I know I haven't been updating frequently, and for that I'm sorry. I just have zero knowledge of Hoenn, and this region is difficult to write about -_- Until I reach Sinnoh, where everything is going to end, I'm really slow to get this going. So bear with me, my loyal readers. Your reviews (and possible suggestions, hoenn experts out there) are soo appreciated and they honestly are a highlight of my day.
Thank you so much, reviewers and people who just lurk. And just because I'm curious, When does the narwhal bacon?
XXX
It was not a day for jokes. It was not a day for laughter, smiling, or goofing off. It was a day business for the campers and counselors who volunteered to plunge into the ocean in hopes of saving the world. Or Kyogre, to begin with. Team Orion's next target would be to capture the ancient sea pokemon that controlled how much the ocean expanded. If this pokemon's power was unleashed, the oceans would spread across the land and consume the earth.
Preventing Kyogre's capture was so pivotal, partly due to Groudon's absence in the recesses of the earth's core. His power held sway over the expansion of land. The dueling forces of earth and water clashed often, but when they rested at peace the balance could be upheld.
If Team Orion was successful in obtaining Kyogre's power, the feud between the ocean dweller and Groudon could resurface once more—throwing the state of the world into jeopardy.
This time, they weren't going to fail.
Hunter, Shane, and Melody all donned wetsuits the color of the ocean. At the water's edge, three submarines waited. They were yellow and spherical, with four large propellers protruding in the rear of the sub. Large rotors and small belts covered the sphere—if the propellers needed to change direction, they could run along the rudders to a new position. In each sub were three seats and one seat for a captain.
"There is no turning back once we go underwater. If anyone is unfit for this mission, please leave now." Shane said definitively. Everyone exchanged glances, curious to see who would abandon such a life-threatening endeavor. "No rational people, then? Cool, let's get moving." He leapt into the first cabin and helped Johnny, Sid, and Miracle inside. The three campers quickly moved to buckle their harnesses and wait for further instruction. Melody would commandeer the second sub, and in with her went Berane, Setsuna, and Reiji. Reiji coughed a mouthful of blood into an already-soaked handkerchief. Setsuna looked over at him with vivacious and calculating eyes. What could be causing this discomfort?
"When were you going to tell me you were spitting up blood?" she said through gritted teeth.
"It's nothing you need to know." Reiji replied, punctuating his words with another wet cough.
"Damn it, Reiji! Get a cough drop or something. Are you sure you're not going to die on me down there?" Melody demanded. Reiji ignored her insensitivity and insisted he go. He couldn't let Setsuna get hurt ever again. Berane, oblivious to the bickering trio, stared out the window and to the sky. The sun was setting and the storm had parted for just a moment. Through the black clouds Berane could see a burnt orange sky—a hue that rivaled Talia's irises. His mind wandered to the worst-case scenario. What if he didn't come home today? What if the last time he stared into Talia's beautiful eyes was when he said goodbye at the inn? His heart skipped a beat as the weight of the task finally dawned upon him.
Hunter was right, his mind told him. This really isn't about summer camp anymore. He drummed his gloved fingers on the windowsill and waited for the dive that would take them to see the guardian of the oceans—Kyogre.
With submarine one and two filled, that left Hunter with Hiro, Riley, and James in the third vessel. The three boys were completely silent during the loading procedures. None of them had questions or protests. They merely sat rigid and taut in their seats. Hunter closed the top hatch of the submarine and pulled down three levers from the sub's ceiling. Suddenly, the yellow metal plates pulled back to reveal a cabin made entirely of glass. The material was completely transparent, but looked thick enough to withstand immense amounts of pressure. Once they broke the surface, a mass of bubbles forced its way out of the cabin and traveled skyward.
"You boys are brave." Hunter said after a while. Their descent was slow for two reasons: to keep a low profile, and to make sure the water pressure didn't crush their bodies. Large filters running across the top of the cabin filtered water into breathable oxygen, much like the gills on any Magikarp or Goldeen.
"It's not bravery, ma'am." James said respectfully.
