{"sf1_id":860107,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Protecting the Orphans","author":"Volcan MacAingeal","words":15643,"posted_at":"2015-05-12T15:51:00.000Z","tags":["Demons","Emotion","Gangster","Greninja","Hurt/Comfort","Pangoro","arcanine","blaziken","corruption","grovyle","guilt","lucario","mewtwo","pollution","sadness","samurott","vaporeon"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/860107-protecting-the-orphans","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/860107","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=860107\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"After a long night's rest, Luke and his allies awoke early\nthe next morning, separating into their designated groups and gearing up for\ntheir objectives. Luke, along with Volcan and Howler, were waiting just outside\nthe orphanage with Kage and Sickle, with Katsumoto and Serena inside to protect\nKira and the children. \"Alright...\" Luke stated. \"Is everyone\nall geared up for their missions?\"\n\"Kage and I will head to Blackcoast and find out who's\nthe cause of these extortions,\" said Sickle, before looking at his\nteammate, Howler, who stood with Volcan and Luke. \"You ready,\nHowler?\"\nThe Arcanine nodded.\n\"Alright. We'll meet back here tonight,\" stated\nVolcan. \"Everyone, be careful; with demons and greedy thugs alike out\nthere, this area isn't safe.\" He looked at Serena and Katsu. \"You two\ntake care, okay?\"\nThe Samurott nodded. \"You as well...do not get in over\nyour heads...\" He bade them.\n\"We won't,\" promised Volcan.\n\"Definitely don't,\" stated Kima. \"I may\nappreciate what you all are doing for us, but I don't want your willingness to\nhelp me to be the cause of your deaths, you hear?\"\nLuke nodded back to Kima, then looked to the other groups.\n\"Well, no point in dawdling any longer...\" He said as he then waved\nhis arm in front of him. \"Scatter!\"\nSickle and Kage were off, taking to the trees and leaping\nfrom limb to limb as they began to make their way to Blackcoast, while Volcan,\nLuke and Howler leapt over the property fence and were off into the woods,\nsearching for the demons.\nSerena watched as both groups departed, and silently prayed,\n\"Poseidon watch over them... even if this is not your world, please\nprotect them all.\" She said, almost in whisper.\n\"Arceus will watch over them.\" Katsu said to her,\ngently placing his large paw on her back. \"Just as I will protect you and\nthis orphanage.\"\nShe looked at him, and nodded half-heartedly, but her mind\nwas still on her friends, worried for their safety. Kima looked at Serena, and\nwalked over to her, also putting her paw on the Vaporeon's back. \"Come,\nyoung miss. How would you like to meet some more of the little ones who stay\nhere?\"\nShe gave the elderly Marowak a weak, but pleasant smile.\n\"I would be honored,\" she replied.\n~~~~~\nHours later, outside of\nBlackcoast...\nThe stench rising from the city of Blackcoast nearly made\neven Kage want to retch; the whole place stank of a million Grimer, and a\nmillion corpses, the buildings were filthy and falling apart -even from this\ndistance, he could see the entire corner of a five story complex crumbling to\nthe ground below with signs of damage clear; battle damage, water damage,\ngeneral erosion, stuff that would normally be managed was being overlooked.\nThrough the city ran a canal of water, so polluted and grimy it was a sickly\ngray -a thriving habitat for Grimer and Muk, and back alley's piled high with\ntrash, making them ideal homes for Trubbish and Garbodor. The city was truly a\nsickening sight to behold.\n\"Disgusting...\" Kage whispered as he held his nose\nto relieve himself from the stench. \"There's no possible way anyone not of\nthe Poison typing can survive here.\"\n\"Except those who grew up here,\" Sickle reminded.\n\"Remember, Torolf came from this slime hole too.\"\n\"It's a wonder he did not develop any health\nproblems...\" He muttered, then shook his head. \"We're getting off\ntrack...we're low on time as it is...\"\n\"Right,\" agreed Sickle, before he passed something\nto Kage. \"You might want this; it's some antidote. Like you said, there are\na lot of Poison-Types here, so we better both be ready. I brought plenty of it\nto go around.\"\nHe nodded and took it graciously, shoving the medicine into\nhis satchel. \"I might not need it....I do possess the Protean ability.\"\n\"Only works if you use a Poison-type move, which won't\ndo much good here,\" Sickle reminded, winking at Kage. \"I know my\nstuff.\" He looked forward. \"So, how you want to head in? There are\ntwo ways into the city I know of; the main road, and the canals. Neither of\nwhich are pleasant; there are thugs at the entrance who demand tolls from\nanyone who enters.\"\nKage glanced to Sickle. \"I am known as the Shadow for a\nreason...\" He said lowly. \"Hold my shoulder.\"\n\"Okay,\" he replied, reaching over and gripping\nKage's shoulder gently.\nKage then quickly weaved a sign, and then he leapt off the\nbranch they were on and were plummeting toward the ground, dragging a startled\nSickle with him. However, rather than landing, they both seemingly vanished\ninto the ground, leaving only a shadow of their landing spot. The shadow then\nbegan to move at a moderate pace, easily slipping past the thugs guarding the\nentrance and slipping into a nearby abandoned building. Once inside, they both\nemerged from the shadow and took cover within the building, in case there were\npatrols scouting the building they were in.\n\"Shadow sneak,\" whispered Sickle. \"Nice\nmove.\"\n\"I am a master of stealth and deception.\" Kage\nreturned. \"Now comes the hard part...\" He whispered, slowly peeking\naround a corner to check if the coast is clear. \"We'll need to find someone\nto interrogate in order to find the location of the gang bosses. From then, it\nonly gets more difficult.\"\n\"Yeah; first we need to know we're going after the right\nhenchmen,\" stated Sickle. \"But I know something that might narrow it\ndown; most of the gangsters here have tattoo's or articles of clothing that\ncarry the colours and symbols of their gangs. The guys we dealt with had a black\nPangoro head on their left shoulder.\"\n\"Then that's where we'll start.\" Kage then pointed\nup. \"We'll spy on them from above; no one ever looks up.\" He said as\nhe then bounded for the roof above.\n\"Good call,\" agreed Sickle, following after him\nwith light-footed steps.\nUpon reaching the roof, Kage glanced back to Sickle and\nmotioned for him to stay low as they crawled toward the edge of the building.\nOnce they reached the end, he scanned the streets below for a thug wearing the\ntattoo of the boss they sought.\n\"Can you really see down three stories?\" Sickle\nwhispered.\n\"I don't have to.\" Kage returned, closing his eyes\nand using Extrasensory to scan the streets below, helping him pinpoint out\npossible targets. He then turned his head slightly to the left. \"Three of\nthem. Building to the northeast...\" He whispered.\nSickle followed where he was looking, spotting the building\nin question. \"Alright, I'll take your word for it,\" he said.\n\"Careful; we'll have to jump over the canal to reach that building; fall\nin there and the Grimer will smother you in seconds.\"\n\"Noted.\" Then he motioned for Sickle to climb onto\nhis back. \"Do not let go...\" He whispered in a stern tone.\n\"No worries there; I don't want to drown in Muk\neither,\" he replied, hopping onto the Greninja's back.\nWhen Sickle was on his back, he sprang into the air with a\npowerful leap, clearing the canal below in a single bound before he landed as\nquietly as he could on the next building. He then bounded along several\nbuildings until they landed on an adjacent building, immedieatly seeking cover\nand peeking around to spy on their movements. Luckily the three suspects hadn't\nspotted them yet.\n\"Okay, I've got an idea,\" said Sickle. \"I'll\nuse a Bullet Seed to draw them closer to the ledge; when they get there, you\npull two of them over and drop them to the alley below; they'll have their\nhands full with some Trubbish down there. When you do that, I'll get the last\none.\"\nKage nodded, and then leapt for the side of the building\nwithout a word. He stuck to the wall and slowly scaled the side of the building\nuntil he was in position, giving Sickle a flick of his tongue scarf to signal\nhe was in position.\n\"Okay, here we go,\" said Sickle, before he fired a\nbullet seed towards the wall; three seeds shot from his mouth, leaving audible\n-clicks as they hit the side. The three Pokemon reacted immediately; they\nturned and stepped towards the ledge. One of them, a Machoke, foolishly peered\nover the side to the alley below. Kage made his move in that instant; he\ngrabbed the Machoke by his face and quickly yanked him over the edge and down\nto the alley below. Seeing as he only got one, he quickly sprang up and\ndischarged two Water Shuriken at the other two, then he darted in close and\nknocked another down to the ground and pinned him, then he weaved another sign\nand discharged a Scald at the final thug with enough force to send him over the\nedge and into the alley below as well.\nSickle appeared on the roof a moment later. \"I said I'd\nget the third; you're making me feel like I'm not doin' my part, bro,\"\nSickle remarked, but then noticed the Pokemon Kage was standing on; the Pokemon\nin question was a Croagunk, who Sickle eyed suspiciously. \"Hey...\"\n\"Oh\nno...\" The Croagunk whimpered when he saw Sickle.\n\"You're one of the same knuckleheads I chased off from\nKima's two weeks ago,\" stated Sickle. \"Well aren't we lucky to run\ninto each other again? How's the leg, partner?\"\n\"Not in a cast anymore, but I've still got a limp thanks\nto you!\" The Croagunk shot back. \"When I get this bimbo off of me,\nI'm gonna...!\"\nHe tried to push himself up, but Kage slammed his face hard\ninto the ground, then pulled his arm back in a painful hold and leered at him.\n\"Stay down....or you'll join your companions below....\" He said in a\nlow, threatening tone.\n\"What do you want?\" The Croagunk asked.\n\"Well for one,\" began Sickle, kneeling down by the\npoison frog, grinning menacingly at him. \"How about we start with you\ntelling us who your boss is?\"\n\"Bite me!\" The Croagunk shot back.\nKage pulled on the Croagunk's arm back a little more, sending\nanother sharp pain through his arm. \"Answer the question...\" He said\nagain. \"Who do you work for?\"\n\"If you think I'm going to tell you guys, you're\ncrazy!\" The Croagunk replied defiantly. \"If I tell you who he is the\nguy will snap me in two; you don't know who you're dealing with.\"\n\"If you do not tell us where he is, I will do FAR\nworse...\" Kage threatened, and then he got off of him, holding him by the\nleg and holding him over the edge, letting him dangle above the alleyway below.\n\"Who do you work for, and I would answer soon... My arm is getting sore.\"\n\"Dude, seriously? I'm a frog too, remember?\" He\npointed out. \"You'd need to be somewhere a loooot higher to even scare me\nwith this.\"\n\"Really? You don't say,\" remarked Sickle, tapping\nKage on the shoulder and pointing straight ahead, to a ten-story building just\na couple of blocks away.\n\"Oh Shuckle-buttons...\" the Croagunk whimpered.\n\"Indeed...