Blade of Destiny

Chapter 10: Darkness Falls






	Dirt and stray rocks were flung into the air as Ash barely evaded another energy 
blast. "Pikachu, Thunder Net!!" he ordered as he leapt to his feet and prepared for 
another attack. The electricity crackled and snapped as Pikachu gathered its energy into 
its red cheeks. With a cry, it released the energy into a giant mass of glowing yellow 
light, illuminating the night with its intensity. It streaked through the air, taking the shape 
of a giant net before colliding and wrapping around its target. 
	Gary yelled out in pain as the electricity swept through his body, locking his 
muscles and paralyzing him. Ash smirked and rushed him, landing a flurry of kicks and 
punches onto his opponent's body before finishing with a massive uppercut that launched 
Gary into the air. Cupping his hands, he summoned a sphere of energy and flung it at 
him. Moments before the orb could reach him, Gary disappeared into the air.
	Ash looked around, trying to anticipate where Gary would reappear. "Be careful, 
buddy. Knowing him, he'll try to attack from behind." Pikachu nodded and crouched, 
ready for an incoming attack. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a figure dashing 
from the right. "Got ya!" he cried as he flung his leg out towards the approaching 
opponent. To his surprise, the figure passed through his leg and disappeared. 
	"Too slow," a voice said from behind him. Ash whirled around and hurled his fist, 
swiping nothing but air as Gary ducked. Gary flicked his hands out and fired a massive 
wave of psychic energy through Ash's body, sending him flying like a rag doll into the 
air. He smashed into a nearby tree which snapped in half and sent splinters flying into the 
sky.
	Ash flipped back up to his feet and prepared to counter with an attack of his own, 
only to be stopped by Scryer's gravelly voice. The old man stepped in between them 
before pointing his finger at Ash. "How many times do I have to tell you?! Anticipate the 
attack, then strike; not the other way around!!" 
	"It's Gary!! He never wants to fight straight up; he's always resorting to his little 
disappearing act! Maybe if he wasn't such a coward and stop using all of those long 
range moves, I'd be able to anticipate his attacks," Ash protested. Scryer shook his head 
before his flinging his thumb towards Gary. 
	"When are you going to learn, you idiot? Each of the Guardian Spirits' abilities is 
tailored towards their element, so you must create a fighting style that complements it. 
When was the last time you saw a Psychic pokemon get into a fistfight with another 
pokemon, huh?" Ash fell silent; the old man had a point. He looked up to see Gary 
grinning from ear to ear behind Scryer's back.
	"What the hell are you grinning about, stupid?" the old man said, surprising Gary. 
"You do need to learn more close range attacks; what are you going to do if somehow 
you can't you use your psychic abilities? You both need to learn balance between your 
physical and elemental attacks." Scryer shook his head and called Brendan and Max, who 
were sitting up against a nearby tree.
	"Come here, Poindexters. Show them how to fight correctly," he instructed as 
Brendan and Max took their positions in the large clearing of the woods. Both 
combatants nodded before taking a fighting stance and began circling each other. Max 
was the first to attack as he rushed Brendan and launched an assault of attacks on the 
white haired young man. 
	Brendan ducked, dodged and evaded the attacks while slowly backing up, careful 
not to be hit by Max's punches and kicks. Max threw a dummy punch to the left, causing 
Brendan to dodge right. Max smirked and swung a vicious right hook which connected 
with Brendan's jaw with a resounding smack. 
	He grunted and shook of the blow before countering with a barrage of his own 
attacks, driving Max backwards slowly. Suddenly, a throng of vines snapped up from the 
ground and tripped Max. Brendan quickly took advantage and landed two punches onto 
Max, striking Max in the kidneys. 
	Max cried out in pain as he slammed into the ground. Brendan quickly went for 
the finish and summoned a long thorn before leaping into the air with a loud cry. At the 
last moment, Max rolled backward and tossed a handful of sand into Brendan's eyes. He 
dropped the thorn, struggling to wipe the substance from his eyes. Max smirked and 
flicked his fist into the side of Brendan's neck with a brutal thwack. 
	Brendan dropped to the ground like a stone, unconscious. Scryer turned to Ash 
and Gary, smiling for the first time since they had arrived. 
       "That is how you fight. Now, let's see if you two idiots can get it right."
       
       ***
       
       
       "Now ladies, it's time for you to learn how to use your abilities to alter the 
elements around you," Stryker instructed. The stars had just begun to blink into sight, one 
by one, into the black sky overhead. The stream trickled through the rocks and flowed 
past Misty and the others, providing a serene surrounding. Stryker smiled and cupped his 
hand, taking a sip of the water before turning back to the women. 
       "I have already taught the guys about their elemental abilities, so they're with 
Scryer and his obscenely harsh combat training. But enough about that, let's get started, 
shall we?" he said as he clapped his hands together. "Misty, I want you to come here and 
stand near this stream," he instructed. Misty nodded and complied, standing on the 
stream's edge. "Remember your Awakening? How I told you to find your center of 
energy and all that?" 
       Misty nodded. "Good. I want you to do it again, but this time, I want you to focus 
on the water near you." Stryker said as he stepped back. Taking a deep breath, Misty 
closed her eyes and allowed the energy to flow throughout her body. Slowly, a light blue 
aura began to emanate from her body as the nearby water began to ripple and pull 
towards her.
       "Perfect. Now focus on the water, and envision the energy inside you to flow like 
a river." Misty sighed and began to focus on the steady trickling of water from the nearby 
stream; feeling the water flow through her entire body. The water in the stream began to 
splash and swirl fiercely from its banks. 
       May and Duplica watched in awe as the water began to lift and levitate into the 
air, churning and splattering before shaping itself into an orb of  liquid. Stryker smiled 
and turned to Duplica and May, whose jaws had dropped completely, amazed by what 
they were witnessing. 
       "Pretty cool, huh?"
       
