As soon as I burst through the doors, cold air hit me. Sometime during the gym battle, the sky had been covered by dark clouds, the sea churning. Pellets of rain began hitting the stone path, picking up in intensity. The wind was picking up speed as well. Suddenly, the ground began to shake, causing me to fall to one knee. After a minute, it stopped. There were small cracks in the stone path and sirens began wailing in the distance, small people in the distance rushing up the hills.

"What are those!?" Alex half yelled, the wind muting her voice somewhat.

"Tsunami sirens," Robert pointed out towards the sea. "That earthquake was probably further off in the sea. It's bound to cause one."

His face dropped. "This is the worst place to be right now. We have to get out of here."

I was only half listening, desperately looking around. Something was still off. Something bad. Then, I saw them. Walking through the city in a single file line towards the Tower of Majesty, their dark purple robes fluttering in the wind, the symbol of Chaos glowing on their hoods.

"They're here," I whispered, then louder so Alex and Robert could hear. "The Cult of Chaos!"

They looked and both went wide-eyed.

"This isn't good," Alex gripped a pokeball tightly. "Why are they here!?"

"I don't know," I gripped a fist. "But whatever they're up to, they need to be stopped."

"But," Robert looked out at the sea. "It'll be coming soon."

"Aw dang," he pulled out his Holo Caster. "Who am I kidding? We can't leave now. But I'm sending a message to Diantha."

"Good," I went to grab Arcanine's pokeball, then realized he was way too tired from the battle. I grabbed both Riolu's and Frogadier's pokeballs. I sent them out, both surprised at the downpour. "Both of you, I need your help. The Cult of Chaos is here and we need to stop them."

They looked at the Cult, now on the stretch of beach that led to the Tower of Majesty.

"Rio."

"Frog."

I smiled. "Good. Alex, Robert, you guys ready?"

Alex brought out her Ninetales and Combee. "Yeah."

Robert held up Snorlax's pokeball. "Let's take them down."

I nodded and began running. The wind pushed back against us, but we managed to reach the Tower of Majesty before the Cult reached the island. We ran inside to see Gurkinn and Korrina inside the pedestal, stuffing papers into a metal chest.

"Korrina," I shouted, getting her attention. "We need your help out here!"

She looked at us, then roller skated out of the pedestal. "We have to preserve these documents before the wave hits!"

"We have a bigger issue right now," Robert pointed towards the Cultists, now walking up the steps. In total, I would count at least two, three dozen. With all the wind and rain, it was hard to tell.

Korrina's eyes flickered with fear. Gurkinn rushed out to see what the issue was and nearly fainted when he saw the Cultists.

"No," he whispered. "Not them."

"You know them?" I asked, keeping my eye on the cultists as they got closer.

They began to spread out, one of them stepping out from the main group and into the tower, just twenty feet from us.

"Guru," the cloaked figure lowered his hood, revealing a man just as old as Gurkinn, with short gray hair and piercing brown eyes. "It's been a while."

"Damn," Gurkinn cursed. "Why are you here Sebastian!?"

"This place is rich in history and power," the man answered in an almost monotonous voice. "We were always going to come here. But we had to wait for the signs to all connect."

Robert kept glancing nervously behind us and I knew any minute now the tsunami could strike. But so did the cultists. They had to be planning something.

"Get out of here while you still can," I warned, stepping forwards. "The champion is already on her way! You stand no chance!"

Sebastian set his gaze on me. "That is of little consequence. What we have planned is decades in the making."

As he put a hand into his robe, Lampents and Chandelures began appearing around the cultists as if from thin air. He withdrew a vial with purple liquid inside.

"Guru," he looked at Gurkinn again. "This place you have protected for so long will help give rise to Chaos. The power that resides here will be ours!"

He dropped the vial, the purple liquid fizzing on the stone, before dissolving, purple smoke lifting into the air. The ground rumbled again and strange symbols began glowing upon the ground, turning from bright green to a sickly purple.

Purple energy began forming around the base of the island and streams of it began flowing into a purple orb, held in the palm of Sebastian.

Several Chandelures floated in front of him as he looked at us. "Once we have obtained this power, you all will be wiped out by the coming wave of Chaos. Resisting is futile."

"Yeah," I stepped forwards, Frogadier and Riolu by my side. "That's never stopped us before."

Sebastian looked at me. "You may be an important part of our grand design, Hero Born of Darkness, but don't think you can't be sacrificed here. This is as perfect as a sacrificial place as can be."

