{"sf1_id":860116,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Warped","author":"Volcan MacAingeal","words":10625,"posted_at":"2015-05-12T16:28:00.000Z","tags":["Anthropomorphic","Demons","Dialga","Greninja","Transformation","battle","blaziken","lucario","pokemon","samurott","vaporeon"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/860116-warped","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/860116","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=860116\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"Team Valiant left Kima's house early that morning. After\nsaying goodbye to the old Marowak, the children and their friend, Sickle -who\nreminded them that he still owed them a lunch, they gathered around Mewtwo, and\nin a flash of light, they vanished in Mewtwo's Teleport, carried through space\nitself to the unknown beyond...\nWhen they appeared, they could immediately tell they were at\na high altitude; the air was thinner, and colder; the wind rushed around them,\nblowing hair, fur and feathers alike as they appeared. There was no snow, but\nthe biting chill was like that of winter, and the air felt ominous, like\nanother presence was all around them.\n\"Nice place,\" Volcan called non-chalantly, forced\nto raise his voice because of the wind.\n\"Surely you had to expect such climate conditions when\nyou decided to venture here...\" Kage retorted calmly, but again with that\nlow tone of his.\n            \"It's\ncalled sarcasm Kage,\" Volcan\nreturned, shaking his head.\n\"This is as far as I can take you,\" stated Mewtwo.\n\"Dialga's shrine is protected by a powerful energy that prevents Psychic's\nfrom teleporting inside, and we're also close to Palkia's warped space.\"\nHe pointed towards a path, barely visible in the stone. \"Follow that\nslope, and you will reach Dialga's shrine.\"\n            Luke\nnodded, offering his paw to Mewtwo in gratitude. \"Thank you...be safe,\nMewtwo.\"\nMewtwo looked at Luke's paw, but didn't grasp it. He settled\nwith a nod of respect to the Lucario. \"Beware, brave one. There's no\ntelling what is waiting for you out there,\" he warned.\n\"Farewell.\" And with that, he vanished in a flash of light, leaving\nthe five of them to navigate the mountain on their own.\nLuke let out a small sigh, and then turned to everyone else.\n\"Well....this is it...\" He said to his team. \"Steele your nerves\nand always stay alert...We don't know what awaits us here...\"\n\"We know what we're looking for, though,\" said\nVolcan. \"But uh... what does Dialga even look like; how will we know him\nwhen we see him?\"\n\"We'll know.\" Katsu returned with a nod of\nconfidence. \"Stay close to us.\"\nWith that, Luke led the way toward the top of Spear Pillar\nwith his team close behind, keeping their wits about them.\nThey didn't go twenty steps before a horrible, high pitched\ncry echoed over the mountain, coming from up the other path and sending chills\nup their backs not caused by the cold; Volcan and Serena stopped in their\ntracks, before they frantically looked around for the source.\n\"What in the name of Poseidon was that?!\" Serena\ndemanded in fear.\n            Luke\ncringed and covered his ears until the sound died down. \"Ugh...that sounds\nlike Palkia.\" He returned.\n\"It must be in a lot of pain...\" Katsu said in a\nwoeful tone.\n\"But you remember what Mewtwo said... we can't approach\nhim,\" said Volcan.\n\"Which is why we're going to Dialga's shrine\ninstead...\" Kage returned. \"The more we stand around, the lower our\nchances diminish of solving this crisis....\"\n            \"Right...\nwe need to hurry,\" stated Volcan.\n            \"This\nway.\" Luke said, tapping to his Aura Sense to help guide them down the\nright path.\n            They\nsprinted up the hill, moving as fast as their legs could carry them, but\nevening their pace so that they stayed together as a group. Every step of the\nway, Volcan kept his eyes out in each direction, searching for any signs of\ndanger, but though he saw none, he had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.\nHe eyed the cliffs above with his sharp blue eyes, narrowed in suspicion and\nnearly losing his balance as he tripped on a rock, but corrected himself and\nresumed his trek.\n            \"You\nsense it as well...\" Kage stated as he sprinted along his side.\n            \"I\ndo,\" said Volcan. \"Something is out there, and I don't think it's\nDialga...\"\n            \"I\nfeel the same...whatever is waiting for us, it isn't the God of Time...\"\nKage returned in agreement to the Blaziken.\n            \"Up\nahead... is that Dialga's shrine?\" Serena asked as a building came into\nview in a large gap in the cliffs ahead; a structure that was large in size,\nand though fairly simple in architecture, it was covered on every wall with\nsymbolic images. All around it, there seemed to be a flow of invisible energy,\nlike an endless river, looping itself around the temple again and again, but\nthe energy could not be seen, only felt.\n            \"That\nit is.\" Katsu returned. \"Good eye Serena.\"\nLuke slowed his pace when they got close, as did the rest of\nhis team. He took a huge breath, sighing heavily. Slowly, he started stepping\ntoward the entrance of the shrine.\n\"Wait... Luke, stop!\" Volcan barked suddenly,\nstartling everyone.\nHe halted and looked back. \"What is it?\"\n            \"Do\nyou smell that?\" Volcan asked.\n            Luke\nsniffed the air for a moment, and then cringed a little as the sharp odor, like\nthe smell of brimstone, reached him. \"I do...\"\n\"That's Sulfur, and a lot of it,\" said Volcan.\n\"But I'm guessing this place isn't a volcano.\"\nLuke nodded. \"There's never been any incident of an\neruption on Spear Pillar.\" Luke narrowed his eyes. \"Are we too late?\"\n            \"No,\"\nreplied Volcan. \"The shrine's intact; if demons hit it, they wouldn't\nleave it standing. But there's one demon species from the plane of fire that I\nknow of and have faced before; it's known as a Salamander, a big red serpent\nthat reeks of sulfur and has a body as hot as a furnace. If we're smelling\nsulfur on a non-volcanic mountain then there's a Salamander nearby, and he's\nclosing in fast.\" He scowled as he readied himself. \"We're being hunted.\"\n            \"I\nsee... well we do have two water types to help with that.\" Luke returned,\nmotioning to Kage and Katsumoto.\n            \"Hope\nthey can shoot through something insanely hot, then,\" said Volcan.\nA loud hiss filled the air, followed by a sizzling sound;\nsome rocks tumbled down from the cliff above, each one smoldering as it landed,\nsmelling of sulfur. The group looked up, but there was nothing in sight.\n\"Remember guys, this isn't a corrupted Pokémon,\"\nstated Volcan. \"This is a real demon; a Major level demon. Watch the hell\nout, and whatever you do, don't let it entrap you in its tail; it burns like\nacid and it'll melt your skin off in less than a minute.\"\n Luke nodded. Katsu and\nKage both drew their weapons and kept them at the ready, glancing all around\nthem for any sign of the demon in question. The hissing continued, and the\nsmell of sulfur was getting stronger yet. Volcan and Serena watched every\ndirection, trying to spot the demon; Volcan seemed especially uneasy, evidently\nby their location. \n\"Not good...,\" Volcan said, grunting. There are so many\noutcrops it could spring out from anywhere... Luke, can you find it with your\nAura Sense? Since it's a demon it should look like a corrupted Aura.\"\n            \"I'll\ntry.\" Luke returned, then he closed his eyes and tuned his Aura Sense\nagain, scanning in every direction he could for any sign of the salamander.\nIn a moment, he spotted it; a huge, serpentine form was\ncoiled around a pillar above Katsumoto, and looked poised and ready to launch\nitself down and attack him!