Pokémon Odyssey: A New Beginning [T] [Best Veteran 4Q '12]

Silver City

The entire ground shook below Zane's feet, and as concrete and rock started to rise up and crack around, he had to move quickly before he would be crushed by incoming rocks. Zane ducked out of the way as a piled feel across him, though loose rubble scratched across his face. Guardia managed to escape most of the damage done to her, but Sword and Shield felt the tremors of the Earthquake right below his feet. Rocks rose up from the fissures of the ground, smashing together and forming up, and collided into the Snorlax, who wasn't quick enough to get out of the way. Gallant, Dryad and The Cleric all lost their balance momentarily and fell, but avoided most of the damage from the tremors.

While Zane and the others were recovering, Auron was already making his next move. He observed as the Swift charged forward at him with an X-Scissor, but instead of attempting to dodge, Auron slowly began to gather energy around his body. All around him, dark smoke and energy poured around, fueling him and increasing his already immense size. The smoke permeated his body as if the Haxorus inhaled it. Then, just as the Swift was rapidly coming upon him, Auron rushed his body forward with a quickness completely contrast to his size. He made a move forward with a Giga Impact fueled by dark energies from the crystal, breaking through a pillar with almost ludicrous ease on his way to Swift, and impacted on him full force with the tremendous feat of strength. From his position, Zane couldn't tell if his brother was struck by the attack. But if he was, it was likely deadly.

Auron, however, quickly moved to the next opponent. As Bloodthirster shouted from above, Zane and Guardia moved away from Bloodthirster's trail of fire. Auron, however, gave no hesitation in his next action. It surprised Zane, as the Haxorus bent his legs, and with unseen power fueling him, he leaped a large distance in the air right at the flying Salamence, almost for a moment as if he himself was also flying. Auron impacted with him right in the air, grabbing hold of his body with his claws. Even the dragonfire which now burned around Bloodthirster didn't deter him. He took the pain, and rose one mighty claw, bringing it down upon the side of the Dragon Gold Tribe member he held on to. Once he dealt his attack, he jumped off, still quite a distance in the air, and aimed to land where Zane and the others had gathered.

It was too late to react before Auron already came down upon them, his impact to the ground causing the floor below them to rupture in a another Earthquake, which broke apart the ground and sent shockwaves at the surrounding Gold Tribe members. Zane was hit full force by the attack, and sent flying through the air like some toy. Guardia and Gallant experienced the same fate, with the Sawk hitting a pillar hard and breaking it in two, while Guardia hit the side of the wall, rubble crashing down upon her. Gold Tribe members were tough, though, and they soon got up once more to try again.

Or at least, Zane attempted to. When he was recovering from the Earthquake enough to stand, the Haxorus was already right in front of him. Zane tried to maneuver around him with his small scale and superior speed. He avoided a Dragon Claw which barely missed him and split the ground below him a full meter. He then ran around Auron, and brought down his arms for a Night Slash. Auron brought up his arms and blocked the attack, though Zane could see a mark come across the Haxorus, albeit a small one. The Haxorus ignored the hit and managed to swipe at Zane, bringing him to the ground, and then, before Zane could run around to prepare something else, he struck the golden Bisharp with a Dragon Claw directly on his side, Zane screaming in pain as the claws dug deep into his side and drew blood. Along with being sharp, they were immensely powerful, and they sent the Bisharp once again through the air, before tumbling down to the ground in a crater from the force.

Gallant and Guardia tried to strike together to make an impact on him. Gallant flew through the air with a High Jump Kick while the Zangoose attack from the ground, attempting to bring a Crush Claw on the Haxorus. However, Auron grabbed the Sawk as he glided through the air, ending his attack with his sheer force, almost comically. He was not able to stop Guardia's attack, who successfully launched her claws at the leg of the Haxorus. It was a brief moment of pain, enough to draw blood off the leg, but it didn't seem to do much other than anger the Lord of the Sentinels. He swiped his tail to the side of the Zangoose, who hit the wall hard and fell, while Auron continued to hold Gallant in his claws. He then reached his arm back, and tossed the Sawk through the air, and once he released him, powered up an attack, which was fueled and enhanced by the darkness and chaos around him, and shot a colorful Dragon Pulse right at the veteran Gold Tribe member through the air.

Zane could tell, as he tried to swiftly recover from his own hit that the Dragon Pulse was beyond powerful, as the very air around it seemed to hiss with pain from allowing it passage to reach the Sawk. Gallant fell to the ground with a thud, and for the moment couldn't even struggle to raise himself.

This caused a roar to come from Sword and Shield, who rushed forward with a Wild Charge. Auron was quick to meet this show of brute physical force with one of his own. A Giga Impact. The two larger Pokemon clashed in the center, with bit of electrical pulses bouncing off the Dragon's body from the effects of the Snorlax's attack. But what Zane also heard from the impact was a resounding crack coming upon impact from his brothers side, and though Sword and Shield held it for as long as he could, he was forced back and onto the ground below. He clutched his shoulder tightly, which Zane found to be somewhat out of place, either because of a break or a dislocation.

The Cleric and Dryad, at the moment Sword and Shield fell, began launching a set of Energy Balls together. The duo fired upon the Haxorus while he was still focused on Sword and Shield, and the balls of grass energy began to impact heavily across the back of Auron. Each hit caused a slight reaction from the Dragon, who tried to turn his body around to react, but felt the force of the two Lilligants' prepared attack in full length. Eventually, Auron had managed to turn around, but not before the pair had already launched more than a dozen Energy balls at him, a feat which would have taken an immense amount of preparation and energy, which showed how desperate and serious they were to win. They panted and continued to fire energy balls at the scales of the dragon. He reacted by a slight drawback with each hit, but the attacks seemed only to delaying him. Eventually, Auron was stomping forward to his targets. He started with smaller steps, then as his body adjusted to the hits of the Lilligants and they began to get tired from launching so many, he began to proceed faster. His movement increased from slight steps to full stomps, and then finally to a full run, even as Energy Balls continued to fall across his body.

To their horror, Auron had eventually reached him, and a moment before he was upon them, his body lit up with the same purple and dark energy which engulfed his body, furthering the damage his next Giga Impact did to unimaginable physical proportions. The two Lilligants, who stood close together, both tried to dodge by jumping to either side of the beast, but the extra energy being espoused around Auron caused the area of impact of the Giga Impact to no longer be limited to his physical body. The Lilligants avoided the initial wave of the impacts, but the shockwaves which followed found their bodies, and flung them like toothpicks through the air. Dryad landed hard onto the ground beside Guardia, and struggled to get up again. The Cleric took more of the attack, hitting against a pillar and smashing it apart, then hitting with a thud on the ground, unmoving.

Zane looked incredulously at the feats of power and strength Auron was able to unleash, but only for a moment. He had already began to recover to try to go in again, despite knowing he was grossly outmatched. Thankfully, he noticed as other Gold Tribe members too recovered, despite some now having fairly substantial injuries across their bodies from clashes with Auron. Like himself, they were prepared to give it all. Yet against such a foe, victory seemed so out of reach.

Snype and Levina felt the powerful force of the earthquake and struggld to stay on their feet. To top things off the roof was collapsing. No doubt, this here would be the final battle... Auron was more powerful then Snype could ever dream. It was funny that just an hour ago, he was his boss.

"Snype! Hop on!" Levina shouted. Snype nodded and jumped on top of Levina and began to run through the falling rubble. Snype had to do what he did best... fight dirty! He just had to weaken Auron first to make everyone elses life easier... Levina continued running through the building and avoiding rubble. One hard piece barely hit Snype's head and left a scratch on him. Spitting on the floor, the two continued their approach on Auron. The Gold Tribe wasn't going too hot... this would change the tides hopefully!

As Snype ran by Auron with Levina, he aimed a Will-o-wisp to immensely weaken and burn him.

Silver City

"All together," Bloodthirster bellowed, and Zane nodded in confirmation. He exchanged glances with the others, and watched the Salamence charge at the helm. As he flew around the Haxorus, the mighty beast held his ground and tried to position his body in front of him. As he moved around and began his flurry of Dragon Claws, Auron held his arms up to block, but also began going on the offensive, bringing down mighty claw after mighty claw of his own set of Dragon Claws, each hit more powerful than the last, as if something beyond his own energy gave him the stamina. Each strike that contacted with Auron's hard scales dealt a blow, but Auron hardly noticed much.

Yet it was enough for Zane and the others to get into position. Dryad and the Cleric (who shakily stood on her feet) began preparing an attack together, while Sword and Shield called for a Surf to begin forming behind him. Auron did a momentary strike upon Bloodthirster, which seemed to have forced him back enough for the Gold Tribe to initiate an attack. Whether Bloodthirster was damaged by Auron or not, Zane was unsure. Zane and Snype went in first, Snype hitting the Haxorus with a Will-o-wisp while Zane charged up a Thunder Wave. Both attacks successfully hit, and did their job in disorienting him well enough for Zane to back up before retaliation.

Sword and Shield was up next. As Auron tried recovering from the status hits, he was unable to respond quick enough to escape the incoming tidal wave of water summoned by the Surf of the Snorlax. The water burst at Auron, crashing down upon him like a cement wall hitting the beast. Yet surprisingly, he was able to endure enough to keep his ground, despite both paralysis and a burning sensation clinging at him. The water crash at him, and then rushed passed him, filling up portions of the main chamber before spilling out of it. But the soaked Auron continued to stand. The Gold Tribe, however, didn't want to give him a break. Guardia rushed forward now, launching a powerful Thunder at him, despite using it as an offensive weapon at the moment instead of her traditional use of it as a defense. The Thunder struck his body, fusing with the water across his body to increase the damage done to him. Zane could see that the Haxorus was in pain, but it wasn't enough to bring him to his knees. He just seemed to take the pain.

Auron roared, but next, Dryad and the Cleric were up. Having gathered the necessary energy around, two white orbs of pure energy were around the pair. Having used the others' attacks as a diversion, they had gathered enough energy to simultaneously release two Hyper Beams, at their fullest powers they could be. Auron only noticed at the very end what they were up to, and by the time he tried to react, the two hit him directly with the power beams of white energy. The Hyper Beams struck Auron in his chest directly, then the shockwave carried him off of his feet and sent him crashing against the wall, with rubble coming down on top of him. Still, the attacks persisted until both Dryad and the Cleric had used up all the energy they could.

Rocks and broken pieces of the citadel covered the body of the Haxorus, and Zane released a grin at the success of the Gold Tribe. He and the others panted heavily from their efforts. But his celebration was short lived, as from the rubble, the rocks began to shift, and a moment later, the Haxorus popped up again, with only a few injuries and bruises to show from their efforts. Although, Zane did see two burn marks right on his chest, which seemed to have been quick a significant amount of damage. Yet it was not enough, it seemed.

Auron retaliated in force. He opened his own mouth, and began to power up his own Hyper Beam. Before Zane could even begin to warn them, the dark colored energy blast, which seemed to have fused with the chaotic and dark energies, released from his mouth. Yet surprisingly, it did not target any one area. He fired the blast, targeting the two Lilligants primarily, who were struck with portions of the ultra-powerful dark Hyper Beam. But after, Auron turned his head, and continued the Hyper Beam to target the other opponents like a laser. The beam burned through the ground and the walls as it melted over every target it passed, and he tried to leave none of them out of the hit.

