A/N: Sorry for the unexpected hiatus everyone. I kinda had a bit of writer's block for this one, coupled with schoolwork, so I kinda just put it off. But it's finally done now so here you go everyone.

Also, got Suna and Moon and I LOVE it. One of the best games for the series yet.

Chaos was a beautiful thing in Kira's mind. Structure and order that had been built up for so long suddenly falling to pieces like a tower collapsing upon itself. When chaos was present, the only rule that applied was survival of the fittest. It was the kind of thing that got Kira's blood pumping. And once everyone saw a player die in the streets of Shalour City and took off running and screaming, chaos was exactly what was going on right now.

"You hear that sound?" Kira asked. "That is the most beautiful sound in the world."

"I agree Kira." Izumi smirked, holding a pokeball in her hand. "Shall we kill a few more players to liven things up more?"

"By all means. Go and spread terror throughout the city. As long as Ren shows up here, I don't care."

"As you command boss." Ju said.

Izumi rolled her eyes. "Honestly Ju, don't you ever make your own decisions instead of only doing something when Kira tells you to?"

"At least it's better than acting like a lovestruck little-"

"Shut it!" Izumi growled as she smacked him across the back of the head. Her cheeks were bright red. "D-Don't go saying stupid stuff like that, moron!" She quickly took off running in one direction of players fleeing. "I'm going to dye this place with blood. See you later."

Ju let out an annoyed sigh as he rubbed the back of his head. "Ugh, women." He pointed in a direction different than where Izumi had went. "I'll head this way and take out some players. If Ren shows up, I'll be sure to lead him your way."

"See that you do." Kira said.

The Laughing Coffin leader watched as Ju disappeared, leaving him all alone. He contemplated going off and killing some players himself, but eventually decided to stay put in the empty square. It'd make it easier for Ren to find him that way. All that mattered to him right now was taking down the Sinnoh champion. After that, he'd go on to deal with Kirito and the other pests that had been in his way. "I'm waiting Ren. Come and let's settle this."

"Sorry, but that won't be happening."

Kira turned his head to see a new player walk up to him. He wore a confident smirk on his face as he stared at Kira. "Let me guess. You're the Kira guy that Ren mentioned, right?"

"Oh, so you know where the Sinnoh champion is?" Kira questioned with a raised brow. "Would you be so kind as to tell me where he is."

"Oh he said something about being too busy to deal with an amateur like you." the trainer said as he took out a pokeball. "Don't worry though, you'll have me to keep you entertained. The Hoenn champion, Akio."

"Hoenn champion?" Kira asked. An amused smirk came to him as he noticed the champion's bracelet on Akio's wrist. "So Ren decided to turn tail and run?"

"As if. He's just occupied at the moment. And since you seem like the impatient type, I thought I'd come and give you the battle you wanted instead. See what a considerate guy I am?" Akio threw his pokeball into the air and his Sceptile appeared with a loud cry. "Now then, you game?"

Kira's lips curved into an excited grin as he grabbed a pokeball and threw out his Bisharp. "Interesting. Let's see what you've got, Hoenn champion."

The sound of screaming and panic from the players in Shalour City was a dead giveaway to Misaki and the others that something bad was happening.

"It's Kagutsuchi." Ryota growled. "He must be behind this."

"Kagutsuchi?" Misaki asked. "You mean the guy keeping us all trapped in this game?"

Ryota nodded his head. "Yeah. He managed to turn Coumarine City into a war zone a few days ago."

"It could also be Laughing Coffin." Asuna pointed out. "They managed to disable the safety zone around Ambrette Town before, remember."

Liz stepped in. "It doesn't matter who it is. Right now, we need to find Kirito and the others and regroup. Then we can tackle whoever's doing this to the city."

"You guys go on ahead." Misaki told them. "Clair and I will go with Ryota and try to figure out where these guys are."

"I'm coming too!" Kaitlyn volunteered. "Someone needs to watch Ryo's back after all."

Asuna agreed with Misaki's plan. "Alright then. We'll meet up later. Good luck you guys." She looked down at her daughter. "Yui, stay by my side got it? I want you next to me at all times until we find Papa."

