Footsteps rings out in the air, the sound of them approaching a certain destination completely certain as they gradually got louder and louder, with every step increasingly frantic, the culprit barely managing to catch her breath, as well as tripping over her feet ever so often. Not only was she worried, but she was also scared. Why, do you ask? Why, would the newly anointed Champion of Unova, be scared of all reasons? It was simple. The only thing that she- Mei from Aspertia City—feared was losing her friends. And as of right now, after receiving that call from Kyouhei and all... she was just getting increasingly frightened...
At that moment, Mei had been wandering around the vicinities of the city before coming upon the little ice cream stand which sold the infamous Casteliacones. Walking down the streets of Castelia City, the brunette brought the ice cream that she had bought to her lip, before taking a lick out of it. Glancing over at her Serperior, whom she had named Ser, the Grass type tilts its head to a side, before giving her a small hiss, as if questioning why she was here in the first place. There wasn't much point of her being here in the first place, seeing how she had already achieved her goals, and Castelia City didn't have much to offer in the first place. But even so, she enjoyed being here every so often, and Kyouhei had planned to meet with her here together with her on the Xtransceiver. There was a slight skip in her footsteps as she hums under her breath, even her own pokemon confused as to why she would be so cheerful.
Of course, that was until her said Xtransceiver began to ring in her pocket.
Fumbling for the electronic device, the Unova Champion brings the device to her ears and forgets to answer it first, once more fumbling with it before placing it by her ears. Again, she forgot completely that it had the video call capabilities, and once she remembered, she brought it back down, looking into it frantically. "Oh, hey there Kyouhei! Wh-" Stopping mid-sentence, only did she notice that Kyouhei's screen was all fuzzy, and not his usual face.. nor smile that she had expected to see. "Kyouhei? Kyou-kyou, he-llo?" For a brief moment, she wondered whether her Xtransceiver wasn't functioning or something, but then again... what were those crackling noises that she heard?
"M-mei..." Hearing his voice through all of the crackling noises, she was elated, yet worried at the same time, grasping the Xtransceiver as if it were her life support. "Kyouhei, where are you?! I thought you said that we were supposed to meet at-" Stopping abruptly, she had to prick up her ears to catch what the male was saying, which was already badly disrupted to the point that she could barely understand a single word that he was saying. It was like "Mei- fssstt- can- fsssstttt- sewers-ffssssttt- Team- Fsstt- asma-" ...Wait. Team... Asthma? No, that wasn't it. Team.. Team Plasma? But wait, didn't they already disband? What was he talking about? "Kyouhei, are you talking about Team Plasma? But they already-" *Click*
On the other hand, said male brunette was pinned down to the ground, his hands bound behind his back as he tried to struggle from his restrains. "Heh, don't even try it, boy. We told you to call your little girlfriend to give her pokemon to you, or we'll hurt you, but what did you do instead?" The Plasma grunt kicked him in the stomach and Kyouhei cringes, refusing to make a sound even though it hurt. He did what he could, but being under the sewers... the coverage was pretty bad and Mei probably couldn't understand a single word that he had said… but he had definitely heard her replying with the words 'Team Plasma'... hopefully that would be enough for her to figure out what was going on... "This little brat..." Another kick. His eyes grew wide in pain and he curls into a ball, hoping to defend himself from them that way. All he could hope for... was for Mei to come in time... Mei.. please..
Which lead to their current situation now, with Mei running towards her friend, and with him completely defenseless, and unable to do anything but hope, and hold out a little longer.
She knew that Kyouhei was definitely somewhere in the sewers, but where? The Castelia Sewers were huge, and finding a single person in there was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Looking around frantically, she skids to a stop and looks around, hoping to find some clues that would lead to Kyouhei's whereabouts. Unfortunately for her, it seems that they didn't leave a single trace of where they were keeping Kyouhei captive. Whatever they were up to, there was no way that they were doing it for good, or anything. But why would they capture Kyouhei, of all people. Pausing for a moment in her steps, she thinks for a while, letting it run through her mind that they might be using Kyouhei to lure her in... but then again, what was the point of that? But now that she had thought of that... she was angry. With renewed strength, she made her way towards the deepest parts of the sewers, not in the slightest afraid of what she might have to face.
