"You..." Latoshi angrily uttered as he got to his feet. "You're going to pay for that!" he screamed in an absolute rage with the blond-haired boy standing before him. As the anger flowed through him, his aura flickered darker and more intensely, exuding more of his energy brought on by his emotion. He wasted little time before charging toward Antoshi with the same blazing speed as Antoshi had displayed before. Antoshi's eyes went wide with shock, his mind realizing the danger at stake. As a result, time began to seemingly slow down for him.
His eyes darted rapidly as he watched Latoshi pull a fist back and thrust it at his face. Antoshi swiftly tilted his neck to dodge, surprising Latoshi. The dark-haired boy quickly shook it off and threw another punch with his opposite hand, only to have that one dodged as well. Latoshi was quickly losing his patience with the other boy, yelling in a rage as he began a flurry of a punches at Antoshi, each one of them just as swiftly avoided as the one before it. Latoshi advanced on his opponent during his assault, while Antoshi retreated at the same pace. Despite his panic, Antoshi seemed calm on the surface. His sharp eyes noticed every little movement Latoshi made, every blink of an eye, every twitch of a muscle. Antoshi was able to read Latoshi's moves before he even made them.
Nearby, Fireball watched in utter shock. Each of Latoshi's punches were being thrown quicker than the blink of an eye, yet Antoshi seemed to have no trouble evading them. He had no idea what to make of Antoshi's power at that point, as the boy had never used them in a fight. Fireball then glanced up for just a second as the rain began to trickle down — the onset of a shower.
The two boys were not fazed by the rain, neither was a demonic four-legged being, who had gotten back to its feet. Ir calmly waited as Antoshi backpedalled toward it. Fireball gasped when he noticed the demon dog, ducked down. Its unnatural eyes glaring intensely at the blond-haired boy, knowing it was up to no good.
"Antoshi, watch out!" Fireball called out, but it was too late. Lucent dug its sharp teeth into Antoshi's achilles tendon. Antoshi screamed in pain, losing all of his focus on Latoshi and catching a hard punch to his cheek, sending him flying backwards just as he had done to Latoshi earlier. Latoshi chortled, smirking deviously as he and Lucent watched Antoshi hit the ground and slide to a stop.
"Good job, Fido," Latoshi thoughtlessly spat, "I guess you're not that much of a useless mutt after all." Lucent growled angrily as Latoshi walked by him, licking the blood from his lips as he could only fantasize of killing Latoshi and feasting on his remains. Latoshi had a triumphant look on his face as he calmly walked toward Antoshi with a swagger in his step. He stopped as Antoshi suddenly jumped to his feet, though visibly favoring his injured leg. He was not going to lie down and allow Latoshi to finish him. His aura continued to flare around him yet he swallowed nervously, remaining uncertain about continuing to take Latoshi on.
"Ready for more, I see," Latoshi quietly muttered, his eyes narrowed angrily at the boy in front of him. The ever-present rain slowly washed away some of the blood on their bodies and soaked their clothes. "You stand before me as my enemy, rather than with me as my ally. You and I could have achieved great things. We would be kings, remember? Instead, you've shown me nothing but disrespect, just like any other damned person on this planet. For that, I've no regrets in killing you now." He growled, his aura flickering more rapidly around him. Antoshi knew he was preparing to attack.
"I'll erase you off the face of this world!" he shouted before resuming his never-ending flurry of punches at Antoshi. Despite his injury and having to hobble backwards a bit as Latoshi advanced toward him, Antoshi continued to have no trouble evading Latoshi's attacks, even in the rain.
"Damn you!" Latoshi exclaimed, having thought Antoshi's injury would have made him more susceptible to his assault. He became even more irate when it was apparent his attacks would continue to have no effect. "Just die!" he shouted angrily, pulling his fist back, which suddenly glowed with his dark energy. Antoshi noticed it and gasped. He ducked down just as Latoshi threw the energy-laced punch at him, finally finding an opportunity to strike back. Just like Latoshi, Antoshi's fist suddenly glowed with his own aura before thrusting upward into Latoshi's chin for a mighty uppercut. The force of the hit caused Latoshi to flip backwards in the air before coming to a hard landing on his stomach.