Yui nodded her head. "Alright Mama."

Asuna, Liz, and Yui all ran off towards the pokemon center where they were supposed to meet up with Kirito's group. Ryota looked over at Misaki. "Did that girl just say Mama?"

"Long story." Misaki explained. "Right now, we need to move."

Ryota nodded his head and the group took off running into the streets, going towards whatever it was everyone seemed to be running away from.

Ren flew up the tower on the back of his newly reincarnated Charizard. He had to admit, flying was a lot faster than running. But right now, all that mattered to him was the fact that his partner was back at his side.

"I can see the top!" Ren said, pointing upwards. "Just a little further, buddy."

Charizard let out a roar and gave another flap of its wings, soaring upwards. When they reached the top of the tower, Ren leaped off the fire type and landed on a balcony. "Phew. Finally made it."

"Impressive."

Ren looked over on the other side of the large balcony he was standing on. Standing there was the guru that had given him this trial. At his side was the same Lucario that had been with him back at the bottom of the tower. Ren showed the old man an grin. "You know, you might want to consider building an elevator for this tower."

The guru chuckled in amusement at Ren's remark. "You've done well to make it up here in the amount of time it took you, given the circumstances. I also see that you've found your most trusted partner."

Ren rubbed the top of Charizard's head, making the fire type pokemon smile. "Yeah. I thought he was gone for good, but he returned to me. Right now, that's all I could ask for."

"Fine words, young trainer. But as for now you still have one last part of your trial."

'Yeah, cause running for my life up a thousand story tower was just too easy' Ren sarcastically thought. "What is it?"

"Quite simple." the guru said as his Lucario leaped up in front of him. "You must demonstrate your power."

Ren looked at Charizard. The fire type gave a silent nod of its head and stepped forward. Ren took a deep breath and got ready. "Alright then. Show me what you've got old man."

"Very well then." the guru said, bringing out a small stone from his pocket. "Since you're so confident, we won't hold back. Lucario, mega evolve!"

A bright light poured out from Lucario and reacted with the stone in the guru's hand. Lucario's body slowly transformed, mega evolving into it's new form. The light disappeared all at once and Mega Lucario now stood before Ren and Charizard.

"We won't lose." Ren smirked. He tapped the stone on his bracelet. "Let's do this Charizard! Mega evolve!" Just as Lucario had done, Charizard transformed itself with mega evolution. When it was finished, the blue flames coming from Charizard's new form burned intensely.

Charizard and Lucario stood across from each other in their mega evolved forms. Neither one of them seemed to be willing to back down from this fight. Both of them were ready to go all out. Similarly, Ren and the guru also felt themselves getting fired up.

Ren was the first to make a move. "Charizard, dragon claw!" Charizard roared and flew towards Lucario, both of its claws wrapped in a bright emerald light.

"Lucario, dodge and use aura sphere."

Lucario leaped over Charizard as it slashed at it and charged up its attack. Lucario fired the aura sphere, hitting Charizard in the back. Charizard roared in pain, but stood firm as it turned back around to face Lucario.

"Flamethrower, Charizard!" Ren ordered.

An azure colored stream of fire erupted from Charizard's mouth, engulfing Lucario and pushing it back. Despite the damage it was taking from the super effective attack, Lucario refused to give in. The guru gave out his next command. "Dragon pulse!"

Lucario charged up a blast between its two palms and fired. The dragon pulse began to push back Charizard's flamethrower, putting the two in a stalemate.

"Don't give in Charizard! Show them what you're made of!"

"Keep fighting Lucario! Unleash your power to its max!"

The two pokemon amped up the power of their moves. Flamethrower and dragon pulse continued to push back and forth, finally resulting in an explosion that engulfed the entire battlefield. When the smoke cleared, both pokemon and their trainers were still standing firm.

Ren hadn't noticed it until now, but a grin came to his face. His entire body was shaking with anticipation and excitement. 'Why am I feeling like this? I feel like… I don't care about anything else other than this battle here and now?'

"It's about time you found it." the guru said. "I've been waiting for you to have that look."

