A/N: Hello readers. Man, I am on a roll this week with updates. Here's the latest one and I'm sure it's one you'll all enjoy.
Ren and Akio walked along the sandy shoreline in Shalour City. They had managed to avoid attention from the other players in town, and now they could walk freely. It wasn't much farther to their destination. The giant tower that Shalour City was most known for. The Tower of Mastery.
"That's the place?" Akio asked.
Ren nodded his head. "Yeah. This is the place the rumors mentioned."
The two players had just made it into Shalour City today. It was good timing in Ren's mind because there was still a full day left before his battle with Kira. It didn't give him much time to acquire whatever this special power was, but it would be enough.
And that was IF he was able to acquire it at all.
Not many trainers had ventured into the Tower of Mastery. According to what Ren had heard, the inside of the tower didn't have the same protection as the rest of the city. It wasn't a safe zone, and not one trainer that had gone inside had ever come back out. The thing that kept some trainers going there was the promise of a unique power, unlike any other. Honestly, it was something only a desperate person would try.
But if there was anything Ren was right now, it was desperate.
Ren and Akio walked closer and closer to the tower. It stretched high up, nearly piercing the clouds themselves. The tremendous pressure Ren and Akio felt just standing in front of it was chilling.
"Now or never." Ren said.
"Yep." Akio agreed. "All that's left is for us to walk through the front Entei-rance."
Ren shot an annoyed look to his friend. "Seriously Akio, you have to stop with those stupid pokepuns."
Akio simply laughed in response. "Hey, don't hate me just cause I'm hilarious."
A low groan escaped Ren as he walked inside with Akio following close behind. As the two walked into the tower, they were surprised. It was a tall wide singular room that seemed to go all the way to the top with a spiral staircase along the side walls. A large statue of a Mega Lucario stood in the center of the room.
"Get me the number of the interior decorator for this place." Akio said aloud as he looked around the room.
Suddenly a voice spoke up. "Welcome young trainers." Ren and Akio looked to see an older looking man standing on the shoulder of the Lucario statue. He wore a robe, similar to what one would see on a kung-fu master in movies. He had thick eyebrows and long grey hair that was tied up in a ponytail. He leaped off the statue and landed on the ground in front of the two trainers.
Akio rolled his eyes. "Seriously? An old man as the sensei of a place people go to get stronger? How cliche can you get?"
The man looked at Akio with a stern look. "Not as cliche as a muscle-brained teenager who talks big, but can't back it up."
"What was that?" Akio growled.
Ren on the other hand wasn't focussed on what the old man said. What surprised him was that he responded at all. NPCs were only equipped to respond to certain keywords or phrases. 'Does that mean this guy is more advanced? Something along the lines of an AI perhaps?' He took a step forward and stared at the old man. "Is it true that trainers can get stronger here?"
He turned his attention away from Akio and nodded his head. "Yes, that is correct. I am the guru of this temple. Do you seek training?"
"Yes." Ren said. He bowed his head down. "I need to get stronger. Nothing else matters to me right now other than that."
"Is that so?" he said. Almost every trainer that had come his way said the same thing, but there was something different about this one. Perhaps it was that fierce determination in his eyes. There was something behind that desire for strength. The guru walked towards the end of the room. "Follow me and your test can begin. You're friend can stay here for now."
"Hey, I didn't come here for kicks you know!" Akio argued. "Let me do this training too."
"Only one person can take the test at a time." he explained. "You're friend asked first, so he gets to go first."
Ren followed the guru as Akio grumbled and stayed behind. They walked around the Lucario statue. Behind it, was the same empty space, though one difference was the presence of three circles drawn out on the floor. As they walked, the guru spoke to Ren. "Tell me something. Why is it you wish to get stronger?"
"There's someone I need to beat." Ren said. "He threatened my friends and with my current power, I know they won't be safe around me. That's why I need to get stronger."
"I see." He didn't say anything more on the subject and pointed to the circles. "Stand inside one of them. Your test will begin once you do."
Ren did as he was told and stood in the circle at the center. "Ok, I'm ready."