\" He then leaned closer to the Croagunk's\nface. \"Shall we take this to higher ground? Perhaps then you'll be more\ntalkative.\"\n\"No man! You don't wanna go there; there's a-a-a-a\nmonster in there! Biggest freak you've ever seen lives in that place!\"\nSickle grinned. \"Really? Maybe we ought to go knock on\nhis door,\" the Grovyle taunted.\n\"Okay! Okay! I'll talk; just don't take me there!\"\nThe Croagunk pleaded. \"That place is rival territory; they'd tear me\napart!\"\nKage then pulled him back from the edge and hurled him back\nto the roof again. He then drew his Ninjato and pointed it right at the Croagunk's\nthroat. \"Talk....now....\" He threatened.\n\"Okay... you're looking for a Pangoro named Alcapo; big\nbrute of a guy,\" the Croagunk explained. \"These tattoo's? It's his mug\nwe're all plastered with; he works out of the district furthest from the canals!\nIt's him who keeps sending us out to Bluegrove and to that Orphanage.\"\n\"And what is it he hopes to gain from a helpless group\nof kids and an old Marowak?\" Sickle asked sternly, getting in the\nCroagunk's face. \"If he thinks he can get rich off of a place that relies\non donations to thrive, he's got some nerve.\"\n\"He's not there for just the money; he wants some of the\nkids too!\" The Croagunk exclaimed. \"There's a lot of types there he\nwants in his gang; he went there once claiming he wanted to adopt some of them\nbut that old wench saw right through him and told him off, so he has us\nharassing the place hoping she'll crack! She doesn't know it's him though so\nwe're just pushin' her for cash; it's the only thing keeping HIM from going\nback there himself!\"\nKage then withdrew his Ninjato and sheathed it on his back\nagain. \"Your assistance is appreciated...\" He said in a stern tone\nstill, then in a flash he was in his face and he slammed his elbow into a\npressure point on the Croagunk's neck, rendering him unconcious. \"Enjoy\nyour sleep.\"\n\"Sounds like this Alcapo guy's a real piece of work, but\nhe shouldn't be hard to find,\" said Sickle. \"Can't be a lot of\nPangoro's living in this city.\"\n\"Not with an atmosphere this toxic.\" Kage added.\n\"We better be off.\" Kage motioned Sickle.\n\"Right with ya,\" returned the Grovyle.\nKage leapt off toward an adjacent building, then he began\nleaping from rooftop to rooftop, making sure Sickle could keep up with him\nwhile remaining as silent as ever.\nSickle had no problem keeping pace with the Greninja, being\nquite acrobatic himself. \"So, the district furthest from the canal; safest\nplace for a Dark/Fighting type from all the filth,\" Sickle remarked.\n\"Sounds like he a rough guy though; got a plan for dealing with him?\"\n\"He'll be a brute...all muscle and hardly any brains.\"\nKage returned. \"We'll use that to our advantage.\"\n\"Didn't your buddy Katsu try that with Timber?\"\nSickle pointed out. \"Sometimes no brains means even more dangerous.\"\n\"I'm not as straightforward as Katsumoto...\" Kage\nreturned.\n\"Maybe not, but still, don't get overconfident,\"\nstated Sickle. \"Anyone who survives in this city is not going to be 'no\nbrains'; fools die here.\"\n\"I always have a plan...\" Kage returned.\n~~~~~\nIt took them a short time to find Alpaco's hideout, but\neventually, while passing over a building, they got an unexpected tip. They\nheard someone yelling, and when going to investigate, they saw him. Alpaco,\nroughly the same height as any Pangoro, but with an interesting body build; he\nwas muscular, clearly, with big beefy arms and legs but also a big potbelly,\nthrowing off his physique. \nHis large black eyes stared down at the henchman he was\nscolding -a Gligar who was cowering behind his wings, trying to hide from the\nPangoro's wrath. When the scream-fest ended, the Gligar took off in a hurry,\nwhile Alcapo stormed back into his building, slamming the door in the face of\none of his other henchmen. \"I'm havin' mah dinner; stay out!\" He\nbarked through the door.\nSickle irked an eyebrow at the display. \"Anger issues\nmuch?\" He asked.\n\"So it would seem.\" Kage returned, adjusting his\ntongue scarf a little. \"We'll have to slip inside carefully...\"\n\"Shouldn't be hard, since he just locked his guards\noutside,\" Sickle pointed out. \"I think I see an open window on the\nthird floor we can try.\"\n\"It will have to do; stay on guard.\" Kage said as\nhe leapt for the building, landing silently on the side next to the window and\npeeking in to see if the coast was clear. He then motioned for Sickle to leap\nover before he hopped inside.\n\"Alley-oop!\" Sickle whispered before he made a\nrunning jump for the window, front-flipping as he arced towards it and diving\nthrough. He rolled as he hit the floor, reducing the sound he made as he\nlanded, and landed back on his feet, a Leaf Blade already set in case the room\nhad enemies, but the coast was clear, allowing him to relax. \"Phase 1\ncomplete.\"\nKage nodded, then he travelled through the hallway silently,\nhis hand on his Ninjato just in case. He closed his eyes and pinpointed\nAlpaco's location with Extrasensory. \"...He's close.\"\n\"Alrighty,\" agreed Sickle. \"I got your\nback.\"\nKage nodded, then they were at the door he sensed Alpaco was behind.\n\"We'll lure him close and then strike when he is within range.\" Kage\nsaid, then he slowly turned the knob on the door and pushed it open a little to\ncatch the Pangoro's attention before he let go and leaned back behind cover.\nBut the Pangoro didn't even glance over at them. Seated a\ndining table, he was stuffing his face with all varieties of roasted meat,\neating very informally as he chowed down on a leg of meat faster than he could\npossibly chew it, and finishing off with a long swig of what smelled like ale,\nletting loose a horrible belch as he stopped drinking, and going back to his\nmeal.\n\"I can't imagine\nwhy Kima didn't let this guy adopt any of the kids,\" Sickle remarked, the\nsarcasm in his voice as clear as Alcapo's horrible table manners. \"They\nwould've been so well brought\nup.\"\nKage remained silent. \"This makes things easier...\"\nHe said as he reached into his pouch and pulled out a few small pellets.\n\"Ready your Bullet Seed.\"\n\"Ready and waiting,\" stated Sickle.\nKage nodded back at his confirmation, then he quickly hurled\nthe pellets over at the Pangoro's feet. Upon making contact with the Pangoro's\nfeet, they exploded, creating a huge plume of smoke and smothering Alpaco.\n\"BLAH! What the blasted...?!\" The Pangoro spouted\nthrough a mouthful of food.\nSickle sprang into action, unleashing a bullet seed at Alpaco,\nfiring where he knew the Pangoro was even as the smoke engulfed him, and\npounding him audibly with dozens of seeds. The Pangoro roared, falling out of\nhis chair audibly before getting back to his feet, barking out through the\nsmoke for them to show themselves when Sickle stopped shooting.\nKage then quickly moved into the smoke, keeping within the\ncover and attacking the Pangoro with quick strike and retreat attacks, nailing\nhim when he was most vulnerable and striking at a pressure point each time he\nattacked, and then faded into the smoke.\nThe Pangoro growled, his muscles bulging as he tensed.\n\"You little creeps interrupted my supper,\" he said. \"NO ONE\ninterrupts my supper!\" And with a stamp of his feet, a tremor rippled\nthrough the building, visibly cracking the floor and racing in all directions.\n\"Whoa!\" Sickle yelped, jumping to avoid the attack.\nKage quickly leaped up and over the cracks. Upon landing, he\nnoticed the smoke was thinning and quickly acted by using Shadow Sneak, sinking\nquickly into the floor and moving toward the Pangoro's shadow, seeking cover\nthere. But the Pangoro jumped again, changing the size and location of his\nshadow; the Greninja appeared in another part of the room as Alcapo sprang up\nand dropped back down with both feet, causing another tremor. A cracking sound\nwas filling the room, catching Sickle's attention; he turned and looked up at\nthe ceiling, seeing cracks forming all across the tiles of the roof.\n\"Crap! Kage; the whole building's coming down! We gotta\nget out!\" Sickle exclaimed.\nHe glanced up, noticing the cracking and quickly bounding\nback toward the door. \"Through the window!\" He called to Sickle as he\ncrashed through the window ahead of him toward the ground below.\nSickle was quick to follow, diving through and down one floor\nto the street, tumbling as he landed. The entire structure shook violently,\ndust expoding from the windows as the inside began to collapse, shattering\nglass and scattering debris. The henchmen who had been outside fled in terror\nfrom the crumbling structure, covering their heads as they fled for cover. Soon,\nthe entire structure crumbled completely, and was left nothing more than a pile\nof ruins as the collapse finished, the decrepit old warehouse now completely\ndestroyed.\n\"Dayum,\" muttered Sickle. \"Not exactly how I\nexpected this to go down but, guy just buried himself alive.\"\n\"Stay sharp.\" Kage stated. \"He's not down\nyet...\"\n\"What? The whole place just collapsed on him; how can\nhe...?\" He paused as the rubble shifted, going cross-eyed as the shifting\ncontinued, the look quickly turning to a scowl. \"Well shit,\" he\nmuttered before diving for cover as the rubble exploded.\nAlcapo erupted from the ruins, throwing out his arms as he\nroared into the sky in fury. Stepping out from his destroyed headquarters, he\nmade a beeline right for Kage, sprinting on his short, stumpy-yet-strong legs\nwith surprising speed, arms flailing menacingly as he neared.\nKage quickly lashed out with a Lick, nailing a glancing blow\non Alpaco's arm as he charged him. That glance was all he needed to change into\na Ghost type, which led to Alpaco passing right through him.\nOf course the Lick itself didn't stop him; he immediately\nfollowed up his assault with an Arm Thrust, only to see the attack pass through\nKage. This only seemed to make him angrier though, and he began to jump attack\nto unleash another Earthquake...\nBut Sickle was faster; he sprang up and kicked the Pangoro\nhard in the stomach; not enough to hurt him but enough to throw him off and\nsend him dropping to the ground thunderously, hitting the street with another\nburst of dust. Kage then leapt up and over Alpaco, quickly shooting down and\nstomping HARD on his back, then he leapt off and hurled a multitude of Water\nShuriken at the downed Pangoro, slicing him all over his body.\nWhen Kage landed, Sickle stood at his side. \"Nice move\nwith that Prothean ability of yours,\" he complimented. \"He can't hit\nyou except with Earthquake; long as we keep him from doing that, we should have\nthis.\"\n\"I have many attacks in my repertoire....even attacks to\nnullify his Earthquake...\" Kage returned. \"Your natural resistance to\nground attacks will make this easier as well...\"\n\"Long as he doesn't have a way to use Flamethrower, I'm\ngood...\" He paused and looked ahead as the Pangoro suddenly leapt back\ninto the fight; despite the wounds on his body, he merely looked even angrier,\nand his claws had a dark energy around them. \"Shadow Claw!\" He warned\nKage.\nKage twitched, then he quickly lunged forward with a Quick\nAttack, again it was only a glancing blow, but it ensured that the Shadow Claw\ndid no harm to him. Kage then weaved a sign with his hands. \"My\nturn...\" He said in a low tone, then he hopped back and discharged another\nScald right at Alpaco's face. \"Now Sickle!