To those of you reading in the present: I have decided to update at least once a week, usually every Friday. I am now officially on a schedule, woo! Let's see how long this streak lasts. (Chapter 42 counts because it was uploaded last Friday, and also 41 because of the Monday before that, so that makes three so far.) If you're reading in the future, feel free to jump ahead a few chapters and laugh at my declaration of surrender.

Chapter 43: Definitely Not Your Average Rematch

Dr. Eggman eagerly kicked things off by firing several rockets directly at Bob, who calmly stood as his Togekiss, Tryder, intercepted the attack with slicing bursts of wind, an Air Slash, causing the missiles to explode in midair. Tryder then countered with Extremespeed, ramming into the body of the mech at full force.

Bob's Typhlosion, Zheil, wasted no time rushing at Beats, exploding in a torrent of boiling magma like a volcano, around which the vegetable deftly cartwheeled and flung his vinyl records, apparently having been sharpened for combat. Zheil dodged right back, surrounding himself with flame, and tried to close the distance with a Flame Charge.

Hailstorm aimed his crossbow at Saucha, Bob's Ampharos, with the speed of a sharpshooter, but Phaunt the Butterfree demonstrated greater speed, assaulting Hail with a yellow powder attack. The pegasus quickly kicked at the Bug-type, but not before accidentally inhaling some of the powder, inflicting himself with paralysis.

Franz, now a Floatzel, barreled his way towards Astra with his infamous Aqua Jet. Astra, knowing how difficult it would be to dodge, stood resolute and met the Floatzel's attack with her scythe. Franz had tried to combine a Crunch attack with the force of his Aqua Jet, resulting in him clamping down on the flat of the scythe.

Blah noticed Seraphina had not immediately launched an attack, and all of the other Pokemon were preoccupied. "Sera," he took the opportunity to attempt to communicate, "What happened to you while I was gone?"

"I should ask the same of you." Sera's voice entered Blah's head for the first time in an eternity, but it was not as comforting as he had once expected from his reunion. Her presence was more like that of a monster directly behind Blah, breathing down his neck.

Eggman's mech toppled over, and Tryder aimed for the cockpit with another Extremespeed, but the mech's arm swatted him away with a swift deflecting punch. A gun in the arm pointed at the Togekiss, but Saucha came out of nowhere and diverted it with a Thunderpunch, causing it to shoot the empty sky.

Beats jumped over the charging Typhlosion, knowing that fire was probably not something he wanted to get involved with, and retrieved his discs, continuing after Phaunt instead. The Butterfree swarmed around the impaired Hailstorm, simultaneously taunting him and charging her power with Quiver Dance. Beats saw the perfect opportunity to get a shot in on the distracted Phaunt and threw both of his discs in quick succession. However, as the discs neared, Phaunt somehow caught on with unprecedented reaction time and fluttered high enough to dodge both of them. She then shifted her attention to Beats, who was left flabbergasted.

Franz was quick to release Astra's scythe, and immediately he swung around in an attempt to hit with Aqua Tail. Astra blocked it with the length of her weapon, but the force drove her back a few feet, and Franz followed through with another Crunch aimed at her shoulder. She kicked, sending the Floatzel back as well and giving Astra enough time to make a slash with her scythe, but just before she could, a thick veil of smoke engulfed the two of them. Astra was momentarily confused, just long enough to take a Flame Charge from Zheil to the back.

Bob continued to stand in place, his arms crossed and his lips curled into a perpetual smirk, as his Pokemon worked independently and in perfect unison. The sunglasses shielded his eyes, making him impossible to read.

Blah desperately wanted to join the fight and help, but Seraphina's stare kept him pinned. He knew that the moment he made a move, she would be right on him, and if there was a chance of getting her to come to her senses, Blah much preferred that route. "What I've been through is not important for now," Blah argued. "Charge separated us on purpose into different times. You wound up a month in the past. You had plenty of time to try and catch up with us so... what kept you?"

