-Chapter XXV: A New Fight-

-Vincent-

He smiled and patted Atlas chest, noting one of the small craters in his skin from when he went 'Super Machamp'. "Have a good rest, buddy."

He turned back to the Ralts and smiled. "We haven't officially met yet… I'm Vincent. The second first-gen recruit."

The Ralts smiled and extended her hand. "I'm Dawn. The first third-gen recruit."

He let out a small laugh and pat her back. "I like you already. You're using my terms without hesitation. Connor, you did good with this one."

Connor nodded silently, and Vincent sighed weakly. "So… you got a nice place here. Third move, if I'm not mistaken? First in amountain, then a forest, now in a freakin' swamp... What happened to Sharpedo Bluff? Is it vacant right now, or what?"

Connor teared up in response, and he quickly dropped the subject. "Oh. Got it."

Then he looked back at Atlas. "Do you think he knows you guys moved again after that whole thing?"

Briar shook her head, and Vincent whistled. "Guess he really was out like a light. Almost a whole day. I can't believe he remembers who we are." Then he eyed the Pikachu, who had a scowl across his face. "So what's your name? You don't look happy to be here at all."

"Aaron."

He moved closer after hearing the Pikachu's angry tone. "You're the second third-gen recruit?"

He nodded silently, and Vincent shrugged. "Not much of a talker. I understand. I'll leave you be for a little bit." He stood up and sat next to Atlas again while the others were discussing plans about stuff. Honestly, he didn't care too much. He'd seen the Mafia from the inside. He didn't want to tell them right now, but it was hopeless to fight these guys. They knew everything about the team, and then some. They had lists of all of their enemies, all of their friends, other teams that might help them out… everything. And to top it off, they already had a pokémon that could control time, from what he overheard while posing as Nagini.

Apparently Victor suspected that Grovyle could control time due to his whole involvement with the Time Gears, so he took even more precautions to eliminate that possibility. So… The Temporal Guardians' biggest trump card was useless now, if what he heard was correct. Speaking of Nagini, that Seviper was really high up in the ranks. He's one of about ten pokémon that have even seen Victor, from what he could tell. Along with Alice, that made it almost eleven. So they had an advantage in that regard, but it wasn't much. Even if they managed to get to him, which was nearly impossible now, he had Mordred as a pretty much full-time personal bodyguard, and he was a lot more powerful than he'd let on during the other fights. Mordred wasn't the one put in charge behind Victor just for his evil looks.

Mordred really underestimated the team, and that was why only three members died. They could have easily taken down Jade, Mirage, Vulcan, and maybe even Connor and Atlas.

He kept thinking about his escape. After he dissolved into shadows as a Golurk, he used substitute to fool them, then used recover, a move learned from an Alakazam that was checking the perimeters. He healed himself and used teleport to run away, but the Banette had a shadow tag cast over the entire place… He couldn't get out without an escape orb. So he had to think fast. Then he transformed into the first pokémon he saw… then he killed him to prevent any suspicions. It was just a child… He didn't want to, but it was alone, and he needed to escape… Or at least keep a disguise long enough to gather some info about this group. He wasn't proud of it, and he didn't like remembering it. It was easy, but… it wasn't. It was one of those things that's going to haunt him for the rest of his life. Kind of like the Hypnosis with Vulcan… Except he had a choice.

He teared up and looked to the ground. "I'm sorry…"

-Aaron-

He looked at the ceiling in silence. It looked practically the same as the jungle base, but the air was much more humid. It made his electricity go haywire sometimes, sparking out of his control. Luckily the water in the air made everything damp, so nothing caught on fire.

Vincent just went from a kind of happy Smeargle to a crying Smeargle in about ten seconds. It didn't take much to tell that he'd been through some rough times while he was in hiding. He'd read about that guy in Magnezone's files about Team Firestorm. He was usually known as the fun one of the team. Some of them called him Mr. Do-it-all sometimes, due to his unlimited movepool, and his ability to copy pretty much any move anyone else used.

Right now, he had things on his mind, things that he didn't want that Ralts knowing about. She was always up in everyone's business, and that really got under his skin. He was pretty sure everyone here had some secrets that they want buried for good. After everyone was asleep, Vincent stayed up, crying some more. Aaron wanted to tell him to stop, but he didn't have any right to do that. How did he know what that Smeargle had been through? So he just dealt with it until Vincent finally settled down and went to sleep. He opened his palm and let the blue electric aura sphere levitate above his head. He sighed and dissipated it once again.

Only Lucario should be able to use Aura like this… But I am a special case...

