Chapter Eight

Knowledge



"Book? What book?" Phoebe asked.

"Hijou gave Haru and I a book that explains our powers. Hold on, I think I can summon it…" His face screwed up into an expression of concentration. Wind picked up in the room, and a whitish bubble appeared. It contracted, and the book fell into Will's hands. "Yes!"

He flipped through the pages until he found one that had the words "Life Defender" at the top, and a picture of a man in what appeared to be expensive armor, lacquered green, and a large spear. A woman stood beside him with the same armor, and a longer, slimmer spear. Both had black hair, though the woman's was much longer than the man's.

Under the picture, it read, "The Life Defender is one with the life energies surrounding him. He can tap into them, and heal or destroy. But he feels death much more strongly than the average person. If someone close to him dies, there is a strong chance he will temporarily lose his sanity and attack the nearest person randomly." Then it went on to list the Life Defender's special skills.

"Look! I recognize this one!" Phoebe said, pointing at the first item on the list. "Reborn Fury-a spell that is very accurate and painful when used correctly. The more life energy a person has when it is used on him, the more he is left with. The spell takes little to no concentration, and doesn't require a specific weapon to use. If the target is badly injured, this spell will bring him close to death. It cannot actually kill, though." she read.

"That's a relief," Will sighed. "Keep reading; maybe we'll find something else useful about it."

"Natural Energy-a spell that restores physical and magical strength by channeling the life energy from the earth."

"A useful technique, but hardly dangerous," Will surmised. "Keep on going."

"Life Siphon-a spell that transfers life energy from the target to the user. Loses power each consecutive time it is used."

"Okay…that could be nasty, but there's a precaution. Keep going."

"Holy-a White Magic spell that is very powerful. The Life Defender can use this spell because he is so in tune with all the energies of the earth."

"Yikes! That's what Haru used on Hijou. It nearly killed him! How many more are there?"

"Just one. Life Shield-a spell that invokes all Yin magic-Regen, Protect, Shell, and Haste. Plus, it says the Life Defender can use any White, Time, or Yin Yang magic."

"That could be powerful. That could make her nearly invincible!" Will exclaimed.

"Hold on a moment. I want to keep reading." Phoebe said when Will started to go off for Hijou. "I'm sure Hijou is going over all this, too."

Will begrudged the point, and the two sat down on two of those convenient stone chairs. Phoebe absently turned pages until she came across a two page section for the "Rage Knight".

The Rage Knight's illustration was of a man with a long, bright red sword that had fire burning around it. He didn't wear armor, but a light red tunic that gave him freedom of movement. His female counterpart had two shorter fire swords, and very light chain mail armor that was also red. The man had blond hair, but the woman had scarlet tresses.

Phoebe read with interest. "The Rage Knight can control the power of flame. He must use the Fire Brand to wield the Fire Sword technique. The female Rage Knight uses two Flame Knifes." Phoebe eagerly read the list of techniques.

"Falling Embers-a sword skill that calls a rain of fire."

"Simple. But probably strong," Will surmised. "Keep going."

"Um...after that, there's...'Fire Sword-a sword skill that channels flame through the user's weapon(s) and strikes the heart of a foe.' What an original name," Phoebe snorted.

"How many more are there?" he wondered.

"There are two more techniques...'Exploding Stab-a sword skill that causes death.'"

"Oh, that one's really fun," he snorted. "What's left?"

"The Rage Knight's final ability is the Nova Sword technique. This summons a gigantic fireball from the sky. It is very powerful, but a recoil comes onto the Knight. After one use, you aren't in very good shape. After two, you're near death. Three, and you aren't near anymore. You must heal completely between usages." Phoebe read. "Oh, my...that's horrible!" she exclaimed.

"Is there anything about me?" Will asked, fascinated. Phoebe gave him the book.

"I'm going to go talk to Hijou," she told him. "Then I'm going to try and find those...Flame Knifes or whatever. I'm sure he has a pair around here somewhere..." She left the room, leaving Will to study the book.

He flipped through it, trying to find something along his lines, reading snatches out of the other pages when they were interesting. Then he found it. There was a picture of a man and a woman, both in identical white clothes. Both had a long lance in a defensive position, and were back to back.

"The Sky Warrior is an airborne attacker. It uses-" Will didn't get a chance to read further, because the whole underground complex suddenly began to shake violently. An earthquake.

He slammed the book shut, and ran from the room, looking for someone. The first person he ran into was Hijou, who was running toward him. They literally ran into each other.