\" He called back to him as\nhe leapt back.\n\"Leaf Blade!\" Sickle barked, lunging forward and\nswiping his arm across Alpaco's chest, and as the Pangoro tried to retaliate,\nhe countered with a Detect, immediately sensing an oncoming Hammer Arm attack\nand stepping out of its way, the failing attack leaving Alpaco open for what\ncame next; a kick to the face from both Sickle and Kage, which sent him flying\nbackward and falling onto his back noisily.\nTo add salt to the wound, Kage weaved another sign and hurled\nhis arms out in a wide arc, hurling many Spikes along the ground around the\nPangoro. If he dared to rise to his feet or even attack again, he would certainly\nhave punctures all around his feet.\nBut Sickle wouldn't let him regardless. He sprang up, and\ndropped onto the Pangoro's chest, pinning him down. \"Evenin', pal,\"\nhe said, sternly, despite the sarcastic choice of words.\n\"When I get my hands on you, little green...!\" He\npaused as Sickle held a Leaf Blade near his face.\n\"Manners, fatty; you're in the wrong spot to be making\nthreats,\" warned Sickle.\nKage also backed him up, aiming his Ninjato at the Pangoro's\nthroat. \"Move, and I slice your wrists... continue to resist, your throat\nwill be next.\"\n\"Do you two know who you're messin' with?!\" He\ndemanded. \"I swear when I get up from here, not only am I going to break\nyou two, my men are going to feed on your pieces!\"\n\"I know you're the leader of a gang that is harassing an\nelderly Marowak and her orphanage all because you wish to recruit children to\nyour pathetic excuse of a gang...\" Kage returned, still keeping that low,\nthreatening tone in his voice.\n\"Those kids are on my turf, therefore they're\nmine,\" growled Alcapo.\n\"Wrong,\" Sickle warned. \"That Orphanage, AND\nBluegrove, are under my protection,\nboth mine and Team Valiant's; your thugs are going to stay far away from there\nfrom now on, or I'm going to start sending them back in body casts. Do I make\nmyself clear?\"\nThe Pangoro still growled defiantly, but even he understood\nhe wasn't in a position to refuse. \"This ain't over, shorty... but for\nnow, I'll keep my men away from that Orphanage.\"\n\"AND Bluegrove,\" warned Sickle. \"Keep your\nthugs in this slimehole where they belong; I see those guys near my town again\nand you're all going down, got it?\"\nKage jabbed his Ninjato at his throat to further emphasize\nSickle's point.\n\"Fine! Fine! Keep your little backwater,\" he\nbarked. \"Not worth my time anyway.\"\n\"Good,\" stated Sickle. \"I see your thugs\nagain, they better hope I haven't evolved yet, because if I come after you as a\nSceptile, you'll need Giratina to save you, kapeesh?\"\n\"Kapeesh.\"\n\"And our business here is done,\" stated Sickle,\nleaping off of Alcapo and relaxing his wrist leaves, letting them return to\nnormal.\nKage retracted his Ninjato, twirling it twice before he\nsheathed it on his back again. He leapt off of the Pangoro shortly after.\n\"Now, on your feet, and out of our sight. Call your gang off as well.\"\nHe commanded. \"If any of them attack us as we leave, I'm coming for you.\"\nThen he got close to him again. \"And there will be no force in this world\nthat will save you from my blade.\"\n\"Get up?! I've got spikes all around me you twat!\"\n\"Oh yeah, forgot about that,\" said Sickle.\n\"Guess we'll have to just leave you to deal with 'em, huh Kage?\"\n\"You best watch your feet then...\" Kage said with a\nsneer, then turned away. \"We're done here...\"\n\"Why you miserable!\" He started to get up, but his\npaw landed on a spike. \"Ow! When I get -ow!- my claws on you -ow ow!- I'm\ngonna -ow!- OH FORGET IT!!\"\nSickle suppressed a laugh until they were out of earshot, and\nwhen they were safely out of sight he burst out in a fit of laughter. \"Oh\nMAN I wish I'd brought my camera for that,\" he remarked, rubbing his eye.\n\"A stupid fool to the bitter end...\" He said lowly,\ncrossing his arms. \"Regardless, our mission is a success...all that\nremains is for Luke and the others to complete their task..\"\n\"Right; wonder how they're making out?\" He asked.\n\"Hey, if we hurry we might get back before they do.\"\n\"My thoughts exactly....let's go.\" He said, then\nbroke off into a sprint.\nSickle was\nquick to follow, eagerly catching up to the Greninja. \"Don't gotta hold a\nknife to my ribs; I've had enough of this dump,\" he stated, gruffly.\n\"Remind me to take a long bath when we get back; I feel filthy.\" As\nthey ran, he glanced over at Kage. \"Hey... nice working with you man, and\nthanks for doing this. Those guys needed to be taken down a notch, especially\nAlcapo.\"\nKage glanced over to Sickle as they exited the town, then\nglanced ahead and narrowed his eyes. \"You handled yourself well; it\nwas....fun....partnering with you...\" He returned. His tone was cold and\ndeadpan, but his sincerity was clear as water.\n\"I appreciate that, coming from you,\" he said.\n\"Though it wouldn't kill you to smile, bro.\" And with that, he\nsprinted on ahead, jumping over a downed lamp post as they exited the city.\nKage watched him jumping away. \"If you only\nknew....\" He whispered to himself, then bounded over to the nearest tree\nand followed Sickle back to the orphanage.\n~~~~~\nMeanwhile, in the\nforest south of Bluegrove village...\nHowler had led Volcan and Luke through the woods for some time,\nstopping often to sniff the ground and get their bearings, but every step took\nthem closer to a slight hill that led up. Signs of foot-traffic, even to\nnon-trackers like Volcan and Luke, were everywhere; crushed plants, broken tree\nlimbs, even a shattered log, but most of all, the footprints were clear\nindication; everywhere a foot had dropped, there was death -dead leaves, grass\nand tree pieces, even some small creatures; life was practically being drained\nfrom this area...\n\"All the signs of corruption,\" said Volcan.\n\"We must be getting close.\"\n\"Stay on your toes.\" Luke cautioned. \"We might\nbe walking into an ambush.\"\n\"Not likely,\" replied Volcan. \"Remember what I\nsaid about how only higher-class demons are intelligent? Well, so far these\nanomalies only spit out corruption enough to make Minor demons; to make a more\nintelligent, and in turn more powerful demon, it'd take a very powerful Pokémon\n-unless one of the higher level demons came through themselves.\"\nLuke shuddered at that notion. \"I'd rather not think\nabout that...\" He returned, tuning to his Aura Sense to see if he could\npick up anything within range.\nAs he surveyed the woods, he noticed there seemed to be a\nlarge accumulation of Aura further up the slope; the entire Aura he saw was\ncorrupted, and if there was any pure left up there, it was far too packed\ntogether for him to see for certain. Whatever the demons had been scouring for,\nit seemed they'd found it...\n\"I've found them.\" Luke said, then pointed toward\nthe slope. \"Just up here. Quite a number of them too.\" Luke\nexplained. \"It's almost like they've found something of interest.\"\n\"Some sort of conduit of dark energy no doubt, or someone who's really angry,\" stated Volcan. \"Let's move quietly; see\nif we can't see what they're after.\"\n\"Good idea.\" Luke returned. \"When we get\ncloser to the top, stay low.\" He stated as he began to ascend the slope\ntoward the demons up ahead. He lowered to a crouch until he reached near the\ntop, then he lay prone and slowly peeked over the edge.\nIt was not a pretty scene.\nCorrupted Pokemon -dozens of them, were all gathered around a\nsingle log cabin, which seemed to have some kind of barrier protecting it; they\nclawed at the Psychic shield madly, trying to break through it, but the shield\nwas holding, but it was clear someone or something of interest to them was\nhiding in that cabin... however their dark aura's were so thick, Luke could not\nsee through them to see what it was.\n\"Tsh...I can't sense who's inside that cabin; there's\ntoo much dark aura.\" He growled softly before he opened his eyes. \"Something\npowerful must be inside that cabin...\"\nHowler\nsniffed a footprint on the ground that was not covered with dead grass, and\nlooked towards the cabin again before turning to Luke; if only the Arcanine\ncould speak, because he clearly wanted to say something, but he kept looking\nback at the cabin.\nLuke glanced back to the Arcanine. \"Too bad you don't\nknow sign language...\" He said with a bit of a half smirk and a shrug.\nHowler rolled his eyes, and then gestured with his tail\ntowards the barrier the demons were clawing at, before he found a bare spot of\ndirt and dug into it with his claw, spelling out a single word:\n'P-S-Y-C-H-I-C'.\n\"A Psychic type is in there...That would explain the\nbarrier...\" He muttered, then he turned to Luke. \"You have the most\nexperience with demons. What do you suggest would be our best plan of\nattack?\"\n\"Well, the moment we attack even one of them, the rest\nwill be alerted, and there's eight of them for every one of us,\" remarked\nVolcan. \"We need to thin out their numbers somehow, but there's nowhere we\ncan bottleneck them.\"\nHowler perked up, and promptly got their attention. He\nexhaled, a shimmering forming in the air, as he did, and held up one paw,\nwaving it from side to side.\n\"Wave... air wave?\" Volcan asked.\nLuke narrowed his eyes a little, examining Howler's gesture.\n\"A wind current to expand a fire...?\"\nThe Arcanine\ngrowled in frustration, and then turned to a nearby bush, exhaling on one of\nthe leaves again; the heat exhumed from his maw, so intense as it was, caused\nthe leaf to shrivel up and dry out in record time, before falling from its\nbranch. He then fanned the air with his front paw, as if waving goodbye to\nsomeone...\n\"Intense heat... wave... Oh! heat wave!\" Volcan\nexclaimed.\nHowler nodded vigorously at Volcan.\n\"Wait... heat wave? How does that help us?\" Volcan\nasked. \"The temperature in this forest is pretty average.\"\nLuke gathered it though... Howler was referring to the\nwide-spread Fire-type attack, Heat Wave, which could inflict agonizing burns on\nentire hordes of Pokemon. \"He's implying to open our assault with a Heat\nWave, inflicting burns on the demons to slow them down and hinder their\nefforts. It will make it easier for us to take them out.\"\n\"Wait... OH! Right! The Heat Wave attack!\" Volcan realized. \"I've never tried it, but I\nremember reading about it back during Team Warmachine's contest...\"\nHowler gave a smile.\n\"...I think Howler's saying he knows how to use\nit,\" said Volcan. \"Can you hit that many at once though?\"\nHowler nodded confidently to the Blaziken.\n\"Let's trust in his ability.\" Luke returned, slowly\nscooting away from Howler. \"Fire whenever you're ready.\"\nVolcan stood at Luke's side, watching with keen interest as\nthe Arcanine turned to face the cabin, waiting until the flaming wolf put his\nplan into action. Howler took a few, deep, calming breaths, studying the layout\naround the building for a long moment, crouching low and focusing all strength\nto his back legs...\nAnd he was off. Displaying that impossible speed as in his\nbattle with Hank aboard the Kyogre's Rest, Howler was off like a shot,\ndeliberately slowing down to let the demons see him and even launching a few\nEmbers to provoke them. Responding to his presence, they chased him,\nimmediately losing interest in the cabin, and trying to catch their newfound\nprey; none of the corrupted Pokémon had a prayer of matching the swift\nArcanine, and he easily kept away from them, letting them crowd together before\nmaking his move...