Chapter 5: Darkness of the Underworld

It has been two weeks since Riolu and Zorua first met. Over the past two weeks, Riolu and Zorua formed an Exploration Team along with the Exploration Team of Mienfoo, Maractus, and Audino, Team ClashHearts. But during those two weeks, a number of villagers have been getting killed by a murderous Pokemon each night.

However, there is only two Pokemon who did manage to see its identity and the Pokemon are actually Zorua and Riolu. Now the two Exploration Team members are in Team ClashHearts's cabin, trying to come up with a good plan of where to find this murderer in question. Zorua, Riolu, and Team ClashHearts are standing around a wooden table.

Zorua says with a serious look on his face, "The Pokemon I saw killing the villagers is a Pignite. I saw him use his fire attacks to torch the Pokemon alive. However," Zorua looks directly at Riolu and Riolu continues,

"I'm afraid during the murders of this village, there was another village under attack as well. That Pokémon's identity is still unknown at the moment. So in order to figure out that Pokémon's identity, I'll have to go to that village on my own while Zorua stays in this village. But I'll be going on my own,"

Riolu looks right at Mienfoo and her friends, "As for you three, if Pignite actually returns, you and Zorua can fight against Pignite if at all possible." Mienfoo has a look of concern on her face as she asks, "Are you sure you can handle this other Pokemon on your own? I mean,"

Mienfoo looks right at Zorua as she finishes, "Why not take Zorua along with you?" Riolu has a serious expression on his face as he says, "The more you have to fight Pignite the better. If you lower your force power, there's no telling what will happen to you all. Besides…"

Riolu looks away from Zorua and the others and looks at the direction of where the next village is located, "with the power I have, I should be able to manage on my own." Riolu looks back at Zorua and the others again,

"Thanks to the training we did up until now, I've gotten a lot stronger. So I should be able to take care of my opponent, even if I were to run into any of the Demons of the Underworld, I can take them with my own power."

Riolu clenches his fists and he says to Zorua and Team ClashHearts, "Anyway, I got to get going to the next village, you three just take care of our home village," Riolu looks back at Zorua with a serious look in his eyes, "Just don't get killed… Team ClashHearts… Zorua…" Riolu disappears from where he stands and Zorua and Team ClashHearts are left behind in their cabins.

Riolu reappears in the forest covered with snow and starts to make a run for it to the next town. He thinks with a serious expression in his eyes, "It'll probably be best that I leave Zorua with Mienfoo and the others. I don't know why but I can feel the Hell Spirit Blade from within Zorua's soul,"

Riolu looks around at his surroundings as he ran; "I've got to be around here now. Sure my power has increased since the first time I met Zorua and the others, but it doesn't compare to the powers of a fusion of demons." Riolu looks straight ahead and he sees the other village up ahead.

Riolu stops running and he jumps straight up into the snow covered trees. When he got up into the trees, he starts jumping from branch to branch, slowly getting to the village without being seen by others. "I need to stay hidden if I wish to find out who this other murderer is. If it comes out and starts attacking the village, I'll jump in and stop it from killing anyone here,"

Riolu reaches the end of the forest, looking down at the village from the snow covered treetops. Riolu closes his eyes and the two aura detectors on the sides of his head lifts up into the air with meager amounts of blue aura flowing out of them.

When Riolu opens his eyes his eye color turned to the color blue with meager amounts of aura flowing out of his eyes. Riolu has a serious look on his face as he thinks, "With my Aura Eyes in play, I should be able to see every square inch of this village without having to turn my head."

While Riolu keeps a sharp eye out on the other village, Zorua and Team ClashHearts are up in the treetops right by their village. While they were in the treetops, explosions of fire burst from the middle of the village, causing the villagers in the area to scream at the top of their lungs.

Zorua has a serious expression on his face as he says, "Pignite's attacking the village again! Let's get him!" Zorua instantly disappears from where he stood and reappears on the ground, running into the village. Mienfoo, Maractus, and Audino follow Zorua from behind.

Zorua has a serious expression on his face as he thought while running towards the giant tower of fire and passing by the running villagers, "Pignite... you…" Zorua reaches the scene and is standing before the giant fire tower reaching up to the sky.

Zorua looks right at the center of the tower on the ground and sees Pignite standing there, staring down at Zorua with a malevolent look on his face. Pignite grins malevolently as he says, "So you must be Zorua, Lord Darkrai's apprentice…"

After he says that Mienfoo and her team just enters the village square without hearing what Pignite said. Zorua has a look of shock on his face as he thought, "How the hell does he know that?" Zorua asks with a serious look in his eyes, "Who the hell are you?"

Pignite grins and he thought, "Well… I guess I better play my cards right." Pignite replies, "I'm Pignite, the mass murderer of the Underworld!" Mienfoo has a shocked expression on her face when she sees the flames turn to the color blue and black. Maractus's eyes widen with fear when she sees Pignite's claws and teeth growing sharper from within the fire.

