Ciao to all! After long days of barely scrapping by the cold, hard days of Junior College, I finally picked up my phone and started typing like a dead person (which just translates how slow I was at writing this Chapter) And before I start babbling again, let me just express how much this story means to me and how your little reviews brightened up my day! Thank you all so, so, so much!

Much love to SelfiesWithSprinkles for beta-ing this chapter! :)

And without further ado, presenting to you...

Burn and Bleed

He angled himself properly, and steadily, his feet scraped against the ground as he traversed down the slope. As he landed on the ground, the dead leaves let out a crisp noise, and he flinched a little in response before letting out a sigh, and proceeded to continue on with his search.

A day had passed after the Conference, and the moment he reached home, the first thing he had to do was to venture into the dense forest. As one with the title and strength of a Gym Leader, he supposed this was what he had to do in return. Tasked with finding a baby Geodude that had ran off into the woods, he wasted no time to come in here, equipped with his Poké Balls. He supposed he should not disappoint the sweet boy who had politely asked him for his help.

He weaved through the forest path cautiously, alert, as he tried to sense where the Geodude had ran off to. He had heard from the little boy, the Geodude's owner, that the rock-type was a hyperactive one, and didn't listen to anyone easily.

He had almost scoffed at the "doesn't listen to anyone" part. He was Brock, the Pewter City's Gym Leader. He specialized in rock-types.

But he was aware that was no reason for him to let down his guard.

Hearing a noise, he swiftly turned his head around, finding a grey, rough, and unassuming rock peeking out from the bushes. He blinked furiously in surprise. Who would have thought he would encounter the lost Geodude so quickly?

He headed for the Pokemon, until it jumped out suddenly. He yelped, and the Geodude growled in shock. The round rocky creature then hopped excitedly, before it turned around and skipped off.

"Hey, wait!"

Brock tore off after the nimble Pokemon, brushing past the numerous vegetation. A few branches bite at him, tearing his orange sweater slightly, but he ignored the stings as he raced after the excited little Geodude.

Yet, unable to catch up, Brock eventually lost sight of the Pokemon. He huffed, feeling rather irritated, and scratching his scalp, he looked around, hoping to catch another glimpse of the rocky Pokemon.

A cry.

The Gym Leader hurriedly went in the direction of the Geodude's cry. For Arceus' sake, please don't let the little rascal escape.

A cry came out again.

Brock halted in his steps. The cry came out high-pitched, distressed and was not the Geodude. It was not the low, grumbling, kind of voice he was used to hearing.

"Onix!"

His Pokémon emerged from its Poké Ball, tall, daunting, as its snake-like body landed onto the ground, squashing the growth beneath. It growled, prompting its trainer to speak of his command.

"We have someone in need of help," Brock said, before he ran towards where the cry came from, and with a slight nod, Onix slithered after his trainer, keeping close to him.

Parting the branches, Brock was about to charge straight forward, until something bumped into him. He stopped in the instant, and the world went quiet the moment he saw a sea of blue.

When he remembered to breathe, he realized who had bumped into him, and where the cry came from. The person before him was sat on the ground; the collision had made her lost her balance.

Before him, a young girl gazed at him, her marine blue eyes wide open, blood-shot. Her outfit was of a sleeveless plain white dress, smudges of dirt tainting the cloth, while her long, messy, golden-locks were all in a bunch as it laid on the ground, under the sunlight, glowing. Leaves were scattered messily over her hair, while her pale hands were roughed up. Her face was pale with a disturbing sense of fear written all over it. Her lips were bluish, dry and cracked, while a frown unfitting of her young appearance sat on her brows. But what really struck Brock, was another thing.

Her eyes.

So beautiful, yet it was drowned in kind of primal fear, distraught and utter terror swimming within. Her whole body shook with trepidation, her toes curled up in anxiety. Then he noticed the bandages covering her arms and legs.

"I'm sorry!" he said. "Did I hurt you...?"

But then she let out a stifled gasp, seemingly realizing that Brock was not anyone harmful. She nervously looked around left, right and behind her, her neck moving at such a speed that Brock thought she could twist her neck loose. She didn't seem to relax in anyway however, as she desperately stood up and grasped Brock shirt, pulling it like it was a kind of lifeline.

