Ch. 17 Dark Hero

Within the long, endless deserts and canyons, Faith walked upon it at around five hundred feet. Sweat formed upon her brow, with heavy amounts of dirt on her fur and claws, and yet she remained calm. She walked forward for a hundred steps, against her sore legs’ will, before she stopped and turned around. Not a single pawprint remained in the ground.

She gave out a sore smile before she turned to several boulders by her side, just on top of the cliff. Her ears flattened to the sighed before she inhaled and reached up. She clenched onto the boulders and pulled them off, not even leaving a mark on the cliffside. She leaned back onto her hind legs, somewhat juggling the boulders with her paws before closing them in together and putting them back on the cliff. Not a crack remained.

She nodded before she sighed and turned her mind inwards. Her heart slowed, her muscles tensed, and her bones ached, and yet she steadied herself. Her body shrunk, first by foot, then by yards. Then, her shrinkage sped up until she returned to her usual one foot eleven without putting all of that extra size into her bow. In fact, though she sensed the massive amount of power within her body, it still felt comfortable.

Faith spun around, from the red dwarf shining upon them to the canyon she stood in, with not a single hint of destruction to her surroundings. She smiled to herself before she felt the ground rumble below her. She turned up and gasped, A-Ninetales standing above her on top of the canyon at 1000 feet tall.

“Well done,” A-Ninetales said before he leaped down with Faith winching and leaning back. But he shrunk in size until he became three foot seven, landing in front of her. She blinked before she gave out a shy laugh and rubbed the back of her head. “Don’t worry. Though I’m sure you can take it. After all, you did manage to resist me at five hundred feet, correct?”

“I guess I did, A-Tales,” Faith said, though she couldn’t turn off her blush. “Yeesh, those last hundred days were rough.”

“But I’m sure that was worth it, correct?” A-Ninetales waited until she nodded. “And now, Faith, there is one last thing you must demonstrate. Without storing any of the excess mass into your bow, I want you to use its power to fire out an attack without using over half of it.”

Faith gulped, with her sweating on her brow once more before she leaned up. She felt the power within her shifting into her chest, feeling its flame burning hard. Her chest tightened, with her only giving out a quick inhale before she opened her mouth wide.

“FLAMETHROWER!!”

Yet the attack was more plasma than flames, with her legs fighting against the downward force from her mouth. The ground below her shattered as she fired out into the red dwarf. Several seconds passed before she stopped herself, the plasma becoming flames once more, and she flopped to the ground, panting.

A-Ninetales chuckled a bit, and he rubbed one of her ears. “Not bad for a proper first time.” He bit into her scruff and bow, helping her on her paws. “Pretty draining, isn’t it?”

“Far more than the first time I accidentally used it,” Faith said, remembering that fight with Jirachi.

“Now then,” A-Ninetales said with a grin, “use the remaining energy to grow. I want to see you stand at two hundred fifty feet tall.”

Faith nodded, and the remaining energy within her shifted once more. Her body grew once more, with A-Ninetales hopping onto her head. She blinked, with him leaning forward before her right eye, upside down from her perspective, and grinned. She smiled back as she grew, becoming massive with her tails brushing against the cliffside without causing damages. Soon, she couldn’t grow anymore, reaching her max height, and she sighed.

A-Ninetales paced on her head for thirty seconds before hopping onto her muzzle. “You did it! You’re at two hundred and fifty feet tall!”

“Huh?” Faith blinked before she gave out a wide grin. “I did?” A-Ninetales nodded, and she grinned, with her picking him up and pressing him against her chest in a hug. “Thank you, A-Tales!”

A-Ninetales wiggled against her arm as he nuzzled back. Her body shrunk in size, though her hug did not loosen a bit. Soon enough, she hung against A-Ninetales’s body, with her nuzzling him as well. He laughed before he patted her head and hugged her back.

Faith and A-Ninetales soon stopped hugging, with her wagging her tails. “What about the other stuff? Like how you went super-fast and threw me?”

“That, I’m leaving to you to learn on your own,” A-Ninetales said and laughed when Faith tilted her head. “It’s nothing complex. It’s more like a refined version of that powerful attack you fired out.”

Faith nodded, though she rubbed the back of her head. “If you say so. Still, thank you for training me on this.”

