Oh dear god, thank you so much for your guy's support so far. I was a bit taken aback from when the moment I posted the chapter, almost immediately I got reviews. I mean, you guys are so nice, and a part of me is still surprised that you're still following a fic that I only end up working on in my spare time. But I really really appreciate it a lot. It means the world to me. And yess, I wasn't being too subtle there with the previous part. Let's just say I was purposefully obvious ;)

W. R. Winters - Oh hehe, it's not a feeling that you should be having that that's gonna occur. And it's ok, it's not just you. And yes, I'm not screwing up with Warren! I'll be frank, writing in his perspective takes a lot more effort to do than writing Kaitlyn's perspective, but I can't wait to begin writing the parts that make him interesting. We'll see if his relationship with Kaitlyn will become a platonic/mentorship or a romantic one, in the future. But or now, romance is gonna be the last thing in anyone's minds. But hey, who knows in the far future, it could be a possibility hehe

PB Complexion - Heed the devil's words! Don't worry sweetie, those bad vibes aren't just for you. Our resident male protagonist is definitely feeling it too. And only on the newcomer's? Well… I wouldn't put it in that way.

ShadedLyth - I actually managed to get Chase down? Oh dear, I thought I had written her to be too overly peppy and all over the place. I'll admit, the dialogue during that sequence had me stumped for a little while, especially when I was trying to get part of her tactful and devious nature down. She's certainly a joy isn't she? Glad to hear that from you! Oh and uh.. yes. Foreshadowing. Fun times huh? ;D

Chapter 4: Petalburg (Part 2)

2149: Present

The fun started when Warren woke Kaitlyn up for her shift.

Now she didn't mind standing guard in the middle of the night, as she would rather be doing something useful rather than being a burden all the time, especially seeing how exhausted Warren always looked — despite his attempts to hide it. The first thirty minutes of guarding weren't so bad, but it didn't take a turn for the worst until she heard distant yells from outside their motel room.

She tried not to think much of the ruckus at first, seeing as the screams were nowhere close to the motel room at all. However, it was when she heard shuffling right outside their door that she knew something was wrong.

It wasn't the type of shuffling that lasted for a few seconds, before fading off into the distance. No, it was the shuffling that indicated a person pacing back and forth between a single spot for a long duration of time, as if he or she was contemplating on what action to take. And when Kaitlyn heard the release of a Pokeball and a growl, she knew she didn't have much time.

Grasping at the Pokeballs at her waist, she anxiously glanced at the lone window in the room. There was an incessant scratching against the pane, and it was obvious someone was getting ready to smash through it in any second. Hands shaking, she bent down and tried to jostle a groggy Warren awake. "Warren. Warren! Get up, get up!"

The only reply she received was a quiet mumble. She heard a deranged cackle from outside the door. "Housekeeping at your service! Why don't you open this door to make all of our lives easier hmm? It'd be a shame if I had to take a crack at this window. Rather rude of you really, I'm going to have to clean up that mess if I do so."

Warren still wasn't fully awake yet. If anything he still looked half asleep, and didn't seem to comprehend what was going on. "Warren, come on. Someone's outside our-"

A crash. Shattered glass splayed across the floor. A Linoone sprang up through the broken remains of the window, landing swiftly on the ground, a few feet away from Kaitlyn. The Pokemon growled at her, sharp claws glistening slightly under the moonlight, shining through the destroyed window. A woman carefully stepped her way through the said window, brushing off imaginary dust from her pants, and once she saw Kaitlyn, she sent her a sickeningly sweet smile. "Oh? What's wrong dear? You look like you've seen a ghost."

It took Kaitlyn a few seconds to process that this was the medic she and Warren had visited earlier that day. She looked nothing like the woman she had seen earlier, her warm persona replaced by unstable one. Kaitlyn let out an unsteady breath, her mind flashing to memories of her old group before Warren. She tensed up when the medic opened her mouth to call out a command. "Linoone. Crush claw."

The Pokemon sprinted across the room with a roar, and Kaitlyn barely had any time to send out her Pokeballs to intercept. No orders needed, both Leo and Kit engaged in the battle at hand, Leo sending out a blowing Petal Dance, in an attempt to temporarily blind the Linoone while Kit rushed in with a Crunch attack. However, due to both Pokemon's inexperience with battling, Leo's erratic attack only ended up blinding Kit, as the many petals got in the way.

The Linoone, using the Vibrava's temporary confusion, pounced off the ground from his hind legs, flew above the storm of petals, and aimed his Crush Claw right at Kit. The attack hit, and the Vibrava crashed into Kaitlyn. She fell to the ground, Kit in her arms, who was groaning as his wings weakly flittered.

