Before I get underway with the next chapter I want to apologize for taking so long to update. I would have had this up sooner but Hurricane Ike had other plans. It blew through and knocked out power for a week. Not only that but we've got a lot to clean up around here. Still, once things back to normal I should be able to get the updates done much sooner.
And now, on with the story.
Chapter 21: The Time Guardian
It had been a few hours since the Gold unit began searching the area for Firefly and her group, but so far they hadn't turned up anything. The leader was starting to grow impatient with the lack of results.
"Damnit, where are they?!" he yelled. "It shouldn't take this long to find them!" While his frustration grew Mari was observing from behind the bush concealing the entrance to the cave Firefly and the others were hiding in. She silently laughed as she watched the members of the Gold unit pass back and forth in front of the cave, none of them knowing just how close they were.
"With any luck they won't find this entrance until after Firefly and the others have left," the Lucario said. Confident that their location was still well hidden Mari retreated back inside to rejoin the others.
Back inside the cave most of the group was resting for what they believed was still a long trek. Aqua and Farris were keeping an eye on the young Pokémon as they played a game of hide-and-seek. Rubic was designated as 'it' while Pockets, Kaiser, Summer and Tsunami hid.
"You guys can't hide from me for long!" Rubic said. "I'm going to find you!" Aqua and Farris smiled as they watched them play.
"It's good to see them playing like young Pokémon should, isn't it," Aqua said.
"Yes," Farris said. "It's sad that they can't play more often, what with us going to be on the move so much in the coming days."
"In that case we should make sure they enjoy this time as much as possible," Aqua replied. While Aqua and Farris kept watch over them Firefly and Indigo were planning their next course of action.
"After we leave here we need to find out where we need to go to meet up with whoever Empress Ho-oh said was waiting for us," Indigo said.
"That's going to be easier said than done," Firefly said. "We don't have anything to give us some kind of direction. All we can do is wander around and hope to run across whoever it is."
"That's true," Indigo said.
"If you need help getting to a certain destination Mari and I can lend a paw," Blazer said.
"Thank you for the offer," Firefly said. At that moment Mari returned.
"How did it look?" Blazer asked.
"They have no idea where we are," she replied.
"That's good," Blazer said. Mari hopped over next to Blazer. The Infernape put an arm around her and held her close. Firefly and Indigo took notice of this.
"You two are real close, aren't you," Firefly said. The two Pokémon smiled at her comment.
"That we are," Blazer said. "I don't know what I'd do without her."
"Same here," Mari added.
"How did you two meet?" Indigo asked.
"It's been a few years," Blazer said. "I was abandoned when I was still a Chimchar when I came across an egg. The egg was frozen solid and I knew whatever Pokémon was inside was trapped. I had to do something, so I used my best Fire attack and melted the ice. Mari hatched from the egg shortly after that."
"So you saved her life in a way," Indigo said.
"I guess you could say that," Blazer said. "We've been together ever since, and I wouldn't have it any other way."
"What about the color of your fur," Firefly said. "Did the climate here have something to do with it?" Mari decided to answer this one.
"It wasn't the climate that affected our fur," she said. "You see, when Blazer thawed my egg out his flames were so hot they turned blue and burned his fur. The fur that grew back was black. As for me the flames that surrounded my egg affected my fur, making it orange and yellow instead of blue and black."
"Amazing," Firefly said.
"Now that's what I call dedication," Indigo said.
"We are dedicated to each other," Mari said.
"Now, about that destination you two were talking about earlier," Blazer said.
"Right," Firefly said. "First off let's get you two filled in on what brought us here…"
Half an hour later the Gold unit still hadn't turned up any indication as to where Firefly and the others had disappeared to. The leader was just about at his wits end.
"I am NOT about to report back to Giovanni saying we failed!" he yelled.
"Should we use the Pokémon to search them out?" one of the his subordinates asked. For the first time in a few hours the Gold unit leader appeared to calm down and consider his subordinate's suggestion.
