*Hidden under a table, several Aura blasts flying around* Oh! Uh… heya people! You might be wondering what the ruckus is all about… *Warps to a safer zone* Ash said something really, REALLY stupid and he pissed Dragon off. Right now, Ash is running 'round the ship for his life.
*BOOM*
… and I think he just got caught. Luckily Ash is stubborn and sturdy so that won't kill him… scratch that, shouldn't kill him is more appropriate. Yeaaah… Oh well! Now, last time, we saw how friction is building up between the Guardians and the Trainers. Don't worry, though, my good readers… *Smile vanishes, replaced by an ominous grin* … it will only get worse and worse. *Smiles again* Now, without further ado, let us begin!
Also, before i forget: Girl of Darkness10 is writing her own version of Guardians of Altomare. I highly recommend you check it out!
Near Driftveil Bridge
The group had once more gotten on the move, walking towards the large bridge connecting to Driftveil City. Dragon was getting progressively annoyed as his other-self kept challenging travelling Trainers to battles. The normally calm and collected Guardian Leader was now ready to smash an Aura coated fist to the next Trainer's face in order to keep travelling smoothly. One look around, though, let him notice that he wasn't the only Guardian ready to kill someone. Dawn had been talking to her other self, Flame, near non-stop ever since they departed an hour ago, and Dragon could see the faint outline of her Aura Tonfas forming on her hands. Dragon connected his Aura to hers, in a desperate attempt to save her sanity.
'Tough day?' he asked sarcastically.
'You have no idea, Dragon…' Flame grumbled back. 'All I want is to go back home to Ty… ugh, was I really like this all the time?' Flame's voice indicated that she was ready to slit her counterpart's throat and burn her body beyond recognition, and not precisely in that order.
'Forgive me for being the one to say this… but yes, my sister, you were.' Flame slumped at his words, confusing her counterpart slightly, but Dragon kept talking. 'If it serves for any kind of consolation, Mind looks just about ready to dismember his other self with a spoon.' Both Guardians shifted their attentions to the youngest Guardian. The guardian of the Mind had his left eyebrow twitching as his other-self barraged him with never ending questions about the differences in the other timeline. Mind's claws had formed unconsciously, and was constantly flexing and loosening his fists. May had, wisely, kept her distance from the Psychotic Guardian, knowing he was more than capable of killing her on a whim. The Trinity of the Guardians, the first three, the originals, would never admit this…
… But they were at their limit…
"Alright! Time get the next Gym Badge!" Ash exclaimed happily, making Dragon sigh loudly.
"I will never be able to understand why the hell I was so obsessed with winning those worthless pieces of metal…" he grumbled out, enraging Ash.
"HEY! They are NOT worthless. They are proof of the great teamwork me and my Pokemon have! Something you lost." Ash retorted, expecting Dragon to be at least flustered. Instead, he snorted loudly, like someone had just told him a good joke but wasn't allowed to laugh. And much to Ash's annoyance, all the Guardians either chuckled or snorted as well. "What's so funny?" Dragon stayed silent, but luckily Steel answered for him.
"Dragon won the Johto, Kanto and Hoenn Leagues the year he became the Guardian of Altomare. He dominated the competitions and pretty much destroyed his foes."
"W-whaaat!?" Ash exclaimed, completely flabbergasted. "B-but I thought you had abandoned training!"
"I did." Dragon said coldly. "But the prize from my victories was something I needed for the upkeep of my family until I could get a job. Luckily, I eventually discovered the beauty of Bounty Hunting. We usually help Lorenzo out in his workshop, but when business is low we pursue Wanted criminals and gangs. Mind especially enjoys hunting down criminals… although; more often than not we end up delivering them to a morgue rather than a prison cell." Mind chuckled nervously at the last sentence.
"Hehe, what can I say? I have the tendency of getting carried away." Dragon shot him a 'no shit' glare before turning back to his counterpart.
"And you say I have lost my ability for teamwork…" he paused for a second, shooting his other self an ice-cold glare. "… But my brothers and sisters and I work together in a way no human would be able to do with a Pokémon. And so, I have scored another point for myself with your own strike." Dragon's voice was obviously taunting, as if trying to trick Ash into saying something stupid… and he did.
"Grrr… FINE! I'll show you my teamwork is better. I dare you to give me three challenges. If I lose them, I'll submit to whatever punishment you have in mind." Ash stupidly said.
"And if you win?" Trainer Ash smirked at the brilliance of his plan.
"When I win, you will have to abandon Altomare." Ash's smirk was wiped off when Dragon smirked back at him.
"Well, if I win, then I guess something equivalent should be put on the line…" Dragon said as he thought. "Hm… what could it be… I know!" Dragon then glared harshly at his counterpart. "For every challenge you lose, you will release one third of all the Pokemon you have, both here and in Oak's lab. And if you lose the third challenge, you will also abandon Pokemon Training… for life." Ash gasped at the punishment he'd receive if he lost a challenge.
"W-what!? How is that equivalent!?" Dragon snarled at his other self.
"You're asking me to give up my only happiness and joy. It is only fair I do the same. Now, will you still take this gamble, knowing what's at stake?" Ash remained quiet, thinking of his chances of winning. He was confident he could beat all three challenges, but if he were to fail just one, then he'd be forced to release a lot of his friends… "Take your time making your decision. Just keep this in mind: I am not as innocent as you. My challenges will involve doing things you would consider horrible and inhuman." And with those cryptic words, the Guardians went on walking. "Go get that piece of metal you want so much. We'll go find some local café." The Trainers watched them as they left, fright visible in all their faces as their stoic counterparts left.
