(Third Person POV)

It was a dark and cloudy day in Almia, one of those days where it felt like it could start raining any moment. It was depressing, and the atmosphere was thick. Several people had a bad feeling about today, and they weren't sure why. Although.... They were right to be suspicious.

BOOM!

The second explosion went off at the Ranger Union, sending everyone into yet another uproar. This time, the explosion came from the second floor.

"Hah!" The burly man with yellow hair chuckled evilly, staring over at Keith with a taunting glare. "Gahaha! It's going like we plan, our plan! Fool you good did I do, hey?" The thick-skinned idiot laughed right at Keith's face. "I was playing at decoying! For you, to upstairs going is too late!"

Keith narrowed his eyes at the buffoon; he had had enough of this creep. First, he kidnapped Wendy and forced Keith to trade him the Yellow Gem for her, their last chance at counteracting the Shadow Crystal, and now he's invading the Ranger Union?

That. That was the last straw.

As much as Keith wanted to slug Heath across the face for hurting his friend, he had to go upstairs to investigate that second explosion. Plus, he was just slightly out-matched.

Slightly.

Hey, being a Top Ranger for eight months really paid off; Keith had grown some muscle. And he had gotten a little taller with age.

The red-head in question readied his Styler and dashed up the escalator to the second floor, listening to the sound of Heath's evil cackle coming from downstairs.

When he arrived at the top, he saw that he had just walked into the wrong place at the wrong time.

Up against the wall were Isaac, Rhythimi, Professor Hastings, Chairperson Erma, Murph, Sven, and Wendy. On the right side of the room was a huge gaping hole in the wall, and both Ice and Lavana were standing in front of it. They were both packing heat with their pistols obviously showing on their belts. Standing behind them were at least ten Dim Sun minions, also armed and VERY dangerous looking, unlike the average Dim Sun goon Keith had dealt with previously.

Lavana drew a gun from her pink belt and pointed it right at Keith's head, growling a little under her breath. "You again... Get over to that side of the room with your friends, and don't you dare try anything!" Lavana hissed with her anger seething through her teeth.

Keith hesitated before complying, knowing fully well that they were outnumbered. He put his hands up into the air and cautiously approached the group of hostages, joining his coworkers in being sitting ducks. Rangers weren't permitted to use violence and weapons, so Team Dim Sun had the upper hand here.

"I'm not letting you take Isaac!" Wendy stood protectively in front of Isaac, even with her right arm broken and in a sling. "He's staying right here where he belongs!"

Isaac flashed Wendy a sad smile, then looked over at Ice with a melancholy expression. "Ice, I'm never going back to Altru!" He stood tall and strong, standing his ground.

Ice sighed, pretending to be disappointed. "Professor Isaac, weren't we once colleagues who worked alongside each other? Why, I learned how to operate software from you. Didn't I also share my candies with you?" Ice took a casual step forward, making Isaac cautiously draw back a little.

Isaac's face twisted with frustration and anger, a rare emotion demonstrated by him. He grabbed Rhythimi's hand to give him courage to speak up, and the two blondes held onto each other's hand tightly, not daring to let go. "You tricked me, saying it was for the good of society and peace! It was completely the other way around!" Isaac wore a pained look, his voice rising in volume. "I was lied to, over and over! I'm never going back there again! I have a job as a Research Scientist here at the Ranger Union now!"

Ice just scoffed, brushing off the blonde's accusation. "Honestly, I wouldn't know or care much about peace among Pokemon. I do know that people will be able to live easier than now. You do understand that we are a very peace-oriented organization, correct?" He stuffed his hands into his pockets, turning his head slightly to the side to look at Isaac.

Isaac tried to blink back his shock when he could have sworn he saw Ice's blue eyes flash red.

"That's a complete lie!" Sven growled, stepping up next to Wendy. He placed a hand on her shoulder, glaring across the large room at Ice. "Peace-oriented organization? You just blasted a hole in the Ranger Union's wall!"

Professor Hastings scowled at the inferior Dim Sun scum that stood before him. "You blast a hole in the Ranger Union HQ's wall, and yet you claim to be peaceful? That's stretching the truth beyond the breaking point. We'll have your lot pay for the damage." He placed both hands atop of his cane, tapping it on the ground firmly.

"Not having much success, are we?" Lavana let out an impatient sigh, shifting her weight from one leg to another.

"Handling matters in a manner befitting a gentleman takes time, my dear." Ice flashed his comrade an annoyed look, gritting his teeth. His eyes flashed red again when he glared at Lavana.

Lavana just scoffed, flipping her pink ponytail. "You call this being a gentleman?" Lavana pointed at the hostages across the room, then shook her head in a disappointed manner.

Lavana was about to say something else when she was suddenly interrupted by a different Dim Sun minion who came running up the escalator from the bottom floor.

"ABORT MISSION! ABORT MISSION! I REPEAT, ABORT MISSION!" The Dim Sun goon panted heavily, running over towards Ice and Lavana. "With all due respect sir, ma'am---" He looked over at both Ice and Lavana. "---we need to get out of here RIGHT NOW!" His voice was shaky and panicked, demonstrating an intense amount of fear.

Ice's face contorted into the most confused look ever. "What...? What is the matter?" He was so caught off guard that his red eyes faded back to blue.

The Dim Sun minion shivered as if he was having a flashback. "I don't know what KIND of backup these Rangers have, but it's seriously hardcore!" He frantically began his report, alarming the Ranger Union members. "Some crazy chick came busting in through the front door, and she knocked out all of our men! She even managed to subdue Heath! He's out cold!"

Ice and Lavana's eyes widened in shock, immensely surprised by that last tidbit of information. Some girl managed to knock out Heath? Of all people!?