“It’s no problem. In fact,” A-Ninetales turned away, his head lowered, “I feel guilty for leaving you with this burden. While it’s not as bad as I feared, I still feel responsible for leaving you with my gift.”

“Don’t be, A-Tales.” Faith went to his side and nuzzled under his neck. “I’m glad that I’m part of this world. With this, I’m sure that I’ll protect Arkanilacum and any other place that needs help.”

A-Ninetales nodded, and he smiled. “Thank you. I’m sure you’ll do it well.”

Faith’s smile faltered, and she turned away. “To be honest, I do have one regret.” She sighed as her chest tightened. “Adrian should’ve been here with me. I wish I haven’t pushed him away like I did.”

A-Ninetales rubbed his chin before he nodded. “While it’s only a couple of hours into the day, I think we shall call it. After all, you’ve completed all that I want to teach you. The only thing that you can do more is practice.”

Faith nodded, with her giving a small smile as A-Ninetales pressed against his badge. Then, a ring of white light formed around them, with the surroundings fading away from them. Soon, the light engulfed the other’s vision of each other for a few seconds. The soiled ground became steel within that time, and the two found themselves in a steely structure.

She shook her head, turning to the symbol below them, and rubbed one of the curved lines. She took a step to the opening before she blinked, spotting Glorfindel, David, and Al standing there. A-Ninetales tilted his head, with one of his ears flattened to the sides, as the other three stepped into the multiverse entrance/exit system.

“That was quicker than I expected,” David said, his arms crossed.

“I told you that it wouldn’t be long,” Glorfindel said, rubbing his golden-yellow hair as he grinned.

“Huh?” Faith turned to A-Ninetales, who raised one of his eyebrows. “You know what’s up?”

“Glorfindel asked if I had planned on doing a full day of training last night,” A-Ninetales admitted. “I told them that I haven’t, that it’s a final test for you, and he seemed oddly pleased at this. I haven’t thought of it until now.” Glorfindel grinned wide at him and Faith. “So, what do you want? And where’s Saria?”

“I prefer being asked who I am, but I’m not offended at all,” Glorfindel replied with a shrug, Faith’s ears flattening to the sides. “I’m here to take you to another final test, with Saria supervising it.”

Then, he flicked his finger at the entrance without a word, and the symbol below them glowed brightly. Faith blinked as the light consumed all vision, with her twitching her paws. She twisted around, trying to find the others, until other colors returned to her along with the others, with David’s eyes widened.

“That was brighter than I expected,” David said, rubbing his eyes even as Al laughed and patted his shoulder. “What’s going on here?”

Faith twisted around, feeling the dirt beneath her once more, and she turned downwards. She took a step back, standing next to a cliff not unlike the one she passed by a half-hour ago while doing her final test. Yet, the sandy brown ground contrasted with the red, with a cool breeze through their fur and the surrounding trees. The dark clouded sky covered the sun, with what little light from it showing from the edge of the horizon.

She took a step forward along with David and Al until they faced the edge of the cliff, with it only going as high as a hundred feet. Faith inhaled and relaxed a bit, but hundreds of tiny red lights appeared from a distance. She tilted her head even as A-Ninetales walked by her side, raising one of his eyebrows.

“Are those what I think they are?” A-Ninetales asked, and Glorfindel grinned wide.

“Indeed,” Glorfindel said, the red lights expanding in size until, even though the darkness, their brassy limbs shined in the light. Their four limbs, walking like spiders, stomped by, with a pair of guns on the bottom and a massive one on top. Each of their feet carried either fire or electricity on it, burning through the ground. The ground rumbled a bit, the air filling up with high-pitched sounds as though steam leaked out, and the red lights shifted. Soon, yellow light shined upon the group, with Faith covering her eyes for a couple of seconds. “Those are clockwork mechs run by an artificial intelligence.” Glorfindel continued, with David turning back. “They are programmed so that, if the primary target isn’t around, they are to hunt us down until we are all dead.”

“What?! Why!?” David asked, the rumbling growing rougher.

“Because Saria and I requested it so,” Glorfindel answered, with A-Ninetales turning back, with one of his ears flattened to the sides.

“Have you lost your mind?!” David stomped until he reached an inch against Glorfindel’s chest, who shrugged back.