"Oof!" Hijou exclaimed. He got up quickly, and yanked Will to his feet. "Hurry! We have to get out of here!"

"Why?" Will shouted, running after Hijou. "What's going on?"

"A team of Ground Pokémon are attacking! Chikaku and Kyogan are trying to hold the place together, but there are a whole lot more Dugtrio and Graveler than they can handle," he explained, picking up his pace.

Will struggled to keep up. Despite his long legs, he wasn't very fast, and not really used to running. Then, he remembered that he could fly.

He focused on his power, and created the wings he had used earlier. He flapped them clumsily, but the air was dead, and it was very difficult to fly in dead air.

Forgetting about flying, he tried to use his wings to increase his speed by jumping, then cupping them and gliding for a while. It didn't get him much speed, but was easier.

"Stop that!" Hijou snarled. "Those birds'll sense it! They're outside right now!"

"Oh...sorry..." Will said, dropping his wings, and running again. "Oh, um...who's Kyogan?"

"Rock," Hijou said shortly. "Shut up and run!"

Will obeyed. Hijou led him through a series of twists and turns, then up a long staircase. They emerged into sunlight, and before Will had a chance to adjust to the light, a fiery blast exploded not three feet from them.

The shockwave threw him away, which was lucky, because a PSY Beam struck right where he had been.

Hijou wasn't affected by it, and pulled his sword from the scabbard. With a yell, he charged Celebi, who was floating over the ground with her back turned.

"Darkness that inhabits all souls...Darkness Sword!" Hijou cried. Again, black fire erupted under Celebi, enveloping her in a pitch black fireball.

Will started to summon energy for some kind of attack, but remembered Hijou's warning against using standard, Pokémon techniques. He racked his brain for something that would work.

Aha! he thought. "Wind, come from the clouds and slice! Aero!" he chanted. Wind swirled around Celebi, becoming a razor sharp, transparent blade that cut at her before vanishing.

Then he realized what a mistake that had been. He had let any Flying Pokémon within a few miles know where he was, as Lugia plunged from nowhere, grabbing him in his talons.

Will struggled, but Lugia bore him upwards. Will felt the winds blowing around them grow from placid, docile breezes to storm-carriers, winds of massive strength and ferocity.

Will tried to call one of those winds to knock Lugia off whatever course he was on, but they were too strong, and his attempts failed. He tried casting Aero, but the magic went awry, and instead of calling a "sharp" wind to attack Lugia, he created a huge storm. It was a few miles away, but the winds at its altitude level were strong enough to bring it here in minutes, if that.

That was all Will could think of doing. He was still searching for anything that he could do to stop the Guardian, when white light filled his vision, and they Teleported.

When the light vanished, they were hovering over a mountain that was surely the highest mountain in the world. They were still at the same height--Will could somehow sense that--but the mountain stretched higher than Will thought was possible. Lugia flew toward it, and landed on a ledge that overlooked a small cave.

With another Teleport, Will was in the cave. He could see nothing hindering him from leaving, so he ran toward the exit, preparing to create wings.

TSAAAP!

An electric shock filled him, scorching his skin and frying his nerve endings. After a moment, it ceased, and Will fainted dead away.



At the battle…



Phoebe had been led by a man in yellowish green robes to the surface, where he told her to either hide or make herself useful. Then, he ran off toward the thick of the battle.

Phoebe fervently wished she had some idea of how to use those skills she had read about in that book. She tried focusing on the simplest one, Falling Embers.

"Mother Earth, open your hand to let lava flow! Falling Embers!" she chanted, focusing her mind.

For a moment, she felt it was going to work. Then, heat exploded around her, so intense her skin began to melt.

"AAAAARGH! AIEEEE!" she screamed. Her hair, her eyes, her clothes, all were melting and burning and the pain--!

A soft touch to her skin made the pain ebb. Healing strength flowed through her as the pain subsided. As the fire around her dimmed, she heard a voice continually chanting. "Life's refreshing breeze, blow in energy." The pain slowly diminished, until all she felt was a faint throb, then even that was gone. Her vision, burned to nothing, returned at the same time. She felt hair shooting out of her skull like a time-lapse video of grass growing.

When she was back to one hundred percent, the person who was healing her, the girl in twilight robes from before, gave her a shaky grin and fainted.

"Oh, no!" Phoebe cried. She knelt, and tried to wake the girl up. "Hey, c'mon! Wake up!" But it was no use. Phoebe sighed, and stood.

To see Ho-oh streaking toward her, almost too fast to see.

