Author's Note: Literally the only time I'm ever doing one of these things, don't quote me on that, and it's to announce me changing the name of my fic. Instead of "Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Broken Reality," it will now be called "Ties of Fate." Other than the name change, nothing else is really changing, and I hope you all continue to enjoy my story.
I am assuming you enjoy it since we're nearly 30 chapters in at this point…
Anyway, on with the Show. Of words.
As expected, the Cafe was entirely empty. Aside from Benny behind the counter, that is. Rio tossed himself in a chair, nearly overshooting and falling right off of it in the process. The others took their seats like normal people, except Lucas, who did the same thing Rio did but actually fell off.
"Smooth," Nina snickered, helping Lucas up.
"Aside from hurling ourselves needlessly on furniture, why are we here?" Zen asked, crossing his arms. "I don't exactly mind chatting but… I have my doubts the lot of you can hold a conversation that at all interests me."
Eva elbowed Zen in the side, making sure not to hit his body blades. "Someone's suddenly bitchy. Did I miss something on the walk here?"
Zen shook his head. "No, nothing like that. I just… know that something isn't right. I can't stand sitting down and talking endlessly about nonsense, when there's trouble afoot."
"What if there was trouble a-meter?" Rio asked, smirking.
"Or trouble a-mile?" Lucas added.
"How about trouble two-foot?" Jax chuckled.
All three of them got deathly glares from Zen. "This is exactly my point. I don't mean anything by this, but I am currently surrounded entirely by children," he said to Eva.
"Hey, I'm older than you," Jax huffed.
"And yet you act just as childish, if not more, than anyone here." Zen sighed, crossing his arms. "...Apologies."
Jax gave Zen a hardy pat on the back, smiling brightly. "Eh, don't worry about it. I'd be scared too if I was you."
"Scared?" Zen eyed Jax over. "I beg your pardon?"
"Yeah. It's obvious that Tia gettin' all out of whack got under your skin. Hell, she coulda splattered all of us on a wall and made a bloody mural, if Rio and Kora didn't stop her," Jax said, shooting a pair of finger guns at the Lucario.
"Jax, I take back my apology. You're a dumbass." Zen rubbed his face, getting gradually more irritated. "What do I have to be scared about?"
"Other than gettin' beat by a nurse, I'd wager you're scared more about everyone else here. Sure, you might be fine, but look at those two." Jax pointed at Lucas and Nina, who were both chatting away with Z and Rio. They were enjoying themselves, laughing, joking, actually relaxing. Zen soon realized that he was relieved just by looking at them, and a small smile had appeared on his face. "Lucas is a tough nut to crack, and Nina's quick on her feet, but if they had to face Tia head on…"
Zen blinked, turning back to Jax. "You're point is, what, exactly?"
A smug grin crept onto Jax. He put an arm around Zen's shoulder and pulled him into a side hug. "You're just a big ol' softie, ain't ya?"
"Th-The hell?" Zen tried to push away, but was surprisingly overpowered by Jax. "L-Let go of me this instant!"
"It's alright, Zen! Relax a little! Nothin's gonna happen to us any time soon. You can put your worry aside and enjoy the moment and all that," Jax chuckled.
Zen looked to Eva for help, but she had this pleasant look about her. "Yeah, Zen. Who knows how long until we gotta fight something again? Might as well take a breather while we have the chance."
"I-I…" Zen blinked, then looked back over at the others. "...Hmph. If it'll get Jax to let go of me, then fine."
"If you want me to let go of you, you gotta admit you're a softie," Jax stated.
"I will do no such thing," Zen growled.
"Say it."
"No."
"Say it."
"Jax, the next chance I get, I am going to break two of your arms, and remove the remaining two."
Jax laughed, poking Zen in the helmet. "Buddy, c'mon. Strong as you are, even you know that's impossible."
"Would you like to test that theory?" Zen asked, staring at Jax with a cold, deathly stare.
"Alright ladies, you're both pretty. No need to pull each other's hair over this," Eva interjected, pushing the two apart. Jax and Zen looked at each other, then back to Eva. "...What?"
