Pokemon Mystery Dungeon
Shadows of Ganderosa
Chapter 32
The Chaos Theory: Part III
(Alkan Castle, Alka)
Hazel floated motionless underneath the water, surrendering her body to the current. The cold still nipped at her flameless tail. Seconds went by. Hazel waited for death to force her underneath its darkening veil, but nothing happened. She opened her eyes and stared into the blue and green water around her as rays of light shot between the icy walls creating beams between the shadows.
She might have kicked her feet wildly in an attempt at rising to the surface, but she was exhausted. The battle with Titus – as well as the massive drop into the water which still rattled her head – had taken every bit of energy she had. She couldn't fight death even if she wanted to, and she accepted that. Sure, her friend needed help with their own personal lives, but Dillan would eventually get his memories back with Ryan's help, and Ryan would be back to his normal-self with some help from Dillan. They didn't need her. Personally, she had some unfinished business in Ganderosa, but death was too close, and there was no way to avoid it in sight.
That's when Hazel felt something abnormal. Her stomach buckled inwards from a shock of agony. It felt like a flame exploded in her heart. Hazel gave as close to a cry of pain as one could while under water. Her lungs ejected all of the oxygen she had left. The explosion in her chest seemed to ignite something inside of her: something that she had felt before. That flame gave her a new-found burst of pure energy mixed with adrenaline.
No. she thought. You can't give up, yet. You can't let her death go unanswered! Hazel, with this new flame inside of her, kicked her legs as fast as she could. She paddled her arms until she breached the surface of the water. Hazel began coughing out the water in her lungs while trying to take in a breath of air at the same time.
"Interesting," Titus' voice called down from above the charmeleon. Hazel looked up to see the charizard perched on top of the edge of the icy cliff.
Hazel scowled at the charizard, watching him carefully. She took her eyes off of him for a split second to see some way of getting out of the water, though she saw nothing. The metal poles connecting the Alkan Castle's island of ice to the main-land were too far above the water for her to grab, and the cliff-walls were all made of ice, making it nearly impossible to scale.
Titus seemed to see this. He leapt off of the cliff and flapped his wings, keeping himself air-borne. The gusts created from his wings attacked the water, sending small waved over Hazel's head. She tried to stay above the water, but it was no good. Then, she felt claws grab onto her shoulders. Hazel attempted to shake from the grip, but it just made the claws dig into her scales.
"Wait," Titus ordered from above. Hazel looked up with wide-eyes. The charizard was the one grabbing her. She expected him to force her underneath the waves, but he just lifted her out of the water. Hazel didn't struggle for fear of the charizard dropping her, but she hated where this was going: wherever it was headed.
Titus brought Hazel above the cliff-wall and set her on the ice. He let go of Hazel who immediately slashed at Titus. She nicked his wrist, but Titus immediately flew up and out of her reach. He moved forwards a few feet before landing on the ice.
"I have to say," Titus began, gripping his cut wrist, "I'm shocked you're still alive."
"Why did you save me?" Hazel asked sharply.
"Because I want to learn from you," Titus announced. He turned towards Hazel. She was shocked to see a smile on Titus' face along with a glint of interest in his eyes.
"Learn from me?" Hazel asked, shocked by Titus' sudden interest.
"Of course," Titus said. "After all, you're tail-flame reignited."
"Wh-what?!" Hazel immediately looked at her tail. It swished around behind her, a light-blue flame bathing the tip in its heat. She had seen this same flame before back on Tom's ship.
"Tell me," Titus stated. "How does that happen to one such as yourself?"
"I..." Hazel said, still staring at the blue flame. I don't know...
"Confused, yet?" Titus asked.
Hazel looked at Titus with wide-eyes. Confused? Does that mean he knows more about this? Her eyes drifted back to her tail."You knew this would happen, didn't you?" she asked.
"No," Titus said as he shook his head. "I knew something would happen: not this."
"How?" Hazel asked.
"You are unlike any other charmeleon; that much was clear to me the moment I saw the way your flame flickered back in Frost-Island's Guild. The next part was figuring out why. I had a hunch, one that has proven to be correct."
"What are you talking about?" Hazel asked. She felt her chest beginning to tighten as a flash of pain went through her head for a second. She slapped her paws to her temples to stop the pain, but it went away as fast as it came.
"Enough talk," Titus stated. "I want you to show me what your new powers can do to me."
Hazel removed her hands from her head and looked at Titus. She knew the charizard would strike at any second, so she had to be ready.
Titus raised his wings and flapped them – sending himself nearly fifteen feet into the air – before he pointed his body downwards. Titus descended into a dive before pulling out of it making himself fly at Hazel with blinding speed. He caught the charmeleon in his right paw. Hazel felt Titus' claws dig into her waist as he carried her off of her feet. She looked into his eyes. They were staring at her – focusing on her – as Titus waited for Hazel's next move, though he didn't give her the opportunity. The charizard brought his left paw up. It was covered in what appeared to be a shadow. Hazel felt her heart skip a beat. Shadow Claw... Again... Titus' paw flew open, revealing the long, jagged, black claws that were aimed straight at Hazel's head. Titus jabbed his claws at the charmeleon. She didn't even bother on dodging the attack. Her only hope of avoiding it was to get Titus to let her go. She felt the fire inside of her rage on like a forest fire. She opened her mouth and let out a massive blast of heat and blue flames that engulfed the charizard's entire body.
Titus' claws loosened on Hazel's body, and she felt herself leave his grip. She grimaced as she tumbled into the snow. The moment she stopped, Hazel got up. She felt kind of dizzy, but she assumed that was because of the damage she had endured from her fall. She stared at Titus. Blue flames flickered from all over the charizard's body. He was kneeling in the snow, patting the flames with his free hand.
"Whoa..." Hazel said, astonished by her own attack.
"Very impressive," Titus said. He had put the last flame out and turned to face Hazel. "Igniting a fire-type is an accomplishment: proof of your own power. Now, tell me how you came across this strength."
Hazel shook her shock out of her head. She scowled at Titus, her opponent. "Why do you want to know?"
"Let's not play games," Titus said. He began walking towards the charmeleon. "Fight me." Titus' claws extended from both paws and became bathed in shadow. He continued walking towards Hazel.
If she was being honest, it freaked her out. A black charizard, one that was stronger than any enemy she had ever fought, was using an attack that put a ghost-like aura in the air. That alone put her on edge. The fact that he knew something about her new flame was even creepier. Now, he was walking towards her as if he was some murderer from the urban legends. But as much as Hazel felt like bolting, she knew she couldn't. She needed to fight this battle until either her or Titus couldn't fight any longer. If she didn't, Titus would kill her friends. This fight needed to end. If I ever needed to fight, now is the time.. Come on Hazel! He has to have a weakness! What would it be?
Titus was a few feet from her now. In a second or two, she would be in striking-range. Hazel refused to let that happen. No more time to think. She darted towards the charizard as fast as she could. Titus slashed his claws at Hazel's head. She ducked under the strike and slammed her arms into his stomach, forcing the air out of Titus' chest. Titus didn't move due to his weight, but he still wheezed from the lack of air. She then focused on her fear, using that to fuel the fire inside of her. She exhaled a massive jet of flames at Titus; it touched every inch of his body. The charizard swiped his claws through the flames. Hazel moved as quickly as she could, jumping to the left. Titus' claws grazed the side of Hazel's shoulder. She felt a burning sensation in the left side of her chest, not her shoulder. Hazel ignored the burst of pain and slashed at Titus' side. Her claws dug through Titus' scales creating a red mark in his side, but it wasn't very deep. Titus slashed again, but Hazel fell backwards onto the ground. She kicked at Titus' ankle in an attempt at doing more damage, but she realized her mistake instantaneously. Being on the ground restricted her movements. Titus had a chance at striking her. She turned away from Titus and jumped to her feet as fast as possible. She expected to feel an attack at her back, but nothing happened. She just stood up and ran away from the charizard.
Hazel stopped a few feet from her opponent and turned around. She faced the charizard. He was standing in his original position, panting as if tired from Hazel's attacks.
"You're... strong..." Titus admitted through pants. "Very... strong..."
Hazel looked at Titus with worry. She raised her arms and planted her feet as if ready for another fight.
Titus, still panting, stared at Hazel as if curious. "What's... wrong?" he asked.
This isn't right... Something's wrong... He shouldn't be this hurt... "What are you trying to do?" Hazel asked.
"Nothing I haven't already done," Titus' voice said from behind Hazel. She watched in horror as the Titus in front of her disappeared in a puff of smoke. She whipped around and looked behind. Titus was standing there with a straight posture that showed confidence and a demand of respect. His claws wrapped around Hazel's throat and pulled her upwards. She slammed her paws on Titus' and tried prying herself from his grip, but he didn't seem fazed. She kicked at his chest, trying to get him off of her.
"You look surprised," Titus noted, scowling at the charmeleon. "You turned your back on me, Hazel. That allowed me to get away from your sight and replace myself with a 'Double Team'." Hazel felt her neck start to numb. Her vision was going blurry. She then felt herself fall to the floor, gasping for breath. "You're a foolish girl." Titus knelt own to Hazel. He set his paw under Hazel's chin and forced her to look up at him. "Even though you and your friends are strong, you can't win against me, let alone Ignitus. You're attacks are too unorganized and you use moves for the sole purpose of using them. You might think of a strategy here and there, and that may let you win some fights, but you'll never be strong enough to stop Team Armageddon in your state. Go home before you get yourself hurt." Titus stood up and stepped over Hazel's body.
"Stop..." Hazel ordered. She put her paw underneath her body and began pushing herself upwards shakily. That burst of energy from before felt as though it was vanishing. Even so, Hazel didn't want to give in. She got onto her paws and knees and began standing on her feet.