       
       ***
       
       
       "How come you talk the way you do?" The question had caught Stryker off-guard 
as he sat with Brock and watched the others train with Scryer. Stryker looked at Brock 
for a moment, puzzled by the inquiry.
       "What do you mean?" Brock shrugged and picked up a small rock and crumbled 
it in his hands. 
       "I mean, why do you talk like us? For someone who's supposed to be over five 
hundred years old, you sure are in touch with the latest things." Stryker grinned and blew 
a stray hair from his face. 
       "Well, unlike the senile old man over there, I like to live among the normal 
people. He's the one who loves it on this mountain so much. He's the kinda guy who 
treasures his privacy, not to mention he was born around here. Whoops, look out," he 
warned as he leaned his head to the right, avoiding a stray rock that was flung from a 
large electric attack caused by Ash.
       "Watch what you're doing, Ketchum!! You almost hit me with that!" Gary yelled, 
barely dodging a kick from Misty.
       "Good!!" Ash replied in the distance as he sparred with Brendan. Stryker 
chuckled.
       "They don't like each other too much, do they? It seems like every five seconds 
they're at each others throats," he asked Brock. Brock laughed out loud for a moment and 
observed the others.
       "Well, they've been rivals ever since they were nine...but they're actually close 
friends. When they were younger though, Gary used to be a total jerk. But after a while, 
they patched things up. The ironic thing is if they weren't so fiercely competitive, they 
probably wouldn't be as good as they are now." Both men fell silent and watched the 
group in front them before Brock broke the silence again with another question.
       "So what exactly is a Keeper? I mean, were you born this way or what?" Stryker 
sighed and kicked a nearby pebble into the darkness. 
       "Keepers are humans commissioned by the Ancients to watch over certain things. 
My job is to watch over the sword and shield, while Scryer's job is to guard the ancient 
texts."
       "The Ancients?" Brock asked, now with great interest. Stryker nodded and looked 
into the night sky, seemingly lost in thought. 
       "The Ancients are the ones who created this world and everything in it. They 
specifically chose a select number of humans to guard special locations, objects and so 
on. Scryer and I were a part of the chosen few," he explained slowly. 
       "So there are others like you, then? All over the regions?" Stryker shook his head.
       "There used to be...before the Shadow Wars. Now Scryer and I are all that's left 
of them." The two were silent for a moment, as if they were giving their respects to the 
fallen Keepers.
       "Sorry. I shouldn't have asked," Brock apologized. Stryker shook his head and 
smiled. 
       "No need to apologize. You didn't know."
       "So you used to be a normal human and these Ancient guys just called you to be a 
Keeper? Didn't you used to have a life before all this happened?"
       Stryker fell silent and sighed again. "Yeah....I was actually about to be married at 
the time when I was called. But...I had to leave everything of my old life behind...friends, 
family, everything. So did Scryer." A wave of silence passed over them again before 
Stryker cleared his throat and stood up. "Well, looks like he's finally wrapping it up for 
today. Let's roll." 
       Brock nodded and slowly got up, saddened by Stryker's confession. He had to 
give up everything...just because these Ancients wanted him to do something for them. No 
wonder he seems so distant at times..., he thought to himself as he began to stroll towards 
the departing group.
       "Brock, hurry up! We're starving!!" Ash yelled out to him. 
       "Yeah...I'm coming." 
       
       
       ***
       
       
       "How long until the Board arrives?" Cassidy ran a hand through her blonde hair 
and stared through the window into the laboratory.  
       "Two days. We have two days until they arrive and want an update on our 
progress. Have you gotten a hold of the Doctor yet?" Her companion shook his head.
       "Nope. The guy's disappeared. The last report of him was from Stephens; he said 
as soon as the Book of Azrael was translated, he took it and ran off like a bat outta hell. 
He'd better show up before the Board gets here, I know that. I will not be taking the fall 
for his absence."
       "Well, the Guardians should keep them busy for a while. They'll be very 
interested in their development." Butch nodded and turned to leave. "Since the Doc isn't 
here, I'm gonna take a closer look at that shield. Wanna come with?" Roxanne smirked.
       "Sure, why not?"
       
       
       ***
       
       
       "Why the hell are we out in the mountains?" Agent Jacobs kicked a small pebble 
out of boredom and groaned. "I mean seriously, who would have a top secret 
headquarters in the wilderness? And so close to the Indigo Plateau at that!"
       The rest of the team turned to him and rolled their eyes. "Stop complaining. Agent 
Jenkins said that we should search every inch of the area around here, so that's exactly 
what we're going to do. Now keep moving," the team leader ordered. Jacobs mumbled as 
he slung his assault rifle over his shoulder and kept pace with the team. 
       The team quietly trekked through the mountain trail, scanning for any signs of 
Ultima activity before one of the agents broke the silence. "Did you hear about Agent 
Sketchit?" 
       "Yeah, I heard he was the mole. I never really liked him anyway...he was so 
annoying. Always talking about what he was going to draw and crap; it never stopped." 
The others chuckled and continued walking. 
       "It's really bad though...I heard they found a lot of children's bodies in the rubble 
of the city. Last I heard the death count was up to two hundred thousand," one agent said 
as he slammed his fist into his palm. "When I catch one of these Ultima bastards, I'm 
gonna rip him a whole new one." The team nodded as Jacobs cleared his throat.
       "Did you hear about those stories about the guys floating in the air and stuff? 
Tyler said that he saw one of 'em shoot lightning bolts outta their hands." 
       "You honestly believe that?" An agent snickered. "There's no way in hell that 
somebody was doing stuff like that. He must have just seen a pokemon use an attack, 
that's all."
       Another agent spoke up. "I don't know...I kinda believe him. For the past few 
days, I've been seeing lots of weird lights and shit up on these mountains. I kinda didn't 
want to come here." 
       The team leader sighed and pulled his assault rifle from his shoulder. "Let's a take 
a break. We still have a lot of ground to cover." The team murmured in agreement and 
dropped their equipment on the ground. 
       "I gotta take a piss. I'll be right back," Jacobs said, walking off from the group 
towards the mountain. He heard the group reply as he left towards the stone wall. He 
groaned and reached down to unzip his pants before he stopped abruptly. He felt a breeze 
blow across his hand; but looked around to observe the trees around him. They were still 
and unmoving. 
       "Wait a second...." He moved closer to the stone wall and placed his hands 
against it, and felt a cold air seeping from the rock. Narrowing his eyes, he knocked to the 
side of the stone he was facing. It sounded normal...then followed by knocking against 
the rock he was facing. It was a different sound; as if the wall was...hollow. 
       With a grunt, he leaned up against the wall and shoved with all his might. His 
eyes widened as he felt the rock shudder and begin to move, emitting a small creaking 
sound. Jacobs snatched his walkie-talkie and pressed the button on his receiver. 
       "Sir...you'll never believe what I found..."
       