"We're both, uh…" Jax began, scratching his chin.
"Lacking in the hair department," Zen finished, turning his head away.
"I was gonna say we're more handsome than pretty, but that too," Jax laughed.
Eva let out a long, aggravated sigh. "I hate you both, I swear to god…"
Zen let out a chuckle, shaking his head. "Gods, I can hear Orion laughing all the way from the afterlife. Don't worry, we'll play nice, Eva. Go do… whatever it is you would do at a Cafe other than eating."
Watching that entire exchange was Rio and Minerva, who were currently staring right at Zen as if he'd seen a ghost. Zen and Rio locked eyes in an awkward staring contest until Zen decided to speak. "Is there a problem?"
"Who the hell are you?" Rio asked, getting a berry thunked on his head, which caused Minerva to giggle a little.
A little while later, just as the group was getting bored of doing nothing, Jay finally arrived. He looked, well, nervous was probably the best word for it. His eyes were aimed at the floor, and he fumbled a little white box in one of his claws. Curious, Nina called Jay over.
"You alright dude? It might just be me, but you're looking… not like yourself," Nina asked as Jay sat beside her. The others waved to him, and Zen gave a welcoming nod. Jay sheepishly waved back.
"I-It's nothing, really…" Jay replied quietly.
Not falling for that line for a second, Nina leaned in close and wrapped an arm around Jay's shoulder. "Yeah, no. You almost never stutter, dude. What happened?"
Jay shut his eyes, then slightly turned his head towards Nina. "I, um… we might have to talk somewhere else about this." The Grovyle, after literally just taking his seat, stood up and turned to leave, waiting for Nina to follow him.
"Is something wrong, Jay?" Zen asked, which startled Jay.
"N-No, uh, I just wanna talk to Nina about something. Lucas too, if he wants," Jay replied, not looking directly at Zen. "I-It's nothing to worry about." Jay hoped he convinced everyone as he and his friends left the Cafe.
"WHAT?!" Nina and Lucas exclaim before Jay quickly covered their mouths.
"Shut up! Leaving the Cafe doesn't mean a thing if you're gonna shout like this!" Jay said, hoping they weren't heard.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I'll just try and remain calm knowing that there's a wolf inside the guild!" Nina pushed Jay's claw away. "Why aren't we telling the others? We can't not tell them!"
Lucas nodded, lifting Jay's claw away. "Yeah, as much as I'd love to fight him with you guys, I, uh, don't think we should keep him a secret."
"Y-Yeah, normally I'd agree, but…" Jay trailed off, finding it hard to look at either of his friends.
"Did he do something to you?" Nina asked, worry filling her voice. "That rotten, sneaky-"
"N-No, he didn't really do anything," Jay gulped, holding the tiny box between them. "It's just that he, kinda, sorta… h-helped me."
"Helped you?" Nina and Lucas both asked.
"Like, he gave me advice. Good advice, I think." Jay rubbed the back of his neck. "He also gave me this box that I can't seem to open. He's kinda nice, maybe."
Nina put her froggy hands on Jay's shoulders, shaking her head. "You don't sound too sure about that."
"Have you seen him? I wouldn't call a guy like that nice at first glance. Or second glance. Or third…" Lucas said, crossing his arms.
"I know, but… the advice he gave me doesn't really feel like something you'd say to just anyone," Jay sighed, looking at the box again. When he realized a faint smile started stretching along his beak, he shook his head and put the box in his satchel.
"Ok, what's this advice that's made you think that guy's suddenly trustworthy?" Lucas asked, tilting his head.
Jay didn't dare respond, instead looking at literally anything that wasn't a Frogadier or Charmeleon.
"Jay, don't make this difficult," Nina said, crossing her arms. "It can't possibly be something you can't tell us."
"... Don't wanna," Jay muttered.
"Are you serious..?" Nina asked.
"...Don't wanna."
"We are not doing this now," Nina groaned. "Lucas, hug him."