Snype cheered as he succesfully burned him. They seemed to get alot of hits in this time! Things were already looking up for the group. After the attacks of the other Gold Tribe members, Auron let out a Hyper Beam! It was different then usual since it had a Dark Aura... Snype was a ghost so normally, a move like that wouldn't even phase him but... something about this seemed different. Snype could feel the power coming from the attack and did NOT want to get hit by it.

"Levina! Right side!" Snype commanded. Levina nodded and made a sharp turn to run from the incoming Hyper Beam. They were small and nimble. They could handle big attacks like this! They were sentinels for a reason! Snype's biggest challange would be getting close enough to Auron to hit him with Foul Play. Considering how strong the Pokemon was, Snype's signature attack would do wonders on him. Right now he had to keep his distance and wait for the right moment to strike.

"Keep running Levina!" Snype shouted.

Mountain Ranges

Saturn Barrowman

Day 105 in the mountain

I've been noticing tremors of late. Whether they originate from Silver City or come as a result of the mountain collapsing, I do not know, but I suspect the former. I have repeatedly tried to convince Ven and Taint to abandon this hiding place, on account of the fact that we have been here for far too long. Ven, our scout, has heard possible rumours of an impending battle in Silver City, next to which we are directly located. However, despite my efforts, I cannot convince them to move. Biff agrees with me, though he cannot directly say so. The Emboar has always had a knack for sensing danger, and he's been rather uneasy lately, which, in turn, makes me equally anxious. I plan on attempting to convince my comrades to move once more. It seems as if, though I was once their captain, they are no longer willing to listen to me. Still, that could be because of this... darkness within me. I do not know how it happened, or why, but I can feel the deep black of oblivion drawing every closer... as if it is right beside me. When I attempt to use my Aura Sphere, the result is a dark pulse of energy unlike anything I've ever seen; it scares me. I am becoming something else.

It is because of this that I began writing these log entries. Should something happen to me, perhaps someone will find these-

I just heard a loud crash from further down the tunnel - oh no, I hear shouts - Ven, Taint, Biff! I must go help them!

"You're not going anywhere," came a loud, booming voice. Saturn instantly turned his head and took up a fighting position to find a Golurk standing before him. Saturn dropped his pen and put it back on the table, on which his personal journal sat.

"How nice, a diary," the Golurk chuckled.

"You... I know you..." Saturn muttered, racking his brain to remember where he'd seen this huge individual. "But... you're different..."

"It's nice to see you too, Saturn," The Golurk said, almost sincerely but with a hint of mockery in his tone.

"Paladin... Paladin! ...Paladin? What..." Saturn trailed off, stunned to see what had become of his old friend.

"The same thing that's happened to you, my friend," Blackguard pointed at the dark half of the Lucario's body. "You're corrupted, my friend. Just like me."

"You're not Paladin. You can't be; look at you! You look different, you sound different-"

"I AM different, Saturn!" Blackguard boomed. "I am Blackguard! Paladin is long gone. And soon, you shall share his fate."

That was provocation enough for Saturn; guessing that Blackguard had been the one to attack his friends, he quickly launched an Aura Sphere at the Golurk. As anticipated, it turned into a Dark Beam somehow.

The result was shocking. As the Dark Beam hit him, Blackguard seemed to absorb the hit, stretching his arms as if welcoming the attack. It did not affect him whatsoever, and he shook his head, feeling refreshed.

"Is that all?" Blackguard charged at Saturn with abnormal speed and began pelting him with Shadow Punches. Saturn knocked the first two aside just barely, but they just kept on coming and he was eventually knocked down by one. Another punch followed in quick succession, but Saturn countered it with a quick Dragon Pulse, causing the punch to be knocked out of direction and crash straight into the wall. Saturn took this chance to get up, shaking off the pain, and powered up with a couple of Sword Dances. Blackguard quickly powered up a Dark Beam, and fired it straight at Saturn.

Surprisingly, Saturn reacted the exact same way that Blackguard had. He absorbed the Dark Beam, feeling totally replenished as it fell into his body. He closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them, they were a deep red. The black on his body extended itself over the brilliant blue, quickly turning his body different shades of deep jet black.

"Now you've done it," Saturn said in a much deeper voice. His Chaos Form had activated.

"Perfect," Blackguard smirked.

Saturn lunged at Blackguard, smashing into him faster than he could react and sending both of them tumbling to the ground. Blackguard quickly countered with a Hammer Arm, which managed to hit the Lucario straight in the face, causing devastating damage, and sending him flying straight into the wall. Saturn grunted in pain, but he was soon up again, and facing Blackguard.

Saturn zoomed in on Blackguard incredibly fast, and began a Close Combat attack. The successive hits of kicks and punches caused Blackguard to stagger back somewhat, but he soon recollected himself and swung another Hammer Arm at Saturn. The Lucario dodged the attack swiftly, then continued with his Close Combat. Blackguard decided to activate his jets, sending waves of Flamethrowers after the Lucario. Surprised at such an attack, Saturn was caught right in the middle of the flames and staggered backwards, trying to swat them aside with his arms. They burned him heavily, so he had no choice but to jump above the shoot of flames and grab onto the ceiling, digging into the rock with his powerful arms and hanging there.

He did not stay suspended for long. Saturn jumped over the flames just as they rose to meet him, and landed on Blackguard himself. On top of the Golurk, Saturn began pelting the Golurk with rapid Close Combat. Staggering backwards and starting to feel pain because of the kicks and punches, Blackguard aimed his Flamethrower at his own head, instantly causing Saturn to jump off and onto the ground.

He looked back at the Golurk, finding that his own Flamethrower had not hurt him in the slightest.

"What the hell are you?" Saturn asked.

"You," Blackguard replied, his dark red eyes glinting with satisfaction.

Right after he said that, Saturn broke down. He crumbled to the floor, seemingly a lifeless body. Blackguard walked over to him, and kneeled before him. "Now, let's begin."


"It's good to see you, Blackguard. But... why now?"

"We are assembling. Auron's time is up. We need Saturn."

"For what? Another Pokemon to add to your ranks? Saturn needs to have a bigger role in this; I've spent too long preparing him for him to be one of your henchmen."

"He has a very different purpose, Chaos. He is essential to the plan. But first..."

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"Eliminating you."

"No. You can't! No! NOOOOOO!"


It had only been a couple of seconds before Blackguard opened his eyes and stood up, staring over the lifeless, now normal body of Saturn Barrowman. In the faintest depths of his memory, Blackguard remembered his host Paladin and this Lucario together, as friends, as comrades.

Picking up the body, Blackguard went back into the tunnels and found his way back to the entrance of the cave. A blizzard had no broken out, but that wasn't a problem for him. Slinging Saturn over his shoulder and activating his jets, he rocketed out into the air, back towards Silver City, where the fight was already underway. As he flew, he sent out a message to Paradox.

"I've got the Package; I'm coming back to the city. I see the Gold Tribe have already engaged, in which case we need to hurry. Apprehend him and bring him to me. We'll take care of him together."

