-20: In a case of mistake identity, Firestorm finds himself marked as a Chimera and pursued by both Team Rocket and Sliph.

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 and are used with permission. .

(http://www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=23675)

(Heh, I forgot to put this part in for the last two chapters.)

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Cruise Control

By Gregory Stephen nightdragon0@hotmail.com

Firestorm

I grasped the gun tightly and waited. It's surprising how fast you learn to use things when your life is in danger. Still, not like I haven't held a gun before. I just haven't used one as a human.

The room was currently filling up with some kind of gas, but I was safe thanks to the gas mask my mysterious friend had tossed to me. He'd chucked a lot of information in my direction too. Team Rocket and Sliph after me because they thought I was Jade, and they thought he was a Chimera.

Oh, the irony of it all ...

I remembered that I'd left Dracia and Mirage with Aigul, so I had absolutely no backup. Not like I could get any help from the Pokemon with who-know-what gas floating around. I hoped that Aigul was all right, considering all of this.

The door was shoved open and two Team Rocket agents, also in gas masks and carrying M4A1 Assault rifles, stepped in. They were expecting a disabled, choking opponent. Pity they were about to get a fatal surprise.

I stepped out from my hiding place and fired, giving both headshots before they even had a chance to move. Others from outside must've seen their comrades go down, and started firing randomly, shattering the windows.

Fortunately, I was in a much better position and was able to take down the two riflemen with relative ease. I waited until I was sure there were no more soldiers in the current area, then reached down and searched the two bodies inside the room.

Just like the games. I thought grimly. Even as a Charizard, I still had three fingers that could be used on a keyboard and mouse, and thanks to Jade, I'd gotten into playing Counter-Strike. But that was just a computer game; this was real life.

And you don't get second chances here!

Their rifles were too large for me to take, but both had also been carrying USP pistols and clips, which I pocketed, and a frag grenade.

I crept out the door and found a pistol pointed at me.

"Aigul!" I gasped. "Boy, am I glad to see you!"

The silver-haired man was also wearing a gas mask. He sighed in relief as he lowered his weapon.

"I'd say the same, if not for our current predicament." Aigul replied.

"What happened? How did you get here?" I asked.

"I was just standing there and someone suddenly jabbed a gun at my back and ordered me not to move. He dragged me someplace dark just as some 'crewmembers' started ushering all the passengers below deck. He just told me that I needed to go help you and tossed me these."

"Yeah, I am in kind of a bad spot." I agreed. I gave Aigul a brief synopsis of my meeting with my own stranger.

"He also said that they'd take care of the passengers and we should just concentrate on getting out alive. He instructed me to leave by the rear of the boat." Aigul explained. "Serac's already in the water. Dracia and Mirage are right here." He tapped his belt.

I heard footsteps, followed by voices shouting. I caught glance of the Team Rocket agents coming around the corner.

"Get down!" I yelled, knocking Aigul into the room. I pulled the pin of the grenade with my teeth and threw it. It was quite rewarding hearing the screams.

"You know how to use that?" I asked, pointing to Aigul's M92F.

"Well, I've played paintball."

"That'll have to do. Come on!" I pulled him up and led him down the corridor in the opposite direction.

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????

"Klik, is everyone in position?" I asked.

[Yes.] The Flareon replied. [Blaster's down in the water. Alken has gotten the other person informed, and he'll also be taking charge of the hostages.]

"So, it's up to me now." I muttered, looking down at the dead man in front of me. The Rocket commander of this mission that I'd shot in the back of the head, in cold blood. And that had actually made me feel good for all the grief Team Rocket had caused me. Now, I had a chance to get back not only at TR, but at Sliph's Special Forces as well.

Team Rocket had sent a squad of their agents in disguise onto the boat after what they believed to be an unidentified Chimera. Sliph had intercepted their plans and had also placed several agents onboard. Only Sliph's Special Forces had some backup due to arrive, to deal with not only the Rocket presence, but the Chimera as well.

