-Nightslice saves a young girl's life, but she refuses to stop following him. Will he be able to keep his secret? Meanwhile, a mysterious dragon confronts Firestorm. Is he friend or foe? Seventeenth in a series.

Pokemon and all related trademarks belong to Nintendo. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author's permission.

The Chimera Saga and the Legendary Dragons belong to Theo 'Blitz' Leung, who has very kindly allowed me to use them.

The Messenger

By Gregory Stephen nightdragon0@hotmail.com

Nightslice

I ran as fast as I could, seeking out the source of the voice. I unclipped a Pokeball from my belt and hit the release button, not knowing who is was, but not having time to check.

"Come on!" I yelled, hoping that he'd follow.

[Right away!] I heard Riptide respond. The Golduck caught up and kept pace with me as I pushed my way through the forest.

Finally, I arrived on the scene. Two men had guns pointed at a teenage girl, pinned against a tree, clearly with the intent of robbing her ... or worse.

"Picking on little girls, how noble." I taunted, stepping into their view. I did so, arms folded, sunglasses gleaming in the sunlight.

"Who do you think you are?" One of the thieves snarled, aiming his pistol at me.

Reacting on instinct, I charged, drawing my sword and rolling forward. I heard the bang of the gun as the shot went above my body. I slashed, causing the two thieves to back away.

Placing my body between them and the girl, I stood on a fighting stance.

"Stay down." I whispered to her.

The terrified girl was close to tears, but nodded.

Turning my attention back to the enemy, I realized my attack had partially cut open the jacket of one of them. Beneath it with a black uniform with a letter 'R' on it.

"Team Rocket ... " I growled. They were the ones who'd kidnapped Kris, my half 'sister', so to say. The ones who'd cause me the grief. Now, I had to chance to make them pay ...

"Get him!" One of the agents ordered. Both took out Pokeballs and released a Muk and an Arbok.

The Pokemon, I didn't want to harm. It was no fault of theirs who their masters were. However, they were still in my way.

"Riptide!" I called.

The Golduck jumped out from the bushes and launched his Psychic attack, taking the two Poison-types down.

Nice work my friend.

"Now, let's see how tough you are when you aren't hiding behind your Pokemon." I said fiercely, pointing the sword at them.

"Shoot him! Now!"

In contrary to what they expected me to do, I charged right at them, spinning the sword. Their shots bounced and clanged off the shinning blade, not even one being able to touch me.

The first one died relatively quickly, having his throat slit open the moment I reached him. Seeing his comrade fall, the second man readjusted his aim and pulled the trigger. However, his weapon clicked empty.

"Not so confident now, are we?" I taunted, approaching him.

Panicking, he fumbled for another clip, which I kicked out of his hand.

"Is that fear you're feeling, scumbag?" I punched his face several times and kicked him down. He was screaming as I stamped my foot down against his chest, accompanied by the loud cracking of his ribs. "Good. Feel it in hell!"

I thrust my sword down, straight into his heart. The doomed man let out a garbled scream as he begun bleeding at the mouth, limbs fraying about wildly. There was distinct pleasure in watching his blood run until he stopped struggling and lay dead.

All the Pokemon had stopped fighting and were watching me. I pointed my bloodstained sword at the two Poison type Pokemon.

"You have a choice. Leave now, or die like them!"

They didn't need to be told twice, scampering off into the forest as fast as they could. Riptide silently stood looking up at me.

"Poor, simple minded creatures." I muttered. "How I envy you."

I knew the young girl was still there as I tore one of the fallen Rocket's shirts to wipe my sword clean.

"Sorry you had to witness that." I said, without looking up. "You should get out of here. It's not safe."

"Thank you." She finally gathered up the courage to say.

"Don't bother thanking me." I growled, wanting to avoid the conversation. "Come on Riptide, let's get going."

I sheathed my sword and begun to walk away with Riptide, but the girl came running after us.

