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"Right. But, y'know, don't chat with your fists. Cause that's fightin'." Robby clarified as he followed her.

"Well, ya cracked yer neck when you said it. So I just wanted to be sure." Robby replied, matter-of-factly. "That usually means ya want one, doesn' it?" He stared at her, not so much to judge, but as if he seemed to really think that was how it worked.

Robby shrugged his shoulders when they started up again. She obviously wanted to fight this person and beat him up. But was restraining herself, he guessed.

The lad decided not to call her on anything for now. He followed behind silently, to see what was there to see.

((And part 2. I'll try and get these done fairly quickly as I too wish to transcend this day and get to that sweet looking Panda. I'm sure there are other Gen 6 pokémon.

Like that cool possessed sword. Honedge? Another reason I think Game Freak's spying on us. Still looks pretty badass though))


She said things were okay. They'd survived the massacre at Silph Tower, they were on board one of the WG's flying headquarters, there shouldn't be anything to worry about. Except that a second before the video feed cut out, the camera shook like it was caught up in an explosion. Wayne stood dumbfounded, the two government agents either side of him exchanging nervous looks behind their sunglasses.

They'd taken him aside because Elizabeth requested a phone call from on board The Sword. She told him everything that had happened in the tower; how Ratio had attacked, how so many people had died, how Katelyn was fine against all odds. She said that he didn't have to worry about them, and that she'd see him soon. He just had to be careful. At the end of it, Ratio had stopped looking for Silph's database, and just wanted to kill them. He'd have allies somewhere.

Wayne's throat was a desert. The feed cut off so violently...

"Okay," he said, sniffing in a breath, "You guys're secret agents, right? Please tell me this is normal. Cause it doesn't seem normal. Like, at all."

"Kid," one of the government operatives said, placing a hand on Wayne's shoulder, "We'll do all we can. Just hang tight."

Wayne nodded and set his jaw, staring back at his reflection in the blank screen. It was probably just a glitch. The sinking feeling in his gut said otherwise, but Wayne still had hope. Things would turn out okay. Wouldn't they?

----

It was happening all over again, she realised. Ratio ascended from the staircase, his armour shattered from the waist up, no long black cloak giving him the appearance of a grim reaper. His dark auburn hair hung across his face while marks of war adorned his flesh; scars and fragments that had been blown away and healed, as well as the wounds he'd suffered from the recent battle, Aura radiation patching them up into a dark red mess.

He moved like an implacable juggernaut, sword at his side, crackling with electricity. Had that been how he escaped? There was something strange about that sword. She was sure it had been taken away and confined. Elizabeth had no time to contemplate it, ducking her head back down behind the door window. The dead video phone was at her side, and she had Katelyn hide beneath the desk below it. Her hand found Ferox's fur and she patted the Arcanine's back as it let out a low growl.

"What's... what's going on?" a weak voice groaned across the way. Blake in his hospital bed, President Silph comatose opposite him. The government escort peeked out of her hiding place behind one of the other beds and began to speak but Elizabeth shushed her. With any luck, Ratio would pass them by. They didn't need to draw attention by talking.

"I want two things," he said, his scratchy voice a low, deep whisper. The hairs on the back of Elizbeth's neck stood up and she looked back to the door. It was as if Ratio was in the room with her, leaning in close, speaking into her ear. "First, the remains of the Silph robot and its data."

Aegis. When The Sword arrived at the end of their battle, they had sent soldiers in to secure the building. One of the things they retrieved was Aegis' body; the humanoid battle doll that Silph Co.'s AI had used to attack its intruder. It had been able to remain functioning for a while after the fight was over, but eventually shut down. Aegis must still have access to Silph's data, perhaps on a local storage unit kept inside the doll's body.

"Second," Ratio said, "I want the girl hiding beneath that desk."

Elizabeth's eyes opened wide. Was he talking about Katelyn? She looked terrified, wet eyes staring back at her mother. Elizabeth crawled towards her, taking the girl's head against her chest.

"Mommy, I'm scared," she whimpered quietly.

"It's okay," Elizabeth said with a hush, "It'll be fine. He's not going to touch you."

"You have ten seconds to comply," Ratio's voice grew louder. Was he getting closer to the door? Ferox's growling became even more ferocious. She was an extremely powerful pokémon, and one who had bested Ratio before. But she was the only one they had. It was a small battleground; Elizabeth knew Ferox could perform well in almost any environment, but she doubted that the Arcanine would be able to use the full extent of her power without harming the nearby humans.

"Five seconds. Or I kill every one of you and take what I want."

"Oh, come now. Isn't that a little harsh?" it was an old gravel-throat. Elizabeth recognised it as the same one that welcomed them on board The Sword after their ordeal. She stole a glance through the door window.

