[ESCAPE ROUTE] The Main Gate

Time seemed to have slowed down as a mixture of blazing colors shined everywhere. It all became overwhelming: the sound of fire exploding in front of him, the sound of the asphalt being stomped on as a Whirlipede barely stopped its tracks to not get turned into mincemeat, and a mixture of insane laughter and fearful screams.

Charred crimson stained everything: the grass, the ground, the air, even on the Pokemon. His clothes were drenched in it, the asphalt underneath him became flooded with a pool.

Crimson was the only color that Vander could see.

His ears went numb as he screamed, Leon had called out an attack, Soleil got caught in between a Trevenant’s arms to facilitate his escape, Frankie prepared to fight against the opponent and Shawl closely followed behind everyone. His legs were not responding, his head kept spinning, he started to cough from inhaling the toxins, he couldn’t hear a word of what anybody was saying. He wanted to curl up, but the scent of blood invaded his nostrils, suffocating him mercilessly.

The chaos turned out for worse as they were attacked from every direction. Was there no escape? Wasn’t there something that could be done? His brother was killed right in front of his eyes. The strongest person he knew was dead, he never stood a chance, he would never, ever be able to do a thing.

That was what he thought. Until he heard Saturn call his brother’s name.

Vander suddenly snapped out of his senses, pulling himself together as Saturn’s words bounced inside his head. His vision turned red, his blood started to boil like never before, veins popped off his face, he was angry… No, he got engulfed inside the burning wrath that resided inside of him. He gave in, letting out all of his bottled up feelings that were now turned into something to channel: Hatred.

The blonde dashed off, yelling as he thrashed his way forward to the Galactic administration, he pulled out three Poke Ball and threw them, desperately yelling in almost an incomprehensible manner.

“KILL HIM!! RAZOR SHELL, FLAMES BURST, VOLT TACKLE!!!”

His Pokémon did not need to ask or wonder what was going on, they could feel it already: his pain, his sorrow, they could almost cry with him. Soma in particular cried out, feeling his partner’s overwhelming emotions surge through his own body, as if the two were particularly connected by something else. The three attacks started to cause more havoc than anything else, lifting up clouds of smoke. Saturn’s laugh could be heard in between these, taunting the young trainer.

“Now, now. Did I strike a nerve in the small, sniveling Blue?”

“SHUT UP!! SHUT UP-!!”

Vander got suddenly tackled by two grunts, interrupting him in his dash. Montblanc tackled one of them, and Lloyd bit down on the other one, freeing their trainer with ease. Just as the boy stood up and was about to order another round of attacks, Lloyd and Montblanc got surprise attacked by a pair of Air Slashes, rendering them motionless.

“NO!!” Vander screamed in despair and quickly called back his Pokémon, continuing his pursuit and feeling how his anger pushed him past his limits. But Saturn’s continuous mockery just made it worse, feeling insulted and disgusted. He wanted to destroy him, to end him, silence his voice, show him who he truly was.

“How adorable. You think that you can actually accomplish something. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, small one, but you never could! And you never will! You wanna know why? Because you’re nothing.” He resumed his cackling, which became louder in volume as he indulged in the enjoyment of the situation.

Vander and Soma grunted as they both struggled to keep up. But, out of the blue, Torrent activated. The blonde was too lost in his rage to actually realize how battered his partner was, but both did not care one bit and continued pushing, even with their wounds sustained from the night. The adrenaline had made them ignore all the hits they have been taking ever since Saturn made his appearance, and they hadn’t realized it yet.

“I SAID SHUT UP!! DON’T YOU DARE TO CALL HIS NAME!! I WILL SHOW YOU!!” Soma’s blades grew larger, surrounded in a dastardly dangerous vortex of swirling water, turning into something similar to a scimitar. “I WILL SHOW YOU WHY WILL REGRET THIS, LET’S GO SOMA!!! POSEIDON’S RAZOR SHELL!!!” The attack on Soma’s blades turned larger and much more dangerous, Vander’s drive and power was so great that he joined Soma in the attack, abusing of the bond they shared together. He desperately cried for power, his emotions swirled an uncontrollable fire that made all his power run around without proper direction, Soma was already in pain for the sheer raw power he held in his hands that was fueled not fully by their own power, but by Vander’s alarming and hateful wrath.

