-4-
After some time, it seemed apparent that Flame and Serene had somehow gotten lost within the caverns around Duston. Eventually, they came across what appeared to be an exit back to the surface. As Flame and Serene continued walking towards the cavern entrance, they found what appeared to be a dense forest just outside the cavern.
"Do you want go in?" asked Flame.
"Sure. Why not?" answered Serene. With that, Flame left the cavern and walked into the forest while still carrying Serene.
"So, when are you going to put me down?" asked Serene.
"Do you want me to put you down?" asked Flame.
"No, no. I like it!" said Serene cheerfully, leaning her head against Flame's chest. As they walked through the forest, the young Gallade and Gardevoir thought it was strange that they didn't hear any other Poke'mon in the forest. The damp woods were eerily silent and still.
"Don't you find this strange?" asked Serene, "Something seems wrong here…"
"I don't know," said Flame as he glanced back and forth, gazing about the silent forest, "If you want me to, I can teleport us back to Duston."
"No, no, don't teleport us back. I like the scenic route and it would put a lot of strain on you if you teleported us back," said Serene.
"Yeah, you're right, Serene. I might pass out, or something like that," said Flame with a shrug. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a Scyther and a Blaziken leaped out of the woods and into the path of the Protectors. Flame jumped back from surprise with Serene in his arms. Before Flame could react, the Blaziken used Fire Blast, launching an intense ball of flames towards him and Serene. Flame quickly got Serene back on her feet and then stuck out his hand, making a round barrier around Serene and himself. The Fire Blast hit the barrier and promptly vanished. Flame faced the assailants.
"Who are you and what do you want with me and Serene?" demanded Flame as he stood ready to fight. The Scyther crossed his blades in front of his chest.
"I am Ice," said the Scyther gruffly.
"And I am Tim," said the Blaziken. Ice was an old looking Scyther who appeared to have seen many battles: his dark green body was covered with scars. He also was wearing a green bandana with a Scyther shaped head logo on it inscribed in white, apparently signifying that he was an accomplished veteran of combat. Tim also looked like had had seen many years and many battles. He was wearing a red bandana around his neck with a volcano-shaped logo on it, inscribed in white, denoting his status as a veteran as well.
"What we want is a little battle with the Protectors," said Ice sternly.
"I'm very sorry," said Flame, "But I have no desire to fight you."
"Are you scarred, Protector?" asked Tim.
"No, I just don't want a senseless battle," said Flame.
"It's not senseless, Protector. Just think of it as a test of strength," said Ice.
"What do you want to do Flame?" asked Serene telepathically.
"I don't know. I don't want to hurt these guys, but they are insisting that I do so," replied Flame, letting Serene read his thoughts.
"Are you guys going to keep talking between yourselves, or are we going to have a battle here?" asked Tim with impatience.
"Do you want to battle Flame?" asked Serene.
"Yes. You take the Blaziken and I'll handle the Scyther," said Flame.
"Alright, Flame," said Serene.
"We accept your challenge, Ice and Tim," said Flame.
"Very good," said Ice as he uncrossed his blades and pointed them at Flame, "Tim, let's go." With that, Ice came rushing at Flame with his blades out, ready to strike. As Ice charged forward, Flame extended his elbow blades. Flame ran towards the Scyther and moved to intercept Ice's blades: they collided with a mighty "Klang!" The combatants' blades grinded against each other and shook as the opponents tried to overpower each other; but they were equal in strength. With a quick move, Flame pushed Ice away and jumped back, increasing the distance between himself and Ice even more.
"Not bad, Protector," said Ice with a grin, "But you will need to do better than that."
"Oh, don't worry, I will!" said Flame as he raised his large blades. Meanwhile, Serene and Tim weren't even fighting each other. Tim walked up to Serene and said "Do you want to fight me?"
"No. I don't want to hurt you," replied Serene.
"Is that so? Well, let's just see if you can," said Tim as he moved to strike Serene. However, before he could, Serene pointed her palm at Tim and Tim became enshrouded in a blue aura. Tim struggled to move, but to no avail.
