{"sf1_id":894090,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Escape from Lycanthria","author":"Volcan MacAingeal","words":25952,"posted_at":"2015-08-03T23:25:00.000Z","tags":["Anthropomorphic","Desperation","Greninja","Human","Phoenix","Sergal","Werewolf","combat","danger","hippocampus","lucario","pokemon","samurott"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/894090-escape-from-lycanthria","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/894090","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=894090\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"\nAfter leaving the others in the woods, Volcan welcomed the\nchance to stretch his wings again; after spending so many days without them -an\nalienating feeling at that. It had been quite an unusual experience for him,\nbeing turned into a completely different, and utterly flightless species. But\noverall... not unpleasant; he'd made some new friends thanks to it, friends he\nwould not soon forget, and who had helped him through that strange time.\n            Now, however, the roles were\nreversed. Now Luke and his team were trapped in Volcan's world; they had\nchanged to unfamiliar forms, taking on anthropomorphic variants of their\noriginal selves, and now they were in an area even Volcan didn't know... at\nleast he was not certain he did. The place seemed very familiar but no matter\nhow much he wracked his brain trying to find out he couldn't remember why...\n            Looking back once more to make sure\nhis friends were safe, Volcan flew towards the mountain; maybe some high ground\nwould give him some clue as to where they were. \n            The feeling of the wind rushing over\nhis feathers calmed Volcan's mind, helping him think and to fully assess his\nsituation. He was home -almost home; he was back in his own world, and now he\nhad a chance to see his other friends again. Better yet, he could even\nintroduce them to his new friends. At least, soon as he found a way to get back\nto them.\n            Then, something caught his eye; a\nbuilding on the mountainside. Not large, but noticeable, and possibly\ninhabited. Turning about, the phoenix flew towards the building, surveying the\narea for any signs of life before he reared back to slow his descent, landing\ngently on both feet outside of the building.\n            Volcan examined the structure; it\nreminded him of Overwatch Station, back near Unity Falls -a favorite hangout of\nhis when he was younger. The seclusion of the abandoned ranger station was\noften a good way to clear his head, and it had proven a nice hideout during the\ngang war. But the wear on the building was all wrong; it looked like it had\nbeen in operation at least up until recently and was still in good condition.\n\n            Volcan\nwalked up to the door, knocking on it. When there was no answer, he turned the\nhandle and shouldered open the door, getting a beak-full of dust as he stepped\nin. \"Blah! Pfft! Nasty,\" he complained, rubbing his nostrils. \"Okay, clearly\nunoccupied,\" he said, matter of factly, flapping his wings to blow some of the\ndust away before he stepped inside, surveying the room.\n            The inside\nwas a complete mess; furniture was strewn about, minus the couch which was\ncovered in dust. The desk in the far corner was the victim of termites, most of\nit having been eaten away by the voracious little insects. The chair had fared\nno better -it was collapsed on the floor, an entire leg of it missing from the frame,\nand the floor beneath had several holes; every floor board creaked ominously as\nVolcan stepped, and more often than not he expected it to break right under\nhim. So far, it held though.\n            On a whim,\nor perhaps out of reflex, he felt around for a light switch, eventually finding\none and flicking it up. Much to his surprise, the overhead light actually\nturned on, illuminating the room around him. \"Well, that's handy,\" he said,\nlooking at the light for a moment before he grimaced, realizing it might be better\nif he left it of; flicking the switch back down, the room became dark and\ngloomy again. \"Could probably use this to hideout if need be.\"\n            He looked to\nhis left, and spotted an adjacent room at the corner next to the ruined desk.\nCurious, he crossed the cabin, and peeked into the room, looking inside and\nspotting a table that, luckily, had been left untouched by the termite problems\nfacing this cabin. But it was not the table his eyes fixed upon; resting on top\nof it was an old-model, long range radio transceiver!\n            \"Oh man,\nplease work, please work, please work,\" Volcan repeatedly pleaded as he dashed\nover to the radio, reaching for the on/off switch with a shaky hand. He\nswitched it on, and felt his heart sink when the lights didn't activate.\n\"Mother fu-...\" he paused mid-profanity as the lights suddenly flickered on,\nand some static fizzed through the receiver. \"Yes! Fucking A!\" He cheered,\nbefore covering up his beak with both hands. \"Yikes... better keep a lid on it,\nor a something unfriendly is going to hear me...\"\n            He sat down\nin front of the radio, tuning the volume a little bit before he raised his head\nand raised his head to look at the ceiling. ...I'm\ntrying to operate a radio when I have absolutely no idea what channel I'd need\nto contact... well, anybody! He grabbed his head in frustration. Ah sack of monkey shit; what the hell do I\ndo now? I just mess with this thing and someone on the island will probably\nhear it. \nHe looked around the room, and\nspotted a book lying on the floor next to the table; an instruction manual for\nthe transceiver. He reached down and picked up the manual, leafing through the\npages until he came to a chapter about operating the radio, reading it over\nquickly. During his study, though, something caught his eye -a paragraph on\nusing the radio as a phone. \"Radio-phone; of course!\" He whispered, slapping\nhimself on the side of the head. \"I can call for help that way.\"\n            Following\nthe directions, he set up the radio phone, and dialed the first number that\ncame to mind; there was only one person he knew that had a plane and would be\nable to come and get him and the others. Kyle. He listened as the radio\ntransmitted the call, hearing the ringing sound to indicate the call had\nconnected, and waited for an answer. \"Please man, answer...\"\n            A click. \"Yeah, this is Kyle; who's calling please?\"\n            \"Hallelujah!\" Volcan cheered, and swore he heard something falling to the\nfloor with a metallic clamour on the other end. \"Uh, Kyle?\"\n            \"What the shit was that about? Who is this?\"\n            \"Kyle, it's me, Volcan!\" The phoenix replied, holding the mouthpiece\nclose to his beak so the human could hear him.\n            \"Vol...! Holy shit, you're okay! Man, you've\nbeen giving us heart attacks here; where are you calling from?\"\n            \"Well, I don't know for sure; I'm on radio phone, in this rundown old\nshack,\" Volcan replied. \"I'm not sure where this place is exactly, though.\"\n            He heard\nKyle sigh. \"Least I know you're alive...\nwhere the hell have you been?\"\n            \"It's... a very long story,\" Volcan replied. \"But enough about that, I...\"\n            He paused\nmid-sentence as he heard something outside, a sound like a growl. Evidently it\nwas loud enough Kyle caught it as well, because he quickly asked \"Volc... what's that noise?\"\n            \"Hang on,\" Volcan replied. \"I don't think I'm alone... wait there for a\nsec.\" Volcan stood up from the chair as slowly and quietly as possible, eyes\nfurrowing with suspicion as he slowly crept out of the room, glancing over to\nthe nearest window, where he could hear the growls continuing to sound.\n            He ducked\nback immediately as he saw a canine muzzle appear by the window, concealing\nhimself back inside the tiny, windowless room with his eyes wide in surprise. A\nwerewolf! Damn his luck, he was in lycan territory; really bad place to be!\n            Daring a\npeek around the corner, he saw the lycanthrope outside, rearing up on its hind\nlegs and sniffing the air, its gaze slowly turning to the cabin Volcan was in.\nIf that thing cornered him in there, he was in for a painful experience;\nfighting lycans up close rarely ended well for their opponent, no matter how\nstrong they were. He prayed it would lose interest in leave, standing perfectly\nstill and quiet as he waited.\n            The\nlycanthrope elicited a sharp snarl, and in a second, Volcan heard heavy\nfootfalls bound away from the cabin. Cautiously, Volcan emerged from his hiding\nplace again, peering through the window before he stepped out of the room and\nwalked over, seeing the werewolf running, down on all fours, away from the\ncabin. Something had caught its attention and sent it on the prowl -he just\nhoped it wasn't Luke or the others.\n            But then,\nover the treeline, Volcan saw something. He contracted the pupils in his eyes\nto use his telescopic vision, honing his gaze in on that object rising high\ninto the air, resembling a massive spear jutting up towards the clouds. He\nfocused on it, waiting for a little haze to clear -oh wait that was the window\nhe was looking through that was hazy. He wiped the window with his arm,\nclearing some of the dust away until he could see through it a little more\nclearly, and saw what he was looking at, mere miles away. It wasn't some giant\nspear or unusual rock formation, it was a tower; a construct often built\nattached to a castle, and when a little bit of fog cleared, he saw more towers,\nall of them leading down to a structure the trees concealed.\n            Without\nbeing able to see clearly, Volcan dared to get a better look, walking over to\nthe cabin door and stepping outside. He jumped as high as he could to see over\nthe tree line, and get a better look at where those towers were coming  fr-.\n            He could\nhave sworn his heart stopped when he saw the castle. The towers were\nattachments, built up from a massive stone structure of Russian-esque\narchitecture, resembling a building that would have existed in the time of the\nTzar's, but it was brand new, standing tall over the land below, but it paled\nin comparison to the lone mountain it was resting on the hip of, built upon a\nplateau in the shadow of the great escarpment. With a quick swivel of his head\nto see more of the land below, he suddenly knew exactly where he was...\n            \"Ooooh\nshitoshitoshitoshitoshit!!\" He cursed repeatedly as he fell back to the ground,\nwhirling around so fast he kicked up a cloud of dust before he practically dove\nback into the cabin, shutting the door and running back into the radio room.\nHis heart was thundering as he grasped for it, juggling with the transmitter\nbefore he finally got a firm grip on it.\n            \"Volcan? Volc, what the hell's all that\nnoise...?\" Kyle demanded with concern, hearing Volcan's clumsy attempts to\ngrasp the radio until the phoenix finally had it.\n            \"Kyle... I\nneed you to get your plane ready, and haul ass to the west,\" Volcan informed,\ntrying to keep his voice even. \"'Cuz I just figured out where we are over\nhere!\"\n\"Volcan, calm down; what're you talking about?\"\n            \"Bud...\" Volcan started, drawing a long pause until he managed to bluntly\nforce out the words. \"We're in Lycanthria...\"\n\nVolcan had been gone for an hour already; the sun was\nbeginning to set, and the air was becoming colder. Serena, being a deep water\ndweller, was already used to the cold, but she looked to her friends, hoping\nthey were alright.\nLuke sat relaxing against the tree he sat in front of, taking\na deep breath and sighing as he felt the cool air rush through his fur. Kage\nremained stoic as always, hanging upside down from a branch above Luke, almost\nlike a bat. While Katsu was taking a rock and polishing off his Seamitars,\nholdint them up ti teh setting sun and watching them gleam for a second before\nhe smiled, sheathing them in his forearm guards.\n\"I'm honestly a little surprised you can still do that\nin Anthro form,\" Serena admitted, pointing at the sword now sheathed in\nhis arm. \"But it seems all of your powers still carry on in this world\ntoo.\"\n\"I suppose as long as it's part of my anatomy, then they\nremain.\" Katsu returned, turning back to look at Serena with a small\nsmile. \"I just hope my attacks carry over as well..\"\n\"Well, if they have changed to Hydromancy, this time I can teach you,\" she remarked,\nsmiling at him.\nHe started to laugh. \"Oh the irony.\" He returned,\ncovering his eyes as he laughed.\nSerena laughed with him, though hers was much softer, but\nbefore long to was looking back at Luke and Kage as well. \"How are you two\nholding up to this change?\"\n\"I'm managing.\" Luke returned, glancing at his paw\nand lifting it in front of him. \"It's still hard to believe I now have\nhands...\"\nKage didn't say a word in response, slowly flipping to an\nupright position on his branch and keeping his eyes forward.\n\"I know it'll take time... but if I was able to adjust\nto being a Quadruped, I have no doubt you'll learn your new bodies,\" she\nsaid, confidently, or perhaps with forced confidence as she was not usually one\nfor displaying it, probably trying to keep their hopes high.\n\"Well I still have my Aura, so that's a plus.\" Luke\nreturned.\nSerena was about to speak again, when suddenly a\nblood-curdling howl split the silence of the dusk, echoing over the woods like\na mournful scream. The howl made their blood run cold; although it sounded\nwolf-like, it was louder -or perhaps the wolf making it was not far away- and\ncarried with it an eerie, foreboding sensation...\nSerena, however, seemed familiar with this howl... she was\nvisibly shaking after hearing it. \"Serena?\" Katsu asked, scooting\ncloser to her. \"What's the matter?\"\n\"That howl... it sounded like a werewolf,\" she\nreplied. \"Hearing that just... brings back some bad memories.\"\nKatsu nodded and gently stroked her shoulder. \"If you'd\nrather not talk about it, I understand...I will shield you as best I\ncan...\" He returned.\n\"That may prove to be a little more difficult than you\nthink, stranger,\" a sinister voice spoke from the shadows of the nearby\ntrees.\nSerena froze in horror. \"Poseidon, no...\" she\nwhispered, her eyes as round as dinner plates.\nAll three of the Pokémon twitched, then in a flash Katsu\nquickly pounced into Serena and skidded back, quickly turning around and\ndrawing his Seamitars, glaring at the stranger and making sure Serena stayed\nbehind him. Both Luke and Kage were also at his side, Bone Staff and Ninjato at\nthe ready.\nA winged figure was standing in the darkness; a figure who,\nin the shadows, looked very much like Volcan. But he wasn't alone; two large,\nhairy creatures stood at his sides, both of the beasts bearing eyes that shone\nin the darkness like small embers. Both of the creatures were massive, easily\ndwarfing the strange avian if they were to stand upright. As they watched, the\navian stepped out, the two creatures staying at his sides as he walked, and when\nhe stepped into the light, they were met by the sight of an avian who, as they\nsuspected, looked very much like Volcan; their anatomy was identical,\nmusculature very similar, and even had matching patterns to their feathers, but\nthat was where the similarity ended. \nHis feathers were as black as oil, with the purple streak\nrunning from the tip of his crown, down his face and neck and disappearing\nbehind a golden cuirass, and purple flame-patterns on his wings. He wore gray\npants, matching the gray skin of his beak, hands and feet, and had purple\ncoloured eyes that just brimmed with wicked intent. In his hand, he carried a\nstaff, tipped by a strange cross-like object with a looping top.\n\"Long time no see, Serena,\" the avian remarked.\n\"I thought you of all people, having the least backbone of the Os-Nadarra,\nwould know better than to come here.\"\n\"Oh gods...\" Serena breathed. \"If you're here\nthen... we're right in the middle of Lycanthria!\"\n\"Correct,\" returned the avian, grinning like a\ndevil as he stared down at the group.\nBoth Katsu and Kage kept their weapons at the ready, but\nLuke's gaze widened a little. He remembered Volcan telling him about an avian\nthat looked similar to him, but at the same was not. This must have been\nCalhoun!\n\"Listen, Calhoun,\" Serena pleaded -speaking his\nname confirmed Luke's suspicion. \"We landed here unintentionally; it's\ndifficult to explain but if you just let us leave, we'll go peacefully.\"\nThe avian burst out laughing, lifting his staff from his\nshoulder to pound it against the ground, kicking up dirt with each swing before\nhe glared menacingly at her. \"Not even on my best day, girl,\" he\nreplied. \"Those who set foot here are wolf meat.\" He held out his\nhand. \"All yours, boys,\" he bade.\nAt his word, the two beasts at his side charged forward,\ntheir muzzles salivating at they ran to what would surely be fresh meat for\nthem to feast upon, down on all fours as they charged. Kage quickly weaves a\nsign and stunned them with an Extrasensory attack, attacking them with a\npsychic wave to make them flinch. Katsu then darted in with Aqua Jet and\nquickly made short work of the wolves with his Razor Shell, slicing each wolf\nonce with his blades before he returned to his ready stance. Unfortunately, his\nblades did not cut as deep as he'd hoped; the hides of the beasts proved to be\nvery resilient, the lacerations caused by Katsu barely even bleeding as he\nlooked back at them.\nCalhoun laughed again. \"Not that easy to kill a\nwerewolf, rookie,\" he taunted.\n\"Tsh...\" Katsu growled and backed up slowly.\nHowever, before they could even move once again, they were bombarded by\nimpossibly fast strikes that struck the wolves in all angles, hitting as hard\nas fast moving boulder. Luke then appeared in front of both the Wolves, then he\nroared and blasted them both HARD in the chests with Force Palms. They went\nflying; not even the density of their hides could protect them from Luke's\nonslaught. One of them fly towards Calhoun, but with a light jump, he launched\nhimself right over it, letting it fly under him before he touched back down,\neyeing Luke curiously. \n\"A Chi Fighter, eh?\" He asked. \"Well, at least\nyour new friends aren't boring, Serena.\"\n\"Kage!\" Luke commanded, glancing back at the\nGreninja. He nodded and quickly weaved a sign, then he exhaled a HUGE swath of\nSmokescreen at the black phoenix. Luke and Kage both grabbed Katsu and Serena\nand made their escape using Kage's SHadow Sneak, silently zipping into his\nshadow and crawling away quickly under the cover of the smoke.\nWhen they emerged again, they were a good distance away from\nwhere Calhoun had encountered them; they saw the avian take to the skies, and\nbegin searching for them.