Assault

{Answer me, Jade!} Scarlet screamed at the light green gardevoir, glaring at her.

Still not answering, Jade looked away and retreated behind Qsalyla, who looked at Scarlet with a raised eyebrow and a smug look on her face.

{You fucking traitor…} Scarlet growled, rage building up.

{You should have been more careful with who you trust around here, pretty girl. Everyone is capable of backstabbing someone. At least scum like you proved to be useful for once in your life.} She said to Jade behind her, who just looked away without replying. {You two, hold her up.} She commanded the two other gallades.

As soon as both of them stood up and grabbed each of Scarlet's arms to restrain her, Qsalyla began to approach her.

{Now…} She said, walking towards the red gardevoir. {This is what you get for pissing me off last time.}

{I swear, the moment I free myself, I'm gonna smash your skull until it's nothing but a literal piece of Muk shit!} Scarlet threatened.

{Haha. Still, as idiotic as before, I see.} Qsalyla said, grabbing her chin. {You don't seem to quite understand the situation you're in. You're not in control here.}

When her face was close enough, Scarlet spat on her face, close to her left eye. Barely reacting, Qsalyla only wiped it off.

{Hehe, adorable.}

In a flash, she landed a Mach Punch in Scarlet's stomach as hard as she could.

{Blaargh!} Scarlet exclaimed in pain, coughing up a bit of blood and dropping down.

Since she was in too much pain to do anything, the other two gallade let her fall to the ground, holding her belly almost in agony.

{Who said you could drop her?} Qsalyla demanded the two gallades, glaring at them menacingly.

{S-Sorry, mistress.} Said one of them before picking her up again.

{One more mistake like that and she won't be the only one losing her head today, got it?}

{Yes, mistress.} Both replied.

{*Sigh* It's so frustrating when you can't find a single competent soul in this world. No matter…}

Once again, she moved closer to Scarlet and pulled her head up by the hair, showing a slight stream of blood coming out of her mouth.

{If you're already crying from that, then the rest of the night is gonna be horrible for you.} She said to the red gardevoir, who was periodically growling in pain. {Because yes, I am planning to kill you, but not without humiliating and torturing you first. You are going to serve as a reminder to everyone as to why you don't fuck with me. Let's go.}

Releasing her grip, she then turned around and began to head to who knows where with the other two gallade.

*Slash* *Slash*

{Ghhaaa…}

Hearing her subordinates whining, Qsalyla looked behind and saw an imposing zoroark appearing, who slashed the back of the two gallade, who fell on the ground in pain.

{You again…} The dark green gardevoir growled.

Not losing a second, Luna jumped at her. Knowing that psychic-type abilities had no effect on her, she used Jade as a weapon and tossed her at the zoroark. Even though a gardevoir was light, she was thrown strong enough to stop the zoroark, both tumbling onto the ground. She then quickly used her power to pull Scarlet towards her. Luna stood as quickly as possible by pushing the unconscious pokemon away, but Scarlet was already in Qsalyla's hands. She tried charging at her again, but the dark green gardevoir had the time to wave goodbye and teleport away, making Luna slash the air before landing on the ground hard.

{Crap!} Luna growled.

She pondered for a second before using Beast Shadow, summoning a shadowy wolf apparition. It immediately turned around and started running while Luna ran elsewhere, not wanting to lose their trail. It took the apparition a few minutes before reaching the camp. Inside the tent, Max and the others were awakened by hellish growls and noises.

{What's… happening?} Bonny wondered, half asleep.

"I don't know, but there are weird noises outside."

They then heard scratches on the tent's door.

{Someone is looking for trouble. I'm gonna teach it not to disturb my slumber.} The lopunny said, standing up, upset.

With Bonny opening the door, they recognized the apparition from one of Luna's abilities.

"Is that from Luna's Beast Shadow move?"

{I think it is.} Aurora confirmed, who had sat up.

"Why though?"

The apparition then began to growl and jump around madly.

{The hell does it want?} Bonny said, annoyed.

"Wait. How come Luna sent us an apparition instead of showing up herself?" Max pondered.

{Do you think… she's in trouble?} May wondered.

"I don't know, but this sure is not normal for her."

Then, as the apparition was jumping around and not planning on stopping, it suddenly disappeared, as if it was forced to do so. Max and the girls then looked at each other.

"Fucking shit! She's in trouble!" Max exclaimed before standing up to get dressed as fast as he could. "Someone wake Dusk up." He urged before heading outside.

{What do we do?} Bonny asked, following him.

"We go and look for her, what else? If she's in trouble, then it's no joke. Wait. Where's Scarlet?" Max said, looking around.

While doing so, the rest of the girls exited the tent in panic.

{What's going on?} Dusk asked, a bit scared.

{Nothing good.} Bonny answered.

"Luna is probably in trouble and Scarlet is missing."

{Jade isn't here either.} Aurora pointed out.

"Shit!" Max exclaimed, starting to get confused while holding his head.

{Calm down, Max. We should go look for them at once.}

"Yes, but how? Who knows where they could be?"

{That's easy.} Aurora said, tapping on her snout.

"Right! Your nose! We're counting on you."

{Alright. Follow me.} Aurora commanded before dashing towards a direction, closely followed by Max and the girls, with May on Max's shoulders because of her tiny legs.

"Are we getting closer?" Max asked shortly after.

{I'm picking the scent of all three of them, but…}

"But what?"

{Jade is the strongest one, probably meaning she's still nearby. I've also picked up a few other smells, one of them I think I'm familiar with. I can't seem to remember perfectly, though.}

"That is not good news."

A few minutes later, they arrived at where Scarlet was taken away, with Jade lying on the ground.

"Jade!" Max exclaimed, rushing next to her. "Are you okay, Jade?" He asked, kneeling to grab her and put her on one of his knees.

He noticed that she was unconscious.

"Jade? Wake up!" He urged, shaking her a little.

Max insisted for a short moment before Jade slowly opened her eyes.

"Thank god you're okay," Max said, relieved. "What happened?"

Jade stared at Max for a short moment before looking away in despair.

{It's… because of me…} She finally answered.

"What do you mean?"

Jade then abruptly moved away from Max's grip, lying on her knees and hands on the ground in front of her.

{Just… kill me already…} she started bemoaning.

"What are you saying? Why on earth would I do that?"

{Because I got her killed!} She retorted aggressively.

"Who?"

Before answering, Jade stared at the ground, tears falling on it.

{...Scarlet… maybe Luna too…}

The group looked at each other in confusion.

"How about you take it easy and explain yourself?"

{What will it change?}

"Because it's my Scarlet we're talking about."

With watery eyes, Jade stared at Max.

"Now tell me everything you know." He commanded.

Jade wiped her tears and sat in a more comfortable position.

{...It happened two nights ago, right after I learned that I wasn't going to stay…}

~48 hours earlier~

Having run away from the arcade, Jade was wandering in the streets of Lamellion, regularly wiping off her tears while sniffing.

[I shouldn't be that surprised. No one ever wants me, there is no place for me, and there never will be. But… Why does it hurt so much? I try to find a resemblance of acceptance in life but in the end, I still have no right to be happy. It's my own fault. I shouldn't have been so naive and thought that things could have been different for me.] She thought while crying, holding both of her shoulders.

{Well, well, well. Look who we have here…}

As she was walking in front of a back alley, Jade froze in place as she recognized the voice.

{Q-Qsalyla?} Jade said, looking to her left in fear.

Stepping out of the shadow, the tall dark green gardevoir known as Qsalyla, appeared.

{I'll give you your one and only warning: Do not pronounce my name with that worthless, filth-sucking mouth of yours, got it?} She threatened aggressively.

{Y-Yes. M-Mistress.} Jade submitted, terrified.

