Ah, finished at last. Longest. Story. EVER! 4,555 words, not counting bolded hellos and goodbyes. Damn long. In any case, enjoy.

Disclaimer-I do not own Pokemon. I only own the OCs used withing this story. This, of course, does NOT include Ethan, Silver, and Lyra. They belong to whoever made Pokemon in the first place. Japan.

Chapter 8: The four horsemen

We had been traveling near to a week, isolated from the rest of the world. Tal more so than the rest of us. He didn't eat much; he never talked to us, and every so often I would catch a look in his eye that had never been there before. I feared he was going crazy. But after what seemed like ages, we reached the base. Almost.

"How the hell do we get up there? The door is fifty feet straight up! There's no way we can get up there!" Tal just smiled at the comment. "Not if you were planning on walking…" Moments later, we were standing inside the first security checkpoint. I'm not going to go into the details of how we got there. I really don't want to think about it. Let's just say it involved lots of purple.

As I was saying, we were inside the first security checkpoint. The guards at the monitors had drawn guns against us, but in the blink of an eye they were slammed into walls with their own guns pointed at their helmeted faces. Sensing a fight in the future, I took the time to reach into myself and take a firm hold of my shape shifting power. Always be ready.

My caution proved to be right, we were attacked many times. Yet, before I could even attempt a transformation, Tal simply blasted the soldiers back without breaking stride. He was starting to worry me.

Every so often, Tal and Phoenix would run down a side hallway, causing several explosions, before returning to the group again. Every time, Tal managed to cut himself on something, and I would watch with a strange fascination each time as the cuts and gashes sealed themselves shut in less than a minute. Tal truly was a frightening individual. I made a mental note to stay on his good side.

We were attacked once again, this time while Tal and Phoenix had run off. Giving over to my instincts, I transformed into the first thing that came to mind. A Gallade. It was a strange feeling, knowing that my arms had become lethal weapons. Beside me, Silver had changed into an Aggron. Facing us were ten Infinus soldiers, all of whom seemed to be more heavily armed than those near the base's entrance. One of them even carried a chaingun.

As they took aim, Silver crouched in front of us, using his bulletproof hide as a shield. I vaulted over him, stabbing two soldiers on the way down. I landed in a crouch, quickly slicing the feet out from under two more soldiers. I rolled to the side to avoid several salvos of shotgun shells, and as I came up I grabbed another soldier in a viselike grip, choking him. I grabbed the soldier's gun, and threw it at the man with the chaingun. It shattered his visor, knocking him out.

Dropping the soldier I had been chocking, I dashed foreword. Using my momentum, I caught one of the soldiers and slammed him into the ground while simultaneously slashing the neck of another. The last two soldiers were standing away from the rest of the group, wearing black armour and wielding strangely long rifles. I charged them, but before I could close the distance, they fired. The boom was incredible, shaking the ground around me. I saw the two bullets flying towards me at terminal velocity, and knew I had no chance too dodge them. I crossed my arms in front of my face, and waited for the pain I knew was coming.

I waited. And waited. Yet still the pain didn't come. I risked a look, and saw something utterly ridiculous. The bullets had stopped, spinning, in place. Inches from my face, the two hunks of metal revolved slowly. I noticed a strange purplish glow around them. Glancing behind me, I saw that Tal and Phoenix had returned.

One of the snipers tried to get off a second shot, but before he could pull the trigger the gun began to glow. It flew out of his hands, landing a few feet away. Shrugging slightly, I took advantage of the opportunity to charge the snipers. Sprinting foreword, I stabbed one in the side of the neck and sliced the other along the side of the head. Their armour stopped me from killing them, but I still did a lot of damage. Skidding to a halt behind the two, I spun, grabbing the less hurt of the two in a chokehold. The other was slammed into the wall by my psychic friend. There was a crunching noise, as if several of his bones had broken at the same time. Grunting slightly, I heaved the sniper over my shoulder, knocking him out.

Flexing my bladed arms, I looked over at Tal. "You find anything?" I asked. He nodded, motioning for me to follow. The entire group did. Tal led us down a series of hallways, rooms, and what seemed to be ventilation ducts, before stopping in front of some weird circular machine. How such a thing could help us, I did not know. Seeing my confused look, Tal elaborated. ''It's a teleportation device. First working model in the world. And it leads to the center of the base, deep into the mountain. We have to go through this to get to the reactor level and command level."

