AN: So yup not dead and neither is this story. I want to apologize in advance if the pacing of this chapter seems off. Never easy picking back up a story after so much time away but I am back to writing and I will be hopefully be able to give much more frequent on this story as well as my others even have some plans for a few new stories but taking everything one step of at a time for now. Anyway here's to shaking off the cobwebs.

Chapter 13

Sabrina despite what many may think was not an early riser, there were few things she enjoyed more than sleeping in, whenever she got the chance. After a thoroughly exhausting night of sexual experimentation with her lover, she felt she had earned the right to sleep at least until noon. However, it would seem Marcus had other plans as she was brought of her deep slumber by the feeling of something warm and wet lapping at her lower folds. Despite the fact that she was sore and bruised from their night of passion, she shivered in pleasure as Marcus tongue massaged her abused pussy in a symphony of pain and pleasure.

"O-oh Arceus I could get used to this" Sabrina moaned throwing off the blankets to see her red-eyed lover staring at her mischievously. It didn't take her long to reach her climax and Marcus greedily licked her juices as she nearly crushed his head with her thighs. When she finally came down from her high, she eagerly pulled him in for a good morning kiss, only to find out that her womanly taste did not mix well with morning breath and quickly instructed Marcus to brush his teeth while she showered.

She quickly grabbed her sex stained clothing to wash after cleaning her body. The hot water felt so wonderful on her sore body that she decided to run a bath instead and quickly filled up the tub with hot water and lavender and vanilla scented bubbles. She was slightly surprised at how wound up her body was, normally she never broke a sweat during gym battles or gym leader meetings. Between battling and other events, she normally had plenty of time to do things like meditate and yoga to keep her body and mind fresh and sharp. Ever since she had joined Marcus on his journey however her normal routine had gone out the window. While their bond did give her a certain amount of mental and physical relief, she hadn't realized how exhausted she was mentally until her body had been turned into a wet noodle by Marcus's ministrations the night before.

As she soaked, she made up her mind to tell Marcus they were going to take a day off so she could properly recover. She was sure he wouldn't mind as even with the near limitless amount of energy he possessed even he would need to take a break every now and then. With him constantly training his Pokémon and himself even if he wouldn't admit it, she knew that he was becoming more and more exhausted. Allowing her body to sink deeper into the tub she almost missed the buzzing of her phone app going off. She let out a heavy sigh as she searched through her soiled clothes to find her wireless earpiece. Finally finding it she answered the call with a less than pleased tone.

"Sabrina you know I wouldn't call you unless something important came up" Her father's voice came through the phone.

"Just tell me why you called" Sabrina got straight to the point.

"It's your mother…she's here…and she wants to see you" Her Fathers voice held a variety of emotions. Sabrina's eyes began to glow and the water around her rippled as her anger began to rise, she wanted to reply to her father, but her voice seemed stuck in her throat. Without her noticing Marcus who felt her distress quickly came to her aid snaking his arms around her naked form in a comforting way. She could also feel him start emitting gentle waves of calming Aura against her back. After taking a steadying breath Sabrina found her normal voice again.

"I have more important things to do then to drop everything every time that woman decides to show her face" Sabrina interlaced her fingers with Marcus allowing his body and Aura to calm and steady her.

"Ohhh well looks like you've finally grown a spine, it seems that boy you left to see has given you some extra confidence" her mother Syren's voice came through the phone.

Sabrina's eyes widened as her mother's condescending voice filled her ears. Even with Marcus trying to calm her, she couldn't stop making various objects in the room float. "He's a better person than you could ever hope to be" Sabrina growled.

"Oh hoo is that true…if he's so special I'll have to evaluate him myself. It be a shame for such a man to go to waste on you" Syren goaded.

"You will not touch him" Sabrina yelled the glass mirror cracked along with parts of the wall.

"You can't stop me and even if you tried to run, I'd find you. Now be a good little girl and come see mommy before I have to teach you a lesson by mentally crippling that boy you're so found of" Syren ended the call and Sabrina found herself shaking at the lingering threat in the air.

"Sabrina…" Marcus said quietly.

"I have to go" Sabrina said simply standing up quickly causing water to splash out of the tub.