Commander Surge stood a ways behind Ratio, clad in a green military uniform and overcoat. He wore a beret that bore his commander's insignia; a gold icon in the shape of a sword. His vaguely lightning bolt-shaped walking cane clinked as it touched down on the cold floor. Surge followed it slowly, his leg stiff from a years-old paralysis. A token from the Sinnoh War.

"Commander," Ratio said as he half-turned, his tone bearing a hint of respect, "I thought you'd been dealt with."

"Don't get to my age by being easy to kill," Surge said with a smirk beneath his white beard. "Going to have to ask you to stand down, son."

"You know I can't do that," Ratio said, glaring through his thick locks of hair, his blade crackling hungrily.

Surge sighed as he pinched his brow, and this was all the opening Ratio needed to launch into an attack. He made it quick, barely bothering to move from his spot outside the door. One swipe of his sword, clean across, Aura radiating and launching a lightning bolt of electricity straight at the old man.

Just as quickly, Surge brought up his cane, catching Ratio's electricity. Elizabeth was shocked, but soon allowed herself a smile. The cane was a lightning rod; you don't become a gym leader without first mastering your element. But Ratio hadn't missed a beat, taking his sword into both hands as he took hold of its momentum. He braced himself and pulled the blade upright, its tip scraping the ceiling and showering sparks.

Surge was yanked forwards, fist tightening around his cane as Ratio tried to wrench it free with telekinesis. He was strong enough to stand his ground, using his free hand to launch a pokéball down the corridor. It released a Raichu with a faded coat of fur. Old but experienced. It acted without a command from its trainer, blasting a Thunder Wave that connected ribbons of electricity all the way down the corridor, covering every inch like a wall. It blew out each lightbulb in turn until Ratio broke his telekinetic grip and held out his blade, absorbing the electricity into it.

He tilted his head to the side. Both Surge and Raichu were smiling. Elizabeth could feel the pair's Aura on Ratio, inside his sword along with... something else. They'd created some kind of link. Arcs of electricity exploded between Surge and his pokémon, their Aura flaring, screaming like a swarm of snapping vipers. Raichu charged power, unleashing Thunder's hell.

Ratio was connected to it by an Aura link. Even if he dropped his sword, it would be too late. The train of electricity plowed into him, ripping at his exposed body, hurtling him back against, and buckling, the medical centre door and almost blowing it off its hinges. Elizabeth fell back, and Ratio slumped to the ground, smoke rising from his chest.

Surge gave him a cautious look. "Better hit him again, just to be safe."

As Raichu charged, Ratio's skin danced with electricity, siphoning it off using his own electric-based Aura. He threw himself forward in an instant, each footfall marked by a shower of sparks. He threw his blade forward and its telekinesis had it crash through the sound barrier. Raichu moved with agility, veering to the side but taking a large gash to its gut. Surge's age didn't weaken his reaction time. He just barely deflected the speeding sword with his cane, but the colossal impact threw him off balance.

He staggered and Ratio drew his sword back to him as he bounded forward, snatching it into his grasp. Ratio was going to kill Surge. Elizabeth grit her teeth and wrenched the medical centre door open, allowing Ferox to enter the fray. The black and white Arcanine's Aura exploded as she activated Extremespeed. She could hit Ratio while he was distracted and rip off his head. Her flames were too dangerous here.

Ratio's sword flew out to the side and gleamed as if it had caught the sun, then flooded the dark corridor with a blinding Flash of light. Elizabeth had to shield her eyes from the dazzling technique, which died with the sudden, sickening sound of wet meat being sliced. Ratio stood still, his sword held in a reverse grip behind his back. Ferox's skull rested against the back of his legs, the purity of her white fur stained by a growing patch of red. Blood seeped along the length of Ratio's blade, which had pierced through one side of Ferox's neck, and out the other.

He drew his sword out and, with a swipe, cleared it of blood. The Arcanine crumpled. She whined softly. Was it the pain, or the sheer confusion? Pokémon blood pooled beneath her. Ratio gave her the barest of glances. Elizabeth was stunned. Had Ratio anticipated Ferox's Extremespeed after their last encounter? Had he planned for this? She'd sent Ferox out to die...

"You..." Surge trailed off, anger boiling in his growl of a voice. He sent out a recall beam for his Raichu, putting the ball back in his pocket, where he retrieved a set of spiked knuckle-dusters. Ratio was on him in a second, forcing Surge to keep his arm in his coat while blocking the sword blow with his cane. The two edges of metal screeched against one another before locking in the lightning-shaped dip of Surge's cane, sparks exploding between them like fireworks.