"Well the spirit has to come from somewhere, doesn't it? I know that if it weren't my job, I wouldn't be volunteering to come down here. I personally am very claustrophobic, and being stuck almost a few miles beneath air and the open sky terrifies me. You're telling me that bravery doesn't inspire you to jump in to something like this?" Hunter babbled incessantly to calm her panicky state.
"Bravery isn't something I decide to have, though." Riley piped up. "It's just something you have to do. The world's in danger, someone's gotta get in there and bust it up." Riley punched a fist into his open palm menacingly.
"He's right." Hiro said. "I'm not sure bravery even exists. I don't think there's such a thing as bravery, just varying degrees of fear." Jolteon sat in Hiro's lap and stared outside at the schools of Luvdisc swimming by.
"Well said, Taminama. So I suppose all of our fear is minimal to be tackling something as crazy as this." Hunter pressed a large purple button and two headlights flashed brilliantly. The water was increasingly darker as they descended into the briny deep.
"We've lost the terrors of the skies and Groudon already." James said coldly. "We're not losing Kyogre, too."
XXX
Five leagues ahead was a large, black vessel with a large "O" emblazoned on the side. Within its metal exterior sat seven people dressed in black. A man with glittering golden eyes was seated at the helm, hands wrapped loosely around the pegs of an antique ship wheel. At his feet slept a shiny Zangoose. To Betelgeuse's immediate right was Rigel, the enormously built man with blonde hair and an iron stomach. Behind them, Mintaka and Saiph discussed something quietly. Alnitak and Alnilam, the twins, groomed a pair of Glameows in their laps. At the very back were Meissa and Aaron, who were making out in the shadows of the darkened ship.
"We are expected to arrive in t-minus thirty minutes, boss." Rigel announced. He sat at the navigator's controls, running radar that extended two leagues around them in every direction. A map showed them the Seafloor Cavern coming into view.
"Good, Rigel. Keep the radar running. I know those stupid brats from Tarkov's damned camp are following us." Betelgeuse shifted the course of the sub slightly with a turn of the wheel. The path toward the Seafloor Cavern led whoever wished to reach it through a series of intricate turns and a deadly trench peppered with rocks. A singular tunnel whisked them through part of the cave and up into the Seafloor Cavern where Kyogre dwelled. For amateurs, the task was nearly impossible. But to a seasoned villain like Betelgeuse, the work was child's play.
"Milord, what's the course of action you recommend?" Saiph was referring to any run-ins with the campers. Betelgeuse chuckled darkly.
"Kill them. Kill each and every one you can get your hands on." Everyone in the submarine laughed.
XXX
Miles above the four submarines, back in the hotel, paranoia struck in its many forms. For Tarkov and Vick, it was the fear of their comrades not coming back. Tarkov had seen many of his friends fall in the line of duty, but all of his losses were during times of war. The old general feared that this war was only beginning. Instead of fighting for freedom or for liberty or all those other intangible concepts, the fighting took place among women and children. Civilians who had full lives ahead of them. The faces of the three dead campers flashed before the old general's scarred eyes. He imagined their eyes blinking, and how now those eyes would never see the world again. A voice told him he was crazy for thinking of something as stupid and insignificant as blinking, but Tarkov saw the sense of it in his own way. He surmised he simply appreciated the small things everyone else took for granted. Like blinking, or breathing. Or living.
Vick worried mostly about Hunter. His head was swimming with the thought of her green hair and matching eyes. Their time together in the summer camp was igniting a small flame within Vick Tatter's perverted heart. This tiny spark would catch his entire being on fire, hot flames licking every fiber of his being until he was reborn a new man from the ashes of his womanizing life. His mind traveled back to their night in the hot spring, where Hunter broke down in tears. She clung to Vick like a lifeline.
She needed me then. And I was there for her…unlike now.
If the reason for his said transformation came back from the Seafloor Cavern alive, he'd never ask Arceus for anything ever again. A serious brush with Team Orion almost always ended in death. The organization had no qualms about killing children or pokemon. For them, if something or someone got in their way, the only thing to do was to eliminate it. This made the odds for Hunter, a strong adversary, extremely slim and dangerous.
