Well, we did it! 30 chapters in, I cannot believe I actually have done it. *pops confetti*

I hope everyone, reviewer and lurker alike has enjoyed! And please, if you are the former, let me know how you've liked the story as it brings me great cheer! Even if you just leave the word "Croissant", I'll understand! :D

Anyway, I will keep this short, so without further ado, let us get on with it!

Chapter 30: The Afraid and the Brave

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Ceren jumped over the Ninetales Flare Blitz attack, using his momentum to burrow his way back underground. As he did, Max positioned himself to brace for the Slash attack he knew was to come.

Both Pokemon were panting heavily, already having fought for a few moments since Erin and Gurbo had fallen down the hole. However, while they were both managing to land blows on one another, neither were able to land anything solid on their opponent.

Ceren took a minute underground to collect his thoughts. For a Pokemon like himself, being underground was no different than being in the water for a water-type. If anything, he felt freer with the dirt surrounding him, using a brief moment to catch his breath.

I wish I could check if Erin was okay, but I can't give him an opportunity to jump down there as well.

Using his sharp hearing, he could tell from the lack of footsteps that Max hadn't moved yet, most likely so he could catch his breath as well. Sighing, Ceren sat back on his haunches as he racked his brain for an idea as he was starting to realize a horrific conclusion.

He was stuck.

Normally, he would keep on attacking from underneath the ground to overwhelm his opponent with surprise attacks. As long as he kept track of how much damage he was causing underground, he didn't usually cause much harm to the ecosystem due to his knowledge of how tunneling works.

This was different however, as not only was he more limited on how far he could dig down, but if he wasn't careful and he went overboard, he could collapse the tunnel underneath him and crush Erin. As he calculated the tunnels he'd already created, he didn't have much more room left before everything would completely collapse.

Ceren usually wouldn't have a problem with this as he's had to fight above ground to battle flying-types and Levitate users, but he was certainly slower on land than underneath it. Which didn't bode well as his current opponent was already matching him physically in his element.

His ear twitched as he heard Max's footsteps move, towards one of the holes Ceren had made to attack. He waited for a moment before an intense heat told him a wave of fire was headed towards his way. Thinking quickly, he slashed around the tunnel he was in, snuffing out the flame that was headed toward him.

Clicking his tongue in annoyance, he launched himself upwards in the dirt, extending his claws to try and attack Max once more.

Of course, the Ninetales was more than prepared, stepping backwards and letting Ceren jump into thin air. Max has already begun the change from Flamethrower to Energy Ball and managed to land it directly into Ceren's side. The Sandslash rolled for a few spins before jumping back to his feet, clutching his side.

Max snickered harshly. "I imagine you can't dig around much longer without accidentally killing your friend." He said, shocking Ceren. "Who do you think was in charge of the tunnels? I probably know just as much as you do."

Ceren, who was covered in dirt and blood, scraped the ground a bit. "...lucky guess." He muttered, impressed by his opponent's knowledge. Shit, so he's physically more advanced than I am and a super genius. Perfect.

Realizing he didn't have much of a choice, he sprinted towards Max, a lot slower compared to when the ground-type was underground.

Max chuckled, managing to run around Ceren in a blur. "Hmph, to think you'd be this useless out of the ground." He mocked, hitting Ceren in the back of the head with an Energy Ball. "It will be like battling a Magikarp out of water"

Ceren, meanwhile, gasped as his vision faded out for a second. He was sent sprawling on his stomach and laid there for a moment. Shaking, he turned to face Max once more, managing to slowly get to his feet.

Max pounced once more, and Ceren almost dug underground out of habit. He managed to stop but stumbled awkwardly as he tried to catch himself, earning another Energy Ball that barely missed direct contact.

The Ninetails wasn't giving him time to rest now. "As much as I'd love to play around, you've left me no choice but to kill you quickly." He continued, getting ready to attack once more.

Ceren gritted his teeth, realizing he was losing stamina fast. If only he could land a direct attack on Max, then he could have time to charge up a more powerful one. Even his Earthquake needed to be used carefully in this battle.

Lurching forward, he slashed with his long claws which Max more than easily dodged without much effort.

An amused smile was beginning to form on his lips. "Hmph, that was weak. It looks like you're at half of your strength on land as opposed to underneath." He noted with a hint of manic in his tone. "A partner of the legendary Axl and this is the best you could muster?"

Flames were starting to form around his body and his eyes were stretching a tad. "Even on land, you're still miles below me, rodent! FLARE BLITZ!"

