Welcome to Gaia! ::

Annnnd it was done. After the rapid dissolution of both River and the soaring pidgeotto’s clones, it had all come down to a rather nasty duel between Quick Attack and Confusion, and the telekinetic shockwave had won. Scarlet and Cindy watched with a little pride as Falkner retrieved the wounded Pidgeotto. Their travelling buddy just shot a bird out of the sky with a psychic death cannon. How cool was that?

“Awesome battle, Jett! That was how all pokemon battles should go! I mean, jeez, with the aerial aces and the con- where’re we going by the way?”

The redhead noticed that he was being forcibly removed from the gym by the younger trainer. Not that he minded, of course. Cindy was strong, but she wasn’t ready to solo a gym yet. And Terumi’s moves wouldn’t do anything to the half normal flying types that probably composed Falkner’s entire team.

Cindy wasn’t too far off, trying to get a good look at the shiny, light blue disc containing the unavoidable flying move. She’d somehow managed never to see a TM before, and it certainly interested her. As she wondered if Jett was going to give it to Athena or his creepy butterfree thing, the group made it outside, where there was sunlight and the ever present promise of not falling to their deaths off cheap wooden planks. She let out a cheerful bark now that they were in the fresh air.

“OH. I BET YOU’RE WONDERING WHAT ME AND CINDY AND TERUMI WERE DOING, RIGHT?” Because Jett totally wasn’t preoccupied winning his first gym challenge.

Scarlet excitedly ripped one of the crimson and white spheres from his belt. “Okay, so, I remembered that I needed a water type to take out those irritating rock/ground fusion types, right? So I went fishing in a pond for like. A poliwag, because it gets this super awesome dual type, y’know? But like. I couldn’t find one, so I got something way cooler.”

He pressed the button on the pokeball’s center, his hair falling over his eyes, casting an overdramatic shadow, as his lips curled back into a satisfied smirk. “Jett, feast your eyes on what will be the most powerful water type in Johto soon!”

Scarlet hurled the pokeball into the sky at just the right angle for the tiny sphere to disappear in the immaculate rays of the sun. It opened up at the apex of the toss. “Halibel! I choose you!”

A crimson beam of light shot down in a zigzag, settling out into the shape of a reddish orange fish being cradled in Scarlet’s arms. The magikarp’s face was as expressionless as that of any other in its species, wide eye slowly diverting its attention to Jett Forrest, owner of the Zephyr Badge. Its lips twitched for a few moments before it managed to let out a “Karp.”

“… Awwww. She likes you!”

“Yeah, we can head off as soon as possible.” Scarlet nodded, deciding to carry around Halibel for a little bit. He and the two female members of his team trotted right behind Jett, Halibel staring around at people and objects with the eye facing away from Scarlet, while Cindy was busy at Scarlet’s heels, staring up at him, then back at the gym.

“Oh, that? We’re not really ready yet. I want an electric or a rock type first. You’re too nervous around heights to chase around birds, y’know.”

She frowned a bit, but she honestly couldn’t disagree. She let out a sigh, nuzzling her trainer’s side.

“Don’t spaz. I hear there’s a bug leader reasonably close by.”

The two watched as Jett approached the front bench, and, well. It took all of Scarlet’s effort not to buckle over in paroxysms of laughter and fits of giggling that would make eight year old girls envy him. Instead, the trainer from Cherrygrove stood solemnly, jet black eyes staring toward Jett. “… You never checked…? … Do you think he thinks he’s a girl? Cause that would be super awkward. Like. … I’ll just let you handle this.”

Kasiya couldn't help but be slightly annoyed by the gym leader Winona's actions towards Mike, though she decided to let it go for sake of keeping the fighting amongst them to a minimum. After all, there was probably a good reason for it, even if she thought that Mike had seen enough violence and injury against him over the past while. She winced almost every time she saw the painful-looking cut on his forehead. Regardless, now that Winona had joined them, they were on their way, and Kasiya couldn't help but reminisce about the last time she'd climbed up Mt. Chimney. She didn't even remember why she and Mitsu were up here, but it had been where she encountered and captured her Absol, Casimir, and had sustained that nasty scar on her side in the process. That incident still gave her chills when she thought about it, even though now she'd managed to earn the Dark-type's respect, at least to a degree.