\n            Luke\nflinched, then he looked back to the Samurott. \"MOVE KATSUMOTO!\" he\nroared to him. The Samurott quickly glanced to Luke, then he quickly darted\nforward and away from the spot he was just at. \"Kage!\"\nThe Greninja nodded, quickly conjuring a multitude of Water\nShuriken and firing them all up at the Salamander as its presence became known.\nThe creature launched itself from the pillar, but the Water Shuriken melted\nbefore even touching its flaming red body. \nThe ground shook as it landed, and the bright red, burning hot\nsnake-like monsters rose up on its tail. The creature's head was serpent-like\nin appearance, but had fins growing from the back of its head, and big fangs\nprotruding from its mouth. A spiked fin grew from the end of its tail, which\nlashed ominously at the air as it raised its weapon, a three-pointed spear,\nbetter known as a Trident. In this close proximity, the scent of sulfur was\nintense, and the heat radiating from the monster was like a whole tree was\nablaze, radiating sweat-inducing amounts of heat.\nLuke grimaced and had to shield himself from the intense heat\nand smell of sulfur hitting him. \"Gah...I can feel it even from here. I\nwon't be able to get close.\"\n\"You'll have to rely on fighting it from afar,\"\nVolcan called. \"I can handle the heat; the rest of you, cover me.\"\nVolcan tapped his mega stone, becoming engulfed in the amethyst-crystalline\nlight as he triggered his Mega Evolution. As the light shattered, Volcan was\nnow a Mega Blaziken, and faced down the Salamander. \"Remember guys; this\nthing is not a Pokémon! No hesitation, no remorse; this is a demon! Destroy\nit!\"\n            \"Understood.\"\nKage returned, crouching low in preparation for battle. Katsu twirled his\nblades in his paws, coating them in water as he stanced himself. Luke hopped\nback a little and held his paws up, ready to provide cover fire.\n \"Go!\" Volcan\ncharged in; the Salamander stabbed at him with its Trident, but he leapt over\nit, arcing through the air and delivering a kick to the Salamander's chest,\nmaking it reel from the force of the strike.\nSerena was next, firing a Water Gun at the demon, but her\nattack did not reach; the water evaporated before making contact with the\nSalamander, turning to steam faster than she could produce it, until she ran\nout of breath. Katsu charged in head first with Aqua Jet, and then he quickly\nveered off and splashed water among its chest before he circled around and\nfired a Water Pulse from his swords. Kage followed suit, weaving a sign and\ntaking a deep breath, then he expelled a powerful Hydro Pump from his mouth\nhitting just after Katsu's Water Pulse right on the same spot.\nSteam erupted from the Salamander's body, and it hissed in\npain as its body was hosed by their combined water assault. Volcan came in\nagain as the Salamander tried to attack the two, leaping up and kicking it in\nthe face.\n\"It may be a major demon but it's not smart; keep\nleading it on a merry chase! Don't let it get close!\" Volcan instructed.\n            \"A\nsimple task.\" Kage returned, quickly sinking into teh ground with Shadow\nSneak, then emerging behind it and firing more Water Shurikens at it from\nbehind. Katsu discharged another Water Pulse from his swords while it was being\nattacked from behind.\n            The\ncombined assault was wearing it down; Volcan continued to assail it with every\nchance he could, battering it with his speed and strength. But soon, the\nSalamander wisened up, and as Volcan moved to attack again, it spun, and the\nBlaziken was suddenly engulfed by its tail, trapping his arms and legs\ntogether; flesh sizzled, even for a Blaziken, and the Salamander began to\nsqueeze, while simultaneously making a dash for Luke.\n Luke quickly took aim and discharged two Aura\nSpheres before he darted out of the way with Extreme Speed. The Aura Spheres\nnailed the tail in hopes of releasing the Blaziken trapped in its coils. Volcan\nmanaged to break free as the Salamander's tail loosened, and when it moved\naround to catch him again, Volcan managed to land a jump kick on its face,\ndazing it, while simultaneously using the kick as a boost to launch himself out\nof its reach; it was vulnerable now, while it was stunned.\nLuke then tapped his Mega Stone, quickly transforming to his\nMega Lucario form, then he raised his paws above his head and collected a\nmassive amount of Aura to his paws in teh form of a giant Aura Sphere. He\nroared and discharged the attack, sending it right for its spine. Kage\ndischarged a Scald attack at the giant Aura Sphere, propelling it forward at\neven greater speeds.\n            This\ntime, the Salamander did not withstand the attack; it was blown apart by the\nAura Sphere, and what remained of it scattered all over the ravine, leaving\nonly half of a corpse. The scent of sulfur intensified, but the heat slowly\nbegan to wane. Volcan stood by the corpse of the Salamander, checking it, and\nnodding when he confirmed it was dead. \n\"We got it... lucky for us if can't prioritize,\" he\nsaid.\nLuke sighed and powered down from his Mega Form, then he\napproached Volcan. \"Are you hurt?\"\n\"A little cooked, but not even a first-degree\nburn,\" replied Volcan, looking himself over; he had some compressed\nfeathers where the tail had wrapped around him, and there was still some smoke\ncoming off of him but based on how he was moving his limbs he wasn't actually\nhurt. \"Probably because I'm a fire type. You guys alright?\"\n\"Not even a scratch.\" Luke returned. The others\nalso nodded to signal they were unharmed.\n\"Excellent,\" said Volcan. \"Lucky we had it\noutnumbered, too.\"\n\"Yes indeed. Still...\" Luke returned, looking to\nthe side a bit. \"That creature was tough...\"\n\"They're a lot more dangerous in a small pack, or backed\nby others,\" replied Volcan. \"The cold up here was also helpful for us;\nlike any reptile, it slowed it down.\" Volcan breathed in deeply.\n\"Can't smell anymore sulfur so, this one was alone; must've just strayed\noff.\"\n\"Let us not stick around for others to show themselves.\"\nKatsu suggested. \"We should hurry and get inside the shrine.\"\n\"Agreed,\" said Volcan. \"Time to make a house\ncall on the god of time...\" He snorted. \"Huh, great; sound like Pavan\nagain.\"\n            Luke\nnodded and led the way again, trotting over to the entrance to Dialga's shrine.\nHis ears flattened a little as he got closer to it, silently praying that\nDialga could help them in any way. \nThey approached the main entrance of the shrine; the building\nwas a lot bigger up close, making many of the group feel small -especially\nSerena, who looked up at the building with awe as she studied its layout,\ntaking in the unfamiliar architecture and looking curiously at the carvings in\nthe sides. More such carvings were inside the shrine, which was empty except\nfor a massive altar in the center. The walls were lined with more carvings,\nmany of Pokémon -most of which she of course had not seen before. Curious, she\nwalked over to one of the carvings, wanting a closer look.\nVolcan and the others approached the altar; at its corners\nwere torches, currently unlit and filling the room with an unsettling gloom.\n\"So... where is he?\" Volcan asked, looking around. \"I don't know\nwhat he looks like, but I'm guessing there's supposed to be a big,\ndivine-looking guy in here?\"\n \"Usually\nyes.\" Luke returned. \"I'm hoping\nhe didn't get caught in the corruption...\"\n            \"We'd\nknow if he had,\" Volcan stated firmly. \"But if he's anything like the\ngods of my world, he should be invulnerable to the corruption, since corruption\nis easily countered by divine essence.\"\n\"Excuse me, Katsu?