Hanso, Varren, and Genevieve. Oh, and Brynn.
Silver City - Outside the Citadel
~~~~~

"Equal or more amount of power, hm?" Varren nodded to himself. It made sense, obviously, considering what hero-boy had in mind. He continued munching on the few snacks left in his sack, and drank from a flask of water, as the group moved on through the city, almost as if he was on a sightseeing tour.

A minute before they reached the Citadel, Genevieve said to Hanso, Stop. I don't think we should go inside, dear.

Hanso, he retorted firmly. I don't like the looks of the decrepit building, myself. Could be collapsed on top of anyone inside. The Gallade and the Gardevoir had halted, standing near each other now as the rest of the group paused before the doors ahead of them.

It's not that. I know Auron's in there, but…I'm not sure I sense Penance—excuse me, Paradox, anywhere in there.

Just then, a flicker of light indicated that another psychic had teleported in. "This Paradox is no pushover," Brynn said quietly, supporting herself on a walking stick in one hand. "He has all the psychics rooted to himself. We can't break free ourselves." The Gardevoir paused, blinking at the oddly-tinted Gallade who winked back. "And who might you be?"

"Varren, of course," the Gallade answered, giving Brynn a mock-bow. "Your dear brother is rather tired, what with the drains he stumbled into. He needs to work on that, but in the meantime, I'm moving him around."

Genevieve cocked her head slightly, evaluating the shorter Gardevoir. She seemed familiar, for some reason…

Brynn sighed. "I did check the citizens' connections after a bit," she continued, hardly fazed by Varren. "They should be getting the word to drop it now, but I can't guarantee how many will listen to what I said."

Shaking her head slightly, Genevieve said, "Your brother and I have been working on something since we cut our line with you. I assume you brought it."

Brynn nodded in reply. "One moment…" Her eyes closed as she concentrated, firing a protected package at Hanso's mind before cutting the brief connection. "Paradox shouldn't find it easy to read anything I do, but I'd rather take as few chances as possible."

The Gallade was silent for a few seconds before Varren's grin grew a bit wider. "So that's how you plan to do it. Hehehe…I could be helping with that, you know."

Standing nearby, Genevieve's attention had returned to the Citadel in the near distance, into which the Gold Tribe was walking. She was silent, partly because they were still working on something in their mental work-room, but her other thoughts drifted to her own future. "…Give it to me."

What? The Gallade turned to face Genevieve, Varren smothering a chuckle with one hand. Brynn raised her eyebrows in response. "You realize what you're asking?" the short Gardevoir asked, a small smile appearing.

"I do." Genevieve stared at the Gallade until Hanso relented and gave her the mental package. "Besides, the more of us who know it, the better."

Silver City

The Hyper Beam tore through anything it touched. Stone, brick, metal, marble. All crumbled as it made contact with the beam, and Zane could have only imagined what it would have done if it hit any of them. Although, he wouldn't have to imagine much longer it seemed. The Gold Tribe were scampering about the room, trying to avoid the dark beam of energy while also simultaneously trying to prepare for their own counterattacks, though most of them didn't seem to have the time to do so.

Zane noticed Wildfire prepping for her own counterattack, so he decided to try to focus Auron's attack more on him. His body the color that it was, the Haxorus would probably find it a pretty prominent target, and he was right, as the Haxorus focused his lazer-like Hyper Beam right at the Bisharp when he went in front of his vision. Zane tried his best to keep away, though even with his proficient speed, he couldn't hope to outrun a blast. And with a quick stumble upon some rubble with his feet to slow him down, it was all it took for the Hyper Beam to fully catch up and strike his side. The beam burned and seered through his skin, but Zane couldn't even let out a groan or shriek of pain before the shockwave of the blast swept him off his feet and carried him to the opposite side of the room. He collided hard on the ground, clutching his side, which was bleeding now.

But the Hyper Beam didn't stop there. It soon found its way to Sword and Shield, who took a direct hit to the chest and fell off his feet, and then nearly reached Guardia too. Had it not been for Wildfire's interference in striking at the Haxorus' legs, she too would have been hit. Luckily, the Infernape came through and managed to disrupt the continuous Hyper Beam finally, hitting him on his legs, which shook from the two mighty enflamed Focus Blasts. Auron felt the sting of pain penetrate his legs and travel to his brain to register. He fell to one knee for only a moment, before standing up, and turning toward Wildfire.

A mighty roar escaped his mouth, and at that moment the below escaped his mouth, dark energy formed around him and permeated his skin. What was once a yellow-green body had been darkened to more of a deep, blackish green. His eyes were purple, like so many had worn before him. Pulses of dark energy literally flowed out of the beast, disrupting the ground around him, and sending shockwaves of energy throughout the room. If it was possible to become even stronger than he already was, Auron had done so.

In a swift movement, Auron went on the attack again. He opened his mouth, launching a purplish-black Dragon Pulse from it, which targeted the Infernape who had struck him before. Auron continued his attack before checking on the status of his first hit. He glared across the room at the Snorlax Sword and Shield, who began standing as he recovered from the Hyper Beam. The Haxorus gave him no breaks, charging at him with all of his ferocity and collided into him with a Giga Impact. If any recoil was sent back the Dragon's way, he certainly showed no signs of it. On his right, the two Lilligant Gold Tribe members desperately tried preparing for an attack, only to find them quickly being fired upon by a dark Dragonbreath, which seared and sizzled through the air, cooking the atmosphere around the two before it finally reached them just as they tried to escape. Their screams through the black fire were signs of the attack's successful hit, covering the area in the brilliant darkness.

Auron gathered more energy around him just as he released the attack, and quickly prepped another one so the others could join in their fate. Another Dragonbreath burst through his mouth and targeted the other Pokemon around; the Sableye, Jolteon, Zangoose, Sawk, Scizor, the Salamences, Blaziken, and all the rest. Zane didn't think anyone in the world could produce this mass amount of power. He was dead wrong.

Blackguard, Paradox, Varren/Hanso, Brynn, and Genevieve in... RUMBLE BLAST
Silver City

Paradox smiled to himself when his ally left and so he decided to do a bit of... shopping for himself. He went past building after building until he found what he needed. He held out a hand and blew the barricaded doors off their hinges, smirking when he heard a scream from the other side. He walked on in, noticing several Pokemon cowering against the walls of the library with one rather unfortunate Pokemon having been smashed against the wall thanks to the heavy weight of the wooden doors.

The Golduck walked over to a set of bookcases and began to browse. Well, the Dark One had his orders, and for now the best way to not die of boredom would be by reading a book or two. Finally he paused in the medical section and pulled out a book. "Hm... Pokemon anatomy... should be a fun read." The Golduck pulled over a chair and lifted his two feet up on the table. He began to idly flip through the page, chuckling as he saw each page was dedicated to a different Pokemon and showed off skeletons, muscles and such.

All the while he could sense what Blackguard was doing and he glanced around at the area. The Pokemon had been rather stupid in not running when they could, so he got up and approached a rather whimpery Gloom. "Ah.... Gloom." He flipped through the pages and pointed down on a page, "Let's see.... your plant top is rather easy to break off I see! Just by cutting a few strands here and there it can be pulled off! Now... let's see." Paradox smirked as the grass type suddenly found the courage to run, but it didn't get far as Paradox pulled it right back to levitated in front of him, "Hm..." He let one hand go forth and slice along the flesh as the Gloom broke out in screams. He quickly broke into pleas for mercy, but Paradox continued to slice until the poofy part of his upper body was cut free.

The Gloom fell and twitched on the floor as Paradox looked at the plant part, "Interesting. This book isn't half bad." He glanced down at the dead plant and threw the top off to the side, "Not bad at all." At that moment he heard Blackguard's voice and smirked, Now? Fine then, get here soon... after we do this I may just want to go and get some blood on these claws. I haven't really properly used this body against a Gold Tribe member yet. They can't be that hard to kill.

He felt out with his psychic senses and although he noticed a large amount of activity around the area Auron was at, he did notice some life energy further away, outside of that building in fact. Due to his earlier romp with Hanso he could easily pick out with energy was his, and... someone else was here that wasn't supposed to be here. Paradox chuckled at the familiar energy and began readying two Water Bombs in his hands. He focused on the area and teleported away... to appear right in front of Brynn herself.

"Hello darling, I do hate surprises." He pointed both hands at her and shot off his concentrated Water Bombs at point blank range, also readying a Disable should she try and port away or try and block the attack.

At the same time that Brynn attempted to port away, two whips of shadow flew out and snared the Golduck's arms, pulling them away as the Water Bombs were fired. The Gardevoir fell back as one clipped her, even as a hand rose and began forming ice around Paradox's hands. The Gallade was already grabbing Genevieve's shoulder and porting to Brynn's side, leaving the Water Bombs to pass through empty air.

Genevieve, meanwhile, had been charging up an Energy Ball, infusing it with a Thunderbolt. After the 'port, she fired the attack at Paradox while Varren 'ported away with Brynn to the top of a nearby building where they could see the Golduck.

Paradox chuckled as his hands were encased with ice. Perfect. He watched as the Gallade and Gardevoir ported away, but there was still one Gardevoir here....

He felt the Energy Ball being charged up and at the last moment Paradox ported away to appear right behind the Gardevoir. His eyes flashed as he held out his two hands and the ice shattered and quickly was cut into sharp edges. He wasted no time in throwing half of the shards right at the Gardevoir's chest, more specifically to aim at her heart. The others flew right at the back of her neck to pierce into her throat.

His eyes glittered as he waited for retaliation or a port, with yet another Disable ready. This had GOT to work! The Gold Tribe couldn't be so good as to avoid this!

The Golduck's teleport had been a bit of a surprise for the twins; the first few spears of shadow and ice were then striking the ground where Paradox had been. Varren had already redirected his barrage while Brynn concentrated her energy.

Genevieve had turned and attempted to push away the shards of ice with a wave of Psychic energy, but it didn't happen. Instead, the shards approached through a haze of...psychic energy. Before she knew it, Genevieve was on the rooftop beside the Gallade.

Brynn already had a Protect up the moment the Ally Switch was done. She fired a Psychic pulse at Paradox as the Protect fell and the Gallade reappeared. Varren let loose a brief barrage of shadow needles while grabbing Brynn's arm with one hand and 'porting back to the rooftop. "D***, I like this reaction time," Varren mused, beginning to charge a Future Sight attack.

Paradox frowned at his ice shards only shot against a protective barrier and he lowered his hands, a bit more wary now of his opponents. He had thought that with this body he could have at least been faster than Blackguard, but it seemed it was a miscalculation on his part. Then the psychic pulse hit him which only caused Paradox to chuckle, "Gee, that tickles." Though when the shadow needles hit him, they still did less damage to Paradox. The Golduck smirked up at the three psychics and spread his arms, "What did you think Varren? That a being of darkness wouldn't be resistant to dark type attacks?"

He levitated the book up and quickly scanned it, "Hm... you know that Gallade body of yours is quite... weak to say the least. Let's see... oh dear, those arms of yours are mainly bone are they? Makes sense I suppose, bone with nerve endings. Interesting. But... they don't have to be for long." The Golduck looked up with glittering eyes.

"You see.... you are a creature of Darkness Varren, one that can fit in this new awakened world we wish to create. You know that the Gold Tribe will perish here, that is a fact. The longer you try and deny that fact, the more likely you are to die in battle no?" The Golduck spread his arms a bit more, "Why fight against destiny? Why fight against the darkness inside of everyone? You see... being allied with the darkness has its privileges you know. Powers complimenting your own even!"

The orb of energy in the Gallade's hand slowed to a halt as Varren listened, interested in what Paradox was saying. Genevieve had stopped as well, the electricity in one arm sparking out. Only Brynn continued to charge up a Psychic pulse infused with ice. You're not actually listening to him, are you, Varren? Hanso asked.

Why not? Varren grinned, tossing his orb between his hands. It would certainly mean less effort, disposable hero. "Interesting offer," he said aloud for Paradox's benefit, finally releasing the charged Future Sight orb into the air, where it promptly disappeared from sight. "You make it sound like I don't have to be stuck with bony-boy here."

"I remember you now," Genevieve said suddenly, quiet so that Paradox wouldn't hear as she stared at the altered Gallade. "Only, you were supposed to be stuck inside Sovereign's head." Brynn kept her eyes on Paradox, but one hand slowly pointed at the roof beneath Varren's feet, where ice began to form.

Paradox smirked, "Indeed, that's because a... friend is bringing a package you can say." Paradox slowly began to walk about, "Of course, it'll be something strong against them, but weak against us. It would be quite idiotic on our parts if we gave you a super powered body only to be betrayed by you, no? Instead think of it as a reward system. You prove your worth to us, you get a better body, gradually rising up until you're something akin to family."

The Golduck clasped his hands together, "But I can assure you of this, the body we'll give to you is far stronger than that body you possess right now, and it has an empty mind too! No fighting against the host when you just want to have fun! You'll be the only guy in there and you'll have one hundred percent full control over every action you perform. Of course going against us would mean instant death from your stand point." Paradox said with a brief shrug, "But think of it! Once Auron conquers everything we'll be able to give you a lifetime of bodies. Who knows? Maybe it'll become tradition that worthy slaves have to fight each other in order to show how strong they are and the ones you like become your new bodies... right after we erase that pesky mind of theirs first of course."

The water type chuckled, "So... what do you say? I know as a fact right now Hanso is far too weak to try and fight back, but how long will that last? How long before those two psychics over there help him seal you in some room you'll never escape from? How soon before every single sense is cut off and you're nothing but a black blob that will never see the light of day again?" He giggled, "If I know Hanso how Penance knows him, that would be what he's planning for you right now. Either that or how to kill you permanently."