"Yes, that should help with the search," he said. He took out a Poké ball and called on his Houndoom. A few of the others did the same until there was a small team of Houndoom ready to help with the search.
"Search the area! If you detect any scent that may lead us to 01 and her location inform me at once!" the leader said. The Houndoom barked in unison before going to carry out their appointed task.
"… and that's the whole story." Firefly and Indigo had just finished explaining their situation to Blazer and Mari. They were shocked to say the least.
"Y-You mean… Empress Ho-oh…" Blazer managed to stutter out.
"You're both her Chosen?" Mari asked. Both Firefly and Indigo nodded, getting a few gasps from Blazer and Mari.
"We had no idea!" Blazer said. "To think we had two of Empress Ho-oh's Chosen here with us."
"Yeah," Mari said. "I mean, this isn't something that happens everyday." Firefly and Indigo couldn't believe the fuss they were making.
"We haven't done anything spectacular as her Chosen yet," Firefly said. "For now it's just a title."
"Even so it's still a great honor to have two of her Chosen here with us," Blazer said.
"Well thank you," Indigo said.
"Umm, if you don't mind, could we see the marks?" Mari asked. "I've never seen them before and I was curious to see them for myself." Of course Firefly and Indigo were more than happy to show them. They each held out a paw and showed them their marks. Blazer and Mari looked on in awe.
"So that what the Mark of the Phoenix looks like," Mari said. "And this means that Empress Ho-oh has chosen you two to be her special Pokémon."
"That's it in a nutshell," Firefly said.
"Must be a lot of pressure," Blazer said.
"It was at first, but you learn to adjust to everything," Firefly replied. While the four of them talked Hoshiko was off meditating. The purple star on her forehead gave off a slight glow as she meditated. Suddenly, the star shone brightly and then faded out completely. Hoshiko opened her eyes, a look of worry filling them.
"It's only a matter of time now," she said. "I've got to warn Firefly and Indigo." She quickly got up and made her way to Firefly, Indigo, Blazer and Mari.
"Firefly! We need to get moving!" she said.
"Hold on, Hoshiko. What's wrong?" Firefly asked.
"Something's changed outside," she said. "The Gold unit will discover our location soon." Blazer and Mari couldn't believe what they were hearing.
"They'll find us? How? This place is so well hidden," Blazer said.
"They'll find it. I know they will," Hoshiko replied.
"I'll go check and see for myself," Mari said.
"Wait. I'll go with you," Firefly said. "I think we should get everyone ready to leave in case Hoshiko is right."
"I'll take care of that," Indigo said. "You two be careful." Firefly and Mari nodded before leaving to go check on the situation outside. Everyone was hoping that Hoshiko was wrong about this.
Firefly and Mari made it to the entrance of the cave in a few minutes. Still concealed behind the bush they were able to look out and see what was happening. Firefly didn't like what she saw.
"Damn! They brought out their Houndoom!" she said. "They'll be able to sniff this place out in no time."
"Are their noses really that good?" Mari asked.
"Definitely," Firefly replied. "That's how they tracked us." The two of them remained hidden, still watching the Gold unit search the area. One of the Houndoom was approaching the hidden cave entrance.
"Go away, go away, go away," Firefly said.
"You don't think it knows, do you?" Mari asked. Before Firefly could answer her the Houndoom looked up right in their direction. Seconds later it looked back and barked to the others.
"It does now!" Firefly said. "Let's get going!" The two of them headed back inside just as the rest of the Gold unit gathered around the Houndoom. Their secure location wasn't so secure anymore.
The Gold unit leader made his way to the front of the group, eager to see what the Houndoom had discovered.
"What is it?" he asked. The lead Houndoom motioned towards a bush. The leader walked up to it. At first glance it appeared to be just a normal bush. But upon closer inspection he noticed that it appeared to have been moved recently. He grabbed the bush and tossed it aside, revealing a small cave behind it. Right then he knew what happened to Firefly and her group.
