Through the Portal

~Meanwhile with Ryuji, Tatsuhi and Yuuya~

"We actually can prove it. You know how Ryuji's state was only two hours ago? That's because of what happened in that castle." Tatsuhi said to Steven, very seriously. Steven's eyes widened in horror and he wasted no time in telling Cynthia about it. But what the woman said was nothing they had expected;

"Don't you at least want to take revenge? I mean, by what you say, you must have been through some terrible stuff and Darkrai is the reason for that."

Surprising Cynthia, Tatsuhi shook his head, still thinking of what had happened before to both of them but he didn't want to disclose all of the things yet, he simply wasn't ready for that, especially not around Yuuya.

"We just want to be out of that terrible place, it's not a safe place in the least bit." Ryuji said, echoing his best friend's own thoughts. Yuuya however, stayed silent, the words actually planting a seed of ideas for the drummer.

~Meanwhile with Emile~

"Don't! Darkrai is way too dangerous for a lady like you to handle! Hell, it's too dangerous for even us to handle alone!" Robin said, paling immediately.

At that, Noire looked annoyed at them but then, Cyrus had an idea;

"How about we join forces? We've learned that Darkrai is actually experimenting on people here, and we want to stop him from doing all this damage. If you want, you can join us, Noire. More hands are always better than only one, right?"

Noire stopped for a moment, considering the idea and then, much to Robin's joy, she doubtfully nodded.

"But if I ever find you suspicious, I'm mowing you all down. Deal?"

~Meanwhile with Strify~

As they traversed the dangerous Distortion World, Strify kept talking to Dianna, wanting to know more of the mysterious girl and how she had ended up in there.

"A-all I know is that I woke up here, alone. No memory what-so-ever of what awaits me on the other end."

Strify paled, thinking that he could start to forget as well and decided to try finding the exit as fast as possible even more now.

"We have to find this place's exit! I-I don't want to end up like that too!" The singer said, shuddering at the thought.

"Too bad you will..." She whispered to herself, smirking behind his back.

~Meanwhile in the hospital - 2 hours later~

Just as they were going to get out of the hospital, something shocking happened, a wormhole suddenly opened and out of it, Strify came tumbling out, shocking everybody.

"Andreas?! You... You got out by yourself?!" Romeo said, completely out of his mind with shock.

Strify raised his head tiredly, smiling and saying;

"Ja. You could say that."

~Meanwhile with Chelsea~

As the girl said that, Alp shuddered, knowing very well that Chelsea was very angry and hurt inside after losing so many things to Darkrai. But he was mainly afraid of the girl's wrath as he knew well that hers was scary.

"Let's go away from this terrible place, Alp. Hold onto me. Kadabra, use Teleport!"

Alp nodded and held onto the girl with worry as the Psi Pokémon's body glowed white along with them and they disappeared from the room. But right after they were gone, Adrienne smiled evilly.

"It seems it's working on her."

~Meanwhile in the hospital~

"Oh thank God, this is a miracle!" Kiro said, hugging Strify tightly. But before Shin could also hug the older man, glad that he had survived, he suddenly had a headache. Through it, he heard Strify's scream as if the vocalist was not there with them and was miles away from them instead.

'Shin!! help!! Please, help me!!'

"Marcel? What's wrong?" Luminor asked as Strify also looked at him with a strange look on his face. It was as if the vocalist had forgotten who he was or he was just getting to know him or something. The drummer made a mental note to not trust Strify unless he proved that he had truly escaped by himself.

"I'm... I'm fine, just a headache, Luminor. I'm glad you're okay, Strify."

"Danke, Marcel. I'm glad to be out as well, trust me."

~Meanwhile with Ryuji, Tatsuhi and Yuuya~

As both Tatsuhi and Ryuji went to sleep, Yuuya stayed awake, thinking. He didn't know what exactly had happened to his friends to be this badly hurt nor did he know what had gone on between them and Taizo. But he knew one thing; Darkrai was the reason for all of this pain. And the words of Cynthia still rang in his head, fuelling his thoughts of anger and pain.

"Yuuya? Why are you still awake?" Came the groggy voice of Tatsuhi and startled him out of his thoughts.

"Couldn't sleep. Go back to sleep, Tatsuhi, you've been exhausted enough in this all."

But Tatsuhi could hear the turmoil in the drummer's voice and that made him less groggy and more alert to the problem that troubled Yuuya. He softly got out of Ryuji's protective cuddle and went to sit by the taller man.

"Come on, you can tell me what's wrong, you know that, right?"

"I don't want to talk about it, Tatsuhi-kun. Please don't make me do that. At least not yet."

~Meanwhile in the hospital~

"How did you get out, Strify? I mean, I don't know of any good way to get out of that weird world by yourself." Shin asked, making the vocalist freeze for a moment and then answer as the others also waited for an answer.

"Uhh, I just managed to find a switch and... And a portal appeared. So I just survived."

At Strify's obviously strange and forced answer, Kiro also frowned, starting to feel that there was something wrong.

"Zan, Zangoose, Zan~!"

"I'm happy to get out of there too, believe me. I'm free at last."

They all looked at eachother, still worried about him. But none of them commented on it despite Shin starting to feel that Strify was not himself in the least.

~Meanwhile with Dir en Grey~

After that, Kaoru decided to help Toshiya change his bandages so that he didn't get an infection after all of this. Kyo also came and helped the other man to sit up with the bassist hissing in pain.

"You're gonns be okay now. Don't worry. You just need to endure the pain a little, Totchi. You're safe now." Kyo said softly, as if to convince himself as well. Toshiya smiled through his pain at the words of the vocalist, seeing easily how shaken he really was.

"Yeah, and it's all thanks to you, as always. I'm just glad I didn't harm any of you."

"Absol~." The bassist's Disaster Pokémon nodded rubbing his head on his partner's hand gently.

~Meanwhile with Ryuji, Tatsuhi and Yuuya - In the morning~

Ryuji woke up to see that Tatsuhi was brooding over something while Yuuya slept deeply. He yawned and slowly got up, making the shorter man look up and smile at him.

"Ohayou, Ryuji-kun. Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, I slept like a baby. Thanks. Are you okay though? You seem broody."

"Oh, I'm just fine, Ryuji. But I think we need to have a talk with Yuuya. I don't like how silent he is."

Ryuji frowned, not knowing what his best friend had meant and then, before he could say anything, Yuuya muttered something in his sleep, too low for either of them to be able to hear.

~Meanwhile with Chelsea~

Alp and Chelsea managed to find an abandoned house in Floaroma Town and got inside, both of them very wary of what was inside. But then, Chelsea remembered that they had left Mai's body in the castle, facepalming immediately.

"Alp, we forgot Mai... What do we do now?!" She said, her voice shaking slightly at the thought of her departed beloved. At that, Alp groaned and tried to think of a way to retrieve the ex-guitarist's body so that Darkrai would not have it. Then, he thought of the alien creatures in the castle and his eyes widened, having gotten an idea.

"I... I think I have an idea, Chelsea. But this is going to be really tough to pull off. Are you sure you want to hear it?"

"I'm open to any kind of idea right now, Alp, just tell me, okay. I'm in no way leaving Mai in there, he suffered more than enough."

"Then listen. And listen closely, this is gonna be complicated."

~Meanwhile with Ryuji and Tatsuhi, 4 hours later~

When Ryuji opened his eyes next, having fallen asleep from the leftover fatigue, he found that Tatsuhi was looking at a piece of paper with shock and obvious horror.

"Tatsuhi? What's wrong??"

Tatsuhi immediately looked up and said something that horrified the vocalist;

"It's Yuuya! H-he's... He's gone!!"

"NANI?! Why?!"

"I don't know!! Just... He left a note for us, it seems but I haven't understood anything he says in this!"

"Let me see it. Maybe it's not too late to catch up with him!" Ryuji said and took the note and read it. It said;

"I'm going back there, Ryuji, Tatsuhi. What he did is downright unforgivable from what little you told me about. I'm not letting him hurt you guys any longer. This has to be done and it has to be now. I'm doing this for you guys, he will pay, I promise. I will leave him in a state he can't hurt anyone anymore. I'll be back before you know it. And even if I don't, you don't really need someone like me anyways.

Yuuya"

"Oh, Kami-sama!! Has he lost his mind?! We have to catch up to him right now!!" Ryuji said, his blood running cold at the things he had read. Tatsuhi nodded and together, they ran out of the house.

~Meanwhile in the hospital~

As Kiro and the others talked, Shin frowned silently, trying to understand what might be wrong with Strify. He didn't believe for one moment that the vocalist had managed to get out on his own, the story he had told them seeming way too off to the blond drummer. But thankfully, an idea occured to him to understand what could be wrong with Strify.

"What do you think, Marcel?" Romeo's voice suddenly pulled the younger man from his reverie and he immediately turned to him.

"Huh??"

"I said, I think we should get Strify to heal a little with the doctors, you know. He went through a terrible ordeal, after all."

At that, Shin thought a little and nodded, feeling that this might reveal what might be wrong with Strify if they did that.

"Romeo, I really don't need healing, I'm fine, don't you guys see that?!" Strify protested but none of them would have it. But when they asked Bela to come and do some tests on the blond, Shin suddenly got another headache in which, he heard Strify's voice once more, as if it was miles away.

"MARCEL, Please help me!! She's not me, I need you!!"

Then, when the nurse managed to get the needle in Strify's arm, his eyes started to look different, almost like they were a pair of dots on his face.

"W-what the hell?!"

~Meanwhile with N - 2 hours later~

N slowly made his way through Turnback Cave, trying to find out where Strify had been taken to. The young man didn't want Giratina to take the vocalist after all, it would be too horrifying for even him. But right when he found the portal to the Distortion World, he heard a familiar and dreaded voice come from behind him.

"So you've come, N." It was Ghetsis of all people.

"Ghetsis!! What are you doing here?!"

"You see, boy, I got here to catch Giratina, he will be most helpful for what I want. And what are you doing here, if I may ask?"

N's eyes widened in shock and then, he glared at the old man.