"And I know him even better," Varren muttered, still grinning. He didn't seem to mind that ice had crept a few inches up his legs from the roof. Yes, this Paradox was a good reader, but he didn't have the privilege of seeing precisely what was going on inside Hanso's head. For example, the Golduck couldn't hear Hanso. Oh, do calm down, would you? Kinda hard to think when you're screaming at me, boy. Why have you been so mad lately, anyway? Varren's arms were crossed with one hand raised to rest his chin against, considering the offer.

"He could be stalling," Genevieve said to Brynn, her voice low. "Even if Varren didn't accept, Paradox might be buying time for something." Her arm was beginning to crackle with electricity again.

The shorter Gardevoir only shrugged, her ice having reached the Gallade's knees. The Disable was moments away from wearing off, she could tell. Problem there was, Paradox could just track their minds to anywhere inside Silver City that they 'ported to.

Hanso calmed down enough to say, I can't lie to you, Varren. You know exactly what I think.

Bingo, we have a winner. Bonus prize if the lucky boy also knows what I think.

The water type looked up with a smirk at Varren, "You know what? My cohort will be here very shortly. We even got a nice looking body for you, hehe. In fact, you could test drive it and pilot it around here and there. Let's see... five, four, three, two, one... and there he is!" Penance pointed up with a smirk at the black mass incoming, "Get ready for a treat."

The black mass suddenly stopped flying, and began falling to the ground. As he got closer, it was apparent that the creature had a powerful form, and was much larger than it had seemed high above. It also seemed as if it was holding something in its hand, though it was unclear what it was before it crashed into a nearby house, causing it to collapse to the ground.

As rubble and wood rained down on him, Blackguard stood stoically where the house once had, seemingly unaffected by the fall. He was surrounded by a large crater. Using one hand to protect the Lucario in the other from the debris, he scanned the scene. It seemed Paradox was well underway with the plan already.

"Hello again, Hanso," Blackguard turned to the blackened Gallade, "or... not Hanso. Varren, was it? I have a little present for you."

Blackguard tossed the Lucario onto the ground for Varren to see plainly. The empty body seemed totally unscarred and in excellent shape, despite the fact that it had once belonged to a veteran Gold Tribesman.

It took Genevieve a moment to register what the newcomer was, then another to begin readying an Energy Ball in her free hand. Brynn's orb of ice and psychic energy was still churning beside her, gradually building up.

They're pretty much offering to enslave you, Hanso warned, but Varren was giving the Lucario a look-over. From a distance, anyway; his legs were still trapped in ice.

"Let's see...." The Golduck flipped open a book and smirked, "Ah, metal underneath the skin! Better and more resilient than bones! The ability to use aura and keen in on life forms even when blind! Interesting... oh, and it seems you can form aura into different shapes such as staves and shields... interesting again." He looked up at the Gallade, "Not a bad offer eh?"

"Nope," Varren replied, rubbing his chin. After a moment, he turned his torso toward Brynn. "Do you mind?" Before she could stop him, the Gallade had lassoed her pulse and pulled it toward himself. "Hehe, thanks!" Impossibly, at least as far as Hanso knew, Varren infused it with a swirl of Dark energy before making the whole thing disappear. Hm, maybe it takes two to fire two Future Sights in a row, no?

"You are not," Genevieve hissed, raising her hand to fire a Thunderbolt at the Gallade. Varren made a fist of shadow that shaped itself around her electrified arm, forcing the Thunderbolt to break against his encased legs. Though he winced, the ice shattered. Before Genevieve could release her Energy Ball, Varren fired large staples of shadow that forced her down to the rooftop, sending the Energy Ball flying wild.

"Rather natural reflex to want to stay alive, y'know," Varren taunted, his grin widening. Brynn remained where she was, oddly not doing anything to stop the Gallade. Just a few more seconds...

Paradox winked over at Blackguard, "I think he'll need a tad bit of help ya know." He glanced over at Brynn and I have the perfect candidate. With that he grabbed onto Blackguard and in one instant ported away, only to reappear behind the Gardevoir and grabbed her with his free hand, porting yet again, this time to another part of the city. "Hehe, that disable is almost done, time to finish you before it ends!"

Blackguard didn't hesitate; as soon as they had been ported away from their previous location, he extended a hand and grabbed Brynn, holding her feeble body tightly so she couldn't escape. Then, he launched her into the air and threw a powerful Shadow Punch her way, launching her in Paradox's direction.

As the Shadow Punch flew at her, Brynn formed a Protective barrier around herself to deflect it. The momentum still carried her toward Paradox. Two...one...now. The Gardevoir blinked out of sight, reappearing across the street from Varren and Genevieve.

As she reappeared so did Paradox right behind her. He already held out a hand and shot out a psychic pulse of energy to shoot her out into the air. Funny thing about this was that with Paradox knowing her location, so would Blackguard. And with his link to her mind he was ready to cast out a Disable should she try and port again. It was full proof, but showing a demonstration of power was necessary now.

Blackguard was quick on the spot. As Paradox and Brynn disappeared, he rocketed into the air, locating them near Varren and Genevieve, and zooming to their location. Faster than a 'mon his size should have been able to, he was on the scene, and as he saw Brynn flying through the air, he landed in the spot where he estimated she would land. Quickly, he extended an arm, firing a powerful blast from it which would send her flying back.

There was no running. At least the others were nearby. As she flew through the air toward Blackguard, Brynn attempted an Ally Switch with one of the other psychics. It was canceled out by Paradox's Disable, of course. As she'd intended. The Gardevoir fired her own psychic blast at the Golurk, backing it with orbs of Ice energy, several of which aimed at Blackguard's face.

Blackguard reacted quickly, extending both of his arms this time and using one to create a smokescreen of green flames. From inside the fire he generated, Blackguard managed to dodge the psychic blast, and the orbs of Ice energy melted as soon as they touched the flames, though one barely made it through and hit Blackguard in the chest, causing a little frosting to form over his seal. No biggie.

The flames dissipated just in time, as Brynn came zooming at Blackguard. He grabbed his right arm with his left, and swung it over his shoulder as if it was a baseball bat, readying a Hammer Arm. As the ball was in range, Blackguard swung full force.

"It's a home run!" Blackguard shouted at Paradox, a smirk across the Golurk's face as Brynn went flying back towards him.

In a detached manner, Brynn observed that she most likely wouldn't be able to walk at all if she were allowed to. Forcing through the pain during the first two seconds of flight, she managed to turn herself around to face Paradox full-on. The Disable had hit her Ally Switch, so...

As she neared him, Brynn concentrated and blinked out, appearing in the air behind Blackguard. The momentum of her flight carried her into the Golurk's back, where her arms froze themselves onto him wherever they hit. As a Protective sphere formed around the pair, with several shards of ice and psychic energy working to pierce as much of Blackguard as they could, Brynn began muttering silent words.

Varren had been watching the whole show from the sidelines, where more shadow-formed shackles kept Genevieve from moving or attacking. He let loose a whistle. "Working overtime, ain't she? But hey, Miss Affiliate is Gold Tribe caliber, after all." After waiting a moment, Varren raised his eyebrows. "What, got nothing to say, hero-boy? Not when we'd just watched your dear sister fly through the air like a ball?"

Hanso could only watch in silence. It pained him to watch the Sentinels toss his twin around, more so that he wasn't able to help her.

From her position on the rooftop, Genevieve couldn't see much of the battle. The Disable on her had worn off, but that wasn't much help right now. Turning her head to face the Gallade, she said sweetly, "I'm sure it's riveting, but you've been up for a while. Why don't you take a nap now?"

"A nap?" Varren turned to face Genevieve, and his eyes locked onto her as her eyes glowed a hypnotic red. "Ah, no, not time..." He shook his head, trying to keep his eyelids from drooping. "Need to...oh, sh--" Varren dropped to the ground; in moments, he was snoozing quietly. Genevieve was already giving her shackles zaps of electricity, gradually freeing herself while the Sentinels were occupied elsewhere. The Siren wasn't usually this blunt about things...

"You are rather annoying, aren't you, Brynnie?" Blackguard mused, as he tried to shake the Gardevoir off of him. "Here we are, trying to have a nice game of softball, and you have to ruin everything!"

As he said this, Blackguard slammed his back, on which the Gardevoir was stuck, against the protective barrier she'd formed around them, causing her a considerable amount of pain. Using his jets, he propelled himself towards the barrier, slamming himself and the Gardevoir onto it powerfully again and again. He tried to ignore the pain, but as the attacks piled up the itch on his back was turning into more of a bruise.

"Enough of this!"

Blackguard began pouring green flames out of his arms. So many flames whipped around the two that the powerful frosting formed on Blackguard's back and chest began to melt, and no doubt Brynn would soon gain a variety of burns across her body. The flames were not able to bypass the protective barrier, causing them to stay trapped in the small area, effectively bathing the two in flames.

"If you don't stop now, you'll end up being Roast Gardevoir, my dear," Blackguard mocked, totally unaffected by his own flames.

At the same time Brynn was assaulting Blackguard Paradox simply stared at the preceding. Keep her busy. I have something to attend to

In a flash Penance ported away, only to reappear within the town square. He felt the life force around him... so sensitive but also rich. It was what he needed. He held out a hand and reached out with his psychic senses to grip onto the various citizens close by and at once did what he had done to Hanso, drain their energy. He grinned as they quickly began to fall. Unlike Hanso they didn't have that much protection against his drain attack, but it was needed. He would need to have a good reserve of energy to do what needed to be done. He counted at least a good twenty lives lost before he stopped.

He smirked as he sent out a message through the link he had with all of the psychics, Welcome to Chaos With that he sent out a burst of chaotic energy to all tied to him, and thus to all tied to them. He could her the psychics cry out as the chaotic energy assaulted their minds, and their cries were sweet music to his ears. He idly wondered how Brynn would take it, but there was enough time later to think about that. He glanced over at the building Auron resided in and ported over to another building some distance away.

He smirked as he held up a hand and began to form a black ball in it. He lifted up his arms over his head as the ball began to grow. That extra energy he had siphoned was now being pumped into the black mass, fueling it with chaotic energies. All he needed was a bit of time, and he was sure that Blackguard would give him that time. Cover me Blackguard. Forget about Brynn. She'll be one of us soon enough.

As Brynn continued to mutter and her attack dug in, a different form of psychic energy began to dig in, reaching through the ice and psychic shards and into Blackguard. This incantation would theoretically separate the Chaotic monster from any remnants of the previous tenant that were left. Being slammed against the barrier, then being burned severely, both slowed and hastened her efforts.

Finally, the Gardevoir's voice rose as she said the last words of the incantation. She finally replied to Blackguard: "I never expected to live through this." At that moment, Brynn's mind was hit by the burst of chaotic energy, and she cried out in agony. And yet, as the barrier dissipated, she only needed to die, or drag Blackguard into a new vessel, an inanimate one. The flames and crushing had done a nice job of pushing her to death's door.

Her last words echoed with power. "And now, your Destiny is Bound to mine."

Genevieve was standing and brushing herself off when she heard the words. "Hm, now to finish it with certainty," she said casually to the sleeping Gallade, walking to the edge of the roof while charging a Shadow Ball and an Energy Ball. The Golurk wasn't too far off; Genevieve raised her hands and took careful aim, releasing her attacks at the Gardevoir frozen to Blackguard's back.

Blackguard turned around swiftly, taking the hits of the Shadow and Energy Balls straight to the chest. For a moment, he was confused, but he soon processed what had happened. In an instant, his goal was changed from killing this annoying Gardevoir to protecting her. Since she was frozen to his back and currently almost on the brink of death, all he could do was fend off the other incoming Gardevoir, who would try at all costs to destroy Brynn and, therefore, Blackguard.

"Come at me!" Blackguard taunted, activating his jets and speeding off into the sky. He'd like to see her come after him after he'd surpassed the clouds. Under the cover of said clouds, however, he reached at his back and began chipping at the ice that attached Brynn to his back, eventually managing to break her free. Catching her mid-fall, he took a good long look at her.

Her body was changing. Slowly but surely, it became more and more black in coloration as Paradox's corruption began taking effect. Soon, she would be on his side and also totally rejuvenated, but that might take a while considering the Gardevoir most likely had powerful mental defenses. In the meantime, he had to keep her safe, at least until he could do something about this Destiny Bond.

Paradox smiled all the while. The drama with Brynn and Genevieve was keeping the heat off of him. Perfect. Since his energy wasn't being pushed into energy ball he was making he could be more reckless and shove all of that life energy he had siphoned from the citizens and pumped everything to the last drop into his ball. In a flash he had teleported to another rooftop and the ball was absorbed into the Golduck's hands as they glowed and let off a black aura.

He smirked and held both hands together as the black aura grew more and more and finally he pushed out his hands toward the building Auron and the Gold Tribe were currently fighting in. A large black chaotic beam shot out right toward the building as he burst into laughter, "The Gold Tribe will be destroyed!" He cried out gleefully.

What to do now? Genevieve watched as the Golurk rose into the sky, where she couldn't follow. Blackguard hadn't seemed too worried that he was Bound to Brynn; no doubt he was going to do something about that if he got the time. Neither Genevieve nor Hanso could fly... The Gardevoir smiled as she turned back to the Gallade's body, both delighted and revolted as differing opinions beset her. The Siren relished the idea, but Genevieve felt sick at the way the Siren acted, talked, thought. Who was she?

Genevieve shook her head and shoved that train of thought to the side. There was no time for a nervous breakdown. "Time to help out, dear," she said softly, sitting down and tucking her legs beneath her. How the three of them had ended up with no one else around to help, she wasn't sure. Her eyes glowing a hypnotic red again, Genevieve searched for Blackguard's mind, without connecting, of course.

The Gallade's body twitched a few times before slowly sitting up, breathing even and eyes closed. If only there was someone to watch over Genevieve while she did this. Controlling another's body through Hypnosis was nothing to sneeze at. Keeping the Gallade on standby, Genevieve took a few moments to lay a few psychic sensors and traps around them.

