I CAN ALMOST HEAR THE HOUNDS [x]

[nascour]

You know you have this under control. This is what you're made to do, and as you walk into the shelter of the cave, you remember exactly what your purpose here is. Sentinels are on the line. Balendin is waiting for his chance to gut the man who killed Owen; it's not really the murderer, but you've got enough evidence, gained from Precious Lilka, and you'll have your traitor cleaned out.

With Ardos out of the way, you won't even need to hypnotize the worrisome puppet that Ardos threw down to distract you. But perhaps it'd be useful. You remind yourself to find a Chandelure; no need to have the man truly alive, not when you can use his body for so much more than he can.

"Just a little farther," he murmurs. Michael follows you in a daze. Next to you is Atropos. The Gothorita waves his tiny arms and Michael follows loyally, almost stumbling. There, ahead, is the light. You wave your hand and Atropos releases Michael.

"No matter what happens," you murmur, taking the boy's arm, "know that I'll bail you out."

Red eyes glance up to the light, and you smile, thin-lipped and monstrous. Your tone raises as you drag Michael the last few steps. Ardos doesn't need to know what you've discovered about Gothoritas.

"I brought the boy, Grand Master. As you requested."

And you stand back, Atropos still with you. The chess pieces are on the board.

You plan on winning this game.

[ardos]

This baleful cavern…was perfect. The setting of his grand chef-d'œuvre, the ultimate ending to a twisted and overly dramatic story. Here, among the shadows of the cave, would be where Ardos finally initiates revenge against that wretched boy…Michael.

For years, he had spitefully blamed Michael for the collapse of his entire life. Why end it all now? Well until now he had mostly wanted to watch Michael fall apart on his own, as the papers have been faithfully reporting over the past year, however something changed in Ardos. Nothing was going right for him, all of his plans were falling through and that damn puppet back in Orre was starting to act out. He couldn’t understand why nothing was going right for him…until he recalled that faithful day. When that hell spawn ruined everything his father had built, decades of work down the drain because of one boy and his mindless ambition. It was a weak thing to do, but Ardos concluded that he would not be able to truly wreck havoc over these accursed mainlands until he had rid himself of spite.

Thus he stood there, in a reappointed cave somewhere in the middle of Kanto, waiting for the boy. He told Nascour to bring him to the cave, only implying his true purpose. “Closure” he had said, oh how true that was. The curse of spite would soon be lifted, and Ardos will be a freeman…nothing will hinder his wrath.

He patiently awaited the boy’s appearance, facing the cave room’s entrance, his eternal smile more evident than usual. When Nascour finally arrived with the boy, the smile transformed into a grin. Ardos nodded at Nascour and looked upon the boy. He was older, yet he had barely changed. What a wonder to have the brat before him at last, oh he couldn’t wait any longer! Ardos tilted his head slightly and in an oddly playful tone, spoke to the boy, “Hello Michael…I have been wanting to see you for a long long…long time. Do you know why you’re here?”

[ryuuto]

Pride doesn't remember anything but darkness after dear Uncle Nascour walked into his lab. But now he's in a cave and being whispered assurances, and Pride doesn't even bother to feel fear.

The look he gives Ardos is listless. The grin that follows after Ardos speaks is shit-eating.

"Because ya got some unhealthy libido for killin' shit."

He stares Ardos down. He's got Pokeballs still on his waist. Perhaps Nascour intends for them to fight.

[ardos]

Ardos laughs at Michael’s comment. “You’re an insightful boy.” The Grand Master slowly began to walk forward, stating in a more stern yet still joyful voice, “Although you are..mostly correct, it would be a lie if that were the only reason.”

He stopped halfway to Michael and hissed, “Closure my boy, I want pure cleansing closure. Your pudding face has been haunting my very dreams for years. Before we can get into the meat of this closure I must be assured, do you know why you are here?”

You couldn’t see it from behind his sunglasses, but Ardos’ left eye was twitching madly. He was far too excited about this situation.

[ryuuto]

Michael doesn't have time for this. He throws down a Pokeball-- it's Tinywings, the wingless Dragonite, that comes to his command.

"How about you spell it out, asshole?"