He was too fast for Ceren and the Sandslash grimaced in pain as Max used his own momentum to deliver a strong blow to Ceren's stomach, causing the fire to somehow mark itself on his body.

I'm getting burned?

Doubled over and Max in front of him, he had no defense as the Ninetales's onslaught was brought down on the back of his head, slamming him into the ground. Ceren's eyes widened as he saw the flames were starting to burn into his skin. While the tougher texture of it protected him more than Erin, light burn marks were starting to appear all over his body now.

It wasn't over for the poor Pokemon as Max grabbed him by the back of the neck with his mouth, sinking his teeth in until blood trickled out. Ceren wildly lashed out with his claws, desperate to make some form of contact.

This proved to be futile, as all of his attempts missed, letting Max throw him up, bringing Ceren to his knees at his opponent's mercy. Instead of letting up, Max started forming an Energy Ball attack that was surrounding itself in a ring of fire.

Too quick for Ceren to even think of blocking it, it was slammed into his chin, and he was sent flying backwards again, landing with a bad crash on the ground. In addition to the blood he had coughed up, he was also bleeding out of his nose.

Wincing as he now had pretty bad burns over his body, he managed to come back to a stand. Granted, the burns weren't nearly as severe as Erin's, which relieved and worried him at the same time.

In fact, he inwardly gave thanks to Arceus for his naturally tougher skin, otherwise he'd probably be dead by now. Although, anxiety started to wash over him as he stared at scattered pieces of his claws and quilts that had broken off in the attack. It didn't add any pain and he knew they would grow back fairly quickly, but the last thing he needed was to be put at more of a disadvantage.

He still had his right claws intact, although being lefty made it a little inconvenient.

Max, meanwhile, clearly felt the chokehold he had on the fight. "You've got an impressive, if not annoying, ability to take punishment." He said with a grin. "But let me explain the consequences of your foolhardy gallantry. This 'game' you claimed you were winning will end in only one way…death."

He started to walk forward, and Ceren took a step back, fear starting to kick in. Suddenly, he was back to the newbie that was afraid of every single battle that seemed challenging. As he took another step back, he felt himself start to shake a little bit as his chest tightened.

This is stupid…. I can't win….

Max kept his fierce golden gaze locked in Ceren's terrified one. "Once I've finished with you, I'll kill Axl's other friend as well. Just like I did to her deputy." He continued, padding forward to Ceren. "Then once Thorn finishes off the Guildmasters, both of your cities will collapse and die. Do you understand? Your gallantry is nothing but hot air. It will not save a single soul!"

Ceren had tripped and fell backwards, falling on his rear as he stared up at Max with reproachful eyes. "Why?" He whispered, horrified. "I get it, I know how badly Hazaranmon are treated every day. But do you know how many innocent Pokémon will die if Thorn goes through with his plan? What will any of this solve, Max?"

The Ninetales was caught off guard by Ceren using his name, apparent from the surprise in his eyes and drop in his demeanor. He studied Ceren for a moment, seeing no threat from him. He glanced back at the bigger hole where Gurbo and Erin had fallen down and seemed torn for a moment.

Finally, he let out a sigh. "You're from Amethyst, right?" He asked rhetorically. "I'm sure you've heard of a small company called 'Sylph'."

Ceren looked away. "Of course." He replied, unsure where this was heading. The shift in tone was making him feel a little more at ease for the moment.

Max had also stared off, as though living a bad memory. "I think I was eight or nine when I realized all I wanted was to be a scientist for them." He started. "My mom came here from Hisui Bay when she was pregnant with me, and she did everything she could to get me involved in everything science related. Because by Arceus, even if I was a Hazaranmon, I was going to be the first one to work for Sylph.

"Eventually, I got accepted on a team that specialized in Pokémon Abilities on Ruby Island. The ten happiest years of my life were on that team."

Max had sat back on his haunches, smiling sadly. "Then, a couple years ago, I finally got the offer I was waiting for my whole life. A chance to work at Sylph. I was going to be an apprentice under one of their scientists and finally live out my dreams." His smile became sadder, and he closed his eyes. "Up until this point, I had kept my mark secret of course."

Ceren's heart started to twist a little as a sickening realization hit him. This is probably what Axl had been feeling as well.

He kept his attention on Max as he went on with his story.

"So, after a couple of months of showing promise, I was taken out into the field to do research on a wanted Magmar that had an excessively heated body even for its species."