Time seemed to slow, and as Phoebe raised her hand in a feeble attempt to ward off the bird, a gray blur darted in, and knocked the bird into a spiral that sent her nose first into the ground.

Phoebe stared at the boulder of a man that had saved her. "Um…thanks…" she said, not sure her knees would hold her.

The man scowled. "Did Tamamushi no tell you to hide? If he did no, I tell you. Go hide if you can no hold your own in battle." With that, the huge man ran off, surprisingly agile.

Phoebe snorted as he ran off, but didn't feel strong enough to run after him. She sat on the ground, hoping that she could gather enough strength to fight soon.

She stared at the girl in twilight robes. -My name is Kijutsu- a voice said.

"Whoa!" Phoebe exclaimed. "I'm sure you're psychic...but you can communicate with me while unconscious?"

-I'm not actually unconscious-she explained. -I just used all my energy to heal you. I'll recover in a few minutes.-

"Can I help any?" Phoebe asked, concerned.

-If you want to. It isn't really necessary. But it would help both of us recover our strength...okay. Take my hand.-

Phoebe's lips twisted, but she shrugged and obeyed. -Now, simply imagine yourself as a flame.-

Phoebe sighed, but closed her eyes. She imagined a flame, and let it consume all her emotions, until she was only the flame.

Warmth. Leap, consume, create. It was a wonderful sensation, and she felt her strength returning tenfold.

Sharp, biting pain lanced through her arm, and she involuntarily released Kijutsu's hand. Opening her eyes, she left behind the warm bliss that she had been embraced by. Kijutsu was sitting up, rubbing her forehead.

"I am never, ever going to do that with an untrained, greenhorn baka again," she sighed. Phoebe bristled, but before she could retort, Kijutsu vanished.

"Baka yourself, Kijutsu-chan," Phoebe snarled. She stood, and immediately saw something that greatly amused her, though it shouldn't have.

Chikaku was battling a fully grown Venusaur, trying desperately to avoid the Vine Whips and Razor Leaves, while striking out with Ground elemental techniques to take advantage of Venusaur's part Poison type.

Phoebe laughed softly, though she was still angry. She channeled that anger, making a sword of flame. Running forward, she saved Chikaku from a Vine Whip that was coming behind him. She twisted, swinging the sword around, and sliced an angry gash in the Venusaur's body. The Pokémon roared, and turned to her. Its bulk made it slow, but deadly if it decided to use Body Slam or Tackle.

Phoebe danced backward, and decided to give herself another advantage. Wings of fire unfolded from her back, and she floated into the air, gaining almost complete invulnerability from the beast's attacks.

Chikaku shouted, and slammed the heels of his palms together. Brown light flickered around him, and a jagged splinter of rock stabbed out of the ground, impaling the Venusaur.

Phoebe's eyes widened, and she lost control of her power. The wings turned to fireballs, and her sword exploded. The shockwaves, flung her to the ground, in considerable pain.

Chikaku was also thrown by the shockwave. But the amazing thing was what happened to the Venusaur. It began to glow a brilliant green, and grew. The glow expanded, becoming a large sphere, then a pillar. It continued to grow, until it was a massive Venusaur-shaped...light.

The light suddenly exploded into small spots of light that swirled in the air like a storm of deranged fireflies. Ho-oh, who had previously been distracted by the boulder-like man and Shinrei, screeched and spread her wings wide. The lights swirled around her, restoring her strength.

Phoebe snarled again, and ran forward. Chikaku grabbed her shoulder. "Wait," he ordered. "You can't fight her."

"Why not?" Phoebe demanded. "I'm just as powerful as you, Chikaku." She invested all her scorn into that name.

"Your blood is hot. You have an adrenaline rush. You aren't in complete control. Hang back, and let the people who know what they're doing handle it." With that, Chikaku dove into the earth, like it was a swimming pool. And he entered smoothly, leaving no trace of his astonishing act.

Rage came from nowhere within Phoebe. How dare he... Again, she created her wings, and flew as fast as she could to the main battle.

Hijou was easily destroying Pokémon left and right. Each time, though, they did the same thing that the Venusaur had done, only stoking the "Guardian's" power.

"Hijou!" Phoebe cried. "Stop! You're helping those birds!"

Hijou either didn't hear her, or didn't listen to her, because he continued to swing his sword gracefully, sending bolts of dark power every which way, each one hitting a Pokémon.

"Hijou! Hijou!" He still couldn't hear her. Phoebe's eyes flashed, rage again boiling within her.

