Welcome to Gaia! ::

Night had fallen over Lumiose City in the Kalos region. A black vehicle that looked way out of place that was traveling through the streets, making their way around Rouge Plaza and started to turn down into a narrow street. The car would pull up alongside of a building, behind another vehicle that was identical to it. One SWIPE member came out first. Kess, the Zapdos hybrid claiming to have been reformed, trying to atone for her acts while under Ein’s employ. She would reach down, scavenging an item from the passenger seat of the vehicle before closing the door behind her and brandished a blade at her side. Hinterbane, reappropriated for her use presumably post the raid on Team Snagem headquarters, fashioned with a brand-new sword sheath that it never had as far as anyone knew. She would then walk back to the rear seat, opening the door and letting out the passenger. Looker would step out, adjusting his coat as Kess closed the door behind him. Both then made their short walk to the building, but before either one of them made it to the door, the door would open up. A SWIPE operative was inside, greeting Looker and Kess before they made their way into the building. While the one that allowed Looker and his escort inside was dressed in uniform, it was only an illusion to hide their numbers. There were others, dressed in plain clothes, trying to go about as if they are part of Lumiose life. That being said, it wasn’t really that great of numbers. Maybe to keep SWIPE’s presence low key for the moment and not draw attention to the likes of Looker. The occasional operative making a brisk jog, accompanied by a Growlithe. Another one sitting casual at a nearby café. One on the rooftop terrace…out cold under my foot.

I had to be put on the proverbial bench after the fight with the other world’s Cyrus and the Dialga that he had in tow. And in the time leading up to Sub raring to go to hunt this otherworld Cyrus with our world’s Cyrus, trying to rally up whoever he could rally up, I was left to my devices. I was quiet. Hours were lost me trying to recollect everything that happened from the start of this insanity, from SWIPE’s emergence, to the evidence brought against us and the discrepancies that some started to realize in them, to the people coming back alive like Bulder and the ones rescued from Ein’s tower no longer such as if we never did so to begin with, to Volo and Aden’s involvement, to Cruxis, to the Ultra Recon Squad. And what made it all the more maddening, was thanks to the Ultra Recon Squad in particular, they singlehandedly managed to not only neuter the likes of Darts and Crystal in a time where we needed all the strength we could to deal with that, they also left a massive cloud of doubt when it came to me. In spite of trying all this time as long as I had been with Snagem, they were all starting to fear me in some fashion or another. In spite of Sub’s trying to save face, even going so far as telling me that I was a good person and such, it did little because of that mere act of him asking for the information the Recon Squad had gave everyone that notion that there was potentially something to worry about. I admit, it probably didn’t help my position any when I went off on Deo for his exposed betrayal in the trial. For that matter, requesting to Sub to delete that information when he offered was probably going to make me look all the worse to perhaps him and most certainly the others if I had told him to. A classic catch twenty-two.

Since then, I was driven on pure, unadulterated spite and determination to solve everything. I had to, because otherwise, I felt I was doomed to begin with. I already had little agency to begin with all that had been going on, and after Sub took that information from the Recon Squad, I wasn’t waiting around for the last of that agency to be taken out of some unfounded fear of his or whatever excuse he or anyone else could find. Unfortunately, in the midst of my note taking and recollections of the events, there were blanks that I needed filled in. Questions I needed answered. Answers I wasn’t getting sitting at the headquarters.

It wasn’t until one afternoon a week after the events of the courtroom, Sub called for a meeting. I had been sitting by myself until I made my way down. Off around a corner, as everyone paid attention to Sub, they were going to make the attack on the other world Cyrus. As I stood there out of sight, pressure down so some of the more preceptive Snagems couldn’t pick me up easily, I couldn’t help but to ache fiercely from where the Dialga struck me in that courtroom, but yet Sub was calling for an attack on the other world Cyrus and his Dialga. I wasn’t fit for another fight of that kind of intensity; not yet anyways. Tristen and Freth were going to go, however…I wasn’t comfortable with that either, I had to admit, but there was nothing I could do. Before I went back to go hide in my hiding spot, I then overheard something. Ulla asked about Looker, wondering where he ran off to since the trial. GRAY would mention to her that he had ran off to the Kalos region, according to some tabloid. No reasoning why, however. Sub did mention just before that a good chunk of SWIPE was trying to clean up everything around the Viridian City gym post that major fight. Something clicked to me just then. Hearing that had me rushing back to my hiding spot in the Trick Maze floor. As soon as I got there, I grabbed my notes, skimming them back over. All this started because of evidence that SWIPE gotten. Evidence that was false, mind, but evidence nonetheless. I needed information. I needed questions answered. I needed people held accountable. I needed this to end.