Phoenix pressed a button on the side of the device, and an electrical currant began to arc through the opening. There was a flash of light, and a deafening boom. When I looked back at the device, it was filled with swirling green, blue, and purple light. In the very center, a small black orb. Tal motioned for us to proceed, and steeling myself, I walked through the portal. And everything went black.

THE REST OF THIS CHAPTER WILL BE SHOWN FROM DIFFERENT POVs.

AT THE BEGINNING OF EACH SEGMENT I WILL STATE WHO's POV IT IS FOCUSED ON

Silver

Stepping through the portal, I felt the ground pull away from my feet. I had the sensation of floating, before once again being slammed into cold metal. I opened my eyes, not aware that I had closed them. I looked around, surveying the surrounding area for threats. Ethan and Rose, who had gone through before me, were nowhere to be found. Neither were the other members of the party, yet I could feel that I was not alone. I grasped my navaja and kukri knives lightly, beginning a more in depth scan of the area.

The hallway I was standing in was narrow, less than five feet wide. Its walls were covered in electrical wiring and pipes, and there were few lights on the ceiling. About fifty feet away, a small door was set into a wall. That seemed to be the only exit. Yet I could not shake the feeling that I was being watched. Pulling my knives from their sheaths, I started to move as stealthily as possible to the end of the hallway, all the while looking for any nooks where an opponent might hide. Finding nothing, I reached the end of the hallway and stepped through the door.

On the other side, I was met with an arena. Blazing lights overhead lit the entire room as if it was above ground, basking in the sun. The lights were arranged in such a way the no shadows were cast by anything. The floor and walls, polished to mirror sheens, reflected the light, making the room painful to stand in. My eyes, accustomed to the relative darkness of the rest of the complex, began to water. About halfway up the room, the wall stopped, expanding backwards to form a floor for rows of seats to be placed. The seats, made of the darkest material I had ever seen, were almost invisible. Had the room not been so well lit, no one could tell they were there.

And, of course, I still felt as if I was being watched. Walking into the center of the arena, I knelt down. Placing my knives on the floor, I began to scan the arena with my mind. Yet still I turned up nothing. Until I heard the sound of metal striking metal. The sound was soft, faint, as if whatever it belonged to was trying to avoid being found. But it was enough for me to know what I was up against. A robot, android, or someone in a mechanized suit. Smiling, I grasped my knives, rose, and spoke up. "You're not very stealthy, you know."

Phoenix

Stepping through the vortex of energy disoriented me, scrambling my senses. When I opened my eyes, Null and Hazle were next to me, drowsily trying to move foreword. Using my limited psionic abilities, I managed to snap them out of their delirium. It would do me no good to have incapacitated teammates. As I had warned Tal, the teleportation device had separated the group. A prototype' a prototype after all. Glancing around, I found that we were in a small, enclosed room, about the size of an elevator. One wall was replaced by a doorway, another by a window. Out the window, I saw a large auditorium like room, with rows of seating at one end and a stage at the other.

Standing on the stage was a man in a black robe. Arms crossed, he was watching me expectantly. A medium sized, angular knife was clenched in one of his hands; a bladed glove covered the other. Despite the distance between us, I could feel his eyes boring into me, searching me. I was uncomfortable at the prospect.

Turning back to my companions, I nodded for them to proceed down the hallway, and find a way down. Once they had left, I sealed the door behind them with a jolt of electricity. The two sliding panels welded themselves together. I turned back to the window, and charged.

Ethan

Opening my eyes, I felt an intense pain al over my body. Mind numbing pain seared through my veins, flowing through my body like a currant. I shook violently; doing everything I could to avoid screaming. I ground my teeth together, clenched my hands into fists, and waited. And after what seemed like an eternity, the pain ceased.

I stood up slowly; testing my body to make sure it wouldn't shut down. Finding no problems, I shrugged my shoulders. I looked around, watching for threats. Still in my Gallade form, I felt certain that I could take on any opponent in this base. But surprise attacks could still be fatal. And I was alone.

As I began to walk, I heard an annoying buzzing noise. There seemed to be words to it, but I couldn't make them out. I began to walk faster, searching actively for an exit. All the while, the buzzing got louder. It got to the point where it would drive me crazy, and I snapped, lashing out at a pipe on the wall. The blades on my arm left a gash, out of which poured steam.