"Sabrina" Marcus reached out to comfort her, but she pulled away from his touch.

"You should shower, as much as I enjoyed last night the smell doesn't age very well" Sabrina attempted to joke. Marcus gave a small chuckle but noticed that the fake smile she gave barely concealed the cold look in her eyes. It wasn't her normal calm discerning gaze that unnerved some people no, this look was as if she dreaded what was to come. She gave Marcus a small peck on the cheek before heading into the bedroom. Marcus took her advice and showered quickly scrubbing himself clean of last nights affairs. He washed and rinsed his hair and body with some of the hotel provided body wash, shampoo and conditioner that smelt like sandalwood.

By the time he had wrapped a towel around his waist and walked into the bedroom Sabrina was already dressed and packed. She explained to him how she had called for a service to take her to the airport, and she had arranged a representative from the Pokémon League to take her bike to a storage unit nearby. Marcus wasn't happy with the situation, but he knew there was nothing he could do to change her mind. Apparently, the Pokémon League was more resource rich then even he thought as by the time he got dressed Sabrina's ride was already waiting outside of the hotel. Sabrina held him tightly and gave him a deep kiss on the lips before resting her head against him for several seconds. Marcus could hear her muttering something but couldn't make out what she was saying.

"Marcus listen I know you aren't excited about me leaving but I have things I need to handle. My advice to you my love, is to take some time off. You are growing in leaps in bounds as a trainer but even you have limits. Take a few days off and enjoy yourself with your Pokémon. You've been spoiling me lately and I can't say I don't enjoy it, but your Pokémon deserve your time as well. And if you feel like you absolutely can't wait the next gym leader you should challenge would be Norman, he's a very unconventional battler and will be a good obstacle for you to overcome." Sabrina advised.

"Okay…just be safe with whatever it is you have to do. If something happened to you, I don't care if I had to battle Arceus to come save you I'd do it in a heartbeat" Marcus kissed her forehead.

"I'm sure you'd win too" Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Did you forget who came to whose rescue last time, speaking of which even though you probably won't listen, please at least try stay out of trouble" Sabrina touched his cheek.

"No promises" Marcus smirked

"Well if you do get into trouble at least you have Emerald, and Nyx. Nia will also keep you in line she's tougher than she likes to admit" Sabrina poked him in the nose.

"I'll miss you" Marcus frowned as she broke apart from him.

"I'll miss you too" Sabrina tried to smile but failed before turning away and leaving Marcus standing in the doorway. He watched her go until she got in the elevator. He let out a heavy sigh when the doors closed behind her and went back into the room to finish packing his things. He wasn't surprised when Nyx let herself out of her Pokeball, she normally spent more time outside of it than inside and only went inside to rest during the day or when Marcus was messing around.

"Geez I thought you two would never stop. I'm surprised you managed to get any sleep at all last night after the way you two went at it" Nyx grumbled. She was more tired and frustrated than she should've been as despite her best efforts she hadn't been able to completely tune-out the link she shared with Marcus and was bombarded with waves of lust and pleasure as he and Sabrina enjoyed each other's bodies.

"Is someone jealous" Marcus teased quickly folding and packing away his clothing and other gear he wouldn't immediately need during his travels. Nyx let out a low growl while plopping herself down on her normal spot on the couch.

"Not on your life…don't confuse me with that hornball of a Zorua you have. Actually, I guess most of your Pokémon fall into the hornball category" Nyx huffed.

"You act like you've never been horny before, I know for a fact that you're mature enough to have gone through Heat at least once by now" Marcus glanced at Nyx who was laying facing away from him so he couldn't read her facial expression.

"Y-yeah so what…what's it matter to you anyway" Nyx grumbled.

"Nothing I was just saying that if you've been through heat then you know what it's like to have urges. I don't see anything wrong with people and Pokémon being able to indulge themselves as long as everyone involves has an understanding of the relationship" Marcus shrugged even though Nyx couldn't see the movement.

"You just sound like a horny pervert to me" Nyx blushed a bit remembering their brief encounter in the shower once again. 'What the hell a few weeks ago I'd have blown him up for just trying to talk to me. Now we're having a conversation about sex' Nyx thought to herself. The more she thought about her relationship with Marcus the more various emotions flared.