Only cold silence followed in his head as the battle raged on around him. Sera continued to cast her sharp gaze from across the field. Blah gripped the wrench tightly. "Sera... what could have possibly made you this way...?"

"You." Blah felt himself lift into the air. Sera's eyes turned a savage purple. Before he could act, she flung him backwards with a Psychic attack, ramming him painfully into a tree. Blah slumped to the ground, suddenly missing his armor.

"I don't want to fight you..." Blah coughed, picking up his weapon. "But it looks like I have no choice..."

Sera stood in place as Blah rushed at her. He slung his wrench like a sledgehammer, knowing that her kind was especially vulnerable to physical attacks, but she blinked out of the way with ease. The momentum of the swing caught Blah off-balance. 'Perhaps I'm rustier than I thought,' he considered with slight panic. He turned around to search for Sera. She had teleported several yards behind him and continued to stare him down. Either she was taunting him, or she was hesitant to fight as well...

Blah used this chance to size up the rest of the battle and see how his team was doing. Hailstorm struggled to lift his crossbow against Phaunt, who danced in and out of Beats's range and avoiding his every swing, firing back with an occasional Bug Buzz attack. Franz and Zheil were taking turns picking on Astra, and Eggman's mech took heavy damage from the tag team of Saucha and Tryder.

Deciding to leave the inactive Sera alone, Blah rushed towards Astra to give her a hand. He swung at the Floatzel while his back was turned, but Franz inexplicably caught on and leaped over it, backflipping over Blah's head and biting down on his defenseless shoulder with fangs of ice. Zheil, meanwhile, took a deep breath as he prepared to cover the prone Astra in flames.

Beats leaped away from Phaunt, giving up on trying to outspeed her. "Something's clearly up..." he muttered. "These cats can't just clear all these shots..." He glanced over at Bob, kiting Phaunt's chasing assault as best as he could. The trainer had not said a single word since the match began. "Doesn't the trainer give the orders...?"

As Blah parried a close-range Aqua Tail from Franz, straining to stay on two feet, he realized physical attacks would be of little help. He began to clear his mind, letting the Hajike channel through him. "Fist of the Milky Way..." Franz charged at him again. "Orbital Slingshot!" Thrusting the wrench hook forward, he managed to catch Franz's neck, stunning him for a moment. Blah shot forward, using the Floatzel as a pivot to sling around and head for Zheil, gaining velocity. His wrench grabbed Zheil in the same area, cutting his Flamethrower short. Blah released him after slinging around a second time, even faster than before, and shot into Saucha feet-first with the force of a comet.

This action freed up Eggman to focus solely on Tryder. His mech was wrecked and dented, but still very much operational as he demonstrated by throwing an uppercut at the Togekiss... which was nimbly avoided. Blah attempted to overwhelm Tryder by immediately leaping off of the Desperado and slamming his wrench downward. This also missed by a longshot, much to both of their surprise.

Beats carefully observed the events of the past few seconds, still running as that was his only option. Blah's Hajike attack was the only one that landed, and quite easily at that. He started to put the evidence together, adding what he knew about Hajike... Bob issued no commands, and yet his Pokemon all knew exactly what to do and could dodge just about any attack. As if he had a perfect telepathic link.

The answer hit him like a brick. Seraphina. Bob was communicating to his Pokemon at the speed of thought through the psychic! Sera was also capable of sharing her increased awareness and ability to read minds, alerting her team to imminent threats before they ever happened, but there was one element that was impossible to predict.

"Yo, Blah!" Beats shouted to his comrade as he barely kept ahead of Phaunt. "Focus on Sera! Use your Hajike!"

Blah heard the veggie man, and although his plan was sound, he didn't like the thought of unleashing a Fist attack against his former ally. However, he knew that if he hesitated for too long, they'd have that much more time to react. He had to move without thinking. As he turned towards Sera, however, the opposing team had already caught wind of the plan. All five non-psychic Pokemon targeted Blah at that moment. Sera stood ready to evade and intercept any attacks. Bob broke into a mild sweat, clenching his fists in concentration. They might not be able to predict what was coming, but they could prepare for it regardless.