The ship's bridge was high up, had a lot of cover and as an excellent place to use the weapon I now held in my hands: the Fryn SASR01 'Zombie', a Semi-Auto Sniper Rifle. Fifteen rounds, expandable stock, scope and a Silencer attached.

[You don't have to do this.] Klik said, noticing my hesitation.

"No, I must. I owe it to Tim, Ryna and the others." I replied firmly, lifting the sniper rifle up to the window. "I may not be able to undo what I did in the past, but I can at least give this Chimera a chance, whoever he is."

[There was absolutely nothing about him?]

"Nothing that I found. But they're after him, and I can only try and deter them here."

Klik opened his mouth to say something, but the hissing of my com-link interrupted him.

"Sliph's SF commander has arrived." Alken's voice came from the other end. "Starboard side, upper deck. You see it?"

"Affirmative." I said, glancing out the window.

"A Rocket patrol is headed their way, preparing to engage. They'll all be distracted, so you'll have your chance."

"How about you?"

"I'm almost to the hostages. No problems so ... wait! Abetos, Faint Attack!"

The com-link carried over the growling and several screams.

"Alken?" I asked, worried.

"Don't worry. Abetos took care of it." Alken replied. "Just do what you have to, partner. I'll see you in a while. Over and out."

Abetos was his Houndoom, and a rather powerful one.

Silently, I shouldered my sniper rifle and took aim. Klik stood and watched, knowing better that to disturb me. Sliph's newly formed Special Forces wore dark blue uniforms with Kevlar Vests. Fortunately, they didn't see the need to don any headgear. The commander and his asides were clearly identifiable through their shoulder markings. They were arrogantly dishing out orders, thinking they had everything under control.

How wrong you are. I pulled the trigger.

The man went down with a bloody mark in the center of his head. That immediately plunged the Special Forces into a state of panic, allowing me to take out two other officers as well. Then, the Team Rocket attack squad arrived. Both sides went into a firing frenzy. It was a pure war zone; making me glad I was up here.

I relocated my position along the corridor and fired, taking out several more Rockets and SFs. The corridor was supposed to have been secured, but the dead Rockets on the floor proved otherwise. Some of Alken's ninja poison.

"The hostages have been rescued." The com-link hissed. "And the charges have been set. How about your quarry?"

"Not yet." I muttered, looking towards the back of the boat. "No wait! They're there!"

The fiery haired Chimera leapt off the second level and threw off a flame attack from his hands, torching two SF soldiers before brutally gunning them down. His silver haired companion followed, together with a Dragonair that had obviously helped out.

There was a hidden com-link in the gas mask I'd given the fiery haired man, Jade, and I now switched to it.

"There are some wetsuits and scuba gear there, in the green box in front of you." I instructed. "Get into it and get far away from the ship, ASAP. Cause it's about to go up in flames. I'll cover you until then."

"Wait!" Jade spoke into his com-link. "Thank you. We really owe you this!"

"You don't owe me anything. Go, hurry."

Jade continued speaking even as he was slipping his wetsuit on.

"But who are you? Why did you help me?" He queried.

"I would like to explain, but there's no time." I replied hastily.

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

"Des."

"Des." He nodded. "I'll keep it in mind if we ever meet again."

"That will be highly unlikely, but there's always a slight chance. Good luck."

"You too Des. Farewell." With that, he strapped his mask on, grabbed his backpack and leapt off the boat with his companions.

I switched my com-link back to Alken.

"You done?"

"I'm already at the rally point, strapping on my gear. Hurry and get down here, there's about a minute until all those C4s go off!"

"On my way." I said, silently curing for taking too long. "Klik, get in." I ordered, holding up a Pokeball. "Unless you want to get wet."

[I'll be fine. You watch yourself.] The Flareon said as he disappeared.

