A/N: Yay, quick-ish update. XD Merry Christmas! Here's your gift from me. :)
A few of your reviews to chapter 20 were to my author's note, which I had already replied to via PM. I know that those people with accounts couldn't have reviewed again, obviously. Thank you anyway! (:
Sorry if there's errors in this chapter, I had to write the whole thing on my iPad. And it is sooo troublesome doing so.
Replies to reviews:
PolarDawn: Thank you! Yes, I'm glad too. XD They will, for sure!
schoolmouse33: XD They'll die. Huehuehue. I may or may not be kidding.
Uvenus: [Oh, okie!] Ahaha, thank you very much! :D *bows*
Sakura Touko: *instert suspenseful music* Dan dan daaaaan! What will they do to them? Find out! XD
Contestshipper16: Oh, just with that stuff that makes you unconscious. XD Yeah, Ash crying almost made me cry too. ):
Shining Starlightxo: Yay, tingles. That's what I aim for. XD
BookwormQueen1234: Haha, all good. Stupid everything! XD Hate to break it to you, but Brendan will hang around for a while longer. Only a couple of chapters, including the epilogue, left anyway.
Kitten-lover136: Yeah, the girls are fine. I wanted them to beat Paul too, but he is the strongest assassin. Thanks for being patient. :P
TVprogramsfan: Thank you! :D Thank you again! :D Haha, sorry for the long-ish wait.
ninja-girl-242: Thanks, sorry for the wait! :P
awolflover: No need to kill him, read on to find out why. XD Yes, Paul did plan it! He's a smart cookie. Thanks for the review! :)
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Chapter Twenty-One: Victorious
"I can't believe we just did that," Ash breathed, his eyes staring disbelievingly down at his palms. "I can't believe we just did that," he repeated, his voice crackling.
The three assassins were in a helicopter, zooming away from the studio, and Kalos, as fast as they could. It was no doubt that the fact that one of the favourite girl bands in Kalos had gone missing after their show would be in the headlines, and the police would be searching all over for them.
"How are we going to explain Drew's situation to Lysandre?" Gary asked, ignoring his friend's tearful words.
"Tell Lysandre we couldn't find him," Paul replied bluntly. He was staring out of the window, not even bothering to make eye contact with Gary. "It's the most we can do. Especially with that lunatic doctor he has."
The other two remained silent, as there was no point in replying. Out of all four of them, Drew was most in danger. It may have taken him weeks to wake up, his doctor used blackmail against his friends threatening to kill him and soon May would've found out that it was partially his fault her family was murdered.
Soon, the helicopter reached Unova and lowered down onto the base's helipad. The wind from the propellers blew harshly on the long, yellow grass surrounding the gloomy building. The fact that it was raining made it even darker and more depressing.
They carried the girls in their arms, Gary carrying Leaf, Ash carrying Misty and Paul who held the other two limp girls like sacks of potatoes over his shoulder.
"They should be waking soon, put them each in different cells. Take their Pokemon with you," Paul commanded as they entered the building.
His friends did as they were told, placing the girls in distant cells so they couldn't see each other. Each of them put the girls down too gently for an assassin.
Then, they all knew where to go without exchanging words. A deadly silence was in the air, with the only occasional sound of a water drop from a leak or the fire torches on the walls flickering. They stopped in front a large double door, Gary and Ash taking a deep breath.
"Good luck," Gary breathed, pushing the doors open.
The large doors creaked open slowly, automatic lights simultaneously illuminating the large room. There was a dark red carpet which led all the way up to the large desk, where a silhouette of a person could be seen seated behind. The walls were tall, endless shelves full of books. In a way, it was like a library.
"I have been waiting," a cold, deep voice said as the assassins approached his desk. "Did you succeed, or fail again?"
"We completed our mission successfully, sir," Paul reported, slightly scowling as he addressed his boss.
Lysandre smirked, amused by his servant's hatred. "Now, now. No need to use that tone."
He stood up, striding around from behind his desk to behind the boys. They didn't turn to face him and stayed like statues in their spots. "I notice your fellow brother, Emerald, is not with us," he said, gazing at the back of Gary's auburn head. "May I ask why?"
Gary gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes. For Drew's sake, he had no choice but to lie. "I- I couldn't find him."
"Even though you went to Kalos to find him, although I, unknowing that he was there, specifically told you to visit Hoenn to locate his whereabouts?"
Gary's previously narrowed eyes widened, his heart racing.
No... how did he know?
"And it seems you didn't have to do much looking either," Lysandre continued. He left to a different part of his office, and returned with a magazine in his hand. "Turn around."
