Author's Note: Welp, this took far longer than I planned to actually complete. But I finally committed a good deal of time to actually finishing this chapter, which essentially concludes the early chapters of MoD. I hope this chapter is enjoyable, even with the greater length.

EPISODE I – RISING STARS

EPISODE V – THE FRIEND, THE SPIRIT AND THE SWORDSMON

Rex grunted as he lifted the trunk, his muscles straining from the mass. "Go!" he barked.

"On it!" Foster responded, diving underneath to the other side. "Just give me a sec!"

"Hurry!" the Combusken stressed, shunting his shoulder underneath the trunk, holding up not only that but the one directly above it.

Something scraped across the ground, and the Furret shoved the boulder into place. "Alright!"

Gasping, Rex lowered the mass onto the boulder, the wood creaking as it took the strain. Not waiting, he slipped underneath and strolled onwards. "Going's getting tougher Foster." Rex said, "Are you sure we're going the right way?"

"Positive! My compass is still saying we're heading west." Foster replied, checking the device in his paws, "We just need to keep pushing through. I think I can see a clearing."

Grinding his beak, Rex stepped ahead of the small Furret. They had already spent a day in the depths of this forest, and it was already getting harder to work through the dense foliage. Their moves had been helping them, but they were having to take more detours or brute-force approaches.

It was starting to wear on the Combusken a bit, but as he peered through the vegetation, he could see it thinning out. Should be a good place to catch our breath.

"Come on." Rex said, claws glowing as he started to slash deeper into the wood. It was mainly branches now that stood between them and the clearing. Just a little further, and they'd be clear for a moment.

Only a handful of metres from the edge, a small, unassuming trunk blocked the way, leaning slightly to the side but otherwise headed upward into a small mess of leaves. Might as well keep it simple.

Rex's Slash attack whistles through the trunk like a knife through hot butter, leaving what was left to fall aside.

Then came the sound of crunching wood above him. Rex snapped his head up to find a dark shadow falling-

"Watch out!"

A weight flew hard into his back. Squeezing his eyes shut, Rex felt himself flung forward to thump onto grass. A crash rang out behind him, and with a wince, he rolled over to find that a much larger tree had come down right on top of where he had been.

Groaning between him and the fallen tree, Foster shakingly rose to his feet. "Woo…" he wheezed, rubbing his forehead before flashing a grin at the fire-type. "That was a close one!"

Ignoring the throbbing in his back, Rex flashed a grin of his own, "I suppose you can say that. Thanks."

"Anytime!" Foster cheerfully replied, helping pull the Combusken to his feet.

Present Time

The white-red rabbit's ear twitched as he looked over the Combusken, "What?" he asked, "Not seen anything like me before?"

Rex blinked, looking up and down the rabbit before him. "Wh-what? I… I was in a ruin, an-and there were no-"

He stuttered, slowly looking around at the unfamiliar surroundings. Radically different from what he was in before. Did… did I get moved? Am I dead?

The sharp click of digits snapped the Combusken's attention back. "Mate? 'ello? I'm standing kinda dramatically on a rock here?"

The rabbit raised a brow, prompting Rex to shake his head. "Sorry. I… I'm just not sure what's going on."

"Yeah… fair enough. I mean, that was one wild ride."

His mind refocusing, the mercenary narrowed his eyes at the new Pokémon. "Right. Who are you? What are you?"

The Pokémon blinked, pulling an embarrassed smile as he rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah… I think I got called a lot of names? Warrior? Explorer? Maester?"

Odd... Rex frowned, "Well you've got to have one, right?"

Slowly, the rabbit nodded, "Sa… Samiel. Yeah. Samiel. That's my name."

"Rex." Introduced the avian, still wary, "I haven't seen your species before Samiel."

Samiel looked thoughtful again as he tapped his thought, "Cinderace? No… I seem a bit small for that." He looked himself over, running a hand past his ears. "Actually, yeah, I'm a Scorbunny."

"Scorbunny?" Rex asked, frown deepening as he looked over the white rabbit. "I don't think that's a species on Air."