Then the memories hit him like a Hariyama.

*Flashback*

He travelled up the mountain with his belongings in a small bag. He didn't need much. Only a few oran berries, an escape orb, a couple apples, and a reviver seed for emergencies. He hiked up the mountain with a smile. Back when he was a Pichu, everyone used to pick on him, call him names… a freak. A weirdo because of his grey fur and aura bolts... But not anymore. He had become stronger. His dad had always told him that he needed to be strong. That the only reason others pick on you is because they're scared of what you might become. That was why he ran away. He didn't want to hurt them, but… if he'd told them, they would have tried to stop him. And he didn't want to see them sad. He smiled as he remembered his little sister's face. She must have been all grown up by now…

He laughed to himself. "Wow… It's already been three years… I wonder how they're doing." Then he smiled at the thought of seeing his best friend again. He was the only pokémon he had told of his plan. But when he did, he'd tried to tell him that he was crazy. But Aaron didn't listen. Instead, he went off in search of the greatest fighter in history: Lucario. The pokémon that had lived once on Concordia, and was reborn into this world. At least, that's how the rumor went. He hadn't ever found him, but he had lots of time to practice his moves and skills. He was plenty tough now. And constantly being on the run and exploring and eating nothing but berries and apples… He had grown really tall, too. He was a full two feet tall, eight inches higher than most of the others. His dad would be so proud.

He saw some familiar faces, all running down the mountain, past him, not paying him any heed. He didn't think much of it… maybe it was a game of some sort. He used to race his best friend Michael down the mountain all the time before he left. Then he smelt it. Smoke.

"Oh, no… No, no, no, NO, NO!" He took off on all fours up the mountain, scaling the rocks like he was a Gogoat. He wasn't used to this kind of environment after spending most of his time in the forests and jungles of the other continents, but he ran with all of his might.

My village… My family! They have to be alright!

When he got there… it was too late. The entire village had been burnt… huts were nothing but embers, tents were ashes in the wind… What he saw… he would never forget. The burnt corpses of everyone he knew and loved… He ran straight to where his house should have been… only to find a pile of embers, barely hot, but still smoldering in the cool air of the mountain. Tears began falling as he used iron tail to move the large pieces of wood to the side, trying to find his family… until he did. His parents and sister were all near the back, charred, barely recognizable. He wept as he ran through the steaming coals, ignoring the burning pain in his feet. "Mom! Dad! Sarah!"

One by one, he picked them up and dragged them out of the smoldering rubble, until they were all lying on the ground. He knelt down and laid over them, weeping, crying, begging for them to come back. Then he clenched his fists and looked to the sky. "Whoever did this… I'm coming for you! And I'll make you pay!"

He laid on the ground in front of their graves for two whole days, waiting… Hoping… He didn't eat. Didn't drink. He felt that if he left… He'd be accepting that they weren't coming back.

"You'll come back… You have to be alright…"

"I am so sorry, Aaron…"

He stood up and turned to the new voice. A Honchkrow accompanied by a Bisharp and Kirlia walked up to him with a saddened smile. "You have my deepest condolences…"

He wiped his tears and stood up with a solemn expression, masking all his sorrow and putting his senses on high alert. "Who are you?"

"My name is Victor… I am looking for one of the pokémon responsible for these incidents, burning villages across Immanis… Their names are Cinder and Iden. They are an Infernape and Charizard. Do you know them?"

Aaron shook his head. He'd learned enough to know when a pokémon was lying. "Never heard of them. Maybe you missed the memo or something, but I just got back from the forest continent."

"Oh? What were you doing all the way over there?"

"Self-recreation. And how did you know my name?"

"I make it in my best interest to know everything there is to know about Iden and-"

"So why are you here?"

Victor tilted his head at the interruption. "Pardon? I'm here because I am following leads on two wicked and vicious pokémon, responsible for the deaths of dozens of pokémon across Immanis."

Aaron clenched his fists tighter. Something about this pokémon was off. He could feel it in the air. It was like he could feel his intentions… but… he couldn't tell exactly what they were.

"Victor… I have to ask, how come you took two days to get here, if you're following a lead? Were you, perhaps, waiting for someone? For me? Because if it took you two days to get here, you should know that both of those pokémon are long gone."

Victor shrugged slightly. "Well… you're correct. I'm interested in you. In fact, I've been watching you for some time before you… disappeared. You vanished without a trace about three years ago. No one knew where you had gone. I had asked your family, everyone around the village… Anthony, William, Samya… I could go on. Now… I must ask, why did you take so long to come back? Self-recreation would normally mean vacations… And they don't last but a week or two, I'd imagine, even for the wealthiest of pokémon. Unless you were… training? Or exploring?"