\" Serena called, getting the\nSamurott's attention as she continued to look at some of the carvings to the\nleft of the altar, engraved on the very walls themselves. \"What Pokémon\nare these here?\" She pointed to the wall with her tail.\n He turned over to look\nat Serena, then he approached her and looked up at the carvings she pointed out\nto him. The images carved into the stone were of two great beasts; one of them\nwas a stag-like being with massive antlers, standing over numerous smaller life\nforms, but high above it was a sinister-looking bird that had wings spread out\nwidely, and its long tail gave it almost a 'Y' shape as it soared above, with\nobjects that appeared to be... the ghosts of other Pokémon, swarming around it.\nVolcan, his curiosity piqued, had also walked over and was\nlooking at the carvings. \"Whoa...\" He breathed as he examined them.\n            \"Xerneas\nand Yveltal...\" Katsu cited softly. \"The gods of eternal life and\noblivion...\"\n\"The god of life?\" Volcan repeated. \"But I\nthought Arceus was the creator of all Pokémon; wouldn't that make him the god\nof life?\"\n\"Xerneas has the ability to grant eternal life.\"\nKage stated. \"Arceus created Xerneas with that power.\"\n\"Oh, I see,\" said Volcan. \"And Yveltal, the\nGod of Oblivion... he's the rival to Xerneas?\"\n            \"Yes.\"\nKatsu returned, looking to Volcan.\"In a sense, Xerneas represents life,\nand Yveltal represents death and destruction...All of the legendary Pokémon\nhave polar opposites to one another. Space and Time, Continents and Oceans,\nTruths and Ideals.\" He went on to explain.\n            \"Hmm...\"\nVolcan seemed to want to say something, but kept it to himself as he looked\nover the carving some more. Suddenly though, he stiffened, sensing the gaze of\nsomething burning down his back. He swallowed nervously, before voicing the\nquestion. \"Why do I suddenly have the feeling we're being watched?\"\nHe asked.\n            \"Me\nas well.\" Luke returned, his posture very similar to Volcan's, the two\nslowly turning and glancing over their shoulders, followed shortly by the rest.\nAt that very moment, a shadow loomed over the group; a\nmassive Pokémon, utterly dwarfing all of them, had suddenly appeared in the\nshrine; the Pokémon was quadripedal, standing on four legs -each as big around\nas one of the columns in the corners that held up the ceiling, with a metallic,\nblue skin covering its body. on its chest was what appeared to be an armoured\nchest plate, with short spikes protruding from all around it, minus two at the\nten and two o'clock positions that jutted out much farther, and a bright blue\njewel in the center. His head, resting atop a long neck, was decorated by two\nmore metal plates that angled along his unusually elongated cranium, and two\nred eyes peered out from under a chrome, downward-curving brow. On his back,\nnear where his tail met his body, was a five-pointed crest rising up, casting a\nshadow over his body as the torches from the altar suddenly came alight, only\nadding to his imposing appearance.\n\"I'm guessing that\nis Dialga...\" Volcan muttered, clearly blown away by the sheer SIZE of the\nPokémon he was looking at -how in the hell had they not heard him approaching?-\nif not clearly intimidated by his appearance. \"Holy mother...\"\n\"That is him.\" Luke returned, keeping calm on the\noutside, but on the inside he was a nervous wreck. Katsu quickly turned about\nand lowered his head in respect to the god, while Kage turned as well, but\nmaintained his composure and keeping his arms crossed.\nDialga was eyeing them as if trying to determine if they were\na threat, looking at each one of them individually before his eyes fixed on\nVolcan and Serena, flashing briefly as he stared at them. \"You two,\"\nhe spoke, his voice echoing through the shrine as if heard from multiple\nlocations.\n\"Uh... yes?\" Volcan asked, still nervous, while\nSerena stood with her head lowered respectfully.\n\"You are not of this world,\" he stated firmly.\n\"I do not see your faces upon the currents of time here.\" His eyes\nglowed brightly. \"Reveal your true selves...\"\nVolcan irked an eyebrow, not understanding what Dialga meant,\nwhen he suddenly doubled over, grabbing his stomach in pain and twitching\nmadly. \"AH! Hey, what the hell?!\" He demanded. \"What're you\ndoing?!\" Serena moved to help Volcan, but suddenly she seemed to be\nexperiencing the same thing, stopping short and cringing, clenching her eyes\nshut as an unknown feeling struck her.\n\"S-Serena!\" Katsu called out, quickly running to\nher side.\nLuke quickly glared at Dialga. \"The hell are you\ndoing??\"\n            The\nDeity ignored him, his gaze never leaving the two strangers -somehow, able to\ntell neither of them were really Pokémon. Katsu was cut off from reaching\nSerena as she and Volcan were both engulfed in light, of the sort that covered\na Pokémon in the process of evolution, and their shapes began to change.\n\"Serena!!\" Katsu kept calling to her, backing off\nas the light became so bright he had to shield his eyes.\n\"Calm yourselves. Both of you.\" Kage returned in a\nsharp tone. \"They're not being harmed...\"\nFor a moment, the light carried on as their forms changed,\nbecoming almost... human, in appearance, except for many obvious discrepancies.\nSerena especially was becoming much bigger, and Volcan's shape changed\ndrastically; wings seemed to explode from his back, spreading out so widely it\nwas almost ridiculous, and the spread illuminated more of the inside of the\nshrine as his musculature changed as well; his body had already become so big\neven a Machamp would be impressed.\nAnd then, suddenly, the light faded, and the two dropped to\nthe floor, landing on their hands and knees... yes, even Serena had hands now;\nshe was no longer the quadripedal form of a Vaporeon. This new body she had\nadopted looked like a tri-bred fusion of a horse, a fish, and a human -by\nphysical musculature only. Her feet were soft, delicate hooves ending\npowerfully muscular legs, and her tail, easily as long as Luke was tall, ended\nin two fins not unlike her previous body, but coloured teal instead of Blue. A\nmatching fin grew from her back, running from the top of her head down her\nspine, stopping at the mid-lower region, and then there were her hands; she had\nfive fingers, each one tipped with a hard, black cartilage -it was almost like\neach finger was tipped with a hoof, but rounded like a finger. Her equine face\nwas also mostly teal, with emerald green eyes peering at the others as she\nopened them.\nAnd then there was Volcan; he was larger than Serena even\nnow, both height-wise and by sheer girth, with a highly muscular upper body.\nHis hands, which looked like the talons of birds minus ending with four fingers\nand a thumb and skin all the way up to the elbow, were calloused -especially\naround the tips, and his colours had changed to a brilliant red and gold\ncombination that were far brighter than his previous body. He had a single\ncrown of feathers angling back from his brow, and his flame-patterned wings,\nlarge enough for him to blanket the members of Team Valiant on a cold night,\ncast a shadow over the wall behind him. The only thing unchanged were his sky\nblue eyes that peered out curiously, looking at Luke and the others, seeing\ntheir stunned expressions.\n\"Did you guys get smaller?\" He asked,\nnon-chalantly. He heard the click of his beak, and crossed his eyes to look at\nit. \"Huh? Orange...\" He raised his hands, looking at them, seeing the\ntaloned five fingers he knew were his own. \"My hands...\" He stared\noff into space, both of his wings twitching. \"My wings!\" He looked\nover his shoulders at both of the massive appendages growing from his back.\n\"I have my wings!\" He was smiling gleefully, turning about to look\nhimself over. \"I'm me again!