"You don't even know what you're dealing with here, Ghetsis. Turn back before it's too late."

Before Ghetsis could say a thing, however, they both heard a noise coming from the room they had gotten in before reaching the place they were in. N frowned and reached for his Pokéball, worried.

"Go, Kabutops, check who's there and please be careful."

The Shellfish Pokémon nodded and swiftly went towards the noise while N turned to Ghetsis once more, unhappy with the old man's interruptions.

~Meanwhile with Dir en Grey~

While they re-bandaged Toshiya's wound, the bassist happened to ask about how they had gotten captured. At that, Shinya grimaced, knowing that the older man could probably be unable to take the knowledge of knocking the drummer out. He wanted to lie to him but Kaoru was faster than him, making him facepalm at the lead guitarist's words;

"We heard that someone captured Shinya and when we went there, they managed to capture us as well. Don't worry, you didn't harm any of us."

"Who the hell was that someone?! P-please tell me it wasn't me!!"

At that, Toshiya only met with awkward silence, understanding that was exactly what had happened. He paled, his eyes filling with tears at the thought before Shinya held his hand, so gently that he couldn't help the tears any longer.

"It's alright, Totchi, I'm just fine."

~Meanwhile in the hospital - an hour ago~

"S-Strify?! Your eyes..."

That only made Strify turn to the horrified Yu, saying with a mocking voice;

"I was wondering when you were going to notice."

"Notice what?!"

"He's not our Strify. I'm sure of it." Shin suddenly said, making them turn to the red-eyed drummer with horror.

"What are you--" Just as Luminor was about to end his sentence, Strify suddenly attacked Kiro, horrifying them.

"Eevee, use Take Down!! Who are you and what have you done to Strify-san?!" Yomi exclaimed when something very unexpected happened, the figure of the other vocalist suddenly turned into none other than a Ditto.

~Meanwhile with Yuuya~

"Darkrai... You need to die... There's no other way to end this. I'm coming for you." Yuuya whispered as he looked at the huge castle looming over him with such anger in his eyes that it actually scared a guard that was nearby, unbeknownst to him. The guard immediately went to notify someone so that they would not be in danger.

"Drow, Drowzee~!" His Drowzee softly cried, also angry at the things she had seen. It was obvious to her that her new master who had been nothing but gentle with her was in emotional turmoil because of what they both had seen happen to Ryuji. And that angered her more than anything.

"What is it, Drowzee? If you're afraid, you can get out of here before it's too late. But I'm not. I'm done running for a lifetime." Yuuya said softly, not wanting to get the gentle Hypnosis Pokémon into danger if she didn't want to.

"Drowzee!! Drow, Drowzee!!" She cried out once more, shaking her head furiously while glaring at him as if to let him know that she would be with him through and through. Understanding that, Yuuya smiled gently at her and just as they were about to enter, they heard a cry come from above them.

"Man!! Mandibuzz!!"

"Huh??"

The vulture-like Pokémon who had seen them immediately turned back for some reason, making Yuuya relax as he realized that it was not going to harm him or his partner.

"Let's go, Drowzee. We have to be quick."

With that, the drummer turned around and nearly entered the building with his loyal Drowzee when a literal thunderbolt struck and stopped him in his tracks with total shock and fright. He turned around and then, heard something he really did not want to hear;

"YUUYA!! What the hell do you think you are doing?!" It was Tatsuhi who was running to meet him before he went in. Yuuya was shocked at first but then, his eyes hardened, much to Tatsuhi's and Ryuji's who had come with the Mandibuzz he had seen moments before shock and fear.

~Meanwhile in the hospital~

"W-what the actual hell?!" Romeo said, completely in shock.

Di, Ditto! Di!" The pink Transform Pokémon cried, outraged while everyone stared in complete confusion. But the Pokémon who heard what it was saying looked horrified.

"Gen, Gengar, Gen?!" Ruka's Gengar cried, looking very shocked and unhappy.

"Di, Ditto, Ditto!!"

As the Pokémon talked amongst eachother, everyone was very confused and Shin was starting to feel like they were getting too late to save Strify from whatever fate Giratina wanted him to be in.

"Guys, I think we need to find Strify first, this Pokémon can wait." He said at last, making Kiro turn to him with fear and hope in his eyes. The taller blond nodded at his unspoken question, making the bassist swallow his tears.

"Shin-san is totally right. We need to get to the Distortion World before it's too late."

~Meanwhile with Strify~

"Marcel... Why...? Why did you leave me like this?! I thought we were getting you back... What did I do wrong?!" Strify whispered, his tears running down his face as he tried to move through his exhaustion and pain.

"They have abandoned you. You can see that, can you not? Your so-called friends were worthless, they all left you in the end. Do you not want to take revenge from them? If so, let yourself go, young Andreas. Let yourself go and I shall reward you with the revenge you so richly deserve." Giratina said, making Strify pause for a moment.

"I... I don't..."

"You do not? Your eyes do not agree on what your mouth says. Are you perhaps lying to me?"

Strify tiredly shook his head, not having enough energy to object much of anything anymore, thinking that his friends had indeed betrayed him by leaving him in that place when he had believed with all his heart that they would come in the end. He closed his eyes, not knowing what to do.

~Meanwhile in the hospital - 10 minutes later~

Just as Yomi said this, N returned there, in a bad shape but he told the group that he had found an open portal to the Distortion World and they had to be as quick as possible, before something bad happened to Strify.

"Alright, where are we going to find this portal, N? Because right now, every second is important for Strify's life." Georg suddenly said, making both Bill and Tom surprised and Gustav flat out shocked.

"You want to help them, Georg?! How can you help such weak--"

"Shut up, Gustav, I know you're not thinking straight but this isn't just a matter of serving Darkrai or anyone else anymore, can't you see?! This is a matter of life or death now. And we need to stop that dangerous Pokémon from obtaining Strify's life."

Bill and Tom smiled behind the bassist's back along with the bassist's Floette, happy that the real self of their oldest friend was making a comeback after all that time.

"He's right. And I have a bad feeling here that if we lose any more time, there won't be someone to save." Shin said seriously and got up from the bed, much to the others' shock and worry.

"What? Did you seriously think I'd stay here safely when he risked his own life when our situations were reversed, hell no." He said at the stares and with that, they all went with N to the cave the young man had found the portal in. They all unhesitatingly went into it, hoping that they weren't too late.

~Meanwhile with Emile~

As they made their way into the castle where Darkrai resided, the group was increasingly worried and tense. Noire looked at them with slight confusion as Emile tried hard to guide the group with Cyrus' help and thought of how the group seemed to be cheerful before they had gone into the castle but now, not even one of them showed a hint of a smile.

"We've got something!!" Cyrus' voice suddenly cut the silence and made all 5 look at the psychic with varying degrees of hope.

"Follow me, one of the Plates is nearby, I can feel its aura clear across!"

Emile, Jon and Tim all nodded, eyes set in determination. And when they followed Cyrus and found where the aura was coming from, they were in for a shock, all of them.

~Meanwhile in the Distortion World~

The group fell straight into a wall, all of them disoriented by it and much to their absolute surprise, they could stand on the ceiling. Even the GazettE members had not known this and they decided to use this for their advantage to hopefully surprise Giratina and save Strify. But none of them knew that they had a small, uninvited guest to their group.

"Zan, Zangoose, Zan!!" The vocalist's partner cried out, hoping for a response from the blond man. But no reply came, scaring all of them.

"We can't waste any time. Strify-san could be hurt right now." Sakito said, frowning while Uruha shuddered at the memories he had of Distortion World. And then, there was an earthquake, making all of the group cry out and hold onto eachother to stay upright. After it ended, they saw that another path had somehow opened up to them and shrugging, they continued on their path, ready to save Strify from the Renegade Pokémon. But when they heard Giratina's voice, they all turned white, understanding that he was trying to convince Strify for something.

"They have left you. Why do you still hesitate?"

"I-I don't think they--" Came Strify's tired, unsure voice and nearly made both Romeo and Kiro cry.

"But they are still not here. Had they cared, they would have been here, fighting for you. Why do you not get revenge? If you admit me into your body, I can help you with--"

"DON'T YOU DARE!!!" Shin's scream of rage made them shocked and also made Strify jump and turn around.

"Guys...?! You... You came for me?!" Strify whispered, his eyes filling with tears as he looked at his friends with hope.

"Zan, Zangoose!!"

"Of course we came! We weren't leaving you to this monster, Andreas, you should know better than to think like that!" Yu scolded the vocalist gently as Giratina seethed nearby. The Renegade Pokémon wasn't going to take the loss without a fight. He suddenly vanished and reappeared right behind Shin while the drummer was trying to see how much Strify was injured. And the Weavile Darkrai had given him did not help, too petrified by the sight.

"Marcel, WATCH OUT!!!" Luminor's and Keiyuu's screams came too late, the drummer was going to be attacked only for the attack to be stopped right in its tracks by a small Vulpix.

"Vul, Vulpix!!" The small, cute Fox Pokémon cried, glaring at his opponent.

"W-what the hell?! Where did you come from little one?!" Ni~ya said, blinking as the Fox Pokémon stood in front of Shin threateningly despite his small stature.

"You... You want to protect me...? Thank you..." Shin said, stunned.

~Meanwhile with Ryuji, Tatsuhi and Yuuya~

"Yuuya, you need to stop, I know what happened isn't fair but this can and will kill you if you don't!" Tatsuhi said, terrified at the look in the taller man's eyes. He really didn't know what he was thinking and it scared the bassist to no end. But Yuuya just stood there, stoic and pissed off.

"He's right, Yuuya. We need you with us. Please don't do this..." Ryuji said as their Pokémon talked to Yuuya's partner, trying to calm her down as well.

"But--"

"NO BUTS!! Do you want us to lose you as well?! Darkrai is ruthless, Yuuya, he won't hesitate on killing you or worse!! Please, I can't lose another friend like this, I beg you..." Tatsuhi said, tears finally falling and that, made Yuuya immediately run to the shorter man and kneel to his eye level, concerned.

