Just thought it would be funny to mention, as I started to write this story the song Bicycle Race by Queen came on and I giggled through out the entire thing. Ok, on with the story.

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Chapter 17

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Coffing, Sandshrew and a number of grimy and blue humanoid pokemon littered the area around them as the three surveyed the enemy. The three glanced at each other and nodded, calling their own pokemon. The Lapras and Gyarados took up places on either edge of the bridge, in the waters just under it while Sandshrew, Vulpix, Pidgy, Spearow, Scyther, Rhyhorn, the two Charmanders, and Joey's newest pokemon, what he called Magmar created a defensive line.

The bikers glanced at each other, exchanging snickers and laughed, making Kaiba question exactly what they had in mind. They didn't have to wait to find out.

"Grimers, Muks, hold em down!" The lead demanded. The oozing pokemon rushed forth, flattening themselves and attempting to spread under the feet of every enemy in the area.

"Stop them, Gyarados!" Kaiba ordered. Giant bursts of water prayed and assaulted the slime pokemon, but to no real effect.

"Please, if a little water could wash these away, they'd never have been able to live in the sewers where we got them." One of the smaller members chuckled. The Grimers and Muks oozed closer and reached out for the first pokemon they could reach but as soon as they did a burst of ice shot out, freezing a good half of them and halting the rest. Everyone turned to see the Lapras, finishing it's attack then looking to Kaiba for approval. He smirked and nodded.

"They want containment of the area? Show em Charmander." Kaiba said darkly. Serenity noted how intimidating he was when he was fighting and thanked god that he was on their side.

"Get em Magmar." Joey added and Serenity smiled.

"Help em out, you know what to do." She said sweetly to her own fire pokemon. The Charmanders and Vulpix immediately started to circle the half frozen group, spreading a trail of flames as they did and beginning to trap the bikers while Joey's Magmar closed up the front. The Coffings and larger versions of the same started floating upwards, trying to escape the flames entrapment.

"Pidgy, don't let them out!" Serenity called, having the little bird swoop and knock back the gaseous balls as they attempted to get out. Kaiba's Spearow and Joey's Scyther joined her not long after, but they soon began to tire.

"Sandshrew, Rhyhorn, keep that fire under control!" Joey commanded and they started stomping and burying sections of the fire wall that got too high or seemed unmanageable.

" I don't think we can keep this up." Serenity said worriedly. "We're holding them off, but only barely." She looked up at Kaiba for the next thing to do, but he only narrowed his eyes, struggling to think of where to go from there. Before the idea came to him, the bikers took their next move. One of the Coffings gathered air and blew it's smog out through the flame wall, striking down Joey's Scyther with a dead hit. The thing was down and wasn't going anywhere any time soon.

Serenity called back her little Pidgy, and Kaiba his Spearow, but the things wouldn't listen. They just continued to try to keep the creatures contained. They ducked and dodged several blasts, scorching the tips of their wings and their tails, but just barely missing excessive damage. It didn't look good.

"Gyarados, Lapras, help keep the skies contained. Charmander, get that bird brain down here!" Kaiba commanded to all of his pokemon as Joey recalled his Scyther before it could get even farther injured. Powerful blasts of water started batting around the pokemon trying to escape as Charmander squawked angrily at the disobedient bird.

Serenity glanced down at her own pokemon, Ember and Vulpix fighting to return blasts of fire through the wall of flames that they were getting from the smoke pokemon, and Pidgy struggling to keep the offending pokemon from breaking out of the vortex. She didn't know what to tell them. Didn't have a strategy or plan. She wasn't like Kaiba. Her brain just didn't work that fast. Soon her Vulpix moved back, the Charmander handling the scene before them better than it did and looked to Serenity for it's next order.

She didn't know what to tell it. Even her brother was shouting orders and helping everything. He was being useful and all she was doing was following their lead. She glanced over at Kaiba who was completely in his element and wished she had his streng-

Out of the flames charged a large humanoid pokemon. It's skin was blue and it looked like a massive body builder. It was headed right for Kaiba, but he was turned to his Gyarados, commanding it. She didn't think. She couldn't. She didn't have time to think. She just rushed as fast as her legs could carry and knocked into him from the side, shoving him out of the way and landed atop him as the pokemon charged past them and stumbled down.

Kaiba looked up at her for a moment before realizing what she had done and glancing over to the pokemon that almost hit him. The thing had gotten back up and turned it's focus onto the small fire fox nearby.

"Serenity!" Kaiba called for her as she lifted herself from him.

"No! Vulpix!" She cried, trying to rush towards it, but Kaiba grabbed her.

"Are you insane, that thing can break you!" He said, but she wouldn't stop. The big blue pokemon was over the little red one, punching and hitting it with it's brutish strength. Serenity cried again for it to stop and a sudden fiery blast to it's face made that very thing happen. Her Charmander drew it's attention as Kaiba's Spearow and her Pidgy flew down from overhead, finally leaving the floating pokemon to the Gyarados and Lapras.

Kaiba released Serenity and she ran to her little forgotten fox, cuddling it as she pulled it out of reach. Kaiba put a hand on her shoulder as she brushed away a tear and put it back in it's ball. He looked over at the pokemon that had escaped the fire barricade and watched as the two small birds did an astonishing amount of damage to the strong arm pokemon. It didn't take long for them to knock the thing out.

