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Sickle made sure the coast was clear before he approached the complex. Making sure no one was watching him, he pressed himself flat against the wall of the building, digging his claws into the brick work, and began to climb, scaling the vertical side of the building slowly and carefully until he reached open window he spied before. He hooked his claws over the ledge, and swung himself inside, touching feet first on the landing of the stairway. He took a moment to catch his breath, and then ascended the stairs to the penthouse suite door.

Upon opening the door to the suite and ducking inside, Sickle made doubly sure the door was locked behind him before he turned. He blinked as the lights came on, illuminating the room and revealing the three Pokemon waiting in ambush beyond the door. Volcan, Hank and Minato relaxed as they saw who it was, the formermost approaching him.

"You made it. We were starting to worry," he said.

"Sorry. This town is crawling with scumbags. Nearly got jumped twice when I came down from the rooftops," explained Sickle. "Did Doug make it back?"

"Yeah, he reported in a short while ago," replied Volcan. "He didn't find any sign of our fugitives yet. What about you?"

"I overheard a couple of goons talking about someone named 'Hydra' - that was one of the names on the list, right? They say he's in the deserted area of town, apparently levelling most of the place, though they have no idea why."

"The bio on him said he did have a thing about going on destructive rampages, so there's that." Hank pointed out.

"And that he has something akin to Multiple Personality Disorder." Minato added in. "Is that because they have three heads?"

"Three heads, but only one brain. The other heads aren't supposed to be sapient," remarked Volcan. "So we've got a Dark/Dragon-type on a rampage. We'll have to plan this carefully."

"Agreed," said Sickle. "Hydreigon are tough, up there with the most powerful of all Dragon-types."

"Any suggestions?"

"Well, realistically, the only ones out of us that can tackle a Dragon Type head on would be you and I." Minato commented. "We both have means to greatly damage them, and he's a dark type as well, which works to our other type advantage."

"But we need someone to deal with a Krookodile and a Slaking too," Volcan reminded him. "One of us needs to be on that team."

"Take Kaen to deal with Hydra," Sickle put in. "He knows Fighting _and_Dragon-type moves and he's quick on his feet."

"In that case, Minato, I think it should be you who goes with the team against Hydra," said Volcan. "Your dual-typing will give you an edge. But just be careful - Hydreigon can still learn a few fire moves."

Minato nodded firmly. "He won't get so much as a scorch mark on me." The lucario returned confidently.

"Someone's not lacking in confidence." Hank pointed out with a chuckle. "Ey,ChickenLegs, any idea who I should be going after, or am I on watch duty?"

"You're on support for Minato. Your illusions are about the only thing we have to subdue these guys before we can get them in chains," replied Volcan. "With two of them being Dark-types we can't rely on holding them with psychic, plus we need Lashanne for ranged support - she and Blaster are our only dedicated distance fighters. We'll keep you aside for Holgan."

Hank rubbed his claws together and grinned. "Sounds good to me."

"So Minato, Hank and Kaen. Who else?" Volcan asked.

"I know Drain Punch and Low Kick but you guys might need me for Sandjaw," said Sickle. "What about Tristan?"

"Well he'd be tough enough to take the hits," agreed Volcan. "And strong enough to subdue Hydra... yeah, we'll put him on the team too, and send Serena along, for healing."

"What about Mole Man?" Hank piped up. "He could help you guys against that Krook, and frankly he could use a little action to liven his spirits."

Minato rubbed his chin a little. "He _does_have a point." He commented. "Call it an eye for an eye scenario. If you guys run into any trouble, he could attack Sandjaw from a blind spot and expose him to a proper takedown."

"Yea, what he said." The Zoroark added with a shrug.

"Agreed, but we still haven't found Sandjaw yet," said Volcan. "For now let's focus on Hydra and plan for the former desert bandit later."

"Fair enough." Hank returned with a nod. "So how do we find this Schizophrenic freak show?"

"If he's levelling a whole area of town, it can't be too hard to spot a literal path of destruction," Sickle remarked snarkily. "We probably could see it from the roof."

"Worth a shot." Hank replied. "Bee Are Bee, peeps." He added, then vanished into thin air, leaving for the rooftop via the balcony behind them.

"...Is he _always_that flashy?" Minato asked with a raised eyebrow.

"He _is_a bit of a showoff sometimes," admitted Volcan.

"Sometimes?" Minato queried, arching an eyebrow at him in disbelief.

