Natsu's bellowing roar swallowed up the entire corridor. The flames blew away soldiers and enemy Pokémon of the highest durability. The flames charred the intricacy of the walls and melted anything else that was too close. Once free from the enemies in his path, Natsu wiped his mouth. "Too easy."

Lucy saw soldiers head her way and stretched her arm out. "Sagittarius! Klefki!"

The Key Ring Pokémon swept in front. "For the keys!"

Out in the open, Sagittarius pulled his bow and arrows back. "As you wish, milady! I shall make quick, and vanish yee-ho!" He pulled forward his arrows, sending them at the incoming brigade.

Klefki jingled to herself as a wind of pink stardust started to circulate around her. "Fairy Wind!" She roared out, expelling the wind that surge with the arrows, making them pick up speed and surround them in pink winds. The atmosphere shot back soldiers and Dark-types too unfortunate to be caught up in the combined attack.

Natsu smirked. "C'mon, can't let Lucy have all the fun with Pokémon. Charmander, you still able to fight?"

Though shaken still and bruised, Charmander shook his head and read Natsu's anticipation. "Yeah, ready!"

"Okay then…" he reached forward. "Give 'em Flame Charge!" With a swipe of his arm, Charmander suddenly rushed passed him in a flaming comet. He sprinted across the ground in rapid speeds into a Nuzleaf that came too close. Without warning, the Nuzleaf was wide-eyed as a flaming bullet struck him. The shockwaves picked him up and shot him down, while Charmander stood proudly before Natsu. "Atta boy! I knew you still have some steam in ya!"

Sophie swiped her arm, using her Memory-Make Magic to summon forth precipice slates with lightning stringing up beneath enemy feet. Each one exploded like a landmine as she stood unfazed. Whereas behind her, Griffon pulled strings slinging a ripple at the strings attached to other guys' limbs, pulling and cutting them off with their blood staining the floor.

"These guys are starting to get annoying." The Wire Mage sneered.

"I couldn't agree more." Sophie said before swiping her arm, summoning lightning from above that struck and turned the soldiers ahead to stone.

Happy looked at the numbers surrounding them. "Hey, has anybody seen Brandish at all?"

Lucy turned around to realize this. "Yeah, good question. Where is she?"

Natsu adjusted his stance. "Probably still back with that chick I fought." He swung a spinning kick wrapped in fire that stamped another soldier away.

"I hope she's alright. She's taking a long time." Happy said.

Lucy's eyes narrowed. She didn't feel so confident. "I hope she's okay…"

Yelling came from the other end of the hallways. Charmander and Klefki turned with their trainers to find even more armed soldiers head their way. "Well we don't have time to worry about them right now." Natsu approached them, ready and fired up. "We got our own problems to deal with."

The soldiers heading their way were closing in at a dramatic rate; both them and the Pokémon they had of varied regions ranging from basic to secondary evolutions. They closed in, only find themselves suddenly shrunken in a blind eye's notice.

"HUH?!" Lucy and Natsu gawked. Sophie and Griffon also showed quiet surprised looks.

The soldiers all looked around, realizing just what happened. Looking at their surroundings, a shadow cast over them. When they looked up, a giant of a Brandish towered over them with an unamused expression dwelling. "Are we having a problem here still?" she sourly questioned.

Lucy's eyes widened. "Brandish!"

"I apologize for the inconvenience." She responded. "However, I had to deal with something." She glanced off to the side, referring to the person that stood behind her. Dimaria presented herself, glaring at the group with distasteful eyes. Behind her, many of the reinforcements were already cut down as their blood stained the crooked edge of her refined blade.

Happy floated beside Charmander, looking at Dimaria with a deep inquiry. "Huh? Hey, wait a minute. Isn't that the girl you and Natsu beat a little while ago?"

The Fire-type nodded. "Yeah, I think so. Is she here for a rematch or something?"

The Spriggan locked eyes with Natsu for a moment. Both sets of stares were fixed like their lives depended on it. While it wasn't easy to read, Natsu could smell something was different about Dimaria. Though quiet about it, he knew Brandish had something to say about this. "So what's up?"

"Don't be alarmed. Dimaria's not going to do anything." Brandish looked back at her. "She knows better. Right?"

Dimaria looked down, guilt showing as she rubbed her forearm. She wasn't at liberty to say. Brandish's glare made her at least glance back up and give them a meek stare.

"Geez, talk about killing the mood." Griffin mused to Sophie. "She's trying to burn holes through us."

Natsu's serious expression finally lightened up. "It's cool. Right?"

Dimaria gave the "Demon" another strong glare, but she chose not to fight against it. What Brandish said about empathy rung again. She chose to give a meek nod back, her body posture more flexible than unsound.

Brandish looked back. "Shall we resume our ways?"

Lucy nodded. "Yeah. Sure. Okay." Although inwardly, she was panicking. 'Man I hope I don't regret this.'

Natsu grinned. "Well, c'mon slowpokes! Let's get going!" To that, he created a fireball and slammed it on the ground, creating an intense wave that he blasted forward.

Watching from behind, Dimaria looked with uncertainty as the flames made her skin tone flourish. As she watched Natsu's scarf shift in the flames, she didn't see the monster that almost killed her. Instead, she imagined a regular human…or rather tried to. A small huff came onto her mouth as her tension was easing some.

Brandish looked at Dimaria again, sighing in relief. 'This is gonna be a pain.'


It was a long hallway. A very long one.

A long, massive hallway lead to who knows where as Nic, Erza, Elfman, and Lisanna all took the lead as they remained on guard. Along the way, nothing in particular happened. For the most part, eerier silence followed by eerier energy lingered around them.

"Hey…" Lisanna started. "Has…anybody else get the feeling that it's creepy."

"It's not just you, sis. I feel it, too." Elfman assured. As he ran on, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. "…something's not right here. Nic! Erza! You sure we're going the right way?"

Erza glanced at Nic. "Nic, this is the way, right?"

Nic nodded. "Yeah, it is. No doubt about it." His eyes remained focused on the prize as he stared ahead as the huge hallway of blue tiling beneath. "The emperor is up ahead, his energy can be felt from here…" He was also aware of another thing. He could feel a strong malicious aura, but it was unclear at this point. It was hard to tell where exactly. It was all over the place as far as he felt it. "We're not alone either. We know that."

Lisanna pointed ahead. "Look, I think I finally see something!"

"Alright, an opening!" Elfman roared.

They all hurried themselves into the fray. They all finally slowed down and walked carefully through the last few feet of the hallway to an empty chamber. The chamber had atrociously high ceilings, decorated with gold beams meeting in the center. However, with how dark it was, it wasn't a lively place to be. Even now, the energy that Nic was feeling was greater than before, and he can definitely feel it now.

"What is this place?" Lisanna asked. "It's so big."

"Looks like a meeting hall or something." Elfman said. "Strange. I would've thought we'd meet someone here. Irony."

Erza's glare hardened. "No, that's not it." She earned questionable stares from the Strauss siblings. She glanced at Nic. "Nic, you feel it as well?"

Nic's own blue eyes were fixed forward. "Yeah, I figured as much…we're not alone guys." He stepped forward. "You can come out. We know you're here. A little obvious for a sneaky surprise, wouldn't it?"

Around them, a sinister cackling echoed through the area. The laughter was low, very low. It wasn't much to say, but it had enough backbone behind it to cause the others to tense up. They knew Nic knew. And when he knew something like this, they had to be ready regardless.

"A very impressive observation my young friend." A gravely voice echoed over their heads. Suddenly, a dark energy erupted in a ring-like fashion around the edging of the chamber. Nic and Erza fastened themselves while Elfman and Lisanna were shaken up some.

The laughter began to surge into one spot. A bright purple light enveloped the floor beneath them. Almost immediately, Nic the others jumped out of the way as a cyclone of purple flames suddenly erupted from the void. They all glared and held their guards up as the purple cyclone turned into an expansive burning wave of darkness that encompassed something inside.

The black silhouette inside had eyes shimmered, light refracting to make him even more intimidating.

'This power…' Lisanna worried.

'Is this guy…a Spriggan?' Elfman realized.

Nic and Erza voiced no opinions as they beside one another with battle ready stances. The dark purple vortex faded, leaving charred purple rings of flames around a tattered cape of someone who had their back towards them all. They all remained silent until the Spriggan spoke.

"Nic Pularis and company…what a pleasant surprise." The Spriggan greeted, craning his head around ti show his face from an angle. "You had me waiting for quite a while. I thought you of all people would know that keeping any of us waiting isn't counted on."

Nic remained unamused. "Sorry, didn't think you had expectations."

The Spriggan chuckled. He turned and showed himself towards everyone. "Be as it may, I must say you've caused quite the fuss around here. Please, allow me to introduce myself. They call me Naga." His eyes narrowed. "The emperor was expecting you."

"I thought as much. So he's using you as a vanguard." He guessed.

"Call it what you'd like, but honestly, I didn't think you'd take the bait." Naga snickered. "I would've thought that you would try and pull a sneak attack of your own to get to Emperor Neinhart. How straightforward of you to come to me first."

Nic's glare didn't change. "Doesn't change a thing. Even if I did get pass you, there'd still be a Spriggan around. In that case…" he pulled out a Poke Ball. "Like it or not, there wouldn't be any point avoiding it. Someone was bound to fight eventually."

Naga raised his head, raising a brow. "…is that so? Well then, suppose I should take back what I said before. You flatter me."

Erza stepped beside Nic, both glaring daggers at their perpetual adversary. "Your comrades and army haven't treated us very kindly since we got here." She said. "Do you take responsibility for their actions?"

Naga chuckled. "Why of course I do. But if I'm being honest, the credit belongs the Invel and Glynda. Which reminds me, isn't Invel dead now? What pity."

Nic and Erza were done beating around the bush. They weren't here for such pleasantries. They were here to fight. Naga could see this, and the flame-like dark aura he had made his appeal even more intimidating. His cape was partially extended as he glared daggers at them.

Behind Lisanna and Elfman as they stared in worry, a powerful foot made the land beneath them shake. They turned around, gasping as they saw another person enter.

The person had black armored plating for the upper half of his muscular body. He had the appeal much of a gladiator one might say, with the black helmet with the dark red mohawk flowing to the back. His green eyes pierced daggers as sharp as the javelin he carried, which was reminiscent of a massive dark coating with many rows of spikes that could cut in one fell swing. He adorned a red cape with the Alvarez symbol in black behind it. However, what possibly stood out the most out of everything else…was his lower body. His entire lower body was nothing but a dark armored horse, in a way, making him a Centaur. It was so bizarre but at the same time intimidating. One exhale from his helmet made a hot breath. Lisanna and Elfman stared with growing shock as the Centaur crossed his arms.

"Hahahaha! My goodness, Naga. It seems we've forgot that Nic's brought along guests. Please, allow us to apologize."

Nic and Erza glared over their shoulders.

"Who are you?" Lisanna inquired.

The Centaur gave Lisanna a simple gesture. "My young lady, greetings. My name is Sentinal. Naga's personal aid."

"He works for Naga?" Erza inquired. She looked back at him, but only saw his eyes brighten up.

"You're not the only one who has his allies." Naga warned. "Now then, Sentinal, dispose of the trash!"

Sentinal chuckled as he raised his javelin high. Purple static began charging around his entire body. "Be…my…PLEASURE!" He brought the staff down, making the very tip touch the ground. A massive purple glint ignited the ground before a shockwave of linear purple travels like an explosion towards Lisanna and Elfman.

"Both of you, move!" Erza warned.

The massive shockwave raced towards them as they were stone cold. Their eyes reflected the bright purple blast wave before it swallowed them up in the blink of an eye. A pillar of purple shot upwards, making a gust that whipped up Sentinal's cape as he watched his attack hit home.

"Hahahaha! Too easy." He scoffed. When he saw the smoke clear out, he saw that they weren't there anymore. At first he thought he did the deed, but the gust he made whisked a little to the right. "Huh?" He looked off to the side, seeing pass the ring of dark fire. There he saw Elfman and Lisanna reappear, as though by teleporting out of thin air. "What…?"

He and Naga looked back. There, they saw Nic in his Mind Form, having used his powers to shift them over at the last second.

Naga's eyes narrowed. "How very interesting."

"Elfman, Lisanna, go!" Nic insisted. "We'll cover you!"

Realizing they were safe, Lisanna got over her initial shock and assessed the situation. "R-right! Big brother Elf!"

Elfman nodded. "Yeah, let's go." He turned and ran ahead with Lisanna. "Make sure you guys make it out okay, ya hear!" He roared back at them.

Focused on the enemy ahead of them, Nic and Erza glared as purple flames enveloped the area around them. They remained unfazed. "No promises." Nic said.

Sentinal stomped beside Naga, both glaring as Naga's tattered cape was lifted to make him more intimidating. "Well now, looks like we have your undivided attention." Naga said.

"Yeah, I can say so myself." Nic pulled out a Poke Ball. "Alright, you ready?"

Erza pulled out her own Poke Ball. "I am."

Both swept their feet out and swung up. In unison, both threw their Poke Balls. "GO!" In a bright flash, two intense energies arched and slammed into the ground. The shockwaves each had separated nearby fire as the flames instead swirled. The energies revealed Houndoom and Charizard, the latter craning his head up and exhibiting a heated, shrilling roar that made Naga and Sentinal cover up as dark flames faded pass them. They looked back to see a dragon and dog from hell glaring through them.

"You want a fight, we'll be happy to oblige." Nic said determinedly.

Naga smirked. "What power…very well then…" A mass of dark purple energy swallowed up around him, making an eruption of darkness expel and encase his silhouette to show his glowing eyes. He looked like a shaded wyvern inside his mass of darkness. "SHOW ME THE GRIEF THAT YOU CAN BRING!" he bellowed.


A billow of smoke whisked into the air. The source came from a lone cigarette that was being smoke between two fingers. The source came from the parted lips of Hoshina as her hooded frame cascaded most of her face. After a long period of silence, she looked back towards the crystal ball sitting her possession.