Aaron smiled in spite of his curiosity and nervousness. Who was this pokémon? The Honchkrow never gave a straight answer. He asked who he was. And the Honchkrow still hadn't answered.

"So… Tell me, Aaron… What were you doing all the way on the forest continent?"

"None of your business."

Victor nodded slowly. "Ah, yes… forgive my bold approach. I simply don't get out like I used to." Then he narrowed his eyes and looked back at Aaron. "But still… I have to ask myself… Would you perhaps be interested in joining me?"

"What?"

"If you join me… We could find the pokémon responsible for this. Iden… Cinder... We could avenge your family."

Aaron's eyes widened. "You say… I'll be able to avenge my family?"

"Yes. I will see to it that-"

"He's lying, Aaron! Don't believe him!"

Victor snarled as another Pikachu leapt between them. Aaron stared at him with disbelief. "Michael! You're alive?!"

"No time for that, buddy! These guys are the ones that burnt this place with a Houndoom! I saw it myself! I don't know who Cinder and Iden are, but they're lying!"

Aaron glared at the Honchkrow, and Victor glanced at the Kirlia. "Kill the yellow one. That's an order."

Aaron gasped as a Kirlia teleported in front of them in a split moment and used psychic on Michael to throw him into the burning remains of his home. The Pikachu retaliated with a thunderbolt, but the Kirlia's fist crackled with electricity, and it absorbed the thunderbolt with its hand. Then it teleported right in front of Michael and held him aloft with psychic. Aaron began charging up a thunderbolt as well, but the Kirlia's eyes flashed white, and he was completely immobilized. Then it closed its hand, and Michael's movement ceased. Aaron's imprison wore off at about the same moment that he felt Michael's life energy fade to nothing. He backed away slowly in disbelief, then used agility to run away as fast as he could, dodging the Bisharp after using substitute to fake him out. He couldn't do anything about it now. "Michael… No..."

As he leapt down the mountain with enhanced speed, he looked back at the plumes of smoke rising from the top of the mountain as the only place he had ever called home burned to the ground. "Victor… I'll be the one to kill you… You and your 'pets'. I swear by Arceus."

-Jade-

The past day had been strange. They had went almost all the way back to Treasure Town after Atlas had been incapacitated. Amber had insisted that the mafia wouldn't be searching there anymore. They were encamped just outside of Drenched Bluff, in the marshlands directly east. Tyranitar had carried Atlas with little effort, draping him across his shoulders. They had built the base in almost the exact same way, like a fallout shelter buried halfway in the ground. She stared at the ceiling in silence, just like every other day since they had been on the run.

This day was no different, she knew that as soon as she woke up this morning. They would sit around, doing nothing, or something horrible would happen to them. She knew that deep down, this entire effort at resistance was useless. This group had barely been affected after they gave it their all, with two further teams to assist them. And Dawn… She still didn't trust her entirely. She had been extremely useful these past few days, and she showed promise as a powerful member, but she couldn't shake a bad feeling about the psychic and fairy type.

After looking around briefly and waiting for most of the members to leave the hut, she took a deep breath and called out. "Connor."

"Huh? Yep?" Her leader slowly paced closer, and she activated her telepathy.

"It's about Dawn..."

He looked to the side for a moment, then spoke back in her head. "I know you don't like her, Jade… But still..."

"It's not that I don't like her… It's that I really, really don't trust her… Is having her on the team really worth the risk right now? We are at each other's throats more often than not, and all previous actions aside, what do we really know about her?"

He shrugged lightly. "I dunno… She's helped us break into the Mafia's base, and she's teleported us exactly where we wanted to go twice, and helped rescue Roy. And Alice said that she's being honest. That's all I really need to know."

"But what if something were to happen? Would we be able to stop her if she somehow turned against us?"

He shifted uncomfortably, signaling that her words had some impact. "...She's fine, Jade. Nothing will happen. Who can hypnotize a psychic type into attacking her friends?"

"The same ones that could hypnotize Vulcan into almost killing you. You of all people should know better than to underestimate others."

"I know, I know… But why are you just now bringing this up?"

"It's been an issue ever since I first saw her. Just... don't trust her until she proves herself."

"How has she not proven herself? She's kind of helped us out a stupid amount of times in less than a week."

"She has yet to earn my trust. Every other member of this team has done so, and until she does the same, you need to be wary."

"Why? I can still beat her if she does try anything!"