"Well, to his credit he's yet to let us down," replied Volcan with a shrug.

~~~~~

The next morning, before the sun fully broke the horizon, the group chosen to deal with Hydra set out with Minato in the lead, followed closely by Tristan, Kaen and Serena as they made their way across the city. Minato picked a path of least resistance using his aura sense, making sure to lead them where there were few to no criminals to bar their way as they followed the column of smoke that had appeared through the night, leading them to where Hydra was rampaging.

"Why would Calhoun free someone so hard to control?" Kaen asked, arms tucked behind his head as they walked. "I'm not the tactical type, but even to me it seems pretty stupid."

"What Calhoun does makes sense to him alone," replied Serena. "I do not care to understand it, not after seeing the lengths he will go to."

"The way I see it, Calhoun and Hydra have something in common," Minato stated with a bit of venom in his tone. "They don't have any rhyme or reason in their actions, their only goal in life is to watch the world burn."

"Probably just freed him to cause more chaos for the rescue teams then," offered Kaen. "Well, joke's on him. We're going to take that crazy drake down." He pounded his fists together, grinning. "Never had a chance to fight a Hydreigon before."

"Don't start getting too overconfident." Minato warned the Charmeleon. "Wild Hydreigons must be handled cautiously. You rush into a fight with one without any sort of strategy, you'll be their next meal."

"We'll see about that," replied Kaen.

Tristan let out a chuckle. "I like this guy," he said. "He's got spunk."

"Don't say I didn't warn you when the time comes." Minato said with a roll of his eyes.

A sudden tremor rippled through the ground below them as a crash sounded in the distance, bringing all of them to full alert. Serena padded ahead of them, keeping as low as possible as she reached a corner and peered around. She backed up as the others drew near, looking up at them.

"Dust cloud, coming from four blocks up from around the bend," she said. "We're getting close."

"Alright. We go about this as quietly as we can - try to take him by surprise." Minato stated, tuning to his aura sense to get an exact fix on the Hydreigon's location.

He spotted an aura signal that flew to and fro in the air, occasionally stopping, which was followed by another explosion. His ears picked up a cacophony of mad laughter filling the air, and then the aura moved again.

"Seems like he's on a rampage." Minato muttered softly as he watched the Hydreigon move. "We could use the destruction he's creating as cover to sneak up on him. It's risky, but at least he won't see us coming given his current mental state."

"A good idea," agreed Serena. "But Tristan is large and Kaen's flame tail might give him away. So who should go first?"

"Well that boils down to either you or me, and I'd rather not put you in unnecessary danger." Minato remarked back to Serena. "I guess I'll take point then. Stay hidden until I give the signal."

"Be careful," pleaded Serena. "There's no telling what he'll do if he sees you."

"I'll be fine." He assured Serena, smiling back at her as he started to make his move, sticking close to the large piles of rubble and collapsed buildings as he closed in on Hydra's position.

The dragon was still flying about, sporadically destroying structures with no rhyme nor reason to his actions - pure wanton destruction, followed each time by mad laughter and, as he got closer, the whoosh of the dragon flying over. By the gods this creature was mad, and Minato felt a pang of relief that this area was abandoned. Criminals or not, in a destruction craze like this, nothing would survive.

He nearly jumped when the dragon landed on the building above him, tittering maniacally as he poked his head over to look around. Had he detected Minato somehow? He could only stay absolutely still as he waited to see what Hydra did next, and once more almost jumped when he leapt over the roof and dove across the street, smashing through the front door of an old shop, and then debris came flying out the door and broken windows as he continued his rampage inside, showering the street with wood, stone and various items that had been left behind.

He let out a soft breath when he realized he hadn't been spotted, then he took a look at the shop Hydra dove through and started to form an idea in his head. When he was certain he was in the clear, he made a beeline for another relatively stable building and ducked inside of it, tuning back to his aura sense and keeping track of the Hydreigon's movements, all while preparing for his plan to take fruit. The shop eventually collapsed under the Hydreigon's fury, but even as it came crumbling down on top of him, he erupted from the wreckage, flying in an arc before landing in the street. His laughing continued, but he stayed where he was, not moving another inch as he sat upon the broken stone street

Then... The laughing stopped, and he became still. Was he calming down?

The Lucario dared not to move, still keeping his aura sense active as he studied what the dragon Pokemon was doing. He started to wonder if another of Hydra's personalities was starting to break through, perhaps a calmer, more reasonable one that he might be able to reason with. The dragon remained where he was, catching his breath. He lifted his head, as if to look around at his handiwork, at the destruction he had caused, yet if he regretted any of it, Minato could not tell.

'...Hell with this.' He thought to himself. He had to take the chance now that it was presented to him. Slowly he exposed himself from within the building and started cautiously approaching the Hydreigon, making no sudden movements so as not to startle him or come off as threatening in any way.

The Hydreigon's center head snapped in his direction, fixing him with a look that Minato couldn't tell was curious or hostile, for Hydra remained where he was, simply watching him, as if waiting to see what he wanted...

He stopped dead in his tracks when he was spotted, lifting his paws up to signal he didn't mean any harm. "You can relax. I'm only here to talk." He tried to assure the Hydreigon. "Just don't give me a reason to attack, alright?"

Hydra tilted his head, a low rumble escaping from his throat as he kept his eyes on Minato. Behind him, Minato saw his friends peering out from cover but making no move to advance as they saw Hydra was not attacking. As riley as Kaen was at least he had the sense to not go charging in head first, and Serena could keep Tristan in check.

Minato dared to take another small step toward Hydra. "I know who you are, Hydra." He further went on to say. "I know what you suffer from. I'm only here to try and help you, I swear."