"Hehe maybe I am" Marcus chuckled as he finished packing his things.

"So where to now" Nyx asked.

"Petalburg Sabrina thought it'd be a good idea to take a break-"

"And I'm guessing you're not going to listen to her advice" Nyx interrupted.

"Nope" Marcus answered.

"You know she's gonna be upset when she finds out" Nyx pointed out.

"Yup"

"Meaning she's most likely going to use her psychic powers to throw lots of heavy stuff at you" Nyx raised an eyebrow.

"More than likely" Marcus nodded.

"Well if nothing else you're dedicated trainer…a stubborn, idiotic, and impulsive but dedicated trainer" Nyx chuckled.

"Keep giving me backhanded compliments like that and I might start to think you really care" Marcus scuffed sarcastically Nyx laughed as well a slight smile crossing her lips as she glanced over at Marcus as he double checked to make sure he packed everything.

"You're not that bad really" Nyx blushed as she realized what she said. "As far as humans go that is. You're still annoying as hell sometimes though"

"Awe look who's getting soft on me" Marcus joked walking past her he quickly scratched the fur by her horn before pulling away quickly as she nipped at him.

"Make that annoying as hell all the time" Nyx growled.

"Haha well who's gonna be my tough girl if you get soft on me" Marcus laughed. Nyx open her mouth to reply but paused as no one had ever said that about her before. Her previous trainer never noticed her work ethic and most of his other Pokémon thought she was a masochist because of how brutal her training regime was, not to mention because of how vocal she was about them not training as hard they all thought she was a hard as nails bitch. Marcus however seemed to like her attitude despite how hard she was during training or how much of a bitch she was to him when they first met, he had never once lashed out at her or shown her any resentment.

"So if you're heading to Petalburg I'm guessing you're going to challenge the gym there" Nyx said changing the subject.

"Yeah know anything about the Gym Leader there. All I know from Flannery and Sabrina is that he uses unorthodox tactics and is one of the more experienced Gym Leaders in this region." Marcus said.

"No, I never battled him so I wouldn't know" Nyx said looking at her claws.

"Well I guess I couldn't expect to go into every gym battle fully prepared" Marcus sighed. "Ready to head out" He asked after he ensured that everything was packed, and he wasn't forgetting anything.

"Hmmp I guess" Nyx huffed.

"It's going to be a long trip considering we'll have to drive to Slateport and more than likely spend a night there. I'll need to find a ship that's heading to Dewford which shouldn't be too hard there are always trainers that need to travel there to battle Brawly besides it will be good to see him again. After that I'll need to find or maybe even rent a ship to get us back to the Petalburg docks…hopefully they've been fixed by now" Marcus laid out his plan.

"Sounds like it will be quite the trip" Nyx mused. It had been a few weeks since Marcus had traveled solo. Obviously the first time she had been hell on wheels for him. She smirked a bit as she thought of how frustrated he had probably been with her even though he had never shown it.

"I'm sure it will be fun" Marcus headed towards the door. "You staying out or what" He asked as Nyx took another moment to stretch.

"I don't like you that much….I'll be in my ball until we stop for the night." Nyx answered.

"Okay we should be able to make it back to Slateport by tonight so we can rest at the Pokémon Center there before trying to find a ship tomorrow" Marcus said grabbing Nyx's ball and returning her after she nodded.

A.M

'This can't be happening' Marcus kneeled on one knee looking at the battlefield he saw Bella laying on her back unable to battle. Even as the referee called the match Marcus could barely hear anything over the beating of his heart in his chest. 'I…lost' Marcus had barely mentally accepted that fact when Norman offered a hand to help him back to his feet after he returned Bella to her Pokeball.

"You're a strong trainer, but I figured as much from the new articles and everything else I've heard about you" Norman helped Marcus back to his feet before noticing the teen didn't really seem to be paying attention to him. Norman had noticed that their entire match Marcus really didn't seem to be battling in the moment and almost seemed like he had been on autopilot. "Hey you gave a good effort but it really doesn't seem like your heart and mind were in this battle today. Why don't you take a few days to rest and recover I'll be happy to battle you again anytime" Norman gave a small smile.