I clenched a fist. "No one is going to be sacrificed today. No one! Frogadier, Water Pulse! Riolu, Force Palm!"

Frogadier fired a Water Pulse at one of the Chandelures, knocking it away, Riolu leaping at the other. Sebastian grinned as Riolu went right through the Ghost type, but I grinned right back.

"Blaze Kick!"

Riolu swung his leg, smacking it into the Purple Orb, blasting it away. It crashed into the wall 30 feet away, creating a small hole before falling onto the ground. Riolu landed on the ground and leaped back to stand by me, kicking his foot against the stone floor to get rid of the fire.

Sebastian's face grew red with rage. "How dare you! Non-believers will be sacrificed!"

All the Chandelures rose higher, flames growing brighter. Then, a blast of pink energy sent several crashing forwards. The Cultists all turned to see Diantha and Gardevoir walking up to them, soaked to the skin thanks to the raging downpour, a serious look upon her face. This time, she wasn't going to play fair. This was her being a champion.

"Gardevoir," Diantha raised her hand, the wind causing her hair to fly like crazy.

Gardevoir's eyes glowed and her body began glowing brightly, the light blasting more Chandelures plus some of the Cultists away.

"Get the orb!" Sebastian barked at several Cultists and withdrew a Dusk Ball from his cloak. He dropped it and a Gengar was released, an evil grin upon its face. "Gengar, take down that Gardevoir!"

Diantha glared at him with fierce eyes. Gardevoir's eyes reflected her trainer's as she formed a Moonblast in one hand, preparing to launch an attack on the Ghost type.

Deciding I'd let Diantha handle him, I ran towards the orb, yelling, "Quick Attack!"

Both Frogadier and Riolu rushed past me, knocking the orb to me before the Cultists and Chandelures could.

I scooped it up in my arm as Alex yelled, "Fireblast!"

The Cultists scrambled away as their Chandelures took the brunt of the attack.

"Water Pulse!" I shouted.

Frogadier leaped into the air, shooting an orb of water into one of the Chandelures, knocking it away.

The orb was still gathering energy while I held it in the crook of my arm, its purple glow growing in intensity.

"Robert!" I yelled, preparing to toss it. "Have Snorlax smash this!"

He nodded and released Snorlax. "Use Heavy Slam!"

Snorlax barreled forwards, leaping into the air. I rolled the ball instead of throwing it and Snorlax was about to crash down onto it when a Toxicroak came out of nowhere and slammed into Snorlax's side, sending him crashing along the ground.

I glanced back to see Alex engaging the Cultists in battle with their Pokemon, Frogadier being a big help.

"Riolu," I called, knowing he wasn't going to do much against Ghost types. "Let's go!"

He nodded and ran up to my side, fists clenched. The Toxicroak straightened and picked up the orb, its eyes now on us. It threw the orb away, where some Cultists picked it up, before crouching, pointing its knuckle claws at us. Then he was picked up behind by a Machoke and squeezed tightly. Toxicroak croaked and tried to get out of the other Fighting type's grip, but to no avail. Then the Machoke jumped and body slammed Toxicroak against the stone ground.

"Good work Machoke," Korrina praised, rolling around to stand near me. "Thought I would stop standing around and give you a hand."

"Much appreciated," I said as Toxicroak lashed out, Machoke leaping backwards to avoid the attack. "Together?"

"Yes," Korrina nodded. "Keep him distracted for a second, K?"

I nodded. "Riolu, Bullet Punch!"

Before Toxicroak could react Riolu launched himself forwards, landing a series of punches before jumping backwards. Toxicroak swelled his sac before spitting out a gunk of poison.

"Dodge!" I shouted and Riolu managed to evade in time.

Toxicroak's claws glowed with a poisonous hue and he leaped towards Riolu.

"Too late!" Korrina cried. "Dynamic Punch!"

Machoke, who had been biding his time while charging up his fist, was now beside Toxicroak and landed a solid punch into his side, causing him to crash against the pedestal. At the same time, Gengar was finally put to a stop as he collapsed next to Sebastian.

Despite loseing, Sebastian grinned. "It seems you're out of time. We win."

He was handed the orb and I didn't realize why he was so confident, that is, until I looked outside and saw the water retreating from the shore.

"Diantha!" I yelled. "The Tsunami!"

Diantha looked conflicted, but I shouted, "We got this! Don't worry!"

Diantha looked at me and nodded, before having Gardevoir teleport both of them away.