"My name's Hazuki." She said, "Who are you?"

"A warrior." I replied, again without turning back. "One on a quest."

"Can't you at least tell me your name?"

"My name ... " I stopped. I hadn't really thought about that for that matter. I couldn't exactly tell her my name was Nightslice. " ... Yorukiru."

That sounded believable at least.

"My name is Yorukiru."

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Firestorm

"Storm, are you all right?" Dracia asked.

"If I were, do you think I'd be sitting in this room sulking?" I yelled back.

"Storm ... "

I was about to go back to leaning on the window ledge and staring out when she promptly slapped my face with her tail.

"Ow! What was that for?!" I growled.

"For acting like a complete asshole at the worst f***ing time!"

I was sincerely shocked, never heard her use the four-lettered word before.

"Jade's in a worse situation than you and I don't think he's fallen into depression." She continued before I had a chance to say anything else. "They suspect you may be turning into a human, and I realize you're upset about that, but hoping that it'll go away won't make it go away at all! You know, the two of you are the same: you hide your true feelings within yourselves and don't know how to ask for help until it reaches a point where it completely cracks you up! And ... "

She turned away and begun making sniffing sound. Dracia didn't resist me as I walked up to her and wiped away her tears. It's her personality that she doesn't like seeing the people she cares about upset or hurt. And I hadn't been considering that until now.

"Hey, don't cry." I comforted. "I'm sorry. Stress is really getting to me. Nightslice disappears, then Kris and now this morphing thing with Jade and myself. Plus, we still have Alugard, Team Rocket and the whole ancient Dragons saga."

"I'm sorry too." She said softly. "You'd better get some rest. I'll check on Jade and his uncle."

With that, she left, the door quietly shutting behind her. I was alone, having been given the whole bedroom to myself. Not used to the comfort of the bed, I lay down on the carpeted floor, carefully folded by flaming tail away and glanced up at the stars.

My mind kept on drifting back to the conversation from earlier. I was a Pokemon that had been through things like experimental testing, abusings and even having my memories wiped out like a computer. But then Kris, my former Team Rocket tormenter, had turned over a new leaf and we became friends. That whole time, I constantly shoved my past sufferings behind me.

I normally stood in the background and let Kris run the show, playing a somewhat guardian's role towards her. And later on, becoming sort of a mentor to my younger companion, Nightslice. Not like he'd openly admit that, but the bond was there.

Now, they were missing, and everyone suddenly seemed to be looking up to me to take command. Including Jade himself.

It is you who must decide, and choose the path that will benefit not only you, but your companions as well. Their fates lie in your hands.

I started, jumping up. That 'voice' had not been my own. I realized that I was somewhere else too.

No longer in the room, but instead lying on an empty beach. Behind it, an open grassy field extended as far as eye could see. Above me, the stars of the night sky glittered as brightly as ever.

Something else felt wrong. I lifted my right claw and cried out in shock when I saw human hand in its place. It was covered with a glove that exposed the back of the palm and the fingertips. I ran myself down and found I was dressed in a white T-shirt, blue jeans and a pair of sports shoes. A black jacket was also on over the shirt.

Was this a dream? Had I fallen asleep?

However, it seemed too real to be one. As if to answer my question, the waves came up, covering my ankles. The seawater felt cold.

Dream? Reality? Vision? Memory?

I dropped to my knees in confusion.

This is all those things, and yet neither of them.

I looked up. That was the same voice, speaking directly into my mind.

"Who are you?" I asked aloud.

For a terribly long moment, only the sounds of the wind greeted me. Then the 'voice' finally spoke again.

I am Zian.

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Nightslice

"I though I told you to stop following me over an hour ago?" I said grouchily.

"But I said that I at least want to try and repay you for saving my life." Hazuki insisted.

"And you can do that ... by getting lost!"

My three Pokemon companions, who I'd let out to walk with me, were visibly annoyed but remained silent.