The medic laughed loudly. "Down already from one measly move? I almost feel bad for you, having such poor Pokemon. Though that's mainly your own fault too!" Her Linoone growled in front of the medic, ready to attack once again. He glared at Leo, who was exchanging quick glances at Kaitlyn, begging his trainer to call out an attack.

Kaitlyn gritted her teeth. The medic's mocking tone spoke volumes to her. That was all anyone ever thought of her as — a pebble that deserved to be carelessly tossed around. Like nothing.

She was done being useless.

She swiftly got up on her feet, pinpointing her sharp gaze at Leo. The Petilli got the cue. "Leo! Use Leech Seed!"

The small grass type let out a battle cry, launching himself at his foe, but this time, making sure he kept his distance in case he needed to dodge. A flurry of seeds was flung toward the Linoone, who easily dodged most of them. However, at least one of the seeds got caught on his fur, and with that, multiple vines constricted him, sapping up his energy. The Pokemon let out a yelp, and briefly tripped over his paws.

Kaitlyn saw this as her chance. "Kit, get in now! Fly in with a Dragon Breathe!"

A smug grin spread across the medic's features."Ahh, the kitten's got claws. Well then, Linoone, use Slash on the vines!"

The Vibrava in Kaitlyn's arms immediately sprang into action, zipping to the side in case of any impending moves from the struggling Linoone. The Rushing Pokemon meanwhile unsheathed his claws, slashing at the vines constricting him. Kaitlyn gritted her teeth, before sending out another command, "Don't let the Linoone get out of that! Leo, send out another Leech Seed!"

Without a moment's breath, the Bulb Pokemon proceeded to attack, but the Linoone barely managed to get out of the vines and avoid his attack. However, that didn't leave much room to dodge an incoming Dragon Breathe from Kit, resulting in a direct hit. The Pokemon temporarily faltered on his hind legs, and sparks temporarily flickered around him.

Status condition. It's paralyzed, that's our chance! Kaitlyn grinned, "He's slowed! Leo, Helping Hand, and Kit, get in there with a Dragon Claw!"

A blue aura began to surround Leo, and with that the aura transferred to Kit, who was getting ready to pull off a finishing move. A battle cry echoed in the air, as Kit charged at the already down Pokemon, a blue aura emitting a bright glow around the dimly lit room and setting it ablaze.

And just when Kaitlyn thought that was it.

A smirk was all that was needed to shift the battle against her favor.

"Double-Edge."

The medic's Linoone respectively began to glow in a faint yellow light, overtaking the blue. With astounding speed, he tackled Kit, the dragon type's Dragon Claw barely even making any contact. The Vibrava fell onto the ground, and the Linoone landed next to him, not seeming to be the slightest bit tired. It was as if the recoil damage didn't affect him at all.

Kaitlyn gasped. The finessed speed the normal-type Pokemon had wasn't supposed to be possible for a Pokemon that was paralyzed. He was supposed to be weakened, unable to be as fast as the Pokemon normally was. In her moment of confusion, she didn't notice the Linoone slam into Leo, who had no means to defend himself without any of Kaitlyn's orders. "Kit! Leo!" she screamed, rushing to their aid. However, with her guard down due to her concern for her Pokemon, the Linoone pounced on her, pinning her to the ground while baring his teeth.

"You seem baffled sweetie. You should know that simple paralyzation isn't going to do much," the medic giggled from afar, taking her time to approached the floored brunette. "You wouldn't happen to know of the ability Quick Feet, now would you? Whatever status affect just makes Linoone go even faster, it's a very nice ability if I do say so myself."

Kaitlyn struggled against the Pokemon, frantic to escape his grasp. The medic continued to approach her, and from the peripheral of her vision, Kaitlyn saw her holding a dagger. Kneeling down next to Kaitlyn, she lightly pressed the tip against her neck, slowly gliding it along her skin. Kaitlyn rose her head, trying to keep it as far from it as she could, but the Linoone on her simply added more pressure on her chest, knocking her breath away. She could feel her heart beating, almost as if it was going to burst out of her chest.

A sinister grin rested on the medic's face, almost as if she was taking sadistic pleasure in watching Kaitlyn squirm. "I could be considerate and have Linoone kill you himself, but he'd just do a messy job with it. I prefer hands on experience." The knife was pressed harder against her, and this time she felt it prick her skin, a drop of blood trailing down her neck.

"I've always liked my meals maimed by myself anyways."

The brunette began to shake, wishing the Linoone had just killed her earlier. At least the suspense wouldn't have made her so scared. This was it. This was how she was going to go after everything she'd been through. Even at her best it still didn't make a difference, no matter what she did she was still wort-

The sound of a knife slashed through the air, hitting the medic clean on her side. She cried out in pain, and kneeled down, clutching at her side where there was now a pronounced cut. The weapon clanged on the ground where it landed, past the medic. From Kaitlyn's side, she realized Warren was finally up, arm positioned out from having thrown his machete to save her.