And through the steam, I saw a shape. A void, where steam did not go. Vaguely the shape of a Latias… "Rose?" I asked, drawing my arms up in a defensive stance. The figure nodded. The buzzing in my ears got louder, more intense. And I could make out the words to it. "Hello? CAN YOU HEAR ME?" I chuckled. "Yes, Rose, I can hear you now." The figure relaxed, and Rose materialized. "I was getting worried about you. Most people don't have the mental capacity to understand mentalist conversations. It's good to see that we can communicate silently."

Rolling my eyes at the concept, I continued down the hallway, asking if she could contact Tal or Silver. She shook her head. "I don't have the kind of power it takes to contact long distance. I doubt Silver has that ability. Tal, on the other hand, could contact anyone, anywhere, anytime. It's just a matter of if he wants to." The comment had a ring of truth to it. The overpowered loner. Original, I know.

The hallway came to an abrupt end, stopping at a wire covered door set into the wall. Breathing a silent sigh of relief, I grabbed the end of the door and shoved it to the side. Stepping through the door was like stepping into another world.

Plants of many different varieties and sizes crowded the room, ranging from grass to gigantic trees, and everything in between. Fruit bearing plants and various weeds waged an epic battle for control of the football field sized room, which was lit from above by many UV lights. I wandered among the shadows, aware that anything could be hiding in the dense foliage. Rose seemed to have the same idea, as she had turned invisible.

I listened as intently as I could, trying to make the noises of my body disappear. I was sure that something was stalking me, but I had little evidence on that front. Until I heard the scream. I spun, raising my arms, to see Rose plummet from the sky, smoking slightly. I looked around quickly, just before an arc of electricity slammed into my shoulder.

Tal

I smiled, evilly, at the Director, advancing on him slowly. My power, slowly going rampant, began to fire off at random times, burning some random computer. My revenge was at hand. But it was not to be.

The Director, eyes fixed on me, failed to notice the man standing, sword drawn, behind him. As the Director got closer and closer, the man tensed, and eventually, lunged. I watched, horrified, as my revenge was stolen away in an instant. The blade plunged into the Director's back, coming back out his chest after piercing his heart. All my time, wasted. The Director gave a final, strangled cry, and died.

The sword retracted, and the man kicked the dead Director to the floor. A pool of blood began to form. I felt a familiar rage bubble to the surface, aimed at this mysterious man. He was bristling with blades, including the katana he had used to kill the Director. Among them were four kukri knives, one on each arm and two crossed on his chest, two gunong strapped to his legs, along with a bandolier-like strap covered in throwing knives. Strapped behind his waist was a wakizashi. A man of the blade, to say the least.

Ethan

The jolt sent me flying into a tree, slamming my spine into the thick trunk of an oak. I fell heavily to the ground, my body screaming in pain. I looked up to see a person clothed in what appeared to be a HAZMAT suit. On its arms were two electrode-like devices, clearly what had shocked me. Metal extended up the person's arms, before lacing into a partial vest on its chest.

The person saw me standing, and the electrodes flared to life. Blue electricity flared all around the person, the occasional stray arc hitting me, forcing me to clench my fist and grind my teeth in pain. I knew I couldn't take much of that pain. I rolled behind the tree to rest, only to have a blot of electricity arc around the tree to hit me. The hit caught me completely off guard, and I was blown to my feet. I hit the ground hard, and stars danced in my eyes.

Phoenix

"And so, quattuor equitatus awaken." I said grimly. The name fit too perfectly. The man in front of me was Wraith. Capable of becoming invisible. Largely considered the second most dangerous human alive. I had little doubt that Tal could trounce the overconfident lunatic. But I was not nearly as powerful as him. Wraith ruffled his cloak at the comment, and nodded solemnly. "The master has plans for us now. We can remain dormant no longer."

"We don't have to fight, Wraith. We were friends once, we can be again." Even as the words spilled from my mouth, I knew that they could never become a reality. Wraith smiled, holding up his knife. On it was the Infinus logo, the scalpel and syringe. Below that, the quattuor equitatus had been engraved, three swords crossing, forming three separate spaces. Filling them were the icons of the respective soldiers. Wraith's cloak and dagger, Volt's electrodes, and Tank's various guns. The swords themselves represented Kengou, the group's resident swordsman and leader.

The knowledge that Infinus had dispatched their most powerful assassins to kill us was disheartening. No doubt they could cause damage to the group while we were separated. A bad omen, if there ever was one. And with them involved, things would only get worse. I could only hope the others had remained in a group.