\"\n \"Arceus\nAlmighty...\" Luke whispered, remembering back to the drawing Volcan made\nof his true self back when they first met, but to see it for himself, it erased\nany doubt that still lingered in his mind about Volcan's true form... a form\nwhich was very imposing to the short-statured Lucario. \"You're....HUGE!!\"\n            \"And\nI...\" Serena remarked, looking at her hands and feeling over her body;\nboth she and Volcan were clothed, unlike in their Pokémon forms; Volcan wore a\nblack tanktop and brown pants, but Serena was wearing a strange, sleeveless\nblack body suit that covered her whole figure from the neck down to her ankles;\nit was form fitting, showing off the nearly-human shape underneath, but\nsufficed for decency.\nVolcan looked at Serena. \"Hey! You're a hippocampus\nagain!\" He exclaimed, and then looked at Dialga. \"How... how did you\ndo that?\"\n\"Do not celebrate,\" the deity stated, plainly.\n\"It is only temporary, but I have undone the transformation that occurred\nupon your entry to this world. It shall only last while you are in here; when\nyou step out, you will revert back to the Pokémon forms you were in\nbefore.\"\nVolcan frowned at that. \"Drat... still I suppose it's\nenough to get to feel my real body again,\" he admitted, once more looking\nhimself over. \"Geez, ain't it funny how it is, you never really appreciate\nwhat you look like, until something comes along and transforms ya.\" He\nchuckled at that.\nKatsu approached Serena slowly, having to stand on his hind\nlegs once he got closer to her, and even then he was still shorter than her.\n\"This...is your true form...?\" He asked softly.\n Serena nodded to him.\n\"It is, Katsu,\" she replied. \"This is what I really am...\"\nShe frowned. \"I... I hope this doesn't bother you.\"\nHe slowly reached up and placed his paw on her cheek, shaking\nhis head slowly. \"Not in the least.\" He returned. \"You're\nbeautiful....\"\nVolcan looked at Kage, gauging the Greninja's reaction to all\nof this. Once again, he still had that deadpan, stoic look in his eyes, though\nhe did make a comment. \"This is a surprise...\" He stated. \"Seems\nyou were telling the truth...\"\n Volcan scowled at the\nGreninja. \"I know you haven't known me long, but have I lied even once\nsince we met?\" He asked defensively, but then relaxed. \"No, wait...\nthat's unfair.\" He shook his head. \"If you had shown up in my world\nturned into something else and told me it wasn't your true form I probably\nwould be skeptical too... sorry.\" He looked at Luke. \"Same to you,\nbuddy.\"\nThat voice... and that mild-mannered demeanour. His form had\nchanged, but it was still the same person they had met; this was definitely\nVolcan standing before them, no longer a Pokémon, but something else entirely\n-something that did not even exist on their world.\n \"I had my doubts, yes...\" Kage confessed.\n\"But I never leave anything to chance.\"\nLuke nodded softly. \"It's alright. I'm just... still\nblown away by how tall you are...\" He returned. \"And that muscle mass\ntoo... you'd give a Machamp a run for its money.\"\n \"Not much taller\nthan I was as a Blaziken,\" Volcan pointed out. \"But, yes... this is the\nreal me.\" He cleared his throat, and looked at Dialga, who had been\nwaiting rather patiently. \"But, we still have business to attend to,\"\nhe reminded the group.\n            \"Right.\"\nLuke nodded, and then he and his team turned to face Dialga. \"I take it\nyou're aware of the crisis affecting this world?\"\n            \"Yes,\"\nhe replied, tonelessly.\n\"We came here to ask if you knew what was\nhappening,\" Volcan began, stepping forward. As he did, though, Luke got a\nglimpse at his back; he remembered Volcan mentioning that he had a scar on his\nback, from when the entity called 'Calhoun' had torn his way out of Volcan's\nbody. Now, Luke could see that scar; it was gruesome to behold. The flesh was\ntwisted and warped, bald of any feathers and leaving a permanent deformity on\nhis body just beneath where his wings met his back. The scar honestly reminded\nLuke of a dried up raisin, only pale instead of dark.\nLuke grimaced at the sight of the scar, visibly shuddering\nfor a moment and having to look away. \"How horrible...\" he muttered\nsoftly before he regained his composure.\n\"The Pokémon down below have told of cries of agony\nresonating from here. Cries that sound like the Deity of Space is in\npain.\" Katsu called to Dialga. \"Is there anyway we could help relieve\nhim of his suffering?\"\n            \"There\nis not,\" Dialga replied without hesitation. \"Currently, Palkia\nbattles with one who is attempting to open a hole to the Distortion World;\ntheir battle rends the very fabric of space around Palkia's shrine, preventing\nall approach; I too have attempted, just as Mewtwo did. But it is impossible to\nreach Palkia, and even if you did, the one he battles is powerful beyond\nbelief; powerful enough to challenge even us.\"\nSerena looked confused. \"What's the Distortion World;\nwhy would Kalo'Temir be heading there?\"\nDialga looked at Serena. \"Kalo'Temir?\" He asked.\n\"He's the one that, I assume, Palkia is fighting\nwith,\" Volcan stated. \"He's an Arch Demon; I've fought him once\nbefore.\"\nDialga's gaze drifted away from the group, his eyes glowing\nas if searching for something, but before long the glow faded and he lowered\nhis gaze. \"Strange... I cannot see this creature on the currents of time\nin this world.\"\n\"That... is probably because he's not meant to be\nhere,\" stated Volcan. \"Kalo'Temir is from another Dimension -not the\nsame one as mine, but more like a neighboring realm to that. Well, nine realms\nreally... he's from a place known as the Realm of Destruction, which is also\nwhere this corruption affecting Pokémon across your world is coming from.\"\nDialga eyed Volcan for a moment, considering him, before he\nfinally spoke again. \"Your words ring true,\" he admitted, turning\nfrom the group and stepping over to his shrine, his thunderous steps causing\nthe ground to quake with each footfall.\n\"How the hell did this guy sneak up on us before?\"\nVolcan muttered so only the others could hear him. \"He's about as quiet as a\ntractor.\"\nDialga stood by his altar, and as he stared at it, his eyes\nglowed once more as he peered into the future a second time. He stood still and\nsilent for longer than before, giving the group a chance to speak again.\nLuke looked to Volcan as Dialga looked into the future.\n\"I may not know of Kalo'Temir, but I think I have an theory as to why he's\ntrying to get into the distortion world.\"\n \"What's\nthat?\" Volcan asked, looking at Luke. \"Is there something there he'd\nwant?\"\n            Luke\nonly spoke one word in response. \"Giratina.\"\n            Volcan's\neyes widened in realization. \"Wait... you mentioned him before,\" he\nsaid, rubbing his chin in thought. \"The... Deity of Anti-matter wasn't it?\nBut...\" He jerked as if he'd been hit, eyes filled with horror as if\nrealization had struck him like a hammer to his head. \"Son of a\nbitch...\"\n Luke nodded.\n\"Giratina is the Diety of Antimatter, and lord of the distortion world. He\nhas the power to challenge Arceus himself, and in turn, defeat him.\"\n\"Then there's only one reason Kalo'Temir would be after\nhim,\" said Volcan. \"To gain his powers.\"\n            \"He\ncan steal other's powers?\" Katsu asked, turning to Volcan.\n            \"Yes.\nThat's why I had to fight him before,\" Volcan replied. \"He abducted\nme, taking me to his realm with the intent to consume me and gaining my fire\npowers to amplify his own; he gains the abilities of others by consuming their\ncore essence, causing them to not only cease to exist but to permanently bond\nwith his own spirit; when that happens, that person is gone forever, even\nremoved from the cycle of Reincarnation, and every sort of power they had\n-strength, speed, intellect and...