"Y-yeah sorry about that" Marcus mumbled a quick apology before leaving the Gym. It had been three days Since Sabrina had left and he hadn't heard from her since, she hadn't answered any of his calls or text and with the distance between them he couldn't feel anything through their bond either. It was driving him crazy and he had taken to training more to distract himself literally spending whatever time he wasn't traveling or resting to train. He'd been pushing himself harder than ever despite the protest and worries from his Pokémon.

With a deep breath Marcus slapped himself on the cheeks and tried to force himself out of his low mood as he got on his bike and headed to the Pokémon Center. "Good Afternoon I see Norman hasn't been going easy on anyone today" Nurse Joy said with a sad smile after seeing the look on his face.

"Yeah but I'll get him next time, I just need a little more training and that badge is as good as mine" Marcus gave a bright but fake smile as he handed over the Pokémon in his team that needed to be healed.

"That's the spirit…but I'm afraid we're a bit behind today so you won't be getting any training in until at least tomorrow morning." Nurse Joy frowned. "But if you need a break there's a lake nearby that you can rest at however there's a one Pokémon per trainer limit as to discourage battling."

"Thanks Nurse Joy in that case are there any rooms available for the next couple days" Marcus asked.

"Sure are and since you're a junior professor I have just the room for you" Nurse Joy handed him a key card and gave him some quick directions on how to get to his room. Marcus thanked her again before making his way to his assigned room, as he expected the room was quite large but not nearly as lavish as the hotel he and Sabrina had stayed at. Marcus wasted no time throwing his gear into a corner of the room before flopping down face first onto the bed resisting the urge to let out a frustrated groan at how the last few days had gone. Even when a soft light filled the room letting him know one of his Pokémon had released themselves, he stayed where he was.

"I thought you were pitiful before, but I have to admit seeing you this miserable is kind of amusing" Nyx crossed her arms.

"Yeah, I'm sure me getting my ass kicked is always the highlight of your day" Marcus responded sarcastically.

"Normally it is when you deserve it…however you shouldn't have lost that match. You've been acting like a child who lost their favorite toy, training yourself into the ground with no real purpose and barely resting. You were exhausted, distracted, and lacked that annoying passion that you can't seem to turn off." Nyx frowned.

"Yeah tell me something I don't know. What am I supposed to do Nyx I'm worried about her, it would be no different if you or Bella just disappeared" Marcus sat up and rested his head in his hands.

Nyx opened her mouth to replied but paused as once again having a trainer openly admit to being worried about her or caring about her at all was new to her. While at first Marcus optimistic and forgiving attitude made her want to kick his face in…now it ignited a small warmth inside her that refused to be stomped out no matter how hard she tried. "Arceus your so fucking soft it's maddening. Sabrina left because she had shit to take care of and even if she didn't, did you expect her to stick around constantly. She is still a gym Leader after all sooner or later she would've had to take care of business one way or another. Did you really become so dependent on her these last few weeks that you forgot what made you want to become a trainer in the first place" Nyx stared down at him. She smirked when she felt a shift in their bond as Marcus flared his Aura for a brief second.

"Arceus what the hell am I doing I feel like an idiot" Marcus stood up and stretched. Nyx was right Sabrina was a Gym Leader and she could handle herself, Marcus knew she was powerful and skilled and whatever she had to take care of he had to trust that she could handle it. He was sure she expected him to continue to improve as well. He'd look like an idiot if he didn't make any progress by the time she returned.

"Where are you going now" Nyx raised an eyebrow as Marcus placed the rest of his Pokeball on the nightstand next to the bed and headed towards the door.

"Nurse Joy said there's a Lake nearby that's a good place to relax but I can only take one Pokémon, so are you coming or not" Marcus asked.

"I suppose someone has to keep an eye on you" Nyx rolled her eyes as she followed him out the door. Nyx considered herself to be many things, strong, confident, fierce but she soon found out that patient was not among those qualities as nearly everyone they passed stop and stared at her.

"You'd think they'd never seen an Absol before" Nyx huffed as yet another group went slacked jawed as she and Marcus passed them on their way to the lake.