The opposition closing on him, Franz leading the charge with Aqua Jet, Blah not only had to act fast, but he had to put all of his strength into this endeavor. Beats also closed in, in an attempt to alleviate some of the pressure. Both he and Blah were of the same mind: Hajike. Fast. Strong. Now. A lime green resonant aura enveloped both Blah and Beats simultaneously.

"Fist of the Milky Way: Four-Dimensional Rave!"

A vinyl record sliced through the air near Blah, spinning faster and faster until it began to literally slice space itself. Another record followed, and then another. The rifts opened wider, absorbing light and reflecting back bright flashing colors, turning the battlefield into something of a scene from a night club. Blah dashed into a rift, warping instantly to another that happened to be near Franz. He slammed the Floatzel's head with his wrench and disappeared into another rift, emerging from another and clocking Tryder. He continued passing between rifts and jamming Bob's team with his weapon, all within the course of a split second.

Sera, for once, began to show signs of panic. Rifts were everywhere; no location was safe for teleportation. Before she could formulate a plan, six rifts appeared in midair surrounding her, and six slightly less than tangible images of Blah flew out of them. Each of their wrenches converged on a single point on Sera's head, delivering six times the force of an ordinary attack before the Blah clones each slipped into the rifts opposite the ones they exited.

Blah landed with a kneel near where he began. The rifts and lights faded. Sera fell to the ground, unconscious.

"N... no..." Bob stuttered, speaking for the first time that fight. "Impossible..."

Blah stood up, aiming to strike a sweet pose with Beats, but he stumbled dizzily and fell down again. If there were a such thing as a Hajike hangover, this would undoubtably be it. Beats seemed to be having trouble keeping his head as well. Their allies watched from afar, tending to their own injuries. No matter how many times Blah utilized his Hajike, it was always an impressive sight - especially when he can combine his power with one who is also familiar with Hajike.

Seeing the two heroes as dazed as his own Pokemon at that point elevated his spirits once again. "...No matter!" he shouted. "This battle isn't over yet! I don't need any fancy mind tricks to beat you! Looks like we did enough damage already!"

Bob's Pokemon were beginning to recover faster than Blah and Beats, though they had taken their share of hits from that technique as well.

The first one to fully stand ready was Astra. She had taken the least damage and/or exhaustion out of everyone, and she was ready to see this fight through to the end. A bit of time to spare, she ran for Hailstorm.

"How are you holding up?" she asked, helping him to his hooves.

"Oh yeah, I'm doing juuuust fine," Hail jeered sarcastically. "Aside from, you know, the partial paralysis."

"Hurry up, you fools!" cried Bob to his Pokemon. Franz was nearly ready to jump back into combat, and the rest looked as though they would join shortly.

"Here, eat this," Astra said, offering the pegasus a small, red berry. "It should help."

Hailstorm ignored his skepticism and consumed the berry. The feeling returned to his limbs, and he stood up with just as easily as when the fight began. "Wow, it worked..." he remarked with a bit of disbelief. "Where did you find that...?" He looked up at Astra again, only to find that she was already engaged with Bob's Floatzel. "...Right, I better get into the action too."

"Ok, Franz! Aqua Jet!" commanded Bob. "Aim for the head, that's where she's the least protected!"

Unfortunately for Bob, switching to verbal orders meant that his opponents had more time to react. Astra was ready before Franz shot into the air, from which he dove and aimed straight down on the target. Astra jumped to the side and dug her scythe blade into the Floatzel's hydrated ambience. The water pressure held back some of the impact, but caused him to falter all the same and crash into the ground.

Phaunt was next, her speed offset by the amount of punishment she had received due to her low defense. She was still conscious, and tensely awaited Bob's word. "Hailstorm's practically at full health now," he said, "so go keep him on his toes!" The Butterfree began to close the distance between them, forcing Hailstorm to take up his crossbow and aim. He did not want to risk another Stun Spore, so he aimed carefully, waiting for the moment before she was in range to attempt another one. A bolt loosed, which Phaunt was only barely able to dodge, managing to fly out with a clipped wing.

