Hello. I had originally planned for this chapter to be released last weekend, but alas, it was my mother's 50th birthday party, so I had no time to write, as I was occupied with preparations for the party, and the party itself. Another reason for my late update is the fact that I've downloaded Pokemon FireRed onto my phone, and that's been taking a lot of my time also. Sorry.
In other news, I am oh so happy to sat that this story is nearing 100 followers! I'm really happy, as I view having over 100 followers as a "Rite of Passage" of sorts. Thank you for all the reviews and favs and follows everyone. They make my day. Love you all. You're the best. Chicken soup.
The most important time of the day, here we go, Q&A! (Yeah, I'm in a REALLY good mood. :D)
coolj77
Keep it up. Is May ever going to get a pokemon?
Answer: Eh, this isn't that big of a spoiler, so I'll answer it. Yes, She'll get one eventually.
Qruis
I knew it was worthy to stay awake today ( Every day till 2 am, just doing nothing, today wasnt the exception)
Gotta love those psychopath dialogs that actually makes sense. And god damn, 35-40 chapters!? i don't know what I'm gonna do, or keep following the story just when the chapters are released or wait like 4-5 months and then make a non-stop reading? mmmm...
Answer: Heheh, after thinking it through a little more, its probably gonna be 30-35 chapters. Still long though.
Aight, here we go! Chapter 13! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Pokemon is not owned by a 16 year old boy in New York.
"Alright, we've rested enough. It's about time we get a move on." said Ash, standing up.
Ash and May had sat together for three hours, talking about their futures and reminiscing about their pasts. But work had to be done, and the talks had to cease. As they packed their belongings, a question entered May's mind.
"Ash, how exactly are we going to get to the castle? If we fly with Charizard again, we might get shot out of the sky. Again." said May.
"Oh yeah, overnight I came up with a plan to deal with that. But in order for my plan to work, I'll have to teach you a new aura skill." said Ash, placing his stuff in his backpack.
"Won't that take a while?"
"Nah, it's a pretty basic concept. It should only take you about 20 or 30 minutes to learn. All you're learning is to create Aura Constructs. More specifically, an Aura Wall to shield us from enemy fire." said Ash nonchalantly.
"What's the point of me learning it when you can make an Aura Wall already?" asked May, curiously tilting her head.
"Did you see the size of those Negative Aura blasts that the airships fired? They were enormous and HIGHLY concentrated. Yeah I can make an Aura Wall, but there's no way it could stand that much damage unless I have someone helping. That someone is you. You're going to make an Aura Wall, and I'll reinforce it."
"What about Lucario? Why can't he do it?"
"Charizard can't carry the weight of all of us. You, me and Lucario can't be on him at the same time. And there's no way I'd put you in a pokeball, so you have to help, as Lucario will be in his pokeball."
"Alright. Let's get this over with quickly. I want to save Max today." said May.
"Geez, calm down. Alright, constructing objects out of Aura is not that different from forming an Aura Sphere. Tell me, how do you properly form an Aura Sphere?"
"By having equal ratios of control, energy output, and range." said May studiously.
"Correct. To form an object, all you have to do is change the ratios a bit. For example, a sword." said Ash, forming a sword made of Negative Aura from his hand. "I kept the range the same as an Aura Sphere, since the sword is coming from my hand. I also kept the energy output about the same. What made this a sword instead of a sphere was the change in control. I raised the control I had over the Negative Aura, allowing me to shape it into a sword."
"Hmm... interesting. I think I understand. If I want to make a wall that will protect us from enemy fire, I need to increase the range, so it can form in front of Charizard. Then I'd need to raise the energy output, to strengthen it. Then I'd lower my control, so it spreads out as a wall instead of a sword or sphere, right?"
"Uhmm, yeah, that's right." said Ash, astonished.
"Why are you so surprised?" asked May.
"I'm just shocked that you understood the concept so easily. It took me a full day to fully understand it all. Well, since you understand, try forming one."
May nodded her head, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. When her eyes opened, her sapphire irises glowed red with the light of Negative Aura. Her face went from relaxed to concentrated, as she began the task of forming a wall of Aura in front of her. Slowly, a small mass of Negative Aura formed about 2 meters in front of May. May felt a surge of pride, thinking she had successfully created an Aura Wall on her first try. That pride was short lived however, as the object slowly formed into an Aura Sphere, instead of a wall.
