Jaret King belongs to aggies2015

Viola Almach belongs to Ariesbird

Juliet Grey belongs to Dolcebrio

Seria Day belongs to Kittynip

Ryuu Sinclair belongs to Tendou Souji (Kiwami no Sengoku)

Cody Frost belongs to Hodge Podge '97 (Kozak Keegan)

Victoria Reed belongs to Lord Farquaad

Honovi belongs to Jentus (Writing Duo)

Victoria bit her tongue and forced down the girly giggle she felt coming. It was something she could scarcely believe, she decided. It was very foreign, but she had already taken a liking to the feeling.

"Hey, you okay?" She smiled clumsily.

"Uh, yeah...sure...Totally fine..." Her eyes fell to her fingers interlaced with his and almost immediately hoped that he hadn't seen the gesture. Then again, it seemed like Ryuu noticed everything.

"You don't really seem it." And then he laughed. "And you expect me to believe that with such a weird look on your face."

"It was supposed to be a smile," she huffed embarrassed. Ryuu rubbed at his chin, his smile widening a little.

"I won't argue with that then."

"It's just..." Her grip tightened. "It's just I never thought you'd ever step down from your throne. You know, as to show me even a little affection." She was quick to return a smile. He raised a brow skeptically.

"A title is just that. The real reason I'm a little apprehensive is-"

"Because you're a private lover?" She winked at him, and he almost immediately turned his eyes from her.

"I wish you wouldn't say it like that..."

"Oh, I'm just kidding." He didn't look at her, still rubbing his chin.

"It's a little vulgar if you ask me. Besides, what if Cody hears you talking like that?" She waved a hand dismissively.

"I found him you know. He might've already seen stuff that either of us really haven't..." He looked pensive. She yanked him towards her and Ryuu stumbled to the side to keep from bumping into her. He would've fallen for sure, but she was quick to pull him right back on his feet. He felt the lines in his face disappear, unaware that he had even been glaring at her for the moment.

"What was all that for?"

"I think you're just worried about Cody teasing you about this."

"You nearly knock me over to tell me that?" Victoria nodded.

"I had to, because I know how distant you can get." Ryuu was silent. "I don't think he'd risk upsetting you. He tries his hardest to impress you. Especially with that Growlithe you caught for him." He shrugged and Victoria watched his impassive face attentively.

"I just really wanted the two of you to have better." His hand had tightened around hers now, almost bone-crushing, enough to make her squeak in pain. She had figured that he was having another one of his moments, since he had caught the Sigilyph and since Conner had left. His eyes had become so strange and foreign to her. "And I still do. It doesn't really help that you've needed to lie and steal for a living. You've also had Cody to take care of, so I figured I had to help." Victoria felt her voice dry up. She hated when he got like this, when he became withdrawn and overzealous. She was slightly aware that his grip had slackened a little.

She thought back to the Sigilyph. His changing had started precisely when he began to train and deepen his bond with the Psychic Pokemon, and she hated how the Pokemon's presence eclipsed Ryuu's brash confidence, how it changed him. She sorely missed the old Ryuu. If he was going to lose his brashness with age, she would've liked it to have been later rather than sooner.

"Well," she started quietly. "I just want you to know that I appreciate you. A lot. I really, really do." Victoria leaned into his chest then and she was a little surprised that he hadn't flinched away. Instead, he stayed in place and his arms formed around her then. He rested his cheek atop her head. She wondered if it bothered him that she was two years his junior. She wondered if he was disgusted with himself or her. Such a thing didn't matter to her in the slightest. She was young, but he also wasn't that much older. She felt as though she would cry.

"I appreciate you too, Victoria..."

"Vicky!" Victoria winced at the familiar nickname and the scene returned to her in an instant. She scurried to the right, her entire body bursting in pain as she fell into the dirt. A Hitmonlee's extended leg had passed over her and into the sides of one of the buildings. That's right, she thought. That had been four years ago. In the present, they were fugitives. They had needed to go back to Ecruteak and atop the Bell Tower in order for Marus to bring about Ho-oh, and once he did that, she'd be able to get what she wanted.

