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The Stone Labyrinth lived up to its name, thought Calhoun, as he and his forces slowly made their way through the expansive, maze-like lands. Located in the heart of the Western Continent, the sea of high ridges and towering mesas was the doom of more than one explorer in its long history, being the hiding place of criminals on the run, wild Pokémon in abundance and even a few isolated communities living apart from the civilized world; Naturalist tribes that did not take kindly to trespassers, as they found.

More than once, Calhoun had to organize a defense against a sneak attack, as tribalistic warriors emerged. On the first day, a clan of Makuhita, led by a Hariyama chieftain, seemed to come shooting out of the rocks around them, descending on them as the Crusade's forces hastily organized into a defensive line. Most of the crocodilians he'd recruited - Krookodile bosses and their pre-evolved minions, while strong, were Dark-types, and many fell to the surprise attack, reducing his forces further.

On the second day, the attackers were Cacturne; only a couple of dozen, but assisted by many times more of their smaller, pre-evolved forms, who allowed themselves to be used as projectiles in the initial strike. As what felt like hundreds of Cacnea fell upon the expedition, more and more of the Dark Crusade's numbers dwindled; even with the training provided by Sakakku, they were too slow to prepare...

Morale had fallen to an all-time low, and on the third day of their journey, Calhoun realized he barely had any forces left. A Krookodile and his six followers, a pair of Volcarona that followed only because he still fed them and a single Camerupt - a pack mule to the Krookodile but still capable of fighting, were all that remained; a few others had deserted, disappearing sometime in the night for his command, only Sakakku was left, following at his side.

'This is not working,' said Calhoun, a sense of hopelessness filling him, 'Even if we reach the Nexus now, we're too few to hold it... I have no forces left, Giratina. If Team Phobia catches up to us, this paltry force will never be able to hold them back - especially not if they bring backup.'

'You have already come this far in your journey. To turn back would mean facing death at the hands of your enemies,' Giratina reminded him, speaking in a firm tone. 'You are nearing the final obstacles of this maze. The Nexus is within reach... Reach it, undo the seal, and I will provide you with not only the power you need, but the forces necessary to wipe out your enemies.'

'I cannot turn back now. But if things continue as is, these men following me may well turn on me if things continue as they are,' he said, looking out of the corner of his eye at the crocodilians who had their backs to him, 'For now, this is all or nothing...'

'Then keep venturing forth, Calhoun. Do not let anything stop you from reaching your goal...' Giratina continued to push.

Calhoun did not answer him at first, taking a moment to think. But his thoughts were interrupted when a flapping sound filled his ears; out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Sakakku shooting to his feet, looking up at something. Calhoun followed his gaze, and he saw it; a large, winged form, crossing the pass. It was a Braviary, and it had its eyes on them even as it flew over. Calhoun carefully watched how the bird flew, seeing the way it made a pass over them before turning back and heading the way it had come.

"...A scout," said Calhoun, "There's another attack coming soon."

"We don't have enough forces to repel another attack," Sakkaku warned Calhoun, glancing back to what remained of their forces. "We need to stick to the shadows for the time being and avoid any unnecessary conflicts."

Calhoun searched their surroundings, checking every butte or cliff that looked over them. "...There are no caves here," he said, "There's no cover whatsoever. We're exposed..." With that, he rose to his feet, hands gripped into fists at his side. "...Leave this to me," he said.

"I advise against that," Sakkaku stated, "Strong as you are, you are still only one Pokémon."

"The men still following us need this display," said Calhoun, lifting a hand to his chest and touching his Blazikenite, ascending to his Mega Evolution, "If we don't do this... We'll have no forces at the Nexus at all. Conceal everyone with an Illusion and wait here."

"Your funeral," Sakkaku remarked, shrugging as he turned and spread his arms out, casting an illusion on himself and the remaining forces to render them invisible to the naked eye.

"Wait, what's he doin'?" the Krookodile boss asked.

Sakakku didn't answer, and Calhoun kept walking toward the pass where the Braviary had flown from. For a while, there was silence, but a low rumbling began to course along the ground, felt through the feet of the Crusade's dwindling forces.

Then, they appeared; another tribe of Cacturne, but this time, they were not alone; they were riding on the backs of a strange, lizard-like Pokémon that neither Sakakku or Calhoun recognized. The lizards had pale bodies, save for the dark colours of their rounded - almost dome-like heads, and tails with a similar colour, running on all fours bearing their riders.

Calhoun watched in silence, studying the oncoming group carefully. Among them, he picked out the leader quickly; a Shiny Cacturne, with a red-yellow body as opposed to the usual green. Such primitive groups usually held those with rare colourations to high status, and this one seemed to be no exception.

Calhoun was off in a run, his body a blur as he moved. He charged into the oncoming horde, racing through their ranks, and dodging every swing the Cacturne, or their reptilian mounts took at him; not one of them could touch him, and he never slowed as he went straight for the leader. Calhoun knew, as Dark-types, he could not turn the Leader into a Shadow Pokémon, but that was not his intention.

He ran into the heart of the army, and stopped in front of their leader, who brought his mount up short; the reptile skidded along the ground, digging its claws in until it finally stopped, its head almost close enough to rest against Calhoun's chest. Then, as the leader started to speak, Calhoun vanished again, racing in a wide circle around the Cacturne, and not a second later he reappeared where he had been standing...

Then, every one of the Cacturnes surrounding him began to drop dead, falling from their reptilian mounts in a spray of greenish blood. The lead Cacturne gaped in disbelief, stunned by what he witnessed, and then Calhoun stepped on the head of his mount, driving its face into the sand, and catapulting the Cacturne riding it into his hand, gripping him tightly around the throat.

"As you can see," he said to the Cacturne, "I could kill you, and your whole army, in the blink of an eye... Do you understand what I am saying?"

The Cacturne nodded weakly, his eyes wide with terror, unable to speak.

"Good... You are going to tell your men - all your men... That they now work for me," he said, "In return, I'll spare you, and the lives of your entire tribe. You will be handsomely rewarded for your cooperation, but if you refuse... You will live only long enough to see me take the heads of every single one of your clansmen. So, what will it be?"