Taking the chance while the Linoone was distracted from the sudden interruption, she kicked the Pokemon off of her, scrambling to her feet to the lone machete. She picked it up, and with surprising precision, tossed it to Warren who caught it with his hand. His heterochromic eyes narrowed, sapphire blue and emerald green piercing in the darkness. "You should know better than to forget about one of your opponents," he said, his icy voice sending chills down even Kaitlyn's spine.

The medic got up, laughter spilling from her lips. "A challenge is always how I liked it, makes it even better when they scream in pain." From her back pocket, she pulled out a surgical mask and clasped it on. She then grabbed for her other Pokeball at her waist, throwing it out. Her eyes flashed wildly and dashed at Warren, screaming out an order, "Oddish, use Poison Powder!"

A thick purple smog drifted across the room, and Kaitlyn barely had the time to suppress a cough. The medic's Linoone suddenly appeared in front of her, ready to tackle her again, only to be intercepted by Kit. Leo was then next to Kaitlyn, in the process of using a Synthesis to heal up the slightest bit. Throughout the time Kaitlyn was down, she guessed Leo and Kit had began to stir from their previous knocked out states, but now they were ready to engage in combat again.

It didn't mean that they were in an advantage at all though. The Oddish's Poison Powder was beginning to affect everyone in battle, Warren's attacks against the medic seeming almost sluggish. His sidestep against the medic's first attack looked as smooth as ever, but his attempts to disarm her were another story. With his arm, he blocked the medic's next attempt of a stab, but he wasn't able use enough force to stop her arm from aiming down at him. Luckily he managed to back up a bit, but it didn't mean he came out unscathed. A pronounced fresh cut was now visible from his shoulder to collarbone. His grip on his machete tightened as he anticipated the medic's next attack.

It was obvious that Leo and Kit were also at their wit's ends, already weakened before but now poisoned too. The medic's Linoone however seemed to be just fine, as there was no chance for him to be poisoned, seeing as he was paralyzed. Despite his paralyzation, the Linoone was just as fast as ever. Without needing the medic's orders, the normal type Pokemon sent out a quick Shadow Ball, and then ran at the two smaller Pokemon, claws glowing in preparation for a series of Fury Swipes.

Kaitlyn forced down her fear and called out her next attack. "Kit, get rid of that Shadow Ball with Dragon Breathe! And Leo, Petal Dance on Linoone!"

Both of the special attacks collided into each other, causing the building to shake briefly. Kaitlyn stumbled on her feet, trying to keep an eye out for the Linoone, who was trying to get close to Leo. Despite the intimidating claws the Pokemon was sporting, he wasn't able to make any contact with Leo, who was dodging with grace and able to keep a distance with the many petals surrounding them. However Kaitlyn knew that if one attack hit, it would quickly be over for Leo, as he was still extremely weakened.

The poison was posing too much of a problem, as the Oddish was continuously using Poison Powder. Kaitlyn's vision was starting to blur. She needed to get rid of that Pokemon right away. "Leo, keep distracting the best you can! Kit, get in close and use Crunch on Oddish!"

Leo was obviously tired, but continued to heed Kaitlyn's orders best he could. As for Kit, who was flying towards the Oddish, was prepared to get a hit in but was only greeted with an Acid to the face. The violet acid hindered the Vibrava slightly, as it was an attempt to blind him, but he shook it off, determined to knock the Oddish out. The Oddish attempted to dodge Kit's attack, but it was a direct hit. Seeing it as an opening, Kaitlyn called out to Kit for a Dragon Claw attack, and with glowing claws, the Pokemon managed to finish the Oddish off.

Despite her small victory, in her haste to take out Oddish, she didn't realize Leo being hit by Linoone's Fury Swipes. The grass type flew past her, hitting the wall with a squeal. "Leo!" she screamed, but she didn't have time to run to him before the Linoone was preparing a Crush Claw straight to Kit.

Without thinking she shouted, "Protect!" A light green forcefield surrounded the Vibrava, and the Crush Claw hit it with a loud clang. She didn't know how much longer Kit could withhold it, as he was panting from all the energy he had been using up. With Leo out of commission and Kit barely hanging on, the only wa-

Vex and Vera.

Warren's two other Pokemon were still in his bag, and from how the bag was mildly shaking, she knew the two Pokemon were trying their hardest to get out. Hoping Kit could pull through for a little longer, she frantically rushed to the bag, fumbling through the contents in search for the Pokeballs. There was a sound of the forcefield shattering though, and she heard Kit cry out in pain. The dragon type collapsed on the ground, the remains of the poison effect finally getting through him. With his final opponent down, the Linoone ran straight for Kaitlyn, eyes locked onto his target.