"You know they'd probably have never seen an Absol like you before" Marcus mused as he followed signs towards the lake which was only a short walk outside of town.

"That's unlikely" Nyx frowned. Without missing a beat Marcus turned around walking backwards as he looked Nyx up and down with a finger on his chin as if in thought. "What the hell are you doing you little pervert" Nyx growled activating Shadow Claw.

"You" Marcus said simply looking up at her as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Nyx was about to growl at him and give him a punch to the gut for good measure but froze at what he said next. "Nyx you're gorgeous…seriously you can hit me if you want but you are. Your coat is always perfectly groomed, and I've never seen another Absol with your color pattern, the quiet confidence you carry yourself with not to mention your body which has perfect proportions. Seriously you're stunning at least when you're not trying to blow me up or set me on fire" Marcus joked with his usual bright smile.

The energy gathered in Nyx claw faded away without her even noticing as she absorbed every word Marcus said. Normally she'd be able to brush it off as flattery or trickery to earn her favor, but as he talked Marcus opened up their bond a bit so she could feel the genuine emotion behind his words. Heat flooded her face to nearly the tips of her ears, and looked away from him as she bit her lip to try to fight back the massive blush unaware of how cute the combination made her look. "Your cute when you blush you know that" Marcus said standing on his tiptoes to stand almost face to face with her. However, his teasing smile quickly turned to one of pain and discomfort as Nyx hit him in the gut with Shadow Claw.

"Don't push your luck just because I haven't tried to kill you lately doesn't mean the idea still isn't appealing" Nyx walked past him following the signs that headed towards the lake. Despite her harsh words and actions there was no real edge behind them and the small blush still gracing her cheeks made them even less convincing. Marcus grin quickly returned as the pain in his stomach faded he knew she could've hit him a lot harder than that, she always did during training at least. Without another word he fell in step behind her allowing her to lead the way and unintentionally getting a few peaks at her shapely bottom. Luckily Nyx didn't notice his wondering eyes as they finally made their way to the lake.

"Doesn't look like there are too many people here" Marcus said after passing through a small gate where a Pokémon Ranger ensured that Nyx was his only Pokémon and warned that any battling would result in a one-year ban from the lake. There was only about a dozen trainers scattered around the lake along with their Pokémon, a few were swimming enjoying the mid-day sun, but most were just lounging in the grass. Marcus decided to follow their lead and found a nice, shaded patch of grass where he could flop down.

"What are you doing" Nyx asked as Marcus laid back and the grass and closed his eyes.

"I'm relaxing what does it look like" Marcus hummed.

"Only an Idiot like you could be so carefree after losing" Nyx said the slightest hint of amusement in her voice as she walked over to a tree a few feet away from him. Marcus cracked open one eye as he watched her sit down and rest her back against the tree. Even though she closed her eye and seemed to follow his lead he knew that she was still alert, ready to react to anything at a moments notice. She may be more comfortable around him, but he knew he hadn't completely earned her trust yet. Despite this Marcus had a small content smile as he was fine with the way things were now. He let out a soft sigh as the warm sun and soft grass lulled him into a meditative state, one of the benefits of Aura was that he could rest like this without actually having to sleep. While he couldn't do it long term as he still needed actually sleep, it was a good technique for times like this where he needed a short rest.

A.M

Nyx stretched as she woke up from a short nap, she had been resting for maybe an hour or so and her body popped as her joints sighed in relief from her awkward sleeping position. She gave her body a small shake to get the blood flowing again before walking over to find Marcus still resting. 'I guess he's not terrible to look at' Nyx thought to herself as she stared down at him. His skin clashed violently with his messy snow-white hair which had grown longer since she first met him, she briefly wondered how wild he would look if he continued to let it grow. Nyx found her eyes drifting down to Marcus waist where his shirt had pulled up, his pants were somewhat lose exposing a good amount skin around his lower abdomen and pelvis. Once again memories of the shower incident flowed through her mind and she cursed as her body began to warm up, and she realized her heat cycle was getting closer. Nyx knew she had several heat cycles a year, but she hadn't had this big of a reaction in a long time. Usually, she was able to ignore it or handle it herself but if she was having this strong of a reaction without even being in heat she shuddered at what would happen when it actually arrived. 'Seems you've wormed your way deeper than a thought' Nyx looked down with a soft smile.

