Chapter 54: The End of the Beginning

This is the final chapter in the past arc. Ending where Chapter 1 began. Thank you all for reading. This chapter is dedicated to all of you.

o

Disclaimer: You know the drill by now, don't you?

~o~

The King of Fire laughed quietly as he revealed himself to the world, never looking away from Riza Calariam as his words stabbed deep into her heart!

"Nothing to say? He's the Nightwalker. Think back to the past few months! Who else could it have been…but Indigo himself?"

"That isn't possible!" Riza snapped, the ghostly tattoos on her arms writhing madly. A chill wind bloomed, whirling around her ankles, but she didn't seem to notice.

The Dreamcast spun and whirred, projecting the entire conversation to the citizens of Halladen, and Indigo knew what he was trying to do! "Riza, don't listen to him, your power will-" A cord clamped down on his throat, jerking him backwards before he slammed down to his stomach. His cracked rib flared with agony. Mayanna pinned his arms in a perfect jiujitsu hold, the braided metal cord cutting off just enough air to silence him!

Had she been following him? Making sure he came to the roof if he hadn't decided to do so himself? Indigo's muscles strained, but Mayanna seemed to have supernatural strength! Almost like she was a…

"He swore his service to me to ensure your care. But you're too unstable, dear. You'll never be able to live without my help. But I never expected how corrupt he truly was! The things he's done…even I shudder to think of it! It was all I could do to rein in his dark vigilante acts…"

"Liar," Indigo choked out, too faint for anyone save Maya to hear! She tightened the cord, and his breaths cut off with a strangled gasp.

"He wouldn't!" Riza snarled, her faith in him burning like a brand against his very soul! She seemed to come to the same realization he had, slowing her breaths before the blackness could edge further in on her eyes. Keeping her power at bay.

"He stole the Volcanofur months ago. These attacks are his doing."

"No." She shook her head, taking a half step back as Zayne advanced, his dark eyes fixed on her.

"Indigo is the last of the Nightwalkers! He's been killing criminals rather than bring them to justice…not that your father would have punished his own employees!" The Dreamcast whirled faster and faster, as Zayne's voice cracked through the air! "Those deaths were at my order. But there was one I never deemed necessary…one life Indigo took of his own accord! Reno Valerian, knight of the realm!"

"SHUT UP!"

"Turn around, Princess! Turn and look at the guilt in his eyes…and at my lovely assistant, Mayanna!"

The white gowned Princess turned, as if in slow motion. Staring without comprehension at his haunted, desperate face, as he struggled uselessly beneath Mayanna's iron grip. He mouthed her name, red-flushed with strangulation, begging her to understand with his eyes!

"Maya? If you will…"

Riza's eyes flickered up to his captor, and she recoiled as if shocked. "YOU!" she accused, shaking with hate! "You can't be here. You just can't!"

The vines on her arms surged and whirled, her blonde cascading hair floating as if underwater. Riza clutched her waist, a dark shadow coiling beneath her feet! Indigo struggled to speak, to see what Mayanna had done, to move, but it was useless!

Doctor Camellia smiled as Riza screamed.

Blackness edged around Indigo's vision as the roaring in his ears threatened to send him into oblivion.

He watched the girl he loved surge with nightmarish power, revealing her abilities to everyone in Halladen.

Darkness seeped through her veins like branches, reaching towards the void of her inhuman eyes. Riza's feet hung above the ground, spitting shadows congealing around her pale hands. Her empty eyes fixed on Doctor Camellia as a jagged crown of living night encircled her golden hair.

Mayanna released the metal cord. Indigo gasped, his coughs dry and hacking. His voice wouldn't come, and somehow, he knew words couldn't reach her anymore.

Princess Riza Calariam, the long fabled Queen of Darkness, raised a hand imperiously, and death howled towards her enemy in a vast midnight beam.

Even as the attack blazed towards him with all malevolent power of the grave, Doctor Camellia did not seem afraid. With a snap of his fingers, a wall of scarlet flames seared from the stone, snapping hungrily towards the afternoon sun. Shadow struck flame, and Riza howled with bestial fury, darkness surging ever stronger around her skin.

The flames buckled and broke. A chill wind exploded from the impact, and the dark beam careened off the roof, Doctor Camellia nowhere to be seen.

The scarlet flames flickered and bent, bowing as they formed the shape of a man, and he stepped from the inferno unharmed. He knocked away her instant shadowy comets with a firelit backhanded slap.

He slipped the white lab coat from his shoulders, tossing it carelessly into the fires. "Our abilities are night and day, my dear, false Princess. You're weakest when the sun shines." Another snap, and a ring of flames erupted around her, sending her enlarged shadow skittering back to her feet.

The echoing shriek that came from her throat was far from human, underlaid with a demonic roar. The writhing vines beneath her skin burst free, striking back the hungry fire like lances, and scorching to nothing on contact. Her skin steamed in the sun as her power took over, and the beast that used to be Riza writhed and bit at nothing, trapped in place.

"Look at your false Princess, people of Halladen!" Zayne declared, his dark eyes burning with authority! "I was a victim of the mad Doctor Camellia, but fire runs through my bloodline! It made me strong enough to kill my torturer. But this girl lacks my control. My best efforts weren't enough to save her from Doctor Camellia's…no, King Johann's experimental drug!"

"Stop," Indigo rasped, a single tear running cold across the bridge of his nose. Mayanna pushed his face harder into the stone. "She's dying. Don't hurt her."