The Rangers were just as shocked too. What back up...? They didn't have any back up, so who---

The lights began to flicker alarmingly, and a huge gust of wind blew into the room from the escalator. It created an ominous feeling in the room, as if some crazy powerful and supernatural force was coming. The clicks of a woman's high heels filled the air, and everyone cautiously tore their eyes away from one another and stared in the direction of the escalator. A familiar young woman accompanied by a Mightyena stepped into the room, and the lights experienced a harsh power surge. The lights came back on, and everyone stared in shock at who it was.

Ice took a few steps backwards, accidentally bumping into a decorative vase on a pedestal. The sound of it shattering on the floor broke the spell in the room, and Ice stared at the woman. "Rena..."

"Hello, Ice." She smirked, chuckling under her breath in a sinister way. "Remember me?"

Rhythimi, Isaac, and especially Keith had no words. They couldn't process this; it just couldn't be her. Was it her? Was it really her? What was she doing here? And how does she know Ice? Millions of questions without answers swirled inside their minds, only resulting in confusing them more.

Rena wore a twisted evil grin, slowly taking a step or two into the room. Her Mightyena had his fur standing straight up, and he snarled at everyone with a toothy expression. Every last drop of Rena's sanity had evaporated.

Lavana shook her head in disbelief, taking a step back. "I-It...it can't be!" Lavana gasped, and the blood drained from her face. It looked like she had seen a ghost, and in her mind, she did. "I... I shot you! You're dead!"

This news shocked the Ranger Union workers and staff, but they remained quiet and kept watching the scene unfold before them.

"Oh, yes. I believe I vaguely remember something like that happening." Rena bitterly spat out her sarcasm at Lavana, then gave an evil laugh at the end. "But then again, it is all just a blur to me. You did leave me there to die, after all."

You could hear Lavana loudly gulp from anxiety.

Rena was dressed in a black jumpsuit with twin gun holsters strapped around her thighs, and two pistols rested inside of them. Strapped to her back was a strange looking, solid black staff that no one in the room recognized. It looked slightly mechanized, but it didn't have a blade or sharpened point at the end like most staffs did. She wore high-heeled black boots, and overall she looked like a complete psychopath that no one would dare mess with.

Keith stared breathlessly at Rena from across the room, feeling a mixture of emotions swirling inside of him. Anger, betrayal, distress, sadness, regret, and---love... He didn't know what to think.

Rena caught a glimpse of the people who were once her friends, but quickly tore her eyes away from them. She couldn't get distracted now.

Not when she has gotten so far. Nothing would keep her from getting her revenge now.

No one double crosses Rena Arisa Deveraux and lives to tell the tale.

She took a step forwards, intimidating Lavana. The pink-haired woman quickly snapped her head to her left, glaring at the Dim Sun minions. "Well don't just stand there like morons! GET HER!"

The Dim Sun goons all looked at each other for help, having a mental agreement to attack the 'intruder' all at once. The ten or so men and women charged at Rena, bearing different weapons. Some had guns, some had knives....and then there was one crazy guy who brought a Katana to the fight.

The hostages all looked over at Rena in shock, wondering what was about to happen next. All but three of these people had never seen this woman before, and none of them knew what she was really capable of.

Her Mightyena began charging a dark pulse, stepping forwards menacingly. Rena smirked evilly, drawing her weapon from the strap on her back and swiftly spinning it around to point it menacingly at them. "Bring it on."

The first two guys charged at her with knives, brave enough to be the first to attack. Rena gripped her black staff and held it horizontally, then pressed a red button on the center.

A loud clanging noise erupted from her staff as it extended itself to the other side of the room, attaching itself to both ends of the wall horizontally and locking into place. It essentially created a make-shift balance beam that was waist-high, running from one side of the second floor to the other, separating the hostages on the left side of the room from the bad-guys on the right. Rena placed her hands onto her now extended staff, pushing herself high up enough into the air to kick the first guy straight in the head. He fell to the floor, and the second guy charged at Rena, holding his knife up and ready to use it. She pushed down onto her staff, cart-wheeling herself over to the hostage side of the room. The Dim Sun goon's slash attack missed, and Rena grabbed his head and slammed it down onto the as staff as hard as she could.

CLANG!

Both minions were collapsed onto the floor, either knocked out or agonizingly groaning as they were on the verge of blacking out.

Everyone in the room stared at Rena in shock for a second, and then complete and utter chaos broke out. Rena's Mightyena shot shadow balls and unleashed powerful dark pulses at anyone who dared to try and sneak up behind Rena, while she delivered blows to everyone else left and right. A fist to the face here, a kick to the gut there...this was nothing new for Rena. As seconds ticked by, the count of unconsciously Dim Sun goons sprawled out on the floor went up.

One Dim Sun minion came at Rena with a gun in her hand, but she didn't even get to point it at her before she grabbed it and slammed it up into her face. Rena placed her hands around the back of her head and slammed it down onto her knee, then came back down on the square of her back with her elbow.

SLAM!

BAM!

She wasn't conscious for much longer after that.

Keith, Rhythimi, and Isaac, Rena's former 'friends,' stared at her in complete shock. They knew Rena was violent, had a temper, and could be somewhat unpredictable, but they never knew she was capable of this. Rena's fighting skill and evil demeanor was just another painful reminder that they really never did know their 'friend' at all. She was a stranger to them, and nothing more. She lied to them about who she was, and then back-stabbed them.

And for that, Keith could never forgive her.

Isaac and Rhythimi were still left a little in the dark about Rena's disappearance, because every time they asked him what happened to her, Keith would suddenly grow very angry, violent, and depressed. They knew she got close to the three of them with her lies, then stole something important from Keith's father, but they never found out why or what it was. Keith didn't know either, but he didn't really care at the same time. She lied to him, and she lead him on. He was a fly in her spider web, and he got caught up in it regrettably.

