FINALLY. One of the moments that I have been thinking about since I even began writing this story. What was going to happen in this chapter was changed so many times over the development of the story, that I was actually confused in which version to write. In the end, I went with this one, but because I am a lazy idiot I took way longer than I should've. Sorry to keep you waiting, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Chapter 20 – Clash of Titans
(Zant's Theme - Twilight Princess)
He was looking out the window when she came in. Outside, dark clouds filled the air, and and lightning struck almost continuously, provided a decent barrier for the castle. She knelt down when she came into the room. - My lord, did you call me? - She asked. He kept staring out the window. - First Petrae... Then Inpetus... And now Procella... Next in line is you Nymphe. - She smiled. - Don't worry master, I won't as foolish as they were. - The Prinplup said. She was a pinguin whose face looked like an owl's, with two yellow crests a top of her head. There were four white dots on her stomach and her feet were yellow. He smirked. - And what makes you think that? - She smiled. - Well... I for once, aren't a brain dead stud, like Petrae, or a hot head like Inpetus, and certainly not as mush of a insufferable bitch as Procella was... - He turned to her. - But you are arrogant, and that is something that could bring you end too. Also, believe it or not, that "hot head" did much more than you think. - Nymphe raised an eyebrow. - How's that? - He smiled. A lightning struck showing his face to her.
- Now I know where it is. -
(Stop the music)
- Come on we are almost... - Eric said as he came up to the room, but his voice immediately went mute when he saw the scene in front of him. All of the guildmembers, or most of them, were lying o the ground, either unconscious or barely awake. - Holy shit... - He said, as Elly came into the room. - What? What's wrong? - She asked, before she looked around and gasped. - Oh gosh! - She shouted, as she ran to the closest member, which was Bidoof. - Bidoof! Are you okay?! - She asked. Eric saw the whole scene from the entrance, abut then he heard a voice from the other side of the room. - E.. ric... - He heard the voice. He looked that way to see a familiar bird. - Shit! Chatot! - He ran up to him and crouched down. - Are you okay? - Eric inspected his body: there were burnt marks all over him, and some of his feathers were coal black or burnt off. - Hang in there pal I'll get you out of here... - He said, as he put his arm over his shoulder, trying to carry him out.
- Z...ed... Is... still... - Eric turned to look at him. - Zed? What is he doing? Where is he? - He said, as he laid him down. - Chatot raised a wing and pointed to a tunnel to their left. He looked that way to see a fire red light coming from it. - H...elp him... Go! - He shouted. Eric hesitated, but nodded. - Elly! - He called her. Elly looked at him, while he pointed to the tunnel. - We need to go here! We need to help Zed! - Elly was about to ask something, but then a roar filled the cave, the whole place shaking. He then heard someone screaming from down the tunnel, and he instantly recognized it. - ZED! - He shouted, as he quickly down the tunnel, soon followed by Elly, who was confused to what was happening.
Eric found himself in an open area where the sky could be seen. It was might, as stars covered were all over the sky, though because of the moonlight they could clearly see a shadow laying on the ground in front of them. Eric hurried to the shadow, and as he expected, it was Zed. -Zed! You okay there? Hang on! - He shook the Zorua, and got a groan as a response. Zed lifted his head to look at him.- R...un... He's... too... strong... - He muttered as he got up and looked around. The ground started shaking violently now, as heat somehow began to rise. The earth beneath them got hot, and Eric grabbed Zed before they were both blasted away by a current of lava spewing out form the hole.
(Taurus Demon Theme – Dark Souls)
From the magma slowly emerged a figure, who at first Eric didn't recognize, but then, once he saw his full silhouette, he recognized it. - Groudon! - He shouted, as the legendary jumped out of the lave, roaring up the sky, fire coming from it's mouth and falling all over the area. Eric grabbed Zed and threw him to the entrance before shouting to him. - RUN! - He turned to look at the giant pokemon, who was staring intensely at him, it's fire red glowing eyes sending a shiver down his spine. He didn't have time to worry about that, as Groudon brought one of his claws down on him, almost slashing him in half, though he rolled out of the way just in time. Elly, who was watching the whole scene in awe, hurried to air Eric, as she shot a Shadow Ball at Groduon's arm. He didn't flinch though, as he merely shook the smoke off him, but gave Eric enough time to regroup with Elly.
Their intention was to run away, the enemy probably way too great for them, but they found themselves blocked by immense columns of fire coming out from the ground, filling the air with ashes and flames over their heads. The air slowly got harder to breath, but they had to focus on their foe. The creature breathed in before roaring once again. The earth began shattering under their feet, as fire began raising from holes at random. Eric had to move fast before a blast hit him. He stood up and lunged at the beast. He jumped in the air and kicked his face twice. Groudon barely flinched, though it gave Eric enough time to send a force palm straight into his chest, and this time it seemed to do something else, as he roared in anger. He slashed away with his claws, hitting Eric. His claws didn't cut him, but they did throw him flying off, landing forcefully on the ground afterwards.
He quickly got up and looked at him. He then saw Elly dash straight into him, shooting another shadow ball, this time aiming at his head. The ball hit him, making a dense smoke, in which Elly jumped in. - Aqua Cauda! - She shouted, as she hit Groudon's face with Her tail. Groudon flinched and stepped backwards this time, both hurt and awed by the powerful attack, but quickly regained his composure, as he quickly covered his lost terrain and punched the eevee, sending her flying straight into Eric, who caught her mid flight. - You okay there? - He asked. She looked at him and nodded. - Yeah... but this guy is tough. How are we going to beat him? - She asked. Eric stared at the legendary. He had gained a lot of ground and was now close to them, though they were out of his reach. He roared to the sky again,. Fire rose from the ground again, and surrounded the legendary, enveloping him in a veil of fire. Just then, he roared into the sky again, and then Eric saw it. On it's chest there was a blinding red light. He used his aura detection and inspected the stone. The stone was letting off an immense amount of aura that spread through the pokemon's body.