"To what do I owe thee fortune?" Inquiring about the ordeal, she smirked at the crystal ball's mysterious glow. She peered within it, seeing the face of Nic in a passionate but also serious battle. She saw him jump, in which Charizard flew beneath and the two began a circling aerial attack. She inserted the cigarette in her mouth again, sitting back in her seat like no care in the world existed. She glanced upwards, seeing the pitch-black ceiling of her confines. Once satisfied, smoke billowed up, filling her air with feint, blurry images that only she saw. "How interesting." She hummed. "In less than one hour…a man of black hair and blue eyes…of whom is dear to someone…shall suffer his timely coming." She lowered her head, snickering amusingly. "This…is the coming of the prediction." She blew one more smoke billow, the embers if the cigarette fading to black.

Meanwhile, the crystal ball changed its screen. It's misty inside cleared way to show the ship in the basin.


A pair of glowing arms radiated in front of a tear in cast-iron metal. The metal glowed and slowly mended together. It was taking everything out of Ultear just to keep her concentration from falling apart. Her brows twitched as her stamina weighed on the last of the metal finally closing. Once mended, she finally gave in.

"FINALLY!" she groaned so loud it was almost of sheer pleasure. She sunk to her knees and hands, hanging her head as beads of sweat stained the wood. "I never thought this hunk of junk would fix itself. Ugh! Man, what I wouldn't give for a meal right now."

In her complaining, a red piece of gum sticking out of a wrapper was given to Ultear. Looking over, Ultear saw Liz staring absent-mindedly as he chewed. She had her headphones on as she jammed out, but that didn't mean she wasn't aware of Ultear's condition.

Ultear accepted the piece of gum. "Thank you." She took the piece and let its mystical flavoring enter her taste buds. It wasn't no five-star meal, but the tastes swelling inside her mouth were making her appetite feel admittedly full.

As Liz stood there, the doors to a nearby bunk opened. The door creaked to a close, revealing Duncan with his kendo stick. "So are you still working on that?" the Sinnoh Trainer questioned casually.

"Oh, it's you." Ultear half-heartedly answered. Her disposition from before hasn't changed. "I thought you were doing your own thing."

"I did. Brushed up on some kendo." He deadpanned. He held his kendo stick and twirled with no effort, sticking it out as a show before huffing.

"Well aren't you Mr. Bravado." The Time Mage exasperated. "Well I hope you worked yourself up enough of a sweat, otherwise I would've noticed."

Duncan turned away. "Whatever. How much longer?"

Ultear finally strained to get up. "…well, it just so happens that I managed to finish the last bit. We should be working at full capacity for the time being."

"I see. Then I guess there's nothing left but wait for the others then." He shrugged. "Fine by me.."

Ultear gravely sighed. She'd rather dismember Duncan for his nonchalant lack of care that a man should have, but she was just too tired to fuss over it. She turned away. "Suppose you're right. I could use a little rest after all that time was used up." She started walking away, waving back at Liz. "By the way, thanks for the gum. It helped."

Liz tapped her headphones. She nodded back and turned another dial. When she did, it went off for a moment. Liz blinked, her eyes immediately widening as her headphones were getting very brief bursts of songs she had in the lacrima. The more she turned the knob, the more the anxious look she showed.

Hearing the dial turning, Ultear stopped and looked over her shoulder. She glanced at the scene with Duncan as both looked vaguely curious at the Gum Mage.

Liz was borderline jamming the dial. Her heartrate looked to be increasing as she abruptly took the headphones off to get a look at them. Hurrying to place another piece of gum into her mouth, the yellow gum filled her nerves with a dulling sensation. Her breathing began to settle from the rapid anxiety as she manually opened the headphone's side. Peering inside, she realized that the old piece of gum to hold two chips together was dried up and fried. In a hurry, she reached into her pocket for any pieces of gum she bought. Unfortunately, her heartrate jacked up again when she realized she had no bubblegum. Essentially in a surge of panic, she scrambled on her knees at any pieces that could be for a substitute. This frantic was so intense that it looked like her life depended on it. The look in her eyes was clearly showing that.

Ultear looked at Duncan as rapid breathing filled the air. The Trainer looked away, prompting Ultear to make her move on the panicking girl.

Liz scrambled as she couldn't find any pieces. As her eyes dilated, she was feeling panic rise until a bodacious woman knelt in front of her. "If I may?" Liz recoiled in shock as Ultear knelt closer towards the headphone pieces. As she looked on, Liz was looking over, hovering like it was that desperate. With what very little magic she had, Ultear raised a hand over the piece and made the whole thing glow. The pieces reanimated to a new state, fixing it fully. She handed it to Liz. "Here. This should do the trick."

Liz took the headphones back and immediately put them over her ears. She quickly paced over a dial, in which in both lobes, her music was playing at a very controlled rate compared to the bits of static she got. As if a heavy burden was lifted, she hunched over and sighed in relief. "…thank you." She muttered. She realized her gum was scattered all over the place and went to pick up the pieces.

Ultear continued observing, remaining quiet. "Not that it's my business, but does this happen often?"

Liz looked at Ultear with mild surprise by the question, but it soon receded to her looking away sheepishly in shame. "…sometimes."

She helped in picking up the gum pieces. "You know, that kind of anxiety isn't good for you." She handed a few to Liz. "I can damage your mental health."

Liz did an eyeroll. "Believe me, you're not the only one whose said that." She said coldly. A small silence rolled as she turned towards the ground. "That's what people should've told my grandmother."

Ultear's gaze got a little more intrigued. And for once, Duncan shot a glance of wonder at Liz as he raised his chin.

"It's genetic. My grandmother had it, then my mom…and then me. All that worrying over the years makes the heart pulse so fast that blood rushes and you get tired. It's been proven before. And one day, it was just too much." Her body sunk to the wall Ultear fixed up as she huddled her arms close to her body. "One day when my grandmother was making lunch, she forgot to buy salt at the store. She nearly tore the kitchen apart until her old heart finally stroke her up."

"So you were living with that relative until that incident then." Ultear deduced.

Liz ignored her and resumed. "When I was born, my family went into chaos. My mother and grandmother were at each other's throats because they worried about my future and protection. Their combined anxiety labeled them sociopaths by a few people I knew. Eventually, they chose my grandmother. I didn't mind though at the time. She was just picky, but it was nice and quiet…" she thought back to her days in a small suburban village. It was nice, tranquil, and had a one-story cottage with an elderly woman baking over a stove. "She was a nice woman. But she worried so much that she would tuck me in personally until I was 10. It…wasn't until 13 until she passed away."

Ultear and Duncan continued their periods of silence. They said nothing as they listened. Duncan tilted his cap.

"So after her heart attack, I moved in with my parents. It was the worst decision I've ever made in my life." She remembered how she was locked in her room at night so no one could kidnap her. She remembered the horrendous time that she had indoors with her parents hovering over her. And if she didn't do what they said, she remembered how they'd yell in her face like banshees. "They were over my head to where I nearly suffocated. They treated me more like a pet they used tricks for. That's why I eat gum." She held up a piece of unchewed gum as a visual. "I realized that I feel better with gum. It's my therapy."

"…and the same with your headphones too I guess, right?" Ultear questioned.

She nodded. "Yeah. It was only a month ago I thought I could finally grow up and leave home. I actually snuck out that night, and almost a few miles out my folks caught up to me. I screamed for help and a pair of wires shot out of nowhere. Next thing I knew, my parents were in pieces and Griffon was there. Guess that's how it started."

Ultear looked down, finally understanding. "I see…I'm sorry. I didn't imagine your anxiety would be that threatening."

Liz looked over somberly. "It's okay. I'm just relieved I can live my life now." She looked at the piece of gum in her hand and began unwrapping it. She turned it around and saw its backside. "But I know my headphones will break and I'll run out of gum eventually…I just hope to find my peace without relying on such things for my anxiety."

With another word, she plopped it into her mouth, commencing chewing. She put her headphones in and commenced with jamming once more. "Thanks for the storytelling." She said, quite loudly as she tucked in.

Ultear and Duncan looked at her before facing the other. In a way, they could empathize with her. She wasn't the only one with parental issues as well. The longer they stared, the more apparent it was asking questions was pointless. Duncan faced away while Ultear sat on the wall as well, thinking to her own late mother. 'Mother…I wonder what it would've been like…' she grinned, allowing the thought to be of hopes of what could've been a decent childhood. Her snickering was low.

Meanwhile, Duncan sat on the opposite wall, sighing out loud out of boredom.


Within the halls of the ship, a certain room was causing some intense noise. Too bad a majority of it was in the soundproof chamber.

Standing awkwardly in place, Heracross looked up at the Yanma perched on his head. "Uh, how long are you going to be there for?"

The Yanma turned her head. "Hmmm, dunno." She chirped.

Heracross shrugged. "As long as it doesn't itches I guess…" A flying piece of scrap metal shot passed him, making him and Yanma stiffen as they realized they were still under fire.

Matilda was on the other side of the room, bending and breaking every available bar there was. Even after the cages were dismantled, she was dismembering iron plating and bars into shreds and stakes that she tossed over her shoulder. They continued hitting the wall behind Dereece and Meredy, both remaining on guard.

"Uh…" Dereece leaned off to avoid another fragment. "D-don't you think you're, uh, good…? Matilda…?" In the form of an answer, a bar was absent-mindedly flung into his head, causing him to flinch.

"Oh dear! Are you alright?!" Meredy gasped.

Dereece rubbed his headband. "Yeah, don't mention it. Trust me, I get worse concussions from Joey."

"O-okay…" a bead of sweat ran down Meredy's head. 'Is Joey really that dangerous unattended?'

Matilda strained as she attempted prying an iron bar nailed into a dented piece of metal cage flooring. The look on her face showed raw animalistic anger as she slowly undid the welded irons like breaking sticks off a tree branch. With one final snap, she angrily slammed the metal onto the ground, slouching over with bangs covering her eyes.

Meredy and Dereece looked at each other in worry. One of them opted to talk again. "You think she's calm now?" Meredy inquired.

"For all our sakes, let's hope so."

The Pokémon that were hiding in the corner were making sure they stayed there as iron scraps laid around them like a mine field. It wasn't a pretty site nor experience to say the least. They all looked at Matilda as she caught her breath and looked down. It didn't seem like she was happy in the very least.

"I hate cages."

Dereece blinked. "Say what?"

"I can't stand the site of unhappy caged beasts. It makes me so mad…" Her fists balled tighter than usual. "Just thinking about makes my blood…" She started to exhale again, but this one breath, it sounded fiendishly low. And, as odd as it was, it sounded dark, brooding, and bloody.

This made Dereece and Meredy keep their distance. They looked towards the other again with worry as Matilda tried to calm herself down. Dereece chose to intercede. "Uh, not to be personal or anything…but why do you…"

Matilda eased her balled fists and continued looking at the ground. Her eyes had a bleak shadow over them. "…because I'm nothing but one myself." She sourly muttered. "Why else would I look like this?"

Meredy looked in question as she took note of Matilda's body. Now that she's taken notice, she realized now that the odd brown plates on her forearms were engraved into her skin. The patches of fur and clawed fingers were what also stood out. It made her think something was up.

"I-I'm sorry, but could you be a little more specific?" Dereece asked. "You mean your…"

Matilda moved her head away into deeper shadows. She clutched the plating on her arms tightly. "I lived in the southern hemisphere of Earthland for most of my childhood. My town was dangerously close to a jungle where wild predators would come out at night often and try to pick off the idiots who wandered too far. But that's not why I'm like this. It's because…of one animal in particular. The king of all wild beasts in the jungles. It was called the Kajuua. In our old tongue, it translates to 'Jungle Monster'." In her mind, she recalled full well of the image of the menacing beast. In her mind, it was very close to a cross between a leopard and a Smilodon. It had massive fangs with piercing eyes with a shrilling mane of black hair, yet yellow fur had intense brown nail-like armor all over the body. To make it even more terrifying, she remembered when she was so little, it towered at a shrilling 10 feet on its four limbs. "It was the undisputed tyrant of its kind. It's armor and fur were highly resistant to any kinds of magic, so hired mages were killed off with ease. I think it was the last of its kind. That's why it was so rare at the time."

Yanma adjusted her place on Heracross' horn and he looked back at Matilda with the others.

"I was just 9-years-old at the time. My aunt was taking care of me after my mom and dad were both killed and eaten by animals. But one night, the Kajuua got too close, and I was just too curious to understand what happened after…" Her eyelids dulled. "I got too close, and the beast sniffed me with its wet nose…it didn't seem like it was going to hurt me, so I stroke its fur…and I accidentally did a Take-Over." She looked down at her palm to see her nails as sharp as fangs themselves. "That guy's strength was so massive that my own body couldn't control it at the time..."

In the middle of a dust cloud, people gathered around as they saw something stir. Of the many people, a fair-skinned female of lavish designs and brown moved closer as she couldn't find her niece. "Matilda? Matilda! Where are you, sweetie?!"

"A-Auntie…" a weak groan came from the crater's debris.

Hearing the voice, the woman hurried into the crater. "Matilda?" she gasped. "Matilda! Are you under there?" She started to move debris. "Somebody help me!"

Guys came in from all around. A few men and women helped in brushing off what debris fell onto something as it was slowly being unearthed. The first thing that was seen was a spot of yellow hair.

"Matilda, sweetie!" She moved another rock piece. "It's okay, I'm…" she trailed off as she froze in place. She, along with the other guys that were helping, felt their chords and nerves shrivel in shock as something slowly eroded from the earth.

"Nnngh…A-Auntie?" a female voice asked. "What happened? Why are you all looking at me like that?" A tired Matilda slowly swayed around, and a sudden jolt to head made her clutch. "OW!" Upon touching her head, she felt something sharp. "Oww…! What?" She gasped as she realized her nails grew. "My nails…my skin!" She looked down at her own skin, realizing how much more bulk it's gotten. Almost her whole body was covered in yellow fur with spots on them, yet the underbelly was still tan. She saw her forearms had plating, and on her back, she felt all her hair extend, which felt like prickly thorns. Even her own face looked like a cross of a leopard and Smilodon, with the snout of one and the intense fangs to boot. She looked scared as she saw the many faces backing up around her. "What's going on here? What happened to the Kajuua?!" she panicked.

"Stay back…" a man muttered, falling to his backside. "Please…don't come closer."

Matilda turned towards him. "What? Why?!"

"No! Stay away!"