Paranoia also became a repeat offender in the case of sixteen-year-old Kame Takeshi. The blonde was so uncertain of everything nowadays. Her fears about her eye, fears about Zangoose, fears about Hiro actually not liking her. The feeling gnawed at her insides, burning like an itch she never could quite scratch. It festered like an infected wound.
The more she thought about it, the more it made perfect sense.
"Hiro was a nice guy to begin with, but he's super flirtatious. Could it have all been a lie?" she muttered. Was Hiro simply pushing her to be strong, so when the time came to save the world she wouldn't break down in tears?
"I can't believe it…" Kame sniffled. "He wouldn't do that to me! He said I was special!" she turned toward her Vulpix, who was always a good listener. She offered her paw sympathetically.
"I'll show him and Miracle. Kame Takeshi doesn't need or deserve this type of treatment! It's time this tortoise ditched her shell." she proceeded to go back to the room to ask Talia for a makeover.
XXX
In the first submarine, Shane and Miracle sat in total silence—except for the synchronized singing of the two Brits in the cabin with them. Sid unnecessarily stole a life vest from the sub's storage closet and yanked it over his skinny body. Johnny wore a skipper's cap over his bright orange hair. They had just begun their third chorus of "God Save the Queen."
Miracle, completely done with singing and noise of any kind, calmly placed both hands on each of their shoulders.
"Gentlemen, please. Would you kindly shut. The. Freak. Up." Every sentence was enunciated by the increasing pressure of her hand squeezes. When she released the two, blue bruises began to blossom on their biceps.
"Y'know, fer a girl as beautiful as yerself, you're quite the bitch." Johnny said through narrowed eyes.
"Compliment appreciated. Now please, if you're done worshipping me, it's time to shut your mouth." Miracle braided her endless hair with long fingers. Johnny, knowing that starting a fight this far below sea level could be life threatening, clenched his fists and stared out into the darkness. Shane directed the boat expertly through many twists and tight spaces, until they resurfaced in an enormous cavern.
The three spherical submarines docked beside a large, black ship.
"Oh, god." Berane ran his hands along the black ship's length. "It's Team Orion's! Let's get moving!" Various pokemon scuttled away as they traversed the seafloor cavern's pathways. Hiro's Jolteon used Flash to light the way.
"Everyone arm themselves!" Melody instructed. One by one, the campers released their pokemon of choice. Jolteon for Hiro, Hunter's Teddiursa, James' Garchomp, Alendra the Umbreon with Berane. Johnny called out Smoochum and Sid his Tyrogue. Shane and Shenzi the Mightyena lead the team, along with Melody and Ricochet. Miracle summoned Drake the Dragonite, Setsuna paired with Totodile, Reiji joined his Hapiny, and that left Riley and his Charizard.
The only sound that could be heard in the cavern was their echoing footsteps on the damp floors of the cave. In the distance, a strange blue light began interfering with the light from Jolteon's flash.
"I think that's our clue." Setsuna said. Her laptop didn't get wifi in the cave, but she had hacked the radar system from the submarine and linked it to her watch. Setsuna, within moments, had programmed her watch to show an entire 3-D layout of the area. Her Totodile wove in and out of her legs, keeping a close watch for anything that might jump out at them. The group pressed on until the blue light almost overpowered their vision.
"Up there!" Reiji said between hacking coughs. A short climb up to the craggy rock face would take them directly above Team Orion and Kyogre. The room they stood in had a short ceiling that gradually stretched into the tallest part of the cavern. Team Orion stood on a ledge that hung just above the lip of the enormous blue pool. The new hideout of the campers was nestled behind the group and facing the water.
"Ladies first." Shane ordered, assisting Miracle, Hunter, and Melody before scrambling up the rock himself. The other boys followed suit. Once the Camp Catchem'all team was in place, they settled in to watch the show.
