24th Noble Lion Moon, 908 – Western Alliance Camp

Matthias' anxiety hastened the closer he got to his allies' campsite.

Halfway into his journey back to camp with his group, he received a letter from an aerial messenger requesting his immediate return. Not much was detailed in the letter, and it was clear it was written in haste. Something had transpired while he was away in the north.

His team (consisting of Jael, Nathaniel, Jakke, and Rikmai) rode down to where the allied campsite was, noting the superficial damage to the tents and perimeter. Matthias scowled, ordering his steed to pick up the pace and ride ahead of his group.

Upon reaching the main path, he hopped off and ran the rest of the way, signaling to the guards on duty. Ivone was the first to notice and announced, "Sir Matthias has returned! Open the gates!"

The gates creaked open, but Matthias barreled his way through and nearly knocked the guards over. He skidded to a stop and let his eyes roam over the damage. Thankfully, by his judgment, there didn't seem to be any obvious signs of major casualty, though he didn't want to get his hopes up.

"Sir Gaufroi! Sir Fulbertus!" he called out. "Where are you?"

The first to answer his call was neither of the captains, but Serell as he fluttered down to greet the Infernape knight. "Um, Sir Matthias? Eh, welcome back?"

The rest of Matthias' team rolled into the camp, and Rikmai jogged up to the flustered Togetic. "Serell? Yeesh, what happened while we were gone?"

Matthias crossed his arms. "Where are the other captains? How are our numbers looking?"

Serell gulped. "Several injured, but no deaths as of late. Um, Sir Fulbertus is currently working on something in his tent, so I was tasked with filling you in on the details."

"Why isn't Sir Gaufroi informing me of this?"

"…" Serell looked away unsurely.

Rikmai's eyes widened. "Serell? Where's Gaufroi?"

"…" He sighed shakily and looked up at Matthias. "We…need to talk."

Serell pulled Matthias aside into the captain's tent for privacy, though Rikmai was requested to join along with Linota. After sitting down, Serell explained everything that transpired a few nights ago. The attack on their camp, the retaliation against New Chariot, and Sir Gaufroi's disappearance.

"…" Matthias closed his eyes and exhaled a heavy sigh. "This is most unfortunate."

Rikmai winced. "Sir Gaufroi's gone missing? Do we have any idea where he is?"

Linota shook her head. "Not even our teleporters know exactly what became of him or the Claydol responsible. Something must've happened during the jump through space because there was no connection to trace back. Whatever happened, we can't trace the direction they teleported."

Serell nodded. "At worst, Gaufroi could've ended up in another New Chariot camp, or maybe even New Chariot itself. However, we're under the belief that the teleportation was disrupted, so it's very likely they ended up somewhere completely different."

Linota continued, "There haven't been any reports from our allies regarding an Ursaring mysteriously appearing in the west, though it has only been a few days."

Matthias scratched his chin. "I never took the old bear to be the reckless type, though he did us a great service going after their teleporter. You said this Claydol could perform mass teleportation on his own?"

"That's correct."

"I haven't heard such mysticism from a single Pokémon, aside from the rumors in the Arcania Kingdom and a certain clan. I doubt the means are the same, but it's still an impressive feat of skill." Matthias sighed. "That aside, Gaufroi's disappearance does prove troubling."

Rikmai's ears drooped. "Do you think he's alright?"

"Considering that the Claydol was likely teleporting deeper into their territory, Gaufroi must've ended up somewhere in the east. If it was disrupted, the backlash could've caused a brief hiccup in space to throw off the Claydol's coordinates. There's even the chance they were repelled away from each other. Whatever the case, Gaufroi's deep in enemy territory."

"…So, he's not alright?" Rikmai whimpered.

He shook his head. "Don't count your captain out yet. That man's survived many battles in his time." He glared. "Recovering Sir Gaufroi can't take priority. He would want us to continue on with the fight."

Linota groaned. "Which brings us to the second problem at hand. Because of that little attack they brought down on us plus their escape, we don't have much in the way of leads. All we can do is bunker down here and wait out a future attack."

Serell shook his head. "We can't just wait around doing nothing. They're the ones who invaded us first. I say we return their efforts in kind and trample over their territory!"

Linota scowled. "We're barely holding our own against their assaults. What chance do we have taking on their defenses on their territory?"

"Well, how is sitting around and waiting any better?!"

Rikmai groaned. "I thought you two have grown past this arguing phase already…"

Matthias sighed. "I agree with both points, but we can't risk injecting ourselves deeper through New Chariot's territory. Not without a solid foundation for a plan. They still hold the element of surprise. Plus, with their teleporter's condition unknown for the time being, we can't risk wading into a trap. Did you recover anything from your raid on their camp?"

Serell winced. "If by recover, you mean sifted through a pile of ash and scorched wood, then…yes, we've recovered quite a bit."

Linota sighed. "Sir Gaufroi's attack strategy against New Chariot was…too effective. We caused so much chaos that the entire campsite was razed to the ground. There wasn't a whole lot to salvage."