\" He held up his hand, which promptly\nignited, much like a Fire Punch. \"Elemental, Mutation or\nSuperhumanoid-based powers like this; they all become his.\"\n \"And now he seeks\nGiratina to further increase his powers...\" Kage stated softly. \"Truly\na fearsome beast...\"\n            \"Yes,\"\nreplied Volcan. \"If Giratina is as powerful as you say, it's no wonder\nKalo'Temir is after him; he probably has powers nobody else in my world or any\nof the Demon Realms has, and Kalo'Temir wants that power himself.\"\n\"You are correct,\" Dialga spoke up suddenly, coming\nout of his trance and turning back to the group. \"The one called\n'Kalo'Temir' seeks the power over Anti-Matter that only Giratina himself\npossesses; I have attempted to peer into the future, but the darkness around\nKalo'Temir is thick, and I cannot pierce the veil to see whether or not he will\nsucceed. The future is currently imbalanced and uncertain on all the streams of\ntime.\"\nLuke looked down toward the ground, flattening his ears\ncompletely as a mixture of emotions poured over him.\n            Volcan\nlooked at Luke. \"Hey... you okay?\" He asked.\n\"I...\" He looked up to Volcan for a moment. \"In\nall my years of living...never have I been faced with such a dilemma...this\nmakes the last threat I dealt with look like a cakewalk.\" He said before\nhe started to shudder. \"I'm actually scared right now.\"\nVolcan knelt down next to Luke, placing a hand on his\nshoulder comfortingly. \"I know, man... to be honest, so am I,\" he\nadmitted, and then looked at Dialga. \"Were you able to see how Kalo'Temir\nintends to capture Giratina?\"\n\"I was not,\" the deity reluctantly admitted.\n\"I do know however, that these spacial anomalies caused by his conflict\nwith Palkia, are functioning like a vacuum, as if to draw something\nthrough.\"\n\"Mewtwo mentioned that,\" said Serena. \"When he\nencountered that piece of Kalo'Temir's essence; he said it was like something\nwas trying to drag him into it, not pull itself through.\"\n\"So he's trying to open a portal to the Distortion World\nin order to pull Giratina into his\nworld,\" stated Volcan. \"That explains the anomalies on this world and ours.\"\n\"It does?\" Serena asked.\n\"Kalo'Temir must be passing through our world and Luke's\nsimultaneously, reaching between spaces to try and get to Giratina's\nrealm,\" said Volcan. \"Going through that many dimensions all at once\nis bound to cause some chaos.\"\n\"As unlikely as that sounds,\" said Dialga, \"I\nbelieve you are correct. Palkia battles with Kalo'Temir to keep him out of the\nDistortion World; I believe my nemesis has made himself a wall between the\ndemon and that realm, but it has thrown his powers into flux and conflict with\nKalo'Temir's own spacial abilities; a similar thing has occurred when his\npowers clashed with my own in our last battle.\"\n\"Is there anything we can do, Lord of Time?\" Katsu\nasked, lowering his head to him.\n\"If there was someone who could sever Kalo'Temir's\ncurrent link to this world, the distortions would cease,\" replied Dialga.\n\"But the only one in this world with the power to do that... is Palkia\nhimself.\"\n\"Then you have to send Serena and I back to my\nworld,\" said Volcan. \"One of the gods there might be able to sever\nthat link and stop the damage; if we can...\"\nDialga opened his mouth to speak, but he suddenly tensed, his\nmetallic toes scraping the floor as he was hit by an unknown ailment that made\nhim growl; Volcan stepped back instinctively, wondering if maybe he'd\noverstepped his bounds and angered the deity, but Dialga made no move to attack\nor berate him for any such thing. He just stood, staring off as if looking at\nsomething, and tensed as if in pain.\n            Luke,\nKage adn Katsu also backed up a little, though it was Katsu that broke the\nsilence. \"Lord of TIme...?\" He asked. \"Is something the\nmatter?\"\nDialga relaxed in a short moment, exhaling a calming breath\nbefore regarding the ones before him again. \"Do not concern yourself with\nme... but there is more than just Space being mishapen here. The currents of\ntime between this world and your friend's world are beginning to merge... it\ncauses me discomfort when the streams are being pushed together.\"\n\"Wait, merging?\" Volcan asked.\n\"The spacial damage is becoming so great it is drawing\nyour world to this one, and vice versa,\" explained Dialga. \"The\ndimensional barrier between our universes is collapsing; time on this world is\nnow very closely shared with time on yours.\"\n            Luke's\nears perked up, and then he looked to Volcan. \"Wait, then...if they're\nmerging together...\"\n\"Then the entire fabric of reality between our worlds\nwill converge too,\" Volcan stated. \"Or, worst case scenario, our two planets\nare going to collide... that will mean Armageddon.\" Volcan shook his head\nbriskly, stamping his foot. \"This is\ncompletely out of control; we have to stop Kalo'Temir; we need to get home and\ncut him off somehow!\"\n\"That cannot be done,\" Dialga stated. \"I cannot\ngrant your request to send you home.\"\nVolcan, now stressed to his limit, suddenly exploded with\nrage; he sprang off of the floor with a single powerful kick off the ground,\nflying up to look Dialga in the eye. \"Are you kidding me?! You're a\ndeity; why you can't send us back?!\"\nDialga's eyes glowed again, and suddenly Volcan was sent\nright back to the floor, dropping straight down as if gravity increased, his\nbeak slamming shut. \"Mmph!\"\n\"My power is over Time, young one, not Space,\"\nreplied Dialga. \"I cannot pass between dimensions as my counterpart can;\nthe only other one with that power would be the Creator itself.\"\nVolcan was free to speak and move again, sitting up with\nirritation. \"Dammit... so despite coming all this way we're STILL at a\ndead end.\"\nLuke rubbed the back of his head for a moment. \"So now\nwhat happens?\" Luke muttered softly to himself.\nDialga was silent; even with extensive wisdom, he could not\ngive Luke an answer. But after a moment of uncomfortable quiet in the shrine,\nDialga's gaze shifted. This time, however, he didn't stare off randomly as if\npeering into another world, he peered towards the door. \"A dark presence\nis forming outside,\" he stated, turning around and stepping towards the\ndoor. \"Something is coming.\"\nBoth Katsu and Kage turned and had their hands on their\nrespective weapons, ready to draw them. Luke also perked up and pulled Volcan\nto his feet. \"On your feet.\" He said before he looked toward the door\nas well.\n\"Right... sorry,\" said Volcan, dusting himself off.\nHe looked at Luke sadly. \"I'm sorry...\" He repeated, but saying it\ndifferently this time, as if feeling guilty.\n\"This isn't your fault...\" Luke returned, glancing\nover to him. \n\"Which part? The fact that our worlds might be about to be\ndestroyed by an enemy I wasn't able to defeat,\" Volcan iterated, berating\nhimself and everything that was happening. \"Or because I dragged you hundreds\nof miles from your family -your wife, your son, your brothers, all for\nnothing?\" He sulked, his arms hanging limp at his sides. \"What the hell do we\ndo now?\"\n\"We'll just have to find another way is all.\"\n\"But what other way is there?\" Volcan asked,\nhelplessly. \"If even Dialga can't help us get home, then Serena and I are\nnot only trapped here, we can't warn everyone on our world what's happening.\nWho knows how many Pokémon have been sucked to my world or vice versa by\nnow?\" He grabbed his head in frustration. \"I've dealt with\nworld-ending situations before but this is just beyond insane!\" He fumed, his voice escalating. \"Why did\nthis world have to get dragged into this plot as well?! At least if it was just\nmine we'd know who we were dealing with and be ready to stop it, but\nhere...!