Matilda gasped at the sudden outburst. As she looked around, she saw many watchers were weary of her, and other were hurrying away for cover or otherwise weapons. A lot of shouting happened, and it didn't help that she saw her own aunt look at her with shrilled fear in her shrunken eyes. She stood like a statue at the sheer sight of something she wished she didn't see.

Matilda was beginning to feel fear rise for her sake. "Auntie…" She reached for her, but the aunt jerked away.

"What are you?"

"Auntie, it's me."

"No…stay away!"

"Auntie!"

"NO! Stay away you animal!" she snapped.

Matilda's heart sunk with her own aunt rejecting her. "Auntie…" She was so in despair she didn't realize people with spears were gathering around to draw her in. Matilda only served to back away slowly as four men had a cage ready behind her.

"My own aunt had me caged, for 2 years." Matilda scorned. "She and the entire town were so scared they really believed I was the Kajuua and nothing else. I was dead to them from the start." Her gaze fell deeper into despair as she recalled being in that smelly, infected cage, even out in rain showers. And to make matters worse, not even her own aunt came to throw her a piece of meat or say something. "Those eyes of anger…they were the monsters. They just didn't acknowledge that."

"You were stuck in that same Take-Over…for 2 years?" Meredy's eyes widened at the realization. To add insult to injury, Matilda was caged, that meant no room. And nothing else.

Dereece looked at Heracross and Yanma. Both seemed intrigued but also scared at the same time.

"One day, auctioneers came to town after hearing about me. There was a bidding on my worth, and almost everyone wanted me for skinning and for mounting on their walls. I heard it with my own ears. And you know who else bided on me? My own aunt." She looked over her shoulder at them, a lifeless look in her gaze. "I guess after that, I just…snapped."

"What happened?" Meredy questioned. She feared she wouldn't like the answer.

"…I broke out. And I maimed them all." She ignored the gasps Dereece and Meredy exhibited. "Everyone there…everyone in the entire town…I slaughtered each of them with red in the eyes. The animal they treated so poorly finally bit back." The tone she exhibited was had far more venom than usual. It was grievously terrifying to say the least. "Every man. Everyone who I once spoke with…even kids who threw rocks at me…I slashed and bit every one of their faces off…including my own Aunt." He looked down at her forearm plates, a somber tone following her anecdote. "I was able to find a way to control this Take-Over and the Kajuua, but at a cost. These parts of me that are permanent, they're a result of whenever I went into Take-Over too long. The Kajuua would take over, and everyone around me would be prey…and a few of my friends along the way."

Meredy's gaze fell. "I'm so sorry…"

"Don't be. I'm just here now trying to find peace with the monster who I'm willing to embrace now. I know I'll never return to the way I was, and maybe someday, my Take-Over will be the end of me…but I can accept that." She looked back, giving them all an intense but much calmer glare. "Because I'm still Matilda, even if my own skin is the Kajuua's. The beast and I will come to an understanding someday, I know it…why else would it be so curious of me to begin with?" She cast aside her previous emotions to give them a wink. The others managed to lighten up some with her optimism coming back around.

Dereece smiled again, but realized Yanma was still perched on Heracross. "How long have you been there?"

Yanma tilted her head. "Hi."


On the upper deck, Joey was still sitting with Broly. They both were quiet for some time while Chespin and Pidove were out. They were looking to play tag while the two male eccentrics watched.

"Hey Bro." Joey started.

"Yeah?"

"You think the others are alright?"

Broly chuckled. "Couldn't tell ya, kid. Even I don't know. Let's just hope so…that's all we can do."

"Oh, okay…" Joey cradled his knees close to his chin. An awkward silence fell between the two as Chespin chased Pidove across the deck. "Listen, Bro. Can I ask you something?"

"Like what?"

"Like…how did you get so brave, so strong that you can take on the entire world without knowing consequences? Isn't that a little scary to you?"

Broly rested an arm on his knee and chuckled. "It could be. But then again, that's just the kind of man it takes to learn magic, you know." He faced Joey. "Why you ask?"

Joey huddled closer to his knees. "Nothing…" he said quietly. "It's just…I've been thinking for a while and, I was wondering, if that's the kind of person Nic and Vanessa-senpai had to be to get to where they are now is all." His frowned deepened to a small somber. "I'm just worried that maybe…I won't be that kind of person they are."

Broly looked surprised. "You really think that way about yourself?"

Joey sheepishly looked away. "Well…sometimes."

Broly stared at Joey as the teenager was in his own little world. Soon enough, it came to his head that Joey was measuring himself up before he even got started. This made the Barrier Mage chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Joey asked, but a hand touched his head, surprising him. When he looked up, his eyes widened when he saw Broly looking at him with a soft smile.

"Don't sell yourself short ever, okay? That kind of fear being in another's shadow won't help you achieve your own potential. Trust me, I should know."

"Bro…"

Broly ruffled his head some more. "Besides, I've seen what you can do. I wouldn't worry too much if I were you. You've got a lot going for yourself to just be narrow-minded. You ask me, you're not doing half-bad in the decisions you make, it just proves how responsible you are."

Joey sheepishly rubbed his head, smiling away. "Well, you know…I'm just trying to be a great guy is all."

Broly smirked, his eyes narrowing softly. "You know, it takes a leader to make great decisions…but it takes a real leader to make the good ones. It's better to be a man of goodness before greatness, in my eyes that is."

The sentiment left Joey to stare at Broly with admiration. "A good man…" He pondered over the thought a while before a soft smile passed over him. "Thanks, Bro. You know, you're a really good and great guy."

Broly faced the ground and smirked. "Practice what you preach…" He had a small glimmer of silence before his eyes suddenly widened. He jerked up, showing shock on his face.

"Bro, what's wrong?"

Broly's gaze grew serious. He turned head outwards, his disposition growing serious. The air's magical current skyrocketed to high levels all of a sudden that he almost immediately knew what it meant. "Looks like they're here."

Joey gasped. Like him, he looked out with shock as well.

It wasn't just them. Down below in the deck, everybody else stopped what they were doing as an intense magical surge shifted through the air.

"Does anyone feel that?" Meredy questioned.

"It's really…creepy." Dereece shivered. He looked over, seeing Matilda stare up with narrow eyes. It looked like she was focused.

The Take-Over woman slowly paced passed Dereece and the others. The way she looked at the ceiling was an ominous foreboding of what could be described as magical energy. The flux was making her hair stand on end.

Across the deck's lower levels, a few doors down, a certain Aura Mage was having a little catch-up with comfortable sleep in one of the bunks. When magical energy pulsated, she stirred in the bunk, eyes opening as she realized from this aura what it was. Her tired eyes squinted. 'They're here.'

On shore, in front of the tree line overlooking the basin with the ship, Glynda had hands to her hips as the Machia Knights were all kneeling behind her. "We've approached the targets. Moving in now." She copied. "Machia Knights, you know what to do. Take. No. Prisoners. Is that understood?"

"As you command, Milady." Viridian vowed. "We shall create a path for you and you alone. Machia Knights, commence the operation."

"Right!" Pixie and Tyson responded before all three suddenly vanished.

Glynda remained positioned on the overwatch, observing for a moment before she chose to take her time moving.


Dereece was in a panic as he scrambled to find debris to use to block the door. He hurried back and forth with labored breaths in between each bar and metal scrap Matilda prepared and piled enough onto the door in order to hold them in.

"D-Dereece, calm down…" Meredy insisted.

But Dereece didn't listen. "I ain't going down like this, y'all! Not like this!" He slid to the bottom of the barricade and held it up using his back. "T-this should us, right? Right?" He prayed that it would be so. He didn't want another grizzly experience like he did with Ajeel. He was so warped in his paranoia that he wasn't aware that Heracross and Yanma exchanged questionable stares.

Matilda sighed. "Oh brother. Look, quite being such a crybaby alright? It's not that bad. Besides, we're not the only ones here you know."

Meredy perked. "Hey yeah, you're right! Vanessa and Ultear are here, too! We should be alright."

Matilda smirked. "Don't jinx it. You just might make me anxious."

Meredy sweatdropped. "Uh…right."

"S-so we're good then." Dereece sighed. "Man, don't scare me like that. For a moment, I thought we were actually going to-" Before he could finish, the wall beside them all suddenly erupted. An intense physical force abruptly forced itself clean between them all with shocked faces while the shockwave streamed through the next wall over, making a hole to show the once repaired lower levels of the deck. They all had petrified facial expressions as they heard a small snicker from the big hole, showing the dark clouds outside. "Oh no." Dereece finished.

There, a fist was still out and balled. The person revealed himself as Tyson, who looked happy to see their shocked looks. "Well what do you know, looks like my infrared sensors were accurate. I find the most signatures, that's where the most experience is."

"…is it time to panic now?" Dereece paled.

"…yeah." Meredy nodded.

"Right…HEEEEEELP!"


Dereece's babyish squeals echoed down the hallways. Ultear, Duncan, and Liz were all running down the halls as fast as possible towards the explosion. "Did you hear that?" Ultear questioned.

"Yeah, sounds like they've breached already." Duncan said as he tailed behind.

"And it looks like they're in the chamber where the Pokémon are." Ultear added before groaning. "Great, and just when I finished fixing up this scrap metal, someone just comes along and decides to piss me off. Honestly, whoever's behind this is going to-!" She winced and almost fell over. Duncan and Liz stopped and looked back as Ultear labored in breathing while on the ground. She clutched her sides as she looked to be exhausted. 'Damnit…my Magic Power's not even back yet.' She cursed. 'I can hardly walk now…'

Duncan grunted and glanced over his shoulder. His attention went upfront as he abruptly pulled his kendo stick into action. Liz looked ahead to see what Duncan was facing.

Ahead on them, a figure approached and stopped meters ahead of them. "We apologize for the inconvenience to you." He started, revealing himself to be rather tall. "My associate, Tyson, is rather brash you see. His systems were programmed in a hurry, unlike my own." His eyes showed seriousness. "I was designed to be rather respectful, you see. As such, I'd rather avoid unneeded arson to get attention."

Ultear grunted. "Just who the hell are you?"

"Milady." Viridian gave a courtesy. "I am the Machia Knight, Viridian Kriegs, at your service. It is my pleasure to be your demise this evening."

Meanwhile, Liz tapped a part of her headphones. They gave a small beep, but was automatically cut off.

"I'm afraid S.O.S details won't work." Viridian said. "Signals inside this ship are easily nullified by the material that it's made of."

Liz grunted in annoyance. To cover her, Duncan stepped forward. "So I guess that makes you the enemy, right?"

Viridian nodded. "Correct. I am under orders from Miss Glynda of the Spriggan 12. We the Machia Knights are here to assist in collecting what is ours. And any who dare oppose…shall have their heads roll. This is the will that we follow, for the glory of Wahl Icht himself."

Duncan's grip on his kendo stick tightened. "Well I'm not sure who this Wahl Icht guy is, but I can say that you want to battle, then get ready."

Ultear's eyes widened. "What? Are you insane?! Are you sensing this Magic Power?!"

"She's right, novice. Even an experienced mage would know how to measure another's magic level. Being a Pokémon Trainer, I doubt you know of the basics." He gestured to himself. "I am a generous Machia. If you stop now, I'll spare your life. I can offer that much."

Duncan had a serious look on his face while his cap made a glare from his eyes look more intimidating. "Funny you should mention basics. As a Pokémon Trainer, it's rather an obligation to take on anyone who I see as an opponent with no say. That's the rule." He pulled up a Dusk Ball. "Those are our basics."

Viridian's eyes closed. "Very well then…" he flashed them open, showing cybernetic networks through the eyes. "In the name of our empire, you shall join your comrades in death!" He swiped his arm, making the wrist jut out a cannon that expelled a saber made of magic. He readied himself. "Come!"

Duncan braced himself as he pulled his arm back. As he did, Viridian suddenly propelled across the ground and jetted right above to slash his saber. Hurrying, Duncan used his kendo stick and deflected the shot and shot back from the recoil. As he dragged himself, he tried to keep his footing while Viridian glared.

'He's fast!'

Viridian's eyes glimmered a green network again. "Target acquired." He looked over, seeing Liz lurching forward to shoot gum-like bullets at him. Using swift propulsions needed, his feet jetted air from holes on the bottom and gave him room to glide across the ground s Liz followed, leaving gum on the walls.

Internally, Ultear grumbled with a squiggly over her head. 'Why did I bother…?'

One stray bullet closed in on Viridian as it closed in on his face, but a flash of white suddenly passed by. The next second, it showed Viridian on a knee in a slash pose as the gum behind was bifurcated, sticking to the ground behind him. His eyes adjusted and he balled his left fist.

"Spout Lancer!"

He punched the boarding beneath, creating a small tremor that erupted into columns of water that shot like Water Pledge. The attack closed in, but Liz and Ultear jumped out of the way, while Duncan chose to wait for it to come for him. 'It seems the Trainer is taking his chances against high pressured water.'

The next spout came up, but Duncan swung his kendo sword down at the incoming pillar beneath. The pillar jetted Duncan skywards, but the stick reduced the blow as he blew onto his back into a roll. He rolled to a knee, glaring at Viridian. A brief stare led to Duncan clutching his Dusk Ball from before and throwing it in.

"Spiritomb, front and center!"

The capsule popped open, revealing Duncan's Spiritomb. The Forbidden Pokémon showed herself and let out a ghastly groan.

"A Pokémon, so I see." Viridian's eyes glimmered as he began to take notes and charts inside his memory. "Accessing data on Pokémon…I see…so that's who this is. Interesting…file saved."

Duncan reached forward. "Shadow Sneak!"

Spiritomb groaned as her shadow blackened. Beneath Viridian, his sensors warned him in time as he used his feet and jetted away as his shadow rushed up at him. Evading the shadow, he took notice of Duncan using the opening to swing his kendo stick from the side. Virdian's internal computer went to work and his leg immediately swung to kick and intercept Duncan's swing. Viridian followed through with his kick and slammed Duncan into a nearby wall.

"Not a bad move, but bold nonetheless." Viridian said. "Now then…" Without looking, his saber activated again as he swung. It cleaves through Liz's gum again as she fired from afar. He glanced at her next. He shifted on his feet and jetted at her at massive speeds.