- That stone! It's giving him power, we need to destroy it! - He shouted, pointing at it. Elly stared at said stone for a while. - But... isn't that? - Eric looked at her confused and then looked at the stone. He slowly recognized the shape and when he did, he smiled to himself. "I get it now..." - Elly, get the stone! - He shouted, as he dashed forward, Elly right next to him. Elly jumped up to the same level that the stone was and used aqua tail. Groudon howled in pain and backed away, putting a claw on his chest. Elly fell back to the ground a rolled away. Groudon fell to his back and laid on the ground, the fire slowly dying, leaving him unprotected. Eric jumped on his chest. Though it was really hot, he could still bare it, so he started hitting the gem on it's chest repetitively. Groudon began moving around frantically, Eric's punches obviously hurting him. Eric jumped off him before the legendary began rolling sideways. Once it finished he was lit on fire again. Groudon dug his claws in the ground and pulled out a huge rock, which he smashed on top of his chest. The rock melted, covering the shining gem.
Eric frowned, he needed to get that rock off his chest to be able to hit the gem. He pulled his paws together and focused. Groudon saw him and breathed fire on him. Eric barely managed to notice and rolled out of the way. Not giving him a break, the legendary smashed his claws into the ground, making stones rise and then hit them into Eric. He rolled out of the way of the rocks, but Groudon was now charging for him. Elly threw another shadow ball to him and then used aqua tail again. This time though, she couldn't his chest,and the only thing she accomplished was to almost set her tail on fire. As soon as she landed on the ground, she felt her tail grow hotter, and she immediately weaved it to put the fire off. Once she did she sighed in relief, but then she received a punch from Groduon's fist, which sent her flying into the wall. - Elly! - Eric shouted, and himself right over a fountain of lava. He tried to roll out of the way, but the explosion from the rocks was far too great and he was launched too. He landed next to Elly, who was trying to stand up. He sat up and shook his head. He then looked at Groudon, then at Elly.
We need to coordinate if we want to beat him! Protect me while I get an aura sphere, then I'll destroy the rocks on his chest and then you use aqua tail to put him out! - Elly nodded. - Got it! - Eric got up again and started focusing aura. Groduon saw this and blasted more fire his way, but Elly blocked it with her aqua tail. The legendary then threw rocks at the duo. Eric managed to store enough aura and rolled out of the way, as well as did Elly as she noticed him. Eric shot an aura sphere at groudon, but he blocked the projectile with his arm. His arm though, was blown off, as it broke to pieces of stone. Elly stared in awe and tried to say something, but Eric shot another aura sphere to Groduon's chest, blowing up the cover. Not wasting any time, Elly hit Groudon with aqua tail again, putting out the fire of the gem and making his veil of fire disappear. Though he didn't fall on his back, Eric began throwing rapidly throwing aura spheres at his chest. The legendary flinched and walked backwards each time one of the projectiles blew up. Eric ran up to him and delivered a finishing blow with a force palm, shattering the gem in a million pieces.
(Stop the music)
Groudon howled out, his body slowly becoming stone gray, instead of his usual red color. It's eyes soon lost their light and went blank. He was then frozen into a statue that looked exactly like the one they had found down at the entrance of the cave, except it was missing an arm. The statue crumbled and broke apart, falling to the ground in pieces. Elly watched the whole scene in awe, but Eric was smiling, though panting heavily. - I knew it... That gem was the stone I placed in the statue down there. When the light blinded all of us, it wasn't a explosion we heard, it was the gem giving life to the statue, which then hurried into the cave. - Elly approached him and helped him get up from the ground. - In other words... we just fought a fake Groudon? - She asked. He nodded. - Yep, that sums it up pretty well. - Elly still had a question though. - But... Why did it attack us? - Eric smirked. - I noticed it when we were fighting. The way he was moving at first, trying to keep us away, and basically shaking us off him. He wanted us to get away, trying to scare us or fight us off. It was only when we discovered his weak spot that he began attacking fiercely. He was trying to protect something or someone. -
- Your detective skills are admirable young riolu. - A voice echoed through the area. Both Eric and Elly looked around. - Who is it? Where are you? - He asked. A bright light flashed in front of them and a creature appeared. It was as tall as Eric, but it was floating in the air. It's head looked like a yellow helmet, and some of it's face was also yellow. It had a red gem on it's forehead, and two tails that had two more gems at the end of each came out of it's backside. Something that called Eric's attention though, was that it's eyes were closed, though he obviously knew where they were standing. - Who are you? - Elly asked, shaking like a leaf, scared of what the creature could be able to do. - I am Uxie, the guardian of Fogbound Lake. You have arrived far, but yet your efforts are useless. Even if you defeat the statue, you will never get past me. You will never take it! - Uxie said, charging into them. Eric put his pas up in front of his face and waved them around. -NO no no no no no! We aren't here to take anything! We are just an exploration team! - Uxie stopped halfway to where they were. - What is your name? - Eric raised an eyebrow, confused. Uxie repeated herself. - what is you name?! - Elly quickly answered.
- He is Eric, and I am Elly. Together we are Team Pokepals! - She shouted. Uxie stood silent for a while, but she rose her head and looked at both of them. - I know who you are now. - Eric frowned. - How? You just met us. - Uxie looked at him. - I know everything my friend. You come from Wigglytuff's guild, well, at least she did. You come from the Haunted Forest and she came looking for you. I know all about her, but... I know next to nothing about you, other than what you know. - Eric rose an eyebrow, even more confused. - What are you talking about? I don't get it! - Uxie sighed. - You see, I am the pokemon of knowledge. When a pokemon is in my presence, I know everything he knows. - Elly's eyes widened. - Well... That's creepy. - She said. Uxie snickered. - And awesome at the same time, you were thinking it weren't you? - Elly instantly blushed and Eric couldn't help but chuckle. - Ok, it may be awesome, but it's a bit unsettling that you know everything, so you could you please keep that ability a bit down? - Uxie shook her head.
