting the ground and making an explosion of yellow surge. Everyone covered up as the static flared around the area, and thankfully, they all were safe with the distance amongst the group. The electricity soon dissipated, thud revealing smoke, which revealed Fernando. Is glasses were destroyed, one lens shattered while the other had several cracks. He stood there blindly, body cloaked in static. He looked mesmerized as he gurgled. He slowly fell onto his back, his pupils devoid of anything but white. His mouth hung open, his defeat evident. On the gameboard, his piece was revealed to have been hit by one of the electrical discharges, the piece capsized like he is.

Electric Terrain faded away, with Nic and Erza reverting to their original forms. Everyone looked at one another with some sense of worry.

"Mom, Dad, are you both okay?" Nic asked.

Mark nodded at his son. "Yeah, we're alright. Laura, you okay?"

"Yeah." Laura smiled. "That was a close one."

Vanessa looked towards her Magnezone, smiling. "Magnezone, great job. Thank you." She praised.

Magnezone looked pleased, but offered nothing to say.

Kecleon was right by Nic's side when he knelt down, rubbing her head with delight. "Kecleon, thank you for all your help, again."

Kecleon smiled as she tilted her head. "Spruces keep growing."

Erza smiled at Nic, glad he was able to save them with that one attack. Her attention, however, hurriedly diverted elsewhere. She looked away from the raising group, frowning when she looked at the board. She stared coldly at it, but remained silent. She slowly turned around towards Nic, in which he looked towards her next. The two looked at each other longingly, seeing that while they were happy they were able to take down someone of the Rivolta, it was also true they had work to do.

Erza gently grabbed Nic's hand, in which he offered no resistance. He slipped his fingers through Erza's own, their securities coming back to them. Both of their soft smiles were making the other feel confident on what dark hours were left after this.

Mark and Laura looked down at Fernando, seeing his unconscious form. Both looked with disgust at him. "To think this psycho gave life to another."

"That poor girl." Laura added.

Nic and Erza briefly thought of Bellona and her sociopath-like behavior. Her need for survival of the fittest, and her Nightmare Magic; it's clear now that the resemblance was all too clear. Both looked down at Fernando, their sight equally as grotesque as their own parents. This begs the question if Bellona could still find hope, unlike her deplorable father, who had lost his mind.

Vanessa's eyes widened a little. "Wait…"

Fernando suddenly let out a gasp of air, his sudden regain of consciousness startling everyone.

"He's awake!" Magnezone exclaimed.

Fernando's body was shuddering, his head still throbbing from veins and excessive pain. He looked up at the ceiling, the general direction of which everyone seemed to him. "Stop…looking down on me." He growled. "I'm…the one who is supposed…to be looking down on you."

Nic retained his composure as he glared down at the man. "If only you saw the truth."

"You act as though you were god in your own little world. You were so focused on winning and perfectionism that it completely overshadowed your judgement." Erza pointed out. "Do you know why we won?"

Fernando gritted his teeth.

Erza continued, this time, smiling at Nic. "Because we did this, together."

Everyone smiled with her statement, agreeing with her in full.

"Y-you're wrong! I always win!" Fernando denied.

"You lost." Mark pointed out. "Wake up!"

"Never! I am undefeated! This is my game, and I say I win!" With what strength Fernando could muster in his paralyzed body, he struggled to reach over his coat, but managed. There was a large ordeal to what was left underneath the destroyed clothing, but it was clear he still had a trump card left.

His coat was pretty much destroyed, so that left his tattered shirt. There seemed to be some sort of bulge strapped to the center of his chest. It was glowing weakly. When he ripped off his shirt, it was revealed, and no one liked what they saw.

"What…?"

"Oh no."

"This is bad."

"Tick-tock!"

Strapped to Fernando's bare chest was a small but seemingly potent lacrima wrapped around a metal alloy. It had nine little yellow lacrima, with a big red one in the center. Already, the first little yellow one turned red. "If I can't be god, then no one can!"

"Is that what I think it is?" Laura speculated.

"A bomb!" Mark shouted.

The next yellow lacrima instantly turned red. Fernando laughed maniacally as he lost everything, including faith in his daughter years ago. He just kept laughing, as he knew he won in the end.

"We gotta get that bomb dismantled, now!" Erza shouted.

"Don't bother!" Fernando shouted. "One touch and it instantly goes off! The isle will be blown to smithereens! Along with you all!" His eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets as the next two went red. "I TOLD YOU, I ALWAYS WIN!"

Vanessa turned towards everyone as her shock rendered her speechless. "What do we do?! He's not gonna listen!"