As a soft breeze blew through the clearing around the lake Nyx reached down to brush a few strains of hair from Marcus face. In a split second as her claws neared his face the small breeze turned into a violent gale and the sky started to darken rapidly with black clouds coming seemingly from out of nowhere. 'What in Arceus name' Nyx turned towards the lake just in time to see the water start to swirl violent quickly becoming as massive whirlpool. She snapped her attention back to Marcus planning on waking him up, but he was already awake sitting up while staring at the lake crimson eyes slightly glowing as his Aura flowed freely.

"This can't be good" Marcus frowned. Almost as if hearing him the sky opened with rain pouring down in buckets even thunder and lightning echoed through and split the sky. Trainers and their Pokémon quickly did their best to get out of the area, but a bone chilling roar stopped them in their tracks as a massive shape exploded out of the water. Without warning a massive beam of energy rocketed towards Nyx and Marcus, before Nyx could react Marcus was in front of her his Aura flaring in front of him to block the attack. The beam connected directly with Marcus's aura shield creating an explosion that flung the two back like ragdolls. As they were flying Nyx could feel Marcus grab on to her and hold her tightly until they came to a sudden stop.

"Idiot what the hell where you thi-" Nyx words froze in her throat as the smoke cleared and she saw why they had suddenly stopped. They had been flung into one of the nearby trees and Marcus had absorbed the impact with his own body. The young teen now laying in a limp heap with blood streaming from a wound somewhere on his head. Another roar tore her attention from the injured Marcus and Nyx's eyes widened the culprit was revealed. A huge red Gyarados roared towards the sky before unleashing yet another Hyper Beam resulting in another explosion and destroying dozens of trees and trainer and Pokémon screamed and ran around frantically scared for their lives. Gyarados were already feared for their wild and violent nature and the Red one's while rare where known to be even more violent, sometimes Gym Leaders, Elite Four Members, or even Champions had to be called in order to deal with their rampaging.

'Fuck this isn't good' Nyx clenched her teeth as the giant dual type serpent thrashed around sending out attacks at random, trainers and Pokémon alike scrambling for cover. 'I guess there's no other choice' Nyx frowned as she began walking towards the lake. "Hey dumbass" She yelled trying to get the Gyarados attention, which seem to work as it glared down at her briefly stopping its rampage. "You know I was having a rather pleasant day before you ruined it. See that meat bag slumped against the tree over there, a few weeks ago I would've applauded you for getting rid of that pain in the ass for me" Nyx stared up at the red-scaled beast with little fear. "Seriously back then if you knocked him out I'd already have run off by now…but now seeing you hurt him just really pisses me off" Nyx growled calling down a massive Thunderbolt that struck the Gyarados making it roar in pain. Nyx didn't stop as she felt wave after wave of irritation, anger, and frustration burst to the surface emotions that she had previous forced down or suppressed suddenly became too much to control.

"He might be a bit too soft and Arceus knows how annoying he is with his constant carefree smile or dumb cocky smirk. The guys naïve and idiotic and even after life has given him every reason to turn against Pokémon, he thinks he's lucky just to able to be a trainer." Nyx growled sending out several more Thunderbolts as she spoke. "Even after all that, even after I made his life Hell, he still never turned his back on me…and you hurt him" Nyx jumped into the air channeling her most powerful Electric-type attack. Avoiding a powerful tail swipe, her fur stood on edge as she used Thunder scoring a direct hit the power from her attack was enough to fling the Gyarados into the opposite bank of the lake. The impact of its massive body with the ground sent up a plume of dust and dirt. "Typical Gyarados always more rage than brains" Nyx huffed thinking she had taken care of the situation only for her eyes to widen as a powerful Hyperbeam ripped through the dust heading straight towards her.

Meanwhile inside of Marcus mind.

Marcus opened his eyes to find himself floating in an empty space, his only source of light came from dozen or hundreds on tiny balls of multi-colored light balls that hovered all around him. "Well, this seems familiar" Marcus sighed.

