“What the hell is going on?” A competitor of the Battle Nexus complained. The entire stadium was in an uproar over the inability to see inside the Sand Hurricane. It was like a giant cylinder that stood five stories high into the sky. Zato began to speak.
“Please be patient, we must like them battle. I am sure that barrier will fall in a matter of moments.” Zato yelled to the crowd.
“This is insane. Why would Zach do this?” Tyler asked.
“I’m not sure. Is this a move ether of you have seen when I was gone?” Dustin asked Tyler and Nate. Tyler shook his head quickly, but Nate stared blankly into space.
Nate was debating on what to do. He promised his brother he would keep his secret, but it seemed as if the Shukaku spirit has taken over completely. Nate’s concentration was broken from Kyle.
“Look at that power Zach is using, it’s pretty impressive.” Kyle said. Nate looked back at Kyle, remembering that Kyle knew about Shukaku. He wondered if he remembered his promise to not tell anyone.
“I know what you mean.” Dustin said as he watched the giant cylinder. Nate took a step next to Kyle.
“Don’t worry,” Kyle whispered to Nate. “I won’t let anyone know.” Nate sighed as they continued to watch, and wait for something to happen.
Ryan squinted through the sand that spun around him. Fear ran through his body as he knew he was in Zach’s Domain. He felt the ground under him was sand as well. He was curious of what was happening. Zach was acting very different. His eyes were soulless, and his voice was deeper. Suddenly he heard a deep laughing in all directions around him. The laughter was dark and hollow. Ryan spun his head around rapidly, trying to find where it was originating from, but it was no use. He was lost in the small arena, and knew it was pointless to try and figure out.
“You think you can stop me? I know everyone of your moves.” The deep voice echoed in Ryan’s ears. “Having trouble seeing? Let me help.” Ryan prepared himself for anything. Suddenly the thick layer of sand flew around him began to disappear, it moved into the large walls of sand around him. He looked in front of him as he saw Zach, only different.
The bottom half of Zach’s body was covered in sand and one of his arms was already a sand covered claw. Part of his face was cover and to the form of the Shukaku Spirit. Ryan took a step back as it all made sense to him finally.
“Zach has the Shukaku Spirit in him?!” Ryan said as he took a step back. Shukaku laughed.
“That’s right. Took you long enough. But still not the last to know at the least.” Shukaku said.
“But how? When I and Zach fuse, we are able to see into each other’s minds. I would have seen you!” Ryan yelled in anger.
“Oh that’s simple. I’m not in Zach’s mind, I am attached to his soul.” Shukaku said. Ryan lowered his brow angered. “I was able to hide from you when you two fuse, and I suppressed his memory of me as well, it was very easy. I can see you’re confused, I will be kind and explain it to you Ryan, I mean we are best friends after all.” Shukaku laughed.
“You see just like in that anime, there are nine animal spirits in the world, and for hundreds of years, the Tribunal has tried to keep all of us contained. They were very successful for a long time. The host bodies were kept in suspended animation, meaning the animal spirits were stuck and couldn’t be freed. But luck shined on me and 3 other spirits about 15 years ago. You see someone broke out of the jail cell of the Tribunal basement, and came across the place were all nine host bodies were stored. The individual decided to use the host bodies as a distraction and destroyed a few of the holding tubes. Unleashing me and the others, we were ready. Even before the host bodies could awaken we began to awaken and take form. Our first target was Walkner.
“Along side me was the Nine-tailed Fox Beast, the Four-tailed Monkey Beast, and the Seven-Tailed Horned Beetle Beast as we destroyed part of the castle, and burst into the main Tribunals council area. Walkner, Mondak, and Grant were all there. They were trying to figure something out, something about a dead Tribunal guardsman. We unleashed everything we had at once. Unfortunately we weren’t prepared enough.
“That bastard Grant formed into his Pokémon form, and did some sort of defensive barrier. It blocked all of our attacks, but left him drained. Walkner and Mondak then took out two of us at once. Mondak used his own Bloodline abilities to easily incapacitate the Beatle and the Fox. The Monkey charged ate Walkner, but he summoned a giant dog and they fought in the room. The dog torn into the four-Tailed Monkey, injuring the host body. The Monkey revered back into him collapsed on the ground, near dead. The giant dog snarled at me as to charged. I was stupid for saving the other beast, but I slashed at the metal confines, but it was not quick enough. The Fox and the Beatle Spirits ran off, knowing they were not at full power, but the Dog grabbed onto my arm, and with its ripped it off.
“As I screamed in the pain, I saw the Monkey Spirits host body was still alive and began to crawl towards me. The dog Walkner summoned retreated as I saw Grant changed into a different form, and was preparing a energy blast. So I did what anyone would of done, I grabbed the Monkey’s host body and threw it in the way of the blast, destroying the body. With the host body destroyed, we animal Spirits are released into our true form, and are much more powerful. It was my chance to escape. As I ran, Grant unleashed another energy blast, striking the side of my body, injuring the host body, but I escaped in a cloud of smoke as the true form of the Monkey spirit attacked the Tribunal, and kept them distracted.