A short time later, Calhoun returned to the rest of his group, calling for Sakakku to drop the illusion. Behind him strode the eight now riderless lizards - the same ones whose riders Calhoun had executed to make his point. When Sakakku reappeared, he ushered one of them toward the Zoroark. The lizard mount moved up to its new rider, studying him before dutifully lowering itself onto its belly to let him climb on.

"Mount up," he said, "We carry on, immediately."

"I stand corrected," Sakakku remarked, impressed with how Calhoun had managed to procure not only more forces for their army, but mounts for them as well.

As the Crusade's forces set out once more, Calhoun felt something - like a shock, gently coursing through him. At that, he shut his eyes, reaching out to the Shadow Curse to his last puppet... He could feel them moving... Stirring... He could hear voices - voices he knew...

He smiled as he opened his eyes. "Time to spring my final trap," he thought aloud.

~~~~~

Volcan stood frozen, the weight of Keldeo slung over his shoulder lost to him as he met the murderous gaze of the Gallade, feeling the scar on his back itching at the sight of him. Deep within himself, Volcan could feel a heat rising from his core, filling his body; a surge of adrenaline that might have been his fight or flight reaction, but flight was the last thing on his mind. He did not want to flee; at that moment, all that he could feel was a want...

All of Sash's crimes - particularly those committed against the Blaziken, filled Volcan's mind as he stared at the Gallade. The day he had put the scar on his back, followed by the day he had come to Azure hunting him, nearly taking from him the man who would become his husband. Then, the day he had seen Minato fall by Sash's blades, stolen from death's clutches only by the power of Zacian granted to him... But coming to Azure to find that another life had been claimed by the Gallade - the life of Victor...

With that came a desire that shocked Volcan and was the true cause of his paralysis at that moment. He wasn't afraid... He was furious, seeing this murderous creature standing before him again. He felt his hands tighten around Keldeo's furred hide and imagined Sash in their place; he wanted to feel his hands around Sash's throat, to see him die by his hands - a feeling Volcan had felt before, but never understood, nor felt as strongly about it as he did now, bringing clarity to this unquenchable fire in his heart.

Vengeance... Volcan craved vengeance...

At his sides, Luke and Caulin stood, both of them tense as they stared at Sash. Behind the Blaziken stood Serena, her head low and her body shaking, but holding her ground, and beside her was Koa, his fur standing on end and his claws extended as a low growl escaped his throat. This was his first time seeing Sash in person, yet the Zeraora still recognized that the Gallade was an enemy, and he was prepared to fight...

Caulin was especially agitated by the sight of the Gallade, as was evident by the sparks that had erupted around him as he struggled to rein in his fury; with the memory of his grandfather's demise still fresh in his mind, it took all of Caulin's restraint not to lose his control at that moment Luke noticed this and glanced at Volcan, sensing the same fury rising within him, then stepped up next to his husband and held his paw in front of Caulin.

"Take Keldeo and find another path back to the Trident. Find Hageshi if you can," Luke commanded Caulin and the others. "Volcan and I will hold Sash off."

"Like hell I'm leaving," Caulin growled. "I beat him once; I can beat him again. Lemme fight."

"This is not up for debate," Luke stated firmly back. "We have a hostage in our care, and we can't fight back without risking his life. Take him back to the Trident and wait for our return. That's an order."

Volcan slowly slid Keldeo off his shoulder and passed him to Caulin. "This is what we came here to do," he said, levelly, "Right now, Caulin, it's up to you to finish this mission. If Luke and I don't make it, make sure Keldeo makes it home to the other Swords of Justice."

"But..." Caulin wanted to protest, but he could see just how determined they were to see this through. With a heavy heart, he sighed and took Keldeo into his arms. "...You two better make it back. I don't want to have to be the one to tell Ignus the bad news," he warned them.

As Caulin took Keldeo in his arms, Volcan kept his attention on Sash. The hate he felt toward the Gallade did not lessen, and it took all Volcan's restraint to hold himself in check. Even so, the others could hear his heavy breathing the longer he glared at the Gallade, and knew he was in conflict with himself.

"Take the other corridor - find a way around," Volcan instructed, "If you find Hageshi, make sure he comes with you. Whatever it takes, get back to the boat."

"Y-Yea, got it," Caulin said with a nod, then looked to the others. "Serena, Koa... Let's get outta here," he said as he turned and began making a break for the other corridor.

"Oh yes, by all means flee." Sash called out as they turned to make their exit. "It will make chasing you down all the more fun after I'm done with these two..."

"You won't lay another hand on them, or anyone else..." Luke growled, clenching his paws tightly at his sides. "We're taking you down for good this time, Sash..."

The Gallade laughed. "Is that a fact?" He asked. "You couldn't defeat me... your betrothed couldn't even touch me... What makes you think this encounter will be any different?"

"Because we won't be fighting you one-on-one this time," Luke answered without skipping a beat.

"Your murderous spree ends today, Sash," Volcan stated in a tone colder than ice, despite his wrists igniting as he widened his stance.

Luke took notice of Volcan's tone shift, but he tried not to pay it any mind and focused on Sash. The Gallade, however, was grinning even wider as he noticed Volcan's tone shift, sensing the malice dripping in his voice and making him lick his lips in anticipation as he got ready himself.

"I look forward to finally putting you two in your place... Under my heel in a pool of your own blood," He stated back in a chilling tone of his own.

That seemed to set Volcan off; his face darkened, and he shot forward with a Flame Charge without any warning, racing down the corridor toward Sash. The Gallade instinctively flashed his eyes and cast Trick Room the second Volcan moved, giving him the speed advantage temporarily before he rushed in and met Volcan's charge, rearing back one of his arm blades for a strike.

Luke was quick to intercept the attack, appearing between the two of them using Extreme Speed and catching Sash's blade in his paws. He then threw his arm up to expose an opening and landed a heavy Force Palm on Sash's torso, the blast from his paw sending Sash flying backward.

"Volcan, you need to calm down," Luke said scoldingly to his husband. "You're making the same mistake I made a long time ago. Don't let your emotions blind you."

Volcan was still breathing hard, but Luke's words seemed to get through to him... He shook his head hard, looking at Luke out of the corner of his eye. "I... I'm trying, love," he said, "But... I don't know what's happening to me right now... It's like I'm losing myself to my anger..."

Sash was getting back up even as Volcan spoke; of course, the Gallade was not going to fall so easily. Luke wasn't going to get much time to try to talk Volcan down, so he stood in front of the Blaziken and got into a fluid stance.

"I'll take point. Keep me covered and go for him when you have an opening." Luke stated before he took off, aiming to keep the pressure on Sash as he recovered. Luke and Sash were then engaged in a lightning-fast skirmish, with Luke only being able to keep up because of the nature of the Rapid Strike Style, matching Sash's attacks with some of his own despite the Trick Room's effect still in place.

Volcan tensed, ready to rush in, but he held himself back, remembering Luke's words and keeping himself in check. It almost hurt to remain where he was, wanting so desperately to get into the fight, but the sensible part of Volcan's mind held firm; he was not himself, and he knew it... If he acted too rashly, Sash would kill them both. He had to stay in control, and strike when the moment was right...

