Sakura and Blaze landed in the middle of a dense crowd of spectators, who had come to see a fight between the teams of a human and a mew versus a charizard and a torterra. "This should be interesting," they thought (mostly).

They were, in short order, directed toward the center of the field. Flash and Crush were already there, waiting. They took up their respective positions in the center of the ring of spectators that had formed of its own accord. When they were ready, they nodded in acknowledgement, the final courtesy before the fight.

When the gong sounded, Sakura glided to a position where she was out of the line of fire, brining up a transparent screen of golden light (They had decided beforehand that she was on defense, and Blaze was on offense), and Blaze activated the V.I.S.A.R.

Almost as soon as this was done, Blaze was forced to dodge a razorleaf/fireblast combination attack, deflecting some of it with Gouka. When he dodged, Flash came charging toward him faster than he could react. Fortunately, Sakura managed to summon another shield between the two, and while it didn't stop Flash, it slowed him down enough that Blaze had time to get out of the way, taking to the air and drawing his guns.

The fight continued like this, with neither side making any headway, for several minutes. By this time, Blaze was starting to get frustrated. After a few more minutes, he was getting annoyed, so he thought "Time to stop holding back so much," and he holstered his guns and drew Gouka. As the charizard charged him again, he leapt over his head, and swung the dull edge of the blade, hitting the dead center of its forehead, and k.o.ing him instantly. Then he spun around and ran right toward Crush, jumping and doing a back flip at the last second and landing a kick under his chin that was so powerful it sent the torterra spinning into the air to land on its back, already unconscious.

Seconds later, Blaze and Sakura were declared the winners and the shocked silence that had followed the initial win quickly turned into cheers and applause.

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When they finally made it home, Blaze and Sakura wanted nothing more than to curl up and go to sleep. Sakura's mother, however, had other plans, keeping them up late into the night with a party with all of Sakura's friends. All of whom were rather eager to meet the mysterious human whom she had chosen as her mate.

Around midnight, the last person left and Sakura's mother ushered the two of them to bed, whereupon they happily fell asleep in each other's arms.

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The next morning, Blaze and Sakura were quite late getting up, staying in bed until 11:00 or so. When they did finally get up, Blaze was quick to don the A.R.M.O.R. and they left shortly thereafter. When they arrived at the arena, they found it even more jam packed than it was the previous day. Among the spectators, he caught glimpses of all the friends he had made since he first found himself on Aedon. Then he saw one face he wished he hadn't. It was the mightyanna he'd nearly killed when he first discovered his abilities, which he recognized by the burn scars on the left side of its face. However, the ever-shifting crowd quickly concealed the wolf, much to Blaze's gratitude.

When they entered the ring, both of them stopped dead, for standing in front of them were the last two people they would have thought would be their opponents for this match. First, Sakura's mother hovered several feet off the ground, hence Sakura's and half of Blaze's astonishment. The other one was a green-and-grey-furred, humanoid-looking, cat-like pokemon carrying a naginata with a blade that looked like a crimson leaf and an ebu that looked to be made of silver, with a tsuba in the shape of a vine that swirled out from the center. At the base of the ebu, there was a gemstone almost identical to the one on the fuchi-kashira on his blade, except that it looked like a piece of strangely transparent onyx and an emerald with a ruby in between them.

They were talking to the zangoose who was proctoring the event. After the conversation, he came over to them, pointed over his shoulder with his thumb and said, "They've requested a one-on-one match between the human," he motioned towards Blaze, "and the Sealer." he motioned towards the cat-like creature, "do you accept?"

Blaze looked at Sakura. Seeing her nod, he said, "Yeah, I accept. It's not like I can turn down a challenge, after all."

The zangoose nodded and walked away. Just before he was out of the ring, he turned back to Blaze and said, "Oh, and you can use your weapons freely," before leaving the ring. Once he was out, several psychic-types raised a barrier, which Blaze took as a bad sign. If they needed a shield that was facing inward, it meant he was up against a very powerful opponent.

