Syorin Hibiki stood before Landon with his arms folded. Both rivals glared at each other while everyone else gaze in question. “Himura,” “Hibiki,” They growled. Syorin ran his hand through his golden-sand hair arrogantly. “I really didn’t expected to meet you here, Landon. I was certain you’d fallen behind somewhere.” “Oh, shut it!” Landon snapped. He wasn’t really in the mood for his rival’s arrogance. “For your information, we actually have a reason for being here at Silver Castle. Professor Oak sent us to help out Professor Cosmo.” He stated, figuring he had a point on him. Syorin just folded his arms and grinned. “Actually, Syorin was here first.” Cosmo said. “He was?” Landon blinked. “But how could he have even gotten up here—he’s a kid just like us.” May asked. Syorin stepped forward, “Well, if you really want to know, I’m a HIT Man.” “You’ve got a gun?!” Landon and May shrieked. “NO, YOU DOLTS!” Syorin exclaimed venomously. “Allow me to explain.” Zeru started, folding his arms, “A HIT Man doesn’t mean a mercenary because the word ‘hit’ is in all capital letters. HIT stands for ‘Hoenn Investigative Trainer’. How he became one, I have no idea.” “Unlike you three, I didn’t have to be thrown a few bones to get in. All I’m here to do is investigate a few disappearances, and get on with life. I don’t need your help, so you should go home before someone trips on you.” “Why you little BRAT!” May and Zeru had to literally hold Landon down to try and stop him from choking Syorin. He tried hard to break free, but didn’t stand a chance once the Poke’mon took hold of him as well. Professor Cosmo sat silently, sweating anime style. He figured that the less he added, the less drama for him.

 

       Meanwhile, Yoshimari and Tsubimi walked through the party-filled streets of evening Fallabor Town. They were out of their normal Team Darkhorn uniforms and wearing festive kimonos. Tsubimi’s was a midnight blue decorated with yellow moons while Yoshimari’s was a horizon color decorated with crimson suns. Their arms were packed with food and toys they won from the games. For once, they decided to take it upon themselves to have a vacation. “This is the best time I’ve ever had!” “And even better; we don’t have to chase after those losers today!” They exclaimed. But as Tsubimi put a lollipop in her mouth, her expression turned a little despondent, “But don’t they always end up finding us even when we try to avoid them?” She asked. “Oh, don’t worry about it. It’s not like Miru’s with us all the time. If we see the losers, we can pretend they’re not really there and no one will know or care.” Yoshimari told his sister. It was as if they had switched their roles; normally, Yoshimari was the one who was always so serious. But it seemed that even the New Year’s Festival could bring out his dormant funs side. Tsubimi looked up to the sky. Her eyes reflected the orange, red, yellow, and purple the late afternoon had painted. “…..wha?” She came to an abrupt stop, blinking. Yoshimari glanced from his sister to the sky, taking him a few seconds to realize what she was looking at. Across the rooftops, they could see a quintet of silhouetted figures leap from building to building. Every body was too busy partying to notice them at all. Just by seeing their uniform, it was easy to tell that they were members of Team Darkhorn. “…..Yoshi—” “You’re right—I don’t remember being informed about any mission or something.” Yoshimari said to his sister. Tsubimi pulled the lollipop out of her mouth with a sinister grin, “Then I guess no one’ll mind if we follow them.” “I guess that means our vacation’s over?” Yoshimari gave his sister an innocent look. He was having way too much fun to go back to work. “It’ll only take a second—we’ll be back before the new years fireworks.” Tsubimi stated. The two glanced around to make sure no one was looking and disappeared into a dark alley between two restaurants. There was a rustle of fabric before the two siblings leapt into the air onto the building. Just like their other members, the started to jump from rooftop to rooftop.