"I should hope so it hasn't been that long since we last spoke" a handful of the light balls began to swirl before combining into a roughly human shape.

"Suecra I kind of figured you had something to do with this…good to see you again" Marcus said somewhat awkwardly unsure of what else to say.

"Hmm it good to see you again as well" Suecra hummed in amusement. "It seems that you haven't lost your ability to attract trouble"

"This time I swear I was just trying to relax, I never expected that Gyarados to show up" Marcus sat up and crossed his arms.

"Haha yes I know, yet despite that you reacted quickly and used yourself as a shield to protect that Absol. That petulant child as not been making your life easy has she." Suecra laughed.

"Nyx has a good heart she's just been through a lot, its easy for anyone to lose themselves after going through what she did." Marcus defended. "She can be a little rough but that's just how she is. She busted her ass to train for her last master just for him to trade her away I think anyone who went through that would be bitter" Marcus defended.

"Yes, she has been through a lot and its unfortunate that she went through so much at such a young age. Yet you managed to crack through her icy façade and show her warmth, even though she could've very well crippled you when you first met. Gradually she has warmed up to you and even accepted you but if you truly want to tame her you can not continue to hold back" Suecra floated closer to Marcus.

"I don't understand…I mean I've been busting my ass with training me and my Pokémon are getting stronger every day. I'm not sure how much harder I can push my team without seeming cruel and I refuse to abuse them in order to get stronger faster." Marcus shook his head with a frown.

"I'm afraid you are misunderstanding me" Suecra extended a glowing hand until the tips of her fingers touched his chest. Marcus gasped at the influx of energy and heat the spread through him. "You have been holding yourself back, you fear your own potential, you fear becoming someone who values strength and power more than anything else. You fear it because you know the addicting thrill of victory, and you fear it because you've seen what it does to those who become lost in it" as she spoke Marcus gritted his teethed as several memories were forced to the surface of his mind. The joy of his victories with his newly formed team, how happy he was traveling with May and Kairas, how at peace he felt with Sabrina even much he looked forwards to seeing Flannery again. Yet all of those happy memories began to fade as a series of cruel images passed through his mind, a supposed friendly battle turning violent, an explosion blowing him off a cliff then nothing but pain white hot otherworldly pain.

Marcus suddenly found himself gasping and sweating as his hand instinctually gripped his lower legs fingers digging into the flesh-colored cybernetics. "I refuse to ever become anything like him" Marcus said lowly.

"I would never expect anything otherwise but you forget how much that drove you, how much you were determined to prove him wrong to prove everyone wrong. You swore to be a trainer by any means necessary…and now you desire to be the greatest champion the world has ever seen. Use it use that determination you once had and break through your own glass ceiling. We will see each other again soon Marcus Kale" Suecra began to fade with those words and like being plunged into and ice bath Marcus jolted awake to the real world once more.

Lake side ten minutes after Red Gyarados arrival

Nyx was panted her body covered in bruises burns and cuts, she had been giving her all to put down the red-scaled Gyarados but even after dealing a significant amount of damaged it refused to faint. Nyx was powerful she knew she was, but she was out of practice. She hadn't had a real battle in quite some time and aside from helping Marcus and his Pokémon train occasionally she hadn't even gotten any real training in herself something she was deeply regretting as her stamina began to reach its limit. She knew her opponent wasn't doing much better than she was but if things continued the way they were she would run out of energy before she could land a finishing blow. 'I have to end this now before I run out of energy' Nyx did her best to even out her breathing. She had hoped that one of the trainers that escaped would have gone to get help but either that hadn't happened, or help was taking longer than she had expected to get there. She spared a quick glance at Marcus seeing him still slumped against the tree, if she had to guess his condition wasn't getting any better. Steeling herself she knew she only had one attack left capable of putting down that red-scaled pain in her ass and quickly began charging a Hyper Beam.