Wraith moved like a dancer, graceful, stealthy. When he activated his stealth, he was impossible to detect. He seemed to calculate every step, and because of that never activated any kind of trap. He was a force to be reckoned with on his own, let alone with backup.

I slid into a defensive stance, charging up for an attack. Wraith noticed, and disappeared. I tried to sniff him out, but he seemed to have filled the room with some kind of gas. I could only smell charcoal. I looked around, still charging. Wraith moved fast, and could attack at any moment. I had no intention of getting stabbed.

I heard a footstep, and a whooshing noise as a knife descended. I rolled away from the noise, turned, and fired of a shot of electricity. I hit my mark, and the knife flew through the air, damaged. It shattered when it hit the ground, breaking into a hundred tiny pieces. Strangely, both logos survived. Wraith remained unseen.

Ethan

"I am Volt! I am your worst nightmare! You will not survive this battle, of that you can be certain." The voice was distinctly female. I groaned as another bolt hit me, knocking me back to the ground in pain. I could already feel most of my muscles become paralyzed. Soon, the electricity would stop my heart. I couldn't let that happen. Gathering my strength, I prepared to charge.

I made it less then a foot before I was hit with another bolt of electricity, slamming me to the ground. My vision began to dim, and I could feel my heartbeat become more and more erratic. I tried to rise, only to be hit with another bolt. After that, my vision went completely, leaving me blind. I felt the ground shake as the person approached me, sending me into a state of mild panic.

Though I didn't know it, my breathing had become shallow, and my heart had nearly stopped. I was almost dead. My senses had flat lined; I was dead in the water, so to speak. And then, the strangest thing happened.

Silver

I turned, blades in hand, to face my opponent. The man was wearing a black and red suit of armour, towering a good ten feet into the air. Bristling with guns, the suit looked like it could take on a battalion of tanks and survive. Several RPG and rocket launchers were mounted on the suit's shoulders, a very large machine gun was strapped to one of its arms, and a small tube was mounted on the other.

The man let out a booming laugh. "Neither are you, friend. The unstoppable force, versus the immovable object. I've waited a long, long time for this moment." I smirked, flipping my kukri blade foreword. I left the navaja in a backhand grip. "Well then, I'd better not keep you waiting…" I spoke the words in hushed tones, moving slightly to the left as I spoke. The moment I finished, I lunged. The man, unprepared, made no move to stop me as I jammed the kukri into his suit, severing wires and causing a tiny bolt of electricity to hit me.

Before I could pull the knife back out, however, the suit sprang into action, kicking me away.

I was launched into the air, painfully, and I hit the wall with a dull thud. I dropped to the ground, still holding my navaja. The hilt dug painfully into the palm of my hand. I twirled it lightly, flicking the blade foreword. I hurled the knife, straight into the helmet of the armoured suit.

The entire thing began to shudder, several of the weapons misfired. I narrowly dodged a rocket, which slammed into the wall and exploded, giving me an exit. The suit continued to shake and spasm, as if alive, before collapsing in a heap. I dashed towards it, grabbing my knives, and ran through the hole in the wall. It led into another maintenance hallway.

Phoenix

I could not hit my target. He moved to fast, attacking and disappearing before I could do any major damage. I could not hit him dead on, such a feat was impossible with his invisibility. I had to think up a plan, and fast. I dodged another strike, and another, all the while thinking of a way to win. The odds were stacked against me, and I was starting to tire. Soon, I would be beaten.

That's when it hit me. He didn't actually disappear; he simply created an illusion of invisibility. He was still there. An area attack would hit him. Now I was kicking myself for not figuring that out earlier. It was so simple, so obvious.

I began charging my attack, charging above and beyond the general safety limit set by my ancestors and friends. I had one shot; otherwise he would counter attack me. The power started to leave my body in a slow stream. My body began to glow, encased in a cocoon of electricity. And I released my restraint.

Lightning flashed out, filling the room. A shape appeared where no electricity flowed. Guiding the arcs, I shaped them into a single beam and shot all the electricity at the shape. The massive bolt broke up, surrounding the target, causing it to shriek in agony. Wraith appeared, his cloaked body smoking as the electricity burned him. But as quickly as the storm had started, it was over.

The electricity vanished, and Wraith slumped to the ground, still smoking. I was breathing heavily, my strength and stamina all but gone. If Wraith managed to get up, I wouldn't be able to attack him.

