-Chapter 28: Keys to the Hidden Land-
-Vulcan's POV-
We went to Kangaskhan storage and sorted out our treasure bag. I grabbed my blue bow, Connor readjusted his stamina band, and we filled up on the standard items: Oran berries, reviver seeds, apples, and a couple petrify orbs, for the monster houses.
We began walking back to the crossroads when Connor said, "I wonder if Grovyle's back."
We both decided to go check. We went to Sharpedo Bluff, and lifted the fake bush. We went into the hideout and looked around. Grovyle wasn't there, but there was a letter on my bed.
To: Connor and Vulcan
How are you doing? How goes your search for the Hidden Land? Things are going well on my end. I've already collected three Time Gears. I have to find only two more. I plan to join you when I've collected all five.
Plans have proceeded smoothly. Azelf and his siblings understood the situation and have fully cooperated. Azelf told me that members of your guild let them know I was coming. Thank you. It's heartening to know that more and more pokemon are coming to trust us. However, I will continue to stay away from Treasure Town and the guild. First, I'm not certain if the pokemon of this world trust me entirely or not. But there's something more troubling than that. Dusknoir is liable to return to the future at any time."
I gasped, "Dusknoir!"
Connor nodded, "It makes sense. Dusknoir almost had us. He'd probably follow us to complete the mission."
We both started reading again, putting aside that fact.
Since Dusknoir will be coming, it's best to keep a low profile. That is another reason I should stay away from Treasure Town and the guild. I will probably instead come back to Sharpedo Bluff or the beach. If we should meet, then we should exchange information.
Good luck on your end. Together, we shall stop the planet's paralysis.
From: Grovyle
Connor nodded, "He's got really good handwriting."
I chuckled, "That's what you're focused on?"
He shrugged innocently, "Not really. Just an observation."
-Connor's POV-
"Okay, so if this letter is anything to go by, then he'll be at the beach if he's finished."
Vulcan nodded, "Let's go check."
We made our way to the crossroads, then turned to the beach. When we got there, we looked around, and Vulcan shrugged, "Guess he hasn't finished his mission yet."
When I looked out at the ocean, I thought about when Vulcan first found me. It was an evening just like this. The waves were peaceful, the sun was setting, the Krabby were-
I looked around, and Vulcan voiced my thoughts, "Where are the Krabby? They always come out this time of day on clear evenings."
I shrugged, "Whatever. It's fine."
Vulcan looked down at his relic fragment, "You know… All this time, I didn't know what was so special about this little stone. It was a gift… From my dad, to me. I wonder if he knew what would happen with it? I just can't believe I'm finally figuring out what it goes to. It's like a dream. It's hard to think that all of our adventures started with this little thing, huh?"
I thought about it, and I found that he was right. It started with me helping him get it back. I did it because I thought it was the right thing to do. Ever since then, we've been inseparable. Starting out with just he and I, we began recruiting members. Each one contributing to make our team the way it is. Atlas, Vincent, Rose, Mirage, Magnus, Nocturne; We wouldn't be where we are today without them. We wouldn't trade a single one of them for anything. And they wouldn't abandon us for anything, either. Now, this little relic fragment, the thing that started all of this, was going to help us save the world.
I continued gazing out over the sea, and Vulcan smiled as he sat down in the sand. Moments like this will be lost if we don't stop the planet's paralysis. We have to stop it from happening! Did Grovyle feel this when he first arrived too? If I hadn't lost my memories, would I have felt this too?
I shook my head, chiding myself. If I still had my memories, I don't know if any of our team would be where they are. I'm glad I got to meet them all.
Vulcan pointed out to sea, "Connor, look at that!"
I saw a shape gliding across the horizon, on top of the water. It was a shadow, but I couldn't get a good look at it due to the sun being in my eyes.
"It looks like... A pokemon."
I shrugged, "It's getting dark. We should head back."
Vulcan nodded, and we both walked back to the guild.
-Skuntank's POV-
After those two chumps left, we came out of hiding from the treeline.
I turned to Zubat and Koffing, "Chaw-haw-haw! The Krabby weren't around for a good reason! They ran off! Scared of us! Chaw-haw!"
"Whoa-ho-ho! But Chief! That old-timer Torkoal wasn't lying to us, after all!"
