"N… Nicholas?"

Jack stared in shock at the figure in front of him, clinging to the wall of the arena like a spider with one hand wreathed in flames. It had been barely a month since he last saw his friend, and Jack found it hard… scratch that, almost impossible to reconcile the Nicholas he knew with this masked flame-wielding ninja. What's more, how had Nicholas even gotten into this tournament in the first place?

"You're looking pretty confused there," the masked figure said. "Answers later, for now we need to put on a good show for our paying audience."

Before Jack could so much as think of something to say, Nicholas lunged at him and the melee began again. This time however, Jack found himself squarely on the defensive. The revelation that the masked figure was really Nicholas had really shaken him. What shook him more was the fact that Nicholas was coming at him like he meant it.

Jack's robes protected him from the flames on Nicholas's hands, but he was forced to protect every inch of bare skin with aura just to keep from getting burned. What's more, the raging flames made it harder to see his opponent's attacks coming. More and more of Nicholas's attacks started slipping through Jack's guard, although none of them did more than bruise. Even so, Jack's mind was still reeling as he tried to grasp the full implications of this discovery. He was so distracted that when the real attack came, he almost missed it entirely.

Nicholas struck with the same speed which had taken Jack by surprise not five minutes ago. His fist passed through Jack's defenses as if they weren't there, heading straight for his chest, and Jack barely had time to flood his body with aura before impact. Nicholas had put the whole weight of his body behind the blow, but that wasn't all. As the boy's fist connected, Jack's vision was suddenly engulfed in smoke and flames as an explosion shook the walls of the arena. It happened so fast that the next thing he knew, he was lying on the ground against the opposite wall; his ears ringing, and every part of his body feeling like he'd been hit by a truck.

Still, it could have been worse. Jack's body was sore, and really didn't want to move, and would probably be black and blue from head to foot tomorrow, but nothing was broken. Although his hair smelled like it was thinking about catching fire, which was a thought he didn't relish. Gradually, his hearing started to come back and he realized Nicholas was talking to him.

"...kinda disappointed," Jack heard him say. "I mean, I know we haven't seen each other in a month; and trust me, I'm happy to see you're okay. But this is a fight I intend to win, so if you want to beat me you need to get your head in the game. Come on Jack, stop holding back on me!"

With that, Nicholas raised his hand above his head and started gathering the flames together into a small sphere; adding more and more energy, before finally releasing it all in one massive blast straight at Jack.

For some reason, the threat of being blasted to smithereens seemed to help Jack prioritize. It was all well and good holding back to maximize his profits, but he wouldn't make a red cent if he lost. And if he got incapacitated now, it would take even longer to get back to looking for his friends. Nicholas or not, he refused to lose here.

The fire blast exploded against the wall of the arena, but when the smoke cleared Jack wasn't there. Nicholas blinked, looking around to see Jack standing behind him. Jack's body still didn't want to move, but he wasn't going to take no for an answer.

Flooding his limbs with aura, Jack pivoted on one foot; slamming the other one straight into Nicholas's back. Nicholas flew forwards as if he'd been shot out of a cannon, but Jack could already tell the blow had been blocked with aura. Maylene must have taught him the basics as well, because Nicholas flipped in midair; landing on his feet and immediately turning to face Jack, as if he'd barely felt the attack.

Nicholas grinned. "That's more like it."

Jack gritted his teeth and quickly closed the distance, before starting the melee all over again. This time however, Jack was squarely on the offensive; his blows coming so quickly, and each flowing so seamlessly into the next, that Nicholas hard pressed just to keep up with the relentless barrage, much less find openings to attack in return. Even so, Jack only scored glancing blows; although so much aura was packed into each attack, that even those glancing blows came dangerously close to shattering Nicholas's auric defenses like so much sugar glass.

After barely ten seconds of this brutally one-sided exchange, Nicholas realized he had to break away and gain the initiative again. Jack only had a split second to react, as the air around Nicholas exploded into a raging inferno. Jack grabbed himself in a psychic hand and flung himself backwards out of the blast radius, but the surprise counterattack still left his eyebrows smoking.

The flames around Nicholas quickly died away into a plume of black smoke. Jack watched the smoke like a hawk, and his suspicions were confirmed as Nicholas leapt straight upwards out of it; a ball of flames in his right hand, ready to throw. Jack took off sideways, dodging the blast by the skin of his teeth and continuing to make himself a hard target to hit. Sure enough, Nicholas kept up the barrage; firing off blasts of flame like a deadly roman candle.