Without thinking about it her hand had been resting on the Absol's Ultra Ball for the majority of their trek, and as they closed in on the Magma base, she had no qualms with staying quite as Mike broke them down into three teams. She opened her mouth to protest the fact that she'd been stuck with Winona, but the sight of Mike in his Team Magma uniform knocked all coherent thoughts from her mind. That very moment affirmed everything, and it took almost all her willpower not to start crying right there and then. She felt a hand on her shoulder at that point and she turned to see Flannery standing behind her, wearing the same sort of mixed expression. Kasiya forced a weak smile and the two got back out of sight, like the others, as Mike approached the two men guarding the entrance. Kasiya knew this wasn't going to end well for the two guards, and she was right. Mike seemed to have lulled them into a false sense of security and then suddenly they were yanked into the ground by Nitro and Xanthos. If that weren't enough, Mike proceeded to pounce on them, viciously attacking each guard and rendering them unconscious. Kasiya whimpered and looked away, even as Mike recalled the Charizard and Crawdaunt and signaled for them to move forward. No time to be a baby, the blonde told herself, getting to her feet and preparing to head down the left corridor like Mike had said, but was abruptly stopped by Keegan, which actually scared her for a moment. She smiled, and nodded. "You too," she added, lightly touching her cheek as the redhead ran off after Mike and Titanium. She turned and looked at the purple-haired gym leader. "Let's go," she said, her voice firm and confident.

Having never been inside the Magma compound before for obvious reasons, Kasiya really didn't know what to expect. She did assume that if it was anything like the Rocket bases, it would be swarming with grunts eager to put an end to the kids' invasion. Kasiya smiled at this, as she was looking forward to mixing it up a little. I hope these guys are tougher than Team Rocket's lackeys, she thought, taking Leviathan's Pokeball from her belt and releasing the Swampert. "That security camera," the girl told the Water/Ground-type sternly, pointing up at the corner where the ceiling and wall met. "Fix it." For a moment, Levi stared at her trainer, not entirely sure what it was that she was supposed to do, but then a glimmer of understanding flashed in her eyes. The Swampert growled and sent a thick, stream of mud flying at the camera, coating it thoroughly. Kasiya furrowed her brow. "It's not fixed enough," she sighed. Levi nodded and crouched down, eying the device carefully before she sprang up and gave it a solid backhand, tearing it right from the bracket and sending it to the ground in a rain of mud and chunks of metal. "Better," the girl smiled.

=-=-=-=-=

Flannery's reaction to Mike's vicious attack on the two grunts was not unlike Kasiya's, as she flinched and looked away, remembering what he'd told her before about being afraid of him. She could hardly believe she was looking at the same boy she thought she'd known the majority of her life. This disturbed, violent young man was far from the sweet Mike she'd grown to adore. She watched as the group split up into three teams, and somewhat reluctantly she followed after Mike and Keegan, at least glad for the fact that she'd been teamed up with her two childhood friends. Why do I have the feeling that those two are going to enjoy this way too much? she thought as she released her Houndoom from his Pokeball, and she and the canine made their way down the hall, also having to avoid the pieces of broken floor that Mike's Steelix had torn up.

As predicted, Keegan didn't waste any time in starting to destroy things, and though it wasn't number one on her to do list, she figured that Team Magma deserved it, especially after all the hell they'd put Mike through. Flannery also spotted a security camera, though all she had to do was gesture towards it and her Houndoom quickly reduced it to a smoldering pile of molten metal and wires. At least to her, the destruction of Magma property wouldn't be as satisfying as sending the grunts scattering. As if they'd read her mind, one of them quickly appeared and confronted Keegan. No sooner had Keegan's Golduck taken care of the Numel than did another grunt appear, already hurling a Pokeball.

A battle-worn Golbat emerged from the sphere, its wings tattered in some places and covered in scars. It appeared to be quite bloodthirsty though, and didn't hesitate to dive at her Houndoom, wings glowing brightly for a Wing Attack. Flannery didn't even have to tell her faithful canine companion to dodge, which he did, and when the large bat came back for a second pass, Houndoom lunged at it, his fangs crackling with electricity as he bit down hard on the Golbat's midsection. It gave a pained squeal and struggled to free itself from Houndoom's hold, and when it did it was only just able to avoid the jet of fire that followed up the Thunder Fang attack.

Winona felt somewhat out of the loop when the plans were being crafted, and was confused not only to why they were splitting up, but why she was paired with Kasiya of all people. Logic would clearly put the two Gym Leaders on their own, since they were clearly the strongest trainers. However, she, like most of the other people, was too distracted by the chaotic events that had just kicked off to coherently protest. As Kasiya charged ahead, Winona was thankful for at least knowing she was with a competent partner. She recalled battling the blonde haired girl outside her Gym. Kasiya had put up quite a fight, and noting the girl's company, she could have only gotten stronger with time. Still not too keen on the whole situation, the Gym leader raced after her partner, the Pokeball to her trustworthy Tropius gripped tightly in her hand.