Liz puffed her cheeks and expelled a massive glob of gum. It went flying and expanded into a massive net that blocked her from Viridian's path and view.

Viridian's eyes dilated. As he flew, his arm twitched, showing the saber giving a misty cold aura change. "Freeze Muzzle!" He slashed through the gum wall with one swoop, making it freeze upon impact with the subzero saber. The pieces reduced to sparkles that surprised Liz.

In her shock, Viridian closed in.

"Luminous Minutes!"

Catching the whiff of the other attack, Viridian adjusted and kicked the air, getting to a cartwheel and slashing with subzero precision into the glowing orbs attacking him, breaking them all in one slash. Landing, he saw Ultear with her hand on a crystal ball, shaken up bad with labored breaths.

"A Time Mage." Viridian deduced. "I see…Ultear Milkovich, she who thwarted Lady Dimaria with her own Time Magic. I understand."

Ultear dropped to a knee again, all her energy completely gone. 'Damnit, I can't fight like this. My magic's being spent too much.'

"Shall I make it a personal vendetta as well for Lady Dimaria?" Viridian darkly threatened. "I'm sure she will be quite pleased knowing you were slayed." He held up his wrist saber to froze his point.

An arm reached out behind. "Shadow Sneak!"

Spiritomb groaned as she made the shadow blacken beneath.

The saber in Viridian's wrist suddenly turned pitch black. "That won't work!" He stabbed the ground with all his might, making the projected shadow explode suddenly and sent its parts as shadowy bullets that got everyone. Duncan and everyone covered up, despite how they were being blown a few inches each second. With one more pivot, the dark saber went in an omnidirectional wave with his slash. The shockwave finally pushed everyone onto their backs, making them grunt from the blow.

"GAH!" Duncan gagged as he plundered onto his back.

Viridian straightened up and loomed over Duncan. "I do apologize, but my systems are well aware of my surrounds. Computing such as this comes natural with a Machia that ages well. Now then…" He raised his saber, making it turn blue. "I believe that I am done playing around."

Duncan's eyes widened.

"Barracuda!"

Viridian slammed the blue saber into the ground, sending a linear blue shockwave that shredded across the earth at Duncan. It traveled so fast that he was in too much shock to even dodge it. Suddenly a snake-like sliver of gum slipped right around his arm. He found himself pulled out of the attack as it continued its course towards Spiritomb. The Pokémon was too slow as it was instead struck, making the blue stream erupt like dynamite that shuddered the corridor.

Spiritomb roared as she sundered onto the ground, groaning at the end of an open wooden trail cleaving to darkness below. "Secondary target, hit." Viridian said.

Duncan recovered from that sudden jerk to find Liz beside him. "Thanks." He said. She popped her gum loudly.

Ultear struggled to get up behind. She wobbled up on her weak thighs only to drop to one knee exhausted.

Duncan glanced over his shoulder. He looked at Ultear's condition and realized she wasn't cut out for this fight. He looked forward with his indifferent gleam showing. 'Pathetic.' "You really should've gotten your own Pokémon by now." He scolded. "What's the point if you can't defend yourself then?"

Ultear glared back intensely. "Scolding the weak, huh? That's quite a low blow, wouldn't you say?"

Duncan scoffed. "Just stay out of the way." He looked over to see Spiritomb shaken up. He reached for his Dusk Ball and aimed. "Return!" He recalled Spiritomb; a wise choice as he reformed a strategy.

"A wise decision." Viridian spoke. "However, pointless!" He jutted the saber into the ground again, projecting an intense blue wave that soared across the ground at them. As the corridor shook, Liz took the initiative and projected another glob of gum. The mushy filament connected with the walls again.

"That won't work!"

Proving his point, the net of gum only lasted a second before the blast wave ripped right through it. The intense wave would've gotten them if it wasn't for Duncan and Liz scooting to the sides.

As the blue wave dissipated, time slowed down for Viridian as he glared with networks showing in the eyes. "I'm aware of your magic's weaknesses, Liz of the Peace Jaegers. Your gum is able to absorb attacks of physical and liquid properties like normal gum would, but did you account for energy attacks? Especially when compressed."

Liz narrowed her eyes. She snapped gum between the teeth in frustration.

"People aren't aware of this, but we Machia aren't well-known for reasons. We aren't exactly what you would call your typical cybernetics." He sharply said, his saber on his right wrist withdrawing. Meanwhile his whole hand started to separate to show silver chords between the joints. "We were once a race who many feared due to mankind's lack of innate capabilities. However…it was our tribe's leader, the one that I called Wahl Icht…it was his will to remind the world of its own weaknesses! Human and machine never last forever, but evolution only progresses through learning. That's why we the Machia will continue to evolve to a greater extent than you humans! This is our late master's will…and so it shall be realized!" He shot his fist forward in his irate, making it launch like a rocket that shot across the floor. Duncan and the others went wide-eyed as the fist closed in.

Time slowed down as the fist began to beep rapidly. They all paled and began to move away before the fist detonated, creating a powerful explosion like a missile would upon destruction in midair. The propulsion almost caught them all as they were all blasted down the hallway, each one tumbling in great pain until they all tumbled onto their stomachs.

"I admire that humans have tenacity and wills that we were programmed with." A voice said in the smoke. The silhouette inside slowly came out, revealing Viridian. He had another synthetic hand already assembled to replace the older one as he calmly walked in front. "But like all wills, they must be realized, and draw to their ends!"

Duncan grunted as he struggled to stand once more. That explosion left his body in a momentary shock. Ultear was using all her will just to stay conscious. For Liz she struggled to stand, and she was in the best condition for the most part. But something chipped off, and the sound vibrated through her ears.

The Gum Mage's eyes widened from shock. Slowly, she looked down, finding that her headphones, at least the one side. Was severely damaged. The tunes she was playing from before stopped completely. Her eyes shrunk to the size of marbles as her breathing escalated.

The Machia showed them all his hand, which had a small pocket in the center of the palm. The valve opened, revealing energy compressing. "This matter is of upmost importance to us, so we'd appreciate it if you complied and stayed down. Magia Blitz!" Once the energy was charged, Viridian held his arm firm with his other arm as a bright magical beam shot across the atmosphere. It had firepower that made any nearby windows shatter as it sailed across the hall towards the three adversaries.

They all were wide-eyed, but Duncan knew he had to work fast. He turned towards Liz. "Hurry! Make another barrier, now!"

Liz was slowly caressing her headphones around her neck. The one side was deeply damaged. It was leaving her too shocked to act.

'She's no use, pathetic.' Duncan glared forward, seeing the attack head his way. He started to get up again, standing in the way of the barrier.

'This is bad. Is he really gonna try to stop that?' Ultear questioned.

Lis finally caught up with her surroundings and looked forward. She saw the incoming attack and gasped.

Duncan, however, stood as his coat shifted. His reached back for something. 'Let's see if this works.' As he pulled out, everything flashed to a bright white.

Moments later, the repaired bow of the ship suddenly had two melted parts that slowly formed before bright yellow split the metal open. Two roaring beams pulsated into the atmosphere across the basin while birds and aerial related Pokémon made quick work in scampering off.

As the laser went on, the air trembled as Viridian continued shooting his intense beam. He knew they couldn't have survived. 'Realigning…energy signatures confirmed. Estimated time of eradication accomplished.'

"You through?"

Viridian's eyes widened. "What?!" He saw that his attack had finally let up. What he saw before them all as dust cleared was Duncan with his kendo stick in hand, but in front of him was another figure. "What…this can't be."

"Sure was a close one, I admit." Duncan whipped out his kendo stick again. "But there's no point of an attack if it goes around." Proving his point, in front of him was a Pokémon that was currently levitating. It had crossed legs and an intense gaze with a magenta headpiece with yellow accents. Its whole body had a light blue outline with arms out. "Nice work, Medicham." Duncan praised.

Medicham ceased levitating and simmered to her feet. She held a pose as she hummed for the next attack.

Meanwhile, Viridian was in shock of his own. 'Inconceivable…miscalculation error! Systems fortifying realignment! Computing strategy!'

Duncan reached forward. "Psychic, one more time!" At his command, Medicham had a bright blue shine as the kinetic energy around Viridian began suppressing him. The Machia found himself incapable of mobility while straining to move his neck. Duncan's gleam darkened as he found his opportunity. Taking a leap, he got airborne and swung the kendo stick overhead.

With a shrilled warrior's cry, he slammed the kendo stick on the Machia's head with all his might. The impact made the stick itself chip a bit in a moment's notice, but also knocked Viridian's vision through a loop. His eyes became static as they twitched.

Duncan's feet planted on the ground. "So I guess that's best you got, right?" his eyes narrowed. "Guess we'll just have to hammer you until your systems cave in." Without wasting breath, he began slamming his kendo stick against Viridian's head, over and over with no rest. With one swing, another bouncing off, but each one was making his mechanical eyes static for each blow. He glared ahead with gritting teeth as Duncan wasn't letting up.

Blow after blow, Viridian could feel his head's circuits beginning to deter some. 'System damage accumulation, rising.' Another blow made his eyes static. 'System diagnostics complete.' Another blow. 'Initiating…overdrive.'

Eyes widening, the static vanished. A red pulse shot through him as his systems inside started to churn at a faster rate.

With one loud shout, Duncan went and slammed his kendo stick down, but Viridian's cold saber mode activated, blocking the attack in a split second.

"What?"

Viridian easily held up his end. "Seems you humans…gravely misunderstood your chances!" He followed through with his swing, creating a cold gust that sent Duncan reeling yet again until he tumbled painfully to a halt on his stomach.

"Duncan!" Ultear exclaimed.

Duncan strained to get up, but as he did, he found that Viridian was already atop him. "Such incompetence." He kicked Duncan in the gut, sending him on his back behind Medicham. "To think that a mere Trainer was giving me this much trouble. Such a mistake I dare not make again." He crossed his arms, slots showing on his wrists. "Attack capacity, enhance! Caliber overdrive, initiated!" As he swiped his arms, two bright yellow sabers showed themselves. The shock from the two swipes made the sides of the corridor melt open. The walls had melted gashes in them. "Have you not figured it out by now, mages? I have the power of a machine who can read elements. I materialize the ethernano around me and convert it to power. Channel through my systems to manifest my sabers and cannons. That, my young friend, is the essence of magic."

Duncan laid on the ground. He was trying hard to strain upwards again, but was having little success. He shot glares as Viridian closed in.

Liz moved to spew more gum, but without looking, Viridian slashed through the gum with ease. He kept slashing and melting the gum-like bullets, until finally he closed in and raised his one right saber and held it high.

Duncan gritted his teeth. "Medicham, Ice Punch!"

Medicham responded by flipping overhead with fists enveloped in icy fist and bright blue. The two fists came down together, forcing Viridian to cross his twin sabers to intercept. The attacks caused the other to recoil as a gust came between them.

"So, you intend to fight me as well." Viridian charged. "Then come!"

Medicham obliged. The two went Ice Punch to light sabers. Another tense shock rippled between the two before they began a series of intense parries. As Medicham punched, Viridian slashed. It was a relentless struggle neither could afford to hesitate upon. Their clashes were so intense that it made mist and hot winds scamper about the flooring.

Liz scrambled to try and get the piece of gum out of her mouth and onto the broken set of headphones. She needed to fix them, at least somehow.

Duncan struggled to stand. He grunted hard as he finally sat up. He watched as his Medicham went toe to toe with Viridian, their attacks connecting to where they immediately parried the next wave. "I materialize the ethernano around me and convert it to power. Channel through my systems to manifest my sabers and cannons. That, my young friend, is the essence of magic." What Viridian said earlier made Duncan's glare harden. He gripped his kendo stick tighter than before as he strained to get up. He gritted his teeth tighter with each second. 'Damnit…damnit…' He gripped his kendo stick so tight that it looked like the bottom half was about to break. 'I'm not strong enough…'

In his mind, for a brief second, the image of a certain man filled his mind. He had messy black hair like his but older. Even with the simple gestures, just imagining his face was enough to make Duncan's glare harden. His grip was as hard as steel.

Medicham flipped over a horizontal saber, getting atop of Viridian to counterattack. The Ice Punch went soaring down, only to be intercepted by Viridian's saber again, causing a great backlash of sparks between the two as sheer dominance was waged. Each one grunted until finally the stalemate ceased. Medicham plopped to her feet and didn't waste time with another Ice Punch, which Viridian caught with his bare hand. The stalemate there didn't last too long, however, as Viridian scowled.

"You'll have to do better than that, Pokémon…" Suddenly his layers began to get cold. "Hm?!" He looked over, gasping with shock as the Ice Punch's other effect of freezing started crawling ice around the hand and wrist. 'She's freezing my right arm. Was this her intention?'

Medicham retracted her palms and readied another strike.

Annoyed, Viridian swiped his free arm. "Spout Lancer!" A sudden geyser of water created from thin air materialized below Medicham, swallowing her up in a powerful jet that crashed her into the veiling. The spout ended moments later, allowing Medicham to get unstuck from the ceiling and plundered onto her back with a groan.

As Medicham laid there, Viridian walked forward. "Most convenient." He swiped his frozen arm, making a heated saber break through the ice almost instantly over the wrist. "But futile. You all are much too weak to call yourself worthy adversaries of the empire. It's time we end this."

Ultear winced while still on the ground. "Damn you…"

Duncan growled in frustration. He knew better than to charge ahead. It would get him too close and killed. He looked over at Liz to see what she was intending on, but she was mingling with her headphones. He leered ahead as his grip remained tight.

Little was he aware, a very weak aura was surrounding the tips of his stick.

Liz was hurrying away with her maintenance. She looked so desperate that it was like her whole world was crumbling. "C'mon…c'mon…!" She brashly jammed the gum in the area needed to repair and tried working on the wiring in her headphones. Once she wrapped a small lace of gum around the one end, she connected two different colored wires without realizing,

Viridian raised his sabers high over Medicham. "I'll start with you!"

"Move!" Duncan roared.

Finally connecting the wiring, Liz managed to get the cap on and turn the dial. "Please…" With desperation, one of her many needs of sanity was finally turned on. The dial turned, only to emit a very powerful frequency above static. The loud beeping was like that when ears ring. It made Liz and the others wince.