{Better. So, I see that you have sided with the enemy, right?}

{N-No. They-}

{Are you calling me a liar? It is not looking very good for you Nemaka, or should I say, Jade.} She said, exaggeratingly mocking her name. {Looks to me that you have a serious death wish, traveling and bonding with them and daring to backtalk to me.}

{N-No. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-}

{I'll let it slide just this once because it might actually play in my favor.}

{In… your favor?} Jade repeated.

{It's been a while since you started traveling with them, right?} Qsalyla started, resting against the nearest wall with crossed arms. {It is clear that you're too worthless to actually achieve anything, but judging from how dumb those subspecies are, they somehow managed to trust you without you actually doing anything.}

{...}

{So here's how things will go: if you value your life and want a possible chance at redemption, then you're gonna do a little something for me.}

{What… what do you want me to do?}

{It's a simple task that even the dumbest of dragon-types can do. That is, of course, if we assume that you at least have a two-digit I.Q.}

{...}

{So here's what you're gonna do: The only one I want out of your little group is that piss ugly gardevoir that has been stupidly named Scarlet.}

{M-Miss Scarlet?}

{What? Miss… Erh, whatever. Yes, her. What I want you to do is to somehow lure her into being alone with you as soon as you leave this city. I will give you about a day or two so you can be as far away from civilization as possible. Do that, let me have my way with her, re-pledge your allegiance to me, and no one else will have to die.}

Qsalyla's instruction made Jade's eyes got wider, wishing that she didn't hear that.

{But-}

{However…} Qsalyla cut, moving her face closer to Jade's. {Double-cross me or even so much as warn them, and they will all end up dead, yourself included. I hope your instructions are clear enough.

As Jade was wondering if she should comply with her order or not, she heard Max from behind.

"Jade? Is that you?" He called from a distance.

{You better not do anything stupid. He's all alone with no one around, so I could kill him right here.}

{Y-Yes.} She answered Max.

{We'll wait outside the city for the opportunity you better give me. Don't forget though: I'll be watching you.} Qsalyla said before disappearing into the shadows.

"For a moment, I thought I had lost you," Max said.

Deeper into the alley, Qsalyla observed them.

"I'm very sorry, Jade. I know I should have told you sooner, but… I never got the chance to, I guess."

{It's… okay. I'm used to it.} She replied with her gaze avoiding him.

"I don't want you to see it that way. I'm not throwing you away or anything of the sort. Scarlet was the one that wanted to get rid of you, whereas I wanted you to stay. You have progressed so much in battles lately, not to mention that you finally began to smile and laugh. All I want is to offer you a place where you can feel safe and at home. I wanted you to have a real family."

{Can we… talk somewhere else?}

"Yeah. Walls have ears sometimes. Our business is no one else's business. Do you mind going back to the arcade?"

{No. Let's go.}

{...Do you think she will tattle on us?} Said one of Qsalyla's subordinates behind the dark green gardevoir after Jade and Max left.

{I highly doubt it. She's too much of a coward to try anything, especially against me.}

{Hihi. She's so pathetic. Don't you agree sis?} One said.

{You got that right, sis.} Another replied.

{Why don't we just go there and kill them all at once?} Said a rather bulky and tall figure.

{Are you that stupid?} Qsalyla spat. {If we cause a ruckus here and get noticed, it won't take long before we have the entire world on our asses. We have to be patient and play smart, without getting reckless. But I will get my revenge, I can assure you that. She will pay for our encounter last time and she will pay in blood.}

{You can count on us for helping you in that matter, mistress.}

{I bloody hope so. Otherwise, you're no more useful than those two imbeciles I drowned last week.}

{Those two were weak and incompetent.}

{Yes, and for your sake, you better not fail me as they did. Now enough chatter, let's go.} Qsalyla concluded before teleporting away.

Present time

"...Qsalyla…" Max growled.

{I thought we were done with that fucking bitch.} Bonny stated.

"Looks like we're not. Fucking hell." Max complained, rubbing his face. "This cannot get any worse, the situation is more serious than I thought."

{What do we do?} Dusk asked, very worried.

"There's no other solution; We go there, kick Qsalyla's ass until she bleeds, helps Luna, and save Scarlet."

{You can count me in.} Bonny sided with him.

{Me too.} Aurora followed.

Max noticed May being a bit hesitant and Dusk starting to shake from the pressure.

"May, Dusk, you don't have to come with us if you're not feeling up to this."

{I… can't just abandon her. She would do the same for us.} May decided.

"Maybe, but I don't want to lie and say that it will not be dangerous. She's probably more prepared for us than the last time."

{Ha. Little does she know that we have gotten a lot stronger since then.} Bonny boasted.

"It's true, but be careful with overconfidence. I don't want to lose any of you."

{We won't let that happen.} Aurora affirmed.

Max then looked at Dusk, who looked a bit terrified and still shaking.

"Dusk…"

{I'll… d-do it, master. Even if it's d-dangerous, I can't turn my b-back on you or S-Scarlet.}

"It's very noble of you, but…"

{I'll do it, m-master.} She tried to say through her fear.

She was obviously scared but was trying her best to get through it. Once again, he ended up in a dilemma.

{The clock is ticking, Max.} Aurora reminded him. {Just let her come. We're all here to watch over her if anything happens.}

{S-Stop treating me like a child. I can f-fight.} Dusk said, trying to sound determined.

Max was hesitant. He sure wanted to respect her choice but wondered if she knew what she was getting into.

"It's going to be very dangerous, Dusk."

{I-I don't care. I won't let anything happen to you or my friends.}

Max sighed. He wanted to make sure that she was ready, but didn't have time right now.

"Okay, Dusk. But I'm counting on you to do what's appropriate when the time comes."

{O-Okay.}

"Great." Max finished before grabbing Jade's pokeball.

{What are you doing?} The gardevoir asked, scared and confused.

"You're in no shape to follow us, so I'll put you in your pokeball for you to rest for a little."

Jade was now lost.

{But… I… betrayed you.}

"Qsalyla manipulated and blackmailed you, so I wouldn't say that. You thought what was best to spare as many people and pokemon. It's not your fault, Jade. Everything just went beyond your control. This is bigger than any of us, and you didn't really have a choice."

{But… I…} She stammered, more tears starting to flow from her eyes.

"I wish I could say more, but we're running short on time. Just rest for now." He said, recalling her in her pokeball.

"Okay, Aurora. Lead the way."

With a nod, the lucario dashed forward with the others tailing her behind.

{Do you think it's wise to rush blindly like this?} May pointed out. {There could be traps or guards waiting for us.}

"I know, but we don't have much of a choice here. With a psychopath like Qsalyla, every second counts."

{If we ever fall or encounter one anyway, we'll quickly get through it before continuing.} Bonny said.

{Well said.} Aurora praised.

They ran through the forest, passing where the terrain was mostly cleared for easy travel. They were now running through a mostly cleared area for half a minute until a big pile of dead trees landed in front of them, stopping them in their tracks.

"The fuck?"

{Hahaha. You won't go any further than that.}

Looking around, it took the group a moment to notice two gardevoirs floating around them.

"You better not interfere," Max warned aggressively.

{Oh? And what will a weak and pathetic-looking human like you do about that?} Said one of them as they were getting closer to the ground.

{It's not him you should be worried about.} Bonny intervened, getting in a fighting stance with Dusk alongside her, while Aurora and May stood in front of the other.

{Haha. Hear that, sis? That little bunny is trying to look tough.}

{Haha, ridiculous.} Mocked the other gardevoir.

{What can a puny normal-type like you possibly do against us?}

Not retorting, Bonny only glared in anger at the psychic/fairy-type pokemon.

{You better stop making fun of my friend, or else…} Dusk said surprisingly at the gardevoir.

{Or else what?} The gardevoir taunted with crossed arms.