Eventually, Volcan would get his opening. After catching each other in another stalemate. Luke would parry one of Sash's attacks with his paw, then he would strike with a Bullet Punch to stun the Gallade, then follow up with his Surging Strikes to deal critical damage in rapid succession, successfully rendering the Gallade vulnerable to a follow up attack.

Seeing his chance, Volcan rushed in, and delivered a Blaze Kick in the form of a whirling roundhouse to the vulnerable Gallade, the force of the kick being hard enough to not only send him flying toward the outer balcony, but also enough to break out of the Trick Room entirely, the invisible barrier breaking the second Sash flew past a certain threshold.

"Nice! We have the advantage again," Luke exclaimed before he began running after Sash, who was slowly getting back to his feet in a bit of a daze.

"We've got this!" Volcan added, coming up behind Luke and waiting for his chance to strike again.

Sash was shaking his head when they appeared, ridding himself of the daze he was in and gritting his teeth angrily at the two of them for a moment before that grin of his returned, rolling his head along his neck with a few pops being audible.

"That all you got...?" he asked, beckoning for them to attack again. "What's the matter? Aren't you going to avenge all those lives that I claimed before...? Or was that just an empty claim made through false courage...?" He goaded.

Volcan growled in his throat, his muscles tensing even as he fought to keep himself in check. His vision was starting to darken at the edges...

Sash continued his taunting, gently pacing back and forth as he kept pushing Volcan's buttons. "I can see it in your eyes... hear it in your tone... You're not craving justice right now... You want_vengeance..._ You want to strangle me to death, run your hand through my heart, rip my head off my shoulders," he continued, chuckling. "The sad fact of it is... as much as you want it, I know you won't go through with it... You're too weak, both in mind and in body, to attempt such an egregious act. Your moral code won't allow you to consider it as an option."

"Volcan..." Luke whispered to him, shaking his head slightly at the Blaziken. "Don't fall for it..."

"As long as you continue to abide by your code, I will always continue to murder those you love... Every death that has or will occur will all be on your head because you were either too weak or too late to stop me..." Sash continued, stopping his pacing and spreading his arms apart invitingly. "If you want to prove me wrong, then by all means... Take your best shot, you snivelling coward."

Volcan's wrists blazed brighter, and he took in a sharp breath, flames escaping from the corners of his beak as his fury finally came out in a blaze accompanied by a furious cry, unleashing the largest Flamethrower he had ever mustered, and sending it down the hall toward Sash, filling the corridor ahead of him and Luke with searing heat - inadvertently causing Luke to step back and cover his face with his arms.

Sash's grin grew as wide as it could as the flames approached, then in an instant, he teleported out of the way of the flames and appeared behind the Lucario, making him flinch and turn just in time to receive a kick that caused Luke to stumble toward the flames Volcan had created.

Volcan, fortunately, was not so immersed in his fury that he was not aware of what was happening around him; out of the corner of his eye, he saw Luke hurtling toward the flames and ceased exhaling, his expression turning from fury to shock and he instinctively turned to try to catch his husband as he fell, before he could stumble into the fires still lingering. But doing so left the Blaziken wide open to another attack.

Sash immediately moved in to take advantage of the situation, kicking Volcan hard enough to send him into the wall, then he teleported in front of him and pinned him against the stones, holding one of his blades at Volcan's neck, pressing it just enough that Volcan could feel the blade almost cutting into him.

"As I told you... So long as you continue to abide by your code, your loved ones will always pay the price," he said with a malicious chuckle.

Luke collected himself and formed an Aura Sphere, hurling it at the Gallade pinning his husband. The attack nailed Sash in the cheek, making him recoil and pull his bladed arm away from Volcan. Volcan took advantage of that opening to deliver a Fire Punch to Sash's other cheek, followed by a second roundhouse kick that Sash managed to dodge, teleporting himself further down the hall to let the leg go whooshing past where he had been only a heartbeat before.

"Are you alright?" Luke asked as he ran over to support Volcan, pulling him away from the wall.

"Are you?" Volcan asked, looking at Luke concerned. "I... I almost burned you! If I'd been another second-"

"I'm fine," Luke cut him off before Volcan could descend into a tangent. "It wouldn't have been your fault anyway," he assured him before casting a glare in Sash's direction. "He's fighting differently this time around... He's using dirtier tactics than before, and he's even going so far as to employ psychological warfare..."

Volcan, coming back to himself again and thinking more rationally, looked at Sash as he considered Luke's words. "He must be trying to distract us... Break our cohesion. He knows he can't win straight up - not against both of us at the same time," he assessed.

"Credit where it's due, he's learned from his previous fights..." Luke admitted, frowning heavily. "We need to be extra careful going forward. You need to block him out and not let him get to you, love..."

"I'm trying..." Volcan replied, "It's like there's this wild animal trying to tear its way out of me the longer we fight him... I don't know if I can stay in control. Love... I'm losing myself."

"Then perhaps you need to join with Caulin and the others..." Luke said matter of factly. "If you can't focus and block him out, he's going to get the advantage over you... I'm not about to risk that."

"I can't just leave you here," Volcan refuted, "You know how dangerous he is."

"And I can't run the risk of you losing control and possibly getting blindsided like you just did a few moments ago," Luke firmly answered back. "I took on Calhoun by myself and beat him; I can handle one of his lieutenants. This is not up for discussion," the Lucario stated, not giving Volcan any time to interject before Luke took off, engaging in another small skirmish before Luke managed to blast him further back with a Force Palm, pursuing the Gallade further down the hall.

Volcan hesitated to follow Luke's directions, not wanting to leave his husband to fight someone like Sash all by himself. He opted instead to stay, watching, waiting for the moment he was needed...

Their battle took the two of them outside, with Luke kicking Sash against the railing and leaving him dazed as the Lucario stood before him, summoning his Bone Rush and holding one end of it pressed against the Gallade's chest to keep him pinned there.

"You've lost, Sash," Luke stated firmly, frowning heavily at him. "Stand down. Don't make this more difficult than it needs to be."

At that, Sash started chuckling at Luke, making the Lucario raise an eyebrow at him. "You really think you've won...?" the Gallade asked rhetorically. "You realize that Calhoun isn't even at this location, right? You've spent all this time fighting me, and in doing so, have given Calhoun enough of a head start to find the Nexus long before your allies arrive to bolster your numbers." He went on.

"We know... But that won't stop us from hunting him down," Luke firmly answered, pressing his staff harder against Sash's chest. "I won't repeat myself again. Stand down."

"The only way you'll make me stand down is if you kill me... And we both know you don't have the stomach to do such a thing," Sash taunted, "As I told the Blaziken... As long as you continue to follow your code, I will continue to maim and slaughter everyone you love..."