"Saucha, go help her!" Bob yelled, and the Ampharos charged her energy into electricity, preparing to strike while Hail was distracted with Phaunt. Both of them took to the air. "Power Gem, now!" A beam fired from the beacon-like orb on Saucha's head, only to miss the airborne pony.

Bob was quickly losing his composure. He had used Seraphina almost as a crutch. As a result of his panic, he had completely forgotten about Dr. Eggman, who had diverted some of his mech's power reserves to make up for the damage as best as he could and was preparing to knock out Zheil before he could recover. His trainer no longer able to multitask, Tryder had to improvise. He glowed with a faint white aura, which began to manifest in front of him in the form of a sphere. He launched it as soon as it had grown large enough, and Eggman mistook it for a solid projectile, slapping at it with his mech's right arm. A small explosion occurred upon connecting, blowing apart the hand.

As Franz sprawled out on the ground, Astra realized she had an opportunity to end him at that moment by delivering a fatal blow to the spine with her scythe. She raised her weapon high... but hesitated. There was no need to kill this creature, as he was only following orders. Bob didn't intend to kill any of her friends, after all, only knock them out to prove a point. It was pretty dangerous letting them fight real people with very real weapons, though, especially because of moments like these. What kind of a trainer was Bob to put his companions' lives at risk, merely for the matter of revenge?

She glanced at Bob, whose attention was still focused on Hailstorm. It was obvious that his original plan - one in which, ideally, his Pokemon would be unable to take hits - had failed, and that he was trying desperately to save face and win the battle anyway. Was it that far beyond his pride to back down from a fight and surrender when he knew that his Pokemon were no longer safe from serious harm? Perhaps he deserved such loss...

...but his Pokemon weren't to blame. They trusted their trainer, and shared some of his motivations, but they were beginning to hesitate as well. Astra did not doubt that at least some of them were hoping that Bob would call off the fight. Death was far too extreme to be just. Her team would simply have to win the fight without using lethal force. Bob had a lesson to learn.

A torrent of water devoured Astra. Franz had made it to his feet while she was deep in thought, and stood before her, panting and enraged, waiting either for Astra to move or Bob to give him a command.

Bob was entirely absorbed in the battle of the air, however. "Phaunt, use Bug Buzz!" he cried. His tactic was to pressure the pegasus, who certanily felt oppressed. The Butterfree rapidly flapped her wings to create a piercing buzz, which caused Hail to flinch and miss a shot from his crossbow. "Saucha, Thunder!" continued Bob. As Hail reloaded, his ears ringing painfully, he failed to hear Bob's command and see Saucha approaching from below. Phaunt made sure to keep his attention as the Ampharos charged up her electricity...

Meanwhile, Dr. Eggman had not been misled by Tryder's attack. He aimed with his one intact arm straight at Zheil. A small, round object shot out of a gun barrel at the Typhlosion, who had no choice but to improvise as well. He breathed a Flamethrower, sending fire in its direction, but this was a terrible lapse in judgment for the Fire-type. A sizable explosion resulted, sending him through the air. Dr. Eggman set his sights on Tryder next, who was more than ready after seeing what his mate went through.

However, the Togekiss didn't account for the two sharp edges soon digging their way into his back. Beats had gotten over his temporary illness and had returned to the fray, having leapt to his level with two new discs. The beet bounded off of Tryder, retrieving his discs, and Eggman fired away. Another explosion sent him spiraling to the ground.

"We don't have to continue like this..." Astra bargained with Franz. "You know that we are all capable of terminating any one of you, should the opportunity arise... like just now. I couldn't bring myself to do so this time, but... you are pushing your luck."