I was already running, winding through the twisted corridors of the ship. I was already dressed in the wetsuit, but didn't have any of the scuba gear on. Realizing that I wouldn't make it in time, I raced for the third level balcony and threw myself off, landing close to my companions in the water below. Alken already had his scuba gear strapped on and was holding onto one of Blaster's cannons. But I had no time left.

"Blaster, dive down, now!" I gasped.

[But you're not...] The Blastoise protested.

"DIVE!" I ordered, taking as deep a breath as I could.

I held my breath as Blaster descended. Even under water, I could still feel both the heat and the vibration of the explosion above. It had been Alken's plan, the explosion that would kill all onboard.

With the passengers and crew safely away in lifeboats, and Jade's group swimming off as well, that left us with only ourselves to worry about. We'd cut our timing a little too close and the only way for Blaster to avoid the explosion was to dive down. It didn't do too well for me, but Alken shared his oxygen with me by passing the mouthpiece between us, until we finally surfaced to admire our handiwork.

"Well, that's that then." I said grimly, taking the rest of my scuba gear from Alken.

"Indeed." The ex-Rocket Elite nodded, pulling off his mask. It revealed the Chinese man's brown eyes and drenched, black shoulder length hair tied in a ponytail. "Well, I'm now officially 'dead', along with the rest of this squad."

"Where will you go then? I don't think you'll be able to go near a civilized area for a while through."

"I think I can stay around these island for a while." He gestured towards several islands further off. "I heard they've been looking for full time divers to help map out and explore the Olivine reefs."

"Lucky you then. I have to be back at base by 1900 hours. Too bad I found out about this mission a little too late."

"After everything you've done for me, I wish I could do something to help you somehow."

"Don't worry about it. Staying in Team Rocket has its advantages."

"Well, that's you point of view." Alken nodded. "We'd better get going before the coast guard gets here."

"Yes. Will you be OK by yourself?"

"I'm a strong swimmer. I'll manage."

"All right. I'll see you around, I guess."

"You too, Des."

We shook hands, and then went our separate ways into the ocean.

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Dracia

The boat thing had been one hell of a ride, even with what I've been through. I think my ears were still ringing from all the firing. But we made it off OK, with some help from our mysterious friend.

With their scuba gear on, Storm and Aigul had swum underwater alongside Serac and myself. We'd been far away enough to avoid that nasty explosion and had kept on swimming until we were well away.

On a side note, this was the one time I've seen Firestorm this comfortable in the water. Must've had something to do with him being human, but not like I knew anyway.

Night soon fell and deciding that it was too dangerous to swim around in the darkness, we stopped on a small island and set up camp. Storm had been clearly disturbed as he filled the rest of us in on the details.

Team Rocket and Sliph were at a war apparently, and he was accidentally caught up in the middle of it. And for our current situation, we were somewhere out in the Olivine Ocean with absolutely no idea of where to go.

Life's just swell, isn't it? I sighed. The others had already gone to sleep, Storm and Aigul still in their wetsuits, and I was left awake, lying next to Mirage and Serac.

But something just didn't feel right. I got up and hovered along the beach, keeping our camp in sight. As hard as I searched, I couldn't see anything out of the ordinary.

I was about to head back to camp when I heard a high-pitched screech. My head snapped up saw the flying object, giving me only moments to fly away before it hit the ground.

Some Pokemon it seemed. It got to its feet and roared. My first thought was that it was an Aerodactyl.

But as it moved closer, it turned out to be something else: a large, gray Wyvern. Some kind of dragon.

It was poised to attack, and I did likewise. There was a stare down, each one daring the other to make the first move. I decided to take it and fired off my Thunderbolt.

I barely even saw him move, but he was suddenly out of the way and back on the same spot again. I moved away as a beam attack sent sand flying everywhere. Even through I was momentarily blinded by the sand, I heard his wings flapping. He was using Gust and brewing up a sandstorm. I took a chance and sprayed my Hydro Pump in random directions. I apparently hit him, hearing his roar of pain.