With that, Sash once again pulled a fast one by using Teleport to get behind Luke, charging at him with both his blades and forcing Luke on the defensive by pinning him to the railing, the Lucario's staff the only thing stopping the Gallade from beheading him right then and there. Volcan reacted immediately and came running at Sash from behind.

"Get off him!" Volcan shouted, already winding back his arm for a Fire Punch.

Sash looked over his shoulder and grinned, waiting until the last possible second before he disappeared. Luke's eyes widened as he saw the Fire Punch coming his way, unable to react in time to stop it and taking it square in the face. Volcan realized too late who ended up taking his punch, and he couldn't stop himself before he tumbled into Luke, the force of both his punch and his momentum causing the railing to give way behind Luke.

Volcan fell onto his stomach, eyes wide in abject horror. "No! Luke!" he cried, trying to grab Lucario as he began to fall.

Luke, already dazed from the punch he'd suffered, took a few seconds to become aware of what was happening. Time seemed to slow for him, seeing Volcan futilely reaching for him as gravity stole him away, falling... Luke instinctively reached out for Volcan, but by then it was too late. He let out a short scream as he fell, which was interrupted when his leg caught the balcony one level below and caused him to spin uncontrollably, tumbling down, down, down until he finally he hit the water below with a hard splash, instantly disappearing below the surface.

Volcan stared, motionless, at the water below, hoping that Luke would come back up... But he never saw the Lucario surface. Tears began to stream from his eyes. "No... Luke..." he said, weakly, "This can't be happening... What have I done?!"

"You killed him," Sash's voice rang from behind Volcan. "I warned you, didn't I? You continue to adhere to your code, and those you love will pay the price... His death is on your head now, Blaziken... You have no one to blame but yourself for what just happened. It's all... your... fault."

Hearing Sash's words, Volcan could feel his heart racing, his eyes continuing to stare down at the water, hands trembling. Then, he slowly clenched his palms into fists, and began to stand.

"You just made the biggest mistake of your life, Sash," the Blaziken said, a deep hatred in his voice as he rose, still with his back to the Gallade.

"Have I now?" Sash asked as he watched Volcan rise to his feet, still grinning sadistically at the Blaziken, seeing his shoulders rise and fall as he breathed heavily, his body language more than enough to tell Sash that he was angry. "And why is that, pray tell?"

"Because with my husband gone..." the Blaziken replied as he began to turn. "There is no one..." He disappeared into a crystalline sphere, his Blazikenite activating even without him touching it, ascending to his mega form. By the time he reappeared, Volcan had turned around, and his blue eyes - practically glowing with his hatred, were now fixed on Sash, "Left to save you."

The flaming ribbons trailing from his wrists seemed to burn even brighter as he spoke, casting a sinister glow over the Mega Blaziken's dark visage. Something about Volcan's voice, and that look in his eyes, sent a shiver up Sash's back. He had never felt such a feeling before... But looking now at the Blaziken - at the seething hatred in his eyes, and the cold tone of his voice...

Something had broken inside of Volcan, witnessing the apparent death of his husband, and now something new - something that Sash had never seen before now, in all the times he and Volcan had fought, had surfaced. Something that wanted the Gallade dead...

Sash instinctively took a step back as he felt that shiver creep up his spine, losing his grin momentarily as the fear he felt set in. Then, that grin started to return, his eyes widening even further before he began to cackle like a lunatic for a moment.

"Finally!" He exclaimed before he began to Mega Evolve himself, disappearing in a crystalline sphere before reappearing again in his Mega Gallade state, tossing his cloak to the side and brandishing his sleeker arm blades. "Come on, then! If you want me dead that badly, then attack already! Become the killer you've been holding back all this time!"

In the blink of an eye, Sash was suddenly spinning; Volcan had rushed up to him, and delivered a powerful punch to his cheek, sending him reeling - nearly stumbling off his feet. Shaking his head to clear it, Sash rounded on Volcan again, only to see the Blaziken running at him a second time, leaping and flying at him with his knee outstretched.

Sash teleported on instinct, avoiding the attack and letting Volcan pass harmlessly as he reappeared behind the Blaziken. He then charged forward and lashed out with a Slash attack while Volcan's back was turned to him, aiming to add another scar along his back and cause crippling damage in the process. But Volcan whipped around in time to see him coming, and to Sash's dismay, he didn't try to dodge it; he did not duck, or jump, or even block it.

He ran into Sash, slamming his fist into his face mid-swing and sending the Gallade reeling again. With the Speed Boost offered by the Mega Evolution, Volcan was getting faster by the second... And more reckless.

After skidding along the ground and rolling back to his feet, Sash wiped his face as he felt some blood running down his lip, looking at his blood stained hand before he clenched it tightly. He began to laugh again as he got to his feet, eyes widening even further as he tried to cast Trick Room again to turn the playing field more to his favour, but the moment he began to cast it, Volcan ran at him again, taking advantage of his speed boost before the Trick Room was activate, and tackling Sash.

Volcan held the Gallade tightly around his waist, running further up the hallway until he stepped out of the vicinity of the Trick Room. Then, he was off like a shot, running down the hall in a full sprint, and letting go of Sash as he skidded to a stop; the Gallade, due to the momentum, did not stop, and went hurtling into a wall with bone-jarring force.

As Sash fell to his knees, winded, Volcan stood over him. "Such arrogance, as always," he said, "You thought all this time, I wouldn't have figured out Trick Room has a limited radius?"

Looking up, Sash could see the look in Volcan's eyes had not changed; his pupils had shrunk to beads, and his brow was deeply furrow; everything about that face... Was pure rage and hatred, all directed at Sash. Suddenly, Sash felt like he was looking at another Black Titan.

"That's unfortunate for you," the Mega Blaziken continued, flames pouring out of the corners of his beak. "Because I did!" he bellowed before exhaling a cone of fire, with barely enough time for Sash to jump out of the way.

He skidded after dodging the flames, then rushed in and began to punch and kick Volcan rapidly with Close Combat, relying on lightning-fast strikes to try and break Volcan's defenses down and score some heavy damage on the Blaziken. It should have surprised him that Volcan didn't even attempt to dodge; he put up his arms, taking the onslaught, all the while glaring between his upraised arms at the Gallade, until Sash stopped attacking...

Then, up came Volcan's foot, delivering a powerful kick to Sash's stomach and sending him flying down the hall. He tumbled across the stone floor, gagging as he clutched his abdomen.

"What's wrong, Sash?" the Mega Blaziken asked as he walked toward him, his front cast in shadow with the light of the moon streaming in from outside behind him, save for the illuminating cast by the dancing ribbons of fire trailing from his wrists. "Is that the best you can do? Or are you starting to feel the same terror you've inflicted on others for years..."

As Sash rose to his feet again, Volcan continued. "How does it feel, you scum?" he asked, the dancing flames illuminating his face just long enough for Sash to see that mad look in his eyes, "How do you like feeling helpless_and _afraid, knowing that just like your victims, you are about to die a gruesome death?"