I stood there, over that table I fretted over for hours on end for a solid week until that moment. I considered everything at that moment, realizing that if I decided to go out on my own, I had to commit to it and I had to do it right the first time. No second chances, no quarter. With a sigh, I’d fold the papers with my notes into my pocket. I then took out my SNAG, looking at it for a moment, then sat it down on the table. Once most everyone left to go blitz the Ruins of Alph, I would skulk out as well, off into the opposite direction. I could only hope at this point Freth and Tristen would forgive me for what may happen.

Here I am now, staring down the Looker Bureau, a home away from home of sorts for this crackpot detective. If I was to be intensely direct, I’d have SWIPE swarm me and effectively instigate a hunt and attack on Snagem before they realize that I’m effectively a rogue agent at this point, not that it would really matter that much. They’re probably back to looking for some excuse just as they did when we were out trying to take out Dim Sun that day. I didn’t need Freth and Tristen caught up in something like that all the while trying to put out whatever proverbial fires that constantly crop up because I couldn’t so much as keep a temper in check or made a wrong move. I just had to figure out what on earth to do. I have to admit, I am not thrilled at what I just saw. I was hoping that Looker would have brought along his hot-headed confidant in the expansion suit. But not only it was Kess, I find myself extremely pissed off because someone else was not wanting to leave that blade alone. Given everything, I am almost betting Kess knows good and well what she has her hands on, or at least what that thing is capable of. Never mind I would have preferred to not end up fighting her. While she is no Dialga and at least she wasn’t going to take me out with one shot, she was still going to be problematic. And that wasn’t taking Hinterbane or any lingering injuries into consideration.

I didn’t necessarily need Looker. If he was using this office as effectively another branch for SWIPE, then I had to just get into anything physical he had in his office. But as I contemplated what I needed to hope to find, I started to notice something. The operatives that I managed to point out started to converge back towards Looker’s office. The one with the Growlithe was on the move, a bit of a fast pace at that. Looking back towards the café, the one at the table was gone. It took a couple of seconds to register, but then I looked at the one out cold under my foot. I turned him over, him still out cold and started to search him. Phones, devices, anything. I checked the jacket he wore, checking his pockets, checked around his head, seeing if he had any sort of ear piece perhaps. I notice that underneath the casual clothes, he too had an expansion suit on, practically skin tight under the casual clothes and on the collar, a receiver. “Son of a…” I whispered to myself. They were probably trying to call him, maybe to check in. You can’t answer back if you’re not conscious to do so.

I left the man and ran off behind the roof access door, hiding around the corner of it. It was no more than a minute before the door flew open and the agent from the café saw his downed comrade. I turned the corner and ambushed him, greeting him with a hard kick across the torso and quickly landing a few blows. The expansion suit, doing what it was made to do, quickly snapped a helmet into place around the operative’s head and the suit started to absorb the blows as best as it could. Unfortunately for him, he still had the limits of peak human effectively overall. As he tried to fight back, he would lunge and fire from his wrist a ring-shaped object. I quickly parried his arm in the process of it, missing me entirely and I would counter attack, driving a fist right in to his ribs, then quickly drive a foot into one of his knees, making it buckle and bringing him to the ground on one knee. Helpless, still caught up in my grasp, I drive an elbow into his helmet, cracking the shield. Frustrated, I would go and tear the helmet off of him. He would manage to quickly stand up and take a swing, but as he did so, I would toss the helmet aside and fiercely sweep his legs hard enough he went completely horizontal in the air for that split second. In that instant, before he hit the ground from that, I was already back up and drove my fist right down into his face, driving his head into the roof and took him out of the fight. Once I was sure the operative was out, I looked over towards behind me to look at what he tried to shoot at me. I picked it up off the ground and stared at it, growing ever more disgusted. “Tch…another one of those blasted collars…figures.” I said silently to myself.