Lavana watched in panic as many more members of her crimson unit were dropping like flies, and she desperately made eye contact with the last one standing. "You!" She pointed to the red-haired girl. "Don't just stand there waiting for your turn. Kill that blonde girl!"

Rhythimi's blood chilled when she realized Lavana meant to kill her. Why her!? Why did Lavana want a mere Operator dead?

But what she didn't realize was this was Lavana's attempt to distract Rena long enough to kill her off for good this time.

Rena glanced over her shoulder and narrowed her eyes in anger when she saw the Crimson unit girl point a knife at Rhythimi's heart. "Oh no you don't...!"

Rhythimi flinched in shock as she watched Rena run right at the Crimson unit member at top speed and completely tackle her out of the way, slamming the girl onto the floor.

WHAM!

"OUCH!" The Crimson unit girl shrieked her shrill, whiny voice, glaring at Rena on top of her. "You bitch! Get off of me!"

Rena gritted her teeth as she felt the girl thrust her knife into her left arm, inflicting a decent-sized gash in her flesh. The girl used Rena's momentary distraction to shove her off of her and get the upper hand, pinning Rena down to the ground this time.

"Ugh... I hate getting stabbed." Rena gripped her wound with her hand, feeling the blood begin to ooze through the cracks of her fingers. "Alright... Now it's time for you to get off!" She used her legs to deliver one strong kick to the girl's stomach, launching her a good distance from Rena.

"Oof!"

SLAM!

Rhythimi stared at Rena in complete astonishment. There she was: her former best friend. She was standing two feet in front of her, gripping a bleeding gash on her arm. Her eyes slightly watered from the guilt she felt. Because of her, Rena got hurt. But then again...

She was too angry at her to feel the guilt for much longer.

Rena leveled her malevolent glare with the Crimson unit bitch, who was now standing back up and glaring right back at her. Rena advanced, despite her injury, and began throwing kicks and punches at the girl. She was able to instantly deflect almost all of Rena's attacks and land some of her own, but pretty soon, Rena got fed up of dancing back and forth with this girl and not getting anywhere.

Rena reached out and gripped the girl's shoulders, staring into her startled eyes. "Sorry, but I don't have time for this right now!"

Rena used all of her strength whirl the girl around and thrust her into the wall behind her, and she flinched slightly when she heard the girl's head come into contact with the wall. Hard. Her crippled body slid down to the floor, and the knife weakly fell out of her hand.

Now tuned back into her surroundings, Rena darted her eyes over to the three screaming guys running right at her, and Mightyena was too preoccupied with someone else to come help.

She didn't want to use her pistols, because that would involve killing someone, so what other weapon did she have---

Rena turned around to face the group of hostages right behind her, who were just staring at her curiously. They watched as a deep smirk crept up onto her face as she made eye contact with the reflection of her in her black staff that was still extended to act as a balance beam.

Swiftly, Rena flipped herself up onto the staff like a skilled gymnast, achieving complete balance on the narrow beam. It took great skill to stand up on a balance beam like that, and while wearing high heeled boots. As each guy came right at her and the hostages, Rena defended both them and herself by throwing kicks to their shoulder blades and faces whenever they would get close enough. She spun around in circles and did no-handed cartwheels back and forth across the staff to get around, dodging the minions attacks and delivering some of her own.

When the three men were either knocked out or just gave up and stayed down after sustaining their injuries, Rena did a back flip into the invisible pen the hostages were standing in.

Rena spun around on her heel and whipped her hair around as she faced Chairperson Erma directly. "Sorry this is taking so long. I didn't anticipate I would have to pummel this many morons..." She stared off at Mightyena fighting off two girl minions with dark pulse attacks, getting ready to go and join him.

Chairperson Erma remained completely calm and just waved her off. "Oh, take your time. No rush here."

Everyone else just gave Chairperson Erma an odd look for her nonchalance about the whole situation and Rena's actions, especially the boys.

Rena leapt back over her staff and ran over to cover Mightyena's back side, and she started fighting the remaining minions.

Well...

...except for one.

Rena was too busy punching yet another goon in the face to notice the other guy wielding a Katana high above his head sneaking up on her.

Rhythimi watched as he raised the sword's blade high above Rena's head, and she reacted quickly. She lunged forwards out of the crowd of hostages, looking directly at Rena. "RENA!" The brunette looked over at Rhythimi with an astounded expression, in mid-punch. "LOOK OUT FOR THE GUY BEHIND YOU!"

Rena, confused as ever, turned around just in time to see the blade coming down towards her. She barely ducked out of the way in time and felt the air that the blade had cut through blow back towards her.

This Dim Sun goon was quick, and clearly was trained to use such a blade. He quickly recovered and made a break for her face, but Rena swiftly leapt out of the way, letting the Katana become embedded in the wall. As the Dim Sun goon worked on drawing his blade from the wall, Rena quickly ran up to her staff and pressed the red button again, shrinking her weapon back down to a five-foot long staff. She gripped it and spun around just in time to block the Katana with her staff, preventing him from slashing at her.

They went back and forth with their weapons, trying to attack the other and blocking the attacks. They would occasionally reach out and slug each other in the gut and deliver a blow to the face, both fighters taking hits. As a last resort, Rena pushed the red button again, extending her staff vertically this time. It latched onto the floor and the ceiling, and Rena jumped backwards out of the way of another slash attack.

She fell to the floor, then rolled onto her side. The sharp, steel blade came crashing down inches away from her face, and Rena quickly jumped up off of the ground. She ran over to the other side of her staff and prepared herself to get a running start. She gripped it and jumped into the air, the swung herself around the extended staff and slammed her sharpened heeled boots right into his face.

BAM!

The Dim Sun goon groaned on the tile floor, clutching his bloody head.