"Or else you're gonna learn that playing with fire is never a good idea," Max answered, knowing that if Dusk got that triggered, it meant that rage was building up inside her.

{That is so cliché, it's not even funny.}

{I'll show you cliché.} Dusk growled with one end of her stick bursting into flame.

{I'll take the other one.} Aurora announced.

{You should leave her to me.} May protested, both having their eyes locked on the other gardevoir.

{What are-}

{You have a type disadvantage against her. It will be more efficient if just Dusk and I take them.}

"Just you two?" Max said, not liking the idea.

{We don't have much time, master. If we waste too much of it, who knows what could happen to Scarlet and Luna.} The mawile insisted.

"But…"

{I don't like this, but she has a point.} Bonny agreed. {If two can stay behind to cover us, we can get there faster.}

"..."

{You better decide quickly.} Aurora urged.

"Hmm…" Max growled. "...Okay. But you both better join us in one piece, or else I'm gonna be very mad."

{I promise I will, master.} Dusk said.

{Me too.} May followed.

"Alright. Let me just give you girls protection first." Max said, activating his Ergowatch to make both of them impervious to lethal damage. "And May, I want you to mega evolve." He ordered, touching his keystone."

{With pleasure.} May agreed with a grin, touching her mega stone, making her mega evolve. {This might turn out to be fun after all.}

The mawile's mega evolution seemed to have surprised the two gardevoirs a little, but quickly got a hold of themselves and acted like it was nothing.

"Come back to us as soon as you're done with them." He commanded before him, Bonny and Aurora continued forward.

{Where do you think you're-}

The two gardevoir tried to stop the running group, but both got interrupted by May and Dusk, who respectively attacked with Flamethrower and Pound, creating an opening for Max to successfully escape.

{You're gonna have to get through us before even thinking about chasing them.} May assured, facing one gardevoir.

{*Sigh* If you insist. Alright, sis. Let's kill these two weaklings quickly so we can capture the others.}

{Can I dismember them afterward?} Said the one facing Dusk as dark energy began emanating from her hands.

{Only if you do it quickly.}

{Thanks, sis. You're the best. Now die!} She loudly said before all four engaged in a fight.

~POVC~

Further, Max and Bonny were following Aurora through the forest. Without even needing an ability to sense it, Bonny knew all too well that he was worried sick about Dusk and May.

{Have faith in them, master.} She reassured him. {They have trained for moments like this. They won't go down easily.}

"I really, really hope so. I know they're strong, but this time, it's different. Just one small mistake and… I won't ever be able to forgive myself if something happens to them."

{I understand, master, but they made their choice while being fully aware of the risks. They really want you to save Scarlet.}

"..."

{I know it's hard to hear Max, but she's- Stop!} Aurora exclaimed, stopping the other two.

Right before they stopped completely, an imposing figure landed in front of them with a punch, where they would have been half a second later if Aurora didn't stop.

{Nice reflexes.}

Now in plain sight, the figure was revealed to be a gallade. However, as it was straightening up from the landing, they saw that it was no ordinary gallade. This one was gigantic. They couldn't tell its exact height, but Max guessed it was at least eight feet tall, if not taller. Not only was he towering over them, but he was also more muscular than an average gallade, proportions and all.

"What… is that thing?" Max wondered out loud.

{...My adversary.} Bonny said, walking in front of him.

"What? No way you're fighting that all alone! Aurora will-"

{No, master. You need her.} Bonny denied. {No way I'm letting that oversized musclehead prevent us from saving Scarlet.}

{Haha. Does the tiny bunny think she can stop me all alone? Ha! You don't even have a type, you're just an average and boring pokemon.}

Submerged by rage, Bonny briefly closed her eyes and took a deep breath with clenched fists.

{Again with my typing... Master, you better get going, because it's about to get ugly here.}

"Not without you mega evolving."

{You already had May mega evolve. I can take him like this.}

"At this point, I have already managed to mega evolve two pokemon at once." Max insisted.

{...Fine, but you better start running right after.}

"...Alright, but I'll activate your protection first," Max said, activating the Ergowatch on her.

Right after, he made Bonny mega evolve and started running as promised. Oddly enough, the giant gallade didn't try to stop them and only patiently stared at Bonny.

{Are you done?} The gallade asked with crossed arms when Bonny was finally ready.

{Oh, hell no. I'm just getting started.} Bonny said, almost in a psychotic state before rushing at the gallade.

~POVC~

{You holding on there?} Aurora asked, running in front of Max.

"Yeah. It's just… a bit energy-consuming." Max assured her, already slowed down.

{I'm still wondering if it was a good idea to mega evolve both May and Bonny. Last time, you barely handled both transformations.}

"I'll be fine. Thanks for your encouragement." Max replied sarcastically.

{Sorry, I didn't mean to doubt you.}

"It's okay. Just… keep going."

~POVC~

*Clang*

Behind, May and Dusk were engaged in a fierce fight with two gardevoirs. One had just blocked one of May's attacks and got propelled a bit backward.

{Tsk. You're more persistent than I anticipated.} May's opponent conceded.

{Heh. I'm just warming up.} May taunted.

{Don't get cocky just because you mega evolved. I'm still gonna kill you where you stand.} The gardevoir said before tossing an Energy Ball at the mawile.

{You can try.} May replied, dodging the attack before rushing towards her with Brick Break.

She blocked it again with her psychic abilities but got propelled back even more.

{Alright. Time to get serious.}

The gardevoir tried to focus on May to use Psychic, but May knew how psychic-type fights, thanks to Scarlet, and quickly moved around to prevent her from locking onto her. The gardevoir got a bit surprised by her speed given her size and got hit in the sides by a Pound attack.

{Gha! You little bitch!} She cursed.

{Hihi.} May giggled with a triumphant smug.

As for Dusk, things weren't going so well for her. The braixen was relentlessly harassed by her adversary with ranged attacks.

{Haha! What's wrong, little fox? Can't deal with a superior psychic who wants to cut your head off?} The gardevoir eccentrically exclaimed while tossing multiple Psybeams at Dusk from multiple angles.

Luckily for her, Dusk could catch up with her speed and dodge her attacks, but had no room for her to counter-attack.

(She's too fast for me to even fight back.) She thought while dodging another Psybeam. (I guess I'll have to increase my speed even further.)

After another dodge, Dusk moved a bit away and used Flame Charge, and tried to touch the gardevoir. Obviously, she missed, but that wasn't the goal. All Dusk wanted is to stack up speed. Now with a higher speed, she went for another Flame Charge, but the gardevoir had to have seen through her move and landed an Energy Ball on her chest, stopping her clean and making her fall on her back.

{Dusk!} May exclaimed, before having to dodge an incoming attack.

{Got you! Now die!} Dusk's enemy shouted while descending at the braixen with a Mega Punch.

Before she could reach her, Dusk finally found an opening and countered with Flamethrower. The gardevoir took it at point-blank but managed to shield it in time not to take too much damage and moved away. With the gardevoir landing not far from Dusk, the braixen stood up and saw her opponent with a few burnt marks.

{You fucking whore!} She growled, slightly in pain. {I'm gonna enjoy skinning you alive!} She added before tossing Shadow Balls at her.

With her newly increased speed, it was now easier for her to dodge and even sometimes counter-attack with her own Psybeam. Back to May, she was also dodging her opponent's attack, but the gardevoir seemed to have a bit more trouble with her as May was the one that was mostly harassing her opponent. She had just dodged an Energy Ball and was now assaulting her with multiple Pounds with the psychic pokemon blocking them with a telekinetic shield.

{Why are you so persistent over a simple pokemon? You should just leave and never return. It will make things much easier for everyone.} The gardevoir told her.