That was a rough frame of the idea, anyway. Ecruteak had been closed off to travelers for a time, which in itself placed a hold on the annual Silver Conference. From what she had managed to hear, a slew of bodies had been found at the Bell Tower, each of them belonging to a school of officials that watched over the Bell Tower. They were a group of people that Victoria could only describe as monks and it was more than likely due to Marus's intrusion and 'rebirth' in the city the first time around that had resulted in them dying. and a massive media coverage. The gruesome discovery had gravitated every gym leader in Johto except for Claire and Jasmine, who had both journeyed to Mount Silver's peak, more than likely to guard the second half of the "Eternal Flame" Marus kept talking about.

Victoria felt a slight relief. She figured she'd be able to handle most of the other gym leaders but Claire and Jasmine were rumored to be the strongest in Johto. Even so. she found that she had quickly shot the idea down. Knowing Marus, he probably already got the stupid thing...

She heard the Hitmonlee recover and the Pokemon went for her again and she went for a ball on reflex, but she tugged her hands away from her waist.

One of Cody's Pokemon, his Magmortar, appeared over her and struck at the Pokemon, barreling it into the earth and before its trainer.

"Well, I hadn't expected that." came a remark. He was a muscular looking man; shirtless like Marus, though his hair was cut shorter, and his facial hair suggested middle-age, stretching nearly entirely across his face. Victoria was quick to retract her statement of "muscular", eying the man's stomach with slight disgust. Cody appeared next to Victoria then.

"You're Chuck from Cianwood." Cody's voice sharpened. "Sorry, but you're going to have to move." For a moment, the two stared at one another. The gym leader nodded.

"And you're that Cody kid from the wanted posters." He looked to Victoria. "And this must be Victoria." Magmortar's hand shifted and Chuck only offered a slight glance at the Pokemon. "Do you think I'm scared of how big your Pokemon is? If anything, I'd be scared of an actual gym leader, kid." There was another standoff before Cody turned his back to him. A burst of impact fired from Magmortar's hand and Chuck smirked. His Hitmonlee appeared before him and kicked the fire bolt skyward. The Hitmonlee leveled itself for mere seconds before its foot shot forward again, this time aiming for Magmortar.

The kick landed with a solid 'thump'. Magmortar dug his foot into the earth behind him for support. Hitmonlee's leg snaked back in place, launching from the other for a second strike. Cody's mind snapped to attention.

"Hey Magmortar! Get back!" Chuck snorted.

Stupid kid. Hitmonlee's foot extended further, quicker and Magmortar stepped to the side. Hitmonlee pressed and came in fast, far too fast for Magmortar to focus his Psychic. The series of punches had rocked Magmortar. Cody bit his lip in thought, more so in frustration. Hitmonlee had been casual in physical contact, which meant Flame Body wasn't working, strangely so. It was such a small detail that required him to focus on. Oddly, it was hard for Cody to concentrate and there was so much to concentrate on.

Like Victoria.

Like Ryuu. He cringed as the Hitmonlee toppled Magmortar with a well-placed kick. He was taken aback and relatively annoyed when he found that Seria's image sat strong in his mind.

"Magmortar, up!" Magmortar crooned and forced himself back up and said nothing else, though Cody felt a sudden strain between the both of them. He figured Magmortar was able to discern Cody's lack of conviction with little trouble and it more than likely irritated the Pokemon in turn. Hitmonlee stood at the ready. Cody bit at his lip again. She came to mind again, that Seria and Hitmonlee punished him for his lack of focus. The Pokemon's foot slid forward toward Cody but Magmortar stepped between them and a grasp of Hitmonlee's foot. The other hand mechanized into its cannon and the fires had very nearly burst forward. Hitmonlee cackled, leg retracting to bring him in faster than either Cody or the Magmortar could react.

Magmortar hit the ground with another solid crash; Hitmonlee landed for only a moment before he was up and gone again. The Pokemon's form appeared before Cody. The boy hadn't moved and had barely even thought before he was keeling over, a solid fist driven into him. Somewhere along, Cody had heard Victoria scream something after him, muffled by air as Hitmonlee struck him with another solid kick, sliding him into the dirt. Victoria screamed something again, directed at the gym leader, though it was a little hard for him to hear.