The Scorbunny winked, "Probably because you've not come across our home ranges. Wherever they are…"

Huh? Is he from that new continent they say is down south, then? Or somewhere else entirely?

"Anyway, you can thank me for saving your skin."

Rex blinked, "What?"

Rolling his eyes, Samiel hopped off the rock. "You don't remember? You waltzed into that ruin and, quite literally, got your ass handed to you by a pair of Pokémon you should have had the type advantage against. It would have been pretty embarrassing if it wasn't for the fact those guys were pretty damn good at their jobs. No offense."

The Combusken's pulse raced as the memory of the battle rushed to the surface, of those murderers killing Foster and the other mercenaries.

His eyes flashed red, "Night Aura." He growled, his body quaking.

"Yeah, those guys." Samiel admitted with a visible wince, "Good thing you went flying into the Obelisk so I could flow into you. I wouldn't have been able to trigger that Mega Evolution otherwise."

The anger flushed away in a second as Rex's mouth dropped. "W-Wait, what?" The memory of the fiery power that surged through him and transformed his body. How he started to push Night Aura back. "That was you?"

"Well, how else did you think you went all super karate chicken on those guys? You can thank me for that." He groaned softly, rubbing his temples, "And damn was it hard work. That was like stubbing your toe on a wall and having it amplified five hundred times all over everything. Know my pain."

Wait… Samiel helped with that? But how could he even do th-

The blue symbols flashed across his mind again, as did the voice that spoke to him not long after that.

"Of course!" Rex exclaimed, feeling his limbs strengthen again, "I heard you just before I transformed!" A sudden pang of sadness wormed its way into him as he looked down at his limbs, not those of a Blaziken, but a Combusken. "Would have been nice to keep that form."

"Price of taking a shortcut." Samiel said.

"Still, that must mean you're…" Rex started, a claw pointing towards his head.

The rabbit grinned, "Yep, I'm in your head dumdum! Thanks for the lift!"

Now it makes more sense; when I hit the obelisk, Samiel must have somehow gotten into my head. But what was he doing in that thing?

Samiel strolled towards the mercenary, scanning his surroundings. "So, any ideas what this place is?"

Rex scratched the bottom of his beak. The trees flanked them on all sides, but the massive tree still caught his attention. "Don't ask me." Rex replied as the Scorbunny walked past him, "I've never been here, never mind seeing a tree even half that size."

"Well, I don't recall seeing it either." Samiel admitted, his arms crossed as he stopped and looked up at the tree. "We have to be connected to it though, right?"

Rex shrugged, still scratching his beak, "This has to be some kind of dream, so aren't they always a bit off? Like I said, I don't have any connection to this place."

Samiel's voice was calm and neutral as he replied, "Maybe you don't. Not yet."

"Huh?"

Samiel turned to face the Combusken, waving a hand towards the tree, "Maybe this place will be important to you in the future. Maybe it'll be the same for me. Just in the past instead."

"That doesn't make much sense," Rex replied, bewildered at the Scorbunny's words. "How can we be sure I'll end up in this wood? And why your past?"

Sighing, Samiel strolled back to join the Combusken, "With the future… eh… hard to say. Let's just call it my gut." He coughed sharply, "A-A-As for my bit… well…"

The Scorbunny stopped, arms behind his back as he looked towards the ground. If anything, he looked ashamed. "I… I don't know how I ended up in that obelisk. Hells, my first memory was you slamming into it."

Rex felt himself deflate slightly at Samiel's words. He had only heard rumours of Pokémon losing their memories, but it was still enough to chill him to the core. And that was on top of the fact that Samiel had got into his head. He couldn't even imagine what that might have been like.

If he could trust this Samiel, of course, it could have just been a dream for all he knew. But dreams were awkward at the best of times.

"I'm sorry to hear that." He replied, "That being said… I don't really know how I can help. Any ideas?"

A little smile formed on the Scorbunny's lips, "Actually, that's what I was going to bring up."

He took a few more steps towards the Combusken, shaking himself off as if steadying himself. "Trust me, I have no idea how I got into your head or how I got into the Obelisk. But I bet someone does, the one who hired those Team Night Aura folks."