- If it wasn't for this, I wouldn't have known you didn't have bad intentions, and I would probably be attacking you in this instant. - She coughed. - Now... About your doubts Eric... - He frowned again. - What?! What doubts? - He didn't know what she meant. - Oh you know what I mean, the feelings you get about this place. I am sorry to say, but you have ever been here as far as I know. - Eric bit his lip. - And just when I thought I was onto something... - He muttered. Uxie turned around. - Now turn around and leave. - Eric raised an eyebrow and stared at her. - What? Why? What's wrong? - Uxie looked at them. - What lies beyond must stay hidden, specially now. Turn back and never come back. The fog of the forest has come back, so you will never find your way back to this very place. - Eric looked at the pokemon.
- Why? What lies beyond? - Uxie turned to look at them. - You mustn't know, go now! Leave this place with your friends and leave! - She repeated. Eric wanted to say something, but Elly was faster then him. - Our friends are in a really bad shape because of your statue! We need some help or else we are never going to make it out of here. - Uxie looked at her. - take me to them, I'll be the judge of that. - Eric and Elly turned around and lead her to the cave where their friends were lying. They were exactly like they had left them, only that Zed was moving around the room, with bandages on his maw and lying next to Bidoof. He noticed them and the roll of bandages fell from his mouth.
- Guys! What happened back there?! - He then noticed Uxie. - And who is that? - He asked. - She Uxie, a pokemon we've just met that could help us. - Elly explained. - How is everyone doing? - Eric asked. - This is not good. Some of their wounds will heal easily, but some of them have either broken bones or grade two burns. It doesn't look too good... - Uxie floated up where he was standing and looked around. She murmured something to herself. - It doesn't look too bad... I'll help you carry them back to your base but that's it. You must never come back. - Zed stared at her, but Eric shook his head while looking at the zorua. - It's no use Zed. Let's just carry them back and forget all of this. - Eric said, a slightly depressed tone on his voice.
Eric picked up Loudred and carried him on his shoulders. Elly carried Sunflora and Chimecho and Zed grabbed Bidoof. Uxie used her psychic powers to grab the rest. They were carrying them all of out of the cave when Elly tripped because of the weight. She fell to the ground and her bag fell with her, it's contents spattering everywhere. Eric put down Loudred and walked over to Elly and helped her pick her stuff. -Are you ok? - He asked, as he picked up her stuff. She nodded and grabbed more of her stuff. She saw the eevee doll and grabbed it, but as soon as she was about to put it inside, it flew out of her mouth. It levitated to Uxie's hands, who inspected it. - Who... Who gave you this? - She asked. Elly walked to her and grabbed it. - It was a present from my mother. What's wrong about it? - Uxie didn't hear her. She was thinking about something.
- Uxie? - Elly asked again. Uxie snapped out of her thoughts and looked at her. - Oh... You know, I've thought about it. It's going to take a long time to carry all of this guys back down, and the way back is destroyed right? - Eric remembered. - She's right! How are we even going to get down? - Uxie shook her head. - You don't need to carry them back down. Come with me. - She turned around and floated away, the bodies of the rest of the guildmembers floating after her. Eric and Elly picked up her remaining stuff and grabbed the guildmembers they were carrying before. They then followed the psychic type, Zed by their side.
- What the... So this is what you were defending? - Eric asked. Uxie nodded. - Yep. Welcome to fogbound lake. - She answered. They were now in the cost of an immense lake surrounded by trees. There were Volbeats and Illumises floating over the surface of the lake, giving out a faint light. The moon was shining in the sky, and the whole place looked gorgeous. They laid down the unconscious pokemon and Uxie turned to look at them. - There should e some berries hanging from the trees that surround the lake. Go grab some and make some medicine with it. You must mix it with the water from this lake, or else it won't work. - Uxie told them. Eric nodded and was about to walk away, but Zed spoke up. - Ill go get the berries. You never know if you could get an Oren Berry instead of an Oran one. - Eric was about to complain, but he sighed. - Alright then, but what do we do? - He asked. Zed shrugged. - I don't know. Rest for a bit, you two had to take care of that huge guy all by yourselves, you must be tired. - Though Eric wanted to help, Zed was kind of right. He felt tired from the fight from before, and his abilities to distinct the berries weren't the best.
He sighed and sat down, depressed. - Alright then... I guess I'll just lay on the floor... - He said, he sounded really depressed. Zed sighed and walked away into the forest. Uxie turned her head to look at the lake. - Eric, Elly, I want you to see something. Come with me. - Uxie said, floating over to the edge of the lake. Uxie pointed at the lake, at the center of witch a blue light glowed. Eric stared into the light. His eyes narrowed as he tried to identify what was shining far off in the distance. His heart began to pump faster than normal. He somehow the light felt familiar to him. He started distinguishing something in the center of the light. It's shape was round, but it had some dents around it. Looking closer, it actually looked like a... gear?
- Wait... is that? - He muttered. And then he saw it. There were roman numbers around the gear, and clock hands moved slowly, rotating counter clock-wise, like they were counting down something. - A time gear... - Elly whispered. - Yes. The secret of Fogbound Lake is a time gear, and I am the guardian of said secret. I use the statue to scare away the pokemon that do manage to get past the fog, but it looks like I'll need t find an alternative, since you smashed it to pieces. - Uxie said sarcastically. Eric made a worried smile. - Yeah, eh, sorry about that. - Eric apologized and Uxie smirked. Elly was still looking at the time gear. - But... what is something like this doing here? - Uxie was about to answer.
- Oh my god is that a Time Gear?! - They heard a voice behind them shout. Elly jumped into the air, frightened and fell to the water. While Eric just turned around immediately and Uxie turned her head. It was just Zed. - Shit Zed! Are you kidding me?! - Eric shouted. Zed tiled his head, confused. - Why? What's wrong? - Eric calmed down. - You scared the living hell out of us! Also Elly.. - He noticed that she was gone, and then heard her rise up the surface. - Elly, what in the world are you doing down there? - He asked as she swum back to shore line. - Almost dying. - She got back on land and walked up where they were. She was completely drenched. When she was drenched she looked even angrier, and she was right now staring at Zed with her angriest face. - Also, Zed? My chest hurts right now, that's how much you scared me. - Zed smirked awkwardly. - I'm... sorry? - He answered.