"H-Help," she said shakily, her soft, pretty voice all jittery and cracking.

"Hey, hey," Brock said as he firmly placed his hands on her forearms in an attempt to assure her. But it was visibly of no use, as she became more terrified, of something, someone.

"P-P-Please, help!" she pleaded. "He's..." She turned back again, her hand shaking more vigorously by the second. She suddenly went still, and so did Brock, when he realized someone was coming up to them.

It was a man. Tall, lanky, with fresh boots worn on his shoes. His outfit looked all too neat, and he looked fairly out of place in the forest. He wore a mask that only revealed eyes that were black, beady and as Brock gazed into them, it was as if all the blood was suddenly drained from his body.

Hollow. So very hollow.

The man walked even closer, and the girl held onto him even tighter than before. Brock stared at the man, trying to discern his facial expression, but the mask was obstructing his view.

"I apologize for my niece's actions, young man. She runs around a lot," he said politely, bowing just slightly towards Brock. "She must have troubled you."

"...No," Brock replied warily. "There was no trouble."

"Is that so," the man said. His tone was so flat, no emotions sensed within his words. Onix let out an apprehensive growl, tense and in battle-ready mode. The man was calm, and seemed to ignore the fearsome Pokemon.

"My dear child, shall we go home?" the man said as he moved one step closer to Brock and the girl.

Brock felt the girl's fingers digging into his chest. He looked down at her, just to see her blue eyes leaking out tears. The frown sat heavier onto her brows, and her fists trembled harder than ever.

"Please... don't go…," she whispered, her voice on the verge of breakage. At that very moment, the Pewter Gym Leader realized something, and knew what he had to do.

Gritting his teeth, Brock looked up at the man.

"I'm sorry, sir. Your niece appears to be frightened by something."

"It's because it's her first time in the forest," the man answered immediately, his tone still emotionless.

"A little girl, like this, shaking and frightened till such an extent?" Brock questioned. "This doesn't seem to be caused by just being in a new place."

"It's normal."

"It's not."

The man stood still for a few moments, before he let out a sigh.

"I suppose I have no choice."

Onix growled, arching higher and higher, letting out a piercing glare at the man. The man took no notice of the Pokemon, and instead lifted his gloved left hand, while his right slowly tugged at the elastic cloth, appearing to remove the glove slowly.

Suddenly, Brock felt his chest tightening, while Onix cowered back, almost retreating back into the trees. Then he heard the faint voice of the girl, each word clear as day. She released her grip on him, and turned around, still shaking, but definitely defeated.

The girl then ran. Her golden locks trailing behind her.

"Huh...?!" Brock gasped, when he realized the girl was now next to the man, quiet and unmoving.

"Oh, done with your tantrum?" the man remarked, before he looked up at Brock. "Well then, I thank you, young man."

"W-Wait...! Why…," Brock called out, but his legs refused to move, as if they were bound to the ground with steel wires. The girl and the man soon disappeared into the darkness, and all of a sudden, everywhere around him was infinitely silent. He turned around, just to see Onix all bundled up in fright.

Killer intent.

That was all the man had.

An ancient lust for blood, merciless, spine-chilling.

And both Onix and him were rendered immobile, shaken. The Pewter City Gym Leader dropped to the ground, gasping, as he pulled at his hair, furious at himself, full of guilt that he was unable to help the girl.

The girl.

Takeshi Brock then remembered the words she had said seconds before she loosened her grip on his orange sweater.

"Zero will come."

"Up," Red commanded.

Charizard obeyed, while the gigantic creature attempted to inflict some damage by snapping its jaws at him, but the draconian Pokémon swerved, dodging his opponent's attack. He winced, hearing a slight crack at his ribs. Even with a Max Revive, he was undeniably feeling the pain from the fracture given by Miltank.

But he knew that he was needed. Against Steel Types, he was Red's best card. After neatly demolishing Jasmine's Magneton and Skarmory, all that was left was the Gym Leader's strongest Pokémon.

Steelix.