       
       ***
       
       
       Ash stared into the fire quietly, the crackling flames casting a faint glow on his 
face. The air was still; all of the others had gone through quite a day of training; they had 
all gained a lot of control over their elemental abilities. 
       But that was not what was occupying thoughts. The incident with Misty was still 
fresh in his mind, and he couldn't shake it out of his head at all. He could still feel the 
touch of her lips on his; he could still smell her scent in his nostrils. 
       He sighed and tossed a rock into the fire as he heard the door of the cabin creak 
open. The dried leaves and twigs crunched under the approaching figure's footsteps. 
"What are you still doing out here? It's almost midnight; and you know how the old man 
loves to get up at the crack of dawn." 
       Ash glanced up to see Gary sit down, across from him on an overturned rock. 
"Couldn't sleep." Gary laid down on the rock and sighed. 
       "You can't either, huh?" The young man raised his hand to the sky and gazed at 
the stars above, chuckling. "This reminds me of when we were younger; when we 
couldn't get to a pokemon center in time and we had to camp out in the woods."
       Ash laughed, remembering the times he had spent in his youth. "Yeah, those were 
the days, huh? Only thing we had to worry about was how we were gonna win our next 
badge. None of this saving the world shit..." Ash looked over in Gary's direction. "Well, 
you didn't have to worry about that last part."
       "Yeah, Misty told me about what happened at the Orange Islands. Who would've 
thought; puny little Ash Ketchum is the Chosen One." They both laughed and fell silent, 
observing the star-filled sky. 
       Slowly, Gary sat up and stared into the fire, a solemn look on his face. "Listen 
Ash, I know we have our arguments and we get in fights a lot, but I consider you to be 
one of my closest friends." Gary sighed and ran a hand through his brown hair. "I got a 
feeling something big is going to happen. I don't know what or when...but if something 
happens to me; take of Misty for me, will you?"
       "Gary, don't talk like that. We're all gonna come out of this ok, got it? None of us 
are going to die." They both fell silent again, listening to the calming silence of the forest. 
       "So Ash, how did you beat me in the museum anyway?"
       
       
       ***
       
       
       
       Stryker held the sword in his hand and sliced the air a few times. "It's been five 
hundred years since I laid eyes on this blade...and every time I hate to see this damn 
thing." Scryer grunted and sat down on his bed. "Does he have any idea?"
       Scryer shook his head. "No, he has none. It's very good that he does not find out 
either...I don't want this situation to become any more serious than it already is. Do you 
have any idea where the shield is?"
       "Nope." Stryker tossed the weapon to Scryer, who caught it in one hand and 
sheathed it. 
       "When we go into battle, take this weapon with you. We can never be too safe. 
And be prepared...I can feel that something very serious is going to happen."
       
       
       ***
       
       
       "I want this place to be in top condition!! The Board will be arriving in five 
minutes!!" Steadman ordered to the scurrying Ultima agents. They had just received 
word that the Board was on their way up the mountain; and they still could not locate Dr. 
Leto. On top of that, Butch and Cassidy had gone missing also; the Board was not 
forgiving for anyone being absent in their presence.
       So, Steadman and the other Guardians had to take command in their absence and 
order a facility-wide inspection. Everything would be perfect; or so Steadman hoped. A 
lone agent rushed up to the Guardians and pulled off his receiver. "Guardian Steadman," 
he gasped as he desperately tried to catch his breath. "They're here. They've just parked 
in the northern parking garage." 
       Steadman and the others nodded, and proceeded to the parking garage. "Let's just 
pray they go easy on us," he said as he swung open the doors and strolled up to the lone 
van parked in the middle of the empty facility. All of the Guardians froze as two Elite 
Agents rushed out of the van and slid the doors open.
       An older woman with red hair, clad in a business suit stepped out, followed by a 
young man with blue hair. Soon, the other three Board members filed out, each of them 
wearing a blank look on their face as they inspected their greeters.
       "So you are the Guardians, I assume?" A man with dark brown hair wearing an 
orange business suit questioned. The Guardians nodded and saluted hastily. 
       "Where are Doctor Leto and the Directors of this facility?" The red hair woman 
inquired as the Guardians led the group out of the parking garage and into the base. As 
they entered, every agent on the premises was filed in a straight line, standing at attention 
as the entourage walked in between them.
       "They...are deposed at this time, ma'am. But no need to worry, they will be back 
shortly." Steadman answered. They better be..., he thought to himself. 
       "Very well. Take us to the laboratory; we are curious about this shield." Steadman 
nodded and held his hand out, leading the way. As they traveled through the facility, the 
Guardians explained everything they knew about the ancient texts. 
       Finally, the reached the lab and entered through the sliding doors. "Sir, the shield 
is right over here. I must say that we-" he was brutally interrupted as an explosion rocked 
the facility, knocking everyone to the ground.
       "What the hell was that?!" Jessie exclaimed as she picked herself up from the 
ground and began to help the Board members up. Alarms screeched through the room, 
the lights flickered on and off, signaling an intruder was near.  
       Roxanne ran towards a nearby console and patched through to the main security 
room. She could see through the screen that the area was in complete pandemonium; 
random agents scurried around, trying desperately to figure out what was going and how 
to stop it. 
       "What is going on out there?!"  A small, mousy technician appeared on the 
screen, panting and sweat dripping from his forehead.
       "Ma'am, it's the League Special Forces!! They've somehow found us and now 
they're trying to break through the main entrance!!" he explained before ducking to avoid 
a nearby mainframe, which sparked then exploded. 
       "Special Forces?! How did we not see them coming?! Don't we have surveillance 
equipment created for that exact purpose?! Why weren't you people doing your jobs?!" 
Roxanne yelled over the blaring alarms.
       "Ma'am, they overloaded our mainframes with a huge force of Porygons that they 
had deployed through the net! They slipped through our firewalls and brought down the 
security and surveillance systems. We could barely bring up the automated defense 
systems before the mainframe blew!"
       James walked up to the screen. "Have they penetrated the outer wall of the main 
entrance?" The technician shook his head.
       "No, sir. That wall is seven feet of solid granite. None of the explosives they have 
are strong enough to break through that. What do you want us to do?"
       "I want all available personnel to gear up and prepare for battle; technicians, 
scientists, cooks, pokemon; everyone!! Bring the Elite Agents out of cryo-stasis and prep 
them for battle also. We will not lose this shield a second time!" James ordered through 
the screen. The technician saluted before killing the connection.
       "Excuse me, Guardian James?" James turned his head. One of the Board members 
stood in front of the case that held the shield and pointed.
       "Is the shield supposed to be glowing like that?"
       