Uxie was staring at all three of them the whole time. She looked at Zed. - So, did you collect berries? - Zed nodded. - Yep. There's one Oran Berry for each member. Is this what you needed? - She nodded. - Yes, that will be all I need. Now just wait, I need to do something. - She floated down to the water. She then levitared the berries and smashed them against the wall. She used her telekinesis to pick up the juice and the poured it into the water of the lake. She used her tails and started moving the water until it became blue. Eric watched dumbfolded as she picked all of the water that was blue colored and levitated it over their heads. - Put all of them close together. - They did as they were told and put all of the unconscious members. Right before they could even say anything, they saw the shadow of something levitate over them. Eric looked up before all of the blue colored water fell on top of their heads. For a few seconds they were surrounded by water, but the liquid quickly washed away. Eric just stared at Uxie. - What... -
He then felt strength coming back to him. He looked at one of the scars on his arms and saw how it slowly began closing. He looked at his friends, and saw they were undergoing the same process. He looked at the guildmembers that were lying on the ground, and noticed that their wounds were also healing. After not too long, they were all completely healed. The guildmembers slowly woke up, and Eric and Elly told them what had happened while they were knocked out. When everyone was awake, they decided to rest there for the night and go back the next morning. They all light a fire and Eric told the rest of the guildmembers what was left of his story. After that many were fairly tired, and they decided to go to sleep. Uxie looked at Eric, something bugging him. - Uxie, how did you heal all of us with just a few Oran berries and water? - He asked her. She looked at him. - The existence of the time gear in this area led to the enrichment of the stones, since time here works a bit diferently. The water eroded the stones rich in minerals and gave it amazing qualities. I don't know the full extent of the water's powers, but it is really effective when it comes to healing. - Eric's eyes widened as she explained him.
They found some branches and they made some beds for everyone. Eric then wondered where Uxie slept, though she didn't tell him. Eric laid on his bed. Not too long after that though, he heard Elly lay next to him. Eric looked at her and she smiled back. He smiled too and closed his eyes. He managed to fall asleep, but just for a few hours. He suddenly snapped from a dreamless sleep, which startled him. He closed his eyes again and tried to sleep, but it wasn't of any use. He rose from the bed and looked to his side, hoping to see Elly sleeping peacefully beside him. To his surprise though, she wasn't there. He looked around for her, and distinguished her shape sitting at the edge of the lake. She was staring at the time gear. He walked up behind her and sat on the edge next to her, his legs over the edge. So I guess I'm not the only one that has problems sleeping. - He said, Ely turning to look at him. - No... I can't really remember last time I slept one night straight. - She went silent afterwards, staring at the light that the gear made.
(Time Gear – Pokémon Mystery Dungeon)
- Eric... Do you get feeling that... - She muttered. Eric looked at her. - Yes? - Elly gulped. - That... You know what that is? And not in the sense that... you've heard about it, but... That you had alrady seen one. - Elly looked at him. - Do you get that feeling? - She asked him. Eric looked at the gear. Slowly, red and purple lights began appearing from the sides, and slowly floating to the center, Now that he though about it... He did get a very strange feeling. - Well... Maybe that's how the time gear makes people feel in general... - He answered, though he very well knew the answer to that question. Elly shook her head. - No... it's like... it means something to me, but... I just don't know why... - Eric sighed. - Yeah, I know what you mean. To be honest, I feel like it actually has to do something with me. You know what I mean? With my past. The feeling that I had already been to this place before, and this weird feeling I get when I stare at the gear... It's all too familiar to me... Almost way too familiar... -
Just then, Illumise and Volbeats began flying around the gear itself, their lights reflecting on the surface of the water, mixing with the mystical glow of the mythical artifact. The gear was then surrounded by water that sprouted from beneath the lake. Eric guessed that it was the other end of the geiser inside of which they had climbed up. The combination of all of these things made for an amazing spectacle of colors. The vast lake that went as far as his eyes could see, it's water deep blue at the wake light of the moon, the silver shape of which was reflected on the water. In the center of it, water rose like a fountain, the glow of the time gear making it even more beautiful, and the red and purple lights of the bug type pokemon floating about only made it even more breathtaking.
Elly smiled, as she felt exhaustion reach her again, as she leaned to Eric's shoulder. Eric looked at her and she looked at him, their eyes meeting. Under the silver light of the moon, her eyes were brighter than ever, and a gentle breeze made her fur wave. She looked at him, his serene red eyes staring at her. She smiled as she felt his arm wrap her around, pulling her closer as she leaned towards him, laying her head on his shoulder, admiring the view as Eric did the same. They didn't say any words, they were just mesmerized by the moment. What they were witnessing was the most beautiful thing they had seen in their lives... and they were happy they had shared that moment with eachother. They looked at eachother. She saw the outlines of his face as he slowly leaned closer to hers, and she went up closer to his'...
(Stop the music)
"THERE'S SOMEONE ELSE IN THE LAKE!" Eric and Elly heard Uxie shout in their minds, and also in the guildmember's, as they all jumped up from their beds, startled by the mental scream. - What? What's going on?! - Wigglytuff shouted, though his words were muffled by the confused voices of the others. Eric and Elly snapped out of their trance and stood up. Eric turned his head as he heard a noise coming from the lake. He turned around to see that the Iluminises and Volbeats were gone, and geyser wasn't sprouting anymore. Instead, somewhere near the coast, he saw the outlines of something that was rapidly swimming towards them. Just as it got to the edge, it jumped out of the water and over their heads.