It was the first time both trainer and Pokémon had witnessed the evolution of Onix. Reminiscing the time when they fought with much difficulty against Brock's Onix due to the type disadvantage given upon them, both knew better than to underestimate the serpentine species. Even if Fire was good against Steel, they had to remain alert towards the Iron Snake Pokémon. And this time, Steelix was clearly Jasmine's best card, considering how its level towered over the other Pokémon in her team.

For the past minute, there was little sign of aggression from Jasmine and her Pokémon. Tension lingered in the air, as both sides waited for the other to unleash their attacks.

"... Dig," Jasmine said, her voice soft.

With a roaring rumble, Steelix dove down into the ground. Charizard positioned himself, keeping a lookout to where his opponent will pop out from. Ground type moves were difficult to deal with, and the Fire type was well aware of that.

The ground rumbled again, and the moment Steelix emerged, Red wasted to no time to tell Charizard to fire a Flamethrower.

Despite the heavy frame of Steelix, the Pokémon was incredibly swift in digging yet another hole and diving into it. The blast of fire missed its target, and Charizard grumbled, as he waited with bated breath for his opponent to emerge. His ribs stung again, but the Fire type quickly ignored the pain.

Yet, everytime Steelix emerged, it would quickly dive back into the ground, and nearly all of Charizard's Flamethrowers never hit his opponent. By now, numerous holes adorned the battleground, and suddenly Steelix emerged, expertly doing a Rock Throw towards Charizard, who barely managed to dodge it. Red frowned, rather irritated at himself when he finally noticed where the battle was heading to. The subtlety of Jasmine's directions threw the trainer off the smell of what she was up to. So simple and quiet, and he almost never noticed.

Until now.

A game of Whack-A-Mole.

And Red could think of more than three ways to counter the situation. But before he could shout out his command, a bright flash of blue light came out from one of the holes, followed by another, until there were pillars of light popping out one by one. Red directed Charizard to circle round the light pillars, and motioned for his Pokemon to wait for the time to strike. Blinded by the blue light, Red doubted he could ever expect Jasmine's next move.

It came rather unpredictably, when a beam of light was shot diagonally from one end of the platform, hitting Charizard fully. The draconian Pokémon suffered slight damage, and he noticed the uncomfortable feeling of having his Special Defense lowered, while Red deduced what move Jasmine had used.

Flash Cannon.

Steelix disappeared once again, and followed after, the light pillars shone with a higher intensity of blue. Clearly, Jasmine had directed her Steelix to use Flash Cannon in underground tunnels.

It was a smart way of taking the upper hand in the battle.

Hide. Ambush.

Red had seen such a battle tactic used by other trainers before. It was taught in some trainer schools as form of high-leveled battling strategy, but he had hardly seen anyone pull this off so remarkably.

He gazed at his Charizard, who stared back at him with resolution.

A twang of guilt hit his heart. He knew he lied to his Pokémon. He knew he should admit it to Aki. And he will.

Just... not now.

Clenching his fists, Red then yelled, "Flame Burst."

Fire exploded from Charizard, and the fire rained down onto the platform.

"Flamethrower."

Meanwhile, hearing her opponent's battle commands, Jasmine stiffened a little. The fire was now pelting towards the ground, and the platform a sea of fire. She smiled gently, somehow expecting this to come.

With the blanket of fire over Steelix's tunnels, it was impossible for it to emerge without getting getting high damage from the fire. The fire danced, while Lance, Chuck and Whitney watched with knowing looks. Mitch, on the other hand, was just gaping like an idiot.

Whitney waited. This was her only choice. If Steelix emerged, it will most definitely get burnt, and Red could easily use that chance to fire a finishing blow on the Steel Type.

Unless...

The fire stayed, undying.

Five minutes.

Eight.

Eleven.

There was absolutely no sign of Charizard's fire disappearing.

Lance suddenly let out a laugh, while Mitch looked at the Dragon Master quizzically.

"This," he said, almost joyfully, "is way longer than what he could accomplish during the League Championships."

