Book of Legends: Sinnoh Arc
Chapter 10
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Malik groaned as he moved to sit up. "Shit, what hit me..." he mumbled. When everything finally came back to him, he gasped as he looked around and was only met with a terrible sight. The lake had dried up completely after the blast from the Galactic Bomb, the cave taking minimal damage but the rock face was cracked and chipped in places. The cave may look fine but he knew well that there was worse to fear aside from that. He spotted Moas not far from where he was and stood on wobbling knees. "Moas? Moas, wake up!" he called as he got himself together before stumbling over to the prehistoric pokemon. Kneeling beside the plate pokemon, Malik rested a hand on his back and waited, eventually feeling him shift and raise his head. Malik sighed as he sat back while the pokemon helped himself to his feet. "Did...you save us from the explosion? I hope you didn't get hurt too bad. You don't need another scar on you." he murmured.
Moas gave a soft growl to reassure the other, lumbering into his full height as he was hunched over a bit to recollect himself as well. Malik stood and stepped back, smiling a bit. "I don't know what you did but I'm glad you did it. Now while I feel like I know the answer to my own question, let's go check out the cave." Moas nodded as he followed behind Malik into the lake bed of what was once Lake Valor. Malik wisely avoided looking around the destroyed water bed, knowing that any pokemon living in the lake would be suffering with the loss of their water home from the explosion. The trainer couldn't bear any more intrepid thoughts of what had occurred over the course of time that he was knocked out. They continued to cross the dried-out lake bed til they reached the cave that rested in the center. Malik looked to the plate pokemon who glanced back to him and nodded. The two stepped inside and Malik could feel the atmosphere of the cave was drastically different than any ordinary cave they traveled through before. "Is this why there is always so much destruction at the lake? Because the spirits...aren't actually in this physical plane...?" he murmured, looking around the empty cave void of any presence that would tell him the spirit was still there. Moas gave a rumbled grunt, tail thumping the ground at the fact Team Galactic had wormed their way past them to retrieve the last spirit.
"I know but at least we're alive. We failed but for being at point blank range of that blast, I'm glad to still be breathing." Moas preened at the praise, frilled plates vibrating in kind and Malik chuckled. "Let's get you back to your crazy trainer. He must be waking up with the others by now." Moas nodded and followed Malik back out the cave and through the lake bed back over to the bank. A wall clearly erected by Ancientpower protected the others that were further out, the rock crumbling in places. Kaiser, who had woken before the others, stepped out from behind the wall and spotted them. "There they are!" he called, eventually getting the others up and Topaz was the first to run out. "Shit, Malik! Don't scare me like that ever again!" Topaz groused. "Sorry. But I had to take a look at the cave and the damage here from that bomb."
"And?"
Malik shook his head and Kaiser cursed. Team Galactic had all the spirits in hand now and they still had no clue on what they had planned for them. "So what should we do?" Topaz questioned. "Well first thing is to get back to Veilstone. Contact the others so they know we're alive and alright. I'm sure with how that blast knocked me off my feet, that probably traveled way out and will have them freaking out if they felt it." Malik explained. "Speaking of which...how DID we survive that at point blank range?" Kaiser questioned. Moas gave a grunt and Marik grinned as he peeked from behind the wall. "That's my boy! Using Protect and Ancientpower on command!" he said happily. "So we didn't get vaporized, just knocked out from the aftershock. That's a relief." Topaz murmured. "Yeah but he looked like he took a heavy hit in protecting us in the process. So let's get back to the city and get him some care and definitely a treat." The others nodded in agreement and was ready to leave when something dawned to Kaiser. "Wait...where's Clarei?" he whispered, looking around his feet and the surrounding area. "Didn't you get her when she was poisoned?" Topaz inquired. "Yeah but that grunt setting off the bomb never gave me time to get her safely into her pokeball. And I was gunning for him to get the switch. Clarei! Clarei! Where are you?!" Kaiser called, panicking.
"You don't think..." Marik began. "Nah, if they wanted someone strong, they would've run off with Moas. I think she may have followed behind them after they got the spirit if she isn't here...now let's hope their base isn't far if the commanders had appeared as quick as he did." Malik answered before resting a hand on Kaiser's shoulder. "Come on, let's get back to the city and rest then we'll start looking for her. We need to make ourselves scarce from here before anyone else checks it out." Kaiser sighed, looking to him before nodding as Marik brought Moas back into his Great Ball as the group left the lake and returned back to Veilstone.