\"\n \"Volcan!!\"\nLuke grabbed him by his waist and shook him a few times to get him to both shut\nup and calm down. \"Pull yourself together!\" He practically commanded the\nphoenix, the sheer tone of his voice silencing the frantic Volcan immediately,\nbefore he returned to a softer tone. \"We'll find a way... I haven't lost\nhope yet and neither should you...\"\n Volcan immediately\ncalmed himself, looking down at Luke with a blank expression, before he took in\na deep breath to relieve his tension. \"Sorry... I guess I lost my head\nthere for a second.\"\n\"Volcan!\" Serena called from the door.\n\"There's another anomaly opening outside!\"\nImmediately, the avian snapped back into alertness, turning\ntowards the exit briefly to peer at the group who had already run there, before\nhe looked back at Luke again. \"Okay; go crazy later, focus now,\" he\nstated. \"Sound like a plan?\"\n\"Yes.\" Luke returned. \"Stay on your toes\neveryone!\" he called out to his team, who nodded in agreement. By now,\nboth Katsu and Kage had their weapons drawn, ready for whatever might pop out\nof that anomally\nDialga stood with them as they gathered near the door, both\nVolcan and Serena stepping outside to see what was happening. Immediately after\nwalking through the door, in a flash of light they both reverted back to Pokémon\nform; Serena stumbled as she suddenly became a quadruped again, dropping to all\nfours and looking herself over. Volcan looked at his hands and frowned.\n\"Well... was good to feel my wings again at least,\" he remarked,\nbefore staring ahead again as a swirling white light down the path began to\nform, expanding rapidly over the ground.\nLuke, Kage and Katsu were right behind them, each of them\nshuffling closer until they saw it begin to expand forming a line between them\nand Dialga's shrine -it was no doubt the power of the Time Lord that had\nbrought these new intruders here, seeking to consume his immeasurable power.\nAnd then, the wormhole opened wider, and figures began to\nappear in its light, charging out from the bright abyss and running towards the\nshrine. These creatures were unlike anything Luke and his team had ever seen\nbefore; they were each a little taller than Luke, maybe five and a half feet\ntall, and with surprisingly scrawny figures, but each one carried a form of\nbludgeoning weapon; maces, clubs, hammers, some even carried pickhammers, and\nthey ran with a furious zeal towards the shrine as if driven by ravenous hunger.\nTheir mouths, on heads shaped like that of a toad, was filled with sharp fangs\nand a sickly green tongue. On the top of their heads, behind their eyes, two\nlong antennae grew, so long they actually arced behind the creatures and\ntrailed like ribbons as they ran for the shrine.\n\"What in the hell are\nthose things???\" Luke demanded.\n            \"Maulers,\"\nstated Volcan. \"Footsoldiers from the Realm of Destruction; always travel\nin groups of at least fifty, to as many as four hundred.\"\n\"They're drawn to sources of magic or power,\"\nstated Serena, looking back towards Dialga. \"They must sense his power and\nare coming for it.\"\nDialga scowled. \"They can try,\" he stated before he\nopened his great maw, a sphere of violet energy forming in front of his mouth,\nand erupting as a beam, which he swept across the front row of Maulers, utterly\nobliterating fifteen of the creatures in that one attack, but they tenaciously\nkept charging, their eyes fixed hungrily on the group ahead.\n\"Spread out; don't let them surround us!\" Volcan called.\n\"Use the shrine as a rear defense!\"\nLuke, Katsu and Kage all spread out, each of them taking on a\nfew Maulers at a time. Luke smacked down a few with his Extreme Speed coupled\nwith some Aura Spheres at farther enemies. Kage weaved around each Mauler in\nrange of his Shadow Sneak and beheaded them one after another with his Ninjato,\nand Katsu impaled some on his shelmet with Megahorn, then hurled them to the\nside and used Razor Shell on any that tried to surround him.\nVolcan kicked down the first three that came at him one at a\ntime, before unleashing his Flamethrower in a sweeping motion, igniting six\nmore that rushed his way. Serena used her Water gun to stumble two of them,\nbefore using an Aqua Jet attack to intercept one that was trying to slip past\nLuke, kicking it in the head with both hind legs before she turned and launched\na different attack this time; she fired an Ice Beam, much to her own surprise\nas well as the group's, and froze the Mauler solid.\n\"I can... use Ice?\" She asked.\n            Katsu\nglanced back to Serena and smiled. \"Excellent!\" He called as he\nhacked another in two. \"Some Water Types can use Ice attacks as\nwell.\" He said as he grunted, blocking a Mauler's weapon before shoulder\nbashing him away.\n            A\nMauler running at Luke let out a shriek as it sprang towards him, gripping its\nhammer with both hands before trying to bring it down on the Lucario. Luke\nweaved to the side, letting it swish past him and slam into the ground. He then\ngrabbed at its collarbone and reared his paw back, slamming it into its chest\nwith a potent Force Palm. The attack sent the demon flying back toward the\nother demons, as well as paralyze it, preventing it from moving any further.\nVolcan took out several more of the demons, but saw they were\nstill pouring out of the portal; even as Dialga blasted them again, taking out\neasily another thirty of them with another sweeping blast of a Hyper Beam,\ntheir numbers seemed to get no thinner. The Blaziken scowled, and touched his\nmega stone, immediately transforming to his mega-evolved state and glaring\nangrily at the demons.\n\"Enough messing around; you bastards are going\nDOWN!\" He bellowed before going in with a Flame Charge, slamming his elbow\ninto the first Mauler that came in range, landing a Blaze Kick on the next and\nFire Punch on a third. With every passing moment, as Serena watched, she could\nswear Volcan was actually getting... faster. \n\"How...\" She wondered. \"Volcan has never been\nable to move like that before...\"\n\"Flame Charge has an added effect.\" Kage said as he\nsliced another Pokémon's head off. \"It adds a small boost to a Pokémon's\nspeed the more they use it.\"\n            \"Then\nwhy is he still getting faster despite not using it again?\" She asked.\nIt was rapidly becoming clear that Volcan was getting faster still; he had only\nused Flame Charge once, but at this point he was almost as quick as Luke,\nstriking every single Mauler that came in reach; not one got past him except\nfor those that were far enough away he couldn't get them.\n            \"...Of\ncourse!\" Luke muttered. \"Speed Boost!\" He called out. \"A\nMega Blaziken's ability changes to Speed Boost, which slowly increases their\nspeed the longer they remain in the form!\"\n            \"So\nVolcan's speed is just going to keep climbing?\" Serena asked.\n            \"Yes.\"\nLuke returned. \"It's only temporary though. Once a fight ends, his speed\nwill return to normal.\"\n            \"If\nit ever does end!\" Volcan called, evidently able to hear them. \"These\nMaulers just won't stop coming!\"\nDialga, growling with fury, suddenly reared up on his hind\nlegs, breathing in deeply before dropping back down and slamming both forelegs\ndown, directing a roar towards the Maulers. At first, it seemed like any other\nroar -the result of frustration, or an attempt to scare away the Maulers. But\nrather than continue or retreat, the Mauler's had all frozen, and right before\nthe eyes of the group, the whole lot of them seemed to age thousand of years in\nless than a second, their entire bodies turning to dust and falling soundlessly\nto the ground in heaps of powder...