"This is your only chance, retreat and no harm will come to you." Daigo felt her back pressed against his, the blue sky was torn apart with a giant screech of ear-shattering proportions. His instincts screamed at him to flee from the noise which boded horrors beyond imagining. But when he felt no reaction from her he assumed she was expecting the shattering noise.
She shifted - something dug into him from around her waist - he looked over to her, Haruka's hand preventing him from moving away from her. Daigo hadn't noticed the unusual belt she had been wearing this whole time, as it had been covered by her tank-top. Now however, she'd revealed the item around her waist, he could make out several stones decorating the item twisting around her slim waist.
Flapping wings drew his attention back to the sky, those around them still closed in; they were within a foot of the two. Her Pokémon still hadn't reappeared, yet she seemed completely calm. Daigo spotted what had screeched moments before, an enraged-looking, roaring monster with furious fire in his eyes and spilling from his gaping maw.
Haruka tapped a single stone on the belt, which began glowing brightly, reacting with the stone around the Salamence's neck. As the Mega Pokémon swooped closer, he opened his great jaws further and spat a great jet of flames at the circle of goons looping around Daigo and Haruka, the criminals promptly fled and backed from the gushing flames. Haruka tapped five more stones on the belt, which glowed and shone individually, reacting with the stones her other friends held.
The flames died and Haruka sprinted towards the monstrous Dragon-type, leaping onto his back and hurtled towards the two ancient Pokémon who were now crashing down into the city. Haruka observed the Pokémon's way of flying, how he glided and swooped, tilting his whole body in order to turn with hiss blade-like wings which connected to one another. He had been a little Bagon when she had first met him, wandering around Meteor Falls with an injured leg. She'd helped him out and healed his injury, since then he had followed her, not formally one of her Pokémon, simply a friend who had grown alongside her own partners and ended up a powerful ally who was more than capable of dealing with a wide range of enemies. But she couldn't quite calculate whether or not he would be able to deal with the two enemies who were now stomping their way to the cave at the back of the city.
"Thunder Fang on the Water-type, then try a Hydro Pump on the ruby one; perhaps it's a Fire-type." She glanced over the two, it was obvious that the blue Pokémon was a water type, it spurted out jets of water and beams of ice against the red opposition, but the second, ruby-coloured Pokémon was rather more difficult to guess at what type it was, so she assumed it was a Fire-type and directed her attack thus.
The Pokémon adjusted its trajectory, aiming to swoop down past the two Pokémon. As it passed the sapphire enemy, it lashed out, chomping fiercely at the Pokémon with electrical teeth. The Pokémon recoiled, moving out of the way of this flying, speedy threat. Mega Salamence looped around the two, spurting a gush of water directly at the ruby Pokémon. He too recoiled, wheeling back on his own created land as the torrent struck.
Haruka's other friends joined the fray. All who could, had evolved beyond evolution to face either those clad in red or blue, or joining Haruka and Mega Salamence against the great ruby and sapphire monsters. Milotic started up massive currents which kept the sapphire Pokémon from moving or using the full power of the water it possessed by keeping the under her control instead of letting the ancient Pokémon to claim it. Gallade pounced around attacking the Mightyena controlled by the thugs, the green-headed Pokémon fought alongside Mega Metagross, commanded by Daigo who was calm even in the face of so many enemies. Gallade's cape swished as he leapt and pounced at his enemies. Everything seemed to be headed in the direction of a victory for Haruka and Daigo, until…
The giant Pokémon both roared in aggravation, both had taken substantial damage from the powerful Pokémon surrounding them. They both revealed the orbs they held, the hues of the orbs matched those of the Pokémon holding them. Great spheres of crystal energy engulfed the pair of them; ancient symbols glowed brightly before the two Pokémon burst forth, new and filled with a new, far vaster energy which prepared them for the further battle with those around them. The sapphire Pokémon reclaimed the waters and hurled great, mystic pulses of water towards Milotic, thoroughly removing the Water-Pokémon from the battle.
"Milotic!" Haruka watched the Pokémon fly through the air before slamming down on the stone ground of the city, rolling sharply before slamming into a gigantic tree. Her body fell motionless at the enormous roots of the tree. Haruka's attention was drawn away from the two super-ancient Pokémon, only realising once it was too late that this was a huge mistake.
The ruby Pokémon released a huge expanse of molten earth in one great Eruption. The flaming debris slammed squarely into the underside of Mega Salamence. Haruka felt the flames licking at her bare legs, felt the heat scorch her skin and set fire to her shoes. The Pokémon howled in pain as it crashed into the waters of the city. Haruka dropped off its back like a stone into the water, feeling the cold waters sooth her burns, but she cared little for her own injuries, two of her partners had now been harmed. She swam furiously over to the whining Pokémon, now transformed back into his regular form. Haruka slowed as she came to his side, seeing the great amount of damage which the primal Pokémon had caused.