Nic looked down at Fernando having lost all sanity. He readied an initiative. He could use Embargo, or perhaps use Magic Room and disarm it. He readied to do so, but suddenly, a mix of green and blue aura domes cut Fernando off, trapping him in a half-sphere, where his laughing was muffled.

"What-?" He looked over at his mother and father, seeing as how they were holding their hands out and shielding Fernando. "Mom, Dad, what's going on?!"

Mark gave his son a desperate look, one that Nic didn't ignore. It was a look of regret, but at the same time, acceptance. It was confusing to point out, but when Mark also shook his head towards him, Nic followed along. Though speechless, Nic didn't falter. It was like they all said before, he was beyond saving. This was just one of those times where Nic had to accept that there are those like Fernando who'll take their pride and shame to graves. Like Lysandre all the way back. Those who are ambitious will very well die doing so. It's a virus that spreads and cannot be stopped.

As grim as it was, Nic looked resolved as he thus turned towards Vanessa. "Vanessa, ass a third one, if you can." He asked.

"Right." Vanessa didn't deter either. She knew her brother accepted what was to happen, even though it was unkind. She generated a teal aura shield, her thickest yet. She and the parents closed their eyes and concentrated as everyone stepped back.

Inside the three veils, the second to last lacrima turned red, while Fernando maniacally laughed. "YOU PAWNS LOSE! I WIN! ME!" He yelled.

"Everyone, be careful!" Nic shouted.

Fernando let out a loud, hysterical shout as the last lacrima turned red. At that moment, a click went off, and his look went still, and that's when everything about his entity turned white.

"Vanessa! Everyone, make a cylinder and direct the blast up!" Erza shouted.

The three Aura mages did as instructed and made their three large domes encompassing Fernando reshape, becoming a very thick, three-layered pillar of blue, green, and teal that went up and out above, where the ceiling was broken into.

The bomb went off, and a bright light engulfed everything. The ground shuddered and fell apart, causing Erza to fall atop of Nic and land on the ground. Vanessa, Mark, and Laura all slid back, while using whatever Magic Power they could manage and keep their pillars from breaking apart. The bright shockwaves made their ears rattle, and the blinding light made them unable to see. Violent winds exerted everywhere from the three thick cylinders cracking apart from some places, but otherwise, everything else was white.

Aboveground, a pillar of white and smoke expelled everywhere into the atmosphere, as though an atomic bomb went off. Everything was engulfed in dust, smoke, and bright white. The atmosphere rattled t=like that of a blood-curdling animal.

As the earth raged and the explosion's palpitation ran throughout the hill tunnels, all the Rivolta looked up, knowing full well what transpired. They all frowned, but none cared.

There was a long period of silence that fell afterwards. Nic was unable to open his eyes as his ears rang. It hurt to even think of hearing. "What…happened?" He groaned. "Are we…alive? And why is my cheek warm?"

"Nic? Nic?" Erza urged him to get up, her hand gently against his cheek. "Nic?" She called out.

Finally, Nic began to move. He sat up, with Erza dangerously close to his face. "Gnnngh, where…" His eyes opened up, managing to see his surroundings. With shock surmounting, he found out that there was a large, cracked pillar that looked like it was gonna break apart. "Wait, the explosion." He turned towards Erza. "Erza, are you alright?" He asked worriedly.

Erza nodded with a sincere smile. "Yes. It looks like we've made it out alright."

Kecleon and Magnezone were both against the wall, the latter slumping down from being shoved into it, while Kecleon was engraved into the wall, falling forward with a perfect Kecleon impression embedded into the cavern wall.

Magnezone gently floated back up. "We're…okay."

Her mouth open and tongue sticking out, Kecleon gave a thumbs up.

Meanwhile, Vanessa, Mark, and Laura were all on hands and knees, panting and huffing profusely as they looked like they were gonna pass out any minute. The family trio grunted as they had a few cuts and scrapes, but otherwise, nothing they weren't prepared for.

"Vanessa, you okay over there?" Nic called out.

"Y-yeah! I think." Vanessa muttered. "Mom? Dad?"

"We're good!" Mark announced from the other side of the chamber.

The colorful aura shields went down, finally, letting residual smoke disperse throughout the atmosphere up. The smoke ascended, but at the same time, ash fell to earth, lightly showering the area in a drizzle of cindered fluff. Everyone slowly got up once they caught their breaths. They all slowly gathered around once again, near the same spot where Fernando was vaporized. Not even his glasses remained. All that was in the spot was a deep crater, where it was black from darkness.