Hydra still didn't speak, but his head twitched, his gaze starting to shift, losing its blankness and contorting, creases forming on his features. 'Aw shit...' Minato thought to himself, sliding a leg back and leaning against it to give himself more leverage in case he needed to dodge out of the way.

"Hydra, try to stay calm. Don't let those destructive tendencies take over." He tried to reason with him further. "I'd rather not cause a scene here."

His head jerked to the side again, eliciting a hiss and turning away from Minato, clenching his eyes shut and snarling deeply as he paced up the street, trying to move away from the Lucario.

'Seems like he's having an internal battle with himself.' He surmised mentally as he watched the Hydreigon scoot away from him, prompting Minato to take a few steps closer to him. "That's it. Don't let that other side of you take over. Like I said, I want to help you."

The Hydreigon still did not speak, but he heard a whimper escape from him, wings twitching frantically as his other two 'heads' clutched onto a lamp post, the metal creaking in protest as it caved under his grip. There was a consciousness in that mind, however weak though it seemed, constantly fighting with its own destructive tendencies. It occured to Minato that Calhoun's only intent for Hydra had been to use him as a weapon, something to unleash upon his enemies and raise hell, but he lacked the intelligence -or at least the control, to hold himself in check.

Eventually, Minato was so close to the Hydreigon he could almost touch him. Slowly he extended paw to try and reach him, biting his bottom lip as he reached out to give him a reassuring pat on his back. "It's okay...you don't have to give in to your disorder every time it flares up." He offered softly. "If you come with us quietly, we can offer you the best treatment possible for you, you have my word."

But suddenly, the whimpering began to turn to laughter again, and Hydra began to shake, wings spreading as he looked over his shoulder at Minato, with a look that made his blood run cold. The control was gone, he knew, and it was all the warning he had before Hydra spun on him and threw himself at Minato, cackling maniacally. Minato cursed and threw himself back, rolling to avoid Hydra's snapping jaws as he soared over him. Landing back on his feet, Minato turned and watched the Hydreigon flying into the air, only to wheel around and come back toward him.

"So much for the peaceful solution!" He hollered, then fired an Aura Sphere into the air, signalling the others to attack.

The Lucario had to stall for a few seconds while his friends came to his aid. The Hydreigon was coming in low, all three of his mouths spewing fire over the pavement as he closed in. Minato concentrared, summoning the power of his mind and emitting a Psychic pulse toward the flames, parting them around him as Hydra flew over him, feeling a backdraft from the Hydreigon's passing. He then turned and hurled two Aura Spheresat the Hydreigon as he circled around for another attack.

Hydra was not fast enough to escape the Aura Spheres. They both found their mark, once hitting him in his belly, the other in his side. The attacks nearly knocked him out of the air, but his recovery was quick. He veered, turning his drop into momentum and angling himself toward Minato. The Lucario couldn't dodge in time...

Fortunately, he did not have to. Above him, a red blur streaked across the air and collided with Hydreigon. As the red projectile came to a stop, Minato saw Kaen, his outstretched fist buried in Hydra's chin in a flying uppercut, and his smaller body met the Hydreigon's mid-flight, knocking both of them backward. In a startling display of acrobatics, Kaen flipped to land on all fours, his tail waving behind him and flaming tip burning bright with his anticipation.

Minato breathed a sigh of relief at the Charmeleon's impeccable timing. "Nice shot."

"Your buddy makes a nice catapult," said Kaen, rubbing under his nose as he snickered. "I've always wanted to do that."

"I can imagine." Minato replied, smirking a little. "Regardless, stay sharp. We're not finished with this guy yet."

As if on cue, Hydra let out a shriek as he stood up, facing the two and still bearing that wild, mindless look. His three mouths opened, orbs of blue energy forming in them and erupting in Dragon Pulses to bombard the two. Minato and Kaen leapt away, and took evasive action to avoid the onslaught that followed. When he had an opening, Kaen fired a Dragon breath at Hydra, catching him in his flank and gaining his attention. The Charmeleon retreated as Hydra pursued, running in a zig zag to avoid his attacks, even ducking behind an upturned slab of concrete which was summarily shattered by the next Dragon Pulse, sending him off into another run.

Minato, completely forgotten by Hydra, hopped along the collapsed buildings in pursuit of the two. Their fight was taking them further away from Serena and Tristan - looking back, he could see the two running after them. Serena surely could have caught up, but she had to stay by the Aggron, who had no chance of catching a flying enemy. He needed to slow Hydra down so Tristan could catch up...

As he ran, he put away his sword and clenched his right paw tightly, a shroud of cold mist forming around his paw as he prepared an Ice Punch for when he was given the chance to strike. He found his chance when Kaen banked left and led Hydra down a path that would cut across the Lucario's. Seizing it, Minato leapt over the side and dropped on Hydra, slamming him with the freezing touch of his Ice Punch. Hydra shrieked as they dropped, and Minato leapt off him just before they hit the ground.

He expected Hydra to be stunned, and never expected what came next. The moment he turned to check on his handiwork, Hydra was lunging at him again, throwing all his weight upon the Lucario. They hit the pavement, and Minato put up his paws to catch Hydra's center head as it snapped toward him. The other two heads clamped onto his arms and he cried out in pain as their jaws clenched around his limbs, the center head trying to reach his neck as he fought. He nearly had the Lucario when Tristan appeared, seizing Hydra from behind and pulling him off Minato - the Hydreigon let go of his victim as he felt the attack from behind, attempting to turn on his new foe until Tristan threw him across the street and through the wall of a crumbling building.

Minato growled through clenched teeth as he looked at his arms, seeing the bite marks left by the Hydreigon. He then looked up at his friend, nodding in appreciation. "Thanks, Tristan," he said.

"You looked like you had an overly clingy bit of company there," he joked as Serena caught came up beside Minato, already moving to check his wounds.

The collapsed wall exploded, and Hydra emerged again. Tristan turned from Minato to face him. The two roared at each other, and both charged. Tristan threw himself head-first at Hydra, slamming into him with his full weight and sending both of them tumbling into the rubble, throwing dust clouds into the air.