Franz loosed up for a moment, thinking about what she was saying. "Your trainer also knows this. And yet he continues to fight, putting you and your entire team at risk. All because of his pride. You don't have to be like him."

Silence followed. The Floatzel's gaze was bolted to the ground. "You're better than he is. You can end it and save the lives of all of your allies. If this keeps going, I can't guarantee that you will all survive it."

Phaunt dodged bolt after bolt from Hailstorm as Saucha focused her electricity, hidden from what remained of Hail's perception. Only a few more seconds could pass before she would be ready to unleash it.

Blah tensely watched the scene from the ground. Whether the mechanics of Pokemon battles carried over into real life or not, he knew Hailstorm probably wouldn't be able to take such a powerful blast of electricity, nor had he a chance of dodging it due to Phaunt's distraction. Still a tad dizzy, Blah forced himself to his feet and picked up his wrench, breaking into a sprint.

A desperate shout bellowed from his throat as he closed in, but no sooner had he done so than he realized his mistake. He had seized the attention of the Ampharos.

Saucha turned around and released the stored bolt of lightning in his direction, attracted by the metal in the wrench and passing fluidly into Blah's body.

The resulting light show was enough to alert Hail to Saucha's position, and he immediately adjusted his plan, aiming at the Ampharos. Blah, however, keeled over, unable to move. He could feel none of his limbs, and darkness slowly obscured his vision.

Blah's entire body was numb. Time seemed to slow down for him, leaving him alone in some orderless environment. The solitude didn't last for very long, however, as a foreign thought made its way into Blah's head. "So, you have joined me on this plane..."

'What the... "This plane"? What's going on...?' Blah questioned in response. He felt as though he was floating in some eternal void. His vision had blanked, but he could hear his own thoughts just fine, as well as those that he identified as Seraphina's.

"You have entered a state of catatonic shock," Sera answered, "No pun intended. The human body can barely handle that much electricity at one time."

'Sera...' Blah was interested more in his Pokemon friend than what had just happened to him. 'You seem to have... calmed down... maybe we can finally get some things straight...'

"I have no means to resist," she stated. "And you have every right to know what I have been through. Perhaps you will come to regret your actions in the little time you have left."

A series of images flashed through Blah's mind, incinerating the blackness. An egg hatches inside a small cage. The unmistakable, cruel face of Charge looks down on the newborn. "I had been a prisoner from rebirth. My memory had not yet returned to me. Days passed. I was... mistreated." Charge passes her a small amount of food in a dish, hardly enough to be considered a meal. "But it was all that I knew, and so I did nothing. However, your past self's entry into this world awakened me." Charge bears an expression of mild surprise. The young Abra attempts to teleport, but the cage is sealed by a strange force.

"He told me that I could never escape, and that you had forgotten about me. I refused to believe him, waiting weeks for your return. As time passed, his abuse grew worse." Charge delivers a vioilent electric shock to a rebellious Seraphina. "I had all but lost hope, when suddenly... I was saved." Late at night, a figure slips through the darkness. The cage door lifts. The barely conscious Abra is lifted by the newcomer. "That savior was not you, as I had hoped... it was Bob." Bob sympathetically tends to Sera in a secluded forest. "He confirmed the same thing as Charge - that you were long gone. That you abandoned me."

'Abandoned you...?!' Blah could hardly believe what he was experiencing. 'That's not true at all. You're still very important to us. Charge simply designed it so that we wouldn't be able to reunite again... and his plan is working, as long as you're still...'

"That proves it. You only want me back because you need me." Sera's voice was as cold as ever.

'No...' Blah denied, searching himself for some way to convince her otherwise. What she had shown him was some powerful imagery. Perhaps if Sera knew about his situation... it was worth a shot. 'Just... pay attention for a moment, ok? You don't even know MY whole story yet...'