Titus sighed. "Don't stand," he ordered.
"I can't let you hurt my friends..." Hazel said. She was on her feet now. The charmeleon could feel her strained neck, her cut shoulder, her bruised body: it was all awful – especially the burning sensation in her heart. She felt like lying there in the snow. She felt like running away, but she couldn't. Every standard she had set for herself, every moral code she had abided by, everything she believed in; none of it let her take a step backwards. She was determined to push herself beyond her limits to beat Titus and save her friends.
"That was foolish," Titus stated.
Hazel watched the charizard closely. He was scowling deeply, his head hung from his neck. He was staring at the snow, not meeting the charmeleon's eyes.
"You won't hurt my-" Hazel stopped. Her eyes widened as she felt a pain in her chest. She looked down to see the three oozing marks in her stomach. Titus was on top of her within a split second. The tips of his black claws were stained red. Hazel felt the tip of her tail become frigid and cold. Her heart began to slow down.
Titus continued to scowl at the snow. "I warned you, girl."
Hazel fell backwards onto her backside. Her entire body had gone cold. She shakily the dancing, blue flame had died down, turning into a red and orange like it use to be. He flame barely flickered against the cold. Her body was starting to numb. Pretty soon, the only thing she could feel was the burning sensation in her heart.
"Th-..." Hazel tried to say. She stumbled on those words. Breathing seemed to be the only thing she could accomplish.
"I have to thank you for coming," Titus said coldly. "You showed me that your kind exists."
"P-please..." Hazel said as best she could. "L-lea-" She sharply coughed, ending her sentence.
Titus looked down at Hazel. "You want me to leave your friends alone?" he asked. Hazel nodded as best she could. Titus continued to scowl. "Hazel... I'm a pokemon of my word." Titus began walking away from the charmeleon towards the Alkan Castle. "And I made a promise; I can't let the Guild win."
"Stop..." Hazel said, reaching out to Titus, but she fell forwards onto her chest. "T-Titus..." she said feebly.
"Until next time, little charmeleon."
She felt her vision start to blur. Her eye lids grew heavy as she stared at the charizard. Hazel took one final breath before her eyes shut. The last thing she heard was the scrunching of feet in the snow accompanied by an unintelligible yell as her hearing faded away.
(Alkan Guild, Third Floor)
Ryan, Bolt, and Adelina had been walking for the past ten minutes. They checked hallway after hallway, door after door, no sign of Dillan, Ignitus, or Guildmaster Zinclyde came up. On top of that, Ryan was starting to wonder if they were going in circles.
"It's like a maze in here," Bolt stated.
"I know," Adelina said. "Why is it so massive?"
Ryan didn't say anything. He was contemplating what Adelina had told him earlier. She's right... I shouldn't have snapped at Bolt, even if I'm on edge... Even if... Ryan stopped at a door and closed his eyes for a few seconds, lowering his guard, and attempting to relax.
The moment his muscles relaxed, he felt a surge of pain go through his brain. He looked out on the horizon. He was in a massive field with flowers blooming along a dirt-road. The road snaked its way through a metal gate and towards a familiar, brick house with glass windows and bushes at the front. The entire property was fenced off with barbed wire.
Ryan felt like running to the house. He felt like going inside and tackling the people he loved most. The pachirisu took a step forwards towards the house. The instant his foot touched the ground, the earth began to vibrate from underneath, throwing Ryan onto his backside. The pachirisu looked up. His eyes widened upon seeing a cloud floating above his house. It turned black and began expanding, leaving a massive, dark void present in the sky. Ryan looked on in horror as a massive crack of lightning came out of the void. It struck the house, sending pieces of brick and glass flying in different directions. Ryan was speechless. He felt tears come to his eyes as he watched in horror. The lightning struck at the house again, and again, and again. Over and over, the lightning struck at what use to be a solid structure until it was leveled with the ground.
Ryan squinted his eyes and grimaced. Why do you keep showing me all of this? He opened his eyes again. He was back in the hallway, holding open a door that led into some sort of lounge. The pachirisu shook the images out of his head as best he could. Isn't once enough? He closed the door and walked onwards towards the next. That's when he heard something above the silence.
"So, you won?"
Ryan stopped in his tracks, ears twitching as he listened. He immediately turned to Adelina and Bolt and said, "Shh."
Adelina stood still, looking at Ryan with anticipation while Bolt stared at the pachirisu. Bolt's eyes drifted upwards towards Ryan's twitching ears. He nodded his head and perked his own ears upwards.
"Of course I won," a voice stated proudly; it was barely audible, telling Ryan that the source was a lot further down the hall. "None of those intruders stood a chance against my super special move."
"I hear them," Bolt said quietly.
"Armageddons?" Adelina asked. Bolt smirked at the lickitung. She obviously got the message because upon seeing Bolt's smirk, she grimaced.
"Maybe they can tell us where Zinclyde is."
"Alright," Ryan said quietly. "Follow me."
Ryan crept down the hallway followed by Adelina and Bolt. The further they went, the more the voices elevated in volume. Ryan continued looking down the hallway expecting to find a body in the distance that would spot him and jump. It started putting him on edge. Calm down... They aren't here...
"Sparky," Bolt whispered. Ryan stopped in his tracks and faced Bolt.
"Yeah?" Ryan asked a little forcefully. Adelina shot Ryan a warning glance.
"Their voices are muffled," Bolt stated, seemingly unaffected by Ryan's attitude. "They're through one of these doors."
"Which one?" Adelina asked.
Bolt shrugged. "All I know is that they're not going to see us coming."
Ryan didn't know what to do with that information. He wanted to say something along the lines of, "Great!" or "Good one!", but at the same time he felt like he still felt mad with him for leaving Hazel behind. On top of that, the whole mission was still messing with him.
For starters, why would Guildmaster Zinclyde turn traitor? The Guildmaster was suppose to be the highest point anyone could achieve in Ganderosa's government. She had everything she could have ever wanted. On top of that, Team Armageddon's purpose was to take down the corrupt guild system and its leaders. Why would Zinclyde, one of the pokemon who benefitted most from the corrupted system, attack the very thing that gave her power? Then there was the fact that a King would allow his guildmembers – the lowest ranking in Guild status – to go on a mission like this. Sure, you could say that Garth picked them because he felt that they were the ones who were the most prepared, but there was also the fact that Garth was acting funny about the whole situation back in Palando. He didn't seem to enjoy the process at all, as if something was wrong, and he knew about it. On top of that, why Ryan's team specifically? Why choose Team Rapture? Wasn't Team Force stronger than they were? Weren't they more suited for this assignment? The thing that threw Ryan for a loop more than anything was that Judah was staring in Ryan's direction during a good majority of the Palando Guild meeting. It felt like he was trying to suffocate him with his eyes. But why? Why did Judah take such an interest in him? Did he know? No. There's no way... That thought stuck in Ryan's head. Does he know?
"Ryan," Adelina whispered forcefully, snapping him out of his trance-like state. Ryan shook himself back into reality.
Not wanting to give Adelina a second's chance to interrogate him, the pachirisu said, "Let's just go," before walking onwards down the hall. Something's off about this whole thing, and I'm in the center of it...
As the group crept further and further down the hallway, the voices became more and more audible. Ryan followed the voices until he reached a closed door in the side of the hallway.
"Quit acting like a bunch of twits!" a voice ordered from the other side of the door.
"You're kidding!" a different voice exclaimed. "You don't believe him?"
"They're in there," Bolt whispered.
"Alright," Ryan said. "We need one of them conscious enough to interrogate. The lucky Armageddon can lead us to Zinclyde and Ignitus. So on three, we jump them."
"Good plan, Sparky," Bolt stated with a smirk.
"Okay," Adelina said as she turned to Bolt. "Don't get too cocky."
"Me? Cocky?" Bolt questioned sarcastically.
Ryan rolled his eyes at the pikachu's arrogance as he motioned towards Adelina, then towards the door. Adelina seemed to understand because she walked right towards the door and set her hand right above the handle as to not jiggle it, alerting the room to their presence. She gave a nod to Ryan. The pachirisu stuck out his paw and shook it in the air three times.
"Now!" Ryan shouted.
They busted through he doorway to find themselves in a square room that was only filled with a group of four pokemon: some sort of quadrupedal elephant with armor over its back (donfan); a bipedal, yellow chicken with bulky, orange legs and long talons for fingers (combusken); a small, black and white squirrel with flaps of skin that went from its arms to its sides (emolga); and a pokemon Ryan recognized from their time in the Frost Island Guild: a crocanaw.
Ryan didn't give his opponents any time to react to his sudden intrusion. The pachirisu immediately flung himself towards the crocanaw, who only managed to turn around before Ryan rubbed his cheeks against the pokemon. As per usual when Ryan used "nuzzle", sparks began flying from the shouting crocanaw. Ryan then jumped off of the pokemon's body and searched for his next target. Bolt, grinning confidently, had just slammed his electrified body head-first into the combusken who fell to the floor from the force. Adelina had only just managed to get into the room with her orange swords in her hands.
"We're being attacked?!" the emolga shouted frantically, staring at the sudden onslaught that formed.