       ***
       
       
       The dirt flew into Harrison's eyes as he crouched behind a large rock to escape 
the barrage of gunfire that erupted from the mountain. "How the hell did they get 
automated guns inside stone walls?!" he yelled as he popped out and fired a few more 
shots from his assault rifle before ducking back into cover. 
       The entry team was trying to figure out a way to break through the stone when a 
large number of sentry guns popped out from the rocks and began firing on them. All two 
hundred members of the entry team were pinned down by the covering fire from the 
defenses.
       Jenkins shrugged and reloaded. "I have no clue. But this is getting us 
nowhere...we need to find a way inside. We can't even take any pokemon out yet; they'll 
be slaughtered in a matter of seconds. Where are Chief Azusa and the Gym Leaders?"
       "They went around to the other side of the mountain with the Elite Four and a 
special team. I doubt they're having any luck though...I'm hearing on the comlink that 
these guns surround the entire structure. But I mean seriously; he would've thought to 
make a base in a mountain? That's some James Bond shit, man."
       Harrison peeked out, assessing the situation before turning to Jenkins. "Ok, here's 
the plan. I think if we sever those cords that are powering the sentry guns, they'll shut 
down. I'll need you to provide some cover, got it?" Jenkins nodded and cocked his rifle. 
"Alright, let's go!" 
       Jenkins leaned over the side of the rock and sprayed wildly at the gun, hoping to 
catch its attention and draw its fire. "Now!" Harrison nodded and sprung out from cover, 
getting a bead on the small wire that hung out from the machine.
       "Gotcha." He smirked and squeezed the trigger, letting bullets spew from his 
weapon. The machine sparked for a moment, then exploded into a fireball. "Yes!" He 
turned to take aim at the next one before it ignited into a plume of flames. 
       "Damn, that's some good shooting!" Jenkins yelled as he ducked back behind the 
rock. 
       "That wasn't me that time!!" 
       "Then who was it?" 
       Both of them stared at each other for a moment, puzzled. "Actually, that was me." 
Jenkins and Harrison whirled around, finding themselves face to face with their comrade. 
       "Gary?!" Harrison exclaimed over the surrounding gunfire. "Where the hell have 
you been?!" Gary simply smiled. 
       "It's a long story. Where's the Chief?" 
       Jenkins pointed to the mountain. "They're on the other side of the mountain, 
trying to find another way in."
       Gary smirked. "Good, they're probably in by now. Some friends of mine are over 
there too. But we need to get in this main entrance."
       "Yeah, but this outer wall is too thick. None of our explosives can penetrate it. 
We've tried everything we can think of." Gary smiled and turned, whistling loudly into 
the trees. 
       "Don't worry, we've got it under control," he said as Ash and Brock came 
bounding out from the woods behind them, Pikachu following close behind. Gary turned 
and conversed with them quickly before nodding. Brock took off and hid behind a rock 
that sat in front of the large stone wall that blocked the entrance to the base as Ash and 
Gary turned towards the numerous auto guns that littered the mountain. 
       "What the hell are you two doing?! You want to be killed or something?!" 
Harrison jumped up and began to sprint towards the two young men, only to be blown 
back by a huge burst of power. Harrison looked up and couldn't believe his eyes. 
       Gary and Ash were standing side by side, their bodies glowing, sending the grass 
around them flying into the air as they summoned the energy within them. Harrison 
backed up quickly and hid behind the rock as Gary flicked his hand. A number of the 
guns exploded into pieces, sending shrapnel everywhere. Ash flung his hand forward and 
sent a large streak of electricity that fried the remaining defenses. 
       The machines sputtered and crackled for a moment before they followed suit and 
detonated just as the others had. The glow that surrounded their bodies faded quickly and 
dissipated into the air around them.
       Gary cupped his hands and yelled. "Ok, Brock!! We're all clear!!" Jenkins and 
Harrison sat there with their mouths wide open, amazed at what they had witnessed as 
Ash turned to them and chuckled. 
       "I know...it's really cool, huh?" He glanced and looked at Brock who was 
standing in front of the massive stone wall, cracking his knuckles. "Better brace 
yourselves." 
       The Rock Guardian sprinted forward, the very earth quaking under his heavy 
footsteps as he raised his arm and closed his fist. With a loud cry, he slammed his fist into 
the granite, sending a shockwave throughout the area that blew away the lighter rocks 
into the air. A deafening crack erupted through the air, and then all fell silent. 
       Jenkins slowly peeked over the rock to Brock dusting off his hands...but the wall 
was still intact. "Nice...well, that was a complete waste of time and effort," he said 
sarcastically. 
       Suddenly, as if in response to Jenkins' snide remark, a large crack began to spread 
across the wall. It was quickly followed by a myriad of other, smaller cracks as the wall 
became a spider web of fractures. With a boom, the entire stone wall crumbled and 
collapsed into itself. As the dust and debris began to settle, Jenkins could spot a large 
metal corridor leading into the heart of the mountain.
       Ash appeared beside Jenkins and grinned. "You were saying?"
       