I stashed the collar in a vest pocket, and as soon as I did, I heard a door open from the roof access. I ran back over and into the roof access, looking down the stairwell. It was a panic run up the flights of stairs, someone trying to get to the top in a hurry. It was the other operative. It had to be. I jumped down the middle of the stairwell. Floor by floor pass by me in a blink before I gave a hard flap of the wings to slow myself down, landing on a stair well, then quickly turned around. The operative with the Growlithe went wide eyed at the sight of me, just before he got the perfect look of my leg before it went right into his head. The Growlithe scrambled, trying not to get crushed himself on the stairwell as the operative tumbled down the access to the floor below. I jumped down the flight of steps and pounced on him, started to wail away just as the helmet slapped shut around his head to try to protect him. Unfortunately for him, a helmet could only do so much being in a compromised position and dealing with an Articuno hybrid that had enough crap to last a life time. The Growlithe would start running after me, then made a flying leap at me, fangs lit ablaze. Instinctively, I raised my arm up as the hound clamped down on it. “OW! GAH!” As I tried to whip the loyal hound off, the operative managed to quickly get up and get his bearings and start trying to help his partner by trying to take swings at me. One of his strikes, a kick, managed to get me right in the ribs, where I was still tender from Dialga. “AUGH! Blast it!” Frustrated, I practically threw the Growlithe off of me, then focused on the operative who was trying to take another several swings at me. I ended up blocking his shots then quickly retaliated, each blow targeted, the damage too much for his expansion suit to disperse. I quickly snatched and tore off his helmet then swung it at him, smacking him hard in the head with it, then before he knew it, I grabbed him and drove his head into the metal stair railing. The loud metal clang heralded his loss of consciousness there in the stairwell. The Growlithe, still raring to go came back up, scrambling up the stairs again to try to help his master, but it would be in vein when he came running, an Ice Beam blasted it back, knocking the fight out of it for a second. “Well, they know I’m here now…” I said, irritated. I then had a thought about something, taking the collar back out of my vest pocket, then stared at the Growlithe that was starting to shake his head and trying to get back into the fight again. “…hmm…”

I was about to try something, but as I started to hear doors open up from down below, I realized I probably wouldn’t have the time. I then bolted back up the stairs and slammed through the access door back to the roof then made the mad dash across the roof, taking a hard leap across it to the next roof. A mad sprint and another leap. I’d clear at least two or three buildings before jumping down and making a mad dash to a nearby alley. I had to think…I needed anyone else weeded out that I may have not have pointed out weeded out and perhaps lure Looker out of the building, or at least get him alone, because I doubted he was going to put up that much of a fight. And certainly, Kess was not going to resist an opportunity to take me out of commission, too, especially knowing good and well that these guys were effectively cannon fodder, provided she figures out it was me who is here, so I needed her distracted as well. As I tried quickly to think, I then took notice to a nearby tree in a planter in the concrete sidewalk. My lure. A Pansage was dozing around in a tree, an odd sight to see in Kalos in my opinion, but nothing I was complaining about. I quickly rushed out of the alley and rushed the tree, snatching the grass monkey. The Pansage yelped out, practically shrieked out of surprise when I grabbed it and slapped the collar on the grass Pokémon. As soon as I dropped it, the grass Pokémon fled immediately, trying to get away from its attacker out of pure fear and instinct. I would then rush off back towards the alleys and ducking into them.

As I started to make my way back through, I started to hear movement. I ducked down nearby a dumpster, trying to keep my presence as low as I could get. Several more people gathered together. “Did you see anyone?”

“No, did you?”

“Wait, I got a lock. It’s an activated collar. Ha! I guess that maybe worth the concussion…”

“We’ll treat him to coffees and medals after we get this guy, we need-“

“Report!” A voice called out, femine and commanding, coming down from the skies. I had to concentrate, trying to keep my pressure down and stay out of sight. Kess landed close by the group, addressing the operatives.

“Sir. We got a collar lock. Heading northeast towards Rouge Sector 8.”

“Towards the northern boulevard?” Kess asked. “Not heading towards Route 14, and a bit out of the way to get to Lumiose Station. Trying to hide. Block off the exits and converge.” She commanded. The operatives would scramble, but Kess would be the last to leave, as if she was contemplating something. I stood out of sight, eyes closed, trying to concentrate managing my own power. I didn’t know how well her senses were or anything of that sort, but I didn’t want to instigate a fight right here, right now, now that I knew that Looker had to have been alone. Or if nothing else, one more cannon fodder operative by his side that was easily taken out. She would then take flight off back into the night sky. I hesitated moving again, wanting to make absolutely sure that Kess was gone, then started my way off back towards Looker’s office.