“A-Tales?” Faith’s tails lowered to the ground, her heart pounding against her chest, even as A-Ninetales rubbed his chin.

“I wonder. Could it be?” A-Ninetales said, his claws scraping against his neck. A light flashed within his eyes, and his lips curled into a grin. “You are a mad kitsune, Glorfindel.”

Glorfindel grinned wider before stepping away from David’s glare and bowed to A-Ninetales. “Finally figured it out?”

“A-Tales, maybe we should—” Faith felt a pat against her back and, when she turned up, A-Ninetales shook his head. “Do you know anything about this?”

“I haven’t,” A-Ninetales said as the ground shook again, the mechs slamming their legs against the cliff wall and climbing it. “But I believe I figured it out. But I think it’s best to stay and watch.”

David blinked, the shaking growing more even as a chunk of the cliff fell and the mechs continued to climb. He turned to Faith and A-Ninetales, his teeth clenched tight as his body shook, with Al leaning over and half hugging him. Soon, one of the mechs reached the top, its red eye turning to all of the other eyes at it. Faith gulped, with two more of the mechs reaching up as well while the first one leaned down. Its cannon glowed bright light blue, and a whirling sound emitted from it, with David turning white and Faith pressing against her bow.

A blur of color appeared, slamming against the cannon with a force that ripped it off from the body. It only flew a foot away before the two guns underneath it broke off, their shards ripping against the other two mechs’ legs. The cannon went five more feet when its owner’s core exploded out from the side, with its red light turning black. Thirty more feet and the mortar exploded, with the mech falling off the cliff along with the other two, their front legs ripped in half.

David’s colors returned to him even as his eyes widened, sweat forming on his forehead. “What just happened?”

Faith blinked, the three mechs before them down within a blink span, and she ran to the edge of the cliff. The blur already ripped through several of the climbing mechs, with their bodies falling down as shreds, with gears or steam rolling off or exploding out. Several thin blue lines aimed at the blur, and a burst of blue laser zoomed out, ripping through the cliff. But the blur avoided the laser shots and instead landed at the center of a group of twenty mechs, pausing for just a second.

Faith’s eyes widened. “Adrian?!”

A wave of dark red flames emitted from Adrian the Flareon’s body, melting all twenty of the mechs, with them exploding. But he already moved just as they felt the flames’ impact, ripping through several other mechs as though they were made of paper. He stopped before one of the mechs, which aimed its laser cannon at him before firing. But he inhaled and fired a burst of flames, almost in the shape of five lines meeting at the center, back at the laser. Fire met lasers and fought back, soon overwhelming the laser and melting the mech and any that stood behind it.

“What in Arceus?” David leaned over beside Faith, his eyes just as wide. “That’s impossible.”

And yet, Adrian charged onwards, his tail glowed brightly before leaping and spinning in the air towards several mechs in a line. His tail sliced through the mechs, with them exploding one by one, until he landed and sprinted onwards. Another dark red wave of flames emitted from his body, melting several others as he ran. He leaped, with his head slamming against another laser cannon and ripping it off before firing a burst of orange and red flames in the interior.

Within a couple of minutes, where hundreds of mechs once stood, none remained.

Faith breathed a sigh of relief, only for a high pitch screech echoing through the area. Along with the others, she held their ears tight as the ground rumbled, with trees falling off the cliff. She took a step back along with David, and, a second later, the land they once stood on broke and fell. Yet, Adrian stood defiant, not even pressing against his ears.

Ahead, almost as if it appeared out of nowhere, a massive mech stood, towering over even the cliff itself. Its eight legs slammed against the ground, with its torso and head swaying with the movements as its three arms shifted. Its three red electronic eyes stared downwards at the lone Adrian, with Faith gasping. She leaped, only for her jump to stop midjump, her body glowing green even as Glorfindel shook his head. Faith pressed against her bow, but none of her excess growth energy flowed into her.

“Let me go!” Faith wiggled some more, flailing her paws. “He needs help!”

“I’m afraid that I cannot let you intervene.” Glorfindel twitched his staff, and Faith was implanted against the ground, unable to wiggle her claws. “This is his fight.”

She cried out as the massive mech raised one of its three arms, which held three giant steel saws, and slammed it against Adrian, shredding the ground and trees around it. Her face paled, and the machine released a stream of steam, but the saw blades shattered into countless pieces, with Adrian sprinting upwards, his tail glowing. Half a second later, he reached the elbow and slammed his tail against it, with massive cracks that reached up to the shoulder.