"Thank you Hero Born of Darkness," he turned to smile at me. "But, you can't beat me."

He tossed out another Dusk Ball and released a Dusknoir. "We will be leaving now."

"Flamethrower!" Alex yelled, running over with Ninetales and Frogadier, but a dozen Chandelures blocked her path.

Similarly, Robert was blocked off with Gurkinn and Korrina. The only ones able to stop Sebastian, was me and Riolu.

"It's just you and me, Riolu," I said. "We can fall back if we need to. Don't push yourself."

Riolu snorted and stepped forwards, Dusknoir looming over him, yet he was undaunted.

"Heh," I smiled. "I thought you would want to fight still. But, you're not alone."

I glanced back at my friends, battling the Chandelures, knowing they would help me soon. "You're not alone in this, not for long. We all got your back. So don't be afraid to retreat if necessary."

Riolu glanced back at me and flashed a grin. "Riol."

Sebastian chuckled. "Done yet? Dusknoir, Shadow Punch!"

A swirl of shadows formed around Dusknoir's right fist as he prepared to charge.

"Riolu!" I shouted. "Don't lose concentration! Blaze Kick!"

Riolu stepped his right foot back, a flame sparking, igniting a blaze. He charged forwards and leaped into the air, smashing his foot against Dusknoir's fist, the two's power keeping them in place.

"Riolu!" I yelled.

"Destroy him!" Sebastian bellowed.

Dusknoir's other fist came bearing down on Riolu, smashing him into the ground, creating a crater. My eyes widened as Dusknoir lifted his fist, leaving Riolu on the ground, severely injured.

"Kill him," Sebastian spoke with a calm voice. "Show the Hero why we mustn't be messed with."

"NO!" I screamed, rushing forwards. "Not again! Not again!"

Images of Charizard and Mira flashed through my mind.

"Not again. Not again! NOT AGAIN!"

"RIOLU!" I screamed.

As Dusknoir was about to punch again, I threw myself in the crossfire, determined not to let another friend die. I heard Alex and Robert scream my name and even Sebastian's eyes widened.

Time seemed to slow and in what was my last moments, a defiant thought crossed my mind. If I died like this, I couldn't be used as a sacrifice. Then, Riolu was there.

He drew back his fist and smashed it against Dusknoir's, the shock wave knocking me backwards. I lifted myself up to see Dusknoir getting knocked back a few feet, Riolu landing on the ground, glowing. He grew taller and two new black appendages grew from the back of his head, joining the other two already there.

"Crush him!" Sebastian cried and Dusknoir's fist exploded into sparks of electricity, bearing down upon the Fighting type.

The glow disappeared as the newly evolved Lucario leaped forwards, a glowing bone appearing in his right paw. He swung, breaking off Dusknoir's attack before using his momentum to leap over the Ghost type.

Lucario landed on the ground, a sharp aura surrounding him. He glanced back at me and gave a thumbs up. I grinned and got to my feet.

"Lucario," I said, noticing the Chandelures who had been attacking my friends retreating. "We'll celebrate your evolution later. For now, let's finish this."

Lucario growled in agreement, pulling back his right fist as he crouched low.

"Ninetales," Alex came up next to me. "Help Lucario."

"No," Gurkinn said, stopping Alex and Ninetales. "Let them fight."

"But-" Alex looked conflicted, but I gripped her hand.

She looked at me and I smiled. "It's alright. We got this."

Sebastian looked bored as he held up the orb, which had finished gathering energy. Actually, the glowing symbols in the tower had faded away as well. Hopefully Diantha's Gardevoir had dealt with the tsunami above.

"We have more than enough power now," Sebastian said with cold eyes. "So, using a little to break your spirits won't hurt. Az Grothar Nith!"

Several purple streams of energy lashed out from the orb and wrapped themselves around Dusknoir. The Ghost type seemed to scream horribly, before rising up, getting bigger. The mouth on its belly was now wide open, a dark swirl of nothingness within, the two yellow eyes now a dark purple. Its cyclops eye glowed a dark crimson, the six plates forming an upturned collar around its head having grown, almost encasing its head. The yellow disk atop its head floated up, surrounded by ghostly energy, as it was revealed to be a long nail.

The Ghost type loomed over Lucario, four times bigger than before. Lucario grimaced, but didn't retreat.

"Zeno," Alex looked unsure, gazing fearfully at the Dusknoir.

I felt Gurkinn press something into my hand and I looked at him. "Are you sure?"

He nodded. "You proved yourself. Now do so again."