The donfan eyed Ryan coldly, and vice-versa. The pachirisu landed on the ground and whipped around in a circle, swinging his tail through the air. Stars flew towards the donfan and pelted it in the face, though Ryan's opponent didn't even flinch. It immediately threw itself head-first into the floor and formed into a grey ball of metal. The donfan began spinning like a wheel, accelerating quickly and barreling straight towards Ryan. The pachirisu was about to jump left to avoid his attacker, but he instead gave a cry of agony as a massive, sharp pain surged through his tail. Ryan quickly took his eyes off of the donfan and stared backwards to see the sparking crocanaw was chewing on Ryan's fuzzy tail. The pachirisu looked back at the donfan who was on top of him. Instinctually, the pachirisu jumped left, ignoring the pain in his tail. He immediately found his jump ended short of his intended distance, though it was just enough to avoid most of the donfan. He slammed into the floor and felt a new sensation in his tail. Ryan gave a howl of pain as he looked back to see the donfan had barely missed his body and went straight over the crocanaw's head. The crocanaw laid there on the floor, his moving back from inhaling being the only identifying factor that he was still alive. He had let go of Ryan's tail, though it still felt like fire. He quickly pulled his tail in for examination, though a screeching on the floor told him that now wasn't the time. He looked at the source to see the donfan had come out of its ball, its eyes set on Ryan. They focused on each other, waiting for the other to make their move.
"Why are there three of you?" the donfan questioned. "There was only suppose to be one!"
"Hey, you!" Bolt shouted.
The donfan took its eyes off of Ryan for a second to catch the glimpse of Bolt slamming his left, glowing paw into its head. As the donfan gave a cry of pain, it fell onto the floor. Bolt, for good measure, brought his right, white paw onto the donfan's head. Bolt stood in front of the donfan, grinning at his downed enemy.
"Give up?" Bolt asked. The donfan attempted to get up, but as soon as it moved, Bolt dropped his glowing paws on its head yet again. The donfan fell back onto its stomach. "Well?"
"Stop hurting him!" the emolga shouted. Ryan looked around to see the black and white squirrel in Adelina's tongue. "Please, stop!"
"Sorry," Bolt shrugged. "We can't just let him attack us."
"We don't have time for this," Ryan said. He walked up to the emolga, glaring at the pokemon. "Where's Iris Zinclyde?" he ordered.
The emolga's eyes widened fearfully. "Y-you're the r-rogue Armageddon," it stated. The emolga's voice was cracking. "Th-they warned us not to underestimate y-you based on y-your size!"
Ryan ignored the comment. It isn't important right now.
"You're afraid of us?" Bolt asked with confusion. The emolga didn't say anything.
Ryan walked right up to the emolga. He was inches away from the pokemon. He feel its shaky breath against his nose. "Let me tell you something," Ryan began slowly. "My best friend was taken by you murderers. I have no idea where he is, or if he's alright. We think he's probably with either your leader Ignitus, or Guildmaster Iris Zinclyde. Other than that, we have nothing to go off of. Now you're going to tell me exactly where to find Zinclyde and Ignitus, or I'll find someone else to tell me."
"Don't hurt me!" the emolga shouted.
"Where are they?" Ryan questioned sternly, ignoring the emolga's plea.
"Don't tell them!" the donfan shouted from the floor. Ryan didn't face the donfan, though he did hear a "thud" coming from its general direction.
The emolga took a hard gulp and said, "I only know where Zinclyde is!"
"You expect me to believe that?" Ryan asked.
"It's true!" the emolga shouted. "None of the lower members are suppose to know incase we turn traitor!" Ryan's upper lip twitched angrilly: not from the lack of information the emolga provided, but at how useless he felt. The emolga, however, seemed to take the twitching lip as a sign that Ryan was getting ready to attack. It whimpered before blurting, "Zinclyde should know where Ignitus is, though! She should be high enough in our ranks!"
"And where's she?" Adelina questioned.
"She spends most of her time in the tower at the top of the guild!" the emolga shouted. "That's all I know, I swear!"
"You're lying," Ryan stated coldly.
"It's true! I swear it's true!"
"Good," Bolt stated. "Guess we don't need you anymore."
"Wait!" the emolga pleaded. "Don't kill me!"
Bolt laughed heartily. "That's not how I roll." He rushed in on the emolga and slammed his glowing paw on its head. In an instant, the pokemon was out cold.
"Can we trust it?" Adelina asked.
"That emolga was too scared of you," Bolt told Ryan. "It wasn't lying."
Adelina put the emolga on the floor and looked at Ryan. "You're worried about Dillan," she stated softly.
Ryan didn't answer. She knows me too well. He turned from the battle and began walking out of the room.
"That was too easy," Bolt said as he began exiting the room with Ryan. Adelina followed. "Could you believe that combusken? It was like it didn't know what to do."
"No offense," Ryan began, looking at Bolt out of the corner of his eye, "But it would be best if talking was kept to a minimum. The more we talk, the bigger risk we run of someone hearing us." I say that, but in reality I just want some peace and quiet before the fight.
"Right," Bolt said with a smile accompanied by a wink.
"I have something to add," Adelina said.
"What?" Ryan asked.
"Which door leads up?"
"Easy," Ryan said. "Just follow me." He continued walking in silence. Bolt looked at Adelina with a grin and continued following Ryan. Adelina gave a sigh. She seemed exhausted by this whole endeavor, and Ryan didn't blame her. Nevertheless, she continued following the pachirisu.
After a little more tha ten minutes, Ryan opened the door to the arena room from earlier. He looked worriedly at the damage that still remained on the walls. Adelina and Bolt entered the room right behind the pachirisu.
"Back in here," Bolt said.
Ryan turned towards the staircase at the back of the room that led either down or up.
"There," Ryan said.
"No killing," Adelina said.
Ryan rolled his eyes. "Fine," he said. "But only because you'd kill me."
"And cheer up. Dillan's going to be up there and alright."
"That's more like it," Bolt stated. He ran towards the stairs and took the first step up. "But before we go up there, I wanted to say something."
Ryan gave a sigh and said, "Why do you keep wasting time?"
"Chill," Bolt stated. "I just wanted to say that we need to work as a group if we want to beat Zinclyde."
Adelina looked at Bolt with a raised eyebrow. "So, you have a plan?"
"More or less," Bolt shrugged. "Again, winging it.
"All I'm saying is that we probably need to fight Zinclyde as a team. Although, three pokemon sending random attacks at one target can either be a good thing or a bad one."
"Yeah?" Ryan asked. He had to admit, he was curious about what Bolt had to say, and it did help to take is mind off of his negative emotions.
"For starters," Bolt began, "If everyone were to throw an attack at the same time without communicating, it would run the risk of our attacks missing the target and hitting one of us. Another thing to keep in mind is that if we watch each other's movements and calculate where the opponent will dodge, we end up knowing where they'll be next making sure our attack hits it's-"
"Bolt," Adelina interrupted nervously. "I don't mean to dampen your strategy, but all of this is... too complicated for me... I wouldn't be able to follow through on anything you're saying..."
Bolt looked at Adelina with a smirk. "Alright, then. In that case, just power yourself up with 'Swords Dance', and use 'Wrap' to hold the enemy. Is that do-able?" Adelina looked relieved. She nodded to Bolt who gave her the thumb's up. He then turned to Ryan. "In that case, just communicate with me. I'll worry about the complicated stuff."
Ryan raised his eyebrow at Bolt. "It isn't complicated for me."
Bolt gave a light laugh. "Now who's wasting time?" Ryan grimaced at the pikachu's comment. "Relax. I'm just kidding." The pikachu turned towards the stairs and began ascending.
"Wasting time..." Ryan said under his breath as he followed the pikachu. Adelina led the rear as they ascended the steps.
It took about three minutes to reach the top.
"Alright," Bolt said upon seeing the set of big, wooden doors framed with metal. "Show time."
Ryan took a deep breath to try and mentally brace himself for what was to come. Dillan, please be there... Ryan walked up to the doors and pushed on them. They gave a small "creek", but that was just about it. It didn't even budge. He broke away from the door and looked up at its size. Compared to Ryan, the door looked massive and heavy. It made him mad. Why doesn't anyone think about the little guy when building these things?!
"Let me," Adelina said. She pushed on the door, her face tensing from the amount of pressure she exerted. The floor squeaked from underneath the lickitung, but after a while, it started creaking open.
Little by little, the interior of the room was revealed, until Adelina had pushed it open entirely. Ryan gazed upon one of the biggest rooms he had ever seen. A purple carpet with Ganderosa's symbol – the dragonite skull with two spears underneath it in an "X" – was laid out along the blue-and-white-marble floor which led to a massive bed at the back wall. An even bigger picture of King Judah Arvaine was hanging over the bed: or at least, Ryan assumed it was King Judah. The scorched hole in his head threw Ryan off, but the purple cape draping behind his fat body accompanied by the crown peaking over the ashes helped in his assumption. Pieces of blank paper littered the surface of a burned table to the right of the bed, as well as the floor around it. A chair was laying on its side in the middle of the room. There were also a massive amount of slashes and burns along the walls. A few windows along the walls allowed light to penetrate the otherwise dark room. In the middle of the bed sat a massive serpent with smooth, vanilla scales. Ryan's cheeks started sparking upon seeing Iris Zinclyde in the bed, though she wasn't the real reason Ryan was here. Zinclyde's head perked up and looked straight at Ryan. Her eyes widened and her lower lip started quivering.
Ryan's eyes went over the entire room once more as he searched for his gabite companion. There was no sign of him. He's not here...
"Wh-what are you doing here?!" Zinclyde asked worriedly. Ryan's attention was placed back to Zinclyde.
"You're the Guildmaster?" Bolt asked with a confident tone.
"You're n-not suppose to be here!" Zinclyde shouted frantically.
"Where's my friend?" Ryan shouted. "Where's the gabite you guys took hostage?"
"M-master Ignitus said I w-would be alone!" Zinclyde stuttered, glossing straight over what Ryan had said. "You're not suppose to be here!" The milotic began muttering that same phrase over and over.