Matthias groaned. "So, we have no useful information to take advantage of?"

"Not necessarily." The group turned to the tent's entrance as Fulbertus entered. The Beheeyem bowed to the returning Infernape. "Sir Matthias, welcome back. Your timing is impeccable."

Matthias glared. "Sir Fulbertus. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I couldn't help but eavesdrop on your meeting, and I am happy to say I've made some progress into my own investigation. We may not be entirely without a plan of attack."

"…" Matthias stood up. "Very well. Show me what you've been working on."

"Thank you, Sir Matthias. Follow me." He led the black knight outside, leaving the Senbo trio to themselves.

Rikmai then realized something and turned to her comrades. "Hey, uh…how's Prince Erasmus doing? And how's the whole, you know—" She made a slicing motion across her neck with a gargled accompaniment.

Serell and Linota shared a concerned look with each other before facing back at the Vaporeon. "Yeeeeeah, uh…" Linota gulped. "We have some bad news."

Despite the injuries he took and technically self-inflicted upon himself, Erasmus made a gradual recovery after his battle with Liber. He rested for the last few days, only ever getting up to get his bandages changed by the medics. It was possibly the stupidest move he could've pulled to win a fight, they said. They said he was lucky to still be alive after burdening the weight of his and someone else's pain. However, it all paid off for what it was worth, so he had that much to be proud of.

That said, there was a slight…complication in his actions.

Turning over in his bed, Erasmus glared at the one entrusted to keep an eye on him during recovery: Darby. The events of Erasmus' attempt to assassinate him were lost to all but himself and his loyal guards, and the period of imprisonment left little time to push on ahead with the plan without risking his own neck. Through gritted teeth, he was forced to cooperate with Darby to freedom.

However, their victory over Liber came at a cost, or at least for Erasmus.

Darby glanced over his shoulder, sensing the Glameow's staring. He chuckled softly and returned to penning a letter on the collapsible writing desk. "A few more days of bedrest, and you will be back in fighting shape in no time, my friend. What a bold play against that Victreebell. Oh my, I seem to have forgotten his name already. Did he even have a name?"

"…" Erasmus' brow furrowed. "What are you doing?"

"Hmm? Oh, I figured I would write back to Mother and Father about my time in service for this great cause." He sighed, setting his quill aside. "And how great it is. So magnificent. I dare say this was the best decision I have ever undertaken!"

"…What are you on about?"

Darby spun around in his chair and laughed. "Why, I am speaking of the dramatic awakening I achieved in our clash with that drunken fool! On the cusps of death, stripped of my pride, I achieved true humility! You and that bastard have allowed me to see the flaws in myself."

Erasmus glared with budding concern. "W…What?"

The penguin hopped out of his chair and paced around the tent. "I was a daft fool to think I was qualified to become king. What was I thinking? So many years wasting away in the lap of luxury and desire that I have failed to grasp the truest essence of my kingliness. My father raised me to succeed him, yet I fancied lavish delights and even more lavish ladies. It was my birthright!"

Erasmus slowly sat up in his bed, now eying the Prinplup with a hint of fear. Darby spoke like a man on high discovering what air was. One deluded monologue was the difference between this and him spilling the depths of his heinous crimes, yet he announced his discovery with little regard to self-preservation.

"But now I finally see the truth! I am Darby Tetrarch, soon to become the new Dark King of Wick!" He glared at the ceiling as a darkness crawled across his sclera, black sparks shooting out from his eyes. "I must abandon my desires if I wish to achieve the truest status of a king. That is what you taught me, Erasmus!"

The cat's eyes widened in horror. What…the what did I say to him?!

Darby breathed out and relaxed himself, his eyes returning to normal. He faced Erasmus with a grateful smile that brimmed with a hidden, sinister aura. "You are my dearest friend, Erasmus. You have…You've helped me discover my true potential, and I realize I have so much more to learn." He grabbed the cat's cheeks and pulled him closer, looking straight into his eyes. "You and I are brothers. Our bond has been tempered by this war, and it'll be forged into the most unbreakable metal. You…complete me."

"…Wha?" If you listen closely, you can hear the sound of Erasmus' brain stopping momentarily.

Darby let go of Erasmus and marched toward the tent flaps, throwing them open to bathe the interior in the afternoon's light. His figure shined within the majestic glow. He gazed back over his shoulder with a confident smile. "We will ride into battle together and take hold of New Chariot as brothers. And perhaps, you and I may forge a stronger bond. One that will see us both ruling over this region."

He made his dramatic exit outside, leaving Erasmus in a perpetual state of bafflement and horror. He looked at his scrape-covered paws as they shook with the same terror he was feeling.

What…What have I done?

Fulbertus pushed through the captain's tent and floated to the war table with Matthias following close behind. "I assumed Gaufroi's little scheme destroyed everything in their camp," Matthias stated. "You managed to recover something useful?"

Fulbertus psychically lifted something off the table. "Enough to point us to our next target." He guided the object over to Matthias, revealing it to be a torched piece of parchment.

The Infernape squinted at the barely intact leaf. "And this is…?"