Quickly, I stayed under the cover of darkness, moving through the alleys, darting across streets and found my way back to the outskirts of Rouge Plaza, where Looker’s office was located. I looked around and started my way to the office. I rushed to a window and looked inside, senses on high alert. I was trying to see where Looker was, trying to see if there were any other operatives around. I noticed Looker moving around the office, he was talking on a headset, perhaps coordinating the operatives. I couldn’t hear what he was saying. I didn’t see the other operative that was in uniform, and I wondered if he had ran out to help. As I quickly checked, peering in the windows, I couldn’t see anyone else. Even if there was someone in a blind spot in the room, it didn’t matter, I could take him out. I had to commit. I was probably not going to get another shot at this…

As I noted Looker making his way to the front, I rushed for the front as well. I was going to ambush him. As I turned the corner, I darted to the front door. I could see it. Kick the door, catch him off guard, knock him out if need be, get info, leave. I had all manner of questions I need to demand out of him or anything he had laying around in his office. Where he got his information from. Cruxias’s connect to SWIPE. How long this investigation had been going on. If they were aware of the inconsistencies in what was going on around them, like the fact Bulder was alive, the people in Orre in Realgam Tower was dead, the actions of Snagem of a whole, and SWIPE’s apparent willingness to condemn even the more virtuous members of the team, like Tristen and Doc Owl. For someone who is supposed to be some sort of bastion of ‘justice’ and supposed to be one of the world’s greatest detectives (ha right), even he wasn’t above committing a war crime or two himself and yet he’s being excused while the team gets put on effectively a mock trial for public display and humiliation.

I was at the door, set to kick it, but then my instincts tripped. A nightmare realized in that sudden instant. Quickly I darted off, disappearing away from the door with Agility. A massive lightning strike comes down where I once stood. As I stopped, turning back around to see where the attack landed, I perked up and got a massive look of a yellow and white blur coming down at me, slamming me into one of the two nearby SWIPE vehicles. I yelped out when I made impact with it, the damage from Dialga being made apparent. I quickly got on the defensive, blocking a few blows until I saw Hinterbane make its way down towards me. I weaved off towards the side, having the sword go right into the car through the roof. I thrusted my hand in front of me, firing an Ice Beam. My hand gets slapped aside when the shot gets fired, then I felt a kick go directly into my chest to kick me back and to pry Hinterbane free.

I staggered back, wincing a great deal, trying to suck up the pain from the clash. I looked ahead, seeing Kess there a short ways away, seeing Hinterbane brandished. Staring me down and ready to take me out. Looker made his way out of his office, seeing the standoff. “You lot only had one job, given one chance, to stay low, out of sight, and out of trouble after Viridian City, and here you are, assaulting SWIPE operatives.” Looker spoke up.

“I wasn’t here to fight, Looker. But you have to admit there wasn’t a good way to get your attention either without it being so hastily interpreted as hostile. You know, your biases and all.” I said. “And its in those biases that allows you to interpret the situation however you want to and bury whoever you want to bury.”

“And I suppose sending the majority of us across the city was your way of trying to keep the peace. I knew something wasn’t right when that collar was activated. You’re not one to let something to happen twice easily.” Kess said. “Though very uncharacteristic that you decide to do this and you haven’t let yourself fully recover from Dialga. I can see it on you. You’re still hurt.”

“I’m not the one you need to be worry about…or maybe you should since you’re carrying that sword. I do not care for anyone carrying that blade. Not even me.” I said. “I swear to God, I don’t know why everyone wants to take a swing with it but I am honestly sick of it. That blade has been through far too much.”

“Then what good is it otherwise?” Kess stated. “It doesn’t matter. You got no say here and you condemned yourself by it. And soon, everyone else in Team Snagem at this rate.”

My eyes narrowed, severely irritated. I could practically feel my energy pressure spiking harder than my blood pressure to the tranquil fury that I have been trying to keep contained this entire ordeal so far. “I am here for information, and I am going to get it one way or another.” I said. “You entire lot have dragged me through the mud while you two galivant around spouting ‘justice this’ and ‘criminal war crime that’ all the while keeping anyone from finding out what is really going on; while forces beyond your blasted comprehension laughs at the both of us from afar, of course provided you’re not involved with the whole conspiracy altogether. At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised with much of anything anymore. One way or another, I’m going to get the information I am looking for, or at least leads to find what I am looking for. The question you better ask yourself right now in the next few seconds is how many subordinates, Looker, will it be worth to you before I get it.”

Looker, in perhaps a rare form, looked a bit disturbed. I wasn’t sure if I actually intimidated him, or if he started to doubt his convictions, or anything of the sort. In that brief moment, I could see it in his eyes. He was trying to calculate my chances. He tried to base this on all the information on everything he knew of in Snagem in general. Especially me. I could see it…he was worried. In spite of it all however, he still had a job he was resolved to perform to his utmost ability. He would give the command to the Zapdos hybrid. “Kess, lethal force authorized.”