\nWhen it was all over, Volcan stood dumbstruck, staring at the\npile of dust that was once the Mauler he had been about to kick. \"Um...\nokay that... was unexpected.\"\nKatsu and Luke had to cover their ears during the attack,\nwhich they knew it was Dialga's legendary Roar of Time, but Kage remained as\nsteadfast as always. \"That was Dialga's Roar of Time.\" He stated to Volcan.\n\"As the God of Time, he can manipulate it into however he sees fit.\"\n \"Clearly,\nconsidering he just sent these guys about forty thousand years into their\nfutures,\" remarked Volcan, rejoining the group.\nDialga, however, was looking over them, staring down the\nshort hill to the portal even as the wind carried away the remains of the\nMaulers. \"That portal is not closing...\" he stated\n            \"More\nmight be on their way...\" Luke returned, expecting another wave of enemies\nto come. \"Stay on guard!\"\nBut he couldn't have been more wrong...\nSuddenly, the wind seemed to shift; not like just a trade of\ndirection, but something like the wind of a tornado was suddenly rushing around\nthem, kicking up dust that was immediately drawn towards the portal, catching\nall of them off guard.\n\"Shit; changed polarity or something!\" Volcan\nremarked as he promptly got low, digging his hands into the ground and trying\nto brace himself as the powerful vacuum pulled at the group, putting an arm\naround Serena to keep her from being dragged off as well.\nDialga dug his feet into the ground, preventing his bulky\nform from being dragged towards the rift either, defiantly growling as he\nbraced himself. \"The conflict... is escalating!\" Called the lord of\nTime. \"Palkia must be fighting Kalo'Temir directly now!\"\n\"That can't be good!\" Luke called back, crouching\nlow as well. \"At this rate, he might even try to take Palkia's powers of\nSpace manipulation!\"\nKatsu started slowly skidding toward the rift, digging his\nblades into the ground to try and anchor himself, but his blades were also\nslowly skidding along the ground as well. \"Damnit!!\" He growled,\ntrying to back away from the rift as it pulled him toward it.\n            \"Katsu!\"\nSerena called, immediately breaking out of Volcan's grasp to try and run to\nhelp her beloved.\n\"No, Serena; you're too light! It'll pull you in!\"\nVolcan warned, but had to dig his hands in to keep himself from being dragged,\nthe ribbons of fire trailing from his arms actually being put out by the vacuum.\nKage quickly pulled out a Kusagari chain from his satchel and\nhurled it at the Samurott. The weapon wrapped around his middle tightly, and\nthen Kage dug his ninjato into the ground and quickly tied the chain around the\npommel of his blade, trying to use it as an anchor. Luke caught onto what he\nwas doing and slowly crawled over to Kage, wrapping his arms around his middle\nand anchoring him to the ground as well.\n Serena grabbed hold of\nthe chain as well, pulling back on it and trying to pull Katsu back from the\nsuction of the rift, but just as Volcan had stated, she was suddenly pulled off\nof her feet too, shrieking in surprise as she was pulled along the chain until\nshe hit Katsu's back; the chain still held on, but now it was only him that\nkept her from being pulled in.\nVolcan's feet were suddenly pulled out from under him, waving\nthrough the air as he struggled to bring them back down, during which his\nmega-stone carrying shoulder strap was yoinked off of him. \"Hey!\" He\ncalled, watching it fly towards the portal only to be caught on a tree branch.\n\"So much for a souvenir,\" he grumbled as he reverted back to his\nregular Blaziken form. \"I hate to sound like Pavan again but, this sucks on so many levels!!\"\n \"Damnit!\"\nLuke growled, feeling both his and Kage's feel scraping along the ground as\nwell. \"NOT a good time for puns Volcan!!\"\nSuddenly, Volcan's hand slipped, and he was held down by only\none, which was losing its grip too as his legs flailed in the air. \"You're\nright!\" He called as he suddenly popped free; he grabbed at the ground\nagain as he tried to anchor himself again but he was yoinked faster than he\ncould. \"Now's the time to say FUUUUUUUCK!!!\" He screamed as he went\nspiralling towards the portal, flapping his arms and legs wildly!\n\"Volcan!!!\"\nLuke called to him, but at that moment he too lost his footing, as well as\nKage, which then led to everyone else quickly getting pulled into the portal as\nwell.\nSerena held onto Katsu tightly as they were suddenly carried\ntowards the portal, not knowing where it would take them, but praying they\nwould not lose each other when they appeared on the other side. Dialga could\nonly watch as the five of them were carried off to world's unknown, struggling\nnot to be pulled in as well, but noticing the vacuum was starting to lessen as\nthey passed into the white beyond. In a moment, it finally ceased, and the\nworld became still again.\nDialga shook his head to clear it, before peering back to\nwhere the portal was before, but it was gone now, with no sign of the heroes,\nexcept for Volcan's shoulder strap still hanging from the tree where it had\nbeen before...\n~~~~~\nThe next thing Luke knew, he was waking up and groaning in a\ngroggy manner. Slowly he sat up and shook his head, squinting as his eyes\nadjusted to the overhead sunlight. \"Guh... That's bright,\" he\ngroaned, and then he started looking around, wondering if everyone else was\nalright.\nHe didn't see anyone nearby. He'd landed on what appeared to\nbe some kind of slope, with a forest visible below, and off in the distance...\nthe sea? \"Damn...\" He muttered, slowly getting to his feet and\ncracking his neck a little before he turned about to get his bearings. \nHe was in a forest, leaving him unable to see much, but what\ndid catch his eye was a large mountain jutting up in the distance. However it\nwas far too wide and short to be the one they had been on only what felt like\nmoments before. \"Yup...definitely not at Spear Pillar...\" He\nmuttered, and then he closed his eyes and quickly tuned to his Aura Sense to\ntry and locate his friends.\nBelow, he could see Aura signatures in the trees; spread out,\nbut pure, and living; whoever was down there, they were alive. Luke trotted\ntoward the signals, hoping it was the signals of his friends. He kept his sense\ntuned on, heading for the closest one to him once he was within the trees. When\nhe got there, he got quite a surprise; he found Volcan, but not as he knew him.\nHis friend had once again reverted back to his true form; he was a winged humanoid\nagain, clothes back and everything, and laying sprawled out on the ground\nstrewn with dead leaves and sticks, not yet conscious.\nLuke breathed a heavy sigh of relief. \"Thank Arceus he's\nok...\" He muttered, then he trotted over and gently slapped his cheek.\n\"Volcan. Volcan wake up.\"\nLuke froze... and found that he was using a hand that was not\nhis own... it still had the steel spike on the back, and black colouring that\nwas normal to his kind; even still had the pink-ish padding in the middle of\nhis palm, though not as dense as it normally was. But he had fingers -not paws\nanymore, he had a HAND, an actual five-fingered hand!\n\"What the??\" Luke exclaimed in surprise, quickly\nstanding straight again. He looked at the hand for a moment, and then he\nglanced over to his other arm and noticed it too was a hand. he looked down at\nhimself and noticed his entire body had changed. \"...This....what the hell\nhappened to me....??\"\nHe had become... what had Volcan called it? It appeared\nsomehow he'd taken on the same kind of humanoid shape as Volcan; he had a very human\nphysique to him, with the same kind of musculature and body structure, except\nfor his feet; they had largely remained unchanged, except they seemed... bigger\nsomehow. He still had his tail, and the chest spike, but he had pectorals and\nabdominal muscles, visible ones -the kind that appeared on a professional\nathlete. But aside from his hands and this new musculature, he hadn't actually\nchanged that much; he was still a Lucario.