"He deserves it, Tatsuhi. I ran from you guys once and look what it did to you both. I--"

"You might have run away once but it is in no damn way your fault that everything happened all at once to us. You have to come back with us. You're too precious to us to lose like this. Come on. Let's just go back, okay? Please?" Ryuji said, making the young drummer hesitate. But before he could say anything, the guard who had seen Yuuya came back with reinforcements and started to attack, much to all of their anger.

"I'll take care of this, you stay back. Come on, Drowzee, use Swagger on that Pokémon and then Synchronoise!" Yuuya said and the Hypnosis Pokémon gladly nodded and sent her attack on the nearest Pokémon which happened to be a Lurantis.

~Meanwhile in the Distortion World~

"You little insect! Do you really think you can stop me from taking the life of this insolent boy?!" Giratina cried as Vulpix stood close to Shin while Yu and Luminor helped Strify up and gently supported the young vocalist who could barely stand after spending so much time in the world of Giratina.

"Vul, Vulpix! Vul!!" While Giratina charged for another attack, Vulpix sniffed at Shin and looked at him in concern, much to his surprise.

"Thank you, Vulpix. I'm... I'm just fine." Shin said, thankful for the help of the Fox Pokémon. The small Pokémon smiled and then dodged to the side before Giratina's attack could make contact and harm him badly. While this was happening, Shin's Weavile watched the scene unfold with building rage. He wanted Shin only for himself but it didn't seem like it was going to be the case.

"Let's go, Strify needs serious help right now." Kiro said as he looked at his best friend's injuries and exhaustion. Strify didn't even have the energy to stand up by himself as he was slumped against Luminor in an attempt to stand up. But the keyboardist understood and supported him anyways, much to his gratefulness. Then, narrowing his eyes, Kiro gave his first attacking order to Plusle;

"Plusle, use Thunder!! We need to get out of here quickly!!"

"Plusle~!" The Plus Pokémon nodded and quickly fired a yellow beam that was bigger than her own body into the air and then, it became a lightning and hit the Renegade Pokémon hard, making him cry out in outrage.

"How DARE you!? I will kill you!!" Giratina screamed out but Plusle was protected by Zangoose who was very angry at the legendary Pokémon for deceiving and imprisoning his beloved partner in his world and nearly costing him his life and his friend's life. Sure enough, the move Giratina used had no effect on the Cat Ferret Pokémon, making him even more enraged but then, the others also joined the fray by sending out their own Pokémon.

"Sableye, use Shadow Ball!"

"And you, Roserade, use Sludge Bomb!! We need to get out before the Portal closes or something!!" Aoi said, making everyone feel alarmed at the thought. While they were fighting, Weavile angrily approached Vulpix who was still making sure that Shin was alright and cried in anger;

"Wea, Weavile!!" And then, he hit the Fire-type Pokémon, making Shin frown in confusion.

~With Pokémon~

"Leave my master alone, you good for nothing vermin!!" Weavile cried, hitting Vulpix angrily.

"What the?! What are you talking about?! I saved his life, if you haven't noticed!! And I'm pretty sure he's my partner because you're only a cowardly fill-in Darkrai gave him!" Vulpix cried, standing right by the baffled Shin.

"You are NOTHING!! You only came in because you want attention, nothing more!! And how dare you call me a coward, step back before I slice your ass into ribbons!!" Weavile said, even more angry now.

"You are useless!! If you were his partner, you would have HELPED him!! He would have died had I not been able to step in right there, you were standing there frozen like the coward you are, Weavile, stop pretending like you care and stay here with that dastardly Pokémon!!" With that, Vulpix gently nudged Shin while they started walking and Shin smiled, picking him up and carrying him in thanks for saving his life, much to Weavile's anger.

~An hour later~

As Strify slept, completely tired from his ordeal, Kiro and the others stayed around him, still unable to believe that their sweet singer had believed that they all would leave him in danger.

"He's gonna be okay. There's no danger on his vitals or anything, luckily enough. He only needs to rest a little." Bela said with a concerned voice as she looked at how solemn they all looked.

"Yeah, but we've got to talk to him. What we saw happen there was absolutely not okay." Luminor said seriously while Kiro still tried to digest the fact that his best friend didn't believe they would save him.

"What happened? Why are you guys so serious?" Bela asked curiously while N also watched as he hadn't gone into the portal to make sure the Ditto that tried to steal Strify's life wouldn't escape.

"He... He seriously thought that we had left him alone in there. I have no goddamn idea how he could think such a thing but he obviously did. That's why we're so serious. He... I thought he'd have better faith in us than that but... It certainly doesn't seem to be the case..." Yu said, looking at Strify's seemingly asleep form with sadness.

But in reality, Strify was wide awake and very confused and guilty as he didn't know what had happened before they had come to save him. And he was worried about Kiro's silence and as his eyes were closed, he could not see if he was even in the room or not. But his worries went unfounded as he heard Shin say quietly to their short friend;

"Karsten, I know it hurts but it's okay now. We're going to talk to him about it once he wakes up, you know."

"I know! But how could he think we would leave him alone to that terrible Pokémon?! I thought he knew us, me, better than this!" Kiro replied with tears in his voice. Strify tried hard to keep up his act, now feeling honestly guilty.

"He's pretty lucky though, that you managed to get there in time before Giratina could hurt him." N said, not knowing how much worse that made Strify feel.

~Meanwhile with Ryuji, Tatsuhi and Yuuya~

After they managed to get Yuuya away from any more danger, Ryuji turned to the other man with irritation only to realize that the drummer looked upset. Exchanging a look with Tatsuhi, he put a hand on his shoulder, concerned.

"Yuuya, what's the matter? Why did you try that? Please, just talk to us. You're so damn silent ever since we met again, you know." He said, trying to make eye contact while Mandibuzz and Delcatty talked to Drowzee in their own language, also very concerned.

"It's just... Nevermind... I really--"

"No, Yuuya, you've been silent even before we got Ryuji back together. Just tell us what's wrong, seriously. Stop hiding from us just because of a damn mistake from years ago." Tatsuhi said, sad that Yuuya was hurting inwardly about whatever he had found out.

~Meanwhile in the hospital - 15 minutes later~

"Guys, I'm--" Strify started to say, having been found out that he wasn't asleep like they had thought before. The others were looking at him with anger and hurt obvious in their body languages and faces.

"How could you, Andreas?! How the hell could you think that we'd leave you like that?!" Luminor was the first one to break his silence with a very disappointed voice.

"I-I... I just thought you thought that D-Ditto was--"

"You?! We're not that foolish, it tried to fool us but Marcel and Romeo's idea to get it checked by Bela got it shut down in about 3 minutes!! We would never abandon you like that, you should've known better than to believe such lies!" Yu interrupted, looking even more angry at the vocalist. While they talked, none of them realized that the Ditto that had tried to impersonate Strify had disappeared without a trace.

~Meanwhile with Chelsea~

"Now, are we ready? I'm... I'm kinda nervous, Chelsea..." Alp said, looking like he wanted to flee but Chelsea nodded with an iron will.

"I won't let him hurt Mai any longer, Alp. I can't! He would've done the same thing for me... If he was..." She couldn't continue, making Alp understand that his companion's heart was still broken after her love's death. But before they went in, something they didn't expect happened, a huge, flaming bird Pokémon suddenly flew down towards them.

"Go, Talonflame! Protect us!" Chelsea yelled, sending out the Scorching Pokémon and her partner bravely stood in front of them, ready to protect. But before he could even launch one attack towards the suspicious Pokémon, it suddenly talked in a booming voice, making Alp also go towards his Pokéball;

"Halt!! What you are attempting to do right now, is unsafe!"

"Who are you to decide that?! I know it's not safe but I won't allow Darkrai to use my beloved's dead body for his so-called Master!!" Chelsea exclaimed, pissed off and that made the Pokémon pause, obviously surprised by the words of the young brunette girl.

"I am Moltres, the governor of flames! What is this you speak of, young woman?! Does Darkrai obey someone or something else?!"

"Yes!! He's the underdog of a Pokémon called Giratina! And Giratina seems to want a body to get into this world somehow, we don't know the full details but we won't let this happen!!" Alp said, trying to stay brave in front of the Flame Pokémon.

"I see. Then there is only one thing I can do at this moment except for telling this to Arceus and Cresselia. I will help you retrieve the dead body from the castle, that is, if you have a Pokéball that I can hide in so that Darkrai does not notice me and try to battle you."

At that, both of their eyes widened and thankfully, Alp found a Great Ball to keep Moltres hidden for the time being.

"Let's go! We can't waste any more time!" Chelsea said, getting a running start towards the castle that had so many bad memories for her.

~Meanwhile in the hospital - Half an hour later~

As Strify still tried to convince the others that he didn't think any less of any of them while the group got ready to bring Shin back, finally, Kiro went out to collect his thoughts, much to the vocalist's dismay as Shin looked nervous while his Weavile slammed against the huge, flaming bars of his cage in total panic as he realized that Shin was actually going to go along with this and let him pass away once more.

"Wea, Weavile!! Weavile!!" He cried out to Shin who didn't turn to even look at his suffering while Vulpix cooed softly at his feet, looking elated.

While they got everything ready, Kiro stayed right outside of the hospital, sighing softly as he fought his tears at the memory of his best friend who had given up completely at the sight of Giratina. Then, a noise came from behind him, making him turn around fastly and his eyes widened in shock as he was enveloped inside the Ditto. The bassist couldn't even make a single noise and after that, Ditto who was now inside Kiro, smirked evilly.

"Let's see if you'll succeed, losers." It whispered and when he got back in, acting still distressed a little, it saw that the only thing they needed to do now was to pour the blood Shin had given to the Soul Dew and then let the cure flow into the youngest. But the Ditto had other plans and in one swift movement, Kiro's body had ruined everything, much to everyone's shock.

"What the hell?! Kiro, what are you DOING?! Didn't you want Shin back the most?!"