Catching up to Kasiya quickly, she saw the girl already starting on the whole 'destroy everything' part of the mission. "Yes, you show that mean ol' camera." Winona teased, surprised at how she could summon her usual spunk at this time. "That wasn't bad, but how about this?" Winona motioned to an assortment of tables and chairs; most likely a sort of break area and tossed a Pokeball deviously up and down. "Whirlwind!" she commanded, throwing the Pokeball at breakneck speed. With practiced grace, the saurian materialized, spun in the air and flapped his leafy wings in a single powerful stroke before softly landing on the ground. The wind rushed over the tables, effortlessly ripping them from the ground. A plastic cup full of a brown liquid could be seen among the carnage.

"My coffee!" a grunt cried, then shrieked as he rolled to the side to avoid not only the flying furniture, but the scalding liquid that dotted the windstorm. "Do you know how expensive those vending machines are?" He groaned, dusting himself off and reaching for a Pokeball of his own. "Agh, you are going to pay-Winona? What is a Gym Leader doing here?!"

"Following the orders of some stupid boy who got in over his head." Winona said, crossing her arms. "I can only assume my partner here has the same motivations." The girl tilted her head to Kasiya and her Swampert. "So, we going to get this inevitable loss of yours started or what? I haven't got all day, you know." Unnerved but not enough to flee, the grunt sent out two Pokemon of his own: a Camerupt and a Graveler. Winona, her arms still folded, looked over to Kasiya. "Might as well let you start this off. Tropius, take to the skies." With a few flaps of his wings, the dinosaur was in the air. Thankfully, the ceiling was high enough where Winona's Pokemon could still sport the aerial advantage.

------

"Alright, Napalm. It's a bit too chilly in here." Mike said, lifting his hand close to his face and creating a small fireball in it. "Burn him."

"Mag." the Pokemon agreed, raising his large arm cannons and taking aim at the Mightyena. The claws on the ends of Napalm's 'hands' sunk in as heat began to pour out from the ends. What followed was a glorious display of immolated artwork. Napalm fired out a wave of flames so large, that he had to dig his feet into the ground to avoid falling backward. The Magmortar lifted his foot and slammed it back on the ground to re-balance himself, and watched as the hyena Pokemon tried desperately to avoid the blast of fire. "Keep at it, Napalm! I want him charred!" Lifting his cannons again, the Blast Pokemon loosed another stream of fire and tracked the Mightyena as it fled. Mike laughed at the pathetic display, having entirely too much fun with watching the wolf and his trainer panic and fall apart.

The Dark Pokemon could do little more than run, as a moment of faltering would cause his entire body to be overtaken by a raging inferno. "Keep dodging Mightyena! I'll send you some help!" Reaching for another Pokeball, the Magma grunt sent out an equally matted Pidgeotto. "Incubus, take care of that-that, whatever the hell that thing is!"

"Pidga!" the bird squawked in reply before flying into the air and coming down on Napalm in a streak of white. The bird flew so fast that Napalm didn't have the time to dodge it and took a claw to the side of the face.

"Mag!" The Magmortar grunted in pain, refocusing his aim at the now fleeing Pidgeotto.Unfortunately, the bird proved much faster than the Mightyena, and easily dodged Napalm's Flamethrower. The Mightyena, realizing he was now free from being chased by the hellfire, circled around to attack the distracted Magmortar's backside.

"Behind you, Napalm!" Mike cried, his smile growing wide as his Pokemon quickly spun around, grabbed the lunging Pokemon by the face and threw him to the ground. The Mightyena howled in agony, and even moreso when Napalm followed it up with a Brick Break; bringing his arm cannon down on the Pokemon's side and knocking it out completely.

The grimer seems to be eating some sewage. This gives me an uneasy sickness in my stomach. I mean there is such a pokemon who eats bodily waste. Whoever created such a pokemon is one disgusting creature. So I flip out my pokedex to get an idea of what I am going against. Seriously, I may use him and muk as insults, but I really don't know much about them except that they stink... and I only want one because it'll make me laugh as I call someone a grimer and then beat them with one!