Doctor Camellia heard him, that time, sparing him a cold glance before continuing his planned spectacle. Every word twisted truth, technically correct, but painting a wonderful lie. "Her father turned her into this! Using his own children as experiments, to discover if he himself could gain power! King Johann was a monster, and she is living proof! She'll be prone to violent bursts of power forever! Unfit to rule, incapable of restraining Entei!"

Riza shuddered, her eyes rolling back as more of her power sizzled and disintegrated in the sunlight and crimson flames. The edges of the Dreamcast shone sullen red, heat sizzling into the air as the branches spun faster.

Doctor Camellia shot the machine a glance, and turned to address it as a king to a nation. "The rebels in Karraket are planning an attack!" Indigo jerked, sucking in a sharp breath. "But not on our mad King Johann…on me. They betrayed their country when Layla Crie fell in battle! And again, when they denied knowledge of Kylara and I, allowing us to be taken by Doctor Camellia as nameless orphans! They dared to continue living in peace, despite these crimes! And now, they seek to destroy the only man who can prevent this volcano from killing you all!"

Terrible premonition filled his chest.

Kaya had refused to enter the fight. Had she told the other members of the Scorned anyways? Were they truly willing to help, after hearing what Zayne had done?

He'd had allies, who would've helped him, this whole time?

"No," he whispered, his voice still too damaged to shout. "No, it was because of me, don't!"

Doctor Camellia continued, sweeping out his arm like a monarch. "For these crimes, Karraket must burn. The blood of the volcano runs in my veins. In Layla's name, I'll destroy them and save Halladen as the rightful king!"

The Dreamcast whined, spinning faster in a final burst of power before the ripples cut off abruptly. The machine melted and collapsed in on itself like wet mud. The last ripples faded out to the horizon.

The ring of flames vanished, the last traces of smoke curling around the collapsed body of Riza Calariam. Her limbs jerked and spasmed, her now violet eyes fluttering as she moaned.

"I've never been a fan of big speeches. Still, that went well enough," Doctor Camellia mused. He stepped on Riza's hand as he walked past, grinding in his heel. "Maya, dose the extra baggage with a minor sedative, will you? We have work to do. People will start waking in a few hours, and it will take that long to get to Karraket. Too much residual psychic interference for teleportation, I'm afraid."

A needle stabbed into his back. Indigo didn't even flinch, staring with hollow eyes at nothing at all. He didn't try to move when Mayanna stood, brushing out her ruffled black uniform. She bowed to Zayne as he approached, slipping her chocolate eyes closed. His hand ruffled her chestnut hair fondly, before he crouched down to speak to Indigo.

"Does it hurt? I'd truly like to know." He waited for a long moment, and frowned when Indigo remained unresponsive. "You're no fun today. Where's all your famous fighting spirit? Well, no matter." He stood, looking down at Indigo sidelong, his hands in his pockets. "Riza went too far. I could save her, but I like the idea of you watching her die. Consider it my last gift to you. If you had never been born, this world would be a better place."

And Indigo found he did have a question. He lifted his head, arms scraping against the stone as he tried to sit, and collapsed to his elbows. "Why. Why do you hate me so much?"

Doctor Camellia arched an eyebrow. "Do you truly not know? My, my. No one told you anything, did they?"

His Charizard roared, streaking up to the roof to land at his master's side. Indigo watched with listless despair as he left without another word, flying towards the horizon. To Karraket.

His drugged limbs didn't want to move. Indigo heaved himself to Riza's side laboriously, his left leg refusing to respond at all. A thousand pins and needles pricked his muscles.

She was alive, barely. Her eyelids fluttered beneath a creased forehead. As if she were concentrating very hard. Faint whispers breathed past her white lips, in no words he could understand.

He half thought his emotions were burned to nothing, until his greatest pain surged from his very soul. Indigo's raw scream echoed over a sleeping city, and somewhere far away, another roar seemed almost to answer it…

Riza's eyes snapped open, pitch black once more. Indigo scrambled back, his heart thundering in his chest as small rocks floated around her pale, sun blistered arms. He remembered the beast she had become as her ghostly power rekindled, and knew it would be his death!

Fitting, he thought bitterly, for Riza's hand to end his life!

She lifted one arm to the sky, and spirits of the night answered her call, though the sun burned high above! Blackness coated her hand into a claw, and she snatched the ghosts from the sky, tearing into them with her white teeth.

Indigo recoiled, watching with horrified fascination as the ghostly Princess ate her summoned subjects, their shadows absorbed into her being without her needing to swallow.

Just like a real ghost.

The graveyard chill in the air faded as she sat. Staring at her hands, both human and a shadowed claw. New shadows curled beneath her skin, writhing as they were fed.

Her voice was oddly detached. "Without the appearance of a Pokémon, I can't create the cells to use this power without backlash. That's what the medicine was, in essence. But eating ghosts is another way to absorb the cells. I had the idea after reading the Pokémon Experiment, though I believe it's limited to ghost Abnormalities. The way ghosts consume is unique. Their physical biology is unique. Both spirit and reality, at the same time. It's far from perfect, but this terrible cost may yet keep me breathing."

Indigo stared with pathetic, overpowering relief. "Riza. You're alive. You're-"

Her shadowed fist slammed into his temple, and a black curtain fell.

~o~

He dreamt such strange dreams. Flashes of powerful emotion lit up his mind like fiery stars, fading rapidly before he could process their meaning. Each burst became weaker, faded faster, leaving him awash in a dark sea of increasing lethargy. Like nothing existed, and there was no emotion left to feel. Indigo floated half-conscious in the dark sea, watching as the stars in the heavens burned out one by one.