Fully aware of what they were planning to do on the other hand, the brunette was worried that Mei would fall into their trap... though he trusted that she was smart enough to figure that out, and evade the trap instead. Under normal circumstances, he would've let himself be the only one affected by this scheme, and not drag anyone else into it, especially the intended person they had planned it for. He was fully capable of throwing his life away for the sake of his friends... but as for now, after knowing that Mei would probably be angry with him for eternity, and also, blame herself if he were to perish... he couldn't bear to think that if he were to disappear, she would be overwhelmed by guilt... even though it wasn't her fault, It was, in fact, his fault, for being weak, and not self-aware of his surroundings, hence falling for the trap. With every kick, he continuously blamed himself from being stupid, and not being smart enough to avoid stuff like this...
Panting hard, the brunette once again whirls around frantically, hoping to at least hear a single sound, or one thing that would lead her towards Kyouhei. Really she was so desperate, she could feel hot tears beginning to well up in her eyes but rubs them away hastily, bringing her focus back to searching for said trainer in the first place. Pursing her lips, she inhales deeply, trying to get as much oxygen in her brain as possible so that it was fully functioning. Her hand instinctively goes to her pokeball and she glances over at them, before glancing over at Ser, who was still yet to understand what exactly was going on. Offering the grass snake a small smile, she withdraws it and calls out her Mienshao, who was definitely better at searching than her Serperior. "Mi-en, find Kyouhei!" With a brief nod, the Fighting type sets out in search of the other Aspertian trainer, with Mei running after it in hot pursuit. ...Kyouhei... I'm coming, Kyouhei..!
Coughing hard, he was surprised to see the red fluid that had emerged from his throat... how did that happen? He'd been enduring the pain of being kicked and thrown around like he was a piece of luggage for quite some time now, and the goons weren't going to satisfied until they heard a scream come from him. Of course, being the stubborn person he was, and also to not cause Mei any worry, he refused to make a sound, which resulted in them kicking him and trashing him even more. He was at his limit, to be completely honest, but he was just biting down on his lip to keep the screams of pain in, and his teeth had already sliced into his bottom lip several times already, and he was aware that it was bleeding as well, what with him tasting the taste, of blood in his mouth. His ears were ringing, and he could barely hear what was being said anymore... wait… was that footsteps? And... a Mienshao..? "...Mi-...en..?"
Even though it was good that she had a fast Pokemon and all, the fast remained that Mi-en was way too fast for her to even keep up, and she was aware of that... plus, she had already lost sight of it in no more than a few mere seconds, which her even more aware of how quick Mi-en actually was. Of course, all of that just lead to her eating the dust of its quick yet nimble steps, and her trying to catch her breath as she looks around frantically in search of her Fighting type, as well as her search for Kyouhei. Where exactly could Team Plasma have taken him? Fuming inwardly, the brunette finally catches sight of her Pokemon on all fours, growling aggressively at what it seems to be... a wall? No, Mi-en was definitely not that dumb to be growling at a wall of all things-
Kyouhei.
Her eyes widen and she rushes over to her Pokemon's side, only to be flung backwards by an invisible force. Stifling a surprised squeak, she somehow manages to regain her footing as she lands flat on the ground, still standing. "Kyouhei... what happened?! And you guys..." her hazel gaze averts over to the goons, and she glares at them icily, "What did you do to Kyouhei?"
It was definitely hers. There was no doubt about it. The fact that /that/ particular Mienshao was already glaring holes through the Team Plasma goons and poised for battle only made him confirm his suspicions. In the beginning, he was glad- Glad, that Mei had actually come to save him. And that she had wasted no time in coming for him... he really was happy because of that. But the fact remained that he had lead her into this potentially life-threatening trap, and that made him afraid as well. Giving the Fighting type a pained look, he wasn't quite sure what to do at this point - tell her to run, or tell her to save him. Even so, he was aware that even if he told her to run, there was no way that she- ...Mei! The moment that his eyes met hers, he could tell that she was worried over him, and horrified at what they had done. Boy, he must look like utter crap right now, bruised all over and with blood trailing out of his mouth... it was enough to provoke anyone. Needless to say, it definitely provoked Mei. "M-mei..." he manages weakly and gives her a sad smile, "I'm fine... they didn't do anything..." Laughter spread throughout the entire troop of goons and he cringes at it. "Still playing the tough guy, huh? Well, if Miss Champion over there doesn't do what we tell her to do, you're not going to stay that tough any-" Another kick. "-more!" Warding off the pain somehow, his eyes once again make contact with hers, and he mouths a single word to her.