Ren looked at the guru, not understanding what he meant. "What are you talking about?"

"Tell me, what is the purpose of battling to you?"

"Why? To protect my friends. I told you that."

"No, that is why you want to beat a certain individual." he said with a shake of his head. "What made you battle up until now?"

That was when it hit him. It had been so long since Ren had been able to feel this sensation. The sensation of not having to fight for his life. The feeling… the feeling of just having a battle for the fun of it. 'How long has it been? How long since I forgot the rush of being able to put everything I had into a battle just for the sheer fun of it?' Looking over at Charizard, Ren could see a similar smile of its face. Both pokemon and trainer nodded to each other. "We battle because that's what makes us feel alive. And we're going to show you just how strong we are by beating you."

"Good answer." the old guru said with a nod. "Pokemon can feel emotions just as easily as humans can. Even if they're data in this world."

Ren's eyes widened. "You mean you-"

"Yes." he nodded. "I am well aware that this world, me and pokemon included, are not truly real. Your pokemon are aware of that too."

Ren was left speechless. He had assumed that the guru was an advanced program by the way he spoke. But he had never expected him to know the fact that PWO was a virtual world.

"Pokemon may be data in this world, but that does not mean they are simply ones and zeroes." the guru explained. "They can feel joy, sadness, and everything else you can."

A nod came from Ren. He knew that pokemon in this world had a will of their own. Back when Deoxys sacrificed itself to free Ryota of his mind control. When Infernape used the last bits of its strength to save his life. When all pokemon in the world of PWO seemed to be willing to fight without any sort of programming telling them to. Pokemon had their own will.

"As much as I would like to continue this battle however, I'm afraid it must come to an end here." the guru told Ren. Lucario reverted back to its original form and went back to its trainer.

Ren stared at the guru in confusion. "What? Why are we stopping?"

"Usually I would have no qualms about finishing a battle. But my purpose here was simply to remind you of these facts." the guru said. "Right now, you have far more pressing concerns."

Before Ren could ask what the guru meant, his vision became foggy. He soon found himself waking back up at the base of the tower. The guru and his Lucario were standing in front of him.

"Shalour City is under attack." he said.

Ren gasped. "What?! By who?!" He looked around, not seeing his friend anywhere. "Akio?! Where did he-"

"He left a while ago, saying he had to take care of something. I believe he sensed the danger that was coming and decided to take action."

Suddenly it hit Ren. He knew the one person that would be in the city right now and be able to do this. "Kira…"

"So what will you do?" the guru asked. "Do you feel you have the power you need to win against this opponent."

Ren reached for his belt and grabbed the new pokeball hanging from it. Inside the small capsule device, he could see Charizard with its eyes shining brightly with determination. Ren knew the time had finally come.

"Looks like I'm coming out of hiding." Ren said. He opened his menu and shuffled around his inventory. After a few clicks, the hooded coat he had been wearing to conceal himself was gone and replaced with a brand new outfit. Ren was now wearing a black and red shirt with dark brown shorts and red shoes. He no longer had his champion's bracelet hidden, leaving it clear as day on his wrist.

With a swing of his arm, Ren threw out his Charizard and climbed onto the pokemon's back. This destruction was happening because of Kira and he had to stop it.

"It's time for a rematch. Let's go buddy." Ren said. Charizard roared as it flapped its wings and took off towards the city where they could see smoke rising from.

"Sceptile, use leaf blade!"

"Bisharp, use slash!"

The two pokemon clashed, trading blow after blow in the high speed battle. Both pokemon seemed completely even in terms of power. It would all come down to a matter of skill.

"Not bad, Hoenn champion." Kira said. "But you're gonna need to do better to beat me."

"Oh is that so?" Akio questioned. "Well then, maybe I should start taking this battle seriously."

"You've got a cocky mouth. Maybe I should remove it." Kira suggested. "Go Bisharp! Use dark pulse!"

Bisharp fired a blast of energy at its opponent, but Sceptile nimbly dodged by leaping into the air. Akio smirked as he saw an opening. "Leaf storm!"

