The Protector's Hidden Roots Part 8
Please read A New Power Arising and The Chosen Protector before reading this or else you won't understand this.
More days have passed as Flame's trial over his soul had been taking place. Aero especially had been keeping a close eye on him with Serene checking in every so often. Serene had still been a Protector and had to attend to her duties, she's saved a couple of poke'mon from flash fires outside of the city and led a search and rescue party for a couple of Ralts and Kirlias. They had been playing with a few of the forest creatures and got lost in all their fun. As for Flame, Aero made notes on some occasions: Consistently twitching from his sleep, talking about his duties, and most importantly fighting Kakado off.
"Flame, your dreams are so bland!" Kakado shouted as he leaped towards Flame with his claws drawn and wings gliding through the air.
"I focus on saving all I can!" Flame shouted back as he performed a move with his blades to focus light power and made a couple of slashing motions to send the waves right at Kakado. The hits hit him square on but only flinching slightly as he went back in to strike.
"You will need to do better than that!" Kakado yelled as his claw struck Flame, but Flame had blocked it with his own blade.
"How about you actually make me try." Laughed Flame. But Kakado smirked as he then flapped his wings extremely quick, sending a gust of wind on Flame as he was losing his grip on his feet. Flame had slipped under all the wind and pressure Kakado put on him, which could have been the worst mistake he made. Kakado used his other claw to stab straight into Flame in the gut. Flame coughed as blood flew out of his mouth and blood flowing from his stomach wound. Kakado then continued with the follow through and slammed Flame into the ground. He retracted his claw, blood dripping from it surrounding his hand with dark energy. Then placing his hand in front of his face examining the blood, throwing it off and into the ground. He stared intently on Flame waiting for his next move, he spoke.
"You still need to do better than that..." Flame said with his weakened state as he slowly got back up. His right hand being placed on the open gash Kakado left for him as his hand was being even more stained with his blood. Slumped over Flame laughed a little in front of Kakado to taunt him even more.
"What's so funny?" Asked an angered demon.
"Just the fact that you think you can win after a scratch on me." Flame smirked as his hand started to glow a white light and his wound had disappeared.
"How did you do that?" Asked a very stunned Kakado.
"You forgot the most important rule about where we are..." Flame said.
Aero still watching Flame in and out of his unsettling state noticing blood coming from his mouth.
"What the?" Aero asked himself as he went to get a rag. He entered the room and wiped off the blood from Flame.
"It's almost as if anything the happens in his dream comes a reality to himself." Aero said softly to himself. He continued to inspect Flame as his eyes got around to Flame's stomach he noticed a lot of blood oozing from there.
"Ack!" Aero shouted in fear as he teleported out of the room to get nurses back into Flame's room to tend to his wounds.
"You are in my dream!" Flame said with success that he outsmarted Kakado on this subject.
"Even with that advantage I will still beat you!" Kakado said as he dashed at Flame and stabbed him again with his claw, Flame had not moved at all and took the other hit.
"Are you done playing yet?" Said a confident Flame. Flame then put both of his hands on Kakado's arm, pulling out his claw and then started to swing Kakado in a circle around Flame, he then threw him into the ground. Flame took his foot and stomped on Kakado's back which he writhed in pain, attempting to trip Flame with a forceful push of psychic energy got him to lift his foot and roll away to get himself up ready for another round.
Aero had teleported back to Flame and brought three nurses which they started the healing process right away. Flame was breathing inconsistently and blood had oozed out all over the finest and softest silk sheets that could be made by a seamstress of the city. The light had enveloped Flame as the nurses channeled themselves together to patch up all his wounds. Aero also discovered another wound had appeared in Flame while he left, to which Aero could not wonder what was happening to Flame. Elegon and Blizz teleported into the room next to Aero.
"What happened?" Asked a bewildered Blizz telepathically.
"I can't say, but from what I have gathered it has to be in his dream. Something very powerful to be affecting his actual body like this." Replied Aero with a concerning tone.
"I bet you it's Kakado." Elegon sternly said.
"What makes you say that?" Questioned Blizz being skeptical about that response.
"What else could cause him to aura such darkness? Have as much control over a being and let alone have the ability to come out of his spirit form almost any time he wants to." Elegon explained his theory.
"Now that you say it, I had a feeling but really couldn't be sure of myself. Just didn't want to jump to a conclusion. But what I do think for the conclusion is that we will see a new Flame after this ordeal." Aero concurred with Elegon.
Flame and Kakado had been fighting for a while now, both of them exchanging blow after blow with each other. Flame's body had been covered with scratches everywhere along with holes in his body and a hint of dark aura irradiating from him. Kakado body suffered massive bruising all over his body while having gashes here and there over his body, he himself was also irradiating a white aura from him.
"How you like the new color?" Asked a cocky Flame.
"I should ask you the same. I wasn't expecting your moves to have a hint of light power in them." Replied Kakado.
"I can also say the same, I don't like this aura one bit." Said Flame as he took a look at his hand and saw blackness flowing around him. Kakado laughed as he then channeled energy through him and the light aura was quickly being taken over from all the new-found dark aura.
"Like my trick? I wouldn't mind seeing if you can pull that one off." Kakado said while he crossed his arms, watching Flame intently. Flame's hand started to glow a white aura as he seemed to be only able to purify his hands but nothing else. He started to think on how to fix his current state. Flame has pressed his hands against his chest which made an even brighter aura as the dark started to dissipate.
"Well, there you have it." Flame said in a tone that even surprised himself. Kakado teleported to Flame in a flash, getting behind him, grabbing him and taking off in the air. After a couple hundred feet spun upside down and reversed gravity on Flame.