\n\"We need to find cover,\" said Serena. \"We\ncan't hide from Calhoun long; he can see body heat and his vision lets him see several\nkilometers ahead of himself.\" She crossed her arms over her chest, holding\nher shoulders. \"Why... why did we have to land on Lycanthria?\"\n\"I do not know.\" Luke returned. \"But I\nremember Volcan telling me about Calhoun, and how we must never face him head\non...\" He stated. \"This could be troublesome...there has to be a way\nto disguise our body heat...\"\n\"It's not just Calhoun we need to fear,\" Serena\nstated. \"The Overlords, all of them, live on this island. There are ten of\nthem total, including Calhoun; some of them are even worse than he.\"\n\"How worse?\" Katsu asked.\n\"There's no time to explain; we have to find Volcan and\nescape from this place,\" she urged. \"If we don't, one of the others\nmay spot us.\"\n\"Agreed...\" Kage returned. \"Stay\nclose...\" He said as he took charge, leading the group through the most\nsecluded path he could find to try and find Volcan.\nThey didn't get far though. After running through the woods\nfor a while, they stepped out into a clearing, and a sound, like the rush of\nair, caught their ears. \"Get down!\" Serena screamed, immediately\nleaping at the others, tackling Luke and Katsu to the ground and nearly\ntripping Kage with her tail as an object soared over their heads, striking a\nnearby tree and exploding with a deafening blast and a blaze of fire that\nutterly demolished the tree.\n\"BLOODY HELL!!\" Luke cried out as he felt the heat\nthat close to him. \"He's mad!!\"\n\"That wasn't Calhoun!\" Serena exclaimed. \n\"It WASN'T?\" Luke said back.\n\"Then who??\" Katsu demanded.\nSerena turned her gaze in the direction the explosive object\nhad come from. \"Him!\" She replied, pointing towards the edge of the\nclearing, where yet another person was stepping out into view.\nThis one was not an anthro, however. It was hard to see his\nface, due to a hooded trench coat he wore; throwing in dark pants, knee-height\nsteeltoe boots and some gloves, the only part of him they could see at all was\nhis chin, which had pale skin and an flatlined mouth, displaying no emotion as\nhe tossed aside a tubular object he'd been holding -no doubt where that\nexplosive had been fired from. The figure reached into their jacket and drew a\nnew weapon, but not one the group could identify; it was an odd-looking\ncontraption to them, but clearly it was not a harmless item.\n\"What was that contraption he just fired?\" Katsu\nasked as they slowly rose to their feet.\n\"Not a good time to ask questions!\" Serena pointed\nout as she held out her hands. In seconds, water erupted from the ground around\nthem, forming up around her with each motion she made with her hands, and with\na thrust of her palms, the water soared along a single trail towards the\nfigure.\nBut she missed. Or rather, he dodged; he ducked down and\nrolled out of the way, before raising the item in his hand. An orange flash of\nlight erupted from the tip, and suddenly blood exploded from Serena's shoulder,\nsplashing through the back and to the ground around her. Whatever had hit her\nhad been so fast the eye could not follow it -not even Luke's keen eyes, but it\ndid the trick; Serena screamed in a mix of pain in surprise before falling from\nher hooves and onto her back, clutching her shoulder.\n\"SERENA!!\" Katsu hollered, falling to her side to\nexamine her would. He saw red -not the red of her blood, but the read of anger.\nHe growled before shooting to his feet and holding his blades at the ready, his\neyes fixed on the hooded figure.\n\"Those swords of yours will not stop my bullet,\nstranger,\" the man said plainly, aiming his weapon at Katsu.\n\"Surrender yourselves... or don't. I get paid either way.\"\nThe way he stood allowed some light into his hood, revealing\npart of his face, which caught Luke's attention immediately. The blue eyes,\nnose, ears and hairless face all sparked something in him; not a face he knew,\nbut of a race he did.\nA human.\nLuke's eyes widened in shock at first, then slowly his paws\nclenched so tight they were bleeding, and his eyes showed an intense rage as\nflashbacks entered his mind again. With a rage induced roar he lashed out,\ncharging at the human with Extreme Speed and aiming to pummel him right across\nthe jaw.\n\"Luke no!\" Serena called.\nThe man reacted with surprising switftness; he shot at Luke,\nbut the Lucario felt nothing hit him, and so the man brought up his other arm\ndefensively, catching Luke's fist in his hand -a hand that gripped with much\ngreater strength than any human should have been capable of, unless they were\nmuch bigger than this man was. Then, Luke caught a glint of metal coming from\nthe man's wrist, evident that hand was not all it appeared to be.\nLuke's gaze met the humans'; his expression was much like\nKage's, completely without any regard to the one he was looking at, but as they\nwatched each other, the man's one visible eye narrowed with suspicion. \"I\nsee a lot of anger in you,\" he said. \"But, not directed at me\nspecifically, I sense.\"\nLuke growled in a deep seated rage, quickly winding his other\npaw back for a Force Palm. \"BURN IN HELL!!!\" He roared as he lashed\nout again.\nThe man ducked under Luke's attack, turning about his weapon\nin his other hand before proceeding to club Luke across the face with the\nhandle, dazing him just before pulling his other arm back and delivering an\nuppercut to Luke's stomach that utterly emptied his lungs of air, making him\nfeel a hundred pounds heavier as he was launched back several feet. He hit the\nground hard, feeling as though he'd been dropped onto the back of a Steelix\nfrom thirty feet in the air; he instinctively curled into a fetal position,\ncoughing and gasping for breath.\n\"Such misguided anger will only lead to your death,\"\nthe man said coldly, before turning his eyes back to Katsu and Kage while Luke\nlay sprawled out, his lungs screaming for air.\nKatsu roared out and charged forward with his Aqua Jet, while\nKage weaved another sign and disappeared without a trace. The man blocked\nKatsu's first sword with that unusual left arm of his once more, which rang\nwith a metallic clang as Katsu struck at him, and then blocked the other one\nwith his weapon. \"Now there's a more focused warrior,\" the man\nremarked. \"However, you left yourself too open!\" He then kicked Katsu\nsquare in the sternum with his steel-toed boot.\nThe anthrofied Samurott grunted and doubled over for a\nmoment, and then he quickly straightened up and backhanded the man with the\npommel of his Seamitar. He then sung both his blades and discharges a Water\nPulse as the man stumbled back. Not expecting the attack, the man was blown\nclear off of his feet, drenched and stunned by the Water Pulse; he grunted as\nhe was sent flying back and again as he hit the ground, fighting to clear his\nhead again.\nBut he never made it back to his feet; the stranger received\na hard smack to his neck from behind, followed by a low sweep, then his back\nwas nailed with a couple Water Shuriken as he was sent forward. \"...You\nunderestimated my colleague...\" Kage's voice said in a low tone, spinning\nhis Ninjato in his hand a few times.\nThe stranger caught himself on his hands despite the attacks\nhe'd taken, cart-wheeling and landing back on his feet, glaring at Kage. \"And\nyou apparently forgot I'm not alone on this island,\" the man pointed out.\n\"That explosion caused by the RPG I fired will have been heard by every\nwerewolf within fourteen kilometers, not to mention perhaps a colleague of my\nown.\"\nKage did flinch for a second, and then he narrowed his eyes\nand cursed under his breath. Katsu glanced over to Luke, then to Serena, then\nback at the hooded man, trying to think of a way out of this scenario.\n\"Too late!\" The man barked, before suddenly tossing\nsomething into the air and shielding his eyes. The object combusted and a\nseizure-inducing explosion of colours burst from it, blinding and confusing\nboth the Greninja and the Samurott.\n\"GAH!!\" Katsu screamed and quickly covered his ears\nand closed his eyes, thrashing about violently, a loud riging present in his\nears. Kage too hollered and shielded his eyes, hopping back a few times\ninstinctively and hiding in the shadows as best he could.\nThe man shot to his feet as the colours subsided, dashing\nover to Katsu first and punching him in the back, before he whipped around like\na viper, kicking Kage hard enough to bruise bone. They both cried out and were\nsent on their backs, though Katsu was quick to return to his feet thanks to his\nincredibly durability and tenacity. He shook his head as the ringing subsided,\nbut his vision was still gone for the moment, seeing those colours flashing\nrepeatedly across his gaze, with nothing else clear to him. \"Damn\nyou...\" He growled.\nHe heard a mechanical click, and the man elevated his weapon\ntowards Katsu again. But just as his finger began to squeeze the trigger, the\nblinded Katsu heard something very large hitting the ground, followed by the\nman yelling out in surprise, his weapon discharging, and something whistling\npast Katsu's ear, but he felt nothing hit him. The next sound he heard was a\nscrap; two people in a fight on the ground, fists striking bone, and growls or\nyelps of pain behind heard.\n\"What in the blazes...?\" Katsu shook his head a\nlittle and tried blinking his eyes open to clear his vision to no avail,\noblivious to what was happening.    \nThe fighting dragged on, more of the shots from that strange\nweapon being heard, but soon, an especially loud impact of bone meeting bone\nlater, and all became quiet for a moment...\n\"Katsu?\" Katsu felt relief was over him as he heard\nthe voice of Volcan. \"Hey, you alright?\"\n\"Volcan!\" Katsu said out loud. \"I can't see.\nThat man managed to blind both myself and Kage!\"           \n\"I figured; I'm over here,\" Volcan remarked.\n\"Your eyesight will clear up in a couple of minutes, but I have to get you\nguys away from here; there's a whole swarm of lycans coming this way!\"\n\"Lycans?\" He asked, still trying to see.\n\"Where's Luke? He was critically wounded from that man after he lashed\nout!\"\n\"I see him,\" Volcan replied, and then heard footsteps\nnext to him. \"I've got Kage; grab my arm!\" Katsu felt something touch\nhis shoulder.\nKatsu instinctively grabbed Volcan's arm. \"And Serena!\nShe's wounded too!\" He added.\n\"She's okay; the bullet only grazed,\" Volcan\nreplied.\n\"I'm right here Katsu,\" he heard Serena's voice.\n\"I'll get Luke; Volcan, can you fly them away from here?\"\n\"Yeah, but how the hell do you intend to outrun those\nWerewolves?\" Volcan asked.\n\"There's a river nearby; I'll use that,\" replied\nSerena. \"Just get those two somewhere safe; Luke and I will be fine!\"\n\"Be careful Serena...\" Katsu bade to her in a\nworried tone. \"Don't overstress your injury...\"\n\"Trust me; the water will take care of that,\" she\nsaid. \"Now go! Hurry!\"\n\"Better clench up, Katsu,\" Volcan warned as he\npulled Katsu closer to him, feeling the phoenix wrap his arm around his waist\nand gripping the Samurott firmly with his arm. \"One... two... three!\"\nAnd suddenly, the air rushed around the Samurott as he was lifted off the\nground; wingbeats were heard, and he could feel Volcan's arm around his waist,\nholding him tightly, but his feet found no purchase.\nKatsu's mind could barely fathom what he suspected was\nhappening at that moment. Was Volcan actually -flying- with the large Samurott\nAND Kage in tow?! \"By the gods!\" Katsu cried out as he was suddenly\nlifted quickly into the air, struggling to fathom what just going on around\nhim, wishing her could see. \"I'm...Flying?\"\n\"You sure are, now hang on! And if you're going to blow\nchunks, warn me!\" Volcan replied, Katsu feeling the rush of wind caused by\nthe phoenixes' wingbeats\n~~~~~\n\"Luke!\" Serena urged the Lucario, trying to get him\nback on his feet. \"Come on; you have to get up! We need to get out of\nhere!\"\nHe finally managed to breathe properly, his lungs burning as\nhe finally managed to fill them with air, coughing and slowly rising to his\npaws and knees. \"Guh....damnit...!\" He growled. \"That man will\nPAY!!\"\n\"Now is not the time!\" Serena urged. \"Volcan\nsaid an army of Lycans are bearing down on us; we need to get out of\nhere!\"\nLuke cursed, then slowly rose to his feet and looked to\nSerena. \"Fine...let's go...\"\nAt that moment, numerous forms burst out from the trees;\nwerewolves, like those that had been accompanying Calhoun before, only much\nmore numerous, poured out into the clearing, all of them making a beeline right\nfor Luke and Serena. \"Come on; to the river!\" Serena urged, grabbing\nLuke by the arm and pulling him as she sprinted off across the clearing towards\na body of water cutting between the two sides of the forest.\n\"Whoa!!\" Luke cried out as he was yanked, losing\nhis footing for a moment before he started trotting alongside Serena. \"Can\nthey swim?\"\n\"Yes,\" she replied plainly.\nLuke rolled his eyes. \"Great...\" He groaned.\nShe smiled at him. \"But not as fast as I,\" she returned.\n\"Take in as much air as you can.\"\nHe nodded, and then he took a few short breaths before he\ngulped in a HUGE breath of air; his lungs still hurt from having the oxygen\nforced out of him by the human's oddly powerful fist before, but he managed to\nkeep it in, nodding a second time to Serena to signal he was ready. Suddenly,\nshe pulled him right against her, wrapping him in her arms before she sprang;\nhis face was almost pressed into her neck, but that was not on his mind as they\nwere suddenly soaring, arcing across empty air before plunging into the cold\nwater of the river. Luke blushed a little as she pulled him in close, though he\nremained calm even as he felt the cold sting of the river hit him. He exhaled\nin light, short bursts as they travelled through the water, keeping his eyes\nclosed all the while as well.\nThe water was rushing around him swiftly; he couldn't see\nwithout getting water in his eyes, yet he was quite certain by the lack of\nstrain in Serena's movements that they were swimming downstream, outrunning the\nvery current itself; he'd never imagined she'd be so fast in the water!\nUnable to see, Luke tuned to his Aura Sense as they travelled\nto get a better idea on what was happening around them. Her powerful tail\npropelled them with impressive speed; a Werewolf dove into the river in front\nof her, but she tucked in her head and rammed it with such force it was\nlaunched back out of the water again, and she kept going. He did jolt when he\nfelt Serena impact with the werewolf as they travelled, almost exhaling his air\nin surprise. \nFor a moment, they kept swimming; it wasn't until Serena\nnoticed Luke's discomfort from the lack of air that she surfaced, rising out of\nthe river and swimming over to the shore. With one arm holding Luke and the\nother to pull them up, she seated him on the bank to let him gather his breath.\n\"I'm sorry about all that, but it was the fastest way to escape the\nwerewolves; they can't follow our scents now.\"\n\"It's fine...\" Luke said as he gasped for air.\n\"That was...well...incredible!\"\n\"What was?\" She asked, tilting her head curiously.\n\"Well...You.\" He returned. \"I've never met a\nbeing that can swim that fast. Not even Katsu or Kage can travel like that\nthrough the water.\"\nShe giggled. \"Well, Brent remarked once that I could\nmove like a torpedo through the water,\" she remarked. \"But really, I\nam an ocean being; many of my people swim as fast as I do, some even\nfaster.\"\n\"I see... I'll keep that in mind.\" He returned. \"So\nnow what?\"\n\"We need to rejoin the others,\" replied Serena.\n\"We should stay near the river until Volcan finds us. I just hope it is\nhim and not Calhoun that finds us first...\"\n\"Agreed. Lead the way, Serena.\" Luke returned.\nShe took in\na deep breath to calm herself, and after letting Luke get back to his feet,\nthey began to walk along the shore of the river, following it towards the\ncoast. Before long they found themselves in the woodlands again, under the\ncover of trees -at least Calhoun would have a harder time finding them now. But\nthe island was eerie when it was dark... not to mention cold; every passing\nmoment, the night became colder, and it was beginning to get to both of them.\nThey could even see their breath when they exhaled.\n\"Damn it's cold...\" He muttered, rubbing his arms\nto try and keep warm. \"How does anyone live here without freezing to\ndeath..?\"\n\"The people of this land are very adapted to it,\"\nreplied Serena. \"Volcan's own homeland of Canada is like this much of the\nyear as well.\"\n\"I see.\" Luke returned, and then he looked to Serena.\n\"You know...I can see why Katsu likes you so much...\"\nSerena blushed. \"What... What do you mean?\" She\nasked.\n\"Well...believe it or not, behind that warrior pride, he\ndoes have a soft heart...and I think he's drawn to yours.\" Luke explained.\n\"He doesn't seem to mind your timidness, which is well...kind of weird\nconsidering how much of a warmongrel he can be sometimes.\"\nShe smiled. \"I do not see that in him,\" she stated.\n\"I see much more than a warrior... I see a golden hearted person with the\nsoul full of courage; one who will go to any length for those he cares about.\nHe...\" She paused as something rustled further in the trees. It was too\ndark for them to see who it was, immediately prompting both of them to duck\nbehind a shrubbery as a bright red light illuminated the trees beyond, moving\nas if on the end of a torch.\nLuke crouched as low as he could as they entered the\nshrubbery, peeking out just enough for him to see, but not to give away their\nposition.\nBut to their relief, the one who stepped out from behind the\ntrees was not an enemy; it was Volcan, looking frantically around the woodland\n-undoubtedly for them, his right hand alight with fire -the source of the glow.\n\"Whew...\" Luke sighed, then he poked his head out.\n\"Volcan!\" Luke whispered sharply over to him. \"Over here!\"\nThe phoenix looked over, and immediately ran over to the two.\n\"Thank Aingeal,\" he muttered as he neared both of them. \"You\nguys okay?\" He asked.\n\"We're alright.\" He returned. \"What of\nKatsumoto and Kage?\"\n\"I put them in a cabin I found on the mountain,\"\nreplied Volcan. \"But I couldn't wait for you guys so I came down to look\nfor you.\"\n\"Can you take us to the cabin?\" Luke returned.\nVolcan nodded. \"I'll fly us up there; makes us harder to\ntrack,\" replied the phoenix. \"You two look like you could use some\nwarming up anyway.\"\n\"Yea...it's cold as hell out here...\" Luke\nreturned, rubbing his shoulders again.\n\"Come over here,\" said Volcan, opening up his\nwings. \"I may not look like it, but, I'm practically made of fire, so I'm\na living furnace.