Chapter 27

Ambush

Ruby and Tide ended their first day of school uneventfully, and finished another Expedition job after class without issue. However, something seemed off as they crossed the small bridge that led from the town square to where Jed and Wake's houses were.

Ruby noticed the setting sun and said, "Jed's usually leaving around now to get firewood, why isn't he here"

Just then, a purple glow appeared around Tide as he was lifted up and thrown into a bush.

Ruby gasped as three familiar pokemon emerged from the bush, one holding Tide in the air with their telekinesis.

"You three..." Ruby said as she took a fighting stance. The three Beheeyem from when she first woke up in the forest had tracked her down.

Ruby unleashed a torrent of embers, but two of the Beheeyem redirected the fire back into her. As she skidded back, the middle Beheeyem twisted it's hand. Tide gasped for air as the telekinesis began to choke him.

"No, please don't!" Ruby begged as Tide's flailing began to slow.

The Beheeyem dropped Tide as he went limp, and in that moment, Ruby snapped.

Something within her surged, and a massive burst of white light erupted from her eyes, the three Beheeyem covered their eyes as there were sent flying by the burst of energy. Once they landed, the Beheeyem ran straight into each other before fleeing into the nearby woods.

Ruby's body glowed, but this evolution was different. Whatever she had just done had drained her almost completely, and her body had no choice but to evolve to make up for the energy drain. The slow, forced evolution was excruciating, as she felt her bones dissolving and changing. As soon as she finished evolving, she fell unconscious from the sheer strain of the change.

As the newly evolved Braixen fell to the ground, an all-too-familiar Greninja dropped down from a tree and walked up to Tide to check his pulse. The Beheeyem had done their job perfectly. They had stopped his heart only for a moment, and now it was beating fine.

Tempest then turned to Ruby and checked her pulse. It was faint, but her heart was still beating. Most surprising, however, was Ruby's new appearance. Her fur had turned a brilliant silver, while the red patches had become a much darker red. "You just became much more interesting," Tempest admitted before teleporting away.

Just then, Jed emerged from his house, and after running up to check on Ruby, he ran over to Wake's house. Soon, the old Carracosta came to the door, demanding, "What is it, Jed?"

His gruff demeanor vanished instantly as he noticed the two passed-out children in the distance, the two then carried them to the nurse's office at the school without another word.

Blake was double-checking the notice board when a booming voice thundered from below.

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Alex shouted, causing every pokemon on two floors to flinch. The Haxrous, despite his intimidating appearance, was known for how calm and friendly he was, so such an outburst was shocking to everyone.

Alex stormed up the ladder a few minutes later before motioning Blake to follow him.

The Meowstic froze in place before nodding and running out of the room as the Haxorus left the guild.

As the duo walked down the stone stairs leading up to the guild, Alex sighed and said "I'm sorry Blake, but using you as bait for one of the most dangerous outlaws in history is not something I'm comfortable with."

Blake breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Thank you. Did you help the guild masters figure out another plan?"

"I didn't say that…" Alex began.

"Oh no…" Blake realized.

Alex shook his head and continued with "I can't overrule the guildmasters, even with my guildmaster-ranked badge. Regardless, I managed to negotiate with them to hold off on their plans, at least until we can find a way to lure him out without putting you in danger."

Blake nodded, but her worry only grew as they walked through Treasure Town, until they stopped at the town square, where Xavier was waiting.

"Xavier, I'm trusting her safety to you," Alex said, earning a nod from the Xatu.

"I assure you, she will be safe. My home is only accessible via teleporting, and I will keep a constant eye on her." Xavier assured before teleporting away.

Alex then kneeled down to Blake's level and said, "Keep up with your training, I'll send for you once I have a plan?"

Blake nodded and said, "I won't let you down!"

Alex gave a smile and replied, "I know you won't."

Blake's eyes glowed purple before she warped away as well.

Alex then walked towards Sharpedo Bluff, the cold wind barely noticeable against his scales. Actual Ice-type attacks were far more dangerous than a mere cold wind, and dragon-types were more than capable of handling cold with enough training.

Alex's scarf gave him a quick pulse of warmth, causing him to smile. The scarf was a one-of-a-kind item, mainly because Blaze was the sole holder of Infernite in the world. The black fabric was made from the charcoal black fur his partner had in his mega form. It raided heat when exposed to lower temperatures and thus essentially nullified Alex's weakness to ice.

As Alex entered Sharpedo Bluff, he quickly grabbed a few logs and set a fire. However, there was a sudden chill down his spine, one his scarf didn't react to, instantly giving away who had arrived.

Alex chuckled and said, "You might as well come out, Guise"

Surely enough, one of the shadows on the wall grew, and the Gengar appeared. His usual smirk was as wide as ever as he said, "observant as usual…mind if I stay and chat."

Alex nodded and said, "Take a load off, but why come to me instead of Paul?"

Guise sat down and said, "Paul's busy, and three is a crowd….."

"So what's bothering you?" Alex questioned.

"Nothing…I just…I…" Guise trailed off, struggling to get the words out.

"Yeah...nothing is bothering you," Alex joked as he looked into the fire.

The Gengar gave a deep sigh and said, "I've wandered this world for centuries, and I didn't care about it, no one, nobody, nowhere, but now, after what happened with Paul and Serenity, and the idea that things are getting bad again…"

"You do care," Alex finished.

The Gengar scowled at Haxorus for a solid moment before his facade broke, he nodded, asking, " How do you do it? How are you able to care about others, care about the world?"

Alex gave a small, lifeless chuckle and said, "Believe me, it's not all it's cracked up to be, and as for how I handle it...there's no simple answer. This time especially, I'm not sure how to handle it…."

The two former humans sat there for five minutes straight before Alex finally spoke again and asked, "if you're really worried about things, why not reach out to Serenity, spend some time with her, and maybe…."

Guise instantly frowned and said, "NO, not under any circumstances whatsoever. Team Charm is where she belongs…Harriet and Krishna are practically her family… she shouldn't know who I am"

Alex stared into the fire, his eyes reflecting the flames as he said: "there's not a day that goes by where I don't miss Nigel; how much I would give for just a few minutes, a few seconds more to spend with him, learn more about what we went through."

Guise gave a surprised look and said, "You still don't remember your time with him, do you?"

The Haxorus shook his head, his eyes empty as he said, "No, Cresselia and Belle tried everything…but my amnesia is permanent. When Darkrai told me I had protected him in the passage of time, something clicked, like a fog had lifted. Suddenly, I cared about him; I felt like I had known him a lifetime, even if I didn't have the memories to explain it."

Guise sighed and said, "I can't face her…I would just mess it up…."

Alex nodded and said, "It's your choice, Guise, but ask yourself: Are you trying to protect her or just yourself?"

Author's note- Hello? Im still alive, I promise!

1. Life has kicked my butt a lot recently...

2. Team Charm foreshadowing...the connection orb in SMD implies it's the same Gardevior, whose named Serenity in this version.

3. This chapter went through dozens of iterations...part of the reason it took so long.

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