"Heh-heh! That junk we stole way back when… I didn't know it was something that valuable."
I glared at him, "So what? We'll get that relic fragment from them one way or another. That means that the Hidden Land is going to be explored by none other than us, Team Skull! Chaw-haw-haw!"
"Whoa-ho-ho!"
"Heh-heh-heh!"
-Wigglytuff's POV-
It was close to midnight, the silver light of the moon washing over everything in the ocean. I wasn't very tired, but I was waiting in the cave that looked out to the sea, and greeted the pokemon as it sailed into the inlet.
"Lapras! Long time no see!"
She looked down at me, "It's been too long, Wigglytuff. You look well. Is Chatot doing well too?"
"Yes! Very well!"
"I'm glad to hear that!" Lapras smiled, "I've always meant to thank you. I deeply appreciate the promise you made… And upheld for all this time."
I smiled, "No problem! No big deal! I know how big a deal it is to you and the others. But today… I'm here to see you about that promise. We find ourselves in a situation where we cannot afford to uphold it, I'm afraid. And I know that you know why. So please tell me… about that… strange pattern we once saw.
-Connor's POV-
Chatot gave an announcement in today's morning briefing, "And so, as you're all quite aware… The Guildmaster has not yet returned from his errand. However, I intend to set off for brine cave as scheduled."
"Hey, hey! Where'd the Guildmaster go, anyway?"
Chatot cringed, "Um… I wouldn't know."
"Will it be okay without the Guildmaster?" Loudred asked.
"No problem! There is no need for your concern at all. The Guildmaster must have decided that we can manage on our own without him for the time being. That's why he hasn't come home yet. Furthermore, in the place of our absent Guildmaster, you have me to lead you!"
Everybody was silent, which made it kind of uncomfortable for such a large room. Chatot looked around, "Uh… Why isn't anyone saying anything?" Then he flapped his wings in shock, "It… It can't be! Do you think that I'm not up to the task! E-everyone! Out with it! Am I perhaps… perhaps… Inadequate? Worthless to you?!"
Bidoof shook his head, "Uh, nope. I wouldn't say that, by golly!"
Chimecho added, "When the Guildmaster isn't here, it just feels less safe, y'know?"
Corphish nodded, "Hey, hey! You know the Guildmaster! He's hard to figure out… But, hey, hey! He really comes through when times get rough!"
"But he Guildmaster isn't with us right now, so… We have to take charge and do as he wanted! " Sunflora exclaimed.
I nodded, "That's right! I'm sure we can do this on our own! Let's go for it!"
"You're RIGHT! We can't count on the Guildmaster for everything!" Loudred shouted.
"Oh, yes!" Chimecho cheered, "That's the spirit! Let's do our best!" She turned to Chatot, "The Guildmaster is absent, so there's only one among us who can lead. That's you, Chatot."
"Huh? Wh-who? Me?"
"Of course. You said so earlier. You said that we'll be fine because you're here to lead us. Lead the way! Show us, Chatot!"
"That's right! Show us, Chatot! Hey, hey!"
"Yup yup! I'm counting on you!"
Chatot cringed and turned around trembling, "W-w-well… e-e-everyone… You can always count on my when th-things are this bad…"
"What's the matter Chatot? Sound the call to duty already!" Loudred shouted.
Chatot nodded and turned back to us, "I know, I know! Commencing now… We shall depart on a guild exploration of Brine Cave! Everyone! Let us excel together!"
"HOORAY!"
We all left, and travelled as a group to the cave. About an hour later we arrived, and Chatot stopped us at the entrance.
"Now, listen, everyone. This is the entrance to Brine Cave. Your objective is to reach the deepest part of this dungeon. That is where one will find the same odd pattern inscribed on the Relic Fragment that Vulcan possesses. However, it is where the extremely vicious pokemon lurks."
"E-extremely vicious?" Bidoof murmured, "Golly, that sounds scary!"
"Hey, hey! Chatot!"
Chatot turned to Corphish, "What is it?"
"Yesterday, Guildmaster said something about that vicious pokemon. But, Chatot, you seem to know just as much about this dungeon, hey, hey?"
Chimecho agreed, "Is it possible that you've been here before?"