The Dragonite glances back at Michael warily, but Michael doesn't respond to it.

"If you're after my death, you'll have to fight for it."

[ardos]

Ardos’ grin somehow becomes larger when Michael summons a Dragonite. The mite wanted to fight back, oh this was far too delicious.

Ardos attempted to keep back his giggles as Michael wondered about Ardos killing him. That was a fine joke indeed. “Oh my dear foolish boy…I don’t want to kill you…not yet.” Ardos reached into his suit and grabbed a pokeball, enlarging the orb in his hand. “I want you to suffer…like I did when you ruined my life. My father was a great man…and you broke him like he was some sort of worthless toy. Well now it’s my turn to play.”

He clicked the central button to release its contents, a mighty Charizard. The charizard looked forward to see that he was once again in a battle situation and growled. Why did this man insist and using him for battles? Ardos chuckled and said, “Take it down.” The Charizard reluctantly nodded and sprung upward, unleashing a mighty blast of Dragon Pulse at the dragonite. Ardos cackled with glee, “Yes yes, keep doing that. Don’t stop until it’s a husk on the ground.” The charizard’s eye twitched but it did as it was told, continuing its blast at a constant rate for max effectivness…his jaw was going to be sore in the morning.

[ryuuto]

"You're an idiot--"

The attack is fired. The Dragonite is hit head-on, his scales bending and snapping as the attack hits home. He screams in pain, but if he moves, Michael will be hit. Tinywings glances back, waiting for Michael to help him, to order him back--

Michael instead lets out his Flygon. The Flygon glances back at him, confused; she's not quite sure what's happening.

"Get close. Use Tiny as a shield."

The Dragonite's eyes widen as the Flygon digs her claws into his spine. She presses forward, a machine, and Tinywings is less than that. He screams in pain, the attack breaking through his scales into the inside. He fires off one last Hyper Beam, trying his hardest to counter the Charizard's attack, but it's cut short when the dragon pulse hits his vitals.

He dies, and the attack ends. The Flygon's close now, wings fluttering.

"Draco Meteor.

[/u]"

The Flygon tosses the dead Dragonite aside and lets one fall. She forms a ball of blue energy around her maw and shoots it into the air. It hits the top of the cave, and meteors rain down, glowing blue and orange. On impact, they explode, making the cave rumble.

Pride doesn't weep for Tinywings. He finally fulfilled a purpose.[/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify]

[ardos]

As the dragonite fell, Charizard finally ended his attack, panting heavily. Ardos was satisfied, and said nothing, only expecting Charizard to take out the flygon as well. When the draco meteors fell, the charizard panicked.

It zoomed around, looping between meteors in a desperate dance not to be hit. Unfortunately, he couldn’t dodge forever. He was pelted by the might stones and fell to the ground. Its wings wounded, the charizard slowly tried to get up. Unable to see this struggle, Ardos hissed, “Stop being an amateur, hurry up and retaliate!” the Charizard growled and pulled himself to his feet.

With a roar he aimed at the flygon and exerted his rage through a Focus Blast. Ardos chuckled darkly in the background.

[ryuuto]

"Hyper Beam."

The exhausted Flygon is too late in opening her jaws, though. The Focus Blast hits her in the face, right in the jaw, and it comes clean off. The shock and the spray of blood causes the Flygon to panic. She begins lashing out, scratching, clawing--

Michael swears and pulls out another Pokemon. He expects an Elekid, but instead it's a Jolteon.

And for a while he's emotional. He grabs her and reaches for another Pokeball. "Blitz, you can't fight."

But she bites him and hits the ground, precariously balanced on her three legs. She looks up at him firmly. She'll fight.

"...Don't you dare let yourself get hurt," says Michael. The Jolteon turns her face back to Ardos, electricity crackling.

And then she leaps, a powerful Thunder crackling through the air.

[ardos]

Ardos laughed with twisted glee as the Flygon flailed helplessly. This was all going better than he could have ever imagined, surely Michael was feeling the true horror that was agony. Charizard was less happy, and actually much more annoyed with his master. He was obviously too weak to fight, why did he keep him out here? Why didn’t he care?