Eventually, Jack reached the wall of the arena. He didn't even hesitate, leaping at it so that he hit feet-first; before using it as a springboard and launching himself straight at Nicholas. The red-haired pyromancer wasn't expecting this tactic, and he hesitated a split second before managing to fire off one last burst of red-hot flames point-blank in Jack's face. The blast engulfed Jack completely, and Nicholas wondered briefly if he'd gone overboard.

That thought went out the window pretty quickly, as Jack suddenly emerged from the flames; looking only slightly singed around the edges, and still heading straight for Nicholas. Within a fraction of a second, he was in striking range. He brought back his fist, and then planted it in Nicholas's midriff; releasing a powerful burst of aura on impact.

The blow flung Nicholas down toward the ground like a ragdoll, and he crashed into the packed dirt with a loud thud. He'd managed to reinforce his body with aura before both impacts, but it hadn't cushioned them completely. The wind had been knocked right out of his lungs, and his entire body felt like he'd been run over by a steamroller. Still, he couldn't stand still.

Nicholas rolled to the side, just as Jack dropped from the air right where he'd been a moment ago. Nicholas then continued his roll until he was a safe distance away from Jack, before getting to his feet. Jack glanced over at him, as Nicholas took up a defensive stance again. One corner of Jack's mouth slanted upward in a small grin. If Nicholas was giving him the initiative, then this match was already over.

Seemingly throwing caution to the wind, Jack darted forward; charging his entire body with aura in preparation for his next, and last, manoeuvre. Nicholas tensed up, preparing to counter what looked like a full-on frontal assault, but Jack had other plans.

At the last moment before impact, Jack launched himself into the air before dropping right back down behind Nicholas. The pyromancer was caught by surprise, and recognised the move a split second too late. He jumped off the ground, but Jack's low, sweeping kick knocked his legs out from under him in midair. From there, Jack tucked that leg under him and pivoted on it instead; lashing out with the opposite leg, and catching Nicholas square in the back with a brutal roundhouse kick.

Nicholas went flying yet again, but Jack still wasn't done. Flicking himself off the ground as if he'd been shot out of a cannon, Jack gathered a surge of aura in his right arm. He quickly caught up to Nicholas, and spun once in midair before releasing that aura to create a massive blast of compressed air which slammed into his opponent.

When Nicholas hit the ground this time, he stayed down. He'd used up all the aura he could afford to, and more than he should've, and Jack had still quite literally stomped him into the ground with power to spare. As he lay on the ground, slowly lapsing into unconsciousness, he sighed. Even with all the training he'd done, honing his new abilities to a razor's edge, he was still no match for Jack.

Jack, after landing on the wall of the arena and dropping to the ground, had other ideas. He hurt in places he didn't know he had until now, and he'd expended a lot of aura. Nicholas had held several big aces, including surprise. He'd caught Jack completely off-guard by revealing both his true identity, and new abilities at once, and as a result Jack had hesitated at a critical moment. If he's snapped out of it a second slower, Nicholas might have won right then and there.

Speaking of which, Jack blinked as it suddenly set in. If this really was Nicholas, then… what on earth had happened while he'd been in Saldara?! Nicholas was a firebender now? How had he become so powerful in such a short time? How had he wound up in a place like this? Why was he a ninja?!

So many questions ran through Jack's head in rapid succession that he stood there for a few seconds just staring at his fallen opponent. The referee called the match, and Jack watched the medics carry Nicholas out of the room. Only then did Jack snap out of it and head for his changing room.

Nova and Razgriz were waiting for Jack outside the changing room with Katia. Nova winced slightly as Jack was considerably bruised and singed around the edges from his fight. Katia lost no time in running over to Jack and jumping into his arms.

"That was awesome!" she exclaimed, her tail wagging in excitement. "I've never seen a battle like that before in my life! It's no wonder you took down the Predator, you're super strong!"

Jack winced a little as he was pounced on, but then smiled ruefully and gently petted the tiny fox's head. "Thanks. Trust me though, it wasn't nearly as easy as it looked…"

"You look horrible by the way," Razgriz said wryly as he leaned back against the wall.

Jack rolled his eyes. "Well at least maybe the fangirls will leave me alone now…"

"You humans are weird…" Razgriz muttered before Nova took a few steps forward and walked around Jack, inspecting his injuries.

"Yeah… you are not getting away without a healing session this time," Nova stated as she stopped in front of him.