"What are you doing?!" Demanded Flame.
"Something that won't make you get up for a long time." Kakado calmly said. Kakado was performing Seismic Toss, as Flame was struggling to get out.
"How is his status now?" Asked Elegon directing his question to a nurse.
"His body is healed for now, but we can't say how it happened. We do know that whatever is going on inside his head is quite unsettling for the rest of his body." Answered the nurse.
Flame's pendent kept changing colors as the battle in his dream toiled on Flame.
Time had slowed down for Flame as he was being forced into place, perfectly positioned for some serious head trauma from Kakado's attack. Flame tried to use any psychic power he had to change the ground to soften his fall, but to no avail. Kakado had let go twenty feet before impact and flew off in a different direction. Flame used all his strength to move himself that the impact mainly collided on his back, which it did.
"I can't move..." Thought Flame to himself. Kakado had floated back to Flame and examined the damage he did. He knew that he couldn't move, and he was still barely breathing. Flame's eyes stared off into nothing as he was blankly looking into the sky. Kakado reached at Flame's neck and picked him up off the ground staring at him.
"Flame. Fight me! Why won't you fight me with all your strength?!" Kakado raged as he threw Flame across the field. He teleported where Flame stopped sliding at. Flame's breathing was becoming more and more inconsistent. Kakado stomped on Flame's chest asking "Why won't you get up?! This is pathetic of you! You call yourself a Protector and you can't even protect yourself!" Kakado had released his foot off of Flame.
"Oh no." The nurse said gravely.
"What's going on?" Asked all of the Elders.
"We're losing him, we're losing him!" Replied the nurse as they worked on getting Flame back to a stable level.
"We had better get Serene back in here!" Demanded Aero.
Serene had been attending to the townspeople with their daily needs.
"Serene!" Shouted Aero telepathically.
"What's going on?" Asked Serene.
"It's Flame, we need you here quick in your room. Don't ask questions." Said Aero.
Serene had teleported into the room, stunned as she saw the Elders, nurses, and Flame's body being worked on by them. She also saw the blood everywhere on the bed and on Flame himself.
"What has been happening? Why wasn't I called in here earlier?!" Demanded Serene scornfully.
"We have been monitoring him around the clock, his condition became critical and that's when we called you in here." Explained Blizz.
Serene had placed her hand on Flame's head, then lead in and placed her head against his. A tear had fallen onto Flame's face.
Kakado picked Flame up again and asked "Do I have to kill you before you get my message?"
"What...Message...is that..." Said an extremely weak Flame.
"That message is that you will face a stronger opponent than yourself and you can't let overconfidence take the best of you. Here is what I mean!" Kakado shouted as he once again stabbed Flame in the gut with one of his claws.
"Ahh!" Screamed a nurse as Flame's wound had reopened with gushing amounts of blood. They tried sealing it back up with their powers but to no avail.
"We can't get a good seal on it!" Shouted a nurse as they were over-straining themselves.
"We are gonna lose him!" Said Aero with a grimly tone.
Flame's breathing had become to a halt, life was being drained out of him as his dream became a reality.
"This can't happen!" Screamed Serene as she became enveloped in a bright white light. Paldena had appeared once more she quickly got to work on Flame by shrouding him in a light that became blinding to everyone else in the room.
"Worthless." Kakado said as he threw Flame to the ground and walked away.
"I'm not done with you..." Flame mustered enough energy to reply. Kakado had turned around slowly to look at Flame as he began to shine a holy-like aura about him. Wounds slowly healed himself as Flame was blessed by a new-bound energy given to him by Paldena.
"Like I said, I am not done!" Flame said as he teleported to Kakado grabbing him by the neck and returned the favor by slamming him into the ground. Flame focused a light power into his hand and slammed it against Kakado, piercing him in the process. Kakado screamed in pain as the light had been purifying him.
"No!" Shouted Kakado as he threw off Flame and got back up. His wound was shining with a bright light that he could not return it to darkness.
"What is happening to me?! Why can't I change this?" Kakado desperately trying to find a answer.
"It's because no light can be out-shadowed by darkness." Explained Flame.
"It's not my fault." said a voice different from Kakado.
"What?" Asked Flame softly.
"Die!" Yelled Kakado as he dashed at Flame.
Flame readied himself as Kakado came close he side-stepped to avoid him which worked. Flame grabbed him while glowing with his new found aura. The auras collided and Flame's was engulfing Kakado's.
The new voice continued to call for sanctity. Flame could not grasp what was happening til a dark spirit had pulled away from the body of Kakado. Flame had the instinct to shoot a beam of light at it, which then instantly vanished. Flame returned his attention to "Kakado" which his body was shape-shifting and after intense moments he turned into a Gardevoir.
"How did this happen?" Asked a confused Flame.
Paldena had stepped back as she knew job was done. She reached for Flame's pendent and ripped it off of him.
"I need you to examine this." Paldena asked Aero as she handed him the necklace and placed it into his hand.
"You need to free the Gardevoir in there, after Serene appears again, take my necklace and do the same for me." Paldena asked as she was enveloped in another bright light as Serene had appeared once more.
"What happened?" Asked Serene being slightly off balance and dizzy.
"A lot, we need to borrow your necklace for a while." Asked Blizz.
"Sure." Replied Serene as she took off the clasp of her necklace and gave it to Blizz.
"We will fill you in." Said Elegon.
"Thank you nurses, we are done here for now." Said Aero as they bowed politely and teleported out of the room.
"We should let Flame rest up a little longer." Aero added on as he teleported everyone else out of the room.