{It's obvious that you don't know what it's like to have a friend. She's the kind to risk her life for us, so doing the same is the least we can do.} May replied, not stopping her barrage of attacks.

{I see. Too bad for you, then.}

Having discerned the mawile's pattern, the gardevoir dropped her shield and let May punch the air after dodging. Being destabilized for half a second was enough for May's opponent to use her power and smash May into the ground face first, holding her there.

{How can you save someone if you don't have the strength to save yourself?} The gardevoir taunted. {Power is everything. Let me show you what true power is, as well as what happens to those who are foolish enough to oppose us.}

Using her psychic abilities, the gardevoir began to squeeze the mawile with it, as well as her internal organs.

{Ghhaaaa!} May screamed in pain.

{See? That's the fate of those who are weak. The same will happen to your fox friend and that weak human. Seriously, what is he even doing here? Is he that retarded or does he want to die so badly?}

{Ghnnn! Don't… insult him…} May growled, starting to lack air.

{Or what? You're about to die and he will join you very soon. You should have plenty of time in the afterlife to tell him how stupid he was.} She spat while increasing the pressure.

With increased pain and growing anger, May's heartbeat and breathing began to accelerate uncontrollably. Her mind was slowly getting numb and cloudy. Then, it was like her survival instinct kicked in and used Fairy Wind at the gardevoir, knocking her away.

{Fuck! You little brat!} The green pokemon cursed before shielding herself with her arms. {*Koff* *Koff*}

Taking very little damage since she was a fairy-type, her vision got obscured for a short moment and retreated a bit further back. Suddenly, as soon as she looked forward, one of May's maw locked on her head, trapping it.

{Yhhaaaa!} The gardevoir screamed when she felt the teeth sinking into her flesh.

Before she could even start to bleed, May began to flail around, smashing the helpless pokemon on the ground and nearby trees, breaking more bones at every hit. After a couple of swings, she stopped and tightened her maw more and more. The gardevoir tried using her bare hands to escape from the mawile's grasp but eventually got most of her neck shredded by the maw's teeth, gradually slowing her movements until it stopped completely. With a blank look in her eyes, May looked at the other gardevoir, who had pinned Dusk on the ground, too busy to notice her. She released the now lifeless and twitching gardevoir's corpse behind and walked towards them.

{I got you now. Your speed was getting really annoying, but there is nothing you can do to save yourself now.} The gardevoir said while preparing a Mega Punch. {Your head isn't worth as much as your skin and fur. Goodbye, little braixen.}

Before she could even move, half of her skull got smashed into pieces by May's Brick Break from behind, killing her almost instantly. As soon as the mawile unjammed her hand, the gardevoir fell on its side, now dead as well. Even though it was the first time she experienced the death of a living being that close, she was glad that both she and May were okay. However, she was a bit concerned about her friend and stared at the mawile, who was looking like she was in some kind of trance.

{T-Thanks, M-May.}

Not moving, May only stared back at her, silently.

{M-May? Are you alright?}

As Dusk was standing up, her gaze followed hers.

{It's... it's over now.}

Then, as if it were the magic words, May came back to her senses.

{Wha… What happened?} She asked, shaking her head.

{You… don't remember?}

{I… No. I think I blacked out for a moment.}

{Oh. Well, I am glad that you came back to your senses.}

{Why? What happened?}

As she asked that, May noticed the gardevoir next to them with half of her head missing from behind.

{What the? Did you do that?} She asked, feeling uneasy.

Not answering, Dusk looked away.

{Oh no…}

She then felt her maw getting oddly colder and looked back.

*Gasp*

Upon seeing the blood on one of her maws and the corpse of the other gardevoir, she almost instantly got into a state of shock.

{Did I… k-k…}

{It's not your fault, May. You… did it to survive.}

May then began to hyperventilate.

{P-Please, D-Dusk. C-Can you g-get the b-blood off?} She asked with watery eyes.

With a nod, Dusk used her power to make the bloodstains disappear. After she was done, May reverted to her normal form. However, the mawile was standing still, glaring at the ground while shaking.

{May…}

Dusk sat on her knees and pulled the mawile into a hug.

{It's over, May.}

{Dusk… I'm… a monster.} She bemoaned, strongly hugging Dusk back with teary eyes.

{No, you're not. You're a survivor. That's what you are right now.}

{Master is gonna be so disgusted with me. My life is over.} The mawile bemoaned.

{No he will not. I'm sure he will understand that and forgive you.}

{*Sniff* Y-You think so?} May inquired, looking at Dusk in tears.

{No, I know that's what will happen. Master will be so happy to see that you're okay.}

May then shoved her head in Dusk's chest, crying some more.

{There, there. It's not your fault, May.} The braixen reassured her while gently caressing her head.

~POVC~

A bit away from them, Bonny was facing a giant gallade in her mega form.

{Haha. So you really think that a shrimp like yourself can beat me?} The gallade taunted.

{Beat you? No, no. That would be too generous for you. I'm gonna do more than just beat you, I'm gonna break every bone in that disgustingly inflated body of yours before repeatedly smashing your face. Maybe you will at least be decent-looking after that.} Bonny snarled.

{Haha. Sure, why not? As soon as I beat you and break both of your legs, you're gonna be my new sex toy. Get ready to have your insides ripped apart at least ten times a day.}

{In your dreams, you disgusting pig. I'm gonna slice off and shove your tiny dick down your throat before you get the chance.} Bonny growled before engaging him with a Jump Kick.

The giant gallade only blocked it with one arm before punching Bonny with the other one, sending her flying a few meters away.

{If that's all you've got, then this fight will be very disappointing.}

{Heh, just warming up here.} Bonny replied, standing up with an unhealthy grin.

{Great. At least try to put out a fight before sealing your fate.}

{Don't get that pretentious, dickhead. I'm about to seal yours.} She growled before going for another Jump Kick.

The gallade blocked with one arm again, but this time, Bonny chained with an Ear Punch to his face, making him back up with one step, a tiny stream of blood coming out of his mouth.

{Not bad.} He commented, wiping the blood away. {Looks like I'll be able to at least use a bit of my strength after all.}

The gallade dashed at Bonny. Despite his size, he was rather fast, but still too slow for Bonny and she easily dodged the incoming punch. The lopunny got slightly surprised by the strength of the hit, creating a tiny crater upon impact. She however kept her cool and didn't show it.

{Is running away your main skill?} The gallade mocked.

{No. My speed is my secondary, power is my main skill.}

Bonny jumped in the air and attacked with another Jump Kick. With the gallade raising an arm to block, Bonny landed a bit closer than he anticipated and landed a few Pounds on his stomach. Barely being fazed by her efforts, the gallade tossed Bonny away with a knee strike. Even though she blocked it with her arms, she was propelled back a few meters but managed to land on her feet.

(That fucker sure isn't that much of a wimp.) She thought with her arms stinging a bit. (I'll just have to go for the weak spots.)

Bonny then used Tackle, which he easily blocked. Next, she spun and did a sidekick to his closest knee. With him a bit destabilized, Bonny, used that opening to land a Jump Kick on his face. Not only did he tank the attack, but he somehow managed to grab Bonny's leg and smash her on the ground with all of his might.

{Ghaa…}

Growling in pain, the lopunny lost her breath.

{Oh my. I'm definitely gonna have fun with a tight pussy like that.} The gallade swaggered while holding one of Bonny's legs in the air.

{You… fucking… PIECE OF MUK SHIT!} She yelled before struggling like never before, kicking the gallade's wrist to get free.

It worked, but the giant gallade immediately punched her with all of his might, sending Bonny flying against a tree.

{QHAAA!} She loudly growled in pain, feeling the pain of her back injury returning.

{Woohoo. Looks like it's time for me to jump straight into the main course.} The gallade boasted, brushing his hands together while moving closer to Bonny.

