*Cedric's POV*

*Supernatural Bastion, B1F*

"This place is so dark..." I said, my eyes straining to see anything but the glow of Charizard's fiery tail.

"And..." Photon tried, in vain, to light the area with Flash, but, each time he tried, the glow died out within seconds.

"And I can't light up the place, either. It's like there's some sort of magical barrier stopping me from doing so. Do you think Spectre had planned for our coming here? It's like it was ready and planned accordingly..."

The thought of being outfoxed by that puppet in this creepy place sent a chill down my spine. I couldn't see much besides whatever wall Charizard was walking next to, but I was able to get the general feel of the area:

The walls and the floor were made of solid stone, like the style used in olden-day prisons. The ceiling was arched, making the place look like suspiciously like a crypt. Each part of the wall was painted a solid black color, and every brick seemed to drip with malice. I could hear a trickle of some liquid behind me. By the overpowering smell, I figured that it was most likely blood. Besides the scent of blood, the air was thin and devoid of much oxygen, making it both hard and extremely uncomfortable to breathe. The entire place was deathly quiet, as if sound didn't exist inside the walls of this fortress.

Then, when Risk spoke, his voice bounced all around me, due to the curved acoustics of the cavern. It was definitely unsettling to hear his voice from every possible direction,

"Wait..." He held his paw out, and the entire group stopped.

"I can feel the Aura of something... Something really big! Proceed with caution, everyone!" he said, and we cautiously eyed the next room, unsure of what to expect.

*Supernatural Bastion, B2F*

"Something seems off about the next room. I'll check it out," I volunteered.

"Not without support, you're not," Photon scolded me, pulling a long rope out of his pack. Before I could ask what he was doing, he tied it to my foot and said,

"Just in case..."

Nobody could come up with a better plan, so I shrugged and took a few dozen steps inside.

After about thirty seconds, I felt like somebody was grabbing my insides and twisting. I just managed to choke out,

"Why does the air suddenly feel... So... So sickening?!"

"Pull him back!" Felix shouted.

Coughing, I felt the rope drag me by my foot out of the room. I took a large breath of "fresh air." My lungs appreciated being able to filter out whatever gas was in that room with the cavern's natural air, regardless of how uncomfortable it was.

"What happened in there?!" Risk implored. He grabbed a Lum Berry from his pack and stuck the tip of it in my mouth. The sweet taste of the berry was enough to revive me, and I pushed it out my mouth with my tongue.

"Well?" he asked again.

"I... I really don't know what was inside there, but I think it was the air itself. It felt like it was killing me from the inside out..."

"Poison gas..." Photon cursed.

"What a despicable way to fight- killing without even knowing it's there..."

"Poison gas?" I asked the Ampharos.

"It was a terrible, terrible thing that Sophia told me about from her history books. Some of the humans used it on each other during a war. The death toll was absolutely astounding!"

"You're sure this is 'poison' gas, right?" Felix asked, shifting his wings to avoid hitting the top of the corridor with them.

"Positive. Nothing else can so easily damage from the inside like that," the Ampharos replied.

"Steel-types are immune to poison of all forms- included with that is the 'poison gas' that Photon is referring to. Alpha, Beta..." Felix turned to the two Mawile.

"Can you two see what's in that room for us? Try to find a way to get rid of the poison gas- it won't harm you guys, but prolonged exposure will definitely kill us- Riku can attest to that. However, I fear that if we stay here too long, the gas will disperse from that room and flood the corridor, killing us. Hurry now, and good luck."

"Will do!" Beta replied.

"Come on, Brother. We've got a job to do!" They turned to the room ahead and began to walk.

"Wait," Risk called out,

"Take this with you- I... I just feel like you could use it." The Riolu held out his paw and gave Alpha the Mawilite to hold onto.

Beta gave him a thumbs-up, and I watched as the two Mawile disappeared into the room in front of us. I couldn't help but wonder if they would be OK...

*Alpha's POV*

What on earth could be in here that's causing this "poison gas," anyway? I wonder...

Before I could finish my thought, a row of torches along the wall ignited themselves, eerily illuminating the chamber. It looked like a large blackened temple, complete with large obsidian pillars on each side and stairs leading upward to a throne of dark purple fabric. The only light were the slowly-dimming torches that had mysteriously been lit.

Immediately, I looked around for anyone who could possibly have sneaked into the room behind us, but I didn't see anything, even after I checked behind every last black pillar and ruled out all possible hiding places in the chamber.

Then, I heard satirical laughing coming from the throne above us.

"Kekekek! You won't find me if you look for me over there!" the voice said.

"I'm up here, where a Ghost belongs- in control of this place!"

Quickly, Beta and I ascended the stairs in front of us, and Gengar's ugly purple body materialized on top of the throne.

"Oh, what a let-down! I thought I sent an invitation to everyone, but I guess only two of you could make it to the party down here... Was the poison gas too much for the others? Oh wait, I know what you're looking for. It must be this, isn't it?"

Gengar held up a small bracelet with a marble-like gemstone etched into its surface.

"I have a hunch that neither of you know what this is, but I can guarantee that it's the last thing you'll see!"

The Pokemon laughed in maniacal glee as a small marble slowly appeared in one of its shadowy hands.

"You recognize this, don't you?" Gengar taunted us. As much as I hated to admit that the Ghost was right, the object did look familiar.

It looks kind of like the Mawilite! But if that one's meant for Mawile, then the object Gengar's holding...

"This is not good at all..." I whispered to Beta. Before she could respond, Gengar threw a Shadow Ball at the ground between the two of us, and I jumped back in alarm.

"Kekekek! Speak up, Alpha- the whole class wants to hear!"