"Grimer, the Sludge Pokémon. It was born when sludge in a dirty stream was exposed to X-rays from the moon." The pokedex said as the grimer's face sinks into it's body and reverts it's rear into it's face. That... was... Gross!

I act as if it made me sick, and I point to the grimer as giving Zii the command to scratch his victim. Zii takes no hesitation in running straight forward! Zii laughs right as he swipes his claws to scratch, but it is stopped. This is a first. Zii's scratch was stopped by a strange move I did not know grimer could use. There is a solid purple shield swirling around grimer as Zii's claws seem to scratch a barrier. It's as if he is protecting himself in some form. I really do not understand what technique this grimer is using. No clue.

"Zii, don't let him recover! Scratch again!" I say, but to no avail. The grimer takes Zii's surprise as a weakness. The grimer jumps straight at Zii and pounds him against the wall. In no time Zii is surrounded in purple mist. I have to take a few steps back also or the enclosed area will cause the poison to hit me.

I cough a bit.

"Zii, quick attack!" I say, and Zii listens. The grimer didn't even see it coming as Zii vanishes from the mist and slams the melting sludge into the dirty water. The grimer slides across the water like a skipping stone and splats on the opposite wall.

"Good job Zii! Now, Sword Dance. Get ready to beat this thing down!" I scream as Zii spins around and flings his claws outward in a vicious pose. Sword Dance is complete. This is good! His next attack will be devastating to that piece of sludge.

I cough.



Well I wake up to a darker sky. Not totally night though. From where the sun is and how chilly it has gotten, I can only assume I've been asleep for two hours. That run really took a lot out of me. I grab Mach-Ni's pokeball and click the reference button on it's side to see how strong my trapinch is. He's at twenty five percent health. He still has many able moves left though, that's a plus. I need to get him to a Poke Center.

I manage to drag myself out from under the bush and look around to get an understanding of where I ran. I see many pidgeys sleeping in the wind rocked branches. A few rattata scurry past my legs as they fight for a single berry. I think they call it the Bitter Berry.

I think I should make it back to Pallet Town before it gets too cold. So I follow foot in front of foot and manage to make it back to route one. I do not see anymore trainers on the road. I wonder where that girl went off too. Why am I thinking of a girl anyway? I don't know, not right now anyway. Shoot, I now understand why I don't know. I have not eaten anything in ten hours. I wonder if Mach-Ni is hungry too.

I look to the pokeball and begin pressing the nob and turning it to see what the new generation of pokeballs have to offer. I see it's name, size, weight, health, techniques known, status ailments, and yes he seems to be hungry. Oh he likes bitter foods. Maybe on my way back I might find one of those berries. He should like that.

Kasiya smirked at Winona's comment, remembering then that she did find the gym leader to be a lot of fun. She never would forget the unofficial match the two of them had, quite some time ago, between her Crobat, Fang, and the very Tropius Winona had just released. Kasiya smiled fondly at the leafy dinosaur, appreciative of the whirlwind he'd used to send the furniture flying. "Nice, very nice," she said with a nod, watching the unfortunate grunt scramble. Levi had lowered herself to all fours, patiently awaiting Kasiya's next command. When she saw the Tropius take to the air, she knew exactly what to do. "I think your Pokemon are in serious need of a bath, I can smell them from here," she said, giggling a bit. "Levi, time for more fixing."

The Swampert nodded, a mischievous smirk appearing on her face. Her fins quivered slightly and the ground at her feet seemed to crack slightly as a wall of water seemingly spouted from nowhere, completely under Leviathan's control. The Swampert gave a loud roar as she willed the tsunami forward, crashing it down on top of the Camerupt and Graveler with a deafening roar. Normally, Kasiya wasn't the type of person to go out of her way to exploit severe type disadvantages, but she figured she'd see a lot of Fire-types among the Magma grunts, and since they were technically the bad guys here, they had it coming. The grunt's eyes were wide with terror and he hastily recalled his two downed Pokemon, uttering a little yelp before he turned tail and ran.

Kasiya placed her hands on her hips and pouted, a bit disappointed that it was over already. Levi sat up on her hind legs, also looking a bit disappointed. She eyed the Tropius flying high above them, then looked back to where the grunt had been standing. Three more grunts had since taken his place, and they were all glaring angrily at the two girls. Kasiya looked over at Winona and smirked. "Think we can take 'em?" she asked as three Pokemon were sent out in unison: Hitmontop, Sandslash, and Lickitung.