Chatot nodded, "That's right. I have come here before. I explored here a long time ago with the Guildmaster. It was deep in this cave that we saw the peculiar pattern. It was then, however… Those tough pokemon appeared."
Loudred gulped, "S-so, what were they like? Tough, you say?"
Chatot looked to the ground, "Um… I don't remember at all."
"Huh? You don't REMEMBER?!"
"Yes, but I loathe to admit it. They attacked me with no warning out of nowhere. I was knocked out before I could do a thing. When I came to, the Guildmaster was tending to my wounds. But I had no memory of events before that. So I couldn't tell what the attackers were like."
I thought about it, and before I could speak up, Dugtrio said, "That doesn't give us much to go on…"
Sunflora looked worried, "So we don't know what kind of enemy we're facing? We'll have to make our way slowly…"
Vulcan raised his hand, "Wait."
We all looked to him, and I could tell that he had come to the same conclusion, "Chatot, at first you said there was one vicious pokemon. Then you said 'they' attacked you. Is there more than one?"
Chatot placed a wing on his chin in thought, "Hmm… No, it wasn't just one. There was one extremely vicious pokemon, but it wasn't alone." Then he gasped, "When they attacked… Oh, I remember now! They all attacked at once… I recall getting slammed by water… Like a tidal wave!"
No one looked very excited by that prospect, and Dugtrio said that he and diglett had to be extra careful with water-type attacks. Sunflora said that it would be dangerous to face a group like that alone. Chatot agreed and continued.
"We should make several groups to explore the cave."
Bidoof nodded, "We'll do that, sir! Yup yup!"
"Hey, hey! We should make several groups that don't bunch up types." Corphish suggested.
Chatot turned to Vulcan and I, "You recall what the Guildmaster said yesterday. You must travel with me during the exploration of this cave. Understood? I trust you won't hold me up too much? Oh, you must not expect me to do everything for you! It's up to you to look after yourself!"
"Yes, sir…" I muttered.
He walked ahead, and Vulcan whispered, "What does he think we've been training for? A baking competition?"
I stifled a laugh, and we walked forward as Chatot turned to everyone else, "Alright, everyone! We're off to conquer Brine Cave! Let's give it our all!"
"HOORAY!"
We all ventured inside, and were warped to different parts of the dungeon. Vulcan and I stayed close to Chatot and were warped in together.
Throughout the dungeon, I found out that the pokemon there were mostly water and Ice types. Vulcan and I were struggling covering for each other, since we were pretty much reduced to normal type moves because of water absorb and type disadvantages. Chatot was cool the entire time. Of course, I carried Vulcan across certain patches of water, and dove down to get some treasure boxes, but other than that, we didn't really have a whole lot of trouble.
When we reached the waypoint, we stopped briefly, and Vulcan sighed, eating an oran berry, "I'm soaked… Are we almost there?"
Chatot nodded, eyeing the path warily, "Yes. We do not have far to go. However… As I've told you before… Every step also brings us closer to those vicious pokemon."
I nodded, "Right. We can't let our guard-" As I said it, Vulcan was launched forward into the wall, and a fast shape snatched the relic fragment from around his neck. When I saw them, I sighed, "Oh, it's just you three…"
Vulcan turned around, "What is your problem?! We didn't do anything to you!"
Skuntank held the Relic Fragment, and was now closest to the tunnel leading further into the dungeon, "Sorry, but we'll be taking this now! Chaw-haw-haw!"
"Oh, you're that nice team… Eh?" Vulcan's hands nearly fizzled out from hearing him say this.
Skuntank didn't even give him a second look, "Now, I'd love to pulverize you right now, but we've got business exploring the Hidden Land! Chaw-haw-haw!"
Chatot squawked, "W-wait! Wait, please! I'm afraid that I'm not following what's going on here. Why are you even here? We haven't seen any of you from Team Skull since you suddenly disappeared during the expedition! I fretted for your well-being!"
Skuntank smirked, "Worried, huh…? Chaw-haw-haw! You're guild's just full of gullible nincompoops just waiting to be fleeced."
"Oh?! Your demeanor and language seem to be much coarser now!"
I couldn't take any more of this, so I shouted, "Chatot, they were fooling the guild the whole time! The're a bad exploration team! Nothing more than a bunch of crooks!"