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Clarei sniffed around the base she followed the grunt and Saturn into. She was still weak from the poison and the blast that nearly tossed her from her place behind Kaiser as Moas put up Protect in time with him flinging Kaiser back with his tail with the others to get him behind the wall. When she saw the two gather the spirit from the cave, the spirit itself having been forced out from the aftershock of the blast, she knew this was the last chance to stop their plans by getting the spirit out of their clutches. With all the strength her tiny body could produce, she followed and found the location of their base right in the heart of Veilstone. She slipped through the automatic doors before they could close in on her and continued to silent trail after the two members. "What do you think happened to those kids, commander?" The grunt questioned. "Who cares, they almost got in the way due to your carelessness. You are lucky I was close by." Saturn spoke with a bite of venom in his tone which made the grunt shrink back from the reprimand.
"I'm sorry, sir. It won't happen again..."
"See to it that it doesn't. We are much too close for any blunders to occur."
The grunt nodded, holding tight to the cage holding Azelf, still out of it after its round with Golbat. Clarei saw this and her furry cheeks puffed out as she scurried after them until they entered a large research facility. Cyrus turned to them as Charon tapped away, eyes darting over the large monitor before him. "I heard the blast from here. Were you successful?" Cyrus questioned. "Yes, aside from the foolish grunt almost compromising the plan when he couldn't handle a few measly trainers..." Saturn began. "Trainers? What trainers? No one should know of these plans. We have sworn to secrecy as I began to draw this plan from the ground up. I researched countless texts and formulated the power of Dialga and Palkia to see how they would affect the world. There is no room for mistakes from anyone for this world shall be formed to my image and there should be NO interruptions from the general public until they are bowing down to me." Cyrus sneered. "I know, sir, but they shouldn't be a problem after the bomb went off. They are nothing but dust." Saturn spoke as he looked to the grunt who presented the cage to Cyrus. The leader smirked and nodded.
"Get it in place with the others. Charon, you have three days to form the Red Chain."
"Three?! But I implore you, sir! The Red Chain would take at least five days at best!"
Cyrus, who was heading towards the entryway, turned to glare at Charon. "Three days. We don't have any time to waste on preparations. If anyone else finds out, I will make sure to shut them down before they get the idea they can stop me. The goal is too close in my grasp to have it fail cause you can't follow orders." Clarei's ears folded back. She had to get this back to the others. Moas' quick thinking meant that they were ok and hopefully back in town by now. She had to relay this all to Kaiser so they can stop this. "Hey! Whose pokemon is that?!" A grunt called from down the hall, making her jump. Everyone occupying the lab turned to her and the grunt pointed to her. "It belongs to one of the trainers from Lake Valor!"
"Then that means they're alive! Capture it before it escapes!" Cyrus commanded as grunts began to flood the hall to capture Clarei. She yelped, her windows of escape slowly closing in and with the metal flooring and walls, Dig wasn't an option for a flighty exit. With a growl, fur bristling, she waited for the first grunt to try to get to her level to catch her and sprung up, leaping onto his head and forced him into the ground as she moved. Using their heads for leverage as stepping stones, she got herself out of the corner she was nearly drawn into but wasn't completely out of the woods yet. With her presence in the open, the front entrance would surely be locked now as if the sliding doors wasn't bad enough. Tiny heart aflutter with panic, she gazed around quickly before looking up and spotted her salvation. A grate leading to the vents was right above her.
Body wiggling happily, she looked back to see three more grunts coming her way. Hunkering down, she waited and when they were close enough, she raised her head, unleashing a powerful Ice Beam at the grunts, freezing them in place. She squeaked in triumph but her victory was short-lived as more voices rose up from down the hall. Fur bristling again, she moved back and used Ice Beam again to make a pillar up to the grate. "Hey! There it is!" A grunt called as give more ran into the hall. "Catch it before it gets into the vents!" Time's up. Leaping up, her claws extended out and dug into the ice. She scurried up the pillar, hearing the cacophony of pokeballs opening, a Stunky, Glameow, Golbat and two Dustox appearing. "Get that Furret!" One called, the army of pokemon aiming for poor Clarei. She whined in fear as she climbed as quickly as she could, the Golbat using Screech and caused her to flinch. The two Dustox swooped in while she was distracted, wrapping her up with String Shot against the ice. "We got it!" A female grunt cried in triumph. "Let's get it back to the leader. Maybe he'll find some use for it." A male grunt spoke as they advanced on the poor trapped pokemon.