“Understood.” Kess replied.

As both of our energies spiked, ready for a fight, Kess’ feet dug into the ground and she dashed towards me, Hinterbane at the ready, Looker would quickly back up as far as he could, not wanting to get caught up in the middle of what was to be a rather nasty brawl. He knew that it was going to be bad. The problem is…with all that has happened these past several weeks…he had no idea. He had just potentially consigned Kess to her end.

She started swinging the blade and I had to immediately go onto the defensive, already once being on the receiving end of Hinterbane once in my life no thanks to Eris. She would quickly give a few quick swipes, and I would quickly duck and weave but I would quickly step in, a quick elbow with one arm, switching to a swinging fist with the other arm, but before I could start to get any more momentum, Kess fiercely sparked and blasted electricity in all random directions to get me off of her. I yelled out as I got blasted back from the fierce electrical attack and hit the ground, writhing from the nasty super effective attack. Kess would quickly rush in, ready to end the fight immediately, and went to plant the blade right into me. Wide-eyed, I quickly rolled off to the side as the blade planted hard into the ground. I immediately scrambled up and thrusted a kick into her, kicking her away from the blade before she was able to pull it back up. Reeling back, I quickly adjusted stance and blasted an Ice Beam right at her before she could grab the blade again. She dodged out of the way, vanishing with her own Agility, the Ice Beam whizzing right by where she stood. Before I could react, she would give a fierce kick behind me, sending me tumbling off and skidding on the ground. I winced hard again, the injuries reminding me they were still there. I powered through it to get off the ground. Kess rushed for me, snatching up Hinterbane in the process.

Poised to claim a limb, probably a head, she brandished Hinterbane, ready to swing. I stepped in quick, catching her, stopping her swing, but her oncoming forces pushed me back, slamming me back into the already damaged SWIPE car. The passenger side windows blown out and the side dented in from the harsh impact. The two of us fought, trying to overpower one another. Kess leveraging herself, trying to push Hinterbane’s frosty edge into me. She would surge electricity, punishing me for even touching her. Everything was trying to seize up through the electrical current, trying to rob all fight to fend off the blade ready to claim my head. I reared back then thrusted my head forward, smashing into her own head, stopping the discharge and making her reel back. I quickly smashed a fist into her, but as soon as I did, she would retaliate, bringing the sword around fast and went to drop the sword down on me. I weaved off to the side, the sword going right into the car. As she pulled the sword back out of the frame, I reached over, grabbing her then flung her into the car, switching positions with her and started to try to strike her a couple of times, but she would give a hard swipe of Hinterbane, making me duck back. But in one swift movement, I threw my arm up and a massive icy pillar shot up out of the ground. Kess saw it coming, diving off to the side as the pillar of Ancientpower smashes into the car.

She would come after me and I would quickly leap back then take flight up. She would be in hot pursuit, refusing to let her quarry get away. She would start speeding up, speeding right for me then vanished. My instincts tripped and I stopped in mid-air, stopping short of Kess slashing me with the blade. But in one swift aerial motion, she managed to drive a kick right into me. I couldn’t withstand the shot and went tumbling back down towards the ground. I managed to stop myself but Kess was already in pursuit. As she once again came down with the blade, I sped away myself and repositioned with my own Agility. Ready, she sped off herself, avoiding the blow I was ready to give her. The speedy exchange would happen for all of two seconds in real time before I gave one feint, to make her commit to dodging, but when she reappeared, I counter attacked, driving a fist right into her stomach. I then quickly got behind her and drove my leg right into her, kicking her back to the ground instead. She would careen down to the earth then flip herself back up, hitting the ground and driving Hinterbane into the asphalt underher to slow herself down.