 

       Landon, May, and Zeru followed professor Cosmo through the dark corridors of Silver Castle. Their footsteps echoed through the emptiness of the hallways. Landon held Volbeat in his arms, using its tail light to light the way. The stone walls didn’t cease to amaze them as it told the story of Silver Castle. Phealine and Phanpy walked alongside their trainer’s ankles. “Did we really have to bring those three along?” Syorin placed his hands on the back of his head. At that, Landon growled and clenched his teeth with his temple beating anime style. “Just one more word out of you, buddy!” He said. “I promised them they could help me. It won’t be as bad as you think, Syorin.” Professor Cosmo told him. Syorin just folded his arms and closed his eyes arrogantly. “Hmph!” He snorted in an air of superiority. Landon ran up in front of Syorin and stopped. The shifted light from Volbeat’s tail caused the shadows to shift as well. With an angry air, Landon stated, “And what’s that supposed to mean!?” “It means I don’t want to babysit you.” Syorin said calmly. “Oh—that’s it!” Landon took a few steps back and stopped, “Let’s have a battle right now—” “You’re not worth my effort and time.” Syorin walked right by him with his nose in the air. Landon growled and clenched his fists; he could just strangle that sandy-haired kid. Syorin ticked him off so much, he often wondered how he even had the strength to restrain. May and Zeru sweated anime style and found it easier to just keep out of the argument. Professor Cosmo was way too busy gazing at the scrolling images on his palm pilot. He lead the way down the castle walls. Occasionally, he would glance to the wall to make sure he was taking the right way. Zeru’s stomach let out a low growl right after Phanpy’s. “I really wish we were back at the festival. At least then, we could’ve got something to eat.” “Don’t worry about it, Zeru, we only have to stay a little while longer.” May told him. Both Zeru and Phanpy expressed the same look of annoyance. “That’s exactly what she told us thirty minutes ago.” They mumbled. “Landon, could you use Volbeat’s light over here please?” Professor Cosmo asked. “Volbeat, vol,” Volbeat fluttered out of its trainer’s arms and towards the front of the group. It let its light bean flow against the stone walls.