A machete then flew through the air to gash itself against the Linoone's neck. The Pokemon stopped his movements, eyes widened as it collapsed. Kaitlyn's attention shifted to Warren, who had just thrown his only weapon to save her an-

Oh no.

His only weapon.

The medic pounced on Warren and he barely had the chance to dodge her blade, as he continued to jump backwards. Before Kaitlyn knew it, Warren was huddled against the corner of the room, and the medic cackled once more, ready to slam the knife right through his chest. However, with a sweep of Warren's feet, he knocked her off her feet, and then it was a grapple on the floor. A fight for the dangerous weapon. Whoever got the better grip on it would be able to deliver the finish blow.

And then there was an overhanging shadow. And a loud crack in the room.

With widened eyes, the medic collapsed. The bat clattered against the ground. The shadow brushed her hands, and let out a loud huff. "Well, that takes care of Paige, I've been meaning to do that for a while!" The girl's Mewostic let out a satisfied mewl while her Mothim hovered over the medic's corpse. Wait wha-?

From the ground, Warren huffed. He got up and brushed his thighs to wipe off imaginary dust, sending the girl a blunt look and a raised eyebrow. "Chase, we could've taken care of that ourselves."

The blonde gave a loud laugh, gesticulating at Kaitlyn and Warren's disheveled states. Not to mention Kaitlyn's knocked out Pokemon. "If you call that taking care of yourselves, then I don't know what to tell you buddy."

Warren opened his mouth to retort, but despite how tired she was, Kaitlyn gave him a small kick to his shin. She didn't want Warren instigating an argument over his pride of all things. With that, she decided to get straight to the point. "You've been meaning to kill… Paige? For how long?" she asked, pausing before annunciating the medic's name. She had a hard time humanizing… that after what just occurred.

Chase, who was just casually digging through the medic's corpse in search of any supplies, glanced up at Kaitlyn. "Oh her? It's been a few weeks give or take." She picked out some extra surgical masks from the medic's back pocket. "Though…"

"That's probably not the answer you want to hear, isn't it?" She picked out some extra surgical masks and Pecha Berries from the medic's back pocket, and threw two of them at Warren and Kaitlyn.

In the medic's other back pocket, Chase picked out two Super Potions. "How did she fit these two in ther- nevermind." Without another word, she tossed the two supplies at Kaitlyn. "You might want to heal your Pokemon with these before I go off onto a tangent. Eat a Pecha Berry or two too, both of you. You guys look like you can't stand."

Kaitlyn fumbled with the potions thrown at her. When she got a good grip on them, she ran to her Pokemon. She picked up Leo first and then raced to where Kit was, spraying them with the medicine. She stroked the side of Leo's head, and gazed at them, sighing to herself. This is all my fault, had I just been a better trainer…

For a while the only sounds in the room where that of Chase rummaging through the medic's spare bag and the flap of her Mothim's wings. The blonde soon found the knocked out Linoone and Oddish's Pokeballs and returned them back in.

The girl huffed, before finally speaking. "There's two facades here. During the day everyone's extremely friendly. It's quaint. It's lively. It's safe. But at night? It's like someone's flipped a switch. Neighbors turn on each other, raiding houses left and right. Sometimes people are killed off for the supplies they need."

Kaitlyn flinched to herself. Behavior like this wasn't uncommon, but the thought of having neighbors whose faces others would be familiar with turning on each other like that… to her it was more frightening than getting raided. It was like betraying your own team or family. She couldn't see herself doing that to anyone, much less her own friends.

Chase must've known Kaitlyn's behavior as she continued on, standing up on her feet. "If you think that was bad, it's only gotten worse as of late. What you saw is one prime example. Paige here? She's a scammer."

She kicked at the corpse with little to no remorse. "This bitch had the audacity to target my group while I was gone doing a task for the mayor. Blackmailed a couple of residents to get rid of us in exchange for some medication. It wasn't even because she thought we were a threat."

Warren interrupted her, raising a single eyebrow as he did so. "She wanted to kill them for food, didn't she?"

Chase nodded. "The next day she prompted to make gourmet meals out of them, serving them to residents around the town like she did nothing wrong." The blonde gritted her teeth, and stomped on the medic's face. A crunch resounded in the room and Kaitlyn flinched again.