He used a Quick Attack, knocking the wind out of me and sending me to the floor.

"Dracia!" I heard Aigul shouting.

The Wyvern roared in pain as two fire attacks hit his back, one from Storm and Mirage. Serac leapt in front of them and fired an Ice Beam. The Wyvern dodged it and advanced. Serac made a bold attempt by using her Agility and trying to match up it him, but all the Vaporeon got was a smack from his tail. Storm and Mirage fired again, only to miss and cause the Wyvern to take to the sky where they couldn't hit him effectively.

However, I still could. I flew up behind him and wrapped my long, snake-like body around his chest and neck. Enraged, the Wyvern attempted to turn his head to bit me. I tightened my grip, immobilizing his head. But that didn't mean the rest of him wasn't struggling like mad.

"Dracia!" Firestorm yelled, hesitant to fire in fear of hitting me. "Get away from it!"

[Yeah! Run!] Mirage agreed.

"NO, not till I finish this!" I called back defiantly. I was smacked multiple times by his wings and tail, but I held on with all my strength. I was battered and bruised. It seemed like forever, but finally, his strength failed and he fell.

But so did I.

"Dracia!" Storm ran and jumped in an attempt to catch me before I hit the sand. "Dracia ... I told you to let go! That should've been my fight!"

"Hey, we're in this together." I gasped weakly, feeling him cradling me in his arms.

"I know. But ... but I already lost Jade. I won't make the same mistake of losing you too! I care too much about you to let that happen!"

"Storm ... "

Serac walked up and nuzzled my body. The Vaporeon always seemed to be thinking and never said a word, but I talked to her nevertheless. She'd sincerely smile and laugh at my jokes, even through I admit they were pretty lame. I dared say that we'd gotten pretty close.

Then, I felt it. The evolution.

Storm practically dropped me in shock. I stood up, now as a Dragonite, and smiled, striking a pose. Firestorm was staring, with his mouth wide open.

"Hey Storm, what's wrong? Don't I look good?" I winked.

"Yeah, really good." Storm said dreamily. I could practically see the stars in his eyes and the hearts above his head. "I was just thinking of how'd you'd now look in a bikini ... "

I promptly slapped him.

"Ow ... does that mean you still won't marry me?" He moaned.

"Dream on!"

Mirage and Serac begun laughing. Aigul looked a little stunned.

[It's a girl thing.] Mirage whispered to him.

"That's very funny, but how dare everyone ignore me? Do you know who I am?!" The Wyvern asked, annoyed.

We'd completely forgotten about him.

"You talk ... " I gaped.

"Heh, that's something you should say about yourself, Dragonite. I am Arist, the Flying Dragon. Damn, I can't believe I was defeated by a girl." The last part was a whisper, but I heard it.

"EXCUSE ME?!" I flew over and grabbed him by the neck. "Is that how you talk to a lady?!"

(Everyone else sweatdrops.)

"Ugrh!" He choked.

"Next time," I whacked him on the head. "show proper respect for a woman!"

"Is it just me, or did Dracia just gain some nasty attitude?" Firestorm muttered.

"Storm, your lesson's up next!"

"Eep ... that ... erm ... won't be necessary. But I do need to talk to the Legendary Dragon here."

"Yes, indeed. Firestorm, for defeating me in combat, I am obliged to pass on a Sacred Skill."

"Wait, but I didn't do much at all." Storm protested. "It was Dracia's work."

"That is the honorable thing to say, but your friends are an integral part of your quest, are they not?"

"Yes..."

"Your strength comes from unity, it won't even take a psychic to see that. Come now, touch my head and receive: Fanaticism."

Firestorm did so, glowing with a golden light.

"Fanaticism: Dragon element. A combination of Outrage and Agility. This move is an 'Aura', used as through it were a defensive spell. It affects yourself and any allies within its range, boosting their speed and attack power for as long as you maintain it."