       The group turned down winding, twisting corridor paths. Eventually, they hit a dead-end wall marked with symbols Landon found familiar. “Hmmm…” Professor Cosmo looked repeatedly from his palm-pilot to the stone wall. Volbeat brightened its tail light for him to see both the wall and the machine simultaneously. “A dead end…” May started to sweat anime style. “So, do you think we’ll get out of here in a little while?” Zeru asked. “Nuh-uh,” May shook her head. Professor Cosmo glanced up form his palm pilot to the wall. He silently translated bit and pieces of the wall before voicing out loud, “Well, according to this wall, there’s a door near here. But it’s gonna’ be hard to find because I can’t decipher any more of this wall—” “I’ll do it.” Landon stepped forward and pressed his hand on the wall. Volbeat fluttered alongside its trainer to help by giving him light. “Who are you trying to fool, Himura?” Syorin folded his arms arrogantly. “I mean, do you even have any idea what kind of writing this is? Only a select few can even begin to comprehend what it means.” But on the contrary, Landon could read it perfectly and with great ease. He just ignored Syorin and continued to examine the wall. “…..okay, right here.” Landon came to a stop at the far right side. “What do you mean?” Professor Cosmo scratched his hair. “Oh-please!” Syorin stated arrogantly. Landon pressed his hand against one of the symbols; the block moved into the wall in a ghastly manner. Bits of rock and dust fluttered to the floor at his feet. Suddenly, the entire castle started to tremble. “Whaaa!” The group staggered a bit while trying to stay on their feet. The wall shook so hard that it forced itself to split down the middle and push away. It opened slowly like a sliding door, revealing some sort of room behind it. Landon’s Crystal Bell was vibrating heavily against his chest. Once again, it let out a THUMP followed by another vibration wave. “Huh?” Landon could feel a cold wind blowing from beyond the wall. It chilled the insides of his stomach and gave him a foreboding sensation. Syorin gave Landon a look of surprise—he hadn’t expected him to be capable of translating ancient text.“How? How could an idiot like him understand ancient Poke’tilan writing? Only those of Poke’tilan descent can read it!” Syorin though to himself, sweating a little. The rumbling finally came to a stop. The room before them was very vast and full of stone statues—the same room from earlier. “Facinating—” (sniffle) “—it’s so beautiful!!” Professor Cosmo had to wipe the tears from his eyes. The kids gazed around the room at all of the ancient markings painted everywhere. They couldn’t help, but be amazed at the splendid mysteriousness. Professor Cosmo sat his silver briefcase onto the ground and popped it open. He started pulling out lamps and books and cameras—reminding May all too much of Professor Simus (he was a professor of one of the earlier episodes). The kids took it upon themselves to start exploring around the room. May stuck around with Zeru and explored the left side of the castle room. Phanpy and Phealine walked at their trainer’s feet, gazing at the walls. Syorin wandered around the dull room, using his glowing Clear Bell as a flashlight. He had it lowered to the ground as if he were searching for something. “Hmmm…” He scratched his cheek. He got down onto the floor and got a closer look. “Hmm…no trap doors…no anything? What in the heck happened to that official?” He whispered to himself. Landon wandered around with Volbeat flapping right beside him. He let his eyes move along the wall and read the ancient text. “These walls….have lots of history on them. But none of them say why this castle has no residents or why it seems so cold and dangerous….?” Landon came to a stop at the picture of a purple dragon on the wall before the red carpet. It sort of gave him the creeps. “Hey, what’s this?” He blinked at the glowing purple object in the dragon’s mouth. It alone made the picture feel ice-cold. Volbeat frowned at the painting and Toya stuck out her tongue. “Beat-eat-eat!” Volbeat chuckled a little. Landon backed away form it slowly. “…hah!” Bump! “Sorry—?” when he turned around, he saw he had run into a statue of a human. The strange thing was the uniform she was wearing. Landon tapped his cheek, looking at the statue’s shocked expression. “I know that outfit….ha!” Landon gasped and turned to the glowing speck of light in the wall. “I know what that is! Somebody’s been here!” he exclaimed. At that, everyone turned towards him.

 

       “Hahahahahaha!” KABOOOM! A swirl of smoke followed after some laughter that both pushed their way into the rooms. The group shielded their faces with their arms. “W-what’s going on?” Professor Cosmo coughed a bit. Landon opened an eye to gaze at two silhouetted figures. “Oh-no—not them!” “Yes us!” A female voice spoke. “How we got here first is a mystery, but it doesn’t matter—we’ll swipe your EX Poke’mon all the same.” “Not them again!” Syorin growled “A stealth like dark, we’re shadows of the night.” “Blanketing over those who do things right.” “Where treasure glitters, we’re there to claim.” “To higher riches, we’ll surely aim.” From out of the smoke, the two figures jumped into the air and made their identities known. “Tsubimi!” “Yoshimari!” Tsubimi and Yoshimari landed next to each other with their arms folded. “We’re Team Darkhorn, the pirate thieves.” “Don’t mess with us; you’re out of your league!” “Oh terrific; more rejects,” Syorin yawned, folding his arms. Tsubimi growled with her temple beating anime style. “It’s that midget again! I’ll show him!” She clenched her fists and started towards Syorin. She didn’t get far before there was another blast. KABOOOOM! The castle rumbled slightly as the room’s west wall gained a small hole. “What’s going on now?!” Zeru growled loudly. Yoshimari and Tsubimi turned to the side, frowning with their teeth clenched. Everyone watched the smoke around the hole clear away and let a tetrad of people march in. their uniforms said it all—they were Team Darkhorn members. Landon got a good look at the one in front, recognizing him as the grunt from Dune City. “I knew it was them; what’s the Dark Division doing at Silver Castle?” Yoshimari stated to his sister. “Who are they?” Professor Cosmo asked. “They’re another branch of Team Darkhorn, I think.” May said. The leader glanced around the kids to the wall. They didn’t really say much, but just looked around. “So, we were right—you are on a mission without us!” Tsubimi stated. The leader turned towards her, frowning behind his glasses, “This is Official Team Darkhorn business—we’re here for the source captain Manic failed to retrieve.” “A power source?” Landon blinked. “We don’t need a couple of treasure hunters on this mission. And as for you,” The sunglassed leader turned towards him, grinning sinisterly. Landon, Toya, and Volbeat frowned at him. “I remember you from Dune City. You’re that Himura kid everyone is talking about.” He took off his sunglasses to reveal his green eyes, “Our Boss is offering a rich reward to anyone who catches and defeats you. That, naturally, will go to me, Punisher of Team Darkhorn.” “What’s this power source you’re talking about?” Syorin demanded to the Darkhorn member. “This castle contains a power that could rule the world—Master Miru has requested us to retrieve this power and we will stop at nothing.” Punisher reached to his belt and withdrew a poke’ball. The grunts behind him all did the same. Syorin, Landon, Zeru, and May got on their guards. Team Darkhorn blinked, sweating anime style. They felt as if they had just been chucked off to the side of the action. “Landon, we will gain control of this power source and top it off by bringing your Poke’mon and crushed spirit back with us to Master Miru.” “I don’t think so.” Landon frowned.