I nodded and turned back to Lucario. "Alright Lucario! Bone Rush!"

He howled as he formed two bones and leaped at the Dusknoir, throwing both. They exploded against the Ghost type and seemed to have no effect as Lucario formed two more and smashed them against its collar. Again, no effect. Dusknoir's cyclops eye glowed and a ghostly aura blasted Lucario away against a wall.

I rushed over to him as Alex and Robert's Pokemon engaged in battle.

"Lucario," I said, getting to my knees, helping him up. "You okay?"

He grinned, but then winced and he held his side.

"You've done good," I praised. "I know you won't be able to rest easy until you've finished this battle yourself though, huh?"

He growled in agreement and stood.

"Good," I rose as well, handing him something. "Then let's go to even greater heights, together."

Lucario looked at the orb and his eyes seemed to glow for a second. Then he set it on his left arm and it latched itself around it. I clicked the ring into place on my left wrist, holding it up, the feeling of it reminding me of my Z-ring. "Lucario, we haven't known each other for a whole long while, yet we completely trust one another. Let's show the Cult of Chaos that unshakable bond we share."

I pressed two fingers against the Keystone, ribbons of blue and white connecting me and Lucario through his Mega Stone.

"Let our trust never wane," I said, feeling our connection deepen. "And let our fighting spirit overcome any obstacle! Let's show them our strength!"

I held up my wrist high. "Lucario, Mega Evolve!"

The light exploded around Lucario, his aura larger than before as his appendages swirled around him. His eyes sharpened and focused in on Dusknoir, a deep and almost twisted howl coming from his throat. He blasted forwards, smashing his fist against Dusknoir's, blocking an attack that had been heading for Ninetales. A shock wave rippled through the air upon impact, knocking Dusknoir back a little. Lucario landed ten feet back, his appendages floating upwards as his aura grew. His eyes looked small and his breathing seemed erratic.

"Oh no," Korrina said as I ran up.

"What?" I asked, worried, and rightly so.

"Your Lucario," she said. "Having Mega Evolved, his aura is growing like crazy. The only thing he can register right now is that he has an opponent to beat and nothing more. He won't hear any of your commands. The same thing happened with my Lucario when we first were able to Mega Evolve."

Lucario howled again and launched himself at the Ghost type, fists turned to steel and glowing like a star. He smashed them against Dusknoir, causing it to cry out in pain. It floated away and the giant nail rose above its head, forming several copies of itself, all pointed at Lucario. The Aura Pokemon growled in defiance and rushed forwards, a long glowing bone forming in his right paw. The nails shot towards Lucario at high speeds, but the Fighting type knocked one away with the bone and leaped atop another, his own speed increasing. He ran along the nail and jumped, knocking another away. The one he had jumped on swerved midair and shot towards him again, one in front as well. Lucario howled and a burst of aura from his body knocked both away.

Dusknoir drew back two mammoth fists, one crackling with electricity while the other was blazing with fire. He drew back the electric fist first and punched it outwards, slamming it into Lucario before he could dodge. The Fighting and Steel type flew backwards and landed on his feet, rocketing forwards using Extreme Speed. He leaped again, Dusknoir preparing to smash him with Fire Punch this time. However, Lucario slammed his hand spikes together, a horrific metal sound echoeing across the tower, worse than nails on a chalkboard. I pressed my hands to my ears tightly as my friends did the same. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Sebastian and the Cultists trying to escape while the two battled.

"No," I clenched my teeth, trying to walk, but the ringing in my ears was causing me to be off balance.

Lucario's eyes reflected madness as he slammed his steel fists into Dusknoir's face repeatedly, using his aura as a power booster. The Ghost type managed to grasp Lucario in one hand and smash him into the ground, applying a ghostly pressure atop him, cracking the surrounding stone.

I could feel my connection to Lucario waver. I fell to my knees to try to stop the dizziness and reached within myself, grasping onto that bond we shared through Mega Evolution.

"C'mon," I urged. "Don't let him break you! Our friendship is stronger than his strength!"

A blast of aura knocked Dusknoir's fist away and Lucario leaped up, landing on the Ghost type's fist. He jumped again, pulling his right fist back, a metal sheen covering it once more. In that moment before he struck, I felt our bond solidify as he came back to his senses.

"METEOR MASH!" I shouted, and Lucario slammed his fist into Dusknoir's head, bringing the huge Ghost type down. It collapsed and returned to normal as the purple energy disappeared beneath the ground.