May's eyes returned to their sapphire color as she slumped her shoulders in mock shame, causing the Aura Sphere to disperse.
"Easier said than done I guess." muttered May.
"Wow. That was pretty good for your first try. You had the range part of the ratio perfect, but, as you said, you need to lower the control, and raise the energy output. Give it another try. I know you can do it." said Ash lovingly.
May blushed at Ash's encouraging words and tried again. Once again, Negative Aura formed in front of May, but instead of a sphere, a small, flat, concentrated disk of Aura formed instead.
"Nope, you increased the energy output, but you're still using too much control. Loosen up your control over the Aura and the disk should spread out into a shield. Keep in mind that it has to sturdy, but at the same time slightly transparent so we can see through it."
May took a deep breath, and relaxed a little, releasing half of her grip on the Negative Aura. Slowly but surely, the disk expanded into a wall, creating an Aura Wall. May squealed in joy, happy that she'd reached success.
"Great job. Now before we go, I want you to create five more, just to make sure you've got the technique down." said Ash.
"Okay!" said May cheerfully.
"So be careful, okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'll be careful. Adios."
"Bye."
A 20 year old Drew Hayden hung up the phone. It was Misty. Apparently he was on somebody's hitlist. But at the moment, he couldn't have cared less. It was two days before the Sinnoh Grand Festival, and his team needed a lot of work. After an embarrassing loss to a certain redheaded coordinator, he'd taken a year long break from coordinating, and it was evident in his pokemon's rusty skills. He was where he had been every night for the past week. In the woods just outside Pastoria City, where the Sinnoh Grand Festival was hosted that year.
"Come on Roserade, Petal Dance, again! Make it beautiful this time!" shouted Drew aggressively.
The petals flew into the air, and to anyone else, the display would look quite beautiful. But Drew knew better. It wasn't beautiful enough to defeat her. Ever since May and Dawn stopped coordinating, she had taken over, winning all the contests. Drew had come so close to beating her so many times, but damn, that Glameow of hers was a force to be reckoned with. He hated her guts.
"Dammit... It's pointless. We can't win in our current state. I should probably back out of the competition." thought Drew aloud.
"Yeah, you should probably back out." said an unknown voice from behind Drew.
Drew turned around to see a hooded figure in a red cloak. His face was hidden by his hood, but through the darkness, two glowing red eyes could be seen. Drew backed away, not liking the sinister mood that surrounded the man.
"Wh-what the-"
"Yeah, you should back out of the Grand Festival. Not because you're gonna lose, but because I'm going to kill you." said the man coldly.
"I'd like to see you try! Roserade, use Magical Leaf on that guy!" commanded Drew, a hint of fear evident in his voice.
"Hmph." huffed the man as he swatted the magical leaves aside.
The man then chuckled as he charged a Negative Aura Sphere, and fired it at Roserade. The sphere hit its target, knocking Roserade unconscious.
"Roserade!" cried Drew as he ran over to his fallen pokemon. He then glared at the hooded man. "You... you sick bastard!"
"Don't worry, you're next." said the man, firing another Aura Sphere, this time aimed at Drew.
Drew jumped out of the way, narrowly dodging the sphere. He quickly looked around for something he could defend himself with. He found a rock next to him and threw it at the man. The man dodged.
"Dammit." muttered Drew. "This must be one of those guys Misty just told me about. Damn, why now, of all times, do they choose to find me?"
Drew looked around again, hoping he could find anything useful. The hooded man was slowly but surely approaching, and Drew knew that his fate was sealed unless he thought fast. He spotted a thick fallen tree branch next to him and picked it up. It had a fairly sharp edge.
"Well, it's my only chance. Might as well go for it." thought Drew as he lunged for the stick. Once he got it, he stood to his feet and charged towards the hooded man, planning on stabbing him with the branch.
With one hand, the man swatted the branch out of Drew's hand, and with the other, he grabbed Drew by the neck, slamming him into a nearby tree.
"Ouch." muttered Drew.
"Time to die, kid." said the man as he charged another Aura Sphere, preparing to fire it at point-blank range.
"Fuck you." spat Drew.
The man growled, and readied himself to fire the Aura Sphere...
"Mismagius! Confuse Ray!" yelled a voice that sent chills down Drew's spine.