\n\"I'll have to worry about it later...priorities,\nLuke...\" He muttered to himself before he knelt back down to Volcan.\n\"Dammit c'mon, Wake up!\" He yelled at him, slapping him again.\nVolcan's arm suddenly came up and swatted Luke's hand away.\n\"Ugh... not so loud, man; my head is going to pop,\" the avian\nreturned, sitting up and rubbing his skull. \"I hope I didn't fall out of\nthe sky again...\" He opened his eyes and looked at Luke, only for his\nexpression to go flat, and he just stared. \"Uh... Luke?\" He asked.\n \"I know, it\ncaught me by surprise too.\" Luke returned. \"Seems I've somehow become\none of those....anthro... po...morphics?\" He asked.\nVolcan nodded. \"Right on the money,\" he said,\nlooking Luke over. \"Actually, yanno... aside from the fact you're taller,\nthere's not that big a difference. It's actually a good look for ya.\"\nLuke glanced to the side and blushed a little. \"Perhaps,\nbut let's not get sidetracked.\" Luke stated. \"I picked up on other\nsignals not too far from here. I'm hoping it's the others.\"\nVolcan nodded. \"Right,\" he agreed. \"We should\nalso try to find out where we are; this place looks familiar somehow, so I'm\nguessing we're now on my world, but I can't recall where.\"\nLuke nodded, gently helping him onto his feet. \"Let's\nhurry. I sensed a signal this way.\" He said, pointing to his left, then\ntrotted off toward said location.\n\"Right with you,\" replied Volcan, following closely\nbehind Luke. It still was a little startling to Volcan that Luke had changed to\nan anthro... but maybe it was the same reason Volcan had become a Blaziken in\nLuke's world. But if that were the case, wouldn't Luke had become an ordinary\nJackal? 'Different universe, different\nlaws of physics, but strangers in a strange land... I guess the effects vary,'\nthe phoenix thought.\nThey travelled for a bit until they found what looked like\nKage slowly rising to his feet. He grunted and shook his head a little, then\nlooked around until he caught sight of Volcan and Luke approaching him. \"Kage!\"\nLuke called. \"You alright?\"\n\"More or less...\" He said as he shrugged his\nshoulders a little.\n\"Looks like Luke's not the only one who got an extreme\nmakeover,\" Volcan remarked, noticing Kage had become an anthro too; he was\nstill skinny, but not to the same degree as his previous form, and his tongue\nwas still worn around his neck like a scarf. 'If that doesn't draw attention I don't know what will,' thought the phoenix. Like Luke\nthough, Kage had only changed enough that he was now an anthro, but besides\nthat he still looked like a Pokémon.\n Kage looked at himself for a moment, and then\nnarrowed his eyes curiosly. \"Interesting,\" He muttered, then he\nlooked back at Luke and Volcan. \"What of Katsumoto and Serena.?\"\n\"They must be the other signatures Luke detected,\"\nsaid Volcan. \"Which way?\"\n            \"This\nway.\" Luke said, now pointing to his right. He then took off in a trot\ntoward the signals. \"They were close together, so it has to be them.\"\nThe three of them strode over to where the last two signals\nhad been, and found Serena, back in Hippocampus form, and Katsu, now also in an\nanthro form, still holding onto each other, despite not being conscious. Katsu\nhad changed the most of the three Pokémon; his body was not only muscular, but\nhis legs had taken on a new shape; they were now a more bipedal design to them,\nending with larger feet than he'd normally have. His seamitars lay at opposite\nends of the clearing, waiting to be retrieved, but his shelmet had managed to\nstay on, albeit a little loosely.\n\"Well, at least they didn't appear far apart... or, any\nof us for that matter,\" said Volcan.\n\"Lucky us...\" Luke returned. \"C'mon let's try\nand wake them up.\" He said as he approached the two of them and knelt down\nnext to them.\n\"Hey, Serena?\" Volcan called, kneeling down by the\nhippocampus and shaking her. \"Come on, girl; no time for a nap.\"\nShe stirred, and let out a groan as she reached up with a\nhand and held her head. \"Where... where are we?\" She asked, and then\nopened one eye to look at her hand, that eye widening with recognition.\n\"I'm...!\"\n\"Yeah, Serena... I think we're home,\" said Volcan.\nKatsu soon stirred as well, groaning lowly and slowly opening\nhis eyes. \"Home...?\" He asked as he shook himself awake.\n            \"Katsu!\"\nSerena went back to his side without hesitation, checking him, and when his\neyes opened, their gazes met once more, and the Samurott immediately saw she\nwas back to her true self once more.\nHe slowly allowed himself a smile. \"Serena... I'm glad\nyou're alright.\" He said softly, and then it dawned on him when he noticed\nshe was back to normal, before he looked down at himself and noticed he too had\nchanged. He was much more muscular, so much so that his kimono was feeling\nrather tight against his form, he had 5 digits on his paw as opposed to three,\nand he was much taller as well. \"Quite a change...\"\n\"You're not the only one,\" remarked Volcan,\ngesturing to Luke and Kage as well.\n            He\nlooked at the both of them and was in a state of shock for a moment. \"My\ngoodness...\" He whispered, sitting up and rubbing his eyes a little.\n\"Is this...?\" he looked to Serena. \"Are we in your realm?\"\n            She\nnodded at him. \"It's looking that way,\" she replied. \"But where\nare we?\"           \"That's what\nI want to know,\" replied Volcan, looking around. \"This place looks so\nfamiliar but I just can't place it...\" He looked at Luke. \"All of you,\nfind somewhere to hunker down for a bit; I'm going to go have a look around.\nMaybe see if I can find a phone or a radio; if I can get in touch with... well,\nsomeone anyway.\"\nLuke nodded before he looked around, noticing a shady spot\nnear a bush and headed on over there. \"This place should be a good\nspot.\" He said, gesturing the others to follow.\n \"Alright; you\nguys wait here and stay together,\" said Volcan, spreading his wings.\n\"I'll be back soon.\" He crouched low, and with a mighty leap, he\nlaunched himself into the air; his takeoff was a little awkward at first, after\ngetting used to being deprived of flying for a while, but he managed to right\nhim, and flew off towards the great mountain in the center of the island.\nSerena looked back at Katsu, and found herself looking him\nover for a moment, particularly his new body. Clearly, his new body interested\nher, further evidenced by how she blushed as she saw his well-built muscles\naround his chest, unable to speak.\nKatsu looked back over to her and noticed her eying him up\nand down, making him blush a little. \"You...like what you see...?\" He\nasked softly.\n\"Y-yes...\" she replied. \"I liked your old body\ntoo -especially while I was... well, was a Pokémon as well, but this...\"\nShe blushed further. \"It suits you.\"\n\"Thank you...\" He returned, slowly reaching to hold\nher hand in his. \"I believe I mentioned how beautiful you were when I\nfirst gazed upon your true self...\"\n \"You really think\nso?\" She asked, looking at him.\n\"I do...\" He returned, gripping her hand tighter.\nShe smiled wider, her blush not becoming any lighter, but she\nscooted closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder. \"When we get back\nhome... I look forward to showing you my world,\" she said.\n\"I look forward to seeing it as well, with you at my side.\"\nHe returned, slowly planting a kiss on her cheek before wrapping his arm around\nher slowly in a warm embrace."}