She knew not what to do. Her ace had fallen and the others were tiring around her. Feeling her heart sink she tried tending to the dragon in the water, using Burn Heals to sooth the sizzling scars, but she could not move him from the disturbed waters, and he had no PokéBall to return to and rest. She could hear the noises of the battle around her, but it all seemed so distant, it was a war they couldn't win, there was no option to take here, she had lost and let everyone down.
"Sapphire!" Haruka heard a splashing accompany the nickname Daigo had given her. Turning she saw him swimming towards her and the fallen dragon. "Are you alright?" He shook her shoulders, having seen the distance in her eyes mingling with hopelessness. "Wake up! It's not over yet!"
Realisation slapped Haruka in the face, she blinked away the pathetic emotions which had dragged at her heart and glared up at the silver-haired man, the sporadic rain and the swim had plastered his hair to his face, his bangs covered one side of his face. "My name is Haruka. If I am to fail here then I wish to have my own name instead of an alias." She watched as Gallade whirled and struck out at the ancient Water-Pokémon, who unleashed a burst of Sheer Cold, catching the Pokémon directly, freezing him to the spot. "Now please excuse me, I need to go do something stupid." Something twinged in her mind, another ancient Pokémon of emerald.
He nodded and turned to the great dragon, "I'll take care of Salamence." He released his Cradily and used it to heave Salamence out of the water, using a combination of Ingrain and Constrict to move the Pokémon, holding back so that the injured Pokémon would not get further hurt.
Meanwhile, Haruka had clambered onto the slippery rocks and rushed forward, waving to Altaria as she rushed. The puffy Dragon/Fairy-type swooped down so that Haruka was able to leap onto her back. The two set to the sky, Haruka felt a stabbing pain as she looked back to see all those fighting in Sootopolis - those whom had helped evacuate the city had returned to fight, more than a few staring up at her in shock and dismay. "I'm sorry, but this is something I must do if we have any hope in winning." She turned away, scanning the open oceans.
The triangular tower she sought was evident in the seas near a small city south of Sootopolis. Instead of landing at the base of the tower and clambering up the insides, Haruka landed Mega Altaria on the top. She dismounted the dragon and waved her hand, ensuring that the Pokémon keep her distance just in case this third Pokémon was not friendly.
"Rayquaza!" Haruka bellowed into the sky. "The region is in chaos! The two super-ancient Pokémon are free once again and there is nothing left that we can do to stop them! You must intervene! It is your duty to protect this world from threats!" She peered through thick rainclouds, as they began to part to reveal the blasting sun; Haruka saw a serpentine silhouette descend towards her. She stood her ground as it spiralled downwards, roaring shrilly as it swooped to a halt in midair. "Lord Rayquaza, I ask that you help. We have no chance in defeating Groudon and Kyogre if you do not aid us." She bowed her head to the Pokémon in respect before looking up at the emerald and gold Pokémon again. "Will you offer your assistance?"
Haruka did not notice something in her bag glimmer and sparkle brightly at the appearance of the giant Pokémon. The glow caught Altaria's eye, the Mega-Evolved Pokémon moved forward and peered into Haruka's bag without the girl even noticing. The blue and white Pokémon plucked out a meteorite and held it in her mouth, offering it to Rayquaza, whom had shown some interest in the item when the Dragon/Fairy-type had drawn it out.
Once the Pokémon had offered the pretty stone, Rayquaza swooped down and swallowed it whole. Something then clicked in Haruka, he seemed to wish to help and, with an absent back-of-the-mind thought, she tapped one more Key Stone on her belt, letting its bright glow consume her thoughts. After a few seconds, she stood, mouth agape, staring at the enormous, majestic Pokémon she never knew existed.
The Salamence had been treated, Daigo had instructed Cradily to move the Pokémon to the giant tree, where it could lay next to Milotic out of harm's way. Now he was back in the centre of the fight, his Mega Metagross was badly wounded and greatly slowed from the battling. He feared that the fight was drawing to a close and not one any of the sane who fought here wanted.
He glanced sorrowfully at the sky, watching the black clouds suffocate the sky once again, filling the air with their pounding rain. He was growing weary now, the battling had not only sapped his Pokémon's strength, but the energy required of him to use Mega Evolution was great and he could feel the toll on his body. A voice in the back of his mind mused about all of Haruka's Pokémon, she had Mega-Evolved all of them except for Milotic, who was as of yet unable to evolve further, what was the strain on her like? Six Mega-Evolutions seemed insane to him, sure enough, Salamence was no longer evolved, but still he had been and that was the main energy-consuming part of the powerful evolution.