Eric looked over his head and noticed that it was just a blob of water, since the light of the moon seemed to go through it. It landed meters away from them, making them unable of going back ot were the rest of the members were. The water slowly began rising again, but this time taking another shape. It slowly grew two fee, and Eric distinguished a torso, from which two fins came out of the sides and a head popped up from the neck. Once the shape was distinguishable, the water slowly became solid, and Eric realized that it was a pokemon. A Primplup at that. - Who... Who are you? -
(Yuga's Acquisition – Zelda: A Link Between Worlds Music)
The primplup turned to look at him. - My name is Nymphe, and I suppose you are Eric the Riolu, right? - It's voice sounded feminine. Eric's eyes widened as he remembered the last pokemon who called him by that name. - Wait, you aren't... - He began asking, but he was cut short by her. - And you are Elly the Eevee. - She said, looking at her. Elly was staring at the primplup, something about her was unsettling. - What are you doing here? - She asked. Nymphe laughed. - I am on behalf of my master on a mission to talk with the guardian of this lake... - She answered. - You master? What are you... - He then connected the dots. - Wait! You are a member of Team Uncario! - He shouted suddenly. Nymphe laughed. - Did it take you so long to realize it? Yes, I am Nymphe Aquaria, not pleased to meet you. - She bowed down, but was obviously mocking him. - You are the pest who has been killing all of those stumps aren't you? - Eric raised an eyebrow. - Stumps? What are you... - He then remembered how awful Impetus talked about Petrae. - You mean your friends? Your friends are stumps in your way?! - He asked, both shocked an angry. He couldn't understand how someone could look down on their friends.
- Well, for starters, they were never friends, just other competitors for who would get more powerful over the rest sooner. Petrae was always a mindless stud that never thought twice about things, Impetus was arrogant, but amusing in you which bolts to turn. Procella was basically an annoying bitch who thought to be superior to everyone else. - Elly recognized the name. - You mean Procella died? How? - Nymphe merely shook her head, pointing at Eric. - Your friend here did a quick work of her. Kind of obvious after what she did to your friends in that town. What was it called... ah yes! Voltaire! - Eric froze, clenching his fists. - What... What do you mean?! - He asked her, shouting. The primplup chuckled. - Oh, hasn't your friend there told you? - She turned her head to look at the guildmebers. - Or any of you for that manner? - She didn't wait for answer, as she shook her head. - I didn't think you could be so foolish Eric, lied by your own "friends" if you can call them that anymore... - Eric was both confused and angry.
He looked at Elly. - What does she mean?! What haven't you told me?! Elly! - He asked her, his voice raising with every words. Elly didn't like where this was all going. - Eric... I... Was... - She was stuttering a lot, she didn't know what to tell him. Nymphe laughed again. - Well, I might as well tell you. You see, Procella was looking after another piece of the clock, when someone got it before her. She followed said pokemon to a town called Voltaire. Enraged by the audacity of the pokemon who grabbed the piece from right under her nose, she decided to make him pay... Along with the rest of the town. Afterwards she got what she came from, and somehow, in the process of doing so, she managed to completely freeze time, killing all the remaining survivors. - Eric frowned, horrified, confused, enraged and overall sad. - Oh... But that's not the best part. You see, two of your friends... I think Mick and Milly, just happened to be caught in all of that mess... - She said, almost singing the last words. Eric's eyes widened, as he felt something inside of him break. - I'll... I'll kill her! I'LL KILL YOU ALL! - He shouted at the primplup, who merely laughed. - She is dead you idiot. You killed her almost a week ago. - She laughed gain. - Silly Riolu! You can't kill again someone that is already dead! -
Just then, someone flew down from the sky and right into the primplup, who merely jumped backwards. In front of them was Uxie. - Ah, there you are. Guardian of Fogbound Lake, about time you arrived. I was just having a bit of fun with these idiots. - Uxie was shaking from anger. - Everyone! Close your eyes! - She shouted. At first they didn't understand why, but they did as she told them. Eric though, was just too angry to even listen at what she had to tell him. Though he didn't see her, Uxie opened her eyes and stared at the Nymphe. Her eyes were wide open, but she just smiled. - Fool. You abilities wont have any effect on me I'm afraid. I guess I should stop wasting my time. Listen, guardian. By the the next morning, this forest and it's surrounding area, including this lake, will have been erased from the face of this world. I have merely come here to give you a proposal to join us. - Uxie raised an eyebrow, still gritting her teeth. - A... proposal? - Nymphe nodded. - Yes. You, somehow, have called my master's attention. Your powers are far to great to be lost in such an experiment like this. Come with me if you want to have any chance of living past this... -
She didn't have time to finish her sentence, as Eric jumped from behind Uxie and tried to slash her with his claws. Nymphe blocked his attack and shook him off like a bug, smirking. - Fool, you can't even... - She was cut off again by Uxie, who made her levitate and rose her from the ground and smashed her against the floor. This caught the water type by surprise, as she was smashed into the floor. She somehow broke free from Uxie's psychic ability and looked at her. - Is that your final answer then? - Uxie's eyes glowed blue again, but Nymphe didn't let her do anything, as she shot high pressure water into her eyes, making her scream. - Thought so. - She rose and stared at Eric. - You have sentenced your doom. I hope you suffer in hell. - She said, her voice calm, but a hint of anger could be heard in it either ways. Nymphe's shape became transparent again, as she became a puddle of water that quickly drained into the ground, gone in a few seconds.
(Stop the music)
Eric tried to say something, but a loud roar filled the sky, brutally shaking the ground around them and almost making the ground break apart, as cracks appeared on the stone. Suddenly a blinding light lit in the distance, down at the forest. They heard the roar yet again, the ground shaking even harder. - What... what the hell is going on?! - Zed asked, as he opened his eyes. Everyone else did and saw the scene in front of them. Uxie rose from the ground, her eyes closed again, and Elly hurried to her side. - Are you ok? - She asked. The psychic type nodded. - I'll be just fine... I think he needs a lot more help than I do though... - She answered, pointing at Eric, who was standing on his knees, his paws also on the ground and looking at it. - Eric? - She hurried to him. She then noticed it. There were tears streaming down his face. An immense filling of sadness and guilt going through his body. - I'll fucking kill them... I swear it... I will make them pay... - He slowly rose from the ground and looked at the light coming from the forest. It felt so familiar to him, and he didn't like it. - Uxie! Teleport us down there! Now! - Uxie rose her head. She was about to complain, but something in his voice... Convinced her to do so. She floated over to them and teleported all the guidlmembers back down to the foggy forest...