He could hear a ball click open and he struggled to see what Victoria had thrown out in such desperation. He heard the abrupt start of the battle to taking place just behind him. The wind wailed under Hitmonlee's sheer speed and fluidity of motion, he could tell. Cody attempted to roll on his side but his body protested with a stab of pain and he froze for a small bit. The impacts between the Pokemon followed and the fact that Hitmonlee was still battling was proof enough to Cody that Victoria hadn't set out Kingdra, then again, the dragon never really listened if she felt the Pokemon was below her.

Cody went to move again, catching a glimpse of a clash. His neck gave a stab. He ignored it and rolled himself back over with an excessive grunt. Even rolling over had been much more difficult than it should have. He went to hoist himself up and the sharpness returned. He bit his lip and pushed through it, coming once again to a complete stand.

Hypno was beaten harshly, kneeling before Hitmonlee. The pendulum was crushed in the dirt a few inches away. Cody turned back to his Magmortar, who had been dealt with promptly and lay still incapacitated. Hypno had been the one taking the beating, he figured. The Pokemon had been noble in his sacrifice. It made Cody feel all the more worse. Hitmonlee rose a hand then, tapping into his chest.

"Hit me," it seemed to say. Hypno glowered to the best of his ability before he crumpled into the dirt also. Cody tensed when the Hitmonlee turned his eyes back onto him. Chuck suddenly boomed with gratified laughter.

"You got impressive looking Pokemon, but you really don't have any idea how to use them." Chuck stomped into the earth, settling himself into stance. "I think I'll make things easier. I can't really say how easier it'll be, but easier nonetheless."

"You'd fight a kid?" Cody spat, rubbing where the Hitmonlee had struck him. The gym leader gave a short nod.

"Be happy that I'm giving you this chance. You lucked out when Hitmonlee decided to kick you with the face of his foot. Had it been the sole, then you would've been dead on the spot." Chuck tightened his focus as Cody's slipped away, to exactly where they were fighting. The residential buildings of Ecruteak were often built on a single story, in the fashion of old feudal homes. Hitmonlee had kicked into one of those buildings earlier. Was it possible that someone could've been there? Could there have been a child under all that rubble? It seemed as though Chuck would stop at nothing to bring them to justice. "Well," he heard Chuck. "Come on!" Still, Cody did as he been doing and only met Chuck's challenge with an almost passive stare.

"Actually, I've been meaning to ask...You're the only leader that's out to meet us. Where's the other five?" Chuck tossed a lazy finger toward the Bell Tower.

"The leader of this town, Morty, figured that your ringleader would have you guys used as a distraction..." Cody's face wrinkled in ill-disguised disgust.

Figures. Marus only sees us as dummies anyway...

"...So I volunteered to capture the both of you While the rest fight your guy on the tower. Answer your question?" Cody remained unresponsive, staring past the gym leader and at the Bell Tower and Chuck took notice. "You know kid, you don't really seem all that thrilled to be doing what you're doing... If you're having doubts, then why put yourself in all this mess?" Cody went rigid. He could see that Chuck was looking past him now, at Victoria and a seemingly ill-fated Juliet. He figured Chuck would accuse him of being young.

"I do it for someone important to me." Chuck's eyes were back on him.

"For those girls behind you?" Cody nodded. He had expected the leader to elate then or bellow in laughter, speaking about the young and love. He did no such thing and instead, he frowned. "Then they must be very special to you if you're willing to have your face across the region." He shook his head and reaffirmed his stance. "Are we going to fight or what!?" The boy raised his fists, silently, as a response. Victoria called behind him.

"Can you really fight after being hit that hard by that Pokemon over there?" He shrugged as a response. Victoria's face curled in anger. "Then don't be stupid and let me fight him! I can do it! Even on this ankle of mine, I can fight him-" Cody blocked her out. She was lying in desperation. Even with Hypno's constant tending after Blackthorn, the wound remained grievous. It had been open for a few days now, and it was worse with scar tissue and bubbling over. It made his stomach churn just to think about it.