"It looked like you were getting through to him for a moment. What happened?" Serena asked as she applied healing to Minato's arms.

"After he finished his rampage he just... changed. Likely due to his Multiple Personality Disorder." The Lucario explained, pausing when he saw the two brawlers emerge from the rubble, and seeing Kaen jump into the fight once again. "But he seemed more afraid than anything, even when I tried to approach him. It looked as if he was trying to fight off his destructive personality."

"So there is another side to him," said Serena, her earfins lowering as she watched the fight. The fins lifted again as she had an idea. "We need to stop him without hurting him."

"I'm open to suggestions," Minato answered, never taking his eyes off of the Hydreigon.

"If we can freeze or stun him long enough for Hank to get here, he can put him under an illusory dream and bring the Siphon Chains we received from the Warden to lock down his powers," Serena explained. "We just need to get him on the ground long enough to do so. What do we have that might hold him down?"

"I do have my Ice Punch to help restrain him. I just need a clean shot at his wings and maybe I can numb them," Minato replied.

"I also have my Ice Beam," she added. "Maybe if I can get behind him?"

"It might be our best bet." Minato returned with a nod. "We'll distract him. The second you have a shot on him, you take it. No hesitation or anything." He said firmly to the Vaporeon.

She nodded, and then ran to get into position while Minato rejoined the battle.

Kaen was hanging off of Hydra's back, arm wrapped tightly around the back of his neck as the Hydreigon fought to throw him off. Tristan clenched his sides, trying to wrestle Hydra to the ground, but the frantic dragon was beating his wings so heavily that even Tristan fought to maintain a hold on him, until finally his claws slipped and they were airborne. Kaen whooped in surprise as they shot skyward, and Hydra reverted his focus to the stowaway on his back, his other heads trying to snap at him.

"I wouldn't be offended by some help up here!" The Charmeleon called.

"Do I look like I can fly?!" Tristan shouted back.

"Tristan!" Minato hollered to the Aggron, coming up beside his teammate and pointing at Hydra."How's your throwing arm?"

"You're about to find out," he said, understanding the plan and hastily scooping upMinatoas he might pick up a child.

Tristan cupped one claw under Minato's feet, the other under his rump, and took a few steps forward before he launched the Lucario into the air, his flight assisted by Minato jumping at exactly the right time for the best altitude. Icy mist formed around his paws again as he got closer, forcing his eyes to stay open despite the wind rushing around him.

"Kaen! Let go!" Minato shouted.

It was gratitous to Minato that Kaen trusted him enough to listen. The Charmeleon released Hydra and dropped, just in time to avoid Minato's attack. Burying both of his mist-swirled paws into Hydra's back as he reached him, sending the Hydreigon hurtling groundwards. Minato dropped likewise, summong his Psychic again to catch himself and Kaen as theyfell, slowing their descent.

"Now Serena!" He hollered.

The Vaporeon emerged from her hiding place, firing a carefully aimed Ice Beam from her mouth to strike Hydra in the back, causing him to lose more altitude as numbness spread over his wings. He struggled to stay in the air, but his wings would not respond. Within seconds he hit the ground hard. He lifted his middle head again, but Tristan promptly delivered a well-placed punch to the Hydreigon, and Hydra collapsed.

"Got him!" Tristan called as silence fell over the street.

"Alright! That's one down." Minato said triumphantly as he and Kaen touched down on the pavement again. "Excellent work guys."

"Nice move with that Psychic," added Kaen. "I owe ya one."

"No problem," replied Minato.

"I contacted Hank," Serena put in. "He's on his way with the siphon chains. We just need to keep Hydra here until then."

"That shouldn't be too much of an issue if Tristan keeps his weight on him." Minato pointed out. "Did Hank given an ETA as to when he'd arrive?"

"If he covers himself with an illusion, he can probably get here in half the time we did," offered Kaen.

"Indeed. We shouldn't have to wait long, and Doug should get here even before-" She paused and jumped, turning sharply to look behind her with cat-like alertness. "D-did someone touch my tail?" She asked nervously.

"I'm over here," Tristan replied, still over by Hydra - easily ten feet away from her.

Serena looked at Minato, standing to her left, and Kaen was right next to him. They both shook their heads at her, telling her neither one had seen anybody touch the Vaporeon. Then, each of them began to take in their surroundings. They all felt it - a chill in the air, and a foreboding sense of dread, like they were being watched by someone will less than honourable intent...

Kaen let out a breath, and blinked in surprise when he saw it had become mist. He swallowed, and spoke shakily as he voiced the question that was on all of their minds. "So... anybody happen to know... _why_this area is deserted?"

"...I'm starting to get somewhat of an idea." Minato returned, readying his paw to draw his blade. "I'm thinking we better relocate before things get worse."

"Tristan, can you carry Hydra?" Serena asked.

"On it," the Aggron replied, bending over to pick up the Hydreigon.

The sky began to darken, the chill in the air growing worse as the whole group began to feel like they were being watched from every shadow in the area. No sooner did he have that thought did Minato see them - a pair of distinctive, white eyes watching them from the darkness, blinking out of existence the moment he focused on them. The chill in the air grew worse...

"Minato..." Serena whimpered, trembling. "What is happening?"

"The district," said Minato. "It's haunted... home to Ghost-types. They must've been hiding from Hydra... now that he's down for the count, they're not afraid anymore."

"How do we get out of here?" Kaen asked. "I can't see 'em but they feel like they're everywhere."

"Ah, bring 'em on! I'll send 'em to their graves a second time!" Tristan boasted as he started to set down Hydra, but Minato's shout stopped him.

"Don't let him go!!" He exclaimed, holding out a paw toward the Aggron. "If he comes to and he's not restrained, there's no telling what he'll do to us! Right now our only option is to try and escape!"

Tristan let out a groan. "Well that's boring."

Then, Kaen saw them. Shapes forming out of the darkness of the buildings. Dozens of them - hundreds, perhaps. "Uh, we got a whole lot of company!" He warned.

"RUN!" Minato shouted, scooping up Serena in his arms and breaking into a sprint, followed by the Charmeleon and Aggron.