"Guildmaster Zinclyde," Bolt said. He took a step forwards, his cheeks now sparking. "We don't want to fight you, but-"
"You're not suppose to be here!" Zinclyde continued, shouting over Bolt.
Bolt looked at Zinclyde with concern. "Uh... C. A?" the pikachu said. "She doesn't seem mentally... stable..."
"I know..." Adelina said. She took a step towards Zinclyde.
"No!" Zinclyde screamed fearfully. She recoiled away from Adelina, getting closer to the back of the bed. "Boss, help!"
"Are you alright?" Adelina asked.
"It doesn't matter," Ryan stated. He started walking towards Zinclyde. The milotic began screaming in terror with Ryan's advancements.
"Ry, wait," Adelina said.
The pachirisu stopped where he was at. When he did so, the milotic stopped shouting. Ryan turned towards Adelina. "What now?" he asked, angry with all of the interruption.
"Something's wrong."
"Yeah," Ryan lashed out. "It's the fact that you guys feel pity for her-"
"Really?" Adelina interrupted sternly. She shook her head and directed her attention back to Zinclyde. "She's obviously shaken up from us being here, but she's a Guildmaster. It doesn't make any sense what-so-ever. So, let me talk to her."
Ryan knew she was right. Of course she's right... It's just that... He looked at the shaking Guildmaster. He wasn't sorry for her. She's a coward and a traitor, and she has my friend held captive.
Adelina took another step towards Zinclyde. Her movement was met with another shriek from the milotic. She had begun to shout frantically, "I don't want to do this anymore, Boss!" She continued to shout, "I don't want to do this anymore" over and over.
"Guildmaster," Adelina said calmly. "Please calm down. I'm not here to hurt you."
Zinclyde lowered her head and looked over at Adelina. "Boss says not to trust you!" Zinclyde shouted. "Boss says you're here to hurt me for what I did!"
"We're only here to talk," Adelina said. "Please, just calm down and-"
Zinclyde's head flew back as a massive stream of water shot out of her mouth. It flew straight towards Adelina. She quickly rolled over on her side and avoided the attack. Ryan watched the jet of water fly by. His eyes widened upon seeing the white, wavy streams of what appeared to be smoke fly off of the water. No, not smoke: steam...
The water flew out of the room and slammed into the wall outside the doorway.
"That's scald," Bolt warned. "Touch that, and it'll burn you."
"I'll keep it in mind," Adelina said.
"You're asking for a world of hurt!" Ryan shouted to Zinclyde.
"Master Ignitus said I'd be alone!" Zinclyde shouted. "Boss said I could trust Master Ignitus! Boss said I would be safe here!" Zinclyde shot another burst of scalding water towards Adelina, who once again avoided the attack. Orange swords materialized out of thin air, and Adelina began dancing with them on the spot.
"Alright," Ryan said. "Pain train coming at ya."
Ryan got on all-fours and darted towards Zinclyde. The milotic began shooting rounds of water towards Adelina, who managed to dodge every one of the attacks gracefully as she played with her swords. The Guildmaster was so occupied with Adelina that she'd seemed to have completely forgotten about Ryan. He leapt at Zinclyde and began rubbing his cheeks all over her neck. It felt very smooth to Ryan, as if he was rubbing against ice. The milotic gave a shriek of pain and shot a burst of scalding water towards Ryan. The pachirisu leapt off of Zinclyde's neck and into the middle of the room. He looked towards Zinclyde just in time to see a smirking Bolt pummel Zinclyde with his electrified body. Another blast of water shot towards Bolt, who dodged the attack.
Adelina came out of nowhere and wrapped her tongue around Zinclyde. Ryan watched as tension marks formed around the area Adelina had begun squeezing. Zinclyde yelled in the air. Ryan was shocked to see in mere seconds that the entire room had gotten darker.
"What the-" Ryan began. He was abruptly cut off by a massive gust of wind that blew through the room. Ryan covered his eyes instinctually for protection, though that didn't help at all. Almost instantaneously, he felt goose-bumps under his fur as the room dropped in temperature. Multiple, tiny objects started pelting Ryan. His skin then felt as though it had been rubbed raw. It was extremely painful, and felt as though he was being turned into an ice cube.
"Blizzard!" Bolt shouted above the roaring winds. "She's not messing around!"
Almost as soon as it appeared, the temperature went back up, and the light streamed back in through the window. Ryan immediately looked at Adelina to see if she was alright. Her tongue was no longer wrapped around Zinclyde. Instead, it hung from the lickitung's chattering mouth.
"No!" Zinclyde shouted from her bed. "Boss said that was my strongest move! That should have beaten you! That should have beaten you!"
Ryan and Adelina looked just about ready to jump back into the fight, when Bolt held up his paw.
"Bolt," Ryan said warningly. "I swear-"
"Alright," Bolt said to Zinclyde, completely ignoring Ryan's comment.. "What gives?" He walked right up to Zinclyde. She looked panicked, shooting another blast of steaming water. Bolt bobbed and weaved around the attack and faced Zinclyde. "Aren't you suppose to be one of Ganderosa's strongest? Why can't you seem to hit me?"
"Stay away!" Zinclyde pleaded, shooting yet another burst of steaming water. Bolt, once again, dodged the attack.
"Tell me, Guildmaster," Bolt said, "Why is it that you don't seem to know your own moves?"
"Stay away!"
"You aren't Zinclyde, are you?"
"What?" Adelina asked, stunned by Bolt's accusation.
"Who are you, really?" Bolt smirked.
"Boss would kill me if I told you!" Zinclyde shrieked. Her red eyebrows floated in the air before her as her eyes glowed a light shade of blue. "Leave me alone!"
A massive beam of pure energy erupted from Zinclyde's face and barreled straight towards Bolt. The pikachu rolled to the left, dodging the "Hyper Beam" and immediately shouted, "Sparky, Team Attack!"
"Right," Ryan acknowledged without hesitation. He leapt into the air and sent a massive jolt of electricity hurdling towards the exhausted-looking Zinclyde. Bolt then sent his own burst of electricity towards Zinclyde, his looking a lot more powerful than Ryan's. The bolts of electricity hit their target. Zinclyde shrieked from the pain and fell onto the bed. Her eye lids were heavy, but she still looked at the guildmembers.
Bolt looked at Zinclyde in anticipation. "So, are you going to surrender and tell the truth?"
"Boss would kill me..." Zinclyde mumbled wearily to herself. "Can't show them... Boss would kill me..." She continued muttering to herself.
"Bolt," Adelina said. "What's going on?"
"Fine, Zinclyde," Ryan said. He jumped onto the bed and walked right up to the milotic. "I'm tired of your crap." Ryan realized he was only slightly bigger than the milotic's head, but he didn't let that intimidate him. He grabbed Zinclyde by the eyebrows and forced her to look at him. "Listen to me closely, you coward." She gave a shriek which Ryan met with a jolt of electricity. "Listen to me!" Zinclyde stopped shrieking and stared at Ryan with fear. "Ignitus has my friend held hostage, and you're going to tell me exactly where he is, understand?"
"Boss would kill me... Can't show them... Boss would kill me."
"Wrong answer!" Ryan shouted. He jolted Zinclyde. "Where is he?"
"Can't show them..."
Ryan gave Zinclyde another jolt of electricity. "Where's ignitus!"
"I can't... tell you," Zinclyde said wearily. "Boss is going to... kill me..."
"And what makes you think I'm going to let you live?!" Zinclyde gave a shriek of fear. Her eyes rolled up in her head, and she was unconscious.
"Ryan!" Bolt shouted. Ryan felt his tail being yanked from behind. He was pulled away from Zinclyde and to the floor. He looked ahead to find Bolt was looking at Zinclyde with a fearful grimace on his face. He leapt onto the bed and began going over Zinclyde with his hands for life-signs. That's when it happened. Zinclyde began glowing with a white light. Her body began changing before their very eyes. It morphed into a small, plump object. When the light faded, Ryan could make out a small pile of purple goo with shut eyes and a frown.
"A... ditto?" Ryan said with shock. "But where's Zinclyde?"
Bolt stopped himself as he stared at the pokemon before him. His eyes were widened as realization came to his face. "I remember you..."
"You do?" Adelina questioned.
"He was at the Palando Guild when we came back from... Castellum Town... A greninja called him 'Bob'."
"I can't believe you remember that..." Adelina said, though she sounded concerned.
Bolt shook his head as if he wasn't surprised. Ryan, however, had something else on his mind. "Where's Zinclyde?" he shouted at Bob. He heard Adelina gasp from behind him, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was finding Dillan.
"Dead..." Bob said wearilly. Ryan looked at the purple blob. His eys slowly opened wide as he said, "Boss killed her... And now Boss is going to kill me..."
"She's dead..." Ryan said, his face horror-stricken. "No..." If she's dead... then... Ryan leapt back onto the bed. He stared down Bob with absolute anger. "Where the hell is Ignitus?!" he shouted.
Bolt's fist came into Ryan's stomach and sent him flying backwards. Ryan flew through the air, processing what had just occurred, and landed on his back. He looked up from his grounded position at a scowling Bolt.
"You just..." Ryan said with shock.
"Get out, Ry," Adelina said from Ryan's side. Ryan was shocked to hear her voice quivering. He looked up at the lickitung. She was standing there, tears streaming from her eyes as she stared at Bob. "Just get out..." Ryan looked at Adelina with a dumb-founded expression. Get out? Is she serious? "Get out!" she shouted.
Ryan looked at Bolt. He was scowling accusingly at the pachirisu. What did I... His eyes drifted towards Bob. The ditto was eyeing Ryan with a look between exhaustion and fear, as though Ryan would kill him.