"But ... "

"Look kid," I spun round and jabbed a finger at her shoulder. "you don't want to be hanging out with me. I'm not the best of society and I'm bad news too. I fight a lot of battles worse and more violent than that one just now. So just go away and don't get yourself into more trouble, cause it's not everyday that somebody's gonna decided to play hero for you!"

"Who are you calling 'kid'?" She protested, "You're not much older than me."

"You have no idea." I said coldly, walking off.

"The way you attacked those Rockets just now, it was more out of anger than for the sake of helping me, wasn't it?"

I decided to ignore her and keep walking on.

"My parents died because of Team Rocket too!" She suddenly blurted out, "I ran away ... and ... I don't have ... anywhere ... "

She broke down and started weeping miserably.

I desperately wanted to start running. I didn't want to hear anything else. At least it was nighttime and there weren't any other people walking along the road to hear that. But ... those words stirred up my emotions.

What would Kris do if she were here instead of me? I asked myself. I already knew the answer, but had I once again let my anger cloud my judgment?

I tapped Riptide on the shoulder, tapped my forehead and jerked my head back towards her, indicating that I wanted the telepathically enhanced duck to probe her and see if she was telling the truth.

He closed his eyes and apparently did so. Riptide quickly snapped out of his trance and nodded to me, with a sad look in his eyes, instantly making me feel guilty about having made him do that.

Slowly, I approached the girl. How old was she? 14, that's right, she'd told me. Hazuki was slim built and very fair skinned, almost a snowy white. Her light blue hair and eyes seemed to add on to this 'winter' effect, in addition to the fact that she was dressed in a matching long-sleeved shirt and white jeans. She wasn't very tall, even my human form being a head and neck taller than her. I guess it would be said that she was beautiful by human standards.

Beautiful, but also sad. In great pain.

"I'm sorry." I said softly, kneeling beside her and offering my hand. "They took my sister away from me. That's why I'm going to find her. And I don't want people like you to suffer in the process."

She'd stopped crying now, but was still sniffing and wiped her face on her sleeve.

"Come on, get up." I pointed to the lights of the town, further along the path. "We can spend the night in the town up ahead. And in the morning, I can refer you to the Police Department there. They'll help out."

"No." She said firmly. "I want to go with you."

"I'm leaving tomorrow for Johto." I said, standing up. "But I'll be going into some rough places, following my own path. It'll be too dangerous for you." I fingered the fox head shaped pendant I'd received from Euphoria.

"I can handle it. Please, I want to help you too!" She begged.

"Do you have any Pokemon?" I asked.

"No ... "

I sighed.

"But I can catch one, please give me the chance!"

At this, my three Pokemon companions sighed as well.

"Fine, you can follow me to town, but I don't have the cash to spare for an extra train ticket."

As if having 300 bucks wasn't enough, but not like I would tell her that. I figured it was my responsibility to at least get her to town. After that, I'd still be able to get rid of her, but in a nice way instead. It was for her own good.

"I'll find some way, you just wait and see, Yorukiru-san." Hazuki cheered, breaking into a smile.

"You know something, you're optimism scares me, Hazuki."

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Firestorm

I could practically feel his presence. He had a strangely familiar aura around him. One actually similar to my own.

"Yes, what you feel is true, son of Harasalt."

I spun around. With a soft beating of wings, the source of the telepathic voice landed beside me. The way I could best describe him was a dragon whelp, with green and red wings that matched the green body and red chest of his primary coloring. About the size of a human, through he walked on all fours.

"Greetings. I am Zian, known as a Legendary Dragon." The dragon said, bowing his head.

Jeez, you're small for someone to be called 'legendary'. I thought.

"EXCUSE ME?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY 'SMALL'?! Haven't you heard of 'size doesn't matter'?!" He blurted out. "Besides Firestorm, you taken a look in the mirror lately?"

