Yay! We've broken 100 reviews! But who cares about that when that Greninja retrospective today looked fantastically phenomenal! Holy crap, man! Ash, go! Win the Kalos League! Before then, read Chapter 8!
Chapter 8
A Leader
"Use Ice Shard!" Serena could practically feel the frigid intensity that was radiating off of Wulfric as he gave his command to Abomasnow. Even when he had fought against Ash and the excitement he had shown, not once had his face let off this same air of intensity. It didn't stop Travis from viciously scowling at him though. The honey-blonde Performer stepped back a little, not wanting to get in the way of the furious Gym Leader and the small hail that was starting to fall from Abomasnow's Snow Warning being activated. Abomasnow opened his mouth, and with a practical gust, blew out the streaming Ice Shard, blue streaks following behind the attack.
"Use Shadow Ball. Get rid of them, already," Travis spat. It looked almost painful for him to talk with his burn; maybe that was why he was scowling. Mismagius danced through the air, firing off Shadow Ball after Shadow Ball towards the incoming ice. One managed to stray past the ring of Shadow Balls, but Mismagius managed to twirl in midair. Serena watched it and noticed that the ice almost nicked its side. The poor Pokémon was slowing down already…and if Serena's memory of Travis was still intact (which it was) that would not bode well for Mismagius. The rest of the Shadow Balls impacted powerfully with Ice Shard, creating a glittering dust that mixed in with the hail after the resulting explosion.
Serena frowned. She couldn't let herself get worried now. If Travis abandoned Mismagius, then she'd make sure he at least didn't harm the poor Ghost type. Right now, though, she needed to focus on dispelling the illusion completely and protecting Wulfric's keystone. Before she could give any orders to her Pokémon, she saw Greninja and Pikachu dashing forward. Shaking her head a little, she had to remind herself of how free these two were. Ash wasn't here, and they wanted to win. Greninja leapt up into the air, its leg glowing white with an Aerial Ace attack that kicked upward and managed to slam into Mismagius. Almost simultaneously, Pikachu leapt over Greninja's head and slammed down onto Mismagius with an Iron Tail. The Magical Pokémon went careening elsewhere, only to make contact with Greninja's flying Water Shuriken.
The teamwork between Ash's Pokémon was flawless.
"We can't let them do all the work, right guys?" Serena asked of her two team members. Braixen nodded, gripping her wand tighter, while Pancham adjusted his sunglasses. "Great, then let's surround Mismagius with Stone Edge!"
"Pan Pancham!" Pancham cried out, flipping forward to get close to Mismagius quickly. Their opponent finally seemed to right itself in coming to its senses, facing straight towards Serena. It began to fade from view, likely to use Phantom Force. Before it could, another Water Shuriken struck it, preventing it from doing so. At this same moment, Pancham finally reached Mismagius and slammed his hands down. The stones he produced were larger than any Serena remembered seeing, jutting up towards the sky and creating a practical tomb for the Ghost type.
"Now, Braixen, use Fire Spin!" Braixen didn't move from her spot near Serena, but she did point her wand straight at where Mismagius was battering around within the stones. Nearby, Serena could see the rest of the destructive illusion fading. Mismagius was truly near its end of the battle. A twisting column of fire exploded outward from underneath Mismagius, destroying the stones and engulfing the Ghost type in flames. Within those flames, Serena saw Pikachu jump upward onto the last remaining stone.
"Pika…chuuuuuuuu!" Pikachu cried loudly, a searing Thunderbolt flashing into the flames and engulfing Mismagius. Seconds later, the smoke from both attacks was all that was left, and even that began to fade. Mismagius drooped and fell to the ground. Serena allowed a smile to briefly stretch her face, and her attention turned to Rocky, who looked to be very slowly recovering from the assault on his face. Glad he was okay, she turned to Travis. Serena was surprised to see he wasn't scowling, but had reattached a smirk to his face that made his burns look even more twisted.
Serena's brow creased, and then she heard it: the roar. Turning her body, she saw a giant Salamence sailing straight for her, his front right claw cloaked in shadow as it looked ready to rip through her. She couldn't move for a moment, seeing just how fast it was blitzing towards her. Braixen moved in front, brandishing her wand like a sword. That didn't stop Salamence at all. Serena opened her mouth to give a command to Braixen.
"Nin!" Greninja suddenly cried out. Like a flash, the Ninja Pokémon had appeared between Braixen and Salamence, the white blade of Cut already drawn. White and black collided, sending sparks through the air as the two attacks clashed powerfully against one another, neither giving an inch. Greninja had truly protected them; this made Serena frown. Had Ash given his Pokémon some kind of instruction like that? To protect her? No, she wasn't useless.
"Pancham, knock Salamence off balance with Stone Edge," Serena said. Pancham nodded and slammed into the ground from his position. The stones traveled out in a line to where Salamence was still clashing with Greninja and sprung out underneath its wing. Salamence was tossed upward, spinning in the air as it tried to regain balance. Greninja finally slumped backwards a little, the exertion of the previous block catching up with it.