Lucario landed back on the ground and collapsed onto one knee, his mega form disappearing. I ran over to him and caught him before he fell forwards.

"Amazing," I said, smiling. "You did amazing."

Lucario grinned and closed his eyes, exhausted from the battles. I returned him to his pokeball and stood. I turned towards the entrance to the tower to see the Cultists were gone.

Frogadier leaped to me and I rubbed his head. "You did a good job, Frogadier. It seems the battle is over now."

Diantha and Gardevoir teleported back to the ground as the sun broke through the clouds, the torrent of rain decreasing.

"They've gone then?" She asked, drenched and looking absolutely exhausted.

"Sorry," I gripped a fist, looking down at the cracked stone floor. "I said we had this, but-"

"It's alright," Diantha said and I looked back up. "From what I can see, you just went through an intense battle and won. That alone is victory enough."

"They still got away," Alex's voice spoke with bitterness, reflecting how I felt. "With that orb thing too, whatever it was."

Robert turned to Gurkinn. "You knew that guy, the Cultist, didn't you?"

Gurkinn looked uneasy, then sighed. "I thought I did. We were old friends, both looking deep into Kalos' myths and legends. I ended up focusing on Mega Evolution while Sebastian, well, focused more on the darkness within Kalos. The 'Chaos' he called it. One day he ended up vanishing and the last I heard of him was that he joined a cult or something."

Gurkinn shuddered. "He looked into some dark things, things that should not have been brought into the light of day. This 'Chaos' he worships, I don't know much, but what I do know is that is a twisted creature from Kalos myth. The bane of Kalos itself, one that would usher in an era of Chaos to the world."

Diantha scowled. "Gardevoir and I will take our leave now. I'm assuming he no longer needs to come back here now, so we need to be looking for him."

She looked at my friends and I. "You three. Let me pursue the Cult for now. Focus on Team Flare. You said they were planning something with the Power Plant? That's your next destination. Stop whatever they're planning."

She turned around and Gardevoir and her teleported away.

"What are you going to do?" Alex asked me, grasping my hand, concern in her eyes.

I sighed. "I can let Diantha handle the Cult for now. We were barely able to, so I guess it should be the Champion's job. Plus, she's right that we should focus on Team Flare. Who knows what they're planning on top of everything else going on. And we shouldn't forget about Eve and Team Radiance either."

Alex nodded and squeezed my hand. "Then we'll do that."

She stepped away and looked at Korrina. "How soon can we have that Gym Battle. We need to hurry out of here as soon as we can."

Korrina looked around the area, the inside of the temple almost completely trashed. "Tonight. For now, I'm going to do some cleaning, make sure nothing breaks any further."

"We can help," Robert offered. "And our Pokemon."

I nodded. "It's the least we can do. We did cause some of this destruction."

"It's fine," Gurkinn waved his hand. "The help would be appreciated, but no need to be sorry. Something like this was bound to happen. I should've stopped Sebastian before he went too far down that dark path."

His face then grew solemn as he lowered his arm. "I just remembered."

He hurried to the pedestal and nearly ripped the door off its hinges as he ran inside. Sharing a look with my friends and Korrina, we hurried inside. Gurkinn was shuffling through a pile of papers, most of them falling around his feet. He stopped and held one, hands shaking.

"This," he turned slowly, holding it out. "I remember when Sebastian had gone into a cave alone and came back out, muttering nonsense. As soon as he was in reach of paper,he drew this. That was what began his dark obsessions."

I grabbed the paper and spread it out with both hands so Alex, Robert, and Korrina could see. Drawn in dark, shaded ink, was a misshapen beast, body curved into a Z-like shape with long arms and sharp claws. As I stared at it, I felt my stomach drop as my head began pounding. In an almost dream-like state, the picture came alive, sharp eyes glowing yellow and its body pulsing with purple, it's claws dripping poison.

"You cannot stop me, Hero Born of Darkness. I will rise and Chaos will sweep across Kalos and the world. All will be mine."

Okay, so, this is definitely one of the longest chapters I wrote without trying to get it to go over 4000 words. I'm taking this as a good sign that my word count is going back up once more. In all, a lot of this felt chaotic, to me at least, which goes with the theme of the Cult of Chaos. I hope you readers enjoyed this extra long chapter. So, no more new chapters for this until after Christmas probably. Maybe a chapter will get released on Christmas? I don't know. I already have something else planned. And I will do it. I'm committed. So, until Christmas y'all. Toodles