A door at the rear of the room opened, and a rush of cool air eased my breathing. "Phoenix! We found a way out!" I turned, Hazle and Null were standing in the door, the controls of which were sparking and smoking. I nodded slowly, to tired to speak. The two disappeared down a hallway, and I was forced to follow.

Behind me, Wraith began to rise.

Ethan

I can only describe it as a vision, a dream. I was in an ancient Japanese dojo, facing a martial arts instructor. The man had short, black hair, deep emerald eyes, and looked to be about fifty years old. He was wearing a sterile white robe, devoid of any colour. I looked down at myself, and saw that I was wearing black clothes. My hands were covered in black leather gloves, but my feet were bear. The man seemed to be waiting for me to make a move.

It dawned on me that we were fighting. Training. In what I had no idea, for what I had no idea. His eyes narrowed, and my body seemed to fall into a groove. My left leg slid back, my right leg bent slightly. My hands went up in front of my face, clenched into light fists. All my muscles clenched; my entire body ready to move.

My body moved without my mind's control. Everything seemed to happen on its own. It was as if I was watching a movie, through the eyes of one character. I closed my eyes, and when I opened them, I was watching the two men fight. And as soon as it started, it ended. The two bowed to each other, and left. Time passed, and they re-appeared. Again, they fought.

This cycle continued, for what seemed to be years. I unconsciously started to memorize the techniques they used, how they moved. More time passed. Eventually, the man in white started to get slow. He aged. Eventually, the man in black took his place, fighting with younger people.

And then: I heard a voice. A voice that seemed familiar, yet at the same time forgotten. It was the strangest feeling. "Ethan! Ethan, get up!" Feminine. The voice belonged to a girl. Another, lower voice spoke up. "Damnit Ethan! Don't die on me!" I sighed, closing my eyes. I had to think. When I opened them, I was back in reality.

Silver, Rose, and Null were standing over me. Figuratively speaking. I smiled weakly. "Hey guys…" There was a collective sigh of relief. I pushed myself into a seated position, and immediately regretted the move. My head started to swim, and stars seemed to dance in front of my eyes. There seemed two of everything.

I looked down. I was human again. My arm was glowing softly. As I watched, the glow intensified, and my vision cleared. My dizziness abated, and I managed to stand. "So, what now?"

Tal

"You still haven't told me your name," I said, still watching the man. He was unstable, prone to violence. I had already seen him cut down anyone he saw. Perhaps he was like me. He had shoulder length brown hair, the tips of which were deep, midnight black. He had a smooth tan, and deep red eyes. I noted early on that he was one of few who did not balk at my stare.

He shook his head. "Names have no meaning around here. You can call me Kengou. Sword master." The name caused me to grin slightly. What a perfect name. "Next question then, why are you here?" He glanced back. "Same as you. Revenge." The words made me shudder. I knew they stemmed from what happened to me.

A man started towards us, looking at a clipboard. When he looked up, he froze, turned, and ran. A throwing knife nailed him in the back of the head. He dropped foreword, a puddle of blood forming around him. I looked away, not wanted the image of innocent blood to stain my memories. I heard a sickening squelch as Kengou pulled the knife free.

The way he treated his own kind sickened me. It enforced my resolve to kill him. After I got more information. "Who do you want revenge on?" The man twirled the bloody knife, before hurling into the wall. "These people have wronged me. And I will destroy them all." He pulled a small, clunky object from his belt. There was a button on one side, and a signal wire at the top. The word Kaboom had been written in blood on the front.

He clicked the button, and all hell broke loose.

Ah, the humble cliffhanger strikes again!

Explanations of names: Kengou: sword master in japanese. Wakizashi, katana, kukri, navaja, and gunong: Knives and swords from different cultures and countries. Quattuor equitatus: Latin words for 'The four horsemen'. More on that later.

In other news, have you ever wanted a cool OC made by someone else in your story? Well, I have a proposition for people like that! If you want, I will let you use Tal! On two conditions. You notify me of your use of him, and YOU HAVE TO SAY THAT ALL RIGHTS TO HIM BELONG TO ME IN YOUR STORY! If someone doesn't stick to these, I will be very angry with them.

Looking back, I remembered putting a reference to Final Fantasy Advent Children back in Chapter 5. How has nobody noticed that before? Srlsy, it was so obvious. The scene it came from was iconic. Go find that reference. If you don't, you are not fit to read the rest of this story. Seriously!

WEAPON, out.