~~~~~

The mansion around her was a mottle of ice, fire, smashed pieces, and corruption. Brynn ignored the rooms, doors, stairways that were being demolished by the first three. It was the corruption that had her attention. Despite all of her mental defenses and what little Brynn could actively contribute to fighting it, it was gradually working its way on. What would happen first? Death or corruption?

~~~~~

Under the same cloud cover, the Gallade quietly appeared, forming a platform of shadow energy beneath himself to stand on. Immediately, illusionary copies of the same appeared in a rough sphere around where the minds of Blackguard and Brynn were, differing in distance from a few feet away to several yards. Some were harder to see due to the clouds.

Orbs of Dark energy began appearing and flying through the air, coming two or three at a time as they flew in at Blackguard and the limp Gardevoir from different directions.

This was bad. The battle was no longer in Blackguard's favor, and the dark orbs coming straight at him did nothing to change that. At first, he thought he might be able to absorb these attacks, but he soon realized they weren't so much darkness as they were psychic energy, so he was forced to avoid them. He quickly shot up out of the clouds, but to his surprise the orbs began following him. He held Brynn's unconscious form close as they homed in on him, the first two crashing against his back, where injuries were already present.

In an effort to avoid the rest of the oncoming projectiles, Blackguard dove back into the clouds, zooming through the fog until he saw the ground, where Genevieve sat. It didn't take him long to figure out what she was doing; he knew that Varren would never do something like by his own free will. The plan was simple: destroy Genevieve, keep Brynn safe. But in this state, he wouldn't be able to do it on his own.

Now that Blackguard was below the cloud cover, there was a clear view of him and the Gardevoir he carried. Though the Dark orbs were real enough, the Gallades inside the clouds were a result of Double Team, every single one. The real Gallade was standing on a shadow-platform about midway between Genevieve and the bottom of the clouds, two spears of Dark energy at the ready.

The moment the Golurk appeared, Genevieve nudged something in the Gallade's mind. He responded by firing the spears, which came from two fairly different directions. At the same time, there were the few remaining Dark orbs that came out of the clouds. The final dose was the second Future Sight Varren had released before. The combined orb of ice, psychic, and dark energy came from yet another direction, aimed specifically at Brynn herself.

"Paradox, help needed here. Got any spare energy?"

So, the strong Blackguard needs some energy then eh? So, I'm the caretaker now huh? Was bound to happen eventually. Just need a moment here... The Golduck glanced back at the building he was blasting and then allowed the beam to move about a bit, just to cause some walls to collapse and his beam to potentially hit some Gold Tribe members. He paused the beam then to glance up at where the large Golurk was. He closed his eyes and in an instant teleported up to land on his back.

He slapped a hand to the Golurk's back and began to feed him the rest of the energy he had siphoned. "Surely I won't have to do this twice, will I?" He asked. "Though, let's see, a Gardevoir is alone on the ground. This should be entertaining. For now let's get a shield up and block those incoming attacks." The Golduck held out a hand as a chaotic shield appeared around the two. The spears that hit the shield barely did anything and the dark orbs too didn't seem to scratch it, probably because such dark energy couldn't be affected by other dark energy. The Future Sight however did cause a bit of the shield to crack, and thus forcing Paradox to dig into his own reserves to help the shield recover. The power of the ice and psychic energy also caused a bit of wear on the shield and Paradox once more pumped power into the barrier, albeit begrudgingly.

At that same moment the ground near Genevieve's feet rumbled. It was only a small tremor at first, but then a far more violent shudder happened, and then the ground broke apart. The corrupted Sandslash known as Ironhide jumped out as the area shook violently and the ground began to collapse around the Gardevoir. It was only a quick leap into the air before he used his claws to burrow under the ground once more and cause even more tremors to happen in the immediate area.

"HeheheheheHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Blackguard laughed maniacally as he felt the beautiful energy fill his body, rejuvenating him. Suddenly, all of his injuries disappeared, and his speed increased dramatically as he made his way towards the hypnotized Gallade below. Holding Brynn against his chest, he transferred some of his gained energy to her, in order to keep her from dying, but not enough so that she'd be able to awaken or fight back.

"Paradox!" Blackguard shouted, looking back at the Golduck on his back. "Take Brynn to a safe location, don't kill her and don't let anyone else do so either!" He passed the unconscious Gardevoir to the Golduck and they ported away.

Silver City

Bloodthirster's Hyper Beam collided with Auron's Dragonbreath, but even at the moment of impact, it was obviously the Haxorus unleashed the more powerful attack. However, it did give the rest of the Gold tribe precious seconds to try and counterattack. Zane, clutching his side, stepped forward and ran around the Haxorus towards his back. Gallant and Guardia joined him. The three attacked Auron on his back, Zane with a Night Slash, Guardia with a Crush Claw and Gallant with a Hi Jump Kick. The three attacks hit simultaneously, striking across his back and on attack on the back of his knee. Auron grunted and gritted his teeth, shaking a bit, but did not push down. He forced a wave of the Dragonbreath backward to the three, which knocked them off their feet.

The Dragonbreah pushed forward, now closing in on Bloodthirser's Hyper Beam. Zane struggled, but got up again, his body reacting purely on adrenaline and sheer will. Sword and Shield joined them too, a large burnt spot on his chest not deterring him. The four Gold Tribe moved again, three hitting with the same attacks while Sword and Shield struck with a Wild Charge. Again, Auron struggled for a moment, but again he forced the four back, and pushed the Dragonbreath almost on the brink of Bloodthirster's Hyper Beam. Zane got up slower than the other times, and the rest, despite their numerous injuries and aching bones, joined him. Now Dryad and the Cleric assisted as well, who Zane noticed were heavily burnt by the black Dragonbreath which they were hit by earlier. All together, the Gold Tribe struck at the back of Auron, their combined efforts finally enough to bring the Haxorus to one knee, and to disrupt his Dragonbreath. The Hyper Beam quickly shot through the air and landed a direct hit to the front of Auron, and launched him to the side of the building. And unlike before, he didn't immediately rise again. It seemed, finally, that Auron was beginning to falter.

Auron finally rose, though shakily, as he looked upon his enemies from afar. The shaking which he did as he stood showed Zane that he was hurt. Their efforts were slowly paying off. The Pokemon with the reputation of being unable to be killed had taken one step closer to that path! But when a large shadow began looming over the main chamber of the Citadel, Zane felt that confidence slowly dissipate. He tried to see the source of the darkening, and when his eyes shot outside, he saw the large ball of chaos which now began colliding with the Citadel. It came quickly, shooting through anything that got in its way. His eyes opened wide, being unable at this point to probably do anything necessary to escape the power.

Auron, however, made no attempt to escape it. As the ball passed him, energy did not affect him negatively. In fact, the large ball seemed to fuel him. Dark energy flowed all across him, and inside of him, and the Haxorus willingly accepted it as mass amounts continued to flow in from the ball. Zane could briefly see Auron's skin getting darker, and his eyes growing pure black, before the smoke and chaos engulfed the entire area, disrupting Zane's line of vision. The chaos ball didn't stop there. Part of it was targeted to assist Auron, but the rest now made its way toward the Gold Tribe and their allies.

Some of the others tried to launch attacks at this oncoming darkness. Sword and Shield lifted his arms and brought down a wave of Surf on it, which didn't seem to affect it much other than to hold it back for a moment before it pressed on. Gallant tried to launch a Focus Blast at it while the Lilligant pair both struck energy balls at it. Still, it continued forward, with no signs of being able to be stopped.

Stand together! A voice permeated Zane's skull. Use it! The voice said. Zane looked down across his chest, where the Gold Crystal still remained. There was no running. Zane had made up his mind on that. He planted his feet firmly on the ground, calling to the others.

"Everyone, to me! Gather around!" He yelled as the chaos ball was just about to come upon them. It burst through the main chamber, tearing anything else that would have got in its way. Only one final group of Pokemon remained. Zane took the Gold Crystal off of his neck and held it forward to the chaos. The other Pokemon looked on, expecting something to happen. The large ball of darkness continued to them. It appeared in Zane to go in slow motion, but in reality it didn't seem to slow down at all. But this appearance made him all the more frightened as it shot closer and closer. Still, nothing. Desperate, the other Pokemon shot last second attacks to try and stop the incoming ball, but their efforts were in vain. Nothing stopped it, it seemed.

"Are you afraid?" A voice asked Zane. It took Zane a moment to see their entire journey flash before his eyes, the ball now moments away from the Gold Crystal in front of him. But he responded now, and he did so out loud.

"Yes."

"Don't be. After all..."

The voice didn't finish what it was saying, but a few inches before the darkness had touched the Gold Crystal, a bright, gleaming light penetrated the entire room. It was brilliant beyond anything seen before, and it caused the others to close their eyes shut, and cover them with their arms and paws. The light seemed to attack the darkness within the ball straight from the source, as if it was eating away at it, like corruption being cleansed from the minds of Sentinels and other servants of the Dark One. Yet this time, it occurred not in the mind, but where all others could see. Slowly, the bright light distorted the ball of chaos, and slow the ball began to dissipate into nothingness. Auron too, who had been powered by this darkness, was suddenly 'hit' by the bright yellow light. At the touch of the rays, his skin burnt in a few areas, and some of it peeled. It cracked and steamed, as if he was dipped in lava. Then, in one final flash of brilliant energy, the light burst through everything in the room, and beyond, like one final cleanse. Everything was hit, with the ball of energy now completely gone, and any bonus energy supplied to Auron seeming to disappear with it. The Silver Crystal, however, remained floating upright, with the dark barrier around it still in place.

Zane opened his eyes as the brilliant flash of light dissipated from the room, leaving the Pokemon there in the corner, some of which had fallen to their knees. On the other side of the room, Auron breathed heavily, his skin gray and cracked, as if he had been rusted and broken apart. Yet still, the Haxorus stood, though not quite as ferociously as before.

The others stood and looked at the Haxorus slowly after. Zane couldn't believe what had occurred. The Gold Crystal, it seemed, had not only stopped the incoming energy, but it also gave them a little help too! Zane looked down on the crystal, noticing the light which shone from it was a little bit dimmer. It seemed, not without a price. He didn't want to waste the chance they got.

Auron roared, showing the signs of his aching body had not defeated him, only wounded him. Zane got up and began toward the beast. "It's now or never, we hit him with everything we've got!"

Vera Fayos

Vera was surprised by the might of the Ancients. Up until this point, her only experience with them was from a commanding aspect. She had expected to go unhindered by them, but apparently her status as a commander had been revoked when Sovereign returned. Through all the twists and turns of the battle, she had gotten separated from the Gold Tribe for the majority of the battle. By the time she managed to catch up, Auron had already been engaged. She witnessed a brilliant flash of light from an object she had not seen before. The result left Auron wounded. As Zane called them to action, Vera tried once again to invoke the Blazikenite, but to no avail. "Damn..." Instead, she rushed Auron with the group, streams of air trailing off the points of her body. "Brave Bird!"

The duo continued to run from the Hyper Beam and didn't look back! The Attack might not affect Snype sure but Levina would get torn up by it! The beam eventually faded away thanks to the Infernaped counter attack so Snype had a little bit of time to breathe in relief. For all he knew, That Hyper Beam might have actually did a number on him! This silver crystal thing would probably make sure of that.

"To Zane, Levina!" Snype shouted to her after hearing the order. Levina nodded and quickly ran on back to Zane's location so that he could use the Gold Crystal. Snype still didn't know too much about the whole story between these crystals... but if this was going to keep him alive he would just wing it till the end! Snype could barely see through the shining light as it forced him to cover his eyes with his arms. Levina crouched down to the ground and put her paws over her eyes as well.

Auron was wide open... time for Snype to kick in! Taking this opprotunity, Snype jumped off of Levina and stomped on the ground and used Foul Play!. An afterimage of Auron would appear behind Snype as he built up his power to throw it right back at Auron with a devastating punch while Levina attacked with Thunder!

Brynn, Genevieve, Hanso/Varren, Blackguard, Paradox, Ironhide, a Chaotic Alakazam, and...Blackguard?!
Silver City - Fire, Fire, Ehehe!!
~~~~~