"A very nice hit," Wulfric rumbled out, his belly shaking a little. "Abomasnow, use Ice Punch!"
"Aboma!" Abomasnow cried and he began to run forward, his very footsteps shaking the ground as his fist glowed with a chilled, blue hue. Salamence was still spinning as the attack collided with its stomach. Serena could see ice crystals on its body now, and Salamence was flinching in pain.
"Flamethrower! Burn that old fool's Pokémon!" Salamence gave a great roar and from its gaping maw jetted powerful flames that consumed the Ice type. That seemed to be enough to get Salamence flying again, because it took to the air. Serena hated the way Travis was acting in this battle, especially once she saw another flame burst through Abomasnow's body. "Ha ha! Looks like your Abomasnow is burned, you pathetic old man! Just give up now."
"Give up?" Wulfric said. He gave a chuckle as he looked his faithful Pokémon straight in the eye. "Just when the battle is…you know? Getting heated up? What a ridiculous thought. Energy Ball!"
Abomasnow, heaving a little from the burn inflicted on it, held his hands up and formed a great green orb near its mouth before firing out toward Salamence. Serena looked down to her own Pokémon, not saying anything, but giving an order all the same. Braixen held her wand out, using Hidden Power to send the silvery spheres of light at the Energy Ball. Pancham also sent his Dark Pulse to join with the attack. The three mixed together in a swirling combination of green, black and silver that struck on the frozen part of Salamence's chest. The Dragon Pokémon cried out in pain.
"Enough of this," Travis snapped. His face was once more in a snarl and he was starting to run…right at her. Serena held her fists up; she didn't know exactly how to fight, but she wasn't going to let Travis do whatever he was doing. "Ketchum's not here, so I'll take whatever frustrations I have with him out on you."
"No, you won't," Serena said firmly. "I won't let you hurt Ash in any way. Either through me or directly."
"Like you could stop-urgh!" Serena kept her stance, but had barely seen the attack flit across Travis. All she knew was that both Greninja and Pikachu had rushed past Travis, each of them pulling out an attack. Now the boy was clutching his stomach, and from the pain distorting his face, his scars looked perpetually worse.
"Pika pika!" Pikachu cried out, his own face looking livid.
"Tch…even with him not around…you're still an annoying rat…" Travis groaned out, still clutching at his stomach. "Change of plans, Salamence. Torch the town until there's nothing left! And Medicham, stop sitting around like the useless thing you are!"
The Medicham didn't respond, almost like it didn't hear Travis at all, but Salamence certainly did as it started flying towards a row of houses. Serena's eyes widened. It was one thing to attack them, but to involve innocent civilians…It was very clear that Wulfric felt the same way.
"You would hurt my beloved Snowbelle?" he roared out, his frigid fury increasing even more from where it had been at the start of the battle. "Such cowardice! Such…I have no words, but you will not break my Snowbelle. In fact…you know? You won't even break my ice!" With that, Wulfric grabbed his pendant and popped it open to reveal the keystone inside. It was the exact thing that Travis had come there for, and judging from the smile on his face, he knew it. "You're talking about beating Ash Ketchum; I'm sure you would have…you know? Lost to him even the way he was during our first match. Abomasnow! Mega Evolve!"
"Boma!" Abomasnow cried. Everything seemed to move in slow motion at that moment. Bright light surrounded Abomasnow as it began to transform. Salamence opened its mouth to torch the nearby house. Travis began to run at Wulfric, evidently to obtain his keystone. Greninja was throwing a Water Shuriken. Then time moved again and Serena saw Pikachu dash over to Mega Abomasnow.
"You want to help protect my city?" Wulfric asked. Pikachu nodded in determination. "Then throw him up there!"
"Aboma!" Wulfric's Pokémon cried, rearing back to grab Pikachu and toss him at Salamence with immense strength. Salamence's Flamethrower gushed out, but seemed to be stopped cold only a second later by the Water Shuriken making contact with its jaw. Right after that, Pikachu landed on Salamence's back, an Electro Ball charging at his tail that he then slammed into their opponent. Travis was almost upon Wulfric.
"Your keystone is mine!"
"Use Ice Punch!" Travis could only blink at Wulfric's command. For the second time in her life, Serena was physically recoiling from a show of power that wasn't even aimed at her. For the second time, she was witnessing the true power of Wulfric's Mega Abomasnow. With that singular frozen fist impacting the ground of Snowbelle, ice consumed Travis' body and began to hold him in place. When it finished encasing him, Serena could still see him blinking inside. "Attacking other trainers is distasteful, but at least…you know? You won't cause trouble for now."
Serena wasn't entirely sure, but the sounds of the battle taking place above her drew her attention away from Travis. Pikachu was rolling around, trying to maintain balance on a writhing Salamence. Of course, the whole reason for Salamence writhing around so much was its combat with Greninja, whose glowing limbs were making continuous clashes with Salamence's glowing wings. It was a clear Aerial Ace battle.
