Chapter 29
April
The peaks of the mountain stab their way through the clouds, tearing them to shreds. White snow engulfs the peaks and under it is a stone-gray Mt. Coronet. Dawn, Blake, and I fly high above the mountain to get a good view and a better idea on an attack plan. Apparently, Mt. Coronet opens in the middle. We managed to figure that much out after a few minutes of careful speculation. But, the clouds shield the view of what the mountain contains in its center.
My wings flutter vigorously, my chest heaving. There is little to no oxygen up here and it's suffocating me. While I struggle to stay up, Dawn and Blake are cruising effortlessly in the air. I have no idea how they can stand it, but I try my best to hide my struggle. My sight moves from Dawn and Blake to the mountain below. There is still no sign of what could be underneath. We're too far up. We need to get down further. I turn to tell Dawn of my suggestion, but she's not there. Blake is missing, too. I look around frantically for my friends. My chest tightens making it nearly impossible to get air into my lungs. My mind begins to race with "what-ifs" when I hear a shout from down below. I follow the voice to find my two friends diving down. I sigh from relief and dive down to meet them.
They're patiently waiting when I become level with them. "Sorry, April. I thought you heard me when I gave the signal." I shake my head. Must have been the roar of the wind. Once we've all confirmed that we're alright, the tree of us dive down as a trio. Mt. Coronet comes up fast, but we won't stop. We break through the clouds and slow down a bit. Our trio glides over to the rim of the mouth, concealing ourselves from view of whatever might be in the center. My heart pounds in exertion and excitement. I swear that the whole world can hear its every pump. Dawn and Blake are silent, obviously erasing their breath. I'd never be able to do the same, but I try to slow down my breath as much as I can.
Blake peers above the rim while we stay down. "Okay. Blake, what do you see?" Dawn whispers from below Blake.
"There are ruins, alright. But, I don't see any sign of life. I think we need to get a closer look." With that, Blake mounds the rim and disappears into the center.
"Blake!" Dawn whispers as loud as she'll dare, attempting to call him back. It's no use, though. He's already gone. Dawn rolls her eyes and follows him along with me following up from behind.
When I see the ruins, it takes my breath away. The entire ruins looks like a large shrine or chamber of worship. It lies deep into the mouth that opens at the top of the mountain. It almost looks as if the mountain itself was formed around the ruins, creating a perfect barrier from the world. As we get further down, details become visible. Pillars that have been crushed on one end lie on the ground. There are boulders that I think were part of stone structures everywhere. The paved floor is cracked and looks to be eroding. In the middle, there is a pedestal with a triangle on it, probably meant to worship upon. But that's not the thing that catches my eye. It's what Blake has touched ground next to. Dawn and I bring ourselves to the ground and I land my big feet on the craggy floor of the ruins. I stare at the only other thing that seems to be alive in this place besides the three of us. Before us is a large, swirling purple thing. It looks like a whirlpool, but the purple and black is nowhere near identical to water. I'm not sure what it could be. It just seems as if it's swirling space itself. I look to Dawn for an answer but her eyes are trained on the pedestal in the middle which is next to the whirlpool thing. "Dawn? What is it?"
"These are footprint scripts. They say that this place is a place people and pokemon once came to worship the gods. It says the ruins are called Spear Pillar." She turns to me, her expression serious. "It doesn't look like the Wings of Legend have lived here, but they're probably close." I nod, further understanding, but she still hasn't answered my question.
"Dawn, what is this thing?" I point to the whirlpool. Dawn turns to read the pedestal over one more time and turns back to me.
"Nothing is mentioned about it. Sorry." My eyes look down in disappointment. Blake becomes focused on the center while Dawn floats over to us. "We should do a thorough search of this place, see if we can find any hidden paths to their hideout." I nod and start to fly off to investigate the walls. There are all sorts of little nooks and crannies that a path large enough to hold a large bird pokemon can squeeze through. I'm peeking behind a heap of shattered pillars when I look back to the whirlpool. Blake is still standing at the edge, his talons shifting a bit. Then, he calls over to Dawn.
"Hey, I think this is a portal! Probably to the Wings of Legend!" He drives Dawn's attention from a rock wall with more inscriptions on it back to the whirlpool.
"Blake, I know what you're thinking. It's a bad idea." She says calm but firmly.
"Dawn..." Blake's voice has a whining tone to it.
"Blake! No!" She warns with more force. "You could be killed in there!" Blake stares her down for a long time. Then, he speaks.
"Wasn't it you who said that we would take them out, no matter what the cost, no matter what the risk?" Dawn is silent at his challenge. I hover in place as the stare down between my two roommates rages on. After what seemed like hours, Blake gives a little flap to send him to the air, and dives directly into the middles of the purple and black portal, the weird substance engulfing him in its depths.
"Blake!" We both cry simultaneously, rushing to the portal as fast as we can fly. My eyes are trained directly to the spot where Blake entered and vanished, going full speed after him. Dawn looks from the portal to me while we are flying and puts two and two together.
"April, stop!" Dawn darts ahead of me and forms a blockade with her body in my path. My wings screech to a halt and I almost knock her over. "April, we can't make any hasty decisions! What if we can't get out. Not only Blake will be stuck, but you will be stuck there, too!" I look her straight in the eye, every ounce of determination I can hold transmits to my stare.
"If he is stuck there and can't get out, at least he won't be alone." Dawn blinks and straightens up in surprise. While she calculates my behavior through her head, I make a beeline for the portal, not even hesitating as I'm launched into whatever it holds within.