"I should warn you, this test will be extremely difficult. If you fail, you may not like the outcome."
Ren stood firm. He had come this far. He wasn't going to back down now. "Throw whatever you want at me. I'm ready for it."
"Very well." the guru said. He looked upwards. "Lucario. You know what to do."
Suddenly a Lucario jumped from above and landed next to the guru. Before Ren even knew what was going on, the pokemon held out both of its hands towards Ren and his vision went white. When he could finally see again, he found himself still in the tower where he was standing before. But something was different. The guru and the Lucario that was with him were gone. He looked up and saw that something else had changed too. Instead of a spiral staircase around the side of the tower, there was a maze of stairs going from one end of the wall to another. It was unlike anything Ren had ever seen before.
'What's going on?!' Ren wondered.
"This is your test, trainer." the guru's voice spoke, echoing throughout the room. "You must make it to the top of the tower. Along the way, you will encounter obstacles. In addition, you can only make this climb with your most trusted partner. The pokemon you have bonded closest to."
The pokemon he had bonded closest with? Ren suddenly noticed the small lack of weight around his waist. Looking at his belt he noticed that his pokeballs were missing. There wasn't even one left. "I don't have any of my pokemon though!" Ren shouted. "How can I make this climb with my most trusted partner if I don't have any of my pokemon?!"
"The pokemon you trust most is not among them it seems." the guru explained. "None of them are the one you feel closest to."
Ren soon realized that the guru was right. His most trusted partner wasn't with him. The pokemon he trusted more than any of his other ones was gone. Infernape.
"It appears you will not have any assistance in battle as a result of this predicament. Your test will be much harder than most as a result. I wish you luck young trainer. You're certainly going to need it."
Ren looked up towards the top of the tower. He couldn't even see the top anymore. No doubt it was taller in this odd mirror version he was in. And having to go through obstacles without the help of any of his pokemon. This certainly wasn't going to be easy.
"One more piece of advice though, young trainer. As long as you have your bond with your pokemon in your heart, you are never away from them." the guru added. "The bond between trainer and pokemon is not something so easily crushed. True partners will always be there when one calls out for the other."
'Well, here goes nothing.' Ren thought to himself as he started running up the first staircase. He kept running across staircase after staircase. There was a long way to go before he would reach the top.
Akio was officially bored. Ten minutes had passed since he stopped hearing anything from Ren or the old man. He wasn't one to simply stand around and do nothing, so he walked around the Lucario statue to where the two had gone. His eyes widened at what he saw.
Ren was standing in some kind of circle on the ground. A wave of blue aura was surrounding the circle and his friend's eyes were closed, as if he was asleep. The guru wasn't even looking at Akio, but he could sense his presence. "You're not a very good listener, are you?"
"Ren!" Akio gasped. He looked to the guru for an explanation. "What's going on?!"
"Your friend is currently undergoing the test to become stronger." he explained. "It will be awhile before he wakes up, especially given the circumstances he is taking it under."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Akio asked.
The guru shook his head. "It is none of your concern. But it will be awhile until his test is finished. Time works differently between here and the mirror world your friend is in. It moves half as quickly in there."
"Wait so you mean that an hour in there would be two hours here?"
"Precisely." the guru answered.
"So how long do you think it will take Ren?" Akio questioned.
The guru thought to himself. "Most would take about six hours in the mirror world to complete. His will no doubtedly be even longer than that."
"Six hours?!" Akio gasped. "How long can it take to pass a stupid test?!"
"For your friend's case, if he passes at all, which is a very big if I should say, I estimate it will take him approximately twelve hours at least."
Akio stared at his friend, asleep in the circle. Due to the time difference between wherever Ren was and here, twelve hours would mean a full day. Whatever this test was, he just prayed Ren would make it out alright. Hopefully this test would be worth it. With any luck, it would allow Ren to beat this Kira guy he had mentioned.
And then it hit him.
'Ren's battle with Kira is in less than a day.' Akio realized. Neither of them were expecting this to take so long. If Ren even finished in the time frame that the old man had mentioned, would he still make it to his fight with Kira? And if he didn't what would happen as a result?