The auburn-haired assassin gulped, turning around to face his boss. He clenched his jaw as he saw the cover of the magazine. It read: Gary Oak and Drew Hayden of Ghost of the Night spotted in a curious event!
"You can imagine how surprised I was when reading this. Now if I didn't know any better, I'd say you're lying to me, Auburn," Lysandre said with a tone of satisfaction as he scanned Gary's face. The assassin's eyes were wide, and his worry was evident as sweat ran down his face.
"After I've finished my business here with those wenches, I'll be paying our lovely Drew a visit at Lumiose Hospital," he continued with a deep chuckle. "Maybe I should bring him a bouquet of roses and a get well card!"
Distraught expressions were on the boy's faces as their leader continued laughing evilly.
He finally stopped, and walked back to his desk to take a seat. "Now, bring me our pleasant guests."
With no other choice, the pained assassins turned away to go and fetch Eye of the Liepard.
Lysandre watched with a satisfied smile. After this, they will become fully emotionless and never love again. Like every assassin should be.
The three assassins were walking fast in silence to get the girls from their cells, when suddenly Ash stopped in his tracks abruptly. The electric mouse Pokemon on his shoulder gave an annoyed cry as it almost fell off.
"Stop. We can't do this!"
Paul turned around, narrowing his eyes. "Do you want all of us, including them, to die?"
"We can try fighting him again, we have four extra-"
"Ash," Gary cut in, interrupting his friend, "we had a champion on our side last time. We still lost."
"Only by a few moments!" Ash protested. He sighed, reading his friends' hopeless expressions.
Suddenly, Gary's eyes widened as something important dawned upon him. "If we don't defeat Lysandre, Drew will die. He's in a coma, and he needs to stay at that hospital or he won't make it- even if it's with that psychopath as a doctor. And something really makes me doubt that Lysandre will allow him to stay."
Paul frowned, processing what Gary had told him. He leaned on a wall and crossed his arms. "So what do you suggest we do?"
Gary rubbed his temples, sighing. "We may not have the strength individually, but we might in numbers. We free the girls and get them to fight with us."
May rubbed her eyes, sitting up. Once her vision focused, her eyes immediately widened. She was in the exact same spot at where she first saw Drew. She could remember it so clearly, her sitting alone in the cell and the red rose he gad give her, which seemed even more stunning in such a dull place.
Sapphire, that's what he called her.
She heard steps nearing, nostalgia overcoming her completely. She rushed to the bars, grabbing onto them. "Drew? Drew, is that you?"
"No," a familiar voice replied from a distance. She realised there was more than one person coming towards her. Her face fell at the reply, realising the reality of her situation.
Drew was in hospital, and her and her friends were trapped with her in an assassin building.
Not to her surprise, Gary, Paul and Ash appeared in front of her cells. They had a key in their hands.
"We're letting you out, but you have to help us," Paul said bluntly, holding her belt of Pokeballs.
"Help you? Why would I do that?" she replied in a hostile tone. A dull, annoyed expression appeared on her face. "You almost choked me."
"Remember when you first came here? We saved all of you. Now we need your help fighting our boss, we're doing this for Drew."
Sapphire met onyx, as May stared intently into his eyes. "He'll harm Drew?"
"Exactly."
She turned around, leaning on the metal bars. The brunette's eyelids lowered as she let out an exhausted sigh.
"I'm in."
Soon, they had gathered all four of the members of Eye of the Liepard, and were standing outside Lysandre's office once again. Things were awkward between them, especially Ash and Misty. The two Kanto-natives refused to make eye-contact. If they did, they would both look away instantly.
"Alright. You remember the plan, yes?" Paul asked, narrowing his dark eyes.
The seven of them nodded,
They entered the room, the large double doors creeping open once more. The girls' hands were cuffed as they were pushed towards the desk.
Lysandre turned his chair as they approached, smirking. "Well, well. I haven't seen your pretty faces in a while." Then, all of a sudden he frowned. "Where's the fourth one?" he demanded, slamming his hand on the table.
"Now, aerial ace!"
A large Pidgeot flew into the room with amazing speed, aiming for the boss of the assassin organisation.
Unfortunately, Lysandre was quite agile, as he was once a leading assassin. He dived under the table, the wooden piece of furniture taking the damage from the large flying-type Pokemon instead.
Gritting his teeth, he sent out his own Pokemon. "Go, use flamethrower!" A large, male Pyroar appeared from a tossed Great Ball and immediately shot out blazing hot flames from it's mouth. The agile, avian managed to dodge the flames and land safely at Leaf's side.
"Dammit," Leaf cursed, "so close."