Blah concentrated on pushing his own memories back. He recalled his second childhood as Light Star, as far back as he could remember, gradually leading up to the discovery of his cutie mark and that fateful encounter with Astra that set him back on the proper track. He followed with his meeting with Discord, bringing her up to speed on his current situation. 'As you can see... I lived an entirely new life, starting 20 years before we ever met. My memory had been forcibly taken from me. There was no way I would've been able to search for you, and Charge made sure of that. But once I got back to normal, with the help of Astra and Discord... well, MOSTLY normal... not a moment passed that I didn't spend worrying about you and Broshi. I would never willingly abandon my friends.'

Only nothingness responded. There was no way that Blah could know for sure that Sera was even still there... perhaps she was meditating on what Blah conveyed... or his attempt had failed, and she had gotten impatient and somehow left.

Blah had no distinct concept of time, either. For all he knew, he was waiting seconds... or hours... or even years. The full realization of what Sera had told him earlier came to fruition. The massive electric shock had put him into a coma. And yet, here he was, fully aware of himself and his thoughts. Still conscious, as far as he was concerned. But to everyone else, was he as good as dead? Had he been abducted yet again from all of his friends? How would they fare without him...?

Sera's voice returned, startling him. "Your concern is... genuine." Blah would have sighed with relief if he could feel his breath. "The real enemy here is Charge. By driving a wedge between us, he can delay the game long enough to wedge his own way into it... And I would not put it behind him if he staged my rescue with Bob to manipulate my emotions. I am sorry I did not trust you."

'Don't worry about it... I'm just glad you're coming back to your senses... but as long as we're both out-cold like this, he might as well have won...'

"Perhaps, but perhaps not... you see, not everything that has transpired can be seen as negative. My training with Bob has led me to evolution, has it not? My mind is much stronger. It is why we can communicate right now."

Blah didn't quite understand what she was talking about, or how it was any different than telepathy while awake... but she continued. "It is I who is keeping you alive. Had I not been so strongly inclined to make you see the error of your ways, you would be dead."

It was Blah's turn to be silent. "You nearly overexerted yourself on that Hajike technique, leaving you open to attack from the killing machines that are Bob's Pokemon, post extensive vengeance-fueled training. And without the use of Hajike, you would not have overcome his strategy. Charge counted on the fact that you would not walk away from this encounter."

'So he didn't plan on us having this conversation right here... Hah...' Blah could only laugh internally. 'Well, if you're keeping me alive... perhaps you can wake me up?'

"Unfortunately, it is not that simple." Blah was afraid that she would say something like that. "I can keep your mind alive, but I have no power over the body."

'Well... ok... no problem, then,' he dismissed. 'I'll wake up from the coma on my own eventually, right?' Sera's lack of an immediate response was unsettling. 'Right...?'

"I am afraid that my earlier statement was a lie," she admitted after a while. "Your body is now a corpse. I am sorry."

'WHAT?!' Blah wasn't aware that he was still capable of shouting, but he didn't care. 'Then... how... how are we...'

"I extracted your consciousness before it could slip away. My mental capacity is more than sufficient to store two separate egos, so I am keeping you safe in there."

'So I have no body, and you're keeping me in your brain. Lovely.' Blah degenerated into angered sarcasm. 'It's not like I could really call that body mine anymore anyway, after all that it's been through...' Suddenly, inspiration struck. 'Wait a minute! What about my dream self? I could still be revived... and I have no doubt that it's as good as new, since I never used it or anything...'

"That may not be possible either."

'And why not?' snapped Blah desperately. 'Don't tell me it's because you pulled me from my body...'

"That has nothing to do with it. When communicating with the mind of anyone with a dream self, I become aware of both selves, as they share a mind. Even if they have yet to awaken. When I connect with you, however..."

'Just the one, huh. So my dream self might have died long before I got here... or I never had one to begin with... or something. More questions we can't answer.' Blah wished he could punch something. 'Well! How the heck am I supposed to do anything without a body of some sort?'

"Perhaps we can find or create a new one. The only caveat is that it cannot be currently occupied, or physically dead. In other words, you need an empty, yet still functional shell."

