Hello and welcome back to another chapter of this fast-growing story. I hope you all enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership to the Pokemon Fusion Warriors story or any characters native to it unless specifically stated. Diana Tsukimi was created by PichuAuraGuardian18.

Chapter Six: Crash Course

"Pay attention!" the instructor yelled as Talo was nearly thrown across the arena. "This is a teamwork exercise, both of you need to get your head in the game!"

"Sorry, Diana" Muttered Rager, who was standing a few feet to Talo's left. He turned to his partner. "Alright, we'll circle to either side, then strike at the same time. There's no way the turrets can block both of us at the same time."

Talo shook his head. "I can get inside its defenses. Let me handle everything." He darted forward with an incredible burst of speed.

"Talo!" Rager called out in annoyance. "We're supposed to work together!" When the blue-haired teen made no sign of hearing, Rager frowned in annoyance before following him.

"Air Cutter!" Talo called, launching twin blades of wind to stop the turret's projectiles. He ducked and slid, holding his shield up so as to ward off any energy bolts that made it through. He was wearing a vest wired up to a scoreboard on the wall in the training room. If a bolt struck it, points would be subtracted from his total. Reaching zero would mean that he'd failed the mission.

"Dragon Claw!" came Rager's voice as the Hybrid boy blocked a stray bolt. Unfortunately, the reflected projectile bounced away and hit Talo in the leg, where he wasn't protected by the shield. It didn't reduce any points, but it sent Talo wobbling off-course.

He yelped as he crashed into the wall and was tagged by a follow-up bolt from the turret. A buzzer in his ear told him that the bolt had been his last. They'd failed the simulation.

Angrilly, Talo turned accusingly toward Rager. "What was that for? I had everything under control!"

"The mission was meant to be a team effort. You going off on your own forced me to defend myself solo. If you'd stuck to the plan and let me help, we wouldn't have lost!"

Talo walked over, standing mere inches from the gray-haired boy's face. "We lost because you made a boneheaded move! I told you I could handle things! If you can't accept that, then just stay out of my way!"

Rager's face was clouded with fury, but he forced it down. "You're right. Go on, try flying solo. We'll see how long it takes you to crash and burn."

Talo growled before storming away, passing their instructor as he left.

Diana turned to Rager, shaking her head. She was a few years older than him, a legal adult who had been assigned as a sort of mentor to the two by Pondera. Her long raven-black hair was tied back in a braid, accented by burnt orange bangs. She was tan and athletic, an ideal choice to instruct the younger knights due to her physical fitness. She wore a dark brown military jacket buttoned over a black tank top, with dark blue jeans and black high heels. Around her neck was a black choker accented by a sapphire pendant encircled by a silver crescent moon-her PokeFuser. Diana was a Fusion Warrior, and one of the oldest ones among their numbers besides Lord Pondera.

"I'm disappointed in the way your training went" she stated simply. "Not just from the results, but from how you interacted afterward. If you're going to be a team, you need to learn to work out your discputes or you'll never get anything done."

"Tell that to him" Rager frowned, jerking a thumb toward the exit. "Why does Talo always have to be the "lone wolf" who thinks he's invincible on his own? I could have helped him if he'd let me."

Diana sighed. "Talo is an excellent warrior, but he's still got a lot of pride. Watching him for the last few months, it's like he has something to prove by overcoming every problem on his own.

"But nobody is invincible. And one day, Talo will have to realize that."

Rager nodded slowly. "I really hope that day comes soon..."

-X-

"Idiot" Talo cursed. "Why is he always going against whatever I say? I had an opening, he could have just hung back and let me take it, but he had to go and try to help."

He was standing in an alleyway about a block away from headquarters, still fuming. Kicking aside a discarded can, he started down the street. Gem would probably be stopping by to make sure he hadn't missed curfew for the third time that week. It was hard to live the life of a superhero when your paranoid sister was sending a full-fledged cop around every night to be his babysitter.

"You're right, you know." a soft voice spoke up nearby. Talo spun in shock, hand already hovering over his Fuser. "You don't need them to help you."