They were not two seconds into their flight before the cries of the haunted began to fill the air. Out of the corners of their eyes they could see more forms materializing within the buildings around them and the cries and moans began to close in. Serena, draped over Minato's shoulder, saw the first of the ghosts as they emerged, consisting of Gastly, Haunter, Duskull, Dusclops, Shuppet and Banette alike, the floating forms of the incorporeal flitting about as they pursued, while those such as Dusclops confined to the ground lumbered along slowly, their single red eyes fixated on their soon-to-be victims, disembodied hands raised.

"By Lunala, there are so many!" Serena exclaimed, truly afraid, which only seemed to excite the ghosts more.

"Try to fire off some Ice Beams, keep them at bay!" Minato told Serena, not even daring to look back as he kept running as quickly as he could.

"Okay, I'll try!" She returned, clinging to Minato with her paws to steady herself.

Kaen, having gained some ground, turned around and fired a Flamethrower at the encourching group of ghosts, sweeping over the street to keep them at bay before resuming his sprint. Those ghosts not able to walk through the flames floated over them, keeping up their pursuit despite the streaking Ice Beams cutting across the path of their pursuits.

They had made it twenty blocks when the worst happened. Hydra's eyes suddenly opened, and with a shriek he began to struggle in Tristan's grasp, forcing Tristan to grind to a halt, fighting to keep hold of him.

"Ah crud, he's awake!" The Aggron exclaimed, fighting to hold onto the writhing dragon.

"Try to knock him out again!" Minato hollered as he returned, dropping Serena onto her feet and summoning his Bone Rush sword, swinging it at a Banette that made a charge at them.

"Kaen, little help here?!" Tristan demanded, nearly being thrown off balance.

"I'm trying! Hold him still!" Kaen returned, his fist glowing as he tried to hit Hydra with a Focus Punch.

"You try carrying this guy!"

It was becoming clear to Minato that he had to make a choice. They couldn't subdue Hydra_and_escape the ghosts at the same time - and with Hydra now awake, they couldn't hope to get out of the district before the ghosts caught up with them. As much as it hated him to do it, he knew there was only one choice...

With a heavy sigh of defeat, he looked over towards Tristan. "Let him go, Tristan!"

"Are you kidding me?!" Tristan demanded.

"Why?!" Kaen added in agreement.

But there wasn't time to explain."Just do it!" Minato roared.

Serena, Kaen and Tristan all stared, dumbfounded, at Minato, the former especially having never heard him shout like that before. Tristan, shaking off the initial shock, did as directed, but not before he turned and_threw_Hydra in the direction of the Ghosts, sending them scattering as Hydra pulled up into flight and roared at them. The Ghosts skidded to a halt, some of them already diving for cover as Hydra began firing Dark Pulses at them.

"Now's our chance - haul ass!" Kaen urged.

Minato didn't need anymore incentive than that. He used all of the strength in his legs he could muster to rush ahead, gritting his teeth as he left a trail of dust behind him in an attempt to obscure the ghost's vision of them as they made good their escape.

They didn't escape completely - even as they left the district, a few of the Ghosts chased them out. Kaen turned on a pair of Duskull closing in on him, blasting one with Flamethrower and punching out another with Fire punch. A Haunter went at Minato, tongue stretching out ready to hit him with a Lick attack, but he was prepared for it. The second the tongue was about to make contact, he weaved under it and coated his right paw in fire, haymaker punching it with a brutal Fire Punch, then pushing him away with a Telekinetic blast from his Psychic attack.

A Dusclops charged at Tristan, drawing back its fist for a Shadow Punch. But the Aggron did not even react as the fist connected with his chest, simply growling in the face of the Dusclops before he bowled it over with Head Smash. The last one, a Gastly, attacked Serena - she dodged out of the way of its Lick before landing a perfect Water Gun to the center of its floating spherical body, sending it hurtling through the air.

Soon, the ghosts gave up the chase. The shade that had covered the sky when the ghosts appeared seemed to fade away as the ghost-type thugs fled, leaving the four heroes outside of the district to catch their breath.

Minato huffed heavily as he slid against the wall, his paw hovered over his own chest as he tried to steady his quickly beating heart. After he managed to recover his breath, he growled angrily and cursed under his breath before he rose back to his feet, turning to his allies.

"C'mon. Let's head back to base for now..." He said lowly as he began to walk past the group.

"What about Hydra?" Kaen asked. "Shouldn't we go after him?"

"He's long gone by now, and those ghosts will likely pick us apart if we go back in there," Minato replied lowly. "We can't afford any casualties in this mission. It's better to let him go than risk us getting cursed and killed by those spectres."

"We'll come back with a new plan," offered Serena. "For now let's just rendezvous with Hank. He should not be far away by now-"

"Somebody say my name?" A familiar voice chimed into being seemingly from nowhere. Seconds later, the Zoroark materialized further up the street, walking toward the four with a swagger in his step, carrying a length of Siphon Chain over his shoulder. He gave them a casual salute. "What up peeps?"

"A bunch of crap, that's what," replied Kaen. "We lost Hydra."

Hank's expression went blank for a moment, then he started to laugh a bit and wave a claw at them. "Haha! Aw you guys are fucking kidders!" He said, though when he looked at their stern faces again, he stopped laughing and his smile turned into a look of shock. "...Oh shit, yer being serious..."

"After we subdued him, dozens of Ghost Pokemon emerged from the buildings and attacked us," Serena explained. "Hydra regained consciousness before we could escape - we couldn't fight him again and repel so many ghosts."

"And Minato told me to let 'im go," Tristan added.

Hank groaned "Well that's just great. I snuck out here for nothing. Now what?"

Minato sighed. "We regroup back at the hideout and try to come up with a new plan." He stated. "We beat down on Hydra pretty bad, so chances are he's not going to go too far once he drives off the ghosts."

"All the more reason we should find him now," said Kaen, punching one clenched claw into the other. "Once the ghosts are gone he'll go into hiding and finding him again will be a nightmare."

"Even if we pursue him now, his guard is up," Serena stated. "He may just run away the moment he sees us."

"Serena's right." Minato concurred. "We tried the calm approach and it failed. He'll be expecting us now that he knows our intentions." He explained.

"Well that fucking blows..." Hank grumbled. "But I guess it can't be helped... C'mon peeps, we better boogie."