\nWith a large exhale, he unleashed the powerful wave of pure\nheat from his maw; the air shimmered eerily as he breathed, and the skin of the\ncorrupted Pokemon blistered in the incredible heat. They screamed in agony,\ntheir woeful cries almost making the spines of both Volcan and Luke tingle if\nthey weren't already familiar with it, and causing a brief hesitation in them.\nLuke cringed and clenched his eyes shut, his hesitation\ngetting the better of him for a moment before he shook his head and steeled his\nnerves. \"Let's get this done...\" He said to Volcan.\n\"Remember Luke, you can't save these ones,\" said\nVolcan. \"Hold nothing back...\" And with that, the Blaziken burst into\nflames, launching himself into the fight with his body ablaze; the Flame Charge\nattack slammed into the nearest demon, and a following Blaze Kick snapped the\nneck of the first one in reach, ending it.\nLuke charged in with Extreme Speed as his opener, slamming\nhis paw into another demon to stun it, then he materialized his Bone Rush and\nsnapped it into two sharp fighting sticks. \"I'm sorry...\" He\nwhispered before he impaled the demon in his head, ending it as well, before\ndarting off to another and ending that one as well.\nThe corrupted Pokemon were on the attack; immediately, they\ntried to swarm the three. Volcan unleashed a Flamethrower, sweeping with it to\ncatch as many as possible with the flames, before he went back to fighting with\nfists and feet. Howler snatched a corrupted Beedrill out of the air with Fire\nFang, swinging it around in his mouth before throwing it into another one, and\nthen blasted a charging Corrupted Primeape with Flamethrower, roasting it to\ndeath swiftly. \nFor every Pokemon that fell, their corrupted aura's\ndispersed, but no sign of their pure aura's remained, leaving nothing for Luke\nto save even if he tried. These Pokemon were already far gone and could not be\nsaved; Volcan was right about how to handle this... they had to be stopped.\nThere was nothing else for it...\nLuke impaled another through the head with his Bone Rush,\nblood spraying all over his face as he ended its life. He flinched, grunting\nand shaking his head a little before he backhanded another with his paw, his\npaw spike impaling it through the temple and ending it in a matter of seconds.\nThe more Luke took down the more his composure started to wane...\nVolcan, however, was far more adapted to this than the\nLucario was, able to kill the corrupted Pokémon seemingly without even\nconsidering that they used to be normal; a testament to his past experiences.\nHowler, however, was clearly disgusted, but he'd been briefed on the situation\nwhen they had first set out, and though it was not something he wished to do,\nhe understood that the choice was only one; fully corrupted Pokémon could not\nbe saved, but others could be saved from them.\nWith this in mind, he fought with all of his strength.\nLuke impaled the last corrupted Pokémon he could catch,\ndriving both his bones into its head. He pulled them back and took a few steps\nback, watching the demon fall to the ground dead. His composure was broken now,\na look of both anguish and sadness in his eyes as he let go of his bones and\nfell to his knees, looking at his blood stained paws as he trembled on the\nspot.\nBut he hadn't stopped all of them yet; a Corrupted Heracross rose\nup behind him, howling in fury as it brought its horn around; he looked over\nhis shoulder too late, and was sent flying through the air as he was bludgeoned\nby the horn, smashing into the ground several meters away. \"GAH!!\"\nLuke cried out as he landed and rolled for a bit, slowly getting back to his\nfeet and gazing onward to his attacker. He raised his paws in preparation to\nattack, but mentally he couldn't go through with it anymore. He stood there,\nwaiting for the Heracross to charge him.\nBut Volcan got there first, leaping into the path of the\nHeracross as it charged towards Luke, catching it by the horn and skidding\nalong the dirt as he tried to hold it back. His hands were forced back by the\nimpact bumping into his chest and making the Blaziken yelp with pain as his\nnot-quite-healed ribs took some of the impact. He lost his balance and fell\nonto his back at Luke's feet, the corrupted Heracross, eyes ablaze with\nbloodlust, drawing back its arm and stabbing at him with an elbow spike it\nshould not have had. Volcan moved his head out of the way of the attack, but it\ndrew back to do it again.\nThat spike... its warped horn... those feral eyes... the\nHeracross didn't even look like a real Heracross anymore; it was a monster, and\nit was going to kill Volcan if Luke didn't do something...\nLuke clenched his eyes and roared loud, quickly grabbing the\nHeracross' horn with one paw and rearing back his free paw, He then slammed its\nhead with the most powerful Force Palm he ever lashed out with, the attack\nsending a shockwave powerful enough to destroy the Heracross' head from the\ninside, blowing its brain out of its head.\nThe creature went limp, allowing Volcan to push it off of\nhim, sitting up and panting for breath, holding his chest. The last of the\nCorrupted Pokemon were cleared out by Howler, using a powerful Fire Blast to\nfinish them off when they charged him. With them down, the last of the\ndemonized Pokemon had been cleared...\nVolcan gathered his second wind before looking over his\nshoulder at Luke, studying his expression. His composure had worsened even\nmore, his eyes shooting wide open and widening even more when he saw the\ndeceased demon Pokémon before him. He stumbled back a few steps before falling\nonto his rear with a grunt, breathing erratically and looking at his trembling\npaws.\n\"Luke,\" Volcan said, rolling onto his front and\ncrawling over to his friends side. \"Luke, are you okay? Try to slow your\nbreathing; you're hyperventilating.\"\nIn his mind, Luke was experiencing a number of flashbacks,\nall of which further deteriorated his willpower and composure. Tears began to\nform in his eyes, clenching his paws tight before he clenched them shut and\nroared once again, slamming his paws hard into the ground, making visible\nindents in the soil before he started to go limp, sobbing silently at first as\nthe flashbacks ended in his mind.\nVolcan reached over to Luke and placed his hands on the sides\nof his face, raising Luke's face so that he forced the Lucario's gaze to meet\nhis. \"Luke, listen to me!\" He roared, his voice very commanding and\ngrabbing the attention of the Lucario. \"I know what's going through your\nmind right now; I know what you're thinking. I'm telling you now, you're not a murderer; I promise you, you've\ndone nothing wrong here.\"\nHe gazed into Volcan's eyes silently for a long while, then\nhis paws gripped his arms and he clenched his eyes shut, still sobbing, but not\nas hard as when he began. His breathing slowed and he started to relax, his\nforehead pressing against Volcan's as he tried to calm himself down. Volcan\npulled Luke closer to him and wrapped him in a tight, comforting embrace,\nallowing the Lucario to let out his emotions into the warmth of Volcan's\nfeathers, holding him and whispering soft words to him. Howler stepped over as\nwell, eyeing Luke sympathetically as he sobbed and even walking over to lie\ndown next to him, letting him feel the comfort of his warm fur, and reminding\nLuke that his friends were there.\nFinally he calmed down enough that he wasn't sobbing anymore.\nSlowly he pulled back and looked at Volcan, his eyes still saddened, but at\nleast he wasn't on the verge of passing out anymore. \"I-I'm sorry...\"\nhe whispered softly. \"I just...I can't take this anymore...I know they're corrupted,\nbut... these were Pokémon... they were innocent Pokémon......\"\n\"They were, once,\" said Volcan, looking Luke in the\neyes. \"I know it's hard to accept Luke... but demonic corruption leaves\nnothing of those it infects behind. Once it takes full control, there is only\nthe demon; the other being... the other Pokemon, has been forced from their own\nbody, and it has become a vessel of an evil power; there is no soul, there is\nno mind, there is only a monster left.\" He shut his eyes, seemingly reminiscing.\n\"I swear to all gods of both your world and mine if there was any way to\nsave them, I would be doing it, but there isn't. There is no cure; it's not a\nsickness. There is no freeing their minds; it is not mind control. Everything\nthey once were is gone.\" He kept his hands on Luke's shoulders, gripping\nthem tightly. \"But you've given them peace.\"\nLuke hung his head and shuddered a little more, then he\nnodded and lifted his head up. \"Thank you...\" He returned, and then\nhe glanced to Howler and gently placed his paw on his head as well in\ngratitude.\nThe Arcanine let Luke pet his head, and licked him on the paw\nas he drew it back. Volcan helped Luke to his feet, and continued to speak.\n\"What you are doing for these Pokémon is the best thing for them; their\nsouls pass, but their bodies continue, performing deeds of evil -things that\nthe being who once owned the body would never condone. By killing the body, you\ndestroy the essence, and in doing so, you free them, and stop them from\ncommitting anymore evil.\" He gestured to the Heracross. \"That\nHeracross; he was already long gone. What you killed was a monster, not a Pokémon;\na being of pure evil.\" He then pointed at the cabin. \"But now,\nthere's another in that cabin who they were trying to get to; our job now is to\nmake sure that someone is safe, as a Rescue Team is meant to do, right?\"\n\"Right...\" He returned. \"I'm sorry you had to\nsee that.\" He said, wiping his eyes and sniffling a little.\n\"It's okay; even I had to let it out at one point or\nanother,\" Volcan assured. \"I'm a warrior, but I'm still a person with a\nconscience, just like you.\"\nLuke nodded to him before he turned toward the cabin. \"C'mon...let's\nsee if the resident of that cabin is alright.\"\n\"I think the barrier has gone down now,\" said\nVolcan. \"Let's hurry; they might be hurt.\" He looked at Luke again.\n\"When we get back to the Orphanage, there's something I want to tell you.\nDon't let me forget, alright?\"\nLuke nodded back to him, and then he approached the cabin\nwith Howler and Volcan at his side, the three of them making a running jump and\nleaping over the stairs and porch to land right at the entrance. He gently\nknocked on the door and called in. \"Hello? Are you alright in there?\"\n\u003cStay away!\u003e A voice called, but not a voice that\nreached their ears. Volcan and Howler both looked around in shock as they\n'heard' the strange voice. \u003cStay away from here; this place is evil!\u003e\n\"Telepathy,\" said Volcan. \"As Howler said,\ndefinitely a Psychic type.\"\nLuke shook his head a little. \"The evil Pokémon are no\nmore.\" He called in. \"We....We dispatched them. My name is Luke. I represent\nRescue Team Valiant.\" He stated, hoping that would get a less frantic\nresponse.\n\u003cNo! Not just the Pokemon; this whole place! The closer\nyou get the Spear Pillar the thicker it becomes; a shadow is falling over this\nland! The Corrupted Pokemon are only the beginning!