"Yeesh, OK calm down already. I'm sorry." I muttered, waving my hands. "You're a psychic, should've known you'd read my mind. But just WHO are you? And where is this for that matter?"

"I believe you already know those answers." Zian said to me.

"You're from Harasalt too, right?"

"Close. The Legendary Dragons, my brethren and I, were created by the 2 Dragon gods, Harasalt and Kaiser to serve as their 'Generals'. After the wars ended, we who survived cast aside our formers alliances and bonded together as a single unit. After making sure the damage we'd cause was righted to the best of our abilities, we sent ourselves to a form of slumber in which we would only awaken when light and dark clashed again."

"And that time is now?"

"Indeed. In this new world, we have vowed not to interfere directly with the matters of the world. However, as repentance to the suffering we'd caused during the wars, they would lend indirect aid to those we deemed noble, worthy and in need. The plight of the Chimeras, for one, whom we will meet in the future. Very soon, in fact. The tale of our origins, however, cannot be disclosed to any being other than a descendant of our former masters'."

"OK, I understand everything but the Chimeras part. What or who are those?"

"At times, they are around us. Just we do not know it. But I shouldn't be telling you things out of your control. Whether some fate may bring your paths to cross, yet I cannot say. That future remains even shrouded to me." Then, he added under his breath. "The creators wouldn't tell me anyway."

"Huh?"

"Nevermind."

I stumbled back, suddenly being bombarded by a series of images. Just brief flashes: strange places, people I didn't recognize, Pokemon I didn't know, battles fought, won and lost, bloodshed.

"Your own psychic potential is considerable." Zian's voice suddenly snapped me out of my trance.

"My psychic potential?" I asked. "I may be able to pull off a Confusion and throw a few Confuse Rays around, but that's it."

"Not after what I'm here to pass on to you." Zian looked me in the eye. "A Sacred technique I have kept all this time."

"A Sacred Skill?" I asked excitedly.

"However, this is a little task for you first ... " He raised his wings. "... you must defeat me in combat!"

Suddenly, a Psy Beam came right in my path. I barely managed to jump away in time. I tried to spread my wings to fly, only to realize in horror that they weren't there anymore. I'd forgotten what I currently was.

"HEY!" I protested. "I've been turned into a human and you expect me to fight you?! It's impossible for me to win!"

"It's all in your mind." Zian calmly replied. "Use it."

What the hell does he mean?! I cursed, dodging a Thunderbolt. Wait, he never really told me where we were! So, perhaps this is somehow my dream world, my mind?

As Zian came swooping down, I stood my ground and concentrated. I was praying I was correct, or else I'd be in for the worst of hurt.

WHAM!

I opened my eyes to find the dragon several feet back, looking stunned. I beamed happily when I saw the Gothic Shield that had materialized in my hand.

"All right! Not so helpless now!" I laughed. I formed a fireball in my free right hand and hurled it at him.

Zian easily dodged the attack and took to the sky. He began teleporting around, making it difficult to aim.

Damn!

Suddenly, he teleported beside me and launched a Thunderbolt. I cried out as pain coursed through my body, causing me to lose the shield. Zian teleported away and prepared for another attack.

Got to slow him down somehow ... I formed a grenade in my hand, hidden from his view. But I would require flawless timing to pull it off. I closed my eyes and focused only on my opponent, drowning out all other aspects of the dream world around me.

How would he attack? When? And would it come from the left, the right, above or below?

Zian continued teleporting around at an astonishing speed. Then ...

Right!

I leapt up, feeling my feet touch his head, and dropped the grenade, using the momentum to propel myself away. The grenade I'd chosen, however, was not an explosive but rather serving a more tactical purpose.

BOOM! Zian was covered in a sticky glue. Roaring, he found himself unable to control his direction and crashed, rolling head over heels and ending up in a sticky mess on the floor.