"Run."
No. No one, did that to Kyouhei, no one, no one hurt him while she was here, and able to do something. Tears once again spilled over and trailed down her cheek, though this time it was from a mixture of pain, and anger. Absolute, complete anger. Clenching her hands into lethal fists, the brunette brushes off some of the excess dirt that remained on herself before glancing over at Mi-en, who was also seething in anger in her own way. She could tell that it was itching to beat some sense into these goons, and she, herself wanted to teach them a lesson that they would never forget as well. Hearing what Kyouhei had said, her anger gives way to sadness for a brief moment, but quickly reverts to pain in an instance. They did nothing? ...Why was he defending them? When he was already in such bad shape, and that they were the obvious culprits... why did he still defend them? What... what exactly was it that he was trying to do? And then they kicked him. They. Kicked. Him. Didn't do anything? Shaking her head at what he told her to do, she purses her lips and looks over at the goons. "...Tell me what you want me to do. I'll do it, but only with the condition that you let him go." She could tell that this was what Kyouhei didn't want her to do, and her sixth sense screamed at her that it was a trap, but was there anything else that she could do? ...No, she had a plan. Yes... definitely. She was going to get Kyouhei back, and teach them a lesson at the same time.
..This wasn't going so well, was it? If his hands were untied, he probably would've covered his face with them and sigh in exasperation. She was being difficult as usual... but what else was new? He probably should've known that she was going to not approve of him giving himself up that easily, or risk his life for her in any way. And when she spoke... even he was surprised at how tensed her voice sounded, even so, he could tell that her voice was quivering a little in fear and another mixture of emotions for some reason. He knew that she would be angry... that was for certain. She might not break down easily, but boy, did she blow up easily if anything were to happen to him. The last time he accidentally cut himself she cried all night and then yelled at him the remaining few hours. Mei... she was strong, but keeping that much emotions pent up altogether did her no good at all. She had to let it go every now and then, and even then she still refused to do as such. "...Mei..." The grunts all laugh mockingly at his efforts and give him a small kick again, "Yeah, listen to the girl, you dumbass."
Arceus damn it... didn't Kyouhei understand at all? Didn't he understand that she actually cared about him, and didn't want any harm to be done to him? Why was he being so difficult right now, and all? Hearing what they said, she purses her lips and nods, before bringing her gaze back to the grunt that had spoken. "Understood. You.. you can have my Pokemon. In return, you'll give Kyouhei back." Even though her voice sounded business-like and a steely calm, her hands were shaking and she felt afraid. Afraid, that this wouldn't work. Mi-en had hissed upon hearing her mistress giving in that easily and Mei glances over at the Fighting type, shaking her head a little. "Mi-en... just do as I say." this time, her voice was quivering as she retrieves all of her Pokeballs, releasing them all out to the open air. Ser, Mi-en, Amphy, Arch, Ray and Violet... they were all her Pokemon- no, her friends, but there wasn't anything that she could do either. All she could do... was place her trust in them and hope that this would work. "..Y-you guys... go and follow Team Plasma." All of them look back at her in disbelief and she looks down, glancing over at Kyouhei. "You heard me... they're your new trainers! Go!" Giving her pained looks, they all seemed to be discussing among one another for a moment, before reluctantly heading towards the grunts. "Hehe! The whole arsenal of Unova's Champion... under our command." a smug smile tugs at his lips, and he glances over at Violet. "Alright, let's try this one first. Chandelure, use Shadow Ball!"