Rex crossed his arms, more out of suddenly feeling cold as Samiel continued, "Look… those guys beat the crap out of you. They left you for dead. And I've got a good eye on people." He casually pointed a finger at the mercenary, "You want payback."

Looking away, Rex sighed quietly, feeling his arms quake now. He was so close to taking them down after how callous they were. Forget the lost payday. They killed Foster. Someone he had got along with so well, along with the other mercenaries. They have to pay…

"Meanwhile." Samiel said, pointing to himself, "I want to find some answers about what I am. Why I woke up in that Obelisk." He extended open palms towards Rex, "Our goals are aligned. We both want Night Aura taken down a peg."

"What are you saying?" Rex questioned, "That we team up?"

"Exactly!" replied the rabbit with a clap of his hands. "I can power you up; all you have to do is carry me around. Plus, two minds are better than one."

He placed his hands on his hips, "Plus, finding out how we are connected to this place. So whatcha say?"

Rex scratched his beak again, resisting the urge to take a step back. A part of him figured that this was all too sudden, that this was just a dream, or this seemed incredibly convenient. But if Samiel was telling the truth, he offered a means for the mercenary to take Night Aura down. And if he did save his life, then that meant Rex owed Samiel one.

Slowly nodding, Rex extended a paw out, "Alright Samiel, you've got a deal."

Flashing a giant smile, Samiel shook the paw. "Great to hear! My dear partner in destiny!"

Rex blinked and recoiled, "What?"

Wincing, the Scorbunny pulled the paw away, visibly blushing. "Y-Yeah… that came out a lot better in my head. Sorry." He rubbed that paw against his chest. "Partners will do j-j-just fine."

Chuckling in response, Rex crouched down, "Alright, so… how do we get out of here then?" he scanned the nearby trees again, "Just wait it out?"

Samiel rubbed the back of his head, "Well, we could… or that crook could snap you out of it."

"What cro-"

The water hit him like a wave, jerking the fire-type back into consciousness as he gasped for air.

"About time you woke up!" someone grunted. Shaking his head, Rex looked up to find a Marowak and a Polywhirl looking down at him. Grinding his beak, he tried to lunge at them, only for something to tighten around his hands and legs, stopping him. Blinking, he looked down to find a large bar near the floor. His legs were stuck underneath the bar, low enough that he couldn't just slip his feet out. His arms were also bound by rocky chains that tightened around them.

The Marowak smirked, "Don't think you can get out so easy!"

A headache started to form across his temples as Rex looked back up to them. They were inside a ruined stone building, a small campfire ablaze inside the otherwise empty space, with the only way out being a single crumbling doorway. "Where… where the hell am I…" Rex groaned.

"None of your concern; you won't be sticking around for much longer. Should get a solid price on your head." replied the Polywhirl, visibly sniggering. "You and the fair lady there."

He wafted an arm aside, and Rex turned his head to find a white and green Pokémon next to him. A Kirlia, whose hair was tied back into a ponytail, save for a few bangs hanging across her face as she looked down towards the floor. She was also secured to the bar, with silver chains wrapped around her arms instead. Anti-type chains. Rex realised it, We're not breaking out with moves.

The realisation of what they meant by price dawned on him as he turned back on the bandits with a growl. These aren't bandits… they're slavers.

The Marowak and the Polywhirl started backing out of the hut, smirking the whole time. "Don't keep yourself too occupied, we've gotta have some fun later…"

Sick bastards…

The two slavers strolled out, leaving Rex and the Kirlia alone.

They must have followed behind the mercs. Rex realised, Probably to talk with the bandits or snatch up any survivors. I've got to get out of here and fast. Otherwise I'll be on a ship to the outer islands with no way home. But with these chains, I can't use moves to break out. I'm gonna need help to break them, either by force or other moves...

He turned back towards the Krilia. Her eyes were closed, but she was breathing softly as if meditating. "Hey." He started, "Miss? Are you alright?"

The Krilia sighed, but didn't respond.

"Look." Rex said, unable to reach her, "I'm a mercenary ma'am, I can break us out."

"I'm male." Came a deeper but effeminate voice.