"Who's there?" The Fusion Warrior demanded. "Show yourself!"

"No need to be aggressive" the voice chided as a girl stepped out of the shadows. She had long blue hair and skin, along with what appeared to be cottony wings in place of arms. She wore a silky white dress tied with a long blue bow streaming out behind her.

"My name is Altomare" she explained. "I'm a Hybrid, but you could probably have guessed that on your own."

Talo didn't move. This girl didn't appear to be dangerous, but then again, most Hybrids seemed passive at first. It was impossible to tell a person's intentions just by looks. In fact, just a week earlier he'd been attacked by a Jigglypuff Hybrid who had attempted to eat him.

"Why were you watching me?" Talo asked her. "For all you know, I could be dangerous."

The girl laughed, stepping closer. "Of course you're dangerous, Talo Zeph. But you are also interesting. You fight well with others when it benefits you, but you are cold and unforgiving to your teammates. It is...uncanny."

"How do you know so much about me?" Talo demanded. "Have you been spying on me?"

Altomare shook her head. "Not in the sense you probably think. Xanthos has been watching you-you'll meet him eventually-and he finds you rather intriguing."

Talo turned away. This meeting was creeping him out a bit too much. "If you had a purpose in coming here, finish it. I'm not in the mood for games."

Altomare sighed. "Very well. I bring a message from my master, who is, like most of us, extremely interested in you. He wants to make a proposition."

"Not interested" Talo replied immediately. "I work with the Fusion Knights, and you wont be changing that."

"Just listen" Altomare insisted. Then she began to sing.

In the summer of the wind. The trees of gold rained down their leaves.

Beneath, the world began to stir; began to whisper on the breeze.

A single bird flew from his nest. The world was his in rain or snow.

But soon the wind began to blow. It pulled the bird far down below.

In the summer of the wind. It struck him down and pulled him in.

Instantly, every muscle in Talo's body seemed to go limp, a thick cloud filling his mind. He dropped forward onto his knees, eyes beginning to close.

"Who are you? W-what kind of message was that?" He managed to ask sleepily.

The Hybrid smiled. "My dear Talo, I am Altomare of the AviSix. And I never said the message was for you."

-X-

"Maybe you just need to talk to him" Diana suggested. "Look, we'll go find him together and work everything out."

Rager nodded. "He means well, I know. I just need a way to help him understand that it's alright to have help. Did you know he spent the four months before he joined just fighting Hybrids on his own? Before that, he was part of a team with Seth Burns himself, but walked out one day with no explanation at all. Supposedly, they had a huge argument a few days before, then he went completely solo. I doubt he's said more than a few words to Seth for that entire time."

Diana thought about it for a minute. "Could it be that he's jealous of Seth? Maybe he thinks that he needs to succeed on his own to prove that he is a superior fighter.

"Whatever the case, I'm sure that a bit of coaxing will help Talo overcome this stubborn streak. He just needs someone to talk things through with him."

Their conversation was interrupted as a frantic Hybrid burst through the front door, panicking. Rager recognized her immediately. "Hazel? What are you doing here?"

Hazel turned to him, obviously still frightened by whatever had happened. "R-rager, thank goodness! I just saw Talo get carried away by a Hybrid as I was heading home!"

"What?!" Rager asked incredulously. "Are you sure it was Talo?"

Hazel nodded. "I tried to chase her, but I can't fly very fast and she got away. But as she was flying, she dropped this," She held out a large black card shaped like a feather. On one side were the letters VI, while crimson lettering was spelled out on the other.

"The mightiest among you has fallen" Rager read. He looked at the back. "And this is the Roman Numeral six. I'll bet I can guess who took him."

"The AviSix" Hazel nodded. "That's what I thought too. The girl who was carrying him was an Altaria Hybrid."

Rager pressed a button on his DNA Repressor, bringing up a holographic screen. "The AviSix, we presume, is made up of six Hybrids, each with the form of a Bird Pokemon. Stoneplume and Sootfeather are the two we know of, and this new one must be the third. We aren't sure about their motives, but it appears that all of their members are intent on singling out and attacking Talo."