All of them stared down in subtle silence. It wasn't a time to praise themselves for killing an enemy. This was the bitter reality of the world. In these dark times, it's kill or be killed. When Nic and Vanessa were taken, they had to make it out with their lives. These people don't know mercy, and thus they deserve none. All them stood in silence, mourning the untimely demise Fernando deserved.

"It didn't have to be like this." Nic mournfully noted. "If we told him that, I'd say there was no other way."

"He gave up his humanity. He chose to forsake this reality for the game itself. He was so constant on winning and treating life as a game that he never expressed any other emotion of love for another living being." Erza said.

Yeah, but still…" Nic thought back to the predicament at hand. "That was Bellona's father."

"He was no father." Mark said.

"He threw his child away. He chose perfection over life." Laura added.

Nic said nothing, silently agreeing with their points.

Vanessa frowned. "Still…we ended someone who helped in giving life to someone who may have a chance." She added.

Nic smiled. "At least now we have a better chance at stopping the Impure Underworld." He said, getting them back on topic.

Erza nodded in agreement. "Yes. If that is correct, then there shouldn't be too many left after this."

Kecleon looked off towards the side, noticing something wrong far ahead. "Hm?" Tilting her head, she walked on over and inspected the spot that was barely intact. She walked on over, looking at the stone table with the gameboard atop. The Color Swap Pokémon looked at the pieces and how they were scattered. She also noted how the board was crooked.

Nic looked over towards his Kecleon, noticing her direction. "Kecleon?" He looked to where the board was. "Wait, the gameboard."

"What?" Erza looked there again, seeing the gameboard still on the stone table.

Nic and everyone met up with Kecleon and looked down at the crooked board, seeing as how everything was labeled out like that of a labyrinth. They could see every one of their pieces either sprawled or lying down from the shockwaves the explosion had given off. Looking at the board, something about it seemed oddly suspicious.

"So, this was how we were watched. He just moved our pieces?" Mark wondered.

"This is why people don't stick with one hobby." Laura said.

"I…guess…" Vanessa wasn't sure about that, but then again, they weren't wrong either. She looked down at the board again, pointing the where their general pieces were. "It looks like we're here." She pointed out.

"That would make sense." Nic looked towards his parents. "Mom, Dad, did you say this was the same chamber you were ambushed? If that's so then from what you recall, that means the chamber where the spell is shouldn't be farther than a mile this way." He referred down the board, where they found a very large center with an intricate incantation in its center.

Laura nodded in agreement. "Yeah." She frowned when she saw something odd beneath. "Nic?"

"Yes?"

"Do you see that?" Laura pointed towards where the board was crooked, towards the stone table. Everyone's attention thus diverted to where the stone beneath was. They noticed something about it, and not the actual stone itself. A small hollow section was underneath the board.

"What the…" Pushing the matter ahead, Erza pushed the gameboard off the table, discarding it and its now-irrelevant pieces to the side. When she removed it, all slowly went wide-eyed. Everyone stared down at the hollow mess inside of the stone table.

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Vanessa asked.

Kecleon took a peek, tilting her head, left eye glaring down.

"I see it, but I can't believe it." Laura muttered. "Mark?"

"Dear god…this can't be right."

What they were seeing were black and white pieces. There were nine white pieces, compared to three black pieces. The unleveled battlefield was of several rock layers made it resemble too much of crags and war grounds. In the middle, lying at the bottom, were two black pieces, broken.

Nic's disbelief surmounted. "Is this that game from the past?"

"It looks like it." Erza said.

Laura's eyes widened. "It's déjà vu…"

"Beggars and Choosers." Mark swallowed. "The birth of the saying 'Beggars can't be choosers'."

Nic looked around the little game engraved in the table, comparing it to the gameboard Erza tossed to the side. "You think this was where Fernando modeled his little game?"

"It's possible. He was definite on us not winning, that's for sure." Magnezone pointed out.

Erza put fingers to her chin, pondering. "Something isn't right about this." She looked at the two sides. "The black ones are the Beggars…and the white side is the Choosers. There's three Beggars, and there's nine Choosers. Those exact numbers must mean the number of Rivolta members if we stand to reason correctly."

"Minus one." Kecleon pointed.

"Er-right, eight. Thank you. Anyways, while these three pieces resemble Nic, Vanessa, myself, where does that leave your pieces, Laura? Mark?"

Everyone grew quiet as they looked at Mark and Laura, both looking dreadfully unnerved as they looked down at the Beggars and Choosers game. This very game, this very little existence of a game, it was perhaps a major definition in the eyes of the deceased. This was to separate one side's ideals, and who is deemed the superior, just as Hiruzen told them. They cascaded looks around the pieces, looking at the numerous whites against blacks, ying and yang clashing. They then looked down at the middle, noting how there were two black pieces.