"That Dragon… we're more different than I thought…" Ash said out loud.
A few hours later
The Guardians were all having a cup of tea in a local restaurant as they waited for their counterparts to return. It had taken them far longer than they had originally anticipated…
"So…" Dragon began. "What do you think of your respective counterparts?" Flame and Mind both stood up immediately, their eyes white and their teeth oddly fanged. (A/N Standard Edward Elric angry face.)
"I'M GOING TO KILL HIM/HER IF HE KEEPS ASKING QUESTIONS!" They both yelled out, nearly blowing off Dragon's hat. You didn't have to be a genius to understand they were angry.
"I'm serious here, Dragon. If that little pipsqueak keeps it up, I'll make sure there ain't enough of him left to fill a teaspoon!" Mind carried on, his shield forming as he punched the table, accidentally impaling the spikes into it and getting stuck. Luckily he could just dissolve the weapon.
"I second that! That damned brat is tempting me into burning her head off!" Flame was unconsciously spitting out fire with every word. "I mean, seriously! Not only does she ask questions like a machine gun, she uses such a skimpy skirt!" They all sweat dropped at that last comment.
'She does realize she once wore the same thing…?' They all thought.
"Right… Steel?" the mentioned Guardian shrugged before speaking.
"In terms of personality, he and I are the same. However, there are some large differences in certain aspects, such as power-wise." The Guardian of Steel formed his claws as he talked. "He was completely shocked when he saw us form our prime techniques. Even more so when we dissolved them just as easily." They all nodded at that.
"There's one more thing…" Thunder's voice rang out. "It was obvious to me when you mentioned the Bounty Hunting, Dragon, especially when you said how often we end up taking a life…" They all shifted their attentions to her. They all had a theory of where she was headed, though. "It is obvious that the mere thought of killing is overwhelming for them. They're too naïve, too innocent…" Dragon sighed at her assessment.
"That they are. That's why I know that the kid won't be able to win my challenges, should he accept taking them." Dragon said solemnly.
"You're planning things you know he'll be unable to accomplish right?" Poison said, a smug smile on her face. Dragon sipped on his tea before answering.
"I have no intentions of leaving Altomare." He said coldly. "And the kid needs to learn the world is not all peace and sunshine. I will be the one to enlighten him of the cold, hard truth." Dragon said as he finished his tea, already missing his wife and children. They would always have a cup of tea and talk about their days around this hour, accompanied by the other members of their extended family. He was already planning different tortures for the little weed known as Celebi. He knew he couldn't perform the fatal tortures… he had to leave some for the others, after all. "Now, what the hell is taking them so long? Their Auras haven't left the Gym and it's nearly sundown." The other team members shrugged, not knowing either why it was taking them a whole day to finish the battle. Suddenly, they felt the auras leaving the Gym. They could feel happiness in the young Ash's aura, which was dismally low, compared to their own reserves, but they could also feel smugness. He was most likely going to rub his victory on Dragon's face. Unfortunately for him, Dragon was not going to be affected by that. After the kid arrived and tried (and failed) to get Dragon jealous by showing his new badge, Dragon asked the question.
"So, are you going to take on the challenges I have in mind?" dragon asked him coldly. The kid smirked, pumped up by his most recent victory, simply said.
"Bring it on! You better start packing up your bags to leave Altomare behind!" Dragon glared harshly at his other self, and the others saw how his Sacred Technique was starting to form. Dragon managed to calm himself down before it could fully materialize, though.
"Very well. The first challenge… we'll have to wait for someone to arrive."
5 minutes later
The group had, per Dragon's insistence, left the city and headed north, on to the next city. It was then that Dragon's plan came into action. Team Rocket arrived.
"TEAM ROCKET!?" The trainer group yelled out.
"What a question, so twerpish indeed!" Jessie began.
"The answer to come as we feel the need!" James continued
"Bringing the blinding white light of evil into the future!" Jessie said.
"Thrusting the hammer of justice down onto the black darkness of the universe!"
"And carving our names in rock of eternity!" Meowth piped up.
"The fiery destroyer, Jessie!"
"And with thunderous emotion, I am James!"
"Wisest of the wise, Meowth!"
"Now gather, under the name of Team Rocket!" They all finished as Meowth pushed a button, making a robotic hand swoop down and grab Pikachu.
"Nothing quite like the classics!" The feline stated.
"PIKACHU!" Ash yelled dramatically, starting to run behind the retreating balloon, right as Dragon walked beside him.
"Pathetic." He said coldly, before extending his Aura Wings and flying after the balloon. He flew straight at it and sliced off the strings connecting the balloon to the basket, making them fall down and release the yellow mouse. Stunned, the three looked up and saw straight into Dragon's ice-cold eyes.
"Oi! Since when are there 2 leader twoips!?" Meowth yelled out, panicked. Dragon smirked, and bound all three Team Rocket members together with an Aura String. He then turned to his other self.
"I have your first challenge ready, Trainer." Ash smirked back, thinking he had to defeat Team Rocket in battle.
"Oh yeah! Let's do this!" His smirk morphed into confusion when Dragon threw him a small, steel dagger. He then pointed to the bound criminals with his sword, and uttered two words that shook Ash and Co. to their core.
"Kill them."
BOOM! CLIFFHANGER! The first challenge has been issued. Will Ash be capable of slaying Team Rocket? Or will he be unable to do so? Found out next time on Time Crossed Heroes! BladeOfThePoet, logging out!