Little Tsu: Next update

Pokemon: 20, Deaths: 4, Badges: 6

Ch: 35

A foggy mist covered the ground, halting up to around her's and Vash's knees. The place gave off an even more eerie feel about it outside than the inside of Mt Pyre had despite the inside having many more graves than where they were possessed. However, it also didn't help the matter of the fact that they were currently facing off against a number of Grunts from Team Magma either...

Sighing softly to herself as Leon took out their latest attacker, a Golbat, with his Psychic attack, Aya was about to return her dear companion and continue further up the stairway when a voice up ahead halted her. She knew that it wasn't Brawly because she had actually opted to doing this without him. It wasn't that she didn't wish for his help or anything of the sort. In truth, one could suppose that she was afraid...Afraid of what he might think if he were to ever find out that she was the niece of none other than Team Magma's very own leader, Maxie...

Bringing her gaze ahead of herself, Aya found herself biting her bottom lip slightly at the sight before her. To the left, clutching at each other in slight fear, was an old couple, but that wasn't what caused her to react in this manner. Instead, it was the man that stood directly in front of herself before a podium that had possessed what looked to be two strange orbs, though the one on the left had been grabbed by the man in front of her. "...U-Uncle..."

"Ah, so you finally seem to remember me well enough to call me such a title...It has been a long time since I heard it leave your lips, Aya...It is almost...bittersweet at this point..." Sighing softly to himself, Maxie shook his head lightly before resting his hands loosely behind his back in a professional manner. "I apologize for earlier...For having to postpone my defeat over you at Mt. Chimney, but I'm afraid that I have to do so again here as well. It seems our reunion is cut short once more since my plans cannot allow me to afford in wasting even a single moment of time...However, I will ask you this, my little niece..." He then shifted a bit and pulled out the strange orb he had taken off its podium, holding it out in front of himself to give his niece a closer look. The red orb with the odd marking upon it seemed to react faintly to her presence as it shimmered in a faint glow for a few seconds before fading away again.

However, before the glow had faded away, he had caught the faint change in Aya. It wasn't the look of shock on her features, but something much more important than that. The very dulled out left amethyst eye that she was blind in had shifted to an intense ruby gold coloration with the omega mark around her pupil before it faded in sync with the fading of the glow from the orb. "...Do you know what this is?"

"...The Red Orb..."

"Precisely...And now it belongs to me, the great Maxie." It was then that he turned his gaze towards Courtney while his pocketed the orb once more into his jacket and rested his hands behind his back again. "Courtney..."

Turning lazily towards Maxie to lock her grayish lavender gaze onto her leader, she tilted her head faintly to the side as a faintly malicious smile formed onto her features. "...Hmm?"

"You must see to it that my dear niece is not neglected due to my inability to battle currently...Do be so kind as to battle her with the full extent of your power..." Maxie hesitated for a moment in his instructions as he casted a side glance down towards the teen that was down those last few steps between them. The expression on her features even through her goggles made him hesitate in his next words, but forced himself to say them; knowing that he would likely later regret said words. "...and crush this girl so that she will never again for a single moment dream of defying our team that she had once been a part of so long ago!"

...That look of heartbreak in his still precious, innocent niece's expression would forever be emblazoned in his mind's eye...

"With the Red Orb in my possession, I have no need for anything else in order to awaken the beast from his slumber...All that remains is finding a way to reach the place where he rests...I believe that obtaining the submarine that was being constructed in Slateport will do nicely..." He then held his head up high in a prideful manner as he called out to the rest of his team. "We move out at once, team! Our next destination is Slateport City!" With that said, Maxie made his way down the stairs and forced himself to keep an impassive and serious look to his features as he passed by his only niece; the struggle not to touch her even once proving more difficult than he thought it'd originally be...

Once he had left with the Grunts that had accompanied him and Courtney, the young woman that remained stepped up and turned to face Aya with a sick smirk slowly forming onto her features. "...Analyzing...Hah." It was then that she released her only pokemon, Camerupt. The female camel looking pokemon glared instantly towards Aya and before she could react, Courtney's malicious smirk grew a bit more as she muttered the instructions to her pokemon; the look of pure fear in the teen's eyes being exactly what she reveled in now. Watching as smoke billowed faintly out of the volcanoes upon her pokemon's back, she could only watch in pleasure as the Camerupt raised a hoof and slammed down onto the ground with a mighty Earth Power aimed right for Aya, herself...

Just before the ground bursted open around her and the plumes of flames and molten rock erupted, a bright flash of light appeared and both she and Vash were knocked out of the way. Quickly recovering from being pushed to the ground and out of harm's way, Aya looked over to see what happened, only to cry out in fear as it was none other than her Breloom, Zell. "Z-Zell!"