       
       ***
       
       
       Max dodged another blow with ease, and countered with a swift punch to the 
kidneys. The Ultima agent crumpled to the metal floor, unconscious. The man was going 
to need a dialysis machine from now on. It had been at least an hour since he and the 
others had run into Chief Azusa and the others and proceeded into the compound. 
       The group had split up when a stray rocket struck the ceiling above them and 
caused it to collapse, separating them. Lorelei, one of the members of the Elite Four, had 
spotted a map on the wall and discovered that there was a large hub-like area in the center 
of the base. She suggested that they all meet up and construct a plan there. 
       So Max had been dashing throughout the various corridors of the compound, 
taking out any poor Ultima agent who had happened upon him. I could've sworn I've 
been here before, he thought to himself as he took a left turn into another hallway. Maybe 
if every damn hallway didn't all look exactly the same, I'd know where I was going.  He 
turned down another hallway before groaning. 
       A large group of Ultima agents were sprawled across the metal floor, almost 
blocking the way, obviously his fine handiwork. Damn it, I'm going around in circles. 
Screw it; I'll make my own way outta here. He closed his eyes and gathered his energy 
into his palm, forming a shining white ball in the middle of his hand. 
       He threw the orb of energy, blowing away a nearby wall, creating his own exit. 
He grinned and stepped through the newly made hole, and examined the room. The area 
was nothing but white; white walls, white floors, even the door was white and seemed to 
blend into the room itself. Only a large mirror, positioned on a far wall provided any 
contrast to the stark white space. 
       The whiteness of the room almost seemed to give off its own light as he strolled 
over to mirror and gazed into it. Suddenly, his senses flared wildly, and Max ducked just 
in time as the mirror exploded, sending shards of glass into the air. Two long rods stuck 
out of the wall opposite of the Max, clearly intended for his head. 
       Max rolled backwards and leapt to his feet as a figure stepped through the mirror. 
It was Tracy, smiling from ear to ear as his feet crunched on the glass below him. "Well, 
well, well. Look what the Persian dragged in." 
       Max growled as the two men began to circle each other in the room. "Damn, 
Tracy. I was hoping you'd be killed by the Special Forces by now." Tracy shrugged.
       "Well, what can I say? I'm just like that little cockroach that you just can't kill, no 
matter how much poison you use or how many times you try to stomp on it."
       Max balled his fists together in anticipation. "Well, you got the cockroach part 
right." Tracy simply chuckled.
       "The point I was trying to get across is that I simply refuse to die."
       Max cracked his neck. "Well, looks like I'll have to remedy that then, won't I?" 
Tracy smirked as he pushed his palms forward. Slowly, two long stingers extended from 
his hands as Max's eyes opened wide with surprise. 
       "Now, what was that about killing me?" Tracy said before he sprinted towards 
Max, brandishing a stinger in each hand. With blinding speed, he swiped at Max, the air 
whistling as the weapon sliced through the air. 
       Max avoided the attack and back flipped, trying to put some space between 
himself and the Insect Guardian. He channeled his energy to his fists, making them glow 
brightly in the white room. He might be unarmed, but his charged attacks were better 
than nothing. 
       He prepared himself as Tracy rushed in for another attack. 
       