\u003e\nVolcan grabbed his head painfully, and Luke quickly found his\nown head hurting as images began flashing through his mind; images of Corrupted\nPokemon the victim inside had been forced to dispatch for their own survival,\nfleeing to the edge of Spear Pillar before a mournful roar from up the mountain\nhad them rushing back to the woods. Pursued by corrupted Pokemon the stranger\nhad ducked into the cabin and set up the barrier to protect themselves, wrought\nwith exhaustion. But the images flashed by with such speed it was hard to make\nany sense of them; the sender's thoughts were erratic, as if conflicting with\nsome unseen foe...\n\"Fuckin' hell! Too much!\" Volcan barked, grabbing\nhis head. Howler bonked his head against the ground a couple of times as if\ntrying to stop the images, but to no avail; the information was overloading his\nbrain as it was Volcan's.\n\"STOP!!\" Luke roared both in pain and with a\ncommanding tone. \"We're here to help with the corruption!! Stop sending us\nthese images and let us talk to you!!\"\nThere was no answer; for the longest time, there was an eerie\nsilence. But then, they heard a sound, like a body hitting the floor, and the\nimages finally stopped flashing through their minds following the sound. \n\"That's not good,\" said Volcan. \"Luke, check\nfor an Aura.\"\nLuke nodded and tuned to his aura sense, sensing for any\nsigns of life. There was only one presence in the cabin, but he got an eerie\nsight when he focused on them; the Pure Aura of the Pokemon inside had been\nexposed to corruption; it was visibly battling with it, and the Pokemon itself\nwas lying prone on the floor, unmoving...\n\"Oh no!\" Luke shouted, he said in panic before he\nturned to Volcan. \"There's signs of corruption in his aura!\"\n\"Shit!\" Volcan cursed before he took the lead and\nrammed the door, bouncing back as it failed to yield to his initial charge.\nThis time, he kicked it, the door practically exploding off of its hinges from\nthe strength of his leg, clearing the way for them to enter. \"He must've\nbeen exposed to it while fleeing from those other Pokemon!\"\nThe three ran inside. Searching the cabin, they quickly found\nthe Pokemon, lying behind the table in the middle of the room, curled up into a\ntight ball. But when they saw what it was... all three of them froze in shock. The\nPokemon was tall, with pale, pink-ish skin visible where the corruption had not\nmutated it yet, with a purple undertone running from below its chest, between\nits legs and to a purple tail that was currently curled around it. Its legs\nwere strong, and shaped like one who walked on their toes, and its long, skinny\narms ended in small hand, short fingers with round tips, and its head was\nalmost cat-like in shape, but with no ears; just two short nubs that grew from\nits skull. Its eyes were open, but unseeing; one was purple, the other turning\nyellow as the corruption spread through its body.\n\"Luke... what kind of Pokemon is that?\" Volcan\nasked, having never seen one like it.\nHowler, however, knew exactly who it was, for there was only\none like him in the entire world... his wordless lips mouthed the name, even if\nhis voice was not heard.\n'Mewtwo'...\n\"This... is Mewtwo...\" Luke he returned, his voice\nshaky witih shock and fear. \"The corruption has managed to infect the most\npowerful Psychic Pokémon in the world.\" He said, before he frowned and\nclosed his eyes, immediately searching for his aura to try and purge the\ndemonic aura infecting his body.\n\"Can you save him?\" Volcan asked.\n\"I'm trying! Let me focus!\" He barked back,\nstraining to home in on Mewtwo's aura.\nHe found it. Mewtwo's Aura was powerful; it was what had\nallowed him to remain untaken by the corruption, but his strength was fading.\nHalf of his Aura had already been forced out, and though he was clearly still\nfighting, he was losing; the corruption that had tried to take him was even\nstronger, no doubt the same kind found in those upper-class Demons that Volcan\nspoke of.\nVolcan stood ready at Luke's side; if Luke could not save\nMewtwo, the Blaziken was poised to end him before he could become a threat, but\nhe waited, and would not move until that became a fact.\n\"C'mon,\" Luke growled, focusing even harder to\nreach Mewtwo's aura. \"Just hold on a little longer...\" He was visibly\nstraining just to reach his aura, sweat rolling down his face as he kept\npushing and pushing.\nLuke heard Mewtwo's voice in his mind, even though Mewtwo was\nnot looking at him; Volcan and Howler remained unmoved, evident he was trying\nto contact only Luke.\n\u003cWho is it?\u003e The Psychic asked. \u003cI feel someone else\nreaching into me; who is there?!\u003e\n\"My name is Luke. I'm leader of Rescue Team\nValiant.\" He returned. \"I need you to try and lock onto my Aura\nsignal with yours, then I can purge the corruption from your body.\"\n\"Who're you talking to?\" Volcan asked, but his\nvoice went unheard.\n\u003cYou cannot... the power! It is too great; I cannot keep\nit back much longer!\u003e Mewtwo replied.\n\"You have to try!!\" Luke kept encouraging him,\nstraining further to reach him. \"You can't let the corruption take you!\nI'm doing all I can to help you, but I need your help as well!\" He\npleaded.\n\u003cA-Alright... I will try! Open your mind to me; let me\nfind you! The darkness is thick...!\u003e\nLuke opened his mind completely to Mewtwo. \"Done.\"\nHe returned. \"You should see a blue sillohuette of me. Find it.\"\n\u003cI... I see you...\u003e Luke felt another presence, pulling\nat him somewhat. \u003cBeware! The darkness is trying to seize us both!\u003e\n\"I won't let it.\" He returned. 'Hold on as tight as\nyou can!\" He commanded, gritting his teeth as he strained to pull Mewtwo's\naura free from the corruption.\nIn his mind, he could almost see Mewtwo grasping onto him,\nbut at his back, tendrils of shadow were trying to pull the legendary Psychic\nPokemon back into the void, despite his efforts to battle it. When Luke began\nto add to the resistance, his pure Aura, combined with what remained of\nMewtwo's, were successfully beginning to push it back, though it was fighting\nhard to claim both of them; Luke could even see the tendrils trying to grab for\nhis Aura as well, attempting to claim him. Even physically he could feel one of\nthose vile tentacles grasping him, trying to drag him into the abyss.\n\"Grrr!!\" He growled, yanking back on Mewtwo's aura.\n\"Let...him...GO!!!\" He roared out, using every ounce of his strength\nand more.\nAnd then, Mewtwo's aura was pulled free, along with Luke's;\nthe tendrils were finally pushed back, retreating into the darkness, which was\nrapidly becoming smaller. In the cabin, Luke visibly ripped the corrupted Aura\naway from Mewtwo, struggling with it for a moment before he violently forced it\ninto a dark Aura Sphere, compressing it until it burst As he destroyed it, a\npowerful backlash erupted around him, sending him, Volcan, Howler and the\ndowned Mewtwo flying as the walls of the cabin exploded outward, the roof\nsoaring up into the sky and out of sight, never to be seen again.\nVolcan hit the grass, with Howler and Luke landing on top of\nhim, eliciting a groan of pain and annoyance from the Blaziken. \"Ugh! Come\non, I'm not a cushion!\"\nLuke grunted and slowly rolled off Volcan and Howler,\ncoughing and laying on his front, visibly and mentally exhausted from the\nordeal. \"Damn....that was....too close...\" He said between heavy\nbreaths.\nHowler lifted himself from Volcan, allowing the Blaziken to\nsit up, rubbing the back of his head. \"Fucking hell; that was a LOT of\nDemonic Essence you ripped out of him.\" But then he perked up. \"Hey\nwait... where is he?!\" He looked around.\nLuke shot up and he looked around. \"I...I don't\nknow.\" He said as he looked around, getting to his feet.\n\"Mewtwo!!\" He called out.\nHowler nudged Luke, getting his attention and pointing\ntowards the cabin, or rather past where it used to be, and there lay Mewtwo,\nhalf-buried under the remains of the cabin.\nLuke scrambled to his feet and he ran for the rubble,\nkneeling down and quickly tossing the cabin remains aside before he gently\nscooped Mewtwo up in his arms. \"Hey...Hey are you alright?!\" He\ncalled to him, running his paw along his head and down his chest to check his\nvitals.\nHe was alive, and still breathing, but like Luke the poor\npsychic Pokemon was utterly exhausted, having been battling with the corruption\nfor a much longer time than Luke had, but he was alive, and his Aura, now\npurified of the corruption, was beginning to recover, reclaiming the body that\nit belonged to.\n\"He's alive...\" Luke said with a huge sigh of\nrelief. \"Thank Arceus....\"\n\"He needs recovery time, though,\" said Volcan.\n\"We should take him back to Kima's place; he'll be safe there.\" He\nknelt down next to Luke. \"Can you sense any other demons in this\narea?\"\nLuke shook his head. \"None....we're in the clear.\"\nHe said as he gently cradled Mewtwo in his arms as he stood up. \"Let's\nhurry back...\"\nBut Luke's fatigue quickly caught up to him; his legs\nbuckled, and he nearly dropped Mewtwo; if not for Volcan, the unconscious\nPsychic would've hit the ground, but the Blaziken caught them both. \"Hold\non there, you,\" he stated. \"You're worn out; you need rest too.\"\nHe gestured to Howler who stepped over to Luke's side. \"I got Mewtwo; you\ngo with Howler.\"\nThe Arcanine got down on his belly, making it easy for Luke\nto climb onto him. Luke slowly climbed onto Howler's back, then when he was on,\nhis consciousness finally faded and he flopped on top of Howler. His mind and\nbody were exhausted far beyond his limits; in mere seconds he blacked out, his\nbreathing reducing to a steady, calm pace as his body fought to heal itself\nfrom the strenuous efforts.\n\"Damn, man; you've been working harder than the rest of\nus today,\" said the Blaziken, stroking Luke's back as he hoisted Mewtwo\nover his shoulder, then looked at Howler, who nodded back, and the two began to\nmake their way back to Kima's orphanage, leaving the scene of destruction\nbehind.\nDespite having been corrupted only moments ago, the bodies of\nthe Pokemon somehow had reverted back to their true forms, and lay as if at\npeace, basking in the light of the sun...\n~~~~~\n\"Someone's coming,\" Serena started, jumping to her\nfeet as her ears caught movement outside of the property of the orphanage,\nimmediately walking down the steps and looking towards the entrance,\nwatching...\nAs Katsu stood at her side, they saw two figures moving\nbetween the trees, concealed by the shadows until they stepped into the light.\nOut of the darkness emerged Sickle and Kage, walking casually into the\nOrphanage grounds. The door to the house opened and the Terrible Trio, Zackie,\nPyra and Iggy, charging out of the house, followed closely by Kima who was\nusing her bone as a walking stick as she stepped out. The three kids ran over\nto Sickle, jumping for joy and pouncing the Grovyle when they were close,\nknocking him onto his back.\n\"Whoa-ho! Hey, kids; try not to do what those thugs\nfailed to, alright?\" Sickle pretended to beg as they cuddled him\nvigorously and barraged him with questions, mostly about how many thugs he and\nKage had beaten up -no doubt tall tales would follow, in the form of bed-time\nstories told by Sickle when the kids went to bed.