Fulbertus laughed. "I know, it's barely legible. It was part of an even greater letter. A message presumably sent out to the two centurions in charge of that camp. And by some miracle, the only piece I recovered had all we needed to drag the clues out from our prisoners."

He set the paper down and lifted a full sheet with a single word written out in the center. Upon being shown the paper, Matthias read aloud, "Manlius."

Fulbertus snickered. "Commander Manlius, to be precise. He's the commander in charge of the southern invasion. With the northern unit being pushed back against Senbo's forces, they've been focusing their heavy hitters down here. Among them is one of New Chariot's top rank commanders."

Matthias glared. "And how do you know of this man?"

"With a little assistance from Evangelina, we spent the last few days scrambling through the prisoners' brains until we had all the information we needed, including the exact coordinates to his camp."

"Meaning we have a new objective?"

Fulbertus nodded. "If we crush Manlius, we take out a major component of New Chariot's army. Removing one of their top commanders from play nets us a mighty boon in the war."

Matthias, however, crossed his arms in suspicion. "I feel as if there's a piece of this information you're leaving out."

"With you by our side, it's nothing to concern yourself over."

"Fulbertus…"

"…" Sighing under the Infernape's scowl, he relented and explained, "Alright, there is one slight issue with undertaking this attack. Commander Manlius isn't a top ranked commander for nothing. Actually, he's potentially the most powerful of the commanders, or least according to the perspectives of the prisoners."

"Elaborate."

"They call him One-Shot Kill Manlius, and that's because he has a known history on the battlefield. They say anything that connects with his hammer is killed in a single strike. Some of these men have actually seen this displayed, and Evangelina and I unfortunately saw it through their memories. Bastiodon, Tyranitar, Aggron, Avalugg, and many other naturally defensive Pokémon have been killed in battle by Manlius. All in one strike."

"…So, you're saying there's credibility to his title?"

"Precisely."

"…Tch." Matthias turned his back to the alien. "All the more reason to crush him."

Fulbertus glared. "I feel you missed the part where I said he kills everyone in one strike."

"I don't care how strong he is. They all fall the same against me." He clenched his fist, generating sparks of black flame. "I'll burn him to ash before he gets the chance to swing that hammer at me."

Fulbertus sighed. "Well, I expected as much coming from you. Still, without Sir Gaufroi, we lose a significant part of our frontal assault. You'll have to lead the cavalry on your own."

Matthias cracked his knuckles. "That works for me. Make sure the men have rested up. Tomorrow, we head for the east and declare war against Manlius."

"Heh. Aye, Sir Matthias. Let's make this one for the history books."

The second his knights came to check on him, Erasmus requested they converse in private. Serell and Rikmai assisted Erasmus out from bed and carried him to a secluded part of camp, away from the prying eyes of their allies and, most importantly, Darby.

After taking shelter on the far side of camp, Erasmus rested against a crate and sighed, furiously massaging his temples. "This…is the worst possible outcome."

Linota frowned. "My prince, you didn't know how Darby was going to interpret your speech. Your life was of the utmost importance, which was the correct choice."

"Not if it meant at the expense of our plan."

Rikmai frowned. "I'm still trying to catch up on all of this. What happened exactly after you two escaped from their commander?"

Serell glared. "Based on what Darby explained, he found new motivation and killed their commander in one strike. Considering the state of his corpse, that…statement unfortunately holds truth."

Linota huffed. "Worst still, he's been acting differently these last few days. He used to talk about how much weaker New Chariot was compared to us and how he was treating everything like some game. But now he's taking the mission seriously. Too seriously. It's like his mindset completely altered overnight."

Erasmus sighed. "Given the circumstances, I say it is because he was pushed to his brink. This appears to be the first time Darby has lost control of the situation. Even when he was battling Stormbreaker and getting beaten to a pulp, his confidence did not waver. And we all know the outcome of his cockiness."

"But this time's different."

He nodded. "Darby truly believed he could escape at any moment, but it eventually dawned on him that he was going to be rescued so readily. He…broke that night. I would have just left him so, but our fates were tied. He dies, I am following immediately after. I had no choice but to snap him out of it. I say I was too effective in my pep talk."

Rikmai's ears drooped. "So, you mean to tell me the womanizing penguin responsible for your brother's accident as well as the demonization of the Foresters had a moment of clarity and decided to improve his behavior…by doubling down on the other half of his rotten personality?"

"…Yes."

"Oh good, I was worried something terrible happened!"

Linota groaned. "We still don't know what Darby is plotting, but now killing him is going to be even harder."

Erasmus sighed. "At least we have confirmed this mystery angel of his was just another bluff. He seriously expected that commander to believe he had the Roar of the Wastes at his command."

Rikmai laughed. "Talk about lofty achievements…"

Serell shook his head. "Doesn't change the fact he's going to be a pain to kill now. It was nearly impossible when he was being reckless, but now he's actually going to practice self-preservation instead of leaving it as a suggestion."