The hooded man stumbled back, as he was hit by a full force Confuse Ray. He began mumbling inaudible words, and walking around in circles, confirming that he was indeed, confused. The man then fell to the ground, unconscious.
Drew stood up and brushed himself off. "What are you doing here?"
His savior and her Mismagius walked out from behind a tree, clearly not pleased by Drew's rude attitude towards them. The girl had short red hair, and brick red eyes. She looked about 19 years old.
"Saving your sorry ass, that's what." said the girl.
"Just so you know, I didn't need your help, Zoey. I had the whole situation under control." said Drew.
"Hah, okay." chuckled Zoey, "Since when does 'having the the whole situation under control' encompass being pinned by the neck to a tree with a red ball of energy being pointed straight at your face?"
"Shut up. Leave me alone." said Drew as he walked over to Roserade, returning it to its ball.
"As much as I'd love to leave you alone, we both know I can't. We have to stick together. I'm sure Misty gave you the call too?"
"Yeah, she called."
"Then you know that our only chance of not being killed is to stay together." said Zoey.
"There's no way in hell I'm traveling with you. You ruined my coordinating career." said Drew stubbornly.
"Oh stop being a sore loser. No one told you to take a year off coordination because I beat you. You can't hate me for winning." said Zoey.
"Whatever." said Drew.
"Let's go." said Zoey, returning Mismagius to its ball.
"I already said I'm not going with you!" growled Drew.
"Yes, you are." said Zoey grabbing Drew by the ear.
"Oww! Where the hell are we even going?"
"My hotel room. We have to stick together." slightly blushing from the thought of having to share a room with Drew.
"W-were going to sleep t-together?" asked Drew nervously.
Zoey twisted Drew's ear, angered by Drew's dumb question. Drew wailed in pain, which satisfied Zoey to a degree.
"No you idiot! Of course you'll be sleeping on the floor."
Drew had no idea why, but he felt a small pang of disappointment after hearing that.
10 minutes after the lesson, May had finished her fifth Aura Wall, proving to Ash she had enough experience in the technique. So without further distractions or lessons, Ash, May and Pikachu hopped on Charizard's back, and resumed flight. At first, the skies were peaceful, giving Ash and May time to look around for any sign of Sir Aaron's castle. But soon, they were spotted, and the Aura Warlord Airships opened fire.
"Here we go, just like we practiced May! You form the Aura Wall, and I'll strengthen it!" shouted Ash over the loud noises of the wind.
"Got it!" replied May, her eyes already glowing red.
Within seconds, a wall made of Negative Aura formed in front of Charizard, protecting him.
"Good job! Now it's my turn!" said Ash as his brown eyes began to glow red.
Instantly, the wall of Aura in front of them tripled in size and potency. It then wrapped around them, forming a forcefield. May's mouth opened in awe, shocked at how powerful her boyfriend was. Ash noticed, and smirked. May saw the smirk and flicked Ash's forehead.
"Owww! Totally unnecessary!" said Ash.
"What's truly unnecessary is how close we're flying to the airships! We should be looking for the castle!" said May.
"...Charizard! Land on one of the airships!" commanded Ash.
"WHAT?!" screamed May.
"PIKA?!" cried Pikachu.
Charizard reluctantly did as he was told, and flew towards the closest airship.
"Ash! Are you insane?!" shouted May.
"It's part of my plan!" replied Ash.
"Why was I not told this?!"
"Heheh... Because I knew you'd be against it!" said Ash nervously.
"YOU ARE SO STUPID SOMETIMES!"
"You love it." said Ash as he tightly gripped Charizard, preparing for the landing.
Charizard landed on the deck of the ship. Ash and May hopped off, and looked around. From all directions, Aura Warlord grunts were approaching. Ash threw Lucario's ball out, releasing Lucario.
"Alright, Pikachu, Lucario and Charizard. I need you guys to stay here and create as much chaos as you can. Show no mercy, and make sure to keep them all occupied." ordered Ash.
"Yes Master." said Lucario as he and Pikachu climbed onto Charizard's back.
Charizard then flew into the air, shooting Fire Blasts at the Aura Warlords, while Lucario and Pikachu were shooting Aura Spheres and Electro-Balls. Ash, confident his pokemon could take care of themselves, grabbed May's hand and ran to the closest door. Once they were inside the ship, May spoke.