       KABOOOM—BANG!!! Suddenly, there were a few more explosions; with two new holes in the entrance wall and east wall, two more groups ran into the room. One group was wearing blue bandanas on their heads and the other wore red hoods. “Team Magma—Team Aqua?!” Yoshimari and Tsubimi exclaimed. Punisher frowned at them and put his sunglasses back on. “Geeze; at this rate, we’ll never get out of here in time.” He mumbled. One of the Magma members stepped forward towards Punisher as well as one of the female Aqua members. Landon frowned silently, but watched with interest. “Didn’t expect to see the great Tanya and Rosso.” Punisher grinned. “Team Darkhorn’s Punisher, I presume?” Rosso asked. “What’re you doing here?” “Why else would we be here?” Tanya blinked at Punisher. “Silver Castle has absolutely nothing to do with the power you’re after. Why don’t you take your leave now?” Punisher said calmly. “Try again, Team Darkhorn; we don’t plan on leaving without that power source rumored to appear here every New Year’s Moon.” Rosso stated, glaring at both teams, “I don’t plan on letting you or Team Aqua take the power.” “It won’t matter what you plan to do—you’ll never have the power source if you don’t have the ability to summon it—to control it.” Punisher pointed to the wall painting of the dragon. The purplish-black speck of light had rooted itself firmly in its mouth. “He-heh, this may work out a lot better than I thought. I can use Teams Magma and Aqua as a distraction to unleash this castle’s true power. I know for a fact that Landon is on every Team’s hit list and leaders would pay good money for his downfall.” “Team Darkhorn, attack!” Punisher exclaimed and the Team Darkhorn grunts tossed their poke’balls; they all burst open in flashes of light, revealing their army of Loudred. “Loudred—” “Loudred!” They all echoed. The sudden spark of aggressiveness caused Teams Aqua and Magma to react by calling their Poke’mon. “Go, Mightyenna!” “Release, Houndoom!” With several more flashes, a team of Houndoom and Mightyenna came out, growling. Landon, May, Syorin, and Zeru were all caught in the middle of the tri-Poke’mon team. “And you’re Syorin, the Hoenn leagues top investigator. Crushing you will double our reward.” Toya grinned. “I don’t think so! Bayleef, Trapinch, Volbeat, Toya—I call all of you!” Landon exclaimed, tossing two poke’balls through the air. They burst open, revealing his two Poke’mon. “Bay-ee!” BANG! Bayleef tackled her trainer affectionately. “Go, Phanpy, Treecko, Dratini, and Charmander!” Zeru did the same. “I choose Torchic and Eevee!” May let the two poke’balls in her hand burst open in a flash of light. “Tor!” Torchic shook its feathers. Eevee just scratched her ear with her foot. Syorin stepped up, holding two poke’balls in one hand. “You just stand back—I can handle all this by myself.” He told them, full of confidence. Landon frowned and folded his arms; his Poke’mon all did the same as well. “I call Ivysaur and Bagon! Go!” Syorin tossed the two poke’balls into the air. They burst open and sent out his new Poke’mon. the little dragon Poke’mon, Bagon, was blue all over except for its gray head, yellow belly, and bottom lip. It had short arms and black eyes to match its pearly fangs. The other Poke’mon was sort of a bluish green with green spots all over its body. Its eyes were red and it was two pearly white fangs. Sticking out of its back were four green leaves with a pink flower bud in the middle. “His Bulbasaur evolved into an Ivysaur!” Landon exclaimed in his mind. “Bay?” Bayleef slowly walked up to Ivysaur and sniffed at it. “….Bay-ee! Bay-Bay!” She jumped excitedly, blushing at it. “…Ivysaur?” Ivysaur blinked at her at first, then smiled back with a wild blush. They hadn’t recognized each other at first. The two grass Poke’mon rubbed their cheeks against each other’s passionately. “Oh-no—not again!” “Why every time?” Landon and Syorin sweated anime style.
       “Everyone, attack!” At Tanya’s exclamation, all of the Poke’mon rushed forward dangerously in attack—the battle was on! The group of Mightyenna charged at Toya with their teeth bared. Toya frowned and prepared herself to brace the attack, only trembling a little bit. “Razor Leaf Attack!” Landon, Syorin, and Zeru exclaimed. “Treeecko!” Treecko spun to let a duo of sharp leaves whip from its tail. “Bay-bay!” “Ivysaur!” Bayleef and Ivysaur let an army of leaves fly from their own petals. The leaf army beat against the Mightyenna, not only stopping them in their tracks, but causing them to howl in pain. “Houndoom, attack with Flamethrower!” Rosso and his Team exclaimed. The Houndoom let out a loud howl-and-snort before spurting a sea of poison flames at Trapinch and Bagon. “Evasive Headbutt!”  “You too, Trapinch!” Syorin and Landon stated, though they growled at each other spitefully. “Tra—pinch!” “Bagon!” Trapinch and Bagon nodded and jumped off to the side; the fire flew by, missing its target. The two Poke’mon then propelled themselves through the air with their heads lowered. BANG!! One by one, the Houndoom were knocked down like a row of dominoes. “Charrrr!” “Draaa!” SPWWEEEE! Charmander and Dratini torched the Loudred of Team Darkhorn. “Loudreeeed!” They cried in pain. “Torchic, use Ember on the Mightyenna!” “Help it out, Toya!” “Torrrrr!” “Kiiiiip!” Torchic opened its beak, firing explosive spheres of flames; Toya made a gurgling sound while launched n a jet-stream of water. The tow attacks spiraled together and crashed into the charging Mightyenna harshly. Volbeat blew any enemy that came its way with its powerful Silverwind attack. “Hehe!” Punisher grinned, adjusting his sunglasses, “While these saps are busy fighting with each other, I will be the one to release and control the New Year’s Darkness!” He slowly backed away from the brawl before him, walking onto the red carpet. He stepped up the steps until his back hit the wall lightly. Punisher turned and glanced at the dark speck of light that had rooted itself in the stone. It gave off a small, but powerful aura ot anyone standing close to it. “This is it!” He put his hands to it and closed his eyes, “Feed from my dark power—be revived and obey Team Darkhorn!” In a crazy response, the speck of light started to vibrate dangerously. Punisher’s body became enshrouded in a purplish-black aura. A trmembling power radiated through him, using him like some sort of channel. “…Argh—yes! I can feel its power! Rise, great beast—your master commands you—Arrrrgh!!!” The aura surrounding Punisher’s body became larger, starting to spark wildly with purple energy. The power surged through him heavily and he clenched his teeth from the intense pressure. Everyone stopped their fighting to glanced up to the Darkhorn Admin. Not only was the dark speck of light vibrating like crazy, but the eyes of the dragon painting were glowing a deadly crimson.