\nKage glanced down at the three children smothering Sickle for\na moment, then shut his eyes for a bit before he headed back toward the\norphanage. Katsu approached the Greninja. \"Your mission went well from the\nlooks of it.\"\nKage nodded. \"Hardly any complications.\" Then he\nlooked to Kima. \"You're safe now.\"\n\"Ah, thank Xerneas; finally things are back to\nnormal,\" she said, shutting her eyes and smiling. \"Maybe I can\nactually sleep tonight.\"\n\"I knew you'd succeed,\" said Serena. \"I'm glad\nyou both made it back safely.\"\n\"The leader wasn't much.\" Kage informed her.\n\"Hank would have danced in circles around him were he here; he was\nunfocused and wild.\"\nSerena nodded. \"Well, that's one problem out of the\nway,\" she stated, and looked past him. \"Did... did you see Volcan or\nLuke out there? Or Howler?\"\n\"None...\" Kage returned, walking past her and\nKatsumoto to head inside.\n\"Wait, so they aren't back yet?\" Sickle asked as he\nwalked over, Iggy perched on his shoulder. \"When I bet Kage we'd be back\nbefore them, I wasn't actually expecting us to.\"\n\"They've been gone for some time now,\" replied\nKima. \"And earlier this afternoon, we heard some strange noises coming\nfrom the south -where they went.\"\n\"What sort of strange sounds?\" Sickle asked.\n\"Almost like an explosion, but we saw no smoke or other\nsigns of fire,\" replied Serena. \"I wanted to go check, but we were\nstill needed here.\"\n\"Well, now I'm back,\" said Sickle, picking Iggy off\nof his shoulder and setting him down. \"Sounds like there's some trouble\nout there; I'll go look for them.\"\n\"I will accompany you.\" Katsumoto added, stepping\nto his side.\n\"Alright; we'll head out, and...\"\n\"Hold on you two whippersnappers,\" Kima stepped in,\nand pointed towards the gate with her bone. \"Look; here they come\nnow.\"\nSickle and Katsu followed her gaze, and sure enough they\ncould see two more figures approaching from the trees, although their shapes\nwere a little off. Serena immediately became alert until Howler stepped out of\nthe darkness, revealing the 'mishapen' portion to merely be Luke, lying fast\nasleep on the Arcanine's back.\n\"Luke!\" Katsu called out, quickly trotting over to\nHowler's side. \"What happened? Where's Volcan?\"\nHowler cocked his head behind him, and seconds after, the\nBlaziken emerged from the trees as well, but he wasn't alone either; there was\nsomeone hanging over his shoulder, looking battered and as exhausted as Luke\nwas. When he was close enough for the Pokemon to be identified, Sickle's jaw\ndropped so low it practically unhinged, gaping in shock at who Volcan was carrying.\n\"Hubba-hub-ba-ba-ba...?!\" He babbled, unable to\nform coherent words at what he was seeing draped like an old rug over the\nshoulder of the Blaziken.\n\"That's....M-Mewtwo!!\" Katsu stated, quickly\nclosing his eyes and lowering his head in deep respect, even if the Psychic\ntype was out cold.\nEven Kage perked up and glanced over his shoulder, his eyes\nshowing surprise in them as he saw the legendary Psychic type on Volcan's\nshoulders. \"Impossible...!\"\n\"Seeing is believing, Kage,\" said Volcan in a glib\nmanner. \"This guy was out there, trapped in a rundown cabin by the\ndemonized Pokémon we found.\"\n\"Is he... alive?\" Kima asked.\n\"Yeah, but he was corrupted when we found him; there was\nenough left for Luke to save him, but it tuckered them both out.\"\n\"Let's get them both inside!\" Katsu quickly lifted\nhis head and darted for the door, holding it open for Howler and Volcan to\nenter.\nHowler was the first inside, with Serena and Kima quick to follow.\n\"Take 'em into the third room, down the hall straight ahead!\" The\nMarowak called, and pointed at Kage. \"You, come with me; I need an extra\npair of hands. Sickle, keep the children out of the room for a while.\"\n\"On it, Kima,\" called Sickle, looking at Mewtwo\nagain as Volcan carried him inside, but then shifted his gaze to Katsu. \"\n'Demonized' Pokemon? What was he talking about; what was going on out\nthere?\" He asked the Samurott, clearly mind-blown by everything that was\nhappening.\n\"It's...a long story...\" He returned. \"From\nthe experiences we've had, there is an esence that hails from a different\ndimension and seeking out pokemon to corrupt and turn into mindless, primal\nhusks...once corrupted by this esence, they are no longer pokemon, and become\nsomething truly horrifying...\"\n\"Is that what happened to Mewtwo?\" Sickle asked.\n\"What almost happened,\" Serena corrected.\n\"Caught in the early stages, Corruption can be removed before it overtakes\nits host; Luke and Volcan must've been just in time to do so.\"\nSickle put a hand on his head, groaning in frustration.\n\"Sweet Dialga; what the hell is going on around here?\" He asked. \n\"Sickle! The children!\" Kima barked.\n\"Ah! Right; on it Kima!\" The Grovyle returned\nbefore he ran up the hallway to block the room where Luke and Mewtwo were,\nushering curious children back to the dining hall.\nSerena looked at Katsumoto. \"Who is this...\n'Mewtwo'?\" She asked.\n\"Mewtwo is possibly the most powerful Psychic type\npokemon in the world...However, he is also an artificial Pokémon...created with\nthe purpose of him being the most powerful Pokémon period...\" Katsu\nexplained.\n\"So he's... a specimen of genetic engineering?\" She\nasked, and shuddered visibly. \"I've met others like that... some are my\nfriends, but there are some who are horrifying...\"\n\"I... guess. I confess I do not know of the details specifically.\"\nKatsu admitted.\nKima and Kage crossed the dining hall, carrying bandages and\nmedicine into the room and immediately getting to work. \"How long have\nthey been out?\" Kima asked.\n\"About ninety minutes,\" replied Volcan.\n\"Mewtwo a little longer; he was knocked out after Luke removed the\nCorruption from him.\"\n\"Does Luke have any injuries?\"\n\"Just a bruise he suffered from a corrupted Heracross;\nnothing else,\" replied Volcan.\n\"Alright; I'll get to him after. Watch him closely; let\nme know if anything changes,\" instructed Kima.\n\"Yes ma'am.\"\nKage did not ask any question, already understanding what he\nhad to do to help Mewtwo recover quickly, which made it easy for Kima to work\nwith him...even if he was a Greninja of few words...\nShe gestured to Kage. \"Heal Powder,\" she\ninstructed. \"He's got some open wounds here; can't let them get\ninfected.\"\nSerena and Katsu watched from the hallway, with Sickle and\nHowler standing diligently outside, keeping the prying eyes of the children\nback. \"Wow... Kima really is something, isn't she?\" Serena asked.\n\"She is well versed in medicine...\" Katsu returned.\n\"With age comes wisdom...\"\nKage passed her the heal powder upon her command, never a\nsign of hesitation or doubt in his movements. She immediately applied some of\nthe powder to Mewtwo's injuries, dabbing each one with a damp cloth before\nwrapping them in clean bandages. \"Mph... I've never treated one like this;\nhis body seems as though it just fought off the biggest infection in all of\ntime,\" she remarked.\n\"In a way, he did,\" muttered Volcan, keeping his\neyes on Luke.\n\"Okay, pass me an energy root,\" Kima bade Kage as\nshe picked up a mortar and pestle from the table next to her, holding it out to\nKage as he passed her the root. After he dropped it in, she began to crush it\nwith the solid pestle, grinding it down to a tender, mushy substance before\nadding a few drops of water and grinding it a little more. \"Prop him up\nand hold his mouth open,\" she instructed Kage. \"Make sure his airway\nis clear; don't want him choking.\"\nHe moved without question, propping Mewtwo up and doing as\nKima instructed, keeping his head level and using two fingers to force his\nmouth open. With a steady hand, Kima poured the mixture into Mewtwo's mouth,\nand gently prodded his neck muscles to cause him to reflexively swallow it.\n\"Okay, lay him back...\"\nMewtwo's eyes suddenly opened, and he coughed, pushing Kage\naway from him with one hand as he grabbed his chest with the other. The\ncontents did not come back up, but their effects were already working; they had\nrejuvenated him somewhat, although as Energy Root was so prone to doing, it\nleft a bitter taste in his mouth.\n\"Ugh! What the...!\" He demanded.\n\"He's already awake,\" stated Kima. \"I thought\nhe'd be out a little longer.\"\nMewtwo suddenly looked at her, then at Kage, and finally\neveryone in the room. \"Who... who are all of you? Where am I?\"\nKatsu slowly approached him. \"You are in an orphanage\nunder the care of Kima, the Marowak that treated your wounds.\" he said,\ngesturing to the Marowak. \"My name is Katsumoto...myself, Kage, and our leader\nLuke, are of Rescue Team Valiant.\" He said, gesturing to each of the Pokémon\nhe mentioned.\n\"Luke?\" Mewtwo repeated, and placed one hand on his\nhead. \"That name... is familiar...\" He suddenly jerked, and looked at\nhis hand as if it were foreign to him. \"I'm... I'm back to normal.\"\nHe glanced at the others once more, and then saw Luke across the room on the\nother bed; Volcan had jumped to his feet and was watching Mewtwo warily, but\nhad not left Luke's side.\n\"That one... he helped me,\" said Mewtwo. \"That\nis Luke, isn't it?\"\n\"Yes,\" replied Serena.\nMewtwo shut his eyes. \"Never did I imagine I would be\nindebted to anyone...\" He muttered, and tried to get up, but immediately\ncringed and fell back onto the mattress. \"Urgh... my body!\"\n\"Don't you try to move, boy; your body has been under\nconsiderable strain,\" stated Kima.\n\"You presume to order me, old woman?\" Mewtwo\ngrowled, glaring at Kima.\n\"Hey, that old woman has done nothing but care for you\never since I dragged your sorry hide over here!\" Volcan barked. \"I\ndon't care how legendary you are; have some respect, pal!\"\nMewtwo's glare shifted to Volcan, and their eyes met for a\nmoment; for a moment the others worried the two might come to blows, but\nMewtwo's eyes rolled back into his head and the lids closed while he fell back\ninto bed again, laying still. In a moment, he was snoring lightly, and the\ntension in the room ceased.\n\"Seems he still needs some rest,\" said Kima.\n\"He'll be fine now; I can tend to Luke.\" She turned away from the bed\nand walked over to Luke's bed, gesturing for Kage to bring her supplies and\nushering Volcan aside to give her room to work.\nKage carried the supplies in his arms, balancing them\nperfectly until they reached Luke, gently setting the supplies down next to\nKima and himself. His glance shifted back to Mewtwo for a moment, narrowing his\neyes a bit at the legendary Psychic pokemon\nVolcan felt a jab in his arm, and looked over to see Sickle\nleering at him. \"Are you trying\nto provoke him?!\" He demanded. \"You realize Mewtwo could level this\nwhole house with an afterthought?!\"\n\"If he could keep his own damn eyes open,\" retorted\nVolcan.\n\"Even so.\" Katsu returned. \"It would be wise\nnot to provoke a conflict with him. He may owe Luke a favour, but as far as he\nis concerned, Luke is the ONLY one he owes a favor to...\"\n\"Be that as it may, I don't tolerate disrespect from\nanyone,\" returned Volcan, crossing his arms. \"Luke saved him, Kima healed\nhim; he might not owe me anything but he owes them plenty.