“I made my way to the portal and landed in this world. I was too weak, so I reverted back to my host body. As I saw from in him, he was mortally injured, and only had a little of time left to live. He lay on the beach, waiting for death, and I waiting for the time when I could truly be free finally! I would have been weak, but I would of hide and grew in power until I could destroy everything. But fate had other plans.
“The host body began to drag itself from his seclusion and found a man with a small boy. Once the man realized what was going to happen if I were to escape, he took the decision to incase me in his son. The host body tired to explain to him that if a Bloodline carried me, I would be able to be awakened, but the man assured him that the boy was never going to use his powers, making him nothing more then a normal human. With that, I knew I was sealed forever. The father assisted with transferring me from the host body to his young son. Moments later, the host body died. It was then Walkner appeared before them, wanting the child to put in suspended animation to ensure that I would never awaken. The father fought with Walkner verbally, trying to save his son. Walkner criticized him for putting his son in the position he had, tethering his life to mine, but the father explained if he didn’t I would have been freed when the original host body died. Walkner made the man swore his son would not learn the arts of his Bloodline. Walkner then disappeared. I was trapped in the soul of a powerless boy. I was enraged, and was lost in the void of nothingness!
“But I was given a second chance, when Landon, that immortal idiot awakened all the Bloodlines in the world. It took some time, but I have been slowly growing in power, and although in some instances he was able to control my power, but finally I have taken control!” Shukaku cackled into the air.
Ryan grinded his teeth in anger. Part at Shukaku, part at Zach’s father. He wondered what other secrets the Tribunal was hiding. But Ryan had more to worry about. His best friend was trapped, and Shukaku was growing more powerful every minute. He was worried that he wasn’t going to be able to stop him, but that wouldn’t derail him. He would try until his last breath, even if he had to take his own life.
“So you know my history, so its time for me to play around a bit, giving me time to power up enough to take care Dustin, Tyler, and Nate. Once I destroy everyone here at the Battle Nexus dimension I can bide my time and become more powerful, and then be able to shed this husk of a body, and achieve my true 100% power form, and go back to Earth, and destroy it!” Shukaku laughed into the sky demonically.
Ryan gripped his fist and his body began to tremble. Suddenly the Mystic Art patterns began to glow across his body. Shukaku looked back at his opponent and smirked.
“Oh no, your Mystic Art, I’m so scared.”
“Shut up,” Ryan’s voice said deeper. Shukaku’s smirk grew to an irritated stare. “I am sick of hearing your plans for World Domination. You sound like a sad excuse for a cartoon villain,” Ryan looked up at Shukaku, a dark smirk on his face as the Mystic Art patterns grew brighter. “Looks like I have to be the fearless hero to take out the bad guy then.”
Ryan ran forward towards Shukaku. He opened his hands up and formed two clay Kunai and held them like the real weapon. Shukaku roared in the sand cylinder and launched out a strand of sand with a claw at the end of it. Ryan jumped over it, and stabbed it with one of the Kunai. Ryan landed on the ground as the sand strand turned around and chased him. A wall of sand formed from the ground a few feet in front of Ryan, Shukaku was trying to block him off so the sand claw could get him. Ryan threw his other Kunai and it was stuck into the wall. Suddenly the wall blew up and crumbled into a million pieces. Shukaku growled at that as Ryan continued to run towards him, but Shukaku could see the sand claw was almost on him.
“By time he activates the Kunai, the claw will grab him, and he will be blow apart as well.” Shukaku laughed as in a blink of an eye the sand claw blew up behind him. Ryan jumped over Shukaku as Shukaku gasped in confusion of how the sand claw exploded without Ryan verbally activating it.
“I’m sorry Zach, but I have no choice, I have to show no mercy,” Ryan said as he landed on the ground and placed his hands on the sand ground. “MYSTIC ART!” Ryan yelled as he prepared to summon his Clay Dragon. Shukaku chuckled lightly.
“I didn’t think you were that foolish.” Shukaku laughed as the ground below Ryan began to rumble and a fist made of sand burst out form under him, launching him back. Ryan yelled in pained as he hit the wall of sand and skid down back to the ground. “Your Mystic Art takes too much time, and there is not a surface here that is not sand. If your ace in the hole was that, then you’re doomed!” Shukaku laughed more as more and more sand began to cover him and Ryan grinded his teeth. He had one chance to take out Shukaku, and it failed, and it was impossible to summon his dragon in his current environment. Hope was quickly fading as Shukaku’s laughed echoing into his ear, and his hopeless body.