Getting kicked in the head like that wasn't exactly painless.

Rena made a swift landing onto the floor, then stood up and made her way over to him. She delivered the final blow to his head with her fist, knocking him out.

There...she did it. That was the last one.

Rena slowly tilted her head up to level her glare directly at Ice. She wiped away the blood from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand, glaring intensely at the Dim Sun leaders.

"So, where were we?" Rena smirked, gripping her black staff tightly and shrinking it back down once again.

Lavana's lip quivered with fear as she looked at all of the unconscious minions, realizing that Rena was the one with the upper hand here.

They were outnumbered. Rena alone counted as an army of one thousand.

Trying not to show her fear, Lavana chuckled darkly to herself and stared down at the floor. "Oh, you little fool..." Her sinister laugh chilled everyone's blood. "Time to take over this persuasion act and do it in a dirty, despicable way. Like this, for instance!"

Lavana snapped her fingers, and as if on cue, a Dim Sun minion entered the Ranger Union's second floor through the gaping hole blasted through the wall, and he stepped up to the Sinis Trio member while holding onto the collar of a little girl.

The Ranger Union member's eyes all widened in absolute terror, watching as Lavana grabbed Ice's gun off of his belt and snatched the girl's shirt collar. It was Isaac's sister...

Melody.

She smirked devilishly over at the hostages, knowing fully well that she had the upper hand now. She didn't even have finger on the trigger; it wasn't necessary. It was just the mere thought of what Lavana could do to Melody that scared Isaac and the others.

She continued to point her gun at the hostages while she shoved the barrel of Ice's gun into Melody's head. She pulled the little girl in front of her so Rena could clearly see her, hoping this would get her to back off.

"Don't move!" Lavana laughed crazily. "Make one more move towards me and I pull the trigger!" The click of the gun getting ready to fire reached everyone's wars, causing them all to panic.

"Lavana, I don't think---" Ice tried to stop her, but it was no use. Her sanity was far gone.

"SHUT UP! EVERYBODY JUST SHUT UP!" Lavana shrieked, laughing like a crazy person. She had blown her top and finally lost it. Lavana looked back over at the crowd of hostages, feeding off of their horrified looks.

Rena's eyes widened in shock, staring at Melody. The little girl she had once bonded with stared right back at her, trembling with fear.

"Big sister! Help!" Melody cried, squirming in Lavana's grip. She looked so scared and on the verge of tears.

That nickname... It...it was the one she gave Rena a long time ago. The one she gave her because she felt Rena really was her big sister.

A tiny spark went off inside of Rena's head, and the dark, cloudy revenge that had been blocking Rena's sight began to clear away just a little bit at the sound of Melody's voice.

A little bit of her sanity had returned.

Rena looked at Isaac, noticing him flash her a pleading look, despite his indifference towards her. She looked back over at Lavana, who had literally gone crazy.

She had to stay strong and show no weakness. Lavana was tugging at the puppet strings, trying to see which one did what. If she showed weakness for Melody, there was no doubt that Lavana would kill her. There was no such thing as "too far" for Lavana.

Rena carefully set her staff down on the ground, then put her hands up in the air. Lavana seemed satisfied with this move. "Now, Lavana... Let Mel---I mean, let the little girl go. Your quarrel is with me, not her." Rena tried to persuade the psychopath to see reason, but she had a strong feeling that it wasn't going to work.

"Ahah! No can do." Lavana chuckled evilly under her breath, tightening her grip on Melody's shoulder. "You either leave right now, or I kill her. I'm not giving you a choice besides those two." Lavana smirked, knowing she had won.

"Alright then." Rena sighed, looking up at Lavana through her bangs that had slightly dusted over her eyes. "It looks like you give me no choice."

And it was at this very moment that time seemed to slow down.

The very moment when Rena reached for one of her pistols resting in its holster.

Isaac widened his eyes in shock and lunged forward a little, and Rhythimi had to hold him back. "RENA, NO---!"

BLAM!

The gun shot echoed throughout the entire building, making the entire room fall quiet. The sound of a body crashing to the floor was soon heard, and a pained cry that sounded almost animal-like followed right after.

"AAAAIIIIIIIIIIIYEEEEEEEEEE!"

Lavana crippled to the ground, clutching her bloody hand that was once holding a gun. "YOU BITCH! YOU SHOT ME!" She glared up at Rena with a look of contempt, enduring severe pain.

Rena just shrugged, shoving her pistol back into the holster strapped to her right thigh. "You shot me first."

Melody grabbed both Lavana and Ice's discarded guns off of the floor and ran over to Rena, leaping into her arms. Rena accepted the hug and embraced her tightly, running a hand through her hair. She took the two guns from Melody and wedged them both in-between her tool belt and jump suit, then continued to embrace Melody tightly.

Rena smiled into Melody's shoulder, mumbling her next sentence so quietly that only Melody would hear it. "You did great, kiddo. You were so brave, and I am so proud of you. I told you that you could stand up for yourself if you just let yourself try."

Rena's words made the little girl smile, and Melody wrapped her arms tightly around her neck. "I've missed you so much, big sister..."

Isaac stood there completely shell-shocked. Melody was okay? Phew... Isaac didn't know what he would do if he had lost her.

He looked up at Melody and Rena from across the room with sad eyes. When did those two get so close...? And why didn't Melody run to him instead of Rena? She called Rena "big sister" a moment ago, so what's going on?

Isaac didn't know, but he was a little uncomfortable seeing Rena, the villain, embracing his little sister. She was all he had really, and he didn't want Rena to hurt her just like how she hurt him and the others.

Rena set Melody down on the ground, crouching down to her height. "Melody, I want you to run." She placed her hands on the girl's shoulders, staring at her sincerely.