She continued on her mantra. "She just skipped around, acting all innocent-like. Not a single care in the world. And you know what the town did? They thanked her. And she just smiled sweetly back. For all I know some of those residents probably didn't even know it was human flesh they were eating. I guess she got careless today, seeing as she doesn't have any other 'customers' to blackmail. Not a lot of people linger at this town anymore, probably because they already know what happens here…"

Kaitlyn moved to stand next to Warren, holding both of Pokemon in her arms. "Why did you stay then?" she asked, and braced herself. She was almost scared of triggering Chase, with how unstable the other girl seemed.

Instead of exploding, Chase simply winked at Kaitlyn. "Because business, remember? Besides, I'm not leaving until I get rid of that sorry excuse of a mayor once and for all."

Kaitlyn could see how Warren's brows furrowed in confusion. Chase snickered at his perplexed expression, bending down to grab the medic's knife. She clenched the hilt of the weapon with her wrist, her gaze sharpening. "I'm willing to bet my right arm that he had something to do with killing off everyone I ever knew. He wouldn't have just sent me out on an overnight task to get supplies for no reason. The town had supplies already, what was the point of that? It's like he wasn't even trying to be discreet."

The brunette girl was left speechless, her thoughts wildly circulating in her mind. Meanwhile Warren had bent down to pack up his supplies in his backpack, taking out the Pokeballs in there to release Vex and Vera. Immediately upon release, Vex ran to check on Warren while Vera had the grace to see Leo and Kit. The Pokemon's eyes were fixed into a concerned expression, but Kaitlyn gave her a nod, indicating the two would be alright, before the Pokemon went to check on Warren.

Warren gave Vex a small pat on his head to reassure him, as he swung his backpack over his shoulder. "Well good luck with that, I guess. Kaitlyn, let's go," he said, as he began to make his way to the door.

"Hm? Where do you think you're going?" Chase giggled, placing her hands on her hips and leaning her body weight on her left foot.

Warren gave her a blunt retort. "Leaving. I don't think either of us want to stay here for another second."

"And who said you were going anywhere? You're going to help me here," she demanded.

Warren remained unimpressed. Kaitlyn however, remained rooted on her spot. She looked at her Pokemon in her arms, and switched her gaze from Chase to Warren, trying to decipher the best course of action herself. Here was Chase, a girl ready to set out on revenge on the behalf of her loved ones. And Kaitlyn could understand that. Before Kaitlyn knew it, she spoke up to Warren. "C'mon, shouldn't we help?"

Warren hesitated. He then sighed loudly, brushing his fingers through his tangled hair as he did so. "... Fine. You better have a concrete plan though, or we're both out." Vex voiced his agreement by giving a cry of his own, before Vera shushed him with a flick of her tail against his legs.

"What do you take me for? A girl always has to have a plan," she smirked, before skipping out the door, with her Meowstic and Mothim in tow. Warren gave a shake of his head before following along, giving Kaitlyn a look to do the same before passing through the door. Kaitlyn groaned to herself with exasperation.

She was probably going to regret this decision later, wasn't she.

Outside was absolute chaos.

Shouts. Screams. Shrieks. From cries of desperation to growls of aggression, Warren heard it all as they ran through the dirt path in the dimly lit city. A deranged man ran towards them, seeming hellbent on killing one of them, before Warren ordered Vera to shoot out a quick Flamethrower. It was a direct hit before the man burned to crisp and collapsed. Pathetic.

From a few steps ahead, Chase scoffed at the scene. "Nice job, that's one of Will's lackeys down."

She continued on, keeping up an even pace as they ran. "He's garnered quite the few avid supporters as of late. Surprises me really, the man was never that charismatic, just eccentric. Though I suppose there are uses in serving him."

Warren huffed. "Feel free to elaborate."

She rolled her eyes."Status? Materialistic goods? Or maybe protection. Who even knows," She eyed at a Pokemon battle from afar disdainfully. Their trainers were going at each other, weapons drawn, not giving any mercy whatsoever. "Other than that, we shouldn't run into many problems until we get to the house," she added. "Everyone's too invested with themselves now anyways."

"We're almost there anyways, right?" Kaitlyn asked. Both Leo and Kit had finally woken up and were now hovering around her, warily scoping the premises.

Chase didn't answer the other girl, and instead pulled the duo behind a building nearby, their Pokemon following them. She crouched on the ground, hiding herself under the shadows and prompted for Warren and Kaitlyn to do the same. "Listen, when we get there, for sure a lot of William's lackeys are gonna be there. We either gotta get in there with brute force or with another way."

She then nudged at Warren. "I want you to get around from the back. William's got a backyard entrance you can get in the house by. I don't think anyone's gonna be back there, but just be careful. Kaitlyn and I will cause a diversion in the front before forcing ourselves in. Kaitlyn, you got any moves good for that?"

Warren frowned, not liking the idea of leaving Kaitlyn by herself with a complete stranger. He almost voiced his concerns until he realized the brunette spoke up to answer Chase's question. "Well, Kit knows Uproar and Screech. Leo's got Teeter Dance."