"We've got to go after them." Diana declared. "One thing we know about the AviSix is that they're dangerous. If they've kidnapped Talo, that can't be a good sign for us."

"What are we going to do about it though?" Hazel asked. "We've got to save Talo, but if these six are as tough as you say, it won't be easy."

Diana tapped her PokeFuser, creating a holographic map of the city. "I'm a hunter, Hazel, and one of the first lessons you learn in hunting is how to follow a bird to its nest."

-X-

Talo woke what could have been minutes or hours later, tied to a chair with a thick steel bracer on his wrist, covering his PokeFuser. He struggled for a moment against his bindings, but they were tied firmly.

"No need to waste your energy" a singsong voice informed him, "Even if you did just take a nice little nap." He turned to see Altomare sitting on a wooden crate to the side, smiling.

"Why am I here?" Talo asked, still groggy from his induced sleep.

Altomare slid off the crate and walked over. "Silly boy, I've already told you, you interest me. You defeated both Stoneplume and Sootfeather; a feat which is most certainly a difficult one. But now, I've overpowered you without a single strike. Did you hold back from attacking because I surprised you? Or is it because you saw a little girl defenseless girl who couldn't hurt you if she tried?" She moved in close. "Well whichever it was, we're here now, and it's time to have a little chat."

"What kind of chat?" Talo demanded, still trying to force apart the cables binding him.

Altomare giggled. "The kind where I torture you for information." With a sudden motion, she clamped a hand down on his neck and hit him with a Shockwave attack.

Talo couldn't help it-he screamed.

-X-

"Got it" Diana nodded, checking the readings again. "A trail of alpha particles heading toward the west side of the city."

Hazel raised an eyebrow. "Alpha particles? Aren't those the things that cook food in a microwave?"

Diana smiled. "Alpha particles are the weakest form of radiation, and they can be given off by many living things. For reasons unknown, whenever a Hybrid uses their powers, it generates a cloud of Alpha particles around them. This cloud leaves a trail which PokeFusers and our base's main computer can trace them. If we're lucky, we can follow it straight to Talo's location."

Hazel frowned. "Are you trying to tell me that Hybrids are radioactive?"

"In a sense" Rager spoke up. "The radiation we give off is a result of the energy that builds up when we attack. Since Pokemon store this energy naturally, they don't give off the particles.

"But humans aren't naturally meant to use those powers, so that energy buildup has no way to be stored. Instead, it diffuses into harmless radiation. You don't need to worry about keeling over one day because of your powers."

Hazel sighed in relief, before turning back to Diana. "If we're going to follow this trail, we should go now. Every second might be putting Talo in more danger."

"Right. Let's go" Diana agreed, lifting a hand to her necklace. She tapped the sapphire charm in the center, which began to glow with energy. "Fusion."

After a flash of bright light, she emerged. She wore a red hawklike helmet Resembling the head of a Talonflame, with twin crimson wings wrapping back around her shoulders and flowing down into a cloak. The armor on her torso and shoulders was blue, resembling the aquatic body of a Jellicent. Its blue tendrils wrapped around her waist like a belt.

Her right arm was covered by a silky black sleeve, while wicked nails like that of a Mightyena protruded from her fingers. Her left arm was covered in golden/brown armor like the arm of a Kadabra, and she was holding a long silver spoon which seemed to be slightly curved.

Lastly, her leg armor was shimmering steel from her Steelix. It was shaped to appear sleek, but would obviously protect her very well.

Hazel counted carefully. "You only have five Pokemon? I thought you had six pokeballs earlier?"

Diana grinned as suddenly a pinkish blob flowed out from her Jellicent belt, coalescing around the Mightyena arm and creating a large black glove with razor-sharp claws. "My Ditto is able to form itself into weapons of any shape so long as it has an example to use as a base. It's a very useful edge for a hunter when you always have the perfect weapon for the situation."

Rager coughed. "Let's talk later. Talo needs our help now."

The girls nodded, and Hazel tapped her DNA Repressor, assuming her Hybrid form. "Sure thing. But one of you may need to tow me along."