Melody pouted a little, then glanced at Isaac over her shoulder. "But what about big brother---"

Rena gently turned Melody's face back around to look at her. "He'll be fine, I promise. I'm going to take care of things. Now, run. Run as far as you can and don't look back---" Rena stood up from the ground and stared over at Ice, not even looking at Melody. "---because this is about to get ugly."

Melody nodded her head and took off reluctantly, and Isaac watched her go. Mightyena took his place next to his partner again, and the silence was soon broken.

Rena waltz over to Lavana, practically glowing with pure, black darkness and evil. Lavana trembled in her spot on the ground, completely helpless.

Defenseless.

Rena crouched down and grabbed Lavana's throat with one hand, then held her up high in the air. She began to violently strangle her, surprising everyone in the room. "HOW COULD YOU!?" Rena hissed at Lavana, all of her patience had been lost at this point. Her desire for revenge clouded her eyes once more, now that Melody was safe. "A LITTLE GIRL? YOU WOULD KILL A LITTLE, INNOCENT GIRL JUST TO GET TO ME!?" She choked Lavana harder, who's face was starting to turn blue. "You...are a pathetic, weak human being." Rena shook her head, disappointed. "How far will you go to succeed!? You don't think I know what you're up to!? What you're ALL up to!?" She hardened her glare as she began strangling the last bit of Lavana's life out of her. "I KNOW EVERYTHING! I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU AND YOUR DISGRACEFUL ORGANIZATION PLAN TO DO! It's people like you that---"

"RENA, STOP!" Rhythimi cried, pleading her. The blonde didn't know how much of an effect this would have on Rena, but it was more effective than she had imagined. They once were best friends, or at least Rhythimi thought they once were each other's best friend.

Rena flinched when Rhythimi spoke, and all other background noise seemed to drain from the area, so the only thing Rena could hear was Rhythimi's plea for her to stop. She shot her a sideways glance, then looked back up at Lavana. Her air was completely cut off, and she was on the brink of death thanks to Rena losing her temper: the one thing her and Keith had in common.

The potential to be evil.

Rena gave a fake sigh, then simply released Lavana from her grip, letting her crash to the floor.

CRASH!

"GASP!" Lavana violently gasped for air, clutching her severely bruised throat. A large, purple bruise in the shape of a hand-print began to form around her neck.

"Fine. Whatever." Rena shot the crowd of hostages a sideways glance, speaking with a hint of disinterest. "I wasn't going to kill her right now, anyways. Too many witnesses."

With the exception of Chairperson Erma, the Ranger Union members just stared at her with fear reflected in their eyes. Right now? She wasn't going to kill her right now? Just what exactly is this woman really capable of!?

Sven leaned over to Wendy and Chairperson Erma. "Who is that woman!?" He whispered harshly, shooting Rena a quizzical look.

"I don't know..." Wendy shook her head, staring at the strange woman. "I've never seen her before in my life, or heard of her."

Chairperson Erma remained quiet the entire time, clearly thinking about something intensely. She studied Rena, watching her every move. There was something curious about this girl to Chairperson Erma, and she was about to find out just what that was.

"She's yours, boy." Rena jerked her head to the side, ushering Mightyena to do what he wanted with Lavana.

Mightyena growled and pounced the pink-haired woman, pinning her down to the ground. He bore his teeth, ready to clamp them down on her throat at any moment if he was ordered to do so.

Rena chuckled evilly under her breath, so sinister that it gave everyone in the room shivers than ran up their spines. "You sick, twisted, son of a bitch..." She narrowed her eyes at Ice, glaring at him with contempt. Rena unclipped a strange device from her tool belt that almost resembled a mechanized frisbee. She simultaneously threw it at him and pulled a remote from her pocket, watching what was about to unfold next.

The "frisbee" began to shift and change forms, and it strapped itself around Ice's chest. Ice exhaled a loud "oof!" when the device collided into him, and he tried to pry it off with no success. The metal straps that were wrapped around his torso were just too tight.

Rena held the little remote up to her face, letting Ice see it. "You like it? It's my own little invention. I call it the spider." She began pacing back and forth a little in her spot, occasionally looking over at Ice. "You see, electric Pokemon have always fascinated me. The electrical currents they can pulse out of their bodies... It's amazing, really." She stopped pacing and looked directly at Ice, who was desperately trying not to show fear. "I enjoy electrocuting people. It's much more satisfying to electrocute someone tortuously instead of cutting them with steel blades..." Rena mused out loud with a delicate smile on her face, and Ice made an audible gulp.

"So, this---" Ice nervously stared down at the spider clamping down around his lungs. "---is a...a....torture device!?"

Rena just scoffed. "Well, duh. Weren't you listening?" She tilted her head to the side, flashing him an innocent look of pity. "Let's test it, shall we?" She laughed in the direction of the Ranger Union members, feeding off of the fear in the room.

Keith stared at the psychopath in shock. That wasn't Rena, the Rena he once knew. Well, she's not the person she pretended to be. Torturing people? How crazy could this chick get?

He felt lost without her, and yet he felt lost with her at the same time. Keith didn't know what he felt, and he surely didn't know what to think anymore. Did he even love her anymore? And if he did, who was he in love with?

Rena was consumed by her desire for revenge at this point, and there was no going back. She cranked the dial on the remote up to the first notch, and held her finger over the red button. "This, dear Ice..." She stepped forwards, a little closer to him. "This is for hiring me on this job in the first place."

Click!

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZTTTTTT!

Ice shrieked horrifically as blue electrical currents surrounded the Sinis Trio leader. He was in intense pain, and he dropped down to his knees.

Rena cranked the dial up to the next notch. "This...this is for lying to me, and deceiving me about what I was really stealing." She looked down on him as her thumb slammed down on the red button.

Click!

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZTTTTTT!