The Charmeleon didn't object, wrapping his arms tightly around Jay and lifting him up. "I have huggo'd the Gecko."
"W-Wait, you don't have to do this!" Jay looked at Nina, but all he got was a shake of her head.
"Tell us what he told you, and we won't."
Jay gulped, wrestling with whether he should spill it or not. Sure it's just some harmless, friendly words of encouragement, but the embarrassment he'd feel would be unbearable. Unfortunately, he didn't come to a decision quick enough.
"Alright, Lucas, heat him up," Nina said, taking a step back.
Lucas' tail flame flickered excitedly as a grin stretched on his snout. "And here come the he-"
"I-It was about Zen!" Jay quickly shouted. "It was about how I could, like, um… b-be with, Zen…"
Lucas blinked then looked over at Nina, wondering if she heard the same thing he did. Unsurprisingly, she was just as dumbfounded as he was. The three stood there in silence for a moment, until Lucas set Jay down. The Grovyle slid down the wall until his knees were to his chest and wrapped his arms around them.
Nina looked down at Jay, regretting forcing that out of him. She sat down next to him, motion for Lucas to sit on the other side. "Look, Jay. I'm sorry."
"Don't bother, you aren't really sorry," Jay mumbled into his knees.
"No, really. I didn't think it was something like that, you know? I wouldn't have pried so hard if I did," Nina said, laying a hand on Jay's shoulder.
Jay pulled his shoulder away, growling. "As if, you guys are always on my case whenever Zen comes up. You both just love teasing me about it!"
"I mean, I thought it was all in good fun, right?" Lucas said. "If we were bugging you so much, why didn't you tell us?"
"I have been, idiot! That's what I do every single time we talk about this!" Jay snapped, shooting up from his seat. "It's not fun being teased about this! I-It… I hate it!"
Nina got up, worried. "W-We're sorry, Jay. We really only teased you as a joke, not to actually make fun of you."
"That doesn't make me feel better about it. Knowing you guys use me for laughs actually makes that a whole lot worse!" Jay clenched the white box in his claw, not noticing the tiny cracks that formed on it.
Nina takes a step closer to Jay. "If it really makes you feel so bad, we'll stop. Would tha-"
"No it wouldn't!" Jay snapped around, a red glint in his eyes and a snarl on his beak. "That doesn't fix what you did!"
"J-Jay?" Nina spoke, her voice shaky. "Y-You're… I-I…"
Lucas stood between Nina and Jay, holding his arms out. "Jay, get a hold of yourself! What's going on with you? You aren't normally like this, dude!"
"And who the hell are you to tell me that?" Jay growled. "Aren't you the one who gets all sad and pathetic whenever he loses?"
Lucas winced, but didn't respond to that last part. "I'm your friend, Jay. We both are."
"What kind of friends bully someone because they like someone?!" Jay pulled back his fist, snarling fiercely.
"If hitting me will make you feel better, then do it!" Lucas shouted. "You getting all worked up over this is crazy, Jay! You always helped me out when I got down in the dumps, so I'm not gonna sit here and let that happen to you."
Jay stood there, his fist shaking. "F-Fine, I will!" he said, but didn't move.
"Well? What are you waiting for?" Lucas stepped closer to Jay.
Jay took a step back. "I-I…"
Without looking away from Jay, Lucas grabbed Jay's reeled-back fist and pulled it forward, tapping it on the edge of his snout. "Go on, hit me right here! Hurry up so we can have our Jay back!"
The Grovyle flinched, feeling a strange chill leave his body. He didn't move, nor did he punch Lucas like he said he would. Instead, he turned away so his friends wouldn't see the tears forming in his eyes. "I-I can't… I'm sorry."
Lucas let go of Jay's arm, smiling gently. "It's pretty obvious that you don't gotta say sorry, Jay. We were kinda… jerks."
"N-No, it's..." Jay shook his head and sighed. "Today's been a little too much for me, I think. My head's all… fuzzy."
Nina offered her hand to Jay. "If you're not feeling too good, we can bring you to the infirmary to rest for a while."