~~~~~

Jora heard the cry from high above, and ran out of the cabin to look up, searching for the source of it. But in answer, she saw someone falling from the walkways above, plummeting like a stone into the water; she caught only the briefest glimpse of the person before they vanished beneath the waves, but it was enough for her to see who it was.

"Luke!" she cried.

Without hesitation, Jora ran to the bow of the boat, leapt over the side, and dove into the water. With the slightly salty, cold water stinging her face and eyes, she swam down, barely able to see the form of the Lucario - motionless, sinking slowly in front of her. Using her legs and her tail to propel herself, she managed to swim down in time to catch him before he sank too far and then began to swim back up again, clutching him against herself as she went.

Jora emerged from the water, sputtering as she tried to locate the Trident through bleary eyes. When she found it, she swam toward it, pulling the unconscious Luke along with her, and fighting against his weight that threatened to drag her down with him. Eventually, she reached the side of the boat, only to realize with horror that there was no ladder on this side, and the railing was too high for her to reach.

Her claws scraped against the metal side, looking for purchase, as she continued to fight to stay afloat. She felt along the side of the boat for anything she could grab - anything she could use to pull herself up enough to drop Luke onto the deck, but there was nothing she could reach...

Then, as she made another futile grab for the railing, another hand caught hers. She looked up, and saw Hageshi standing hunched over the railing, clutching her hand. With a hard pull, the Greninja managed to lift Jora up enough for her to grab onto the railing, letting her go only when he was certain she had a solid grip, then helped her pull herself and the unconscious Lucario up the rest of the way onto the deck. Once Hageshi took Luke from her, she pulled herself over the railing and collapsed onto the deck, coughing and gasping for air.

"Is he... Alright...?" she asked, still trying to catch her breath even as she pushed herself up onto her claws and knees.

"...He's waterlogged," Hageshi answered, putting his head to Luke's chest to listen for his heartbeat, noticing that the Lucario wasn't breathing. He then proceeded to place both his hands on Luke's chest and began chest compressions to try and force the water out of his lungs.

Several attempts were made, and eventually Luke started to sputter and cough before rolling onto his side, spitting out the water in his lungs and taking huge gasps of air as he rolled onto his back again, his chest burning as he replenished his lungs with fresh air.

"Luke," Jora called to him, crawling over to sit at his side, reaching out her claw to touch his cheek, "What happened?"

Slowly he blinked his eyes open and turned his head toward Jora's claw, staring up at her in silence for a moment before he spoke. "...Jora?" he asked in a whisper. "Wha... How did I...?"

His eyes then shot open as he suddenly remembered what happened, sitting upright in an instant and looking up toward where he fell. "Damnit, no...!" he muttered, trying to force himself back onto his feet despite his fatigue.

"Luke, wait!" Jora reasoned, "Maybe you shouldn't, yet; you might be injured! You fell so far!"

"I can't wait! Volcan needs my-Agh!" He grunted as he tried to stand up, only to fall to one knee as a shooting pain shot up his left leg. Looking down at it, he saw there was a long scrape along his shin with dribbles of blood staining his leg from when he hit the balcony during his fall.

"You're injured. You try to move, and you'll only aggravate the wound," Hageshi pointedly stated. "Let Jora treat your wound. I will go and find Volcan." He added as he turned and went to disembark the ship.