Ice screamed even louder this time. This electric shock was even more painful than the last, given that the strength of the electrical currents had been brought up.

Rena cranked it up yet another notch; she had no limitations holding her back. "This... This is for blackmailing me."

Click!

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZTTTTTT!

The electricity stung at his skin, and it pulsed through his veins. "RAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUGGGGGHHHH!" Ice cried out in agony. His body felt so weak and on the brink of collapse. He was on his hands and knees at this point, and the occasional spark of electricity emitted from him.

The clicks of Rena's high heels echoed throughout the building once again as she stepped closer to Ice. She crouched down in front of him, wearing a look of pity. "Oh, you poor thing. That looked like it hurt."

Ice tried to growl at her and possibly swing at her, but his body was just too weak. The only sound that escaped his lips was a pained groan. "It was...the bosses...orders... Not...mine." Ice gasped, struggling to speak.

"Does it matter?" Rena let out a carefree laugh. "Does it matter who shot me? Who blackmailed me? Who betrayed me? You're all the same." Rena glared at Ice intensely. "You're all equally dead to me, and I'm going to make you pay."

Ice's face turned white, and he was having a hard time forcing words out of his mouth. "Cut off one head...and...two more...take...its place..."

"Oh, I know." Rena smiled. "That's why I'm not cutting of one of the Hydreigon's heads." She leaned in even closer to his face as she smiled so sweetly and evilly at the same time. "I'm plunging a sword right through its belly."

Ice turned slightly to stare at her, completely horrified.

Rena lightly caressed his cheek with her hand, tilting her head to the side and staring into his icy-blue eyes. "You know, we were friends, once..." She stood up, moving her eyes over to the remote control. "But then... I found out that you lied. I found out that you and your boss were planning a double cross from the very beginning. And then..." Rena cut off her speech with a cynical laugh. "...and then you got the GENIUS idea to try and kill ME! HAH! ME, OF ALL CRIMINALS!" The darkness swirled through her mind as her insanity pushed her over the edge. "THERE IS A REASON THAT NO MAN HAS EVER DARED TO DOUBLE CROSS ME! IT'S BECAUSE THEY ARE SMART ENOUGH TO RECOGNIZE THAT THEY ARE DEALING WITH FORCES BEYOND THEM!" She laughed even harder now, sounding just as crazy as Lavana had before. "AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE FUNNY THING ABOUT ALL OF THAT IS, ICE!?" Rena glared down at him, and Ice used up whatever strength he had left to look at her. "I FOOLISHLY TRUSTED YOU! I SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SUCH A FOOL AND TRUSTED YOU! ...Now that, that is where I made my mistake..." She lowered her voice to a quiet growl, but loud enough for everyone to hear. "I never should of trusted you. If I didn't trust you, then maybe Lavana wouldn't have shot me back in that air strip during the drop-off, just leaving me there to slowly bleed out and die..." She stared down at the tile floor with a pained look, immensely hurt. "I trusted you..." She sobbed briefly, then her anger began to boil up again inside of her. "I TRUSTED YOU, DAMMIT! THIS IS EXACTLY WHY I LIVE THE LIFE THAT I LIVE! BECAUSE I CAN'T TRUST ANYONE ANYMORE!" Rena took three steps back from Ice, staring at his contrite facial expression.

Rena watched as Ice looked truly heartbroken for hurting her, but then something happened. He seemed to squirm in pain briefly, and Rena's eyes widened as she watched Ice's eyes flash a supernatural shade of red and stay that way. Ice's look of remorse had melted away and been replaced with a look of cocky arrogance. A face that showed no regret.

Rena's lip trembled from anger, and she cranked up the dial all the way up to the highest level of electrical currents that she had made available. "And this..." She stared at him with her hurt, angered look. "...this is for Melody."

Click!

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZTTTTTT!!

Ice's scream echoed throughout not only the Ranger Union, but all the way through Pueltown. The citizens stopped to listen to the pained shriek, concerned about what was going on. The entire town fell quiet until the echoed scream died down, making everyone feel uneasy.

Ice's body was engulfed in yellow and blue electrical currents, shocking him from the inside out. The shock lasted only for thirty seconds, but they were the most painful...most excruciating thirty seconds of Ice's life.

Rena clicked a different button on the side of the remote, causing the spider to unlatch itself from Ice and fly back towards Rena's face like a boomerang. She effortlessly caught it by the side of her face without looking by simply raising her hand and catching it. She strapped it back onto her back, then stuffed the remote into a pocket on her tool belt.

Ice was sprawled out on the floor. Not dead, but close to it. He occasionally twitched and sparked here and there, groaning ever so quietly.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself...?" Rena mumbled to Ice, looking up lazily from the floor and over at him.

Ice managed to sputter out a quiet, mocking laugh. "You deserved it..."

Rena's eyes caught on fire, and she lunged for the man. She gripped him by his shirt collar, spinning him around in a circle and slamming his back into the wall. All of the hostages winced as Rena's fist met Ice's cheek, making him spit out blood.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" She tightened her grip on his shirt collar with both hands, pushing him into the wall. "HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT!? I THOUGHT THAT WE WERE FRIENDS! WAS ANY OF IT REAL? OR WAS I JUST ANOTHER ONE OF YOUR GODDAMN PAWNS!?" Rena shook him violently with her immense anger seething through her teeth.

Ice weakly wiped away some of the blood pouring from his mouth, mocking Rena with a laugh. "You thought wrong... I was never your friend." Rena felt a stab to the heart, and her eyes began to water. "You didn't even do the job right!" Ice laughed, regaining some of his strength.

Rena pulled a gun from her belt, pushing the barrel up into Ice's chin. "Now THAT is total bullshit. I did EVERYTHING according to plan, following orders!" Rena defended herself, defending her honor.

