Chapter 37 - Brothers

Team Doom HQ – 9th Floor

Ren patrolled the ninth floor searching each room for any intruders that had infiltrated the base not too long ago. 'Savior Soldiers' was what Ren was told who had attacked; they knew the Savior's would attack soon, but not this early. But with the Savior's he knew he would see me again, wanting to kill me or my friends if he could.

"Attention all Doom soldier's" A voice from Ren's radio in his paw announced, and Ren listened in to each word. "The Team Doom Eight member' Harry has fallen to the intruders. They were last seen on the eighth floor stairway heading to nine. All available soldiers head to the rooftop on the double to protect the boss. The intruders must not reach the rooftop!"

"How pathetic, Harry defeated by Zack?" Ren scoffed, continuing his patrol through the corridor, nearing the corner. "Harry's a Rock and a Thunder type, which should've been enough to kill him. Eh, he was a scientist and not a soldier, so I guess I should've seen that com-" By the time Ren had reached the corner of the corridor, I punched him as hard as I possibly could if not more right in his nose knocking him down.

"Nope, you should've saw that punch coming, bitch." Espeon added as she emerged around the corner with the others, grinning at Ren as he bled from his nose. "So since you are already bleeding and if you don't wanna bleed anymore, how about you give yourself up and surrender. Cause looking at you like this is kind of pathetic. Team Doom is falling faster than they could even lift off of the ground. So since your members are in the tens, losing in every corner, why not give up?"

"You think I'm just going to give myself up to the likes of you just like that?!" He growled, standing up in one swift motion wiping away the drops of blood that trickled off his chin. "Team Doom is strong. Shiny Latias has a plan, a plan so good we'll have total control of this-"

"Save it!" I interrupted, reaching out to grab hold of my own scalchop ready to engage in battle with him. "Team Doom is history. Guys," I said, still facing Ren as I spoke. "Find Latias, keep her safe." I wanted Latias to be safe. I didn't trust her sister, not one bit. Shiny Latias would definitely try to hurt her, possibly kill her if she could, refusing to listen to her no matter what she said. Not only did I want them to go search for Latias, but I also wanted to deal with Ren alone. Not wanting to risk their lives during the battle with Ren.

"Mr Zack-" Golurk started to say, but then sighed looking back towards the stairs. "Understood, be safe." The others along with Golurk carrying Gardevoir still injured from the battle with that captain Wujek, quickly made their way towards the stairs leading to the next level.

It was now me and him alone in this narrow corridor, nothing but what we have, our skills to see who would come out the survivor while the other defeated, alive or dead, two outcomes I didn't know which one I would grant him. If he gave me the choice to let him live I would take it and be on my way leaving him behind. Should he leave me with no other option then I would have to end him.

"Come to die have you?" He said as he too activated his Razor Shell pointing it at me preparing himself for battle. "That won't go well for you, cause I am a Dark type and you are a Psychic. Now which one will come out on top in the end?"

"Just because you're a Dark type and I am a Psychic type doesn't mean I don't have chance against you." I readied my scalchop, holding it firmly with both of my paws. With all of the training I had done over the past several months, I had hoped I would be ready for this. No interruptions this time, I had to fight him, to end this once and for all between us. I had something I wanted live to see, many things I wanted but one I could only have if Latias was there; a life with Latias. I had to know she was alright, that she was safe. I had to be serious with this fight; I had to give it my all. All of my training has been leading me to this moment. Would I survive, and my future with Latias be just right around the corner for me? Or would it end with me dead? All would be answered after the fight.

We stood in silence staring down at the other armed with a scalchop both using Razor Shell to strike down the other. My mind was clear of all thought, I had to focus, and I had to wait. I wanted him to make the first move, and then I could counter it if I could. Should he attack me by charging at me with a Razor Shell, then I'll block the attack and use Water Pulse to knock him back and strike his paw with my Razor Shell and hopefully disarm him without killing him first.

And we ran at each other as fast as we could. I wasn't sure which one of us started to run at the other first; me who wants to both settle the matter with Ren and search for Latias making sure she is safe, or perhaps it was Ren who stepped forward running towards me wanting to kill me to exact his revenge. Our Razor Shell's clashed with another, refusing to hold back our power in order to defeat each other. I evaded by back stepping as far as I could whenever Ren's Razor Shell neared me by either a slashing motion if my own Razor Shell wasn't near my body to defend myself, but whenever he trusted his Razor Shell trying to stab at me, that was when I was able to block it block, hoping to find advantage in this attack, but he was too quick for me to find an opening.

With one downward strike with his Razor Shell at me I blocked the attack just in time and the two of us glared at the other, he pushing all of his weight down trying to break through my defense, and me trying to find a way to slide the attack off of his Razor Shell and disarm him somehow. That was when he spoke.

"Rachel was my mentor!" He shouted as our Razor Shell's clashed with the other. "She was my friend! You killed her!" Ren quickly back flipped and used Dark Pulse before I could use Razor Shell to slash at his arm to disarm him. The Dark Pulse he used summoned up a dark fountain up from the ground underneath my feet. I dodged the attack but I was too slow, my feet and the tip of my tail took the hit. Because of my weakness to dark, because I was half Psychic type, the Dark Pulse hurt my feet and tip of my tail badly, like I just stepped on the hottest thing in existence, it sure felt like it, so I could only imagine what the full affect would do to my body.

