The Aura Within | Pokémon

Nineteen | Confrontation

Mark stared wide eyed at the enemy from the past. He looked different from what he last remembered, with his dark blue hair done in spikes, tattoos covering under each eye and shoulder, and his body looked more built than last time. What stood out and made him completely different the most were the scales that patched his forearms and lower abdomen. His hands were practically covered in those scales as well, but his eyes were also different. They were no longer brown, but a piercing gold instead.

That was him— the scumbag who took the only person important in Mark's life. He's the guy who took Layla from him and left him all alone. Mark's eyes flared with anger as he watched the enemy's evil smirk widen, revealing his sharp canine teeth.

"Long time no see, Mark Desai," he greeted.

"I'd say it's nice to see you again, but I'd be lying," Mark retorted, his hands balling up into fists. His eyes flickered behind him to the familiar pair of clones from last time, the Devilry Brothers.

"I see you have new lackeys with you," Mark stated, his anger seething through his teeth.

"Lackeys?" Lucifer questioned, tilting his head to the side.

"That's not right," Lucius inputted. "We're all friends, that's all."

Mark rolled his eyes at the peculiar twin brothers, his patience becoming rather thin. He heard Blake and the others making their way to the front where he and Axel were. Once they reached the front, Blake went to lunge at the Devilry Brothers, only to be held back by Soul and Axel.

"Who are you?" Soul questioned the spiky haired man in front of them.

"The name's Fabian Starke. Remember it, babe." He winked, which caused Soul to glower at him in disgust.

"What are you people doing here?!" Akira exclaimed, glaring at the intruders. Fabian chuckled humorlessly as he crossed his arms over his bare chest, his smirk still wide and evil looking.

"Oh, Layla dear! Come out come out wherever you are!~"

This certainly caught Mark's attention. His eyes widened in surprise at the mention of her name. She couldn't be her, no way.

The dark haired man heard a light gasp from a few feet behind him. All heads turned toward the location of the voice, including Mark's. It came from that woman with the red hood, the only thing visible were her nose and lips. No way, that woman with the red hood couldn't be Layla. There's no way!

But, it made sense in a way. When his hand was in hers, he felt a familiar spark between them. When they danced, they swayed in a familiar rhythm that they would always do when they danced under the starry sky. Everything about the red hooded woman reminded him of Layla! What the hell was going on?

Before any of the knights could react, the mysterious woman ran away from the scene and into the forest. Mark's jaw slacked in shock as he watched her disappear into the woods. An obnoxious chuckle rang through his ears, causing him to growl under his breath. Mark turned back around and saw Fabian and his lackeys watching the red hooded woman go into the forest with amusement.

"That troublesome woman never learns when to quit." His smirked dropped into a scowl. "This is the third time she's tried to escape from me."

"Will you punish her this time?" Lucius asked, a dark smirk crossing his features.

"Oh, hell yeah."

In the blink of an eye, the three dashed into the woods where the red hooded woman had disappeared to. Without waiting for Soul's orders, Mark snatched a knight's sword and ran into the woods myself.