This was worrying. Due to an incoming transfer of energy, the destruction of the mansion was delayed, giving the corruption something of a head start. What to do now?

As she thought, Brynn realized that she herself wasn't quite as sluggish as before. Maybe, maybe she would be able to do it now. Not wake up, of course, but her subconsciousness wasn't helpless now. She turned and began floating away, deeper into her mind as destruction and corruption fought around her.

Eventually, a large, steel vault door came into view, as did the multiple security checks and defenses that Brynn had built up over the years. A small yet vast space seemed to separated this area from her mind, signifying that it wasn't truly part of her mind. There hadn't been time at first to try this, as Paradox and Blackguard had come along too quickly, but given the circumstances now... As she passed through her defenses and began to open the door, Brynn tugged on the ribbon of blue-black-white energy that undulated away from herself and into the distance somewhere. She had felt no hint of any interference thus far; Blackguard was still tethered to the other end.

If she did manage to trap the two of them inside the gem tied around her physical neck, it would take a long while before anyone could break through its defenses.

~~~~~

It was only thanks to the sensors and traps she'd placed earlier that Genevieve didn't fall with the collapsing rooftop. Still, there hadn't been much time, so only a few blasts of psychic energy were fired off at the corrupted Sandslash, and one triggered trap 'ported Genevieve to yet another rooftop.

It was enough of a distraction, however. The Gallade's eyes snapped open, Hypnosis and concentration broken. "Wha--" A broken concentration meant his shadow-platform had disappeared, leaving Varren to drop through the air and away from where Blackguard had aimed. "That was one interesting dream," he muttered, 'porting closer to the ground before his momentum could build up. Varren rolled as he hit the ground, coming to his feet as he and Hanso got their bearings.

Coming to her feet, Genevieve looked up at the barrier that surrounded the Sentinels. Where had they gone wrong? Oh, right, it was probably Brynn speaking out loud that had alerted Blackguard to the Destiny Bond. That is, if the brute was too dumb to figure it out himself. And now, it felt like Brynn's mind was not in the area any longer.

A flicker of light, and Varren's hand clamped onto Genevieve's arm. "That wasn't very nice, Miss Siren. Using hero-boy's body to do your dirty work? Shameful." The Gallade was grinning once more.

The Gardevoir tsked, still watching for Blackguard's next move. "You should talk. That Sandslash is still underground somewhere, likely unaware of your traitorous intentions. We were so close..." And unlike that irksome Golduck, she didn't have a large supply of energy at hand. Especially after the bit of work she'd been able to do. Sooner or later, Varren would have quite a shock.

Blackguard felt a tugging sensation. Not a tugging sensation on his body, but in his mind. The Destiny Bond's thick string was strapped firmly around his mind, tying his fate to that meddlesome Gardevoir's. He knew from the tugging that there must have been something more to this... Brynn hadn't managed to kill herself, so what was she trying to do now? Blackguard decided to leave it for now and concentrate on the fight at hand.

Things had suddenly shifted in his favor. Though he had first intended on smashing through Varren's defenses, Genevieve's loss of concentration on account of Ironhide caused him to awaken. Blackguard doubted that Varren would still try to fight him, leaving only him and Genevieve... and Ironhide, of course.

As if on cue, the Sandslash erupted out of the ground and began slashing at Genevieve repeatedly with Fury Swipes. The attack was only meant to distract her, however, as Ironhide instantly dove back underground. Just then, tremors began shaking the ground again. These tremors were much worse than the previous ones, as they were a result of both Ironhide's burrowing and, high above, Blackguard's Earthquake attack. All around the Gallade and the Gardevoir, buildings started to collapse, sending rubble flying down in all directions.

Blackguard himself still flew in the air, watching the whole scenario unfold. The destruction was beautiful, but it was not his main concern at the moment. At the same time as the rubble, Blackguard sent down a rain of Fireballs, each one creating a small explosion where it landed. His arms worked like cannons, firing Fireball after Fireball without stopping.

Despite the grip Varren had on her arm, Genevieve stepped back and raised a quick wall of psychic energy that cracked under the Sandslash's Fury Swipes. As he disappeared back underground and the tremors began, she stumbled slightly before pushing off the rooftop with a short psychic blast. The Gallade jumped into the air with her, still holding her arm as he formed a shadow-platform beneath their feet at roof-level. "Keeping myself alive, so you know."

"Oh? You ought to--" Genevieve flinched as a small piece of rubble struck her arm, then fired a Shadow Ball at a larger rock that was barreling toward them. "Would you mind doing so right now, then?"

Varren shrugged, letting go and stepping away. "You should look out, yourself. Personally, I see an...opportunity. Catch ya later." With a wink, the Gallade blinked away, the platform under Genevieve beginning to slowly descend. When he reappeared on a standing rooftop, though, Varren frowned. D***. I forgot where we left the Lucario.

Not gonna wait for them? Hanso said dryly.

Well, disposable hero, these Sentinels aren't the only ones who know how to move a 'mon from one body to another, now are they? Hm...this'll take a while.

Back in the street, Genevieve threw up a box of psychic energy around her to take the hits from the rubble, though not a strong one. There didn't seem to be a Fireball aimed right at her...yet.

Seeing that all she could do was defend herself, BG closed in. Seeing that the Earthquake attack was currently futile, he ceased his attack, though the rumblings from Ironhide's burrowing still rocked the earth. He began flying further and further down slowly, still shooting Fireballs as he did, and was able to lock onto her psychic box, directing all of his shot straight at it.

Then, the earth collapsed. The combined strength of the Earthquake and the burrowing had weakened the earth so much that it was on the point of collapse, and all it had needed was a little push from Ironhide. A giant fissure began to open up in the ground, sending houses and buildings down into the depths, swallowed by the darkness. The fissure was big enough to span the entire battlefield, and would forever remain a mark on the face of the city.

As the rubble ceased to fly for now, Genevieve directed the energy in her box to one wall that faced the incoming Fireballs. The first explosion rocked her backward, cracks appearing in her shield before she reinforced it. After the third Fireball, Genevieve scoffed to herself and pushed the shield forward, turning to run to one side.

When the surrounding buildings began collapsing, Varren jumped away from where the fissure began to open. I don't think we're finding it anytime soon, Hanso noted. There was nothing else to do while Varren had him locked up.

Eh, it was worth a try. The Gallade jumped off the moving ground again before 'porting closer to where he felt Genevieve was. The Gardevoir was on the ground where she'd fallen, with another Fireball coming. Varren 'ported again, grabbing Genevieve and 'porting away before the Fireball hit.

Three or four streets away, Genevieve raised her eyebrows in surprise. "What happened to your opportunity?"

Varren shrugged, grinning. "Maybe I'd like to keep you alive a while longer, Miss Siren. I assume Paradox's offer still stands, though. You, on the other hand, are currently the brute's target practice. Let's see how long before he finds you again."

"HAH!" Blackguard chuckled, looking on as Varren rescued Genevieve from what would have been a decisive blow. "Still need your prince charming to rescue you?! Even when he is a demon!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, knowing that she must still be in the area. Looking around, he began to scan for her location.

Although he could not sense her himself, what he could sense was Varren's darkness, something his senses had become attuned to. Chances were the two were still together, and he was right. Varren and Genevieve stood together not far away, and Blackguard didn't waste any time. Rocketing over to their location, he shouted to Varren "You might wanna get out of the way!"

Then, he began relentlessely firing Fireballs. He aimed them at the nearby buildings and ground, setting the entire stage on fire, and then began aiming at Genevieve herself. He suspected that without Varren's help, she would be unable to escape without getting badly burned by going through the fire.

Varren stepped back as the Golurk appeared. "Don't go dying just yet," he said before 'porting to a nearby rooftop. That was before the Fireballs started coming. The Gallade jumped back to the ground as one struck the building behind him, rolling to his feet only to 'port further down the street in avoiding another Fireball.

Make up your mind, Varren! Hanso snapped.

There went her ticket out of this fight. Genevieve turned toward one end of the street, but the first Fireballs started fires that she couldn't just walk through. "Fine then," she muttered, turning back to Blackguard as her hands crackled with energy. She raised her hands and began firing Shadow Balls to meet the Fireballs aimed at her, stepping closer to the flames on one side as she did. Genevieve didn't expect her attacks to do more than slow Blackguard.

Some of the Fireballs that Blackguard launched were taken out by Shadow Balls sent by Genevieve in return. The fact that she hadn't run yet meant she was unable to; this was exactly what he planned. When he was finally right above Genevieve, he switched his attack to a Flamethrower directed straight at her, setting anything it touched on fire and scorching the ground black. As he did this, the surrounding fire only grew brighter and greener, and began closing in on the increasingly small battlefield.

Now or never. As the Golurk stopped above her, Genevieve launched herself sideways, using a psychic blast directed to one side in order to fly through the air. She landed on fire-scorched ground only long enough to blast herself further away, flames licking at her until a third blast pushed her out of the burning battlefield.

A shadow crossed Genevieve's face as Varren appeared, standing above where she lay on the ground. "Need a medic?" the Gallade asked, releasing a short Heal Pulse that only removed the worst of Genevieve's burns. "Don't lie there too long, he's a-coming."

Blackguard landed as he saw his attacks were doing what they needed. With the dark green flames closing in and Genevieve still rather burned, it would not be long before she was dead regardless of how many Heal Pulses Varren decided to use. Pointing an arm at the Gallade and the Gardevoir, he chuckled lightly.

"You might want to get out of the way, Varren. I only want Fried Gardevoir, I suspect Gallade doesn't taste so good," he mocked. "Not much meat on it anyway, you said it yourself."

He turned to Genevieve. "As for you..." he approached, launching a quartet of Fireballs around Genevieve, which caused the ground around her to catch fire. "You really shouldn't have started this fight." Blackguard launched another barrage straight at her.