"Wha-wha-what?! Is that true?!"
"Whoa-ho! What else?"
"You'd have to be naive beyond belief to buy it for this long! Heh-heh!"
Skuntank mockingly bowed, "Well, I'd hate to cut this chat short, but we've got the Hidden Land to explore! Let's go, boys!"
Vulcan launched a fireball at them as they ran down, "Cowards!"
He turned to me, "We need to get it back!"
I nodded, and I turned to Chatot. He was livid, to say the least. "Squawk! Those stinking scoundrels… Play me for a fool, will they?! They won't get away with this!" He ran off after them, "I'll show them what it means to trifle with me!"
I tried to get him, "Wait, Chatot-!" But he was already gone. Vulcan hastily wrote in the adventure log and we took off after him.
"I hope he'll be alright without us."
I nodded, "He'll be fine. He's second in command for a reason."
We went through the second half of the dungeon using those camouflage cloaks to stealth our way through. We came to another small chamber near the end of the dungeon, and sure enough, we saw Team Skull on the ground, all beaten up.
Vulcan gasped as we removed our cloaks, "No way… Chatot did this?!"
I shook my head, "No… It was those mysterious attackers, wasn't it…?"
"Whoa-ho… You knew it was coming?" Koffing moaned, "Would've been nice to know that…"
Zubat groaned and added, "Not that you'd tell us… Heh-heh."
Vulcan gasped, "Are you three alright?"
"Chaw-haw-haw… You find us at your mercy… And you're worried how we are? How sickeningly generous can you nitwits be?"
"I'm not about to walk away from others when they need help."
"Chaw-haw-haw… Your concern's wasted on us. We'll be fine. That pompous Chatot… He riled me up enough to keep me going! And here's what he did! That Chatot came along after we got wiped out! When he spotted us down and out… He scolded us with all sorts of choice words… Chaw-haw-haw! After giving us that blistering tongue-lashing, he went on his way. The things he said about us… I'm still seeing red. I'm so steaming that I refuse to give up here. I'm getting out of here if I have to crawl… So I can deliver my payback to that blasted Chatot! But… If you think about it… We were close to giving up. But that Chatot saved us by riling us up! Chaw-haw-haw!"
I nodded, "Even though you say you're fine, you look a little worse for wear. Just sayin'."
"Chaw-haw-haw… We've been bad to you two all this time. You've went through downright rotten times because of us. But… You can still bring yourself to worry about the likes of us?"
Vulcan nodded, "Yes, I can. You have made us furious over this and that, but when we see you down like this… We're not just going to walk away and say, 'good luck'!"
Skuntank chuckled, "Chaw-haw… haw…" his paw slipped from his side, and the relic fragment rolled across the floor.
"Hey! The relic fragment!" Vulcan exclaimed.
"Chaw-haw… oops… How unlike me… Now it's out of my reach… And I can't move yet… You're going to steal it back, aren't you…?"
Vulcan murmured, "Skuntank…"
He scoffed, "I only dropped it by accident. You're free to pick it up. Or not."
"Skuntank… Thanks."
"Hmph. Why thank me? The next time we meet, we're going to be back to our old tricks of messing with you… Besides, you're wasting time being worried about us. You should be worried about Chatot."
I gasped, "That's right! Where did he go?"
Skuntank sighed, "He went deeper, chasing after those enemies… We didn't even see 'em…"
Vulcan picked up his relic fragment, "Thanks. We're going after him. Make sure to get your team out. Don't give up."
"Humph! I'll ask you not to patronize team Skull! Chaw-haw-haw!"
Vulcan and I nodded, and he dropped three oran berries in front of them. Skuntank bristled, but didn't say anything. We walked ahead, and Chatot was standing towards the entrance of a large cavern.
I shouted, "Chatot!"
He turned around, on edge, "Be alert! They are very close by! I saw their retreating figures while I gave chase… But I'd lost sight of them by the time I reached this spot. They must be lurking here somewhere…"
I looked around, and Vulcan lit a will-o-wisp that floated around, illuminating the entire chamber, which were smooth rock walls all the way around.