"But Dillan needs me-" Ryan protested.
"He needs you?" Bolt asked. He hopped down from the bed and began walking up to the pachirisu. "He needs you? You specifically?" Ryan eyed the pikachu nervously. He'd never seen Bolt act so harsh towards him. It put him on-edge. "I don't think he does."
"Of course he does!" the pachirisu shouted.
"Oh," Bolt said with a forced surprise to his voice. He put his hand to his chest as it checking his heart. He looked at Adelina and smirked. "Here that C. A? Dillan needs a killer to save his life." Killer? He turned towards Ryan. Seeing the shocked expression, Bolt laughed. "You don't know what I'm talking about?" Bolt smacked Ryan across the face with such force, Ryan was now looking at the ground. Adelina gave a gasp. Ryan's face felt as though it was the victim of a spike trap; it tingled with pain. "Why don't you take a look at the ditto on that bed!" Bolt took a step to the side
Ryan's head came back up, facing the ditto. It was still quivering, wearily eyeing the scene before it.
"Your point?" Ryan questioned.
"He's scared of you!" Bolt shouted. "Don't you find that the least-bit disturbing?"
"He's a killer!" Ryan shouted, rearing towards Bolt.
"You don't know that for sure," Bolt stated. "Can you tell me you're one-hundred percent certain that this ditto is a murderer and not just being used?" Ryan's expression didn't change. He just continued to stare at Bolt. "Of course you can't. So, tell me what gives you the right to murder him?"
"I wasn't going to murder him!" Ryan protested.
Bolt scoffed. "No? Then tell me when you were going to stop attacking him? When were you going to stop electrifying his brain?"
This time, Ryan grimaced. "I was going to..." Ryan said. He stopped himself. He started reviewing what he had done, his anger dissipating. He thought about how he jolted the pokemon. He thought about all the anger he had.
"Did it at least feel good?" Bolt asked. "Did taking your anger out on him relieve you of your own pain?" Ryan wanted to protest, but he didn't. No... It didn't... "It never does, Ryan." Bolt gave a sigh. "Look at Adelina." Ryan looked at Bolt as though he was kidding. Bolt gave him a glare that said, "Do it, or I kick your tail". Ryan turned towards his friend. Adelina looked at Ryan with a mixture of emotions: worry, fear, hate, anger, sadness.
Ryan was horrified. Did... Did I do that to her?
Adelina turned away from Ryan, tears falling down her cheeks even more rapidly than before.
"Addi-" Ryan tried to comfort.
"Damn it, Ryan..." Adelina quivered. "Is it so hard to leave me again?"
Ryan felt like he'd just been shot through the heart. He felt tears come to his own eyes. He looked towards Bob the ditto with horror. Was I... going to kill you?
"Dillan doesn't need you, Ryan," Bolt said. "You're too emotional right now to help anyone, so just leave."
"But-" Ryan tried to protest.
"Get out of here, Ryan!" Adelina shouted.
Ryan shut his eyes. His breathing became very unsteady. What was I thinking? He turned from Team B. A. K. and ran out of the room. He reached the stairs and began descending them. Each step felt as though the castle around him was going to collapse and crush him underneath its own weight. He didn't pay any attention to anything that went on around him. The pachirisu just darted to the bottom of the stairs and out of the castle. I was going to kill someone... Without hesitation, I was going to end someone's life... His mind flashed with the image of his home being struck with lightning. And all because I couldn't keep my emotions in check! His wrecked home flashed in his mind again as Ryan ran out to the gate. The skarmory looked at Ryan with curiosity, while the protestors continued to shout at the Guild the pachirisu was leaving behind.
"Open the gate..." Ryan said. Tears began flowing over his yellow cheeks.
"Are you alright?" the skarmory asked.
"Open the gate, now!" Ryan shouted, his voice cracking from all the emotions swirling inside of him. The skarmory began opening the gates as fast as he could. Bolt's right... Dillan doesn't need my help... I'm too messed up to help him, or Hazel... If I tried to help him... would I kill someone? Am I that unstable? As soon as the gates were open enough for Ryan to squeeze through, he darted into the crowd of pokemon. He stepped on many feet in order to get away from the Guild, but that didn't matter to him. Something needs to change inside of me... The images flashed through his head once more. He heard the thunder crack around him as though it was really here. He broke through the crowd of rioters and stopped. He grabbed the Team Armageddon bandanna that was still tied around his forehead and removed it. I need to fix myself... I need to fix my emotions, or I could hurt someone forever... I could hurt my... my friends... The image flashed again. He felt his fear rip at his insides. My problems are catching up to me... They have been for a while... I need to stop running from them; I need to tackle them head-on. Ryan looked back at the Alkan Guild. Maybe when my problems are over, I'll be fixed. Until then, I won't be able to help anyone... He dropped his "Team Armageddon" bandanna on the floor and walked off. Dillan, Hazel, I'm sorry... but I have to do this on my own...
(Unknown)
Dillan's heart was thumping against his chest at a million miles an hour. His wide-eyes accompanied by the sweat on the back of his neck didn't help him feel any less afraid. He had no clue what to do. Ignitus was slowly walking around the table towards Dillan while rotating his shoulders as if getting ready to dig his fist through the gabite's chest. Dillan had to fight, but he was so unsure about himself. What am I thinking? How am I suppose to beat him? He has to be much stronger than I am, so how?
"By all means, arrest me," Ignitus stated. Dillan watched the infernape with fear and caution. He took a few steps backwards to keep the gap between the two. His eyes continued to dart between Ignitus and his crystal which was hanging from the string tied to Ignitus' open palm. "Why back away from me, Dillan? Are you more afraid that I'll kill more innocent pokemon, or are you more afraid of me?" Dillan grimaced. "Don't you understand? I'm trying to save Ganderosa from extinction!"
"How d-does attacking a t-town help?" Dillan stuttered.
Ignitus closed his palm around the string. He then grabbed the crystal with his other hand. "You don't understand your role in this world." He rushed towards Dillan. The gabite wanted to dart to the left to avoid Ignitus, but that wasn't possible. The fear in his chest seemed to root him in place. Ignitus put his hands to Dillan's chest, pressing the green crystal to his scales. "Let me show you Ganderosa's future!" Almost immediately, Dillan felt his head grow heavy. His consciousness seemed to slip from his grasp as he plummeted into darkness.
Dillan slowly opened his eyes. He found himself lying on the cobble-stone road surrounded by small, stone houses. Above the houses, Dillan could see the top of a wall that seemed to surround wherever he was. Dillan slowly got onto his feet. He was surprised to find the pain in his chest had all but gone away. Dillan looked around the street to find where Ignitus had gone. All he could see was groups of cheery pokemon walking: some with objects and wears, others with friends or family. It was peaceful here, which made Dillan smile, though he dropped that in an instant and stuck with a concerned frown. It's not cold enough to be Alka... So, where am I? How did I get here? Wasn't I fighting Ignitus?
"Howdy, stranger!" a voice called out. Dillan looked to his left to find a massive, pink creature with a long tongue was smiling at him. That made the gabite feel very relieved.
"Adelina!" Dillan said with joy.
"Dad!" a child-like voice shouted from behind the gabite.
Dillan turned around to find a smaller lickitung that skipped through him and towards what Dillan previously thought to be Adelina. He suddenly felt wrong: as if violated. Did that kid j-just skip through m-me?! He watched as the two hugged each other as best they could what with their bulbous bodies and shorter arms. That seemed to give him some of his comfort back: some.
"So, how did school go?"
"Is Adelina coming home this week?" Adelina? Coming home? Then it occurred to him; these pokemon had a remarkable resemblance to his friend. Does that mean that these pokemon are Adelina's family? But that's not possible. They're missing.
The older lickitung looked at his son with a sort of sad gaze, but still wore a smile. "You know as well as I do that she's busy with the Guild."
"But she promised to teach me how to use Swords Dance, soon!" the little one complained.
Mr. Jennings sighed. "Adelina's just got some things to deal with."
"Like that short, jerky boyfriend she had?" His complaints were met with a warning gaze from his father. The child looked away as if concerned by his father's look. "Yes, sir..."
Mr. Jennings smiled at his son. "Tell you what: we'll go inside and write to your sister, asking her to come home as soon as possible. How does that sound?"
The child smiled brightly at his father as he gave an even tighter hug. "You mean it?"
"Sure I do!" Mr. Jennings assured.
Under normal circumstances, Dillan would have smiled at this show of affection. This, however, was no normal circumstance. If Adelina's family is missing, then why are they here? Why aren't they missing? And where am I? It doesn't look familiar at all...
"Boom". Dillan whipped around towards the sound of a loud explosion. He saw a cloud of dust floating through the air beyond all the houses near the castle walls accompanied by shards of stone.
"Get inside, Albert." Dillan looked to his left so see Mr. Jennings was looking his son in the eyes, his hands on his son's shoulders. He was no longer holding the little lickitung.
"What's happening?" the little lickitung asked.
"Albert Jennings, get inside right now!"
Albert didn't refuse again. He broke away from his father and departed for a building to the left. Mr. Jennings didn't seem as though he was going to join him. Instead, he was walking into the middle of the road. More explosions could be heard in the distance, making Dillan shudder. What in Ganderosa is going on?
Dillan looked down the path to find different pokemon running towards Mr. Jennings. They were all wearing faces of terror. Then, the gabite saw that one after the other, each and every pokemon was dropping into the streets.