"Nice one!" Fireball cheered his friend from afar. Antoshi let his guard down for a moment to give a smile and a thumbs-up to his friend as Fireball had done earlier. Latoshi was left groaning loudly as he rolled onto his back, holding his stomach as he rested on the muddy ground. His jaw felt quite sore from the strike, shifting it around a bit to recede the pain. Antoshi kept his eyes focused on his enemy, not wishing to berate him as Latoshi had done to him earlier. Antoshi only wished for Latoshi to cease his homicidal vision and leave him and his friend alone. But as Antoshi kept his attention on Latoshi, Lucent once again found it a perfect opportunity for a surprise attack. It began to charge headlong at Antoshi, again catching Fireball's attention.
"Antoshi!" he shouted to his friend. "Watch the dog again!" Antoshi gasped and turned to see Lucent, jaws agape, lurching right at his face. In the blink of an eye, Antoshi grabbed the demon dog's neck, holding him at bay as the vicious dog snarled and snapped, kicking its legs violently. He was shocked at how strong the dog was, knowing it was what Fireball had to deal with earlier.
He grit his teeth, struggling to keep the undead Pokémon from slashing him with those deadly fangs. At the same time, Latoshi was slowly getting to his feet, his aura flickering about rapidly. His green eyes were veiled in his dark aura, making them impossible to be seen. He growled in frustration, wanting nothing more than for Antoshi to be dead. He was through treating the blond-haired boy like a simple opponent, realizing that he was far more powerful than his innocent demeanor showed.
Latoshi began to summon spheres of dark energy into his hands, preparing to step his assault up a notch. He smirked at the fearful look on Antoshi's face, watching him try to hold the demon dog back.
"Time to die!" he shouted before tossing the energy one after the other at the boy. Antoshi looked over, immediately noticing the masses of energy speeding toward him. He panicked, summoning a quick boost of upper body strength to shove the dog far enough away from him, having no time afterward to dodge the oncoming attacks. He was forced to do the only thing he could: defend himself.
Antoshi quickly crossed his arms over his face just as the blasts hit him, pushing him backwards a bit into the muddy ground. He shouted in agony as the energy felt like fire connecting with his skin, leaving visible burns on his forearms as they lost their form on contact and dissipated. Latoshi knew it was the only chance for an attack he was going to get. He quickly summoned more spheres of energy, continually throwing a barrage of them at his blond-haired nemesis. Some of the attacks struck his legs and stomach, burning away bits of his soaked clothing on impact. Antoshi blocked as much as he could, with each subsequent attack accumulating more and more pain as they connected with his burnt skin.
"That's right, mama's boy," Latoshi ecstatically shouted, "feel the burn!" He laughed hysterically, revelling in the pain he inflicted on Antoshi while calmly stepping toward him as he continued his assault. Their battle was slowly sapping the strength out of both of them. Each blast required Latoshi to give up some of his own energy. Each connecting hit clawed away at Antoshi's energy, being the only thing stopping Latoshi's blasts from punching holes through him. By that point, their clothes were completely soaked due to the ceaseless rain.
Once Latoshi was close enough, he ceased his barrage of energy. He took an up-close gaze of the severe burns on Antoshi's arms, feeling nothing but pride as he admired his handiwork. Antoshi panted in exhaustion, believing Latoshi had given up for a moment. He slowly let his trembling arms fall to his sides, only to come face-to-face with the very person in question.
"Peek-a-boo," Latoshi calmly greeted him, a shocked expression coming over Antoshi's face. Latoshi gave a shout before pummeling Antoshi with punches. Weakened, Antoshi took every one of Latoshi's rapid strikes to his face, stomach, chest and arms, his body flailing around like a rag doll with each hit. Latoshi had a look of psychotic glee on his face, elated to finally be in control of the fight and even more so to be inflicting pain on Antoshi.
"Antoshi, no!" Fireball shouted in disbelief as he watched his friend getting beaten by the cruel Latoshi. He was still in immense pain, barely able to sit up. Fireball groaned, holding his ribs whilst wincing, keeping himself propped up with his free arm. Just then, he noticed a persistent four-legged demon slowly advancing toward him. Lucent was licking his lips, looking for an easy meal. It realized how injured and helpless Fireball was, aiming to put the Typhlosion out of his misery.