"That'll do. Let's go."

Without a moment's beat, they were off again. He could sense both Vex and Vera becoming steadily more anxious, but he knew they could handle it. Despite of that though, he didn't blame them for being anxious. With the house steadily approaching them, he could feel his nerves beginning to get the best of him, but he shut them down with a shake of his head.

The house was steadily approaching them. A group of people were huddled in front of the building, some dead bodies splayed on the ground. Chances are, there were going to be delivered to the mayor himself. This was what Chase probably meant when she said William had supporters 'serving him'. A bitter taste rose onto his tongue.

He glanced at Kaitlyn to make sure she was alright. Her green eyes were fixed onto the group of people, hands clenched into a fist, ready to take action when she was needed to. He once again tried to push down his concern and slipped away to the back. He believed she could handle herself, and as much as he didn't trust Chase, the blonde was a capable fighter as well.

He'd leave it to them.

Warren kept his steps light on the path, as he didn't want to make a single sound to give himself away. Even if Chase said she didn't think there was a high chance of anyone at the back, he didn't want to risk it. Vex and Vera both followed his lead, as he got closer to the wooden fence and searched around for an opening. He couldn't easily just jumped over it, didn't want to cause too much of a rukus while doing so.

When he found a gap between two wooden panels, he pressed against it, checking out the pressure. It wouldn't take much effort to open up the space to squeeze through. However, before he did so, he felt Vera's palm on his shoulder. He looked at the fire-type and raised his eyebrow, but then heard the voices behind the fence.

"Who'd thought Al would be like that, giving away his own daughter to save his own skin," someone snickered. There was a higher pitched whimper after that.

Another voice. "I mean, no one really wants to get on William's bad side. You don't follow through orders, it's your life or someone else's. In this case, he chose his life over his daughters."

Warren peaked in through the small space. There were two men standing near the door, but it was the small girl on the step that had him taken aback. Her arms and legs were tied up and she was lying face down onto the pavement. Scratches and bruises were painted on her skin, and a long gash was prominent on her leg, blood gathering to the surface. Tears streaks prominent on her cheeks, and she looked pale as she was gasping for breath, until one of the men's — the shorter one's — feet dug into her wrists, and she started to cough wildly. The girl looked at most, 9 years old.

"Think she can fetch a good meal though? She's malnourished," the shorter man of the duo questioned, glancing at the child with a raised eyebrow.

"This kid? With her bony arms and legs? Doubt there's much meat on her left," the taller replied. He kneeled down next to the girl, and made eye contact with her, and suddenly a malicious grin creeped on his lips. "Though I suppose we could have a little fun with her."

Warren stiffened.

A pause. "You don't mean…?"

The taller nonchalantly shrugged. "C'mon man, no one's around. It'd be a waste anyways if we didn't do anything about it. Besides, she's going to die anyways." The girl whimpered, whether it be from pain or fear. He grabbed a fistful of her hair and slammed her face into the concrete ground.

"And, the struggling just makes it better," the despicable man said, voice edging off into a whisper into the child's ear. A scream in retaliation. The girl started to thrash, as if she knew what was going to happen, but with her injuries and blood loss, she wasn't a match to him.

Warren clenched his fists. Something stirred inside of him. A low growl involuntarily slipped from his throat. His thoughts drifted wildly before an image of that small dark haired girl once again dancing into his vision. Pudgy arms spread out wide. A giggly voice filling the void.

Those circles she span. That dress floating against the wind. Her damned familiar voice.

Warren, I can't believe-

Warren, I can't-

Warren!

And he let go.

He kicked down the fence with one huge shove, and the weak panels came crashing down. The men immediately locked their gazes on him, but Warren continued to stalk forward, steps harsh, machete tightly grasped in his hand. Only one thought swirled in his head, words ringing and ringing and ringing.

Annihilate.

With that, Vex and Vera sprung. Warren could hear the shorter man curse aloud, fumbling with his Pokeballs to throw out. Vera however, didn't give him any chance to do so, as with a whip of her stick, she fired a Psyshock. The man fell to the ground, already knocked out, but Vera's normally calm and collected eyes had morphed into something else entirely. Instead of moving on, she instead kept on going, sending Psyshock after Psychosk onto the unconscious body. Vex joined Vera, sending in a Focus Blast for extra measure.

"What the fuck!" the taller man screeched at the atrocity of both Pokemons' actions. He sent out a Pokeball, and an Ariados came out, legs twitching and ready to jump. Vex though, somehow shifted his attention from the knocked out man to the Bug-Poison type, bared his teeth out with a low snarl and tackled him. Growls filled the air as the Pokemon wrestled, Ariados's eight legs giving him a small advantage, as he was able to catch Vex into a headlock. The Ariados's poisonous fangs weren't helping much either. Despite his advantage though, Vex wasn't easily going to back down, as he was still able to keep up with the Ariados. Meanwhile, the taller man seemed petrified, unable to call out any moves.