His eyes flickered open, focusing and refocusing on the grimy stone ceiling of a room he didn't recognize. Gravity stretched over his body like a heavy blanket as his mind slowly woke.

Hushed whispers wafted across the shadows of the room, and a disappointed huff. He was not alone. Indigo's eyes flickered tiredly to the side, meeting the inhuman yellow gaze of a ghost. Misdreavus and Shuppet huddled in the dark corners. One whispered to the others in a hush, and they giggled, their hungry eyes fixed relentlessly on the waking boy.

"Did you enjoy my dreams?" Indigo asked tiredly. Rhetorically. "You're welcome to them. I'd offer my hopes, too, but I'm fresh out these days."

If they thought he was funny they didn't react, melting into the shadows and vanishing one by one when it became clear the feast was over. Indigo sat, ignoring the twinge of his rib. His hand traced the too cold skin of his cheekbone, where Riza's punch landed.

How long had he been unconscious?

A quick glance outside the bars of his prison cell revealed two sleeping knights, and a loudly snoring Houndoom. Less than a few hours then, if the people hadn't woken from the Dreamcast yet. Only the ghosts were awake. And those struck by the Pokémon Experiment.

Indigo rested his head back on the wall, covering his eyes with one hand. He laughed quietly, his shoulders shaking.

It was all for nothing.

Riza would have lived.

The rebels in Karraket would have stood by his side.

Doctor Camellia would have died, before he'd thrown a country into war.

He could have had everything, if he'd been willing to risk it all. What a cruel, karmic joke. His heartfelt sacrifices were reduced to idiocy in the face of it all.

Which would return alive to this castle? The King of Fire or the Princess who hated him? Both were sure to tear his mangled heart apart in new, interesting ways, he was sure. Indigo wondered halfheartedly if everyone he loved was dead yet, or if Riza had won the fight in a blaze of righteous glory.

Indigo reached into his pocket, pulling out the blue poké ball Riza had given him so long ago, turning the cool metal over in his rough hands. Mireal was gone, no doubt taken by Riza to aid in the fight.

Sparks formed in a flash of light, the tiny pincushion of evil dreaming soundly in his lap. Indigo stroked his rigid fur, static tingling up his arms. Cold tears ran down his skin, and Indigo squeezed his eyes closed.

"This isn't so much a kidnapping…consider it a job offer. You can call me Riza!"

"There are probably more of those things. And I'll bet they're being led by this 'King of Fire' character. What do you say…wanna help me take down some scary monsters?"

"Bring him," she breathed. "He is…to me, Indigo is…" She spoke with heartfelt sincerity. "A lowly servant."

"You know, the average Ursaring weighs three hundred pounds, and is nearly six feet tall. Terribly brave of you, taking on two of them in a wrestling match…"

His heart twisted, his jaw clenching over the lump in this throat-

"This ends tonight. The guards of Halladen will take the fight to the King of Fire, and wipe his evil off the face of this earth. Gather the troops, and prepare for war…"

"Don't you get it? I'm not him. I'm not the King of Fire!"

"Be my sword, my messenger of death, killing who I want killed, and obeying my orders…give me your loyalty…Play my game until then, and I'll let you go. You have my word."

"Rise, Indigo Miller, Knight of Halladen. And rise, Doctor Camellia, Head Medic of Helios Castle!"

Everything he'd done…

"You can save him. He has a wife. Two young children. If you get him to talk, no matter the method, I'll spare his life. If I have to do it, he dies. It's that simple…"

"You've become quite the accomplished mercenary."

"You already know what I'll ask, don't you?"

All the mistakes he'd made!

"I'm glad we can count on you, soldier."

"You're the only person who understands me. I don't want to lose that. I don't want to lose you!"

"This isn't your fault…"

"I love you, you know? I know you'll never let me down…"

The burning in Indigo's palm flared like a white sun, and his scream held every type of pain imaginable. But the fire wouldn't fade, searing and shining as smoke curled through his fingers! The crest of the Volcanofur throbbed in time with his racing heart, bleeding and steaming at the edges!

The golden sunlight bled crimson against the far wall, and with a jolt he remembered the words of the man who'd tried to steal the Volcanofur from Mount Shishiro, a lifetime ago!

"With a powerful will, the minds of the beasts can be manipulated. Any enemy, no matter how powerful, would fall against a legendary. Only the truly strong can manage it…"

"Once the sunset burns scarlet, I'll be able to call Entei!"

He stared at the red glow of the sunset bleeding down the grimy prison walls like a blind man seeing the light, and it was like he'd come alive again.

There was still a way.

To get to Karraket, defeat Doctor Camellia, and save the kingdom.

Indigo stood at once, returning Sparks carefully. His unburned hand fumbled, releasing Layla's cloak and the Nightwalker's Blade from his Arsenal ring. He donned both, tightening the clasps firmly.

Indigo pressed the ring against the barred prison door, and after a long moment it flashed into light and vanished into the storage device. He stepped over the sleeping guards, and released the door with a metallic clatter.

"I'm coming," he promised aloud, slipping his eyes closed as he pressed his burned fist to his heart. "Stay alive until I get there!"

~o~

Stained glass larger than most houses dominated the western wall of the grand ballroom, casting brilliantly colored reflections across the polished marble floor as the red sun set. The best view of the horizon in the castle.

Twilight would arrive soon and steal his chance, but Indigo stared for a moment at the final battle of Layla Crie, captured forever in bits of colored light. King Johann stood larger than life as the centerpiece clad in white armor, his sword piercing the storm clouds. At his feet lay a crumpled, bloodied woman, her long black hair covering her face.