Ren quickly used Swords Dance as five images of Dewott sized broad swords floated around Ren's body momentarily before flashing away. His power was now stronger than before, so I had to be careful around him or else this battle would and quickly with me defeated and dead.

Ren ran at me again and used a barrage of combination attacks such as Razor Shell mixed with an Aqua Jet as his body was surrounded by water lifting up off the ground and flying everywhere spinning his Razor Shell's within his Aqua Jet every moment he got close to me. I blocked the first set of attacks from him, but he managed to break through my defense and cut me up on both my right shoulder and upper right arm. Any deeper and I might as well say goodbye to my right arm, or bled out before I lost it. So the best bet was to avoid his Aqua Jet/Razor Shell attack rather than block it.

I ran around the corridor avoiding his attacks, jumping or rolling to the side, whatever I could do to avoid being hit. But I couldn't keep this up forever, and neither could he stay up in the air using Aqua Jet endlessly. I could try and strike him with my Razor Shell, wait for him to get in close and I could try and hit him, break him out of that Aqua Jet/Razor Shell and fight him normally, but a close ranged strike could be risky. Maybe I could try using Water Pulse and throw him off course.

And so I did by stopping in my tracks to avoid Ren to quickly turn around and used Water Pulse one at a time using the move trying to hit him as he flew up in the air. Out of the seven I fired at him, only three managed to hit his flying stream of water; one in where Ren was, the rest at the center. I thought I would have to use more Water Pulse's to work against him or at least something else more effective, but then I noticed his steady Aqua Jet was slightly bouncy in a way going on and off now and then. His Aqua Jet was failing him, the water struggling to keep him up in the air and Ren almost falling to the ground. So he decided to stop using Aqua Jet to make a clear landing on the ground.

The moment his feet touched the ground, I had managed to hit him with my Water Pulse sending him crashing into the far wall of the other side of the corridor, but that wasn't enough to keep him down. He got up again and held up one of his scalchops and reactivated his Razor Shell and held it up, preparing to charge at me, I did the same, and it was time to end this.

The two of us stood at both ends of the corridor, our scalchop's firmly grasped in both paws with a Razor Shell at the ready. Then we ran at the other to strike the other down. One false move, if I acted too slowly and it could end in my death. I had to be accurate if I wanted the land the hit I needed for this battle to end how I wanted it to, if I wanted it to end right then and now so I do not waste more time, time I wanted to use to find Latias and protect her.

We were merely twenty meters away from each other gaining closer and closer ready to attack by the second. Upward strike, horizontal, trick him somehow by making him think I am about to strike a certain way? Whichever strike I delivered had to be the one I needed for this battle to end the way I wanted it, and so I had decided before I even realized it. When we were just a step away from the other, both of us at the same time attacked the other swinging our Razor Shell's into the other with so much force I could feel myself backing away from the impact, but my body still kept on forward to deliver the final blow.

I felt my Razor Shell collide with Ren's briefly before sliding off and slicing into his flesh. Where? I didn't see. A deep wound, a fatal wound or just a light scratch that would barely do anything? I didn't know. I didn't feel anything not knowing if he did manage to land a hit slicing into my chest or stomach, a fatal strike. After that attack we stood still, holding up our Scalchop's raised up with Razor Shell still active in short silence.

The same thing had happened to me, Ren's Razor Shell slid off mine and sliced into my chest just below my left armpit. It wasn't bad, it wasn't deep but it would definitely leave a scar there, a nine inch long cut underneath my left arm. Looking back at Ren to see what my attack had done, I saw him drop his scalchop and knelt to the ground grabbing his right arm. I did do damage to him, not what I had in mind, but it was something. His right arm from his paw to his elbow had a long cut across his arm, a deep cut. I approached him, should he wish to continue with the fight despite his injury, I punched him in his nose once more hearing it break with a loud pop and he fell back onto the floor groaning in pain. He was defeated, but he still lived. My ability didn't see to that thankfully, but I had hoped it would be for the best.

"Me and Latias, we have a future together. I want to be there for her for the remainder of my long life. Starting a family with her, living our lives in peace without people like you causing trouble for us, without fighting the other risking our lives daily. I just want to live in peace." Throwing him down onto the carpeted floor, turning my back on him as I walked, I finally said before ascending the stairs to find my friends and Latias. "I'm sorry for what I did to you. But if we meet again, if I find out you are still after me, I won't walk away next time leaving you alive." And so his fate was to live, I had decided he would live. Glancing back at him, I saw him there knelt down sobbing; letting both the blood and tears drip onto the carpeted floor.

With luck or with skill, I had disarmed him and told him exactly what I want, what he could still do with his life if he chose to leave the fighting. Was it foolishness on letting him live to see another day? Would he listen to my advice and choose a life without the fighting? Would he one day take arms once more and start up his own Team Doom-like band of fighters to fight against me? I gave him the choice the leave me alone, I hoped he would listen and we would never have to fight again. I would've liked… maybe we could reconnect, that I could ask him one day about my real parents and my sister. But if we did see each other again, I had told him that I would kill him if so, but that wasn't true, I was still open on letting him in on my life, that one day we wouldn't see each other as enemies, not anymore.

To be continued...

Trivia:

Ren's fate was hard to determine, In one version Zack killed him after Zack promised to let him live, but stabbed him after Zack saying he needed Ren's power to defeat those who would get in his way. That kind of seemed uncharacteristic for his character and too dark, so it was cut in order to leave his fate ambiguous until I decide later on what exactly happened to him at a later chapter.