"Hageshi, you don't understand!" Luke called after the Greninja, causing him to stop and look over his shoulder at Luke. "Volcan thinks he killed me when he punched me over the edge. Sash pulled a dirty trick on him and knowing him, Volcan's probably on the warpath for Sash," he explained, "He warned me that he felt like there was a beast inside of him just itching to break out, and with him thinking I'm dead, that beast may have been unleashed... I need to find him, to reassure him that I'm alright."

Hageshi rolled his eyes in annoyance as he turned his gaze forward, closing his eyes as he weighed the options laid before him. "...Get your leg treated first... I won't stop you from doing what you want after the fact." He stated before he leapt off the Trident and began jumping up the stairs.

"Let me have a look," said Jora, moving to Luke's injured leg and examining it. She took it in her claws, gently lifting it and apologizing when Luke winced as she touched his ankle. "It doesn't feel like anything is broken," she said, "You may have just twisted it when you fell. Perhaps we have something you can take for the pain."

She rose from his side, entering the cabin again to retrieve the medicinal supplies, studying the contents even as she returned to him. "I don't know what most of these are for," she said, laying the bag by Luke's side so that he could see the contents for himself.

Fortunately, it wasn't hard to find something for pain relief; in the bag was an ointment, made from pressed willow bark and other ingredients to make a cream, specifically meant to relieve internal pain. He quickly took the ointment and popped the lid open, then began applying the ointment along his injured leg and sighing as he felt it slowly working its magic. When he was able to stand without feeling as much pain, he turned to Jora and smiled gently at her.

"Thanks for diving in after me, Jora..." he said softly. "I owe you one."

"I think it was I who owed you," she said, smiling and standing, helping Luke to his feet. "Do you need any help?" she asked.

Before Luke could answer, there was a blast above, and the two looked up sharply to see the top level of the fortress, seeing fire exploding from the windows, and a voice barely discernible behind the roar of the flames as the catwalks of the upper floors caught, and began to burn.

"I'll have to be alright," Luke remarked as he quickly ran toward the dock, leaping over the railing of the Trident and landing in a crouch on the dock. Thankfully the ointment had numbed his pain enough that he barely felt it when he landed - though, maybe it was adrenaline too; he didn't care.

Without a second to lose, he began beelining it up the stairs toward the source of the flames, hoping that he wasn't too late to stop Volcan's rampage.

Deep within the fortress, Caulin, Koa and Serena had tried to make their escape without being noticed. But with the racket upstairs - from breaking Keldeo out of jail to the ongoing fight between Luke, Volcan and Sash, the fortress was now on high alert. Every floor, guards appear to intercept them - including others that previously had not been seen, such as Ghost-types, lying in wait.

Forced to set Keldeo down to allow them to fight, Caulin and Koa engaged the guards, fighting their way through the thuggish followers of the Dark Crusade; poorly trained and badly organized, the guards were not as challenging as they appeared - though the Ghost-types posed more of a problem, due to their intangibility and turning invisible to confuse the two.

But Caulin's mind reader saved them time and again, allowing him to predict the attacks of the ghosts even as they reappeared. In one such occasion, a Haunter emerged, coming up behind him with its disembodied right hand wound back for a Shadow Punch. Caulin's Mind Reader predicted the attack and he ducked under it before the punch made contact, then turned and blasted the Haunter back with a blast of telekinetic energy from his Psychic attack, sighing after he blasted his foe away.

"Whew... dang it, this is getting us nowhere. We're just running into guard after guard," Caulin complained angrily.

"It cannot be much farther," Serena urged him, "If we can get Keldeo back to the Trident, we'll be-"

Serena was cut off as Koa, in a sudden motion, raced toward Caulin; behind the Lucario, and behind Serena, the previously prone form of Keldeo had begun to stand, without either of them noticing it. Even Koa did not see it until the equine Pokémon was back on his hooves, head lowered and horn aimed at Caulin's exposed back. It was just as Keldeo began to charge that Koa moved to intercept - to Caulin's eyes, it seemed like Koa was running at him...

But at the last second, the Zeraora veered around him, and tackled the lunging Keldeo, catching the equine around the neck and twisting him away from Caulin, sending both colliding with the wall heavily. The suddenness of it all made Caulin jump in terror, confused as he watched Koa grappling with Keldeo, the equine Pokémon whinnying and snarling in a feral manner as he tried to wrest himself from Koa's grasp.

Then, Caulin saw what had made Koa spring into action... Keldeo's fur had darkened from a creamy yellow and blue to a deeper, darker yellow - almost golden, and the blue highlights had become as black as midnight, his reddish mane doing likewise to become a deep shade of crimson. His eyes were glowing bright purple - the same colour as the eyes of Kyogre, when he had been corrupted by Calhoun - Caulin vividly remembered the sight of the sea god bearing down on him and the others at Port Azure, and the colour of his eyes as he did.

Keldeo was a Shadow Pokémon!

"Oh crap! He's been cursed!" Caulin exclaimed, instinctively getting into a battle stance, then paused. "...Wait... How though? He was unconscious and looked completely normal when we picked him up!"

"Calhoun must've made the curse lay dormant so that he could spring him as another trap!" Serena replied, watching the ongoing struggle between Keldeo and Koa.

Finally, Keldeo managed to wrench himself free of Koa's arms, turned sharply and delivered a Double Kick to Koa's chest, sending the Zeraora flying backward to land on the floor behind him. Koa gasped and clutched his chest, the kicks having knocked the wind out of him.

"Koa!" Caulin exclaimed, running over to gently help the Zeraora back to his feet. "You okay?"

Before Koa could answer, Serena cried out a warning. "Caulin, look out!"

Caulin's ears caught the sound of galloping, and he looked behind him to see Keldeo charging straight at him, running in a full charge with his horn lowered again. Caulin quickly pulled out his tonfas and brought them in front of him, catching Keldeo's horn between his weapons and skidding back from the force of the attack until he came to a complete stop.