XXX
Betelgeuse had three things before him: an enormous pool of water, where Kyogre lived, the blue orb that would awaken the beast, and a small cage with a cowering Nidoran inside. The blonde woman they knew as Mintaka pulled from her backpack a tattered old book with gold-leafed pages. Betelgeuse accepted the book and flipped to the page he wanted, and began to read in the same strange language they had heard in Groudon's cavern.
As Betelgeuse's lips formed the ancient language, the water that before was as still as glass began churning violently. The blue light beneath its surface began glowing brighter and brighter until even Betelgeuse had to shield his eyes. He raised Bellatrix's rusty knife and plunged it into the belly of the Nidoran, letting its blood run red into the pool. After the blood was whisked into the current, Betelgeuse tossed in the orb and the still-bleeding body of the Nidoran. Its last breath was a drawn-out squeal that cut over the din of the swirling water. As soon as it had begun, the water stopped, and became smooth once more.
"It didn't work!" Sari said loudly. Her annoying voice bounced off the walls and reverberated in the cavern.
"That's because we didn't use human blood!" Betelgeuse roared. He tore a pokeball from his waist and thrust it into the water. Out of the shimmering light splashed a Dewgong.
"Retrieve the orb!" he commanded. The Dewgong barked an affirmative and dove into the depths of the pool. While she was doing that, Betelgeuse wheeled on Mintaka.
"You said that pokemon blood would work!" he screamed at her.
"Milord, if you remember me telling you, it had to be the blood of a very powerful pokemon!" she flinched back as Betelgeuse raised his hand to strike her. Instead of connecting the blow he ran his hand through his brown, slicked back hair.
"Very well, then. Mintaka, your Metagross, please." The Superior's opened his palm expectantly.
"My M-metagross?" she squeaked.
"Did I stutter, Mintaka? Apart from my pokemon and Bellatrix's, which we stupidly released, your pokemon are the strongest!" Rigel opened his mouth as if to protest but a sharp look from Zara silenced him.
"Why not just wait for those Camp brats to come? Their counselors have enough strength to summon Kyogre." Saiph suggested. His bow and arrows were slung across his shoulder as he contemplated the best candidate for the sacrifice.
"Taken into consideration." he paced the edge of the pool until his Dewgong resurfaced, blue orb between her teeth. "Tarkov's pokemon are legends in my hometown. Any one of his will do." With a clawed hand he took the glass ball from Dewgong and asked her to return.
"So we wait?" Aaron asked, hand tangled in the ruff of Grim's neck.
Betelgeuse nodded once.
XXX
Above the villains, the twelve camp representatives sat in a cold sweat. They had all witnessed Team Orion slaughter a harmless Nidoran for nothing. And now, once they made themselves known, Team Orion's mission was to find their strongest pokemon and murder it.
"They want Tarkov." Berane hissed. "But he's not here. I say we trick them somehow. Who can do the best Tarkov impression?" Sid took a huge breath as if to scream and Miracle clapped a thin hand over his mouth before he could blow their cover.
"Not you, ye bleedin' idiot." Johnny sneered.
"I've got footage of Tarkov screaming from past camp days." Setsuna offered. She pulled the backpack from her back and took out her laptop and a set of wireless speakers.
"How loud can those things get?" Riley asked. Setsuna assured the group they were loud enough to be noticeable.
"Well won't the echo just amplify it anyway?" Shane reasoned. Everyone found this bit of logic sound so they listened to the plan that Setsuna formulated.
"It's simple. We're gonna split up Team Orion. I'll plant a speaker in the opening of the cave by the submarines. I'll play the first sound clip, which is Tarkov urging us to be quiet and to follow him." Setsuna handed a speaker to Sid and Johnny, who were to place the first speaker.
"The next one will be attached to Totodile's back. He will run through the cavern with the clip about the importance of the buddy system playing." Taking a moment to secure the device on her pokemon, Setsuna took and breath and continued.
"Once he sends them off, we come in from above and attack Betelgeuse."
XXX
"IF YOU IDIOTS DON'T SHUT YOUR MOUTHS AND FOLLOW ME, WE'LL NEVER MAKE IT IN TIME!" a loud, authoritative voice roared. The Orion members snapped their heads towards the sound. All but Betelgeuse began smiling.