Mei... why was she doing this? There was no need for her to do such a thing for him, even to the extent of giving up her friends? Why...? Even Mi-en understood that her doing this was completely wrong... even she resisted against the idea... "Mei... no..." his voice was already shaking, and he had barely enough energy left to speak but needless to say... he had to stop Mei from doing anything stupid. No, he will stop Mei, even if it took his own life! He didn't have his Pokemon... he was as weak as fly without them but still, he could figure something out in his mind to stop this- What? The Chandelure, or if he remember correctly, whom Mei had named Violet glanced back at Mei in horror for a moment, before launching a single Shadow Ball right toward her. Still restrained by the bounds, Kyouhei was completely helpless and all he could do, was watch her get blasted by the single attack, hurtling backwards into a wall from the force of the blast. "M-mei!" As the smoke clears, he brings his attention back to the group of grunts and glares at them. "How could you... even when she already did what you-" He rocketed backwards from the force of the Hi Jump Kick Mi-en had executed on him, thrown towards the wall nearby. His eyes widen from the pain and he falls the ground, using the wall for support to stand although he could barely stand. "Hehe... so what? We'll just say that we lied! We are Team Plasma after all. Mienshao, another High Jump Kick, this time, at Miss Champion over there!"
"WH-" Caught by complete surprise, she wasn't even ready for that attack to hit her, of all people. Sure, she had expected those goons to try some weird or something, but to send her own Pokemon against her- "Ahhh!" Hurled towards the wall, she heard a crack sound that did not sound too good and a searing pain shoot through her arm. "O-ow... I'm fine, Kyouhei... don't worry..." Honestly, she wasn't quite sure herself whether she was or not fine.. that crack sound... she wouldn't count on it. Getting up to her feet, she grits her teeth and casts her mind away from the pain, before her ears prick up at the sound of the wall cracking . Looking up, she catches sight of Kyouhei propped against the wall and slumping down to the ground. "K-kyouhei! Why did you...!" Tears welling up in her eyes, she swallows hard and manages to get over to Kyouhei's side, using her unharmed hand to untie his restrains and helps him up. "Kyou-kyou... what were you up to..? And you guys..." her gaze flickers over the Team Plasma grunts, who were all snickering away. "I won't.. forgive - !" Jumping backward, she narrowly dodges the attack and stumbles to remain standing. "Well, aren't you a quick one, let's just see how long you're able to dodge those attacks! Chandelure, Flamethrower, and Mienshao, consecutive Aura Spheres!" Her eyes flicker towards the two Pokemon and she noticed their nods just before they sent their attacks towards her. Now to hope that it would work...
They lied.
It was pretty obvious, but Kyouhei still couldn't believe his ears. Of all the underhanded and sneaky methods… what was their aim in the first place, deceiving both him and Mei, and now, using her own Pokemon against her to hurt her. Hadn't they already achieved what they wanted by acquiring Mei's Pokemon? Weren't they going to be able to do whatever they wanted with her pokemon already? "…I'm fine…" his words trailed off as he bites down on his lip to cast his mind away from the pain and takes a deep breath. The attacks were coming towards her and her Pokemon were way too afraid to defy the commands of Team Plasma since Mei would be hurt if they were to not obey. He as well, would have gotten seriously injured if not for Mei complying with their commands, and he was vaguely grateful for what she had done… but angry at himself as well. He knew, that they were going to kill her. Mei probably had found out as well, and had accepted it… for what? For him, she put her own life in danger? She had so much potential, and still had such a great life to live… In a split second, he brings himself up to his feet and pushes her away from the incoming attacks and takes her place, bracing himself for the attacks to hit him. If it's to save Mei… losing his life would be fine.
With her broken ankle, she wasn't able to move from the spot where he had pushed her over to and she could do nothing, but watch in horror as the attacks closed in on him. She probably should've known. Kyouhei, being how he was, was probably going to attempt something stupid to defend her, but going to the extent of pushing her away and taking her place? "Kyouhei, get out of there!" Even her own Pokemon hadn't anticipated him doing as such, and Violet had been thrown off guard, failing in executing their plan in which lead to the attacks hitting him straight on. It was too late. There was no way that he could get away even if he ran, and the end result was inevitable. Even though the power of the attacks were lessened significantly, Kyouhei was after all, hurt badly already and those attacks might as well have just finished him off. His shirt still smoking from the attacks, his body remained sprawled at a side, motionless and limp as he simply laid there, unmoving. It was going to be a miracle if he survived… Pursing her lips, she feels the tears beginning to trail down her cheeks and Mei clenches her fists, bringing her attention back to her pokemon. "Shadow." The single utter of the word caused in the single dragon type that was still hidden in the pokeball to shudder and in a blue flash of light, it materializes before her, its roar echoing throughout the entire place. She had promised never ever to use Shadow, her Tyranitar after catching it on the peak of Mount Silver, aware of how destructive and reckless he was, though she wasn't in the right mind to think of any other solution any longer.