"Fine. I'll take care of this..." She began to chant. "Fire, be our strength, and Wind, be our fuel. Come together to create the great death. FLARE!"

Small flames flickered over the whole scene. They began to draw together, forming a medium sized fireball.

Hijou finally realized what was going on, and got out of there fast. He cast a wide range Teleport spell, getting every human away from the scene.

The fireball grew in strength, falling to the ground. It landed on a Graveler, and disintegrated it. Flames leaped around it like solar flares, and it began to grow.

When it reached an enormous size, easily twenty feet around, it exploded. A dome of fire covered every Pokémon there, and a strong wind leaped up, drawing all the Pokémon not in the blaze...well, into it.

When it cleared, there was no sign any Pokémon had ever been there. The rage within Phoebe was gone, replaced by an icy apathy. She cared nothing for these brute beasts-What? Brutes? Did I think that?-and wasn't going to show any emotion for them.

What's going on?

Nothing. Nothing's going on.

Why am I doing this? Who...what have I turned into?

Phoebe quashed the voice in her head. It was a weakling, a being not worthy of existing.

What? I am Phoebe! You are just a...a...

I am real; you are not. You cannot exist, because you are weak. With that, she simply stopped listening to that voice.

She landed on the ground, near where Hijou had teleported all his troops. "What did you do that for?" he snapped. "We could have subdued them without killing them!"

"Like you were?" Phoebe growled back. "I saw you, with that fancy sword skill of yours!"

"I was only crippling the force. The rest of them could have been put in stasis, but no! Someone went and used a spell no one has ever heard of, and nearly killed us all!"

"Calm down, Nekkara," Phoebe sneered, flipping her hair. What? Nekkara...who's that?

Silence, weakling!

Hijou paled. "You...how did you..."

Phoebe smiled darkly, and pushed the man aside. Even though he was very tall, and strong, she easily knocked him to the ground.

Realization painted his face. "Kyogan! Chikaku! Kijutsu! Tatsu! Neutralize her!" he ordered.

Phoebe had all of a second before arms of rock came out of the ground to take hold of her, and a shimmering blue light began to veil her, preventing her from interfering with anything outside. She used that second well.

The rock and the light exploded when intense heat radiated out from her. Her aura was there, glowing brightly. Tatsu leapt forward, covered with a pink sheen-her Dragon Skin technique. Phoebe grinned savagely, and waited until the girl was within inches from her. Lightning quick, she flattened the girl, and took a full step back. "Anyone else?" she whispered.

"Lightning Stab!" Rakurai shouted, swinging his sword out of nowhere. Phoebe clenched her fist, and shoved it forward. Her aura expanded into a red dome, deflecting the lightning back at him.

"More?" Almost before she spoke the words, Gekidoku shot forward, a blur of movement that she wouldn't have been able to see, without the Fire energy boiling within her.

Time seemed to slow. She raised a hand, ready to crack the idiot's skull, waiting for just the right moment, when...

NO! Half a second later, she was struck twice with poisoned flails. Immediately, the power within her vanished, and she fell to the ground.

Ha! I do exist, don't I? the puny being within her exulted. I stopped you! I am Phoebe! I-

DIE! Phoebe screamed, within her own mind. She brought all her mental strength to bear, squashing the voice. You aren't me! You are weak! I am not weak! I am not you! I am not you! I'm not you!

Hijou, now standing, placed his hand on her forehead. Dark energy filled her. She wasn't damaged, but any Psychic energies within her were completely negated.

Her inner battle abruptly stopped, as the two entities within her abruptly snapped together. The energy filtered out, but slowly, making sure every Psychic twinge in her mind was gone.

"What...happened?" she gasped. She was exhausted. The battle with Hijou and his men and women had used her energy like a fire used tinder-swallowing it whole.

"I think Celebi or Lugia created a second personality within your mind, and heightened your senses and reactions. That's how you managed to defeat all these people with elemental advantages." He gestured at the six who had attacker her; Chikaku and Kyogan, since they hadn't come in physical contact with her, had only been knocked out. Only. Kijutsu's psychic powers had been temporarily burned out; she was reeling with the foreign sensation of being locked within her own mind. Tatsu had at least four broken ribs. Rakurai hadn't come out much worse than he started-he had absorbed the deflected lightning. His hair, though, was sorely aggrieved-it stuck out at least four inches from his scalp.

Gekidoku, actually managing to strike her, was twirling his flails, smiling smugly.

The poison hit her. It didn't hurt, or make her feel sick. It simply knocked her out.