Clarei whimpered, trying to free herself from the sticky webbing but found it futile with its hold secure. The grunts advanced closer and she felt dread creep up on her but at the same time, she felt something grow within her as well. Opening her mouth, she inhaled deeply, causing the grunts to panic, thinking it was going to be another Ice Beam. But it wasn't that. Instead, she howled, howled so loud that it began to disorient the pokemon and the grunts. "It's Hyper Voice! It's using Hyper Voice!" A grunt cried as they covered their ears from the piercing howl. The Golbat and Glameow were the first to fall, their sensitive hearing susceptible to the violent hit from Hyper Voice. Stunky buried its head under its arms and the Dustox were rattled. The ice pillar she was bound to began to crack, eventually shattering and freeing her enough to shred the slightly frozen web with her claws. With the freedom of movement returned to her, she landed on the floor once more and looked to the Dustox. They were beginning to recover from the aftereffects of Hyper Voice and she opened her mouth once more, unleashing a blast of frigid energy, freezing them in place with an incline connecting their frozen forms to the floor. Not wasting a beat, she ran across the ice path leading to the grate.
"Stunky! Toxic!"
She shoved herself bodily against the grate, hearing something loosen before ducking the ball of toxins that sailed over her head. She hissed when a few drops landed on her but she continued to persevere. She slammed the grate again with more force, hearing another attack coming right for her and growled. With one final slam, the grate flew inward and she ran inside, narrowly avoiding a Night Slash aimed at the spot she was previously standing. It freed the Dustox but also took a toll on them as well. "Hurry up! We gotta find it!" A grunt shouted but she didn't stay around long enough to hear more. She began running, using her nose to sniff out fresh air. The maze of vents were long and a particular vent had her hearing the grunts running about in search of her. After a bit of a runaround, she finally found a scent that guided her to the outside. Quickly entering the vent, she saw sunlight up ahead and squealed happily as she ran for the grate. She slammed into it after using another Ice Beam to weaken the metal to a brittle shell of was it formerly was and was finally free of her dreadful prison. A breeze struck her furry face as she looked around. While the building itself was heavily different from the rest of Veilstone, it was nestled deeply into the city where the most a town person would see is the glass top roof shining from the sunlight. Her ears twitched once more before she began to climb down the side of the building. She had to tell Kaiser what she learned and hopefully give them the time they need to stop Cyrus' plan.
Three days remaining.
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Night was approaching slowly when Yami and Yugi got out of the forest. Hisui was quietly slumbering in Yugi's lap as Luaith trotted on silently towards Eterna. "Will you try contacting your friends and see if they're safely back in Veilstone when we get settled in Eterna?" Yami questioned. Yugi stroked Hisui's back lightly and nodded. "Yeah I just hope they're alright." he murmured. "I'm sure they are with Marik and Toben there. Despite their rather...outspoken behavior, they are talented trainers and their pokemon are rather tuned to the worst of situations. I know well enough they were probably well protected from the blast." Yami replied as Luaith made it to Eterna, her glowing mane in the dark catching Jou's eye as he waited outside with Crimson and Venetus standing beside him. "I was wondering where you were when Aqua, Seto and Ruby arrived and you weren't anywhere behind them." Crimson stated as Luaith trotted over. "We got a little sidetracked but for good reason." Yami explained, dismounting and Hisui was revealed to the other's eyes.
"Ah, who do we have here?"
"Another evolution for Eevee's peculiar line, this one based on surroundings. It was being harassed by a rather adamant Murkrow so Yugi took it upon himself to assist him and he came along after evolving." Yami explained as he took the sleepy pokemon into his arms while Yugi climbed off after Luaith knelt down. "Interesting. Anyway you'll be happy to know I got some mail from Marik. They got knocked flat by the Galactic Bomb but Moas was at the top of his game and provided a buffer and a shield to keep them all in check. They're resting up now and will come here tomorrow." Yugi sighed in relief at the news from Crimson. "Thank goodness they're alright..." he whispered. "What of Bakura and Ryou?" Yami questioned. "Same deal. We'll plan on where to go and what to do from there once we get everyone here." Yami nodded, ushering Yugi into the center with the others while he sent out Astral.