Summoning up my remaining energy, I fired off something I wouldn't have been able to do normally: an Ice Beam. I managed to encase the downed dragon in ice all the way up to his neck before I collapsed, exhausted, panting and nauseated.

"Ugh ... not bad at all." The immobilized dragon struggled for a bit. "Just remember that I'm not even at half my usual strength when in somebody's dream. It takes much energy to maintain my presence here, you know. So, don't you dare go bragging about this until you can beat me in the real world."

"Ha ... I look forward to that." I laughed.

"Anyways, since I can't move right now, you'll have to come over here if you want your Sacred Skill. Place your hand on my forehead."

I complied, feeling a warm flow of energy running between us.

"Planeswalking." He spoke. "Psychic element. Combination of Teleport and Psychic attacks. This technique will give even one with little psychic powers the ability to separate body from mind move his mind around on a higher spiritual plane of existence, sometimes know as the Astral plane, hence its name 'Planeswalking'. Like many of these mystic techniques, its potential is near limitless. You may use it to enter another's mind or another's dreams amongst these. However, be wary that those inexperienced in its uses may experience physical side effects. Remember too that your physical body is not invincible, so use this skill with great discretion."

"It feels ... strange." I muttered.

"You must leave the dream world now." Zian continued, "Your friends need you."

"My friends?" I asked. "Then what about you?"

"I will return to my own body once this dream is done." The dragon assured. "Now, hurry!"

Around me, a deep mist seemed to be blowing up. My vision was blurring, making it harder to see.

"The others should also have awakened by now." Zian's voice was fading away. "Expect visits from us, sometimes when it's least expected ... "

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Nightslice

I practically jumped up, startled.

What was that?!

That had been a strange dream. I couldn't remember much of it, but it had been something like a human fighting against a dragon. There had been voices, but I couldn't seem to remember a word.

I shrugged. It had just been a dream after all. I've had some that have related to my past, but I was thankful that this one seemed like a completely random one. I glanced around the dimmed Pokemon center, noting Ahsura, Luminair and Riptide all fast asleep. However, someone was missing.

"Hazuki?" I called.

"Back here." Her voice came from one of the rooms behind the empty service counter.

I walked through the door to find the local Nurse, beside over Hazuki as she examined the control panel of a conveyer belt.

"I just heard Nurse Joy having problems with this conveyer belt and decided to give her a hand." Hazuki said as she slid under the machine.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" I questioned.

As if on cue, the mechanism roared to life.

"Wow, thank you so much." The nurse cried happily, "They could never seem to get this old thing working and you got it in one go."

"You know why?" She grinned, "I think that electrician of yours forgot to set the ... "

The young girl launched into a very long and detailed technical report of which I barely understood a word. My jaws practically hit the floor, but I pulled a chair up and sat down at a table near the doorway.

Jeez, she IS good at something. I realized, yawning.

Almost immediately, I feel asleep leaning against the table.

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Jade

Firestorm had gotten a rather large shock out of our discovery, so we let him leave and get some rest. My uncle Blaine, Aigul and myself sat down the lab discussing the situation.

As hard as I tried, I could not recall any incident that any Chairzard's blood had come into contact with mine. I hadn't been with Firestorm for long enough to confirm anything about him through.

"Is there anyway else?" Aigul was asking. "Mechanical? Electrical? Or others means?"

"Hmmm ... in theory, a specifically configured electronic device could possibly transfer and mix DNA without need for physical contact." Blaine said, after thinking for a while. "I've heard rumors that a researcher named Bill once accidentally scrambled his DNA with a Pokemon's, but it's unconfirmed.

"Electronic device?" I muttered. "You know I wouldn't willingly step into any unknown device except ... " I stopped short. " ... except that teleporter, back in the Sliph Company Building! Firestorm was right next to me then!"

"Teleporter?" Aigul asked.

" Sliph Company?" Blaine queried. "Did you by any chance have anything to do with that explosion in the building a couple months back?"