But what had stopped Hypno from fixing it? Cody had often kept Marus in mind when he thought of it. Perhaps his ability to heal affected others, but he couldn't quite say. He caught the last bit of Victoria's rambling, and he could hear her sniffling again. "I just want to protect my family," he heard her say.

"Victoria," he offered her a glance over his shoulder. Her eyes were bright with astonishment. "Shut up." And he turned back to Chuck, fists to his face; he kicked off after Chuck.

Her bright eyes had invigorated him, had sent him forward first after Chuck. They had also sent him to the pain he felt when Chuck had stepped into and through his offense, twisting the boy so that his arms ached and his spine felt as though it'd snap. Cody pressed his hear into the earth to stifle his pain. He felt the leader's weight lift from over him. Cody gasped for air and stumbled to his feet. Cody rose his fists again as Chuck wordlessly settled back into position. Cody had only thrown a single punch, and Chuck re-directed and guided him into the earth and into whatever submission he had done. Already, Cody felt tired and exhausted, and he had only made one mistake.

Victoria had gone silent behind him, watching or perhaps not as he struggled. She would've already come to his rescue, if she could. His chest was heaving, though he managed to hide the shaking of his legs a bit. Cody wiped the edges of his mouth and brought his fists back to his face.

"Don't be stupid, kid." Cody only tightened his hands and Chuck sighed. "What good is getting knocked around in front of people you want to 'protect'? It looks like blind devotion to me and probably to anyone else who takes a good look." Chuck's form slackened and the man turned his back to Cody. "You're not even trying to fight anyway." Something pressed into Cody. His vision went foggy for a split moment. It was the Hitmonlee again. He saw Chuck wave his hand, a signal for something and the Hitmonlee assented. The Pokemon shoved Cody and he stumbled. Cody turned into one of Hitmonlee's kicks and his sight went dark.

Hitmonlee nodded to Chuck and hoisted Cody onto its shoulder. Chuck turned to Victoria who had remained eerily silent.

"I got the kid," he began. "So, you can make this easier on both of us." Victoria pointed to her ankle wordlessly. "Won't matter. I can get one of my Pokemon to carry you. Sound alright?"

"Put him down." Chuck's brow wrinkled at her demand.

"You're in no position to be calling the shots."

"It's for your own good." Chuck scowled.

"That's not funny. At all." He un-clipped a ball from his waist and pressed the button. The ball gave a minimal "click!" and another one of his Pokemon, a Machamp, took form. "Now knock it off and hold still. Machamp will try his best not to irritate that mess of an ankle you got there." The Machamp twitched, almost as though it were indecisive on how to proceed. He fell over dead then, a neat little hole burned through the forehead.

Both Chuck and the Hitmonlee scrambled, the latter barely dropping Cody before he refocused.

"What did you do?" Victoria pointed a second time and Chuck followed. A Kingdra sat floating a little ways from the ground.

"I told you to put him down, but you didn't listen..." Chuck's hand came back to his waist. "I'm not going to fight you, but just put Cody back down." Her voice sounded normal to her, which was interesting. It had always seemed dead to her. In her eyes, normal made her think of Victoria Reed, and Victoria Reed made her cringe, jealous even. Chuck's hand was around another ball but he yanked his hand away. Something had went by him, cut into his hand. He had already figured he was bleeding.

"Interesting Kingdra. It has a decent eye." Chuck let out an enthused whistle.

"She's not all that impressed with your team. At all." And then Chuck grunted at her irony. She was picking at him, for sure. She was trying her best to dislodge him. He was trying his best to ignore his Machamp.

"I don't know how well-trained she is, but you do seem to be at a better focus than your friend there." He made sure to keep his attention away from the Machamp. "Hitmonlee, put the boy down. If you have it in you, we should be able to take her down as well. We don't really seem to have another choice." Hitmonlee dropped Cody instantly. The Pokemon seemed riled up, excited even as the dragon stared him down. The Pokemon hadn't gotten enough and he knew as well as Chuck did that the Kingdra's aura seemed to some kind of terrifying. Chuck ignored the strange quivering of his fingers.