Meanwhile, Latoshi was becoming excited by the thought of finishing Antoshi off, yet wanting to torture the boy just a bit more. The seemingly endless rain pattered down all around them.
"Let's see the look on your face when you watch your friend burn to ashes!" Latoshi exclaimed, summoning another ball of energy, slightly larger in size than the ones he attacked Antoshi with. He grabbed Antoshi's bloodied head, pointing his tired eyes toward Fireball.
'Latoshi, wait!' the voice shouted at him, but he refused to listen. He carelessly chucked the mass of energy at Fireball. At the same time, Lucent lunged at Fireball, jaws agape, ready to make the killing blow.
Fireball felt he only had enough strength for one final Flamethrower attack. He wasn't certain how effective it would be on the demon dog, given its track record on Lucent earlier. Nevertheless, his life was on the line and needed to defend himself. He huffed in deeply, about to launch his attack when Lucent suddenly went flying past him, propelled by the blast of dark energy Latoshi had fired. The lot of them looked on in shock as Lucent was sent a short distance before hitting the ground hard, sliding several meters in the wet grass to a halt.
'What were you thinking?!' the voice rebuked Latoshi. The boy's shock quickly turned to spite.
"It's not my fault!" he snapped. "That idiot dog got in my way!" Antoshi ignored the fact that Latoshi was seemingly talking to himself, knowing the moment to strike had appeared in the form of a distracted Latoshi. He didn't quite know how to go about attacking, deciding to allow his emotions help guide him. Upon closing his eyes, purple hued masses of energy, similar to Latoshi's, began to form in both hands. Despite Latoshi's rage, he noticed a glint of the energy in the corner of his eye.
He quickly turned to Antoshi, realizing the energy he had formed in one hand. Latoshi grit his teeth, about to make a hasty retreat when Antoshi suddenly propelled the energy forward, striking Latoshi square in the chest. Latoshi felt the same pain he had inflicted on Antoshi at that moment, shouting loudly from the burning energy. The attack scorched a hole in Latoshi's shirt before dissipating. He panted and snarled like an enraged animal, holding his injured chest in disbelief.
Latoshi glared at Antoshi with an expression of rage not seen before. His brow furred over his eyes, seething as he grit his teeth as hard as he could.
"You... stupid mama's boy," he angrily muttered, beginning to form his own energy ball in his hand. Before he could, his expression suddenly became incredulous when he noticed the energy that had been rapidly accumulating in Antoshi's other hand, casually hidden behind his back.
"What the hell?!" Latoshi shouted in disbelief as Antoshi brought his hand forward, holding the massive energy ball, comparable in size to the one that Latoshi used to obliterate the military base.
"No!" he exclaimed, throwing his energy at Antoshi. The boy's brown eyes widened, spotting his chance for attack. He immediately launched the energy at incredible speed toward Latoshi. It quickly consumed the smaller gathering of dark energy in its path before continuing on to its intended target.
'Move!' the voice shouted in Latoshi's head. But Latoshi could not move. For once, the cold-hearted, sable-haired boy with unflinching murderous tendencies showed fear at the mass of energy speeding toward him. His legs were frozen, unsure of what to do, ending up being directly in its path before being struck dead-on.
The energy consumed Latoshi's entire body, erupting in a massive, purple explosion that began slowly dissipating toward the sky. Latoshi screamed endlessly in agony. His body felt as though it were consumed by a raging fire, being pulled every which way, hearing the energy rushing upwards like a tunnel of wind. His eyes were as wide as they could go. His mind was unable to think with the excruciating pain that reverberated through every nerve in his body. The energy evaporated every drop of rain that fell upon it.
Antoshi and Fireball looked on at the sight in disbelief. Latoshi was on the tips of his toes as through he were being pulled upward. His tattered clothes flapped wildly in the bonfire-like spectacle of Antoshi's energy. Then, without warning, the energy completely dissipated, leaving Latoshi motionless on his feet, his head tilted back to the sky.
The boy groaned weakly in pain a few times before falling to his knees and then face-first to the wet ground where he lay utterly limp. The duo stared at the evil young man for a moment, wondering if he would rise again. They realized after a few moments of pause that he would not. They expelled a big sigh of relief, confident that the battle was over and that Latoshi was finished.