"Plan B!" Paul announced, throwing out a Pokemon of his own. The large, continent Pokemon caused the whole room to shake as it landed on the ground. "Torterra, use earthquake!"
"Piplup, get on Pidgeot's back and hydro pump!" Dawn commanded, Piplup on Pidgeot's back as it took off in the air so they weren't hit by the earthquake attack. She was standing at Paul's side, the two Sinnoh-natives wearing intense battle expressions.
Pyroar was hit with a tri-attack from all three opposing Pokemon, earthquake, hydro pump and fly. After being hit by direct attacks from all three of the powerful Pokemon, the lion Pokemon couldn't stay on it's feet and collapsed.
"Nice, Troublesome,"
"A three -on-one? That's not very fair," Lysandre said with a growl. "You boys are making the wrong choice! I'll give you one last chance. Stop this blasphemy and hand them over, and I spare you."
"No more playing fair with you," Gary replied, smirking, "And making the right choice really isn't living in a pool of misery with you for the rest of my life. Yeah, not happening."
"So be it! I'll just kill you all!" With one last growl Lysandre sent out all of his remaining five Pokemon, along with calling for reinforcements in the room. Almost as if on cue, a dozen grunts, dressed in bright orange, spilled into the room.
"Dawn, come with me," Paul quickly instructed. "Ash, Misty and May, you take on the grunts. Leaf and Gary, help us out in fighting Lysandre's pokemon!"
They all listened to the leader and quickly began their assigned battles. Before Ash began his battle, he turned to Misty hastily.
"I can't take this anymore!"
Much to her surprise, the raven-haired assassin threw his arms around Misty in a tight hug.
"I'm so sorry, Mist," he replied tearfully, "I really am."
"Ash...?"
He sniffed, as he pulled away rubbing his tears. Beside him, Pikachu let out an understanding, "Pika-pi?"
Ash turned away, drawing a Pokeball. His expression had changed from sorrowful to determined.
"Anyway, this isn't the time. We gotta get fighting!" he said, sending out his Charizard. "Man, I wish I still had that mega stone Serena lent me."
Misty, taken aback by the recent events, managed to stutter, "Y-yeah." Gulping, she sent out her Golduck to take Charizard's side.
Beside her, May released her own Pokemon to battle. She noticed her friend's gaze on her, shooting a bright smile and then turning back completely serious.
"Hey, Ash," the orange-haired musician said, before commanding her Pokemon to attack.
"Yeah?"
"I'm also sorry."
More sorry than you could imagine.
Finally, they seemed to be getting somewhere. Although down to their last few, Ash and Misty down to their last Pokemon and May down to her last two, the three stood back-to-back and continued commanding attacks.
They only had three more grunts to finish off, and did so in a few more minutes of loud commanding and yells. Beating the last one, who was an admin, resulted in all of Ash and Misty's Pokemon fainting. However, they had completed the the task with no issues.
The three looked around, gazing at their other friends in battle. May spotted something, the figure of her friend on the ground.
"Leaf!" May called out, rushing to the other side of the office beside Leaf. She looked down at her friend, who was defeated and was on the floor, clearly unconscious. "Not again," the brunette muttered, putting Leaf's head on her lap.
"Is she okay?" Dawn asked, jogging over. "I wanted to help, but Paul said there was no point and to continue battling. I'm out of Pokemon now, though. Only them two are still in, but they're down to their last," she said, tilting her head towards the two boys still battling.
"And Lysandre?" Misty asked from behind May, raising her eyebrows.
"He only has one Pokemon left as well. But it's extremely powerful, quite a lot stronger than the rest. Plus, it mega-evolved."
Misty hummed, turning to look at the large, changed form of Lysandre's Gyarados. "What happened to Leaf?"
"Her Venusaur was hit really hard, and she didn't want him to hit the ground too hard. So, she tried her best to help it... and you can see what happened."
May's eyes widened as she checked her unconscious friend's pulse. Luckily, it was still going. "I think she'll be alright. She's probably temporarily knocked out. She still has her Lucario left."
The Gyarados let out a loud roar, cutting off the girls from their conversation. It was followed by two, loud, simultaneous thumps that slightly shook the ground.
The three, conscious, girls whipped around to find the source of the ground-shaking impact. When they saw it, each of their stomachs churned in worry.
Paul and Gary's last two Pokemon were on the floor, fainted. And the Gyarados still stood, roughly a tad more than half it's health depleted.
They all, or almost all, had the same thought on their mind. They were defeated.