Ceren was so taken aback, he forgot about his fear. "I remember hearing about him, he was a four-star level threat!" He yelped. "Sergei captured him…."

As he broke off, Max chuckled. "Right before the Scourge incident, yeah?" He asked, again rhetorically. "We found him that day, the heat from his body was so hot it melted the rocks around him. Now, we were to only call the guild if we found him and study from afar. However, there was a special circumstance…"

He trailed off as his eyes drifted back to the hole Ceren had made, almost as if he had forgotten about his friend for a moment. Ceren, meanwhile, had shifted from a position of fear to one of curiosity.

Max turned his head back towards Ceren but kept his gaze low. "As it happens, the Magmar was attacking a certain Octillery that ran a Takoyaki stand in a village far south of the city. He was hurting him pretty bad, there was no time to call for help. Now, my mentor at the time wasn't much of a battler, but me…"

Ceren suddenly felt a wave of sympathy for the Ninetales. "You saved him from the Magmar?" He concluded.

Max smiled sadly. "I was the only one capable, although I had no choice to reveal my mark in the fight. I managed to drive the Magmar away and save Gurbo's life. I had thought I had done a good deed, but my teacher was more concerned with the secret I had been keeping from him the entire time." He stopped for a moment, his claws unsheathing as he gripped the ground. "I was dismissed the same day for being 'untrustworthy'. Furthermore, I was barred from returning to my old lab in Ruby Island as well. Gurbo tried to stand up for me but was considered too unintelligent to be a reliable reference."

Another pause now saw Max look up towards the dark sky.

"I learned something very important that day…this world will only see me as an untrustworthy monster, there's no point in trying to be anything else."

As he finished this, flames once again started to wrap themselves around his body and Ceren tensed up.

Ceren felt less anxious this time though. "You can be so much more than that though. You are so much more than that." He pleaded, suddenly not wanting to fight him anymore.

Max paused for a second, as though he didn't want too either. For a moment, Ceren thought he would listen to him. However, Max suddenly lurched forward and grabbed Ceren by the wrist. With his teeth locked in the rodent, Max sprinted extremely fast towards the rock pile that Ceren had hit earlier.

Ceren was taken off of his feet and screamed in pain as flames seared his body to the point of blood. As they slammed into one of the rocks, Ceren's eyes rolled back, and he had to use his mouth to stop the blood that leaked out.

His wrist was let go and he fell to his knees, his eyes bloodshot in agony as he struggled to catch his breath. It felt like his organs were crushed and he certainly had a few broken ribs. But he managed to lock eyes with Max, nonetheless.

Max stared down at him, emotionless now. "You're still alive?" He didn't sound surprised. "You say I can be more, but those are just empty promises now. I didn't want to choose this path of darkness, but what can I do when the light is extinguished? Us Hazaranmon are forced to live this life of hatred and cowardice, wouldn't you agree?"

Ceren was going to speak, but as he opened his mouth he suddenly fell to his stomach. So much emotion and pain were coursing through him as he suddenly felt like the world's biggest asshole.

I can't lose, I need to apologize to Axl. I need to save him. I need to…

What would he do?

Ceren's eyes snapped open, although he stayed on his stomach. Axl wouldn't be taking this; he would think of a way out of this. It doesn't matter how smart his opponent is, Axl always finds a way to outthink them. Glancing up at Max, he looked a little past him at the tree Gurbo had hidden in earlier.

That's when an idea struck him. Typically, he only used the tactic for fighting flying-types, but he was literally out of options. Besides, Max was incredibly smart, he probably calculated which tactics Ceren would use at this point and how he would fight. However, Ceren had one thing going in his favor at the moment.

Max didn't know that Ceren knew a couple more moves.

Feeling a rush of energy, Ceren burrowed back underground, much to Max's surprise.

He readied himself a bit for the ground to break. "You're going back under? You sure you want to risk everything on one more move?" He asked, sounding a little worried due to the fact his friend was underneath the tunnel as well.

Unbeknownst to him, Ceren had only positioned himself a couple of feet underneath him.

He's reacting to my claws breaking the ground when I lash out. Something as large and violent as that would be no issue to dodge. However…if I were to use a smaller scale attack that was quicker…

The quills on his back suddenly rose as he arched a little bit. Digging his claws into the ground, he prepared to shoot them.

"PIN MISSLE!"