"Even in human form, I should be able to use this one effectively." Firestorm chuckled.

"Dracia, I have something for you too." Arist reached out with his tail and touched my forehead. I felt the slight 'shock' as when a TM was used on me.

"Wow, this attack ... "

"Is the Aeroblast, the breath attack I used just now. Consider this my gift, from one warrior to another."

"Arist, I need to find your comrade, Zian." Firestorm said, getting back to the point of our journey. "A friend of mine has gone missing, having lost his memories to his wild instincts. I figure I need both my original body back and to strengthen my Planeswalking ability if I ever want to find him."

"This has something to do with why you're a human now, right?" Arist asked.

We quickly outlined the details for him.

"I see." He nodded. "Unfortunately, Zian comes and goes as he pleases. Even I admit I have problems chasing a Psychic. However, I will bring you to someone else who may be able to help. Come, get onto my back and I'll take you that at the speed of light."

He was pretty huge and there was enough space for all of us. Poor Mirage had some problems, but I held onto her.

"How fast do you really go?" Storm asked.

"Literally, sonic speeds." Arist grinned.

I felt my stomach lurching back and we were speeding away.

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Firestorm

I awoke groaning. The others were waking up as well. We were in some sort of cave, extending in both up and down directions. Unfortunately, it was impossible to tell what time it was.

"Ugh, where are we?" I moaned.

"Where Arist brought us, I suppose." Aigul said. "I couldn't really see much, but he flew through some greatly concealed entrance and dropped us off here before disappearing again."

"You got all that?" I gasped. "I must've passed out halfway."

"So you've come then." A deep voice reverberated throughout the cavern. "I have awaited your arrival. Come here, and find the answers you seek."

"Should we follow?" Dracia wondered out loud.

"I feel we must." I said, pointing to the downward path. "It's this way."

I led my companions down the path. The cavern seemed, oddly enough, to have its own source of lighting, through I wasn't sure what. Perhaps light was coming in through various entrances?

I suddenly noticed that I was standing on grass instead of the rocky floor of the cave.

"Well met, Firestorm." The voice boomed. It was much louder now. Practically in front of us.

We arrived at a point where the pathway opened up into a large cavern. I indicated for my friends to wait there and went on myself. I was greeted by a fantastic sight.

Before me stood the source of the voice, another Dragon. This one was immobile, his legs like roots of a planet, digging into the ground below. His long tail swayed back and forth, as the eyes of the dragon head scanned me. On the back of the Dragon grew a large flower, much like a Venusaur. Obviously, he was green in color.

"I am the Grass Dragon, Grix."

"Do you…live down here?" I asked, wondering if it was at all possible for Grix to move from his location. "Speaking of that, where is here anyway?"

"You could say that about me, here under the Trilands." The Dragon nodded, chuckling softly. "I may choose to relocate if I will, but relocation for me may take decades, perhaps even centauries to complete. I would much prefer to wait. However, I believe you have some business that brought you here."

"Yes." I nodded. "But isn't there some standard I have to pass before getting anything out of you guys?"

"Indeed."

I didn't need to see the multiple vines emerging from the large bulb on his back to know he was going to attack. I moved quickly, dodging and leaping over the lashing vines.

"Hargh!" I threw off flames from my hands, creating a wall of fire between Grix and myself. The vines withdrew at the touch of the flames.

But then a flower opened up on each vine. I was unsure of their significance until I saw the white glow. They were Solar Beams charging.

"Uh-oh!" I found myself running again, trying to dodge the powerful beam attacks. I begun returning fire, throwing off my own flame attacks. Unfortunately, they barely seemed to scratch the Grass Dragon at all.

A Solar Beam hit the ground in front of me, sending me flying back into a wall, leaving an impression of my body in it.

"Above you!" Dracia yelled.

I looked up to see several large rocks falling right onto me. I roared, lashing out with my claws, shattering the rocks.

My claws?!