While he was approaching, Bonny got on all fours, panting a little. She began to shake slightly with her claws sinking deep into the ground.

{I'm so gonna kill you…} She snarled lowly.

{Huh? What was that? I couldn't hear you over the sound of my rising excitement.} The gallade taunted.

{I'm gonna rip you IN HALF! RHAAA!}

Now in her berserker state, Bonny rushed at the gallade and unleashed a torrent of hits and attacks. Faster and stronger, Bonny forced the gallade to go full defense and block all incoming strikes. He was even being pushed backward from how strong her assault was. However, none of her moves were precise enough to land and the gallade could easily block all of them. Even though he knew that even he couldn't withstand such power indefinitely without his arms eventually breaking, he thought that it was the same for the lopunny, who will surely grow tired after a while. He then endured the attacks until a possible opening could be exploited. As predicted, Bonny was slowing down due to fatigue, despite it taking a bit longer than he expected. He focused his mind on trying to see a flaw in her weakening offense.

{Gotcha!}

When he found one, he extended one arm and grabbed Bonny's face, and pushed her down. He dragged her on the ground for a short distance before throwing her against the same tree as earlier. She immediately tried to stand up, but could only go on all fours with difficulty, growing increasingly tired.

{I'm… gonna… kill… him.} She muttered. {Fuck! Why can't I… touch him?}

Upon saying those words, Bonny remembered one specific day at the dojo back in Togetheart.

~Two weeks ago~

{So? Bonny, huh?} Said the poliwrath while stretching his arms, who replaced Fushiu for his absence. {Pretty name, even though it's not very original.}

{It's my master who gave it to me. I'll appreciate some respect in that matter if you don't mind.} The lopunny replied, facing him while doing the same in the dojo.

The poliwrath had asked Bonny if she would mind a little battle, to see what she was made of, to which she instantly agreed.

{Haha. Sorry. I didn't mean any disrespect. Is it a sensitive subject by chance?}

{Not really. I just don't really appreciate those who mock or poke fun at my master's ideas.}

{You seem to really hold him, dear.}

{Eh. That would be an understatement. I love him more than anything else in the world. Even more than…}

Even though Bonny stopped mid-sentence, the poliwrath guessed what she was about to say.

{...Yourself?}

{...Yeah.} She confirmed, looking away.

That, however, felt that he was on a sensitive subject.

{Heh. Your master sure is lucky to have such a devoted pokemon like you. I could almost be jealous.}

{Yeah. Every day I try to be as close to him as possible.}

{I see.} He concluded while both got into a fighting position. {...You know what? I think we can spice things up a little bit.} He said, returning into a normal stance.

{Spice things up? What do you mean?}

{You can mega evolve, no?}

{Yeah?}

{How about we fight while you're mega evolved?}

{I… don't really recommend it.}

{I want to fight you at your full potential. From there, I could see where to go with you.}

{I get you, but I don't think it's a good idea.}

{Don't worry about me. I've trained and fought enough that even Fushiu recognized my strength. I can withstand many hard hits.}

{I don't doubt it, but… the thing is, my mega form is more of a last resort than anything else since I tend to… lose control.}

{Lose control, you say?} The poliwrath pondered, rubbing his chin. {Now I want to see it even more.} He added, getting excited.

{I don't mess around when I lose control. I… even hurt my master in that state one time.}

{I see. Well, if we want to work on controlling that state, then I'll have to see it.}

{I don't want to hurt you, or anyone else here.}

{Don't worry. That won't be happening.}

Bonny then sensed a bit of provocation in his last words. Maybe she was wrong but got triggered nonetheless.

{*Sigh* Alright. But it's on you if things go wrong.}

{I'll take full responsibility.} The poliwrath agreed with a smile.

{Master?} Bonny called behind her.

"Yeah?" He replied from the back of the dojo, where he was trying to follow the students in their training.

{I need you for a second.}

"Alright." He replied, getting to them. "What is it?"

{Master Toad wants me to mega evolve.}

"Really? Are you sure about that?" He asked the poliwrath.

{Yes. We have already agreed on that.}

Both Max and Bonny looked at each other, with Bonny nodding.

"Okay then. Bonny, mega evolve." He exclaimed, making Bonny transform into her mega form.

Upon seeing her threatening eyes, Toad the poliwrath immediately understood what he was dealing with.

{I'll let you have the honor.} Toad said, getting into position.

Not even answering, Bonny charged at the pokemon and immediately began with Ear Punch, which he easily deflected. She chained a couple more, all of them being deflected, before going for a Pound. Toad quickly dodged it and countered with Close Combat. Being faster than Bonny, the lopunny could barely block a few hits. As she went full defense, Toad used Vital Throw, throwing Bonny hard a few meters away.

{Rhhh! You little punk.} She mumbled.

Bonny quickly stood up and attacked with Jump Kick. As she was in the air, the poliwrath jumped to meet her, but instead of getting hit, he landed Cross Chop, making Bonny hit the ground hard.

{Alright. We should probably stop right now before I-} Bonny said with murderous eyes before being interrupted by Toad's Water Gun attack.

Insulted beyond belief, Bonny entered in berserker mode and dashed at Toad with renewed strength and speed. Even though she got faster, the poliwrath expected this and managed to block and defend against all of her chaotic moves.

{Why! Won't you! Die!} She growled.

"Bonny! Calm down now!" Max tried to intervene.

The fight obviously attracted the attention of the entire dojo, with some even a bit scared. Toad then quickly discerned her pattern and used Counter, redirecting her own attacks back at her. Before she could retaliate, he used Karate Chop on her head, stopping her clean. She tried to fight back, but quickly got dizzy, lost balance, and fell on the ground before reverting to her normal form.

"You okay, Bonny?" Max said, quickly walking towards her.

{She's fine, don't worry. Probably just a little stunned.}

When next to her, Max elevated her upper side after kneeling and laid it against one of his legs. It took her a moment to come back to her senses.

{How do you feel?} Toad asked, walking in front of her.

{... Dizzy and… humiliated.}

{Don't be. You didn't have a chance since the very start. It wasn't a very fair fight, to be honest.} The water/fighting pokemon conceded with an apologizing face.

{Yeah.} Bonny said, a bit morose.

{However, it could have been a different story if you had controlled your rage.}

{I warned you that it might happen.}

{No, what I meant to say is that if you channeled your anger efficiently, the outcome could have been different.}

{Channel my anger?} Bonny repeated, a bit confused.

{Your ability is called Berserker, which makes the user enter a sort of rage mode and gain strength and speed, as well as higher pain tolerance. However, it's an ability that can either turn the tide of battle or be the cause of your downfall. In other words, it's just a matter of control.}

{But, I can't control it…} Bonny justified.

{Then let me tell you, my friend, if you ever find a way to channel that anger and turn it into power, then let's just say that not even I would want to be in your way.}

~Present day~

(...Eh. That poliwrath... Maybe he wasn't such an idiot after all.) Bonny thought.

{What's going on? Tired already? I don't really want to fuck an immobile female. Get up.} He commanded before kicking her on the sides.

Oddly, she didn't react at all besides moving a little.

{Channel it…} She mumbled.

{Huh? Did you hear me? I said get up!} He ordered, kicking her again.

{Turn anger… into power…} She growled inaudibly.

With Bonny not moving or reacting, the gallade kicked her a few more times before getting tired.

{You know what? Fuck you! You're not even worthy of being my cock-sleeve. Just die already.} The gallade bellowed while launching a punch towards her head.

*Thwomp*

Before his fist could reach her, Bonny stopped it with one paw, making a very loud slapping noise. Slightly, Bonny's arm muscles inflated and got more defined. She then sank her claws into his hand skin to prevent him from moving away.