~Meanwhile with Ryuji, Tatsuhi and Yuuya~

"I don't think I can--"

"No, Yuuya, you're hurting inside, anyone can see that even if they don't know you like we do. Please, trust us for once. I trusted you, now I want the same from you, okay?" Tatsuhi said very softly, making the drummer's eyes widen in surprise.

"I left you like that and look what it caused! I heard everything about what had happened when you guys were in that castle, the experiments, everything! And now he should've had what is coming to him! You both could've died or worse and I--"

"Yuuya, if you could help, would you have left us in there to rot like Taizo did? I think we all know the answer to this. There was nothing you could do. We don't want you to get hurt. Darkrai hurt us too much for us to be able to take that, please, stay with us, in safety."

Yuuya's eyes widened in shock and he nodded unwillingly, not wanting them to be upset any longer.

~Meanwhile in the hospital~

"I don't anymore, this all happened because of him anyways." The Ditto controlling the oldest said, cold towards the drummer, much to his horror.

"Plus, Plusle..." Kiro's Plusle muttered, making them confused and also making Shin think even the small Plus Pokémon agreed with her trainer. But she had understood something fishy was going on. And that made all the other Pokémon turn to her with shock.

"Vul, Vulpix??" The small Vulpix that was standing up after Kiro had ruined everything chirped softly to her, looking confused. Plusle nodded, looking at her beloved partner with a frown.

"What's going on?! Karsten, what is wrong with you?!"

"Nothing. I just don't want a traitor to be around me anymore. That, goes for you as well, Andreas. Plusle, if you'd be so kind to use Thunder, it'd be great."

Plusle immediately charged up her Thunder, making everyone's eyes widen but at the last moment, she used Thunder Wave on Kiro, much to everyone's shock. And what was even more shocking was that the attack didn't work at all. In the meanwhile, Shin sobbed softly, unable to believe that Kiro blamed him for everything.

~Meanwhile the Pokémon side~

"What is going on?! Plusle, why did you do that?!" Floette asked, completely confused.

"This thing isn't Kiro! It's trying to take him and I won't allow it!" Was the small Plus Pokémon's only answer while looking agitated.

"What?! Plusle, what are you talking about?! Who or what is it that's trying to take Kiro?!" Mightyena asked, frowning. The Bite Pokémon was anxious for the sweet Plusle and her much loved master as he sensed something immensely wrong with Kiro as well now.

"Don't you guys feel it?! It's a Sphere of Life!! I don't know how it got a hold of him but I won't allow it to go further!"

All of the Pokémon, even Weavile, gasped in shock as they focused on the fuming bassist and found this to be the truth.

"What do you think we should do, Plusle? I don't want to have to hurt him, it would destroy both Shin and Strify if we did so." Zangoose said, worried.

"I don't know... I think we need to team up on him to knock him out for the time being."

The Pokémon nodded uneasily and then, all of them used their strong attacks as gently as possible to knock him out, much to their human partners' shock.

~Meanwhile with the humans~

"What the hell?! What have you done, Gyarados!?" Ni~ya said, horrified while Plusle went to her master's side and used Last Resort through the sheer force of will, knocking his body to the nearby bed and shockingly, the Ditto that had possessed him finally made itself known by making the short blond's body get up with dots for eyes.

"K-Karsten?! What the--?!"

"Ditto... Oh no..."

Before they could do something, however, the entire building started shaking and then, Darkrai made an appearance, making everyone angry. The hospital staff cowered except for Bela who stayed right beside her friends, glaring defiantly.

"What are you doing here, you monster!?" Sakito cried with anger while the Pitch Black Pokémon chuckled evilly.

"So you survived... Does not matter, you are not my target any longer." He said and then, one of his cronies pressed a button and shockingly, there was a Psychic wave and it targeted Nao and Sakito, knocking them both down in one single hit and Darkrai took them, much to everyone's horror.

"SAKITO!!" Ruka and Ni~ya screamed. Yomi and Hitsugi stood in total shock and horror in the meanwhile.

"NAOYUKI!!! No!!!" Tora cried as well while Shou fumed alongside Hiroto and Saga who were in shock themselves.

~Meanwhile with Sakito - 2 hours later~

"Ugh, my head..." Sakito murmured as he came to, holding his head while trying to sit up just before he realized that he was sinking into something.

"W-WHAT THE HELL?! T-TASUKETE!!!" He screamed, realizing that he was sinking because he was dangerously close to a sinkhole, in the middle of a desert. Nobody was around to even hear his desperate cries for help, making the brunette guitarist panic.

"HELP ME!! Please, someone, anyone, HELP ME!!"

~5 Minutes later~

Sakito tried his hardest to stay above the sand, terrified out of his mind when something even scarier happened, a huge trail of fire was headed his way, making him panic even worse.

'I'm going to die, this is it for me...' He thought but then, he realized the fire had actually made a place for him to grip and pull himself out of the sinkhole and it was gone afterwards. He paused for a second and then, gripped the newly made glassy surface and barely managed to pull himself up.

"Oh yokatta... Whoever it was... I need to find them and... thank them. I need to sit down for a moment though." He said, panting with exertion. Meanwhile, something was watching his every move with great interest.

~Meanwhile with the others~

"Where do you think that vile Pokémon took Sakito-san and Nao-shi?! What if they're hurt?!" Hiroto said while Yu, Strify and Luminor were trying to understand what exactly had happened to Kiro.

"I don't know but Kiro is probably also in danger here, I don't think we can join in the search right now, to be honest..." Romeo said, feeling very guilty but he prioritized his friend above all else.

"It's fine, Darkrai has no idea what he just unleashed, to be honest, anyways. He just angered both Ruka and Ni~ya, that's not somewhere I would ever want to be. Because even when we do find Saki, it's probably gonna be flat-out impossible to keep either of them from storming the damn castle, out for the idiot Pokémon's blood." Yomi said, shaking his head.

"They can't be that horrible, right?? I mean Ruka-san is pretty much calm as hell in so many situations..." Keiyuu asked while the rest of Alice Nine members looked at Yomi like he had grown two heads. Hitsugi winced alongside Yomi, knowing what Ruka was really capable of and not looking forward to telling Yomi about what their drummer had nearly done while they were searching for him in the castle.

"Let's just say there's a very good reason why we won't talk about what happened when that bastard took Yomi-kun--"

Hitsugi's words were interrupted by Yomi groaning with a facepalm and asking firmly about what had happened, much to the younger man's discomfort.

"What did Satoru do this time? Seriously, he honestly needs anger management classes sometimes..."

"Well, he tried to throw some poor servant out of the tower into an abyss for starters. Even though the guy was literally begging for him to stop and had no clue what was going on. Saki barely managed to convince him to let the poor man down before he dropped him."

"He did WHAT?!" Yomi yelled, looking shocked out of his mind while most people also gasped.

"Never mess with Ruka's friends, you'll have a horrid time if you do so, after all." Hitsugi said matter-of-factly. Yomi nodded with another facepalm, actually unsurprised after the initial shock passed.

"He's going to freak the hell out if Sakito-kun is hurt in any way. Let alone what Ni~ya would do."

~Meanwhile with Sakito~

Sakito shivered, trying to find his way through the sandstorm that covered the area in the night and starting to get really tired.

"Kami-sama, if I actually knew where I am, this would be so much easier... What the hell is Darkrai-teme planning for me anyways?!" He muttered to himself, keeping his arms around him. And then, he heard a slight noise coming from behind him. He gasped with wide, terrified eyes as he realized that he had been followed all along.

"Iya da yo!!" He whispered as he saw the ragtag group of Pokémon that were rapidly approaching him with a dangerous gleam in their eyes.

"Cac! Cacturne!" One of them cried, intimidating the brunette guitarist even further. Sakito flinched as they came ever so closer, not knowing what to do.

~Meanwhile with Nao~

"W-what the hell do I do?! Kami-sama, I-I don't even know where I am!!" Nao said, shivering in absolute terror. He had seen a few mirage people floating around and he had screamed so loud it actually startled one of the mirages, a small child. Then, he tripped on something and barely managed to get himself together just before he could impale himself on a glass shard.

"I hope everyone i-is alright..." The timid drummer whispered, terrified and also worried about his other friends.

That was then, he heard a voice crying out in the distance, it was a Gengar.

"I-is that...? Is that Ruka-san?! Thank goodness, the guys have found me!!" He said but in the next moment, he was attacked by a different Gengar and the wild Shadow Pokémon nearly came closer if it weren't for a chandelier falling down on it with a huge noise, startling Nao even more.

"W-what is g-going on here?! I-I think s-someone's trying to keep me safe..." He whispered as he got away into a room with a TV that had only white noise on it. He cautiously went near it only to cry out in terror as a strange Pokémon showed up

"T-Tasukete!!!" He screamed but no one was there to hear him.

~Meanwhile with the others~

While the Nightmare members were looking for Sakito near the desert route, Yomi felt eyes on him and frowned looking around.

"Jun? What's wrong??" Hitsugi asked worriedly. Yomi shook his head but right then, a big Pokémon suddenly appeared in front of them, crying out to the group, as if to tell them something.

"Ga!! Gabite!!"

Ruka and Ni~ya immediately went in front of the other two, ready to defeat the Pokémon and try to find out if it was from Darkrai or not.

"Guys, I think it wants us to follow it..." Yomi said, realizing that the Gabite didn't mean any harm but Ruka wasn't about to listen to the shorter man.

"You... You know where Sakito is?! Get us to him, now!" Hitsugi said, worried about his best friend.

"What if it's a trap?! Darkrai could very easily lure us and get us hurt before we could get to Sakito-kun and that would end in disaster, Yomi!" Ni~ya said suspiciously. Yomi agreed reluctantly with Hitsugi, still feeling that he was in the right.

"Gabite!! Gab, Gabite, Gab!" The Cave Pokémon called out as Ruka's Gengar and Ni~ya's Gyarados questioned him. After a few minutes of that, the two Pokémon turned to their respective partners and nodded to follow the Pokémon.

~Meanwhile with Nao~

Nao stared at the little Pokémon that was trapped inside the television, shocked.