"What is going on? Why can't I move?" thought a bewildered Tim.
"I've disabled you," giggled Serene, "I said I didn't want to hurt you, but you asked for it!" Serene pulled her arm closer to herself and then pushed her arm forward: Tim went flying through the air. Seconds later, Tim landed hard on the ground several yards away from Serene.
"Ouch! That hurt a lot!" said Tim as he got off the ground and enshrouded himself in fire, getting ready to use Flare Blitz. Serene saw this and started to focus her psychic energy. Tim came rushing towards Serene at very high speed, but Serene stuck both of her hands out in front of her and pointed them at Tim and lifted him into the air. The fire around Tim ceased and now, he was frantically flailing in the air.
"Hey! Put me down!" shouted Tim angrily.
"As you wish, Tim," giggled Serene as she pointed her hands at the ground in front of her, which caused Tim to come crashing into the ground. He landed hard, kicking up dust and making a small crater in the ground. After that last hit, Tim slowly staggered back to his feet.
"Please stop! I don't want to hurt you anymore," said Serene with sadness in her voice.
"I will stop, I just want to say, congratulations for winning," said Tim as he collapsed onto the ground.
"Oh my…I think I over did it," said Serene with concern. She quickly turned her attention to Flame and Ice as they continued to fight. Ice used Double Team and instantly multiplied into several, identical targets. To the average opponent, this confusing tactic would be devastating, but Serene knew just what to do.
"Focus your psychic energy and find out which Scyther actually has thoughts going through its mind," said Serene telepathically. Flame calmed down and closed his eyes. He tried to focus his energy, seeing if he could find the real Ice. Soon, Flame finally found Ice: Flame glared at Ice, ready to attack. At that moment, all of the Ices came charging in all at once. Flame looked at the real Ice and made a horizontal cutting motion, which launched a pinkish wave of energy out of Flame's arm, hitting Ice squarely. Ice came crashing down to the ground, but got back up quickly and again charged at Flame.
"When will you learn?" said Flame as his arms began to glow a blackish color: Flame was getting ready to use Night-Slash. Flame made a vertical and a horizontal slashing motion in the air, sending out black blades of energy. The dark blades hit the Scyther. Ice stumbled about, suddenly caught in a daze. Flame teleported close to Ice and used Close Combat. Flame was now moving at near lightning speed, hitting Ice with a flurry of punches and kicks. Flame hit Ice with everything could throw at him, then jumped back. Ice was reeling, but was not ready to give up yet. Sensing this, Flame rushed back at Ice and landed the finishing blow: Night-Slash, sending him into the air and then landing on the ground eighty or so feet from Flame.
"I told you this would lead to senseless violence," said Flame with a respectful bow, when suddenly, a Fire Blast came rushing at Serene from behind.
"Serene! Behind you!!" yelled Flame. However, Serene had a horribly clueless expression on her face and before Flame could do anything, the Fire Blast hit Serene and engulfed her in blazing flames of burning death.
"Serene!!" Flame cried. He tried to focus his psychic energy to remove the fire from Serene, but he was too worn out from the fight with Ice. Flame watched helplessly as Serene burned under the fire as anger and hatred filled him. Fueled by his newfound hate, Flame's eyes started glowing dark red and he raised his hand forward, shooting a psychic wave at Serene, causing the fire to vanish. He saw Serene lying on the ground, not moving at all. She didn't even seem to be breathing.
"YOU BASTARD!!" yelled Flame at the top of his lungs. Flame pointed his right hand at Tim, which started to glow black as Flame focused his hate and rage. Tim's eyes opened wide in disbelief.
"Die." said Flame in a demonic voice. With that, the enraged Gallade shot a gigantic black energy beam at Tim. Before the startled Blaziken could move and inch, he was completely engulfed by the black energy. Tim fell to ground when the attack finished and Flame sensed that Tim was still alive, but just barely. After that, Flame's senses finally returned to him and he noticed Serene was lying motionless on the ground.
"Serene!" Flame yelled as rushed toward Serene and knelt down next to her. He used his right hand to lift Serene's head off the ground a little.