"No..." Dillan said with horror. He broke into a run, not knowing or caring what he was going to find in front of him. The gabite focused on his fins. They grew into the blue blades he had used in just about every fight he had gotten into. Dillan was almost there when he stopped himself. The last of the pokemon dropped revealing the dreaded figure of a big, wooden pokemon with long a long, whit mane of hair that flowed down the creature's face, but parted at a pointed, long nose. Arlon... Though there was something off about the shiftry. Dillan realized that instantly: Arlon was perfectly fine. No burns or frizzled hair were present on the pokemon's body. Dillan instantly threw that information aside. Instead, he was focused on the anger and fear in his chest. No... Not here... He's in jail... How is he here hurting more pokemon?
"Take them all," the shiftree announced. "And make sure they're alive! The master wants to make sure we get the right one." From behind Arlon arose an army of brown men with green leaves on their heads. The nuzleaf immediately went for the grounded pokemon who struggled futilely against their attackers. Other nuzleaf busted through different doors to houses and threw their inhabitants out into the streets.
Dillan tried to take a step forwards, but his muscles were stiff, making it difficult to walk. Stop being afraid! He's the reason I know about Grace! He's the reason I know she's dead! He's the cause for all of the pain I've faced here! Stop running and fight him! Fight him! Dillan finally felt his muscles loosen. The gabite broke into a run at his opponent. Arlon didn't seem to take note of his existence. Dillan lunged at the pokemon and slashed across his face, but nothing happened. Dillan was shocked to see he didn't harm Arlon. No!
"You," Mr. Jennings shouted angrily, "Shiftree! Why are you here?"
Arlon looked at Mr. Jennings with a smile. "Take him." A group of five nuzleaf rushed towards Mr. Jennings. Dillan slashed once again at Arlon, but he just stood there smiling at the fight between Mr. Jennings and the nuzleaf. Mr. Jennings tried to fight, swinging his tongue like a whip in the air at the nuzleaf, though they didn't seem to care. One intercepted the tongue, taking the attack head on as if he had some sort of death wish. His move stopped Mr. Jennings' tongue while the other nuzleaf jumped him. Mr. Jennings flailed wildly as he tried to shake off his attackers, but they were too strong. In seconds, Mr. Jennings had been battered and bruised to the point of exhaustion.
"Arlon, stop!" Dillan shouted. "Leave him alone! Fight me, just leave him alone!"
"Daddy?" a voice asked. Dillan looked back at Mr. Jennings with horror. His son, Albert, was rushing towards his father. Almost immediately, the little lickitung was jumped by a nuzleaf from behind. The enemy slammed his fist into the side of Albert's head, knocking the child unconscious.
"Stop it!" Dillan shouted in desperation. He had no idea why he couldn't attack Arlon and end this, but it made him feel helpless. He felt tears start to form in the corners of his eyes.
"You see what this is?" a voice asked. The gabite whipped around to his left to find Ignitus standing there observing the atrocities with sorrow in his eyes. "This is what the enemy does."
"Do something!" Dillan pleaded with the infernape.
Ignitus smiled lightly and sadly. "I wish I did."
"Fine!" Dillan shouted. "Stand there!" Dillan turned towards Mr. Jennings and was about to run towards him when Ignitus grabbed his arm and held him in place.
Ignitus didn't face Dillan. He simply said, "There's nothing you and I can do: not any more."
"What are you talking about?" Dillan questioned.
Ignitus closed his eyes. "Look around, and tell me what you see."
Dillan didn't understand how that would help anything, but he did what he as told. "There's a bunch of pokemon being attacked by that shiftree, Arlon."
Ignitus looked at Dillan. "I'm surprised you know his name. It was my understanding that he died around the same time you came into this world."
Dillan didn't understand what Ignitus was referring to. Arlon? Dead? What's he talking- It dawned on Dillan who this Arlon was. He recalled the original Arlon he had met when he was captured, the Arlon before Kieth had taken his name.
"Is that the first Arlon?" Dillan asked. But he's dead... Wait... "When did this happen?"
Ignitus smiled. "Good. When is the question that you should ask. You see, this is the past. The reason we can't help these pokemon, as you may have realized, is because this has already happened."
Dillan looked over at Mr. Jennings. He was being dragged in the dirt, through Dillan and Ignitus, and towards Arlon.
"How did we get here?" Dillan asked.
"We never left," Ignitus stated. "We're still in the Alkan Guild right now. What you see here is the past of Castellum Town."
"How is that poss-" Dillan stopped himself as he watched Mr. Jennings being kicked by the previous Arlon. The gabite turned away from the abusive behavior before him and began staring at the ground.
"That crystal you wear has the ability to take your consciousness from your own body and place it wherever you wish: that is, if you know how – and are able – to use it."
"Can we talk somewhere else?" Dillan was intrigued by what Ignitus was telling him, but what was occurring before him was disturbing.
"Yes," Ignitus said. Dillan watched as the ground below him as it begun to swirl. That made Dillan look up. He watched as his surroundings began to spin. Every pokemon around him seemed to vanish into the background. Out of nowhere, some sort of fog began enveloping the entire place. The ground started shaking and the sky turned black. Some of the buildings crumbled into dust, while others remained intact. Dillan looked up and saw a pair of gigantic, red eyes.
"J-Jake?" Dillan stuttered. His heart began beating faster and harder in his chest.
"Jake?" Ignitus said. He gave a sharp laugh. "So he took on another name. It's worse than the other one."
"H-He's not really here... is he?" Dillan asked nervously.
"No," Ignitus stated. Dillan watched as the red eyes seemed to fade from above, leaving a grey fog that covered te entire sky.
"So, where is this?" Dillan asked.
"It is still Castellum Town, Dillan," Ignitus said.
Dillan reared around and faced Ignitus. "What happened to the buildings? Why was Jake here? What happened?"
"The Enemy happened," Ignitus said. He looked down. "It's sad, really. At one point in history, this was the center of a grand empire: one that cared for its citizens and strived to make life better for them. Then the Arvaine family branch came around and destroyed the city, making it little more than a set of ruins with a town at its base. Today, Castellum Town is no better than any other mystery dungeon you encounter. This is what the Enemy does, Dillan. They will ravage towns to achieve their goal. They will separate families from each other to find what they seek."
"How does destroying one town... help destroy everything?" Dillan asked, shocked at what he was hearing.
Ignitus scoffed. "Here, their goal was you." Me? "The Enemy needs a human to destroy everything. I'm not sure how, but they acquired information that a human would be here in Castellum Town, so they kidnapped everyone here. In an attempt to cover up what they did, Jake – as you call him – formed a mystery dungeon over Castellum Town. That way, the pokemon they took are now seen as missing: lost to the mystery dungeon like countless others before."
"How do you know that?" Dillan asked.
"You forget that I worked with the Enemy at one point. I know what they can do, as well as what lines they will cross in order to complete their mission of complete annihilation. I would tell you more, but that would put my Armageddons at greater risk than they already are. Telling you more would put me at an all-out war with... Jake, as you referred to him."
"Alright..." Dillan said. He took another look at the sky. "So... if Jake needs me..." Dillan took a hard gulp. He hated to ask this question, but he felt like it was needed. "Why not just kill me, and... um... make sure the enemy can't... use me?"
"The thought had crossed my mind," Ignitus admitted. "However, it does not solve the issue."
"Why not?" Dillan asked.
Ignitus opened his mouth as if to state something, but stopped himself. He stood there in the complete silence of what use to be Castellum Town for a few seconds before stating slowly, "You are here... Perhaps that is evidence enough to suggest that another human could come if you were to fail in completing your task: whether that is through death or pure incompetence.
"The next best option – besides going underground to avoid detection – is to make sure he does not have the option of being used by the Enemy. We could always hide you for all of eternity, but I suspect that would only prolong the Enemy's goals. That leaves one final option, which brings us to why we're here.
"Tell me, after all of these atrocities you have seen, can you tell me one instance in which your group has done something to stop this?"
Dillan didn't grimace like the last time Ignitus had attacked the group he had worked for. This time, he had already thought about whether his group was truly the one he should be working with.
"You still want me to join you?" Dillan asked.
"It is the only way I can make personally sure that you are never in the Enemy's hands. But... this isn't about what I think; it's about you. Dillan, tell me that you think your group can help more than mine has. Tell me your group has a plan. Tell me you know what you're doing here in this world." The infernape sighed. "This is the last time I'm going to ask you, Dillan," Ignitus said softly. "Join Team Armageddon and fight the Enemy. Join our group and make a difference in Ganderosa."
Dillan couldn't meet Ignitus' eyes. Everything he said made the utmost sense. Maybe Team Armageddon was the key to stopping the enemy. Maybe they were trying in their own way. He had to admit that what Ignitus was saying was very compelling.
"I'll join your team on one condition," Dillan stated quietly, unsure of what he was about to say would work.
"What is your condition?" Ignitus asked.
"I need you to call off your attack on the main land."
Ignitus stared at Dillan with a neutral expression. He stood there for a few seconds, unmoving and completely silent. Even his breathing was quiet. Dillan knew Ignitus wouldn't call off the attack, but he needed to try.
"You're still holding onto that?" Ignitus asked.
"Ignitus," Dillan stated. "Now it's your turn to take a look around. Look at where you've brought us. You're trying to cause this."
"Weren't you listening?" Ignitus said harshly. "I'm trying to prevent this-"
"By causing it," Dillan finished. "You want to destroy a town in order to make the guild look like the villain so you can get more followers."
"They are the villain!" Ignitus shouted wildly. "They allowed this happen!"
"No, they didn't." Dillan said.