=-=-=-=-=

Just as I thought, he's having way too much fun, Flannery thought, shaking her head as she watched Keegan punch out one of the grunts. She figured this would turn out to be a lot like the fighting at Slateport, only in a relatively confined space with much less people. She glanced back at her Houndoom, who was getting rather annoyed by the fact that the Golbat kept dodging his Flamethrower. "Keep it up, Houndoom, they can't dodge forever," Flannery said dryly, glaring at the grunt.

"You're right, we won't dodge forever," the grunt sneered. "Golbat, Sludge Bomb attack, now!" The battle-worn bat made a gross gurgling sound before it coughed up and spat a disgusting ball of sludge at the canine.

Snarling, Houndoom danced out of the way, looking back over his shoulder at the messy sludge splatter on the floor. Still growling, his tail flicked back and forth sharply as he waited for Flannery's command. "Let's try your Beat Up," Flannery suggested, deciding to use some of her Pokemon's more interesting moves. The canine threw back his head and loosed a fearsome howl, and suddenly a dark, shadowy figure in the shape of Houndoom appeared. It gave a growl and lunged at the Golbat, tearing into it with a nasty bite. Soon, more Pokemon silhouettes appeared, taking the forms of Flannery's Magcargo, Torkoal, Camerupt, Arcanine and Rapidash. Each shadow took a turn attacking the Golbat, bringing it crashing to the ground. Houndoom didn't hesitate to finish off the downed bat, lunging forward and sinking a flaming bite into the weakened Pokemon.

The grunt recalled his Pokemon, and though he appeared to contemplate fleeing, he sent out another Pokemon - a Houndoom. The two canines eyed each other, low snarls coming from both their throats. Flannery narrowed her eyes, knowing this would be an interesting fight.

=-=-=-=-=

Mai gave Siren's Pokeball to the nurse as well, not sure she could recall how long it had been since she used a Pokemon Center on a regular basis. Generally, she relied on the Rocket base's Pokemon healing facilities, or her own medicine supply to keep her Pokemon in top condition. She nodded as Katie listed off her Pokemon, even though she wasn't quite sure which Pokemon was which. It would take a bit for her to become acquainted with the Pokemon of Sinnoh.

"I have many Pokemon," she answered, unable to hold back a smile when she saw the Buneary release itself from its Pokeball. "But with me, I have my Espeon, Blastoise, Typhlosion, Seviper, Aerodactyl, and of course, my Misdreavus." It felt a little odd to be divulging which Pokemon she carried with her to a total stranger, but it didn't bother her as much as it normally would. The girl seemed to be lost in thought for a moment, and Mai cleared her throat as she retrieved a fully-healed Siren from the nurse. "Perhaps after ice cream, we could do a little bit of training?" she suggested nonchalantly.

=-=-=-=-=

Jake frowned when he saw that Turtwig's Razor Leaf had done nothing more than cut down some of the floating Stealth Rocks (the annoying things that had caused the Tiny Leaf Pokemon damage when he'd been switched into the battle) and eliminate one of Cranidos' copies. He stared hard into the Sandstorm, trying to catch signs of any movement but he froze when he heard Roark's voice. Of course they'd use the Stealth Rocks like that, he thought, calling out a warning to Turtwig. Turtwig tried his best to dodge, but Cranidos fell like a meteor, striking for some rather good damage.

This Sandstorm will be ending soon, Jake thought hopefully, already knowing his next order. It would be hard for Cranidos to dodge now that he was so close. "Quick, Turtwig! While it's close, sap its health with an Absorb!" Turtwig was quick to comply, the leaves on his head glowing bright green as he sent out a barrage of clear bubbles that would hopefully cause some serious hurt to Cranidos, as well as restore some of the health that he had lost. Jake grit his teeth: there was no way in hell they'd fall for that Stealth Rock trick a second time.

"Ho ho ho!" Winona laughed in her usual obnoxiously overconfident manner. "What, do you think this Tropius used for, blondie? Making smoothies? I'm Winona Riviera, leader of the Fotree City Gym! I can do anything!" As quickly as the punctuation hit that proclamation, the Tropius flying high above tucked in his wings and dove down and slammed into the Hitmontop and caused the Fighting Pokemon to roll into the wall. Dazed but not out for the count yet, it stood back up and jumped into the air, landing on its head spike and spinning towards the Tropius at intense speed.

"Rapid Spin!" the Hitmontop's trainer yelled.