"It's the general!" Alnilam shouted, red hair bouncing with her movements. "Let me go kill him, Superior! Please!" The axe she held in her hands seemed to grow restless in her hands. She wanted to contribute for once. It was always Betelgeuse, Rigel, or Mintaka that got to do the dirty work.
"Do you realize what you've just asked me, Alnilam? Are you unaware that you've just wondered if you could go face General Nikolas Tarkov alone? Have you gone insane?" at this incredulous remark the other Orion members laughed at Alnilam.
"Fine, I won't then. At least send Saiph and Alnitak with me." she retorted hotly. Betelgeuse waved his hand and replied, "I don't care what you do anymore, Alnilam. Just bring me a suitable pokemon or I'm sacrificing you and your brother."
The redhead swallowed the knot in her throat and ran into the darkness, flanked by the curly-haired Saiph and her twin. At the entrance of the cave, Sid and Johnny sat in wait. Each was positioned on the top ends of the trench that led to Kyogre's lagoon. Once the members passed their threshold they'd shove the pile of boulders down into the path to at least slow them down.
"I heard it! It's by the submarines!" Alnitak said excitedly. In his hands was a live cattle prod and at his feet was a snarling Weevile. They rushed around the corner to see the speaker.
"MILORD! IT'S A TRA—"
"Drifloon! Hypnosis!" Hiro cried. The tiny balloon pokemon lulled the assailants to sleep.
"Tha' was too close there, ye hear? Too bloody beautiful to be murdered this young." Sid glanced at his reflection in a pool of water as Johnny and Hiro hid the remaining bodies under a pile of seaweed.
"Oh, kindly shut it, will ye?" Johnny rolled his eyes. "Out of the three of us, Hiro's the best looking git here!"
Hiro smiled awkwardly at the compliment, frankly because he was unsure how to respond to the conversation in general. The half-blind boy took the cattle prod from Alnitak and the pokeballs the Orion members carried on their person. The walk back to their hideaway was as silent as the cave itself.
When they arrived they found two more unconscious Orion members—Sari and Aaron. They must have been sent to retrieve their fellow villains. Setsuna and Reiji stood on the ledge's line, hands clasped, ready to jump down and fight. Everyone else was poised to follow their initial strike.
"This is it, everyone. Watch out for each other. Help one another. I don't want any one dying ever again." Melody said firmly. The campers nodded and charged the cavern, leaping down and unleashing their pokemon. Mintaka sprang into action immediately, summoning her giant Metagross and ordering a Flash Cannon toward their enemy. Rigel's Ninetails belched fiery jets of heat at Miracle, who dodged the blast and (with the help of Bubble the Poliwag) extinguished them in her wake. She gracefully slung the bow from her back into her hands, notching an arrow aimed for Rigel's heart.
"I will not miss this time!" She let the arrow fly and the twine snapped back with a satisfying twang. The silver arrow sailed through the air and Rigel jumped out of the way, cold metal splitting open his bicep. He charged the momentarily distracted Miracle and kicked her in the temple. She sank to the floor with drool dribbling from her lips.
"Daddy?" she asked Rigel deliriously. Rigel crouched to cup the young girl's face with his hand and grinned wickedly.
"Yes, Darling. Daddy will make the pain go away." He squeezed Miracle's jaw with such force that instead of spit flowing from her mouth, gobs of blood steadily ran out. Once Rigel felt something pop he dropped Miracle's unconscious body and kicked it again for good measure.
He was instantly tackled by Hiro. Jolteon attempted to subdue Rigel's Ninetails by sinking his fangs into the fox's neck. Beads of blood formed at the point of contact, but it wasn't nearly enough to fell the great beast. Ninetails shook Jolteon off with a quick jerk of the neck and stamped its paw into Jolteon's throat, ready to crush his windpipe.
"Thunderbolt, boy! Do it!" Hiro screamed. He jabbed Rigel in the ribs with the cattle prod and felt the weapon come to life in his hands. Rigel shrieked in pain and clawed at the metal rod that singed his side. Hiro doubled back and socked Rigel in his jaw. The man must have had a metal plate inside his skull, because Hiro felt his fingers break as his fist made contact. Through the electrocution and raw agony, Rigel smirked at Hiro.