Vander flinched when the Dusknoir suddenly appeared, their attack had failed. Their ultimate technique got so easily defeated, tossed aside like a flea near a bowl of soup. Before he could do anything to react, Soma got devastated by a sudden crush against the ground, since he was with his partner, Vander got pulled into the brutal attack as well, getting his head, shoulders and back crush the ground beneath them like it was a cookie. He yelled out in pain, finally giving in to it after so long, and Soma could barely emit a sound after such an attack, he got instantly knocked out.

Both bounced from the ground and started to spit blood out, the Shadow Ball had ravaged through their bodies as if they were made out of paper, Vander could barely remain conscious as he struggled to endure, his arms were shattered, and his voice? Gone.

Finally, he let out an exhale of defeat. He couldn't do anything, Saturn was right, he was nothing compared to his brother, just a pile of waste. He finally met darkness as his eyes closed off, he felt cold, exhausted as his limp body remained there: on the ground alongside his partner Soma, pathetically defeated.

Sol almost clawed at the Trevenant that took Leonard. The look on his eyes wasn't just fear. It was happening again.

Everything worsened with the water. His chest tightened, suddenly not being in Azure anymore. He only managed to see a boy get sliced by the water instantly, closing his eyes shut, but the image wouldn't leave his head.

"Why didn't you save me, brother?"

Sol felt his weight being too much, getting in one knee.

Go away.

"Why weren't you like him? You could have saved me. You could have given your life for me. But you didn't. And now look at me. I'm dead."

Samuel, the youngest of the Kriegs, stood in front of his older brother. But instead of the lively boy he had seen in a past episode, the one from his nightmares had come to haunt him. The Samuel with bruises, sunken eyes, a bloated body and salt stuck to his skin. Soleil felt the blood on his back slowly get cold and glued to his skin. He shut his eyes tighter. He didn't want this. This wasn't...

---

Soleil snapped out of his trance once that thought crossed his mind.

Yeah. It's not fair. It's never been fair.

When he opened his eyes back again, he only got to see Vander and Soma drop to the floor. He quickly looked between the trevenant, his own pokemon, and his best friend. Umbra was good. Ragnarok was slightly burnt from the sudden halt he had to make, but the fire on his eyes mirrored his trainer's. Both pokemon's eyes flared. Leo was dead. Vander was hurt...

But one of these things he could do something about.

"Umbra. Ragnarok. I love you." The boy's eyes closed, a sudden wave of emotions overcoming him. Whatever reason was still left in him was stomped by the rush. "Quick Attack. Rollout."

Pokemon and Trainer struggled to find their footing, clawing and digging into the patch of ground they were on. When they were stable enough, Sol did the unthinkable.

A leap of faith.

He jumped over where Vander was. It was obvious that he wasn't going to make the jump, and Saturn's laughter echoed on his head, until he felt a strong impact on his back. Umbra and Ragnarok both hit him with such force he was sent across the gap, not quite safely, but he had made it. By hitting him, they bounced back right to the Trevenant, which caught them with ease. The tree pokemon was left speechless at the absolute stupidity of what had just happened, but the pokemon were beaming.

"Vander. Vander! Buddy. I'm here. I'm 'ere! Can y'hear me?" He scrambled his way over to Vander, crawling, the adrenaline making him shake for the moment.

Shawl watched in horror as the student was slaughtered as if they were nothing. The complete disregard for human life was appalling, and the gore along with the shaking from the earthquake made Shawl vomit. It wasn't easy to keep your balance and vomit at the same time, but somehow Shawl managed to do it. Shawl got down on his hands and knees to try and keep his balance easier, but there wasn't a lot of space. He could easily slip, fall in, and die. Then again, this entire escape has just been them trying to avoid death.

What will they do? Vander was knocked out, all his Pokémon are unusable, Leonard was probably dead, his Machamp needed assistance, and the Champion's Poke Balls had locked themselves as a safety measure.