\"\nLuke nodded and walked over closer to him. \"I'll take\nyour word for-WHOA.\" He said as he immediately felt the warmth radiating\noff of Volcan; with his body so cold he instinctively moved closer to the\nphoenix, feeling the heat of his friend's body filling him with comforting\nwarmth. \"Damn... you weren't kidding.\"\nVolcan chuckled, wrapping both Luke and Serena in his wings.\n\"This is my real body, after all,\" he stated. \"I'm an Elemental\nnow, not a Pokémon; I embody the element of fire itself.\"\n\"I see...well thank you.\" Luke blushed a little as\nhe felt his body warm up, but the warmth from those plush feathers of his\nfriend was soothing; he even went so far as to admit he felt safe, wrapped in\nthose wings. But, much to his disappointment, the phoenix eventually pulled his\nwings away.\n\"There'll be more of that when we get to the cabin;\nunfortunately, a side effect of my heritage is that I also smell of ash,\"\nVolcan pointed out. \"Makes me a little easy to track on the ground.\"\nHe wrapped his arms around both of them and held them tightly, opening his\nwings again and taking to the air, carrying them over the treeline and towards\nthe mountain with barely a warning.\nSerena was clearly used to this, as she barely reacted, but\nLuke was not so accustomed to having\nhis feet suddenly leaving the ground and the air rushing around him. \"WHOOOAA!!\"\nLuke cried out as he was taken high over the treeline, grabbing Volcan's arm\ntightly as he stared with horror at the trees shrinking away beneath him.\nVolcan shushed him gently, reminding him they were in hostile\nterritory. \"Relax; I'm not going to drop you,\" Volcan assured him as\nthey flew.\n\"S-Sorry...just...never flew before.\" He returned.\n\"It'll be short, I promise.\"\nThey flew low, staying just above the treeline; it was a\nwonder Volcan could see where he was going with how dark it was, but there was\na big moon in the sky above, so he probably was having an easier time than he\nwould on a cloudier night. Before long, they were flying up the slope of the\nmountain, and emerged at the top of a ridge to find an old but intact log cabin\nat the top. Volcan led them up to it, looking back down to the land below to\nmake sure nobody was following them, his eyes glowing brightly as he surveyed\nthat area.\nThat was new; seeing Volcan's eyes glow a bright yellow like\nthat. \"You never told me your eyes could glow in the dark.\" Luke\npointed out. \"Must make quite the nightlight for you.\"\n\"Actually, they only do that when I'm using infrared vision,\nallowing me to spot sources of heat.\" Volcan correct. \"Thankfully I'm\nnot seeing any down there; I think we're clear for now.\" He blinked, and\nhis eyes returned to normal. With that he turned back to the others.\n\"Let's get inside,\" he bade.\n\"Let's.\" Luke returned, turning to the door and\nopening it slowly to peek inside first before stepping in.\n\"You made it...\" Kage said as he turned to see Luke\nwalk in. \"That's a relief...\"\nKatsu turned and quickly trotted over to him. \"Are you\nalright?\" He asked him. \n\"I'll live...\" He said with a sigh. \"I'm glad\nto see you're both alright...\"\n\"Your eyes healed?\" Serena asked.\nKatsu looked over and nodded. \"More or less.\" He\nreturned, quickly striding over to her and wrapping her in a gentle embrace.\n\"Thank Arceus you're safe...\" He whispered to her.\nShe smiled and returned his embrace. \"I'm happy you are\nas well,\" she said, stroking his back for a moment before she pulled back\nfrom him, her expression souring. \"But now we have an even bigger\nproblem... we're trapped right in the middle of a country owned by people who\ndespise us; beings who are evil and relentless... how do we escape\nLycanthria?\"\n\"Already took care of that,\" replied Volcan.\n\"See this shack is actually a ranger station; when I got here it still had\na working radio. I used it to call Kyle.\"\nSerena looked over at Volcan, her ears flicking up. \"You\ngot in contact with Kyle?\" She asked, hopefully.\nVolcan nodded. \"I did,\" he replied. \"I told\nhim our situation; he's on his way to get us out of here.\"\n\"Finally some good news...\" Katsu said as he\nstroked Serena's back slowly, glancing to Volcan. \"How long until he\narrives?\"\n\"Unfortunately it's a long way from here to southern\nAlberta,\" replied Volcan. \"Even flying full-throttle the whole way\nhe'll have to stop to refuel his plane at least once; with that in mind he\nestimated at least twelve hours. So he won't get here until dawn\ntomorrow.\"\n\"Twelve hours...\" Kage repeated. \"Against\nforces such as what we experienced today, we'll be hard pressed to defend ourselves...\"\n\"We just need to lay low,\" replied Volcan.\n\"Since we flew up here there's no way their lycans can track us. The only\none who might find us here is Calhoun but if we're indoors and keep ourselves\ncovered, he won't be able to see us.\"\n\"A sound plan.\" Luke returned, and then he groaned\nand shook his head. \"All that excitement's catching up to me...is there a\nbed nearby?\"\nVolcan shook his head. \"Just the sofa's; ranger station\nunfortunately doesn't double up as a bunkhouse,\" replied the phoenix.\n\"Which reminds me.\" He walked over to a nearby closet, opening the doors\nand pulling out what appeared to be blankets. He took a moment to beat some of\nthe dust off of them; though they smelled old and stale they were functional at\nleast. \"You guys will need these; it gets deathly cold around here at\nnight,\" he informed as he passed one to each of the others, starting with\nLuke.\nHe took it and gently wrapped the blanket around himself,\nsnorting a little at the smell but feeling himself starting to warm up as he\nsat down, keeping the blanket loosely hung around his shoulders. \"I guess\nit will have to do.\" He said, walking over and taking a seat on the couch.\n\"All of you get some rest,\" urged Volcan.\n\"I'll keep watch for now.\"\nThey nodded, each taking a spot on the sofa and bundling up.\nKatsu though bundled up with Serena, still keeping her against his large form\nand laying on his back with her on his chest. Volcan seated himself in a lone\nchair, facing the door by staying close enough to his friends that by keeping\nhis wings open, he could blanket them in some of his warmth. He looked back at\nthe group briefly... Kage, Katsu, and Luke, strangers to his world and now\nstanding right in the middle of enemy territory; enemies who would kill them\nwithout an afterthought, and in bodies unfamiliar to them. It was deja vu all\nover again, but now the roles were reversed; now they were the outlanders and\nhe was the one acting as their guide and protector. Kage seemed to have entered a\nmeditave state as per usual, though to everyone else around him, it looked like\nhe was indeed sleep. Luke was already out like a rock, and Katsu was sharing a\nsmall moment with Serena before he shut his eyes, holding her in a protective\nembrace.\nTurning back to face the door, Volcan silently made a vow.\n\"I won't let anyone hurt them,\" he stated, keeping his voice low.\n\"Even if I have to die for them, I won't let Calhoun harm my\nfriends.\"\n~~~~~\nLuke slowly awoke; it had not been  long since he had fallen asleep but his\nrestlessness forced him from his slumber. With a yawn and a shake of his head\nas he woke up, he cast a cursory glance towards te nearest window.\n\"...Still dark out.\" He muttered as he sat up, then looked around to\neveryone else sleeping soundly, except for Volcan who was still seated at he\nhad been when Luke had fallen asleep, staring at the door. \"You're still\nawake too huh?\nVolcan glanced over his shoulder at Luke, chuckling. \"Well\nI wouldn't be much of a guard if I let myself doze off,\" replied the\nphoenix, although he was clearly exhausted himself.\n\"Perhaps you should rest...I'll take over.\" Luke\noffered, standing up from the couch.\n\"Well, I guess I could use a rest myself, yeah,\"\nagreed the phoenix without argument. \"Okay...\" He stood up from the\nchair, trading places with Luke. \"With your Aura Sense you're better\nsuited for this anyway; I can see heat but I can't see through walls.\"\nLuke nodded. \"Yea heh.\" He then stopped and gently\nplaced his paw on Volcan's chest. \"I'm sorry things turned out the way\nthey did today.\"\n\"It's not your fault,\" said Volcan, speaking softly\nas he brought up a hand and placed it on Luke's shoulder, squeezing firmly in\nreassurance. \"Fate just seemed to feel like dealing us a curveball by dropping\nus right in Lycanthria.\" He sighed. \"I'm just glad you got away from\nCalhoun and Devilshade. Not many people can say they survived an encounter with\nthose two, and for good reason.\" He gave a wry smile. \"If all goes\naccording to plan, we'll be out of here and heading for safety soon, and then\nit'll be my turn to look after you.\"\nLuke nodded, and then gently he embraced Volcan in a friendly\nmanner for a moment, expressing his thanks to the phoenix for his comforting\nwords before he took his spot in Volcan's chair and tuned to his Aura Sense.\nVolcan sat down on the couch, wrapping himself with his wings and shutting his\neyes, falling asleep fairly quickly. The morning was quiet beyond the occasional\nwolf-howl, but nothing close; nothing was in range of Luke's Aura Sense, so it\nwas safe to say they were alone for the moment.\nBut if that were the case, why did he feel so nervous?\nHe shifted in his seat uncomfortably. Could it be his\nunfamiliarity of this world that was getting him? Perhaps it was the forces\nthey were up against? Either way, he didn't like it one bit... A couple of\nhours passed, but the feeling didn't wane. However, his Aura Sense began to\npick up something; he detected two life signs coming in range, very near to the\nshack -not approaching it, but not far from it either. He jolted and kept on\nthe edge of his seat, trying to home in on the signals to get a better picture\nof whom or what they were.\nAs if his motion was loud, Serena suddenly stirred in Katsu's\narms, looking over at Luke curiously. \"Everything alright?\" She\nasked.\n\"I'm picking up two signals not too far away...I'm\ntrying to identify what they are.\" He returned. \"Stay quiet, and stay\nstill.\"\nSerena looked over at Volcan, reaching over and tapping him.\nThe phoenix awoke, but Serena pinched his beak shut to keep him quiet,\nwhispering the situation to him. Immediately, Volcan was up from the couch, but\nstepped lightly so he didn't make a sound as he approached the door, peering\nthrough its window. \n\"How far away?\" He asked Luke.\n\"Not too far...maybe...10 meters.\" He returned.\n\"Shit,\" he mutttered as he looked through the\nwindow again, wiping away some of the dust with his forearm and squinting his\neyes to peer through. \"Oh hell; I see them.\"\n\"Who is it?\" Serena asked.\n\"I see three; one's definitely Rovdyr, I think the\nsecond is Hayagake, and the third I'm pretty sure is Hakam,\" replied\nVolcan.\n...Wait, three? \"Three?\" Luke asked, also looking\nout the window. \"But...I only picked up two signals.\"\nBut sure enough, there was a third in the group; had Luke\nmissed him somehow? Or was something else amiss? \"The hell's going\non?\" Luke asked. \"My Aura Sense is supposed to pick up all lifeforms.\"\n\"Just lifeforms?\" Volcan asked. \"Well that\nexplains why you can't see Hakam; he's already dead.\"\nLuke almost blurted out in response. \"He's dead??\" He asked, but quickly\nlowered his voice. \"But...how?? He's right there in front of us!\"\n\"Well, the better term is 'Undead', actually; he's a\nbeing that exists between life and death,\" replied Volcan. \"He was human\nonce -an Arabic Caliph back in the medieval era, but that was 1,000 years ago;\ntoday, he's an undead abomination, completely unkillable and very, very\ndangerous -perhaps the most of the entire Overlord's roster.\"\nLuke shuddered at the thought. \"He's among the\ndead....and yet he lives.\" He then backed up until he was sitting on the\nsofa. \"The hell are we up against.?\"\n\"True faces of evil,\" replied Volcan, plainly.\n\"We don't stand a chance against Hakam without some way to immobilize him;\nthe bastard can't be destroyed. And with Rovdyr and Hayagake there with him our\nchances are even...\" He paused. \"What are they doin' here anyway? None of them are coming towards the\nshack.\"\nLuke returned to the window and watched them, narrowing his\neyes in suspicion. \"Perhaps they wouldn't think we'd hide out here?\"\nHe asked, and then he shook his head \"No...that's a stupid\nthought...\"\n\"If only we could hear them,\" remarked Volcan. But\nthen he looked at Luke. \"By the way, whatever you do, try to keep your\nthoughts under control; that big snake there? He's telepathic; you think too\nmuch he'll sense your brainwaves and that'll draw him right to us.\"\n\"You're kidding...\" Luke returned almost hopelessly,\nglancing to Volcan. \"This just got even more dangerous than it needs to be.\"\nHe remarked, shaking his head with disgust before turning his gaze back to the\nwindow.\n\"Believe me, the Overlords are no joke,\" stated\nVolcan. \"When we're flying away from this island, I'll fill you in on\nthem.\" His eyes narrowed. \"Looks like they're moving out...\"\nThe snake, Rovdyr, was the first to depart, slithering off\ninto the forest, with the undead human known as Hakam slashing the air with his\nsword, a bright red tear seemingly in space itself appearing, which he passed\ninto. The opening closed behind him, leaving just the strange reptile, who\nmumbled to himself for only a moment before breaking off into a sprint...\n\"Down!\" Volcan hissed, pushing Luke downward as the\nlizard suddenly accelerated, and the windows shattered following a 'FWOOMPH'\nemitted by an unknown source; the shattering windows immediately woke up Katsu\nand Kage. In the span of half a second, Kage already in a crouch on the sofa\nwith his hand on his ninjato, eyes surveying the room for danger. \nKatsu though scrambled somewhat before he landed on his feet\nand had his own paws on his Seamitars, ready to draw them. \"What just\nhappened? Have they found us?\"\n\"No, we're good,\" assured Volcan, waving his hand\nslightly. \"That was just Hayagake taking off at full-speed.\"\n\"Hayagake...\" Kage muttered. \"With a name like\nthat, it implies he is incredibly fast.\"\nVolcan nodded. \"Faster than sound, in fact,\"\nreplied the phoenix. \"He's the weakest of the Overlords in terms of\nstrength and power but by far their fastest member; not even Pavan can catch\nhim when he's at maximum velocity.\"\n\"Hold it. Faster than sound??\" Katsu exclaimed.\n\"That's impossible! Not even Eagle Eye is that fast!\"\n\"His full alias is 'Project S Mark 3', more commonly\ncalled 'Hayagake' by his cohorts,\" Volcan explained. \"He was genetically\nengineered to be the fastest living being in the world. Currently, I've never\nmet anyone who can even keep up with him, let alone outrun him.\"\n\"Fascinating...\" Kage muttered, standing tall and\ncrossing his arms in thought. \"However, you did mention he is the weakest\nof the group. If speed is all he has going for him, then I don't have much\nconcern for him.\"\n\"Like I said, I'll fill you in when we have a better\ntime,\" said Volcan.\nAlmost as if on cue, the group heard a static noise coming\nfrom the adjacent room.\n\"Air-rescue to\nVolcan; you there, buddy?\"\nVolcan was on his feet in a flash, running into the next room\nand kneeling by a small radio, picking up the microphone and speaking into it.\n\"Go ahead Air Rescue.\"\n\"You made it\nthrough the night; great job, Volc! I'm just about to the island; you guys\nready for a rescue, over?\" The voice on the other end asked.\n\"You're damn right, Kyle,\" said Volcan.\n\"What's your ETA?\"\n\"I'm just ten\nminutes from their airspace, approaching from the south-east,\" the\nvoice replied. \"I've got to put it\ndown in the water though; can you guys make it to the coast, over?\"\n\"That's a stretch, but we can try,\" replied Volcan.\n\"You just make sure that plane is ready to go soon as we jump on board,\nover.\"\n\"Roger that; see\nyou in a few... be careful Volc; we just got you back, don't want to lose you\nnow.\"\n\"Don't plan on it, Kyle; over and out.\" And with\nthat, he returned the microphone to its previous position. \"I love that Los Angeles man,\" he\nmuttered, before he stood up and turn to the group, a serious look on his face.\n\"Time to go.\"\nLuke looked over to Volcan, then to the rest of his team.\nThey nodded to him in response, then Luke turned and nodded to Volcan.\n\"Lead the way.\"\n\"Okay, we're going to have to be quick,\" said Volcan.\n\"But, with the Overlords looking for us, I can't risk flying; Calhoun\nwould be able to spot me effortlessly and he'll be just as fast as me -faster\nif I'm carrying all of you. Plus, by now I have no doubt their best tracker,\nVadim, is out there too; we keep moving, we don't stop, and when that plane\nlands, you guys get on without delay no matter what happens. Got it?\"\n\"Got it.\" Luke returned. Both Katsu and Kage nodded\ntogether as well to show they understood.\n\"Now, let's go!\" Volcan urged, heading for the\ndoor. Serena was up just as quickly, and as soon as it opened, she was off in a\nrun right alongside him. \n\"Follow the rising sun!\" Serena reminded, recalling\nthat Kyle said the eastern coast of the island, so without a compass handy, the\nrising sun was their best guide.\nThe three Pokémon stayed as close to Serena and Volcan as\nthey could. Kage travelled on foot as opposed to leaping from tree to tree as\nhe normally did, while Luke and Katsu held up the rear, occasionally glancing\nback to see if they were being tailed as they made their break.\nTheir trek through the woods was smooth. But it was when they\nwere out of the woods they had to worry; they were now on open ground with no\ncover, a few kilometers from the island shoreline where Kyle would meet them.\nAll the while, neither Volcan nor Serena slowed down, but the hippocampus in\nparticular wasn't looking so good at the moment...\nKatsu noticed this and sped up a little so he was running at\nher side. \"Serena, is something the matter?\" He asked, looking over\nto her as he caught up to her.\n\"Nothing... I'm fine,\" she replied, but was clearly\nlying; she looked flushed.\nVolcan glanced over. \"Crap, she's dehydrated,\" he\nstated. \"She's been away from water too long.\"\nKatsu growled a little, and then he sped up and was now in\nfront of her. \"Hop on. I'll carry you.\" He returned, glancing back to\nher. \"And I will not take no for answer...\"\nShe reluctantly agreed, and, the group stopping just briefly,\nshe climbed onto his back, before all of them resumed their trek, picking up\nthe pace.\n\"Stupid of me,\" growled Volcan. \"I should've\nremembered Serena dehydrates three times quicker than anyone else does.\"\n\"Is there any way we can find some source of water to\nhelp her?