Ignoring Gengar's nonsensical remarks, I turned back to Beta and said, as calmly as I could,

"That thing that its got there looks like another version of this..." I held out my Mawilite, concealed behind my hand in such a way that Gengar couldn't see it, but Beta could.

"But it didn't do much when you held it..." she said.

"Remember what Felix said about it? 'Hmmm... It doesn't seem to be working... Oh, wait a second- we need a Key Stone!' I have a hunch that the bracelet Gengar has is this 'Key Stone...'"

"Be quiet, both of you, and bask in the power... The true power of the Dark Arts!" Gengar shouted and touched its Mega Stone to the bracelet.

Instantly, the room was filled with a white light, and Beta and I were thrown back by some sort of radiant explosion emanating from Gengar. Still dazed, Beta and I looked back at Gengar, but what we saw wasn't the obnoxious purple Ghost- it was far worse.

Gengar's arms tripled in size, and a large yellow eye had grown on its forehead. The bracelet shattered, and the Key Stone rolled across the floor. Gengar kicked the tiny object, and it sailed away behind a few pillars.

I turned my attention back to "Gengar,"

What...? What IS that?! My mind raced, and I began to tremble uncontrollably in fear of whatever monstrosity Gengar had just turned into.

Gengar laughed, and its voice was replaced with an infernal sound that I never thought was possible,

"Do you like it? This is Mega Evolution- the absolute pinnacle of raw power! And now..." Gengar's grin widened to practically its entire face, and part of its body sank into the shadows on the ground,

"This is the end of the road for the both of you!"

Immediately, Gengar pounded the ground with its now-muscular arms, and numerous piles of rubble began to fall from the ceiling. I tried to focus on both Gengar and the debris, but I just couldn't react to both fast enough- while I was focused on destroying a piece of ceiling before it landed on Beta's head, Gengar punched me with an enormous fist, and I was out by the time I even saw the ghostly hand grab me.

*Beta's POV*

I saw Alpha crumple to the floor in front of me, and my muscles tensed.

Why... Why you little! My body coursed with resentment towards the Ghost, and I promptly picked up a piece of rubble in my horn jaw and chucked it at Gengar, who simply laughed and punched the rock to bits in a fraction of a second.

"Kekekek! Those puny attack aren't going to even faze me! Could you try just a little harder?" Gengar laughed, forming an enormous Shadow Ball in its right hand and throwing it at me like it weighed nothing at all. Before I could get out of the way, Gengar's dark orb of energy hit me square in the chest and knocked the wind out of me. I could still stand, but the force of the blow sent me reeling backwards into the nearest obsidian pillar.

I looked to my immediate right, and, conveniently, this pillar happened to be where the Key Stone had been hidden behind. I bent down to pick up the iridescent marble, and, suddenly, I had an idea.

This is what makes the Mega Stones work, right? What about the one Alpha had? Maybe I can activate it with this!

Another Shadow Ball from Gengar eradicated the pillar behind me, and it roared, angrily,

"You can run, but you can NEVER HIDE! Kekekek!"

Wish me luck, Alpha! I thought, running past his unconscious body and grabbing the Mawilite from his outstretched hand in the same motion.

This had better work! was the only thing I was worried about as I touched the two objects together...

...

A brilliant flash of light surrounded me, and I could feel the power of the stone numbing my body. I closed my eyes and waited for what would happen next.

When I opened my eyes again, the light had disappeared, and I felt much stronger than before. I tried moving my arms, my legs, and my horn-jaw. Everything seemed to respond normally.

I don't feel any different... What did... I stopped when I caught my reflection in a small puddle of water on the ground. I was amazed by what I saw- my horn-jaw had split into two!

No... No way! There's... two of them?! Could I be just imagining this?

Nervously, I tried to move this second horn-jaw, and it followed my every move just as easily as the first.

I looked at Gengar again, who suddenly didn't seem so threatening anymore, and ran towards it at full speed.

Gengar's left hand reached out and grabbed me. The floor changed colors to a jet black below me. Then, I realized,

It's trying to pull me into the shadows!

Completely without thinking, I bit down into the ghostly arm, and Gengar screeched in pain. I was about to let go of the arm and charge at Gengar, but I knew that I needed to finish this now.

Anger was the only emotion of my face as I commanded my second horn-jaw to bite down harder and pull back. Surprisingly, my plan worked, and it ripped Gengar's arm clean off its socket. I was shocked to see that no blood, and, instead, a dark purple liquid, spewed out from the wound.

"Now," I faced down the wounded Ghost,

"It's my turn!" I yelled, lunging at the Pokemon and ramming both horn-jaws right through its face. Gengar's skin gave way quicker than jelly, and it gave one last,

"Kek kek... kek..." before exploding into a pile of purple gunk. I watched as every speck of the goo slowly dispersed and disappeared into the floor.

I was about to rush back to Alpha and help him, but a small marble shining on the floor caught my eye. Picking it up, I rolled the object around in my hand and realized that it was Gengar's Mega Stone. A smile slowly crossed my face.

Never again will this infernal object ever be used like it just was! I had made up my mind, throwing it to the floor and crushing it underneath my foot. The shattering sound echoed throughout the entire room, and the sound felt like music to my ears.

It's gone... It's finally gone!...

I looked over at Alpha and began to walk towards him again.

I'll just carry him back- I'm sure he won't mind. However, when I was within arms' length of him, I began to feel an overwhelming sense of drowsiness. Despite my best efforts to remain awake, I soon passed out right next to Alpha.

At least the poison gas is going away... I have a feeling Gengar was the source of it... I thought, the torches dimming at the same pace as my eyelids.