       A cold breeze chilled Landon’s insides and stopped him in place. His eyes trembled and he clenched his fists and teeth. “What’s going on?” “I don’t know.” Zeru folded his arms and May frowned. “No—he got to it before us!” Tanya exclaimed. “Power…reaching a hundred percent! Rise, nowwwwww!” Punisher exclaimed, his body pulsing with dark energy. The entire castle started to tremble violently, causing fragile pieces to come crashing from above. “Ahh!” Landon and Syorin jumped off to opposite sides in order to dodge an attacking boulder. May held her Poke’mon close and Zeru did the same. “This is incredible….even though it’s very dangerous.” Professor Cosmo adjusted his glasses. “…Ack!” Suddenly, Punisher started to twitch wildly. He took short breaths and his sunglasses fell to the ground with a clatter. His pupils continually converted from being shocked to being transparent. “Arrrrgh…to-t-too much….” He trembled, trying to use the wall for support, “…too much power! I-I can’t control it—yaaaaah!!!” SPWAAAA!! Punisher’s body smoked with a purple wispy energy. From outside, the entire Silver Castle became enshrouded in the same kind of energy. Even from a distance, the whole of Fallabor Town could see what was going on. The happy and lively people stopped to gaze at the weird event. The music; the dancing—everything came to a stand-still. The smoky energy rose up into the night sky and towards the bright white moon. Slowly, it spread all across the heavens in a blanket of dark purple. “Awwww….” The people watched their sky become nothing but a purple-painted canvas. With a slight fade, the moon’s color changed from white to crimson. “Huh-huh!” Officer Jenny panted as she came running down the street, “What in the world is going on?” She breathed.