"What…is this?!" Ultear strained through the humming.

Duncan refused to cover his ears. Instead he glared ahead and narrowed his vision.

Viridian was also a victim of the loud frequency. However, unlike the others, his were of more consequence. He found himself twitching, his arms unable to come down to deal the final blow as static started churning. "What…is this?" He winced, struggling to keep himself from overloading. His internal systems were reacting violently, making them force to veer away as the frequency was messing with his usual diagnostics. "Systems…crashing. Energy reaction level…spontaneous. Coordination failing…" He winced again, moments before static charged around his neck, making him tilt it like Kecleon.

Duncan realized the opportunity and took it. 'Now!' He darted in, heading for a direct line of fire as he pulled his kendo stick back. He roared loudly as he prepared to swing.

Still staggering, the shaken Viridian trough the frequency grunted. "I'm not done with you!" He did another horizontal slash, but a speeding pink glob of gum stuck to the wrist. His shock surmounted when he found a thin trail leading up towards Liz's mouth

Realizing he was open, Viridian looked back as Duncan closed the gap with no obstruction.

The Pokémon Trainer felt time slow around him. He swung his kendo stick back with as much force as he could muster. The momentum picked up for him as he swung back further as he dashed in slow motion. "I materialize the ethernano around me and convert it to power." He concentrated as he was holding onto his staff, unaware of the rainbow energy waving weakly around the base.

Ultear's eyes widened. She turned towards Liz. "Quick! Try and immobilize him!" In a hurry at her understand, Liz nodded as the frequency continued. She dislodged the gum from her mouth and used one finger to hold it together. Meanwhile, she hurried and jammed other pieces of gum into her mouth.

Duncan brought his leg back as his intense aura began to radiate for a small second. The image inside his mind about that certain man made his angry dark look intensify. His pupils shrunk to peas. He let out a bellow into the halls. The kendo stick's shimmering aura ignited with his will.

"Channel through my systems to manifest my sabers and cannons."

Duncan swung with all his might, the glowing staff streaming energy as it closed in on Viridian's wrists/

"That, my young friend, is the essence of magic."

Viridian was unable to act due to the frequency. His eyes reflected Duncan's intense ambitions as his swung made full impact with the elbows of the two arms. Shockingly, a bone-cracking sound raged through the atmosphere as the kendo stick's aura made it cleave through both elbows. The mechanical limbs went flying off as Viridian had stone face as everything went white. Duncan followed through with a sheer look. Also in white, his kendo stick completely snapped like a twig upon following the bitter swing. The wood split everywhere, plopping to the ground the same time the mechanical wrists made contact with the wood. Duncan's swing was so powerful even that it made his momentum fall over onto his side.

Viridian stammered backwards, his disposition full of shock as his arms had static on them. He looked down afar, seeing wood and mechanical tendons mixed. 'Impossible…' his eyes dilated between static and normal. His vision recalled glimpses of Duncan using that swing packed with force. 'That swing just now…that Trainer…that was…'

Liz chewed so much that it looked like her mouth was going to burst wide open. With a massive inhale, the Gum Mage let out a massive breath of air that caused all the joined gums in her mouth to slowly expand. The color was pitch-black. It slowly expanded, creating a massive hemisphere of dark air inside the bubble. Once it was ready, she lurched her head back and spread her legs. The Gum Mage faced Viridian with the human-sized sphere of gum and exhaled like she was spitting. The whole thing dislodge from her mouth, heading across the boarding towards Viridian.

The Machia's eyes continued flickering from static to new, but his thought processors were shot. He remained stiff as the black sphere of gum made contact with him, popping into a massive glob of black sludge that left him petrified before the blanket completely swallowed him.

And for the Machia, it all went black.

Duncan groaned as he stirred back up. He staggered to his feet only to hold his one good arm. When he looked back, his lips parted as he saw that instead of Viridian, he saw a replica of a statue of him in black casing. He looked as surprised at the casing.

Viridian was under the gum-like statue. It quickly dried up, making cracks and crevices everywhere. It engraved to the skin to make it a death statue. This was Liz's trump card, and she glared with hostility.

The gum cracked up and hardened at massive rates. It looked as solid as ice even, or rather cooled rock. Seeing the chance, Ultear grunted and reached forward, using her magic and made the whole thing glow. The next instance, the hardened gum began to crumble away, along with pieces of Viridian. The whole Machia crumbled like old rock all the way down to two stubs that were the feet. Duncan and the others stared with serious looks, the Trainer slowly getting up to stare.

"…it's done." Ultear said. She looked over, seeing Liz looking down at her headphones. The Gum Mage looked a little sad at her prized headphones stopped making a frequency, the one side completely destroyed, much to her chagrin. "…I'm sorry. I can't repair something like that I'm afraid." She despondently said.

"It's okay." Liz quietly muttered. "Maybe I can get Aniya to make this into an intercom around my ears. Just one would be enough."

Ultear nodded in understanding. She looked back at Duncan to see him recalling his Medicham into what looked like a Great Ball. 'That power just now…even if it was a little, I know what I saw…' Ultear's eyes narrowed. 'There's no mistaking it, that has to be Holding Magic. He channeled his magic into his kendo stick to increase its potential. However…' She looked down at the wooden pieces still on the ground. 'That looked like a fluke. He mustered his sheer will into that one swing at a cost.'

Duncan staggered as he looked down at the broken shambles of his kendo sword. He only held the wooden bit of it, clutching it as he realized what he had done. Despite having the stick for years, it was bound to break eventually. Huffing, he let go, letting it drop to the floor.

"You served your purpose." He exasperated with his cap shielding his eyes.

Ultear looked on in silence. She stared off in another direction. "Now then…did he mention something about an associate?"

Liz looked back down the destroyed hall. Duncan looked back as well. All three stared down the hall as they felt more magic energy. The fight wasn't over yet.


A pair of fists clanged together, causing a small gust to expel. Tyson snickered as he saw the many faces in the room. "Well now this is what I call a treat! I find some guys to kill and the treasure we've come to collect. Boy am I lucky or what?"

Matilda balled her claws while Meredy readied herself. Nearby, Dereece was in a small panic as Heracross readied himself. However, he was surprised Yanma was still perched. "What the-?! Are you still on my head?!" he exasperated.

"Yes." She deadpanned.

"Well can you please get off?" Heracross flicked his horn meekly, causing Yanma to spiral into the air and catch herself. She shook her head above while Heracross walked forward in the events of a fight.

Tyson chuckled as he saw the adversaries lined up in front of him. "Man, this is just awesome! My energy reserves are so high I think I might actually explode! Two chicks and a guy, and a big bug huh?" he smirked, showing his teeth as he reeled his fist forward. The hands revealed themselves with armored knuckles with spikes on them. "Well I hope you guys don't disappoint!"

Matilda smirked. "So, you looking for a fight are ya?" She cracked her knuckles. "That's funny, I was just itching to get a little wild myself." Once all the knuckles were cracked, she punched her open palm with her teeth showing. "This is gonna be a hoot, or at least it better be."

"Heh, I like your spunk girl." He reeled the arm back and brought it forward. "Battle statistics set. Manual power conversion reset. Now…let's have some fun!" He punched forward.

Matilda sprung at the broad Machia like a leopard. He claw-like hand reeled back and the two fists connected in a split second. The wind pressure between them lowered until it spontaneously exploded, creating an intense pulse wave that shook the entire chamber. Everyone covered up, especially Dereece as he was hiding away. Heracross used his toe claws to make hold, making him distracted to where he blinked. The blink happened again, only for him to look up slowly and finally realize Yanma was perched on his head again, holding on for dear life. "Heh?!" he gawked.

In the shockwaves, Matilda and Tyson sneered at one another. Their stalemate receded to have Matilda in midair. She went and swung her leg, but Tyson used his right forearm to block, causing the shock to dissipate. He then made his wrist turn 180 robotically to grip the leg and pivoted. Matilda found herself swung around and up, following Tyson arm as he roared and drove her into the ground. The Take-Over Mage ricocheted off the dented metal and blasted into wooden crates to splatter wood.

"No!" Dereece panicked.

"We gotta help her!" Meredy insisted.

Dereece nodded. "Uh, right! Heracross, Leer!" Dereece's Heracross remained stationary as his eyes made a glistening red aura. In contrast, a blue aura outlined Tyson as he doubled up on both fists.

"That all ya got? It's gonna take more than that, big guy!" He let out a roar as he dropped to a knee and slammed his fist into the ground. The metal beneath trembled before shockwaves ripped open beneath, sending debris at them.

Dereece and Meredy reeled back, but Heracross whipped his horn to flick Yanma off as he dove in front. Using his keen power, he began yanking his horn all around, deflecting debris coming directly at the group.

"Keep it up, Heracross!" Dereece exclaimed.

Heracross continued his deflection until it was finally clear, only for Tyson to have the gap closed and left fist pulled back in an uppercut. He let loose, nailing Heracross and airborne him until he slammed on his own back hard, shocking the group.

Meredy hurriedly moved in and swiped her arm, sending energy swords at Tyson. They rushed through the air until they closed in.

Tyson's eyes dilated only to pull back. "Alright, variety. I like that!" The swords closed in. "Analyzing attack…" his eyes glowed. "Infusion mode set!"

The swords all closed in, but when they did, Tyson pulled back a fist and roared with all his might. The fist went barreling at one sword, immediately dissipating it upon impact, and the shockwave ripped through the other swords in a second.

"No way!" Meredy gasped.

"W-with just one punch…?" If Dereece didn't have dark skin, he'd be paling. Beside him, Heracross showed shock, so much that he was too surprised to not realize Yanma perching on his head again.

Tyson's synthetic teeth showed. His arm suddenly had slots open to reveal finely edged axe blades. "Don't tell me that's all you guys got!" With his energy circuits at mass capacity, he barreled after his foes in a frenzy.

Dereece shrieked in deep fears of what'll happen. Meredy tried again to attack using her energy swords. They went surfing and closed in, but Tyson crossed his arms and slashed through them all with no trouble whatsoever. Meredy looked shocked as Tyson kept slashing clean through her attack like it was nothing, laughing with tons of energy in his reserves.

"Oh no…mommy." Dereece whimpered. "AAAHHHH!"

"You're a nuisance, big guy!" Tyson jumped to attack from above. Once above, he raised his arms to cross them. He was going to slice them in one blow. "You're gone!"

A sudden hemisphere of energy shot from the side. Tyson didn't realize it in time and ended up struck by the attack, swallowed in a small explosive burst that sent him trailing across the ground until he was forced to use his arm axes to hold him down, nearly splitting the ground in half along the way. The ground beneath him suddenly cracked, making him look down just as another force shot up like a geyser to make him airborne again. As he was suspended with wood chips, a red tail swung around and nailed him in his mechanical gut, causing his circuits to temporarily shorthand as he flew out of the ship.

He fell with a pained scream, echoing as he plunged into the water below with a big splash.

Dereece and Meredy gasped with shock.

"Is everyone alright?"

They both turned towards the hole in the inner wall, revealing a Krookodile hunched over with his tail wagging in front of his Trainer, who looked as serious while relaxed. "Vanessa!" Meredy exclaimed.

Vanessa looked at her. "Meredy!" She caught up with them, seeing the damage dealt while around. "Are you alright?"

Meredy nodded. "Yeah, we're fine. Thanks."

Vanessa turned towards the hole that led to the dark clouds outside. "So that explains it. That's why their aura is off somehow…"

"Say what?" Dereece questioned. "Their aura?"

"Everything living gives off an aura. For machines, they're not supposed to have auras. However…it looks like these machines have an aura. But it's fuzzy for my sensors to handle…that's why I wasn't certain until Krookodile and I got here to realize."

"So what do we do?" Meredy questioned.

A sudden splash of water shot up from outside. They all turned with shock – seriousness in Vanessa's case – and saw that water outside ripping as Tyson was airborne and at correct level with the wall.

"HAHA! NOW THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!" he roared. "YES! FINALLY, SOME COMPETITION!" His feet planted on the ground, standing tall and ready with a wide smirk. "You're gonna make my circuits go all sorts of wild, girly!"

"Krookodile." Vanessa steadily ordered.

"Alright, go time!" Krookodile responded.

Tyson's axe arms reactivated and crossed them. He lurched forward and began another ecstatic charge.

Vanessa swiped her arm. "Use Crunch!"

Krookodile's jaws opened wide as his fangs glowed brightly. Like Tyson, he charged forward. "LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, LIVING ANIMATRONIC AXE-SPEWING PAIN! The only thing that's gonna go wild…IS MY TEETH!" Tyson swung his right arm, while Krookodile used his attack. In one fell motion, the axe was ripped off like paper by Krookodile's intense jaw power. The Machia retracted a few paces as Krookodile shook his head while nibbling on the axe until he spit it out.

Tyson recoiled from that sudden counterattack. He pivoted and swung his left arm at Krookodile. However, a roar came from the room as a yellow blur came down, landing a blow on the downward axe, dislodging it into the ground sideways as Matilda was between them. Once again, Tyson was shocked. "You!"

"That was for earlier! And this-" She swung her leg again, sending him into the wall with a massive thundering crater made. "-is for now!" she finished.

Tyson gagged static electricity as time slowed down. Matilda, however, had a vicious gleam in her eyes.

Vanessa's eyes widened. "Matilda?"

Matilda caught whim of the Trainer and smiled back. "Oh, hey, looks like you're just in time for the party." She looked over, seeing Krookodile again. She snickered. "Well now, long time no see big guy. Did ya miss me?" she winked.

Krookodile roared into her face. The wind from his breath made her hair harden.

"Woooh! Man that breath! Now I'm getting even more fired up!" Matilda faced ahead with determination. "I was hoping I'd be fighting you again. Maybe later, okay?"

"Yeah, whatever."

Dislodging from the wall, Tyson rolled his shoulder, making it pop. "Well now, that was a surprise. Didn't see that coming." He rolled his head, showing a wily smirk. "Now you have my attention!"

Matilda balled her fists. "It looks like he supercharges his limbs with magic to increase the damage. That one throw really knocked me up a little."

"Infusing magic through his circuits?" Meredy deduced.