\" Katsu asked. \"I understand we are in haste, but she can't\nsuffer like this...\"\n\"We're almost to the coastline,\" replied Volcan.\n\"Salt or fresh water; doesn't matter. She just needs to hydrate her\nbody.\"\n\"Then we must hurry.\" Katsu urged, picking up the\npace some more.\n\"Take it easy Katsumoto.\" Luke said to him.\n\"You'll burn up your stamina if you keep-\"\n\"I do not care!\" He snapped back at Luke, quickly\nsilencing the Lucario.\nBut then, their worst fear happened; as the group ran on, a\nblood-curdling howl split the air; Volcan and Luke looked back over their shoulders\nto see a... a human, running on both his hands and feet alike like a quadrupedal\nbeast, gaining on them, but he wasn't alone; six werewolves were likewise\nfollowing him, all of them running on all fours as they erupted from the forest\nin hot pursuit.\n\"Fuck! He found us!\" Volcan exclaimed. \"All of\nyou; full speed, move! I'll try to slow them down!\" With that, Volcan\nflared open his wings and took to the air, flying about in a circle as\nfireballs formed in his hands, which he lobbed towards the werewolves,\nbombarding them with flames as they chased.\n\"You heard him! Full throttle!\" Luke ordered, then\nhe took off like a rocket. Katsu was quick to follow suit, speeding forward\nwith Aqua Jet, while Kage also followed suit with Aqua Jet as well, increasing his\nmomentum even further and travelling alongside Katsu.\n\"Vadim...\" Serena stated, recognizing the human\ninstantly as she looked back. \"He'll have warned the other Overlords...\nthey'll be on us soon.\"\n\"Then\nwe must hurry...The coast line can't be too far off...\" Katsu returned\nbetween breaths.\nAs they passed over the next rise, they saw sandy beaches up\nahead; they had finally reached the ocean, a vast body of blue expanding out\nbefore them as far as the eye could see. A few small islands were visible off of\nthe shore, one in particular that was linked to the main island by a long,\nnarrow piece of land. But the ground out there was vastly wide open, and with\ndanger imminently approaching, they would need somewhere defensible to hold\ntheir ground... the linked island caught Luke's attention; with such a narrow\napproach, it'd be perfect for bottlenecking their pursuers.\n\"To that peninsula!!\" Luke shouted then he veered\ntoward the narrow stretch of land. Kage and Katsu glanced over to said landmark\nand veered toward it as well. Once they were on the narrow path, Kage reached\ninto his satchel and pulled out some Caltrops, then he leapt into teh air and\nexhaled a Smokescreen at his pursuers. He landed and scattered the Caltrops at\nhis landing spot, then turned back and dashed after the others.\nVolcan flew over the smoke, letting the werewolves recklessly\nrun into it; pained yelps and a surprised man cursing in an unknown language\nsoon followed, said man emerging from the smoke hopping on one foot before he\npulled a caltrop from his other boot, throwing it aside and glaring after them\nwith bared teeth.\nHe was close enough Luke and the others could see it; this\nman did not have the traits of a human up close; his eyes were yellow and\ncanine-like, while his teeth... he had a mouthful of fangs, also canine-like;\nthis 'human' was clearly not as human as he appeared... Regardless of those\nfeatures, Luke still bared his fangs angrily at the human, his paws clenching\ntight and shaking as he stared the adversary down. Katsu gently set Serena down\nnext to the water and ushered her to dive in before he turned and drew his\nSeamitars. Kage also drew his Ninjato in one hand and held a handful of Kunai\nin the other.\nVolcan landed next to Luke, grabbing him by the shoulders.\n\"Keep it together, Luke; you don't want to mess with this guy!\" He\nwarned. \"He fights dirty and he's as underhanded as they get. Furthermore,\nI don't know if you're immune to Lycanthropy or not; he bites or scratches you,\nyou could end up becoming a Werewolf too.\"\n\"I won't ever give him the chance...\" Luke growled\nangrilly, shrugging Volcan's hands off his shoulders and tensing his body\nfurther.\nThis time, Volcan looked ready to punch him. \"Don't let\nyour anger towards humans ruin your focus!\" He scolded. \"You give\nthis guy any opening at all and you're dead, got it?!\" He pointed towards\nthe island. \"Focus on getting your team out of here; I'll handle\nthis.\" He turned back towards the oncoming onslaught of lycans as they\nshrugged off Kage's caltrop trick and resumed their pursuit, charging towards\nthem with their muzzles dripping with hunger for flesh.\n\"Tsh....fine.\" Luke agreed...though VERY\nreluctantly. He forced himself to calm down and turned toward the island.\n\"Keep going!\" He said before breaking off into a sprint, with his\nteammates following close behind. The werewolves were bearing down on Volcan as\nhe stood in their way, his eyes glowing and his body ablaze. The closest one\nleapt at him, maw open to bite...\nWHAM!\nThe sound of Volcan's fist hitting bone actually made Luke\nlook back to see what happened, and see the lycan that had pounced towards\nVolcan FLYING through the air, cartwheeling almost comically before it hit the\nground nearly thirty feet away; the second one leapt at the phoenix, only for\nhim to catch it by the throat, swing it around and use like a baseball bat to\nsmack away the third, and then throw it towards the fourth.\nHis\nstrength... was ridiculous. As he punched the fifth werewolf with an uppercut,\nthis one flew easily twenty feet upward before falling back down, nearly\nlanding on Vadim, but the sub-human ducked out of the way just in time, and the\nsixth suffered a fireball right to the face, lighting its fur on fire and\nsending it flailing, desperately trying to put out the fire.\n\"Get him Volcan....\" Luke muttered softly before he\nturned his head forward again and kept moving, putting his faith into his\nfriend.\nVadim was the only one left, charging in to attack the\nphoenix. Volcan readied himself as the sub-human brandished two knives, and the\ntwo began to trade blows, scrapping with one another for a moment before Volcan\nsuccessfully landed a punch on him, knocking him back.\n\"You weren't able to beat me before, Vadim; you don't\nstand a chance wearing that fake body,\" Volcan taunted. \"Why don't\nyou ditch the disguise and show us all what you really are, you freak?!\"\n\"Idiot Canadian; I don't need to change to kill\nyou!\" Vadim retorted before he moved to attack again.\nThe rest of the group was now at the island while Volcan\nfought to buy them time; with Katsu's help, Serena managed to get into the\nwater, finally able to rehydrate herself. In less than a minute, she already\nlooked refreshed, and stood on her own quite easily. \"That's better,\"\nshe said, and looked at Katsu. \"Thank you.\"\n\"It was my pleasure. I'm thankful you're alright.\"\nHe returned. \"What is the plan now?\"\n\"Now we have to wait for Kyle,\" she replied.\n\"It should not be long...\"\nBut then, a rift opened across the water; not one like the\nspacial rend that had brought them here, but rather the same kind of crimson\nportal Hakam had stepped into when they had seen him at the cabin. This one,\nthough, was much larger... and something other than the dead man was coming out\nof it. Maulers, the demons that Luke and the others had fought prior to coming\nto this world, and worst of all they were led by Calhoun and one other he\ndidn't recognize; a tall creature dressed in a long coat and pants. A long tail\nslowly swayed behind him and he had a piercing gaze in his eyes as he leered at\nthe four ahead of him. In his left hand was a katana, sheathed in a brown\nscabbard and had gold and black markins along the hilt. Luke and the others\nturned toward the portal and held their weapons at the ready, Luke even\nmaterializing his bone staff and holding at his side. \n\"That's a new face.\" He said softly as he gazed at\nthe new figure.\nVolcan knocked down Vadim once more, but as before the man\nwas getting back up, only for Calhoun to grab him by the shoulder and stop him;\nVadim looked back at him angrily, but calmed when he saw who it was.\n\"Calhoun? Lord Sash?\" He asked.\n\"You're out of your league against him, Vadim,\"\nstated Calhoun.\n\"Nyet! I can kill him!\" Vadim assured.\n\"No, you can't... and you're not going to,\" Calhoun\nreturned sternly. \"That honor is mine, not yours.\"\n\"...Da; forgive me, Calhoun,\" Vadim returned,\nstepping aside.\nVolcan was already back in the air, crossing over to the\nisland to rejoin the others... he looked afraid, on the verge of panic, even,\nat the mere sight of the stranger. Serena also looked terrified by the sight of\nhim, her eyes wide and body shaking. \"No... not him!\"\n\"We're in trouble,\" Volcan said.\nKage kept his stoic gaze, though Luke glanced over to see\neven Volcan shaken up by this newcomer. He glanced back toward the creature and\nnarrowed his eyes. \"If even Volcan is frightened. then this adversary must\nbe powerful... Stay on your toes!\" He said to his teammates.\n\"Dammit, where is Kyle?!\" Volcan demanded.\n\"Sash, Calhoun, an army of Maulers and...\" Almost as if to pour salt\non the wound, another rift opened, and two dozen armoured figures marched out;\nsome of them were human, others were anthro's, but were all masked, making them\nhard to identify, and each one carried firearms of various types.\n\"Mercenaries,\" Volcan groaned.\nBut the hired guns weren't alone either; they were followed\nshortly after by this hulking behemoth of a monster with a completely red body,\ncarrying a spiked club in its right hand. But what stood out most about this\nbeast was its head; the entirity of its head was engulfed in green fire, and\nwhat little of its face that could be seen appeared almost skeletal and primate\nin appearance, the eyes and inside of its mouth not visible through the fire.\n\"And a Chaos\nTroll... FUCK!\" Volcan cursed.\n\"What in Arceus' name IS that monstrosity??\" Katsu\ndemanded when his eyes were set on the troll. \n\"Focus...\" Kage said sternly to Katsu.\n\"It's a Chaos Troll,\" said Serena. \"Another\ncreature from the realm of Destruction, just like the Maulers... a Major Demon,\njust as powerful as a Salamander -perhaps moreso as they are far stronger and\nmore resilient.\"\n\"Any noteable weaknesses...?\" Kage asked her.\n\"None,\" she replied. \"They are juggernauts;\nthe only way to stop them is to overpower them.\"\n\"They are\nclumsy though,\" said Volcan. \"And with that hulking form I doubt they\ncan swim too well... Serena, if it comes out here, can you knock it into the\nwater?\"\n\"I'll do it,\" she promised.\nMeanwhile, across the way, Calhoun glanced over at Sash.\n\"Told you I wasn't exaggerating; Volcan has some strange new friends with\nhim,\" he stated, referring to the three newcomers. \"Asya's no doubt\ngoing to want to know where these guys came from, so try not to eviscerate\nthem, a'ight?\"\nSash scoffed and clicked his blade free from its scabbard.\n\"...No promises...\" He said in a cold, low tone.\nCalhoun chuckled. \"Suit yourself,\" he said with a\ngrin before stepping forward. \"Hey, Volcan!\" He called, catching the\nattention of the phoenix.\n\"What?!\" Volcan called back across the peninsula.\n\"I've got a proposal for you!\" Calhoun began.\n\"Those new friends of yours are intriguing to me. I'll tell you what; you\nlet us keep them, and I promise them the best of care; I'll let Serena go, and\nwe'll just keep you and them!\"\n\"Like I believe that!\" Volcan bellowed. \"You\nmust think me some kind of moron!\"\n\"Well, either way, Volcan... your friends aren't leaving\nthis island alive,\" Calhoun taunted.\nVadim eyed Calhoun curiously. \"Did you actually believe\nhe'd surrender them?\" He asked curiously.\n\"Of course not,\" Calhoun returned non-chalantly as\nhe opened his wings. \"But it pissed him off... that's all I needed... I'll\nbe right back.\"\nAs Calhoun took to the air, Vadim and Sash both quickly\nnoticed that Volcan's body was ablaze again, this time with fury. The phoenix\nwas absolutely fuming with anger, powerful heat radiating from him, enough to\nmake the others around him sweat, after Calhoun's taunt set in. The black\nphoenix had actually turned Volcan's protective side to his advantage by making\nhim imagine what would happen to Luke and the others, and was about to go\nrushing headlong into what could have only been a trap...\nKage saw through Calhouns taunt and looked back to Volcan.\n\"Calm yourself! He's playing you right into his hands!\" Then he\ntwitched and quickly swung his ninjato around. The sound of swords clashing was\nheard and the Greninja was now staring right into the cold, murderous eyes of\nSash, who had closed the gap between them in a blink of an eye. \n\"Impressive\nreflexes...\" The sergal said softly. \"This might actually be fun.\"\nKatsu roared and swung his blades full force down at Sash\nfrom behind...only for him to hit nothing but air as his opponent was once\nagain gone in the blink of an eye. \"What??\" He demanded.\n\"Sash is quick; keep your guard up!\" Volcan warned.\n\"HAHA!\" Calhoun barked out a laugh as he came\nsoaring at Volcan while he was distracted, carrying him into the air and away\nfrom any backup he could get from Luke and the others. \"Look out for yourself,\nidiot!\" Calhoun yelled in Volcan's face as he delivered the first punch.\nMeanwhile, Vadim decided to give the order. \"Maulers,\nadvance!\" He called, sending the demonic footsoldiers crossing the narrow\nbridge of land towards the island, with only Luke, Serena and Katsu to stand in\ntheir way while Kage dealt with Sash and Volcan fought Calhoun in the air.\nLuke tensed up and let out a roar, a blue flame exploding\naround him as he entered his stage one Aura Release state. \"BRING\nIT!!\" He roared, twirling his staff in his paws before he charged forward\nat impossible speed, smacking the first mauler in his sights and sending it\nflying into the ocean. Katsu roared and reared his blades back, then discharged\nseveral Water Pulse attacks to assist Luke as he beat down the enemy forces.\nSerena raised her hands, and made a sweeping motion with\nthem, a small tsunami of water forming from the ocean and rushing across the\nlandmass, taking eight Maulers with it; she repeated, and sent another six in from\nthe other direction. The Maulers, though capable of swimming, were in no\nposition to try and get back into the fight as she moved her hands in a\ncircular motion, forming whirlpools underneath them that eventually sucked them\nbelow the surface.\nUp above, Volcan and Calhoun clashed in a tangle of limbs,\nfighting for control as several times, they tumbled back towards land, only to\nbreak off at the last minute and return to the sky, where they resumed their\nclash. Calhoun and Volcan locked gazes as they grappled in the air. \"I\ndon't know where those new pals of yours came from, but I'm going to enjoy\nwatching Hakam dissect them for us!\"\n\"Over my dead body!\" Volcan retorted, before he\npunched Calhoun across the face, and the two went into a spiralling dive towards\nland again, colliding with a hillside in a burst of dust.\nMeanwhile, more sounds of metal clashing metal was heard as\nKage and Sash continued their duel. The Greninja, despite having quite a\ndisadvantage, was managing to keep up with Sash's incredible speed. This\nfurther impressed the Immortal Dark Knight as they entered another stalemate,\nboth of them leering intently into each other's eyes. \"Credit where it's\ndue; you've impressed me... Very few can keep up with me in a fight.\"\nKage narrowed his eyes further. \"I am always full of\nsurprises...\" He said in a toneless voice, then he quickly lashed out with\nhis tongue, landing a glancing blow on the Sergal's cheek, which forced him\nback a bit. Sash rubbed his cheek then he charged in, slashing instantaneously\nwith his blade. \nKage made no move to dodge, as Sash's sword went through him,\nbut no blood was spilled, nor was there any wound present on his body. Sash's\neyes widened a little as he passed through Kage, then he quickly turned and\nskidded to a halt, narrowing his eyes further. He then weaved a sign and\ndischarged some Hinotamas from his hand, to which Kage responded by weaving a\nsign of his own and discharged several Water Pulses at the fireballs, each of\nthem exploding in a mix of smoke and steam. From within the smoke, Kage and\nSash continued their duel, now relying solely on their other senses, as their\nsight was hampered by the steam around them.\nThe Maulers continued their reckless charge, easily warded\noff by the combined strength of just Serena and Katsu, while Luke knocked down\nany strays, but their numbers seemed limitless; unlike the portal the\nmercenaries and Chaos Troll had come through, the one with the maulers had not\nshut, and was still producing more Maulers.\n\"Damnit! There's no end to these things!!\" Luke\nroared as he smacked another into the ocean, then looked on at the approaching\nnumbers and panted slightly. \"At this rate...\"\n\"Just hold on a little longer!\" Serena called.\nVolcan and\nCalhoun suddenly came soaring into view again, but this time Calhoun had the\nupper hand, swinging about and hurling Volcan towards the island; the phoenix\nhit the ground hard, leaving a deep indent in the ground where he landed just\nbehind Luke and the others, looking battered. Luke glanced back and saw Volcan\non the ground all beaten and battered. He bared his fangs and scoffed. \n\"Screw it!\" He growled, then he faced toward the\noncoming army and touched his Lucarionite. With a macabre flast of light and\nthe explosion of an crystal like sphere, Luke had transformed into his Mega\nform. He tensed his body and roared even louder, his blue flame quickly\nchanging to a violently burning red aura, then he held his paws over his head\nand began charging up his last resort.\nCalhoun was flying over the battlefield, and saw what Luke\nwas doing. He grinned, and ordered his army to a stop and to back up, before he\nlanded at the front, his staff appearing in his hand as he began to storm\ntowards Luke.\nSerena immediately seemed to recognize the danger, and looked\nat Luke. \"No, wait!\" She cried. \"Luke don't!\"\nBut too late...\n\"AURA STORM!!!!\" Luke roared and discharged a huge\nblue beam of energy at Calhoun, pouring all of his reserves into his attack,\naiming to take Calhoun AND the army behind him out in one fell swoop.\nNothing could prepare him for what happened next.\nCalhoun held his staff forward, and Luke's attack seemed to\nbe devoured by it; before even reaching him, it suddenly shrank down, flowing\ninto the ring of the staff as if entering some kind of portal, the entire Aura\nStorm taken by that weapon, and doing absolutely no damage to the phoenix\nhimself. When the light of the blast cleared, Luke saw Calhoun's staff glowing\nwith his own Aura attack...\nHe had just absorbed Luke's attack into his weapon...