\" He let himself\ncalm down and uncrossed his arms. \"Still... based on what Luke told me\nabout him... this guy is powerful,\nwhich only makes it more worrisome he could be corrupted.\" He raised a\nhand to rub his forehead above his eyebrows. \"And these images he threw in\nour heads are still giving me a migraine.\"\n\"What images?\" Katsumoto asked. \"What did he\nshow you?\"\n\"I'm not sure; they flashed through our minds so quickly\nI could barely make sense of any of them,\" replied Volcan. \"He was\nspeaking to us telepathically and I think during that link he tried to show us\nwhat happened to him; where he went, what he did, how it happened.\" He\nlowered his hand. \"What worries me though is what he might've run into out\nthere; Mewtwo's damn powerful and it'd take corruption of equal or greater\nmagnitude to seize him the way it did.\"\n\"I see...\" Katsumoto returned, rubbing his chin.\n\"This is foreboding news indeed. Whatever tried to corrupt even Mewtwo\nmust be incredibly powerful.\" He shuddered. \"We might not be able to\nsuppress this invading force...\"\n\"Not unless we find out what's causing it and take it\ndown,\" said Volcan.\n\"Time out!\" Sickle interjected suddenly, making\nVolcan jump a little. \"I'm a little lost here, so, why don't you guys\nstart from the beginning and explain this to me - slowly so my mind doesn't\nexplode any more than it already has; what's this 'Corruption' and this\ndemonization stuff?\"\nVolcan regarded him for a moment, and put one hand on his\nhead again, sighing in frustration. \"Alright... explanation time. It's\nlike this, Sickle...\"\n~~~~~\nLuke woke up a short while later in a bed he didn't\nrecognize. His body was sore and his head hurt, but he was alive, and warm. He\ncould feel a patch of warmth on his side where the Heracross had hit him\nbefore, and felt a damp cloth had been laid over his bruise, warmed overtime by\nhis own body heat.\n\"Guh...\" He groaned and reached up to hold his head\nin his paw. \"What... where am I...?\" He groaned, his eyes fluterring\nopen a little and scanning his environment.\n\"You're in Kima's house,\" he heard a voice, and\nlooked behind him to see Volcan seated at his bedside, legs propped up on the\ncorner of the bed and chair leaned back as he lounged. Letting his legs drop he\nturned to Luke fully, looking him over. \"How you feeling?\" He asked.\n\"Like a Donphan just trampled all over me...\" He\ngroaned.\n\"Take 'er easy, or Kima might whack you over your head\nwith that bone of hers like she did to mister sunshine over there,\" He\njerked his thumb over his shoulder to the opposing bed where Mewtwo sat,\npropped up against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, seemingly\nstaring off into space.\nLuke let out a small sigh. \"Good...he's\nrecovering...\" He said, then he looked to Volcan and flattened his ears.\n\"That was far too close for comfort...I felt the corruption trying to take\nme over with much greater force.\"\n\"I was thinking on that,\" said Volcan, leaning\nforward and propping his elbows against his knees. \"Based on what you told\nme about how powerful Mewtwo is, it...\"\n\"I can hear you,\" Mewtwo called across the room.\n\"Do not presume you're being respectful by keeping your voice low.\"\nVolcan looked back at Mewtwo, and then turned back to Luke\nagain. \"Based on how powerful you said he is, it'd take corruption of\ngreat magnitude to nearly overtake him,\" stated Volcan. \"I think the\nanomalies may be getting worse.\"\nLuke nodded. \"So it would seem...\" He returned,\nstill rubbing his head. \"If it gets this bad, then I don't think I can\nkeep going with this purification process much longer...I feel like a mess.\"\n\"We got to step up our time frame,\" stated Volcan.\n\"If Mewtwo was capable of being corrupted it means powerful levels of\ncorruption are seeping into this world; if I had to compare Mewtwo's power to a\ndemonic class, I'd say he's at least at Major level, if not just below Arch\nDemon, so essence of that magnitude is present here. The rifts are opening\nwider.\"\nMewtwo suddenly appeared behind Volcan; the Blaziken started as\nhe felt the presence behind him shooting to his feet and whirling around\ndefensively, finding his blue eyes staring into Mewtwo's amethyst-coloured ones.\n\"You know something of all of this?\" He asked.\nVolcan relaxed, and nodded simply. \"I do... I've been\nbattling things like this for a long time.\"\n\"That power is not of this world... which means you must\nnot be either,\" Mewtwo stated.\n\"Got it on the first try,\" remarked Volcan,\nhalf-jesting. \"Yes, you're right... I'm not actually a Pokémon.\"\nMewtwo continued to meet his gaze for a moment, before he\nsuddenly shut his eyes. \"Open your minds... I will show you what I\nfound.\"\nVolcan glanced at Luke, gauging his reaction to Mewtwo's\nrequest. Luke nodded to him, and then looked back to Mewtwo for a moment before\nhe closed his eyes, allowing his mind to open up to the Psychic Pokémon. Volcan\nfollowed suite, closing his eyes and bracing himself for the imminent Psionic\nprobing. In seconds, Mewtwo's mind linked to theirs, and they began to see his\nmemories as he had. The legendary Psychic had been flying -or rather,\nlevitating, but going very quickly, over the woodlands around Bluegrove, when a\nwhite flash of light in the distance had caught his eye. Sensing something\notherworldly, he turned his course and made a beeline for that light, shortly\nfinding himself at spear pillar. Just as he neared the pillar, a mournful cry\nechoed down the mountainside, a cry so full of agony and terror that it made\nVolcan and Luke's blood run cold. \n\u003cThat sounds like the pained scream Sickle was describing\nbefore; the one that supposedly belongs to Palkia,\u003e Luke heard Volcan's\nvoice, but felt it echoing in his mind. A side-effect of the psychic link, it\nseemed, allowed the three to communicate telepathically. \u003cIt seems those\nrumors are true.\u003e\n\u003cIt seems so...\u003e Luke returned, mentally nodding at the\nBlaziken sharing this vision with him; they were on the same page with their\nown thoughts. \u003cPalkia must be in excruciating pain.\u003e\n\u003cThat was my thought as well,\u003e explained Mewtwo.\n\u003cSo, I began to investigate.\u003e As the memory carried on, Mewtwo was flying\nup the mountainside, heading for where Palkia lived, but as he flew into a\nwhite cloud near the peak, he suddenly found himself heading back towards the\nground. Instinctively he stopped himself, and peered back the way he came,\nfinding himself staring at the same cloud he had just flow into. \u003cSpace\nitself was so distorted around him, I could not reach Palkia... but something\nfound me.\u003e\nA flash of white erupted before Mewtwo, blinding him briefly,\nbut out of the center of the light, a dark hand with claws shaped like the\nblades of a harvesting scythe emerged and grasped Mewtwo in a death-grip; Luke\nand Volcan could even feel what he felt as the hand enclosed around him, and\nthe brief moment of surprise before he used his powers to break free. More of\nthe darkness emerged, and half of a body appeared; only half, but enough to\nreveal a figure that Volcan knew well -both Mewtwo and Luke felt the surge of\nterror rushing through his mind as he saw the creature. Only an arm, the\nshoulder, and the head appeared; a head like a canine and a shoulder with a\nlarge, curving spike protruding from the shoulder bone itself. Two bright,\nemotionless yellow eyes stared back at Mewtwo hungrily, but the Psychic type\nwas already fleeing from the portal. However, he could feel something was\nwrong; merely coming into contact with that presence had placed something in\nhim, and he could feel it spreading.\nThe link ended. \"You can guess what happened after\nthat,\" stated Mewtwo. \"I fled to the forest, but those... corrupted,\nyou called? Corrupted Pokémon pursued me, and I was too focused on trying to\npurge the evil infection from my body to battle them, so I hid in that cabin. I\nhad been in there for nearly four days before you finally arrived.\"\n\"Four\ndays???\" Luke blurted out in surprise before he calmed himself down.\n\"Arceus almighty... And that...figure.\" He muttered. \"That's\nwhat spread the corruption onto you...and with a mere touch.\"\n\"Sweet ancestors, no...\" Volcan said, his voice\nbreaking, making his emotions all too clear and catching the attention of the\nother two Pokémon; they looked at him, and could see his eyes wide with horror,\nboth hands on his head as if trying to relieve a headache. \"By all the...\nI was right... it WAS him!\"\n\"You\nknow who that was??\" Luke queried Volcan.\n\"Know it?\" Volcan repeated. \"Luke... that's\nthe one I guessed may be behind all this; the same demon I told you abducted me\nonce.\" His gaze hardened. \"THAT... the one who attacked Mewtwo; that\nwas Kalo'Temir.\"\nLuke's fur seemed to go pale for a moment. \"That...was\nthe demon that you encountered before? The one you and your allies took\ndown??\" He asked, fear rising up in his voice. \"HOW in Arceus' name\ndid you beat a monster like that the first time????\"\n\"By the skin of our teeth,\" Volcan replied. \"Er... if I\nhad teeth,\" He added, before he turned to the Psychic-type. \"No\ndisrespect to you, Mewtwo... but you're fortunate you got away from him. If he\nhad captured you, he could've consumed you and taken all of your powers.\"\nMewtwo's eyes narrowed. \"Truly a monster...\" He\nstated. \"I could sense his power... it far surpassed even the Legendary\nBirds and the Great Guardian. And you say he is behind these anomalies?\"\n\"By what you saw, I have no doubt now,\" replied\nVolcan. \"He's behind it... but why? What the hell could he be after here\non this world?\"\n\"I could not make contact with his mind,\" replied\nMewtwo. \"What grasped me was a mere piece of his being; he had not fully\nmaterialized on this world yet. It appears that he cannot yet pass into this\nworld, if that is what he is indeed trying to do.\"\n\"Wait, what do you mean?\"\n\"The anomaly that I encountered seemed to try and pull\nme in, not pull itself out; it was like a vacuum,\" replied Mewtwo.\n\"Based on that, I'd say he's not trying to come to this world; he's trying\nto bring someone else through to his own. Judging on how he let me go so easily\nwithout so much as pursuit, I don't believe I am the one he is after.\"\n\"Then what could this...Kalo'Temir be after?\" Luke\nmuttered softly. He thought long and hard before his brain began to hurt again.\n\"Agh...damn it!\"\n\"We have to get to Spear Pillar,\" said Volcan,\nspeaking firmly. \"We have to try and help Palkia.\"\n\"You cannot reach him,\" stated Mewtwo. \"Space\nitself is distorted all around him; try to enter and you will have no better\nluck than I.\"\n\"So we just give up?\" Volcan asked, annoyed.\n\"No,\" replied Mewtwo. \"If you cannot see\nPalkia, then you must speak with his counterpart and the only other one who\nmight be able to help you.\"\n\"You mean... Dialga? The God of Time?\" Luke asked.\nMewtwo nodded. \"As one who can see across the streams of\ntime, he knows all that Palkia does,\" replied Mewtwo. \"He may have\nanswers for you on what Kalo'Temir seeks, and how he will obtain it.\"\n\"Better than sitting on our asses and doing\nnothing...\" Luke returned. He rubbed his head and sighed. \"How could\nthings have gone this horrible? On that note, WHY?\"\n\"I know what you mean, Luke,\" agreed Volcan.