Fire, fire everywhere.
- WHAT IN THE WORLD?! - Loudred shouted. Sunflora began running around, screaming like crazy, and the other guildmembers tried to calm down too, since they were all freaking out. Eric looked around, trying to find Uxie, but he couldn't see her anywhere. "Maybe she stayed at the lake..." He though. He looked around the area and a chill went up his spine, he found this scenario too familiar... There were pokemon running around all the place and all around them was fire. Eric then heard the roar coming from far from their left. He looked that way to see that there was something coming their way. The shape stopped in place and the fire grew brighter that way, before a blast of fire came their way. - WATCH OUT! - He shouted before running out of the way. The rest of the members saw it coming and also moved out of the way. The blast of fire destroyed burnt all of the trees that it hit, making them ashes. Eric looked at the shape to see that it was moving dangerously fast.
He turned his head to look at the guildmembers. They were all around the plant type, who had fallen unconscious. Elly looked at him before noticing the approaching shape from the fire and her mouth hang wide open. The others looked the same way when they noticed her. - G-G-G-G-G... - Chatot stuttered. The creature that was slowly coming closer to them was nothing else than... - GROUDON! - Zed shouted. Everyone panicked as the legendary roared one more time. Eric turned to the opposite way and pointed. - RUN! - He shouted before he began doing it himself. The guildmembers began running, but just then, the riolu heard something to his left.
He looked that way to see a burnt tree falling on top of him.
(Bowser – Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door)
He screamed as the tree fell on him, crushing his legs under it's weight. Elly noticed this and hurried next to him, followed by Zed. They got him out from under the tree, Groudon slowly approaching. Eric tired to get up, but his legs wouldn't move. Before he could say anything else, Elly lowered her back. - COME ON! - She shouted. Eric jumped on her back and as soon as he did she began running away, the legendary following them.
Zed ran ahead and Elly followed him, Eric on her back. He looked back to see the legendary increasing his speed, trying to catch them. He opened his mouth and breathed out another blast of fire. - Move to the left! - Eric shouted and Elly and Zed did so. Eric turned his head to look at Groudon, this time much further away. He smiled to himself, as they probably had a chance to get away... Groudon lowered his front claws to the ground and began running after them on four legs at a blinding speed. - He's coming! Faster! - Eric shouted. Elly looked behind her and screamed before speeding up, same with Zed. Soon they got to a place where some trees had fallen over and they began jumping over them, Eric clinging to Elly's fur so as to not fall off.
He looked behind them to see Groudon simply destroying all of the trees that stood in his way. He looked forward to see that they were approaching a part with many trees that were still burning, though it wouldn't be any trouble for Groudon to follow them, they would have a hard time getting through, and he would probably catch them. He looked both left and right, and found a path where most of trees were already destroyed. Not having any sight of the rest of guildmembers, Eric decided. - Elly! To the left! Quick! - He shouted, pointing at said direction. Elly looked that way and then forward. Understanding what he meant, she turned to the left, carrying both of them away. Zed though, didn't notice them and kept on running the same way. When he turned his head he saw Groudon quickly turn to the left after them. Zed's eyes widened with horror as he noticed that the legendary was in fact after his friends. He quickly ran after him, hoping to be ale to help his friends.
Elly kept running and running, Eric turning his head around every so often to see if the legendary was after them. After a while though, he couldn't see him. He was about to say something when he heard loud stomping coming from behind them, and almost a dozen of trees were thrown away as Groudon appeared behind them, this time flaming with fire. Still at four legs, he roared and ran after them. Elly was running as fast as she could, but Groduon was catching up really fast. Eric turned around on her back and pulled his paws close. He tried to focus an drain aura from around him, but all that was around them was fire and death, and as such, he couldn't find a good source of Aura. Elly saw how a tree fell over in front of them and jumped over it. If it hadn't been that Eric had stopped focusing aura, he would've fallen off, but he didn't. - Elly! Try to avoid those trees, don't jump over them! I need to focus! - She nodded, though she didn't answer, way too focused on running.
Eric closed his eyes and used Aura detect, trying to find a source of energy in that area. The source was him, Elly and... the monstrous amount of energy that radiated from Groudon. It didn't even make sense. Even if he was a legendary, he couldn't have this much energy inside of him. Eric shook off this though and focused on draining this energy, in which he succeeded, his body filling with Aura in a few seconds. He pulled his palms closer and pictured an Aura Sphere the size of a Geodude. The attack took shape and he threw it at Groudon's face. A thick smoke screen covered his head, but instants later he was still running after them, like the attack had done absolutely nothing to him. He finally go close enough to them, as he lifted a claw. Just then, he left his chest exposed, and Eric saw something glowing on his chest. No time to waster, he aimed and shot another aura sphere, which hit him right in that spot. Groudon flinched, and he stopped on the spot. Ell began covering more and more ground the more time that passed, and she looked at Eric, smiling. He turned his head to look at her, smiling too. He looked the way Groudon was...
Just to see a fire blast right in front of him.
(Stop the music)
- ELLY WATCH OUT FO... - He didn't have time to finish. Though the eevee was moving fast enough to avoid a direct hit, the attack hit the ground right behind them, sending them both flying away. Eric heard Elly screaming as she soared through the air. They both landed forcefully far away from where Groudon had attacked them. Eric slid across the ground and tried to get up, but then heard Elly howl in pain behind him, as she hit a a tree, the dead burnt tree collapsing when she hit it. - ELLYYY! - He shouted, as she saw her fall to the ground, unconscious. He rushed up to her and tried to shake her awake. It didn't work though. Just then, he could've sworn Zed calling out their names. He wasn't paying attention to him though.
Zed rushed to him and asked him something, but he only saw his jaw articulate, he wasn't listening to what he was saying. The only though in his head was that they were never going to make it out of there alive. Slowly, he realized what was really happening. The whole forest was burning down because of someone's greedy desires... His friends were also in danger, or in the worst case scenario, dead. A city at the other side of the region, where some of his friends were... dead. And after all that had happened... They were going to die. He stared shaking of anger, as images began flashing in front f his eyes: Mick and Milly, the last time he had seen them, Treasure Town... The guildmembers... Elly... Zed... Virkov... The members of team uncario... Uxie... The time gear... His tattoo... The last thing he saw flash before his eyes was Elly falling to the ground unconscious, before he felt something inside of him snap.