\nLuke's jaw fell agape, his eyes so wide with horror that they\nlooked as though they could drop out of their sockets as he stared in disbelief\nat the dark avian. \"What the HELL??\" Luke hollered, lowering his arms.\n\"That... he just absorbed my most powerful attack!\"\n\"Aw, hurt your feelings?\" Calhoun asked, before he\nreared back his staff. \"Hey Sash; might want to move!\" He warned the\nsergal of what he was about to do.\nSash looked back toward Calhoun, seeing his staff reared\nback. He glanced back to Kage and allowed a small smirk before he seemingly\nvanished into thin air. Kage flinched, expecting an attack from the sergal, but\nthen glanced over and saw Calhoun poised to launch an attack to Luke.\n\"No!\" He muttered, and then quickly started bounding over to his\nleader. \"GET OUT OF THE WAY LUKE!\"\n\"Have your attack BACK!\" Calhoun hollered before\nswinging the weapon forward, stopping mid-swing and sending Luke's own Aura\nStorm back towards him.\nLuke felt a pair of hands seize him; Serena grabbed Katsumoto\nand sprang towards the water with him in toe as Luke was suddenly pulled into\nthe sky. Kage, thankfully, was still ghost type thanks to the successful Lick\nhe'd landed on Sash before; the Aura Storm, still counting as a Fighting-Type\nmove like Aura Sphere, passed around him harmlessly. The Aura Storm kept going\nout to sea, striking another island a short distance away, which resulted in\nits demise. The blast was so powerful it utterly destroyed the island upon\ncontact. \nLuke looked back in complete shock at what just happened, and\nthen he turned to look toward Calhoun, a look of genuine despair on his face.\nHe had discharged his last resort, and Calhoun effortlessly absorbed it and\nturned his own attack against him. \"What kind of being is this...?\"\nHe said with a quiver in his tone. \"Is he...a God?\"\n\"No,he's not,\" returned the exhausted Volcan as he\ndropped back down to land, placing Luke on the ground. \"But that staff of\nhis... it's one of the deadliest weapons ever conceived... and you just saw\nwhy; it can consume energy of any kind, and allows Calhoun to turn it back on\nits user.\"\nSerena and Katsu emerged from the water seconds later, the\nhippocampus looking at Katsu, ensuring he was okay before she spotted Kage.\n\"Are you alright?!\" She called to him.\nHe nodded back to them. \"No damage suff-ERK!!\" He\ntensed up and flinched as the sound of a blade piercing flesh was heard, then\nhe slowly looked down and saw a sword had run him through, coated with dark\nmagic. He turned back and saw Sash behind him, a calm, yet murderous look in\nhis eyes. \"Im....possible.\"\nSash quickly withdrew his blade and swung it to the side,\nflinging the blood off his sword before he sheathed it slowly. With a click,\nKage had fallen, curled up and grasping his wound tight in his webbed hands. \"Careless...\"\nHe stated coldly as he turned and looked at Kage. \"Be grateful I avoided\nany vital organs, Mortal...\"\nVolcan looked back at Sash, his eyes wide with horror as he\nsaw Kage was down. With Sash behind them and Calhoun approaching with an army\nof Maulers, they were in trouble. \"This isn't good...\" He said.\nCalhoun grinned as he neared the group, but paused as a sound\nfilled the air, glancing around for its source. It became louder progressively,\nand finally he located it; he spun around, facing to the south, seeing a huge\nplane coming towards them, engines on both wings roaring as it soared towards\nthem.\nVolcan's terrified expression turned to glee.\n\"Finally,\" he said.\nThe airplane circled around, slots opening up on the nose of\nthe plane as it angled towards the peninsula.\n\"Shit!\" Calhoun barked, taking to the air to avoid\nthe oncoming attack.\n\"Get down!\" Volcan urged, prompting Luke to duck\nfor cover.\nThe guns began firing in rapid succession; each shot was loud, evidence to very large caliber\nammunition, which tore through the horde of Maulers by scores as the plane shot\ninto the crowd; so closely packed together, they could not get out of the way,\ndiscolored blood spraying everywhere as at least two dozen of the Maulers were\nwiped out by the spray of bullets.\n\"Haha, yeah!\" Volcan barked as the plane pulled up\nagain, beginning to angle back for a landing. \"I LOVE that Los Angeles\nman!\"\n\"Geronimo!!\" A voice bellowed from above, making\nthe group look up to see a figure dropping towards the Chaos Troll like a bomb,\nevidently having leapt out of the plane and landing on the Chaos Troll with\nboth fists leading; the following pillar of dust from impact eliminated both\nfrom sight, rocks spraying out into the water as the unknown figure pile-drove\nthe behemoth.\n\"What in the??\" Luke hollered.\n\"Only one guy in the world who'd jump out of a moving\nplane like that,\" said Volcan. Suddenly, he looked back over his shoulder,\nnoticing Sash was distracted by the very sudden and unexpected spectacle.\n\"HA!\" He launched a Firebomb at the sergal, catching him off guard,\nbut not too much for him to evade it. However, the explosion that emitted from\nthe bomb was enough to send Sash spiralling through the air, landing in the water.\n\"He's mine!\" Katsu roared, then dove into the water\nand sped toward Sash at breakneck speeds. He grabbed at Sash's leg and dragged\nhim under the water, leaving only bubbles popping at his location.\nThen, as the dust cleared, Luke and Volcan saw this hulking\nfigure standing on top of the downed Chaos Trolls; the creature's head-fire had\ngone out, and its body was bent very awkwardly, broken by the impact of the\nmassive, scaled anthro standing triumphantly on its carcass. This figure, which\nLuke recognized as a dragon, was HUGE. Easily dwarfing Volcan in height and\nbulk alike, with a body covered in midnight blue scales that weren't very\nshiny, but clearly quite dense. He wore only a pair of pants, no shirt, leaving\nhis massive upper body completely visible.\n\"Behold the king!\" The dragon bellowed, flexing his\nmuscles. \"The king of kings!\" \n\"Yep... it's Tristan,\" said Volcan.\n\"He's...even bigger than even you!\" Luke stated, and\nthen he glanced over to Kage and quickly ran to his side. \"Damnit; he's\nbleeding out!\" Luke growled, quickly taking off his scarf and wrapping it\naround Kage's middle to help create tension over the wound.\nBut Volcan stopped him. \"I got this,\" he said,\nkneeling over Kage with his eyes fixed on the wound. As Luke watched, Volcan's\neyes began to tear up, as if crying over Kage's death, but the Greninja was\nstill alive, so why...\nDrip. One tear fell onto Kage's wound... and Luke could have\nsworn he saw it starting to heal...\nLuke's eyes widened in shock as he saw Kage's wound healing\nup by itself. \"What in the...  what'd\nyou do?\" He asked Volcan\nMore tears dripped from Volcan's eyes, each one sealing up\nthe wound further. \"The tears of a phoenix have healing properties,\"\nreplied Volcan. \"I usually keep a flask of them but, with a little precise\nmuscle control I can force them up when the need arises.\"\nLuke's attention was drawn as he heard gunshots; he looked\nback towards the fight to see Tristan battling the mercenaries... with the\nfight rather one sided. They emptied their guns at him, but the bullets were\npinging off of his scales as if they were made of rubber, the dragon taking his\ntime to storm up to them before he punched the one nearest, sending him flying;\nanother one charged closer to him, putting their shotgun right in his face and\nshooting point-blank into his forehead. Tristan's head snapped back, but he\nlowered it back down, grinning widely before he snatched the shotgun from the\nmercenary, taking it in both hands, and chomping it in two with his teeth,\nbefore grinning at the mercenary toothily, his mouth full of metal fragments\nlodged between his teeth.\nThe mercenary fainted. Just outright fell flat on his back,\nunconscious. Tristan laughed as the other mercenaries started running away in\nterror. \"Ain't nobody to give me a challenge?!\"\n\"How about me?!\" Calhoun roared suddenly as he\ndive-bombed Tristan from behind, sending him face-planting into the dirt.\n\"Oh, cheap shot!\" Tristan protested as he leapt\nback to his feet, turning to face Calhoun and chuckling. \"Hehe... I've\nheard of shadowboxing, but boxing with Volcan's shadow? Now I've seen\neverything.\"\n\"Sha-Shadow?!\" Calhoun repeated, eye twitching with\nrage. \"When I'm done with you there'll only be a scorch mark left!\"\nHe lunged forward, and the two entered a brawl.\nVadim scoffed, and turned his attention towards Volcan and\nLuke. \"Want something done, do it yourself,\" he said, but paused in\nhis advance as he heard the plane from before having already circled around touched\ndown in the water, creating plumes as it skimmed over the surface towards the\nisland. \"Chush' sobach'ya!\"\nLuke glanced over to the plane as it landed on the water.\n\"That's our ride out of here I assume?\" He asked Volcan, helping Kage\nto his feet once his wound was completely sealed up.\n\"That would be it,\" said Volcan, and then looked\nover to Serena. \"Get Katsu; we're leaving!\"\n\"Okay!\" She replied, before diving under to go look\nfor Katsu.\n\"Oh no you're not!\" Vadim called. \"Charge!'\nThe surviving Maulers, and those Mercenaries who had not fled\nfrom Tristan, charged across the peninsula, heading for the group.\n\"Get to the plane; I'll hold them off!\" Volcan\nurged Luke, picking up Kage and passing him to the Lucario carefully before he\nignited his fists again, hurling fireballs at the charging Maulers.\nLuke nodded and took Kage in his arms before he shouldered\nhim and made a mad dash toward the shoreline, preparing to make a leap into the\nwater if he had to.  Under the surface of\nthe water, Serena found Katsu still battling with Sash, though the Sergal\nmanaged to send Katsu back with enough force to launch him out of the water and\nback on terra firma again. Sash soon followed and surfaced, leaping out of the\nwater and landing before the Samurott. Both of them stood with their sword\npoised to strike at any given moment.\nBut Serena was quicker; bellowing out in defiance she\nlaunched herself out of the water and double-kicked Sash HARD, sending him\nsoaring through the air in a horizontal direction. He grunted as he soared\nthrough the air, skidding along the dirt and leaving behind a trail of dust in\nhis wake. Katsu turned to Serena and nodded in approval. \"Good\nstrike!\"\n\"Come on; the plane is here!\" She urged. \"We\nneed to leave, now!\"\nShe was right; the plane had pulled up as close to the island\nas it could. Luke was at the shore with Kage in two, with Volcan fighting the\nincoming horde of Maulers, and Tristan battling with Calhoun across the way,\nthe two of them colliding with great force.\nSome of the Maulers slipped past Volcan, though. Luke didn't\nsee them coming, but as the door to the plane opened, he saw a human stepping\ninto view; time seemed to slow as he saw a dark-skinned man standing in the\ndoorway of the plane, armed with another of those firearms, and raising it in\nLuke's direction... he was going to shoot him!\nOr not. The gun fired, but Luke felt nothing. However, he did\nhear a Mauler cry out in pain behind him, and looked back to see several of the\nones that had snuck around Volcan were going right for him. More shots from the\nman's rifle downed them, giving Luke some cover fire.\n\"Pardon\nme!\" Another voice called, and the man stepped aside as a pale-feathered\navian charged out, thrusting his hand towards the floor; a stream of snow and\nice erupted from his palm, rapidly solidifying and forming out from the plane\nbefore reaching the island at Luke's feet, creating a boarding ramp.\nVadim, who was now near Volcan, was looking past the phoenix\nwith a scowl. \"Ah derr`mo!!!\" He cursed.\nVolcan turned towards the plane, and he smiled gleefully.\n\"Vinge!\" He exclaimed. \"And Kyle!\"\n\"And this one makes three,\" Kyle remarked as he\nstepped aside for another to step out of the plane.\nA second human, this one garbed in a long black coat with\nwhite lightning around the tail. His pants were black as well with a few tears\nin them. His torso was bare under his coat, showing off his physique even more,\nand on his back rested a huge single edged sword. He smirked and saluted at\nVolcan and the others. \"Seems you stirred quite the hornet's nest\nVolcan!\" He called out.\n\"Don't I always, Minato?\" Volcan called. \"Mind\nlending a hand and keep Sash off of us while Vinge and I deal with these\nMaulers?\"\n\"Do you even need to ask?\" He called before he\ncrouched low and took off toward the army of demons, using his Ki to amplify\nhis speed as he soared over Volcan and the others. He then shot down to the\nground and slammed his fist into the dirt, creating a HUGE shockwave that sent\nany unfortunate foe around him flying in all directions. \nLuke gawked back at what he just saw. \"That human....can\nuse Aura?\" He muttered, then his face contorted to another look of anger\nas he watched the man beat down the enemy forces with precise, yet powerful\nstrikes.\nVinge charged over to help Volcan, slashing at the first\nMauler that came in reach of his sword; a strange looking blade, covering in\nblue runes. Volcan, however, was still left with just fists and flames,\npunching and burning every Mauler that came near him.\n\"Volc needs a weapon,\" said Kyle, shouldering his\ngun and running across to the other end of the plane, before he came back out,\nand held out a sword in a scabbard to Luke. \"I'll take your friend; you\ngotta get this over to Volc, pronto! It's his.\"\nLuke looked at the sword for a second, then back at the human\nand scowled. \"Give me on reason why I should trust the likes of\nyou...\" he growled.\nKyle gawked at him, rolling his eyes in disbelief. \"You\nbein' serious with me right now?! You got me in front of you and a hundred\ndemons at your back; this don't seem like a hard decision to me!\" He\nstated in a very commanding tone.\nLuke didn't flinch at his response, supressing a sneer as\ntook the sword out of Kyle's hand, letting him take Kage into the plane. With\nthat, he turned back and ran back toward the island. \"Volcan!\" He\ncalled, and then tossed the sword over to the phoenix with all his might.\nVolcan looked back and saw the sword dropping towards him,\nand grinned widely before he caught it in his left hand, grasping the handle\nand drawing the blade forth with his right, revealing a bronze-hued sword that\nseemed to burn with its own aura, made entirely of a light but visible fire\nthat coated every inch of the blade, from the scabbard and held it with a\ndiabolical look on his face. \n\"Thanks Luke!\" He called, before turning back to\nthe Maulers, gripping the sword tightly. \"You guys are fucked now!\"\nHe called before he slashed the first Mauler clean in half, the two pieces of\nthe demon cauterize upon contact with the sword, not even leaving any blood as\nthe blade seemed to literally burn its way through the target -while- cutting;\nthe phoenix went on to display expert swordsmanship as he moved and slashed\nevery Mauler that came at him; on the narrow path, only four Maulers could come\nat a time, but with him and Vinge blocking their way, and Minato currently\nfighting off Sash, there was nothing that would stop them from getting away.\nKyle carried Kage over to a bunk bed, carefully laying him\ndown on it, and checking him. \"See Volc's been here... alright then,\"\nhe said before running back over to the door. \"Air rescue now boardin' so\nget your asses movin'!\" He called before he ducked back inside, running up\ntowards the cockpit of the plane, taking a seat in the pilot's chair and\nrevving the engines.\n\"Oh, there's my ride!\" Tristan remarked as he grabbed\nCalhoun by the arm. \"Been fun but gotta run!\" He said before he\npunched Calhoun across the face, knocking him clean out, and turned towards the\nplane. Rather than fly though, he decided to go the long way... by running\nthrough the Maulers. \"Excuse me; coming through!\" He called as he\nknocked one demon after another aside, charging through their ranks like a\nbulldozer. Vadim was in the mix as well, turning to see Tristan too little too\nlate before he was backhanded through the air, flying like a ragdoll over the\nwater. \"Pardon me, asshole!\"\n\"B`lyad'!\" Vadim screamed before he hit the water.\nMinato glanced back as Tristan ploughed his way through the demons\nand Vadim, rolling his eyes and sighing. \"Typical brute...\" He\nmuttered, and then glanced back to Sash. \"Seems our fight is postponed for\nnow...\" He said as he jumped back and pulled out a tome from his coat.\n\"Allow me to leave a parting gift for you and the rest of the\nOverlords...\" he said as he flipped open the tome and was surrounded by a\nring of light. \n\"Reign over the heavens above! Scorch everything to\nashes!!\" He changed, and then he slammed the tome into the ground.\n\"BELLATOR!!\" He roared, then he was surrounded in an ever increasing\nflash of light, enough to make Sash jump away and shield his eyes from the\nlight. When the light faded, Sash lowered his eyes and flinched at what he saw.\nBehind Minato was a HUGE feral dragon, its eyes a deep crimson and its scales\nas black as the night sky. Minato jumped up on the dragon's head and stood tall\nas the dragon beat its huge wings and took off into the air. \n\"Sayonara, Sash...Give my regards to Assminik when you\nnext see her...\" He said, then when the dragon was high enough into the\nair, it took a deep breath and exhaled a massive swath of blue flames down at\nSash and the army below. Sash growled and used his speed to quickly escape the\nisland before the flames nailed him.\n\"Come on Katsu!\" Serena urged the Samurott aboard\nthe plane, and the same to Luke just as Tristan ran past and dove into the\nplane as well, while Volcan and Vinge slowly backed up towards it, slashing\naway any demons that came at them.\n\"Think we've delayed enough!\" Volcan said.\n\"Agreed; finish it off!\" Vinge replied.\nVolcan took in a deep breath, drawing in as much air as he\ncould, before exhaling a cone of flames from his beak; the flames rushed over\nthe Maulers, lighting them up like torches and causing a pause in their\nadvance. Volcan and Vinge moved back a little more before Vinge created an ice\nwall to delay any more advances if the flames went out. Volcan skipped across\nthe bridge, followed promptly by Vinge, who with a wave of his hand, broke the\nbridge and the last anchor holding it to the island; it began to ease forward\nwith the power of its propellors, skimming over the water, creating plumes as\nit picked up speed.\nAt the front, Kyle angled the plane eastward as it\naccelerated. \"Hey, what about Minato?\" He asked.\n\"Don't worry; he'll catch up,\" Volcan called back.\nLuke looked out toward the island as they began to steer\naway, letting out a huge sigh of relief. He started to glow and reverted back\nto his old self, leaning against a wall and catching his breath as exhaustion\nkicked in. \"That was FAR too close...