There was only one thing to do, and Akio knew it. He steeled his resolve and walked towards the entrance of the tower.
"Where are you going?" the guru asked. "Don't you want to stay with your friend?"
"There's something I need to do." Akio said simply. "And something tells me it can't wait around for Ren to finish."
Ren ran up the stairs as he continued his way to the top of the tower. Before, he had been walking up the stairs since he didn't want to waste his stamina. But when he found out about the obstacles that the guru had been referring to, he broke out into a full on sprint. And those 'obstacles' were still on his tail.
'This is insane.' Ren thought to himself as he ran. Glancing downwards, he noticed an aura sphere attack come at him. Ren desperately leaped to a nearby staircase to the side to avoid being hit. The Lucario that launched it was close behind, along with two others.
For nearly thirty minutes, Ren had been doing his best to avoid getting killed by the Lucario attacking him. His HP had already taken a few small hits and he did not want to take any more. Combined with the exhaustion he was currently feeling, Ren didn't know how much longer he could keep this up.
"If only I had at least one of my pokemon on me." Ren muttered. "Then at least I'd have a way to fight back a little."
As he ran, Ren suddenly saw the three Lucario jump past him. They all stood above him, staring down at the lone trainer. His path to the top of the tower was now blocked off. Ren grinded his teeth, trying to figure out how to get rid of the three Lucario.
His wish was soon granted, but not in the way he wanted it to be.
A loud roar echoed from above. Ren watched as the three Lucario leaped out of the way and retreated. His eyes soon widened in fear when he saw a Charizard come flying down from above.
"Oh come on! Gimme a break!" Ren moaned. A flamethrower attack soon came down from the Charizard and Ren ducked under a staircase to avoid getting burned alive. The Charizard scanned the area, wondering where Ren had gone. The trainer held his breath, not wanting to be discovered. Glancing up past the Charizard, Ren saw an opening on the side of the tower. If it was a safe zone, he might be able to rest there for awhile and give the slip to the pokemon chasing him at the same time. If it wasn't though he'd be cornered. On the other hand, if he stood around like this, he'd die anyway.
'I've got no choice. It's all or nothing.'
Ren ran out from his hiding place and made a breakneck run for the shortest route to the opening. The Charizard noticed him and flew down towards him. At the same time, Ren could see the Lucario coming at him from below. It was gonna be close, but if Ren had done anything during his time alone, it was become a lot more athletic with his movements. He jumped off the staircase he was on and reached for one a bit higher up, barely avoiding Charizard as it swooped past him. Now all of his enemies were below him and he need to keep it that way. He pulled himself up onto the staircase and quickly ran for what he prayed to be the safe zone he needed. The cries of Charizard and the three Lucario entered his hearing, but he didn't dare look down. Ren ran with all of his might to the opening. He could hear the pokemon getting closer to him. Just a little further and he'd hopefully be safe. One of the Lucario sped past him and blocked off the safe zone entrance.
Ren cursed under his breath and prayed for one last ditch move. He ran past the safe zone and abandoned it. The Lucario soon followed him, as well as the one blocking the entrance. Charizard was right behind them as well. Putting all of the remaining strength in his legs, Ren jumped off the stairs he was on and dived down towards the safe zone entrance. He sped past the four pokemon chasing him as he fell. Ren landed with a roll and leaped inside the opening. He could feel him pass through some sort of invisible gate, signaling that it was indeed a safe zone.
A breath of relief escaped Ren as he looked back outside. He didn't see Charizard or the three Lucario, which was a good sign. It meant that they wouldn't be able to enter and they wouldn't be babysitting the gate for when he came out. Ren laid on the ground and caught his breath, slowly recovering from the tiring experience he had just had.
"How much longer do I have to go on like this?" Ren asked himself.
After laying on the ground for a couple minutes, Ren sat up to get a better look at the room he was in. It wasn't very large, just a round room with a 10 meter radius. The thing that caught his attention though was what was on the walls.