"Ro? Rotom?" It cried out to him, looking concerned as well. That made Nao realize that it was the thing that had kept him safe all along.

"Are you... A-are you the one that kept me safe these last few hours??" He whispered and the mysterious Pokémon nodded timidly.

"Thank you... Do you want to get out of there, little one? I can try to get you out of there."

The little Pokémon nodded and Nao nodded back, looking around to find a way to get the Pokémon out of there despite his obvious terror. Then, he accidentally bumped into the TV set and it brought the Pokémon out.  Nao shrieked in fright and that made the Rotom flinch as well, scared from the drummer's reactions.

"Rotom~... Ro, Rotom." The Pokémon cried in thanks and Nao smiled, realizing that it was grateful to him.

"No problem, little one. Can you show me how I can get out though? This place is so much like a maze and I don't know what to do..."

"Rotom, Ro, Rotom." The Rotom said and went to get into a fan to try and talk to the drummer, making him understand that this was a unique Pokémon and wishing it was his partner somehow, even though he understood it was a Ghost type.

"You can get into my phone and type something if you want, little Rotom." He said, extending his phone. Rotom excitedly went into it and started typing a message for the short brunette.

~Meanwhile with Sakito~

Sakito whimpered in pain as the wild Cacturne started their attacks, drawing blood for the umpteenth time in what seemed like hours. He was collapsed on the ground, unable to get up from the pain and exhaustion now.

"Where... are you guys...? They won't--" He was starting to say weakly when he heard a voice crying out and tried to look up from the sandstorm but couldn't see anything until Eevee came through the team of Cacturne like a bullet and stood up in front of him protectively.

"Eevee...?! Where's--"

"Sakito!! Oh Kami-sama, are you alright?!" Hitsugi's voice came and the older guitarist finally managed to look up, coughing from the sand getting in his mouth.

"Ee!! Eevee, Ee!!" The small Evolution Pokémon cried out as Cacturne tried to come closer to the injured brunette.

"Cacturne!!" One of them tried to threaten the smaller Pokémon until Gengar and Gyarados came forward threateningly while Ruka gathered Sakito into his arms protectively. The team of Cacturne immediately got intimidated by the anger the two Pokémon had, backing away from Ruka and Sakito. Meanwhile, the Gabite that had guided the band to their guitarist stood back, also looking pissed off.

"You're okay, Saki. It's gonna be fine as soon as we get you back to the hospital." Yomi said quietly while glaring at the Pokémon as well with anger in his eyes.

"T-thanks guys... I thought I was d-done for..."

"You should know by now that none of us would ever leave you alone in this situation, Sakaguchi, honestly." Hitsugi said quietly while looking at Ni~ya and Ruka who were flat out shaking with repressed fury and realized that they were going to go on a very serious rampage once they had brought Sakito back to the hospital.

'Oh crap, now even Sakito won't be able to stop them...' He thought as he saw Sakito lose consciousness due to bloodloss and exhaustion. He knew Yomi also felt nervous about what would  probably happen from the older man's facial expression. Even Gengar and Gyarados looked a little taken aback by their trainers' fury. Then Ni~ya remembered the Gabite that had helped them out and asked if it would want to come with them as the bassist realized it might be Sakito's partner at long last.

"Ga, Gabite, Ga." The Cave Pokémon cried, nodding and looking slightly concerned about the lead guitarist that was limp in Ruka's arms.

"Don't worry, he's going to be alright, we're by his side, after all." Yomi said with a nervous smile.

~Meanwhile with Alice Nine~

"Do you guys think Nao is alright? I just hope we find him soon before anything happens to him..." Hiroto said softly as Shou looked onward with a serious look on his face along with Tora.

"I hope so too... This isn't good at all, why the hell did Darkrai-teme target him of all people anyways!?" Saga said, frowning while their Pokémon kept up with them with also really worried expressions on their faces.

"We'll find him. I swear we will, Hiroto-kun." Tora said with a dangerously calm voice when they overheard a young woman talk to her friends as they tried to search for Nao.

"I got rid of that stupid Rotom in that haunted Old Chateau a month ago. It was so weak and stupid, I told it I'd come back if it could wait in the old TV for a week and I think it believed me! What an idiot, right?! Oh, and when I went to check in on the dumbass, I saw it save a small brunette like it could ever be good to anyone, idiot!"

At that, all of them got horrified and angry while Shou thought to have the directions for the Old Chateau from one of the friends who looked horrified like them.

"Excuse me, could you tell us where this Old Chateau is? We need to see it right now, to be honest." He said politely while trying not to glare at the woman for abandoning a poor Pokémon in a haunted house.

"Oh, looking for some cheap thrills? It's at Eterna Forest, at the middle of it, if I remember right. Be careful though, there are ghosts in there and they aren't very nice, just like Julia here isn't."

"HEY!!" The woman cried while the Alice Nine members nodded, hoping that this was the right clue.

~Meanwhile in Darkrai's castle~

"They seem to have found Sakito, Master. Should I interfere?" Zannin asked, feeling hateful towards his old bandmates for being so close and excluding him.

"Cofa~!" His Cofagrigus cried as well, wanting very much to just have her master's enemies' blood spilled.

"Do not worry, you will have the chance soon, Zannin. However, now you must help Yune to embed this into that tall blond man that used to be his bandmate." The Pitch Black Pokémon replied with showing a Plate to Zannin alongside a picture of Uruha. It was a blue colored one and seemed to have the scent of sea coming from it. Zannin nodded, slightly unwilling but knowing the consequences of rebelling very well.

"Tell Yune that he shall be ready to attack tonight alongside you. Ambush that man and make him take it inside him."

Zannin nodded once more, bowing and going to inform the other ex-drummer of Darkrai's orders.

~Meanwhile in the hospital - 1 hour later~

When the Nightmare members came in with their unconscious and injured lead guitarist, the rest all gasped, shocked at seeing Sakito in that state.

"Is he alive?!" Bill asked, honestly worried as he and Tom ran to check on the brunette with Keiyuu and Yuura as well.

"Mi, Minun?!"

"He's alive, thank God, a team of five wild Pokémon were attacking him when we found him. He lost some blood but he hung on enough to bring here." Yomi explained, honestly worried about him.

"I'll take care of this, don't worry." Bela said taking the young man to a stretcher immediately. But as soon as Sakito was safely out of sight, Ruka looked very dangerous once more.

"Darkrai is going to pay for this. He's not getting away with what he just did!!" Ni~ya said as well, making Yomi and Hitsugi both wince, knowing what their rhythm team were capable of when angry.

"I think we should stay with Saki for a while, guys. He'd probably freak if we weren't with him." Hitsugi said before Yomi could even attempt to think of something. But much to their growing worry, Ruka said;

"I think you and Yomi can stay with him but no way in hell I'm staying here when that bastard did this to Sakaguchi! Hell no!"

Ni~ya also nodded with both their partner Pokémon also very pissed about what they had witnessed. And with that, they both left with Yomi running after them to catch up before the two of them did something they'd regret.

~Meanwhile with Ryuji, Tatsuhi and Yuuya~

While Yuuya went to a restless sleep, obviously not having slept well, in a while, Ryuji turned to Tatsuhi, curious about what had happened when his soul was broken.

"Tatsuhi, what happened when my soul was broken? How did you guys find the way to get me back to health?"

Tatsuhi paled slightly, trying not to talk about the situation. Especially after seeing what the singer had gone through.

"I... I don't want to remember, Ryuji... Please, I don't think I can bear that..."

"Del, Delcatty, Del..." Tatsuhi's Delcatty gently rubbed her head on the short bassist's leg, understanding that her partner was still traumatized.

"It's alright now, Tatsuhi. I'm fine now, I promise." Ryuji said, seeing his best friend's distress and deciding not to dig the wound deeper.

~Meanwhile with Ni~ya, Ruka and Yomi~

"Guys, please don't go overboard. I know you are angry and so am I but Sakito would freak if you did something stupid and got hurt." Yomi pleaded with Ruka and Ni~ya.

"Gya, Gyarados!" Ni~ya's Gyarados cried, looking annoyed at the singer's worry while Gengar frowned at him as well.

"Forget it, Jun. What if we had come even a little later?! Sakito could've died! They must pay already!" Ni~ya said calm fury lining his every word which made Yomi gulp.

When they arrived to the castle, ready to storm it, they saw that Darkrai was waiting for them with three of his minions, Gustav included, obviously knowing of their arrival which made Yomi gulp, the younger man just hoped that no one would get truly harmed.

"So you did actually come. I am sure you want to avenge your sweet friend who deserved dying--"

"Sakito is not dead, you monster!! We got to him in time!!" Yomi cried, now getting seriously pissed off that the Pitch Black Pokémon was mocking them.

"You did, did you now? Very well. Julia, do something so that they will know true loss." Darkrai said and a woman came forward, grinning evilly but what Ruka did next shocked everyone, even Ni~ya. He stepped forward as well, taking something out of his pocket. When Yomi glimpsed what it was, however, it was too late. In one swift movement, Ruka had the black haired woman against him, putting the knife he had in his hand.

"The only person who will know true loss today is you, Darkrai!" Ruka growled when even Ni~ya's eyes widened along with everyone else's as the drummer just slashed her throat and let her fall lifelessly.

"S-Satoru--"

"If you want to do more just know this, I will slaughter your moronic minions if you don't leave my friends alone!"

Darkrai only laughed while he retreated into the castle with his minions following him in terror, obviously hoping for protection. Ruka's eyes only narrowed as he and the other two followed with Ni~ya having a really bad feeling about the situation and what Ruka might do. Then, they both saw with horror that Adrienne was trying to be the blockade for Darkrai as Shou, Saga and Tora came as well, not knowing what was happening.

"Mightyena?! Might, Mightyena?!" Shou's Mightyena cried, confused and kind of scared by the scene they were witnessing.

"What the hell is going on?! Someone was laying dead at the entrance, what happened?!" Saga asked, looking in shock as he saw the bloodied knife in Ruka's hand.