"Just give me back Cody." Victoria reiterated thrice now.

"He's really a priority I see. Well, you never answered my question and instead killed off my Machamp in the blink of an eye. I think you know what that means. If you want this 'Cody" back so much, then you'll have to beat us to do it." Victoria's eyes seemed to harden at him and her voice shifted with the next words she spoke. She laughed.

"Then I'm looking forward to it, but I have a question for you first." Chuck fixed her with a stare.

"And that's...?"

"Your Hitmonlee's actually really strong. Anything special about it?" The gym leader was tight-mouthed. He had considered her question with a certain level of caution. It was far too intense for it to be something menial. "I noticed that Hitmonlee never took a burn from his kicks." Chuck stiffened and Victoria held her smirk. He definitely knew something. "I figured that a Hitmonlee's limber ability only applied to paralysis." She prodded curtly. The gym leader's gaze grew sharper still.

"So, there's other trainers who know?" She broke open into an open grin this time, responding with a single, short nod.

His leg stung, Morty noted. The wound reacted in defiance every time Bugsy's hands shifted to contain the bleeding. How had they ended up like this? Every one of his Pokemon, his Gengar excluded, had been dealt with, dispelled and diluted into thin air. The short sword in Marus's hand was gleaming in the sun and its sheen made Morty shield his eyes. He took a moment to align his thoughts which ultimately produced the question: how exactly did Marus gain his abilities?

"Morty, How do things look for Scyther and Gengar?"

"Not too good at all. They're holding him back as best they can, but if we don't hurry up, then they'll be next."

"I'm trying," Bugsy replied bitterly. Morty didn't take offense. It would be wrong on his part to do so. They were the last two remaining of the five leaders that had come to to Bell Tower. Whitney, Pryce and Falkner hadn't been so lucky, and the each of them lay still in peace, or more accurately, in shock and disbelief as their expressions showed. "I don't know who's out there, but they're doing a good job of holding up Chuck. If he hurries up, then we might have a chance!" Scyther hissed and Morty slammed his fist into the rooftop cement, clenching his teeth in pain. Bugsy's hands had slipped and dug deeper into his leg wound. Bugsy knew his Scyther well and Morty could see the distress in the bug trainer's eyes. Nothing of the mantis needed to be said.

Morty tried his best to keep his eyes averted to Bugsy's medics but he would be drawn to his Gengar who was now fighting alone against Marus. The ghost Pokemon was kept at a range indefinitely and whenever Marus seemed to leave himself open, both him and the weapon would shift and catch Gengar by surprise, who would slink away flattened into the tower tiles in attempt to retaliate. They were getting nowhere and were actually losing ground. What had the Phoenix been thinking to grant someone like him power?

No, Ho-oh was much more wise than that, and 'Marus' had already died. Morty grumbled in thought. He had the grave news, and Will, one of the most renowned dragon masters in Johto had been slain by this same boy. What was the world coming to? Morty bit down a little, and he soon realized that Bugsy had just about finished, tearing the sleeve from his safari jacket to wrap the wound. Morty's chest shook with tension. Impulsively, he threw Bugsy aside, knowing full well that Bugsy will have had to thank him later. Marus's short sword ran home, jabbing in him all the to the hilt.

He had seen Bugsy's face, riddled with something akin to fear and disbelief, like the others. Being a seer, he would've thought that he'd had all the answers or at least seen his own death coming. Of course, it wasn't something he focused on. He other things that had his interest. Other things that made him-

Why was he getting so off track? Was this how dying was? It was difficult, maybe even impossible to keep his thoughts together. He could feel light touch of panic itching at the back of his mind. What good would such a thing do at this point? Words formed at Bugsy's lips and they would've been easy to understand if he could hear them. The more Morty focused on what the boy was saying, the less he understood, and the more tired he became.

It was almost like fighting sleep as a child. Bugsy's lips stopped moving, only allowing for a single, morose quiver. He hoped, very dearly, that Bugsy could live through this. He also hoped that his 'hoping' wasn't just an intricate lie to himself.