I slapped my head, swearing.

"Guess I have some explaining to do." I sighed as Dracia opened the door and entered the room.

That was when we heard the explosion as much as felt it. It knocked all of us down, causing everyone to start yelling at once until Blaine clapped his hands to get everyone's attention.

"That was no natural eruption." He said grimly.

"How do you know?" I asked.

"You work with these volcanoes as long as I have and you'll know. I have to check it out." Grabbing his coat, the Gym Leader raced through the backdoor of the lab and along the dirt path leading up to the volcano.

"He sure runs fast for an old man." Aigul commented. "Should we go after him?"

"Definitely." I nodded, throwing a cloak over my shoulders to hide my wings. "Dracia, you go get the other Pokemon and have them meet us there."

"Consider it done." The Dragonair nodded. "You be careful."

"Don't worry." I gave a thumbs-up, pulling the gloves over my partial hands/claws.

Unfortunately, I have a very bad feeling about this ...

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Firestorm

WHOOSH!

All of a sudden, I was flying, up in the air. I blinked, realizing I was back in my own Charizard body. Disorientated, I scanned the surroundings, wondering if that had even been real.

That had definitely been my dream, but what was I doing? Sleep-flying?

Fortunately, I was still above Cinnabar Island and recognized one of the volcanoes.

Otherwise, how did I end up here?

In front of my eyes, an explosion abruptly blew open part of the volcano. I shielded my eyes, realizing that it was no natural eruption.

My friends needed help? Jade?

I had to trust my instincts on this one. Folding my wings, I aimed my nose down and begun to descend.

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Jade

Running at the rear of the ground, it was purely by chance that I happened to look up and spot the threat that was approaching from above.

"Get down!" I yelled, tackling my companions.

That narrowly allowed us to avoid the miniature missiles that exploded in front of us.

"What the hell was that?!" Blaine yelled.

I squinted hard to make out the two flying shapes. A Fearow and Pidgeot, with metal sections on their wings glittering in the dim light.

"Stormwind and Firefly, I assume." Dracia's voice came from behind. Behind her were the rest of the Pokemon: Ehrgeiz, Miarge, Serac, Magmar and Wartortle. "Firestorm wasn't there. He must've gone out for a flight or something."

"Damn, you're never around when we really need you Storm." I muttered. "Now that Alugard's goons are here."

"Heads up!" Aigul warned. "Here they come again!"

"Everyone, attack!" I ordered.

Two Fire Blasts, one Thunderbolt, one Ice Beam, one Dragon Rage and a Hydro Pump were fired off at once. Unfortunately, none of the attacks hit their mark. The birds were too swift.

"Scatter!" Blaine shouted.

Our party took off in different directions as the birds dropped another round of missiles. I hit the ground beside Dracia and covered my head.

"Is everybody all right?" Aigul asked, pulling himself up. Serac was by his side, as always.

"Yeah, functional." I muttered, pulling myself to my knees.

Magmar was helping Blaine up as well.

[Ow ... I think they got me.] Wartortle moaned.

The turtle Pokemon was bleeding at his right foot, having gotten hit by a piece of shrapnel. He was being supported by Ehrgeiz and Miarge.

"Jade, leave these two to us. You take some Pokemon and get to the volcano and find out what's going on up there." Aigul suggested. He tore his sleeve and used it to bandage Wartortle's wound.

"Be careful up there." Blaine warned as Magmar fired another attack to drive the birds away.

[I'll stay too.] Ehrgeiz nodded. [Someone needs to look after Wartortle. And besides, my electricity can give those birds a real sting!]

[Thanks buddy.] Wartortle smiled. [I owe you.]

[Make sure you kick whoever's ass it is off my volcano!] Magmar roared.

"All right then." I agreed. "Be careful guys! Miarge, let's ride!"

[Already on that.] The Ponyta pulled up beside us and helped me onto her back.