Mitch gasped, suddenly reminded of the events that happened during the League Championship four years ago. Other than creating a slew of One-Hit KOs, Red had won against Lance's Kingdra by enveloping it in fire for three minutes straight, damaging it consistently. It had made the news, and Red's Charizard was from then on considered to be one of the strongest ones of its species ever. It was difficult for most fire-types to maintain their flames from a distance without any ready fuel, and considering that Red's Charizard had accomplish this, against a Water/Dragon type no less, it was no wonder that the feat itself was marveled upon.

And this time, it was exceeding eleven minutes.

Plus, Red had conveniently converted the game of Whack-A-Mole, into a game of waiting. The tables were turned against here with just two moves, and they could only silently marvel and awe at the ex-Champion.

Jasmine pursed her lips, as she fingered something in her left pocket. She contemplated for a few seconds, as she weighed the pros and cons of using it.

They could wait. Steelix could. She could. It was within their capacity. Although the battle would be at a stalemate if they did.

Yet she wanted to try, to try out the thing that she and Steelix had been training for months. Whether this was a perfect opportunity or not, she didn't know. Her shy self had been debating inside her head on whether to accept or decline Falkner's invitation, but now she was glad she had accepted. She was almost relieved, that she had came to Goldenrod.

Her thumb rubbed against the smooth orb in her pocket, and without anyone noticing, the Key Stone glowed.

Please let this work, she prayed.

All of a sudden, iridescent light exploded from the holes, and the ground cracked, the fire sinking down, and Charizard growled angrily, thrashing his tail as he flew around in obvious fury. His instincts kicked in, and he circled around the platform, his blue eyes observing the ground closely.

And without Red or Charizard realizing, the draconian Pokémon's tail burned blue, a hint of red coloring his blue eyes. A jet-black color enveloping the orange.

The platform exploded, into bits and pieces as Steelix appeared, glorious and far more intimidating than before. Its body became longer, almost doubled in weight, and its once red eyes was blue, while its lower jaw was more heavily armored with a round, curved shape. A third pair of ridges had appeared on its bottom jaw, as well as two sharp, flat structures consisting of three conjoined projections on each side. The gray, rock-like spikes and its tail point have transformed into prism-like crystalline spikes; the segments from which the spikes protruded were much larger as well. Metallic-looking scraps constantly rotated around its neck, in an ordered manner as it moved incredibly slowly.

Jasmine let out a yelp. She did it! And in battle conditions, too!

Mega Steelix.

Clapping her hands over her mouth, she let out a squeal of delight, heard only by herself, as she witnessed her Pokémon, in all its glory, as a Mega.

"Well, well, well," Chuck said with obvious surprise written on his face. "I never would have expected little Jasmine to be able to mega-evolve her Steelix! What's with all the youngsters these days?" He furrowed his brow as he rubbed against his bristly moustache. "I feel old."

"You are old, Chuck," Lance commented lightly, as he gazed at Jasmine, the young woman's face radiating with joy. "This must be the first time she managed to pull it off in battle, just look at her!"

Meanwhile, Mitch was just dazed, pale with shock, and possibly mind-blown.

Whitney wiped a tear, happy for her friend, while at the same time, rather irritated at herself. She supposed she shouldn't slack off any further and get more vigorous training on Mega-Evolution.

Steelix crawled up, glowering at Charizard, who only glared back in return.

"Flamethrower."

Red's voice interrupted everyone's thoughts, and the spectators were back to watching the battle, excitement bubbling in their stomachs.

The blast of fire hit Steelix, nearly enveloping his body. The fiery attack lasted for a minute, and when Charizard finally stopped, Red realized something was wrong. He glanced at Steelix's HP bar, and nearly short-circuited his own brain.

It was nearly zero damage dealt.

He rummaged deep into his pockets, fishing out his Pokédex. Aiming the device's camera towards the Iron Snake Pokémon, he waited for the Pokédex to list down various information on the Pokémon.

Meanwhile, Charizard flew close to the ceiling, while barely avoiding the jaws of Steelix. His opponent elongated length had only spelled worse for himself.

After scanning through the paragraph written on the screen, Red looked up, clearly more shocked than ever, as his hand absent-mindedly put his Pokédex back into his pocket.