As she stood there at the Rouge Plaza, where the soft street lights lit up the small monuments, park benches, and decorative bushes, she looked back up where she saw me in pursuit now. I would quickly start giving a wave of my arms. Ice pillars started shooting up from the ground, one after another threatening to entrap Kess. She would cleave the large icy spikes and leapt back immediately as they shot up trying to corral her in. She would then unleash her electricity fiercely, streaks of electricity flying up not only dispelling any of the other ice that was coming at her but was arching up that was coming my way. I immediately dodged out of the way with Agility, practically reappearing back as soon as I touched down and skidding to a stop. She was already on my case, appearing herself out of her own Agility and swung the sword. I immediately caught her her wrist with both hands, but she would press in, hard. Fiercely. My feet skidded along the ground, Kess showing she could fight with the best of them, perhaps with something to prove better than the best of them. She slams me against a nearby decorative barred fence and while she had me pressed, she grabbed one of the rails and electrocuted it, and by extension me as I laid against it. I yelled out in pain, then unleashed a hard burst of a Blizzard attack to make her reel back. Still latched on to her, I swung her arms around to smash her hands into the gate and made her drop the blade. Quickly, I swung an elbow, clocking her in the face, followed by another gut shot, then a thrusting kick, all in short order to get her off of me. Space her out from me. Enough where I put my hands in front of me and blasted her with an Ice Beam. She got her arm out, a Light Screen forming in front of her. The blast made impact, driving her back across the sidewalk, and into an opposite fence, driving the bars loose from their concrete mounts and having her hit the ground.

Kess wouldn’t get an opportunity to rest. I was already speeding off above her in the air, another Ice Beam at the ready. Going wide-eyed for only a split second, she would roll off as the shot was fired and scramble off before she found herself in an icy tomb. She would dash off, trying to reposition as fast as she could as Ice Beam shots rained down. She would then dash off with her Agility. I was still able to keep up with her. Track her. With agility, I cut her off, our blows clashing with each other where we met. She was going after Hinterbane, get it back, put me back on the defensive. The two of us met move for move, one parry after the next, one counter after the next, our focus unwavering, trying to be better than one another. I would quickly try to sneak in a single-handed Ice Beam shot on her, but she would be quick to counter. As soon as I put my hand out and fired, she weaved off and grabbed my arm and threw me over her, slamming me into the concrete hard. My torso once again ached, a grimace escaped me through the pain. Everything about me kept saying I wasn’t ready for this. I ignored it. She would stomp down to follow up and I would quickly roll over and manage to get up to one knee, only for her to thrust a fierce kick into me. I would end up blocking the shot, but the harsh impact sent me a short ways down the path and right into a mounted park bench. Everything about me was screaming to stop, I was still hurting too much from Dialga. I needed to recover more before trying this. I ignored it still.

Kess quickly snatched up Hinterbane as I pushed myself up back off the ground. I’d rush for her, sprinting full speed with Agility, grabbing at her sword hand and started swinging. She’d put her arm up, bringing her Light Screen shield in front of her to shield herself. She swatted with her Light Screen shield to get me off of her, then transitioned to a full on bashing with it. She would then quickly switch, thrusting Hinterbane forward to impale me with it. I managed to weave off to the side and countered, smashing my fist right into her. I would try to press my advantage, but it was not something she was poised to let me keep, bringing the sword around and tried to cleave me with it. I would then duck and weave back, but before I could get myself righted again, she would rush in, driving her Light Screen into me and pushing me hard, trying to get me to fall over, and most preferably to her, finish me off. I’d instead take advantage of it, falling back on my own, dragging her down and rolled back, giving her a hard toss behind me. Once she hit the concrete, I hopped back up to my feet, she scrambled back up to herself. At that point, once again, I threw my arm up to summon another Ancientpower. Kess was ready for it, giving a hard swing of Hinterbane and cleaving the pillars where they were coming up, then gave a hard kick to one of the carved pillars and sending it off towards me. I ducked out of the way of the large incoming ice chunk, but Kess was poised to keep up her advantage. She would come down with Hinterbane but I would dodge out of the way with Agility and manage to drive my foot into her back with great force.

She would go into a tumble a short ways away and quickly get back to her feet to face me, but I was already after her. She quickly brings up her light screen shield again and I would slam into her. Her feet would skid hard as she braced, refusing to back down. She then sparked up and gave a hard discharge of electricity. I once again grimaced as the electricity started to wreak havoc, but much to her surprise, I wasn’t budging still, I was still pushing her back. I bore through the damage, the pain. She couldn’t help but to stare in confusion as I looked back at her, practically gritting teeth and overpowering her now. She struggled, adjusting her grip, poised to stab me with Hinterbane again. She would come down with the blade and I would quickly back off, and then retaliated while she was committed to her attack. I drove a fist right into her face, one strike, then another. She would quickly turtle up, hiding behind the Light Screen shield, but I would come under it, driving another strike into her midsection. Once she hunched over in pain for that second, I thrusted a foot into her, kicking her off again, then darted off, cutting her flight off with Agility and kicked her again, sending her into the air. She would flap her wings, getting herself righted and stopped in mid air before anything else happened, trying to reposition and get her bearings. As she tried to look around trying to track me down again, seeing me in time coming down on her, but too late to do anything about it. I smashed another fierce kick into her, kicking her into roughly the 3rd level of a near by parking garage. She hit the concrete hard, losing the blade again as she tumbled then finally skidded to a stop.