I was back, in my own Charizard body. Somehow, I just was. I didn't understand it, but I knew I had to make use of it while it lasted. I kicked off the wall and took to the air. Using my wings felt extremely odd, even after just several days as a human.

I fired off random fireballs to distract the vines, then aimed and fired a Fire Blast at the dragon himself. His vines quickly crossed in front of his body and blocked out the flames. I swooped down, only to be whacked in the face by the vines.

I recovered in mid-fall and flipped myself around, slicing up several vines with my claws. Retreating, I let loose a long fiery breath to distract my opponent, at the same time summoning up my new power.

"Fanaticism!"

I saw myself glowing with a red-orange light, a little different than my normal scale color. Suddenly, I felt like one strong Charizard. Well, Charizard are naturally strong anyway, but I felt like I'd spent the day working out in the gym as well.

Pointing my head downwards, I let myself fall, rapidly spinning my body and using my Wing Attack to slice up any vines that got in my path. Grix wasn't beaten yet, and fired off a whole swarm of Razor Leafs.

"Spin Slash!"

Setting my own claws ablaze, I started spinning 180 degrees round, essentially becoming a ball of flames. This Sacred Skill was flying element based, however, but it still did its job of charring the Razor Leafs into obliteration.

Seeing that he was immobile, I thought that I would easily hit him head on. That was when I got a Hydro Pump right in the face.

"GGGaarrgghhh!" I spluttered, caught in my moment of arrogance. Suddenly, vines were everywhere, all over my body. I was blinded as one wrapped itself around my eyes. I was choking and unable to breath or even move. My wrists and hands were free, but not like I could do anything with just them.

Grix must have a Sacred Skill. I thought. All the others required physical contact to pass them on to me. But Grix is in contact with me now, so maybe ... maybe I could tap into it!

I turned my hands and grasped the nearest vine, trying to focus whatever strength I had left into the task. It came to my mind in the form of one word: Integration.

Grix must've felt the electrical energy running from my body to his. I imagined it ran down his vines and right towards him. The lightning elemental attack wouldn't normally have hurt him too badly, but this was not only a lightning attack, but also a strike to the mind.

The dragon roared and collapsed as much as his rooted feet would let him. Exhausted, I let myself hit the ground, amidst the pile of the Grass dragon's vines.

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Kris

Sometimes, I felt becoming the beast wasn't too bad. I didn't have to think so much, which was beginning to hurt my head a lot.

Earlier on, I was sure my grave would've been filled before long. Now, I felt the Team Rocket higher ups were impressed with a Pokemon like myself that had so much bloodlust.

Since that pervious incident, absolutely no one had wanted to become my 'tamer', so to say. No one even dared to step more than 10 feet in my direction unless they were in a large group, armed with high-powered tranquilizer rifles.

My human side had been begging them to use an actual gun for a change, and end it all for me. However, I realized that I must've been far too valuable for them to kill outright.

I'd been taking out my anger and frustration on any poor sap they made me fight, usually ending with the Pokemon being ripped to shreds, if the situation permitted it. The battle frequency became less and less, and I assumed that they were beginning only to make me battle their most powerful warriors.

Whatever it was, I felt it made no difference to me. I still continued on my vicious, undefeatable streak. Those that could actually walk out of the arena with a severed limb were considered lucky.

So, I spent most of my time in the cell, pacing around, snarling, resting, and practicing my battle techniques. At least now they begun leaving the door hatch open so light could get in. And I was actually fed too, but barely enough.

Enough to keep me alive, but still mad, hungry and desiring more blood.

Then came the time I fought ... him.

I'd been drugged as usual and dragged to the arena while unconscious. However, this arena was different. It was a much larger room, made completely of some reinforced metal. Bright lights shone down from the ceiling. I squinted, eyes slowly adjusting to the light.

I was alone, but not for long.

A door at the opposite end slid open, revealing a strange Pokemon I'd never seen before in my life. It had a humanoid form, a purple color and was clad in shiny metal armor.