"Um… Chatot, there's nowhere to hide…"
Vulcan and I walked forward, "I don't see them anywhere…"
Chatot gasped and flew forward, "Vulcan! Connor! Above you!"
I looked up, but before I could react, three shadows were already dropping down. The impact of their landing made Vulcan and I stumble backwards, stunning us.
"I am Kabutops!" The middle one shouted.
"And the Omastar brothers!" The other two shouted."
Kabutops continued, "All trespassers shall be taught a lesson! Take this!" I closed my eyes, and Vulcan shielded himself with a pillar of flame as I heard the torrent of water. But I didn't feel anything. I opened my eyes, and I saw Chatot in front of me, soaked and bruised, and not moving.
I stood up, "Chatot!"
"Wh-what?!" Kabutops shouted.
Chatot shook in the effort to stay upright, "Urrgghh…! I won't let you get away with this…!"
Kabutops laughed, "How do you like that? That hero shielded his buddies with his body. Not what I'd call smart."
One of the Omastar said, "Hey! I remember him! Kabutops! That big hero's been here before! We knocked him out the same way then, too!"
"That's the second time he's done that? That really takes a whole lot of smarts! Ha ha ha!"
Chatot groaned, unwavering, "Say what you will… They… Are our prized recruits! I won't let you harm them!"
Vulcan teared up, "Chatot…"
"Urrgghh…" Then he fell to the ground, unable to move.
Kabutops laughed again, "Ha ha ha! Now it's your turn! Take THIS!" They tried another combined water attack. Vulcan used flamethrower, but the three of them quickly overpowered him and the torrent sent him flying into the wall. I picked Chatot up and moved him out of harms way, using Ice beam to slow the Kabutops down. When I got him out of the way, I glanced at the attackers, and quickly thought over their types… rock and water… Not good for Vulcan…
Sure enough, Vulcan was coughing up water, the two Omastar blasting him relentlessly. I used Ancient Power to entomb Vulcan, shielding him from the torrent as I set Chatot down out of harms' way. I looked around for the Kabutops, but he had vanished while the two Omastar were blasting the stone shield with hydro pump. The barrier wouldn't last much longer, so I slammed the stones into the both of them. Vulcan leapt straight behind the boulders, relentlessly using brick break followed by low sweep, combo-ing up some sick punishment.
For a little while, I thought he was doing great, and ran over to help him before the Kabutops dropped from the ceiling and knocked me back into the wall. When I stood up, the Kabutops' scythe hand was coming straight at me, so I dodged and used Ice ball to roll straight past him and into the Omastar bros., who had overpowered Vulcan by using hydro pump. It didn't do much to damage them, but it diverted their attention away from Vulcan. When I looked at him, a reviver seed had latched onto his throat, and he was coughing up water, sputtering and gagging, but he was still alive. But my attention diverted to the bandits around me. Well... You've got all three baddies focused on you... What now?
Kabutops was behind me, and both the Omastars were in front of me, closing in... Think, Connor... I have to keep them distracted until Vulcan heals up...
I channeled my energy into the ground directly below me, and I heard the Kabutops chuckle, "You lost. Even with that weakling shielding you... How pathetic."
I heard him leap forward, and I shot myself into the air by using Ancient power to launch myself. I came down with an earthquake attack, knocking them all off balance, and followed up with an ice beam sweep. It froze them over, but they all broke out of the attack after a brief moment. They kept advancing, and I grunted, "Fantastic..."
I thought over the other moves I knew, and I sighed, "Worth a shot..." I activated bide, which made me tense up and stop moving, and the Kabutops tilted his head, "You've finally given up that faint hope...? I'll be sure to make this quick..."
I braced myself for the worst, and I felt the pain of the Kabutops' Scythe pierce my back. He slung me into the wall while his scythe sliced open my back, and my vision went fuzzy. No... I have to... Stay standing...
I heard Vulcan shout, "Connor!" I opened my eyes, and an Oran berry was flying straight towards me. I tried to move to catch it, but my bide attack made me stay where I was. It rolled right next to me, and I was powerless to pick it up. The Kabutops kept his eye on me, "Boys... Kill that Charmander. No more holding back."
My eyes widened as he stepped forward, "Hmph... Not going to make a move, huh?" He picked up the Oran Berry, and ate it. "Ah... That's nice... Been awhile since I got to take my time like this..."