\"\nVolcan sat at his side. \"You're not kidding,\" he\nsaid in agreement. \"I thought we were screwed back there...\" He\nlooked towards the front. \"I owe you one, Kyle.\"\n\"I'll collect debts later,\" the man called back\nover the engine. \"Right now, let's get you home; you and Serena have been\ngone quite a while, and everyone's scared witless about you.\"\n\"Twenty-two days to be exact,\" said Vinge.\n\"What happened to you two; where have you been?\"\n\"And what the HELL were you doing on Lycanthria?\"\nTristan added.\n\"Ugh... long story,\" said Volcan. \"I'd rather\ntell everyone at once... but... twenty-two days? Is that really all it's\nbeen?\" He looked at Luke. \"Looks like Dialga was right; the timelines\nof our worlds ARE merging.\"\n\"So it would seem...\" Luke returned, sighing once\nmore, then looked back to his teammates. \"At least we're free of those\nmaniacs.\"\n\"Agreed...\" Volcan returned. \"Oh, how rude of\nme...\" He smiled, and looked up at Vinge and Tristan. \"Luke, meet\nVinge,\" he gestured to the white avian, \"and Tristan. Up front of\ncourse, is Kyle.\"\n\"Happy to be of help!\" Kyle called back, giving a\ntwo-fingered salute.\n\"Hello,\" Vinge replied politely, nodding to the\nthree as he finished cleaning his sword and slid the rune-encrusted blade back\ninto is scabbard..\n\"Sup?\" Tristan added.\n\"Guys, meet Luke, Katsumoto,\" continued Volcan,\ngesturing to the Lucario and Samurott respectively, and then pointed to Kage,\nwho was back up, sitting upright in the bunk. \"And that's Kage.\"\nKatsu lowered his head toward all of them. \"It's an\nhonour to meet you all...You have my thanks for rescuing us.\"\nKage said nothing, merely nodding his head toward the group\nin acknowledgement.\n\"Pleasure...\" Luke returned, though he shot a small\nangry look at Kyle before he turned his gaze away. The sound of huge wingbeats\ncaught his attention and he looked outside. Then he let out a yelp of shock and\ntook a step back. \"The HELL is that???\" He demanded.\nVolcan followed where Luke was looking, peering outside and\nsmiling. \"That, would be Bellator,\" said Volcan. \"Minato's\ndragon-friend. And the man on his back is, of course, Minato, our resident,\nmaster Chi-fighter.\"\n\"Room for one more?\" Minato called out to them.\n\"Open the door, Tristan!\" Kyle called back.\n\"On it, captain!\" Tristan returned, heading over to\nthe door.\n\"Hang onto something,\" Volcan stated, bracing\nhimself as Tristan put his hand on the door handle.\nEveryone else also held on as Tristan opened the door, a\npowerful vacuum of air rushing out of the plane and nearly pulling everyone\nwith it but they had anchored themselves down. The open door was brief as the\ndragon outside flew closer to the plane, where Minato then hopped off of\nBellator and turned to the dragon as it slid back behind the plane a little and\nleaned its head forward to look at him through the open door.. \"Thank you,\nBellator...Head on home now. I'll be there soon...\" He said as he gently\nrubbed the dragon's snout. Bellator gave a low rumble and huffed in\nacknowledgment, then backed away and turned to face a different direction, then\nroared as it flew back to its home. Minato then turned to Volcan and crossed\nhis arms. \"You have quite a lot of explaining to do, my friend...\"\n\"I know I do,\" replied Volcan as Tristan shut the\nplane door again. \"You wouldn't believe the adventures Serena and I have\nbeen on.\"\n\"Judging from how long you were missing, I don't doubt\nit,\" He returned, then glanced at the three Pokémon with interest. Though\nwhen Minato's and Luke's eyes met, he saw Luke's expression sour even more,\nwhich in turn led to them staring at one another intently for a while, neither\nof them saying a word.\n\"...Okay, this just got awkward,\" Tristan whispered\nto Vinge.\n\"Indeed,\" agreed Vinge.\nFinally Minato broke the silence. \"Your eyes tell me a\nlot about you...\" He said softly. \"You seem to harbour some kind of\ngrudge toward my kind...\"\nLuke scoffed and clenched his paws tight. \"With good\nreason.....\"\n\"Perhaps...it's not my place to judge you for it, but\nknow that I am not your enemy.\" He returned. Luke stared into Minato's\neyes hard. While he looked like he was ready to attack at any moment, Luke\ncould also see that this man's gaze was not one of malicious intent, but rather\nthe opposite. His aura seemed to radiate with benevolence. Regardless; Luke\nturned his back on Minato and walked away, taking a seat on a bunk and crossing\nhis arms.\nMinato glanced\nto Volcan for a moment. \"Well he's certainly a charming fellow....\"\n\"I've\nnever seen him like this,\" Volcan whispered to Minato. \"I don't know why he\nhates humans... but even when I mentioned Kyle to him the first time, it seemed\nto upset him, and Serena told me he completely flipped out when he saw\nDevilshade; I saw the same thing when Vadim was chasing us.\"\n\"Curious...\" Minato returned, then glanced over to\nthe Lucario for a moment. \"Well let's not pressure him into giving us his\nreasons. He'll tell us in his own time.\"\n\"Agreed... but in the meantime, it might be better if\nyou stay up front with Kyle,\" suggested the phoenix.\n\"Fair enough.\" He returned, and then clapped his\nhand on Volcan's shoulder. \"Good to have you back.\" He said as he\nwalked past him.\n\"Good to be back,\" agreed the phoenix.\nKyle switched the ship to auto-pilot and stood up from his seat,\nwalking back to the hold where the others were. \"I'm willing to bet you\nguys are hungry,\" he said, and looked at Luke and his party. \"And\nthese guys could use some threads. Luckily, I came prepared for both.\" He\nwalked over to a cabinet, pulling it open and pulling out three camo-patterned\nuniforms. \"Some of my old stuff, but, it should suffice,\" he said,\nleaving one next to Luke, to Kage and handing one to Katsu. \"As for\nfood...\"\n\"Please tell\nme you have more than just MRE's,\" Volcan pleaded, interrupting Kyle\nmid-sentence.\n\"MRE's...?\" Katsu queried, unsure of what the term\nmeant.\n\"Meals Ready to Eat,\" Volcan replied.\n\"Preserved food that can last for years on end and has substantial\nnutritional value... but tastes like it came out of something really\nnasty.\"\nKyle laughed. \"They're not THAT bad once you get used to\n'em. But no, I don't have them,\" he assured Volcan as he went back over to\nthe cabinet again, pulling out a box full of sandwiches. \"I got egg salad,\nPB and J, ham \u0026 cheese, chicken bacon ranch; take your pick.\"\n\"Ah, fantastic,\" replied Volcan.\n\"Do you have any water?\" Serena asked.\n\"Big cooler of it, right back here,\" replied Kyle,\ngesturing beside the cabinet. \"Help yourself guys; what's mine is\nyours.\"\n\"Which reminds me,\" said Volcan as he took the box\nof sandwiches, taking it around for people to pick from. \"Kyle, did you\nand Brent get that computer terminal hooked up?\" He gestured to the\nterminal at the rear of the plane.\n\"Yeah; why? Want to catch up on your email?\" Kyle\nasked.\n\"Want to show Luke and the others stuff about the\nOverlords,\" replied Volcan.\n\"Ah. Alright; I'll fire it up for you,\" replied\nKyle, heading back to the front., stopping just behind his seat and tapping a\nfew buttons on a smaller terminal there.\nThe large terminal at the back whirred to life, its screen\nalighting with blank, white screen, and after a few more button presses, the\nscreen changed to a light blue, with white letters reading 'LOADING...' on the\nfront. \"Okay; it's up. You can use the remote on the terminal to control\nit.\"\n\"Thanks Kyle.\"\nLuke, Katsu and Kage all grabbed a sandwich and gathered\naround the terminal with Volcan. Katsu took a bite of his, which was a PB and\nJ, and smiled softly. \"Delectable...\" He muttered and took another\nbite.\n\"Feels like it's been a week since we've eaten,\"\nsaid Volcan, taking a chicken bacon ranch with just brief reluctance. \"I'm\nbird of prey again; not a chicken.\"\nVinge and Tristan looked at him oddly.\n\"Uh... part of the explanation later.\"\nAfter the group enjoyed their snack, Volcan proceeded to the\nterminal. \"Now... Luke, Katsu, Kage; it's time I showed you more about the\nOverlords,\" the phoenix stated. \"Bringing up an image of all of\nthem... now.\"\nThe screen came to life with pictures of ten individuals,\nmost of them they recognized. One was Calhoun, one Sash, then Devilshade,\nHakam, Vadim, Rovdyr and then Hayagake. But the other four, a female wolfess, a\nfemale wyvern with metal-clad limbs and a male, seven-tailed fox; these were\nnewer to them. And, they got a better look at the images of Hakam, Rovdyr and\nHayagake; the first was virtually concealed, his entire body clad in ancient,\ntattered clothes, including a veil that covered his face; only his eyes were\nvisible, and the sockets around them, revealing that much of his flesh was\ngone; what held him together was a mystery.\nThe naga, Rovdyr, was the largest of the group, with a body\ncovered in light blue-ish silver scales and black markings all along his back,\ncarrying a staff-weapon with a razor sharp blade, and Hayagake, with the image\nshowing him in the middle of the leap, carrying two compact firearms with\nstocks and short barrels, a belt of grenades across his chest, and two daggers\non his belt.\n\"Here they are,\" said Volcan. \"All ten of\nthem; the Overlords of Lycanthria.\"\n\"And we fought against only a few of them today...\"\nKatsu muttered. \"A fearsome group indeed. Especially the samurai...\"\nHe returned, gesturing to the image of Sash.\nVinge scoffed. \"That bastard is no samurai,\" he stated.\n\"That's Sash, the half-brother of our friend, Korban, who believes he can\nresurrect the long gone race known as 'Immortals', of which he and Korban are\nboth heirs of. He's ruthless, cunning and has little regard for others, not to\nmention, as you saw, he's swift; perhaps the only one faster is Hayagake, but\nno other is his equal.\"\n\"I'm not so sure about that. Kage was able to hold his\nown against this one,\" Katsu pointed out, glancing to Vinge.\n\"He was?\" Vinge asked, clearly impressed.\n\"Well done, then; few who face Sash have ever survived.\"\n\"Amen to that; even I had trouble with that light footed\nlittle loonie,\" agreed Tristan.\n\"His style was indeed swift... but I adapt quickly to\nany situation...\" Kage returned. \"Given enough time to prepare\nthough, I could come up with at least 5 ways to subdue him.\"\n\"And of course, you met Calhoun,\" said Volcan.\n\"My... unfortunate doppleganger... His powers are virtually identical to\nmine, and he carries the Staff of Lucarinai, which you all saw, can absorb any\nsort of energy attack, even Luke's Aura Storm.\"\n\"So THAT'S how he did it,\" Luke muttered. \n\"But to contain all that power...\" Katsu added.\n\"It's almost inconceivable. Luke's Aura Storm has enough power to level\nentire mountain ranges.\"\n\"I'm afraid that staff remains a mystery to all of\nus,\" said Vinge. \"It was forged over 5,000 years ago; the only ones\nwho might know its origins and how it was made are long dead.\"\n\"5,000 years ago???\" Luke exclaimed, almost\nspitting out his sandwich.\nVolcan nodded. \"You remember that tale of the demon\nLucarinai I told you about? The staff was forged for him,\" replied the\nphoenix.\n\"And Calhoun can use it because...he's an essence of\nthat demon?\" Luke asked, thinking back to the story Volcan told him at the\ndaycare in the Pokémon world.\n\"Precisely,\" replied Volcan. \"The staff is\nempathic; it responds to him, and even if it's destroyed, it can reform\novertime; disarm him, he can call it back to his hand from any distance. That\narmour he wears is the same, but I don't know what the armour does beyond\nprotect his body.\" He gestured to the next one, Devilshade. \n\"And this man is called 'Devilshade'; otherwise known as\nNorth America's deadliest assassin; he's a professional killer with a specialty\nin defeating superhumanoids like me, Vinge or Tristan. First time I clashed\nwith him he utterly trounced me; he's only human but he has a repertoire of\ngear that let him handle any situation, including fire extinguisher grenades,\nrocket launchers, semtex explosives, and his custom-made color-blast flashbang\ngrenades.\"\nLuke's paws clenched tight again at the sight of Devilshade,\neven crushing what was left of his sandwich in his grip. \"Let's move on\nfrom him.\"\n\"Okay,\" said Volcan. \"Vadim, you guys saw as\nwell. Don't be fooled; he only looks human, but he's not... not anymore. He\ngave up his humanity to become a werewolf, willingly. He just keeps his human\nform because it's more agile. He's an expert spy, specializing in sabotage,\nespionage and computer hacking; he's not their best fighter but he's no slouch\neither. Beyond that I don't know anything else about him.\" \nHe moved onto the next. \"Now, Rovdyr, who Luke saw with\nme at the shack, is their psychic. He's telepathic, telekinetic, and capable of\nscrewing with your mind by combining the two together, and he's a viper, so he\nalso possesses venom and has reflexes like lightning. Back before he joined the\nOverlords, he was a rapist, assaulting women and men who wandered near his\nhome; if he let any of them go, he'd erase their memories, guaranteeing they\nwould not be able to tell the police where he was. \n\"After he joined the Overlords, he became one of the most\ndangerous people in the world, especially when he was given a Psionic Amplifier\nthat allowed him to control minds...\" He looked at Vinge, and towards the\nfront at Minato. \"And used that to turn us on one another. Tristan wasn't\nwith us at the time but Rovdyr turned almost everyone I knew into mindless\nservants and turned them on me.\"\nVinge hung his head. \"Not... a pleasant time,\" he\nstated, his eyes furrowing with anger.\n\"I see,\" Katsu said softly, seeing the anger in\nVinge's eyes. \"I'm sorry to hear that...truly I am...\"\n\"Most of us despise Rovdyr for that,\" said Volcan.\n\"Korban especially hates him for making him have to fight Tsume... and I\nhate him for what he did to Kodaku, his sister, who's also on our team as I\nmentioned before.\"\n\"A despicable fellow indeed.\" Katsu returned.\n\"Anyway, do go on.\"\n\"Right...\" He gestured to the raptor. \"This\none's Hayagake, their fastest speedster. He's fragile in a head-on fight;\nusually one clean hit can knock him down, assuming you're fast enough to catch\nhim. He fights from a distance using a pair of machine pistols and hand\ngrenades, keeps yapping the whole time too to annoy the hell out of you, and\nwhen he needs to get close he's got a pair of Arabic Jambiya daggers, which are\ndamn sharp and quick blades.\"\n\"What are...pistols and hand grenades...?\" Katsu\nasked, tilting his head in confusion\n\"Kyle, mind if I open your weapons locker for a\nsecond?\" Volcan called.\n\"Go ahead, but don't fire any of those things in here;\nyou'll punch a hole in the plane!\" The human called back.\nVolcan walked over to a footlocker in the corner, kneeling\ndown and opening it, pulling out three objects. \"Now, these are very\ndangerous items so, don't touch,\" Volcan instructed as he set the three\ndown on the table. \"This one here, you might recognize,\" he\nexplained, pointing to the first item with a long-length front end, and a\ncylindrical device in the center; it closely resembled the weapon carried by\nthe human called Devilshade. \"This is called a revolver; it's a\nsix-shooter -carries only six bullets, but it's very reliable,\" the phoenix\nexplained. \"Never jams, never fails, highly accurate, and depending on the\ncaliber of the bullets it's loaded with, often very devastating.\"\n\"The same weapon that man used to injure Serena...\"\nKatsu said with a small growl. \"That will never happen again.\"\n\"Devilshade employs a .44 Magnum revolver, one of the\nmost high-powered handguns in the world,\" Volcan stated, running his hand\nover his chest. \"Hits you anywhere up here, the temporary cavity it causes\nwill kill you. So if someone is aiming that at you, take cover.\" He\nquirked an eyebrow. \"On second thought, take cover no matter what kind of\ngun is aimed at you.\"\n\"Noted...\" Katsu returned, then looked at the other\ntwo guns. \"These look so... dishonourable. Something no warrior back in\nour world would never be caught dead with...\"\n\"They came around about 500 years ago,\" Volcan\nexplained. \"Gunpowder was never originally used for weapons; it was\nactually used for fireworks, invented by the Chinese. Unfortunately, human and\nanthro kind alike have a tendency to turn things into something they were never\nmeant to be, and usually wars are the reason for that.\" He cleared his\nthroat. \"Now, this...\" he touched the round object. \"This is a\nhand grenade; this little thing is far more deadly than a gun, as it's packed\nfull of explosive powder. Pull this pin,\" he pointed to the pin. \"5\nseconds later, it explodes, its entire casing becoming shrapnel that tears into\nflesh, and the blast wave powerful enough to collapse organs.\"\n\"It looks similar to one of my smoke bombs,\" Kage\nremarked. \"No pin on them though. They explode on contact.\"\n\"We have stuff like that too, but they're more commonly\nused by our Law Enforcement,\" explained Volcan. \"Non-lethal equipment\nused to take criminals into custody; flashbang grenades, concussion bombs, or\nstingball grenades. They hurt, and can cause some harm, but unless the person\nthey're meant for is lying right next to them when they go off, they won't\nkill, only incapacitate.\" \nHe pointed to the last of the three items. \"This is\nanother example of a handgun, but this one is different from the revolver; it\nuses smaller bullets, less powerful, but the trade is it can carry more\nammunition. This particular one is capable of carrying fifteen bullets;\ndeciding between the two is really a matter of preference.\" He picked up\nthe three items, returning them to the locker and closing it. \"Very\ndangerous tools, nonetheless.\"\n\"Indeed; definitely not something I want to be on the\nreceiving end of...\" Luke stated.\n\"Seconded.\" Katsu added.\n\"Moving on,\" the phoenix continued. \"After\nHayagake is, of course, Hakam. Easily one of the most dangerous of the\nOverlords, if not THE most, not only for the fact that he's dead, but he's\nalso... fucking invincible.\"\n\"That I find hard to believe; EVERYTHING has a\nweakness.\" Luke returned, narrowing his eyes.\n\"Well he has one that can incapacitate him, but that's\nall,\" said Volcan. \"Even ask Minato; he hit Hakam full-force with\neverything he had, blew the bastard straight in two; he just fused his two\nhalves back together and got back up again.\"\n\"Volcan speaks the truth,\" stated Vinge.\n\"Hakam was the victim of a curse that granted him unlife, but he became so\nspiteful of the one who cursed him he ended up becoming a Revenant; a vengeful\nspirit that returns from the dead seeking to destroy whoever has angered them.