Warren called out a command, completely unfazed. "Shadow Claw."

A single paw was out, cast in a black aura with a purple outline, aimed and ready to hit. But as soon as Warren's voice rang into the dark, the Ariados stiffened. He let go off the headlock he had previously got Vex into, and turned to face his own trainer who was still crouched next to the bound girl. "Ariados? You're looking at the wrong person here!"

The Ariados sent a Sludge Bomb right at him. Warren felt a sort of sick satisfaction hearing the man scream from the acidity of the attack. From seeing how the Ariados turned on his trainer, Vex decided to aim his Shadow Claw on the man instead. Another scream occured, and yet Warren felt no pity.

Vera was about done with her Psyshock attacks, her face seeming smug at the state of the shorter man, as she approached Warren once more. Vex also retreated back to Warren at the sight of Vera standing next to him, and both of them waited for his next instruction. He sent them a nod. His thoughts obviously reached to theirs, and both Pokemon did the same.

A twirl of a stick, and an aura of light. And so a fury of flames engulfed the backyard, lighting up the skies. The cackle of the flames charring the grass, the smoky and suffocating scent wafting through the air, the breeze feeding the growing inferno. And all of those flames hit its target. The taller man was then no more but a blackened mess.

Warren was almost in awe, and probably would've been had he not been so enraged.

Taking slow steps to the remains, he unsheathed his machete. Without any hesitation, the blade was buried into the man's chest. And the hilt was then grabbed and released and stabbed and again and again and again and he only stopped when he felt a paw on his shoulder and he turned around to check up on the little girl an—

A dark figure was knelt beside the girl, a hand pressed to her sides.

Warren saw red.

He roared. His mind screaming and screaming and screaming, a nonstop mantra in his head. His Pokemon responded, a Flamethrower and Focus Blast lashing through the air, the two powerful attacks intertwining into a massive force. However, a Pokeball was released into the air in response to Warren's attacks, and an Azumarill emerged. Without hesitation, the Pokemon used Protect, the green force field surrounding itself and its trainer, and the dark figure still looked composed.

Warren didn't care. He wanted this despicable disgusting person gone disposed demolished, but then this figure had the audacity to speak and then a recognizable voice.

"Woah, dude, settle down. Arceus were you always this emotional?"

Warren blinked. Once. Then twice. His enraged state of mind finally started to clear up, and he realized it was just Aster. The younger man looked exasperated, unimpressed golden eyes glancing at Warren, obviously questioning his overreaction. When Warren finally calmed down, Vex and Vera did so as well.

Aster sighed and called for his Azumarill to stop his defensive shield, and the barrier materialized. The younger boy then crossed his arms, scratching the bridge of his nose. "Would you get a hold of yourself? Had it not been for Echo, that would've killed me. Also, I specifically told you to get in this town and get out right away, and yet you're still here? Do you have a sense of common knowledge?"

"Well, things came up," Warren grunted, averting his gaze from the judgemental stare.

"You didn't even keep yourselves discreet, I mean, look at this place. You really did a number to it huh." Aster rolled his eyes, his eyes sweeping across the backyard.

"What do you mean?" Warren asked, before finally taking a look at it himself. It was only then that he realized what damage he had done. The previous greenery, the grasses and plants were burnt to crisp, and the wooden fences were blackened. The state of the two men were almost unrecognizable, the taller man's Ariados also burnt and dying as well. However, what had caught his attention was the state of the little girl.

She wasn't breathing.

Brunette locks were messily draped on the concrete ground, her eyes still somehow opened. But they were empty. Lifeless. Dried blood was crusting on her leg as well, and once again, her scratches and bruises were as prominent as ever. No, it wasn't that that took him aback. It was the third degree burn marks littering around her vulnerable body, and it was then that he realized it was he who did that in his fit of blind rage. He was so engulfed in anger and fury that his one-track mind hadn't noticed that while he engulfed that taller man into that inferno, this small young little girl was caught in the crossfire too.

By extension, her death was also his fault.

Interrupting his thoughts, Aster sighed again,"... Yea, if you're done groveling, we gotta get moving." He didn't mention the girl to Warren, as if he knew Warren didn't want to hear it.

Warren didn't know what to say. Neither did he know what to think. Despite of that though, he tried to shift his attention to something else other than that girl; he needed a distraction, and Aster was offering that opening. "... Sure. We'll head into the house. You can lead the way."