The silence was broken by a loud round of laughter, except it wasn't the happy sort. The source of the unpleasant laughter was, of course, Lysandre. He smirked, petting the large Water/Dark type mega evolution's side.
"Ah, Gyarados, you've done it again," he said, after ceasing the cruel laughter. "You've defeated them all. Once again, we've won."
"No, you haven't."
Everyone turned to look at the source of the strong voice, and to their surprise, it was May. In her hand, she held a single Pokeball, her expression completely serious.
"May, what do you think you're doing?" Misty whispered furiously as the rage-induced brunette stood up. May's expression puzzled Misty, it was angry instead of anxious- what everyone else was feeling. Her sapphire orbs were blazing with fury.
Lysandre raised a brow, scanning the girl up and down. "And you are?"
"That's none of your business! I have lost Drew, my family, and everything because of you messing around with our lives! Heck- I didn't even get to eat dinner before I was whisked away to... er... wherever we are!"
"Drew?" the boss of the assassins muttered to himself. "Ah, so you must be Maybelle Maple."
He seemed to hesitate for a moment, and then smirked. "What if I told you, your beloved Drew is at fault for your dear family is missing?"
For a second, the fury disappeared from May's eyes. Then, it returned as she gritted her teeth. "I wouldn't believe you."
"You may not believe me, but let me tell you one thing. I may be unfair, cruel, whatever you young whippersnappers call me," Lysandre began, "but I never lie."
May faltered for a moment, contemplating on whether she should believe him. However, her anger got the best of her as she took out her final Pokeball.
"Blaziken, use high jump kick!"
The lion-haired leader rolled his eyes, clicking his fingers.
"Dodge."
With one smooth move, the speedy, serpentine Water/Dark type dodged the powerful, super effective attack which would've been lethal to it. Blaziken cried out as it missed the target, crashing into the wall.
"Blaziken!" May cried out in terror. She rushed to it's side, helping it up.
"Your Blaziken is too slow!" Paul yelled out to May, as he had been carefully evaluating the battle. He knew that Blaziken had extremely powerful hits, and if they could land a high jump kick, they could defeat Gyarados. The problem was that the kick had consequences; Blaziken took a lot of damage if it were to miss.
May's sapphire eyes narrowed, as Lysandre had begun to laugh again. What caught her eye was a shining, radiant stone on his ring. It looked awfully similar to one she had been given. Then, it hit her.
That's it! she thought, almost face-palming in her own idiocy.
"Dawn, pass me my bag!" she yelled across the room.
The bluenette was confused, but still did as she was told. In a haste, she scrambled through it to find a gift Korrina had given her a while back.
Finally, her face lit up in delight as she found what she was looking for- the Mega Ring. She slipped it on her wrist, it was more like a very large bracelet. It held a radiant stone inside, known as the Key Stone. It was identical to the one in Lysandre's possession.
She remembered giving Blaziken the necessary mega stone when she had first received it, and thrust her wrist up in the air with a smirk. Everyone was watching in awe as various lights and energy began surrounding both the trainer and Pokemon.
"Blaziken, mega-evolve!"
The form, cry and stance of the Hoenn starter was different. The sight was mesmerising, but epic at the same time. It let out a loud battle cry, taking a stance and preparing to kick.
Lysandre snarled, his amused expression long gone. He wasted no time, as he knew just how rapid and powerful Mega Blaziken could be.
"Gyarados, Waterfall!"
"Too slow," May said with a smirk, pointing at the opposing Pokemon. "High jump kick!"
In a flash, too fast for anyone's eyes, the mega Blaziken leapt off. Confused as to where it's target had gone, the temperamental water Pokemon released a room-shaking roar.
"Behind you!" Lysandre yelled desperately to his last remaining Pokemon.
But it was no use, the Blaziken was simply too agile.
It landed a blow on Gyarados' back, the large creature being knocked to the ground. Anticipation hung in the air as everyone watched intently to see if it would get back up.
After what seemed like forever, a hushed voice broke the silence.
"We've won," Ash whispered, as if he didn't believe his own words. "We've won!"
Gary ceased the chance and rushed to the unconscious brunette on the opposite side of the room, slipping some kind of potion into her mouth. She began to stir, her dark green eyes slowly opening.
Paul's usual stoic expression cracked into a relieved, worn out one. Soon, he stood up with a slight smirk on his face. "Stand down, Lysandre. You're done."
Their ex-boss was trembling with humiliation and anger. He narrowed his eyes, drawing an object from his pocket. Everyone's eyes widened as it was revealed, a small gun pointed towards May.
He smirked, his finger nearing the trigger. "No, not yet."