I glided into the parking garage after her and landed. She was pushing herself up, shaking her head a little bit, trying to shake the damage she had taken all fight. A breeze howled and echoed in the near-empty garage as she tried to recollect herself. She was breathing a bit heavily, this entire fight so far being a workout for certain. She pushed herself up then turned to face me and got at the ready. She noticed Hinterbane. Just a quick Agility dash away. But then looked at me, cautious. Certainly I wouldn’t want her to have it. I would proceed to dispel that notion. “You want it? Go ahead.” I said to her. “Take it.”

“What?” Kess was taken aback by the statement. “Are you sure? You seemed nothing but afraid of the blade this entire time, taking special interest in making sure that edge doesn’t meet you. Why you seem adamant using your true Ice-type attacks attacks at me while I hold it. It’s true, isn’t it? This thing can take you out as it can an Elemental. That’s why your assailant in Galar used it against you.” She wouldn’t get an answer out of me, I simply walked over towards Hinterbane, looking at it for just a couple of seconds, then kicked the blade over, having it slide across the concrete over to her. Kess couldn’t hide her confusion. Completely dumbfounded. She was hesitant to pick the blade back up at first, but she would quickly snatch it up. “You’ve lost it, haven’t you? You know you can’t beat me on your own. You never had. Always had Freth with you at least, the kid at most just to hide from my electricity. Here, you have neither, on your own, and yet you are confident that you can beat me?” I wouldn’t give her an answer. I just simply stared at her, as if I had her whole soul read. “What? A few hits is hardly a victory, Blizzard. And I got this blade that your overly careful around that you just so ‘graciously’ handed back to .” I still wouldn’t utter a word in reply, all that could be heard was the cold breeze that was finding its way in from the outside. “What is this silent treatment? What is all of this? One of your mind games? One of your mid-fight taunts or bluffs? Do you honestly think I would fall for that? And here just for a moment I thought you were actually treating this fight seriously.”

She sparked up furiously and made a powerful electrical discharge. The overhead garage lights started to spark, overload, and blow as the electrical attack started to rush for me. I quickly darted off with Agility to get out of the range of the attack, but Kess darted across cutting me off. She would swing the blade, one strike after the next and I was quick to duck and weave from the swipes, for only a second, before I stepped in and retaliated, smashing another fist right into her face. She would stop herself from reeling back and quickly tried to strike back, slashing hard with the blade, trying to land at least one good cut at least. One swipe vertical downwards, then back upwards. She weaves a Light Screen back to form and tried to thrust her shield into me. One attack after the next weaved and dodged. She’d go back over, trying to slash down upon me. I’d counter, grabbing her arm and drove my knee into her gut. Kess coughed out on impact and as she was caught reeling, she took another fierce punch. She refused to go down. She quickly tried to retaliate, sparking electricity and unleashed her electrical attack upon me. I grimaced out again as I got caught in the attack but then I fought through it, breaking free from her electrical onslaught, dashing out with Agility. She was stunned in that split second, trying to grasp how that I was still able to fight back after taking several electrical strikes as is throughout this ordeal and it was in that moment I drove my leg right into her head. She went skidding down the garage, but quickly snapped herself up, getting back on her feet to get me back in her sights.

Something wasn’t mathing to her, I could see it on her face as I started to approach her. This fight was certainly a stark difference between what happened outside of Rustboro City in Hoenn. She couldn’t figure it out. She was fighting to not let it bother her, to continue the mission as was a soldier was commanded, but what was a fight that neither opponent was giving an inch over and here she was now wavering and couldn’t understand how. She wasn’t necessarily doing anything wrong. She made every attack count, punished every attack as she could see it. I could see it, it was frustrating her. She was ready to end it, to get a decisive strike in. A finishing strike in. Kess would sheathe Hinterbane, stancing up, hand on the hilt, focused. I recognized this. What put Freth out of commission for effectively over a week. I would stop approaching Kess, waiting on her, eyes narrowed. I could sense every fiber of her being tensing up, trying to gather power, her focus being honed for surgical, fatal precision. I waited for the attack to happen, unafraid. In a flash, Kess blazed a path, lighting trailing behind her. An attack that went beyond her standard Agility capabilities. One that she had honed to be a finishing strike, a quick cut given Laser Focus.