Sick anger welled up in his chest, until he could think of nothing else. Indigo's arms shuddered, fists clenching involuntarily. Reminding himself who had started this entire mess!

He walked through the kaleidoscopic array of colors, testing the weight of a chair in one hand. And hurled it through the glass wall with all his strength.

Glass exploded and fell far below in a diamond rain, blowing a shining hole in the colored reflection on the marble. Indigo Nightwalker shouted, hurling another chair, and then a third, until the elegantly crafted stained glass lay in ugly ruins! Jagged shards jutted from the edges, the setting sun perfectly framed by the broken mess of Layla's downfall.

Breathing hard, Indigo stared into the crimson horizon. Red light spilled over the ballroom, casting his dark shadow long across the floor. He held his burned palm to the sunset, a fierce wish flaring to life deep within his heart, and his palm shone. Pain flared as well. Indigo's shout turned raw, grabbing his wrist with his other hand to keep it steady.

Far away and somehow deep within his mind simultaneously, surging hate answered him. Like boiling lava as deep as the seas, primal and uncontrollable! Hate so fierce Indigo was forced to redefine the word, for never had he encountered an emotion so massive! His mind and being itself were so small compared to that concept, he feared he'd be torn to shreds and lost forever!

Terror gripped him. He'd made a mistake. No one could control such a blaze! But even as he tried to lower his arm, a dark consciousness paralyzed his movements! Black smoke erupted from his palm, golden light searing the burned crest across his skin, and his fingers closed around an emblem forged of metal and fur.

The monstrous consciousness released him, and Indigo fell to his knees. Opening his palm to see the Volcanofur, gleaming with firelight that did not burn.

Entei's crest.

"What are you doing?"

Indigo whirled, stunned to hear a voice while the city slept! He stared uselessly at the man summoned by shattering glass. "You're awake…how can you be awake?"

King Johann scowled at him, his harsh features carved from stone beneath his short iron beard. "You aren't in the position to ask questions! Are you involved in this sleeping curse? Answer me!"

Indigo didn't try to stand, his energy sapped away to nothing by the summons. "Of course," he realized dully, fighting back a bitter smile. "It makes sense. He altered you, too, didn't he? I wonder…how much of this was your fault? The king's madness, secretly created by the king in the shadows…"

"You speak in riddles!" King Johann snapped, drawing his jewel encrusted blade. "Why does my castle sleep? Speak or lose your neck!"

The Volcanofur pulsed with a single heartbeat. Indigo looked up with hollow eyes. Speaking from the heart.

"Too late for regrets."

He knew without looking what was coming. A hot shadow passed over his head, and Entei's booming roar vibrated the very air like the inside of a drum. The legendary volcano god landed between Indigo and the King, its steely claws carving deep gouges in the polished marble.

He had a thousand worries and regrets plaguing his mind. All of them blew away in an instant the moment he beheld Entei, leaving nothing but stunned, exhilarated, mindless awe. Like standing at the very edge of the highest cliff, or the instant after almost dying from an accident. Adrenaline sharpened his thoughts to a razor's edge to better appreciate his terrifying mortality.

Thick mahogany fur barely concealed the rippling muscle of the volcanic beast, the very air surrounding it distorted by bone dry heat. Jagged stone-grey spikes jutted from its back, framing a mane like roiling smoke. Gold, silver, and scarlet adorned its armored face, in the same crest marking his palm. Entei's fiery eyes shone with scorching malice, a bare hint of the boiling storm he'd seen in its mind!

Indigo stared up at the hulking beast who stood taller than any man, wondering what he'd just done.

"Finally!" King Johann breathed with manic fervor, reaching out towards Entei as he stumbled forward! "The beast is mine! Entei's fire can break her curse! My incompetent knights couldn't capture the thing, but it must have heard my prayers! Finally, I'll be free of her shadow!"

"Stay back!" Indigo begged, wincing as Entei's emotions rolled over him! How could he not see the danger they were both in? How could anyone not notice the murderous aura around the beast?

And stopped, his thoughts running cold. "Capture? This whole time…they were ordered to bring it in alive? Not to defeat it?"

How many hundreds had perished, if that was the truth?

His teeth ground together, hate twisting his face! Entei whirled towards the King, bracing its two front legs and roaring, embers flickering on the wind. The savage storm within yearned to kill, to burn all to ashes, and the barrier of Indigo's mercy vanished between them!

"Indigo?"

He jerked. So focused had he been on Entei and the King, Indigo hadn't noticed the woman walking across the marble, her black gown whispering around her steps. Queen Analynn stared at him with wide blue eyes, still blinking off her unnatural sleep. Her face white with terror, clasping her hands together tight to hide their shaking.

People were starting to wake. Had she been drawn by the glass, Entei, or her husband's shouting? Indigo's sanity returned, holding back the terrible power connected to his mind with all his strength!

Entei disagreed. Gnashing its fangs, the beast raged against his restrictions! Focusing in on the man Indigo hated, despite his wife standing so near!

"Leave! NOW!" Indigo shouted, sweat dripping down his temples from the effort! "I can't…I can't-!"

"Indigo," Analynn breathed, swallowing past her terror as she moved to shield her husband with one arm. "You don't have to do this. I know he's made mistakes! Let him stand trial by man, not by fire! Just walk away."

"What are you doing, Analynn? Don't try to stop me! I'm going to end her curse once and for all! Or do you still care for her, even now? Disloyal wretch!" King Johann spat, but neither paid him any mind.