"...Sorry, but this is gonna hurt," Caulin remarked, sidestepping and letting the corrupt Keldeo pass, and as he turned he wound up a strike and swung, landing a heavy backhand along Keldeo's head. Keldeo went careening into the wall heavily, whinnying in pain before he slid onto his side.

"Wait, Caulin - don't hurt him!" Serena called, "It's not his fault!"

"I know, but he's not going to stop until we knock him out!" Caulin countered. "We gotta pin him down until Uncle Luke can find us and cure him!"

Suddenly, Caulin had an idea. "Wait, I got it!" Caulin exclaimed, then looked at Koa. "You know Electro Web right? We can use that to keep him pinned down until Uncle Luke finds us!"

Koa's ears stood up, and he nodded in understanding. Then, his eyes darted to the side as Keldeo recovered from Caulin's attack, rising back to his hooves again. His eyes glowed brighter, and his body began to glow with a blinding white light, forcing the others to cover their eyes until the light faded. When it did, Keldeo had transformed; the dark protrusions formed above his eyes had become shorter, closely resembling ears in shape, and his horn had become longer and rigid, more akin to a spear made from the bone of a large beast. He pawed the floor with his hoof, snorting as he prepared to resume the fight in his new body.

"What... Is that Mega Evolution?" Serena asked, not understanding what had just happened, "But... I don't see a stone or anything else on him! How did he do that?"

"I don't know what it is, but we gotta act fast," Caulin remarked, raising his weapons. "I'll keep him distracted; you get that Electro Web ready." He said to Koa, spinning his weapons in his paws before braced himself again. He then charged forward and threw the first attack, starting with a Vacuum Wave to distract Keldeo as he changed direction and strafed around him.

The Vacuum Wave stumbled Keldeo, but it did little else - the mythical Pokémon was too tough to be stumbled by a relatively weak attack; he rounded on Caulin then, and water exploded from his hooves as he raced at the Lucario, propelled by Aqua Jet, and threw his full weight into Caulin. The Lucario's Mind Reader allowed him to avoid the attack, however, skidding to a halt and letting himself fall backward, allowing Keldeo to pass over him and hit the wall behind Caulin as he rolled to his feet.

"C'mon, that all you got?" Caulin taunted, "I faced a serial killer who's tougher than you."

Just in time, Caulin's Mind Reader warned him of the next attack, as Keldeo spun around and launched a storm of bubbles from his open maw; Bubblebeam. Unfortunately, Caulin couldn't dodge all of them, taking several of the fast-moving projectiles - each of them exploding with cumulative concussive force as they struck him. The only thing Caulin could do at that point was bring his arms up and use his weapons to cover his face as the bubbles exploded around him, slowly being pushed back from the force of them exploding around him, gritting his teeth as he endured the onslaught.

Keldeo raced at him again, skidding to a halt in front of Caulin before rearing up on his hind legs, kicking out at him with his forehooves. He saw the attack and waited until the last second to act, then he spread his arms out once Keldeo's hooves touched his tonfas, causing him to stumble back a bit and lose his balance.

The Lucario then moved in and began striking hard with his weapons, two punches, then spinning his left weapon to club Keldeo along the face, uppercutting with his right weapon, then turning so he was facing away from Keldeo, spinning his weapons before connecting with a double elbow strike to send him sprawling onto his side.

"Koa, now!!" Caulin then exclaimed.

Koa, having finished weaving the Electro web, came in at Caulin's word, throwing it like a net at Keldeo and catching him from the side. The web fell over Keldeo, shocking him and sending him dropping onto his side, spasming as the web continued to electrify him.

"Good work, boys!" Serena complimented, running over to them. "Now we just have to get Luke to-"

The whole structure seemed to shake, suddenly, cutting off the Vaporeon and making the three of them instinctively duck their heads, thinking that there had been an explosion. The shaking ended shortly, but then they heard a scream coming from upstairs, belonging to a voice they all knew.

"DIE, YOU FUCKING BASTARD!!!"

Serena's earfins stood tall, her eyes widening. "V-Volcan?" she asked.

Caulin's face paled when he heard that, then he looked back at Serena. "Crap! I think he's fighting Sash!" He exclaimed. "We need to stop him before Sash makes him do something he'll regret!"

Serena's ears twitched, and her gaze lowered to the floor. "Wait... But we left Volcan with Luke; they were fighting Sash together," she said, "Where is he?"

Serena raised a good point... Curiously, Caulin switched to his Aura Sense, reaching out to the life energies above. He detected Volcan quite easily; the Blaziken's Aura was burning like a wildfire, his power surging out of control, pursuing a second Aura that had to belong to Sash... But that was all that he could see; _two_auras...

"...Oh no..." Caulin whispered. "I... I can't sense Uncle Luke..."

"Oh gods..." Serena whimpered, lifting a paw to her mouth. "Did Sash... Is Luke-?"

Another shake, followed by another scream from Volcan. They had never heard such sounds coming from Volcan before, even in his most intense battles. What they heard were screams of pure anger... Absolute hatred... Volcan wasn't fighting to win this time; he was fighting to kill...

"Koa, stay with Keldeo. If he tries to struggle, hit him with another Electro Web to keep him pacified," he directed the Zeraora. "I'm gonna try and stop Uncle Volcan from doing something he'll regret."

"But if Luke is... What do we do about Keldeo?" Serena asked, "If he can't purge the corruption from him-"

Koa suddenly let out a shout, jumping away from Keldeo as his horn suddenly glowed and extended to double its length, reforming into a curved blade. With a toss of his head, Keldeo slashed through several of the strands of the Electroweb, trying to free himself!

"He just won't quit!" Caulin exclaimed, frowning as he struggled to come up with another idea. His ears perked up as one did come to mind, but then his ears wilted once he realized that what he was planning was outright crazy.

"...This is gonna sound insane, but..." He began, then looked to Koa, "Hit him with a few more Electro Webs. I have an idea."

Koa nodded, and quickly began weaving another Electro web, his paws once more moving in a blur as he did.