Rex blinked, "Um… what?"

The fairy-type lifted their head to look at the Combusken, speaking in the deeper voice. "I'm not a girl. The slavers don't seem to understand some of us happen to be born male."

Feeling himself cringe, Rex felt a lump in his throat. The alternate hairstyle, the deeper voice… it was now becoming glaringly obvious. "Ah… sorry about that."

The Krilia merely shrugged in response. "It's not the first time I have heard it."

Still feeling embarrassed, Rex directed his gaze towards the bar. Their shackles were bilboes, Rex realised. The bar went through a series of hoops buried in the ground, locking it in place whilst it was secured by a large screwed-on end cap that was out of reach to prevent them from pulling it free.

If we could just break that cap off, we can remove the bar and get free.

He turned back towards the (male!) Kirlia, whose red eyes had also settled onto the endcap. An endcap that Rex realised was coated in a layer of rust.

Fire and fairy type shared a look. Then with a silent agreement, jointly grabbed hold of the bar.

It took several sharp pulls of the bar to loosen it even partly, and several more after that before, with a sharp clang, the endcap pinged free, allowing the pair to slide the bar free. Taking a brief moment to roll his ankles, Rex rose to his feet and reached out his still attached chain. The Kirlia's eyes glowed briefly purple, the air shimmering around the chain before it promptly shattered.

"We need to get moving." Rex declared as he struck the fairy type's silver chain with a hot Ember, "Those slavers might be back soon."

"Not before I get my possessions." The Kirlia replied, quickly approaching the entrance and peering through, "I'm not leaving without them."

Grr… there's a good chance my stuff was stored in the same place. Sharply nodding, Rex moved to join the fairy-type. "Fair enough, any ideas on where to look?"

Looking through the entrance, Rex looked down a grassy hill towards a sizable lake, where a cluster of tents and a handful of wooden huts stood at the shoreline. A few bushes lined the way down a dirt track towards the encampment, and along that was a lone canvas tent with a fire lit. It was still dark, but the sky was already turning blue. It wouldn't be long until sunrise.

The Kirlia pointed towards the wooden huts down at the main encampment. "They'll use those for storage." He explained, "We'll find our gear there."

"Then we better get moving whilst it's still dark." Rex replied, "Make the most of the darkness whilst we can."

Directing their attention towards the nearest tent, they quietly began moving towards it. Rex had no idea what the Kirlia did for a living, but he was clearly smart enough to stick to the longer grasses and bushes. A gentle wind blew over the hill, masking their approach.

A rustle brought them to a halt; a mumble rose from the tent before the Marowak emerged, moving off to one side into the bushes.

Realising they needed to get those slavers out of the way, Rex caught the fairy-type's attention, pointed to himself and the Marowak, then towards the tent.

With a careful nod, his fellow escapee crept towards the shelter, not quite what Rex wanted, but he had to trust the Kirlia. Instead, Rex snuck slowly towards the Marowak.

The ground type was shuffling into position before a bush, softly humming to himself. It was all too easy to get himself right behind the Marowak, and with a pounce, he wrapped his arm around the reptile's throat and squeezed it tight.

The ground type flailed, claws grasping at the avian's arm. But Rex tightened his grip, and with a brief whimper, he went limp in his arms. Rex lowered the slaver slowly to the ground, whereas back at the tent, the Kirlia emerged and nodded to confirm that it was done.

Together, the two continued down the hill.

As they approached, the gentle din of activity began to pick up from the camp. Laughter and subtle clangs of metal came from the tents, and small fires were scattered around to provide a limited amount of light. Rex's heart slowly pounded as he and the fairy-type approached the edge, but the slavers did not seem so concerned for security, as there was no patrol running around the outskirts.

Even so, Rex felt twitchy as they snuck into the camp, avoiding the fires as he moved deeper in. He'd freeze as a drunken slaver stumbled past the tents, his heart racing momentarily, ready for a fight if they were discovered. But instead, they would wander past and leave the two clear to move through further in.

Either way, in silence, it didn't take long to reach the huts at the centre. One of the doors had been left hanging open, another example of the slavers slacking off on their security. More voices rang out, from round the corner, close.