Inscribed on the walls were pictures of different types of pokemon, each with a trainer standing at their side. Ren could only assume it was meant to symbolize the main part of the test, a trainer and their most trusted partner. A small feeling of grief lingered within him as he was reminded yet again that his most trusted partner wasn't with him anymore. Ren also took notice of writing on the wall. It was hard to read, but Ren was able to make it out.
The bond between people and pokemon is something that can never be severed. One cannot live without the other. Even in death, a pokemon's spirit and will always remains. The bond will give rise to new power.
Ren read the inscription. A small bittersweet smile appeared on his face. Infernape was gone. There was nothing he could do about that. But he would always remember the bond they shared. He would use that bond to keep pushing himself through the rest of this test and obtain the power at the top.
After resting his body for another several minutes, Ren left the room. He glanced out past the entranceway, not seeing the Lucario or Charizard. He didn't know where they were, but he had a feeling he'd find out quickly once he continued climbing.
With that in mind, Ren took off running up the stairs and continuing his test. Little did he know he was only about a tenth of the way to the top.
Kirito and his group, along with Misaki and Clair, walked hesitantly into Shalour City. They hadn't seen Laughing Coffin since Ambrette Town, and they doubted they had passed them. The fact that they hadn't made a move yet was suspicious.
Walking into a city with such a large group of players would draw far too much attention to themselves, so the group decided to split up and meet at the pokemon center to discuss their next move. Traveling through the city with Misaki and Clair were Asuna, Yui, and Liz. Luckily, Shalour City was fairly populated with players so they were able to blend right in.
As they walked, Asuna found herself deep in thought. It just didn't make sense. Why would Laughing Coffin lie low all of a sudden. It wasn't like they had lost in Ambrette Town. At best, the battle was going on as a draw until that mystery player with the Flygon showed up. Speaking of which, just who was that guy? Asuna shook the thoughts out of her head. There were far too many questions right now with not enough answers.
"Well look at who I found."
The girls all turned around to see a trainer staring at them. He had slick black hair, and was wearing a dark grey jacket. His red eyes seemed to be looking straight at didn't recognize him, so she figured he knew her from her relation to Kirito, meaning he was most likely after his champion's bracelet. Asuna instinctively reached for a pokeball, but stopped once Misaki uttered the player's name.
"Ryota?!"
Asuna and Liz turned their heads to Misaki and Clair. "You know this guy?"
"Yeah." Misaki nodded. "He was in the Sinnoh region with us. He's… kinda sorta a friend."
"Great to see you too." Ryota replied sarcastically. He looked at the group, not seeing Ren with her. "So where's Ren. I thought you two were inseparable throughout the time when we were in Sinnoh."
Misaki's expression quickly darkened, telling Ryota that something was wrong. Tears formed in her eyes as she clenched her fists tightly. Ryota widened his eyes, hoping that the guess he had right now was wrong. "No… he can't be…"
"He's dead." Misaki muttered. "He's dead and… I couldn't do anything about it!" The girl broke down into tears. Asuna noticed the attention they were getting due to Asuna's emotional state right now.
"Let's move somewhere more private for now." Asuna suggested. Ryota nodded in agreement and the group quickly hid in the first secluded area they could find.
As Asuna and Liz tried to calm Misaki down, Ryota was still trying to process the fact that Ren was gone. He opened his menu and took a look at his Friend's List, something he rarely found the need to do honestly. He saw that Ren's name was absent, confirming it. But how was this possible? Ren was one of the strongest trainers he knew. "How did this happen?"
Asuna grimaced as she told Ryota the story. About Laughing Coffin, Kira, and everything that had happened as a result. When she finally finished, Ryota didn't know how to respond. The only thing he knew for certain was one thing. His father's insane ambition had claimed yet another life, this one being the life of someone Ryota owed his life to. 'Now I just have another reason to kill you, Kagutsuchi.'
"Ryo! Hey Ryo!"
Ryota groaned as he heard the voice calling out to him, knowing full well who it was. He just wanted to get away from her for five minutes, but then he ran into Misaki and his alone time turned into him hearing his friend was dead. And now his companion had found him. Today was just not his day.