"01 and her group must have hidden in this cave and used that bush to conceal the entrance," he said. "Clever, but not clever enough." He turned to the rest of the group, ready to give them their orders.
"We're going in! The Houndoom take the lead!" he said. With their orders clear the Gold unit prepared to enter the cave. Before doing so the leader thought it wise to inform Giovanni of their discovery.
Giovanni was still waiting for a report from the Gold unit on their progress. Ever since Firefly and her group had first escaped he thought about nothing but getting her back.
"The Gold unit should have reported back by now," he said. "They had better not fail me." His patience running thin Giovanni was about to get up and go check on their progress himself when one of his scientists entered his office.
"Sir, we just received a report from the Gold unit," he said.
"And?" Giovanni replied.
"They have discovered 01's location," he replied. "They believe she and her group have taken refuge in a cave system in Sector A9." Giovanni was well aware of that cave system. He knew that there was a second entrance far to the east of where the Gold unit was now and that there was a chance that Firefly and her group could easily escape out of it should the Gold unit take too long to locate them inside. Knowing this he got up and walked towards his office door. The scientist was a bit startled by this.
"Sir?" he said.
"Should the Gold unit take too long Firefly will escape through the second entrance," Giovanni said. "I'm going to make sure that doesn't happen."
"Should I send out a second unit to wait at the second entrance?" the scientist asked.
"That won't be necessary," Giovanni said. "I want to handle this personally." With that said he walked out to go take care of this situation.
Indigo had gotten everyone ready to leave. The tension in the air was beginning to thicken as they waited for Mari and Firefly to return. They all hoped that the Gold unit had not discovered their location, but they also knew how accurate Hoshiko's predictions could be.
"What's taking them so long? They should have been back by now," Shadow said.
"I'm sure they're alright," Aqua said. "You have nothing to worry about."
"We won't know that until they get back," the Pikachu replied. As soon as he said that Mari and Firefly returned. Blazer and Indigo approached them.
"Well, what's the word?" Indigo asked.
"They found us," Firefly said. "They were using their Houndoom to sniff out the entrance."
"No!" Indigo said.
"How long do we have?" Blazer asked.
"Judging by how many Houndoom they were using I'd say not long, maybe a few minutes if we're lucky," Mari replied. The others heard what they said and began to worry.
"That's just great!" Shadow said. "There's no way we can get away from them now!"
"Yes we will," Farris said. "As long as we stick together we can do anything."
"Farris is right," Ironside said. "There's nothing we can't do if we work together."
"Blazer, Mari, is there any other way out of here?" Firefly asked.
"Yeah," Blazer said. "There's a second entrance out east of here. It's quite a ways away but it's the only other option."
"Can you lead us there?" Indigo asked.
"No problem," Blazer replied. Right then Mari's ears perked up.
"What is it?" Blazer asked.
"They're close," Mari replied. "If we're getting them out of here we need to get moving now."
"Got it," Blazer said. Firefly turned to the group.
"Okay everyone, stick together! We're getting out of here!" she said. Everyone nodded. Kaiser, Summer and Tsunami gathered around her and Indigo for protection.
"Stick close to us, children," Firefly said.
"Okay," all three said.
"Alright, lead the way," Indigo said. Blazer and Mari nodded and headed deeper into the cave system, Firefly and the rest of the Pokémon following close behind them.
No one knew exactly how long they had been running, but they felt as though this chase had gone on for hours. They weren't sure how close the Gold unit were now but everyone was ready to get out.
"Is it much further?" Rubic asked.
"No. We're getting close," Blazer replied. With the exit nearing the group pressed on. Then, after running for a few minutes more, Blazer and Mari stopped.
"What's wrong? Why did you stop?" Firefly asked.
"This is as far as we're going," Blazer replied.
"What do you mean?" Indigo asked.
"We'll delay them as long as we can while you get out," Mari said. This shocked everyone.
"You mean… you're not coming with us?" Farris asked.
"We can't," Blazer said.
"Why not?" Pearl asked. "You'd be much safer if you did."