A tear tracked down his cheek, boiling to steam in an instant. His voice was a whisper. "I can't."

Analynn seemed to realize his struggle, her gaze flickering to the Volcanofur clasped in his hand. "But I don't deserve this, do I?" she challenged, her voice wavering. "I've been helping you. My spies watch Karraket, not his! I knew you were the last Nightwalker from the beginning. I've been protecting you from my husband this whole time! Since you were born, I kept him from learning your name!" Fire boiled in the back of Entei's throat, and it took a step forward despite his efforts, making Indigo cry out in pain! Analynn retreating, falling backwards as her legs collapsed!

"Indigo. Please! Stop this at once!" Riza's mother begged, and he wanted so badly to obey her!

But the fire-song roared a different answer! Howling for death and flames, primal instinct incarnate! He could never be enough in the face of that storm!

Indigo ran for the beast in a last, desperate effort, grabbing at the thick fur at its shoulder as Entei reared back on its hind legs! Analynn dove to the side, covering her head with her arms. Molten flames exploded from its jaws with the horrific speed and power of an eruption!

"NO!" Indigo shouted, pressing his face into Entei's fur before he saw her die! He heard King Johann's manic cry of victory cut off mid syllable. The sheer heat of the flames burned the side of his face.

"Riza!" Indigo choked, focusing on the word alone! "Riza!"

His fists tightened. He pulled himself over Entei's shoulder, resting between the stony spikes, turning the beast with a thought before he could truly see the ruined black path scarring the destroyed ballroom! Terrible silence whispered the story…

"GO!" Indigo shouted, his voice cracking over a sob. The King was dead! But he hadn't heard Analynn. Perhaps she'd lived…as long as he didn't look, he wouldn't know! He couldn't help her…it was far more important to remove Entei from the room!

His grief held at bay by a 'maybe', Indigo focused every emotion he had on a location! Entei didn't fight back, violent anticipation for the coming fight fueling its bounding speed. In a flash they had left Modena, practically flying across the plains towards Karraket. His home.

The last embers of sunset burned to night, and Indigo found his final resolve among the papery ashes of crushing despair. His fist clutched the Volcanofur as Entei's bounding footprints smoldered in their wake. Unburned only because of his connection to the beast.

The King of Fire would bow before these flames!

He would win.

After everything he'd lost, failure was unthinkable!

~o~

The war in Karraket raged on the horizon long before he reached the town, as the former members of the Scorned did battle with creatures of nightmare. Elemental flashes flared in the sky, distant thunder rolling with staccato bursts over the dark plains. Flitting shadows spiraled in the sky above the town like wraiths, visible only in bursts of light. Suffocating plumes of black smoke rose from a few shining houses throughout town.

His cloak streamed behind them, snapping in the hot wind. The symbol of Layla Crie, and the dreaded Nightwalker he'd become. Indigo gritted his teeth, urging Entei faster!

They were still fighting. Which meant there was still hope!

The future he'd imagined was still possible…he would make it happen!

Entei roared agreement, the ground shuddering faintly beneath them in response!

"I'll fight with everything I've got," Indigo breathed, tracing the spine of Layla's diary in his pocket. "Even…even if the world can't forgive me." His next words were bitter. "I don't deserve it, anyhow."

His stomach plummeted as Entei leapt, straining every muscle to hold onto the raging legendary. For a moment, they flew, arcing through the hot night air…and then jolted against a rooftop, splintering the heavy wood on impact! Entei bounded between buildings, barely pausing an instant between leaps.

People ran in the streets below, carrying bundles of their belongings. A chorus of ghostly shrieks and thumping explosions ricocheted from deeper in the town – Indigo focused Entei in that direction, running the opposite direction of the fleeing civilians. Those who saw Entei shouted warnings to the others, taking cover as their shadow passed over the streets.

He instinctively moved to hide his face, but stopped halfway. "Not as if my reputation can get much worse," Indigo complained, leaving his hood down with a sigh.

His gaze snapped in on a distorted figure between buildings. "There!" he shouted, and Entei slammed towards the ground, fire blazing towards the oblivious Abnormality. The too skinny Scyther fusion barely had time to scream, and Entei and Indigo surged onwards.

Indigo drew the Nightwalker's Blade in a metallic hiss, the blue rippled steel gleaming in the firelight. Entei roared and the earth shook, knocking down the humans and their mutated opponents. Indigo's blade flashed, cutting while Entei's claws slammed, injuring or killing the twisted things as they passed!

The fire-song yearned to burn all, to leave nothing behind! Indigo couldn't stop the surge of hate, redirecting it towards the center of town instead! Promising a better fight…

Entei's snarl rumbled through its entire body, but the beast continued forward, leaving the rescued humans staring in terrified awe.

Indigo's heart pounded as he squeezed his eyes closed.

He had so very little control over the monster.

If he wasn't careful…Riza might end up dying by his own hand! Just like-

"No, don't!" Indigo shouted, yanking Entei's fur with all his might. It didn't even notice, fire searing into the second story of a nearby building, where a shadow had moved. He doubled over at once, seeing for a moment through Entei's eyes-!

Wordless, primal emotion, burning and hating and destroying all in its path-!

"Good," Indigo gasped, regaining himself. "Use that against him!"

Doctor Camellia's dark features filled his mind, and Entei roared in response to his own agony!

"I hate him, too! More than you ever could!"

At Indigo's declaration, their minds finally worked in sync! Just in time, as the main battle burst into view! Abnormalities warred against the former members of the Scorned in the heart of Karraket, patchwork monsters against Pokémon and human alike!