"Do you know for a fact that you can? You held back on Vulcan, and because of that, you almost died. If she turns against us, will you be able to do what has to be done? Because you are the most powerful pokémon I have ever had the honor of meeting. And if anything happens to you, this team… This… family is finished."

"Nothing's gonna happen to me! We're the good guys!"

"That's exactly what Nocturne, Rose and Magnus thought. Look at what happened to them."

His jaw dropped slightly as he stammered, "Ah..."

"Precisely my point. Right now, this ends two ways. Either we beat the Mafia… or we die. It doesn't matter if we are the 'good guys' or not."

"Alright, fine… You got me. Just for… in the future… You should learn to give people a little more credit than you think they deserve. They'll surprise you." He tilted his head down and turned away from her. Jade sighed and looked back at the roof. He doesn't understand… What I've seen… Dawn, Roy, and Aaron... and even me… We're all connected. But only I know that… And perhaps Roy.

"Jade."

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to push down her thoughts. "Yes, Alice…?"

"...Can we talk? Outside?"

She sat up slowly and glanced at Alice, and the pain in her eyes startled her. "Alice? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, just… meet me outside."

She quickly moved up the stairs, and Jade followed her with her eyes. Why is she suddenly so intent on talking to me? Did she overhear our conversation? No, it was with telepathy… Well, it certainly wouldn't hurt to see what she wants.

She phased through the wall and met the Lopunny outside, about thirty feet from the back of the hut, out of earshot of the others.. "Yes?"

Alice dug through her paint-treasure bag and pulled out a small piece of paper. "Here. Noc wanted to give this to you, back when you shut him down before we went and rescued Vulcan."

She gasped lightly and held it gingerly. "This…? A piece of paper? That was what he wanted to give me?" She smiled slightly as tears lined the edges of her eyes. The last thing she'd receive from him… was a piece of paper.

"Read it." Alice ordered.

"What?"

"I said you need to read it. It was literally Nocturne's dying wish."

She rolled her eyes slightly, and Alice's fist was coated in a black spectral energy. "Do not give me any attitude. When it comes to this sort of thing… You don't want to mess with me. I will put you in a whole new world of hurt."

Jade laughed for the first time in weeks. "Ha. Alice… You actually made me laugh. Congratulations."

She was clearly caught off guard by that statement, and she continued, "Tell me… how were you planning on 'putting me in a whole new world of hurt'? Was that just an empty threat? And if you intended to back it up, do you think anyone on our team, or the Temporal Guardians, for that matter, would approve?"

Alice glared at her, and Jade smiled gently. "I'll read it. You get so flustered when you're mad. It is… amusing to me."

She took the piece of paper and unfolded it. At the top, the date was written, followed by the name. 'seventeenth day of Rijen (October), from Nocturne Hazeldine.'

To: Iris "Jade" Meljanac

*How are you? Sorry we haven't really talked recently. I wanted to lead with that, because I know how short of an attention span you have if something's not interesting.*

She let out a soft laugh and read on, tears in her eyes. She missed him… more than she could ever describe with words. Even if it was just a crush at the time… When he saved her life… She truly fell in love that day.

*I wanted to say that I really do think the world of you. I understand that with all this stuff going on, with your indecisiveness and such… that you might not feel the same way. And if you don't, then just tell me… So we can move on. It's just… after that night, I never really looked at you the same. So, I thought that after we rescue Vulcan, I was wondering if you wanted to head to Spinda's cafe for a drink, to… y'know, talk about things. If you agree, then just let me know before we go to the rescue. And if, for some reason, something happens to me before then… during the rescue or whatever… I just want you to know that I like you… a lot. And if we meet over a couple of smoothies, I'll tell you in person. And… I know it hurts right now… all of this, everything going wrong. But it will be worth it. After the pain subsides, there will be a lifetime of happiness for all of us, I can feel it. So don't lose hope. It'll all be fine in the end. So see to it that you don't die, and we'll meet again, no matter what happens.*

-Noc

Jade held the letter so tightly. The air around her began to cool as she cried. "Yes… Nocturne, I will… I'll see to it that we meet again."

She looked up, but Alice was nowhere to be found. She smiled and laid her head against the nearest tree and thanked her silently for showing her this message. "One way or another… I will bring you back."

Good morning, and happy St. Patrick's day everybody! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! What did you guys think of Aaron's flashback/Noc's note? Cute? Depressing? Not really anything? Let me know so I can improve upon it! As always, if you guys have any questions, comments, concerns or theories, feel free to leave them in the form of a review or PM! It's always appreciated! Much Love!

-PL