{Gha… You fucking bitch.} The gallade growled in discomfort. {Let me go.} He commanded while trying to pull his hand away, but to no avail.

Upon turning her head and glaring at him, he felt his skin crawl and his blood freezing a little. Her eyes were different. Her eyes meant death. They were the incarnation of anger and bloodlust. Those were the eyes of a killing machine. Of a monster. A monster that will follow him to the depths of hell just to kill him in the most painful way possible. As she sank her claws even further into his flesh, Bonny stood up, all of her muscles being slightly swollen, not unlocking her eyes from him.

{Shit!}

Having no other choice, the gallade pulled his hand away, his skin being shredded along the way. Not even bothering to get rid of the blood and skin on her claws, Bonny faced him with her paws and claws all tensed with an aura of true murderous intent emanating from her.

{You think you scare me? Ha! You're nothing compared to Qsalyla. That's who you should be afraid of.}

Not saying a single word, Bonny proceeded to slowly walk towards him.

{You little…}

After backing up for one step, the gallade used the fist that was still intact and went for a punch. Again, Bonny stopped it with one paw, sinking her claws into his forearm.

{Ghaa!} He growled in pain.

This time, she was the one who pulled away and shredded a good part of the limb, ripping flesh and spilling blood. After growling in pain some more, the gallade went for her neck using one of his elbow blades. However, instead of blocking, she dodged it and quickly moved between his legs, where she smashed one of his knees, shattering it. Before he could even start to lose balance, she went to the other one and crushed it as well, making him fall on them.

{Ghaaa! You… fucking slut…}

In a flash, Bonny began to continuously strike the gallade's head with Pounds, slightly deforming it at each hit, bypassing his attempt to block them. Then, as his face was bleeding profusely, Bonny side kicked his head, propelling him a couple of feet away on his back. The lopunny walked right next to it.

{*Koff* *Koff* Haha. Do you think you won? Haha, *Koff* Qsalyla will kill all of you. You just made a huge mistake. Hahahaha-}

As he was laughing, Bonny raised a leg and ax kicked his head, crushing it completely and permanently knocking his lights out. Her feet got stuck in his skull, but easily pulled it away.

{...Looks like you're the one who ended up getting ripped apart.} She mumbled.

Reverting back to her normal form, all the strength she had harnessed left her and fell on her back, completely exhausted.

{I… did it… master. I… finally… won.} She mumbled before closing her eyes.

~POVC~

Deep in the woods, Max was still following Aurora through the woods, getting closer to where Scarlet might be. They were running for a while until he suddenly felt like a weight had been removed. He stopped to breathe.

{Are you doing okay?} Aurora asked.

"Yeah. Just… I think both May and Bonny had returned to their normal forms."

{Ah. What a relief. That must mean they managed to beat their opponents.} She said.

"What a relief indeed. I was so worried."

{What do you want to do then?}

"I don't know. Maybe we could wait for them to catch up to us."

{That's an idea, but I don't think it's very efficient. We're gonna waste time here waiting for their eventual return, which isn't even guaranteed.}

"They beat those pokemon, so nothing is preventing them from coming."

{True, but they must be tired. It could take them a while before they reach us.}

"...Good point."

{So my suggestion would be to keep going without them.}

"I don't like it, but you're right. We can't afford to waste another minute."

{However, we're getting closer, so it would be unsafe to run blindly straight forward from now on.}

"What do you suggest?"

{What could give us an advantage is to spot them without them spotting us. But they're psychic pokemon, so I don't see how.} Aurora suggested while thinking.

Max then got thinking for a moment as well.

"What about Jade?"

{Jade?}

"She could help us."

{How?}

"She's a psychic-type too, so maybe she could conceal our brain waves or something. To hide us in short."

{That's… not a bad idea. But, do you think she's in any state to do that?}

{One way to find out.} Max said, pointing Jade's pokeball in front of him.

Suddenly, as he was doing so, a blurry figure appeared and tackled Aurora away, who didn't see it coming, and flew a few meters further. She quickly recovered on all fours and stood up into a fighting position. Unfortunately, she got paralyzed as she saw Max being held by a gallade, with one elbow blade pressing against his throat while holding Max's right arm by the wrist in the air.

{Uh uh uh.} The gallade denied when he saw her taking one step, pressing his blade harder, making her stop. {Come any closer and this one will lose its head.}

{Let him go! He's no threat to you!} Aurora urged.

{I know, but it will keep you still until mistress Qsalyla is done.}

"Jade… come out," Max called out, tossing the pokeball with only the strength of his fingers.

In a flash, the gallade grabbed the pokeball and firmly held it.

{I'm recognized amongst my kind for my patience, but I must warn you; don't abuse it.} He threatened. {Last warning; Stay still or it's the end for you.}

{We can determine just how cowardly you are, having to resort to that kind of tactic.} Aurora commented.

{Don't get the situation twisted. What I do is make things easier for everyone. Otherwise, you two would be dead already.} He replied before looking at the pokeball. {So, this is one of those capsules Qsalyla once mentioned. A little device that traps and enslaves pokemon for humans' amusement, huh? That's a concept that could be useful.}

{That's not how it is, at all.}

{Who cares? After all, if you can't touch it, then you can't use it, right?} The gallade said before tossing the pokeball as far as he could in the woods.

"You fr-"

{Ah ah ah. Stay, silent.} The gallade cut, pressing the blade into his neck even, starting to really hurt him. {Now, what we're gonna do is to go meet Qsalyla in person where she will decide your fate.}

{...}

{After you.} The gallade said, motioning her to pass before him with his head.

With an inaudible growl, Aurora passed in front of him, giving a very quick reassuring look at Max's eyes.

~POVC~

{...Bonny? Can you hear me, Bonny?}

Opening her eyes, Bonny was greeted by Dusk and May, who were looking at her from above.

{Thank god you're okay.} Dusk said in relief.

{You had us scared for a moment.} May added.

{I'm… sorry.}

Bonny tried to sit up, but failed and fell back down, having no more strength in her arms.

{Let me help you.} Dusk proposed before lifting her into a sitting position.

{Thanks.}

{I see that things ended up getting pretty ugly here as well.} Dusk mentioned, briefly looking at the dead oversized gallade before feeling nauseous.

{Yeah. I kind of had to go over my limit a little.}

{Us too. Well, mostly May, actually.}

Bonny then noticed how fast her face changed. A face that had a mix of fear, regrets, and sadness.

{Did you…}

Before she could even finish, May looked at the ground, a few tears dropping on the ground.

{I guess this is it for us. We've crossed the line.} Bonny said, feeling her. {But what is done is done. It was killed, or be killed, so there is not much we could have done.}

{Things won't ever be the same…} May stated.

{Unfortunately. However, there is someone who will still accept and love us nonetheless. Speaking of which…} The lopunny said, standing up with difficulty. {We still have to get back to him to save Scarlet.}

{Are you… sure you're in a state to do so?} Dusk asked, concerned about her health.

{What kind of question is that? If I can still stand then I can still fight. We have a job to do and we will complete it.}

After Dusk got hesitant, she stood up as well.

{You're right. We can't rest now as Scarlet might be in a worse situation.}

{Exactly.}

{But… how are we gonna find them?} May questioned. {They could be anywhere.}

Bonny then looked at Dusk.

{You think you could track down their scent?} She asked.

{M-Me? I'm not sure. My nose isn't as strong as Aurora's or Luna's.}

{Maybe, but right now you're our only hope.}

Dusk hesitated for a few seconds.

{...Alright. I'll try.} She accepted.

{Great. Heading towards where I last saw them go should be a good start.}

As Bonny turned in the direction Max and Aurora went, both Dusk and May noticed how she was almost limping. Despite that, she moved at a rather fast pace. They were worried about her but knew that there was nothing they could do for now and tailed her.