Tyson smirked. "Damn straight. It's a little thing I like to call Infusion. You see I was created with so much energy that my core isn't able to suppress it. The excess ethernano I have gets jolted into my limbs to enhance and speed up my attacks, that way my energy reserves don't overheat. As long as I have energy to spare, breaking my mechanical mass ain't cutting it!"

Everyone tensed up. "Dereece, try and keep the Pokémon away if you can." Meredy insisted.

He nodded. "Uh, yeah. Sure." He shuffled away with the Pokémon in the corner. "O-okay, everyone stay calm. We have this under control."

Vanessa and the others turned towards Tyson. Their focus realigned, they were set to begin the next round.

Tyson held up both fists with an energetic smile. "My circuits are burning! Man are Viridian and Pixie missing out!" He charged ahead again.

Vanessa reached forward. "Krookodile, Stone Edge!"

Krookodile slammed his claws into the ground, making a pulsating tremor before jagged slated of stone hot at Tyson in a linear fashion. The Machia eagerly ran in with all his might, bulldozing through the stones like they weren't even there. He ran clean through each rock piece and got into Krookodile's face, laughing as his fist slowly pulled back.

Meredy gasped she hurried to attack. "Maguilty Sodom!" She summoned teal magic blades that shot around Krookodile into Tyson. The Machia was made contact with, creating a powerful burst that rendered him midriff.

In midair, his evil smirk widened. "HA!"

Meredy went wide-eyed. "It didn't work?!"

Tyson rammed his fist on the ground, creating another intense shockwave that caused everyone close by the jump in order to dodge. Meanwhile Dereece wasn't so lucky. Even so, he looked ay the Pokémon and knew he had to act. He quickly moved in front and was hit with a weakened shockwave. It easily pushed him over like a pudding sack.

He landed and smirked. "Machia don't know pain, girly! That's why we're programmed to fight!"

Matilda sneered. "Oh yeah?" She constantly jumped around, flipping until she shifted behind Tyson as he looked back. "Well I bet this will hurt!" With strength from her Take-Over, she punched him with intense force. He shifted and blocked with his big right hand, catching it.

As he sneered, he almost ignored his sensors and looked back to see Krookodile charging with jaws wide open for a Crunch. He pulled his arm back in time to avoid the bite, which created a small gust wave that ripped through them all. "Nice try, big guy! Ain't falling for that one! Huh?!"

Krookodile's tail suddenly whipped skywards. It revealed Vanessa was on his tail and was shot above, with hands covered in teal. Tyson realized his mistake and saw her reach down.

"Emanation Beam!"

An intense teal blast swallowed up Tyson, shooting a continual ray out towards the basin. Within the beam's roaring rays, Tyson used his forearm to keep himself from taking direct damage, but he was losing ground and gritted his teeth. The more he resisted, the more force wanted to push. Plus one more factor.

Matilda used her other arm and gripped his wrist. "Now it's my turn!" Getting revenge, she flipped him with all her might as the beam dissipated. The intense over-the-shoulder throw made Tyson impale the ground, creating a powerful tremor that sounded like human bones were to snap.

"Oh, that ain't pretty." Dereece flinched.

Tyson laid on his back in pain. He groaned as his systems were still backfiring. With the distraction, Matilda surmounted the big guy and pulled a fist back. Serving to punch his hard in the face. "How do you like that, huh?!" She punched again. "Maybe this! Want more?!" She nonstop wailed on the guy. She punched ferociously as she was bombarding him with fast punches to no end. It was so much that each punch created a small burst and gust that went rapid fire. She didn't stop; even when Tyson was bouncing slightly between each consecutive blow.

Watching her exert energy, the others looked surprised. She really was getting into it that it was startling.

Each punch was like a machine bullet, and yet after so many, the shocking thing was Tyson smirked. "Heh."

Matilda gasped. The next second she knew, a foot stamped her face, sending her impaling into the ceiling while Tyson uproariously arose.

"Yeah, that's it! That's it!" Excited, Tyson eagerly saw Krookodile ahead and made a swift beeline. He was much faster. This shocked Krookodile and the others.

'Did he just get faster?!'

Tyson dodged Krookodile's jaws and dove to seize the tail. Once in his clutches, the Machia swung him around once and hurled to 200 lb crocodile away, sending him into Matilda just as she disolodged the ceiling. Both crashed into the wall, creating a powerful shudder.

"Krookodile!" Vanessa exclaimed.

Tyson whipped around, his sudden jerk creating a string gust that forced Vanessa to create a shield of aura to keep herself and Meredy from being blown away. The Machia abruptly turned in another direction – towards Dereece.

The Trainer realized what was happening and hunched over. "Uh oh."

"Oh no, Dereece." Meredy gasped.

"You gonna fight big guy?" Tyson challenged.

Dereece was in a panic. Luckily for him that Heracross jumped in front of him to ready to attack.

Vanessa hurried to stretch aura at Tyson to immobilize him, but he suddenly disappeared before he could be caught. Gasping, Vanessa's glance turned towards Dereece. Tyson reappeared in front of Heracross with a fist pulled back and ready to pummel.

"Horn Attack!" Dereece rushed.

The Machia punched forward as Heracross shot his glowing horn forward. The two sturdy fighters collided in a vivid force that made a bright flash between them. White static ignited the atmosphere between as the Machia smirked, while Heracross struggle to hold up. Until finally one side gave in. It was Heracross, just as the stalemate came to an end. He staggered onto his backside and hunched up as Tyson towered over him and Dereece.

"Now, let's be reasonable, and make it easy for all of us." The Machia darkly glared with lifeless eyes as to intimidate Dereece and Heracross. "Move aside, and I won't let your death be a head crushing."

"Dereece, watch out!" Meredy roared.

Vanessa swiped her arm enveloped in aura, creating a pillar of teal aura that enveloped Tyson. The roaring pillar of aura, however, only served to make him grunt and tense up before he exerted a powerful roar. He swiped both arms, dissipating the roaring energy to a dust wave beneath. He looked back at a shaken Dereece and Heracross, smirking with glee. He balled his supercharged fist and readied his next strike.

Dereece only shuddered as fear overcame him. 'Sorry…Captain Joey!'

Tyson readied the next strike sure to break Heracross and Dereece. Moments before he reeled forward, Yanma perched on Heracross' horn, surprising everyone. "Eh?"

"Huh?" Heracross looked up to see Yanma perched on his horn once again. "What the-?!"

"W-what is it with you?!" Dereece snapped. "Are we seriously doing this now?!"

Tyson meekly smirked. "Oh well. The more the merrier, I always say!" He pulled back and charged the fist a little further. However, that little span of a distraction was enough for a teal coil to snare his wrist. Looking back, he saw Vanessa snaring him. "Not you again." He grimaced.

Still unsure of what to do, Dereece shriveled as he faced the Yanma. "Okay, this has gone on far enough now. We're fighting for our lives here, and all you can think of is finding a perch?! Just get off!"

Yanma shriveled her wings. She looked down at a shaken Heracross and back at Tyson as he was trying to let loose of Vanessa's grip. Then back at Heracross, then Tyson. Heracross, then Tyson. It finally caught onto Yanma.

"…okay!"

This surprised Dereece. "R-really?"

Yanma suddenly got up from Heracross' horn and was eye-level with Tyson. The Machia finally turned his back as he swiped his arm, prying away Vanessa's aura and causing a small gust to jut them back. With him distracted. "Now you're just making me mad!" he roared. However, Yanma saw the back of his head and flew in. Her sudden Tackle clanged against his head, making his face contort in annoyance.

Dereece's face turned completely white with beady eyes from sheer astonishment.

"Who did that?" The Machia turned around to give Dereece and Heracross a look. "Hey, where'd your friend go?"

However, unbeknownst, a red blur struck him in the back of the head again. Everyone looked up to see Yanma pulling away into the air above.

"Heh?! So it was you, huh?!" Tyson smirked. "Well now, you're a feisty one. The empire's gonna love guys like you!" He went to grab her in a fast spritz, but suddenly Yanma vanished out of thin air. "What the-?!"

Yanma appeared beside him. Her body outlined in Quick Attack and she spritzed across his face, making him recoil from the attack. Shaking his head, he angrily turned to see Yanma again, but found she was again gone. Before realizing it, he was struck again by a passing Yanma in the back of the head.

"GAH!" The Machia shook his head and looked over his head. Yanma was zooming left and right at incredible speeds. The shocking part was that it looked like she was getting faster than before. "What's going on here?"

Vanessa wasn't getting it until she saw Yanma blitz in another direction, evading a garb. She saw her zig diagonally, constantly evading. Her eyes widened upon sudden realization. "…it's Speed Boost."

"What? Speed Boost?" Meredy inquired.

"It's one of Yanma's abilities. After every attack, her Speed increases." She watched as Yanma retracted herself into the air, where her body shimmered before multiplying into copies via Double Team. The move made Tyson grunt in annoyance as his eye sensors were picking out multitudes of targets.

"Hold still you little…!"

In his irate, Dereece realized there was an opportunity at hand. Gathering whatever fortitude, he pointed forward. "Heracross, Aerial Ace! Sweep the legs!"

"Roger!" Heracross lowered his horn and went for the attack. He lunged beneath the Machia and blitzed dead ahead while he was distracted by Yanma clones sweeping up around him. Heracross darted and connected with the knee cap, immediately sending a static shock that made the bug back off while the Machia almost tripped.

"What the-OOF!" He was blown over by a tail and fist combo by Matilda and Krookodile again and went tumbling off to the side, hitting another loose wall.

Matilda got on all fours, her hair standing up out of blood rushing. "Okay, now I'm pissed." She snarled.

"That makes one more of us." Krookodile sneered, not knowing he earned a raised brow from her.

Despite embedded into the wall, Tyson smirked with satisfaction. "You want some more, eh?" He suddenly vanished and reappeared before the two in midair. He punched forward with all his might, but this time it was Matilda who vanished, showing her increased speed. In midair behind, she swung an axe kick down just as Krookodile moved in for Crunch. He swerved both arms on either side to grip the snout and ankle and slammed them into the ground, directing both attacks to destroy the ground and making gust waves impale it, leaving a dent within the haul of the boat beneath. With both distracted, he hammer fisted them in their stomachs, sending them gagging and off opposite directions. Sneering, his overdrive functions churned inside as he disappeared and reappeared in front of Vanessa in midair, both fists coming together overhead. The Aura Mage hurried and snaked a teal aura stream to tangle around the left leg that Heracross had hit before. The constriction made him jolt and lose momentum for her to control and pull him away. Once on the ground on all fours, the Machia snarled as his eyes showed computing networks. His boots suddenly showed rocket boosters at the heels and he tore off the aura and back at Vanessa with a cynical laughter.

Dereece was watching from the sidelines as he had no idea what to do. He was in a mental panic enough already. His body was so shut down that he couldn't even move if he wanted to. Paralyzed by fear just meters away from an overcharged Machia with intense magical pressure was one thing to make your head spin. As teal aura exploded around him, Yanma and Heracross regrouped while the Trainer was trying to gather what thoughts were available.

"K-keep it together, Dereece. Find your courage, man." He swallowed a lump. "Now, what would Joey do…?"

"I have a plan!" Joey heroically stood before Dereece…moments before he swept behind the bi guy and pushed him forward. "Good luck, Dereece!" Dereece grumbled before he would be punched in the gut, sent flying into a wall.

The thought popped the bubble, making him shake his head back to normality. "No, I can't just sit here and do nothing. I…I joined a guild, right?" He shakily got back to his feet. He faced the battle as he saw Matilda slash, but was swatted away. "My friends are fighting. I've got to do something. Maybe I…" He looked down at his palm, looking worriedly at them. He alternated between each one as his mind raced back to the conversation on the ship. He could hear the words Broly spoke with Joey, but at the same time knew he could be referenced to as well. He clutched his fists and winced. 'Man, this sucks! I…I can't fight! I don't even know how!' he looked forward, seeing Tyson spinning his upper body like a Baltoy using Rapid Spin and making everyone jerk away as he rampaged. Knowing in his heart he had to try, Dereece swallowed and steeled himself.

"…I know I'm gonna regret this…GAAAAH!" he roared as he charged with all his might.

Backed away, Vanessa looked over and saw Dereece charging with everything he had. The Trainer looked shocked. "Dereece?!"

Dereece let out a shrilled cry as he ran right into Tyson. The big guy found his arm latched onto as Dereece held it down. The Machia looked over and lifted his arm, seeing Dereece attached like a led weight. "Huh? You, tubby? Well alright then!" He smirked as he supercharged the fist that Dereece tried to anchor down.

The heat and the magical power coursing into the arm was making a strong flow that made Dereece cry out in pain. The dark-skinned Trainer and Freaks member was hugging the arm, daring not to let go.

"Dereece!" Heracross gasped. Yanma hovered over with surprise of her own.

Dereece clamped on tight, even with it stinging his skin incredulously. Tyson lifted his arm and angrily began to spin around. "Wanna go for a spin?!" Tyson began to rotate so fast that Dereece was nearly sent flying in circles. He screamed loudly as he was trying so hard to keep up, and yet at the same time, he was barely hanging onto the limb in hopes of slowing him down.

"Dereece!" Meredy exclaimed.

Dereece clung to the raw magic as much as possible. He grunted hard as he felt the magic surge into his body, and it was painful to even touch. 'No…I have to…hang on! For the Captain!' "Jooooeeeyy!" he cried out.

With all his strength, he let out a shrilled cry as his legs kicked out. His bellowing made his feet keep kicking until he felt energy surge into them. The energy from the arm he latched onto surged into the body as the veins felt like they were numb.

Tyson's eyes widened upon seeing something wrong. "What the?!"

Dereece clung tighter as he straightened his legs. His heels churned against solid air like it was a floor. He was slowing down Tyson until finally he came to a halt. Dereece was bracing it all – completely sideways in midair!

"What-?!" Tyson didn't have time to realize it before Matilda's fist connected with his face, sending him sliding and crashing into the wall again as she landed in his place.

Dereece's momentum finally stopped. With Tyson off, he opened his eyes and gasped. "What the…?" He looked down – or rather sideways – to find himself without ground. "Wait, where'd the ground go?!" He suddenly plopped onto the ground, face-first. He pointed a finger up. "Oh. There it is." He muffled.