"Ryo!" Kaitlyn called out waving to him as she flew down on her Pidgeot. "I've been looking everywhere for you. Did you get lost?"
"Stop calling me Ryo!" Ryota yelled.
"Aw come on. You love that nickname and you know it." Kaitlyn giggled.
Oddly enough, Kaitlyn's weird entrance had relieved the tension the group was feeling right now. Though for Misaki and Clair, it was simply overwhelmed by the shock of the situation. A girl, a sensible human being, was best friends with Ryota the lone wolf of Sinnoh. When Misaki was finally able to form a sentence, she said the only thing she could think of.
"Ryota… who is this girl?"
Kaitlyn showed a bright smile as she stretched out her hand to Misaki. "Nice to meet you. I'm Kaitlyn, champion of the Johto- Mmph!"
"Not so loud, you idiot!" Ryota hissed as he covered her mouth. "What did I tell you about saying your a region champion out loud?"
Kaitlyn removed Ryota's hand from her mouth and showed an innocent smile. "But these are your friends, right Ryo? I'm sure they're nice people."
"It's not them I'm worried about, it's the hundreds of other players in this city that would gladly PK us the second we're outside the safe zone!"
Misaki and her friends stared at each other, not wondering what to make of the situation. Misaki showed a small smile on her face. "Well in any case, it's good to see you again Ryota."
And now that she thought about it, that was the first time Misaki had ever said that and meant it.
'Ten minutes of climbing this tower without having to run for my life. Is that so much to ask for?!'
Apparently it was for Ren as he ran and jumped up staircases one after another with his pursuers close behind. He didn't even want to think about how long he had been at this. He would climb for a bit, the three Lucario and the Charizard would appear, he'd run like hell, and he'd duck in cover in a safe zone like before. Rinse and repeat over and over again.
On the bright side, the Charizard and the Lucario didn't seem to be cooperating with each other. Heck, most of the flamethrowers Charizard had launched were closer to hitting them than Ren. But a rampaging Charizard was still far from a pleasant thought.
Suddenly the Lucario rushed past Ren. Two of them appeared on opposite ends of the staircase he was on while the other guarded the area above to prevent Ren from escaping. A nervous sweat rolled down Ren's neck as he found himself with nowhere to go. His only option was to fight.
'One guy on his own against two Lucario. Yeah, that's fair.'
The first Lucario rushed at Ren with a bone rush attack. Ren ducked under a swing from the bone and tried to run under Lucario, but Lucario swept its foot under Ren's legs, making him lose his balance. He fell a bit and landed on another staircase. Ren looked up and rolled out of the way just in time to avoid the second Lucario as it came down at him with a punch. It took everything Ren had just to keep avoiding the attacks of the two Lucario as they switched in and out to attack him. Finally one of them got a hit in with force palm, sending Ren flying back and crashing against the wall. His HP fell into the red. One more hit and he'd be finished.
As the two Lucario rushed in to finish him off, a stream of fire cut the off. Charizard roared from below and fired another flamethrower at them, forcing the Lucario to retreat. Charizard flew after them, firing flamethrower attacks one after another. Ren breathed a sigh of relief that this rampaging Charizard was giving him a short chance to catch his breath. Maybe fire types still had a thing for him. Just like Infernape.
Suddenly Ren saw an aura sphere come at him. He leaped out of the way, but gasped as he saw the third Lucario come down from behind it. It cried out as it charged at Ren with a force palm, ready to finish him off.
Then the most unbelievable thing ever happened.
A roar echoed throughout the tower. Charizard crash landed in between Ren and Lucario, taking the attack for him. Ren gasped as he watched Charizard hold back the Lucario, doing everything in its power to protect Ren.
"Why… Why are you protecting me?" Ren asked.
Charizard glanced back at Ren and showed a grin. Ren stared at Charizard, recognizing the grin from his past. Only one of his pokemon had ever grinned like that along with him whenever they were in a tough position. But could it really be?
The writing on the wall from the first safe area and the words of the guru echoed throughout Ren's mind.