~~~~~

"So, he slipped away, did he?" Volcan asked as Minato finished filling him in on the mission. He let out a sigh. "I suppose it couldn't be helped - we had no knowledge about that district being haunted."

"I had just assumed Calhoun had sent Hydra there to relieve his destructive tendencies," said Sickle, rubbing the back of his head. "Seems I was off the mark with that one - he must've had another goal in mind."

"Perhaps..." Minato concurred. "Though, when I tried the subtle approach on him, he seemed timid... afraid even. As though he knew he would snap if I got too close to him." Minato explained, rubbing his chin a bit as he pondered the idea.

"So there is a consciousness in there," said Volcan, rubbing his beak in thought. "Clearly aware enough that he knows he can't be around others..." He reached for the file on the table beside him, containing the biographies of the five escapees, and pulling up Hydra's file. "...Ah, here we are. It seems he was caught in his hometown of Hasv-" He paused. "I am not even going to _try_to pronounce that. He was captured in his hometown, which he had levelled half of during a destructive rampage. He was subdued by, says here,Team Warmachine."

Volcan cast a glance Kaen's way, but the Charmeleon only shrugged. "News to me. That must've been before Torolf took me in."

Reading over Volcan's arm, Sickle continued. "The team that caught him consisted of Shamshir, Aegis and Bialo. They cornered him in a cave and managed to subdue him with Hypnosis," the Grovyle explained. "Using that, Bialo kept him complacent until they transported him to the prison. They were able to take him with no loss to themselves - not even much of a fight."

"So outfighting him isn't the answer - we need to sneak up on him and subdue him another way," said Volcan, once more rubbing his beak in thought. "Okay... the next team will have to be smaller, then. Hank, Sickle, you two are the sneakiest - you're up. Minato will be along again for muscle this time but Tristan and Kaen will have to stay behind."

"Aww man," Kaen groaned. "Sidelined again even after my ribs have healed."

"Ey don't fret." Hank commented, slapping the Charmeleon along his back. "Think of it this way. Ya might get a shot at some of the bigger guns, like Holgan, or even Sol." He said with a grin.

"Yeah, I guess so," the Charmeleon agreed, a light smile gracing his features.

"When do we head out, then?" Sickle asked. "And for that matter, where do we begin?"

Volcan hummed in thought, and then turned to Minato. "Can you still track Hydra's Aura?" He asked.

"Now that I've faced him in combat, tracking his aura should be much easier this time around." He explained with a nod. "It may still take a little time, depending on how much he's moved since then."