"Oh crap..." Yomi said when Adrienne tried to use electroshock on him, barely missing him by a few inches, knowing that it was going to piss his companions even more.

"Gyarados, use Crunch!" Ni~ya yelled before Ruka could move. The red Atrocious Pokémon cried and his  fangs glowed white before he bit the Azumarill in front of him, obviously sent to protect the woman.

"You think that'll stop me, pathetic." She said, goading them on.

"If you think that's gonna stop us from kicking your ass, you're pathetic!" Saga said while Yomi looked honestly scared of Ruka's silence. Then it happened, Ruka sprung onto Adrienne, stabbing her multiple times, much to Shou and the others' horror. The drummer didn't stop until Tora forcibly took him off of the body.

"Ruka-san, stop!! I think she's already dead!!" The rhythm guitarist said as his bandmates stood in terror.

~Meanwhile back at the hospital~

Sakito struggled against Georg and Taizo, knowing very well what Ruka and Ni~ya were capable of when their friends got hurt in a bad way. Meanwhile Hitsugi was cringing since he knew what Sakito was afraid of.

"You don't get it!! They might--"

"Look, you need rest. They'll be just fine, I'm sure of it. All three of them have good Pokémon after all, they aren't weak and alone." Tom said seriously, very confused and kind of concerned about why Sakito was freaking out so badly.

"Yeah, you look really beat up. At least I didn't get this beat up while trying to escape that haunted house thanks to Rotom..." Nao said from the bed beside him but it only made Hitsugi cringe even more while Sakito managed to get his arm freed and facepalmed.

"It's not their safety I'm worried about here! Ruka will literally murder someone, I know he would! As long as they both are in that state nobody is safe in that castle!!" The brunette guitarist finally yelled out, much to everyone's shock and Bill, Tom and Georg's total horror.

"You mean not even Gustav is safe right now?! Oh crap, we need to warn him somehow!!" Bill said while Strify was doubtful.

"Maybe... Maybe if one of you went and at least tried to warn Gustav? Maybe it could work at least?" Bela said with uncertainty after Sakito's horrifying words.

~Meanwhile in the castle~

"S-Satoru, what have you done!?" Yomi whispered while the vocalist's Eevee slightly cowered behind him, horrified of the bloodied drummer.

"It's not over yet, Darkrai is still probably at his throne room and he will pay." The older man said in a deadly calm voice while Shou, Tora and Saga watched with pure terror.

"T-to think I thought Shou-kun was gonna be scary..." Saga managed to utter while the horrified Gengar followed her partner to ensure his safety. Shou didn't even react to his bassist's words while Yomi looked ready to plant his face into the nearest wall.

"That's why me and Hitsugi didn't want him to come anywhere close to here. He's not the best person to cross. What the hell do we do now, Yuji?!" The shorter vocalist said irritatedly at the blond bassist.

"I honestly don't know but I think following him is a very, very good start right now."

They all nodded, hoping that no one had dared to cross the drummer after that and ran after him.

~Meanwhile with Gustav~

"Oh scheiße, I'm so gonna die!! I don't know what to do!!!" Gustav said to himself, terrified out of his mind after seeing what Ruka did to Adrienne through his closed room's keyhole.

"Gra, Graveler, Gra!" His Graveler looked annoyed at him but Gustav couldn't even find the strength to mind the annoyed Rock Pokémon, shivering in fear as he heard footsteps coming closer. Then, his doorknob started rattling and the drummer then knew that he was not going to survive this.

'Twins, Georg... I'm... I'm sorry for everything...' He thought, trying not to cry at the thought of their faces. Then, finally, the door gave way while he cowered in the corner of the room.

~Meanwhile with Yune and Zannin~

"So, what did you do to get kicked out of your band?" Zannin asked calmly to Yune who was walking beside him. Yune sighed softly, still feeling angry over how they would choose someone else over him.

"I tried to kill Aoi and frame Uruha for it. He was being so annoying I thought we were better off without that idiot but it failed and they just kicked me out and even replaced me with that goddamn bastard!"

"Damn, that's pretty... Pretty evil, I must say. I wish I had thought of that myself, to be honest." Zannin said, totally surprised. That didn't really improve Yune's mood, however, since he still felt betrayed by the people he had thought he'd known.

"I tried almost the same thing with Hitsugi, he's way too soft for anything worthwhile but... Yomi and Sakito caught me. Let's just say the things that happened afterwards were unpleasant and leave it at that."

While they were talking, they didn't realize that their Pokémon were able to hear everything and that Ferrothorn was feeling horrified by the past actions of his trainer. And when they had arrived to near the hospital, they saw that their target was in front of it alongside Yasuno and his little Munna.

"Damn it, he's not alone!" Yune growled in anger, his eyes blazing.

~Meanwhile in Darkrai's fortress - Gustav's room~

Gustav stared in total shock at what he was seeing, it wasn't Ruka or one of his group. No, it was Yu, Bill and Tom, all in worry as the black haired teen ran to him.

"Gustav, are you alright!? Did anyone hurt you?!" Bill asked as he helped him get off the ground.

"Mi~, Minun, Mi~??" His Cheering Pokémon did the same to a flabbergasted Graveler as well to which Graveler shook his head, obviously relieving the smaller Pokémon.

"N-no... I'm... I'm okay, I s-suppose..."

"Oh danke Gott... We were worried since there are so many dead bodies around, Gustav. Let's go, we'll get you to Georg's side, he's worried sick as well, you know. Please don't resist, we just want you to be safe."

Gustav was silent for a whole minute but then, his fear made him nod and with relief, the twins took the still-shivering drummer out of the castle.

~Meanwhile in the hospital - 2 hours later~

When Ruka and the others came back to the hospital, Shou, Saga and Tora were staying far away from the drummer, still terrified at what the tall brunette had done. The group saw that Uruha and Yasuno were waiting for them, both looking concerned at the look on their faces and calmness of Ruka while Yomi facepalmed.

"Let's go in. Is Sakito-kun better?" Ni~ya asked tensely, knowing full well how much the lead guitarist would be pissed if he was finally awake.

"Yeah, he woke up and was pretty worried about what might happen in the castle. By the way, Gustav-san came to our side after whatever he saw. He's with his group right now." Yasuno said, looking very unnerved while Ruka looked very relieved by the fact that Sakito had woken up. They went in and saw that Sakito was indeed awake. As soon as they finally walked into the room, Ruka saw that Sakito was glaring at him with a knowing look on his face while the other two grimaced.

"Kanou Satoru, what the HELL did you DO in that goddamn castle!?" Sakito asked with a death glare on his face while Tora and the others gulped slightly, still feeling scared of the young but deadly drummer.

"Nothing they didn't deserve! Are you okay though, you could've been seriously hurt!"

At that, Hitsugi facepalmed hard, understanding that something seriously had happened while Sakito's glare intensified tenfold.

~Meanwhile with Yune and Zannin~

"Now, let's drop the goddamn punishment onto those assholes, shall we?" Zannin said with a smirk and Yune nodded, glaring at Kai and Uruha who stayed close to eachother.

"Ferrothorn, use Mirror Shot and blind them. We'll go in and use the Plate Master gave us then!"

"Ferro~..." The Thorn Pod Pokémon nodded, looking slightly uncomfortable and then, his body becamme wrapped inside a light blue aura. Then, he made it into a ball and unleashed it into the hospital room, blinding everyone inside. Everyone except for one Pokémon; Luxray.

"What the hell is going on?!" Hiroto cried out, blindly trying to cover the person next to him. And when the light was gone, so were Uruha and Luxray.

~Meanwhile with Emile~

Emile and the others stared in abject horror at the person standing in front of them. It was Cynthia but she had glowing dark purple eyes and she didn't truly resemble a human being anymore.

"What... What happened to her?!" Noire whispered, looking horrified.

"The effect of a Plate. This is what it can do to a person." Cyrus said seriously while Jon and Tim paled even more at the thought of what Emile had truly gone through. That was then, Cynthia attacked them, trying to mindlessly kill them.

"Shit!! Cynthia, leave us alone!!" Emile yelled, trying to keep everyone safe.

"Sal, Salamence~!!" His Salamence cried out to Tim's newly acquired Breloom who nodded and used Mega Drain on the maddened woman with the hopes of stopping her rampage.

"It is too late." Was the only thing Cynthia said before punching a hole in Cyrus' chest and effectively killing the psychic.

"NO!!!"

~Meanwhile in the hospital~

"What the hell?! What just happened?!" Yasuno said, still trying to rub his eyes from the pain of the strong bright light.

"I don't know but I've got a bad feeling about this..." Ni~ya said, frowning. Meanwhile Hiroto ran out to try and find his partner but she was nowhere to be found either, making him horrified before seeing footprints in the ground.

"Guys!! There are footprints here!!" The small blond cried and Mightyena immediately came beside him to find out what was going on exactly alongside N.

"Mightyena, can you tell me what you found?" N said gently as the bigger Bite Pokémon sniffed the ground for a moment and then cried out to the green haired young man with a frown.

"Might~, Mightyena, Might!"

"He thinks the scent is familiar. Almost like the person who took someone named Kai before."

"WHAT?!" They all cried, Ruki looking absoolutely murderous at the thought of Yune taking Uruha.

"We need to go, right now!"

~Meanwhile with Luxray~

"Where the hell do you think you are taking my friend?!" Luxray said to herself silently while silently pursuing Yune, Zannin and the struggling, disoriented Uruha.

"Struggling will do nothing to save you this time, Uruha, I promise you that." Yune said in a calmly furious tone which unnerved the Gleam Eyes Pokémon even more. She knew that Hiroto would worry about her but she also knew that there was no way she could wait for the younger guitarist to catch up.

"Yune!?" Uruha stopped struggling for a split second, shocked by the voice of his enemy. It proved to be a big mistake, however, as Yune smirked and sent the lead guitarist tumbling down to the ground near a huge lake.

"Why you!!!" Luxray thought, furious by the scene.

"Let me go, you bastard, I have nothing to do with you after everything you've put us through!!"

