And here's chapter thirteen. XD This is turning out to be my most popular story ever. Thanks so much to everyone who reads and reviews!

…CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Solay Snaps

"The answer is still no," Solay replied, staring Cacturne right in the face.

He sneered. "Fine." Raising his voice, he called, "Boys, let's take them out!"

"Wait, hold up!" Mudkip cried, but it was too late.

…:: BOSS BATTLE: Cacturne! ::…

Cacturne charged straight for Solay and they both went flying backwards roughly twenty feet. Shadow dealt with Grumpig, which left Treecko and Mudkip with Ninjask. He was speedy, and neither of them could keep an eye on him. He kept vanishing and appearing, vanishing and appearing, striking before they had the chance to retaliate.

"Can't hit me, can't hit me!" he taunted, striking Mudkip from behind.

She growled. "This is ridiculous! He's too fast!"

"So slow him down!" Shadow called, sparring with Grumpig. "Throw sand in his eyes or something!"

Treecko tried to do just that, but he was hit from behind with Ninjask's Fury Cutter. It sent Treecko sprawling onto his face. Mudkip shot at him with a Water Gun, but missed, and was hit with X-Scissor.

"This is getting us nowhere," she groaned. "Here's our plan. When he appears again, you grab him."

"Why do I have to grab him?"

"Just grab him!"

"Okay!" Treecko leaped at where he thought Ninjask would be. The bug-type turned, caught off guard, as Treecko tackled him. With a grunt, he was knocked out of the air. "Hurry it up, Mudkip!"

"Water Gun!" She sucked in her breath and shot out the jet of water. It hit Ninjask in the face, leaving him spluttering. Treecko took his chance and hit the bug from behind with a Razor Leaf attack. With a system down, they had no trouble defeating him. When he lay at their feet, they looked over to Shadow, who was just delivering a killer Focus Punch as a right hook to the side of Grumpig's face. Down he went too. That just left Solay and Cacturne…

…

Cacturne kept throwing Poison Jabs at her. She kept ducking and moving to the side. He chased her at walking speed all the way to the other side of the tree. When she bumped into the wall, his fist thunked right where her head used to be, embedding itself in the tree.

Solay sprang away and shot a Flamethrower his way. He barely managed to pull himself free in time to get away safely.

"Quick," he said, "but are you quick enough?"

"We'll see," she replied, running straight for him.

The next few moves happened too fast for either of them to really understand, but the next thing Cacturne knew, he had Solay pinned on her side. She was glaring up at him.

"Let me go," she said dangerously.

"Sorry, but no." He glanced up. The others were still distracting the accomplishes. Good. He leaned down to whisper in her ear. "What would you say if I told you the truth about Grovyle?"

She said nothing right away. "I already know the truth," she said finally. "Nothing you say will change anything I think about him."

"Okay, then what about Shadow? Do you know as much about him as you think?"

She tried to reach up and bite him, angry. "I do! He's been my partner for close to four and a half years now!"

Cacturne had hit a nerve. He grinned. "Are you sure? He's been hiding things from you."

"He has not! Shadow's never hidden anything from me!"

There was a note of panic in her voice. The fiery queen of ice was slipping.

"Are you sure?" he whispered. "You know, Shadow despises you. He hates you for taking the spotlight all the time. He wants you gone so he can take the glory."

"He doesn't…he doesn't want that…" Solay was staring off into space, wearing a horrified expression. "He…"

"He wants you dead," Cacturne spat. "Why else would he attack you? You do remember earlier, don't you? He was planning to take you all out at once, but his plan failed. He hates your guts, Solay."

"He doesn't…" The fire returned. "HE DOESN'T!" she roared, exploding upwards with everything she had. Cacturne was slammed into the tree with more force than he had been expected, and slid down, winded. Solay got to her feet, fire swirling dangerously around her body. The expression on her face was of pure hatred and murder. She didn't just dislike him now. She wanted Cacturne dead.

"He doesn't," she repeated, more flames licking up to swirl around her tails. "That isn't how Shadow is. You tried to mess with my head. I won't fall for it."

"Ohh, but you did," Cacturne whispered, mostly to himself. "You fell for it, just as the boss had planned… Good, Solay. Let you anger consume you. Let your fear and rage control you, cloud your mind. Give into the hate. Join the dark side! No, wait, that sounds corny…"

She wasn't listening, or she hadn't heard. The fire was just licking at her eyes, and then it consumed her whole form. She sucked in her breath and blew out a truly massive Flamethrower. Cacturne didn't move. He couldn't. He didn't really care any more. He'd done his job.

But, surprisingly, it didn't hurt all that much. Or, he was just so beyond reason, that he didn't think it hurt. Either way, it wasn't bad. But she breathed pillar after pillar after pillar, and it all started to add up. Just when he thought he couldn't take it, a voice screamed, "SOLAY, STOP!"

The fire-cloaked Vulpix swung her head around, snarling at whoever dared to interrupt her fight. Shadow stood slightly forward, looking horrified. He had one paw outstretched, as if trying to reach her. Treecko and Mudkip stood close behind him, looking properly frightened.

"Solay, stop," Shadow repeated in a softer voice. "It's over."

Her gaze shifted back to Cacturne. As the realization dawned on her, the fire receded slowly, and her eyes lost the madness. She stood there, shaking slightly, disturbed. What had she just done…? It was cruel, even if they were the enemy. She had tortured the poor guy…

Shadow came to her side just as she sat down, staring at the floor without really seeing it.

"I'm a monster," she whispered, burying her face in his arms. "I'm a monster…"

"You're not," he assured her. "You just got mad."

"Do you snap like that when you get mad?" she mumbled.

He hesitated. "Well, no, but you had our interests at heart."

"All I wanted was to kill," she said dully. "All I wanted was to tear Cacturne limb from limb until he begged for mercy three times over. He said things about you, Shadow… He said horrible things."

"And whatever they were, they weren't true," he said forcefully. "Look at me, Solay."

She unwillingly raised her head, staring up into his face. His eyes were sincere and kind. She couldn't believe she'd actually fallen for Cacturne's mind tricks. This was Shadow they were talking about. He'd never kept a secret in his life. He probably couldn't if he tried.

"Whatever he said wasn't true," Shadow said.

Solay nodded. "I know…I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Now, I think we all need to just calm down here and think." He looked over to Cacturne, who was getting to his feet. "Are you leaving?"

"Yep," he replied, staggering over to rouse Ninjask. Grumpig was getting up. "We're leaving. You're free to leave. But, know this…" He glared over their way. "We will be back."

"Looking forward to it," Mudkip said dryly.

Solay took a few deep, calming breaths. "Okay, so, I think we should all just head back to camp and go to bed. Everyone gets to sleep in."

"That sounds like a great idea," Treecko replied through a yawn. "Couldn't agree more."

…

Eh. Not much plot here, really. :/ But next chapter will be. :3 Promise.