"Alright. You guys will head out as soon as you're ready - go to the last place you saw Hydra and start from there," Volcan instructed. "Avoid the ghosts if you can. We don't want to give anyone in this city a reason to hunt _us_down while we're hunting escapees."

"Understood."

~~~~~

The team would rush through the streets of Blackcoast as quickly as they could run, but not without some measure of caution. Thanks to Minato's aura sense, the team managed to avoid many gangs of bandits hiding among the dark corners of the streets, and quickly took down those that were in their direct path. They would soon reach the Southeast corner of the City, where they would slow down to practically a crawl as they neared Hydra's location. This time, Minato was prepared to go all out right from the start, since reasoning with Hydra was out of the question - not while his destructive tendencies were still present at least.

"Okay, so," began Sickle. "What can you tell me about this guy? You guys did have to fight him, right?"

"Well he's about as wild as you can get for a Dragon Type, split personality notwithstanding." Minato explained. "Hydreigon aren't mobile on the ground so as you might expect, he attacks from the air mainly. I saw him use Dragon Pulse, Dark Pulse, Flamethrower and," he looked at his arms, his fur still messed from the previous fight with Hydra, "probably Bite or Crunch."

Sickle took a gander at the buildings around them, noting the high ground some of the buildings offered, and smiled. "I have an idea," he said. "To make Hydra come right into our hands."

Minato glanced back to the Grovyle curiously. "I'm listening..."

"How fast are you on your feet?" Sickle asked. "Do you think you could outrun Hydra long enough to bait him into an ambush?"

"Well, I'm not Luke, but I can keep up with Volcan in a sprint," Minato answered back. "What exactly are you planning, Sickle?"

"These buildings here," he gestured to the two apartment complexes on either side of the road. "They limit flight capability. If we draw Hydra in here, he can only go forward or back - going left or right is impossible. Serena and I wait on the buildings as he chases you in here, and we knock him to the ground giving you and Hank time to get the chains over him and for Hank to put him under his illusion. He can't bank or roll in such a narrow space without risking crashing - he'll be a sitting Farfetch'd in here."

"Sounds like a pretty crazy idea." Hank said as a grin formed on his face. "So crazy, it just might work. I like it!"

"It's worth a try," Minato returned with a nod. "Very well then. You three hole up and I'll lead him to you."

"Be careful, Minato," said Serena.

"I'll be fine." Minato assured them. "After all... this isn't my first time wrangling a Dragon." He added with a small wink before he took off to find Hydra by himself.

Hank was left scratching his head at that comment. "...Wait... did he say_wrangling_a Dragon?" He queried. "He makes it sound like he's a Dragon Tamer or some shit."

"He speaks of Bellator," said Serena. "A Salamence, to be exact."

"Oh, well that's all-wait, A SALAMENCE???" Hank burst out suddenly, his eyes wide as dinner plates. "He...TAMED a SALAMENCE???"

"Get it together Hank," Sickle said sharply, in an authoritarian voice the Zoroark had not heard before. "Everyone, places - we need to be ready when Minato brings Hydra back this way. Hank, into that alley," he pointed past the Zoroark. "Serena, up to that window." He pointed at the apartment on the left side of the street, to a broken window on the fifth floor. "I'll be atop the opposite building. Let's move!"

The Lucario was moving alongside the walls of the buildings as he closed in on Hydra's signal, pressing himself as flat as he could to help keep him covered and taking small steps so as not to alert the Dragon, or any other possible residents.. Even Minato couldn't deny that he was nervous about this plan, being bait to lure Hydra into the ambush. It had been a long time since he tried his hand at wrangling a Dragon Pokemon, and even then he only succeeded with one. Hydreigon were known for their wild and dangerous nature, their temper often making even a Salamence's look tame in comparison.

Fortunately Hydra was not in one of his destructive episodes as Minato arrived at his hiding place, surprised to find Hydra was actually lying down in the street, resting quietly. Minato didn't think he was asleep, but he seemed calm for the moment. He narrowed his eyes slightly, remembering back to his lessons on taming Bellator with his master, and being taught one of the most important rules in regards to earning a dragon's trust: Let sleeping dragons lie, or suffer their incurred wrath. He almost couldn't help but chuckle at the irony of the situation, using what he had learned to perform the exact opposite of what he was taught.

Nevertheless, he steeled his nerves and slowly stepped out of hiding, preparing an Aura Sphere in his paw as he revealed his location before he sent the attack flying, purposefully throwing it in a wide arc so that it would impact the ground next to the Hydreigon, rather than nailing him dead on. Hydra shot up so sharply it seemed he suffered whiplash as his head swung about, seeking whoever had dared to disturb his slumber.

"Well, that got his attention..." He muttered before he shouted out to him. "Hey! Over here, Hydra!!"

The Hydreigon fixed his gaze on the Lucario, and let out a shriek as he took flight, making a beeline straight for him. Minato quickly turned a full 180 degrees and sprinted back the way he came, hopping and weaving around obstacles as he lured the Hydreigon to the ambush lying in wait up ahead.

"That's it, keep on following me..." He muttered before raising his paw to his earpiece. "Sickle. I have the target on my tail. Be ready to spring the trap in 20 seconds."

"We're ready!" Sickle informed him.

Minato glanced behind him to check and see if Hydra was still on his tail, relieved and slightly concerned that he was and gaining ground too. 'I ought to ask Luke to teach me Extreme Speed when I get back to Azure!' He thought frantically.

Hydra fired a Flamethrower at Minato, a wave of heat washing over him as the cone of fire washed over the ground like a flaming tsunami behind him. He grunted as he felt the heat approaching him, quickly jumping and turning in midair before he slammed his paws into the ground. Using a combination of his Ice Punch and Psychic, he created a wall of ice that managed to block the initial blast from the flames, but the heat started melting the ice shortly after, giving Minato precious seconds to turn and make good his escape again.

Hydra was hot on his tail as he rounded the corner, and almost in range to blast him again when the Ice Beam hit him in the side. Hydra shrieked, reeling away from the ice and careening into the wall of the opposite apartment, just as Sickle hand planned. Then came the Grovyle, bounding over the roof and plunging at Hydra with a "_Geronimo!"_that could have been heard from Bluegrove, his fist glowing as he fell.

The cold, and the Drain Punch, sent Hydra plunging to the ground, stunned and vision swimming. He could barely register the Zoroark and Lucario seizing him and putting chains around him, and regained his senses only long enough to see Hank as he got right in Hydra's face and grinned maliciously, his eyes glowing brightly as he prepared his illusion.

"Nighty-night, bucko." He said before the illusion took effect.

In his eyes, Hydra saw Hank's form distorting, elongating into a long appendage as all other features disappeared from existence. The long, fuzzy appendage wrapped around Hydra like a fuzzy snake, engulfing him from the necks down in a snug embrace and squeezing just hard enough to restrict his movement, but never enough to hurt. The act seemed to work. Hydra started to relax, seemingly forgetting about the chains around him - or, seeing them as part of the embrace. He soon shut his eyes, drifting off and returning to a peaceful sleep...

Sickle, wiping his forehead with the back of his claw, let out a breath. "Mission accomplished," he said.

"Wow... that was_surprisingly_easy." Minato commented, blinking a few times. "Going to have to remember that little maneuver for next time."

"My kind are the kings of the forest for a reason," said Sickle, with a hint of smugness. "The trees around my town can get a little higher than these apartments but, you make do with what you can get."

"In any case, that's one down." Minato replied with a nod, then hoisted the Hydreigon over his shoulders with some effort. "Let's report back to Volcan before something _else_decides to jump us."

"Agreed. Let's am-scray," said Sickle, taking point and leading the group back to the hideout, keeping a brisk pace to hurry them along but careful not to outpace them.