"Alright, mom," Jack sighed right another roll of his eyes. He got the feeling he'd be doing that a lot today.

"You and I both know your parents were Lucarios, not Zoroarks," Nova countered, poking Jack in the arm with just enough force to hurt his bruised skin.

Jack winced, then huffed. "Aren't you… half Lucario, or something? Because weird aura stuff?"

"No…" Nova sighed, hanging her head. "Just a Zoroark with 'weird aura stuff' that is short and blue."

Jack rolled his eyes for the third time in as many minutes. "I see. Anyway, enough pedantics. I'm going to bed."

He then turned and headed for the elevator, Katia still curled up in his arms. Nova and Razgriz followed behind him and waited for the elevator. When it arrived at their floor, Jack headed straight for his room. His muscles were complaining, quite loudly, that he should not be on his feet right now. So, after putting Katia down, he flopped onto the bed and sighed in relief as his legs no longer had to support him.

"So, about that healing?" Nova asked from the doorway into Jack's bedroom.

Jack glanced over at her and sighed. "Fine…"

Katia hopped up onto the bed to watch and make sure Jack was alright.

Nova went up to where Jack had laid down. She closed her eyes before pooling large amounts of aura into her paws. The blue energy flowed like liquid around them before she opened her eyes and lowered them against Jack's chest. The aura spread out from there, flowing in a small area around her paws.

Jack sighed in relief as he felt his injuries slowly fading away. Katia looked up at Nova in awe as she saw the larger fox getting to work. Once Jack's chest was mostly healed, she moved up to his shoulders before healing his arms.

"Alright, roll over," Nova said.

Jack nodded, doing as Nova said. Katia tried to do her part as well, by grooming Jack's hair. It must be said that, while it certainly didn't make it any less messy, it did succeed in making it smell less like smoke.

Nova pooled more aura into her paws, resupplying the aura she had spent healing Jack's front side. She placed her paws on the center of Jack's back and let the aura spread once more. The bruises slowly faded away once again before she moved up towards Jack's shoulders and neck, the latter being slightly burnt as well. She poured more aura into her paws to accelerate the healing of the singed parts of his neck. It didn't take too much longer before Nova was finished. Jack wasn't completely healed, but he was mostly there.

"That should do it. You will probably be a little sore still, but compared to how you used to be it is a large improvement," Nova stated as she took a few steps back and absorbed the aura that was still around her paws.

Jack sighed. "Well, that's good at least… thank you, Nova."

"You're welcome," Nova said with a smile before looking at Jack's mess of a hair thanks to Katia. A small laugh escaped before she could hold it back.

Jack looked up at her in confusion. "What's so funny?"

"You're hair is a mess thanks to a small fox," Nova replied before leaving Jack's room.

Jack glanced at Katia and raised an eyebrow. The Vulpix looked up at him innocently, and Jack sighed and tried smoothing his hair out again. It didn't work, but he didn't know that. He then flopped back down on the bed and fell asleep almost immediately. Katia, after weighing her options, decided that Jack would definitely sleep better with something warm and fluffy to cuddle. She snuggled up next to him, and he instinctively hugged her in his sleep.

The boy and his fox slept peacefully for a couple hours. When Jack woke up, he ordered in room service since he didn't feel up to going out for dinner. Even with his physical wounds healed, he'd still expended a lot of aura playing defense in his battle and he needed to rest. As such, after dinner he went right back to sleep almost immediately.

The next morning, he woke to find that Katia had once again snuggled up against him. He chuckled and gently petted her between the ears. She made a happy fox noise and rolled over onto her back, and Jack couldn't resist rubbing her soft, fuzzy belly a little. Her tails wagged like crazy at that, and Jack chuckled a little. She really did remind him of Lucy sometimes.

That thought made his smile flicker like a candle in the breeze, dangerously close to going out. Still, he remembered what Maylene had told the night after he defeated J. None of his friends, Lucy especially, would want him to wallow in misery.

He sighed a little, but allowed his smile to stay as he continued gently petting Katia's tummy. After a little while of this, Katia blinked and opened her eyes.

"Oh, good morning Jack," she said, before yawning widely and stretching.

Jack's smile grew a little. "Morning. Did you sleep well?"

She grinned mischievously. "Of course I did. I had the best pillow ever."

The little fox nuzzled his belly, and Jack couldn't help but chuckle a little from how absolutely adorable the Vulpix was. He reached down and gently scratched between her ears, eliciting a contented yip as she nuzzled against his hand. It was then that Jack realized that, when he did rescue his friends, Lucy and Katia were sure to become best friends.