The sound of cracking ice now drew Serena's attention. Even Wulfric was surprised at the speed, but Medicham had somehow gotten over to Travis and was pummeling the ice apart with amazing speed. All too soon, before Wulfric could even issue a command, the ice shattered and fell away from Travis, leaving him gasping on the ground. "Next time, get involved before this happens!"
"Medi…" Medicham said, but Serena wasn't entirely sure just what kind of comment it was in the first place. Not that Travis was in a position to say much more himself, still gasping for air. It was Serena's one and only chance to talk him down. If they could prevent any more useless fighting, it would be for the best.
"Travis," she said, stepping forward just a little. Braixen quickly shielded her, but it didn't prevent her from saying what needed to be said. "You need to stop. Stop all of this. There's no need to hurt anyone."
"What do you know? !" Travis spat as he crawled onto his knees. Serena sighed loudly; she needed to get through to him. There had to be some small light in him somewhere to allow her to do that.
"Not much," she admitted, "but I know that Team Neo is hurting people. They're doing the same thing Zinnia did. Don't you remember? That's wrong. I know you fought against us, but…"
"Ha ha…you're just a stupid, naïve girl that's Ketchum's little doll, aren't you?" Serena flushed angrily. She was not just a doll, and she certainly wasn't naïve. "You have no concept of what it's like in the real world. You prance around on the stage with your Pokémon like it's all fun and games when it's not. Who cares about fun? Winning is what matters. You don't even know what it feels like to lose because there are no winners or losers for you."
"That's not true!" Serena finally snapped. That seemed to draw Travis' attention to her. "I lost my first Showcase. I lost the Master Class. I lost the first battle of the Kalos Team Tournament, or did you forget? I know what it's like to lose, but I still picked up the pieces and moved on. You're not doing any of that!"
"And why should I? I'm going to make it that I never even lost in the first place!" Serena recoiled at that, unsure of what he meant or how she should respond. "Salamence, use Dragon Claw on the stupid girl. Let's make Ketchum feel some loss!"
"Braixen, get ready to intercept!" Serena yelled, trying to clear her mind of distraction. In the air, Salamence whirled around throwing Pikachu off him finally and distracting Greninja, who ran to rescue Pikachu. Then he shot forward at mach speed, his claws glowing green.
"Abomasnow, Ice Shard!" Abomasnow opened its mouth and fired the numerous frozen projectiles at Salamence as it shot straight for her. Some of them were avoided at the speed Salamence was traveling, while others impacted but seemed to hardly do a thing.
"Braixen, use Fire Blast," Serena said with determination. Just before Salamence was to make contact, Braixen issued the gushing torrent of flame. Hers wasn't the only attack to make contact, either. A blast of moonlight shot from another direction, along with a purple crescent shape of energy. All three attacks converged on Salamence, causing it to finally cease its assault and get knocked off course. Wulfric didn't even follow that up with an order; Abomasnow's own arm extended with flexibility to slam Salamence into the ground with a Wood Hammer. When the dust cleared, Serena could see both Diantha and Astrid had arrived with their Pokémon, the Champion leaning on Astrid for support.
"Gah…this whole thing is going from bad to worse. Medicham, take care of the Champion!" Travis yelled out. Medicham, like the last time Travis had yelled at it, made no movement. "Ugh…you're such a pain without Dalton around…"
"Hammer Arm!" There was another great roar, this time from Rhyperior as it reared back and slammed its arm down towards Travis. The red-haired member of Team Neo barely rolled out of the way as the Hammer Arm broke the surface of the ground. Serena looked over to Rocky, who was now standing, with wide eyes. "I'm not letting him hurt anyone else…not another person…or another Pokémon…"
"Tch, since when did you become such a valiant knight, Rocky?" Travis said with venom. He finally drew himself back to his full height and Serena could see his eyes scanning the area, as if looking for an escape route. "You've become pathetic. But if you want to play hero, let's see how many you can protect!"
With his last word, Travis chucked a small device towards Pikachu and Greninja, who were still rather distracted. The device grew larger as it traveled through the air, glowing with an orange light. Braixen called out, presumably for the pair of them, and Serena began to run forward just as the device got close. From the corner of her eye, she saw Diantha nod sadly. Suddenly, Gardevoir disappeared, appearing before the duo. Then the device exploded. The remaining trainers and their Pokémon took cover as the explosion consumed the area within a contained radius. Once it finished seconds later, Serena finally chanced looking up. She instantly saw Travis atop his Salamence.
"Let's get out of here," he said to the dragon. Salamence appeared to grunt. "Just leave the useless thing. We're outnumbered, and I don't plan on taking on the Champion; Mismagius was supposed to keep the illusion on her but failed. Medicham, we're out of here. I'm sure the other plan succeeded. Now, let's go. Max speed."