       
       ***
       
       
       "Ditto, go!! Take out those snipers in the rafters!!" The small, pink blob 
squeaked, then began to glow a bright white as its body morphed into a ferocious looking 
Fearow. Well, it would have looked ferocious if it weren't for the unusual looking smiley 
face that adorned the gigantic bird. 
       The group had arrived in the hub of the compound only to be met with heavy 
resistance. At least four hundred heavily armed Ultima agents were ready, pokemon by 
their sides. Almost all of Azusa's force of five hundred, along with the Elite Four, Gym 
Leaders and the Guardians had to scatter for cover as the battle erupted in seconds. 
Explosions rocked the compound as pokemon and human alike attacked each other with 
extreme malice. 
       "Go, before you get hit by any stray bullets!" 
       "Dit!" The bird squeaked in reply as it flapped its wings and took off towards the 
agents perched in the rafters above, pecking them fiercely with its long, sharp beak. The 
snipers cried out in pain and began to swipe wildly at the huge pokemon. Unfortunately, 
the agents scurried a bit too much and slipped off of the narrow metal bars and fell to the 
ground below with a loud thump. 
       Duplica smiled; then shrieked loudly as a stray bullet ricocheted near her leg. 
Guardian or not, a lucky shot could end the young woman's life rather swiftly. She 
peered out from her cover, scanning the area around her. A large group of agents were 
huddled up behind a group of overturned crates, firing on Azusa and his team, who were 
pinned down near an overturned jeep. 
       "Misty!!" she yelled over the thunderous gunfire. Her red-haired companion 
turned, clutching an assault rifle. "I'm gonna blind that group over there! I want you to 
flush them out, got it?!" Misty nodded and fingered a pokeball that was attached to her 
belt. 
       "Good!" Duplica took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She began to go through 
the rituals that Stryker had taught her, summoning the energy inside of her body and 
focusing it in a single area. The energy formed into a single glowing orb, illuminating 
almost everything around it. 
       "Cover your eyes!!" she yelled as she flung the orb high into the air. It hovered 
for a moment, and then suddenly exploded into a shower of blinding light, filling the area 
with its white energy. She could hear the agents cry out as the light filled their eyes, 
blinding them instantly. 
       "Misty, now!!!" Misty nodded and tossed the pokeball out in front of her. It 
opened with a loud crack and another flash of light as the energy formed into a massive 
blue tortoise, two large and menacing looking cannons adorning the shell on its back. 
       "Blastoise, Hydro Pump!!" The pokemon nodded as the cannons lowered 
themselves and snapped into place with a loud click. The cannons seemed to expand for a 
moment from the sheer pressure of the liquid that pulsed through them before it was 
finally fired. 
       The twin streams of water streaked through the air towards their target and 
slammed into the metal crates. The crates creaked and groaned under the huge pressure of 
the water, but still held firm. Misty growled and flung her hand out in front of her, her 
eyes glowing a brilliant blue. Astoundingly, the water separated into streams and 
wrapped around the crates, smashing into the Ultima agents from both sides.
       Some were crushed from the sheer might of the liquid, being killed instantly. 
Others simply drowned in the water's powerful stream, while one was flung into a nearby 
wall, leaving a large crack in the plaster.
       Misty dropped her hand and ordered Blastoise to cease its attack. Azusa shook the 
water from his hair as he rose from his hiding spot with the others. Her attack had filled 
the entire hub area with water that was almost knee high. 
       "Kanto Gym Leaders, go help out that group over there!! Johto and Hoenn 
leaders, secure the vehicles!!" Azusa ordered to the group that was with him. Even 
though Misty's attack had transformed the area, there was still a large number of Ultima 
agents scattered about the huge hub, still locked in combat. 
        "Zippo, go!!" Ritchie commanded as he tossed the pokeball out.  A large red 
dragon appeared from the sphere and roared ferociously as the water splashed its fiery 
tail. "Zippo, you're gonna need to fly around and attack got it?!" 
       The dragon grunted as it flapped its wings and rose off of the ground, splashing 
water all over its master. "Ok Sparky, you go with Zippo and help him out too. And be 
careful your attacks hit the agents and not the water!!" The small Pikachu chirped and 
leapt on Zippo's back. "Alright, get outta here. If things get too dangerous, I want you 
guys to get outside!" 
       Zippo grunted again and flapped its wings, taking off towards a large group of 
Ultima agents. Ritchie ran over to Misty and Duplica, making sure they were alright. 
"Ok, I think we should wait here until the others get here. We can't-get down!!" Ritchie 
screamed as he shoved them both out of the way of a rampaging jeep. 
       "Damn it, they got into the garage!!" he screamed as he flung a huge wall of 
flame at the speeding vehicle. Almost instantly, the gas tank ignited and the jeep 
exploded in a ball of fire, crashing into a nearby wall. "We need to get outta here before 
they bring in their tanks!!" 
       Suddenly the wall behind them shuddered and collapsed as a massive steel vehicle 
lumbered through and pointed its turret at Ritchie. "Me and my big ass mouth," he said as 
the turret fired a shell at him, the recoil slamming the tank backwards. 
       "Ritchie!!" Duplica screamed as Ritchie huddled himself together in some attempt 
to protect himself from the shot. The shell suddenly exploded in mid-air, as if it had 
struck a wall or some type of obstruction. Before any of them could tell what was going 
on, a blur whizzed past the tank, a loud clang filling the air. 
       The tank continued to lumber on until the turret slid off of it the vehicle. The rest 
of the tank followed suit, as the tank fell apart only to explode in a huge fireball. Ritchie 
stared for a moment, confused at what had just gone on until he spotted a tuft of silver 
hair appear behind the now ruined tank. 
       "Stryker!! How the hell did you do that?!" Ritchie exclaimed as he rushed over to 
the Keeper. Stryker chuckled and spun his weapon around his hand. 
       "Blade of Destiny, kiddo. Able to slice through anything, and I mean anything." 
       "You made the barrier too?"
       Stryker sheathed the sword and pointed behind Ritchie. "That was Gary. Scryer, 
Brock and Ash had to take out a few Ultima scumbags before catching up. I don't know 
why they bothered, though. May was wiping the floor with 'em."
       "So what do we do now?" Stryker scratched the back of his head and smiled at the 
others who were rushing towards them. 
       "If I find the shield, I'll have a matching set," he replied with a smile.
       
       
       ***
       
       "We've lost Sectors 2 through 7, ma'am! These Special Forces guys aren't 
screwing around!!" a random technician yelled from the monitor. Roxanne rolled her 
eyes. 
       "Obviously, Hayes. Are the Elite Agents ready yet?" Hayes glanced at the 
monitor beside him and smiled. 
       "Yes, ma'am! They are all thawed and prepped for battle. Do you want me to give 
the order to send them in?"
       Roxanne smacked the monitor, cracking the screen. "What the hell do you think?! 
Of course you give out the order, you idiot!! Summers out!" Roxanne growled and flung 
the monitor across the room. "We're already being overrun by these bastards, and I have 
to deal with idiots like that?!" 
       "You should calm down, Roxanne. Getting angry will get you absolutely 
nowhere," a voice said behind her. Roxanne whirled around to find the Doctor walking 
into the laboratory with a bright smile on his face.
       "Where the hell have you been?! In case you haven't noticed, we under massive 
attack!! Not to mention Butch and Cassidy have disappeared; and on top of that, the 
Board has been waiting here for hours!!" Steadman screamed as another explosion shook 
the room. 
       "Steadman, what are you talking about? Butch and Cassidy are right here," he 
explained calmly as the two casually walked into the laboratory. "I ran into them when I 
was coming back, and they have had quite the experience..." The Doctor trailed off when 
he saw the Board members standing behind the Guardians.
       "Ah, members of the Board, you're just in time. I apologize for my late entry, but 
I had very important business to attend to." One of the Board members folded his arms, a 
stony expression on his face.
       "More important than the Board? What have you been working on exactly?" The 
Doctor smiled again and patted him on the back. The Guardians gasped; no one touched 
the Board members, not even them. 
       "Giovanni, my good man, I'll show you right now." He gestured towards the 
group and stood in front of the case containing the shield. "Butch, if you would please?" 
Butch nodded and held his arm up, which suddenly seemed to melt and turn silver. His 
metallic arm churned about like a living liquid before hardening into a long metal blade.
       With a grunt, he swiftly slashed the case, which shattered instantly. The others 
stared, mouths wide open, as the Doctor leaned down and picked up the large silver disk. 
He searched his lab coat pocket and fished out a small jewel. "The power of the 
Guardians in the palm of my hand."
       