Jack was startled out of his thoughts by a knock at the door. He blinked, surreptitiously wiping away a drop of moisture which had somehow landed on his cheek. He then got up and went to answer it, leaving Katia lying sullenly on the bed wanting to be petted more. Upon opening the door, Jack was greeted with a familiar face.

"Nicholas!" he exclaimed.

"Hey Jack," the redhead replied. "Long time no see."

He and Jack held out their hands to shake, and after not seeing each other for so long Jack thought it appropriate to pull his friend into a quick hug. However, Nicholas winced and Jack quickly backed off. He then noticed for the first time that Nicholas's left arm was in a sling.

Jack stared at it in utter horror, and Nicholas quickly shook his head. "Don't even go there, it's not your fault. I pushed myself a little too hard, that's all. And I know even then I get the feeling you were holding back as much as you could, so don't beat yourself up over it."

Jack closed his mouth, then sighed. "Still… I'm so sorry. I didn't want to hurt you…"

Nicholas grinned. "Like I said, it was my own stupid fault for pushing myself. And besides, the doctor said it's just a simple fracture, and if I don't jostle it too much it'll be healed good as new in a month or so. Honestly, I could probably use the break."

Jack nodded and managed a smile. "Alright then. It's still good to see you again. Although it was a bit of shock seeing you in a place like this, especially clinging to walls and tossing fireballs all over the place."

Nicholas grinned and nodded. "Yeah, I figured that would be a pretty big surprise for you. As you can see, I've been training a lot while you were away. Maylene taught me everything I know about hand to hand combat, and I've been doing a lot of experimenting with my new abilities. I just have to be careful to cover my hands in aura first or I'll burn myself."

Jack nodded. "I see. You've really dedicated yourself to learning how to use these new abilities, haven't you."

Nicholas chuckled ruefully. "Well, it's like I said before. Why wouldn't I? It's like being a superhero…"

"And that's why you're participating in an underground fighting ring?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow.

Nicholas snorted. "Hey, you have just as much to explain there as I do."

Jack sighed and nodded. "Fair enough. You'd better come in actually, it's a long story."

Nicholas nodded and followed Jack into the room, at which point the red-head's eyes went wide. "Oh my goodness…"

Katia was lounging on the bed waiting for Jack to finish catching up with his friend. When she heard him bring the guest into the room she glanced over, still lying on her back. Nicholas was staring at her in something approaching awe, and she quickly sits up. After all, showing

"Where'd you find this cutie?" Nicholas asked Jack, glancing at him and grinning. "She's adorable!"

Jack couldn't help smiling back. "It's, uhh… part of the long story."

Nicholas sits down next to Katia and starts petting her head, which resulted in more happy fox noises. Nicholas smiled at the adorable little fox, then looked around.

"So," he asked. "Where's Jason and the others?"

Jack's expression told him all he needed to know.

"Oh… I'm so sorry Jack," he said, the mood in the room changing instantly. Even Katia noticed, and looked up at Jack in concern.

Jack sighed, sitting down on the bed next to Nicholas. "It's alright… you want to know why I'm here? It's to raise money for a plane ticket to Kanto. That's where my friends are now."

"Kanto…?" Nicholas repeated.

Jack nodded, then sighed again. "Like I said, it's a long story."

Jack spent a while catching Nicholas up on his adventures in Saldara, excluding the more… 'sensitive' details. Nicholas asked more and more questions as the story went on, which Jack answered to the best of his ability. By the time the story got back to where they were now, Nicholas's brow was furrowed in determination. Jack could read him like a book.

"And no, you're not coming," Jack said firmly.

Nicholas looked up in shock, then snorted. "And why exactly not? Jack, you're my friend. One of my best friends in fact. You went off to Saldara all on your own, and left Maylene and me with nothing to do but worry about you. Not this time. This time, I'm gonna help you whether you want it or not. I'm stronger now, and so is my team. We can back you up!"

Jack shook his head. "No way. Like you said, that arm of yours is going to take a month to heal. I'm not taking you into a combat zone with an injury like that."

Nicholas stared at him for a moment. "Combat zone…? Jack, you're not in Saldara anymore. Team Rocket isn't going to be using guns and tanks. They'll be using Pokémon, and so will we!"

Once again, Jack shook his head. "No, I won't. And for your information, we don't know for sure that they won't be using guns."