Vanessa came over, looking startled by what happened. "Dereece, are you alright?"

The Trainer shook his head as he sat up. "Oiiii. What just happened?" He looked down at his hand. He felt the air, with very slight concentration. For a second, he felt like he was touching a wall that he immediately pulled away from. "Woah, what the-?!" He blinked. He stuck his foot out next. It felt like a wall that he didn't slide down on. It was like he was hanging his leg in midair. "No way…" he whistled.

Vanessa blinked. She was at a loss for words.

Meredy came up, realizing what it was. "Wait, did he stop himself in midair like that?" she realized.

Vanessa nodded. "I believe so."

Meredy's gaze grew serious. "Then that has to be Element Walk Magic."

"Element what now?" Dereece wondered.

"Dereece…I think you can walk in air now, and maybe other surfaces, too." She resumed. "I've only heard bits about this magic. I heard you might be able to walk on water and up skyscrapers, or maybe even touch the sky just by walking or running up."

Dereece went wide-eyed. He looked down at his limbs with shock. "Wooow…really?"

Shifting up, Tyson was back on his feet and stomped, catching all their attention. He smirked with glee. "Hehe, well congratulations big guy, you actually learned something useful." He balled his fists, ready to attack. "Let's just see how useful, shall we?!"

Vanessa narrowed her eyes. She swiped her arm. "Krookodile, Outrage!"

Krookodile followed Vanessa's command and his eyes began to glow bright red. The Intimidation Pokémon let out an intense bellow as he suddenly pressed on the ground and disappeared, reappearing in front of Tyson. "BRRAAHH!"

Tyson's smirk widened so much his synthetic skin churned. "YES!" His punch intercepted Krookodile's. The claws went in a frenzy that the Machia happily countered. Each slash and punch created an intense force that gust picked up. The ground depressed slightly as each one battled for dominance, and Tyson was loving it. He cackled happily as Krookodile was viciously roaring and slashing, until finally each broke off and Krookodile went for another jaw attack. Tyson gripped the jaws with all his might and stopped it, making a pulse wave jut out that severed air currents. Once again, it was another battle of dominance, and Krookodile as snarling like a rapid animal while Tyson's beef mechanical muscles were working overtime to churn energy.

"YEAH! NOW I FEEL THE BURN! THAT'S RIGHT!"

The gears in his arms vibrated so much that smoke was seen. The pulsating pressure was finally humming loud enough to hear a build up until Tyson's arms lurched, making a shockwave that finally made Krookodile airborne, smashing into scrap metal piles that made the landing intense.

"Krookodile!" Vanessa exclaimed.

"That's it! I've had it with you, bub!" Outraged, Matilda got on all fours and sprung in zigzags. Each one got her close to where she closed the gap and reappeared in front of Tyson. Instantly, she began a flurry of her own that Tyson eagerly challenged. Like with Krookodile, gust pulsated with each pressurized punch that intercepted each strike. The charge was making slight electricity between them that conducted into scrap metal flying between them. Matilda was angrily punching away, but Tyson's energy reserves weren't depleting. He was laughing maniacally as his charge made his punches as fast as hers.

Finally breaking off the stalemate, Matilda began zipping from one end to the other. Her light pounces left dents everywhere as she blindsided him, or at least attempted to. But Tyson's internal computer was showing images and projections, showing when she'll strike.

Ricocheting off a wall, Matilda sprung from a corner and roared like a lion with fangs bared. She pulled forward to punch, and yet in one fell swoop, Tyson pulled his fist back, whirlwinds of heated mechanical energy pulsing and jetted as fast as lightning.

The fist to connect made everything for Matilda black. Time slowed down as her mouth was wide open to gag blood. Tyson sneered as he followed through with the gut blow, making airwaves pulsated as Matilda sent straight through the metal wall. She ploughed straight through wall after wall, her back lurching through each wall that she tore through until she vanished from site.

Far down the broken walls, Matilda gagged before it all went black, her eyes rolling to back of her head.

"HAHAHAHAHA! Man, that fun!" Tyson roared at the rows of broken ship walls. "Now I'm turned on!"

Meredy's eyes were shrunk as she stared at the horrific blow with Vanessa. "Matilda…"

"I-INCOMING~!" Dereece warned. But his response time was too poor as Tyson swung his arm, making a powerful shockwave that sent all of his adversaries onto their backs, including Yanma and Heracross. They all laid on the ground groaning.

Tyson uproariously laughed with glee. "HAHAHA! You guys are so much fun I can't stand it! Man, my energy is going wild just because of the time I'm having! HA!"

Krookodile was straining incredulously to get back up, however, the attack left him dizzy and disoriented. A scrap plate slammed into him, burying him temporarily.

"HAHAHAHA! Is that all you got?!"

Dereece stirred as Heracross and Yanma were twitching beside him. He looked over his shoulder to see the terrifying image and winced away. He knew he didn't stand a chance.

Meredy was on the ground, but Vanessa was on a knee. The Aura Mage glared at the cackling robot with her eyes narrowing. Believe it or not, she was having a small blast of her own, but she wasn't having it. She had to kick it up a notch, and fast.


In the dark room she was blown into, Matilda laid in the shadows, all crippled and broken. Her breathing was so contorted that it's gone hoarse from that blow to the diaphragm. The spot that she was struck was left blue and deeply bruised. It was far from a good sign.

Barely even conscious, the female warrior gnawed her teeth together on the debris pile she laid on. If it wasn't for part of her long hair turning spiky and hard, it would've impaled her. 'I can't believe it. Just how strong is this guy?' Mental frustration began to boil up inside as she stirred upwards. 'When my power and speed increases, his does too. It's like he feeds off adrenaline like me when I'm all jacked up.'

A wide smirk fell upon her as she snickered on the inside. Even with eyes cascaded in shadows, one could tell of the dubious actions she intends. 'Man, I knew this was gonna be a blast, huh? I didn't think I'd get this worked up over some silly robot. These Alvarez guys really know how to turn me on that it hurts.'

Despite the somber tone that was rising, she was feeling less than ecstatic with how it was playing out. Her time with the Peace Jaegers throughout the many years have been pretty interesting to say the least. Her mind flashed back to the years she's spent out in the wilderness, where she was trying to harness her Take-Over. It was rough, and it made her primitive to a degree, but it wasn't long until Orion and the Peace Jaegers were traveling through the area on an assassination mission. Knowing her pain, Orion offered to help her find her peace, and that she has. And even though there were times she wanted to just die because of the animal she was, it didn't change the fact that she was still Matilda. And that was enough for her.

'Heh, gotta love you guys. Peace Jaegers really know how to make their own acts stand out, huh…' She wily smirked through the pain. 'Well then…guess it's my turn again. Time to come out…so you better play nice.'

The mental image of the Kajuua rung through her head like a bell. The beast's echoing rage reflected into her eyes as they opened. A loud heartbeat echoed into the darkness as her eyes turned bloodshot and feral.

'Oh~ yeah, this is gonna hurt…and I love it.'

Everything then around her turned dark, save for the eyes as they remained bright and spine-shrilling.


Vanessa swiped her arm, making another teal energy emerged. However, Tyson already appeared in front, forcing her to expel her attack at close range. The explosion made enough force to make her shoot backwards to get distance, but once her feet touched the ground, the teal smoke dissipated as Tyson punched clean through, sending a quaking shockwave that ripped through the room and forced Vanessa to put up her Aura Guard. It made a strong enough barrier to make the winds blow elsewhere around her and the others that were laying down behind her, sprawled out of fatigue.

Tyson let out another laughter as the winds from his punch made his hair churn. "Well now, what's wrong? You getting tired already?"

Vanessa grunted as she held her barrier up. She molded it into a small hemisphere in her hands and shot it like an Aura Sphere, which struck Tyson as he used his arms to block. The attack dissipated while he was only budged a few feet back.

"Heh! You humans are no fun when you tire out so easily! That's why we Machia are better!" He zipped in front, blindsiding Vanessa and grabbed her by the throat. The sudden clutch made her gag as Tyson lifted her into the air with one arm. "And plus it's too easy to kill you when you're all tired. Especially when I still got a little juice to burn."

"Vanessa…no…" Dereece gagged. He wanted to do something, but he didn't have a second wind.

Vanessa strained intensely as she didn't have many options. With her oxygen limited now and Tyson's grip fundamentally straining, he had to focus. She closed her eyes, mustering what power she could to encompass her body in a teal illuminating energy.

Tyson smirked. "Oh, more power? Well this is gonna be fun." He watched the light get brighter. "Come on! Make my circuits feel the burn!"

"GRRAAAAAAHHH~!"

A bloodcurdling animalistic bellow of erroneous tension shot gust waves that ripped through the holes and metal of the room. Everyone in the room went wide-eyed as Vanessa's tension finally receded. Her light receded as another extreme pressure took over.

Tyson turned in question, but before he could question -let alone hum – a punch to the face was what made static overcharge and sent him packing clean through another wall. This one made the wall break open a hole that pushed him into the next empty room.

Vanessa dropped to her knees, shaken up bad as her teal energy receded.

"Vanessa!" Krookodile exclaimed.

Vanessa shook her head as she was beginning to come around. "I'm fine." Her assurance was short-lived, however, when her aura was picking up a massive level of bloodlust. The shrilling energy made her turn ahead in shock as her hair shifted. Actual winds were being generated that picked up in the whole room.

Walking out of the hole in the wall, Tyson rubbed his head and was instantly feeling actual shockwaves pulsated. "Woah, what the-?!" He looked forward, his mechanical eyes showing shock.

All were at a loss for words. They stared in complication and fixation as a cyclone of energy was resonating from a shaking figure that was on all fours. Twitching and groaning, partial distorted grunts were coming from a blonde-haired girl as yellow static resonated from her body. "gNNNgHhhhaaaHHH!"

Meredy looked petrified. "Ma…tilda?"

Matilda wasn't responding. Her distorted grunts were making an intense change happening. Much to all of their horror, they all saw her long blonde hair beginning to lengthen and harden. They looked like bristles that could pierce flesh. Her whole body's muscle mass was slowly growing as the plating expanded, and yellow spotted fur was rapidly growing. Her hands had also grown, making hooked claws sink in and make craters in the flooring.

Krookodile and the Pokémon were also at a loss. He stepped back, for once showing some sense of moral fear as a shrill of terror filled the air. All stepped back while the beast continued to grow in size until it was double what Matilda's height was.

Tyson's eyes widened. "Wooah…"

Duncan's eyes widened slightly as he turned his head. Not far behind him, Ultear's eyes were wide as she stared in shock. "Is this magic pressure?" she questioned. She looked at the walls, seeing them vibrate slightly. "Vibrations…what's causing this?"

Duncan looked calmly down at his hands. Despite what he felt, his body was showing a shaking palm. Now that he knew how to feel magic, he knew the level this was. It was making his heartbeat fast…a rare feeling that made him challenged.

Down the hallways, a distorted animalistic snarl went through the air. It made Ultear and Duncan remain on guard.

Feeling her goosebumps shrivel, Liz looked down the hall, an intense look on her face shown for the first time. She knew what went wrong.

"GGrrrrRRRRNgh…" Her teeth evolved into massive sabers, with the other fangs becoming canines. When her eyes opened, it revealed the upper-half of her face was like the rest of her skin, yellow fur with spots. The eyes – however – were bloodthirsty feral. Even her growls got deeper.

From her backside, slowly eroding out, a tail suddenly morphed. It had two brown spikes on either end like an Ankylosaur.

Meredy looked at her before her eyes shot wide at something making her hair stand on end. For her and Dereece, neither moved an inch. They were seeing something that they wished they didn't see.

Feeling shifts in aura, Vanessa recognized the aura. Her eyes reflected the creature before her as no words were spoken. 'This aura…Matilda.'

The monster spread its arms and exerted a blood-shrilling roar. The kind of roar that would wake you up at night with goosebumps. The kind that makes you instantly regret something you did to anger someone. The kind…that spells death. This was the roar of a Kajuua, and it wasn't a monster. It was a demon.

The winds from her one roar ripped through the atmosphere like knives. Vanessa and everyone were petrified as the beast's fur prickled all over the whole, humming loud enough to tell they were authentic. Hunched over, her body large and massive, the four-legged beast snarled at Tyson with fangs churning.

The Machia whistled. "Man…wow! The heck whatever this is…I LIKE IT!"

"Matilda." Vanessa gasped.

Matilda's claws gripped the ground. She growled like a wild beast as her head angled low enough to show a piercing stare that could paralyze a full-grown beast of any species.

Tyson cracked his knuckles. "Heh, well this better be good. Show me what you-!"

He never finished. One second was all it took. The Machia found Matilda right behind him, on all fours and her head down. In her mouth, his entire left arm was ripped clean off. No static was shown, only oil and static as Tyson's body waned some as he felt off balance.

"H-huh…?!" Suddenly the shock caught up to him. The gusts from her pounced finally kicked in. He was sent spiraling up into the air and smashed down on his face, his body showing static s he gagged in a bounce.

Vanessa and the others had nothing to say. They all paled as the bloody aura around Matilda's complete Take-Over was incredulous at best. In one motion, they saw her rip a chunk of the buff Machia off with no remorse. Some feared they were next.

Matilda bit clean through the metal in her teeth. It cracked like candy that fell out. 'I've only got 5 minutes in this form. Anymore and that guy will run on instinct.' She thought to herself as an overlapping ethereal image of the Kajuua was in her mind. 'Okay big guy, ready get a little wild?' The Kajuua snarled in response to her. 'Okay then…let's maul this cybernetic bastard to the junkyard he spawned from!'

Tyson stirred back up, his body just now processing that his limb was torn off. "You little…"

In a split second, Matilda sped in and rammed his gut like a bull. The impact sent an intense shock through the circuits that made his systems twitch inside. The impact sent him through wall after wall. The metallic fortress was demolished with every massive hole that he crashed into until ten rooms down. Everyone was at a loss for words to speak, let alone say. They all watched the fight in utter silence.

In a scrap pile, Tyson zipped clean out, lunging with jet propulsion gliding him over the flooring. He pulled a fist back. Matilda growled before she closed the gap, meeting him in midair to have a massive claw jut and collide with the fist. The two high-speed attacks made shockwaves break to pieces. Matilda, however, had her other claw and swung it around. She raked it so fast that Tyson's sensors couldn't keep up.