~POVC~

Aurora and the gallade that held Max hostage were now trudging forward in silence. The lucario was directed from behind and seemed to follow a rather chaotic path as if they were heading towards a hidden part of the forest. They kept going on like that until they arrived at a clearing, where a couple of other gallade and gardevoir were sitting or laying against multiple rocks and boulders, strangely arranged as if they were circling the zone. As they were approaching, the other pokemon were staring at them with some closing the path behind. Furthermore, they saw a tall dark green pokemon from the back with two other gardevoirs on each side of her and nearby a huge boulder, looking at something before them.

{Look what I captured for you, Mistress Qsalyla.}

Upon hearing the gallade, Qsalyla turned and moved to the side, revealing a rather injured and bleeding red gardevoir, held with her arms up with Psychic from the two other gardevoirs.

{Scarlet!} Max yelled, struggling before being quickly calmed down by the gallade.

{M-Master…?} She weakly said.

{My my, that's a wonderful gift indeed.} Qsalyla said in delight.

As Max was thrown on the ground by the gallade, another one came behind Aurora and hit the back of her knees, making her drop on them whilst being held down. Qsalyla moved near Max and pulled his chin up to look at him with her soulless eyes.

{Nice to see you again, human. Missed me?}

"In your dreams, shit head." Max retorted.

{Haha. Still as defiant as I remember. Watch your tongue if you wish to keep it.}

Remaining silent, Max glared at her for a short moment before his eyes moved towards Scarlet behind her, who had multiple cuts and bruises. Qsalyla's gaze followed his before looking back at him.

{You like? Your slutty slave and I were having a little bit of fun together. Unfortunately, she's not very fond of our type of entertainment.}

{What do you want from us?} Aurora asked.

{Who told you that you were allowed to speak?} Qsalyla bellowed, which made the gallade push her head to the ground hard. {And to answer your question; I don't really want anything from you. However, you could still be useful.} She replied, moving back to Scarlet.

{Oh, and if you were wondering where your stupid zoroark is, she's right there.} She said, pointing at her right.

Between two boulders, Max saw Luna, on the ground and not moving, probably unconscious.

"Luna? What have you done to her?!"

{Cease your worries, vermin. She's still alive. Barely.}

When near Scarlet, Qsalyla punched her in the stomach, just for the fun of it, making Scarlet squeak in pain. She then grabbed her chin by strongly pressing on her cheeks.

{Alright then, Scarlet. Now that we're done with the warm-up, we can kick this up a notch.}

Ignoring her, Scarlet looked at Max.

{I'm… sorry… master.} She hardly said due to Qsalyla's hand.

{Hey!} The dark green gardevoir growled, forcing the red gardevoir's head to face hers. {Look at me. Do you know how much I hate you? You think you're so much better because you're a fucking shiny? A reverse shiny at that?! And don't even get me started on your disgusting inclination to mate with humans.} She said, getting a few disgusted noises around them. {Too much of an outcast to get with another pokemon, much less one of your own kind. But worst of all; You think you can humiliate me and kill my subordinates without any consequences? Well, think again.} She finished, pushing her head away.

Using her powers, she pulled Max closer to them, still on his knees.

{Now watch closely as I slowly destroy the very thing that you hold dear the most.} She said to Scarlet with a grin. (I believe this is one of yours.} Qsalyla said, showing him a pokeball he recognized.

"That's J-" Max said before stopping himself from saying too much.

{It has come to my attention that all of your pokemon are out of these devices, either being killed or tortured somewhere in those woods. All except one. And if my information is exact, it's the worthless piece of trash you called Jade that's inside. I wonder what will happen if I…}

Then, instead of finishing her sentence, Qsalyla crushed the pokeball as thin as possible with her psychic power. Max was immediately shocked, eyes widened, not believing what just happened.

"What the… You… k-k-"

{Killed her? Probably. I honestly don't know since I'm not familiar with these things.} She said, dropping the broken pokeball on the ground.

"No… Jade…" Max mumbled, tears slowly forming.

With her powers, Qsalyla pulled out of his belt pocket his other five pokeballs.

{I know that they are unfortunately all empty, but just to add salt to the wound.} She informed him before crushing his other pokeballs.

However, he barely noticed them as his eyes were locked on Jade's pokeball.

Qsalyla then moved behind Max.

{You… fucking bastard...} Scarlet weakly spat.

With a grin, she placed her hands on Max's head, who began to scream a second later.

"Ghhaaaaa!"

{What are you doing? STOP!} Scarlet ordered, struggling to somehow break free, but it was all in vain.

{Oh, you don't like it?} She asked, stopping. {Yeah, you're right. I went way too easy on him.} She added, making Max scream even louder.

{STOP! Stop! Please… stop…} Scarlet begged before starting to cry.

{Ahh… that's the face I wanted to see.}

{Please… stop. You can kill me if you want… but please let him go…}

{How very chivalrous of you. Your devotion to that human is so pure, it just makes me want to vomit. Good thing I've seen worse. However…} Qsalyla replied before hurting Max once more. {No can do.}

{NOO!} She yelled, struggling some more.

She kept hurting him for a short moment before stopping.

{You know, I have always wondered how hard the head of a human was.} She asked before moving a fist backward, beginning to glow in power.

{What are you…} Scarlet weakly wondered.

{Let's see how many Mach Punches his head can withstand before exploding.}

{NOOO!} Scarlet screamed at the top of her lungs.

Then, before she could move, she felt a Psybeam hitting her back slightly hurting her. She paused for a moment before turning around.

{Who. Fucking. Dares?} She snarled. {...You?}

Raising her eyes, Scarlet was flabbergasted.

{...Jade?}

With his eyes widening, Max looked behind and saw the light green gardevoir of his team, Jade. She was just standing there, an arm raised held by the other one with a serious face.

{E-Enough, Qsalyla. L-Leave them alone.}

The dark green gardevoir looked at her for a few seconds before bursting into laughter, followed by her subordinates.

{Hahahaha! You cannot be serious!} She said with a haughty laugh.

She laughed for a short moment before motioning the others to shut up.

{Well, well, well. Looks like no matter how far a pet strays, she still knows who holds the leash. I will admit, you have a bit more nerve than I thought, although, not very smart of you. What can a worthless weakling like yourself do all on your own?} She taunted with crossed arms.

{... I didn't come alone.} Jade replied confidently.

{What?} Qsalyla retorted with an arrogant face.

Suddenly, Jade got sided by May and Dusk, looking mad and ready to fight them.

{Ha. So there are three of you now, big deal.}

{Don't underestimate them, Qsalyla.} Jade affirmed. {They managed to beat three of your best minions.}

{Tsk. I should have known they would have failed me. For fuck's sake, I can't count on ANYONE in this world!} Qsalyla spat loudly in anger. {Wait. Where's the other one?} She questioned, not seeing Bonny.

As Jade grinned, she heard two impact noises behind her. Quickly turning her head, she saw Bonny, who had dropped down from behind the gardevoirs that were holding Scarlet, charging at her with a kick. She raised a shield just in time to block her attack but got pushed away a little. She then pushed her back, making Bonny land on her feet a bit further.

"Bonny! You made it!" Max exclaimed in joy.

{Save the hugs and kisses for later! Grab Scarlet and get out of here!} She urged.

Despite being relieved to see her, he immediately got worried when he noticed how exhausted she was looking. It wasn't obvious per se, but Max knew her and how she was.

{Now!} She urged again before going for Ear Punch at Qsalyla.

Shortly, Qsalyla's minions began to intervene, but most of them were stopped by Jade and Dusk's projectiles, making them dash at them instead.

{Give us our friends back!} May yelled before charging at them, being the only one going for a melee fight.