       “Landon, check it out!” Zeru pointed to the wall; the symbols and ancient text were lighting and blinking like mad. The entire castle trembled and sparked with a dark energy. The coldness of danger whipped all around Landon’s body; he shivered a bit, taking a step back. BADUUMPP!! There was a loud thumping sound that vibrated heavily form his backpack. “Huh?” He glanced back; he reached into his backpack and pulled out the Poke’sphere. Just like the wall symbols, the book was blinking and vibrating with energy. “What’s…going on here?” Landon’s eyes trembled in amazement. Without warning, he started flipping through the old, but sturdy pages. It wasn’t him; his hands moved as if they had a mind of their own! He couldn’t control the invisible force compelling him to read the old book. Landon came to a stop on a page marked with the exact same dragon painting as the one on the wall. He let his eyes scan the words and symbols, trembling a little with the more he read. “Ahhhhh! I can’t make it stoooop!! N-n-n-nooooo!” Punisher started to literally float in the air as his body brightened with dark energy. His team—or anyone else for that matter—were too shocked to even help him out. The dragon’s eyes on the wall lit up a bright red; the purple form started to smoke wildly from its holding place. “Oh-no—this is bad!” Landon exclaimed fearfully. What he read in the book really seemed to have shaken him up. The smoky purple energy floated into the air and started to take form. The majority formed into a long, snaky body stretching tall to the ceiling. It’s claws and legs took shape along with a long tail. Everyone was speechless form the entity standing before them.