The blade draws and a hard smack echo through the empty public garage. Kess in that instant found herself, a hand around her throat, another that caught her wrist as it tried to draw the blade out. I was several steps forward, throwing off her calculation by just a hair in that instant. She was mortified as I stared at her with absolute contempt. Her mind couldn’t process what just transpired. In that moment, I quickly disarmed her of the sword, courtesy of a hard knee to the gut, followed by a wrenching of the blade out of her hand, then gave a harsh strike with the back of my hand and sent her to the ground. “Did you really think you were going to do what you did to Freth to me?” I asked with disgust.

Kess scrambled back then got back to her feet, grasping her face a bit then looked over at me as I casually picked Hinterbane up off the ground. “How…” she asked. “What is this? How are you strong like this!? What did you do!?” she demanded.

“Nothing that I haven’t been doing. Just old-fashioned hard work.” I said.

“You weren’t this strong when we fought in Hoenn!” she snapped back. “And since then you wouldn’t have the chance to try to get stronger from there!”

“You’re right, I haven’t had any opportunity to train no thanks to SWIPE or anyone else out to come after us. But curious…what on earth makes you think that I wasn’t this powerful back then? Just because you managed to fend three of us at once? Kind of weird, right? Heh, I guess Tristen was actually wrong. You guys don’t know…”

“Know what!?”

“I had been holding back all this time, Kess.” I said. “Even as far back as when we first met when you were in Ein’s employ. I always have been.”

“You’re lying.”

“Really? You haven’t really noticed, have you?” I asked her. “You’re starting to shake.”

“I’m not scared of you!” Kess said.

“No, it’s not fear, Kess. Its cold.” I said. Kess stared at me in confusion as she breathed there, trying to get herself together again, trying to shirk off the damage but as she did so she noticed something. Her breath that was leaving her beak. She then gave a more intentional long breath out, a longer stream of visible vapor leaving her. She looked around, listening to the breeze howl through the garage then back at me. “What did you do?”

“Nothing special, really. But honestly effective, and why I end up holding back a lot, perhaps to my detriment a lot of the times.” I said. “I was wanting to save this for someone who showed me what having skills as a hybrid actually meant. Show him that I had been paying attention, trying to apply what he taught me, that sort of thing. Unfortunately, I haven’t heard from him in a long time now…I got the feeling that I am not going to have the opportunity to show him. Though really, being honest, that aside, I realized that it had a bit of a drawback. The cold doesn’t play favorites, Kess. Just as it could be comforting and gentle, it can also be cruel and relentless; a unforgiving, silent, enduring killer. In my time training over the years, it was something that I had to accept that I had to be careful in doing because what good was it if I ultimately ended up freezing everyone in Snagem while we were trying to beat our nemesis of the time?” I asked her. “I had to be careful to make sure I only froze who needed to be frozen. That I break only who I needed to break. But unfortunately for me, you could take it. Couldn’t you? The results of you ending up as a hybrid yourself and subsequently trained so hard, if not assumingly artificially enhanced by Ein, for, right? So, for once in my life, I got an opportunity to…you know…cut loose. You hadn’t noticed it though because you were too focused on the fight. Focused to take me out under Looker’s order, probably ran under at least a mild assumption this was going to go easier than back in Hoenn. Not that you would have really noticed anyways. Think of it like boiling a Froakie, only in the opposite direction. Every bolt you conjured, every step you enhanced with Agility, every sword swipe, every focus of Light screen, every punch you threw, every flap of the wing to maintain flight, every dodge, every counter, every guard, every scramble to recovery to get back into the fight. Every one motion. Every one attack. All taking more and more energy that you would have normally not used right away. Not only to just to try to beat the absolute hell out of me…but to instinctively just to keep yourself warm. You exhausted yourself far sooner than you given yourself credit for doing being caught up in my cold.”

She stared at me as I explained it to her. The pieces started to click into place. “Pressure. That’s your ability. Pressure. You subjected me…to Pressure!? This entire fight!?” Kess shouted. “You! You were capable of doing this the entire time!? Even back in Hoenn!? Even all the way back when we-…no…” she stood back up, reached back behind her, pulling out Saetta, the blade crackling to life. Should have figured she wasn’t going to discard that thing. “I don’t believe you.”

“I don’t care if you do or not. As far as I am concerned, this is the last time you are going to be coming after me, my friends, my family. This ends tonight. And you got Looker and your blasted hubris to thank for that.” I said, giving Hinterbane a twirl around in my fingers before brandishing it at my side at the ready.

Prep Time complete!
Participants: Dragon and myself.
Click here!