In the distance, the young woman had watched the vibrant spectacle, holding the umbrella over her head to keep dry. She was also surprised by the magnitude of Antoshi's last attack, apparently able to see their aura unlike most humans. She smiled and twirled her umbrella playfully, flinging water off the top, becoming more and more intrigued by the blond-haired young man.
Antoshi felt incredibly weak, having used up nearly all of his energy for his one final attack. He panted heavily, hunching over to rest his hands on his knees for several moments. His vision was blurring, his head becoming light, wanting nothing more than to get some rest and shelter from the constant rain.
"Great job, Antoshi," Fireball calmly spoke up, giving his friend a big grin as he turned to him. Antoshi grinned as well, unable to help himself from chuckling a bit as he saw the look of joy on Fireball's face. The boy then turned to his fallen adversary, wondering, just for a moment, if Latoshi was dead. A part of him hoped that he was not, as he could not imagine the thought of having taken a life. At the same time, another part of him believed a deceased Latoshi meant the sinister boy would not get the chance to terrorize innocent people. He swallowed nervously before timidly walking up to Latoshi, uncertain of what he would learn.
He sighed deeply before dropping to one knee, reaching down to take Latoshi's wrist and check his pulse. Just as he did, however, Latoshi's hand shot up and grabbed his forearm, frightening both Antoshi and Fireball. Latoshi looked up at Antoshi with a crazed look in his eyes, a psychotic grin on his wet face.
"I'd like to see how well you use your energy after I break this twig arm of yours!" he enthusiastically exclaimed. Antoshi tried to pull his arm away in a panic, but Latoshi's grip was quite strong. Latoshi gasped in excitement at the look of fear in Antoshi's eyes, his hand beginning to surround itself in the dark aura. Suddenly, a blast of fire scorched Latoshi's side, drawing a loud scream of pain from him. The attack didn't last for long, just enough to let Antoshi pull away and step back.
Antoshi looked over, both he and Fireball were shocked to see Lucent standing nearby, the originator of the attack. Lucent snarled angrily at Latoshi, fed up with his mockery and berating insults of a creature that was far older and wiser than Latoshi by hundreds of years. The accidental attack by Latoshi was the last straw.
'That's enough, Lucent,' the voice spoke in both it and Latoshi's heads. 'You are dismissed.' Lucent nodded, smirking victoriously before his body morphed back into its dark, spirit form, slowly dissipating into the ground.
Latoshi groaned as he sat up, his body wracked with pain. He inspected the burns on his side, growling angrily.
"Damn that mangy dog," he muttered, shakily getting to one knee, much to the disbelief of Antoshi and Fireball. He huffed deeply, sighing loudly to try to calm himself. "I'm not done yet," he said, shocking the two. He brushed the wet hair from his face and tilted his head from side to side before his lips slowly curled into a devious smirk. He clenched his fists, summoning some of his aura to them. Antoshi had no other choice than to step back and prepare for his impending attack. The blond-haired boy swallowed nervously, not sure how much more of a brawl with Latoshi he could withstand.
'Stop,' the voice firmly demanded. Latoshi's smirk faded into a bemused expression.
"What are you saying?" he angrily muttered. "I'm not through with this mama's boy."
'You are going to listen to me right now, and back off,' the voice angrily commanded, losing its patience with him.
"He's almost dead!" Latoshi shouted back.
'You stupid, foolish boy,' the voice spat. 'Open your eyes! You both are too equally matched! One more attack from him and you're finished!'
"I... don't... care," he irately spat, a quivering scowl on his face. "I'll just get more power!"
'You will obtain more power, in time. But right now, I am ordering you to back off!' Latoshi's eyes suddenly widened, shifting to their unnatural color as the voice's influence took over control of his body. Latoshi then calmly smiled and slowly got to his feet.
"Very good, Antoshi," he spoke up. "You are a truly powerful fighter, especially considering that you've never fought before. However, this is far from over. The next time we meet, I assure you, I will be victorious. And when you're on your knees, begging for your life, I will spare it. Then you will join me in my world conquest." The two adversaries stared intensely at one another before Latoshi turned his back. "Until then, brother." Antoshi became incredulous at his remark, still uncertain of the glaring similarities between himself and Latoshi. Latoshi, however, calmly slid his hands into his pockets, strolling off into the woods until he was no longer visible.