"Now what exactly is this crazy plan of yours?" asked May.
"We're going to find the cockpit of this airship. In there are two things that could be of use. A map, which probably has the location of the castle, and the captain of this ship himself. If there's no map, we'll just get the captain to tell us where the castle is! Smart, right?! :D"
"No, it's not. Smart and insane are two different things. But since we're already here, we might as well go through with this crazy plan of yours." said May.
"Love ya." said Ash, kissing May's cheek.
"*sigh*, I love you too. Now let's go." said May, running on ahead. Ash followed.
They ran, and ran, and ran, and ran. Up and down flights of stairs, through halls and up elevators, but they still hadn't found the cockpit. But soon, what they needed, came. A guard was heard approaching. May and Ash made eye contact and they both knew exactly what to do. May stayed put, while Ash zoomed ahead at top speed. In less than a second, Ash had the guard pinned to a wall with one hand, the other hand glowing blue with Positive Aura. The guard could barely process what was happening. all he knew was that he was in a dangerous situation.
"Hey." said Ash. "If you could just tell me where the cockpit of this ship is, I might not smash your face in." said Ash calmly.
"Up that flight flight of stairs, make a left, sixth door on the right! Please don't hurt me, I've got a wife and three kids!" squeaked the guard.
"Thanks." said Ash. He then released the Aura that was building up in his hand.
The guard sighed in relief. But out of nowhere, Ash snapped his fingers, and the guard lost consciousness. May's eyes widened at the sight.
"How on earth did you do that?" she asked, shocked.
"Oh, that? It's a technique I invented. Don't worry, he's not dead. If a person's weak enough, I can cut off his or her Aura for a split second, causing them to pass out. Maybe I'll teach it to you sometime."
"My goodness, why are you so damn talented?" asked May.
"I'm just that awesome." said Ash. "Now let's get quickly get to the cockpit and get this over with."
After a long walk in silence, Drew and Zoey had reached Zoey's hotel room. Zoey immediately grabbed her pajamas and headed straight for the bathroom to take a shower. Drew sat on the bed and removed his shirt, to find multiple scratches all over his torso.
"These must be from earlier..." thought Drew.
His thoughts were interrupted by Zoey entering the room, in nothing but a towel. Here eyes immediately locked with his. Her eyes then trailed down to his torso, which was pretty muscular. His abs were well defined... nice pecs... a perfect V...
"Like what you see?" asked Drew, snickering.
"Sh-shut up! I was looking at all your scratches. I'd never check you out in a million years." said Zoey defensively. "I can't believe I just checked him out."
"Yeah, okay." said Drew sarcastically. "Anyway, so what are we going to do?"
"About what?"
"About these people that are hunting us down, duh."
"Well," said Zoey. "After the Grand Festival, we're both going to have to stay in Kanto. That's the safest place, as that's where everyone else is."
"I guess that makes sense. But why us?"
"I don't know. But does it really matter why? If we're being hunted, we're being hunted." said Zoey turning towards her closet to retrieve her pajamas.
But as she turned around, her towel lost grip on her body, falling to the ground. Drew's eyes widened as he received a full view of Zoey's naked body. She was very well endowed. Her assets were... captivating to say the least. Zoey had no idea that she was nude til she felt a cold breeze on her body. She looked down to see herself naked. She then looked at Drew to see him staring.
"Stop staring you perverted ass!" shouted Zoey as she quickly picked up her towel, placing it on her body once more.
"I wasn't staring! There was... there was a spider on the wall, and I was watching it!" lied Drew. "Why would I want to see you naked?! Have you forgotten that I hate you?"
"Well I hate you more!" shouted Zoey.
"Bullshit, I hate you more!" yelled Drew, standing.
"I hate you more than I hate Pokemon Connoisseurs!" yelled Zoey, walking towards Drew, ready to smack him upside the head.
"I HATE YOU MORE THAN I HATED ASH!" roared Drew as he approached Zoey.
"Oh yeah?! I HATE YOU SO MUCH I MIGHT DIE FROM THE PURE HATRED!" screamed Zoey, her face now an inch from Drew's.