(Stand and Fight, Luigi – Mario & Luigi: Dream Team)
Eric stared at the legendary intensely, his anger rapidly growing. He looked at Zed, trying to wake the eevee up. - Zed. Take her and go. - He simply said, a could tone in his voice. Zed turned to look at him, shocked. - What?! You aren't going to fight him alone! He'll squash you like a... - Eric cut him off as he turned his head, his face showing pure anger. - I SAID TAKE HER AND GO! - He shouted, his voice sounded louder than usual. Zed tried to complain, but something about his friend... Downright scared him. The zorua nodded as he grabbed Elly, charging her over his back and ran in the opposite direction. Eric turned to look at Groudon again. The pokemon was slowly walking up to him, destroying everything in his way. Eric began walking at him too, slowly. Each step he took, the stronger the heat in his heart got, anger clouding his mind and making every single of his cells rage in an endless fire of fury.
He then saw something out of the corner of his right eye, as he saw a deep blue light start glowing on the back of his palm. He ignored it though, and kept walking, each step towards Groudon making the light glow stronger.
Not far from there, Zed was running away from the area. He felt Elly shake out of her unconsciousness slowly. He stopped in place and laid her down. He felt something wet land on his muzzle. Looking up, he saw that the sky was covered in dark clouds, apart from the smoke. A storm was raging on top of them, as water began pouring down to the forest, putting out all of the fires. Elly slowly opened her eyes and realized where she was. She looked around frantically, looking for Eric, but she didn't find him. Elly looked at Zed. - He stayed... - It's only what Zed managed to say, as Elly began running back to where they had last seen the riolu.
In the other part of the forest, Wigglytuff punched a tree. When they came back to the campsite, they found out that the tent where they had been keeping Team Skull in was gone, and Team Skull with it. Probably the only chance that Eric had to make them see he was innocent was gone... He felt something lay on his check. At first he though they were tears, but they were, in fact, raindrops. It had begun raining intensely in just a manner of seconds, the rain extinguishing the fire around them. He then felt something behind him move. He turned around to see streams of water floating in the air, heading deeper into the forest. They couldn't see what was going on, so they decided to back away from the forest and try to get a better advantage point, but all of the knew something was wrong.
Uxie's eyes widened, as she witnessed the impossible. The water from the lake was raising up in the air, floating over her head and drying out the lake. She followed the water with her eyes and saw that it was all floating down to the forest below. She then saw many streams of water that were floating in the air, flowing into the same area of the forest, and all of the water of the lake also slowly flowed down there too. The mist of the forest only seemed to get thicker, as she saw how whatever that was down there drained all of the water in the area...
Not too far from the forest, up in the mountains, a puddle of water took the shape of a penguin, whose eyes were staring at what was happening at the forest.
He was surrounded in water, The blue light of his tattoo was really bright. He was panting heavily, feeling how an immense power flowed through his body. The light on his tattoo seemed to die out, as it concentrated on one spot. He looked at the back of his paw, to see that one of the emblems was shining. It was the one with the drop of water on it. By instinct, he rose his right paw over his head, the light from the tattoo shooting up to the sky like a blue beam that could be seen from everywhere in the forest and proximity. He howled out, as the sensation of power only got stronger, and all of the water was violently attracted to his body, covering his whole from.
Elly came into the area just in time to see how an absurdly big spire of water came down from the clouds, circling around where Eric had been standing seconds ago. He howled out, and Elly saw his shape inside of the vortex. Her eyes widened, as she saw how his shape slowly grew in size, adopting many shapes and forms. Zed, who came up right next to her stared at the spire too, his mouth hanging open. They couldn't believe what they were witnessing. In fact, none of the pokemon that were looking at this scene, knew exactly what was happening, not ever the guildmembers, who were watching from the foot of the mountain, nor Uxie, who was staring at the spire from the lake or Nymphe, who was standing at the top of the mountain. Eric's howl were heard one last time, before they got stronger and graver.
(Stop the music)
Groudon was looking at the scene with curiosity, the spire still raising to the clouds in front of him. He distinguished a shape inside of it, and a blue light glowed intensely, as he saw how a huge stream of water burst out of it. The water came out with such strength, that it actually pushed away the humongous pokemon, almost throwing him off balance.
Though that wasn't all.
(Chaos 6 – Sonic Adventure)
Elly's eyes widened, as well as Zed's and everyone who watching, as a shape began emerging from the spire. A shape that was identically like Groudon, except made out of water. It's eyes opened, a deep blue light shining as the creature howled out, the trees around it shaking. It's body was transparent since it was made out of water, and inside a shape that resembled a small, bipedal creature, seemed to be enveloped in a dark blue aura. Elly recognized the shape immediately. - Eric? - She muttered, before the water Groduon ran forward into the real one. Clashing with him. The real Groudon barely managed to stand up right from the brutal hit, but his water copy wasn't done, as it opened it's mouth and water shot into the real one's face, launching him back and straight into the ground, sliding on it. He flipped backwards and stood up, looking at it's foe, who yet again, howled out into the air.
Groudon breathed in before exhaling a blast of fire at his clone's way. It merely shot another blast of water, straight from it's mouth again, creating a smoke screen between both of them, giving the water Groduon enough time to shoot yet another blast of water, this time hitting the real Groudon right on it's chest, where the fire was burning more intensely. Groudon howled out, as if the attack had actually done pain to him, but he actually brought his claws to his chest and tried to pull out the piece of it's skin that was burning. The fire spread quickly again though, and he was once again enveloped in fire. He shot a fire blast, which the water clone tried to counter with it's own water blast, but the fire was too intense, and went right through the water, impacting the clone. Steam came off as it's shape seemed to go smaller in size, as he began loosing water. Soon, he was a little smaller than the real Groudon, but it was then that something happened.