In ordinary battle a trainer was able to recover energy while the Pokémon fought, but in a tasking situation such as this, there was no time for recuperation for either the trainers or the Pokémon. The striking rain ceased, only to be replaced by a wind of the likes had not been seen in Hoenn for years upon years. It felt like a hurricane had stopped by Sootopolis just to add more chaos into the mix.
Daigo stared into the sky once again, to see great emerald clouds obscuring the black rainclouds and the sun's scorching waves. Emerging from those green clouds was a streamlined Pokémon of myth. His marcasite eyes fell wide open as he stared gaping at the beast, spying the girl and Mega Altaria accompanying it. Haruka was seated on the back of this great monster, her burnt red legs gripping its sides as it hurtled through the sky, a bright peridot glow illuminating them as it crashed downwards, striking both Primal Pokémon in one swooping blow.
The Pokémon curled around and let out a ringing, shrieking call, glaring at the two Pokémon with angry golden irises. Groudon and Kyogre screeched back in defiance. The ruby Pokémon sent out a great wave of its Eruption attack flying at the Pokémon, Kyogre sent out a great and powerful Water Spout attack. Both hit Rayquaza directly, he simply rolled in the air and shrugged off the two powerful attacks. Haruka on the other hand, had been burned again then pelted by a great wash of water; her young form could not take much more of the strain from the powerful attacks Rayquaza had - for the most part - attempted to shield her from.
Rayquaza swirled and twirled in a Dragon Dance before spurting out a powerful Dragon Pulse then heading for the Dragon Ascent once again without allowing the Pokémon to recover from the ceaseless attacks. The barrage of attacks from the powerful Dragon-type forced both Pokémon back. Having taken immense damage from the emerald lord of the sky, the two reconsidered their goals here today. Their primal forms shimmered away as they dropped the orbs which held the ancient powers. The sapphire Pokémon sank into the depths, its shadow moving towards the exit of the city. The ruby Pokémon stomped over to the steep remnants of the mountain and began climbing to escape the wrath of the emerald Pokémon who shrieked in triumph.
Haruka watched as the thugs began to flee as they noticed the super-ancient Pokémon retreating. She felt a wave of dizziness overcome her and darkness grasped his fist across her sight.
"Haruka? Haruka can you hear me?" The girl with the sapphire eyes began to wake; she could hear the familiar voice echo in concern as her mind began straightening things out. She must have fallen from Rayquaza's back; she now lay on the cold hard ground. A cool breeze tickled across her face, the day was warm, but no longer scorching or filled with torrential rain. Her legs seared and her arms sizzled, she groaned deeply as the pain began registering in her numbed mind.
Haruka cracked open an eye, seeing little of the sky or surrounding area, only seeing a face close to hers, worried eyes peering down into her face. "Daigo-san…" She whispered as she blinked slowly. "I-Is it … over?" She continued her voice but a croak.
He sighed in relief. "Yes, Haruka, it's all over now, you did it." He touched her cheek gently. "All your Pokémon are fine as well, they're in the Pokémon Center recovering from the fight. We need to get you to a hospital, you're burned badly." She sighed, wishing to stay in the soothing cool air for a little longer.
"Where's Rayquaza?" She peered around as best she could to ensure the Pokémon was not nearby.
"Rayquaza left just after you fainted." He carefully lifted her torso, slipping his arms underneath her knees and lifting her carefully as he clambered to his feet. Her head lay against his chest; she had no strength to fight him, to insist she walk by herself. Truth be told, she felt safe and comfortable in his arms. She did not wish to move away from him.
"Daigo-san," She whispered, shuffling her face so she could see his own. He looked down at her, locking eyes with the teen.
"Yes Haru-chan?"
"You need a shower." She smirked at his bewildered expression. A few moments later he laughed.
"So do you," He chuckled as he wrinkled his nose. The pair of them chortled as they walked towards a large building, the fresh, calm sun was now setting - wispy white clouds crossed in front of it and framed the flaring orange sunset perfectly - reflecting scarlet sunlight onto the finally settled, glassy waters of Sootopolis.
A/N: I wanted this chapter to be something special as I've been away for quite some time now. The last chapter I updated... yesterday I think, had been moved to Chapter 4 so that it may be with the first part of the story, but I think this caused some confusion and the chapter has been overlooked, so it is for the moment going to be moved into chapter 26 so that people have the chance to see it :) Not too sure what to make of this chapter to be honest, thank you all for reading! I have... two more chapters planned after this one, but I am unsure of what to do after that. Hopefully i will have some idea by next update. Thanks again - before i forget prompts/suggestions are wholly welcome! -Iris