"Do a full search of the perimeter of the town. If you can find anything for Team Galactic or Diamond's whereabouts, report back to me."
Astral nodded with a bark before running off into the night. When the moonlight pokemon was out of sight, he went into the center along with Crimson. At a table sanctioned off from a few other trainers in the area making a pit stop, the others sat. Jou was busy feeding the two Shinx that clambered over him the moment he sat down and Buizel, Luxray settled beside him on the floor. Seto had been watching intently while Ruby talked with Yugi about the new addition to his roster. Aqua nodded to them as he made room for the two. "So any plan of what to do next?" he questioned. "For the moment, we're all in agreement to waiting for the others to arrive here tomorrow then go from there. Jounouchi, you will more than likely head off to Solaceon to get Luxray and her young settled there, correct?" Jou looked up and nodded. "Good. Then there's the library at Canalave that should house some more information on our resident legendaries and maybe the purpose of the spirits. To do all this damage for them means something." Yami spoke. Aqua nodded in agreement, sipping his drink.
The rest of the night was calm after that, most of the group retiring for the night. Outside, Astral had done a complete perimeter search of Eterna and the only thing to have truly caught his attention was the huge and completely out of place building at the very edge of town. He knew well it screamed Galactic hidden base but with the lack of lighting anywhere inside, he could only assume the purpose of it was fulfilled and the place abandoned and condemned from future uses. With a soft grunt, he leapt over the small bushes surrounding the outside, moving to a lone window. He stood on his haunches to look inside, seeing nothing at all in the dark base. Astral grunted, hopping back down before scouring the area for some sort of entrance. Coming to a small grate, Astral examined it closely to see how well fastened it was to the structure. Giving a derisive snort, he stepped back some to give him room on what he was about to do next. Eyes glowing a soft yet solid blue, he began to use Psychic, the same glow taking hold of the grate. The telekinetic attack did away with the grate easily and he tossed it to the side before disappearing into the depths of the building.
The surroundings were dark but Astral hardly let it bother him, being a dark type after all. Slowly, the rings along his body began to glow, illuminating a good few feet around him as he looked around. For a relatively functional facility, it looked to be in disuse for some time. Astral began to walk along, considering his surroundings carefully in case there was a trap of some sort still set up for possible intruders. Locating a flight of stairs, he walked up to the next floor to continue his investigation. Boxes stacked against the walls and desks were empty, not a shred of information lingering around. Astral exhaled deeply through his nose as he continued to the third then the fourth floor. He examined every nook and cranny he could get into for each floor but found nothing. Dejected, he turned and was about to leave the building when he spotted a lone sheet of paper inside a desk from the corner peeking out. Tail wagging, he moved to the desk and used Psychic to pry open the drawer, pulling out the paper with his teeth. Setting it down before him, he took a glance over it. Little information was written there but a single line in bold caught his immediate attention.
Red Chain.
Ears canted back at the wording different from the others he knew well his trainer needed to know if this right away. With that in mind, he picked up the sheet once more, heading back to the first floor and out the way he came in. Arriving back in Eterna, he made his way over to the pokemon center and through the automatic double doors. Ruby was the first person he saw and trotted over to him. Ruby looked down to spot him. "Ah. Were you out, Astral? Hmm...? What's this?" Reaching down, he plucked the paper from Astral's mouth. Skimming over the page, his eyes widened when he came across the information about the Red Chain. "So that's what they're after. And they have everything they need. Astral, take me to where you found this." Astral barked as he ran back for the door, Ruby close behind as they left the pokemon center. A few short minutes had them standing before the abandoned hideout. "There's no doubt about it...this was a hideout probably in use when they were researching anything everything the needed before beginning their plan to summon Palkia and Dialga. Did you find anything else in there?" Astral shook his head sadly, making the normally proficient male curse. "We need to work fast. There has to be more about this Red Chain and with this place abandoned means there's another facility bigger and better to do the work. Come, let's get back to the others."
Astral nodded before the two made their way back to Eterna.