Medicham nodded, floating upward to Travis' side. With a final, scowling look down, Travis kicked on Salamence's side and both of them took off into the sky before anyone else could recover to launch an attack. A bright light to the side signaled the conclusion of Abomasnow's Mega Evolution. However, Serena realized that was the least of their problems and she ran forward to where Gardevoir was lying on the ground, Diantha kneeling over her. Wulfric was right alongside her.
"Abomasnow, grab her. She needs immediate treatment," Wulfric said. Abomasnow crashed over and grabbed the Embrace Pokémon tenderly, like he was afraid of breaking her.
"Thank you, Wulfric," Diantha said. She herself stood, aided by Astrid. "I know it was foolish, but I figured that Gardevoir would have the best…urgh, chance of containing the explosion."
"Please, Champion, don't strain yourself," Astrid said. She looked up at Serena with an almost exasperated look. "You were injured just yesterday."
"I'm fine. We need to get to the Pokémon Center." No one chose to argue with the Champion. As a result, the pair of Diantha and Astrid followed after Wulfric and his Abomasnow. Serena, for her part, quickly ran over to Rocky's side and caught him before he passed out, the blood still dripping down his face. He did recall Rhyperior, however.
"Are you all right?" she asked, keeping his arm slung around her shoulder as they trudged forward. Moving through the area, Serena noticed that the small area had been quite damaged, though nothing that wasn't fixable.
"Just a little banged up," Rocky grunted out. "Sure wish I could've messed up Travis' face if it wasn't messed up enough already."
"Hmmm…" Serena hummed out. Travis' face certainly had been a mess, just like the rest of him. Everything from his attitude to his philosophy was unchanged, and that wasn't a good thing. What scared her the most, though, was him saying that he was going to make it so that he never lost. Serena shared this thought with Rocky.
"Just forget him. He was babbling about nonsense like the twisted individual he is," he spat (thankfully not at her). "Maybe at some point he could have been saved, but now that he's with Team Neo, there's absolutely no way."
Still, Serena thought as she looked at the serene Snowbelle sky, his words may mean something worse than we could imagine.
"What are you doing?" Seamus' voice pulled Ash away from the window he was looking out from inside his cell. They had left Shalour City a while ago. At least, he thought they had, since the Tower of Mastery was no longer visible. They also seemed to be moving faster…maybe. Ash was never one to be able to measure speed, and certainly not on airships. Either way, he left the window and returned to his cozy little cell bars. He really wanted out of here.
"Just wondering where we're going," he answered the blond. Seamus scoffed.
"Why bother? We're either hostages to be used as bargaining chips or they have some other nefarious purpose for us," he expressed distastefully. Ash didn't like it; his tone sounded like he was giving up, and that was something that Ash could never abide.
"Because I don't want to be stuck in this jail cell forever," Ash said simply. "First chance we get, I'm out of here!"
"We're on an airship. You realize that, right? Escaping isn't exactly easy." He couldn't see Seamus' face, but he was getting very annoyed with the blond's tone. "Even if we get away from our captors, we'd probably fall to our deaths."
"Hey, what's going on with you?" Ash finally asked. He couldn't take it anymore. Listening to someone drone on so depressively was not good for anyone's mental attitude. Seamus didn't answer at first, but when he did, his comment was just as depressing as all the other ones.
"Nothing," he said simply. "I just don't think there's any point in giving us false hope."
"It's not false hope!" Ash snapped. "We will get out of here. We have to get out of here!" He didn't mention that he needed to get out of there to make sure that his friends, Pokémon, and especially Serena, were okay. Seamus didn't say anything again, though. Ash wracked his brain, trying to find the right thing to say, but before he could decide, the doors that led to the cell corridor whooshed open. Ash stood immediately at the sight of the still masked Merle walking in. She looked a little roughed up, some nasty bite marks on her wrist.
"It's time. Dalton wants to see the both of you," she said, her voice growling a little. It seemed almost feral, angry. But Ash didn't say anything. He just observed her, his hands on the bars. "Step back."
Ash did as he was ordered, not wanting to incense this clearly angry girl any further. Once he had, the bars on the door began to automatically retract, the cell doors opening. For a moment, Ash wondered if he should have made a break for it right then and there, but from the very frustrated way that Merle was now bandaging her hand, he decided that doing so would probably just increase his chances of getting killed for no reward. Seamus' own cell must have opened, too, because his voice seemed a little clearer.
"Why now? What happened?" he asked. Merle didn't answer, but she did step forward with a small box that she held out to Ash.
"Put them on," she instructed. Ash wasn't about to refute her, so he held out his hands. The box glowed blue and bands of energy wrapped themselves around his wrists like a pair of handcuffs. Clearly this was a very common thing in the criminal underworld. With that done, Merle stepped aside and let him exit his jail cell. Seamus stepped out of his at the same time and Ash shared a look with the boy. He held a small smirk on his face, but Ash really wasn't able to interpret what it meant. "We wouldn't want you to cause trouble here."