"C'mon Serene, speak to me…" begged Flame, but Serene was completely silent. Flame's eyes started to water up and he put his head next to hers. It was then that he heard her labored breathing.
"She might just be unconscious," thought Flame with some relief. Flame suddenly heard a voice call from behind him.
"Turn around," said the gruff voice. Flame turned his head and saw Ice standing a few feet away from him. Ice quickly made a slashing motion on both sides of Flame's face.
"Hey!!" yelled Flame, "That burns a lot! Why on earth did you do that?"
"I did it because you beat Tim and me. It's a way to honor someone who beats you in combat where I come from. Flame, the cuts I made on your face will heal in an hour or so. It's just a mark, so don't worry too much about it," explained Ice, "Now, I think we should get out of here."
"I want to leave with Serene, but I can't just leave Tim here," said Flame with concern. Even after what Tim had done to Serene, Flame was still worried about him.
"Couldn't we take Tim and Serene to your city and let them rest up there?" asked Ice.
"Yeah, I could, but I don't know if the Elders will allow it" answered Flame. Ice and Flame thought in silence for a while, thinking about their next move.
"Who cares what they say? I need to save Tim and Serene," said Flame as he tenderly layed Serene back on the ground. Flame closed his eyes and hands together as he began to focus his psychic energy. Moments later, Flame, Serene, Ice and Tim glowed with a bright white light and then promptly vanished without a trace. The bright light soon faded and the group of Poke'mon found themselves somewhere in a large room with white, marble walls. Just then, a voice called out from the dimly-lit room.
"Flame, why did you bring a Scyther and a Blaziken into our city?" asked Elegon angrily, "Well, other Poke'mon are allowed in this city, but to bring them into the Elder's chamber?! Only Gardevoirs, Gallades and their children are ever to enter here and only when summoned!" Flame then realized that he had inadvertently teleported everyone into the core of the Palace and into a sacred chamber of all places.
"That battle must have weakened me more than I thought," thought Flame. Elegon, Blizz and Aero glared down at Flame and his companions sternly.
"Look, ask questions later. This Blaziken and Scyther need immediate medical attention," said Flame.
"Very well, Flame. I hope you know what you're doing," said Elegon as he clapped his hands three times: Moments later, four Gardevoirs, wearing white caps with a red plus sign, teleported into the room, laid their hands on Ice and Tim and quickly teleported the injured Scyther and Blaziken out of the room.
"Are those nurses?" asked Flame with curiosity.
"Yes," answered Blizz gently. Aero watched as Flame carefully took Serene up in his arms.
"What are you going to do with Serene?" asked Aero, "Is she alright?"
"I'm going to take her back to our house and let her rest up there," answered Flame.
"Alright then, but what happened to her?" asked Aero as he glanced over the young Gallade and Gardevoir, "Looks like you two were in a fight."
"She's just out cold right now. She'll wake up in a few hours though," explained Flame. Aero nodded his head.
"Very well, then," said Aero, "You may leave now, Flame."
"Thank you," said Flame as he teleported himself and Serene out of the room. They appeared back in Flame's house with a bright flash. Flame walked into his room and carefully laid Serene on his bed.
"Rest up, Serene," said Flame as leaned in and kissed Serene on the lips and walked out of his room.
"Wait, I forgot to tell Sage and Kage to tell everyone that it is okay to go back into the city!" thought Flame with shock. He quickly teleported out of his house and arrived at the east side of Duston to try and find Sage and Kage. He started running, but was stumbling occasionally.
"Okay, maybe I shouldn't run," thought Flame as he slowed down to a slow walk, "I need to find Sage and Kage!" Flame continued on, frantically searching for his friends, when unexpectedly Serene teleported next to him.
"Need some help?" asked Serene cheerfully.
"Yeah, but how did you wake up so quickly?" asked Flame with amazement.
"Well, after you laid me on your bed I started to wake up and then you kissed me, but before I could move or say anything, you left: teleporting out of the room. Luckily, I knew where you were going," explained Serene.