He leaped, soon slamming against the mech’s second arm, which ends with a massive fist. A crater formed upon contact, with the mech swaying back even as a surge of air blew back from the contact, knocking the others outside of Glorfindel back a couple of feet. Even so, the mech leaned forward, slamming its dented fist down upon the midair Adrian.

He fell downwards, landing against one of the mech’s legs, with Faith gasping and wigging more against the magical hold. She cried out, her own legs becoming jelly-like while her heart slammed against her chest, but Adrian leaped back up, slamming against the fist once more. It ripped off from the wrist, with a rush of steam and electricity coming out from the opening, and the mech emitted a massive cry.

It raised its final arm, which had a massive cannon on it, and aimed it against Adrian once more. A surge of power came through it as it glowed blue, with a high-pitch crackle coming from it. Adrian landed, and the laser cannon fired, with it ripping and burning through the ground. The ground shook more, with more of the cliffs falling off; as Faith and David’s eyes widened in horror, their jaws dropped low.

Soon, it stopped firing its laser and raised its arm in triumph, only for a bit of orange to be on its blue cannon before disappearing. A second later and massive bursts of flames ripped through the torso, with the mech stumbling a bit and staring down. Steams and cords poured out from the increasing opening until Adrian ripped out from the top of its head. Adrian hovered in the air for a second, his tail glowing once more, and he flipped forward several times as he fell down. The mech turned upwards, and its three eyes met the tail, with cracks forming throughout the body. It wheezed as Adrian leaped off from it, landing on the cliff. The machine collapsed, with legs bent from the force, and it exploded, pouring out flames, electricity, and steam.

Faith and David flew back from the force, getting caught by Glorfindel and Al, with both of them still wide-eyed. They didn’t notice when they were put back on the ground; their focus was on Adrian as he bowed to the fallen mech. Once smooth and fluffy, his fur became scruffy since she last saw him, and his muscles became more defined. He soon stood up and turned to the others, his eyes far sharper than before.

“Well done! I knew that you could do this!” A familiar voice came from above, and everyone turned upward. A mech, far smaller and having four propellers, hovered in the air with its yellow eye staring back at them. A-Ninetales laughed while shaking his head even as Faith blinked.

“Saria?” Faith asked while tilting her head.

“The one and only!” The mech said. “I’m at a factory where those clockwork machines were created and controlled from. Cost me and Glorfindel a hefty amount of Poké to do this test, especially that giant machine.”

David’s ears flattened to the sides. “I won’t deny that this is an impressive show, but I have far more questions than before.”

“Indeed. It’s time to reveal the truth. But not here.” Glorfindel raised his staff up high as Adrian approached the others, with them engulfed in white light. Seconds passed before the light disappeared, with them back within The Philosopher’s multiverse travel system. They stepped out, and, a minute later, it glowed white for a few seconds before Saria appeared, stepping out. “Now we have everyone.”

“Good, good. But—”

“Do not interrupt when you’re getting your answer anyways. Unless you want to be another Pokémon like a Grimer, and I may inconveniently forget to change you back.” Glorfindel smirked as David shut up while shaking his head. “Anyways, what you just witnessed was the finale of Adrian’s own training journey.”

“His own journey?” Faith tilted her head at Adrian. “But only a hundred days passed. How did you get so strong so quick?”

“That’s how short it’s been for you guys?” Adrian tilted his head back.

“Adrian requested that his training lasted for up to a year at least,” Glorfindel explained, and Faith and David blinked, taking a step back. “As such, I enchanted his body so that, from his perspective, time slowed so that one hundred days stretched to a year. I’ve also taken his need for sleep by his request as well so that he would be able to adapt and train.”

“What?” David bent over to Adrian. “You never slept during your training?”

“I rested,” Adrian replied with a shrug. “Which was all that I needed.”

“Still, I don’t understand.” Faith’s ears flattened back as her head lowered. “I honestly thought that you would turn into a Vaporeon. I’m happy that you are still a Flareon, but why haven’t you told me? Not just about your not changing, but also your insane training. Was even your sickness also a lie?”