"Master has a job for you, Uruha, you should be honored--"

"NEVER!!! You and your so-called Master can go to Hell!! I will never fall for your terrible ways again! I thought of you as a friend years ago and you nearly killed Aoi and tried to put the blame on me even though I did nothing to him!!!" Uruha cried out, his face red with fury.

Hearing this, Luxray's eyes widened with shock and horror. But before she could attack to protect her friend from the two maniacs, they all heard an enraged voice;

"Darkrai's servants, begone!!" It was a Milotic who had emerged from the depths of his watery home to bring the three of them down before they could do any damage. When Uruha, Yune and Zannin turned around, all of them were blasted with a strong water attack, Uruha tried to breathe, unable to comprehend anything.

"I need to stop this Milotic!!" She said to herself but before she could even do one thing, Uruha stumbled and fell down right on top of the Splash Plate with a breathless gasp and made them smirk which angered the Gleam Eyes Pokémon and she immediately used Spark on the whole area, successfully electrocuting Zannin and Yune while the wild Milotic evaded her. But Luxray immediately went to Uruha's side.

"Uruha?? Please be okay!"

~Meanwhile with the others~

When they managed to calm Ruki down enough, they started to search for Uruha with Mightyena and Chatot taking the lead. Mightyena sniffed the ground, following the trail of Uruha's scent while Chatot looked for the blond guitarist from above. Thankfully, they found him in only about half an hour with Luxray staying close to him as she tried to fend off an enraged Milotic. The young guitarist was thrashing on the ground with his chest having a blue tablet ingrained in it.

"Oh crap!! Uruha!!" Reita was the first one to run towards the slightly younger man.

The lead guitarist couldn't answer, in too much agony. While the others also ran towards him, Hiroto went to his Luxray, petting her and telling how good she was, much to the Gleam Eyes Pokémon's happiness. Then, the Milotic tried to use Dragon Tail on Reita and his Chatot but before the attack could make contact, Ruki's Sableye used Shadow Claw on the Tender Pokémon, making him stumble back towards the lake.

"Sab, Sableye!!!" The smaller Pokémon cried out with outrage, glaring at her much bigger opponent with bravity. At what she said, Milotic cried back at her with indignancy.

"Milotic! Mi, Milotic!"

Understanding what the Tender Pokémon was saying, N facepalmed, remembering what he had done to Keiyuu before.

"What are they saying?!" Yomi asked but before any of them could say anything more, Yune woke up, paralyzed but still able to talk. Realizing this, Ruki immediately went near the dangerous man, demanding to know what he had done to Uruha. But knowing what would anger the short vocalist, the ex-drummer just stayed silent with a malicious smirk.

"ANSWER ME, YOU MONSTER!!! What the hell did you DO to Kouyou?!" Ruki screamed, now ready to strangle the older man.

"Takanori, calm down, we need to keep calm to find out what is going on!" Aoi said while Reita and Kai were trying to get Uruha to respond.

~Meanwhile with Kiro~

Kiro could hear voices. Voices of his best friends but he couldn't for the life of him respond.

"What is going on?! What is happening to me?! Guys, Plusle, help!" He yelled, trying to get through to them to no avail.

"Trying to leave so fast, huh?" He suddenly heard a strange, almost distorted voice of a woman right behind him. He tried to turn around in his prison but he barely managed to turn his head instead, feeling drained of all of his energy.

"W-what are you?! W-what did you... Do to me?!"

"You will not leave, Kiro. Not like this. I will have my new vessel." The distorted voice said, still not showing itself to the short blond.

"Nein!! I have to leave!! I--"

~Meanwhile with the others - Pokémon side~

"What did you do to Uruha?! Why is he hurt?!" Mightyena cried, glaring at Milotic who glared right back.

"I just did what all of Darkrai's servants deserve!!" The Tender Pokémon said, sending a death glare towards Uruha and the other two men he had seen first.

"You... You monster!! Uruha is not and has never been a servant of that vile Pokémon!!! We were trying to bring him down when those horrible people took him here, hurt them, not Uruha!!" Munna said with a very angry voice which shocked Milotic.

"He wasn't one of Darkrai's servants?! Oh no..."

"Yeah, you dumbass! I was trying to tell you that from the beginning!! You'd better hope nothing happens to him or I will fry you!!" Luxray said, glaring dangerously at the shocked Milotic.

"I-I--"

Just as the Milotic was going to try and defend himself, they saw with shock that Yune's Pokémon did nothing to protect him from the wrath of Ruki and Reita, standing there with only mild surprise.

~Human side~

"You BASTARD!!! What did you DO to Uruha, answer us!!" Reita yelled, fully ready to tell Chatot to attack the still paralyzed man. Yune however, just smirked and replied with a nasty grin;

"Look at his chest, it's too late to--"

Before the vile man could finish his sentence, he was knocked out by Ruki's punch exploding in his face. Then, they opened the now-unconscious Uruha's chest and saw a huge, sluggishly bleeding imprint on his chest, horrifying everyone.

"Oh no... Uruha!!!"

~Meanwhile with Ryuji, Tatsuhi and Yuuya~

After they got back to Steven's house, Ryuji and Tatsuhi took Yuuya into a deep, loving hug, much to the drummer's total surprise. They both were very shaken about what the brunette had tried to do.

"G-guys--"

"Why, Yuuya? Why did you try to do this?! What if they killed you right then and there?!" Ryuji asked softly, trying to understand what Yuuya's problem really was.

"I... I just thought they should pay for what they did to both of you, Ryuji-kun... They shouldn't be able to get away with this kind of stuff, not in a million years."

"Yes, but you could've at least talked with us about that, not just run off on your own. Whatever is bothering you is something to be talked about, not kept inside like that, of course you'd be hurt if you did that." Tatsuhi said, gentle and in honest concern.

"Del, Delcatty." The bassist's Prim Pokémon cried softly, obviously agreeing with her master wholeheartedly. Her and Mandibuzz also decided to take Yuuya's Drowzee aside and talk to her as well to find out why the Hypnosis Pokémon hadn't tried to stop her own trainer.

~Meanwhile in the hospital~

"You monster, leave Kiro alone!!" Strify said angrily as Yu and Luminor tried to save as much of the cure as they could. The Ditto in Kiro's body smirked evilly, however, obviously unwilling to do so and said in a very strange, almost distorted voice.

"You shall not stop me from getting my vessel. In fact, you cannot, it is too late for him by now, I have already overpowered his will enough to stop him from rejecting me."

"Plus!! Plusle, Plus!!" Kiro's Plusle cried out, angry and tearful. She obviously didn't believe a word the Ditto was saying.

~Meanwhile with Kiro~

"Let... me go!! Whatever... you're doing to me... is not gonna... help Darkrai! T-the others... will save me!!" Kiro said, struggling to get free from the overwhelming pressure and at least see the being that was holding him captive.

"No. You are too important for my goal, not Darkrai's. Your worthless friends can do nothing to stop me." The being said, almost sounding smug while saying that.

"I'm not g-going to give up! They wouldn't e-either! I have to get out!"

~Meanwhile with Chelsea~

As they got into Mai's old room, Chelsea tried to swallow her tears, trying to stay strong for her beloved but since she was the one who had Moltres's Pokéball on her person, she heard the voice of the Flame Pokémon in her mind;

"You must have had strong feelings for this departed man, did you not?"

Chelsea flinched a little, remembering all the good times she'd had with Mai and how she had been unable to stop his death.

"It is fine. Darkrai will not have him. You do not have to tell me but be careful. If what you are telling me is true, your problem is far worse than just dealing with Darkrai." Moltres said calmly while Alp wasa very confused as to what was going on. But before the young man could ask what was up, they found themselves in a huge trouble, three of Darkrai's most evil servants were waiting for them in the room, with the safe place Mai's body was in broken.

"Oh no..."

~Meanwhile with Uruha~

Uruha woke up with a shudder, looking around in total confusion. When he found himself in their old studio, he was very weirded out until he saw who walked in.

"You gotta be kidding me..."

~Meanwhile in the outside world~

What do we do?! He's bleeding so badly and what the hell is this imprint like thing?!" Ruki was near panicking, seeing how badly injured Uruha was.

"First thing we all should do is to calm the hell down. Let's bring him back to the hospital and start from there, okay?" Hiroto said seriously, frowning. The short guitarist had no idea what was happening but he knew this was not at all a good sign of things.

"Mi, Milotic..." The Milotic that had attacked Uruha suddenly came closer, looking at the imprint with a frown.

"Luxray! Lux, Luxray!" Hiroto's Luxray immediately came in front of Uruha protectively, still unhappy with the Tender Pokémon's previous attack on Uruha because he had refused to listen to her.

"Luxray, calm down, maybe this Pokémon understands what's going on with Uruha-san." Hiroto said but the Gleam Eyes Pokémon still glared distrusfully at Milotic.

"Mi, Milotic, Mi! Milotic!" The other Pokémon cried at them all, making all of the Pokémon there look very confused.

"Mu, Munna??"

"What's going on?! What are we supposed to--"

Before Reita could finish his sentence, Uruha started to come to, at first relieving everyone but then horrifying them as his eyes were completely blue and glowing ominously.

~Meanwhile with Gustav~

Gustav still shook slightly, realizing how close he had come to dying and that he had incredibly loyal friends. He could barely even raise his gaze to a concerned Bill, feeling horrible about everything he had said and done to him and the others now.

"Gustav, are you sure you're uninjured? You really look pale, you're worrying me."

"Mi, Minun." Bill's Minun nodded furiously beside the teen singer, also very worried. Gustav felt close to tears now, understanding how Bill still cared so much.

"I'm fine, d-don't worry. Just... Just shaken, I guess..."

"I think you should sleep for a while, Gustav. I promise everything is gonna be alright."

~Meanwhile with in another room of the hospital~

While they were staring in horror at the possessed Kiro, the short bassist tried once more to ruin what was left of the cure. But before he could even so much as reached for it, Luminor took it away from his sight, hoping that they could actually bring Shin back with it and then make another one after they had saved Kiro as well.