Jay rubbed the tears from his eyes before facing Nina and Lucas again. His vision was blurred slightly, probably from the tears he just got rid of. "I think I need that, yeah. Again, I'm sorry for snapping at you guys like that."
"And we're sorry for pushing you that far," Lucas patted Jay on the back. "But it's nice to have you back, buddy."
"Back?" Jay blinked. "I wasn't… that angry, was I?"
"I was only fearing for my life, so not really," Nina said, entirely sarcastic.
"...Huh. I know you're being sarcastic, but like… was I really?" Jay asked, smiling nervously.
Lucas shook his head. "Eh, not really. Well, kinda."
"Very reassuring." Jay rolled his eyes and chuckled. He and Nina walked down the tunnel with Lucas right behind them. After they took a couple steps, that box Jay had fallen out of his satchel and right at Lucas' feet.
"Hey Jay, your box thingy fell," Lucas said, picking it up.
"You can hold onto it for a bit. Maybe you'll have better luck at opening it than me." Jay said, waving his claw weakly.
Lucas looked at the perfectly square box. It was oddly pretty, despite lacking a design. At least it was perfectly smooth, with no imperfections whatsoever. "Maybe," Lucas shrugged, keeping a firm grip on the box. A chill briefly crawled up Lucas' back, but he thought nothing of it.
"Ah man, if getting beaten half to death all it takes to get some quality time together, we should piss off Tia more often," Nate sighed blissfully, leaning on Zeke's back as they sat in the bed together.
"I mean, we could just… not do that, and instead get ahead in our work instead of just doing what we need to," Zeke chuckled, placing an oran berry on the top of Nate's snout. "I like fighting, but getting beat like that is not fun. At all."
Nate shrugged, tossing the berry up and catching it in his mouth in one clean motion. "Suit yourself."
"Suit me yourself, coward," Zeke scoffed.
"Why would I put you in a suit when I like you better without one?" Nate chuckled, reaching back and bonking Zeke on the head. "Hell, you've burned damn near every suit I did put on you!"
"That's on you, Scales. Don't blame me for something I can't control," the Blaziken's wrists flared with a bright orange flame for a second.
"Alright, Feathers, if you can't control, why'd you do it just now?" Nate turned around, resting his head on Zeke's.
"Well I thought of you for a moment, and wouldn't you know, fire happened," Zeke said, holding his arms up as fire burst from his wrists once more.
Nate rolled his eyes, spewing a steady stream of water to put out the fires. "If you think you're gonna get something from flattering me, you'd be right. But not now though, I have nothing on me but bruises and bandages. And we're flat broke."
"You say 'we' but you really mean me since you spend more of my own money than I do," Zeke chuckled. "But whatever, we can like… hell, I dunno. What can we do? There's like, nothing to do here."
Nate snorted, getting a light punch on his shoulder. He shoved his shoulder into Zeke's chest, knocking the Blaziken over. "Ow owie, ouch, my bruised shoulder. That'll cost y-"
From the entrance of the infirmary, someone very audibly clears their throat. There stood Nina, the clearer of her throat, and her two friends. "Are we… interrupting something?" she asked, just about ready to turn heel and leave.
"Not really, what's up?" Zeke said calmly, shoving the blue gator off of him.
Lucas sat Jay on a free bed, letting out a sigh. "Jay's not feelin' too hot. How're Tia and Kora doing?"
"Not any different than before you guys left. Still unconscious, mostly silent, unaware of their surroundings. Maybe… Hopefully…" Nate said, muttering that last part to himself.
The young trio pretended not to hear Nate's mutterings, but they weren't the only ones trying to hide that they heard him. The "still unconscious" Tia let out a quiet snort, followed by her trying to cover that up by clearing her throat, which pretty much announced to everyone that she was wide awake and very aware of surroundings.
"T-Tia? You're awake already?" Nate fell backwards.
The Meowstic stretched out her back, chuckling to herself before she sat upright on her bed. "I have been for a little while. I'd ask why you sound so surprised, but I'm well aware of why. What'd I miss, by the way?"