Ardos scoffed at the Jolteon, this mere pup wouldn’t stand a chance against his Charizard. Sure there was a type disadvantage but his charizard was certainly stronger. However, Charizard was in fact not stronger, as that single Thunder attack jolted him to his core. The beast roared in pain, and when he was freed from his electric prison he collapsed to the ground.

Ardos sneered, “Get up you worthless piece of garbage. Fight back!” Charizard was done. It turned its head toward Ardos and attempted to unleash a Flamethrower upon his abusive smug ass. He was too weak though, and the attack missed by a mile. Ardos laughed at this feeble attempt to betray him and took out one of his black pistols. Without a second thought, he fired his clip all across the traitorous monster and thus unknowingly ended its torment.

He took out a new pokeball, this one unleashing his signature Alakazam. The psychic master peered at his opponent, and recalled the boy from long ago. Seems this was an important fight for his leader. With a cruel laugh Ardos commanded, “Psychic!” Alakazam obeyed, its eyes glowed a hazy blue as he lifted his arms, and trusted them toward the Jolteon.

[ryuuto]

The Jolteon screams, but doesn't quite falter yet. The pain is immense and she strengthens her stance. But Michael is in danger here, and she'll fight to the end. Blitz grinds her teeth and remembers their colosseum days.

What would make this Alakazam hurt? An Electro-Missile. The Jolteon's fur extends even more, electricity crackling through it. She then jumps, the Pin Missle launching forward. But before it can hit, she fires a Discharge at it, electrifying each pin.

She lands wrong though. It's hard to balance without her fourth leg and she finds herself face-first on the ground.

Michael clenches his teeth.

"Blitz, get back!"

But now, like against Shadow Lugia, she would not go back. Not even at the cost of her own life. She stands, shakily, glaring Ardos down.

When her mother handed her off, Blitz knew she'd do whatever it took to keep this boy safe. She would love him like her mother loved Jack, and to do anything less for her oldest friend, for her beloved trainer...

She'd rather die than run.

[ardos]

Alakazam was was indifferent about the Jolteon’s resistance. Sure it wasn’t used to such a feeling but it could care less if a three-legged Jolteon dismissed one of his attacks. Ardos was less happy, as his twitching became more intense, leading to the left side of his lip faltering slightly.

Then came the combo, it was rather ingenious really and the Alakazam was impressed. He could certainly dodge it, however Ardos would certainly be too slow. He had no choice but to stand firm and take the attack. The needles pierced his skin and shocked his blood but he did not care. Alakazam was tough as nails, he wouldn’t let this one attack get him down in one hit. Sure it was painful, but the strong willed beast stood up and glared at Michael, trying desperately too keep itself from showing pain.

When the Jolteon came forward, Alakzam prepared to give it another licking, however he was surprised to see Ardos step in front of him. Ardos’ grin was crazed; he wanted this foolishness done with. After taking a few steps forward, he raised his gun to the Joleton and took a shot. This particular shot purposely missed the Jolteon, just so that Michael could tell what he was doing and feel as hopeless as Ardos did all those years ago. The second shot, was to be a straight shot.

[ryuuto]

Bang.

Bang-- "Blitz!"

And for a while he's the Michael he used to be, because his Jolteon is bleeding and screaming in pain. It hit her in the chest, and there's blood all over her beautiful white ruff. "Blitz, back in your Pokeball--"

But the Jolteon struggles, even as she's dying. She won't back down. But Michael won't let her go. He's sobbing now, howling her name, and he won't stop--

[nascour]

This is not what you expected, but it's only a minor setback. You glance down to Atropos. "Telekinesis." The order is a cold snap on your tongue, and the Gothorita complies, lifting the Alakazam in place. Out of the Pokeball comes your Blaziken in a burst of fire. For extra measure, you select Sneaky.

"Heal that Jolteon," you say to the Gardevoir. Then your attention turns to the Blaziken.

"Kill the Alakazam."

Alexis leaps forward, darkness surrounding one of his claws. He rips into the Alakazam with a deadly Night Slash-- if it doesn't end the Alakazam, the Blaziken most certainly can. You step around the sobbing Michael and the Jolteon that Sneaky is healing; everything isn't going according to plan, but you can handle it from here.