Sceptile kicked up a tornado of leaves from its bushy tail, swirling it towards Bisharp. The attack hit the steel and dark type in full, sending it flying and crashing into the side of a building.

"Bisharp!" Kira exclaimed. He quickly reached for another pokeball, but soon saw he wouldn't have the opening to do so as Akio was already right next to him. The trainer threw a right hook at him, which Kira quickly ducked under and leaped away to give himself some distance. Akio wasn't willing to let him get away too easily however and the two of them soon became trapped in a fist fight.

"Finish off his Bisharp, Sceptile!" Akio ordered. Sceptile nodded and sped towards Bisharp who had just managed to pry itself from the building crater it had made.

"Bisharp, don't let Sceptile get the better of you. Metal sound!" Kira commanded. Bisharp leaped away from Sceptile and rubbed its steel blades together, creating an ear-piercing sound that caused Sceptile's ears to ring and scream in pain. Akio felt a similar sensation, causing him to stumble a bit while Kira knocked him back with a kick.

Akio shouted as loud as he could for his partner to hear him. "Sceptile, get some distance! Don't leave yourself open!" It was just barely, but Sceptile was able to hear the command and jumped back towards Akio. Both trainer and pokemon tried to block out the ringing noise as they covered their ears. Despite the situation he was in, Akio still showed a smirk towards Kira. "That all you got?"

Kira grinned as he got ready to go in for the killing blow. "If you insist, I'll end this now. Bisharp, use dark pulse!"

Bisharp stopped it's metal sound, only to charge up a dark blast of energy, which it then fired at full force. But to akio's surprise, it didn't even come close to hitting him and Sceptile. Instead it went far over their heads.

"Maybe to should teach your pokemon to aim before teaching them a move!" Akio said. The smirk Kira showed, as well as a crumbling sound above him caused Akio to look up. He gasped in shock as part of the building near them fell down towards them, ready to crush them.

"Now Bisharp! Guillotine!"

Bisharp sped at Sceptile and Akio, going in for the one-hit kill move. It crashed down on them along with the chunk of the building, creating a huge blast from the sheer force of the impact.

Kira smirked. It was his victory. "Seems that's all the Hoenn champion could do. What a disappointment."

"You know what's really a disappointment? That concert you just put on."

Kira gasped as he saw the dust settle, revealing Akio and Sceptile completely unharmed. "Impossible! When did you dodge?!"

Akio smirked as he cracked his knuckles. "Don't underestimate me and my Sceptile. Although I guess you have an excuse since you were probably embarrassed from how you messed up that metal sound. It was going fine until you missed that B-sharp."

A dead silence fell over the entire area as Kira stared blankly at Akio. "You realize you deserve to die for that pun alone, right?"

"Totally worth it." Akio grinned. "Let's hope this time you can put on a performance that's to die for."

"..."

"... Get it? Cause you're a PKer."

Kira growled as he clenched his fists and took a deep breath. "Your death will be long and painful."

Akio let out a chuckle as he and Sceptile stood firm. "Let's see if you're good enough to make that happen."

Kira and Akio stood across from each other. Both of them knew this battle would only last a little longer. Sooner or later, one of them would end up falling. The only question was which one of them it would be.

"Hold it!"

Both Kira and Akio turned to see a group of new arrivals to the scene. Misaki, Clair, Ryota, and Kaitlyn all came into view as they ran into the square. The second Misaki saw Kira, her eyes flared with rage. "You!"

"Well, well, it's the friends of the Sinnoh champion." Kira grinned. "Long time no see."

Misaki instinctively reached for Empoleon's pokeball, but was stopped short as Akio called out to her. "Wait! I can handle this one!"

Misaki looked over at Akio, just realizing now that he was there. "Akio?! What are you doing here?!"

"I could ask you the same thing, girlie. This isn't exactly a safe place to be!"

"I can handle myself, thank you very much!" Misaki glared. "Besides, Kira and I have some unfinished business."

"Ugh, is this about killing your friend? Cause if it is I hate to burst your bubble, but-"

"Shut it!" Akio yelled. "Leave her out of this! Your fight's with me!"