"Of course not," Seamus scoffed out again. Merle barely even spared him a glance, but she did nod to the other man in the room. Said guard nodded back and then prodded Seamus in the back to move him forward. Not wanting to be prodded along with him, Ash followed straight after, right through the door the duo had come through.
That door led into another hallway, practically white but for the glass cases in it and a door with a black handle. It was a short hallway, too, which struck Ash as odd. The airship looked so large from the outside, yet these hallways seemed to only take up, maybe, a small space of it. Not that he was an engineer or an inventor like Clemont was, so he probably didn't know what he was talking about. He did know the ship had been large enough to blot out the sun back in Nova Town, though. He continued along with Seamus by his side, looking like he wasn't happy to be there. Neither was Ash, but his own attention was distracted by one of the glass cases holding three pokeballs. Pokeballs that he recognized.
"My Pokémon!" Ash yelled. He lunged for the case but found himself pulled back suddenly by Merle. He struggled against her for a moment longer until she kicked him to make him go forward. Glancing back at the forlorn case with a rather frustrated expression, he chose to move forward so as to not be kicked again. I'll be back for you guys, I promise.
The group of four continued along the hallway, and as Ash drew close to the door that was there, he saw the big words in red that indicated it was a maintenance shaft to the top of the airship. Filing that away as a potential escape route (which was thankfully close to his Pokémon) Ash continued with the others as they wound their way through a series of hallways until they came to a very large white door that opened once the male guard with them punched in some kind of key code. As he did so, Ash tried to remind himself of the route they had taken so that he could get back to his Pokémon as quickly as possible. The doors in front of them slid open loudly and Merle finally led them all inside.
The first thing Ash noticed was that he was practically assaulted with sound. After being locked up in a jail cell with nothing but his thoughts, Seamus being grouchy, and a small porthole window for the better part of…however long he was there, hearing all sorts of noises was rather jarring. More than that, there was also a bright blue screen in front of him. Or maybe it was the sky? Ash wasn't entirely sure, but he did realize this was the bridge of the airship, having remembered being on Hunter J's ship back in Sinnoh. It was eerily similar, now that he thought about it.
There were a lot of people around too, all dressed in the same black jumpsuits as the ones that had raided the town. A number of them were moving about like they had some task to complete while others were just sitting around. Ash even saw one guy spinning in a chair until the man Ash had seen in Nova Town, Tau, put a hand on him to stop him. That's when he also noticed the balding man from the radio station huddled over what looked like a table, a large scroll rolled out on it with numerous chemicals or something nearby. Next to him was another man, his back turned to the captives, but at the sound of the door closing, he faced them.
"Seamus…" the man said, and Ash easily recognized the voice. It was the same man who had spoken over the TV: Dalton. Now that he was in the light, Ash could notice his features. Dalton looked lean, yet muscular, as though he had honed his body through numerous efforts. He was also a slightly older man, roughly the age one would expect for a father, with crinkled eyes and a worn brow, his nose a little flat in nature. That wasn't to say he looked old and harsh; actually, Ash was surprised to see that there was a soft kindness behind them, accented only by his deep black hair, which was cut short but with rather prominent sideburns. "Look at you…"
"Wait, you know him?" Ash exclaimed, unable to help himself. No one seemed to be listening as Dalton tapped the table where the scroll was sitting. It looked familiar, but Ash was too busy keeping his attentions focused squarely on the leader of Team Neo. Either way, the balding man rolled the scroll up, showing some faded drawings for a moment, and Merle moved away from Ash to lean against a wall.
"You've grown," Dalton finally breathed out as he approached the two of them, hands behind his back. When he was a few feet away, he stopped. "I saw you in the Kalos Team Tournament. You had a strong showing."
"I was weak," Seamus spat. Dalton didn't look taken aback in the slightest by the outburst.
"No. You followed your path," he corrected. Ash continued to watch the man, not saying anything. He was finding it very difficult to not say anything.
"I followed yours, Dalton," replied the blond. "It got me nowhere."
"Okay. I'm confused," Ash finally said, unable to hold it in any longer. Dalton turned to look at Ash, and he surprisingly smiled. He stepped forward again and held out a hand.
"Ash Ketchum, an honor to meet you." That statement was enough to floor Ash. Why on earth would this man want to meet him? Either way, there was no way he wanted to, or was capable of, shaking his hand. Ash indicated this by holding his hands up to reveal them cuffed. Dalton chuckled in response. "I've heard so much about you."
"You have?" Ash asked. All of this was getting way too confusing for him. His face must have shown this exact reaction, because the smile on Dalton's face dropped, and he began to look rather concerned.
"Seamus didn't tell you?" Dalton said. His gaze once more shifted over to the other boy. So did Ash's eyes, and he noticed that Seamus was looking away.
"It slipped my mind," Seamus finally answered, but even Ash could hear the lie that was resting on his lips. Dalton shrugged a little and both he and Ash looked towards each other once again.
"I was his teacher," Dalton said with a laugh. Ash blinked, unsure of exactly what he meant by being his "teacher". "Oh, Seamus was such an eager child, same as Travis. They were two of a kind, always wanting to battle, and I was more than willing to teach them."