"You know," you say, a smile crossing your face, "I think there's been a change of plan, Ardos." You throw down another Pokeball; Hypno appears. "Magic Room, dear, I can't let this be interrupted." The room glows softly, and Ardos's gun will no longer pierce your flesh.

"You see, in order to avenge your father, you must have to hurt another family, and, quite frankly, I'm not able to let this slight stand." You put your hands together, the grin on your face becoming devious. "My nephew and I will be leaving. And I will be taking Cipher from you. You'll find that Balendin will be quite happy to see you dead."

And it all slides into place.

Every.
Last.
Piece.

[ardos]

As the bullet slid through the Jolteon, Ardos rejoiced. The sobs of Michael were sweet music to his ears. He laughed loudly and cruelly and declared, “I have done it! My father is avenged at last! Are you proud now father!? I did it! Me! I’m the better child!”

Ardos was too busy relishing in his success, after all this was perhaps the greatest moment in his life…unfortunately the moment ended abruptly as, ahem “shit hit the fan”. A Blaziken came out of the shadows and struck his Alakazam down. Ardos stopped rejoicing…and just stared. Where did that thing come from? How could he not see it coming?

The Alakazam unfortunately saw it all too well. While his master celebrated the breaking of Michael, Alakazam felt himself being lifted into the air. He tried to make a sound, but nothing came out. Terror filled his very being, even more so when he spotted the Blaziken coming toward him. A messenger from death, the beast certainly intended to take him out. Alakazam sucke din his gut, and took it like the male he was. The dark claws ripped through him like butter. As he fell to the ground, he used the last of his brain waves to reflect on his past decisions. He helped his master perform many a cruel deed, he killed several fellow pokemon without mercy, and people too no less. Certainly, Arceus shall frown upon this scum among champions, he’ll most likely denounce him on sight and send him tumbling to the distortion world. Yet, Alakazam felt as if it was all worth it. He was able to see his master truly pleased for the first time in years, and as long as he had served him loyally to the end he felt that he was one of the best damn pokemon ever. Alakazam died seconds after he hit the ground, the last image in his head being the eternal smile of his kind master.

Ardos urged his pokemon, “Get up you fool! Don’t let them make you look like a fool!” It took several seconds, but Ardos eventually realized that his pokemon was no longer breathing. Ardos felt something in his soul…something he had never felt before in his entire wretched life. His first pokemon, his only companion in the hell he lived…was gone. Ardos was suddenly overcome with sorrow, more intense than he had ever felt before. His mouth twitched and churned, both of his eyes blinked rapidly…and when he saw Nascour walking out toward Michael…Ardos…frowned.

The smile that had been plastered onto Ardos for over twenty years vanished in under twenty seconds. Ardos was in shock; he dropped his gun and slumped his shoulders as Nascour revealed his treacherous intentions and his relations to that horrible boy. He had been betrayed by someone he thought to be loyal...how could Nascour betray his father’s memory like this? No…this wouldn’t do…he refused to let Nascour beat him! The twig snapped when Nascour revealed the most chilling fact of all…Balendin was here. He had heard about this man many times but never encountered him…looks like this meeting was overdo. Ardos was to die here, and with his death Nascour would take over Cipher and ruin his father’s glorious legacy. Without much though, Ardos took out his second gun and fired an entire clip at Nascour. However, thanks to the effects of the Magic Room Ardos never noticed, the bullets went out slowly and fell to the ground in mid air.

Ardos quivered with rage and finally said, “You’re a bastard Nascour…I knew you wanted my birth right but I never thought you would betray me…you’ll certainly get your prize, that I am sure…but mark my words. I swear by my father’s grave, that I will defeat this Balendin, and I will do everything within my power to kill you and your bitch of a nephew…now hear this! If I fall here, if the great Rayquaza decides to end me and rip my soul away I will forever haunt your memory. My wrath shall transcend death and unleash this pain ten fold!” Ardos had nothing to back these claims up, only rage and anguish. With that said, Ardos limped to his Alakazam and kneeled beside it, praying to Ryaquaza to grant him mercy in the after life.