"HAH!" Ice scoffed, amazed by how confident Rena felt about her work. "As if! You completely screwed up the job, barely making it work in the end. Not to mention the several close calls that I had to clean up after because of you."

"How so...?" Rena narrowed her eyes at him, growling under her breath.

"The job was simple." Ice smirked, glaring at her. "All you had to do was attend the Ranger School, pose as a Ranger-in-training, befriend Keith and his two loser friends, get Keith to take you home with him after graduation, break into his father's office, steal the document, and then deliver it to us."

Keith, Rhythimi, and Isaac all widened their eyes in shock. So... That's why she did what she did?

For a stupid document!?

Keith felt more heartbroken and used than ever before, and Isaac and Rhythimi felt miserable.

Murph looked over at his three friends, and so did Sven, Wendy, Chairperson Erma, and Professor Hastings. This was the first time they ever heard of this, and they certainly didn't realize that three of their coworkers were involved.

Rhythimi and Isaac mainly felt used and pathetic, upset for how stupid they were, letting Rena---no, letting this monster into their lives.

However, Keith...

Keith felt heartbroken and betrayed, and his face was reddened with anger. He wanted to storm across the room and punch Rena right across the face, because all hopes of her love for him being real were completely crushed at this exact moment.

"And that's EXACTLY what I did!" Rena yelled at Ice without loosening her grip on his shirt collar, exasperated.

"No, it's not." Ice scoffed again. "Foolish, foolish girl... Deveraux, you were supposed to only PRETEND to befriend those losers. You weren't supposed to befriend them for real and try to back out of the job."

Rhythimi and Isaac snapped their heads up too look at Rena, completely shocked by what Ice had said.

What...?

Was she...was she really their friend after all...?

Rhythimi looked at Keith for help, but he still wore that ticked off look.

Chairperson Erma and Isaac watched Rena's reaction with utmost curiosity. Her eyes widened, not from shock, but from fear. She released her grip on Ice, stepping back a little. She shook her head and spun around, turning her back to Ice. She scoffed a little, crossing her arms and staring down at the floor. "S-Shut up... You... You don't know what you're talking about..." She mumbled quietly, but everyone in the room still heard her.

Ice smirked, knowing that he now had the upper hand. "Don't you remember prom night? You practically begged me to let you back out of the job." Ice laughed, rubbing the sore spot on his cheek where Rena punched him.

"Shut up..." Rena growled under her breath, shaking her head a little.

He raised his voice, mimicking Rena's pleads poorly. "Ice, please! I beg you! Let me back out of this, I...I just can't do this to them! Rhythimi is amazing and wonderful, I could never do this to her... I love her too much to leave her behind, and like this..." Ice used mocking hand gestures to really sell it, having fun making fun of her.

Rhythimi was completely startled as she stared across the room at Rena.

Was that... Was that true? Did she really say that about her?

"Shut. Up." Rena bitterly snapped, raising her head a little.

"And Isaac... Isaac is a genius." Ice continued, still mocking her. "He's so smart and funny, and I care about him and his little sister Melody a lot. He's the only person I've ever met that I don't have to talk down to, because he's at my level of intelligence, if not higher..." Ice used a 'girl' voice to try and be more convincing.

Isaac did the same thing as Rhythimi, staring over at Rena, wondering if any of that was true.

Was it true? Could it be? Or was it all just another lie?

Isaac just didn't know what to believe anymore. Not after being lied to so many times by Team Dim Sun, and Rena...

"SHUT. UP." Rena raised her voice, uncrossing her arms and standing straight up.

"Oh, and don't even get me started on Keith---" Ice was the cut off by Rena slamming her fist into his nose so hard that it shattered upon impact. "YOOOOW!" He cried out, clutching his bleeding nose.

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Rena shrieked like a banshee, pulling out her pistol again. She pulled her finger up to the trigger, pointing it directly at Ice. "SHUT UP! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!"

Ice smirked, because he had successfully pissed her off. Now, he just had to say one more thing, distracting her for just a moment longer.

"You know, you once were once the best thief in the world...Raux." Ice used her code name, revealing her identity to those of the Ranger Union. Professor Hastings and Sven were completely surprised by this; 'Raux' was a name very familiar to them. "But then... You grew soft. You're not so great anymore. You're not as great as you once were..." He looked up from the floor and over at Rena, spotting Heath come up the escalator and grab Mightyena, muffling the hound Pokemon so he couldn't alert his partner of the approaching threat.

That's it.

Rena had enough at this point. She was about to say something else, when she felt an additional presence enter the room. In a swift movement, she grabbed her second pistol and swung her arm around, pointing it directly backwards without tearing her eyes away from Ice. She got both guns ready to fire simultaneously, and she smirked to herself. "Oh yeah, one more thing. Call off your stupid yellow dog or I put a bullet in both of your brains."

Ice was amazed at how sharp she was. How did she...? Oh, who knows.

He growled to himself, knowing his last resort had been foiled. He snapped his fingers at Heath, 'calling off his dog.' "Heath, stand down. Just grab as many members as you can and get them back to the helicopter. Lavana, you leave, too."

Heath pouted, about to lose his temper again. Rena looked over her shoulder with a devious smirk at the yellow-haired freak, still pointing her gun at Heath. Heath set down Mightyena and effortlessly scooped up ALL of the unconscious Dim Sun minions and members of Lavana's Crimson unit, hefting them over his shoulders. Lavana weakly followed him as he stepped into the white light of the gaping hole in the wall, disappearing from sight. Rena suspected that there was a helicopter right outside that hole in the wall, but the light was too bright to see anything outside. The clouds must have parted, letting the sun come out.

Rena moved her arm that was previously behind her up to the front, pointing both pistols at Ice. She just smirked as Mightyena took his place next to her. "Are you done?"