~~~~~

It wasn't too unexpected when the Destiny Bond didn't pull Blackguard her way immediately. She technically wasn't dead yet. Brynn pulled again as the steel door before her finished opening, allowing her to step inside. The pull gradually became less relenting as she stepped into the middle of the room.

The entire gem thrummed with energy; Brynn's breath frosted in the cold air. The room was a sphere, with vault doors that fluctuated in number and position; the only constant was the entrance, through which the Destiny Bond extended.

The pull on Blackguard was relentless now.

~~~~~

Varren's eyes flashed a complete red as he unexpectedly grabbed Genevieve and 'ported away once more, back onto another rooftop. "What did you do?!" the Gallade snapped, releasing his grip on the Gardevoir as she stood up.

"Hypnosis becomes easier after the first time," Genevieve answered briefly, wincing as her burns throbbed. "Normally, I would have thought that Hanso dear would have prepared against such a possibility."

Would you mind not calling me 'dear'? Hanso interjected.

Well, that's annoying, Blackguard thought to himself. He had momentarily glimpsed Varren's red eyes before the two had departed, alerting him to the fact that he must have been hypnotized again. It seemd Varren would have to leave before Genevieve could be exterminated. However, their leaving was only a minor inconvinience, as they couldn't have gone far. Blackguard activated his jets and went in search of them, quickly picking up Varren's dark energy signature and pinpointing it to a location only about five blocks away from the fire, which was rapidly spreading. Without hesitation, he went straight for them.

This time, he did not warn Varren. He charged at them and fired Fireballs as he did so, using the same strategy as before to surround them by fire.

"You can keep running, but I'll always find you!" He shouted as he approached, a grin on his face.

It took a couple Fireballs to draw the psychics' attention. Without any direction from Genevieve, Varren threw up a field of shadow-energy that mixed with the Gardevoir's psychic shield, surrounding themselves with a barrier that would slow the fire and delay Fireballs that would've hit them directly. The first two that struck the barrier cracked it for a few moments.

And that's when it happened.

~~~~~

The tugging had only been brief and weak earlier, but it had alerted Blackguard of something most likly mischeivous on Brynn's part. Suddenly, though, the tugging intensified to a maximum, causing Blackguard to tumble over. "What?!" He shouted, reaching forward to grab ahold of something which did not exist in the depths of Paladin's mind.

"No! What the hell?!" He screeched as he was pulled further back, the string around his waist seeming to tighten the more he resisted. Activating his jets, he tried to fly away, but despite all the resistance he put up the tugging continued relentlessely.

~~~~~

In the real world, the grin on Blackguard's face instantly vanished. His jets sputtered out of energy as his core began losing energy, his vision became fuzzy, and his mind went wild. When that happened, the momentum gained from his charge caused him to fall like a meteor, and crash a few meters away from Genevieve and Varren. His crash created a large crater in the ground just like it always did, except this time he lay dazed at its center.

Struggling, he arose shakily, and climbed his way to the top of the crater, falling to his knees in front of the Gallade and the Gardevoir. They cautiously took down part of their barrier, keeping enough between themselves and the encroaching flames.

"W-w-what..." he stuttered. The two would notice that his normally shining red eyes would momentarily flicker, switching between their normal intimidating color and a lifeless black.

"Ah... looks like Brynnie's put me in a t-t-tough situation..." He grunted, clutching his chest as if he was having a heart attack. "D-d-didn't think t-this would happen so soon..."

"I suspected Miss Affiliate was a resourceful girl," Varren muttered, grinning. Inside his mind, Hanso felt like jumping for joy. I knew she'd pull through!

Blackguard glared at the two. "Well, then, I guess..." his eyes shone red for the final time, and he breathed a heavy sigh before putting on a slight grin. "See you in a mo."

~~~~~

Blackguard struggled. No matter how much he resisted, the tug of the string was too tight. He had figured out what Brynn had been planing all along. Smart, indeed.

But not smart enough.

The Golurk's muscles loosened, as if he was suddenly relaxed, and it seemed as if the string took advantage of this, giving one final tug and dragging him through the door to Brynn's mind. The gem-vault stood wide open, with Brynn at its center. The Golurk was dragged right into the vault, and finally, as soon as his huge form had entered it, the vault door slammed shut.

~~~~~

The lifeless husk of Paladin's body fell to the ground, eyes totally black. The dark color began vanishing from it, revealing its original tattered, green-blue skin. A noise akin to a machine powering down was heard coming from the center of its chest, before all was quiet but the sound of flames sputtering in the distance.

The Gallade 'ported himself and Genevieve to the other side of the crater, putting the burning ground some distance away as they drew back the energy from their barrier. "Well, that ended a little sooner than I thought it would." Varren stretched his arms, seemingly ignoring the pain that Genevieve was in. "What now?"

----

As Paradox reappeared back in the city streets he sighed and looked back over to where Blackguard was. He looked down at the psychic and frowned, "Well... I guess that I should put you somewhere... but really why take all that time to do so?" He propped the Gardevior up against a wall and looked her over, "Hm… a bit worn and torn sure, but it's sad really. Such a powerful warrior about to fall." He shook his head a bit, "So many things to do now, so much chaos to create and multiply don't ya know!"

He chuckled a bit and reached down to pat the Gardevoir's head, "But no worries there, you just go on sleeping." He leaned in to whisper into her ear, "I'll make sure to take good care of your brother."

Just then, a sharp, piercing pain came to Paradox. His head began throbbing with a horrible migraine, and he winced in surprise slightly as he put his hands to his head and began rubbing his temples. He grumbled in disapproval, "Ugh, why now?"

Trying his best to ignore the increasing pain, he 'ported away from his current location, knowing that his migraine was a sign that Brynn was not needed anymore. Blackguard had gone to his backup plan not even a day after his creation! Silly Golurk, not even able to take care of his own body.

Paradox quickly corrected himself. Golurk? No. Not quite anymore.

He reappeared two seconds later, surrounded by rubble. To his right, a giant gaping fissure scarred the city; Ironhide's handiwork, no doubt. In front of him, two Pokemon stood, or rather oe stood and the other lay. A dark grey Alakazam with red shining in his eyes was one, and he looked over the body of another -- a Lucario.

Still clasping his throbbing head with one hand, Paradox extended a finger over to the body of the Lucario, currenly in a comatose state, and tapped it twice. He frowned and gripped his head a bit, letting out a weak sigh, "You better appreciate me for this." He muttered as he did what needed to be done. Yes… that Lucario had such a empty mind, no defenses at all.

He waited for it to take effect and his mind felt a bit better. There it was, a bit of a twist to happen one might say. He smirked and then looked over at the building the rest of the goldies fought in. Yes… it was time.

~~~~~

Back in Brynn's mind, the Golurk awoke. He looked left and right, realizing he was no longer on familiar ground. The mind he was in felt foreign, and yet it was still corrupted like his old one. Before him was a Gardevoir, one he'd never seen before. He noticed a ribbon tied to her, one that led back to himself. Shakily, he arose, rubbing his head, before looking over at the Gardevoir in confusion.

"I am Paladin... who are you?"

It took a moment to register what had happened. Brynn groaned in disappointment, turning away as she floated toward the closed vault door. "Brynn SharpEye, formerly of the Gold Tribe." The Gardevoir's answer was short, her frustration evident. "Of course, it doesn't matter now whom I was sided with. Are you aware of the chaos being that had control of your body? He was supposed to be dragged into this prison, eliminating one of the powerhouses sided with the Silver Tribe."