Adrian sighed before turning to Saria. “To be honest, I was tempted to become a Vaporeon. Not just because I wasn’t as suited as a Flareon as I thought and because of your relentless teasing, but because of—” he shook his head. “No, I need to explain it all, not just in bits. But, even after Saria and David told me that it would likely not make me feel happy, I was still set on becoming a Vaporeon.”

“‘Even if a Vaporeon is stronger than a Flareon,” Saria said with a wink, “that would mean nothing if you’re the same within.’ That’s what I told him. I also told him, ‘If you want to be stronger and firmer, start from within.’”

“Yeah. I believe that now.” Adrian nodded before turning to Faith. “And then you said much of the same words yourself, back on the beach. Remember? That helped pull me away from the water’s pull, and, on that day, I became dead set on becoming stronger. So, I asked Saria and see if she could help along with Glorfindel with making me stronger.”

“That sickness wasn’t a lie, if I may add.” Glorfindel held up a marble-sized green orb as the others turned to him. “But it was something that I’ve implanted into him. Namely, Pokérus.”

“Pokérus?!” Faith yelled out while recoiling back. “You gave him that?!”

“Pokérus is a highly infectious disease with a high death rate!” David stomped while gritting his teeth. “What were you thinking?!”

“What you said is true. However,” Glorfindel dispelled the orb before rubbing the tips of his ears, “anthro’s medicine made Pokérus from a dangerous sickness to a minor cold at worse, though we kept him isolated just in case. Moreover, it does have one side effect that you may not be aware of.” He grinned. “For any surviving victims of the disease, it makes them stronger by boosting their body’s ability to gain strength, speed, and defense.”

“He wasn’t about to give me a power boost and call it done,” Adrian said before lifting up his left paw, looking it over. “He wanted me to start from zero so that, if I wanted the power I desire, I’d have to work for it during the year from my perspective. In exchange, he changed my body so that not only would it be more suited to be a Flareon, but also expanded my limits to how much stronger I’ll get.”

“To be honest, I’m not sure if you reached your peak,” Glorfindel said while rubbing his chin.

“Let me get this straight,” Al said while shaking his head. “Adrian’s body was reset to zero, only to become powerful enough to rip through clockwork machines. And he did it with some help from Pokérus, slowing time in his case, and living full-time in another universe? And during the same timespan that Faith was training to control her macro abilities? And not go insane?”

“You trained your macro abilities?” Adrian asked and, after Faith turned to a grinning A-Ninetales, she nodded. “Sorry. I haven’t been told of what was going on over here while training. I requested that so that I don’t get distracted. I also asked that my training become private until I’m ready. I’m glad that it was the same day.” Faith smiled and blushed a bit. “As for not going insane, there were times that I nearly became insane, but I kept myself oriented by focusing on my reasons to get stronger.”

“Was that me?” Faith asked while tilting her head.

“A part of it, yes. But,” Adrian lowered his left paw, which flinched, “there was another reason. Him.”

Faith’s ears flattened to the sides and back, her heart twitching. “You mean Kyle? It was to fight him?”

“I know him better than you,” Adrian answered, his gaze becoming steel-like. “I know why he tried to kill me that night. And I know that you love him, but you only saw a glimpse of what he is like outside of your view. I even wonder if he actually loves you or an idea of you.”

Faith’s ears straightened up for a moment before dropping forward, with her turning away. “I don’t know why you hate him so much, especially since you used to like his company. But I believe in Kyle. He was there for me, especially on that day when my parents were pronounced dead.”

Adrian remained silent for several seconds even as David shook his head, rubbing one of his earrings. A-Ninetales and Glorfindel turned to each other, with A-Ninetales’s ears flattening back even as Glorfindel shook his head, one of his ears flattened to the side. Saria tilted her head at Al and Faith, who stared back with confusion.

Adrian inhaled and said, “Faith, I need to tell you the truth. Namely, what happened that day.”

“And there is something that I need to show you,” A-Ninetales while pressing his badge. “Something that I should’ve done long ago but was too scared to.”

At that moment, a few things happened at once.

Al blinked, hearing a ringing tone from his pocket. He pulled out his smartphone, seeing a phone call as he became stunned by the caller. Why would the mayor call him of all anthros, Al thought as he accepted the call, pressing it against his ear. From the other end, wood smashing noises came along with Mayor Jonas’ voice screaming out.