Ice glared at her, upset that he had lost. "What do you want?" He looked at her, confused by her determination. "Your money? Fine, that can be arranged." Rena just scoffed, taking a step closer, still aiming her pistols at Ice. He just sweatdropped. "F-Fine! I-I'll double your price! We'll pay you two billion, okay! Just back off!"

But Rena didn't back off.

Rena just laughed at him unbelievably. "You think you can just buy me off, after everything you have done to me!? You seriously think this is about the stupid money!?"

Ice drew his head back a little. "...it's not...?" Rena shook her head 'no,' causing Ice to make an audible gulp. "T-Then... What is it you want?"

Rena smiled like a psychopath with craziness gleaming in her eyes. "Don't you understand? I want REVENGE." She chuckled in a sinister manner, making chills run up Ice's spine. "I will not rest until I KILL. EVERY. LAST. ONE. OF. YOU." Rena laughed even louder, taking another step closer. "I am going to get my revenge by killing every last member of your organization that drained my bank accounts, alerted the cops of my identity, seized my personal collection of weapons and various stolen items, compromised the place that I once called home, and ruined my life." She glared at him intensely, demonstrating her conviction.

Ice just stared at her wide-eyed. "You... We thought you were dead! The cops know who you are, so it's only a matter of time before they find you and put you away! You'll never get away with this!" Ice nervously laughed, hoping he was right.

Rena just stared at him with a smile. A crazy smile.

"Don't you see, dear Ice? I'm a dead man walking." Rena scoffed, stepping even closer. "Just like you said, it's only a matter of time before Interpol finally realizes that I'm still alive and out in public. And when they do, they'll put me away in maximum security prison." Rena tilted her head to the side, not wiping that bitter smile from her face. "No matter what I do, my life is coming to an end soon...and I'm taking you down with me." She moved her fingers to the triggers, getting ready to pull them. She didn't even care about the witnesses at this point.

She didn't want to kill the minions because they were simply misguided people, but Ice, Lavana, and everyone else pulling the strings for Dim Sun?

They were fair game.

Ice gained confidence, then began doing a slow clap. As Rena wore a confused look on her face, Ice pulled a remote of his own from his pocket. "Well, this was fun. I enjoyed the show." He smirked at her, causing her scowl to grow bigger. "Now, I believe it is time for me to go." He held the button on the remote down, and held his hands up. "You see, Deveraux, this is a dead-man's switch. Kill me, and I release the button, causing the ENTIRE Ranger Union to blow, killing all of your little 'friends.'"

Rena stared at him in shock. The spell of vengeance and revenge that had been cast on her was finally broken. She had come back down to earth, completely aware of what she was doing now. "Y-You... You're bluffing." She stared at him in disbelief, drawing back a little.

"Maybe so..." Ice trailed off, then smirked back up at her. "But you can't take that risk, can you?" He looked over at the crowd of hostages. "The lives of your 'friends' depend on it."

Rena stared at Ice, then at Keith, Rhythimi, and Isaac. She looked at the two blondes for help, and they wore pleading looks. "But they're innocent people!"

"No one is ever completely innocent." Ice gave her a cold stare with those beady red eyes, far gone from his sanity as well.

Rena stared back at Ice, letting out a defeated sigh. "F-Fine... What do you want me to do?"

Ice grinned brightly. "Oh, Deveraux...I thought you would never ask." He beamed at her with a devious smirk. "Set your weapons down, kick them over to me, turn around with your hands behind your head, and get down on the floor."

"W-What!?" Rena stammered, horrified by this request.

Rena had never surrendered her pride before. Never. If she did what he asked, her pride would be destroyed, and Ice may or may not keep his promise. But if she didn't, well...

"You heard me." Ice smirked, tilting the remote back and forth. "Tick tock."

One single tear slipped from Rena's crystal blue eye, and she stared over at Keith. She could see how much he hated her just by looking at him. She then followed her eyes through the crowd, glancing at Rhythimi, Isaac, Murph, Professor Hastings, Chairperson Erma, Sven, and Wendy. Even though she hadn't met a majority of those people over there, she came to the same conclusion.

With great internal struggle, Rena set her pistols down on the floor, along with the two confiscated pistols on her belt. She kicked them over to Ice along with her spider and her staff that was still on the ground. She turned around with her hands behind her head, getting down on the floor.

Ice was more than just a little amused by this. "Huh. Never did I think I'd live to see the great and powerful Raux surrender to anybody... And for a reason like this." Ice shook his head, disappointed in her. "These people, they are your weakness. I was right...you're weak, and definitely NOT the heartless thief you once were."

And with that, he disappeared through the hole in the wall. The sound of a helicopter taking off whirred through the air, and it grew quieter as it disappeared off into the distance. Rena remained on the ground with her hands behind her head in complete shock.

How could she have lost? How!?

Sven walked over to the woman on the floor, grabbing her hands and putting them together behind her back. He slapped a pair of metal handcuffs on her wrists, jerking her up from the ground.

Rena was still in shock, she couldn't react. She just kept mumbling to herself. "I... I lost... He got away..."

Professor Hastings stepped up to Sven, staring at Rena as if she was just another specimen. "Take her to the interrogation room. Frankly, I have a LOT of questions to ask her..."

"Yes, sir." Sven saluted the Professor, beginning to drag Rena up to the third floor.

"And Keith, do something about that Mightyena."

"Yes, sir."

Rena stared brainlessly at her former 'friends' as she was being taken away in handcuffs. "I let him get away..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*sits here awkwardly in my writer corner*

...umm. I'm getting this feeling that you guys hate me for making everyone still hate Rena, making her ultimately lose the fight, and also nearly killing Ice. And also, we only have seven chapters left of the book.

*sweatdrops and runs away*

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