Even in death, a pokemon's spirit and will always remains.
"The bond between trainer and pokemon is not something so easily crushed. True partners will always be there when one calls out for the other."
Ren stared at Charizard. Was this possible? Could it actually be true? There was only one way to find out and Ren knew it. "Is that you… Infernape?"
The grin on Charizard's face grew, giving Ren all the answer he needed. He wanted to cry right now. This was too good to be true. But he dried his tears for now. There was still one last thing to do. "Whaddya say we show these guys our bond, Charizard?" The fire type responded with a loud roar. Ren smirked. "I'll take that as a yes."
Charizard pushed back the Lucario, following up with a dragon claw attack that sent the fighting type flying back. Charizard turned around to face Ren and the two gave each other a high five.
As their hands separated from the high five, Ren saw his champion's bracelet shine. The rainbow colored stone in it was glowing. It was unlike anything Ren had ever seen before, a bright warm light. Then a ball of light formed in between Ren and Charizard. The ball shined brightly, before condensing into a small round blue gem.
'Is this what I think it is?' Ren asked himself. He looked at his champion's bracelet. If that rainbow stone was what he thought it was, then he had a pretty good idea of what to do next. He grabbed the blue gem in front of him and tossed it to his partner. "Charizard, catch!"
The fire type caught the gem in its hand. The gem shined brightly before sinking into Charizard's body. Ren prayed this would work as he touched the rainbow colored stone on his bracelet.
"Let's go Charizard! MEGA EVOLVE!"
Light erupted from Ren's champion's bracelet, surrounding Chairzard. The light enveloped Charizard, transforming it. Mega evolving it.
The light all disappeared at once, and Charizard was born anew. It's skin was pitch black. Azure blue flames came from it's mouth and tail. The newly mega evolved Charizard let out a roar, more powerful than any of the ones it had let out before. It was now Mega Charizard.
"You ready to rock, buddy?" Ren asked. Charizard nodded as the two looked upwards. The three Lucario were still blocking their way. There was only one thing to do. Ren looked towards his Charizard. "You still know our signature move?" A nod came from Charizard. "Alright then, let's go!"
Charizard flew straight up. At Ren's command, it launched a flamethrower attack, forcing the Lucario to split up. Charizard flew straight towards the closest one. It reeled back its fist, knowing what Ren's next command would be.
"Go Charizard! Mega punch!"
Charizard's fist became veiled in a blue light as it swung it forward. The hit sent Lucario flying back, smashing it right through one of the staircases. The other two leaped at Charizard to get revenge, but the fire type wasn't willing to go down that easily.
"Now Charizard! Dragon claw!"
Massive emerald claws emerged from Charizard's hands as it swung them at the two Lucario. The fighting types were sent flying down and crashed into the staircases. Ren leaped off the staircase he was on and landed on his partner's back. "Hate to fight and run, but we've got a tower to climb. Let's move Charizard."
Charizard let out a roar as it took off flying with its trainer to the top of the tower to complete his test.
Kira and his two subordinates walked into the square of Shalour City. Players were walking around carefree. Things were quiet and peaceful. They wouldn't be for long.
"So boss, you ready for your fight with Ren?" Ju asked.
"Of course." Kira smirked. "I've been waiting for this for days. This time, he won't get away."
Izumi let out a sinister giggle. It was rare that Kira got this excited over killing a single player, but when he did it was always a fun show to watch. And there was no way Kira would lose to anyone, not even a region champion. "So how are you and him supposed to meet up? I don't recall the two of you giving a certain setting other than the city."
"That's simple Izumi. We make him come to us." Kira said as he grabbed a pokeball from his belt. Thanks to Kagutsuchi, Kira could raise and lower the safety zone protection of the city at his command. "I'm sure a few hundred players screaming and running for their lives will give him a good idea of our location."
A/N: Horray! Infernape is back... sort of. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. There will be a few small differences with mega evolution between the games and this story, but for the most part it will relatively stay the same. Details on how mega evolution in PWO works will be revealed with the upcoming chapters. Hope to get the next chapter out within a month or so.