'Sounds like a tall order. Where can we even begin to find something like that...? I mean, we could have Eggman build us a robot I guess... if robots even count... but I'd prefer something organic...'

"That is a bridge we can cross later. I believe there is still a battle going on."

'Oh... that's right!' Blah had nearly forgotten about the battle with Bob. Everyone would surely think that Blah was dead... 'So uh... what are you doing right now? I can't see anything.'

"My mind recovered relatively quickly from your attack, but I have been too physically weak to move regardless."

'Hah... sorry about that...' apologized Blah nervously. 'Can you try to move now? The others have to know what happened to us.'

"I will try."

There was silence. "Oh, pardon me. I should grant you access to my senses."

The void vanished in an instant, replaced with a somewhat blurred image of a field. Blah quickly realized he was seeing through Sera's eyes. She had propped herself up on her elbows and was watching the battlefield, waiting for her vision to return. As it did, the two of them saw... no fighting. Bob's Pokemon had all disappeared. Eggman, Astra, and Beats were huddled around Blah's former body. Hailstorm was violently confronting Bob to the side, shouting something exasperate and indiscernible.

'Did the fight end just because of me...?' inferred Blah.

"That is doubtful. Something must have happened to end it this quickly, though." Sera lifted herself up with her telekinesis and landed on her feet. It was vaguely disorienting for Blah, but no more so than watching a movie with 3D glasses on. Aside from the vision, and hearing as well, Blah still felt numb. He guessed that Sera was still in pain from the wrench, and didn't want to pass that experience onto him...

"Sera's up..." noted Astra with little enthusiasm as the Kadabra approached. Beats and Eggman looked up.

Hail and Bob were close enough to understand. "I told you, I only wanted to knock him out," Bob defended, backing away from the irate pegasus. He was sweating profusely, and with good reason, as it looked as though Hail would snap at any second and tear him apart.

"A likely story. You seemed perfectly ok with the idea of letting your own POKEMON die, let alone one of us!" Hail yelled back. "Now give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you and put your life force to good use reviving Blah!"

"Because Blah's alive." Sera answered for the broken trainer, getting Hail's attention.

"He is?!" Hail practically tackled her to the ground. "How do you know that?! Tell me!" His eyes were wide and bloodshot, and his teeth were clenched to the point where they looked welded together.

"Jeez, you're really taking my death hard, aren't you?" The words were Blah's. He was hardly aware that his words were audible, and that they sounded like his own voice.

"Wh... what...?" Hail stepped back as if he had seen a ghost. Everyone else looked astonished as well.

"Straight from the human's mouth," Sera continued. "Well... if he still had a mouth, that is."

This did not calm anyone down, and so Sera went on to explain what she and Blah had discussed in her mind a short time ago.

"I am projecting his voice into your minds as he speaks," she finished. "That is how you are able to hear him."

"I can never catch a break, huh," Blah added, trying to lighten the mood. "First I was a pony, then a woman, now I'm sharing a mind with Sera..."

"Interesting..." Astra walked over to Sera and examined her closely. "So your mind is strong enough to catch and contain an additional spirit..."

"H-how do we know she's telling the truth?" Hail argued. "She could still be on Bob's side... she could easily be faking Blah's voice to mess with us!"

"I assure you, me and Blah have had an understanding," Sera calmly refuted. "I was in the wrong. He could not have done anything for me, and I realize that now." Hail contemplated her speech in silence.

"What I'm more worried about," Blah tried to change the subject, "is how the fight ended."

Bob sighed heavily. "Your girlfriend convinced my Pokemon that they were fighting a very risky and irrational battle. And so they stopped. Saucha was also horrified that she had accidentally killed you. Or whatever." He shrugged innocently. "I didn't mean to kill you. That whole incident was not under our control anyway. You all saw how she instinctively let loose when Blah came at her."

"I hope you've learned something from all this," Astra scolded. "There's a reason Pokemon are only supposed to fight each other. You're lucky the death wasn't on your side... and apparently wasn't permanent..." The idea still bewildered her, but making the point was more important.

