Avery stood still, frozen to the spot. "Takuya… Denzel, you bastard! What did you do to him?!"
"Oh, we've made him far more…" Denzel paused to consider his words. "…Cooperative, to say the least. We've also tapped deep into his powers, fully unlocking them. Takuya's been brought to his full potential, to his prime."
Denzel picked up some objects on the platform and threw them down at Takuya and Avery's feet. It was an assortment of bladed weapons!
"Choose a weapon. It may be your only chance…" Denzel said. "Entertain me."
Takuya reached down and plucked a sickle from the assortment, holding it in his hand, poised to strike.
Avery reacted quickly, picking up a sako-bato reverse-blade katana, while Kasi grabbed a kopesh blade as she stepped backwards to give Avery room.
Takuya then lunged at Avery without warning, swinging the sickle aggressively! Avery leaned backwards, nearly falling on his back as the sickle went over him, tearing into the remains of his hoodie. Avery then swung the blunt end of his sako-bato at Takuya's head hoping to knock him out…
Takuya was too fast. He brought up the sickle's blade in a block, and shoved Avery backwards! Takuya rushed Avery shortly afterwards, slamming him into a wall with his shoulder, with an audible cracking sound as dust kicked up around them!
"Avery!" Kasi cried out.
The dust cleared shortly afterwards. Avery's shoulder had been dislocated! He struggled with Takuya in a deadlock, Takuya pressing the sickle's blade dangerously close to Avery's neck.
Avery had no choice. He let out a yell as he channeled his power forward into a powerful thunder attack! Takuya was pushed away from Avery by an electric corona! The energy fed through the blade and handle of Takuya's weapon, but the strike didn't have a large effect on him.
Takuya then let out a snarl and spat out an intensely powerful flamethrower attack from his mouth at Avery! Avery had to jump quickly out of the way, only to crash into another wall.
Avery looked up, stumbling out from the wall as he popped his shoulder back into place, as Kasi jumped in front of him, ready to defend. Takuya was staring down Averey and Kasi with an intensity in his eyes that Avery had not seen before… It unnerved him greatly. He then seemed to focus all his attention on Kasi…
Avery didn't realize what Takuya was doing until it was too late. Takuya was using a technique that Pokemon used in battles… The move known as Glare! Kasi started to lose her balance as the paralyzing effect of the glare took ahold, falling onto the floor.
Avery charged forward with a Quick Attack, his adrenaline skyrocketing through the roof! He knocked Takuya away before he could do anything else to Kasi.
Both fighters then faced down each other, Avery starting to look drained and desperate, while Takuya was still going on full blast! Avery didn't want to kill Takuya, but he couldn't just let him continue this rampage.
He had no choice. He channeled his electric power into the sako-bato in his hands, getting ready to release a paralyzing thunder wave on impact. Takuya simply stood there, waiting…
"Takuya!" Avery pleaded. "You can't let him control you! You need to fight it…"
Takuya let out a horrifying laugh, looking at Avery. "Takuya isn't here right now…" He purred in a reverberating, demonic voice.
Avery looked on, hoping that this last-ditch move would work.
"Takuya… I know you can hear me… You have to!" Avery spoke as a bright, golden arua started to surround his body. "I know you are in there, somewhere! I know you can't be lost… You were willing to give your life for me… Now, I need to return the favor... I won't let that madman Denzel use you like a weaponized puppet anymore!" Avery then let one hand off his sako-bato, raising it up with the katana ready to strike.
Takuya let out a demoralizing cackle as he spun the sickle in his hand a few times and got into his attack stance. Both fighters got ready to unleash their final strikes, charging their energies as their auras grew larger, spreading like a wildfire as they almost engulfing the entire room.
Denzel immediately sensed what was about to happen and whistled for Reaper and Sparta to board the platform. He rose the hovering platform up towards the stadium's skylight. So did Tyler for that matter, as he started to drag Ash and Pikachu into cover, yelling for Venin to protect Kasi. Venin then grabbed Kasi, then ran over to Ash and Tyler, shielding them all with his body.
Avery and Takuya rushed forwards at each other, running forwards at full tilt. As the distance closed between them, Avery yelled out his final plea:
"COME BACK TO US, TAKUYA!"