"All the more reason for you not to go in there alone!" Nicholas insisted.

"I won't be," Jack assured him. "I have backup, remember?"

Nicholas sighed. "Those two Pokémon from Saldara…? Alright then, in that case where are they?"

Jack glanced at the door and waited. Nova and Razgriz soon entered, having been listening ever since Nicholas entered the room. Nova didn't bother with any illusions to disguise them.

"You rang?" Razgriz said telepathically.

Nicholas's eyes went wide. "Woah…"

Jack rolled his eyes slightly. "I did tell you."

"Yeah yeah, I guess nothing should really surprise me at this point…"

"Anyway," Jack continued. "Nicholas, this is Nova and Razgriz. Nova, Razgriz, this is my old friend Nicholas."

"Nice to meet you," Nova said in a happy tone. Razgriz simply nodded his head in Nicholas' direction.

"Nice to meet you too," Nicholas replied. Then he blinked. "Okay, so… I know I said I wasn't going to be surprised anymore, but… you two can talk?"

"Telepathically, yes. We haven't had to around Jack though," Nova replied as she went and and sat down against the wall, leaning back against it. Razgriz followed behind her and sat down next to her.

Katia's ears suddenly perked up. "Oh yeah, this guy can't understand me can he?" she snickered mischievously.

Nicholas looked down at her and blinked. "I've been insulted, haven't I."

Katia smiled innocently. "Well, now that you mention it your hair is kinda funny-looking."

Jack struggled, and failed, to keep a straight face. "Now you have."

"Homines…" Razgriz muttered as he shook his head. Nova let out a short laugh, shaking her head some.

Nicholas glanced back at the pair. "So, are you guys really as strong as Jack said?"

"Probably stronger," Razgriz said with a toothy smirk.

Nicholas nods sagaciously. "I see. And you promise you won't let anything happen to him?"

"I cannot make a promise that I have no way of knowing I can keep it. I can say that I owe him my freedom and will do everything in my power to make sure he is reunited with his friends," Razgriz offered.

Nicholas sighed a little. "Fair enough. And… can you make sure he doesn't blow too much stuff up as well?"

"Why would I discourage that?" Razgriz asked.

Nicholas blinked, then glared at Jack. "You see? You've been a bad influence on them already!"

Jack snorted. "Hey, have a little faith in me…"

"If anyone was a bad influence, it was probably me," Razgriz countered, coming to Jack's defense.

Jack gestured in the Lucario's direction. "See? Thank you, Razgriz."

Nicholas grinned. "I know. I'm just heckling you. It's good to be heckling each other again."

Jack sighed, then grinned a little too. "It's good to be doing anything together again."

"So," Nicholas asked. "How close are you guys to saving up enough for the flight?"

Jack sighed. "Not close enough for my tastes. At this rate, I'll need to win at least three more fights. With a day or two to recover between each, that's more than a week until we can get going. Longer if I'm unlucky."

Nicholas nodded, then looked Jack eye to eye. "In that case, I may not be able to come with you, but I can still help you out. I have a little money saved away myself, but you need it way more than I do."

Jack blinked. "How much money?"

"Well over three fights' worth," Nicholas replied with a smile.

"Seriously?" Jack's face lit up instantly.

Nicholas nodded and grinned. "Sure. I mean, what are friends for?"

"Thank you so much!"

"Oww! Hey, watch the arm."

"Sorry!"

"It's fine." Nicholas nodded to him, encouragingly. "You go rescue your Pokémon. I'm sure they're eager to see you again. I'll still have enough saved up to stay here while I heal up, and then I'll meet you at Maylene's dojo. Alright?"

Jack nodded back. "Alright. And thanks again Nicholas, I promise I'll pay you back some day."

Nicholas got up and patted Jack on the shoulder. "Tell you what, pay me back with a rematch when this is all over. I want you to see exactly how much my team, and I, have improved since you've been gone. Trust me, I still have a few tricks up my sleeve."

"I look forward to it," Jack replied. "Take care of yourself."

"Hey, that's my line," Nicholas shot back, waving as he headed for the door. "I'll let you rest up. You've got a long flight ahead of you."

Suddenly, Jack remembered something. "Hey, one last thing," he asked, as Nicholas glanced back at him. "Why a ninja?"

Nicholas grinned mischievously. "Cause ninjas are awesome!"

Nicholas then walked out the door, and Jack flopped back onto the bed. He was smiling, but his eyes burned with determination.

"Just hang in there guys. I'm on my way."