Linota scowled. "And Sir Gaufroi would be the only one strong enough to get the job done in one-shot. On top of all of that, we're in the middle of a war, so opportunities to get the drop on Darby will be even harder to come by."

"His knights would be at his beck and call, too," Erasmus mumbled. "I did inform our knights to be at the ready to backstab the Wick Kingdom, but the situation has to be perfect."

Serell groaned. "And since we have no leads on New Chariot's next move, we're pretty much stuck here twiddling our fingers." He looked at his flipper-like hands and frowned. "Metaphorically speaking, at least."

"…We may have one shot," Linota suddenly brought up, gathering their attention.

"How so?" Erasmus asked.

She glared and said, "Sir Fulbertus recently took Sir Matthias aside to discuss his findings. From what he let slip to me the other day, he may have found the remains of a note from a New Chariot general. If he can recover the right information from our prisoners, he'll have a location down. And considering his haste to inform Sir Matthias—"

Serell's eyes widened. "That means he found something."

"Precisely. I wouldn't be surprised if they made an announcement later today on our next move. We may be moving deeper into the east."

Erasmus glared. "But how will this help us corner Darby?"

"It won't, or at least nothing substantial. I see it like this: if we cause enough chaos on the battlefield, we could take out Darby's knights under the cover of battle or even lead them into New Chariot's attacks. The more of them we take down, the less Darby has to hide behind. Granted, this would come at the expense of our own manpower, so we would have to be strategic in our plan. And this would require us preserving as many of Senbo's knighthood as possible. It's still unclear how the Verde Kingdom will respond to this seeing as they've allied with Wick for much longer."

Rikmai winced. "It's as good of a plan as you can get, but I'd feel more comfortable having Sir Gaufroi with us."

Erasmus glared. "Unfortunately, we do not have the luxury for that. We will have to adjust the plan accordingly once we face down New Chariot's army. Prioritize winning while crippling as much of Wick without jeopardizing the mission. Our chances are still slim, so we have to put Darby into an unwinnable situation. And if we could convince Sir Matthias of our ploy—"

"Easiest way to do that would be to tell him about Harlow," Serell mentioned.

Erasmus winced. "I do not feel comfortable using her secret as leverage, but it may be our best chance of getting him to turn on Darby. Either way, if we can get him onto our side, Matthias would be the last thing Darby wants to battle."

Linota glared. "So, our plan comes down to circumstances and proper positioning. Wonderful."

"It is a long shot, but Darby being allowed to live is unacceptable."

Serell saluted. "We'll be behind you every step of the way, Your Highness."

Linota nodded. "We'll follow you into whatever danger lays ahead."

Rikmai grinned. "And before you know it, we'll be able to clear the Foresters' names and get you back together with Adenine!"

Erasmus smiled softly. "I am grateful to have steadfast knights like you at my side." He groaned as he struggled to rise, receiving immediate assistance from Serell and Rikmai. He sighed before glaring ahead. "As soon as I have recovered…"

"…we will bring about the end of the Wick Kingdom."

Alban finished the last of his apple cider before strapping the canteen back onto his waist. He stood up and pulled his trident out from the ground. "So, they'll be heading for Commander Manlius next." He scoffed. "May both sides be swallowed in the flames of war."

And thus, he set forth toward his next destination: the battlegrounds where the two armies will converge.

1st Autumn Moon, 908 – Great Gate Empire

It was a day's journey away. After days of traversing through Great Gate's environment, Gaufroi will eventually be able to sneak back into his home kingdom. The border would still be a major obstacle to get around with soldiers on both sides maintaining control of their respective areas, but that's why Megumi took him as close to the Great Ruins' border as possible. It was unlikely anyone from Great Gate would be guarding that deep into Virdis.

However, with his journey still a long trek away and with the sun setting over him, Gaufroi opted to rest for the night. He welcomed himself into a small forest and went about collecting any fruit growing off the trees. After acquiring his dinner, he sat down against a large rock, set his axe aside, and munched on the wild berries. He made sure to stay away from any he didn't recognize, but his Guts ability allowed him to adapt to foreign toxins.

"Hopefully Ms. Megumi is doing alright," he mumbled. He sighed, leaning his head back against the rock. "I always figured Great Gate had its own internal affairs to sort out, but she made it sound like it runs deeper than what the public knew. Tch." He closed his eyes with a scowl. "Can't imagine that…"

"How much do you want to know about the Senbo Kingdom's negligence? For all their perfection, they kept in isolation for so long because they're just as ruthless as any other kingdom. They needed to prove they could stand above all other kingdoms without their aid, and they succeeded for two centuries."

"So tell me, was that a coincidence or did Boldvale need to be silenced?"

"…" Gaufroi covered his face and groaned. "The double-edged sword of my loyalty. Having to swallow my pride for the good of the kingdom. I remember that Aron's face. He was one of the children we rescued in the raid. I was there for him when we recovered his parents' bodies." He gritted his teeth. "Senbo's pride. All in the name of protecting our symbol as the impenetrable kingdom. A one in a million chance, and we screwed up. Left a town defenseless by random chance. If it were any other town who we lightened security on, Boldvale wouldn't have been erased off the maps to preserve our image. But that wouldn't justify what we did."