“What are you?! NO! HELP—”

The connection died in a massive crack, and Al’s blood turned cold, his tail ruffled up.

Simultaneously, the ground shook below them, with vibrations coming from the north and east. At first, it was soft, but it grew harsher later on, with it becoming rhythmic. Cracks formed on the building’s windows even as a high piercing alarm came through all over The Second Capitol.

“That’s the alarm when a giant Pokémon is attacking the city,” Glorfindel said while pressing one of his ears. “What could it be this time?”

He waved his staff a bit, and two green orbs appeared before them, small at first before growing in size while becoming see-through. Soon, the orbs displayed a couple of videos, with most of them gasping at the spheres. Adrian’s eyes narrowed even as Faith gasped, covering her mouth, and David’s eyes widened. A-Ninetales rubbed his chin while one of his tails curled up around Saria’s tail, her eyes narrowing as well.

Within the orbs displayed two massive Pokémon, their sheer size closer to 500 feet even as they stomp on farms or mountainsides, smashing plants and sending boulders down. The farm-breaking one, coming from the east, was a Lucario, though the fur was yellow where it should’ve been blue and small spikes protrude from the appendages and tail. He wore a purple mask, shaped like a Ninetales, and he carried an Aura bone.

The mountainside smashing one, coming from the north, was a Lycanroc, though her mane fur was black when it should’ve been white, and her spikes around her neck and claws were red. A teal sphere hung near her tail tip, and her face had red markings over her eyes and lips. On her front right foreleg was strapped a purple glowing device.

“It’s Maya!” Faith yelled, her tails fluffed up.

“And Kyle,” Adrian said, his voice low.

“But how did they get here?!” David demanded, his hair-like fur turf shaking.

“That is the question you should ask them.” Glorfindel rubbed his chin some more; the group heard screams though it was some distance from any buildings. “Strange. The city defenses should’ve activated by now.”

“Hey, guys?” The group turned to Al, who placed his smartphone in his pocket. “Something happened to the mayor. It sounded like he was under attack.”

“He was attacked?” Saria blinked even as she rubbed her horn. “I’m sensing disaster everywhere. Not just from what you said and what we saw, but something that’s dominating this entire continent. Is something more going on?”

“Too many things happening at once. It can’t just be a coincidence.” A-Ninetales shook his head. “Besides, the mayor is at the very top of the tallest building. How could someone get there without catching the notice of the guards, which should be a station at every 50th floor.” He turned to Faith and raised an eyebrow at her confused expression. “Something bothering you, Faith?”

“That illusion device, A-Tales. It never glowed before.” Faith squinted her right eye. “And something is off with Maya’s face.”

David squinted at the orb displaying Maya along with Adrian, with her not looking too off. But then one of her eyes turned, and they blinked, her irises were slit, and the sclera darkened. Her jaws opened up a bit, exposing longer and sharper fangs while her lips curled up far back behind her eyes. David and Adrian nodded even as the displayed Maya laughed, showcasing her lust as she smashed several boulders down the mountainside.

“Interesting,” Glorfindel said as the others turned to him, his eyes at Kyle. “Why does he wear a mask? And why is one of the spikes behind his left hand-paw black? Do you know how he grows in size?” The others shook their head at him, and one of his ears flattened back. “Thought so. From what I can see, he isn’t huge because of some machinery. No evidence of a growth ray or a wrist device. Nothing he ingested like a scientific or magical potion. And I don’t see any nanomachines or any kind of technology within him.”

“Then it must be magical, then,” Saria said, and Glorfindel nodded. “Perhaps he found something magical that allows that.”

“Low chance of that.” Glorfindel shrugged before he closed his eyes. “Magical objects, I mean. After all, the only stuff that does induce growth through a ‘magical’ means is Galar particles, which are more like a projection of yourself as huge rather than being huge.”

“Then it must’ve been given to him,” A-Ninetales suggested. “After all, you could enchant someone to grow and shrink at will—”

“It’s not as simple for me to just insert a needle into your chest and call it done, Daren,” Glorfindel said while rubbing the ridge of his muzzle. “Because it requires strong magic and control for it to be permanent. In fact, there’s only a few I know that could’ve done this and only one—” He paused, and his tails stood still. Faith blinked and twisted her neck so she could see his face, and she jumped back, his face white with fear. “That can’t be, can it? It couldn’t be him.” He lowered his arm and dispelled the orbs with a wave of his staff. “I got to go to the mayor and see if he’s even alive. Saria and Adrian, you’re with me.”