"She's right," Firefly said. "If you come with us you'll be safe from Team Rocket."
"It's not that we don't appreciate the offer. It's just that… this mountain range has always been our home and we can't just abandon it," Mari explained.
"We feel that it's our job to watch over all the free Pokémon in this mountain range and keep them safe from Team Rocket ourselves," Blazer said. "You understand, right?" After hearing their explanation everyone realized that Blazer and Mari were needed there.
"Take care of yourselves," Firefly said.
"Same to you," Blazer said.
"We'll make sure to visit once things settle down," Indigo said.
"We'll look forward to that day," Mari said. At that moment everyone heard the sound of a large group moving through the cave.
"They've caught up with us," Blazer said.
"That's our cue to leave," Firefly said.
"Good luck," Mari said. Firefly nodded and wished them luck as well before leading the group towards the exit. Now alone Blazer and Mari prepared to repel their pursuers.
"You ready, Blazer?" Mari asked. The Infernape looked at her, a wicked smile on his face.
"Like you really need to ask," he replied. "It's time to meet the blaze head on!" Right then a few of the Houndoom came into view. Before they had a chance to spot them Blazer and Mari went on the attack. Blazer managed to catch a few of the off guard with a Mach Punch barrage while Mari went in close with a Bone Rush, knocking a few of them back herself.
"What's going on?!" one of the Gold unit members yelled.
"The Pokémon were attacked by something!" one of the others replied.
"Gee, aren't they the masters of pointing out the obvious," Mari said.
"You can say that again," Blazer replied. The two Pokémon went back on the attack, taking out a few more Houndoom with Close Combat and Bone Rush.
"Man, this is too easy," Mari said. "At this rate Firefly and the others will be… oof!" She was silenced when one of the Houndoom managed to sneak in and strike her with a Flamethrower. Blazer noticed and immediately felt sorry for the Houndoom.
"Uh-oh. You guys shouldn't have done that," he said. He hit the Houndoom in front of him with a Brick Break before backing off behind Mari. The Lucario stood up, her eyes ablaze with anger.
"You… do NOT… hit me!" With a battle cry that would make most Pokémon run and hide Mari went on the attack. Aura Sphere attacks flew everywhere, some of them hitting the Houndoom while others struck the cave walls and ceiling. The constant barrage loosened a few of the rocks, causing them to fall.
"It's caving in!" someone yelled.
"Call the Houndoom back and pull out!" the leader yelled. Flashes of red light indicated that the Houndoom were being called back. Then the sounds of footsteps could be heard over the blasts from the Aura Spheres as the Gold unit retreated. Once he was sure they were gone Blazer attempted to calm his enraged mate. He took hold of one of her arms in order to get her attention.
"Calm down, Mari. They're gone now. It's over," he said. Mari stopped firing Aura Spheres and turned to the Infernape. Her eyes slowly returned to normal as his words sunk in.
"Are… are you sure?' she asked.
"Yeah," Blazer replied. "They've all left." With no one left to fight against Mari let her body relax. She leaned again Blazer, exhausted from her recent crazed assault.
"Man… that took a lot out of me," she said. Blazer smiled at her as he held her in his arms.
"Well you can relax now. I don't think they'll be coming back anytime soon," he said.
"Yeah," Mari said. "I just hope Firefly and the others got out okay."
"I'm sure they did," Blazer replied. The two Pokémon remained in their positions, content with their work and confident that they were able to give Firefly and the others the time they needed to escape.
Firefly and the others managed to find the cave exit on their own. As soon as they were out they took a few moments to catch their breath and make sure everyone had made it out alright.
"Are we all here?" Aqua asked.
"Looks like it," Farris replied. "So, what's our next move? We can't stay here for too long."
"Farris is right you know," Indigo said. "Whatever you decide we need to do next we need to do it fast. There's no telling when the Gold unit will resume their chase."
"I know, but right now we need to determine where we are. After that we'll know where we need to go," Firefly said.
"I already know where you need to go." Everyone froze in fear. They all recognized that voice but didn't want to believe he was there. And yet, when they looked towards the sound of the voice, there he was.