Nate slowly hid himself behind Zeke, letting out an embarrassed grumble, leaving Zeke with answering Tia. "Before I say how much you missed… how much do you remember?"
"Hmmm…" Tia rested her chin on her paw. "Um, hard to say, really. I think I remember Kora being dropped off here after he spent a long while underwater. He said he was under there when Kane left, but Kane hadn't been in here for some time. Did something happen, or did all the work you guys threw on me really do a number on me?"
"To put it in the simplest terms I can… Maybe. You went berserk and tried to kill me and Nate. And from the sounds of it, you have no idea why you would have gone berserk, do you?" Zeke asked, crossing his arms.
"Not in the slightest, unfortunately. Sounds like we went at it, which is strange seeing how good I feel right now," Tia said, smiling. "I had this crick in my neck for about a week, and that's gone! Plus the whole, having to heal all of you several times today, should have worn me out. But now…" She hopped her bed and held her paws towards Zeke, a faint pink glow surrounding the both of them. Zeke felt the aches and pains in his body fade away, and a sensation of bliss wash over him.
"Whoa, you've gotten stronger," Zeke chuckled, flexing his claws. "God, I feel like I could fight an army again!"
"Right? Whatever happened, I'm sure glad it did." Tia turned her head to the young trio. "I'll patch up Nate real quick, then I'll take a look at Jay, ok?"
Jay shook his head. "What about Kora?"
"What about him?" Tia asked, looking around the room. "Did you bring him with you?"
"No he's-" Nina began, pointing at a now empty bed. She blinked, making sure her eyes were working right. "H-he's… gone?"
Tia shrugged, facing Nate. "If he was here, I'm not surprised he's already patched himself up. Being Orion's kid, it's surprising he can get hurt at all. If you see him and think he still needs help, go ahead and bring him to me."
Nina and Jay looked at each other, swearing they saw Kora on their way in. They weren't seeing things, and clearly Nate and Zeke thought Kora was here as well. When did he slip out?
"Maybe I'll go ahead and look for him. Wanna come with, Lucas?" Nina asked, looking over at her Charmeleon friend. He was staring at the box Jay had earlier, gripping it tightly. "Lucas?"
Lucas shook his head, giving Nina a sheepish smile as if he just noticed she was there. "Y-Yeah, sorry. I'll follow right behind you. I kinda… wanna ask Kora something, I think."
Nina had the faintest feeling that there was something off with Lucas, but admittedly, everything recently has felt a little off. Maybe she was just imagining it? That's what she hoped, at least. "Alright, see you guys later." Nina waved as she and Lucas left the room. She had to get his attention again, however, as he started staring at the box again.
With Nate patched up, Tia crossed her arms and started growling gently. She then sat herself in a chair, rubbing her temples. Zeke glanced over at her, wondering what was on her mind. It would seem Tia knew that, answering him before he even said anything. "I've been trying to think about what happened to me. I hate the feeling of forgetting something."
"I thought I asked you not to read my mind like that," Zeke huffed.
"Can't help it when your mind's so easy to read," Tia shrugged. "It's just… all that keeps coming up is this strange chill. That and the color red."
"Well that doesn't help us at all," Nate sighed, rolling onto his back.. "Anything else that might actually be worth thinking about? Maybe tell us what you were doing?"
Tia floated her chair over to Jay, still thinking back to earlier. "I'll try, but I find it hard to remember much after Kora getting thrown in here. Literally. I believe I tried to diagnose what happened to him, I sent Minerva off to get him something to eat… I'm fairly certain it was just the two of us until Jax and those kids came back."
"Then we left you and Jax alone, right? Because we went to look for Kane?" Jay asked, keeping a mental note of everything Tia was saying. "What did you two do after that?"
Tia's ear twitched as she cleared her throat. "That's about where my memory starts getting too foggy to recall, unfortunately. I believe we talked and that was it. If I try to remember anything after that, all that comes to mind is the color red and that chill again."