Aster snorted. "Pft, hold on, whoever said we were going back into the house? What do you even need to do in there?"

"I'm not leaving Kaitlyn in there. Besides, we have business with someone else," Warren replied.

The black-haired teenager hesitated, before giving Warren a smirk. "Ahh, I see. Digging yourself into your own grave by giving into favors, haven't you." His teasing tone only grinded on Warren's nerves. He clenched his fists.

"Blame Kaitlyn for that, not me." Warren turned away, marching towards the backdoor. He took what he said back. He wasn't going to let Aster lead the way when he clearly wasn't planning on it.

"That's cute. The fishbone's probably got your wrapped around her dainty little fingers hasn't she," Aster smirked, crossing his arms. His Azumarill, Echo, snickered in his response to his trainer's taunt.

"Think what you like. She hasn't though," Warren said, still facing away from Warren. He opened the backdoor and promptly stalked inside.

"Whatever makes you sleep at night," Aster shrugged, though Warren could only faintly hear Aster's response. The sounds of footsteps behind him indicated the younger boy was following him though. The floorboards creaked as they stepped onto the panels, and Warren returned both of his Pokemon. Aster did the same to his.

The hallway was dimmed, the only light source from outside. They continued down, looking for any signs of Chase and Kaitlyn who were probably waiting for them. Warren recognized some of the interior from his brief visit the day before, and as they made their way to the living room, he saw the two girls.

Chase got up on her feet. "There you are, what took you so long?" She clearly hadn't noticed Aster behind him, and Warren stepped aside.

Aster grinned. "Hold on, the person you've been helping is Chase? Of all the people, wonderful to see you again, still as reckless as always I see."

Chase didn't looked too impressed to see him though, the tone of her voice hardening."Your passive aggression is still as strong as ever, hasn't it?"

"Passive aggression? I prefer the term-"

"Actually don't tell me. I don't need your sass today."

Meanwhile Kaitlyn looked confused, though Warren wasn't surprised about that. Everyone in this room had already previously known of each other while Kaitlyn was left in the dark. She didn't seem to care much though, preferring to stay unnoticed. Simultaneously, both Kit and Leo were resting on a loveseat, as well as Meowstic and Mothim. How they all fit in there, he didn't know, but they seemed comfortable in each other's presence in the brief time they spent together.

Aster and Chase seemed to be otherwise though, as they squabbled. Warren narrowed his eyes at the two. "If you're done, we should get going. I don't want to waste any time."

"Ohh, you hear that? He's on a tight schedule. Thanks for wasting our time Chase."

"Wha- excuse me? That's not on me, that's on you!"

Warren coughed loudly.

"Ok, ok. Let's get going," Chase said. She beckoned Meowstic and Mothim from their love seat and they followed her. She made her way to the nearby stairs in the living room and headed up.

Warren turned to Kaitlyn to make sure she was behind him as he did the same. To his annoyance, Aster was following suit. "You don't have to come along you know."

Aster grinned. "Please, if I leave you out of my sights you two are just gonna get carried away with another quest of yours. Might as well tag along to keep you in line." He then shoved Warren aside to walk up the steps.

Kaitlyn looked befuddled, and she blinked. Warren shook his head. "Don't let that get to you. Come on." He continued up after saying that.

When he got onto the second floor, both Chase and Aster were silent, standing in front of a door. He didn't need to be told what that door was, if anything it had to be the mayor's room from Chase's conflicted expression. Her face cleared up though as she slapped her cheeks, readying herself for her confrontation. Her fingers then rested on the knobbed, and she turned it.

With that, they entered the room.

Kaitlyn Brooks - Leo (Petilli) and Kit (Vibrava) - SnapshotSilica

Warren Monger - Vex (Zoroark) and Vera (Braixen) - W. R. Winters

Aster Drake - Celestine (Gardevoir) and Azumarill (Echo) - PBComplexion

Chase McCloud - Meowstic(Meowstic) and Mothim (Mothim) - ShadedLyht

Not gonna lie, this took a lot longer than I expected. Not to mention how long this chapter had gotten. Huh, I didn't even realize it. I also initially intended to finish this 'arc' in this chapter, but this chapter has also gotten pretty long too. Writing out battle sequences is a new thing for me too, I didn't expect to get that carried away with writing only what, two battles?

I initially also wanted to get this chapter out by January and I just needed the last parts of this chapter, but of course midterms had to get in the way. Stack onto my procrastination levels and a bunch of papers here and there, and you've got a nightmare inducing disaster. But I've finally managed to finish this and I hope this delivers! Wrote these battles completely blind, so let me know if they're as engaging as I'd hope they are. Next chapter may be a bit shorter, but hopefully this one makes up for it.

Until next time and thanks for reading!