"What's wrong? You almost look surprised to see me," Giovanni said. He had brought with him a small group of troops that cut the group off from their escape route.. The majority of the group backed away, but Firefly and Indigo stood their ground.
"How did you find us?" Firefly asked.
"Once the Gold unit reported their position it was easy to determine where you'd end up next," Giovanni replied. He looked over the group, taking in their expressions of fear. His eyes soon fell on the three newborn Pokémon hiding behind Firefly and Indigo.
"Well, it appears as though you've gotten some new faces since we last saw each other," he said. Summer and Tsunami shirked away, but Kaiser remained still. Firefly and Indigo stood side-by-side in front of them.
"You will not lay a finger on them!" Firefly said. Giovanni looked at her, an amused expression on his face.
"You don't have a say in the matter, my dear," he replied. "Retrieve 01 and the three baby Pokémon. Make sure they are unharmed." A few of the troops started walking towards the three baby Pokémon. Firefly and Indigo remained between them, a snarl forming on Firefly's face.
"I'm warning you, stay away!" she said.
"That's not an option," Giovanni replied. The troops were almost on top of them. Firefly and Indigo prepared to fight them off.
"That's enough of that…" Before anyone could make a move the area was flooded with a bright green light. Everyone shielded their eyes. The light lasted only a few seconds before dying out. Slowly everyone uncovered their eyes, not knowing what to expect.
"Is everyone alright?" Indigo asked.
"We're fine," Aqua replied. "Just what was that light anyway?"
"More importantly what did it do?" Rusty asked.
"Umm, guys? I think you should take a look at this," Rubic said. She was pointing in front of them towards Giovanni and his troops. When everyone looked they couldn't believe what they saw.
"Th-they're frozen!" Pearl said. Just as she said Giovanni and his troops were frozen in time.
"Amazing," Mayim said. "I didn't know your time-control powers had gotten this good, Rubic."
"They haven't," the Igglybuff replied. "My powers haven't gotten that good yet."
"Well if it isn't you then who's responsible for this?" Rusty asked.
"I am," a voice said. Everyone looked around to try and see where the voice was coming from, but they saw nothing.
"Who's there?" Firefly asked. "Please show yourself." Firefly was confident that whoever stopped Giovanni and his troops wasn't hostile, but she still wanted to see who they were dealing with.
"Oh yes. Forgive me," the voice said. Shortly after a small green sphere appeared in front of the group. No one knew what to make of it. Then, green sphere grew in size and vanished. In its place was a small white fairy-looking Pokémon. A small pair of antenna were on her head and on her back was a pair of small wings. She opened her eyes, which were a beautiful red color. She looked over the group and smiled.
"I am glad to see you're all safe," she said. Everyone was amazed by who there were now face-to-face with.
"You're… Celebi!" Farris said.
"Yes," she replied. "My name is Ivory. Empress Ho-oh sent me to find you and aid in your escape."
"So you're the one she told us to seek out," Indigo said. Ivory nodded in response.
"And you're also the one who did this," Rubic said, referring to Giovanni and his troops.
"You'd be correct, Rubic," Ivory said. "It was also I who gave you your powers and made you my Chosen." Rubic couldn't believe what she was hearing. Right in front of her was the legendary Pokémon that bestowed the title of Chosen upon her.
"Mistress Ivory," Firefly said.
"Please, call me Ivory," she replied. "Titles such as that never really appealed to me all that much."
"Alright," Firefly said. "How long will they be frozen like that?" Ivory knew she was talking about Giovanni and his troops.
"They'll remain in their state until I release them," she replied. "For now I must take you to your next destination."
"Our next destination?" Farris asked.
"Empress Ho-oh feels that it is too dangerous for you to remain here much longer," Ivory said. "She has told me that you are to be taken to a special location. I am here to take you there."
"But how will you do that?" Rubic asked. Ivory smiled at her young Chosen.
"I have the power to teleport all of you there," she said.