"Not like I had much of a choice," Seamus finally spoke up a little louder, bringing himself into the conversation. "You were the only battle instructor in town. Every other teacher just taught the basics. If I had any other choice-"
"-you would have still chosen me," Dalton finished. Ash noticed his tone get colder and the lines on his face get sharper. This was clearly the Dalton that ran Team Neo. "What did you come to me for in the first place? Ah, 'to get stronger', and 'to win everything'. When was that again? After the Silver Conference in Johto? Or was it before then?"
"Shut up, Dalton," Seamus yelled. Ash was flicking his sight between the two males, watching as they practically stared each other down in an icy faceoff. "I'm not that person anymore."
"You'll always be that person." Seamus growled a little at the statement and Ash was still feeling like he was slightly lost in the whole situation. "And that's okay. I taught you it was okay. If you want to reach the place you're aiming for, you need to be ruthless."
"That's not true!" Ash finally snapped out. Dalton ignored him in favor of Seamus.
"I watched you, Seamus, during the Tournament, and you did everything you needed to. When your team member failed to reach their potential and help you in achieving your goal, you were brutal, but honest, with her."
"Is that your reasoning for attacking the League?" Seamus asked. Dalton just offered a little nod. The very thought of it made Ash feel sick to his stomach. "You're sick, Dalton."
"I'm not," the leader of Team Neo answered quietly. "I just realize that to accomplish anything, you need to be willing to walk over things. You decided that was achieved by releasing Pokémon. I've decided to do something different. In the end, our methods are quite the same."
"I'm not the same as you!" Seamus growled out, though it sounded as though it were more of a strangled cry. "I'm not! I was able to realize my faults. You taught me strength but you never taught me to trust in my Pokémon."
"That was the part of the path you chose," Dalton said with a sigh. It was like he was growing tired of this conversation and the way it was just running in circles. "It doesn't matter. I didn't bring you here to debate the philosophies of my mission or our past together."
"Then why did you?" Ash asked. Finally, Dalton turned in Ash's direction and offered a smile, like he was putting his full attention back on him. "I mean, you're talking about 'being ruthless' so why did you just capture us instead of…you know…"
"I'm ruthless in my methods, but I'm not so low as to kill children," Dalton said. His smile dropped a little, but his jovial mood had returned and seemed to be there to stay. "That is one line I will never cross if I can help it. No, I brought you here to meet you."
"Meet…me?" Now, Ash was really confused. What could he have ever done to cause this guy to want to meet him? The whole thing was beyond preposterous. "What for?"
"To thank you," was the simple answer. Ash continued to drown in the haze of confusion. "Honestly, I never thought we'd have the chance to meet at all, but when I saw you compete against Seamus and Travis in the Kalos Team Tournament, I was surprised."
"You're not really making any sense." If Ash could have folded his arms at saying this statement, he would have. Dalton wasn't dropping his smile, either, which was putting Ash even more on edge.
"Like I said, I've heard a lot about you. Seamus wouldn't stop talking about you, but once you lost in the Silver Conference, he had something lit under him. It allowed me to help him in a way I couldn't before. Granting that it wasn't long after that when I left with my daughter…" Dalton looked to reminisce a short moment. "But that's beside the point: I watched you in the Tournament and it reminded me of your efforts elsewhere in…resolving things. You got involved in something no child should ever have to be involved in, and you came out stronger. It's impressive."
"I'm not joining you," Ash said, getting a very distinct idea of the direction this conversation was taking.
He was proven wrong when Dalton let off a chuckle. "I wasn't going to ask you to. Anyone who knows Ash Ketchum through anything knows he's not one easily swayed. I just captured you here to get you out of the way. You're too much of a thorn in my side otherwise, and far too pure of an influence on Seamus. I know that from the crisis in Hoenn a few years back and the Ancien Debacle."
"I'm not joining you either Master Dalton," Seamus spat with venom. "I'm not the person you molded me into."
"For now," Dalton agreed. "But let's face it, Seamus, do any of us ever truly let go of the past?" The question seemed to crack Seamus a little, because for a moment, Ash could swear he saw Seamus' eyes grow darker and his body shut down.
"Father, Travis is back," Merle spoke. Ash swallowed. Father? Travis? This whole thing was starting to go from bad to worse every second. This wasn't how he expected any of this to go. Not that he had the time to think about it, judging from the loud and wrathful sounds from outside the door. Sure enough, those doors slammed open, accompanied by an even louder slamming of feet as the livid redhead entered in. Ash suppressed a gasp at the sight of his burned face, but watched as he slammed his fist angrily against the wall, hitting a panel that made the lights dim for a moment before Tau fixed it.
"That stupid, stupid Gym Leader. That stupid, stupid Champion…that girl!" he was yelling angrily, and with every word, his face looked like it could twist off.