"Yeah, yeah," Bob impatiently derided.

Astra wasn't convinced that he got it, but Blah was willing to let it go. "Can we focus, please?" he pleaded. "We have other things to worry about, like getting you into the game..."

"Fine," Astra gave in. "As long as we don't get randomly attacked by Bob again..."

"We've done all we need to do here," Blah cut to the chase, "so let's go. First priority is getting Astra back home. Eggman, please tell me your Desperado doesn't need repairing again and we can start it up right now."

"I took a bit of damage, but nothing crippling," Dr. Eggman assessed. "I'm just as eager to get out of here as you are."

"Good. Beats, go get Spike. Everyone else, load up. Not you, Bob." He singled out the problematic trainer. "You can walk." He slumped away unhappily.

As Eggman climbed into and converted the mech, Beats made his way to the tree in which Spike had taken refuge. "Hey, little man," he called. "It's safe to come down."

There was no answer. Beats scratched his head. "Uh, buddy? Are you asleep in there?" He stepped forward to climb the tree, but his foot landed on something hard. He picked it up and found that it was one of his music discs. "Huh. One must've gotten away from me during the battle..." He put it away without a second thought, climbing the trunk. However, when he got to the top, nobody was there.

"Oh no. Spike?" He raised his voice, calling the dragon's name, but there was no response. "Spike...!" he called again, just to make sure. Still nothing. He nervously jumped out of the tree and searched around it. The only sign that anything had happened over here was a lone, fallen branch. He picked it up. The end, where it had broken off, was unnaturally smooth, as if it had been trimmed with an extra-precise chainsaw.

His first thought was that Spike had ran away, but there was no reason to do that... unless for some reason, the disc that Beats had apparently thrown out here spooked him, but surely he wouldn't wander so far that he couldn't hear anyone call his name...

"Spiiiiike!" he cried to the forest as loud as he could. He disturbed a lot of birds, but there was still no sign of Spike.

"What's wrong?" He heard Blah's voice from behind, and turned to see Seraphina. "Is Spike missing?"

"Yeah... I dunno what happened to him..." Beats rubbed his head. "The only clues I found were one of my discs and this clean-cut twig." He held up the branch.

"You were throwing discs quite wildly during that Hajike maneuver," Sera pointed out.

"The one that opened up rifts in... space..." Blah trailed off. "You don't think... You don't think he FELL IN one of them... do you...?"

Beats's eyes widened. "Where would that take him?!"

"Who knows... I'd assume it would have sent him out through another rift... but I sure didn't see Spike fall out of one during the battle." Blah thought for a moment. "Hey Sera... can't you sense the presence of life-forms in the vicinity or something? Can you say for sure whether or not Spike is around here?"

"I can, to an extent," she replied. "However... I do not sense any sentient beings around here, aside from myself, Beats, Hailstorm, Astra, Eggman, and Bob." She counted each person out individually, as if sorting through a deck of cards. "Spike is not among us."

An overwhelming sense of dread washed over all two and a half of them. Spike could literally be anywhere...

Beats clutched his head in anguish, pacing back and forth. "This ain't good... What do we tell Twilight..."

"Who says we have to tell her?" Blah suggested. "Twilight has enough to worry about, but if she knew that Spike was missing, she'd probably have a heart attack. It might be better to keep that a secret until we find him."

"Not cool, man!" responded Beats. "We don't know if the little guy's ok! If he doesn't turn up, what happens then? We can't just lie to Twilight about one of her closest pals!"

"Sorry... you're right..." Blah sighed, or at least produced a sound as if he did. "I just... don't want to cause any more damage than we already have."

"It cannot be helped," Sera consoled. "Lying would not solve any problems, only delay them. Who knows, perhaps Twilight might have an idea of what could have happened."

"What's taking you guys so long?" Hailstorm called from the sky. "Where's Spike?"

Beats and Sera exchanged troubled glances. "I'll explain when we get back to the plane," Beats told him.