\nUntil he has his revenge, he's immortal; nothing can kill him. To top it off,\nhe's a sorcerer, an alchemist, and a talented swordsman.\"\n\"1,000 years ago, he was an ordinary human; a Saracen\nCaliph during the third crusade,\" Volcan went on. \"But he betrayed\nthe Saracens, nearly costing them the war that was to preserve their very\nexistence; thanks to him they were almost wiped out by the Christian Crusaders.\nAs punishment, Izrail, the Demigod of Death, cast that curse on him, and sealed\nhis castle in the Arabian Desert for 1,000 years until somehow, Calhoun and his\npossy uncovered him, and he now serves them, seeking revenge on Izrail.\"\nVolcan rubbed his eyes. \"Problem is, because Izrail is a Demigod, he's\nALSO immortal; the cycle between him and Hakam doesn't seem to be\nbreakable.\"\n\"So neither of them can die,\" Kage muttered and\ncrossed his arms. \"No seals will restrain him, no weapon can kill him. A\nterrible existence...\"\n\"Well one thing does stop him,\" said Volcan.\n\"See, Hakam seems to be a fusion of two other types of undead; Wraith, and\nZombie. The Zombie part is where he's vulnerable; sever his brain from the rest\nof his body, he becomes paralyzed as long as something remains lodged in there,\nand he's not immune to illusions either, so he can still be hypnotized or put\ninto a trance. That is how we've stopped him in the past.\"\n\"Then Hank would be vital in subduing him,\" Kage\nreturned. \"His Illusions stem farther than just altering his appearance or\nphasing in and out of existence...He can call upon a being's greatest fears and\nturn them against the target...\"\n\"Too bad we didn't bring him,\" Serena remarked\ngrimly.\n\"Alright, moving on,\" said Volcan. \"Let's\nsee... Ah, here's one you really need to look out for.\" He gestured to the\nblack-furred wolf with ruby red eyes. \"She's called Assiminik.\"\nLuke looked closer at her image and was silent for a moment\nbefore he spoke. \"...Not going to lie... she's rather stunning.\"\n            \"Yes she is,\" Volcan agreed. \"But\nthat's how she makes you let her guard down. Assiminik here is professional\nassassin, just like Devilshade, but just being a killer wasn't enough for her;\nshe hungered for power, and is a master of strategy, so she had the means to\nobtain it; she led the attack on Alaska against the United States, which\nresulted in her getting that island we just left, not to mention an entire U.S\nState for a full year. We wrested it from her, but she remains at large. She's\nnot only all that, but also a werewolf just like Vadim and those others you saw;\nshe's the source wolf, the alpha of every lycan on that island.\"\n\"Another\nof those hairy beasts,\" Katsu said, rubbing his chin. \"Seems this\nworld is ripe with extraordinary creatures...It's both interesting and\nunnerving.\"\n\"Next one,\" Volcan carried on to the next female.\n\"This is Cyber Project: Dawn, created by two scientists -one of them the\nsame one who created Hayagake. She's a cyborg, equipped with technology and\nskills that make her the ultimate weapon against Super humanoids. Beyond that\nshe's also an expert technician and engineer, and has knowledge of all modern\ntechnology; the woman could almost literally make a nail gun out of a stapler\nand a paperclip, she's so resourceful. And worst of all, emotionless; work on\nher wasn't completed, and half of her brain is electronic; she feels little to\nno emotion at all. She's, literally, an unfeeling weapon.\"\n\"I'm starting to notice a pattern; most of your\nadversaries are either insane, or emotionless...\" Luke said as he looked\nover Dawn's profile. \"It's amazing they get along so well.\"\n\"You can thank Calhoun for that,\" said Volcan.\n\"Unfortunately, after he separated from me, he inherited some of my\ntraits... including bringing the most unlikely of allies together. And you want\ninsane...\" He tapped the image of the seven-tailed fox. \"THIS guy is\ncompletely off of his rocker.\"\n\"Ah yes... Kumori,\" said Vinge.\nAll three of them looked at the image of the seven tailed fox\nsilently, as if waiting for an explanation from either of them, which Volcan\ngave. \"This guy, is a bloodthirsty maniac; he is by far the craziest of\nthe lot,\" said Volcan. \"Though trained as a ninja, this guy's about\nas stealthy as a mad dog; soon as the thrill of the chase gets to him he comes\nin blades flying. Don't be fooled though; he's skilled, and as a Kitsune,\nslippery; he can vanish into shadows, then pop out of another one miles away,\nand he has minor reality-warping powers, including his own favorite trick of\nthrowing over a hundred shuriken from his tails. And, being over 600 years old,\n he has a lot of experience; his weakness\nis in his blood thirst and uncontrollable urges, making him reckless and,\noften, overzealous... but still deadly.\"\n\"The way you describe him, he sounds unfocused and\nfoolhardy. I will not fall for his tricks if he and I were to cross\nblades...\" Katsu stated proudly and beat his chest once.\n\"Did I mention he can make himself immaterial and walk\nthrough walls?\" Volcan asked.\n\"He also really loves jumping out of mirrors,\"\nVinge added. \"And he deliberately shapeshifts to match your reflection so\nthat you don't know he's there until he leaps out at you.\"\n\"A tricky bastard... but not impossible to deal with,\"\nKage stated. \"He's not the only one who can become immaterial, after\nall...\"\n\"But can you shapeshift?\" Volcan asked.\n\"He can make himself look like a bottle of wine on your\nshelf,\" Vinge added.\n\"I don't need to shapeshift...\" Kage returned\nbluntly. \"I can sense thoughts and read minds with my\nExtrasensory...\"\n\"Right... just stay away from mirrors if you know he's after\nyou,\" said Vinge, evidently doubting Kage. \"If you hear someone\nscream 'Bloody Mary Attack'... you're dead.\"\n\"You doubt me already...\" Kage said as he glanced\nto Vinge. \"I am the one who held up against someone even Volcan quivers in\nfear from; I may not be as fast, but my reflexes are second to none.\"\n\"Uh, Kage?\" Volcan stated. \"Vinge has beaten\nSash twice.\"\n\"You've got a long way to go before you can impress\nhim,\" Serena remarked.\n\"We'll see...\" Kage returned, glancing forward once\nmore.\n\"Well, that covers all of the Overlords,\" said\nVolcan, shutting off the monitor. \"Now we're faced with the next\nchallenge...\"\n\"What next challenge?\" Tristan asked.\n\"We know what's causing the anomalies,\" said\nVolcan. \"It's Kalo'Temir.\"\n\"Kalo who?\" Tristan asked, and then perked up.\n\"Oh, wait a minute... he's that demon you guys told me about.\"\n\"Correct,\" said Vinge, his expression having turned\nfirm. \"He's the one causing these dimensional distortions?\"\nVolcan nodded. \"Yes... he's trying to pass over into\nLuke's world, or rather, as we were informed, trying to pull someone from there\nback into his.\"\n\"What's stopping him?\" Tristan asked. \"isn't\nKalo'Temir like, rival to Gods or something?\"\n\"From what we gathered, Kalo'Temir is trying to break\nthrough the Space-Time Barrier dividing our worlds and force his way into the\nDistortion World...\" Kage explained. \"He's trying to absorb the power\nof the Deity of Antimatter, Giratina...Out of all the legendary pokemon in our\nworld, only he has the power to rival even the God of Pokemon himself.\"\n\"That fits Kalo'Temir's M.O of trying to gain more\npower,\" said Vinge. \"But what's keeping him from reaching it? He's\nnever had trouble moving between spaces before.\"\n\"The God of Space in Luke's world; a Legendary Pokémon\ncalled Palkia,\" replied Volcan. \"He's fighting Kalo'Temir even now,\nbut he's losing... we have to contact Izrail, and somehow he has to find a way\nto stop Kalo'Temir from going any further. If Kalo'Temir gains Giratina's\npowers, there's no telling how dangerous he'll become.\"\nVinge put a hand to his chin, slipping into deep thought for\na moment before grunting. \"You're right... this is beyond any of\nus...\" He pointed at Volcan. \"But first thing's first... we need to\ngo home, and tell the others you and Serena are alive.\"\n\"They'll be waiting for us when we land,\" Kyle\ncalled back. \nVolcan perked up, and a gleeful smile actually appeared on\nhis face; the first time he'd actually seemed legitimately ecstatic since Luke\nhad met him. A similar expression was on Serena's face, and she clearly was\nsuppressing the urge to squeal with delight.\nKatsu saw her expression and smiled a little himself. Seeing\nher so estatic also filled his heart with a special warmth. \"I'm eager to\nmeet the rest of your comrades.\" He said to her softly.\n\"You'll like them,\" promised Volcan.\n\"For now you should all get some rest,\" suggested\nVinge. \"It'll be a while before we get back to Alberta so, best to make\nthe most of it.\"\n\"Agreed...\" Luke said as he headed to a cot and\nflopped on his back, sighing in exhaustion. \"I've had enough excitement\nfor one day...\"\n\"On that, we're agreed,\" said Serena, leaning\nagainst Katsu and closing her eyes.\n\"Definitely,\" said Volcan, finding himself a chair\nto sit in, letting the others decide how to share the two onboard cots.\n~~~~~\n\"Very fascinating,\" said Assiminik as Rovdyr\nprojected the knowledge of the incident from the minds of both Calhoun and\nSash. \"Those three who were with Volcan and Serena do not appear to be of\nthis world, yet closely resemble beings from here... perhaps some sort of parallel\ndimension?\" She leaned back in her seat, pondering.\n\"One of them used a technique similar to\nChi-fighting,\" said Devilshade. \"Much like Yahiko and Minato's\nmethods, but in a different style.\"\n\"He was pretty powerful too,\" admitted Calhoun,\nholding up his staff. \"I've never felt my staff filled to such capacity,\nnot even when I absorbed Izrail's magic with it. It was quite enticing,\nreally...\" He grinned.\n\"The opponent I faced was also well versed in stealth\nand ninjitsu tactics...He also seems to be able to make himself intangeble. I\nswiped at him with my blade and passed right through him...\" Sash stated,\nthen narrowed hsi eyes. \"Yet, when I coated Muramasa with Dark Magic, I was\nable to run him through.\"\n\"To be able to avoid even Muramasa... that's something\nworth checking,\" stated Assiminik, putting her hands together. \"And\nyet, Volcan was with them, yet Vadim has been monitoring news reports from\nCanada; that phoenix has been missing for over three weeks, yet very suddenly\nappears here on Lycanthria? Quite curious, isn't it?\"\n\"Indeed,\" Sash concurred, crossing his arms as he\nthought. \"Regardless, those three are forces to be reckoned with. They\nmust not be taken lightly.\"\n\"But more than that, we should find where they came\nfrom,\" said Assiminik. \"There could be great things for us to\nfind.\" She grinned. \"Have Hakam and Dawn search the island for signs\nof recent space-time anomalies; if we can find where they appeared from, we may\nbe able to find our own passage to this other world with Hakam's Gateway\nspell.\"\n\"Understood...\" Sash returned, then turned around\nand walked off to find Dawn and Hakam to relay Assiminik's orders.\n~~~~~\n\"Hey Luke, you sleeping?\" Volcan's voice sounded in\nthe Lucario's ear, kept to a low whisper.\n\"Mgh...\" He grumbled and slowly opened his eyes.\n\"I was; what's up?\"\n\"We're about to start landing,\" replied Volcan.\n\"We'll be there in a couple of minutes.\"\n\"Ah. Good.\" Luke said as he sat up. \"Starting\nto feel a bit cramped in this cot.\"\nVolcan chuckled. \"Well, this plane isn't exactly first\nclass; Kyle's done some work, but, it's still basically a cargo plane.\"\nThe plane suddenly began to tilt. \"Oop. He's descending.\"\nAs the plane began to lower, Luke felt an uncomfortable\npressure in his ears, like bubbles of air building up in the eardrums and\nexpanding into the canals. \"Agh. The hell's happening to my ears??\"\nHe exclaimed, grasping his ears and flattening them, then poked his paws inside\nhis ears.\n\"It's the pressure here in the cabin; don't poke them,\nyou'll just make it worse,\" instructed Volcan. \"Hold your mouth open\nas if yawning and close your eyes; that'll help relieve the pressure, but don't\npoke, else if your ears pop it'll hurt like hell.\"\n\"Alright,\" Luke returned and opened his mouth as\nwide as he could, clenching his eyes shut. \"That helps a little.\"\n\"Just hold that until you feel the wheels touch the\nground, you'll be good,\" instructed Volcan, before he sat down at Luke's\nside, repeating the process.\nMoment later, Luke felt a sudden jolt through the plane, and\ncould hear the wheels of the landing gear gliding over rocky, slightly rugged\nground as the plane glided down its landing path, slowly decelerating before it\nwas moving at only a gentle crawl.\n\"And voila,\" said Volcan. \"A perfect\nlanding.\"\nLuke closed his mouth and twitched his ears a little.\n\"Ugh; that was new... but then again I've never flown before.\"\n\"Be glad this wasn't a jet; nothing worse than jet lag\nafter ten hours of flying,\" said the phoenix.\n\"Hey Volc!\" Kyle called from the cockpit as the\nengines began to power down as the plane came to a full stop. \"The group's\nwaiting by the control tower; you better get ready to greet 'em!\"\n\"Are we at Vinge's airstrip?\" Volcan asked.\n\"Yep!\" The human replied. \nVolcan chuckled. \"Perfect... I wager they'll ALL have\nsome choice words for me.\"\n\"I imagine they would.\" Minato called back as he\nstepped out of the cockpit. \"Just try not to take it personally.I imagine\na few of them might get a little...physical.\"\n\"I'm expecting that; already prepping my stomach muscles\nfor it,\" replied Volcan.\n\"They wouldn't... would they?\" Luke asked.\n\"You don't know them,\" Volcan replied, snickering\nas he stood up. \"But whatever happens Luke, just let it go; none of it\nwill be for malicious intent.\"\n\"I'll take your word for it,\" Luke returned,\nstanding up from the cot and stretching his arms and legs.\nThe side door of the plane opened, and Kyle slid down an off\nramp to the ground. \"Thank you for flying Os-Nàdarra Airlines; please\nwatch your step on the way down. Goodbye.\" The human jested.\n\"Heh, nice one,\" said Tristan, hi-fiving Kyle as he\nstepped out.\nLuke, Kage and Katsu all exited the plane one by one, landing\non terra firma and looking around at their new environment. Katsu took the time\nto help Serena off the plane as well; truly a gentleman at heart despite his\nwarrior demeanour.\nVolcan was the last to step out, and immediately spotted the\ngroup approaching. At the lead of them was a black and white husky, who looked very displeased.\n\"Here it comes,\" said Volcan, stepping towards the\nhusky. \"Hey, Korban; long time no see!\" He called, non-chalantly,\npretending he didn't know what was coming...\nThe first thing to happen when he got close was a HARD\nuppercut to Volcan's solar plexus, aimed to knock the wind out of him.\n\"You mind explaining to me why you were MIA for THREE FUCKING\nWEEKS???\" Korban demanded of him.\nVolcan stepped back from Korban, rubbing his stomach. \"I\nwish I could give you a better answer, Korb but... I can't -ow- pick when I get\nslurped into another dimension,\" he said.\nKorban\ntwitched an ear at that notion and sighed, shaking his head and placing his\nhands on his hips. \"Again..? Really?\"\n\"What, don't believe me?\" Volcan asked.\n\"Oh no\nI do, considering ya got a few new friends to add to your possy.\" Korban\nretorted, glancing over to the three Pokémon behind him. \"Yanno, I SWEAR\nI've seen those kinds of things in a video game once...\"\n\"Worry about that later,\" said the phoenix. \"Is\na punch to the gut the only way you're welcoming me home, Korban?\"\n\"Nah I had PLENTY to choose from...Hell one of em\ninvolved slapping your shoulder with a VERY cold hand.\" He said with a\nsmirk. \"Though yer lucky I decided against it you flaming chicken. Get\nover here.\" He added and pulled Volcan into a hard, yet warm embrace.\nVolcan chuckled as he hugged Korban. \"I've missed you,\nman...\" He admitted.\n\"VolCAN!\" A stern voice interrupted the moment,\nmaking both of them jump as an electric blue avian stormed up to them.\nSerena's ears flattened. \"Oh dear...\"\nLuke seemed to jump a bit at the sound of the blue avian's\nvoice. Though he tilted his head when he saw how noticebly short he was\ncompared to Volcan. \"...For a short guy, he has a huge voice.\" He\nmuttered.\n\"That's not all he has,\" said Serena. \"That's\nVolcan's older brother, Lighris... if you think Korban's violent, Lighris is\nFAR worse.\"\n\"...That doesn't make me feel any better,\" Luke\nreturned.\nKorban stepped back from Volcan, giving Lighris free access.\nThe blue avian cracked his knuckles on approach. \"I should beat you to a\nbleedin' pulp for SCARING THE SHIT OUTTA ME FOR THE LAST THREE WEEKS!!!\"\nHe screamed.\n\"Ehehe... I was kinda expecting it...\" Volcan\nadmitted.\nLighris grabbed Volcan by the shirt and shook him.\n\"Where the hell have you BEEN, bro; you have any idea how much you freaked\nus all out?!\" Volcan babbled ceaselessly, trying to get some words out in\nreply but was being shaken too roughly to come up with anything coherent. After\na moment though, Lighris eased off. \"But... lucky for you, you caught me\nin a good mood, and Korban already punched you for me...So instead...\" He\nwent on to hug Volcan as well.\nVolcan sighed with both relief and happiness. \"Good to\nsee you too, big bro.\"\n\"Don't scare me like that again, Volc, alright?\"\nLighris asked.\n\"Real switch-hitter, that Lighris,\" remarked Kyle,\nrubbing the back of his head. \"But, honestly cares about his\nbrother.\"\n\"So it would seem,\" Kage remarked tonelessly.\n\"Threatening to hit a family member is CLEARLY the proper way to show how\nmuch you care for someone...\" He added in a sarcastic tone.\n\"Everybody has their methods?\" Kyle asked,\nshrugging helplessly at the Greninja.\n\"A poor method at best...\" Kage returned.\nAt that second, a figure erupted from the ground in front of\nSerena and Katsu; a green and brown avian girl -one without wings, standing\nwith her arms crossed, eyeing Serena with a smug grin on her face. Katsu jumped\nback a little when the girl popped up from the ground before them. \"Arceus\nAlmighty!\" he exclaimed.\n\"Volcan's not the only one who has some explaining to\ndo, sister,\" the girl remarked.\n\"Tsume!\" Serena squealed, throwing herself at the\navian and hugging her tightly.\nThe girl's eyes popped wide open, and she exhaled painfully.\n\"Ow! Okay, good to see you too; don't crush me, alright?\" \n\"Oh! Sorry!\" Serena returned, meekly, releasing the\navian girl from her grasp. \"Just... really glad to see you.\"\nTsume looked past her, keeping that grin as she noticed\nKatsu's startled expression. \"What, never seen someone pop outta the\nground before?