... The cells within its body, crystallized by the energy produced from Mega Evolution, are stronger than any mineral and able to withstand most temperatures...

... It is capable of chewing through boulders with its powerful jaws, and its eyes are capable of seeing in the dark. Its body is made harder than diamond by the iron it ingests when it eats soil. It is further strengthened by the pressure and heat underground...

Heat...

Flame Burst.

Flamethrower.

The two moves he used in an attempt to "counter" Whack-A-Mole

For the first time in his life, Red felt like he just dug his own grave.

"Green, can we battle?" I asked.

"No," he said simply, not even looking up from his DS. We were now in the middle of lazing around in the Elm's living room. Lyra had insisted that we stayed for lunch, while she bounded to the kitchen to help her mother out. Out of courtesy, I stayed, but another part of me was restless, wanting to get out and do something. Anything.

Meanwhile, I had also called Silver, informing him that we would only return after lunch. He had grumbled and insulted me a few more times, before hanging up. Well, it was his own fault for not wanting to join us.

"Can I battle you!" I said again, not intending it to sound like a command.

"No," Green answered. "You're a million years too early to attack me."

"Wasn't it a zillion?" I remarked.

"Yes, a zillion."

"But I'm definitely not a zillion years too early to battle you, am I not?" I countered. "Plus I won against you-"

"Once. So did I," he snapped, his fingers pressing the buttons of his DS, giving out click-clack sounds.

"That's why!" I tried to reason. "It's a draw, so we should battle again!"

"I don't follow your logic, and I don't want to," he muttered. "Shut up and let me play my game."

"Green-" I tried again, until a familiar voice spoke.

"Give it up, Ethan. He's the Textbook Level Expert! You were just lucky the first time!"

I turned my head around, before attempting to retort, "But-"

"Textbook Level Expert," Green interrupted. "Thank you, Lyra. I almost forgot I had that title."

"My pleasure," she chirped as she ran back into the kitchen. I wondered why was she even here for. To lower my confidence? Sounds like something she would do.

"What's that title about?" I asked.

"A title given by some critics," he said blandly, before giving a smirk. "To show how smart I am, unlike a certain Champion who is the Expert of Recklessness."

"Blah." I stuck my tongue out, before I starting rolling on the couch. Green smirked again, looking fairly triumphant.

"What about Red? Does he have 'Expert of Something' title?" I asked, curious.

Green's fingers stopped, the click-clacks ceased, and slowly he looked up at me. He smirked once again, but the smirk was strange and unlike his usual ones.

"He's no Expert," he said. "I'd rather call him something else."

I widened my eyes in incredulity. "What is it?"

"Jack of All Trades."

Red glanced up at Charizard, his knuckles white from anxiety as he tried to figure out what he should do in this situation. A stronger fire type attack? Or should he use a move to lower Steelix's defense and special defense? Did Charizard even have one? No, he didn't. Red was quite sure of that.

He tried to compose himself, and think. He can't lose his cool here. He was Red, he must never lose his cool.

And he couldn't lose. Aki couldn't lose again.

He went silent.

Meanwhile, Charizard patiently waited for his trainer's commands, as he swiftly escaped the clutches of Steelix again and again. It became sort of rhythmic, and in that short span of time, the draconic Pokémon had already figured out Steelix's and its trainer's habits. A snap to the left, a bite to the right, a rock throw, and the cycle repeats. Jasmine had wanted to try out a Gyro Ball, but Charizard was so high up that she was quite sure the attack will be unable to reach. And little did she know that the opponent had long figured out her battle habits. She knew better than to go underground and play Whack-A-Mole, or else the battle could go on for hours. Steelix's other long-range attack was Dragon Breath, but considering her Pokémon was not adept at using it, she quickly scrapped the idea. As she continued directing Steelix to unleash Rock Throws on Charizard, most missing the draconian Pokémon, with a few grazing him slightly.

"Smokescreen."

In the next fraction of a second, thick black fumes were spewed out of Charizard's mouth, clouds of it hovering everywhere. Jasmine coughed uncontrollably, and so did Lance, Chuck, Whitney and Mitch. The Gym was soon filled with smoke, reducing the visibility of the arena.