He finished the new web just in time; Keldeo freed himself from the first, and was about to charge again when Koa threw the newly formed Electro web over the corrupted Keldeo, causing his forelegs to be tangled in the strands; Keldeo went down, hard, to the floor, tumbling end-over-end to land on his back, and Koa threw a second web on top of him, tangling his legs even further. Then, Koa threw himself on top of Keldeo, trying to hold him down while Caulin moved in, careful to avoid Keldeo's flailing legs.

"Caulin! What are you going to do?" Serena asked.

"If Uncle Luke could free a Shadow Pokémon from Calhoun's influence, then so can I!" He announced before he too moved toward Keldeo, discarding his Tonfas as he knelt next to the Shadow Pokémon and placed his paws on his flank. From there, he closed his eyes and focused, trying to pump his own aura into Keldeo's body just as Luke would have done.

"Wait, don't!" Serena cried, "It's too dangerous!"

But Caulin pressed on. Immediately he felt the Shadow Curse latch onto Caulin, almost catching him off guard and letting it pass freely onto him, but through sheer willpower he managed to hold it back enough to prevent it from taking him right then and there.

"C-C'mon... where are you, Keldeo...?" Caulin growled through grit teeth as he struggled to find the equine Pokémon's signal within the black mass. He did not like being here, immersed in all this evil and malice, feeling it trying to consume him as well...

...There! He saw it; a light in the darkness of the curse. He could hear a voice calling out from it as he pressed on, trying to reach it, pushing his way through the curse. The voice, distinctively male, sounded... Lost, and afraid.

"Cobalion... Virizion... Terrakion... Where are you?" the voice asked, "It's... It's so dark here... Where am I?"

"Hey! Can you hear me?" Caulin called out toward the light. "I'm here to save you, man! Try and follow my voice!"

"Who... Who is that?" the voice asked, and Caulin could see a form inside the light moving around, trying to move in his direction. "Who's there? Where are you?"

"My name's Caulin! I'm here to help you outta this mess!" Caulin called out, inching closer to the light. "I need you to reach out to me! I'm trying to get this curse off you, but I need your help!"

The light moved closer to him and began to take a new shape as it drew near. As he watched, he saw it take on a form akin to Keldeo, with the same equine figure, obscured by a veil of light that was quickly dimming as he spent his strength trying to reach out to Caulin.

"I... I see you!" Keldeo said, hopefully, reaching out with his forehooves...

But as Caulin drew closer to him, a black tendril from the darkness behind Keldeo shot out, wrapping around the equine's neck and pulling him just as Caulin managed to take hold of his Aura. Keldeo let out a cry of terror, trying to pull away from the darkness as it tried to pull him back again, fighting to hold onto its host. The Lucario held on tight with both paws, pulling back as hard as he could to try and break Keldeo free of the tendrils wrapping around him.

"Gaaaah! Let go of him you stupid curse!" Caulin growled angrily, trying to walk backward and pull Keldeo's spirit with him.

The tendrils continued to try to pull Keldeo back, but the aspiring Sword of Justice held on, resisting their pull and trying to push on to Caulin, who refused to let them have him. One by one, the tendrils slipped free of Keldeo, the last of them holding onto one of his avatar's hind legs stubbornly...

It was then Caulin saw something else... Something lingering in the dark, where the tendril led back to. A massive form moved through the cloud of the corruption, and the longer he watched it, the more of it he could make out... It was only as the form took a more discernible shape that he noticed that the tendril around Keldeo was not entirely black; at its tip was a red claw...

Just as Keldeo finally slipped free of the corruption's grasp, Caulin saw it - or rather, him, coming out of the darkness - a smoky, dragonic silhouette, spreading its wings and roaring as two glowing red eyes appeared upon its face, glaring down at him. Sheer instinct drove Caulin to pull out of there, as he understood just what he was looking at.

Caulin reappeared in the corridor, nearly losing his footing as he pulled the corruption free of Keldeo, the writhing blackness now held between his paws, thrashing like a swarm of angry snakes trying to untangle themselves from each other.

"Caulin! Get rid of it!" Serena cried, horrified.

The Lucario wasted no time, pumping more of his aura into the squirming mass in an attempt to crush it between his paws, growling as he put every ounce of power he had into destroying it. Eventually he was successful, the mass turning into dust and letting out a last shriek as Caulin destroyed it before he fell back on his rear, panting heavily.

"Caulin... You did it!" Serena exclaimed, coming to his side. "Are you alright?"

"Y-Yea. Pretty tired and a little spooked, but I'll live," he answered, smiling back at Serena. "What about Keldeo?"

Serena turned to look at the young equine, stepping over to study him. Before her eyes, Keldeo's colours began to revert to normal, regaining the pale yellow fur and blue accents he had previously started with before the corruption had revealed itself, though his form did not change, retaining the mane and horn that he had suddenly taken during the battle. She put her ear to his chest, listening carefully...

A heartbeat... Followed by the drawing of a breath; she felt Keldeo's chest rising as he breathed in and was pleased to hear that the breath was clear and strong.

"He's going to be just fine," she said, looking at Caulin with a smile. "Your father will be proud of you, Caulin... You saved Keldeo."

A sudden tremor reminded the two of the situation that remained unresolved above... Caulin looked up and frowned, slowly pushing himself back to his feet. "You guys stay with Keldeo. I'm gonna try to talk some sense back into Uncle Volcan."

"I am going with you," Serena stated, firmly, "I've known Volcan almost as long as you have. If there's a way to help him, then I must do it. He's my Captain, after all."

Koa looked between them, and pointed at Keldeo, then to himself. "Return to... Boat," he promised, and then pointed at the ceiling. "Go. Help Volcan."

Caulin nodded gently in response. "Thanks, Koa." He answered before walking over and hugging him tight in his arms. "Be careful, okay."

"See soon," Koa replied, returning Caulin's embrace strongly.

Caulin hesitantly pulled back, smiling and resisting the urge to kiss him. Now wasn't the appropriate time for displays of affection; he knew that, so he instead nodded firmly and backed up from the Zeraora to allow him to depart.

With that, Serena and Caulin hurried to the nearest set of stairs, praying they would not be too late to save Volcan from himself...