“I’ll come—”

“NO!” Glorfindel’s finger pointed under Al’s mouth, who stepped back. “You head to a safe location! And take David with you!”

“I’m not—”

Glorfindel ignored David and turned to A-Ninetales and Faith. “If I’m correct, and I’m hoping I’m not, the city’s defenses against them are disabled! So you need to defend the city from Kyle and Maya without them!”

Faith opened her mouth, only for Glorfindel to sprint down the sidewalk, his staff hanging behind his back. She felt a cold chill rolling down her spine, spotting his five tails fluffed up straight. She almost didn’t notice a tap against her shoulder and, when she turned, A-Ninetales met her face.

“You heard what he said,” A-Ninetales said to her and the rest. “Let’s move out.”

Saria nodded before she nosed A-Ninetales’s nose. “I’ll go and assist you as soon as I can. I promise.”

“Thank you, my dear,” A-Ninetales said before they licked each other’s cheeks, and he turned to Faith. “I’ll deal with Kyle. I haven’t forgotten what he did to Saria. You handle Maya, OK?”

“Right,” Faith said before swallowing. A-Ninetales patted her head before he turned east and ran out. His body glowed gold for a bit before he disappeared in a flash. Faith nodded and patted her bow before turning to Adrian. His eyes turned elsewhere, where Saria sprinted after Glorfindel. “Just promise me that you, along with the others, will be here once this crisis is over.” Adrian’s ears twitched, but he didn’t turn his head. Faith sighed before she patted his back. “Good luck.”

Faith turned northward, where The Philosopher towered before her, and she ran. She thought of the lessons A-Ninetales taught her these last few months, and she pulled in a little of her growth energy from her bow. At once, fifty of her compressed growth energies flowed back into her body, though she resisted the urge to use it to grow. Instead, she turned that energy into her brain and legs, and, at once, everything seemed to be still or at least slow, her body glowing red. She gave out a small smile as she ran, already at the other end of the space elevator and ducking past panicking anthros.

David blinked even as Faith disappeared just as A-Ninetales did, with his ears folded back. Between Faith and Adrian, he couldn’t help but feel envious that, during the time he had fun with Al, they grew far tougher than he could imagine. He turned to Adrian, who seemed to lose any sense of fear before he squinted. Adrian turned his head to Faith’s direction for just a second before turning back to Saria. David couldn’t help but grin at that.

Adrian nodded before he crouched low. “Anyways, I’ll go and help them out.” At that moment, he felt a hand-paw pressing against his shoulder, and he paused, turning to David. “Anything wrong?”

“Adrian, this isn’t what you wanted, is it?” David replied, and when he got a blank response, he winked. “I’ll go and help Glorfindel in your place. You go and help Faith instead.”

“Why?” Adrian tilted his head. “I’m sure that she can handle it without me. Besides—”

“—she still needed some space from you, and helping Glorfindel out is a way to do it?”

“That wasn’t what I was about to say,” Adrian’s ears flattened back.

“But it is what you were thinking, isn’t it?” David waited until Adrian nodded. “Listen, Adrian. You’ve changed a lot since I last met you and for the better. I can’t help but feel envious of that.” David rubbed the back of his head as he gave out a sly smile. “Still, though keeping your distance, staying firm, and getting far stronger helped you on your quest with Faith, you can relax that a bit. To be honest, I can’t tell you how worried Faith was these past hundred days, staying up on certain nights just to see you. Perhaps even wondering if you’re still a Flareon or became a Vaporeon. Now is the time to be by her side after being away from her for so long.” Adrian turned aside, and David grinned. “See? No longer do you stand as her inferior, but her equal. Now go. I’ll help Glorfindel.”

“I’ll go too,” Al said, patting David on the shoulder. “I need to see if the Deputy Mayor is alright as well.”

David nodded, and when they turned to Adrian, he had already sprinted away. Already, he went by the same path that Faith took, disappearing from view in a second. David and Al turned to each other before they nodded and sprinted after Saria.

“Let’s go,” David said.