Surprisingly, the girls were doing well as May was very dexterously dodging and countering the gallades' attacks while Jade and Dusk were dealing with other gardevoir, who stayed at a distance. Dusk was the firepower with Psybeam and Flamethrower and Jade was mostly the shield, protecting them when needed.

{You've gotten stronger, Jade.} Dusk commented while trying to burn a nearby gardevoir.

{I learned mostly by watching Scarlet. I then practiced in the woods on my own.}

Furthermore, Bonny attracted Qsalyla's attention while Max quickly crawled towards Scarlet.

"You okay?"

{Do I… look okay to you?} She replied in a jesting manner.

"Heh. Being a smartass even in a situation like this. Let's get you away from here. Bonny, mega evolve!"

After she retreated a little, Bonny touched her stone and transformed for the second time.

Max then grabbed Scarlet to carry her away, but then Qsalyla noticed and attempted to launch an attack at them. However, as soon as she raised an arm, Aurora kicked it before joining Bonny next to her.

{Did you forget about me?} The lucario taunted.

{You fucking bitch!} She exclaimed while briefly holding her painful arm.

{You're damn right, I am!}

She immediately countered with a Mach Punch, which Aurora dodged. She then chained with another one onto Bonny, which was too fast for the lopunny's current state, and took it, pushing her a few meters away.

{Alright, you asked for it. This is what happens to those who hurt my friends.} Bonny expressed.

Slightly recoiling, Bonny used Return and hit Qsalyla with a lot of power, pushing her far away after she blocked it with her powers. At the same time, she was joined by the few remaining of her minions. Heavily panting, Bonny was ready to attack again, but one leg failed her and fell on one knee.

{Bonny!} Aurora exclaimed, helping her to stand again.

{Haha. You're already as good as dead. You should just give up while you still can.} The dark green gardevoir mocked.

{Not in a million years. Yhaa!} Bonny shouted before rushing at them, immediately followed by the lucario.

Not far from them, Max had carried Scarlet next to Luna.

{We have to wake her up.} The red gardevoir said before moving away from Max.

When on the ground, she placed her hands above Luna and used Healing Pulse.

"Don't strain yourself too much. That asshole didn't go easy on you."

{Doesn't matter. We need everyone's help if we all want to get out of here alive.}

A few seconds later, Luna slowly opened her eyes and sat up as fast as she could, which wasn't much.

"How are you feeling?" Max asked.

{Like I just came down with a migraine.} The zoroark replied, briefly holding her head.

{I'm sorry to ask you this, but can you join the others and escort him out of here?} Scarlet asked, sitting with her back against the nearest boulder.

{Yeah. You can count on me.} Luna accepted. {Hop on.} Luna instructed, presenting her back to Max.

Not hesitating from the lack of time, Max complied and coiled his arms around her neck.

"What about you?"

{Don't worry about me.}

"But-"

{Go!} Scarlet ordered, making Luna immediately take off to get back at the entrance, where she quickly noticed May, Dusk, and Jade, starting to get overwhelmed by the others.

Jade and Dusk were constantly harassed by ranged attacks with Jade starting to get weak and May being cornered by three gallade after landing a couple of hits on her. Without even dropping Max, Luna went towards May and slashed two of the three in the back, with one having the time to dodge. The zoroark quickly grabbed the mawile and retreated behind Jade.

{May! Jade! Can you take Max to a safe place?} Luna asked.

{We can't let you fight all of them alone.} May protested.

{We don't have a lot of options here. Our top priority is to get him somewhere safe.} Luna reported.

May then considered the plan in a rush, finally agreeing.

{Alright.}

{Very well. We'll hold them here for as long as we can before joining you later.}

At that, Luna growled and snarled before rushing at her enemies while being supported by Dusk before Max could say he didn't agree.

{Let's go.} Jade said to him with a hand on his shoulder before he could say or do anything.

"...Goddamnit!" Max cursed before turning around to escape with Jade and May.

~POVC~

{Khaa…} Bonny growled in pain as she was propelled in the air by a gallades attack, rolling for a few meters.

For Aurora, she was holding her ground pretty well, but was overwhelmed and extremely pressurized by Qsalyla's strong attacks.

{Bonny!} She exclaimed upon seeing the lopunny being propelled, making a backward jump to get next to her.

{Just face it already. You can't win, so just lay down and let us kill you. I promise we'll try to make it quick.} Qsalyla proposed arrogantly.

{Like hell I'll let you have that pleasure.} Aurora retorted. {It doesn't look good for us.} She mumbled to Bonny.

{As long as… master is alive and safe… I don't care anymore.} Bonny replied, hardly getting up.

{Hm. There was a time where I wouldn't have agreed to that. I still don't support it, but you're right. Max is the one who should stay alive.}

{Ah. We're expendable, he's not. He can always find another lopunny and lucario to train.}

{So? Friends 'til the end?}

{Friends 'til the end.} Bonny agreed, fist-bumping with Aurora.

As they began to rush at Qsalyla and the others, they were stopped by psychic powers after one step.

{The hell?!} Aurora exclaimed.

Then, slowly, Scarlet appeared in front of them from above.

{That's not very nice of you, having fun without me.} She scolded with a grin.

Bonny and Aurora were astonished at how she had quickly recovered. Most of her wounds were gone with only the smallest wounds still apparent.

{Tsk. Shit, you're annoying as fuck.} Qsalyla growled.

{And yet, I'm just getting started.} Scarlet replied, creating Shadow Balls in both of her hands. {Let the true blood fest begin!} She exclaimed before charging at them.

~POVC~

"I'm so glad that you're okay, Jade," Max said while proceeding through the woods. "But how did you do that? I saw Qsalyla crushing your pokeball."

{Oh, she broke it.} Jade replied, learning the news. {I didn't really do much, actually. I was just out for a little while now.}

"Really?"

{Well, you're the one that called me, so…}

"Called you? You mean, not too long ago?"

{Yes. It was strange at first because I couldn't get out, as if the pokeball was being blocked. I tried a few times without succession so I waited a little bit before trying again. It worked, but I appeared all alone in the woods.}

"I see. It must have been after that asshole threw it. Good thing that he did, I guess. However, what impressed me the most is you, coming to save us. You made quite an epic entrance."

{I… didn't plan on doing that at first. When I was alone earlier, I thought that maybe it was a chance for me to go away and start a new life somewhere else, but…} She said before pausing a short moment. {But I just couldn't abandon you. You saved me and did so much for me. I would have lived with that guilt for the rest of my life if I did.}

"...No one could have blamed you if you did. After what you've been through, you would have deserved it. But… I'm glad that you didn't. It may sound selfish, but after everything, I put you through…"

Jade remained silent while looking at Max. She got lost in her own thoughts for a short moment, reconsidering what position she was in. Compared to now, maybe she overreacted a little.

{Mister Max…} She started. {Maybe I…}

The course of her words got interrupted by Max suddenly stopping. With both May and her stopping as well, Max stumbled a little before pressing a hand over a tree to not fall over.

{Are you okay?} May asked, worried.

"Yeah. Well, more or less. With Bonny just now, I mega evolved you, girls, three times now. I think the exhaustion just kicked in." He explained, holding his face.

{Hang on just a little longer, master. We're almost out of trouble.}

"Yeah. You're right. But if I rest just a-"

{WATCH OUT!} Jade yelled before abruptly pushing Max away.

*Shlagh*

After landing quite hard, Max turned to sit and turned to see why she did that. Then… At that very specific moment, time froze for him.

"J-J-Jade?" He mumbled with his throat constricting.

{*Grehg* *Koff*}

In front of Max was one of the most horrifying scenes he had ever witnessed. With eyes wide open in pain and terror, Jade slowly looked down and saw a gallade's blade, impaled right through her chest, splitting her crest in two with blood dripping from the blade.