"Before we start, who are you? And what's a Sealer?" asked Blaze

"You don't remember?" said the creature, surprised. Seeing Blaze's blank stare, she continued, "Well, for starters, there were originally four of us, and each of us is a species of there own. First, there was Blast, the dark and psychic type, and his twin, Blare the flying and fighting type. Then there was me, Bloom the grass and rock type, and my twin, Blaze the fire and water type. Why we're twins, no one knows. It's been that way since our first incarnation, even though we share no real blood. As for the reason we are called Sealers, I'm sure you've heard the story of the first two humans, correct? The snake was actually a pokemon called Shaitn. After the humans were forced to leave because of the disease they contracted, we sealed Shaitn in an underground lake in a mountain. However, Blaze gave his life to that seal, so that it would hold for eternity. Unfortunately, your presence here means that the seal is weakening."

"What are you talking about? What do you mean that my presence here means that the seal is weakening?"

"So you really don't remember." Said Bloom with a sigh, "Well, I sense in you the spirit of my long-lost brother. And if you are here, that means that the seal has nothing sustaining it other than residual energy, and that will weaken every time Shaitn moves. There is no telling how long until it is destroyed completely."

For a few seconds, Blaze could only stare. He had a strange feeling that she was telling the truth, at least as well as she knew it, but he found it hard to believe that he was actually a pokemon. "But it makes sense. How else would I have the ability to understand them?"

"Ok, well it looks like the crowd is getting restless. What do you say we give em what they want?" said Blaze out loud.

Bloom's only response was to grip her naginata in both hands and take a stance, and charge him. Seeing this, he drew his guns and released a barrage of gunfire on her, forcing her to stop and spin the naginata in order to deflect it, giving Blaze just enough time to draw Gouka. The battle that ensued lasted for hours.

After three hours, the battle began to turn away from Blaze's favor. After five, Bloom came for what she thought would be the final blow. As her naginata slashed towards Blaze's face, he heard Sakura yell/sob, "BLAZE!!! NO!!!" and opened his eyes to see Sakura with tears pouring down her face. Suddenly, a spark lit something up inside him, and he raised his hand and caught the blade of the naginata by the edge, which didn't cut any farther than the skin, due to the amethyst flames that encased his hand.

When he looked up, Bloom saw that each of his eyes were a different color, one orange and one blue, and each seemed to have a flame flickering behind it. In a voice that was so calm and confident that it sent shivers down Bloom's spine, Blaze said "I'm sorry, but I have to stop holding back now." He then squeezed the blade of the naginata a little bit, and it shattered in his grasp, sending Bloom falling forward. Before she could hit the ground, Blaze summoned up a spinning spike of amethyst flame to one hand, and slammed it into her stomach, shredding the tissue just above her gallbladder and narrowly missing her esophagus. She landed ten feet away, coughing up blood and barely able to move.

The crowd was silent while he walked over to her, and when he leaned over her, moving his hands to the wound and summoning up the blue flames, he was sure that the only thing holding the crowd back was the barrier that was still erect. Fortunately for Bloom, even if the dumbfounded psychics who were holding it up were to come to their senses, she wouldn't have had anything more than a scar, as Blaze had deliberately avoided her vital organs.

As he stood up, he gave the crowd a perfect view of where the wound had been only moments earlier, and there was only flawless skin and fur. Before anyone could protest, Blaze looked over at Sakura, pointing back toward the den, nodded, and took off at a speed that even when Sakura teleported, she almost came in second.

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The next morning, Blaze and Sakura woke to the sound of Sakura's mother yelling, completely unceremoniously, "GET THE FUCK UP!!!!!"

Clearly she was in a bad mood.

As Blaze picked himself up, he hoped for her sake that there was a very good reason she woke him up like that. Upon seeing her, however, all his resentment dissipated. She was clearly frightened, with wide eyes and ruffled fur, far from the elegant creature she usually appeared to be. When she realized they were both awake and paying attention, she said, "Some humans have gotten through the barrier!"

"What!? But I thought you had to be with a pokemon or... ah, shit! I can sense them. Even from this distance I can feel the disgusting malice emanating from those sadistically animalistic bastards," said Blaze as he took off, heading in the direction of the invaders. As it turned out, they were in the same spot where the tournament had ended the day previously, but he was forced to land several hundred feet away so as to avoid detection and the subsequent barrage of ranged pokemon attacks as well as the hail of bullets that would fall to earth and more than likely kill a few bystanders, and that was something he simply could not permit under any circumstances.