As if sensing her intentions, the Red Gyarados began charging a Hyper Beam of its own. This was going to be it the final clash that would decide everything. Nyx growled as she fired her attack, Gyarados mirroring her with a mighty roar. The two beams collided and for a brief moment it seemed the two were equally matched, Nyx quickly realized as her beam began to be pushed back that she was going to be overpowered and with nothing left in the tank she was now out of options and along with any hope of winning or even surviving. A single tear escaped her scared eye as she began to lament her life, she had spent years dedicating herself, grinding herself to the bone for a man that never saw her as anything more than an easily replaceable possession. After that she spent time bouncing from one trainer to the next because of her nasty attitude eventually earning a black mark after injuring one. She was lucky she ended up with professor Birch instead of ending up abandoned in her Pokeball somewhere. Still even after being giving a real second chance with Marcus she did little but abuse and belittle him Arceus knows if his legs hadn't held up, she would've maimed him the first day they met. She hadn't even realized how cruel she had become, how dark her mind had gotten. Yet Marcus was always there the faint light at the end of the tunnel, the ember of warmth determined to melt her icy heart.

"Arceus I don't know if you can hear me but…for what its worth I'm glad I met him. I'm glad I got my second chance with him" Nyx knew it was over now at least she got to have some genuinely good times with Marcus and his team before she bit it.

"For what its worth I'm glad I met you too"

Nyx eyes widened as she felt a hand on her shoulder, she saw Marcus the entire right side of his face covered in blood causing him to keep that eye shut. She was sure he was covered in bruises underneath his clothes yet here he stood with that small cocky smirk she was starting to hate less and less. "That look doesn't suit you, I told you right you're supposed be my tough girl. I can't let something like this make you cry" with those words Marcus flared his Aura creating a small pillar of swirling red and white energy enveloping himself and Nyx.

Nyx felt her body suddenly surge with energy, despite her condition every cell in her body felt like it was thrumming with power. She started to feel warm and tingly as the bond between her and Marcus opened, for the first time she didn't fight it or suppress it and instead surrendered herself to it willingly. She felt everything Marcus's determination, his passion and drive to win. She felt his pain not just what he was physically feeling but his pain at his earlier loss, his worry for Sabrina, his doubts for his ability as a trainer, his frustration at never feeling like he was good enough and his fear of losing those he cared for. She knew he could feel her as well yet even as these emotions raced through the two of them, one stayed constantly acceptance.

With her newfound power Nyx's Hyper Beam grew in size until it began to dwarf the opposing Gyarados quickly pushing back the opposing beam until it made contact with the dual-type sea serpent causing a massive explosion. "Think we won" Marcus panted his Aura vanishing like a flickering flame as his head began to swim. Neither him or Nyx noticing a group of Pokémon Rangers and Police Officer's rushing into the clearing along with a few trainers that had been at the Lake earlier.

"I think…we did" Nyx breathed out heavily as the smoke cleared revealing a now unconscious Red Gyarados laying against the opposite bank.

"Thank…Arceus~" with those words Marcus dropped like a sack of potatoes as his concussion and other injuries caught up with him.

Nyx seeing his condition began to panic she knew he need medical attention and he needed it fast. Seeing that backup had finally arrived she began to howl as loudly as she could trying to get their attention which luckily worked. Most of the Police Officers and trainers rushed over while a few of the rangers went to properly contain the Gyarados before it could become a threat again. Nyx briefly noted a few of the trainers seemed to be recording the situation but all she cared about was getting Marcus help.

"It's okay girl we're here now, is this your trainer" one of the officer's asked.

Nyx nodded and yelled for the idiots to help but knew they wouldn't be able to understand her. So, she grabbed Marcus pulling him into her lap as she pushed his hair back revealing a large gash on his right side.

"Hey get an EMT vehicle over here ASAP we gotta get this kid outta here he's in really bad shape." Another Officer radioed.

Soon enough Nyx heard sirens and knew Marcus would hopefully be okay. Without much energy left herself she began to slip out of consciousness just as red and white flashing lights began to sparkle in the clearing.

AN:Okay so there you have it Chapter 13 is officially finished and with that being said let me know what you all think…you know assuming anyone still reads this after like a year with no updates. But if you are know that I appreciate your continued viewership, I'm thinking about doing a filler chapter featuring Nyx if she had gone to Marcus first instead of her other trainer it would just be a bit of fluff for those Nyx fans out there and I think it could be pretty fun to write. As always if you have any O.C's you'd like featured in my story let me know always open for new characters and new ideas.