Ratio was as silent as a statue. Surge grunted as he tried to force Ratio back, but with his bad leg, he wasn't pushing anywhere. Elizabeth could feel their Aura radiation intensifying, two great forces battling against one another. The two electricity-users sent off enormous arcs of lightning that trailed across the floor, up the walls, lighting up the knocked-out darkness of the corridor with violent flashes.

"Give it up," Surge growled, "You might have some resistance to electricity... but I'm still more powerful!"

The sheer magnitude of Aura grew wilder as the two combatants sent their power directly through the other's core. Surge's continued to rise, but Ratio's suddenly skyrocketed, causing the old man to gasp in pain.

"True," Ratio said, his voice practically a low hum. "But there are two of us."

Surge flared but Ratio overtook it with his own. Their electric Auras flowed from their bodies, dancing like white fire. A black shape began to seep out of Ratio's sword amidst the chaos, towering and flickering as if it wasn't really there; as if it was an image on an old television screen. A dead-eyed Rotom. Ratio's pokémon. Surge screamed, his Aura dying as his body shook violently. Everything ended. Surge fell back, stiff as a board, hitting the floor hard. Elizabeth held herself against the doorframe, shaking quietly. She watched for signs of life. Anything.

The old soldier's chest still moved with the rise and fall of his breathing. It was barely there, so close to nothingness. But it was there. A small victory. Elizabeth cowered back a moment later. Ratio turned around and looked her dead in the eye.

"Your five seconds are up," he said, walking towards her slowly. His flesh was burned on his chest from the attacks, his arms red and bleeding. He didn't show a hint of it bothering him. He didn't take his eyes off Elizabeth. "Give me the girl."

Elizabeth grit her teeth, flushing with anger. "Go to hell," she spat, clenching her fist. She had no pokémon. Nothing. Naught except artificially-infused Aura that couldn't hope to match his.

"Please just give him what he wants!" the government escort woman began to sob from behind her hospital bed. "He's going to kill us!"

Elizabeth blocked out the woman's cries and took a step forward. She flexed her jaw. She was not handing her daughter over to this lunatic, even if it killed her.

"I didn't have you pegged for a brave one," Ratio said, continuing to walk, his Rotom-infused blade crackling at his side, "Not from the way you hid yourself while others died in your place."

She barely had time to react when the sound of machinery echoed from the far end of the corridor. Ratio paused, and looked over his shoulder. The elevator doors slid open with a ding. Zack stood hunched forward, his face dark. He stepped out, giving Surge and Ferox and the splatters of blood barely a moment's notice, walking past them. Elizabeth felt her heart lighten, hope flooding back. She dared not let the reality of the situation crush that hope.

It was all they had.

((So after getting permission from Jump we begin THE NEXT DAY with some unclear answers. Those that need to wait on Jump, you got a week. In the meantime those of us that don't shall do some setting up.))

TIME SKIP: THE NEXT DAY

Henrietta attempted to roll out of bed nice and early. The sun was still rising in the distance through the window and it was looking to be the start of a beautiful day. She hit a snag, or rather, someone wouldn't let her go.

"Azucena, wake up." She turned her head to peak at her and tried again. Of course, she could easily use her natural infusion strength but she didn't want to hurt Azucena so she didn't. Instead she repeated Azucena's name but louder.

She didn't budge but Henrietta caught a glimpse of her smiling. Henrietta attempted to squirm her way free and Azucena seized her sides and tickled her.

It was the start of a beautiful morning.

Immediately the sound of music blasted for Wayne. A secretary was present to direct him down a level to the actual gym arena. She was probably really dismissive of him and rude.

Down below the building was a massive arena, a cavern hollowed out in a section of the mine. A giant drill sat next to the marked out arena, though any trainer with a lick of sense knew that arenas could expand beyond that point if battles got intense.

Clay sat in a chair there, enjoying the sweet, dirt flavored air. In one hand he held a beer, in the other a glass of whiskey. He nodded in such a way that his hat slightly tipped once he saw Wayne(assuming Wayne hadn't left cause of the secretary).

""Harrumph! Kept me waitin', didn't ya, kid? All right, time to see what ya can do!"

The battles were one on one. Clay, after all, had many challengers and couldn't waste too much time on them. He had a business to run.

He also had no pokeballs on him.

"Yeah, let's do it, then." He sipped his whiskey.

And Excadrill emerged from behind Daphne, the ground just before shifting in a way that would draw back Wayne's footing, either forcing him to move or to be dragged backwards to make room for Excadrill. Its head was lowered to be sure that, in the off chance that Wayne jumped forward, he wouldn't be impaled on Excadrill's blades.

The Metal Claw came down. "Good ol' can opener strategy."