       “IT’S THE DRAGON FROM THE WALL!” “RROOOAARRR!!” It let out a loud roar at May’s exclamation. The black dragon let its warm breath flow throughout the room. Its crimson eyes were closed rather than lit like before. Yet it still seemed able to see for the gestures made with its head looked as if it were gazing about the room. At its feet, punisher lay motionless on his stomach. “That’s not just any dragon!” Landon stated, staring at the book with a hit of fear. Everyone averted their attention to him, but didn’t take their eyes off of the low-growling dragon. “According to the Poke’sphere, it’s called the Gorgon Dragon. This is the New Year’s Darkness—the shadow that was released in the ancient past!” “I’ve heard of that dragon.” Syorin clenched his fist and teeth, “I was taught about it when I was little; it opens its crimson eyes to turn anyone it stares in the eyes to stone.” “No!” Zeru whirled around, gazing at the statue of the Team Darkhorn member. His eyes shrank a little form shock and fear. “That must mean…every statue in here is nothing but a victim that stared at that dragon!” he stated. Punisher groaned lowly, still sparking slightly. The energy around him had simmered down, but was still very alive. He slowly forced himself to his feet, trembling with each step. Every movement he made pained him, yet he still continued on. “Arrrrghhh…Listen, you stupid beast!” He spoke as loud as he could, “Your master stands before you! Do as I command and destroy those kids. DESTROY LANDON HIMURA!!” “Destroy?!” Yoshimari and Tsubimi gasped in shock and astonishment. The other Darkhorn members frowned at him. “Destroy me?” Landon gulped, sweating anime style. All of his Poke’mon took the offensive and jumped in front of him, growling. “You heard me, Gorgon Dragon—turn Himura into a human statue!” Punisher shouted. The dragon let out a low growl as it turn towards the human. For a while, it didn’t make a move—something that made Punisher tremble a bit. “……RAAAAAH!” SPWEEEERRRR! “Ah!”

       Suddenly, the dragon let its eyes snap open; a deadly crimson light glowed form them evilly. Punisher’s eyes widened as he stood frozen sold in his place. He took short, sharp breaths as if the wind was being sucked from him. there were a few cracking and stiffening sounds; the next thing anyone knew, Punisher’s feet were gray and hard just like the statues. It spread throughout his body like a virus, transforming him quickly. “No-no! This can’t be—I am your master! You are compelled to obey me!” He panicked, “Nooooo—!” And just like that, he was turned to a gray stone statue. “Ackk!” Everyone gasped. An air of fear floated throughout all of them. Landon sweated and clenched his teeth, taking a step backwards. His Crystal Bell rang violently, but soundlessly. “This is too much; we’re outta’ here!” Yoshimari and Tsubimi didn’t hesitate to turn-tail and run off as fast as they could. “Grrrr! We should do the same.” Rosso stated through clenched teeth. His team nodded to him and Team Magma dashed away through the same hole they had blasted earlier. “Retreat!!!” Tanya let her team go first before she ran off as well. “Hey—that doesn’t sound like a bad idea! Wait for us!” Team Darkhorn exclaimed. They tripped all over each other in their desperate attempt to get away. The kids looked to each other and nodded as well; there was no way they were going to stay in a castle with that deadly dragon. “Let’s go now, or we’ll become statues next!” “I can’t!” May told Zeru. He clenched his fists and sweated anime style, “What do you mean?!” “I-I-I…I can’t move!” Trembling May fell to her knees, for fear had frozen her in place. Her voice shook and she started to sweat. “May, now’s not the time!” Zeru exclaimed. Professor Cosmo was clear on the other side of the room. He was just as afraid as May and couldn’t keep his glasses on his face. The dragon turned towards May with its Crimson eyes glowing. “Dah—no! I don’t wanna’ be turned to stone—” “Torrrr!” SPWEEER! Torchic shook after jumping in front of its trainer’s face; it had made eye contact with the dragon and transformed into a stone chicken. “Ah!” “No!” “Ack!” “Dah!” May, Zeru, Landon, and Professor Cosmo all took a short sharp breath. May looked as if someone had just zapped the life out of her. “….!” “Roooarr!” The dragon whirled around towards Zeru next without a fragment of remorse. “Ah!” “Zeru!” There was a bright flash of light.

THIS IS THE END OF PART 2.