"Inside!" The Kirlia hissed, and the pair slipped inside and into cover. A trio of slavers laughed as they strolled past, too embroiled in their discussion to notice them. As their voices faded, Rex sighed and directed his gaze into the hut. There was another door with a wooden grate for a window at the other end of the square structure and shelves on either side, loaded with bags and crates.

Amongst them was Rex's satchel, and he quickly recovered it, finding his possessions still there. A glance behind him confirmed that the Kirlia had recovered a similar satchel and had already slung it over his shoulder. But his eyes were narrowed as he scurried from crate to crate in near silence. But Rex could see from his gritted teeth he was frustrated. Just who is this guy?

"You missing something?" Rex asked, slinging his satchel over his shoulder.

"I am." the Kirlia replied, "It has to be here…"

A moan worked its way through the closed door. Rex stiffened, letting his claws extend a touch. Approaching the door, he peered through the grate. Outside was a small clearing in the tents, alongside a larger campfire.

And kneeling in between was a trio of tied Pokémon, a Charmander, Squirtle and Bulbasaur, and across the way, sitting at the other end of the campfire, was a slaver guard, a Bagon, his eyes locked on them.

"Shit…" Rex uttered.

The fairy-type paused his search to look through the window, his eyes narrowing at the sight. "Merchants. I saw them when I got caught."

Rex ground his beak, seeing the look of fear spread across their faces. If it wasn't death, then the fear of being taken to gods knows where was an entirely different matter. "We need to get them out of here."

"How?" questioned the Kirlia, "If we try breaking them free, we'll have to fight the dragon." He sharply nodded towards the guard. Rex narrowed his eyes, seeing the Bagon's gaze fixed firmly on the trio. It may have been a pre-evolution, but it was still a dangerous opponent to deal with in a fight. At the very least, they seemed more concerned about security than the other slavers. Any fight would lure attention, and then it would quickly be over for the pair.

Then we need something big. Something to grab the slavers attention and off us. There has to be something easy to exploit… A light went off in his head. The tents…

He moved back to the other side of the hut, eying the diverse selection of canvas shelters through the open door. "We'll distract them then."

"How?" questioned the fairy-type.

Eying some of the more distant tents, closely packed together, Rex took in a deep breath and spat out a half a dozen Embers. The little fireballs shot through the camp into his targets, instantly setting the canvas ablaze. Rex swiftly shut the door, watching the flames rapidly grow and spread to the other tents. "Now to give it just a moment…"

At first, there was nothing. Just the crackle of the campfire and distant laughter. Then came the panicked shouts and cries as the slavers started to realise what was happening. Feet stomped past the hut as Pokémon rushed to deal with the flames.

Rex backtracked to the second door, catching a glimpse of a final few slavers running past for the fire, leaving the Bagon and the captives alone. Damn, that Bagon isn't going to move?

"You best hurry." The Krilia stated, searching another crate, "They'll get those fires out in short order. I'll be right behind you; I nearly have what I'm looking for."

Rex was about to question what he was looking for. But the Combusken knew he didn't have time. Instead, willing his legs to strengthen, he barged through the door with a bang.

All four Pokémon outside snapped their gazes onto Rex, the Bagon's eyes narrowing as he turned to face him, but the fire-type was faster as the Double Kick slammed the Bagon in the chest, sending him rolling across the floor. Grunting, the blue dragon skidded across the grassy ground and charged back at Rex, head down.

The Combusken stepped aside, claws glowing as he dodged the Headbutt and Slashed at its back. It turned on him again, and Rex tried to slash it aga-

Jaws clamped down on his arm. Rex roared as the dragon's eyes flashed red, the grip tightening and locking him in place.

Unable to kick himself away, the mercenary took a desperate shot.

The Bagon screamed as Rex's claws slashed across his eyes, instantly releasing his jaws. The dragon fell to his knees, clutching his face as he sobbed. Hissing as blood dribbled down his arm, Rex took his chance and sprinted for the three captives, their eyes wide in terror even after his claws cut them free of their bindings. "Head for the trees!" Rex barked, "The slavers will be back soo-"

A roar came from behind him, and Rex spun to find the Bagon back on his feet, eyes bloodred and close to bursting as blue flames flickered in his jaws. Shit!