"Hyper Beam."
In a split second, the entire place turned from a serene calm, to complete destruction.
There were flames everywhere, pieces of concrete falling from the ceiling as the dragon made its way towards the now cowering grunts from before, her own Pokemon joining in the Tyranitar in its wake. Even they knew better than to try and interfere and were all afraid for their lives, through paralyzed by the fear of the looming dragon heading towards them, they weren't able to run, needless to say hide anywhere. "P-please stop i-it! W-we're sorry for what we did…" one of them was trying t be for mercy, aware that hey might not even survive if the Tyranitar was to unleash another Hyper Beam. They knew that the dragon was capable of disintigerating them with a single attack… "Please! We'll do anything you want us to do! We really are sorry..!" Under normal circumstances, she would've withdrawn Shadow and sent them off to the police… but remembering what they had done—
They lied. Liars. All of them.
They weren't sorry in the slightest. Not sorry that they were trying to trick her into giving them her Pokemon and ultimately, kill her. Not sorry that they, had hurt Kyouhei and put him through so much suffering just to get to her.
"Do your worst, Shadow."
She didn't even have to tell it anything. With that single command, all hell broke loose, no, Shadow simply let loose of its power that it had kept in for the longest time now, eager to see some destruction around it.
Something grabs onto her ankle weakly, causing her to look down.
"Mei… stop…"
Her eyes widen in realization of what she was doing and she quickly retrieves the rampaging dragon's pokeball, withdrawing it back to its pokeball. The destruction stops in an instance, but needless to say, the damage was already done. Flames surrounded the entire area as pieces of concrete cracked from the walls, the reinforcement of the building obviously not strong enough to take the power of a high level dragon's rampage. Crouching down to meet Kyouhei's eyes, her lower lip begins to tremble at the sight of him covered with bruises, scratches and blood. To think that he had to go through all of this because of her…
"Mei…"
"…Don't talk… you should rest." This, she said with a shaky voice, sounding as if she was on the verge of tears. Which in reality - was completely true. She was simply holding them back, not wanting to show them to her childhood friend.
A weak chuckle escapes his lips.
"Heh… to think that... I vowed not to show any weakness around you…" he coughs weakly and reaches out to take her hand. "…I'm sorry.. that I wasn't able to protect you—"
"Stop."
At this point, she was already choking back a sob, not wanting to cry in front of him.
"Stop saying that you didn't managed to protect me… you were going to throw away your life for me, Kyouhei!" her words came out as choked sobs. "Why?! Why did you—"
A pained look crosses her features. "Mei… I'm probably gonna..."
Gripping onto his shirt, she stops him from speaking and buries her face into his chest, "Stop it Kyouhei… please don't say anymore…"
"I'm sorry Mei… I need to tell you…" a weak smile tugs at his lips and he touches her cheek. "Something I've been keeping from you… Mei…"
"I love you."
Her heart. It was going to burst, from both the sadness and happiness. She was happy that Kyouhei felt the same way for her… yet he was already…
"Kyouhei… I'm sorry that I—"
"Shh… there's no need to be sorry…" he hushes her and smiles once more, "Live your life to the fullest for me… and I'll be watching from above… okay?"
He was going to die. He realized it, and had told her the secret that he had kept from her… for such a long time. He did well with hiding it, though…
"Kyouhei…"
She did realize something all in all. That she had underestimated Kyouhei's care for the ones that he love... and his feelings for her. A grim smile tugs at her lips, though her vision was completely blurred by the tears that welled up within her eyes, spilling over almost in an instance.
That one single mistake that she had made had cost Kyouhei his life.
With her head laid on his unmoving chest, his last breath taken as he fell into an eternal slumber, in which he would never ever wake up to. He would no longer be able to witness that bright smile of hers… but at least he managed to help her in some way, and told her of his feelings…
"I love you, Mei…"
In midst of the destruction and flames that surrounded the area, people from afar would see a young girl who had tears flowing down her cheeks, her head resting on a boy's chest as he laid limp, as if he were already lifeless.
A single word escapes the girl's lips.
"No…"