Almost as soon as he touched down, he heard the sound of someone arriving via teleportation off to his left, and spun rapidly, expecting an attack, but it was only Sakura. As soon as he saw her, heard several twigs snap behind him and spun around to see Bloom, carrying her naginata, with two other creatures that he didn't recognize. The best term to describe them would probably be 'anthromorphic,' but even that wouldn't be completely accurate. One was like a bipedal eagle, except that it had arms and legs as well as wings, but instead of the usual brown, it was more of a scarlet and yellow. On its back, in between the wings, was a sapphire-blue short bow and a few arrows of the same color. The other one looked like a white wolf, aside from the black crescent moon that sat on his left eye like a tattoo, the black ring around his right wrist, and the fact that it was humanoid with hands and opposable thumbs. On its back was a golden round shield about three feet in diameter, with a ring of serrations on the rim, and a bar that ran through a hole in the center.

When she had his attention, Bloom said, "I would like to introduce you to the other two Sealers. This one here," she motioned to the eagle-morph, "is Blare. She is the flying/fighting one." Blaze shook her hand and found that it was incredibly strong, even for a fighting type, but it was a controlled strength; she clearly knew her limits. "And this," she gestured to the wolf-morph, "Is Blast. He is the psychic/dark one." Instead of shaking the offered hand, Blast pulled him into a hold by wrapping his arm around Blaze's neck, and rapidly ground his knuckles on his head, much like an older brother.

"You were right, he's still as uptight as ever," said the wolf with a laugh. Blaze and Bloom just glared at him.

After she had finished glaring, Bloom said, "Ok, down to business, every single human out there has to die, with no exceptions. Does everyone understand?" Blast and Blare just nodded, but Blaze had to say something.

"I don't think I can do it. I swore I would never take another life when I discovered my abilities, and I will stick to that promise." He said firmly.

The other three looked at him as though they had been expecting this reaction. "If you think about it, letting them live would put more blood on your hand than you can possibly imagine. For every single one we kill here, we save countless other lives, so the only way you could break that promise would be to let them walk away," said Blast.

Blaze knew he couldn't argue with that, so he didn't even try, opting instead to simply nod his head and accept the truth for what it was. After this, he drew Gouka from his back, and the other three did the same with their weapons. Blare took to the sky, while waiting for the others to get into position. As soon as they had positioned themselves in a triangular formation, surrounding the humans, she flew out into the open, raining hell down on them with arrows that seemed to be made of wind, while the other three jumped from the shadows and began to cut into the enemy ranks like a knife through butter. Not twenty minutes later, every human other than Blaze was dead, and their pokemon freed from the device that inhibited free will by using electricity, pressure, or heat, depending on the pokemon.

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In an observation room in god knows where...

"Ma'am, we just lost contact with the entire scouting party. It seems they were attacked," said a man in a simple uniform to the woman in the red dress.

"Well what are you waiting for? Begin analysis of the audio records and create a simulation of what happened," she replied.

An hour later, a video began playing on the massive screen in the front of the room. It showed a group of faceless people in uniform with weapons, and four other creatures. First, there was a white wolf on two legs with a massive shield that it swung around with ease and threw like a boomerang, cutting through the crowd with ease and power. Second, it showed some kind of eagle-like creature with a bow, raining arrows down on the crowd from above. In the third screen, it showed a cat-like creature with a naginata or glaive of some kind cutting down all who came too close. And finally, it showed the one known as Luke Fabre cutting his way gracefully through the ranks of men, his katana striking only once for each kill.

Though it was all based on audio records, this is what the men who had been cut down would have seen, or as close to it as it got. When the simulation ended, the woman stormed out, muttering something about an infallible new plan.

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Back on Aedon...

Blaze stood among the other Sealers, panting. Without warning, his knees buckled, and he fell into blissful unconsciousness.

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sorry about the long wait for this chapter, but i wanted to take a bit of a break to get some new ideas. also, i apologize to those watchers who are watching me solely because of my Adventures of Hogosha story, because im having some trouble with that and ima have to put that on hold for a while to get some new ideas. hopefully it wont be for as long as the other onesChapter End Notes:sorry about the long wait for this chapter, but i wanted to take a bit of a break to get some new ideas. also, i apologize to those who are watching me solely because of my Adventures of Hogosha story, because im having some trouble with that and ima have to put that on hold for a while to get some new ideas. hopefully it wont be on hold for as long as this one was.
For more info, check out my yiffstar page, my name there is Gouka Fushichou