'Shit! I can't get away!'

In one fell motion, the arm swung Tyson's side so hard that a pulse wave bifurcated the wall from the shock. Tyson went shooting out like a rocket, screaming in a vivid frenzy. But in the air, Tyson's overdriven body straightened up and he showed his fist to Matilda. The fists cocked and vibrated to expel one fast punch that sent a bullet-like shockwave that Matilda remained stiff for.

The explosion swallowed her entirely, meanwhile Tyson's legs made contact with water. The Machia smirked as his heels picked up on propulsions and he sped like a sonic bullet over the water. 'There's no way that she can get the drop on me, not while I have the speed and distance advantage. They can't speed on water like I can.'

As he closed in, the smoke stack coming from the side of the ship eroded, before it erupted further. A yellow spritz went straight down the side of the ship, barreling straight across the water with waves ripping open.

"What?!" Tyson disappeared in time before the train of water waves got too close. He arched his body and shot in an arch to get a view. Much to his disbelief, at the very tip, he saw Matilda sprinting on all fours at startling rates. "You shitting me?! She's running on water?! "

Matilda ran like a striking jaguar at abnormal rates. She roared as she followed Tyson's path and vanished. In a blind eye's notice, her path was in an opposite angle over the water.

Tyson maneuvered and open fired his fist at her. Shockwave bullets shot from his wrists at Matilda. But due to speed and maneuverability, she ran pass them and missed the explosions of water behind. Her path changed as she darted right into Tyson.

With a clear shot, he roared as his fist shot one last sonic fist shockwave. The bullet was large and massive, yet Matilda ran through it like it wasn't even there. The air waves dissipated as her speed made her almost invisible.

Tyson knew he couldn't evade. He pulled his one fist back and punched with all his robotic might as her spiky haired head met his fist.

At that moment, a ripple of water eroded between to two spread out, leveling all water. In the next second, the water level depressed, making a crater of blue while a massive geyser flourished all around them. The roaring waves spilled water everywhere as what sounded like thunder echoed between their collision. The winds were strong enough to even reach the ship, where the others felt a heavy breeze despite the distance, causing them to cover up.

Tyson was in shock while in midair with Matilda. His fist didn't break her skull. Rather, it was absorbed by her spiky hair. In his sheer shock and worries rising, the Take-Over woman suddenly vanished from sight. She pounced off each rush of water until she was over Tyson. As he looked up, she let out a roar as she double hammer-fisted him right in his back, severely denting the Machia as he shot at sonic speeds into the crater of water. It was like the water dug a hole deeper because that blow buried him in a geyser of water.

Matilda fell with the rain, but the second she hit water, she darted across it again at ski-jet speeds. Her four limbs were treading water so fast that it was like land to her.

As she ran, her instincts made her hair prickle. She abruptly sped left to avoid a blast wave from below. She dodged left again, evading another one. She spritzed all over at Mach speed, vanishing as bursts of water expelled wherever she stepped. Finally, she missed one more and pounced into the air, looking down at the water in bloodlust.

The water suddenly had a small break in it before a ripple exploded, revealing a damaged Tyson with static flourishing as he cackled maniacal laughter. "I DARE NOT LOSE!" he roared in a distorted tone. "I AM FULL OF ENERGY!"

Matilda unleashed another shrilled roar as she raised her claws and swiped down. The intense blow created one massive shockwave that Tyson used before, only this one was far more powerful. He was instantly blown away, skipping across the water until he was a skidding wave almost half a mile away.

While falling, Matilda growled like a feral animal. Her vision abruptly pulsated red for a moment, making her concentration fuzzy. 'Shit, I'm running out of time.' She fell onto the side of the ship, her nails scraping up the haul to anchor her fall and jumped off. 'Okay, let's hurry and finish this!'

His systems shortening, Tyson's core was feeling itself wear out. The internal engines were shot, and his overall energy stabilized was running low. He only had enough power for one last punch. Steeling himself, the Machia balled his fist as the chords inside were vibrating to a molten red. "Alright, time to end this!"

He spritzed across the basin at sonic speeds, his steaming fist pulled back. Meanwhile, Matilda shrilled a cry as she became a blur, manifesting more shockwaves as she ran over water on all fours.

The two were closing in the center of the basin. At nearly 120mph each, time slowed down between each one as they closed their aching bodies into one another. If one missed, they would die. Therefore, one thing was crucial. Speed.

As Matilda bared her saber fangs, her bloodshot eyes sought to rid of the annoyance. 'I won't lose. I'm a survivor. I am an animal!'

Tyson let loose with all he had. His steaming fist overloaded with whatever magic his systems had pushed into the one spot. It closed in on Matilda, her eyes reflecting the punch.

At that moment, the reflection faded. It was instead replaced by the vision of all the Peace Jaegers gathered in one spot, each of them smiling at Matilda. She looked at them as they accepted her, despite the bloodlust, battle-loving person she was. All the blood in her systems began to literally boil as her pupils suddenly vanished.

'And you…' She disappeared in a blur, startling Tyson. A bright background glimmered as metal tore with Matilda slashing the Machia clean in half down the middle. She appeared behind him in midair, her maw filled with scrap parts of his head bit through. 'CAN'T TAME A WILD ANIMAL~!'

Time slowed down drastically as bits of metal scattered through air. Matilda followed through with herself still in the air. The shockwave from her attack was severely delayed…until split milliseconds turned the basin water into a sliced havoc. The rake she made completely cut the water down the middle all the way leading up the shoreline of a small isle. The isle exploded to sliced pieces as sand and water looked like a mushroom cloud in the distance.

As water sprayed everywhere, Matilda's eyes were shadowed by her spiky hair. She smiled as her form finally began to recede. All the pieces eroded back to normal as the fur and plating she had returned to the states they were in beforehand. She snickered weakly as her limp body fell into the water with the scrap heaps.

Sundering slowly, bubbles of oxygen flourished as Matilda lazily lowered herself within the swirling waters. The break that she created eroded back to place, with her swept off into cold blue.

After a long time, the others looking out began to realize what was happening.

"She's not coming back up!" Meredy panicked.

Vanessa didn't waste time. Using her Aura Magic, she traced Matilda's aura in the water and encompassed her hands in teal. She reached out, shooting a beam of teal into the water. It snaked into the water, submerging while the others watched with deep worry.

A few moments passed by, but nothing but waves and bubbles churned where the aura was. Slowly, however, the aura came up, holding Matilda in its grasp. They all looked relieved as Vanessa pulled her back up slowly, placing the mage back onto the boat in front of them. She deactivated the aura and they all surrounded the blonde.

"Matilda? Matilda?" Meredy shouted. "Are you okay?"

"She breathing?" Dereece worried.

Matilda's eyes winced. She stirred awake, blinking a few times before coughing up water. She gagged relentlessly, the seawater expelling from her mouth as the others backed away to give her space. They all remained silent as she was given a few minutes to catch her breath.

Breathing rapidly, she caught up to what was happening. "What happened…?!" She gasped, hurriedly checking her arms and limbs. She looked to see if anything didn't revert back, but as she looked at her back, she mentally sighed. She turned back and sighed in relief. "Looks like I got lucky this time."

Meredy felt a weight drop from her heart. "You had us worried there! You scared me!"

Matilda rubbed the back of her head. "Sorry about that." She winked. "Guess the big guns were a bit overboard huh?"

Dereece plopped onto his backside. "Phew! I don't know about you guys, but I am done." He hung back in relief, in which Heracross slumped back with him. To top it off, Yanma perched on his horn, also looking exhausted.

Vanessa looked over at Krookodile. "Krookodile, are you well?"

"Fine." He huffed, turning away in a small pout. "…not that I'm concerned about it."

Laying on the ground, Matilda winked. "Aw, look at that, the big bad crocodile annoyed? Hahaha-Owowow…!" Pain flared in her insides. "Damnit, it hurts to laugh!"

This time Krookodile mockingly laughed. "Ha! Let me tell you something, Matilda the Take-Over mage of the Kajuua! Nobody laughs at Krookodile without laughing back! It's revenge, and it hurts!"

A bead of sweat ran down Meredy's face. 'Uh, in what way, exactly?'

"Everyone okay down here?!"

They all heard a similar voice. They all turned around towards the hallway to find Ultear, Duncan, and Liz all at the entrance. Upon seeing Ultear, Meredy rushed for her. "Ultear!"

Ultear remained steady as her foster daughter regrouped with her. "Meredy, what happened?"


They all regrouped the next moment, standing if possible to assess the situation. Matilda, however, was so tired she had to sit down against the wall.

"I see, that explains it then." Ultear looked all over the ship. She saw the many holes and slashes in the metal, breaking into a grieving snicker. "Good grief."

"We're so sorry, Ultear." Meredy apologized.

"Don't be. Besides, it was those Machia that attacked us…to think that just two of them put us on edge like that."

"So the other's hunches were right from the start." Duncan noted. "They sent others around so they can come at their reinforcements," he scoffed. "Well isn't that ironic."

Matilda scoffed back. "Speak for yourselves. That guy was a pain in the ass." She winced as she clutched her gut. "…for machines, they really packed a punch."

"Are you sure you're gonna be okay?" Meredy asked.

Despite the pain, Matilda weakly smirked. "Hey, don't sweat it…I've been through worse. Hehehe…"

"So…we're good then? Nothing to worry about, right?" Dereece asked. For his sake, he prayed it was.

Ultear looked down, putting a finger to her chin. "I doubt it. If they sent Machias after us, that must mean they're in relation to the empire. If I recall, their tribe leader was a Spriggan beforehand."

"So what's that mean?"

Liz kept adjusting the dial and radio on her one good headphone. She was showing signs of annoyance, as well as anger. This didn't go unnoticed by Duncan. "Still no good on that signal, huh?" he questioned.

Liz shook her head, yanking it off. "No. The damn signal's still fuzzy."

"Hmph. Well isn't that just perfect."

"This is bad guys. We're being ambushed. The ship's in pieces again. We can't get a signal out. And who knows how many are still coming." Meredy looked towards Vanessa as she was being awfully quiet. "Vanessa, girl…you okay?"

Caught surprised, Vanessa's attention adverted back towards the girl. "Sorry."

"Don't be…but what's with that face. You looked like you were thinking. Is something the matter?"

Vanessa glanced off again, looking particularly interested. "…their aura. Even if they are machine, I can still feel it."

Duncan raised a brow. "What?"

Dereece shot up. "Woahwoahwoah! Hold up now!" he stammered. "You're saying you still feel? Then…" he started to pale. The implication was starting to get to his head.

"No. Not their auras. I don't sense them anymore…" her eyes narrowed. "But this other aura is what troubles me. I hate to jinx it…but I'm afraid this isn't over."

Dereece gasped.

Duncan glared off to the side. "Tch! So there's another one then, is that what you're saying?"

"More or less." She glanced at the ceiling. "But even with the broken ship, I can't tell where. My sensory of the aura is too thin is this metal."

"So there's three of them altogether that are on the ship." Ultear deduced.

"That doesn't make sense." Dereece interjected. "If there's supposed to be another one, then where could it…oh no…"

All eyes went wide as they looked towards the upper deck. They all stared at the destroyed hallway that led to a certain spot where a certain person was. Almost immediately, the air became ominous with a dark dread crawling up their spines.

"JOEY!"


Glynda swayed her slender hips with every suave step she took in her high heels. She took her swell time in walking towards the ship, while at the same time deducing what was going on. Suffice to say by the way her face remained unchanged that it didn't seem to bother her. 'All this magic in the air…I can only deduce that the enemy is putting up a resistance.' She thought unemotionally and huffed. 'My, to think the 3 Machia Knights would be in such a struggle. I hope they don't prove incompetent. Afterall…of all the three that I have observed, their real trump card lies in one.' She quickened her own pacing. 'Because as long as he functions, victory is assured.' She chuckled to herself in musing. 'To think Wahl Icht protegees put together matches his power…this should be interesting.'


Joey was wide-eyed from earlier. He looked out at sea with his hand over his eyes to scope out ahead. "Huh…" he looked back. "Hey, Bro! I think all those waves stopped!"

Broly had a serious look. "Yeah, so I've noticed."

"What was all that…?" he peered out again with Chespin and Pidove. "That looked like invisible fighter jets or something."

Broly didn't have to guess. Even with a skilled eye, he could tell by the magic energy that it was Matilda. The way his own hair stood on the back of his neck several minutes ago was a clear indication. It almost never happens. But now that magic energy was dialed down, so now he couldn't tell what was going on. He only balled his fists in hopes and readiness for what might come.

"So, what do we do now?" Joey asked. "I'm getting worried about the others."

"…I'm afraid that worrying about them is the last thing we need right now, Joey."

"What, why?"

Broly glanced away, a serious vibe resonating. "…because we're not alone either."

Joey began to understand the message. Feeling something peculiar about the atmosphere, he curiously looked over his shoulder as Broly turned to face something heading their way. They stood quietly as they saw something of Wendy's size slowly make way towards them, smiling awkwardly as meters were apart from them. Joey's eyes slowly widened, while Broly remained serious.

Standing still, Pixie smirked at them in delight. "Well fellas, you look bored…allow me to fix that."

The dark clouds high above roared with the sound of thunder over the deck. The real battle had finally begun…and Joey was in dead center of it.


A little shout out again to my bud Warmachine375 for the Machia Knight names, at least the first names. But I opted to make this chapter in just a very slight indication of what it's like as a Machia. It's not much, then again there are a lot of perspectives I have to barrel through you know.

Now you guys know practically all of the Peace Jaegers' pasts, along with what they're capable of. I gave a little more of a show for Matilda for her Take-Over than Liz. But the bottom line here is that Duncan and Dereece now have magic, that just leaves their party-loving Captain, Joey.

I was very much delayed with this chapter. It took me nearly 10 days to write this, sheesh! And on top of that, I used up my whole morning to beat my Pokémon Y game (I used Beedrill to beat Diantha's Mega Gardevoir by the way). But that aside, work is taking up incredulous number of hours for me, so sorry for that.

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter with The Freaks, and now it's Joey and Broly's turn to show what they can do! Reviews appreciated and thanks!