Rex stepped between the Bagon and the captives, ready to take the-

A sharp whistle rang through the air, enough that Rex had to wince at the sudden pain in his ears. The Bagon's eyes widened as it spun round, its back now marked not only with Rex's claw marks, but a deep, bloody groove.

That was when the sword pierced through the dragon's heart. Heart missing a beat, Rex could see the slaver's eyes roll back as he toppled to the floor, falling smoothly off the blade.

Standing gracefully above the corpse was the Kirlia, a slightly curved, slim sword held in hand. With an efficient blade flick, the blood flew clear, leaving a pristine silver weapon at the ready. Rex blinked, his eyes flicking between the blade and the fairy-type, his thoughts whirling in his head. That's… he's another mercenary!

"We must go!" The Kirlia stressed, jogging towards them, "The fire is spreading, but slavers are already backtracking!"

The Combusken's gaze snapped to behind him, a dark cloud beginning to rise above the hut and tents. Holy – what was in those tents!?

"You heard him!" Rex barked, turning towards the three smaller Pokémon, "To the trees!"

That caught their attention, and the trio fell in line with the two mercenaries, barging through the tents and out of the camp. Rex led the way, checking their fronts and the sides for any slavers rushing to intercept them. The Kirlia took up the rear, sword at the ready for anything coming from behind.

But as they reached the edge of the woods, no one came. Rex skidded to a halt, quickly hurrying their charges into the trees. He looked back towards the camp. They had risen slightly above it, and he could now see the flames spreading further into the camp, figures rushing around, trying to desperately put them out. A good quarter was now up in smoke.

"Hells!" Rex uttered as the Kirlia joined him, "How did I do that much!?"

"Oil, I think." The Kirlia said, sheathing the sword into a scabbard. "I overheard the Poliwrath say they had been harvesting it."

Harvesting it… Rex sighed, not wanting to think about where they got that oil.

Instead, he turned his attention to the Kirlia. Pulling a small smile, he nodded towards the mercenary, "I'm Rex." He said, extending his paw, "Thanks for the help there."

The Kirlia didn't return the smile, but releasing his grip on the sword hilt, he shook the Combusken's paw. "Alain." He replied sincerely, "I'm a mercenary."

Knew it.

Rex felt his grin widen, "Same."

That earned a respectful nod from Alain as they let go, their gazes turning briefly back towards the burning camp. No one was pursuing them. "We better get out of here." Rex said, "We can work out where we're headed when we're outta here."

"Agreed." Alain replied, "Come, before the others get themselves lost."

Alain led the way back into the woods, following the telltale glow of the Charmander's tail flame. Rex took a final completive look at the camp.

"Come on!" Came a familiar voice, startling the Combusken, the feathers on the back of his neck rising. H-Huh!?

"Seriously?" Samiel chuckled within his head, "Do you really want to wait for these guys to catch us? Go on! After the sword guy!"

Jerking into action, and knowing he was right, Rex took a sharp breath and sprinted into the trees after the others.

The events of the night in the Ruins had shaken me in more ways than I could fully process. I had lost a friend I had come to trust and respect. I had been humiliated and defeated by Team Night Aura, who not only wiped out us mercenaries, but took out our payday with little effort. And that was before it turned out that in the midst of all this, I now had an amnesic Pokémon enter my head as a passenger. A Pokémon with the ability to empower me.

Samiel offered to help me track down Team Night Aura. A chance to take them on directly and to make them pay for what they had done that night. In exchange, I'd help the Scorbunny find his answers. There was every possibility at the time that it was just a dream, but that power-up wasn't something I could write off. It was a chance and a deal I had to take.

That battle ultimately would set me on a journey that would take me to nearly every corner of the Air Continent as I settled into my newfound goal. A journey that would, as I have said before, lead to a rivalry… and something far more significant.

And as I fled the slaver camp, little did I know I was running alongside not only a fellow mercenary, but the first of my teammates…