Zorua has a serious expression on his face as he thought, "I see… so Darkrai must have sent Pignite to this world to challenge me. But…" Zorua looks back at Mienfoo and her friends with a worried expression on his face and he thinks, "Could it be that…"

Zorua looks back at Pignite with a serious expression on his face and he says, "So you were sent here from the Underworld, huh? For what reason?" Pignite has a serious expression on his face as he replies, "I have no reason to tell any of you… since you all are going to die!"

Pignite laughs like a demon as the fire tower shrinks to Pignite's size, forming around him like a shield. Pignite stares down at Zorua and he says in the Underworld language that only Zorua can understand, "If you don't take this battle seriously, Zorua, you and one of your friends there are going to die tonight!"

Zorua's has a shocked expression in his eyes as he thought, "I see now… well if that's the case." Zorua closes his eyes and he transforms into Riolu with blade shaped black aura flowing out of the two spikes on the tops of his hands. Zorua points his right arm at Pignite and he says, "We'll take you down, Pignite…!"

Before Zorua could finish his sentence, Pignite disappears from where he stood and reappears right behind Audino. Mienfoo, Maractus, and Zorua look back in horror as they see black aura explode form out of Pignite's eyes, nose, and mouth, and form into Audino's body.

Zorua's eyes widen with shock as he thinks, "Oh hell!" After the black aura forms into Audino, Pignite's body falls to the ground and turns to instant black dust. But all over Audino's body there are black and blue flames.

Audino is just standing there, laughing hysterically like a demon with her back turned on Mienfoo, Maractus, and Zorua. Audino looks back at Mienfoo and the others and she says, "Well now… shall we begin?" Audino's skin is burned off by the black and blue flames, only revealing the bones and muscles. The fire is the new skin for Audino.

Mienfoo's eyes widen with fear as she sees the eyeballs turn to ash, the eyes being replaced by two red flames. Zorua's heart pounds fiercely with fear as he says, "We have no other choice now… we have to kill Audino's body!"

Mienfoo looks directly at Zorua with tears of fear and anger rolling down her cheeks and she asks, "What do you mean we have to kill Audino? She's…" Zorua yells out with a look of frustration on his face, "Just look at her now, Mienfoo! She's no longer in there! Either way you look at it, once we defeat this bastard, the body will instantly fall apart to a pile of dust!"

Mienfoo has tears of sadness rolling down her cheeks as she looks directly at the disfigured Audino. Audino grins malevolently as she says in the demons voice, "That's right, Mienfoo. Audino's soul has already been devoured by me. And now…"

Audino says in the Underworld language, "It's time to put you to the test, Zorua!" Maractus and Mienfoo quickly jumped to Zorua's side as Audino tries to attack them both. Zorua has tears of frustration rolling down his cheeks as he thought, "I'm so sorry, Audino…"

Zorua jumps straight towards Audino and he yells, "I'm going to kill this bastard!" Audino grins malevolently at Zorua and she says in the Underworld language while the fire grew intense, "Lord Darkrai, I shall put your apprentice to the test!" Audino jumps straight towards Zorua in midair and prepares to attack.

While Zorua and Audino fought to the death, Riolu is still up in the trees, waiting for the second murderer to come out. Riolu's eyes widen when he sees a large tower of black aura flowing from the middle of the village. Riolu quickly jumps out of the treetops and ran into the village.

But as he ran, he has a concerned expression on his face as he thinks, "Something's not right… shouldn't there be villagers running for their lives by now?" When Riolu got into the village center, his eyes widen with fear when he sees the black aura from up close.

From within the black aura, something says to Riolu, "So you've finally showed up, Riolu…" Riolu stops running towards the black aura tower and just stands there with a frightened expression on his face. "N-no way… y-you're!"

The black aura tower vanishes instantly from the area. Riolu's heart races as he sees a dark purple Riolu with blood red eyes standing there with a malevolent smirk on his face. The dark Riolu says in the demon language, "My, my… I never would of thought I would run into you again, Riolu."

Riolu has a shocked expression in his eyes as he thinks, "I can understand what it just said! But…" Riolu asks in the demon language too, "What the hell are you?" The dark Riolu has an impressed look on his face as he replies in the same language, "Huh… I never would have thought that you could speak my language, Riolu. But,"

dark Riolu has a disappointed look on his face, "it seems as though you don't remember me at all. Especially," dark Riolu moves its right arm behind him from overhead and grabs hold of a shadow black hilt. Riolu looks at the hilt with a shocked expression on his face and he thinks, "Th-that sword! It couldn't possibly be!"

Dark Riolu grins malevolently as he asks, "Does this blade look familiar to you, Riolu?" Dark Riolu pulls out a completely dark sword out of the hilt and black aura starts to radiate out of it instantly. Dark Riolu points the tip of the blade at Riolu and it says, "That's right, Riolu. This here is the Hell Spirit Blade!"