~I-I'm alright, Aya! You know that I have the best shot at fighting this thing. Vash would've been killed by that attack no matter how strong he believes he is. I have the best chance of surviving and the strongest attack.~ Before he could allow his trainer to protest or try to return him, Zell pushed off with his hind legs and rushed in with a feral look in his eyes now as his claws began to glow intensely while ignoring the injuries that he had sustained from the Earth Power. All he needed was one hit...That's all! With a fierce cry, Zell slammed into his opponent, making a painful direct hit of Sky Uppercut onto the Camerupt; sending the pokemon flying and smashing into the ground, further away from them. Panting softly, Zell's tail flicked slightly in a side to side motion before turning halfway around to smile over at his trainer. ~See? I told you so!~

"...Hah...You miscalculated..."

It was those words that suddenly made their blood run ice cold and seemed to have everything fall into slow motion as Zell slowly turned his head around to face where his opponent crash landed. With barely any life left in the badly broken and bloody body, the Camerupt raised her cracked and bloody hoof and smashed it into the ground one last time...

Turning his gaze back to where his trainer was and seeing her struggling now to get out of Vash's arms while crying out to him desperately, Zell could only stare at the pain and agony coming from the very one that meant more to him than life itself. ~...Aya, I...~

The earth below his feet cracked and flames of molten rock erupted around him, burning and breaking his reptilian form before he finally collapsed to the broken ground in a heap.

"ZELLLLLL!"

Pain and anguish filled her entire being as tears streaked her face and her body trembled uncontrollably. It was during this time that her Mega Glove and the stone within it began to glow intensely and the form that had been holding her, only to let their trainer go rushed in towards the Camerupt in a blaze of pure rage as he began to glow before a bright flash bursted from his body and Vash's form changed to quite a degree just before his Blaze Kick made contact with the enemy and finished the female off.

Staring impassively at the lifeless corpse of her Camerupt, Courtney returned her pokemon before releasing a slightly insane giggle. "...Funny...These results were unanticipated...Especially, that silly Breloom...I knew it..." She then giggled again in that way that only someone insane would make before she smiled faintly in a matching manner. "You...are interesting...Maxie's niece...Haha. I'm looking forward to...f-forward to...when we...can meet again..." With that, Courtney took her leave passed the still crumpled teen.

Once gone, the old couple exchanged saddened looks before the elder woman walked over to the podium and grabbed the Blue Orb that had been left behind. Walking slowly over to Aya with her husband, they both managed to kneel down before her and rest a hand upon her shoulder and knee. "...Deary...Take this Blue Orb...The two cannot be separated, for if they are, a great calamity will occur..." Feeling terrible about putting such further burden on the teen that seemed like such a young child to her after what she had just gone through a moment ago, she casted a saddened look to her husband once again as if asking him what they could do for the poor girl.

"...Little one?...I know it isn't much, but...lets get your Breloom...We'll give him a nice place here at Mt Pyre as his home..." Rubbing her shoulder in an attempt at comforting the girl, he casted a glance over towards the lifeless body of the very pokemon that had sacrificed his own life to protect his trainer's. "...He was such a brave soul...I had never known another pokemon like him to act without even an instant of hesitation to protect their trainer with everything they have..." As he watched the Blaziken revert from his mega form and lift up the limp raptor-like form of his long time companion, the elderly couple and Leon helped the teen back up onto her feet.

A half hour later, Aya now stood there before another gravestone inside where her other pokemon were. Everyone on her team was out as they either turned their head away in sadness like Leon and Vash did, bowed their head in respect like Zeke, or collapsed at the base of the grave and broke down crying like Tana had...Aya was doing everything she could not to do as Tana did while staring at the special inscription that had been placed on the headstone right above the carving of her precious Breloom.

"Aya..."

Turning her head as she raised it to bring her gaze onto the owner of the voice, she saw that it was Brawly, who had a look of fear, worry, and sadness within his own blue grey gaze. It was then...that she finally broken down and collapsed to the floor, only to be caught in the arms of her boyfriend, who had rushed in to catch her as she was now cradled closely against his torso while they sat there on the floor. Her broken sobs and trembling body shook uncontrollably and caused even Brawly to silently cry over the utter heartbreak and loss that had happened at the peak of Mt Pyre...

Bringing his glistening gaze over towards the headstone while he continued to hold his broken girlfriend, he couldn't help the few more tears that escaped down his features at what was inscribed...

Zell

Lvl: 5-44

A brave soul

that gave his life

for his trainer

May he be remembered always

To be continued.

Little Tsu: I...I had a feelin' somethin' was gonna happen eventually, but I didn' expect it this soon...I knew that Camerupt was gonna have high attack and I was tryin' ta train up Tamlen. When I was thinkin' of who ta switch out with, I knew that despite bein' a fire/ground type, that Courtney was most likely ta use a ground type move instead of a fire type and the only one on my team that had the best chance at survivin' it was Zell...He hung on well enough and I figured only a single Sky Uppercut woulda done it since his attack was so high...Damn thing hung on by a SLIVER of health! Like 1hp kinda sliver!

...I...I'mma go back ta cryin' again now...My heart hurts...