The shape of the water Groudon soon disappeared, and the whole body of water fell to a puddle, only leaving the blue shape standing. This blue shape rose it's arms over it's head, making the water rise again. This time though, it didn't take the shape of Groudon, but it actually took the shape of a long water tendril. The tendril slid along the ground, grabbing Groduon's feet once it got close to him. The water quickly ascended, coiling around it's neck and strangling him. Once it's grip was tight enough, the ends of the tendril began hitting the legend's body with force, making him flinch with every hit. Groudon tried his claws to get it off him, but when he got close, the tendril's grip got even stronger.
Finally Groudon pulled the tendril away from him, throwing it away, this time, much smaller than before. The tendril once again changed forms, this time turning into a deformed two legged creature, from whose body came out a lot of long tentacles that stretched out, whipping Groudon ceaselessly. Groduon breathed in again to throw another fire blast, but one of the tentacles got itnto it's mouth, chocking him out. Groduon though, managed to breath it the fire and burnt the tentacle, as well as a few that he got by mere chance. The remaining tentacles retracted into the body again. The water seemed to retract further, clinging to the dark blue shape. Finally, the water seemed to become one with it, and the shape grew in size.
What once resembled a riolu was now much taller, with some kind of spike on it's chest, and some kind of hairs coming out from behind of it's head. Zed gasped when he realized what he had turned in. - A lucario! - The lucario roared at Groduon, who began rushing at him. The lucario prepared for the impact, and once Groudon was in reach he grabbed him. It's arms extended and grabbed Groduon's waist and used all of it's strength to suplex him, making his head crash into the ground, almost hitting Zed and Elly, who were watching dangerously close now. The decided to get away, but both of the fighters seemed to not noticed them, as the lucario began moving swiftly around the legendary, confusing him. Sometimes it moved in quickly, hitting his back or chest head on, tried to do as much as possible to Groudon. The intense fight destroyed everything around them, and Zed and Elly found themselves separated, trying to get away from there. Zed shouted at Elly, advising her to get away. Afterwards he started running, though Elly didn't follow him, as she stayed behind, watching how the fight turned out.
The lucario's arms stretched, and began flailing around, hitting Groudon every so often. The randomness of the attack made it so Groduon couldn't predict it, thus confusing him. Both of the arms seemed to cling at two trees that were parallel to the legendary pokemon. The lucario ran backwards, stretching his arms even further and lining up. As soon as he calculated, he jumped from the ground, putting his feet in front of him. Both of the arms retracted him at an absurd speed, hitting Groudon's face directly, this time sending him flying backwards and sliding on the ground once he landed. The lucario found himself on top of Groudon, who was lying on the ground, dizzy. He then looked at the part of it's chest that was burning, and buried it's water made hands straight into it, trying to pull it out of Groudon. Groduon tried to move around, but then for some reason, he decided to bury his claws into his chest too, trying to get the part that was burning out.
(Stop the music)
With the help of the legendary himself, the lucario finally pulled the metal piece out of Groduon. It rose it above it's head before the metal fragment emitted a strong light, blinding all. Suddenly, a beam of red light was shot into the sky, coming out the metal piece. Groudon seemed to roar, as all of the fire over his body seemed to float up to this metal fragment. The fire took the shape of a dragon, more specifically a Charizard, that floated right into the beam of red light. The fire seemed to disappear, as it went inside of the red beam before it quickly disappeared, leaving the night dark yet again. As soon as this happened, the metal piece fell out of the lucario's arms as it's shape began decreasing in size and became a riolu once more. More specifically, the riolu Elly knew as Eric. She rushed up to him, just to find that he was unconscious. The water that left his body seemed to float up to the sky, forming a ball of water that levitated in the air, before exploding and spread water all over the forest.
She leaned closer to look at Eric. He was unconscious, and he was completely soaked, as well as she was, since it was still raining. She grabbed him and tried to drag him into cover, but they were out in the open, and all of the trees around them had either burnt off or snapped in half because of the fight. Groudon was still lying on the ground, probably unconscious. She didn't want to test her luck though, and decided to drag the riolu away, the metal piece still in his grasp. He carried him into the forest, searching for some place they could stay under to cover themselves from the rain. Elly was grabbing Eric's fur with her mouth and dragging him across the floor. She put him down and looked around for a somewhere to stay. She sighed in relief when she spotted a rock formation not too far from where she was. She grabbed the riolu again and dragged him there, where she found an opening on the rocks.
She walked inside, and found out it was just a small cave, but still enough to protect them from the harshness of the water. He pulled Eric in and laid next to him. Just then, she noticed how soaked she was. She shook her self and tried to dry her off, in which she succeeded. However, as she leaned to Eric she noticed that he was really cold. So cold I fact, that she actually thought she touched the rock, since it was rally dark in the cave. She freaked out and started shaking him. - Eric! Eric wake up! - She shouted. Eric began slowly waking up, and opened his eyes. - Eric, are you ok? - He simply nodded, too weak to speak. He put the metal piece down, and seconds later began shivering. He was obviously really cold. He tried to rub himself to try and create heat, but he was too wet. He sneezed, his sneeze echoing through the cave. He sniffed, still shivering. Elly thought about what she could do, and then she came up with an idea.
She leaned closer to him, covering his body with her tail. He was really wet and cold, but at least the could share some heat. Even though it was the only alternative, she was still blushing like mad, making her heart race, thus making more heat emanate from her body. Eric was also blushing, and leaned even closer to her when she noticed what she was doing. He was so close that she could her his breathing, which was actually pretty weak. They laid there for a few seconds, and his breathing started to become normal. She looked over to him and noticed he was fast asleep, snuggled against her. She smiled as she also closed her eyes, the sound of the rain just outside the cave calming her mind, before drifting off to a peaceful sleep.
And that's how it ends I guess. We will be getting a bit more of the romantic side on these few next chapters, since I think it is necessary for what's coming up next. What does fate have in store for both of them? That will only be known on the next chapter. This is Eric566, again, sorry for making you wait, I have no real excuse for taking so long, and thanks for reading.
Take care.