"May!" Misty screamed, covering her eyes. Her voice was drowned out by the sound of a gunshot.
But as all the chaos was cleared, May was standing in a braced position, covering her head helplessly with her arms and Lysandre was on the floor. Beside him, there was a Lucario staring down at it's target.
"That's my boy," Leaf complimented as she pulled herself up, cracking a smile at her trusty Lucario. "I ordered him to use quick attack," she said, looking up at a gunshot hole on the ceiling. "It seems Lysandre just missed."
"You're alright," Dawn breathed, hugging May's saviour.
"Thanks to me," the auburn-haired boy said from behind, flashing his white teeth cockily.
May was shaking in fear, her heart racing. She was assured by her friend, Misty, who approached her and gave her a comforting hug.
"It's alright, it's over now."
One week later...
"Only another week until the live finals!" Brianna said, rushing into the dining room.
Everyone, who was eating breakfast, turned their heads to the cheerful member of The Candies. They responded with smiles, giggles and nods. But there were only four members remaining.
The night before, four participants, as expected, unfortunately didn't make it to the finals. The four who had made it were Serena, Brendan, The Candies and of course- Eye of the Liepard.
"I can't wait to hear everyone's songs!" she gushed, taking a seat.
Chatter broke out along the table, everyone continuing their meal and conversing happily about the upcoming week.
May was quiet, and unnaturally picked at her food instead of eating it. Something had been on her mind for the past week, it was what Lysandre had told her. About Drew being at fault for her family's absence.
She needed answers, as soon as possible.
"You're late."
May pulled out a chair, taking a seat. She rolled her eyes, sighing as she did so.
"Yeah, by like -" she stopped, checking her watch, "two minutes!"
"You called?" Paul asked, ignoring her protest. He had his arms crossed, a plain expression on his face.
To his surprise, May had called to meet him at a nearby cafe in Lumiose. He wouldn't have attended, but she claimed it was urgent and was quite desperate. It wasn't like he had anything better to do, anyway.
Ghost of the Night were finally free of their previous career, and Lysandre had been taken away to prison to be locked up forever. Technically, the boys should have been also taken. However, the four members of Eye of the Liepard, being witnesses and the victims, claimed they were innocent and should be treated as the heroes.
The four ex-assassins could finally taste freedom, but there was a problem: they didn't know what to do.
As for Drew, he was still in the coma. And could be, for yet another few weeks.
"It's about my family, who haven't been found yet," the brunette began, "and Drew."
The former assassin's throat tightened, as he knew what was coming. Luckily, he had time to think as a waitress arrived to ask May what she wanted.
He took a sip of his own black coffee, watching as the waitress took the order and walked away.
"I'm just going to be blunt. Lysandre had your family, although I don't know exactly what he did to them. He was holding them hostage, and said he would kill them if Drew didn't show up. He let Drew know this via HoloCaster."
May's eyes widened. She shook her head, dismissing the thought. "But Drew was in hospital, so he must not have got the message."
"He told us that Drew saw the message- it shows if they've seen it or not."
The brunette's hope fell, and she began to doubt everything and everyone she trusted.
"That means he saw the message... but didn't reply to Lysandre to keep himself safe," May stuttered, her blue orbs blurring with tears. "That means my family is probably dead. B-because of Drew."
Then, she tried her best to dismiss the thought. "But he would never do that! Sure he can be a jerk at times, but not like that!"
"I would like to think that too, but I don't see any other explanation."
Paul sighed, being silent as May let the information sink in. He knew that this would impact May's bubbly personality a lot.
But to him, sugar-coating was much worse than lying. And he knew that May knew this, and that's why she called him instead of Gary or Ash.
May sniffled, wiping a tear that she just couldn't hold in. She was broken. Her family were gone, most likely dead, and she had just discovered that one of the people trusted the most was at fault.
Or so she thought.
She would never know, in while at least, that it was not Drew but indeed his doctor that had read the message. And of course, his doctor never planned on telling anyone about it.
A/N: Do you all remember about how Jess got her Weaville to crush Drew's HoloCaster after getting that message, yes? That's what that last bit is about.
Drew will return, or awaken, in the epilogue! And then the sequel will focus on Contestshipping. Sorry that there's been a huge lack of Drew in the past few chapters! I'll make it up to you in the sequel, yeah?
FINALLEH THE MADNESS IS OVER.
Still a chapter to go. Two, if you include the epilogue.
Shippings to come in the next chapter. And the girls will be singing their final song, can you guess what it will be? It's by Katy Perry.
Also, who do you think will win? EOTL, The Candies, Serena or Brendan?
Leave your answers in the reviews! :D