\n\"How in the hell did we all get pulled into this...\" He shut his\neyes, clenching his fists. \"First thing in the morning... we're heading\nfor Spear Pillar,\" he said firmly. \"We need to get to Dialga.\"\nMewtwo agreed. \"On foot it would take you another five\ndays at least to reach the pillar,\" stated Mewtwo. \"But...\" He\nturned to Luke. \"As it happens, I still owe you for helping me. I shall\nteleport all of you to the Pillar, to Dialga's shrine, where you will meet with\nhim.\"\n\"We'd appreciate that.\" Luke returned, nodding to\nMewtwo. \"On behalf of my entire team, and of my friends here, I thank you for\nyour help in our journey. I'm just...I'm glad I was able to stop the corruption\nfrom taking you as well.\"\nMewtwo actually cracked a gentle smile to Luke. \"That\nmakes two of us.\"\n\"I better go get the others,\" said Volcan.\n\"They need to be filled in.\" He looked at Luke. \"You should go\nback to sleep for now; I'll probably be heading to bed soon myself. We'll need\nall of our strength for tomorrow.\"\n\"Wait.\" Luke said, gently grasping Volcan's arm.\n\"You mentioned you had something to tell me before I passed out...\"\nVolcan blinked, and looked at Mewtwo. \"Sorry to ask,\nbut... can you give us a moment alone?\" He asked.\nMewtwo regarded him for a moment, but soon nodded. \"Very\nwell... I wanted some fresh air anyway,\" he replied, and with that, he\nturned and walked out of the room, stepping out into the hallway, where Sickle\nwas still standing watch. He looked at Volcan and Luke briefly before he\nfollowed Mewtwo towards the main door.\nWith that, Volcan walked over to the door and closed it, and\nthen returned to Luke's bedside, taking a deep breath and exhaling as he\nprepared himself. \"I... I have no doubt by now, you wonder how I know so\nmuch about the Corruption caused by demons; how it's virtually irreversible...\"\nHe began, and shut his eyes. \"It's time I told you how.\"\nLuke nodded softly, sitting up a bit more and perking his ears.\n\"Start from the beginning.\"\nVolcan sighed once more. \"Okay... but I warn you, it's\nnot a happy tale.\"\n\"I'm prepared...\" Luke nodded reassuringly.\nVolcan sat back in his chair, and stared at the ceiling.\n\"Over eight centuries ago, there was a very powerful demon brought into my\nworld; a force so powerful, it promised complete and utter destruction to the\nentire planet. This demon, known as Lucarinai, was more than capable of doing\njust that, and those alive at that time, knew it was was more than capable of\ndoing just that, because over four millenia before, it HAD done just that;\ncompletely obliterated the entire world, wiping out all life that did not hide\nitself from it. Then, it destroyed itself, and the world was restored, for this\ncreature -this ultimate demon, but the embodiment of chaos: Destruction, and\nCreation, all in one.\n\"Over four thousand years later, however, an order of\nmagi, known as the Order of Five, resurrected this demon, believing they could\nuse it to conquer the world, but its resurrection consumed them, giving it\ntheir power as well as its own. The only ones who stood against it were four\nheroes; two human men, Oronos Necroslayer and Ganroth the Hunter, a feral\ndragon named Scilane Spirit-Bound, and Falamaran the Orphan, a feral Phoenix.\nTogether, they found a way to destroy the demon; combining their powers, they\ndestroyed Lucarinai, and seemingly the world was safe from its wrath.\n\"But, Lucarinai was such a powerful monster, even death\nwas not enough to stop him,\" Volcan went on. \"And this is where my\nstory begins, because his essence, his corrupted soul, became a wandering\nmiasma that floated across the world. Since my planet is mostly ocean, it had a\nlot of ground to cover -metaphorically speaking of course, but eventually it\nfound its way to my homeland, Canada. My mother was out one day, just a\npregnant avian woman taking a walk, trying to keep fit, and unknowingly... she\nwalked into the miasma.\n\"She sensed the corruption immediately, and tried to get\nout, but she was in there just long enough for a fragment miasma to be placed\ninto the soul of her baby...\" His eyes shut. \"That baby... being\nme.\"\nLuke listened intently to the whole story, trying his best to\nkeep calm, but shock was quickly setting in as Volcan continued. He only nodded\nin response, prompting him to keep going. \"For 18 years, that evil sat\ninside of me, growing with me; whenever my emotions were clouded by fear, rage\nor terror, it would emerge,\" Volcan explained. \"A corrupted,\ndisgusting duplicate of me would take its place; a being who is exactly like me\nin every way, except colour... and mind. Whenever he emerged, he would rampage,\ncausing mass destruction all around him, until my friends would manage to stop\nhim.\n\"At one point though, I actually combined with him;\nwhile battling a maniac scientist known as Jacob Rex, when my life was in\ndanger, he and I... fused, somehow. I became a completely new elemental, but by\nmy ancestors I never could've imagined what else it would start. Somehow, by\ncombining with me, this other being... this... Black Volcan, evolved rapidly,\ndeveloping a sentient mind, and then tried to take control of me. But I got\nlucky; two powerful beings sensed his presence, recognizing it, and came to me,\ntook me under their care and tried to exorcize him from me, but it didn't turn\nout as expected.\"\nHe placed his hand on his back as he went on. \"Rather\nthan be purged... he tore his way out of me; I don't have it in this body, but\nif I were in my true form, there'd be a warped, disgusting scar on my back\nbelow my wings; that's where he came out. I nearly died, but one of the guys\nwho exorcized him was a Celestial Kitsune -an expert healer, and he saved me.\nBut the being that came out of me... it took form; it became a perverted\nduplicate of me, carrying the weapons and armour of the demon whose essence\ncreated it -he bears, to this day, the staff and armour worn by Lucarinai\nhimself, and he took for himself a name. He dubbed himself Calhoun\nDemonfire.\"\nCalhoun... Volcan had mentioned that name before, during the\ntournament on Kyogre's Rest, when Luke had been talking about his uncle.\n\"This...Calhoun; he's an EXACT clone of you?\" He\nasked. \"Arceus almighty, this...I can't even begin to imagine how that\nfeels...having someone out there like you, but at the same time, isn't like\nyou.\"\n\"He's\nnot exact anymore... as the years went on we both developed differently,\"\ncorrected Volcan. \"We developed our bodies; I became stronger, he became\nquicker. We developed our powers; his are still greater than mine, since he\ncommands two elements. But everything about me up until he separated... he\nknows it all. How I think, who my friends are -at least before the separation,\nand even has a perverted version of my personality. When he went after that\nperson I was close to... Obsidian, the dragoness I told you about before... he\ndidn't go after her just to anger me, but because he had his own longing for\nher. \n\"He trapped her in her house, molested her, and nearly turned\nher into a demon...\" His hands clenched into fists, and tears dropped from\nVolcan's eyes. \"Calhoun is the reason I'm so afraid to get close to\nanyone; why I fear bringing others into my life, because I know he'll find out... and he'll hurt them.\" His eyes\nclenched. \"He's the reason why I can't find happiness... and,\nunfortunately, why I have first-hand experience dealing with corruption. I was\nnever claimed by it because he never evolved enough to be stronger than me, and\nhe wasn't sentient; he couldn't break my will... but when that changed, I\nnearly lost myself to him.\"\nLuke was completely silent as Volcan went on, seeing the\ntears roll down his cheeks made his heart sink, getting a feel of how traumatic\nthis must have been for Volcan. \"I'm....I'm so sorry...\"\nVolcan nodded. \"So now you know...\" He stated.\n\"My darkest secret, and the reason I know so much about the\ncorruption.\" Volcan looked at Luke. \"Calhoun is a corrupted copy of\nme; our bodies may have developed differently but his mind is just as sharp as\nmine, and his ferocity is matched only by his bloodthirst. That is why I can't\nbring people into my life... because I know he'll do anything to hurt them...\njust for his chance to kill me.\"\nLuke let out a small sigh, seeing the pain on the face of his\nfriend. Without a second thought he scooted closer to Volcan and gently pulled\nhim into a comforting embrace, just like the Blaziken had done for himself when\nhe broke down after the demon slaying. Volcan remained still and silent for a\nmoment, before he raised his hands and placed them on Luke's back, at first as\nif to pull him away, but then he pulled Luke closer to him, returning the\nembrace, feeling Luke's paw gently stroking his back as they held each other\nfor a long time. \nAfter a while, Volcan eventually pulled back and looked at\nLuke. \"I'm sorry you had to learn all that... but I thought it was time...\nand I thought it might help you understand our enemy.\"\n\"It does...even if just a little.\" He returned,\nrubbing his friend's shoulder. \"I...guess you should know a little about\nmy past as well...though after what I heard from you tonight, it probably isn't\nas dreadful as yours.\"\n\"I'll leave that up to you,\" returned Volcan.\n\"But if we ever end up in my world... if you ever see Calhoun... do not\nfight him. Just promise me that if you see him you will run.\"\nLuke nodded\nsoftly. \"I'll try.\" He returned.\n\"You'll\nknow him when you see him... he looks just like me, but his feathers are black\nand purple,\" explained Volcan. \"And he carries a golden staff and\nwears matching armour; if you see that coming for you, just run, as fast as you\ncan.\"\nLuke nodded, still patting Volcan's shoulder for a moment.\n\"I guess we should rest for now...I can share a bed with you for the night\nif it will help ease your mind.\"\nVolcan waved his hand. \"I appreciate it... but that\nwon't be necessary... besides; what would your wife think if she found\nout?\" He asked, half in jest. \"Don't worry; I've been coping with\nthis for years; I'll be fine.\"\n\"It's not like I'm offering myself to you.\" Luke\nreturned with a bit of a smirk. \"Still, if you're sure.\"\nVolcan nodded. \"I do appreciate it either way,\" he\nreplied, and stood up from the chair. \"Now... we've got a long day ahead\nof us tomorrow; there's no telling what we'll encounter at Spear Pillar.\"\nLuke nodded. \"Rest well Volcan...I'll see you in the\nmorning.\" He returned as he laid back and rested his head onto his pillow,\nwatching as Volcan stood up from his chair.\n\"You as well, my friend,\" returned Volcan, before\nhe stood up and slowly, thoughtfully, left the room.\nLuke's eyes lidded shut again for a moment, but opened once\nmore as his thoughts drifted back to what Volcan said, and that image of the\ndemon Mewtwo encountered... Kalo'Temir. The demon had been even more horrifying\nthan Volcan had described, and what they had seen through Mewtwo's eyes was\nnothing more than a piece of him; it was not even all of Kalo'Temir's\nhorrifying form, something Luke was not looking forward to seeing. \n\"What in hell have we gotten ourselves into?\" He\nwhispered softly as his eyes finally shut, and he slowly drifted off to sleep."}