"Foolish boy. There's a titanium plate in my jaw. How's your hand?" he stumbled from the shock he received earlier and now it was Hiro's turn to smirk.
"The saying is an eye for an eye…but in your case, a hand for an eye." And he stabbed Rigel's left eye with the cattle prod. The result was instantaneous. Rigel's skin burst like rotten fruit and blood spurted on his face and shirt messily. Hiro jumped back and scooped up Jolteon in his arm, dragging Miracle away from the writing murderer.
"You son of a bitch! I'll kill you!" he shouted. Hiro deposited Miracle on the ledge they were hiding in earlier and turned to run, but was stopped by a hand encircling his wrist.
"Hiro, wait." Miracle said weakly. "I need to tell you something." Her teeth were red with blood. Hiro crouched over her to listen to her gurgle something into his ear.
"My jaw is broken and my head feels weird. I think my brain is—" she stopped to gasp for air before she drowned in her own blood. "—bleeding." The sclera in her multicolored eyes were darkening into a ruddy pink. There was bleeding there, too.
"Hiro, I don't want to die without telling you."
"Telling me what?" he took her warm hand in his cold one and she looked him straight in the blind eye.
"I love you." she leaned up with the last bit of her strength and smashed her swollen lips against Hiro's. He responded enthusiastically and tangled his fingers in her hair. Who could blame him? Hormones ruled every thought and action that Hiro had now. All his brain comprehended was that a beautiful girl was kissing him, and if he didn't do anything about it the wonderful sensation would stop. Miracle broke the kiss and slipped into unconsciousness.
Just to be ripped back by the hair. Betelgeuse dragged Hiro away from Miracle's limp body and over to the rock pool. Zara the Zangoose kept Jolteon occupied by engaging him in battle.
"You will drown here tonight." Betelgeuse spat. He threw Hiro to the edge and stomped on his windpipe. "This is for Orion's timepiece!" Hiro sputtered and coughed, strangled by the golden-eyed man above him. He scratched at his belt for Torterra's pokeball.
The enormous tortoise broke Betelgeuse's grip on his master and threw the man against the wall. Hiro stood shakily, breathing deeply and rubbing his burning neck. He heard a tortured scream and looked over at Hunter. She was being slowly cut open by Mintaka, whose Metagross held her in place with his psychic abilities. Mintaka had sliced away Hunter's yellow coat and she stood in nothing but her underwear. Melody, unavailable due to a scuffle with Sari and Aaron, was too tied up to assist her co-worker. Shane was trapped in a similar bind with Betelgeuse's Draira, and Alnitak and Alnilam, who had recently rejoined the battles. Sid and Johnny tended to Miracle and the recently injured Berane. His left hand had been sheared clean off by Saiph's Scyther.
"Let me go, you bitch!" Hunter growled. Her Teddiursa tore out the throat of Alnitak's Weevile and left it in a bloody heap on the ground. Muzzle and claws drenched in blood, it leapt to attack Metagross. With its concentration on Hunter broken momentarily, the green-haired counselor picked up Rigel's discarded sword and swung at Mintaka.
"You murdered my best friend!" the blonde woman roared, dodging the initial swing and grabbing for Hunter's hair.
"Your team murdered three of my children!" Hunter snarled back. The sword cut cleanly into Mintaka's left leg. Riley, who just pushed Sari off of him and into the water, sprinted to aide his counselor. Blood flowed quickly from her wounds, and he needed to get her out of there before she bled to death. Mintaka stole Alnilam's axe from her and swung to kill.
"Charizard, flame thrower!"
"Metagross, Psybeam!" the two attacks crashed in a fiery, cosmic explosion that rocked the entire cavern. A large fissure formed in the ground and began working its way up the rocky wall. The brown-haired, shirtless teen hoisted Hunter over his shoulder and ran away from Mintaka.