"You sound just like Commander Peterson; that gutless coward doesn't understand! He doesn't know what we're trying to achieve! You don't understand what we're trying to achieve! You think it's all black and white! You're either a good guy or a bad guy! It's blind cowardice like yours that keeps the pokemon of Ganderosa from doing anything to help this country-"
Almost instantaneously, Dillan felt like he was being ripped in two and stitched back together. Everything around him began to fade into darkness and was replaced just as quickly by the room back in the Alkan Guild. Dillan was facing Ignitus, who continued to press the green crystal to Dillan's chest. On Ignitus' right stood Molan. He was shaking Ignitus with one arm, while holding the other on his right side as if he was hurt.
"Wha-" Ignitus began, looking around the chilly room frantically for evidence on what had occurred.
"I-Ignitus, sir," Molan said through gritted teeth. Dillan looked at the greninja closely. Molan let go of Ignitus and hunched over. His breathing was unsteady, and his expression looked like he was in pain. Dillan then notices small sparks flying off of Molan's body. His expression grew into a smile of relief. Ryan.
"What happened?" Ignitus asked.
"I-it's-" Molan was cut short as his body was hit with a massive jolt of electricity.
The greninja shut his eyes tightly as he shouted from the pain. The electricity died, and Molan fell to the floor at Ignitus' feet. Ignitus looked at the doorway to find a short, bipedal pokemon looking angrily at him. Ignitus looked at the pokemon with awe.
"Surprised to see me, Ignitus?" Hank Peterson shouted from the doorway. The Armageddon Commander? His cheeks were sparking, telling Dillan he was the one who attacked Molan. Dillan also noticed the plusle's "Team Armageddon" symbol that was strapped to his chest was slashed through the middle.
Dillan was in shock. He thought Ryan was the one who had attacked Molan. Now he saw it was Peterson, an Armageddon Commander. What in Ganderosa is going on?
"What are you doing away from your post?" Ignitus asked calmly.
"To hell with my post!" Peterson shouted angrily. "I've been your pawn long enough! Tell me, King Ignitus: do you know how many lives Team Armageddon's ruined - ended - to get to where we are?"
"No," Ignitus stated. "But I am assuming you've kept track of the number you've personally finished." Peterson snarled angrily at the infernape. "Get off your throne, Peterson, and remember what you've been fighting for," Ignitus snapped. "Team Armageddon is going to save more lives than you can count. Sure pokemon die to achieve our goals, but the end justifies the means."
Peterson looked back at Ignitus, his cheeks sparking even more than before, and his snarl even more menacing. "You have no right to say that," he stated coldly. "You have no right."
"I have every right," Ignitus stated. "As I remember, I saved your sorry tail from starvation n the Red Strip. So stop moping around and be and do your job."
"Ignitus!" Peterson shouted. He broke into a sprint on all-fours, darting straight towards Ignitus. "I resign!" Dillan couldn't keep track of the plusle. It was as if it moved faster than his eyes could track. One second, he was at the doorway, the next his head was buried in Ignitus' stomach.
Ignitus smiled wildly. His hand moved almost as fast as Peterson's. Dillan could hardly keep track of it as well. It grabbed the plusle by the tail and yanked him from Ignitus' body. Ignitus' second hand formed a fist that barreled straight towards Peterson's face.
Dillan reacted instinctually upon seeing the imminent danger to Peterson. His foot came down on the floor, and the ground below Ignitus shattered. Boulders flew into the air, throwing Ignitus upwards and off balance. His fist missed its target. The infernape attempted to regain his balance, but not before Peterson sent a jolt of electricity through the infernape's body, creating the smell of burning fur in the room. Ignitus had let go of the plusle, and he landed on his feet. Peterson fell onto the floor, but quickly got up.
"Peterson!" Ignitus shouted angrily. "I've trusted you for the last time, you traitor!"
"You're the traitor," Peterson accused. "And now you'll pay for the lives we've ended!"
Ignitus' fiery hair began to flare wildly, scorching the ceiling with a black streak wherever it touched. He put his fist in front of him and bent his arm into a hook. His second hand came down on his bicep. Ignitus was then surrounded by an orange light, and what looked like orange orbs of light formed in the air and started racing into his body.
Peterson's scowl, if it was possible, became even worse. He spun quickly on his toes, doing twirls through the air at an incredible speed. How's he going so fast? Then, almost instantaneously, a yellow, glowing streak emerged from the middle of the twirl. Peterson came out of his spinning with a glowing, yellow, sparking orb in his hands. The plusle immediately threw the orb towards Ignitus. The infernape looked down at Peterson's orb. He had no time to avoid it. The orb slammed into the infernape, creating a massive explosion that kicked up its own miniature wind and cloud of smoke.
"What was that?" Dillan asked.
"don't get involved, maggot," Peterson shouted at Dillan. "Ignitus is mine!"
Ignitus emerged from the smoke cloud in a run. Dillan noticed that the infernape's hair stood-on-end as if electrified. Ignitus engaged Peterson head-to-head. His fist flew at an unbelievable speed and slammed into the plusle's face. Peterson went into the air and collided with the table, splitting the entire thing in half. Splinters flew through the air, pelting the walls and Dillan's scales.
"'Agility' and 'Nasty Plot'?" Ignitus asked. "You powered yourself up in your battle with Molan." Peterson coughed as he stood up from the wreckage. "Have you had enough, yet?"
"Hardly," Peterson stated. He darted from the collapsed table and towards Ignitus.
He slammed his head into Ignitus one again. Ignitus grabbed at Peterson, but he darted out of Ignitus' reach and around the infernape. Peterson began slamming into Ignitus from different directions at random. Every time Ignitus grabbed at his opponent, Peterson was already attacking from a new place entirely. Dillan watched the battle in awe. The two of them moved so fast, that he decided he would have never survived a battle with Ignitus. Even so, Peterson seemed to be ale to hold his own against the infernape. Ignitus' foot stuck out and swept the entire area. It collided with Peterson's face and sent him across the room.
Dillan looked on in horror as Peterson hit the wall. Dillan had no idea what came over him. Maybe it was seeing Adelina's father being beaten to a pulp. Maye it was the useless feeling he felt when he found he couldn't take on his greatest opponent. Either way, seeing Peterson being assaulted made him break into a sprint towards the infernape, focusing on his fins. They extended into the blue, glowing blades Dillan had relied on countless times before. He slashed at Ignitus, but the infernape almost instantly caught Dillan's arm below the fin. Ignitus gave Dillan a glare that he thought would have made Dean run for cover.
"You want to be a hero?" Ignitus asked sharply. "You want to blindly fight who you think is the villain?" Ignitus' fist came into Dillan's chest, but the gabite merely swung backwards due to his arm still being held. He coughed up all of his air and struggled to take in some more. "Fine. You'll be the hero," Ignitus' fist came into Dillan's chest again, and again, and again. "And I'll be the villain."
"Focus on me, Ignitus!" Peterson shouted. Out of nowhere, Peterson was on Ignitus' back. He bit down into the Infernape's neck. Ignitus let Dillan go and began clawing at his back, trying to grab Peterson. Dillan was on the floor, gasping for air. It felt like his wound from earlier had reopened, rendering him in agony. The gabite felt like yelling from all of the pain in his chest, but he was determined to help Peterson. He stood up shakily from pure adrenaline, and looked at Ignitus, who had resorted to throwing his back at the closest wall in order to crush Peterson under his own weight. It seemed to work, because Peterson let go of the Infernape and began sending jolts into the pokemon's body.
Dillan was about to intervene when Peterson shouted, "Don't get involved, maggot! You'll only get yourself killed-" Ignitus had slammed his fist into Peterson's face, but the attack didn't stop there. Ignitus then threw a kick Peterson' way, then a fist, then another kick. Dillan watched in horror as Ignitus began throwing wild attacks at the little plusle, every attack making contact with the little pokemon.
"Stop!" Dillan shouted, fearing for Peterson's life. He drove his glowing fin through Ignitus' back, creating a deep gouge. Ignitus shouted from pain and reared on Dillan. His eyes were narrowed on the gabite, filled with absolute hatred. Dillan felt all of his courage and adrenaline leave his body. He fell backwards and began crawling backwards in an attempt at staying away from the infernape.
"Stop getting involved!" Ignitus shouted.
"Leave him alone..." Peterson said wearily. Ignitus looked back at the plusle. He was barely standing on his own two feet, swaying back and forth, but raised his fists as if he was going to confront his opponent once more. "Your fight is with me, and I'm your biggest problem right now."
The infernape's hair flared like an inferno. His face tightened into the most threatening snarl Dillan had ever experienced. "Fine!" he shouted. "Peterson, you're fired!"
Ignitus shouted upwards to the ceiling. Dillan watched slack-jawed as Ignitus' flame exploded through he entire room, covering every inch in fire. Dillan felt the full-force of the blast. It inched over his entire body. The gabite screamed in fear and agony. The seconds felt like hours of unceasing pain. It was horrifying. He had no idea what would happen to him, or if he would survive. He fell to the floor, body still scorching. Then, the explosion stopped, though Dillan still felt like he was on fire. The entire room was scorched. The walls were burned, while parts of the floor and ceiling were still burning accompanied by all of the different pieces of furniture in the room. They were slowly filling the room with smoke. The mere smell it created was enough to make Dillan cough. The infernape looked down at the gabite with what looked like pity.
"Fool," Ignitus stated. "You're a fool. You thought that you could come into my castle, infiltrate my army, and try to kill me? Don't you know who I am? Don't you know what I'm trying to do?" Ignitus reared on Peterson. "And you: traitor. You thought you could just kill me and be done with this?"
"Heh heh heh," Peterson laughed wearily. Dillan saw the plusle was laying on his back, hardly conscious. "Traitor... That's rich..."
Ignitus looked at Peterson with awe. "Laughing, are we?" he questioned.