He hit me with the blunt end of his Scythe, and I was thrown back into the wall. He kicked me again, knocking the breath out of me, and I felt a tugging sensation in my gut. I felt an unimaginable rush of power and adrenaline course through me as Kabutops kicked me again, which meant that my bide had worn off.
I clamped my mouth around his foot as my pain faded, threw him into the stone wall, froze him with Ice beam, then used rock slide to bring half the wall down on top of him. He stuck his scythe hand through the rubble after a moment, but I used take down, and I heard it snap beneath me. I charged over to the Omastar Bros., not even skipping a beat, but then my bide wore off, and I collapsed to the ground and passed out from the pain as it came rushing back.
-Vulcan's POV-
When Connor stiffened up, I was confused a bit as to what he could be doing. When Kabutops impaled him and threw him into the wall, I had tried to get up, but the Reviver seed was still healing me, which meant I had to stay quiet. I forced back a sob as they relentlessly kicked him and beat him. I wanted to cry out so badly... Then, I felt the seed fall off of my neck. I reached into my bag, pulled out an oran berry, and shouted, "Connor!"
It hadn't occurred to me that he couldn't move at all, which meant that he couldn't reach the Oran Berry. Then when Kabutops told his baddies to take care of me, I didn't like my odds against two rock and water types.
I glared at them as they advanced, and the one on the right used hydro pump. I ducked and used smokescreen, obscuring their vision. I followed up with dig, which I learned with a TM while moving through the dungeon, and knocked both of them aside. Then, I heard a rumbling noise, and saw the side of the cave collapse, and I knew that Connor had used rock slide on the Kabutops. The Omastars had regrouped, and both of them lined up in front of me. I used smokescreen again, this time readying brick break. When I leapt out of the black cloud, both of them were looking down at the ground, probably expecting another dig attack. I smashed both of their shells, but they stayed together, if only barely. The Kabutops had broken out of the rubble, and Connor was collapsed, drenched in his own blood, with a Reviver seed on his back, healing the wound. I set my hands ablaze and slammed into the ground, making a wave of fire rush towards them. They all backed away slowly, then looked at me, then ran away.
-Connor's POV-
"...Hey!"
"Huh?"
"Get up!"
I opened my eyes, and Vulcan was standing over me, feeding me an oran berry, "Dude, you're sooo lucky we had three reviver seeds."
I stood up, and I saw the entire ground stained red. My body was covered in blood, and I gasped, "What the-?!"
Vulcan nodded, "Dude, you were freaking impaled! Again!"
I grunted, "Well... This won't do at all..."
I used water gun, spraying it straight up to wash myself off, and I shook myself dry. Suddenly, Vulcan gasped, "Chatot!"
My focus quickly diverted back to Chatot, now that the pain had subsided, and I saw him still exactly where we left him, no new injuries on him, "Chatot! Are you okay?! We're not going to lose you!"
"Chatot!" I turned, and Wigglytuff was coming in with Grovyle in hot pursuit.
Chatot croaked, "That voice… Guildmaster…"
I looked back and forth, "Guildmaster? And Grovyle too?"
"Guildmaster!" Loudred shouted as everybody rushed in, "WAAH! Grovyle!"
Chimecho jingled with shock, "What's Grovyle doing with the Guildmaster?!"
Wigglytuff said without turning, "I'll explain later! This is more important!" He cradled Chatot in his arms, "Chatot…" Everybody else gathered around to observe.
"Chatot…" Wigglytuff weeped, "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
Chatot chuckled, "I'm fine… I'm hale and hearty, as you can see…"
"Chatot… I'm so sorry… If I had only gotten here earlier…"
Chatot shook his head weakly, "Please, don't blame yourself, Guildmaster… But… This is so humiliating! Knocked out by the same enemies… Again!"
"That isn't true, Chatot! The last time we came here… You were knocked out right away, Chatot, so you probably don't remember this. But… That time, when Kabutops' gang sprang out at us… You shielded me from attack, Chatot."
"Excuse me…?" Chatot murmured.
"I sent them packing right after that, but if it weren't for you jumping out and shielding me… I would have been knocked out on the spot. I owe my life to you, Chatot."