I was temporarily awed, but my instincts soon came back. I knew this was my opponent.

I fired a Hyper Beam straight at him. The Pokemon raised a three-fingered hand and deflected the beam. Even as the beam hit the wall, I was already charging. As I slashed, he disappeared into thin air.

Teleported!

He appeared behind me and I slashed again, only to miss once more. Then, he appeared back at his starting point and raised his hands. Suddenly, I felt my chest tightening. It was becoming harder to breathe.

A psychic attack?!

Those were amongst the most deadly attacks I'd faced. But this one was exceptional. It was simply ... beyond anything else.

I was lifted off the ground, paralyzed. Desperately, I struggled against the psychic, trying to get my Hyper Beam into motion.

Everything happened at once. He must've shoved against me, and my attack went haywire. Astounding pain erupted throughout my entire body as I was thrown back.

For a split second, we saw into each other's memories. It must've been some weird act of fate. I couldn't comprehend much, just things like a laboratory and such. But then, reality came back.

The torment that came to my mind was beyond anything else. It was as if every bone in my body had snapped at once. I was briefly aware on myself sliding down the wall and hitting the ground, chest first.

The darkness beckoned me.

If this was death, then I welcome it ...

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Firestorm

"Storm, are you all right?" Aigul's voice asked. "How are you feeling?"

"Alive." I muttered. I lifted a hand, noticing that I was in human form again. Fortunately, the skin-tight wetsuit hadn't been affected by the transformation and was still on me.

"Great, because I think he wants to talk to you." Dracia said, flying over.

She helped me to my feet and walk over to where Grix was standing, upright again.

"That was a good battle indeed." The grass dragon chuckled.

"Yes." I nodded. "But how did I ... become myself again. Even if just for that while?"

"I'm not a psychic, so you'll have to tell me your story first. Come, sit down everyone."

Our group did that, telling our story once again. It was slightly intimidating looking up to the huge dragon, but he nodded understandingly once we were done.

"I believe that you have had the power to right yourself all along." Grix said. "You being able to bring out the Charizard side in the battle just now proved that. However, there is a missing piece ... "

"It's Jade, isn't it?" Aigul asked.

"Indeed. If Firestorm and Jade can swap back the parts of each other's essence that were crossed, then they will return back to normal. The Integration technique that you 'stole' from me will aid in this."

"I'm sorry, but that was a combat necessity." I said. "What's it do anyway?"

"Integration is a lightning elemental attack comprised of Thunderbolt and Dragon Breath. It combines doing both direct, physical pain and also a mental strike. A truly devastating technique. However, as its name implies, it is also: to make into a whole by bringing all parts together, in unification."

"So, I just need to find Jade and use this move on him?" I asked.

"To put it simply, yes ... "

"All right." I declared, standing up. "I have to go then."

"But do you think you'll be able to use the technique properly?" Grix asked.

"I'll try ... "

"Or how you will find your friend in the first place?"

"I ... I ... damn!" I stomped the floor.

"I'm offering a place for you and your friends, to stay here for a while and train. You especially, for reckless usable of your powers could bring about undesired results."

"But Jade ... " I trailed off. I was caught in the dilemma that I knew he was right, and yet, I couldn't bear to leave Jade as he was for much longer.

"Storm, Jade would understand." Dracia said, putting a claw on my shoulder. "Take it from someone who know him best."

"There are times when even the teacher has to step down and become a student once again." Aigul agreed.

[He doesn't mean it literally, but you get the point, right?] Mirage asked.

Serac nodded.

"Guys ... thanks." I muttered, quickly wiping a tear from my eye. Turning back to Grix, I nodded. "I accept then. When do we start?"

Why did I suddenly feel like Luke Skywalker when he went to Yoda to continue his Jedi training? We all know how his recklessness sent him charging off partway.

Now, my challenge was to avoid that. Yet, I feared I didn't have the self-control to do so ...