His family. The former members of the Scorned had raised him, alongside his mother.

Seeing them struggling so desperately awoke something terrible and dark in his heart. Indigo slashed his blade to the sky. "FOR LAYLA!" he shouted, Entei rearing back on its hind legs as the entire battle turned at their entry!

Kaya's face caught his gaze first, strangely.

The old healer stared at him with pale skin and a gaping mouth. As if she'd seen a ghost.

The moment of distraction cost her, as an Abnormality with bladed wings slashed Joyce across the torso. "No!" Kaya screamed, leaping between the creature and her daughter-

Entei snapped the Abnormality up, one claw pinning a wing to the ground as it tore the thing apart! Indigo turned, dark determination turning his eyes to steel. "Get to safety," he snapped, giving her no time for a cruel retort as Entei streaked towards a new target.

He could do it.

Members of the Scorned dove for safety as Entei's scarlet flames seared three Abnormalities in a fell blow-

With this power, he could do it!

Z crossed blades with Magnus Etherion, her lightning flurry of blows barely slowing the axe-wielding giant, too close together for Indigo to interfere. The busty librarian wielded two scimitars, her small army of Mareep paralyzing great swathes of foes. A Tyranitar locked arms against a towering Feraligatr Abnormality, straining to match its power. Familiar faces lay pressed into the dirt, sightless and frozen…

He and the beast searched the confusion, looking for him!

Fire and shadow whirled, quick bursts of power flaring and dying as a man disappeared into flames and reformed, his living fire whirling with terrible accuracy against screaming darkness. Blue shadows condensed in front of Riza's mouth, her eyes black, but lucid, no longer weakened by the sun! The deathly beam exploded against Doctor Camellia's solid flames, and he snarled, raising blackened hands to summon an explosion beneath her feet! A dark sphere protected her, but her next attack faltered, missing by inches.

They alone seemed not to notice him, their battle far too intense for distractions. Mireal lay unconscious against a wall at the end of a black scorched path, water pooling around her icy body.

Powerful muscles bunched beneath Entei's fur, and it soared over the entire battlefield in a single bound! Indigo stood on the beast's back, holding on to its mane with a single hand, screaming a war cry as he jumped. Flipping neatly through the air, his blade slashing straight through Zayne at the apex, who had just materialized from the flames!

The slash passed through him, his torso flickering to fire around the strike, but it seemed the edges of his skin were burning as well…

Before he could react, a scarlet cyclone exploded against his back, and the King of Fire crashed against the ground, skidding until his back hit the wall! Smoke hissed between Entei's bared fangs.

Indigo landed in a crouch, an ashen cloak swirling around his shoulders as he raised his steely eyes. "Can we all appreciate how that was the coolest thing I've ever done? A low bar, but I'll still never top that again." He grinned savagely at the murderous expression twisting his enemy's face. "Did you miss me?"

Riza's barrage of shadows screamed between her hands, pummeling the ground just behind Zayne's sprinting steps. Veins of power cracked towards her eyes. "You are not the person I want to see right now!" she hissed, clenching her fist. Darkness outlined a half collapsed building, pulling it down with a groan of popping wood. Zayne wasn't fast enough, whirling to blow a hole in the structure before it crushed him.

"Yell at me later!" Indigo retorted, focusing his hatred like a molten river to keep Entei focused on the battle at hand! "By the way, controlling your power like this…it's incredibly hot!"

A flush that had nothing to do with the fires painted her cheeks red. She whirled, throwing wicked knives made of darkness to shatter a horde of fiery stars in midair. "This is not the time!"

Instinct alone gave him the speed to sweep his blade in a shining arc, slicing a slavering Abnormality's neck from its shoulders in a spray of poison rather than blood. The horned head bounced twice and rolled towards the war grounds straight from nightmare. "Why not?" Indigo demanded.

Firebolts struck her hasty shields like comets, the thunder cracking on impact. Riza whirled, her dress spinning in midair as she searched the flames for the suddenly vanished Zayne Camellia. "Because we might die? And I might kill you myself!" Fire flickered oddly, and her hand snapped out to extinguish the flames before he could appear.

"Pessimist." Entei's vision saw an attack he did not, streaking towards her back, and Indigo shouted, "Riza, behind you-!"

Senbon needles peppered her ghostly barrier, dripping with vivid poison. Z followed instantly behind, leaping with unnatural strength to meet Riza midair, her long tatter scarf trailing behind her like smoke. The assassin's black blade carved through the ghostly shield, and she kicked off the remnants, a dozen paper wrapped balls floating where she'd been…

"RIZA!"

An explosion rocked the sky, sending her flying through a column of black smoke, Z in hot pursuit. Indigo didn't have time to worry about her, as Zayne Camellia formed from the flames directly in front of his face. Malice shining dark in his eyes.

"You've been more trouble than I anticipated," the King of Fire seethed, blackened burns smoking on his arms and neck. His muscles pulsed, visible beneath the scorched blood. Indigo's sword glowed white hot, and he dropped it with a shout. Zayne kicked the blade away contemptuously. "You should have broken long ago, and yet here you stand! Still, the ancient barrier is unbroken! It must be so very close…tell me, Indigo, do you hate me?"

"More than you can imagine," he snarled in response, summoning Entei in a blaze of fiery glory! But a tiny voice in the back of his mind screamed a warning, because he recognized that tone of voice! What was he up to?

Zayne closed his eyes and grimaced, vanishing into flames much slower than before. Entei's claws cleaved the flames to ragged stripes, and its volcanic roar boomed against Indigo's eardrums!