"Travis, stop throwing a temper tantrum," Dalton sighed out once more. Into Ash's view now came a Medicham, looking almost bored with proceedings. At its entrance, Dalton ignored Travis in favor of the Pokémon. "I'm guessing that not everything went according to plan?"
"Cham," the Meditate Pokémon answered, shaking its head.
"Eh, that's all right. We succeeded on our end," Dalton seemed to admit before turning back to Travis. Medicham went to stand by Dalton's side, its eyes closed. "And you need to learn more restraint, Travis. I've told you time and time again to not use Medicham as your personal puppet. Pokémon aren't tools, same as people."
"Shut up, old man! This wouldn't have happened if it weren't for the Champion being there!" Travis roared. Ash was determined to keep his mouth shut at this point, grateful that the redhead hadn't noticed him in the current state he was in. "She was supposed to be dead! Your stupid missile failed at that."
"Grow up, Travis!" Tau suddenly bellowed. Ash watched with surprise as the man with slicked back hair approached Travis and slapped him across the face. "We let you join the team and Delta Squad because you had a driving purpose; a reason. Don't make us doubt our decision by acting like a child whose favorite toy broke."
"That's rich," Seamus finally scoffed out, clearly unable to help himself. Ash couldn't make out whether the blond was surprised at Travis' appearance at all (like him) or if he was just really good at hiding it. "Travis never had a favorite toy. They were just tools."
"Wha…?" Travis turned away from the slap, finally noticing the two of them standing there, handcuffed. His shocked expression quickly turned into a smirk however. He left Tau's side and walked over to Seamus before punching him across the face. "That's for your failure."
"Good to see you, too, friend," Seamus spat out. "I see you've fallen in with some pretty nasty company."
"I'm surprised you aren't asking where I've been, Seamus. We were friends for so long." Travis' tone was so simpering, Ash practically gagged at the sight of it.
"We weren't friends," Seamus rebutted. "We used each other."
"True. And now, Dalton's going to use you to reach our own goals. That'll feel like a good dose of karma for turning on your 'friends'."
"That's not going to happen!" Ash yelled out, drawing more than just Travis' eyes to him. The smirk on the redhead's face turned to a sneer as he stood before Ash and looked him in the eyes. "I'm not going to let it happen! Whatever Team Neo is planning, I'll put a stop to it."
"Still the same Ketchum…" Travis sniggered out. "Ran into your girlfriend at Snowbelle. She was pretty annoying for a while."
"What did you do to her? !" Ash roared the second he heard Serena mentioned. He tried to run forward and tackle Travis, but some hands held him back from doing so. "If you touched one hair on her head…"
"Nothing, yet, but I get the feeling that the next time I meet her, I'll have my way. Burn her with a Flamethrower, maybe a few cuts. Hey, then we can be matching and you can feel the same pain I feel every…single…day."
"You brought that on yourself," Ash growled out. "Gary told me what happened. He-" Ash didn't expect the kick. Yet within seconds, Travis had whipped around and slammed into Ash's face with a kick. That dazed him, and he wobbled on his feet.
"Your little girlfriend caused me no end of headaches in Snowbelle, and is part of the reason I failed. But she's not here, and you are. Christmas came early; I'll take my anger at dealing with her, and losing in the Tournament, out on you." Then he punched right across Ash's face. Once more, his head became dizzy, and before he knew it, he had fallen to the floor, his head swimming with images. Voices were speaking, and it sounded like Dalton was scolding Travis, but Ash couldn't be sure. He was sure that no one was bothering to pick him up however.
His vision started to clear a few seconds later and he could see Seamus watching him, though he didn't chance moving. Right now he actually had to think, and not act impulsively. There had to be a way out of here, and not moving would probably give them the chance they needed. Shifting his cuffed hands a little bit underneath himself, he found that the energy bands had grown a little looser, like the box was malfunctioning from the fall. Malfunctioning, huh? Shifting his eyes just a little, Ash found the control panel on the wall, the very one that Travis had slammed onto and nearly caused a blackout. He just had to wait for his chance.
"…want to cause problems, I won't send you on any more missions."
"I don't have to take orders from you!" Travis snapped. "I don't care if you were my teacher. I don't care if you want things the way you want it. In fact, if you want Seamus so badly, why don't you just choose him over-"
Seamus made his move. He stuck his leg out quickly and tripped Travis. The redhead flipped over and landed on the ground with a rather loud "oof!". That was very clearly the signal. Ash pulled his hands apart with as much strength as he could muster and broke the pair of handcuffs before springing up. Merle was the first to lunge for him, but before she could reach him, Ash slammed his hands all over the control panel. Clemont would probably kill him for smashing such an incredible piece of machinery. It did its job, though, and the entire bridge went dark.
"Let's go!" Ash yelled as chaos descended on the bridge. It was a good thing that hitting the control panel also seemed to open the door. There was a guard in the way, though. Ash just kept running, and summoning what he had learned from his times synching with Greninja, he raised his leg upward and managed to kick the guy in the stomach. "Sorry."