"A bloody history of your own?"

"…I've spilt blood of invaders, but I never thought I could take innocent lives without lifting my axe." He clenched his teeth. "My king, all of this to protect our image. When will you come clean about your actions? Even your children are starting to unwind the truth behind your blunder. A kingdom cannot support its weight on hollow promises and lies. Our image as the invincible kingdom? I sense it will reach its end soon."

"…That's the idea."

The Ursaring's eyes widened. Slowly, he glanced to his left, spotting a hulking figure lurking from behind the trees. The figure twitched with teal sparks flying off their body, floating out from cover in a stumbling fashion.

"How p-predictable…to see the lies of Senbo's perfect image coming undone like an ancient tapestry. But New Chariot…doesn't hide its atrocities."

"…" Gaufroi sighed and picked another berry out from his pile. "So, you finally tracked me down? Took you long enough."

Janus hovered closer, revealing his withered state as his body flickered between open space, struggling to keep himself anchored. "You've put me through much trouble to get here, Sir Gaufroi."

Gaufroi chomped into an oran berry before reaching inside his cloak. "Is this what you're looking for?" He pulled out and presented the red stone to the Claydol. However, compared to the rest of his eyes, it was clear Gaufroi did a lot of damage and managed to find a large fraction of it.

Even still, Janus held his hand out. "Return it to me."

"…" Gaufroi curled his claws around it. "You know, I had a feeling you were somehow still connected to this. In the back of my mind, I kept telling myself you could teleport behind me any day now. Maybe it's because I needed to give you an excuse not to return to your comrades."

"That wasn't a request, Sir Gaufroi."

He sighed. "No. No, it wasn't." He stood up, pocketed the stone, and grabbed his axe. "But you can have it back. You just need to pry it off my corpse first."

Janus glared. "You plotted this knowing I was tracking down my eye."

"I wasn't aware the damages would have this effect on you, I admit. Still, your pride wouldn't allow for it. Doesn't seem like it'll fit inside your cranium anymore."

"I'll make do with whatever's left." Janus detached his arms, charging Hyper Beam through the tips. "Heh. Does this remind you of anything? Our battle forty years ago?"

Gaufroi scratched his cheek. "Tch. That was so long ago. Barely remember the details. I do recall burying you in the earth before I chopped off your previous emperor's arm."

"Don't act coy, Sir Gaufroi. This rematch was a long time coming. No armies. No artillery. Just two soldiers battling with their skills and wits." Janus' eyes flared with psionic energy. "And once I'm done with you, the Senbo Kingdom will be conquered by us, along with the rest of the west. And by now, the rest of your ilk will have been massacred."

Gaufroi glared. "What do you mean?"

"If they're as clever as they act, they'll eventually find their way to my superior. They're all probably dead by now. No one can defeat Commander Manlius."

"…" Gaufroi sighed. "If you're trying to rile me up, you're a couple decades too late. I've seen good men die on the battlefield. Hundreds. What's a couple dozen more?" He raised his axe toward the Claydol and scowled. "That said, if you think my allies are so quick to die, then New Chariot's pride is just as fragile as Senbo's."

"…Tch." Janus focused his Hyper Beams. "Enough talk. Hand over my eye, and I shall grant you a swift, merciful end. It'd be unwise for you to battle me without your armor."

Gaufroi patted his tunic. "You want your eye so badly? Like I said. Take it off my corpse."

"Request accepted. Hyper Beam!" Janus brought his hands together and fired a massive beam of raw energy, splitting the earth ahead under its immense pressure.

The beam eclipsed Gaufroi's vision in a sea of orange light, blowing away leaves and nearby trees as it closed in on him. Without so much as a flinch, he raised his axe above his head and swung down the second the laser came within range. One swing of his axe, and the beam split around him. The wind rushed across his fur while the split laser barreled through the forest behind him, incinerating the earth and trees in its path.

Once the laser dissipated, Gaufroi rushed through the smoke and swung on Janus' position, knowing he would have to recharge after firing. He cleaved through the smoke, only to find nothing more than open space. Or at least, that was what he thought until a split second after that he found Janus' arms floating on both sides of him.

"I am the teleportation master, Sir Gaufroi." He turned his gaze up and saw the Claydol hovering high above him. "I can multitask around my weaknesses." His eyes blazed in psychic light. "Though there is so much more to my space-bending properties. There is…no limit!"

Dozens of portals opened across the sky, erupting with blazing psychic light. Realizing what it was, Gaufroi turned and ran deeper into the charred forest.

"Collapsing Future!" Janus called down a storm of heavy-hitting lasers onto the forest, incinerating all that stood below him. The earth exploded into a dense fog of ash and earth as his lasers scraped across the surface.

Gaufroi sheathed his axe and ran on all fours to hasten his speed. The lasers continued to plow through the forest, tearing down tree after tree and sending waves of dust into the air. There was no indication of how long the lasers would fire. Perhaps Janus had been secretly storing his psionic energy into the future to bypass Hyper Beam's drawbacks?