Red felt a sharp pain on the back of his right palm. He instinctively grabbed it, ignored it, before he shouted a series a fire-type attacks.

Steelix's cry suddenly rang out, and Jasmine tried to make out what was happening inside. And when her eyes picked out flashes of fire in the middle of it, she could only cover her mouth in shock.

Hide. Ambush.

It was her own strategy being used against her. She shook her head in disbelief, as she prayed for Steelix's safety, even though she knew praying wouldn't help in this situation. Although her Steelix was good at seeing in the dark, it sure wasn't immune towards smoke. The low grumbles went on and on, each stinging Jasmine in the heart. She glanced at the HP bar, which was already down to fifty-five percent.

Red let out a groan, as he felt the pain on the back of his palm intensifying. The pain seared on his skin, and he pressed it down, letting out a cry of pain. No one noticed this however, as all were fixated on the mass of smoke before them.

"Sandstorm!" Jasmine cried out, when she remembered that Steelix was capable of using this move.

Wind howling, sand swirling, the smoke was slowly dispersing, while Red was enduring the heat on the back of his palm. With much difficulty, he removed his fingerless gloves, and to his horror, the Null tattoo on his hand, was glowing a fiery orangey color.

Red. Charizard's all too familiar voice resounded in his mind.

The trainer looked up. It came again. The telepathy.

Take control.

He blinked his eyes.

It was another voice. A nostalgic, familiar voice. Yet he couldn't quite grasp who it belonged to.

Flare Blitz. He subconciously said inside his mind.

A burst of blue and orange flames, and Steelix let out a painful cry, and all of a sudden, its HP bar was reduced to twenty-five percent.

Mitch pointed excitedly at the phenomenon happening before them once again. Whitney squealed, grabbing Chuck by the shoulder and shaking so vigorously that the Cianwood Gym Leader went all woozy. Jasmine gasped with fright and awe, as the blue-black Charizard created a wind to counter the Sandstorm easily with his increased wingspan.

Lance switched his focus to Red, and widened his eyes, when he noticed the youth clasping his bare right hand with his gloved left, wincing. Then he noticed the faint orange glow of his hand.

What's going on?

"Charizard Y!" Whitney cried out in alarm. "It just switched to Charizard Y!"

Lance moved his neck so quickly that he felt as if he had nearly sprain it, but he ignored the soreness of his neck muscles as he gazed at the ceiling of the Goldenrod Gym.

And this time, it wasn't some sort of unstable flickering of black and orange. The black and blue had turned to solid orange and turquoise. Red's Charizard soared so swiftly in the air that Lance had trouble following it with his eyes.

"Flare Blitz!" Red screamed, as he collapsed to his knees, as he pressed harder on the tattoo. The heat was getting all over him, hot and burning.

Charizard, albeit confused with what was going on with his body, took a deep breath, and soon his body was engulfed in blue and orange flames.

Steelix's eyes widened, as his foe charged straight from the top, towards him, with insane speed. Unable to react, it stayed so stunned that the impact simply knocked it right at the head.

"Boom!"

A blow of hot wind exploded along with the impact, while all the trainers within the Gym hurriedly blocked themselves.

"Boom!"

The platform split into numerous parts, a concrete block flying towards the spectator stands.

"Look out!" Whitney shouted, until a Protect appeared before them, bouncing the concrete block away harmlessly. The Goldenrod City Gym Leader glanced at the Kingdra standly proudly before them, and upon realizing that it was Lance's, she let out a sigh of relief. But then when she remembered about Jasmine and Red, she frantically look up, searching for their silhoettes.

Jasmine was fortunately defended by yet another Protect, presumably from Kingdra.

And as for Red, she noticed the faint blue layer of Protect, causing her to let out a sigh of wonder at the Dragon Master's reaction speed and quick thinking.

As the dust and flying debris subsided slightly, the platform, which was in bits and pieces, appeared in full view before them. Charizard was standing up, victorious, while a motionless Steelix laid limp in the middle of it. However, Whitney started cringing, as her brain painfully calculated the cost of damages, until she noticed something.