"Yeah..." Peterson said. "I just find it-" he coughed abruptly, cutting his sentence short. "I find it funny that you... ever thought I was completely with you..."
"What are you babbling on about?" Ignitus questioned.
Peterson laughed heartily. "Molan was the only one... making sure I didn't pull anything... in Frost Island..."
Ignitus' eyes widened. "What are you..." His face tensed into a menacing snarl. "What did you do?"
"There's not going to be an attack..." Peterson laughed.
"What did you do?!"
"It's funny when you think about it; I would have sat by... and let you assault the main land, killing bystanders who had nothing to do... with our private war... I would have done nothing if it wasn't for a certain charmeleon... She was braver than anyone I'd seen in a long time; she put herself in danger to talk to me... And she said, 'If you really care about those pokemon who are in danger, you'd try and do something instead of sit in this room like a coward'. So I did something."
"Peterson!" Ignitus shouted. He grabbed the plusle by the neck and held him up to eye-level.
"When Molan left and came here," Peterson said, sounding strained by the infernape's paw over his neck, "I had the chance to call a meeting with the maggots. So I did, and I told them about Bob-" the plusle was cut short by a couching fit. Bob?
"You..." Ignitus said in complete anger. It was as if he had lost the ability to speak.
"Most of them took the truth hard, but accepted it... and no longer want any part of your lies."
"Damn you!" Ignitus roared. He threw Peterson into the nearest wall. The plusle made contact, but didn't grimace. He fell to the floor, and began laughing.
"Your assault isn't happening... Your army's finished..." We won... Dillan was in disbelief, and his blank face showed just that.
Ignitus stood there, eyes darting along the floor as if he was thinking hard about his next move. He stood there for nearly three minutes before he walked up to Dillan and looked him in the eyes. "You need to capture me for King Judah?" he shouted. Dillan didn't answer. He was still shocked by the shift in power. "Give that fat dragonite a message; Team Armageddon isn't finished! We'll be back, and we'll crush his precious Guild! Understand?" With that, Ignitus turned away from them and began exiting the room.
Dillan had no intention of stopping him. He just slumped down on his back, not caring about the pressure his body was exerting on his fin. We won... I didn't do anything... but we won...He watched as the infernape exited the room and was gone.
"Are you alive, maggot?" Peterson asked from his wall. Dillan looked to his left and found the plusle was dragging himself across the floor towards him.
"You're the Armageddon commander..." Dillan said wearily.
Peterson laughed. "You maggots don't pay much attention to anything-" He coughed abruptly. "But you aren't a maggot; you're a guildmember, right?" There was a minute of silence before Peterson spoke up. "I have to thank you. I'd probably be dead right now if Ignitus' attention... wasn't divided...
"On top of that... your charmeleon friend helped me out, yesterday..."
"Hazel?" Dillan asked.
"Is that her name..." Peterson smiled lightly. "She's a good kid... Take care of her...got it?"
"Yes sir," Dillan said. The pain on his body began subsiding.
"Now, get me out of this mess before it collapses..." Peterson ordered.
"I'm not sure if I can stand..." Dillan admitted. He shakily and slowly got to his feet. It was painful, to say the least. He felt his scales stretching from uderneath his bandage. The smoke had filled the top of the room, just above his head.
"Ah, well... It's probably better this way: fitting, even... I killed to take this place... might as well die in it and pay for my crimes as best I-" another abrupt cough cut his sentence short.
Dillan placed his arms around the plusle and picked him into the air as he walked out of the room.
"You're not going to die," Dillan said as he entered the hallway outside.
The hallway he was in was like the rest of the guild's hallways: littered with doors and rooms.
Dillan looked back at the room he was in. He realized something he had missed. Molan's still in there... he'll die if I don't help him. Dillan set Peterson on the floor, leaning the little commander against the wall, before he took a step towards the room. He felt a small, soft paw grip his ankle. He looked down at Peterson who was holding him.
"You're not saving Molan... are you?" Peterson questioned.
"I have to," Dillan said. "I can't just let him die."
Peterson laughed. "Well, you've got more heart than me. I would have left that murderer to burn." He released Dillan's ankle, but said, "Molan's not in there... He ran out after Ignitus used 'Over Heat'."
"'Over heat'?" Dillan asked. "Was that what the explosion was?"
"Mhm," Peterson said. "There's no reason to go in there..."
Dillan sat down as slowly as possible to avoid pain as much as possible. When he was on the floor, he drifted in thought. "So it's all over... After all of the walking... All of the fighting.. All of the worry and strife... It's finally over..."
"There's something I need you to do, maggot..." Peterson said. Dillan looked at the plusle, curious about what he wanted of him. "In the main hall... at the exit to the Guild... there's a desk with something important... sitting behind it and out of sight... It's something I need you to take care of... Can you do that for me?"
"You're not coming?" Dillan asked.
"Nah..." Peterson said softly with a smirk. "I'm fine where I am... You go on without-" Peterson began hacking and wheezing, putting his paw to his mouth to cover up whatever may have come out. When he was finished, he whipped his mouth dry. "Go on without me... I'll catch up when I'm ready..."
"You don't look so good," Dillan noted. "Are you sure you're alright?"
"Maggot," Peterson said with a little more force in his voice, though his expression showed peace. "I'm ordering you to go on without me. The mission I've given to you is more important than worrying about me, alright?"
Dillan reluctantly nodded. He slowly made his way to his feet, gave Peterson one final look, and began walking down the hallway away from Peterson. He'll be fine...
Peterson sat there and watched as Dillan turned toe corner out of sight. The plusle gave a sigh. He felt his side under his left arm. It skin felt squishy. When he pressed on it, he felt a pain as though a knife had been driven into his side. Every breath felt like he was pressing against that same knife. My rib's broken, and it's probably punctured my lung... he thought. Heh heh... Peterson smiled at his predicament as he checked his paw. It was stained from the blood he'd coughed up earlier. Looks like you may just have killed me, Ignitus. At least I tried to make up for the atrocities I've committed... Oh, well. If I die here, so be it... At least I'll see my family again... The plusle took another breath, the feeling of pain in his chest subsiding as he closed his eyes. No use just sitting here... Peterson felt the pain in his chest and lung as he struggled to his feet. Eventually, Peterson managed to stand. He looked down the hall that Dillan had taken earlier, then down the other one. Alright, maggot. You better be waiting for me...
(Author's Notes)
Hey, guys! MasterKnight2142 here! As you've probably seen, this is the longest chapter yet. I've gone over it a lot, changing and rewriting entire portions to it in an attempt at giving you guys a spectacular chapter. It's mainly the reason it took so long to release (I didn't wait until the last minute for no reason). Anyways, without further ado, my "notes"!
So I've been going through some more tricks here and there to try and improve my writing, and I think I found one that I'll try and expand on (one that I really hadn't given much thought up until now). For the sake of conversation, it is using all five senses a person has. You can see my attempt at using it through the smoke in the room, and other instances I don't care to say for your sakes.
Is Team Armageddon finished? Is it truly over? Maybe, maybe not. Guess you'll have to wait to find out! ;)
Shout-out to Jws701234, , and Bob Bobington1 for favoriting/following the story! Thank you guys so much! You guys, and everyone else's support of the story keeps me writing for your enjoyment!
I'm answering reviews! Some people have said some things that I don't agree with (which is completely fine), so I'm going to be answering reviews (as a friendly gesture with the fans (note that if you challenge my story, I will defend it purely out of fun :D))!
"TheOrangeLord" states, "The tail flame thing is a myth it goes out after death it does not cause it..." (taken from the review section). I'm glad you pointed that out! It got me thinking about whether it is a myth or not, so I'd like to clear this up by bringing something simple to the table (so to speak). Pokemon Fire Red's pokedex entry of charmander (and pokemon Y's entry) states, "From the time it is born, a flame burns at the tip of its tail. Its life would end if the flame were to go out." Notice that it says its life "would" end if the flame "were" to go out, indicating that the flame goes out first, then death. The structure of the sentence indicates it is, in fact, not a myth. Cool to think about, though!
So, TheOrangeLord, I wanted to say that Dillan's not the brightest guy, which is why he asks so many questions. In your review about the "Uknown Writing", you state that since Dillan is human, he should understand Uknown. Well, to tell the truth, it took me more than an hour to figure out the writing was based on the English language (not sure if that was my own sheer incompetence, but it's the truth!). Also, Dillan didn't have much time to decipher the writing because Ryan jumps right in and tells the team how it is. There's also the possibility that it isn't in English, but is only using English characters. Just another possibility, but I was just trying to take something from the games that didn't really work, so I get your issue with Dillan. :P
I want to thank TheOrangeLord for all of his reviews! It made me smile to see he made reviews about the references to the games I put in the story. Basically, thanks for making me smile, dude!
Thanks to "SlickGuest0" (not sure if FanFiction chose that name for you or not, but it's cool nonetheless!) for his review! Glad to know you like Dillan being a gabite! P. S. I'd never heard of "Evangelion" until now, so Copyright MasterKnight2142! But in all fairness, I'll check it out for the fun of it :D)
Another thanks to "Pokemon and Animated Lover" for stating, "Nice chapter and story so far, I hope Hazel dont die cause the friendship between her, Dillan and Ryan is the best part in the fic, and the lost of her will break my heart, but it's your fic so do what you do." Well, Hazel's state went from known to unknown (sort of) in the course of 1/4th of a chapter, so... Don't hate me! P. S. thanks for the heart-warming review! Glad you like their relationship with each other!
And that's all for now! Thanks for reading guys! But wait! Is it all truly over, or is it only beginning? Guess you'll have to find out when I see you guys in the next chapter!