"Duh!" Winona replied, ordering her Tropius to take the hit and retaliate with a Body Slam. The Hitmontop scored a solid hit to the Fruit Pokemon's side, but it was all over when the saurian jumped into the air and brought down its considerable weight on the Fighting type. Winona saw the Lickitung waddling towards her Tropius in hopes to intercept and score a free hit. "Not on your fat, pink and gross life!" she shouted, throwing a Pokeball into the fight so hard it actually hit the Lickitung in the head. If the long-tongued creature thought that was the worst of it, it clearly didn't see the angry Skarmory that burst forth from the shower of light and flew towards it with glowing metal wings.

"The shrew is all yours!" The Gym Leader said to Kasiya. "Be on your guard, there might be more on their way!"

------

While Mike was very impressed with Napalm's solo actions so far, he didn't want his Pokemon to become needlessly tired out. No, no no. He had plans for them. "Another perfect chance to see a new form in action. Go Proton! Lock on to that Pidgeotto!" Mike sent out his newly evolved Magnezone, which centered its three eyes on the bird flying above.

"Oh no you don't!" the grunt yelled. "Hariyama! Force Palm that-whatever the hell that metal thing is!" The Magma grunt threw a Greatball into the mix, releasing an already charging Hariyama which raced towards the calculating Magnezone. Before it could get too close, Napalm intercepted, shoulder tackling the sumo Pokemon. The Hariyama reacted quickly, and swung his large palm at Napalm, who grabbed the hand with his claws. Surprised, the Fighting Pokemon tried the other hand, only to have that one grabbed as well.

"So," Mike said. "You really can't tell what these two evolve from? I mean, I know they look a bit different, but come on, man." He shook his head in disappointment.

"What? I don't care about your stupid fat Pokemon's earlier stages! I just want to shut you up and bring you to my boss!" Mike's eyes literally caught fire at the insult.

"Hypocrisy aside, how DARE you call my Napalm and Proton fat?" he shrieked. His body temperature began to rise, as flames began to dance on the ends of his fingertips, burning his gloves and the ends of his red armbands off. A thick black smoke began to pour from his scar.

"Woah, man." the grunt said, backing up. "Calm down. What's going on with your hands, and your head?" Ignoring his questions, Mike commanded Proton to blast the Pidgeotto out of the sky with a now locked-on Thunderbolt, and for Napalm to make sure that Hariyama's hands stayed crispy for a long while. When that was all said and done, and the grunt realized he had no more Pokemon left, he pulled out his radio. "I need backup! This kid just took out my whole team like it was nothing and now he's-holy s**t he's coming after me!" The Magma grunt hurried to turn around and run as he saw Mike, who had recalled his Pokemon and was now sprinting after him, his hands wrapped with flames that lit up the sick smile on his face.

The grunt didn't make it far. Mike threw himself on top of him and pinned him to the ground. "You won't be needing this." he said, lifting the radio and setting it on fire. Mike took in the smell of burnt plastic that permeated through the air before turning back to the trembling grunt. "Now what do I do with you?"

I have a suggestion, a voice from inside his head spoke up. Milo rose from the ground and leaned forward to inspect Mike's capture. The shadow's eyes glowed at the grunt's intense fear. Wonderful. He said with a chuckle. I think that we should teach him a lesson. Something you remember us by.

"Something permanent." Mike added.

"Who are you talking to?" the grunt asked, struggling in the boy's grip.

"Something permanent..." Mike repeated, a flash of inspiration in his eyes. "I got it!" Mike grabbed the grunt's arm, his heated hands causing the grunt's gloves to sizzle. He yelled out in pain. Mike gripped even harder, and then twisted. There was a sickly popping sound, and the grunt's wrist was successfully broken. His scream of utter agony echoed in the hall as his hand fell limp and useless. Mike sat up and observed with Milo as the man writhed in pain, still not satisfied. "Not enough!" he yelled, lifting his foot and bringing it down on the grunt's leg, and then again until yet another snap was heard and the Magma grunt had two useless limbs instead of one. Milo roared in laughter.

"You know, this was all because I wanted to keep her safe! Make the world a better place for my sweetheart, you know?" The grunt was too busy screaming in pain to reply, but Mike continued on anyway. "I didn't want all this. I just want to set things right. Hopefully I've taught you that your life with this organization will lead you to nothing but pain. However..." he looked back at the specter. "It does feel...good to teach. Very...good." Milo's dagger-like fingers danced in excitement to the remark. Mike turned his attention back to the grunt and smiled. "Just...one more..."

There was a third snap, more screams, and Mike's hysterical laughter as his victim lie helpless before him.