~~~~~

The group managed to return to their commandeered penthouse miraculously without incident, beyond running into a few muggers in the street who were easily scared away by Hank's illusions until they arrived. Carrying Hydra all the way up to the penthouse via the stairs proved difficult, as the still sleeping Hydreigon was heavier than he appeared. By the time they were halfway up, Sickle and Hank had to help Minato carry Hydra the rest of the way, the Hydreigon thankfully remaining asleep throughout the ascension.

Serena opened the last door for them and they stumbled into the room, where they found Volcan and Kaen sparring in the living room, the small and agile chameleon impressively managing to outmaneuver the taller, faster Blaziken, while Blaster, Lashanne and Tristan watched from the sidelines. The two paused their duel as the door opened, seeing the group entering with Hydra in tow.

"Hey, you got him!" Volcan exclaimed, and then lurched as Kaen's fist connected with his gut. "Oof! Hey, cheap shot!"

"You didn't say stop," Kaen returned while wearing a wide, toothy grin.

Minato snickered a little before he replied. "Yea, thanks to Sickle's little ambush plan, reining Hydra in was much smoother this time around." He said as he passed by the two and placed the Hydreigon down next to the sofa.

Not a moment later, Volcan felt his radio buzz in his ear, and put his finger to it. "I'm here Doug -what's up?" He asked.

"I got a fix on that Sandjaw guy, that's what's up!" Doug replied quickly. "I'm tailing him as we speak. I don't think he knows I'm under him either, so I can try and hold him until ya get here." He added in an anxious tone.

"Do _not_approach him without backup -that guy was put in the Siphon Prison for a reason. I'll radio you for directions," orderec Volcan. Taking his finger from his ear, he turned to address the others. "Doug found Sandjaw - time to roll! Sickle, if you're okay to carry on I may need you. Blaster, with us as well. Hank, I need a set of chains."

"Coming up!" Hank replied, quickly popping off the sofa and running to get a set of chains from the parked Airship. Within seconds, he returned and tossed them over to the Blaziken once he was back inside. "Heads up!"

Volcan caught the chains in his hands, slightly tipping from the weight of them as he gathered them into a coil and hanging it off his shoulder. "Alright," he said. "Let's move out. We'll be back soon!" He called as he made a beeline for the door, followed by Sickle and Blaster.

"Good luck!" Lashanne called after them.

As the door shut, Kaen let out a snicker. "Alright, we have Hydra. One down, four to go," he said, rubbing his claws together. "This is a piece of cake!"

"Don't get cocky, shorty," Lashanne piped up. "Hydra might have been wild, but that makes him the easy one compared to the rest of these guys." She turned to look at the door. "We're just getting started..."