With Dracia hovering beside us, we tore off along the path. Behind us, the flashes of the energy beams being thrown around lit up the night sky like a fireworks display. Unfortunately, it was impossible to tell which side was winning.

[You know Jade, you actually understood us back there.] Mirage panted. [Not usual of you.]

"Oh god, you're right! I'm becoming more Charizard by the minute." I realized.

"At least you wouldn't be, well, half-half anymore." Dracia said, attempting to comfort me.

The pathway led to a cave, which in turn led to the center of the volcano. Blaine used many areas like this for training his fire Pokemon. The area around the crater was basically a circular well leading down to the lava below. There were only two ledges, one being across from me, with multiple pillars that acted as 'stepping stones' between them.

However, what was more interesting was the battle currently taking place.

One of the aerial combatants was Firestorm, easily recognizable in the orange glow by the metal mask on the left part of his face. The other was standing on one of the higher pillars. Although covered by a brown cloak with a hood, I felt he was frighteningly familiar.

"For the last time, where is Nightslice?" The cloaked figure demanded.

"Why did you think I have any reason to tell you now?!" Firestorm roared.

"Because, I'm not going to ask again ... "

Firestorm's opponent had his back turned towards me. Gesturing for my Pokemon to wait, I ran along the ledge. Clenching a fist, I saw it glow with a fiery color. With a yell, I fired off a fire burst at the cloaked figure.

Although caught by surprise, he still managed to evade the back attack. However, the cloak caught fire and he threw it off as he leapt away.

"Alugard!" I heard Firestorm growl.

My brain only registered it as he turned to face me. Our old enemy had changed. No longer was he the cyborg Scyther we'd once know. The red coloring and new features were clearly visible now.

Alugard had evolved into a Scizor. I wasn't too sure what effect the evolution had on his mechanically enhanced body. It seemed to have healed some of his injuries, but not all as he still had some cybernetic parts. Those immediately noticeable were a chestplate, helmet and armguard. He also had something strapped between his wings, which was either a jetpack, an item storage device, or both.

The silver chestplate looked something like a sleeveless Kevlar Vest with several blinking lights on it. The helmet was also silver and was worn over the upper part of his head, leaving the lower jaws exposed. A red visor over the eyes' section served as his means of vision. The armguard covered his lower right arm, ending before the pincer-like hands. This one was decorated in a black and gray pattern.

He actually looks pretty cool now. I thought. I then saw him open his right pincer, revealing the barrel of a Gattling gun mounted within. Unfortunately, the bad guys always seem to have better stuff!

"So, you're here too."

I ran as he fired. My cloak accidentally got caught on a rock and was ripped off. Alugard was quite shocked when he saw my Charizard wings.

"What the hell?!" He gasped.

I took the opportunity and threw another fireball at him.

"Argh!" It got him square in the chest.

While Alugard was thrown against the wall, his arm-mounted gun went off as well. The blast sent several sharp rocks flying, one of which smacked the side of my head.

Stunned, I fell over the edge.

"Jade! No!" Firestorm roared. "Fly! Quickly!"

His voice seemed far away. If the others were yelling, I never heard them. It all happened so quickly that I never got the chance to think about using my wings. All I could see was the lava rushing towards up me.

I closed my eyes.

Suddenly, I felt the heat all around me. I couldn't breathe. The pain was incredible and the temperature way over what I could take.

I told myself that I didn't want to die this way. However, it seemed that my fate was sealed.

This is ... the end ... I thought.

It ends only when you want it to. I heard a voice in my head.

Who ... I begun.

Do you wish to live? The voice continued. To fight again? And save your friends? Complete the change Jade, only you can make it happen.

Yes ... Yes, I did.

I felt different. The heat was dying away. No, it wasn't ... it was me.

I was now fully Charizard. I propelled myself upwards.

It was time to kick some serious ass.

I'd originally thought that voice was my own. Only very much later would I realize its true importance ...