Kira showed a small smirk. "Oh, you mean she doesn't know? My, my, keeping secrets from each other are we?"

Misaki narrowed her eyes as she turned her attention back to Akio. "What does he mean by that?"

Akio looked away. Ren had his reasons behind keeping the fact that he was alive from Misaki and the others. Until his training was finished, it was better that she didn't know. "Forget it. It's none of your business."

Misaki glared at Akio. "What do you mean it's none of my business?! Just what are you-" Misaki stopped talking as she caught a glimmer in the corner of her eye. She gasped as Bisharp leaped at her with it's bladed arms ready to cut her down.

"This is what you get for letting your guard down!" Kira grinned.

"No!" Akio yelled.

"Misaki!" Ryota exclaimed.

The scene occurring right now felt like it was in slow motion to Misaki. Bisharp was just a few feet from her. She wouldn't have enough time to send out of of her pokemon to protect herself. She was going to die.

"Dragon claw!"

Out of nowhere, a sudden new appearance crashed down from above on top of Bisharp. The dust soon settled, revealing the new appearance. A Charizard had Bisharp pinned down, its claw pressing against Bisharp's neck. The steel and dark type glared at the Charizard weighing down on it. But what surprised everyone was the person that stepped off from Charizard's back. A trainer that many had thought to be long gone forever from their lives.

It was Ren.

Misaki stood completely still, not knowing if what she was seeing was real. Was she dead right now and dreaming? It took her a second to realize that she wasn't. This was really happening. This was really Ren. There was no way she would ever forget that face.

Kira smirked at the new arrival. Joy overtook him as he grinned madly, to the point where it seemed his face might split. "It sure took you long enough, Ren."

"Sorry I'm late." Ren said, not lessening the glare from his eyes. His Charizard stepped off of Bisharp, grabbing it and throwing it back over to Kira. The pokemon laid on the ground, its HP at its limit. "Now then, you ready for that rematch?"

Kira slowly reached for another pokeball. Bisharp was out of comission for now, but he still had other pokemon to use. But just as he was about to make his pick of who to send out, Ju appeared next to him.

"Boss! Kirito and the others are on their way here! They'll be here any second!"

"What?!"

"Sorry. I tried to hold them off for as long as I could, but they outnumbered me." Ju growled as he looked at the ground in shame. "I failed you. Forgive me."

"Who cares?" another voice said as Izumi appeared suddenly with her Froslass at her side. "Asuna's with Kirito right? I've been waiting for this rematch."

"No." Kira said abruptly.

Izumi widened her eyes as she looked at her leader in shock. "What?! But Kira we-"

"We can't deal with three champions, as well as a group of skilled trainers. We're retreating." Kira said. "We'll get our revenge another day."

Izumi growled in frustration, but reluctantly nodded her head. "Yes Kira. As you command."

Kira looked over at Ren before they left. "We'll settle things between us eventually. I promise you, Sinnoh champion." The three Laughing Coffin members all vanished quickly, speeding down one of the streets before anyone could make a move to stop them. As they left, Kirito and the others could be seen running into the square from another street.

"Is everyone ok?!" Kirito asked. He scanned the group of players, but stopped as he caught sight of one player in particular. Asuna and the others all stopped running as they caught sight of him to. "Ren…"

"Big brother..." Clair said, barely able to form the words from her mouth.

Ren could barely bring himself to look at the others as he wore a grim expression on his face. He had lied to them. To his friends, to his sister, to Misaki. He had made them all believe he was dead. He didn't even want to think about how much pain it must have made them go through. Finally, he managed to turn his head up to face the others. He looked at Misaki in particular. She still seemed stiff, unable to fully comprehend what was in front of her.

"Misaki…" Ren said. "I'm-"

Ren was cut off as a palm slammed against his cheek. The sound of a slap echoed throughout the otherwise silent square.

A/N: So as I'm sure you can tell, next chapter will feature a lot of drama. Lot's of things will be happening for the next few chapters, so make sure to stay tuned. Since I won't be busy with college over winter break, I'll be sure to get the next chapter out within a month or so this time.