If so, that means there was a limit to how long he could fire off the stored energy. A limit unknown, but one that could be exploited.

He lunged a little way ahead of the lasers before spinning around and grabbing his axe. "Brilliant Dark Justice!" In one motion, he whipped out his axe, charged the edge, and swung into the curtain of lasers from the underside. He cleaved through the middle, cutting a path that allowed the energy to part around him.

Janus ceased firing and flew after Gaufroi, still keeping to the air. "Ancient Future!" His eyes flashed briefly.

Gaufroi sensed a shift in the air behind him and sidestepped a portal that ejected a whirlwind of stone. Some rocks scraped his side, and he hissed as they burned his skin from the psychic aura coating them. More portals opened up around him, firing more streams of rock at him. He flexed his arms and covered his head as he was bombarded on all sides.

Janus positioned himself above Gaufroi, channeling a chilling aura through his two working frontal eyes. "Frozen Future!" A massive beam of cold energy fired from his eyes, striking down like a bolt of lightning.

Gaufroi only had seconds to dodge. He charged through the rock storm and leapt into the air right as the beam clapped down on the earth, its energy splashing across the scorched forest and instantly solidifying into a frozen wasteland. Trees were uprooted and frozen midway into falling, and shattered earth was knocked into the air before freezing on pedestals of ice.

Gaufroi caught his claws through the ice and stood up. He reared his axe back and radiated the edge in a golden shine. "Brilliant Crescent Order!" He cleaved the air above him, releasing a blade of golden light that cut through the wind.

Still reeling from his last attack, Janus barely managed to hover out of the way, only getting slashed in the arm. "Agh…!" All seven of his working eyes blazed to life. "Ancient Collapse!"

Another portal opened above Gaufroi, this time releasing a giant boulder coated in psionic light. He jumped backwards, narrowly avoiding the boulder as it smashed down on the ice. Cracks split open across the stone's surface, unleashing waves of smaller boulders streaking in psionic energy like meteorites.

Gaufroi swung his axe and cut down the rocks before they reached him. Upon doing so, more portals opened up around him.

"Ancient Future!"

Gaufroi managed to slice through half the portals before the rest fired whirlwinds of stone at him. He shielded behind his arms. The attacks bombarded him hard enough to push him along the ice, pushing his back against a frozen tree.

Janus brought the tips of his hands together, created a bubble of crackling psychic energy. "Gateway to Destruction!" He clapped his hands, causing the bubble to disappear.

Gaufroi immediately sensed the air shift around him and dodged out from the bombarding rocks before the frozen tree suddenly exploded. He skated along the eyes as more pockets of distortion burst across the airspace, trailing the fleeing Ursaring and ripping apart any matter caught in their way.

Janus glared down at his opponent. "What was his name again? Sir Foolbertus? Hah. Fool, indeed. I could tell from the way he was scanning the air space that he was also a master at teleportation. Tch, the word master has lost meaning in the west. I easily camouflaged my presence. I can singlehandedly bring an entire army through my power alone. He requires a team. Do you see the difference in our skills, Sir Gaufroi?"

Gaufroi glared. "Yes. I do." He came up on a tree, where he cut through the base in a single slash. Immediately after, he chucked his axe like a boomerang, curving it through the air and toward Janus' head.

"WHOA!" Janus floated out the way, narrowly avoiding the axe. "You disarm yourself of your own weapon—"

His eyes widened as Gaufroi suddenly grabbed the frozen tree and ripped it out of the ice. He inflated his muscles, lifted the massive tree over his head as he growled through the pain. Gripping to the severed end, he took a couple leaps forward to adjust his posture before chucking the tree through the sky like a javelin.

With the extra ice coating the outside, the tree slammed into Janus with the force of a small hill, carrying him out of the air. He smacked through the branches and leaves, trying to flail free before he hit the ground. With seconds to spare, he untangled himself out of the branches and leapt out. As the tree slammed down and cracked the ice, Janus increased his Levitate and barely stopped himself from hitting the ground.

"The axe—" He froze as a blinding blue aura suddenly entered his sightline. Gaufroi had caught up with him, charging a pool of energy through his fist. "—isn't my weapon."

With no time to react, Janus doubled over from Gaufroi's crippling punch directly to his chest. Cracks opened across his clay body, some even crossing over his remaining frontal eyes. If Janus had lungs like the Ursaring, the air would've been ejected in a snap.

"Brilliant Piercing Breaker!"

Gaufroi's punch sent Janus hurtling through rows upon rows of trees, each on slowing him down by fractions of his velocity until he was far across the other side of the forest. Once he touched the ground, his body dug a long trench that went seven feet deep until he finally came to a stop.

Gaufroi waved the smoke off his knuckles before walking up to his axe, which impaled into the ground. He causally pulled it loose and settled it over his shoulder. "Did you think I was preparing for retirement in the last forty years? Fear the man who has lived through a career that kills men young."