-X-

"So this is the whole reason I'm here?" Talo huffed. "To be tortured for information? You seem to know quite a lot about me already."

Altomare smiled over at him. The boy was remarkably resistant, seeming to shrug off pain that would have caused any normal human to pass out. He had scorch marks across his face and arms from each time she'd used Shock Wave on him, but he still wouldn't say a word.

"It's true that Xanthos has been watching you for quite some time now. But even his sight is limited, and he is hardly anywhere close to all-knowing." Altomare admitted, gazing toward a mirrored wall which Talo suspected was one-way. As soon as she'd finished, she gave a quiet gasp of pain, one had going to her head. "And he's not too fond of me reminding him about it."

Talo watched her actions in confusion. "Who's this Xanthos you keep talking about? Is he the leader of the AviSix?"

Altomare laughed. "Hardly. He couldn't lay a scratch on our leader, even if he wanted to. You, on the other hand, he could probably beat with a single thought." Again, she flinched. It seemed as though someone was sending her invisible signals, giving her nudges when she said too much.

"You're not the one in control of this interrogation then" Talo assumed. "It's like you're not even really the AviSix. You're the AviFive and then the head honcho."

Altomare's head spun, her eyes locking with his in surprise. "What did you just say?"

"That you're basically a puppet on a string" Talo expounded. "It's true, isn't it?"

"Not that part!" Altomare snapped. She quickly composed herself. "It's probably just a coincidence. Similar words. That's all."

Talo watched as she muttered quietly. This girl was definitely not quite right in the head. Maybe he could use that to his advantage. "Why are you helping him anyway? You don't seem like the type to let someone push them around."

"The reward is greater than the cost of service" Altomare answered cryptically. "Plus, it's a fun line of work. Terrorizing the city, torturing prisoners; it can really take it out of a girl, but at the same time it has all the perks."

Talo shivered. If he didn't find a way to escape soon, he'd be luckly to escape with all his limbs, much less his sanity.

"But enough talking" Altomare declared. "I'm supposed to be the one asking questions here, not you." She grabbed him by the neck. "Now tell me, who is in command of your little band of heroes? Is it that insufferable Fusion Knight?"

Talo smirked. "Not even close."

Altomare shrieked, sending a burst of electricity through the boy's body. It took all his strength not to cry out in pain.

If anyone does notice I've gone missing, here's hoping they get here fast he thought as he slumped forward once more.

"I didn't want to have to do this" Altomare growled in a low voice. "But you've forced my hand." As Talo slowly sat up again, she picked up a thin metal rod. Opening her mouth, she exhaled, a thin tendril of flame washing over the rod, heating it incredibly.

She smiled as Talo jerked back. "Did you forget? Altaria is part Dragon-type. And dragons can breathe fire."

This time, Talo's screams could be heard through the entire building.

-X-

"She's hurting him" Hazel gasped, watching through the barred roof window. "We need to get in there and stop her!"

Rager tapped the bars blocking the glass. "There's no way we're getting through these; they're reinforced to stop attacks form Hybrids. By the time we blasted our way through, she would be gone with Talo. We'll have to find another way in."

Diana scanned the building's perimeter, flying on crimson wings. "There's a service entrance at the back corner, but even that's likely to be guarded. We'll need to be quiet, take them out before they can raise an alarm." She soared down and landed beside the door, her Hybrid companions joining her a few seconds later. "Be careful. As far as we know, the entire AviSix could be in here. If all else fails, our goal is to get Talo and get out. Don't waste time trying to overpower them."

The others nodded, and Diana slowly opened the door.

The corridor beyond was dark and empty, not a hint of movement anywhere. The walls were lined every so often with doors, extending for quite a ways in either direction.

"This used to be an office building for Devon" Diana explained. "It's going to be tough finding Talo in this mess. We'll have to split up."

Rager immediately volunteered to go one way on his own, stating that he would be better able to defend himself or escape if it came to it.

"Besides, Hazel isn't the best fighter, and I want her safe if you get attacked."