With this shout, a layer of quills from his back shot out through the ground, and an angry shout of pain told Ceren that they hit his target. Satisfied, Ceren moved into a squatting position and jumped upwards, striking Max in the neck with the back of his claws.

For the first time, Ceren landed a direct hit with his Slash attack, causing Max to stumble back, hindered by the quills stuck in his body. Out of the ground now, Ceren kept up his Slash onslaught.

First, he used a downward strike to the shoulder of Max to drive him into the ground. Max tried to pop back up, but Ceren dropped down into a one-handed handstand position, first slicing him hard in the ribs before using the momentum to spin around in the air and to deliver a fast attack to Max's lower back.

Back on his feet, Ceren reared back his claws and stabbed them into Max's chest. Although the attack wasn't meant to kill, Max dodged enough to avoid the serious injury. Baring his teeth and preparing for a counterattack, Ceren dodged a bite to his upper half and delivered a sweeping slash to Max's kneecaps, knocking the Ninetails down again.

I need momentum for the finishing blow.

Still in a squat position from the attack, Ceren swung his claws the opposite direction and dug them into the dirt, fling a heap of dirt into Max's eyes.

Blinded in fury and the sand, Max had to blink multiple times to get himself seeing straight. By the time he was able to, Ceren had disappeared completely.

Confused, he returned his gaze to the ground. "He went back underground? Does he want to kill those two?" He sounded panicked, as though thinking of Gurbo. He ran around to make sure no Pin Missle attacks hit him but grew more confused when nothing emerged from the ground. Scanning the battlefield, he suddenly stopped. "There's no new holes…where the hell did he go?"

Scrunching his face in thought, his golden eyes suddenly stretched wide as he whipped his head to the trees.

Sure enough, Ceren had already positioned himself in an attacking position in the same spot Gurbo had hidden in earlier.

He gave a grin through the attack. "You didn't really think an octopus could climb a tree better than me, did you? DRILL RUN!" Ceren flew towards Max, channeling all of his might into his attack. The Ninetales hadn't recovered enough from the barrage of Slashes and ended up flying into the same rock as before as he took the attack dead on.

Ceren had landed on his feet, huffing from his onslaught. Having his energy expended, he fell to his knees as his lungs screamed at him to stop. His heart sank to the bottom of his stomach as Max stood back up, cuts on his body and a gash on his shoulder.

But not an ounce of exhaustion on his face.

Ceren could only chuckle helplessly. "Damn, you don't go down easy either, huh?" He joked, his voice cracking. "You say you can't change, right? Hazaranmon are capable of nothing but hatred and cowardice?"

Max had started to pad towards him but paused as he decided to listen. "That's correct."

Ceren looked at him. "You can say all of that, but I call bullshit on it. Because" Tears were leaking down Ceren's face, catching Max off-guard. "The bravest Pokemon I have ever met just happens to be a Hazaranmon. And I think I know an Octillery that feels the same."

This seemed to strike a chord with Max as he remained silent, but a downcast look appeared on his face.

Ceren continued, not bothered by the fact he was crying in front of his opponent. "I may not be a Hazaranmon…. but I do know what it is like to be shunned for something out of your control." He said, intriguing Max. "It's terrible, being destroyed over it. But you can rebuild, it's not worth giving up over Pokemon like that. You have Gurbo and your mother. You have your life. There are plenty of Pokemon in this world that will love you and accept you for who you are. I know it isn't easy, and I am sorry."

Max suddenly looked ashamed. "I haven't seen my mother since." He admitted. "I cannot face her after letting her down. She expected so much of me and I have failed her. I will never be able to live my dream without the fear of being excommunicated. That is why I need to do this, so none of us ever have to hide our mark again."

Flames had started to appear around his body, although this time he had a sad look on his face as he faced Ceren.

Ceren brought himself to a stand and wiped his eyes. "Please, you are better than this. We can take down Thorn and do this together." He begged.

Consideration shone in Max's eyes for a moment. "Your name is Ceren, right?" He asked, giving the Sandslash some hope. "I'll remember you, if you had the intent to kill me in that barrage, this battle would have been over. I told you before, I am in too deep. I cannot go back, so let's settle this in one final attack. Show me your resolve."

Ceren wanted to shout in frustration, but his claws started to glow a bright white color. "Very well." He replied, looking back at Max with fierce determination. "I do hope one day you find your peace."

Max smiled sadly once more. "You as well, Ceren."

Then, in one moment, both Pokemon let everything in them out in one final attack.

"FLARE BLITZ!"

"EARTHQUAKE!"