\" She asked, and then laughed at Katsu's confusion.\n\"Just...not in front of me, no.\" He returned,\ncalming himself down.\n\"Well consider yourself initiated,\" returned the\ngirl. \"Serena, going to introduce me?\"\n\"Of course,\" the hippocampus returned. \"But,\nit'd be more expedient if we just had it done all at once, wouldn't it?\"\n\"Point taken,\" agreed the avian. \"Well, come\non; let's go rejoin the others.\"\nMeanwhile, back over with Volcan...\n\"Yo, Volcan-O!\" A hyperactive-sounding voice\nchimed, before a blurry shape suddenly tackled the phoenix from behind,\ngrabbing him with four limbs and making him stumble forward, almost falling on\nhis face.\n\"BWA-HA! Hey!\" Volcan returned.\n\"Where you been, you big lunkhead?!\" The light\nbrown avian on his back asked. \"Where you been runnin' off without your\nold pal Pavan, huh; you should never go anywhere without me! You know how crazy\nI get when I get bored!\"\nEven Luke couldn't help but chuckle at this one's hyper\nactiveness, covering his mouth and snickering a bit to himself.\n\"...Reminds me of Eagle Eye....\" He muttered to himself.\n\"Meet Pavan,\" Tristan said, snickering. \"The\nmost out of control little shit in the west.\"\n\"I'm sure I've met others more crazy.\" Luke\nreturned, glancing up to Tristan.\n\"I'll believe it when I see it,\" the dragon\nreturned.\n\"Okay, Pavan; get off of me!\" Volcan commanded the\nWind Phoenix, pulling him off of his back. \"I'll fill you all in,\nokay?\"\n\"Well I hope so,\" the orange-brown cat woman\nleading the rest of the group said. \"After all the trouble we went to\nlooking for you.\"\n\"And then you pop up on Lycanthria?\" Asked the hyena\nwalking with her. \"Of all places to take a vacation, Volcan, THAT was a\ndumb idea.\"\n\"Not my choice Brent,\" said Volcan, before turning\nback to Luke's group. \"Come on over guys.\"\nThe three of them stepped forward and stood alongside Volcan,\nall of them looking at each of Volcan's friends with keen interest.\n\"And these are your new friends?\" Brent asked.\nPavan suddenly popped up next to Kage. \"WHY is this guy\nwearing his own tongue like a scarf? That's just creepy.\"\n\"Pavan, manners,\" a impossibly feminine, and almost\nmotherly voice, hissed from the crowd, before a pale snake emerged into view; a\nnaga, like the one called 'Rovdyr' that Volcan had described, but her whole\nbody was a pale, pinkish-white, and her eyes were also pink -traits of\nalbinoism. She wore only one article of clothing; a leathery tube-top around\nher torso, covering her more intimate areas. But by the gods, she was beautiful\nto the eye.\n\"And strangers to this place,\" the green avian\npointed out. \"Let's not do anything to scare 'em off, alright?\"\n\"Hey, what'd I say?\" Pavan asked.\n\"One of these days, yer tongue's gonna get cut off from\none of yer remarks and I just hope I'm there when it happens.\" Jested\nanother feline anthro, this one was completely grey with green eyes, like\nMinato he was dressed in all black, though on his left shoulder rested a\nholstered revolver, and on his right rested a black, spiked katana.\n\"Yea what the kitty said.\" Came another voice from\nabove, prompting Luke and his team to look up They saw a large white furred\ndragon with feathery wings and donning a long coat as well. The rest of his\nbody was bare and he had quite a gut on him as well. He had silver hair that\ncomplimented his gold eyes as well.\n\"Kieran and Shiryu,\" Volcan said. \"Good to see\nyou guys, too.\"\n\"Likewise.\" Kieran said with a casual salute.\n\"Hiiiii~!\" Shiryu waved estatically at Volcan\nbefore he landed with a thud next to the female naga.\nAll of them were quite taken aback by the new arrivals, Luke\nespecially when he first laid eyes on the snake woman before him. 'My LORD\nshe's beautiful....' Luke thought to himself.\nOr so he\nthought. The naga glanced over at him with a wry smile. \u003cThank you for the\ncompliment,\u003e he heard her voice in his head.\nHe twitched a little and blushed heavily, shaking his head a\nbit \u003cWait, you heard me??\u003e Luke asked mentally, feeling rather embarrased\nat this sudden turn of events.\n\u003cOf course; didn't Volcan mention?\u003e She asked. \u003cI'm\na telepath.\u003e\n\u003cOh...right...I forgot...\u003e He returned.\n\u003cWell...sorry...\u003e\n\u003cOh don't worry... I'm quite flattered,\u003e she returned,\nwinking at him.\n\"I think someone's having a mind talk without us,\"\nBrent remarked.\n\"Don't be silly,\" returned the naga, keeping that\nsly grin.\n\"Time for the introductions, then,\" said Volcan.\n\"Everyone, meet my new friends. These are Luke, Katsumoto, and Kage, of\nTeam Valiant. Luke here took me in when I got transported to his world; it's\nthanks to him I'm still alive and healthy to come home.\"\nLighris glanced at Luke. \"We owe you, then,\" he\nstated. \"Thanks for looking after my little brother.\"\n\"It was no trouble. I'm not one to refuse someone that\nneeds help...\" He returned.\n\"And Luke, meet my team; everyone I told you about,\"\nsaid Volcan, gesturing one at a time to everyone in the group. \"Buniq,\nKieran, Shiryu, Brent, Korban, Tsume, Pavan, Kodaku, and my brother, Lighris.\nThe Os-Nàdarra Sentinels.\"\n\"Wow, quite a lot of you...\" Luke commented.\n\"Back where I'm from, a team is usually limited to a maximum of 6 per\ngroup, sometimes less.\"\n\"Well this ain't yer universe bud.\" Korban returned\nwith a shrug. \"Still any friend of Flamie's is a friend of mine.\"\n\"...Flamie...?\" Katsu asked.\n\"My own little nickname fer him.\" the husky returned\nwith a smirk.\n\"Be glad you haven't heard my other names,\" Volcan\nremarked, snickering. \"But, in all seriousness, I have something to tell\nyou all.\" His expression changed. \"Regarding the anomalies that took\nSerena and I to Luke's world and the one that brought us back, and brought them\nwith us. We know now what's causing them.\" His eyebrow furrowed.\n\"This is all because of Kalo'Temir.\"\nKorban, Kieran, and Minato's eyes widened a little in shock, and\nthen Korban hollered out. \"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?? THAT ASSWIPE\nAGAIN??!\"\n\"Seriously, after the last time we threw down with him,\nyou'd think he'd still be out of commission!!\" Kieran added.\nVolcan shook his head. \"Sadly not... he's back, and this\ntime aiming for bigger fish,\" explained the phoenix. \"The anomalies\nare being caused because Kalo'Temir is literally moving between spaces and\nreaching into Luke's dimension, trying to pull something back through.\"\n\"What is he after?\" Brent asked.\n\"One of the deities of Luke's world,\" replied\nVolcan. \"A being called Girtatina, the God of Anti-Matter.\"\n\"There's a god of antimatter?\" Minato queried.\n\"Yes.\" Katsu returned, glancing back to the human.\n\"In our world, there are numerous legendary beings that represent certain\naspects of life. Continents, Oceans, the Heavens, Space and Time, Truths and\nIdeals, Eternal Life, Oblivion, and Order.\" Katsu explained. \"All of\nthem preside over those aspects, and they answer to the God of all Pokemon,\nArceus...all that is, except for Giratina.\"\n\"Not only is he a rogue god, but he's powerful enough to\ndefeat any of the other ones and, if he's got power over Anti-Matter, means\nhe'd be capable of destroying virtually anything,\" stated Volcan.\n\"Kalo'Temir must be after his powers; it's the only kind of thing he\nwouldn't have been able to find invading this world because no one with power\nlike that has ever existed here.\"\n\"So he's, what, threatening the very fabric of\nreality?\" Tristan asked.\nThe entire group went deadpan at Tristan's remark, an\nuncomfortable silence falling over them... \n\"I don't know what's scarier; what he just said, or that\nHE said it,\" said Brent, his\nvoice a little shaky as he broke the silence. \"But, he's right; if\nKalo'Temir is pulling a deity from another world together...\" He pressed\nhis paws together. \"The pull caused from that will result in the two\nworlds being pulled closer together; if that kept up they could collide on a\ncosmic scale and both worlds would be completely eradicated! Or, yanno, there's\nalways that theory that they'd fuse together, or that the two worlds\nwould...\"\n\"Brent,\" Kyle interjected. \"Let's not go off\non a tangent just yet and stay focused on the problem, a'ight?\"\n\"Sorry,\" the hyena said sheepishly.\n\"Never thought I'd live to see the day when Lunkhead\novere here would FINALLY say something smart...Guess that means we can bump\nyour IQ up by one point.\" Korban muttered with a snicker.\n\"Korban,\" Tristan said in a warning tone. \"I\nmay not be any scholar, but I can still smash you so deep into the ground\nyou'll think yer a fossil, kapeesh?\"\n\"Yeah, yeah; keep talkin.\" Korban returned\nnonchalantly, clearly not taking his threat seriously.\n\"I'd listen to him...\" Katsu warned Korban.\n\"He certainly can follow through with his words.\"\n\"Yea well I ain't really afraid...since I'm PRETTY hard\nto kill...\"\nLuke could not believe how arrogant this individual was. He\neven would give someone like Rigel a run for his money in that department.\n\"And I thought Rigel was arrogant...\"\n\"If Rigel ever meets Korban, I foresee disaster,\"\nVolcan whispered to Luke.\n\"Amen...\" Luke whispered back.\nVolcan cleared his throat. \"Fortunately for us, one of\nthe deities is buying time,\" said the phoenix. \"Palkia, the Deity of\nSpace, is battling Kalo'Temir, and thanks to him he hasn't been able to fully\nenter Luke's world. Problem is however, the anomalies are carrying Corruption\nin them, and it's spreading through Luke's world like an epidemic; the\ninhabitants are becoming corrupted.\"\nLuke visibly shuddered upon that mention, remembering back to\nthose demonized pokemon he was forced to slaughter. He closed his eyes and\nclenched his teeth, trying to shake those thoughts from his head.\n\"So, what's the plan of action then?\" Kieran asked\nwith a shrug, speaking for everyone with his particular           question.\n\"First thing, we have to tell Izrail,\" said Volcan.\n\"He's the only one with the connections to let the other gods of our own\nworld know; if they can stop Kalo'Temir from this side, then Luke's world can\nbe safe from any further epidemic, not to mention stopping Kalo'Temir from\nreaching Giratina.\"\n\"But Volc, how do we FIND Izrail?\" Pavan asked.\n\"Korb and I headed out to Egypt and tried to find him but the people there\neither say Hamunaptra is a myth or start swinging swords at the mention of\nit.\"\n\"Yea, and frankly I'm not exactly looking forward to\ngetting sliced up because some fucks think we're delusional maniacs.\"\nKorban returned. \"I'd rather take my chances hunting demons, thank\nyou.\"\n\"Then we need to find another way to contact him,\"\nstated Volcan, looking at Kieran. \"Maybe Kieran's magery could help\nus.\"\n\"It's worth a shot.\" Kieran returned. \"I ain't\nno summoner, but hey, no harm in trying.\"\n\"We won't need to summon, just make contact,\" said\nVolcan. \"We'll go to my Uncle's castle; that massive library HAS to have\nsome sort of spellbook you could use to contact otherworldly beings.\"\n\"Again, worth a shot.\" Kieran returned. \"When\ndo we leave?\"\n\"Well this is a priority... so I'd like to go\nASAP,\" said Volcan. \"First thing is first though. I have to take Luke\nand the others somewhere they can stay until we can get them home.\"\n\"Ya got a place in mind?\" Korban asked, crossing\nhis arms. \"They DO have a lot of places to choose from in Unity\nFalls.\"\n\"True enough,\" agreed Volcan. \"But I'll think\nof something.\"\n\"You should probably find them better outfits than those\nmilitary uniforms though.\" Tsume pointed out, gesturing at the old soldier\nclothes Luke and his friends were wearing. \"Walking around in army\nuniforms would kinda stand out, don't you think?\"\n\"Shopping later, Tsume,\" the fire phoenix said bluntly.\n\"Can anyone lend me a car?\"\n\"You can take my truck,\" offered Brent, tossing\nVolcan a set of keys. \"Just bring it back with a full tank, okay?\"\n\"I will.\"\n\"If possible, I'd prefer something...more\ntraditional...\" Katsu said as he looked down at his still tight fitting\nkimono and the borrowed camo uniform. \"I'm still feeling rather\nchaffed...\"\n\"I'm not surprised,\" Kyle remarked. \"That\nuniform is about two sizes too small for you; you're a big guy.\"\n\"I'm not usually this tall...and I'm normally a quadruped.\"\nKatsu returned.\n\"Richards XL; make sizes for any big guy,\" Tristan\ninformed, pulling at his own shirt. \"Even giants like me.\"\n\"Alright guys...\" Volcan said, looking at his\ngroup. \"It's great to be back... I wish I didn't have to take off but we've\nall got a lot to do.\"\n\"We understand, Volcan,\" said Vinge. \"And, if\nyou prefer, Kieran and I can go to your uncle's castle; he should know me well\nenough now that Kieran and I will be let in. You deserve time to get yourself reacquainted\nwith your own world.\"\nVolcan smiled and nodded to Vinge. \"Alright... but if\nyou need me, don't hesitate.\"\n\"I know... good to have you back.\"\n\"What he said.\" Korban added, jerking his head to\nVinge. \"Just don't go running off on yer own to another parallel universe,\nk?\"\n\"I'll try not\nto but I didn't  exactly plan to go\nthrough the last one on purpose either,\" Volcan reminded.\n\"Neither did I,\" Serena added meekly.\n\"Just saying man.\" Korban returned. \"Don't\nwanna have to sock you again...or worse...\" he said with a devilish grin,\nholding up his hand, a cold mist forming around it.\n\"You do, and I'll uppercut you to the moon,\" Volcan\nreturned, winking.\n\"Keep tellin' yerself that.\" Korban returned, winking\nback at him. \"Now get going already.\"\nVolcan nodded, looking at Luke. \"You guys ready?\"\nHe asked.\n\"As ready as we'll ever be.\" Luke returned.\n\"Then let's be off,\" he said, solemnly, leading\nthem over towards a dark blue vehicle.\n~~~~~\n\"Luke, Katsu, Kage... welcome to Unity Falls,\"\nVolcan said to the passengers as he drove the vehicle towards the collection of\nbuildings that seemed to grow larger every passing second as he entered;\nstructures so high they seemed to touch the very sky itself, people of all\nshapes, sizes and species lining the streets on either side of the road as they\ntravelled. Parks fill with fresh plants, playing children and strange\nconstructs that the children played catching their attention; there was even a\nman in the park selling what appeared to be food to a mother and her child from\na wheeled cart; steaming hot sticks of potato -french fries Volcan called them.\nThe city was unlike anything they had ever seen before; such things had not\nexisted in their world. And now, seeing them here... it was true they were very\nfar from home.\n\"This... wow,\" Luke gasped. \"I'm literally\nblown away right now...THIS is your home??\"\nVolcan nodded. \"Southernmost city in the province of\nAlberta, and the only one of its kind; sitting directly on the border between\nCanada and the United States of America, as a symbol of permanent alliance\nbetween the two countries. I was born and raised in this very city, and it's\nbeen good to me and my family.\"\nKatsu stared in a silent awe. He had no words to describe how\nblown away he was by the setting he was being introduced to. He never saw\nanything like this before... Serena looked at him, recognizing the same\nastonishment in him that she had the day she had first laid eyes on this city.\n\"I know how you feel,\" she assured him. \"Where I come from -a\nsea far to the east, structures like these are not seen. They are truly a\nmarvel all on their own.\n\"This...is...truly astounding,\" He finally spoke,\nslowly expressing his astonishment. \"I'm not sure I'll ever get used to\nthis.\"\n\"You will,\" Serena said confidently. \"If I\ncould, surely you can as well.\"\n\"Now, about where you guys will be staying,\" said\nVolcan. \"I just got to thinking, it might be best to keep you guys close\nto me, and where you can easily find me if there's a problem.\" He looked\nat Katsu and Kage. \"Being people of water I imagine you prefer to be near\nwater?\"\n\"I can adapt,\" Kage returned.\n\"I'd...prefer it, yes,\" Katsu returned honestly,\nglancing to Serena for a moment and blushing softly.\n\"There's a motel near the Lakeview Park,\" said\nVolcan. \"From there it's easy access to the beach; I can put you guys up\nthere.\"\n\"Thank you...We appreciate it.\" Katsu returned with\na small nod of appreciation.\n\"And what of me? Where shall I stay?\" Luke asked.\n\"Well, why not my place?\" Volcan suggested.\n\"It's only ten blocks away from the motel, and I've got a spare room you\ncan have.\"\n\"You sure?\" Luke asked. \"I don't want\nto-\" He stopped himself, and then he chuckled and placed his paw over his\nforehead.\n\"Intrude?\" Volcan finished for him, grinning.\n\"Sound familiar?\"\n\"I was just going to say.\" Luke returned\n\"Yeah, welcome to my world... literally,\" said the\nphoenix. \"It's no trouble; that guest room doesn't see much use\nanyway.\"\n\"Well alright then.\" Luke returned with a nod.\n\"Alright. We'll go to the motel first; I'll get Kage and\nKatsu rooms and sort out the expenses,\" said Volcan. \"And don't worry\nabout the cost; I did mention before but I'm actually fairly wealthy.\"\n\"Yes I remember you told me.\" Luke returned.\n\"Thank you for doing this for us...\"\n\"It's the very least I can do,\" the phoenix said in\nassurance. \"You did it for me; good will or not, I'd say I owe you this\nmuch.\" He looked at Luke. \"And, I'm looking forward to showing you\nmore of my homeland.\"\n\"I look forward to seeing more of it as well.\" Luke\nreturned.\n\"Likewise.\" Katsu added.\n\"Hmm...\" Kage added as well.\n\"Oh come on Kage would it kill you to show even the\nfaintest, SLIGHTEST, hint of enthusiasm?\" Volcan asked.\nHe looked over to Volcan with that stoic expression of his.\n\"...I let my actions speak for me....\"\nVolcan bashed his head against the steering wheel slightly.\n\"Might as well try to mold a chunk of granite,\" he muttered.\n\"Don't let him get to you, Volcan. Kage's always like\nthis...\" Luke said\n\"I know, I know, but if even thrill of discovery doesn't\nget even a blink out of him, he's hopeless,\" said the phoenix.\nLuke then leaned forward and whispered to Volcan. \"Catch\nhim when he's on his own...you'll be surprised what you will discover about\nhim.....\"\n\"We shall see. For now, I'd say there's much more\ndiscovery to be had,\" he declared as they ventured deep into the city. \nAs Luke, Katsu and Kage stared out to the vast community all\naround them, taking in the wonders of architecture of Volcan's homeland, their\ncuriosity continued to race through their minds at the thrill of discovering this\nnew place... but each of them had another, identical thought, cemented into\ntheir minds and constantly being asked...\nHow would they ever get home?\n"}