His enemy reformed across their ruined battlefield, just close enough to hear. "Why?" he mocked with a vicious smirk, as Indigo's pupils dilated.

All the agony inflicted by the King of Fire, by Zayne Camellia roared over him, resonating with the bloody inferno of Entei's rage! But no, something was wrong, he had to fight it-!

Summoning hate was easy, but dispelling it shocked him with the impossibility! The never-ending magma sea that was Entei's soul swept him away the moment he tried to go against the flow! He knew then he had never controlled the beast. The volcano god had only followed him when Indigo's darkest emotions were in line with its own primal desires, feeding his own anger but never allowing it to fade!

How many people had died today? How many of his family lay dead because of the mad doctor? All at once he could think of nothing else, his lips curling in an inhuman snarl of mindless bloodlust!

Bones cracked and muscles rippled and jerked as Entei let out a roar that shook the heavens. The royal crest adorning its face shone white hot, searing like the sun!

Zayne stared hungrily as the shadow of the beast grew across the bloody road. "It's been close for so long. I was sure Riza's death would be the tipping point…I underestimated her. But you actually chose to deepen your link with Entei! It's almost too easy to send you over the edge in this state!"

Indigo ignored the savage triumph in Zayne's voice, power the likes of which he'd never comprehended piercing his mind, fire which promised his enemy's violent death! Someone with his voice was screaming far away, somewhere beyond anger and the taste of blood…

Entei's roar changed, deepening to dark thunder as its crest spiked further outwards, the silver and gold bleeding to red and black. Flaming stripes arced jaggedly across darkening mahogany fur, as broken chains erupted from the steel shackles binding its legs, their molten edges glowing sullen crimson. The stony ridges on its back glowed like lava, the colors constantly shifting, as its smoky mane billowed black.

Primal Entei's eyes shone scarlet, molten lava pooling from mere contact with the ground, nearly double its previous height. Its terrible roar alone ignited scattered pyres across the battlefield, constant firelight gleaming deep within its throat.

Somewhere nearby, a golden haired girl shook the unconscious Glaceon, pleading with a silent voice…

A scorching stranger spoke with his lips, his grin savage and too wide. "Die now. As the King and Queen of Halladen died tonight!" the darker Indigo declared, extending his hand out like a monarch. Riza's head snapped up, a shudder surging up her spine.

Primal Entei barreled forward, a fiery trail of sparks in its wake, and Zayne lifted a burned hand, placing what looked like a petal in his mouth…

And sliced his outstretched palm, fresh blood dripping down his arm.

Half molten stone and earth furrowed around Primal Entei's claws as it skidded to a stop, mere feet from Zayne's unwavering stance. Distorted heat billowed from its nose, the fire of its presence burning everything near except for the King of Fire himself.

Indigo felt it as Primal Entei recognized its king, smelled the impossible royal blood running through his veins! "No," he gasped out, returning partially to himself as his connection cracked! "You can't be. NO!"

Puzzle pieces flew into place, but something was missing, because who was he? Indigo remembered how Entei had halted his attack on the castle earlier, not on a whim, but in response to Zayne!

The last Akkarin, risen to power at last.

In front of Indigo stood his greatest enemy, and the only man who could save Halladen from the volcano.

Steam hissed from his closing burns as the petal took effect, the fire-dried blood flaking away from blackened skin. Even his freshly slashed palm regenerated, as the King of Fire stroked the blazing fur around Entei's muzzle.

"Kill her," Zayne murmured – his first order to the reborn god of flames.

"NO!" Indigo howled! Riza broke away from Mireal, Z reappearing with a flurry of slashing blades. Riza's dark power faltered, weaker than before, and she rolled, grabbing the fallen Nightwalker's Blade to defend herself. The two traded blows, locked in furious combat.

He slammed out the hand holding the Volcanofur, throwing his entire being into the battle of wills!

Entei's rage filled him with the awful power of a volcano, igniting his soul with fire and the lust for blood, for death, for flames.

It was like trying to stop his own heart from beating. He could feel the fire rage at his restriction, burning away his rationalizations, conscience, and morals. He was nothing compared to Entei, like a flickering match next to a roaring wildfire! The Volcanofur seared hot in his hand, agony erupting from his skin as acrid smoke curled through his fingers!

His own strength was not enough.

Indigo was going to lose.

He'd no sooner finished the thought when Zayne raised his own hand. Bending the fire within Entei, wresting more and more control from the power of the Volcanofur!

Riza tried to run, blocked by a series of papery bombs that knocked her backwards against the ground, a rain of fire and dirt spattering across the smoke stained battlegrounds…

Everything he had, and everything he was poured into that connection, because if he was going to fail, he would die alongside her in the effort alone! Indigo's raw shout turned darker, fighting with all the iron strength of his fists and heart!

A Glaceon's song washed over him, and suddenly he was not alone in his own mind. Indigo's eyes widened, boundless tranquility washing away the embers of his hate, lending quiet strength where he had had none.

Mireal, Pillar of Balance, stared into his soul with deep blue eyes, giving him the same strength she had once used to soothe all three legendary beasts, a hundred years ago.

Primal Entei's booming roar turned into a snarl of frustration, the flames boiling behind its fangs searing harmlessly up into the sky! Indigo's shout was drowned to nothing in the sound, as the Volcanofur flashed, crumbling to white ashes in his fingers.