There was a pause. Neither of them knew what had come over them, but they started making out right then and there. They proceeded to make out for the next 20 minutes. The whole time, Drew was wondering what he was doing. He was passionately kissing the girl who had single-handedly ruined his coordinating career. But somehow, it didn't bother him. Zoey was just as confused as Drew. She was sure an hour ago that she hated Drew's guts. And there she was, kissing him as if they were in love. Were they in love?
"What the hell just happened?" asked Drew awkwardly, ending the kissing.
"I...I wish I knew." muttered Zoey. "Umm... let's just pretend that never happened, okay?"
"Y'know, you're not that bad of a kisser." said Drew flirtatiously.
"Shut up." said Zoey, punching Drew's stomach. "This doesn't change anything."
"So if what that guy said was true, then the cockpit should be behind this door." said Ash.
"Yep." said May.
"Then let's get this over with." said Ash as he kicked down the door.
"Was that really necessary?" chuckled May.
"100%." said Ash, looking around.
The room was empty. Ash walked forward, thinking nobody was there but him and May. He looked for a map, but to no avail. May however, was much more careful. She stood still and closed her eyes, scanning if there was any Aura in the room besides her's and Ash's. She faintly sensed what felt like someone on the ceiling. She looked up at the ceiling, and saw a man crawling on the ceiling, suction cups on his hands and feet. He had a knife in his mouth, and he was heading towards Ash.
"Oh Ash, so strong, yet so clueless at times. But that's why I love him." thought May as she charged and fired an Aura Sphere at the man on the ceiling.
May's attack hit the man square on the back, causing him to fall off of the ceiling. The man landed on the ground with a loud "THUD!" sound, alerting Ash. He turned around to find a man on the ground and May smiling innocently.
"What the..." started Ash.
"Y'know, for the man destined to save the world from a dark emperor and his death army, you're pretty inattentive at times." said May, lifting an eyebrow.
"Nobody's perfect?" mumbled Ash sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. At the same time, the man on the floor regained his senses. "Oh look, he's waking up."
The man groaned in pain, rubbing the spot on his back where he was hit. He then sat up and looked around, remembering what had happened. He also remembered how powerful the 20 year old standing in front of him was. He quickly sprung to his feet, but Ash was faster. In the blink of an eye, the man was face down on the ground again, Ash holding him down with his foot.
"Get off of me!" yelled the man.
"No." said Ash casually. "M'kay, I'm going to cut straight to the chase. Judging by the badge you're wearing, you're the captain of this airship, which means you most likely have the answer to our question. Where's the castle?"
"Which castle dumbass? There's three." spat the captain.
Ash's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. "Sir Aaron's castle, smartass."
"Hmph, if I told you, you wouldn't believe me."
"Tell me." said Ash.
"What you seek is closer than you think." said the man, reaching for Ash's leg.
"What kind of cryptic mumbo-jumbo is tha- OUCH!" yelled Ash, as the captain pinched Ash's leg, freeing himself from Ash's hold on him.
Before May or Ash could stop him, the captain pressed one of the buttons on the control board. Ash, fully recovered from his pinch to the leg, grabbed the man by the shoulders and slammed him into the closest wall, clearly not amused with the captain's stunt.
"We've only known each other for 7 minutes, and I hate you already. Congrats; New fucking record!" growled Ash.
"I gave you what you wanted." said the man.
"What do you mean 'I gave you what you wanted'?" asked Ash curiously.
"You fool. Don't you get it? You're already in the castle." said the captain.
"Wha-"
"Ash." said May hesitantly.
"Yeah May?" asked Ash, not taking his eyes off the captain.
"I think you should see this." said May, looking out the window.
"See what? said Ash, releasing his hold on the man to walk over to the window.
The first thing he saw was Charizard, Pikachu, and Lucario wreaking havoc on the deck of the ship. No surprise there. What he saw next made his eyes widen. The nearby airships were violently colliding with each other, connecting to each other upon contact. Like a puzzle, the airships were forming a single giant building. The cluster of ships kept flying around, collecting more and more airships, until it changed course, heading down a new path.
A path that set it on a collision course with the airship Ash and May were on.
Okay, chapter 13 complete. Leave me some wonderful reviews amigos! As for Drew and Zoey... I have no idea how I came up with that. I kinda like them together. I wonder if their shipping even has a name... whatever. And for those of you that read/follow my side story Brotherhood, i'll do my best to have the chapter out by Sunday night. Goodbye!
~DarkSlash9