"All at once now!" They heard a biker call and suddenly there was a tremor as pokemon burst through the flames. The number of them was significantly smaller but still threatening. Kaiba and Serenity's Charmanders made attempts to flank and fire blast their opponents while Joey's Rhyhorn wrestled another back into the flame sphere. His Sandshrew immediately busied itself with fighting off a smaller blue strong arm pokemon and the birds started diving at anything they could reach. Soon, they were all out of breath, but there were clear winners.

Kaiba was forced to withdraw his Lapras after two of the floating pokemon made it over to it. He knew it was a rather fragile thing and didn't want it hurt. His Gyarados though, was proving just as tough and stubborn as it looked. It might take orders from him and always want to be around him, but when it came down to it, this dragon was powerful. A blinding white flash captured the three's attention and drew their eyes downward. Their pokemon, or a few of them, were glowing.

"What... What's happening?" Serenity asked, not sure whether to run to them or to move away from them, but Joey just smirked.

"They're getting stronger." He said happily. Kaiba and Serenity glanced over to him while he just crossed his arms in front of himself.

"What?" Kaiba asked, looking back at his Spearow and Charmander.

"Yeah, this happened to Mai's little bug pokemon. It glowed white then turned into a moth. Ever since then it's been stronger." He said as they began to grow and change. When the lights faded the Pidgy was a bit bigger and had a longer tail and head feathers. Kaiba's Spearow, on the other hand, was gigantic. It's beak was long and sharp and it had a long bent neck. The thing was enormous.

They saw the Charmanders next, larger and darker... like many of the bigger lizards they saw on the mountain... But that wasn't all they saw on the mountain... Those dragons. If his little bird could get that large from this transformation, maybe these little lizards could end up being like those dragons. Kaiba smirked at the thought of having another dragon. Joey stood proudly over his Sandshrew, now much more fierce looking. It had large brown scale spines coming out the back of it and longer sharper claws.

"Hey, Guys!" Their attention was drawn to the North as they saw a few familiar faces approaching them. "This road is dangerous without a bike. The town will let you borrow some if you want, but we gotta give them back before moving on." Yugi said as he sped over to them. They were each on bikes and seemed a little out of breath.

"What happened to you?" Kaiba asked Mokuba as he looked him over. The youth was covered in mud and his jeans were torn, but he didn't seem to have suffered any real injuries.

"Some guy pushed me over. We beat him and all of his friends!" He said excitedly. Kaiba looked to the others for confirmation and the rest of them just nodded along.

"We got into a little tiff here too." Serenity added quietly.

"Little tiff?" Kaiba asked, glancing back at her. "We practically had a free for all. But it was no problem." He said smugly.

"Yeah, we kicked their asses." Joey glanced down at the pokeball his Scyther was in and sighed. "But I think we need a pokemon center. I know I do at least." Serenity nodded, noting her beaten Vulpix and looked to Kaiba. He simply started back to town, satisfied that he knew the power of his pokemon. Also, he had thoroughly tired himself out, the strain of battling wearing on his not fully healed body. They waited at the pokemon center while the nurses took care of their fallen friends and afterward all decided to have a picnic. Kaiba would have preferred to stay inside, and though Serenity offered to stay back with him, he knew she wanted to go.

"What's the harm?" He said flatly. Before she could argue his side for him, he brushed past her, leading the group to a field just to the east of them. There was a long road and a few people scattered down the length of it. Some were battling, others were bicycling and some were just taking a breather. It seemed like a nice stretch of land.

"So... what do we do about the crazy ass freak that's trying to kill us?" Joey asked, sitting himself between Tristan and Serenity.

"Not our problem. We just have to get home." Kaiba said grabbing a piece of strange fruit and wondering if he should bite it or peel it.

"But, it wants to commit genocide on the human race." Serenity pointed out, a little off put at his attitude.

"Here maybe, but not home."

"I cant let that happen." Yugi said, just staring off into the grass. "What if that pokemon is successful, then finds a way back to Domino? Even if it doesn't, I cant just sit by while innocent people are hurt and hunted. It's not right."

"You're too soft Yugi." Kaiba said looking the boy over.

"No, Seto. I agree. People are going to suffer, and we may be the only ones that have seen this pokemon." Serenity tried again. He looked at her for a moment, not wanting to side with her on this one, but he couldn't deny her intentions were noble.

"I don't want to risk Mokuba. Or you." He said quietly. Everyone silenced themselves, still not used to Kaiba's feelings being an open thing now.

"That's sweet, but it's not up to you. You can leave. Take Mokuba. I'm staying. At least until that pokemon either gives up or is forced to stop." He didn't like her method of negotiation. She was winning. She was in favor of putting herself in danger and he didn't think he would ever be alright with that. The only thing he could do is stand by her and protect her as best he could. He just couldn't help the feeling that he had gotten himself into one sticky situation.

"I'm not leaving without you."

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Sorry it took so long to post. My computer was sent to the shop and has gotten a complete makeover. I love my new operating system. It's so smooth and fast. ^.^ and not windows vista anymore.

Read, Review, Enjoy~Love Ya