He collapsed as the ashes fell like snow, staring without comprehension at his empty palm. The scarred symbol vanished into light, as if had never been. Riza whirled and ran before the legend could turn to her again, Z hot on her heels, beyond the burning buildings.

The King of Fire laughed, throwing back his head with the glory of it all, his anger long vanished!

At his command, a sweeping gout of primal flames seared across the battlefield, burning Abnormalities and members of the Scorned alike. Black smoke choked the air, as screams echoed beyond the roaring in his ears!

Indigo didn't move, every muscle shaking. Unable to look away. To think.

Watching Karraket burn.

Primal Entei fired a blazing meteor towards the frozen boy, no longer recognizing him as anything but prey! Ice and steam exploded against the flames as Mireal jumped in front of him, a misty barrier shimmering between him and his enemies.

A word echoed in his mind, urgent, beautiful, and unknown.

"Run."

On shaking legs, Indigo obeyed. Running the direction Riza had gone, as everything he'd ever loved burned around him to ashes. He picked up speed as his mind started functioning again, his footsteps pounding against the heated cobblestones.

There was no hope left, anymore. He couldn't beat Zayne! Indigo had no power left, no hidden tricks or brilliant plans! All he cared about…was Riza!

He sprinted down familiar streets, clawing scarlet flames demolishing his childhood house…

If she lived, his own world wouldn't be over!

He rounded the corner where he and Riza had first met so long ago, covering his face with his shirt, frantically searching the smoke for any sign of her…

She had to be alive!

And at once he remembered the beginning, when he'd told her all he wanted in life was to be a knight. A hero.

Hollow despair raked his sanity, but he saw her then, through the haze of destruction. Indigo nearly sobbed with relief, sprinting forward to grab the Princess's hand. "Riza!"

She turned, her beautiful violet eyes widening as golden hair whirled around her shoulders…

"We can't win. Come on, let's get out of here!" Indigo shouted, gripping her hand with no intention of ever letting go again-!

He froze with a jolt as her knife plunged into his stomach.

The pain hit him before his mind truly understood. Indigo's lips parted with an 'o' of shock as she twisted the blade, collapsing to his knees in a spray of blood. "Ri…za?" he asked uncertainly, wondering why her face held no expression at all, though part of him knew he deserved such a betrayal…

A scoff surprised him. A grey cloaked man he hadn't noticed ripped off his hood, glaring with deep-set predatory eyes. His rough voice grated against his ears. "You've always been slow on the uptake, haven't you, boy?" Scars and a broken nose marred his craggy face, shaggy brown hair hanging past his ears. "Surprised to see me?" Ren sneered, just as he'd done on Mount Shishiro a lifetime ago. "You froze me alive and left me for dead. Good thing the King of Fire didn't send us alone!"

Us?

Princess Riza Calariam stared down at him with strange apathy, completely emotionless, as her eyes turned brown.

And Indigo gaped, realizing the terrible depths of his manipulation!

Mayanna could change her appearance. There were no other first generation Abnormalities, just one, emotionally devoid woman! Z was her. So was Alesan, the red haired woman who'd worked with Ren on the mountain! The rumors of citizens seeing Layla Crie in person were probably her as well!

Doctor Camellia sent him to Mount Shishiro on a useless errand, and arranged for him to touch the Volcanofur. Ren all but gave him the answer about summoning it during sunset!

"I don't understand," Indigo whispered, though truly, he did…

With a connection to Entei forged, Doctor Camellia pushed him into nightmares to make the beast rampage. Twisting and manipulating him, all to destroy his mind bit by bit, while spreading rumors and discontent across Halladen. A rebellion fueled by Entei's attacks…which were in turn caused by his own agony!

Destroying King Johann's support, by making the already paranoid man go mad. His daughter, beloved by the people, revealed as a ghostly monster to all, unfit to rule!

That's why he'd tortured Indigo so relentlessly! Not just to create chaos. For this night. This moment! When he could save everyone, and take the kingdom so thoroughly they'd be grateful he'd arrived!

And finally, to break his mind and awaken Primal Entei to take for his own!

Hindsight seared across his mind, and Indigo saw everything!

The perfect revenge for Zayne's lifetime of pain. How many years had he planned for this one day?

"You haven't figured it out yet, boy? Why he chose you as his sacrifice?" Ren demanded, his mouth twisting into an ugly line. "Don't you know who you are?"

Mayanna caught his knife arm before it could descend, shaking her head as the last bits of blonde faded back to chestnut brown. "He'll want to see," she pointed out.

Ren jerked his arm away from her, giving Indigo one last glare before he turned away in a swirl of grey fabric.

Warmth gushed from his stomach, and Indigo collapsed, his hand falling away from the wound. Breathing raggedly as fires raged around him.

Was Riza alive? He hoped she'd run far away, and never looked back. Only the Queen of Ghosts could stand up to the King of Fire.

Everything was destroyed, now. Even if he survived, things could never be the same. He'd ruined everything in his ignorance and selfishness! Halladen had fallen!

If he hadn't brought Entei to Karraket, Indigo wondered dully, would the Scorned have won this fight?

Would Doctor Camellia have been able to get so far, without his help?

If he'd been stronger…would things have gone differently?

How much blood was on his hands now, he wondered? Entei's bloody rampage, caused by his nightmares…his missions as the Nightwalker. Reno.

And he didn't care anymore. His rage flickered to nothing, leaving him strangely hollow. Screams and muted explosions haunted the smoky night, and Indigo rolled onto his back with the last of his strength.

He was dying. He'd lost.

Indigo Nightwalker looked up at the black heavens, knowing there was nothing more he could do.

~o~