"Three… two… one… zero! It'sCharizard'svictorywithascoreofthreetozeroandRedwins!" Mitch yelled excitedly, not caring that his tongue was all in a jumble. He was still in a sort of mania after all the incredible Mega mumbo-jumbo, until Whitney suddenly called out towards the Dragon Master.

"Lance, Lance! Red...!" She pointed towards one end of the destroyed platform. "He's...!"

Charizard turned his head around, and realizing his Mega-Evolved form was gone, his energy suddenly drained. Then he saw his trainer, collapsed onto the ground, panting, face red with fever. With whatever was left inside of him, he headed towards Red, but before he could reach him, his thighs slacked and the fire-type tripped over.

The Pokémon moaned, groaned, called out for his trainer, whose eyes were barely open.

And at the same time, both trainer and Pokémon lost conscious.

"Red!" Lance yelled as he ran to the young boy. He went down on his knees, about to check his pulse, until he spotted the tattoo on Red's hand.

His eyes widened, when he saw the Null sign flickering, and the orange light died down the next second.

"What happened?" Chuck roared as he, Mitch and Jasmine rushed to his side. Whitney had left to find Morty. Lance hurriedly slipped Red's gloves back on, preventing any of them from seeing the sign.

"I don't know," Lance breathed, as he picked up Charizard's Pokéball, and returned the draconian Pokémon back to the contraption. "He's feverish."

"Whatdowedonow?" Mitch said, confused as he blabbered nervously. "Dowegotoahospital?"

Lance sighed.

"No."

"Huh.. !?" Chuck exclaimed. "But-"

"Let him rest at the Leader's quarters. Chuck, you'll carry him to the room, and then you and Whitney go to the Pokemon Centre to heal his Charizard. Plus his Pikachu. Jasmine and Mitch, take care of Red."

"What about you and Morty?" Whitney asked.

"Morty will go with me to find someone who knows how to help," Lance said simply.

"And that is?"

Morty walked in at the door, looking slightly out of breath. Whitney appeared next to him, equally lethargic. Lance frowned, as he said,

"Yūki Brendan."

"Now, now, my dear High Priestess," his voice slurred. "Stay still."

The girl screamed, writhing around, as the man's strong arms attempted to hold her still, and when the needle is inserted at her arm, she went quiet, tears streaming down her cheeks. The blood steadily filled up the syringe, as the man's lips widened. She sobbed, and lets out a muffled cry, as the syringe was removed. She shivered uncontrollably, her arms limp and tied to the chair. The injection spot bled, before the wound closed up all by itself. At the same spot, a ''II" tattoo was imprinted on her skin, which glowed pink for a second, before dying down.

"Sire," the butler said softly. "Please do let me take over, being too rough on the girl can-"

"Quiet, Brutus, quiet," the man hissed. "This is what she'll get for trying to run."

The butler went silent.

"Take those and do what you need to," the man ordered coldly, as he inserted yet another syringe into the same spot. The tattoo glowed again in reaction to the injury placed upon the girl, while her screams resounded in the underground room. Meanwhile, Brutus bowed, before he carefully took up the tray with the five syringes filled with blood placed on it, and walked towards the staircase.

As he wended his way down, he heard the cries of the girl once more, but pretended that they weren't heard. The trip down the stairs was slow but weirdly satisfying to Brutus.

And when he finally reached his destination, he promptly headed to the machine, where a gigantic tank holding a green, clear liquid loomed over him. He gazed upwards, into the dead-looking eyes of the Pokémon, who was held limply by the numerous tubes attached to it. The purple orb in its chest glowed faintly, showing the bare signs of life inside of it. Brutus then placed the tray onto the side table, and habitually opened a metal lid, before depositing the girl's blood into the smaller sized machine.

His finger shifted to a button, and gazing up at the Pokémon, he smiled.

"Time for lunch, Deoxys."

Well then, let us just pause all the battling business and move the plot along! Fret not, Red vs Chuck and Red vs Lance will happen in later chapters. ;)

Do review/PM me your thoughts on this chapter! (or any of the previous chapters) I would love to hear from you!

Cheers!

onetimetrip