"There." Mark slowly pointed towards the middle. Everyone followed and looked down at the broken pieces.

Vanessa's eyes narrowed. "Those two?"

"But why are they there? And why are they black?" Magnezone wondered.

Nic looked unemotional as he stared down at the two crestfallen fragments of what were two Choosers, meant to end the Beggars with all that they had. Their reasons were different, and that lead them to being traitors. Nic recalled the tale, and how in the end, an unfortunate fate falls upon the Bargain.

"The Bargain is dropped." He said low.

Mark and Laura slowly nodded their heads in confirmation. "It's always dropped." Laura said.

"Dropped?" Vanessa looked at the two pieces. "You mean…?"

A strong silence fell, the implication afoot. The memory came back to them, the fate of the Bargain as it is dropped.

"But why are there two Bargains?" Erza wondered.

Mark and Laura, again, were left in silence, the unbelievable twist of fate unraveling before them.

"They're us." Laura said on behalf of Mark.

Suddenly, the floor began to shake, the energy began to rattle their bones, and everyone backed away from the board, spreading out. The ground began to glow a neon green color. Intricate carvings flowed into one another, the light beginning to glow brighter.

"Wha…what's happening?" Laura shrieked.

"I don't know!" Mark shouted.

The bright light intensified. Nic's sunglasses were thankfully keeping him from going blind. "It's a fail-safe!" He looked back towards Erza, his horror reaching a brim peak. The two looked towards one another before they reached out and tried to grab the other's hand.

"Nic!"

"Erza!"

The light encompassed the whole chamber. In a flash, everyone…was gone. The room was once again desolate, with ash showering through the opening like it were a dark winter.

---

Pitch-black encompassed the area. There was a strong silence that fell onto the atmosphere. The floor was dark, and the whole area was barely able to be seen, even by means of night vision.

Nic found himself on his stomach, slowly opening his eyes to take note of what happened. "What?" He got to his hands and knees, looking up to find everything darker than usual. "Where am I? Was that a teleportation circle?" His eyes widened as he gasped at the realization. He got back up, realizing he was all alone. "Erza?" He called out, but no answer. "Erza? Vanessa? Mom! Dad! Magnezone! Kecleon!"

When he got no answer, he had a disdain look. "This isn't good. Wherever that trap sent us, it must have split us up. We need to find each other, and fast. We don't have many hours left until the blood moon rises." A hint of worry came across Nic's concealed vision. "I just hope the others are okay…"

As he looked around, he stood completely still, the cold air suddenly intensifying. He could feel some sort of animal-like potency around, an emanation similar to what's been felt all day. The smell of odor and decay intensified all of a sudden as well, in which Nic's sense of smell suddenly cut itself off from how corrosive it was. Nic's hair stood on end, his eyes widening as a monstrously dangerous energy was making his goosebumps shrivel up.

"What…? What is this creepy feeling? It feels like…?" He can't remember feeling so potently petrified ever since he fought against someone in particular, namely a certain someone who goes by Lysandre. His shriveling energy made those nearby die, all plant life decayed, and the black shadows turned to void. All around Nic, as his heart raced, he noticed how pitch-black the shadows and darkness was. "This is bad…"

He turned around, stopping stiff as another wave off goosebumps petrified him. He stared with shuddering eyes, his sunglasses unable to conceal and shut out the bright blood red stare of eyes. He saw the blood red in them and pitch black sclera, like a wild, untamed monster bent on destruction. The set of eyes glared at Nic wide, not moving as instead the figure who had the eyes was revealed. His presence cloaked in negative shadow-like flaring fire made the ground's cracks flare with a dark purple energy, slowly illuminating the earth and giving view to a pure, bloodthirsty animal.

Nic's horror reached a peak. "You're…"

Alpha smirked at Nic, his blood red eyes fixated on him, and him alone. "Nic Pularis, welcome."

---

Tada! How was that for a surprise plot twist? Now you know of Bellona's origins, though I intend to get into detail with that and how she was discarded when the Tartaros Arc comes around. At any rate, hope this chapter was to your liking. I got a lot of battles I need to do at once, so be expecting battles unfolding. We're pretty much at the climax of the Impure Underworld Arc, so I hope you guys enjoy what I have in store next!

Fun fact: In Pokémon Y, I have a Rotom whose Attack surpasses its Special Attack. You all are amazed lol.

As always, comment, review, and I hope to hear from you guys! :)