       
       ***
       
       "Sir, it seems that the Ultima agents are falling back!" Harrison yelled as he 
emptied his clip into the retreating enemy. The Guardians had taken off, leaving Azusa 
and his team behind. The Guardians had nearly crippled the Ultima force, and it was 
obvious they could take no more. 
       "I know!! We need to chase them down and take out every last one of them!!" he 
replied as he slammed a fresh clip into his assault rifle. A large Charizard swooped 
overhead and released a huge roll of flame onto the escaping Ultima agents. Their dying 
screams echoed throughout the hub as the fire scorched and blackened their skin. 
       As it swung around for another pass, Zippo was suddenly smacked in the face by 
a large stream of water. The dragon roared in pain and crashed into the now ankle-high 
water below. It barely was able to keep its tail out the water as it passed out. 
       "What the hell was that? I know those Guardians didn't turn on us!" Jenkins 
yelled as the team searched for the origin of the attack. Almost all of the team jumped as 
the large metal door on their left emitted a loud bang. The door shook as something 
smacked it again, its hinges barely able to hold the door in place. 
       Finally, with one last blow, the door was flung from its hinges and was hurled 
across the room, splashing into the water with a loud bang. Azusa's heart leapt into his 
throat as he saw what had caused the door to be destroyed. 
       Five men, all clad in black were standing in the area where the steel door had 
been, were standing there silently, blank looks on their faces. Azusa instantly knew who 
these men were. 
       
	Elite Agents. 
       
	He found out about them in the information that Max had downloaded and given 
to the Special Forces. Team Ultima was experimenting with genetics research and these 
men were their most successful experiment. The madmen at Ultima had implanted 
pokemon DNA into the human genome, creating what they called "the perfect soldier". 
All subjects received enhanced strength, speed, agility and endurance that were far 
beyond the limits of normal humans.
       Not only that, but four of the five men had contracted limited control over a 
certain element. They were nowhere near as powerful as the Guardians, but they were 
still a force to be reckoned with. For the first time in a very long time, Azusa was truly 
scared. Summoning up all the courage he could muster, he gave the order. 
       "Open fire!!!" 
       
       
       ***
       
       Pain exploded through Tracy's body as he was flung through a wall. He and Max 
had been going at it for quite a while, but Tracy was clearly the superior fighter. Well, he 
was for a while anyway. Just as he was about to land the killing blow, Max's power 
suddenly exploded off the charts. 
       He began to fight back with a fury he had never seen before, and Tracy could 
barely keep up. He coughed and could taste the metallic flavor of his own blood in his 
mouth. He struggled to his feet and faced Max as he launched another energy blast his 
way. 
       Tracy leapt, but the shockwave of the blast hurled his body into another table, 
snapping it in two. "What's the matter, Kenji?! You were boasting about how much 
better you were than me just a little while ago!" 
       Max's voice was no longer his own; it carried such a commanding tone to it that 
the walls seemed to rumble each time he spoke. His eyes glistened with power as he 
slammed his foot into Tracy's gut. 
       He spun in the air and landed on the ground, coughing harshly and struggling to 
breathe as the wind was knocked out of him. I can't let him kill me, not now, he thought 
as a knee was smashed into his face. 
       Blood spilled from his nose onto the floor, as the pain erupted throughout his 
body. His face burned as if someone had placed a torch on it; his vision was starting to 
become blurry. Max laughed, and yanked Tracy to his feet. 
       "As my host would have said, 'My calculations tell me that the probability of 
your survival is absolutely zero.'" He chuckled and shoved his fist into Tracy's gut again. 
The young man collapsed to the floor and clutched his stomach, barely able to stay 
conscious. 
       "Foolish boy. You have challenged Masato, the Guardian of Balance, and now 
you will pay with your life." Tracy could hear the energy humming above his head as 
Masato prepared his final attack. This was it...he was really going to die. 
        I can't believe I'm going to be killed by this asshole, Tracy thought as he prepared 
himself for the inevitable. But if I go down, I'm going down with my fists swinging. 
"Now, Kenji, it is time for me to send you to the Void." Tracy felt Masato's hands raise 
up as he was about to throw the energy blast. 
       At the last moment, Tracy hurled himself over to the side, narrowly avoiding the 
blast. Masato was open to attack for only a split second, and that was all that Tracy 
needed. He extended another stinger from his palm and slammed it into the kidney area 
of Masato's side. The world froze as both men realized what had happened. Masato 
turned to finish Tracy off and take them both, but Tracy had other plans. 
       He extended one last stinger and stabbed Masato in the neck. He could feel the 
flesh separate as the stinger penetrated his skin. Masato simply sat there gurgling on his 
own blood as he still reached out for Tracy. 
        This bastard just won't die!! With a yell, he smacked the stinger in deeper with 
his palm, the blood flowing out of his neck like a crimson river. Masato grabbed his neck, 
and collapsed onto the floor, the life in him gone. The room fell silent as what he had 
done began to sink in.
       Tracy grinned and spat on Max's dead body. "Did you calculate that shit, 
Poindexter?!" Suddenly, his body vibrated violently, and a large beam of light shot out of 
hi, knocking Tracy off of his feet. 
       The white beam danced in the air for a moment before taking off out of the room, 
leaving a battered and bewildered Tracy. Tracy stared, dumbstruck for a moment before a 
sly smile crept across his lips. 
       "One down, eight to go."
       