"That's… What happened?"
"Chatot… You are… my invaluable partner."
"I… I am privileged to hear such words, Guildmaster. I'm… such a happy pokemon…" His head slumped back, and his eyes closed.
Loudred shouted, "WHOA, Chatot!"
"Chatot!" Chimecho cried out.
Grovyle pushed them all back gently, "Everyone, stay calm, for Arceus' sake!" He knelt down to Chatot, who was still being cradled by Wigglytuff, and examined his wounds, "...He'll live. He still has time. Get him back to the guild! Now!"
I nodded, "Right! Let's go!"
"No."
I turned to Wigglytuff, who stood up, "We will take Chatot back to the guild. But as for you, Connor… Vulcan… And you, Grovyle… You two must keep going."
Vulcan tried to argue, "But-"
"Don't worry about us. Besides, if you don't go on from here, then Chatot's sacrifice will have been in vain."
I nodded, and Vulcan hesitantly agreed. Wigglytuff went on, "The pattern is just ahead. Now, hurry."
Grovyle stepped forward, "Thank you, Wigglytuff. We will continue onward. Let's go, you two."
We followed him, and I looked back once more at the guild, a deep thought occurring in the back of my head. I heard Wigglytuff wish us luck as we walked deeper into the cave.
Vulcan asked Grovyle while we were walking, "So how'd you find us?"
Grovyle sped up slightly, "Wigglytuff brought me. He had been looking for me. As soon as he found me, he asked me to go with him. He said that you were close to finding the Hidden Land. It worked out fine, because I planned to join you anyways."
"So that means…"
"That's right. I've collected all the necessary Time Gears."
I smiled, "That's great! Now all we have to do is get to the Hidden Land! So let's find the place with the strange pattern!"
We came into a room where water filled part of the cove, and looking outside, I saw that it was already sunset. I also noticed a strange engraving on the opposite wall, and pointed it out to Vulcan and Grovyle. We all walked over, and Vulcan held up his relic fragment, comparing the patterns. The center of the engraving matched the relic fragment's pattern exactly.
Vulcan smiled, "This is it… This is the same pattern as the Relic Fragment…" Suddenly, it started glowing. Vulcan dropped it out of surprise, and lobbed a fireball at it. Grovyle threw a couple leaf blades, and I looked at them both, "Seriously…?"
Vulcan raised his hands, "It startled me!"
Grovyle didn't say anything, but he was stifling a chuckle. Then, I looked back at the pattern on the wall. It began pulsing in sync with the relic fragment, then a blinding flash of light emanated from the center of the engraving, firing out to sea.
Grovyle ducked underneath it, then stood up, "What… Was that?" Then, a figure began moving towards the mouth of the cove we were in.
"Forget that. What's coming closer? It seems to be swimming here." Vulcan said as he looked out towards the shape, and as soon as it entered the cove, we could see it clearly. A large blue pokemon with a gray stone shell on its back.
"Connor, Vulcan, and Grovyle… Correct?"
I raised an eyebrow, "You know our names?"
She nodded gently, "Yes. I was informed by Wigglytuff."
"Wigglytuff? That beam of light shot out… you appeared right after that… Who are you?"
"I am Lapras. One of the eleven Temporal Guardians, and guide to the Hidden Land."
Grovyle didn't seem surprised, but Vulcan leapt up, "Seriously?! You can take us to the Hidden Land?
Lapras nodded again, "You unleashed the beam of light from the wall. You have activated the beacon. That is the signal for gaining entry to the Hidden Land. It is beyond even the sea. Step onto my back. I will carry you across the vast ocean. Don't be afraid. My strength is exceptional. I can carry you all and more"
Beyond the sea… The Hidden Land...
Vulcan and Grovyle had already climbed aboard, and Grovyle waved me over, "Come on, Connor! To the Hidden Land!"
I nodded, and hopped onto the pokemon's back as she sailed out of the cove and into the night.
Alright, a couple things: 1, I thought of Lapras as a girl, so yeah... She's a girl in my stories. And 2, hope you enjoyed this chapter! I didn't know how to make the Kabutops fight super difficult, but I tried my best. Let me know how I did with a quick Review or PM! I will see you all in the next update!
-PL