Janus pulled himself out of the trench, barely able to hear the Ursaring from so far away. He flinched as his body started to flicker from his unstable teleportation again. "N-Not again…!" He shook himself. "I can't let this stop me. I need to get in close now."

Right as Janus was raring himself up, Gaufroi noticed something glowing inside his tunic. He pulled out the chunk of Janus' eye, which was starting to glow in the same fashion as the rest. He glared at it suspiciously. "That's…ominous."

"Gateway to Distant Lands!" A portal opened up behind Janus, engulfing him, and ejecting him directly behind Gaufroi. The portal collapsed and wrapped around his hand. "Perhaps sending you several thousand meters into the sky will kill you!"

Gaufroi reacted on instinct and swung the hand clutching Janus' severed eye. "Brilliant—"

Their fists collided, causing cracks of psionic energy to split across the air around them. It all happened nearly in an instant. Space distorted between their fists, and Janus' teleportation once again became wildly unstable. His working eyes and severed eye reacted in contact with each other, picking up on the differing wills between both parties.

A bubble of psychic energy engulfed both warriors and collapsed around them.

Seconds after, with a plume of smoke left in their wake, both warriors had completely vanished.

The flash of light startled Gaufroi and Janus, causing them to stumble back from each other after colliding punches. Gaufroi covered his face and growled. "What the…?"

Janus shook his head. "What just—"

"HUH?!"

Both warriors froze. After their eyesight adjusted, they looked around and saw that they were no longer in the forest. In fact, they were completely outside the wilderness. They were standing in the center of a bar surrounded by confused, but awfully thuggish Pokémon.

Gaufroi squinted. "What in the—" He flinched as a glass mug struck and shattered across the side of his head.

"Who the hell are you?!" a Magmar yelled.

A Drapion exclaimed, "Hey, check out that Claydol's armor! He's some kind of soldier!"

"A soldier?! In the Outlands?! Are they bringing that damn war over here, too?!"

Gaufroi and Janus' eyes widened. "Outlands?"

Magmar ignited Fire Punch and marched toward Gaufroi. "Listen here, old man! This is a land of the lawless! You come onto our territory, prepare for a swift—" Gaufroi grabbed the fire duck by his collar and chucked him into Janus, knocking them both into the wall.

Before anymore patrons could respond, Gaufroi swiped his axe across the floorboards. "Brilliant Crescent Order!" He sliced apart the floor, sending tables and chairs flying backwards into the bar counters, shattering the shelves full of liquor.

Janus threw the Magmar off and opened several portals around himself. "Collapsing Future!" He unleashed dozens of lasers through the bar.

Gaufroi immediately ran for the doors the second the portals opened and barely dodged the lasers as they ripped through one half of the building and obliterated the proceeding buildings in its path. Patrons were thrown out and burned alive by the raw energy of Janus' lasers.

Stumbling onto the street, he took a quick look at his surroundings and saw they were indeed in a desert-like town, nowhere near Great Gate or Senbo. It didn't take him long to pin the culprit responsible, glaring at the sparking stone in his hand.

"His teleportation is unstable. Is it possible that while holding his eye, I'm tapping into some of the energy stored inside? And because of that, I'm interfering with his teleportation whenever we connect." He clutched the stone tightly. "Well, that's mildly concerning, but perhaps useful."

Janus floated out from the destroyed tavern, which soon collapsed on top of itself and crushed the patrons still trapped inside. He glared at the Ursaring and said, "I take it you've already deduced the nature of our sudden jump?"

Gaufroi ripped off his left sleeve and tied the stone to the back of his axe. After pulling the knot taut, he took a few practice swings to make sure the stone was firmly secured. "If I recall correctly, since your species is made from earth, your energy doesn't dissipate as readily as flesh and blood creatures like me. I can be used postmortem."

Janus huffed. "Now do you see why I require my eye back? The damage you dealt will be catastrophic for the both of us."

"True, but you're already proving to be a pain." He pointed his axe at the Claydol. "You claim my allies may have already met their demise? Let's test your little theory. One of these swings may bring us back to them. Or into a volcano."

Janus glared. "You're daring that possibility?"

"I've brushed sides with Death enough times to share a glass of wine with him. What's one more visit between old friends?"

"…" Janus closed his eyes, sighed, and started to laugh. "You've slaughtered many of my men back in those days, Sir Gaufroi." His eyes snapped up, blazing in psychic flame. "It's no mystery why we called you the Reaper's Right Hand!"

Several portals peppered the space above him, raining down a torrent of lasers upon Gaufroi. With a tight grip over his axe, he performed a sweeping slice across the air, parting the lasers in a single slash. "Brilliant Crescent Order!"

Janus moved on to his next attack. He flew around the projectile slash and fired down Ice Beam. Gaufroi jumped back as Janus fired another round of Ice Beams from his eyes, freezing the street over in a sheet of ice. With the beams gaining on him, Gaufroi changed tactics and leapt in-between the beams, landing on the ice.

Janus detached his hands and swung them into the ground. "Ancient Tundra!" A dark aura crackled across the ice sheet, passing under Gaufroi's feet.