The next few actions seemed to happen in slow motion. Avery leapt up into the air, jumping over Takuya's swinging sickle, and brought the blunt end of the sako-bato down on Takuya's head! At the same time, his clawed hand reached around Takuya's neck, grabbing the energized control collar…
The impact of the sword sent Takuya down onto his knees, fissures forming in the ground around them as the built-up energy Avery poured into the sako-bato was let loose in a wild explosion. It swallowed up the area, blowing open the skylights and smashing down the blast doors as it spread through the corridors of the facility, frying most of the electronics in the base!
Everything was covered in white for a few moments. Eventually, the brightness died down, revealing the scene.
Venin rose, the rubble falling off his body as Kasi looked around him with Ash and Tyler as rain began to fall through the skylight, wetting the ruined colosseum floor. Denzel brought the hover platform down from a shielded spot in the ceiling, Reaper and Sparta watching on the platform. They still had bitter malice in their eyes but didn't approach.
Takuya and Avery had collapsed onto the ground, Avery holding the crushed computer of the collar he ripped off Takuya's neck. They had given everything they had in that final blow. Avery struggled to push himself onto his knees, his drained body screaming in protest as he crawled over to Takuya. Avery, with much straining, sat up into a kneeling position as he took Takuya up into his arms, cradling him. He looked down at his friend, praying he had not just taken Takuya's life…
"Takuya?" Avery whispered softly.
Takuya groaned, as he slowly started opening his eyes. They were now back to their normal state, filled with the hopeful and optimistic spark that Takuya had, showing their normal white and hazel color, no longer bearing the possessed black and red.
Takuya looked up at Avery, recognizing who it was. He struggled to lift a weak arm onto Takuya's shoulder.
"You… saved me…" Takuya struggled to speak. "Avery…" He grunted out with incredible pain.
"Shhh, hush." Avery said, comforting his fallen friend. "Relax, Save your strength. Things are going to be okay now. Oak radioed for the police and local militia before we got in here to get you out. We'll have you healed and back to normal before you know it. Things are going to be okay, now…"
Takuya's gaze didn't leave Avery for a second as they gazed into each other's eyes, Takuya gripping Avery's shoulder with weak yet desperate grip. "I'm sorry… I wasn't strong enough to protect you and Kasi… I… couldn't keep my promise…"
"No, don't' say that," Avery cooed in comfort as he brushed a tuft of Takuya's mane away from his eyes. "We're still alive and well, and you have kept your promise. If you didn't, we would be corpses in a morgue right now."
"This is… all my fault…" Takuya choked out, a tear running from his left eye. "If I had… found our Pokemon in… The ruins… we wouldn't be here, like this…" Takuya let out a violent cough, blood flying out from his mouth as he started struggling to breathe.
"Takuya, take it easy." Avery said, the softness of comfort in his tone reinforced with firm instruction. "What happened has happened, we can't change it now. Don't dwell on it, buddy, we're going to get you out of -"
Avery then stopped speaking as he noticed the spark of light in Takuya's eyes fading, his grip on Avery's shoulder starting to give. Avery could hear Takuya's pulse weakening.
"…Forgive me… My friend…" Takuya wheezed, his hand sliding down off Avery's shoulder as his eyes closed, his body going limp.
"Takuya?" Avery shook Takuya in his arms, stating to panic. "Takuya!" Avery placed a hand on Takuya's chest, sending what little energy he could into a small shock to jump-start Takuya's heart. It didn't have any effect. Avery then tried it again. Still no response. He repeated the procedure five times, over and over trying to get Takuya's hear to start up again. It didn't work.
Avery looked down at Takuya, unable to believe what was happening, the rain from the broken skylights washing over him. He hunched over, tears flooding his eyes as they streamed off his face, falling onto Takuya's body as he started to sob uncontrollably. Avery couldn't keep his emotions bottled up anymore, he had already been through a living Hell these past few weeks… He lost his old life, his humanity, his Pokemon partner… Now he had lost Takuya. He had lost his best friend…
Avery's sobs grew louder, unable to control the reaction. He threw his head back and let out a wail of sadness as he surrendered to his emotions, breaking down completely.
Over near Denzel, Reaper watched the scene unfold next to Sparta with a smirk on his face, all the while getting a sick satisfaction out of the watching Avery grieve. Sparta watched on beside Reaper, though he wasn't feeling satisfaction like Reaper was.
"My my, he's gotten really emotional all of a sudden, hasn't he?" Reaper said.
"It doesn't matter, just let him cry." Sparta said bitterly as he turned his back. "Besides, I don't think we're going to ever see him again after this."