"How convenient, and also, incredibly inconvenient." Zeke stood up, cracking his neck. "We might have to chat with Jax and see what we can find. Ain't no rest for the wickedly handsome, after all."
"Which explains why you two get to sleep so much," Tia snickered. Nate stuck out his tongue as he followed Zeke out the infirmary. After they were for sure alone, Tia turned to Jay, frowning slightly. "And that brings me to you. Looks like you have a lot on your mind."
"Guilty as charged. Figured you and I'd be on the same page, although it's a bit unfair seeing how I'm not an expert at reading people like a nurse would be," Jay said. "I got this headache from earlier, and a bit of dizziness, but honestly I feel a bit better having sat down."
"It won't hurt to make sure you're alright. That is my job, after all." Tia shut her eyes and reached for Jay's claw, holding it gently as a pink glow enveloped them both.
'If we're being watched, which I assume we are, then whoever this 'Lee' is might already know I read your mind,' Tia spoke within their minds. 'If I was more aware of it sooner, I wouldn't have brought that up with Zeke.'
'It should probably be fine, I hope. I really want to believe he isn't going to be a problem but…' Jay's thoughts trailed off. 'I can't keep waiting for him to do something, but I also have no way of keeping my eye on him. We've only met on his terms, and assuming he is secretly hostile, I'm unsure if we can handle him on our own terms.'
The glow around them pulsed and waved, gradually growing around them. Tia squeezed her eyes, emitting a cautious growl. 'I only intended to glance at your memories, but this 'Lee' character… I don't…'
"Are you alright?" Jay spoke, holding Tia's paw in both claws. The Meowstic gripped his claws back, her body threatening to fall from her chair. "Tia?"
"I-It's nothing, really," Tia said, holding her head with her free paw. 'I met him. I don't know how, or when, but I met Lee. It was just a flash of red, but I'm certain it was him!' she spoke into Jay's mind. 'That chill, it was from him, it has to be. He… gave something to me…'
"Do you think you need to rest some more?" Jay asked, helping Tia from her chair. 'I'm almost afraid to ask, but was it…'
The two froze. Tia let go of Jay's claw, the glow slowly fading from both of them, and calmly walked over to her desk. "I'll just look for some berries, I believe I have a few of my favorites stashed away here," she said as she looked through her belongings.
"I'm sure I can help with that. What kind are they?" Jay asked, taking a note from Tia in keeping his cool.
"Oh, nothing special. Just some enigma berries. You don't have to trouble yourself with me, how about you go and join your friends. Whatever you felt earlier has already passed, so you should be back in top shape." Tia waved him off, focusing on finding whatever she was looking for.
Jay nodded, making his way to the door. He had to get to Nina and Lucas before something happened, assuming something hadn't already happened. Surely it wouldn't be suspicious to sprint through the halls looking for his friends, right? Not like Jay stayed long enough for that thought to cross his mind.
The room went silent, aside from the shuffling of papers and bottles as Tia's search went on. She fought to remember more about what happened before her memory blacked out, keeping her breathing steady in case she was being watched still, until she found it. The shattered remains of a tiny box. Faint, black embers slowly rose from it, and bringing her paw over it, Tia felt a chill shoot through her body. She let out a worried sigh and sat on the floor, also finding an enigma berry closeby, but didn't have the appetite to eat it.
"It's a good thing I woke up when I did, and with the boost in my healing abilities. Gonna need all the help I can with what's about to happen," she sighed, tossing the odd berry to the side, which is when she noticed something wrong with her desk. Was it off center? Tilted in some way? Maybe there wasn't even anything wrong with it. It was hard for her to say, really. It'd take another few minutes to check everything, just to be sure she wasn't seeing thi-
"WHO THE HELL PUNCHED A HOLE IN MY DESK?!"
Jay ran to the one place he knew Lucas would want to check out first, the sparring area. It's one of two places Lucas can get to by himself, and it was closer to the infirmary than any other room in the mountain. Maybe he'd be lucky and find Kora there too, who knows?