"Okay, but how come you don't have any burn marks on you?" asked Flame, "Looks like you came out of Tim's inferno without a scratch." Serene smiled at Flame.
"I didn't get any burn marks because I was knocked out by Tim. Since I am a psychic type and being knocked unconscious often affects the brain, I was somehow able to put up a barrier around my body which saved me from burns by Tim's Fire Blast," explained Serene.
"I see. Anyway, we need to find Sage and Kage and let them know its okay to return to the city," said Flame.
"Okay, I'll teleport us to them," said Serene as she grabbed Flame's hand: the young Gallade and Gardevoir, once again, vanished in a bright flash. They appeared where they thought they would find the king, Sage and Kage, but no one was there.
"That's strange," said Flame, "Where is everyone?"
"Maybe they knew the danger was over went back to Duston?" asked Serene.
"Okay," said Flame, "How about we try the palace, then?" Serene nodded and promptly teleported herself and Flame back to Duston. They soon appeared in the palace throne room, where Sage, Kage and the king of Duston were waiting for them.
"There you guys are!" said Sage.
"We've looking everywhere for you two," said Kage, "Where in heck have you been?"
"We'll tell you later," said Flame as he and Serene faced the king. The king of Duston was equally surprised to suddenly have the Protectors appear in the throne room, but he quickly regained his composure and stood up.
"Protectors, we have been waiting for you," said the king.
"Well, we wanted to let you know that we rerouted the floodwaters down some of the other tunnels and away from the city. You're all safe now," explained Serene.
"Indeed. We would love to thank you Protectors. We are forever in your debt," said the king with gratitude.
"Don't worry about it, your highness. You aren't in any debt with us, besides, it's our job to serve and protect," said Flame.
"Very well, my friends," said the king, "I hope we meet again soon, Protectors."
"Don't worry we will, eventually," said Serene. Before long, Flame and his companions were on their way out of the palace. The king waved goodbye and as Flame and Serene were entering the city, the citizens were cheering, everyone waving goodbye to the protectors. Flame, Serene, Sage, and Kage all waved back as they continued on.
"We should probably head back into the city now," said Flame.
"Hold on," said Kage.
"We have a couple of questions for you and Serene," said Sage.
"Okay. What are they?" asked Serene.
"Why did it take you so long for you two to get here? We waited for hours at the evacuation site," asked Sage.
"Well, after moving the flood. Me and Serene were too tired to teleport here to meet with you guys. So, we decided to walk here, but got lost in the tunnels and found our way back to the surface. As we walked through a dense forest a Blaziken and a Scyther came out of nowhere and challenged us to a battle. We accepted and won the battle, but I nearly killed the Blaziken because he shot a Fire Blast at Serene from behind. She was engulfed in the fire, after about ten seconds, she fell to the ground unconscious, after that I…I… I actually I don't remember," explained Flame.
"Then what happened after that?" asked Kage.
"Well, when I came back to my senses, I noticed Serene lying on the ground, the Blaziken lying on the ground barely breathing, and the Scyther walked slowly towards me," answered Flame.
"Okay, but how did you get those scars on your face?" asked Sage.
"The Scyther gave them to me. It's a symbol that means I beat him in combat," replied Flame as he faced Serene, "Serene, we should go see the Elders to check on Tim."
"Good idea," said Serene as everyone began to glow white and then vanished. Soon, Flame, Serene, Sage, and Kage appeared in a bright flash of light deep in the palace.
"Aero, Blizz, Elegon: Where are you?" asked Serene, all of the Elders teleported into the same room at the same time.
"We are here now. What do you need?" asked Aero.
"We need to see Tim. We are wondering how he is doing," said Flame.
"He is being held at the Medical Restoration Center right now," said Blizz.
"Where's that at?" asked Flame.
"Follow me," said Elegon. As everyone started to follow Elegon, Aero said "Sage, Kage, please do not follow them."
"Why, sir?" asked a bewildered Sage.
"I need to speak with you two about something that concerns me," said Aero in a worried tone.
"What concerns you, Aero?" asked Sage.
"Ok, well. What concerns me is…"