They quickly agreed and split up, moving silently through what appeared to be a deserted building.

Diana and Hazel encountered the first resistance-a Spearow Hybrid who was practically asleep on his feet. Diana silently held out her giant spoon as a thin line of energy ran from one tip to the next. She pulled this energy string back and released it, launching a small arrow of energy from the spoon like a bow and arrow. It hit the Hybrid, who keeled over unceremoniously to land on the floor.

"What was that?" Hazel asked in astonishment.

Diana smiled. "There's more than one reason I'm called the Hunter. Usually, Ditto makes arrows for me to fire at my enemies, but in this case, using Kadabra's Hypnosis in a concentrated bolt was enough."

Hazel raised an eyebrow. "You shoot psychic arrows...with a giant spoon?"

"We're wasting time" Diana declared quickly. "There are traces of alpha radiation through this hallway-no doubt the Hybrid was using unnatural strength to carry Talo all this way." She came to the next door where a scream suddenly rang out. "This is the one."

Hazel instinctively moved forward, but Diana held her back. "I know you want to help him, but we need to do this tactfully. Talo is one of our strongest fighters and he's only barely come out on top in his previous fights with the AviSix. If this Hybrid managed to take him out only a few minutes after leaving the base, she's either extremely cunning or incredibly powerful.

"Whichever it is, we're going to need to be smarter than her. We need to think this through before we jump to action. Strategy is our ally."

Hazel nodded reluctantly. "So do you actually have a plan, or are we gonna sit here and form one while she's slowly killing our friend?"

Diana gave her an assuring nod. "How quickly can you throw up a Smokescreen?"

-X-

"You're awfully resistant for one so young" Altomare noted as Talo collapsed after being struck once more with the blazing rod. "I've had to promise not to damage you too severely, but that limits what I can do to break you." She turned toward her table where a series of menacing objects and devices sat. She started unwinding a set of electrodes connected to a large black box when a sound quite similar to that of air leaking from a balloon occurred. She spun quickly to see that an acrid cloud of smoke had billowed up, consuming Talo in its midst.

"Interesting" she nodded, before loosing a Shockwave into the cloud. The electricity quickly burned through the soot, clearing it away to reveal Hazel and a now freed Talo. "But not quite clever enough."

"You're quite certain of that?" a voice asked from behind her. She spun once more only to be hit in the head by a giant...spoon?

The impact knocked her to the floor, and gave the heroes the time they needed to release the gauntlet on Talo's arm and escape.

"What kept you?" Talo asked. "I had to hold out against that psychopath for three hours!"

"Sorry. This place is like a maze." Hazel explained. "Speaking of which, we need to get out before your new friend comes to."

Diana led them confidently through the halls, tracking the path they'd made backwards to the entrance. Alarms were sounding through the whole building.

"Where's Rager?" Talo questioned as they ran. "Is he still upset about earlier? I was being a jerk, I know."

"Save it for him" Diana quieted him. "Rager was the one who organized this rescue. He's probably still in the building somewhere."

-X-

Fifteen minutes earlier, Rager had been searching for the room they had seen from the roof. There were no direct hallways leading to it, which was odd since this had originally been an office building. Why would Devon Corp have built such a confusing place?

He eventually came to a room a few floors up with light spilling out underneath. He yanked it open and stepped inside.

"Put your hands in the air" he demanded as he entered, his years as Officer Jenny's assistant when he was human returning. "You're under arrest for the kidnapping of Talo Zeph. You have the right to remain..." He trailed off as he realized that neither of the people in the room was either Talo or the Hybrid who had kidnapped him.

They were standing in a large room where a glass window looked in on Talo and his torturer-obviously reflective or Talo and his captor would have noticed his entrance. In the room with him were the two aforementioned occupants. One was tall, sitting in shadows so that Rager couldn't see his face. The other, however, was all too familiar.

"You" Rager frowned. The pieces were falling into place. Why else would a group of Hybrids with bird Pokemon attributes go after Talo? Unless of course, their leader had a personal vendetta against him?

"It appears that we have an intruder, Xanthos." The Raven noted. "Remind me to increase the building's security at the earliest opportunity."