"Teleport? You can do that while keeping them frozen?" Pearl asked.
"Yes, though they will resume their movement once we leave the area," Ivory replied.
"Who cares? We'll be long gone when that happens," Shadow said.
"True, but they may still be able to track us," Firefly said.
"You are correct," Ivory said. "They could easily track my energy signal and find out where I teleported you to."
"That's a risk I'm willing to take," Indigo said. The others agreed with him. They were all eager to leave the mountains and Team Rocket behind.
"Very well," Ivory said. "Gather around and I'll teleport us there." The group gathered around the Time Guardian and awaited teleportation.
"Here we go!" she said. Moments later her body gave off a green glow that engulfed everyone in the group. Seconds later the light vanished, along with the Pokémon. The moment that happened Giovanni and his troops regained movement. The first thing they noticed was that Firefly and her group were gone.
"What the?! Where did they go?!" someone said.
"They vanished!" another replied. Giovanni was seething. He had Firefly within his grasp, and now she was gone to who knows where. One of his men cautiously approached him.
"Sir, what are your orders?" he asked. Without responding Giovanni turned and started to walk away.
"Sir?" the soldier asked. This time Giovanni stopped and answered him.
"Return to base," he said. "I want to know where they went." The soldier saluted him and relayed the order to everyone else. With nothing left to say Giovanni continued back towards Team Rocker HQ.
Hundreds of miles away was a peaceful field. The warm rays of the sun bathed they field and everything in it in its ever-loving glow. The peace was soon disrupted by a glowing green sphere that grew quickly in size. When the sphere vanished Ivory, Firefly and the rest of the Pokémon had appeared.
"There, we've arrived," Ivory said. Everyone looked around at their new surroundings.
"Where are we?" Mayim asked.
"I've brought you to a place hundreds of miles away from Team Rocket's main base," Ivory said.
"Hundreds of miles?! You teleported us that far away?!" Rusty said.
"It wasn't as difficult as you may think," Ivory said.
"I see," Firefly said. "So, what do we do now?"
"There's a forest near here about half a mile to the east," Ivory said. "There are Pokémon there that will aid you. You are to seek them out for now."
"And after that?" Indigo asked.
"That I am unsure of," Ivory replied. "Empress Ho-oh should contact you in time. Until then I suggest that you wait there." Firefly and Indigo nodded in understanding. With her job done Ivory was about to teleport away when…
"Wait!" She stopped and turned back to the group. Rubic had stepped to the front.
"What is it, Rubic?" ivory asked.
"Umm… I just wanted to know… why me?" she asked. Ivory didn't know what she meant by her question.
"I don't understand," she said.
"Well, it's just that, there are so many other Pokémon you could have named as your Chosen," she said. "Out of all of them why did you chose me?" Ivory smiled and floated down towards her. She placed a paw on the young Igglybuff's head.
"I chose you because I knew what your future held," she said. "You were going through hard times and only a worthy Chosen could rise above those hardships. You had to fight from the moment you were born and went blind, and though he wasn't chosen as you were Rusty was meant to be a big part of your life." Rubic was wide-eyed as Ivory said this to her.
"I chose you because I knew that of all the Pokémon in the world I could have chosen you were the perfect one for me," she said. Rubic smiled, glad to know that Ivory had so much faith in her.
"Thank you," she said. Ivory smiled and floated back up into the air.
"I shall be seeing you all again," she said. "Take care." With that her body gave off a green glow once again. The glow faded seconds later, and she was gone.
"Well, what do you say we get moving," Indigo said. Everyone agreed with him, and once again the group was on the move. From the safety of the clouds Ho-oh watched as they made their way east.
"I hope you're ready for them. They'll be there shortly," she said.
Thanks to some help from Blazer, Mari and Ivory the Celebi Firefly and the others managed to escape from Giovanni and Team Rocket. Now that the immediate threat has been dealt with the group continues to their next location. What will they find there? Find out in the next chapter of Firefly: Queen of the New Breed!
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