Tapping a finger against the door, Brynn sighed. "I'm stuck inside my gemstone, but with the wrong prisoner."

~~~~~

Suddenly, the form of Saturn Barrowman began to change. He became surrounded by a glowing aura, one which began to grow increasingly dark. Then, his normally blue skin began to shift color, turning a deep, shining red. The black parts of his body turned a more powerful jet black. His chest shifted color, becoming a bright yellow, matching with the surrounding red. Then, when his body had finished changing color, his teeth and the spikes on his chest and hands began to grown and sharpen, turning them into natural daggers. Saturn's normally skinny form grew into a taller, more muscled one.

Then, when the process seemed to end, he opened his eyes. Their beautiful new shade of red matched that of the rest of his body. They glinted with a hint of malice for a moment, before fixating on the Golduck over him.

The Blackguard rose, shakily at first, but soon finding firm ground under these strange Lucario paws. "Well then, that's sorted," Paradox said, looking over Blackguard's new form. "Sucks ol' Palwow couldn't stick around. Still, don't expect me to bail you out every time."

With that, Paradox ported away, followed by the Alakazam. That left Blackguard alone. After he had adjusted to these strange new feet, he flexed his powerful muscles and moved his arm about, crackig his knuckles. Punching a piece of rocky rubble nearby, he noticed that he was able to punch right through the three-feet-thick rock with minimal effort. "Hmmm... not as physically powerful as the last one. But... what was this about Lucarios and auras?"

Blackguard reached into his new mind, finding something that had not been in his last one. Tapping into this new-found power, a large ball of aura formed around his clenched fist. The ball formed into the shape of a much larger, Golurk-like fist.

"Interesting..." With the aura fist, he punched straight at the rock, obliterating it completely. "Wonderful!"

The fist transformed again. It grew in size, turning into a large sphere that surrounded the Lucario's entire body, lifting him into the air. "Hehe, I wonder how far I can take this..."

Back wih Genevieve and Varren, only a few minutes had passed before they would begin to see a moderately-sized object descend from the sky. Through the smoke and mist created by the intense green fires in the distance, it was indistinguishable, though as it came to land beside Paladin's body, a form could be made out. The form walked over to where the body lay, and gave it a somewhat sullen pat on the back.

Slowly, his head turned from the body to the two Pokemon to its right. It shifted its body and turned to step out of the fog, revealing the Blackguard.

"Ohhh..." Varren's grin disappeared as he and Genevieve took a step back. "Can't be good."

"Do you have... ANY idea how long I was in there?" His eyes flickered with hatred, particularly at Genevieve. "Do you have... ANY idea how long it took me to finally obtain my master tool of destruction? HUH?!" He was only looking at Genevieve now. The aura had been reduced to something pocket-sized, and now rested in Blackguard's palm. "And now all that's gone. But, no matter, no matter. Because whatever you do..." he paused, allowing the dark aura to expand. As it did so, it blackened, turning into a powerful Dark Aura Sphere.

"You CANNOT kill THE F***IN' BLACKGUARD!"

The first Aura Sphere was launched, quickly followed by another, and another, in a rapid barrage. In both hands Blackguard launched sphere after sphere at the Gardevoir.

There was little point in abandoning her now. Varren pushed off to one side, pushing Genevieve out of the way of the first spheres before beginning to drag her away. After a moment of surprise, she put up a quick shield of psychic energy to deflect spheres. It had to be renewed every time it was struck.

"I'm ANGRY! Now might be a good time to RUN!"

He began directing the Aura Spheres both at Genevieve and the ground around her, causing it to form into a crater as it gave in to the powerful spheres. Finally, he stopped the barrage.

"Let's see what this baby can REALLY do!" Blackguard said. He turned around to face a rather large three-story building. Creating a large aura in a matter of seconds, he propelled the sphere towards the building, encasing it within. The building began to rise up with the sphere, getting ripped right out of its foundations. It began to crumble, but was held together with the aura. With the building in the air, Blackguard turned back around to face Genevieve.

"You DON'T mess with ME!"

"Ye-ah, we're not stickin' around." Varren grabbed Genevieve's arm again.

The giant building was launched straight at her, rubble trailing behind it.

One more 'port, back to the gate of Silver City through which they'd walked just earlier that day. "I'm getting a little tired of having to teleport away so much," the Gallade stated, taking a seat against one wall beside the gate. "That's the only thing that's kept us alive, you know? And it gets harder the more energy we spend."

"I know," Genevieve said quietly, gingerly sitting beside Varren. "Would you mind healing some more?"

Not much we can do with the burns themselves, Hanso replied. No point in restraining me anymore, I see.

"Hey, I saved your sorry butt more than once today," Varren retorted. "I get to stay in control for a while longer. Can't say the same for your dear sister, though, can I?"

Speaking of which. Hanso's mental voice sounded sorrowful, but he wasn't shutting down because of it. We need to stop by her body before meeting back up with the Gold Tribe.

"What for?" Genevieve asked, too tired to remember any sort of manners. "She's gone. There's nothing left to do with her."

"You sure?" A slight grin had returned to Varren's face. "Remember, Miss Siren, I'm the one in Hanso's head here. And he's already scanning...you could help him out, you know."

A minute later, they found the faint signal and 'ported again after checking that no other signs of activity were nearby. The Gallade crouched down, staring into the dead Gardevoir's face for a few moments. Blowing a sigh that could have come from Hanso, Varren reached out and gently pulled at the gem secured around Brynn's neck. It came loose after a few tugs, winking with its own light for a moment. "Hm...are you still sure you'd want to do it?" the Gallade asked, standing up as he turned to Genevieve.

A flicker of uncertainty showed on her face before she nodded. "I don't see a future for myself in any case. Not even one to do with that. I...don't think I'll need that at all."

"Suit yourself." Varren re-tied the gem around his own neck, grimacing a bit. "Doesn't look good on me, if you ask me." He then reached out for Genevieve, teleporting them back to the ground in front of the Citadel's doors.

Paradox​

As the Gold Tribe leaped at Auron and began to hit him with all that they had, Paradox ported into a corner. Ah yes, the Gold Tribe was attacking yet again. With a glance at Auron Paradox realized just how bad he had been hit and how strong that burst of light had been. Hm... the Haxorus had taken quite a beating, and he could see how true Blackguard's thoughts were. He would indeed make a better wielder for the crystal, though with Auron having had the crystal for so long, he would be bound to it and of course the Dark One would have a preference for one he was so familiar with.

He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. He would wait. He would have to. The Golduck looked over at the charging Gold Tribe, looking among their remaining members just to ensure that there was no funny business going on. Now, what the Dark One had planned would come to fruitation. It was odd that he would be going THAT specific route, but at the same time it was a good plan. He could feel the plan coming to fruitation.

He cocked his head as he got some information from Blackguard's end. Yes... the Lucario's body was no longer helpful to Varren, it was time to find a replacement. He ported away quickly and back to the city streets. Already the corrupted psychics were dragging citizens out here and there, working on siphoning energy from some.

He quickly ported again, this time landing in front of a blackish looking Toxicroak. The corruption was just as strong in this one, and a former Gold Tribe too!

"Hey there! I know we are all Chaos and yadda yadda, but." He held out a hand to the Toxicroak's head, a smirk on his face. The frog barely had enough time to gain a confused look before a harsh psychic pulse was shot into his mind.

Ah... time in the mind, it never took that long after all to reshape it however one wished, and with the Toxicroak's meek defenses along with the surprise of the Chaos inside of him, it was easy enough to fight against the both of them. He just hummed all the while as he cleaned and polished and redecorated everything nice and pretty. Their screams were loud at first, but eventually their voices died down and it was perfection!

As he returned back to his own mind the frog's body slumped against him and he put it over his shoulder, "Always have to take care of everyone." He muttered. He made sure to get some of the energy that the others had siphoned into him and from there it was having to go find that troublesome duo. Now that he thought of it, this whole mess was Blackguard's fault. Well, there you went with karma and all.

He had to port a bit to get a good catch on where they were now, but he finally landed on a building and looked down at the two near the citadle, "Heyo!" He shouted down below. "You know... you better be glad that Lucario has a thing for you Varren." He grinned widely, "Of course... you should have a body too eh?" He patted the Toxicroak's back, "I suppose I could give you this one... if you want it that is."

He gave a weak shrug, "Or you could die. Either way I'm good."

Genevieve, Varren, Paradox, and Hanso
Silver City - In Front of the Citadel
~~~~~

Genevieve scoffed. "This again?" Not that she could do much that didn't involve directly fighting Varren in order to stop him.

The Gallade smirked, looking up at Paradox. "Personally, I would have gone for that Lucario, myself, buuut a couple of your friends got in the way. So what is it you have there, hm?"

Paradox smirked, "Just a little package for you to use... if you wish. Or you can die with the heroes here." He glanced among the two, "Like I said, I have no preference for either way. Anything that can simply stop this little mess you two have created. I know Blackguard can be a bit... eccentric, but losing his body against your power? I must admit I find it a bit amusing."

The Golduck readied a Water Bomb in one hand, "So... how will you choose Varren?"

"Hey, no need to pull that out," Varren answered casually, eyebrows raised. "I was already thinking of accepting your offer." Beside him, Genevieve was staring at the Toxicroak Paradox held. It might be a long shot, but it would matter little to her if Varren were to die. He had made Sovereign too unpredictable before, and he was a hindrance now. He needed to go.

Are you really trusting anything Paradox has to say? Hanso asked.

Varren ignored the voice in his head for now as he turned to Genevieve for a moment. "Stay here?" He then took a few steps toward Paradox and called, "So how will this work?"

Pardox shrugged, "Well. theoretically you should be able to unhitch yourself from that Gallade and be able to link into this guy when you touch him or infiltrate his empty mind. Though there is a chance that you can fade into oblivion, die in a fiery cataclysm taking Hanso with you, or end up missing entirely and wander around as a lost spirit." He cocked his head, "Depends on how much of a risk you are willing to take.

"Sounds like all I'm waiting for is for you to hand it over, then." Varren didn't blink at the thought of the risk. For once, it seemed like he was finally going to have some peace of mind! After a moment, he added, "Although, personally, I'd prefer that these two stay alive, at least for now, yes?"

Paradox frowned at that, "And... why would that be?" His eyes narrowed, "I never like loose ends. So how about this deal? You come over and take your body, and you live. You have ten seconds. Tick tock. Either you take it or you die with them."

Varren shrugged and began walking toward the building that Paradox stood on. Behind him, Genevieve was quietly preparing herself for self-defense. Hanso was on his own, at least for now.

Paradox smirked, "Good." He waited until he was in range then let the body drop, "Catch it bone boy." He said gleefully. He cast a look over at the Gardevoir and turned to look back at the Gallade, "I hope it's your size. We had a limited selection of suits you know."

It surprised Varren a bit when catching the body with his arms forced him to crouch a little more than was necessary. Yeesh, when was the last time I was this tired? He kneeled and laid the Toxicroak on the ground in front of him, closing his eyes. It's been fun knowing ya, disposable hero. Catch ya later, if rogue boy there doesn't first.

As Genevieve watched both Paradox and the others, a black fog began leaking from the Gallade's eyes, mouth, nostrils, earholes. In a moment, it was flooding out of the Gallade and into the Toxicroak, leaving Hanso to rock backward as it finished. He was back to his normal colors, gray eye and all. Meanwhile, the Toxicroak's back arched as if in pain. He then relaxed slightly as his blue skin turned a deeper shade of blue-black, and his red skin turned maroon.

A few seconds later, the Toxicroak sat up, eyes a bright red. "Ohhh, yeah." Varren then stood up, rolling his neck as he flexed and stretched his arms. "Can't say it's the best, but I like it."

Hanso had turned over to his hands and knees and coughed for a couple seconds. For one thing, it was great to be back in control of his body, yet...

Paradox smirked, "Good, now you're done with that eh?" The Golduck disappeared, and in a moment appeared next to the Gallade with that Water Bomb still ready. He waited for a moment, "Tell me... Hanso, why SHOULD I let you live?"

Genevieve smiled to herself. It was time for that to kick in, now that Paradox was next to Varren. "I do love Hypnosis sometimes."

Meanwhile, the Toxicroak's eyes widened slightly. "She did not..." Then the hypnotic compulsion kicked in, and Varren's Poison Jab went straight for Paradox's back. "Oh, sh--"

Hearing the coming commotion above him, Hanso tried to clear his head and 'port closer to Genevieve.

Paradox just smirked. "You forget." A psychic barrier appeard around, taking the blow of the jab, "I have Penance's mind." The bomb in his hand disappeared... only to reappear right in front of Genieve's face, "Reaction time." He snapped his fingers and the Bomb exploded. Though Paradox hated to use this much energy to get rid of such a lowly pokemon, it had to be done. This Gardevoir was too much trouble.

Good thing he hadn't gotten too close to her; Hanso was standing after his teleport as Genevieve flew backward from the force of the Water Bomb. He turned around to check on the other two in the area. It seemed the compulsion was still in force, at least for now; Varren's trademark shadows were forming into spears, ready to pierce Paradox's barrier while he unwillingly waited with Poison Jabs ready.

"We would have made a great team," Hanso muttered before blinking away, appearing next to Genevieve.

The Gardevoir coughed up some water from where she lay on the ground, then let out a brief chuckle. "Just get away already, dear." When Hanso didn't move away, Genevieve's voice grew harsh long enough to snap, "Go!"

The Gallade frowned but complied, beginning to move away as he made for the Citadel's doors. Within a minute, he was stepping inside and heading for the rest of the Gold Tribe, with the feeling that he probably should have stuck around.