       
       ***
       
       The Coliseum's tranquility was viciously disrupted as the main door slammed 
open. Stryker, Scryer, and the other Guardians rushed into the gigantic stadium, breathing 
hard. All of them stopped for a moment to catch their breath. 
       "This...this lab has got to be around here....somewhere," Ash gasped between 
gulps of air. Even Pikachu was exhausted by the sheer amount of running that they had 
done while searching for the lab. Stryker examined the stadium around them, feeling a 
wave of familiarity wash over him.
       "This place looks familiar, huh Scryer?" The old man grunted and dismissed 
Stryker with a wave of his hand. 
       "No, it doesn't." He opened his mouth to say more before a huge orb of white 
light came streaking through the door. It swirled in the air for a moment, as if searching 
the something then paused. In a flash, it flew towards the sword and collided with it in a 
brilliant flash of light. 
       The others shielded their eyes until the light subsided, and glanced at the sword, 
which was now glowing. A streak of white flashed for a moment before becoming dull 
again. 
       May glanced at the sword. "What was that?" Stryker unsheathed the weapon and 
examined it; a saddened look fell on his face. "What is it? What's wrong?"
       Stryker sheathed the sword and stayed silent for a moment. Taking a deep breath, 
he looked into May's eyes. "May...I'm sorry, but your brother's...." he paused, reluctant 
to finish the sentence. 
       May's eyes fell as she looked back at him. "What? What's wrong with Max?" 
Stryker glanced towards Scryer, who also wore a saddened look on his face. 
       "Max is....dead. I'm so sorry, May...but he's dead." May stared blankly for a 
moment before shaking her head fiercely. 
       "NO! You're lying!!!" she screamed at him. 
       "Yes...he is. If the host of a Guardian is killed, the Guardian itself is sent back to 
its place of origin...since Max is dead, the Guardian of Balance has returned to the 
sword," Scryer slowly explained. 
       "NO, SHUT UP!! You don't know shit, old man!!" The tears welled up in her 
eyes as she refused to believe what had happened. "My brother's not dead!!
       "Oh, yes he is," a voice chimed behind them. The group turned around, spotting a 
very battered looking Tracy, holding Max's body over his shoulder. "I will say though, 
the little bastard put up quite a fight." 
       May's puffed eyes flashed with rage and grief as she saw the body of Max in his 
hands. "YOU BASTARD!! I'LL KILL YOU!!" she shrieked and rushed Tracy, intent on 
avenging her brother's death with her bare hands.  She flung her fist into Tracy's face, 
sending a sickening smack that echoed throughout the empty Coliseum. 
       Tracy collapsed, dropping Max's body on the ground, as her attack connected 
with his face. She picked him up and flung him across the stadium, his now-unconscious 
body sailing through the air and landing onto the hard steel bleachers. 
       May blindly lashed on top of Tracy, striking him repeatedly, slamming his head 
into the bleachers until a large crack echoed through the stadium. Ash thought it was 
Tracy's head finally cracking open from the barrage of attacks that May had launched on 
him. Suddenly, the ground beneath Tracy and May gave way and they fell through the 
stone floor. 
       The others rushed over to the newly made hole and blindly leapt in, praying May 
was alright. The air around them was pitch black; they couldn't even their hands in front 
of them as the group began to feel their way around the hidden chamber. "Pikachu, Flash. 
Give us some light around here." 
       "Pika," the rodent replied as a bright light, emitted from the small pokemon, 
illuminated the darkness around them. May lay in front of them, lying on top of Tracy's 
body. Ash picked her up and checked her pulse.
       "Is she ok?" Brock inquired. Ash nodded and slung her across his shoulder. 
       "She's just knocked out. Let's get the hell outta here and find that shield." The 
others nodded and turned to leave before being stopped by a quiet chuckle. 
       "What's your hurry? It's right here." The group whirled around only to be 
assaulted by a flurry of attacks. All of them collapsed to the ground, groaning in pain as 
Steadman walked over and yanked the sword out of its sheath. Ash groggily looked up, 
his vision blurred from the ferocity of the attacks he had just endured. 
       Doctor Leto, along with the other Guardians and the Board were standing in front 
of a large mural of ferocious looking creatures, a look of victory on their faces. "Well, 
well, if it isn't the Guardians themselves. Allow me to properly introduce myself," he 
said, bowing courteously. 
       "I am Doctor Ryan Leto, an expert on the ancient texts and the Legend of the 
Controller. I am glad to be in the presence of all Guardians at the same time...it is truly an 
honor." Scryer groaned and struggled to his feet, only to be knocked back down by a 
stream of sludge from Jessie. 
       "So you two are the Keepers? I must say, you haven't that great of a job seeing as 
I've gotten this far already." He turned to the gigantic mural behind him and sighed. "The 
Legacy Beasts...the scourge of the world, banished by the Guardians over five hundred 
years ago during the Shadow Wars. But you should consider yourselves lucky. You are 
about to have a firsthand look at the sheer might of the Legacy Beasts, a power that rivals 
the Guardians themselves. Steadman, the sword please." 
       Steadman walked over and placed the weapon into the Doctor's hands. "Let's 
begin, shall we?" He chuckled and beckoned for the Board to come near. The group of 
people walked over and made a small circle around the Doctor, chanting in an ancient 
tongue none of them had ever heard of. 
       The Doctor raised the sword and began to recite the incantation. 
       "Ego queso thee O Atrum Ancient , audite meus humilis vox!!"
       He took the blade and pierced his own flesh and let his blood flow over the sacred 
blade. 
       "EGO have suceeded qua plures have deficio , quod iam scisco vos ut fatum orbis 
terrarum morior!!"
       Scryer and Stryker struggled to rise from their positions but were promptly 
smacked back down by Steadman.
       "Per is vesica quod is contego , EGO vadum solvo Bestia of Umbra ex suum 
cage!!"
       The cave began to rumble and stir as the Doctor walked over to the mural.
       "Iam orbis terrarum mos sentio vestri perpes saevio!!" 
       There were two slots dug into the stone mural, the shield already placed inside 
one of them.
       "Ut EGO immergite is mucro in is ancient obfirmo quod vadum quin paro is 
universitas aflame per vestri lampas!!"
       The Doctor cackled as he held the sword high above his head, preparing to insert 
the sword into the slot.
       "Bestia of Umbra, Spawn of Azrael , exorior!!!"
       With a loud cry, he slammed the blade into the slot. All was quiet at first, but soon 
the mountain itself began to rumble violently, pieces of rock began to fall from the cave 
and slam into the ground. A Board member was struck on the head by a falling rock and 
was killed instantly.
       "What's going on?!" Ash screamed over the cracking of stone. 
       Stryker simply closed his eyes. "The Darkness....it's spreading. All will be 
consumed in its path!! None shall be spared!! Totus mos sentio ira of Azrael!!" Scryer 
began to join him in their ranting of ultimate destruction. 
       "Oh my god, I can't believe this is happening!!" Misty screamed.
       Gary stared at Ash with a grim look on his face. 
       
       "I told you something bad was going to happen."
       
       
       ***
       
       The skies outside of the mountain darkened, absorbing any light into its never-
ending void, sucking any life near it into its vortex of death. The mountain began to 
rumble and crack as the evil that lay chained for over five hundred years was finally 
breaking its shackles, free to run rampant over the earth once again.  
       A shriek pierced the blackened sky, an unholy squeal that cut through the air like 
a knife. 
       
       
       The end had begun. 
       
       
       
       
       Next Chapter: Apocalypse Now