"Get out of crazy axe lady's way, get out of crazy axe lady's way.." he rambled as he leapt over and wove through fights between pokemon and human alike. His footing slipped right by the rock pool and he fell into the salt water with Hunter on his back. Her ruby red blood soaked in the salt and dissolved out of visibility. The rumbling of the cave grew louder.
"Riley, get Hunter out of there!" Reiji shouted. He was (with extreme difficulty) fighting off Aaron with a long metal rod he must carry around with him. The boy wielded the weapon too well to have picked it up off of the ground. Blood stained his white shirt, and Riley was unsure whether the blood was from a blow or from his coughing. Aaron, revitalized by the presence of his weaker opponent, attacked with the doubled energy of his adversary. Reiji was losing.
"Setsuna! Help me!" he cried. Aaron had pinned Reiji to the stone floor with his free arm, tacking Reiji's shoulders and legs to the rock with his knees and other arm. Grim, Aaron's Arcanine, stood over Reiji with his mouth smoldering. Setsuna stared at the scene with wide blue eyes. Her long, white hair came loose from its bun as she leapt in front of the fire spin. Some nerves in her back told her the fire was wet.
That's odd. Setsuna thought absently. Fire isn't wet…or cold. Once she diverted the first attack, she looked to her savior. Setsuna's little Totodile had used water pulse to fire into Grim's mouth, snuffing out any flame that dared to escape.
Reiji's warning to Riley was all but forgotten then. Setsuna locked arms with Aaron and Betelgeuse scrambled to retrieve the book he dropped earlier.
"With the blood of a human sacrifice present…" he turned to his page and began laughing maniacally. His Zara padded up beside him and seemed to be smirking as well.
"Kyogre, pontus incola!"
"RILEY! GET OUT OF THERE, GOD DAMMIT!" Melody shrieked. Her voice was shrill and panicked. It was happening all over again. Riley clawed at Hunter, who was being dragged under the surface by the powerful current.
"Yuki! GET THEM OUT, NOW!" Melody thrust her Empoleon's pokeball toward the whirlpool and was satisfied when her penguin dove headfirst into the fray. Yuki managed to blast Hunter from the deep with an aqua jet, but had a tougher time dragging Riley from the bottom.
"Ex aqua oritur!" As Betelgeuse commanded Kyogre rise from the depths of the ocean, Riley was losing air. His lungs felt as if they were about to burst, and the saltwater burned hot and hard in his eyes and nose. Yuki was forced to resurface after being thrown against the rock wall. "ET ADORABUNT ME!" Betelgeuse demanded Kyogre bow down to his will, and sure enough, the beast rose from the depths of hell to obey. Riley was pushed up by Kyogre's ascending body, and gasped in mouthfuls of air once he was out of the water. It was the sweetest sensation he had ever experienced.
Riley snapped to his senses and realized Kyogre was very much awake—and that he was resting between the beast's eyes. He slid down the pokemon's slippery face until he landed ungracefully on the edge of the pool. He thought he felt his wrist break when he fell on it.
"I noli pugnare," Kyogre's ageless voice boomed. "I modo servire volunt." At this point, all fighting had come to a halt. Everyone was captivated by the raw power and terrifying presence of Kyogre. The twenty or so people in the cavern were waiting to see what would happen next.
"What did Kyogre say?" Sari asked, sopping wet from her dunk in the pool. Aaron hissed in her ear, "Kyogre said, 'I don't want to fight—I only wish to serve you.' Why would it say something like that?"
"Siegoveniad te,etipsumiGroudonpugnare" According to the wolfish boy, Kyogre ensured if he agreed to go with Betelgeuse, he could fight Groudon in the near future. Betelgeuse happily agreed.
"Everyone who isn't dressed in black supports Groudon, you know." Kyogre's eyes flashed red with anger and it lashed out with an enormous wave. The water hit like a truck and pummeled everyone who wasn't with Team Orion.
"ITO!" Kyogre roared. Mintaka's Metagross used his psychic abilities to banish the Camp members from the Seafloor Cavern and into the open water. Metagross dumped the group fifty meters below the surface.
Without one breath of oxygen.
XXX