The man didn't reply and Ash skirted around him into the also darkened hall. Seamus was at his side, and the both of them could see other small lights dotting the hallways that indicated exits. Ash rubbed his head for a moment, trying to remember which one to take when Seamus grabbed his sleeve and pointed.
"I think it's that one," he told him. Deciding that Seamus likely had a much better idea of the direction than he did, he followed the suggestion. They weren't alone in turning down that hallway as the sound of pounding footsteps behind them indicated that Team Neo was pursuing them. Seamus took charge and continued to swerve through the different hallways and Ash was starting to get a better bearing on where he was going. Finally, they turned into the hallway that led straight to the jail cells. "Let's get out of here. Good thing Travis gave us such a good distraction."
"Hold on, I need to get my Pokémon. Yours, too." Seamus didn't say anything for a moment, his hand resting on the shaft that led upwards.
"Ash, we don't-"
"I just have to figure out how to break this case." When he walked right in front of where his pokeballs were, however, he knew there was no way he was going to be able to do it. He would need Clemont's genius assistance or some incredibly quick thinking that he just didn't have time for. He was so close! His hands pounded against the glass in frustration, followed by the pounding of more footsteps. "I'll be back…just wait for me, you guys."
"Let's hurry it up!" Seamus yelled and Ash turned away with a grimace. The blond opened the door and crawled inside. Ash was right behind him, taking hold of the ladder and climbing up as quickly as Seamus' pace would allow them to. It didn't take long for them to reach the top and push it open, though the sounds below indicated that the members of Team Neo had caught up with them. It didn't stop Ash from making the final climb to the top of the airship and slamming the opening shut. "The airship's listing…I think…"
"Probably 'cause I jammed on that control panel," Ash admitted, walking as close to the edge of the airship as he deemed safe. Looking over the edge, he could tell that Seamus was right, the back end that they were on was tipping a little low, almost brushing the tops of the trees below. Looking it over with a frown, Ash noted that if they jumped at a certain branch, they could probably make it safely. At the very least, he had made far more dangerous jumps before and come out okay.
"You're not going anywhere. Either of you." That sound was undeniably Merle's voice, and Ash whipped around to see the masked girl stalking forward. Seamus backed up to join Ash at his side, both of them in defensive postures. How had she managed to get up here so fast? Ash could only imagine that the girl had a very quick shortcut up here and had anticipated them to escape this way.
"Yeah? Try and stop us."
She took that as a very clear challenge. With a vicious snarl, she extended her arms out and ran at the pair of them. Ash threw his fists up as Merle ran straight for him. Just as she was about to reach them, Ash stepped forward and took a swing but completely missed. Merle's arms snapped out towards Ash's stomach, striking him. He couldn't help but grin, though; this was nothing compared to the pain he felt whenever he synchronized with Greninja. It made him able to act quickly by grabbing Merle's arms and snapping his elbow upward, right into her face. The force of the action and her head snapping back caused the mask to fly off.
That was clearly a mistake.
Within seconds, Merle kicked out and Ash skidded along the roof as he looked up and finally got his first glimpse at the girl under the mask. She had long black hair and cold blue eyes, staring at the both of them with a hurt expression. But the most to Ash's surprise was the fact that she looked so much like Dalton, her nose flat and her eyes crinkled.
"No…" Seamus' voice called out from behind him. Ash rolled onto his stomach and noticed that Seamus was staring at the girl in shock, his body shaking. He was also taking steps back from that shock. "It…It is you…Merry…"
He took one more step back, obviously not looking where he was going, and Ash opened his mouth to scream. He was a second too late, and Seamus' foot walked off the edge of the airship and sent him tumbling to the forest below.
"SEAMUS!"
Author's Note: This chapter…whew…It was a lot to write. From the battle that involved a lot of major parties to the major revelations that came in the back half of the chapter. On that note, I hope you all enjoyed that major battle against Travis. As for travel times in the story…well, let's just suspend our disbelief maybe? I tried to make them work out, but it's difficult. That said, this chapter brought a lot of revelations forth. We have now met Dalton and revealed his connection to Seamus, which will be put in more depth later. We also now known that Merle, or Merry as Seamus calls her, is Dalton's daughter and she has finally had her own face revealed. And what's this about Dalton thanking Ash? Obviously there are a lot of things yet revealed, and the plot's just heating up!
I hope you're all enjoying this so far, but I do have plenty of people to thank for success so far such as BreeZaps, 1, and Captain Luky Greace for favoriting; goldenshadowphoenix for following; and a big, big thanks to potat lasaro, ultimateCCC, DrafteeDragon, Tenzalucard123, FantasyLover88, Oyasumi, Cottonmouth25, AmourshippingCanon, Sentinel07, MoonfallExpress, ChE clarinetist, StacheKing, Lucas Frost and one guest for reviewing. Every time I post a chapter and then see the little e-mail indicating I got a review I feel just so happy and it encourages me to keep writing. So, until the next chapter, I ask all of you wonderful readers to Review and Dare to Be Silly.