The Ursaring watched the ice shake before rising into sharp spikes. He barely dodged one which sliced across his cheek and slashed through a cluster rising toward his chest. "Brilliant Dark Justice!" He rushed down the clusters of ice rising around him, slashing through effortlessly as if swinging a dagger.

"Gateway to Destruction!" Janus formed and clapped a bubble of psionic energy.

A pocket of distortion opened in Gaufroi's path. He dropped onto his back and slid under the spatial pocket before it burst open, shattering the ice behind him. He slid back onto his hands and reared his axe back. As he closed in on Janus, the attached stone started sparking with light.

Janus flickered to the right, dodging Gaufroi's downward swing. However, as he aimed to blast him with Ice Beam, Gaufroi suddenly lifted his heavy axe out of its downward motion and bashed the back of it across Janus' face.

Both psionic entities reacted, forming another crack in space that instantly sent them hurtling across Virdis. They stumbled back from each other, now stranded on what appeared to be a beach by the ocean.

Gaufroi roared and rushed down Janus again. He went for the kill, but Janus teleported just in time. The ground split open under Gaufroi's heavy swing. After prying his axe out of the ground, he instinctively looked toward the ocean where he saw Janus hovering far out above the water.

"Collapsing Future!" Opening another dozen portals, he fired directly into the water. The energy pushed against the waves, causing them to rise and rise into the air, raising them to the height of a city-destroying tsunami.

The shadow of the tsunami engulfed Gaufroi and the entire beach, even most of the cliffside directly behind him. It was like a Durant squaring up against Rayquaza himself, a fierce fighter standing bravely in front of the maw of a fearsome beast that was ready to swallow everything in its path.

His response?

"A little puddle like that's supposed to be impressive?"

He sheathed his axe and rushed toward the rising tsunami. As he did, he cupped his hand over his fist and started building up energy. First, a shining aura of blue before transforming into a radiant golden. The tsunami had completely eclipsed the setting sun, leaving only the glow of Gaufroi's fist in the growing darkness.

"Brilliant Piercing Breaker—"

He jumped into the air and reared his fist back. The energy crackled over his arm as it, too, became engulfed in the golden light. With the tsunami in his range, he fired his arm forward like a cannon and slammed it into the water's surface.

"Evening Ursa!"

His fist punched a massive hole straight through the tsunami, dispelling all its energy and sending all the remaining water crashing down on the beach and bottom of the cliffside. The shockwave of his punch carried on through the air, disturbing Janus from its vibrations.

The Claydol watched the tsunami fall apart in disbelief. Now I understand what he meant earlier. That axe of his isn't his main weapon. It's worse than that. It's a handicap. He's not an axe specialist. This man is trained purely in hand-to-hand combat!

As he fell back toward the beach, Gaufroi once again tossed his axe like a boomerang, sending it sailing toward the Claydol. However, Janus laughed and opened a portal in front of himself.

Is he insane? He can't dodge while in the air. I'll send that axe flying back at him!

However, that was precisely what Gaufroi wanted.

Seconds before the axe passed through the first portal, the exit opened above Gaufroi. He opened his hand and revealed a piece of red stone: a chunk taken out from the eye in his axe. He tossed it into the portal right as his axe passed through, causing both items to graze each other.

Since I was able to disrupt his portal last time—

A bubble of psychic energy opened between the colliding items within the portal, causing its influence to extend around Gaufroi and Janus. They were violently warped across space once again, throwing them above solid land.

Gaufroi landed and immediately jumped back before his axe could lob his head off. Janus fell out of the air, disoriented from the sudden jump through space. "Agh…!" He shook his head and glared at Gaufroi. "Clever. You used my severed eye against itself and triggered a reaction in the epicenter of the connecting portals. Did you even know that was going to work?"

Gaufroi pulled his axe from the ground. "I was dead either way."

"Tch. Somehow, even that axe cleaving your neck wouldn't have killed you." Janus chuckled. "Still, this is very nostalgic. Fighting you again."

Gaufroi smirked. "I do feel a bit younger." He rested his axe over his shoulder and beckoned Janus forward. "Come on. I think it's about time I rekindled my fervor for battle again."

"Hmm. If you insist." As Janus readied his next attack, he couldn't help noticing their new location. Based on the sky, they jumped further into the east, thus the sun was no longer visible. Their exact location, however?

Wait. Are we in the…?

Literal Seconds Earlier…

BOOOOOOM!

A low, yet resounding explosion echoed across the city, yet not one that resembled that of an incendiary variant. It was like thunder from a rumbling storm, heard but not worth investigation from the civilians that were tucked away in their homes for the night.

However, one soul was quick to respond to the noise.

Standing by his open wall while his harem girls watched him rise out of bed, Nero glared at the colosseum where he saw a teal light shining from the arena like a flash of lightning.

"Hmm, now that's a curious sight."

Fortuna tilted her head. "Did…something happen?"

"…" Nero smirked. "I'll join you ladies in bed later. I smell a commotion brewing in the colosseum."