The shadowy figure nodded. "Well, we can't have him running back to his friends knowing who we are, can we? That would ruin the whole suspense of the thing." He turned to rager, his eyes suddenly taking on a bluish glow. "So, Simon says: forget."

Rager instantly keeled back, hitting the floor, already unconscious.

"Efficient" the Raven nodded. "I'm suddenly reminded why I hired you."

Xanthos nodded. "A man hired by thieves means one of two things-his employers are desperate, or they have very fine taste. I move for the latter." He looked down at the unconscious Hybrid. "Should I dispose of him?"

The Raven shook his head. "No, we'll leave him here. He might still be important to our plans. We'll need to move to the bolt hideout until the police finish combing it over. Then we can return and nobody will think to search here again."

Xanthos nodded. "Of course, he did not come alone. His friends will be along shortly, and they will free our prisoner. I suggest that we withdraw from these proceedings." He stood, pulling on a wide-brimmed hat which continued to obscure his face.

The Raven nodded, having learned to accept the fact that Xanthos could see the future. "Altomare would not have been able to break him in any case. He is too strong for her."

"A defeat then...and also a victory" Xanthos declared. "This boy's mind contains all the information our torturer cannot extract from her prisoner." He turned in time to see Altomare's chamber fill with smoke. "Just as I foresaw."

With that, the two left Rager lying face-down on the floor. They had more imporant tasks to attend.

-X-

Rager came to exactly ten minutes later. He assumed from the alarms going off that the other team had been successful.

"Better than I was" he muttered. "Whoever was in here knocked me out before I even got a good look at them."

Instead of moping about it, he began retracing his steps out of the building. If sirens were sounding, it likely meant that Hazel and Diana already had Talo.

His theory was proved true when he jumped out a low window to see his friends racing away from the scene. "You didn't think you were gonna leave me behind, did you?"

Talo turned to him apologetically. "I'm sorry about before. I didn't mean the things I said."

Rager held up a hand to stop him. "You're already forgiven. But right now we just need to get away before that psycho-chick of yours comes after us."

He nodded. "But Rager? I'm glad you guys came to help me."

His partner nodded. "Me too, kid. Me too."

-X-

Altomare was not in a good mood.

There was a pounding throb against her left temple where the Fusion Warrior had attacked her with her giant spoon. Why a spoon? That made about as much sense as a gun that shot salt. Sure, it was annoying and painful, but it hardly seemed a rational weapon choice.

"I'll find you" she promised. "No matter where you go, I'm going to take your little group and rip it apart bit by bit." In anger, she launched a Dragonbreath attack at the wall, scorching it a deep black.

"This isn't the last you've seen of me, Talo."

AN: Altomare and Xanthos are insanely fun charcters to write, even though the latter doesn't get a whole ton of screentime in this chapter. These were the first two AviSix that I came up with, and they will be quite important later on.

Trivia:

-Altomare's name comes from Alto and nightmare, reflecting her singsong façade which hides her psychotic personality underneath. She was inspired by Azula, the main villain of the second season of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

-The song Altomare sings is a poem written by a friend of mine specifically for this character. Its actual title is Falling Angel.

-Xanthos's line before erasing Rager's memory of their encounter-Simon says forget-is a nod to Simon, the evil psychic from Young Justice. He takes a lot of his personality from Simon as well.

-Diana was created by PichuAuraGuardian18 as a second Fusion Warrior for Talo's team. (I've been trying to focus less on using Fusion Warriors and more Hybrids in the story, so as not to get too confused with the Fusion Warriors in Pichu's story. I'm sure there are enough of those already.) She is mainly inspired by Artemis/Diana, the goddess of the moon and the hunt, but takes aspects from several other portions of mythology, as I probably spent to much time pointing out to Pichu during her creation.

Also, I'm considering doing a sort of "guest star" system with future chapters. If there's a character you want to see, either from Pichu's story, a character of your own, or someone from the Pokemon world in general, feel free to mention it in a review.

Even Fire and Ice have a Dark side...