As luck would have it, there they were, talking next to the lake. There wasn't a lot of Kora to see, his mane was in the way, Nina was off to the side, holding her elbows and wanting to speak, and Lucas was on the ground, staring at the ceiling. At first, Jay thought they were just relaxing, but the closer he got, the sooner he realized that Lucas was fuming. Literally. Faint streams of black smoke rose from his maw. Not a good sign at all.
Lucas slammed his fist on the ground, a furious snarl along his snout as he stood back up. "I wanna go again, that wasn't fair!"
"Hey, you said to come at you, so I thought you were ready," Kora shrugged. "I'm kinda tuckered out of fighting for now, so maybe some other time."
"No! I have to go again! I have to win!" Lucas growled, the smoke getting thicker and his tail flame crackling angrily.
"Lucas, I don't think we should be fighting now either. You need to calm down," Nina said, trying to place her hand on her friend, but had it slapped away.
"Not yet! Not until I win!" Lucas snarled, his eyes focused solely on Kora. "All I ever hear of you is how strong you are, I have to be able to fight you!"
"And you did, you just lost. Being a sore loser isn't how you go about getting stronger," Kora said, shaking his head. "This seems sorta unlike you, actually. Are you alright, Lucas?"
"Don't talk down to me like you know! I'm FINE!" the Charmeleon's flames crackled and sparked, more and more smoke billowing from his mouth.
Jay slowed his pace. He was worried, yeah, but something about Lucas just then scared him. It was getting harder to move his body closer, but he had to try and help! Even Kora was unnerved by whatever Lucas did, having grabbed Nina and moved a good distance away from Lucas.
"Lucas!" Jay shouted, finding the strength to run to his friend's side. Kora snapped his head to the side.
"Stop!" Kora commanded, but Jay didn't listen.
Lucas didn't seem to notice Jay at all, instead growing increasingly more furious at Kora. "Look at me! I'M your opponent! Don't ignore me!" Lucas pulled his head back, a roaring ball of fire forming in the back of his throat. He quickly threw his head forward, unleashing a powerful Flamethrower at Kora.
The fire struck Kora in the chest, but he barely even flinched. Kora pushed Nina towards Jay, shooing them away. "As you can see, your friend is kinda sorta having a hissy fit, and it'd be smart to not stick around right now!
"But we're not gonna leave Lucas! We have to help him!" Jay said, firm. Nina nodded, putting on a face of determination.
"You're kidding?" Kora deadpanned. "I'm not usually the one to be all, 'You're not strong enough for this,' but you guys are not strong enough for this. He's gonna-"
"STOP IGNORING ME!" Lucas roared, the white box suddenly in his claws. Jay felt a chill shoot through his body, despite Lucas' flames heating the entire chamber up. "I've HAD it! I'm sick of losing and being treated like a LOSER! I'm not a loser! I'm not WEAK!"
"Lucas you have to let go of the box! Quickly!" Jay shouted desperately, but his pleas fell on deaf ears, or lack thereof.
With a death-filled glare, Lucas raised the box towards Kora. It's pristine, perfect outside was now riddled with cracks, and a dark energy burned around it. "I can hear it. If I can beat you, I'll be the strongest there is. I'll be unstoppable! I'd be able to keep them safe! I just… I just need…" His grip tightened around the box, causing the cracks to spread further, even along his arm.
With a loud krack, the box shattered, and darkness exploded around Lucas. A powerful wind blew around the chamber, bringing a terrible chill alongside it. Black crackles of electricity sped through the air, and crimson embers danced from above, slowly falling to where Lucas stood. As the darkness condensed around him, Lucas' body changed. His scales darkened, his eyes and tailflame burned a menacing crimson. His muscles were more pronounced, they might have even grown too. Pitch black smoke rose from his nostrils and the corners of his mouth.
Lucas' glare remained solely on Kora, the others didn't matter to him in the slightest. He pointed a claw at the Zoroark, darkness crackling around him. As he opened his mouth, a cloud of smoke rose from it. Kora got down on all fours, silently admitting he had to take this seriously. A jagged smile spread along Lucas' snout.
"I just need… to get rid of you."