"You're gonna be okay, Karsten. I promise I won't let you down, just like you didn't." Strify said with conviction and then, a risky idea came to the singer;

"Guys! How about we bring him to somewhere different, like somewhere Giratina can never even hope to reach and get Kiro better?!"

"Plus???" Plusle turned to Strify with a curious and honestly concerned look on her face.

"But where would that place even be, Strify?! What are you trying to propose here?!"

Strify paused for a moment, trying to remember everything from his own ordeal with the Ditto that was now possessing his best friend.

"I... I think I know the place. We need to bring him to Dialga's realm somehow."

~Meanwhile with Gustav~

Gustav startled awake to a really heated conversation by Tom and Luminor who were looking almost angry at eachother.

"You said you would at least try to save a portion of the cure for us and now you're withdrawing that right?!"

"I'm not saying that, Tom! We can't give it right now, we don't even have enough to save Shin anymore! That Ditto ruined almost all of it!! And Kiro is also in danger right now, just so you know!!"

"I'm sure he is. You're just trying to come up with excuses right now, aren't you?!"

Gustav saw with shock that Luminor looked absolutely pissed off. The keyboardist was flat out shaking with anger and wasn't talking anymore.

"What? Angry that I caught your ass lying? Wait till Bill hears this!" Tom said, narrowing his eyes and just before Gustav was going to interject, Luminor whispered in such a fury that Tom took a step back in obvious fear;

"From this point on, if you or your twin comes anywhere near ANY of my friends, you'll wish Darkrai had kept your ungrateful asses! We'll let you have the cure, once we're done with it but believe me, I will go to even media and have you kicked to the curb like you deserve, brat!"

With that, Luminor left to tell everything to his bandmates. Tom looked absolutely shocked as the taller man left and turned around to see Gustav was awake and the drummer looked more than a little uncomfortable.

"Gustav--"

"Why did you do that?" Was all the drummer asked while Tom's Poochyena looked unhappy as well. But the little Bite Pokémon actually was unhappy with her own trainer's choices at the moment.

~Meanwhile with Uruha - 2 hours later~

Uruha felt totally lost as he watched Ruki have a chat withh Yune. He didn't know how the other man could think of Yune as a friend after everything. Yune noticed his stare and smiled and waved a little.

'What the hell is going on?!' Uruha thought, not even returning the smile and wave. He decided to have a walk and try to clear his mind. The blue tablet necklace which had been given to him by Reita was on his neck, it was slightly uncomfortable, giving him some kind of weird heat and even when he had tried to get rid of it, it felt somehow tighter.

"Kai, where are you...? Where am I in the first damn place?!"

Then, he heard Kai's voice and his eyes widened.

"Kai! Kai, where are you?!" He cried, feeling almost scared but he knew if he followed Kai, he'd be okay. The blond guitarist followed the voice of his brunette friend and much to his dismay, the voice was telling him to jump off the cliffside to get away from this situation.

"What the hell do I even do?! Is this even Kai...?!" He whispered, getting near the cliff but right before, he was stopped by none other than Yune.

"Uruha!! What the hell are you doing?!"

Uruha was very annoyed at the sight of a very panicked looking Yune, almost ready to take the advice of Kai's voice.

~Meanwhile in the real world~

Ruki tried not to cry as he watched Uruha turn into a strange, terrifying creature. And looking at the others, the vocalist saw that all of them felt the same way while Yune, who just had come to, smirked in satisfaction. The guitarist had turned into a serpent that had white scales and glowing blue eyes with no pupils whatsoever.

"Ferrothorn..." His Ferrothorn, however, did not look nearly as satisfied as the ex-drummer.

"Mi, Milotic?" The Milotic which had attacked Uruha before mistakenly calmly cried at the Thorn Pod Pokémon, obviously understanding something was different in his case somehow. The other Pokémon, however, were rightfully distrustful towards him.

~Meanwhile with Dir en Grey~

After Toshiya healed up well enough, the five of them decided to talk and hopefully get to a decision about what to do about Darkrai. Kyo looked more than a little scared at the thought of the Pitch Black Pokémon, remembering the horrible things they had all gone through.

"So, what are we going to do now?" Shinya asked nervously. He didn't really want to ask but he knew someone had to do it.

"Anything but returning to the castle." Kaoru replied, his eyes determined. He got nods from everyone, especially Die and Kyo. But right as Die was going to say something the hut they were in suddenly started to shake.

"W-what the hell is going on?!" Kyo said, terrified.

~Meanwhile with Cinema Bizarre~

"So, has anyone got an idea how to get to Dialga's realm?" Yu asked seriously, looking at the possessed body with sadness.

"Vul, Vulpix, Vul..." Shin's new Vulpix cried at Plusle who was near tears at the state of her beloved trainer. Plusle didn't even look up, too upset to say anything while Kiro was in this state.

"When I was in Giratina's realm, I found something on the ground, I don't know where it originally came from but this might work." Strify said, extending a scroll to his friends who all got around it and when Luminor read it out loud, suddenly, a portal appeared and from it, Palkia came out, shocking everyone.

"W-what the?! Palkia?! But I thought--" Strify was about to finish his confused sentence before the Spatial Pokémon interrupted him.

"You have done very well. I will bring him to Dialga for he and I both need to help for your friend to become free once more."

"Wait, what?! But what about us?! We can't just leave Kiro alone like this!" Shin said, feeling terrified for the oldest.

"Do not worry for it is a test for you as well as him. If you can withstand the fears you have for your friend and trust him to be able to get through this, he will pull through." Palkia answered very calmly, making all of them look at eachother in concern and nod but not before Shin went up to his older friend and said;

"Karsten, I know you can get through this. Please don't give up. I want to see you okay again, just like you want me to be. Goodbye for now."

Then, the youngest tightly hugged Kiro before the bassist disappeared with Palkia and his Plusle.

"I know he can get past this. I believe in him." Strify said, his voice shaking.

~Meanwhile with the others~

The group stared at Uruha as the transformed guitarist cried out with seemingly anger, not knowing what to do. They all were distraught, knowing if they somehow failed to save the young man, he would be lost forever.

"Kouyou! I know you're in there, you can get out of this!! Please, come back to us!!" Kai yelled, his tears nearly spilling at the state of his older friend. The drummer knew that Uruha was trying to overcome this but he couldn't do it on his own.

But just as the others were going to say something as well, something shocking happened. The Milotic that had attacked Uruha before cried out at Ferrothorn while Zannin's Cofagrigus glared at the Thorn Pod Pokémon. Yune who didn't realize what was happening, gave his order to Ferrothorn, ready to destroy Kai at the very least since he understood that Kai was keeping Uruha's identity in check even though the black haired man had no idea he was doing so.

"Ferrothorn, use Gyro Ball at that bastard!"

However, the Thorn Pod Pokémon thought deeply, not reacting to his trainer's orders at all, much to everyone's confusion.[/i][/i]

~Meanwhile with Kiro~

Kiro was teleported to a cave-like place, finding no one beside him. The controlled body of the small bassist smirked, thinking it would be easy to get out from wherever he currently was. But when he tried to get out with his Plusle actually trying to stop him, he suddenly found himself paralyzed.

"What the hell?! I can't move!!" He yelled when some Unown appeared in front of him, all using their powers to bind the young man.

"You must overcome five trials, all shall work both your mind and body. If you pass all of them, you shall be awarded accordingly." A voice came from behind him and when Kiro turned his head, he saw Dialga standing there, looking sternly at him. But before the possessed body of the bassist could talk, Dialga made contact with the blond's mind.

"How do I know if I passed or not??" The young man asked, scared out of his mind.

"You will be separated from what binds you one by one, as you pass the tests. However, the true reward is not only your freedom. Shall we begin?"

Kiro timidly nodded in his mind, not knowing what he was going in for.

~Meanwhile with Nightmare~

"So, what happened in that castle, you guys?" Sakito asked, his eyes was hard as steel as he knew Ruka had done something pretty bad, judging by how Yomi and Ni~ya both cringed. Ruka sighed, not even remotely willing to tell the younger man that he had killed for his sake since he knew how the lead guitarist would react to that.

"You really should rest more before you decide to know, Sakito. I promise, we'll explain later." Ni~ya said tensely, making Ruka glad for the bassist's foresight to tell that to him. But that only made Sakito glare harder at them while Tora and Saga looked at eachother, trying not to shudder at what had actually happened in the castle.

"I'm quite well rested, Yuji! I can take it, you know! I am not made of glass!!"

~Meanwhile with the others - Pokémon side~

"Why the hell aren't you attacking, Ferrothorn?! Your trainer just gave you an order!!"

Ferrothorn didn't even react, not knowing what to do at the moment. On one hand, Cofagrigus was right, Yune had given him an order but on the other hand, if he did attack now, he knew he would be taking an innocent life. He didn't want to do it, no matter what. Then, quickly deciding, he used Mirror Shot once more to blind everyone and get away from his monstrous trainer.

"W-what is going on?!" Ruki's Sableye screamed but when everyone could see once more, they all were shocked to see Ferrothorn was gone.

"T-that traitor!!!" Zannin said as Yune was frozen in shock. And then, Ruki narrowed his eyes alongside Reita, both readying their attacks on the unprotected ex-drummer. Seeing that, Yune stepped back in fear.

"Chatot." Reita was the first one to talk, making Yune gulp in terror. Especially since he knew Reita was Uruha's best friend since childhood.

"Yes? What do you want me to do to this horrible man?"

"Use Echoed Voice. As loud as you want to. Deafen the bastard!" The blond bassist said in a dangerously calm voice. The Music Note Pokémon nodded and let out such a loud cry that both Yune and everyone else nearly screamed. But then, when it was done, Yune could not hear anymore, deafened temporarily.

"Sableye, your turn. Let's first do this!" Ruki said and used Mega Evolution to empower the small Darkness Pokémon. Then, after that, seeing how Sableye turned to him with a trusting smile, Ruki smiled back and told her;

"Use Shadow Claw and make it as painful as possible. He deserves this!"