Oh my god, it's official, I just committed to get my BFA in Motion media and Animation at SCAD University! They've given me a big fat scholarship that I couldn't refuse and now my future in the Arts will begin next fall! I can't wait to finally make friends who understand all the nerdy crap I'm into! I hope I can get my dream job after college at Industrial Light and Magic. (Sorry, I'm just so happy I have a chance to follow my childhood dream, I just had to tell the world.)

Also, I have spring break now so that's why this chapter came out so quickly, I'll try to get one more out before my break is over.

Chapter 38: Here There be Monsters Part 2

Emergency sirens sounded all across the island as the wind howled ferociously and a storm brewed above the island. But it wasn't like any storm I've ever been through before, for the air was arid and dry, like something was sucking the moisture out of it. Small but noticeable tremors rang out one after the other as a booming thud could be heard before each one. It felt like the world was coming to an end.

Whatever was happening was something beyond me, but I could care less what was happening—all I cared about was getting Lyra to safety.

"We need to head back, Lyra—there might be an earthquake shelter!" I told Lyra as I escorted her out of the Safari Zone.

"Gold, did you see it? The sandstorm?!"

"Yes, I did—all the more reason for us to get out of here. It's not safe; we need to find a shelter. Now come on!"

"But can an earthquake really make one of those?! How can there be a sandstorm all the way out here?!"

"I don't know, but that's not important right now!" I called back to her, trying to get her to move faster.

The ground quaked and tremored over and over again as we closed in on the pavilion we exited from in order to enter the enclosure. There were several workers there calling us toward them, saying that there was an earthquake shelter under the building. As we came into the building, they pointed to where we needed to go as they closed the doors behind us.

We followed their instructions and joined up with everyone else in the park as they descended to the lower levels of the building to what looked like an armored bunker. It was reinforced with steel beams and had a door that looked like it belonged to one those safes you find in a bank. The ground and walls were made with concrete, and only the bare minimum lighting was in use. It was then that I remembered that earthquakes have happened before in Johto, and I felt some relief knowing that the city was more than prepared to deal with one.

Along with the other confused and scared visitors, we piled into shelter, and once the last of us had entered, the workers shut the door behind us. Lyra was definitely afraid, for she quickly wrapped her arms around my left arm and wouldn't let go. Even inside the shelter we could still feel the small tremors ring out across the island.

Something about these small tremors didn't add up. I knew that sometimes earthquakes were followed up by one or more aftershocks. But these weren't aftershocks; no, they felt like a regular rhythm, like something was . . . walking?

But that's crazy! I thought to myself as I rejected that insane idea. What in God's name could possibly do that by just walking?! There had to be some other explanation—there had to be!

The people around us were almost in a state of panic, since all of us were rather young and had probably never experienced an earthquake before. The last one that hit Johto happened about seventeen years ago, I think, so I understood the fear that most of us were experiencing.

"Gold," Lyra quivered as she looked up to me with scared eyes. "Are we going to be okay?"

"Don't worry—I won't let anything happen to you," I said to reassure her. She buried her face into my arm as she squeezed tighter.

I tried to comfort her as best as I could when I heard Baoba's voice call out and try to get everyone's attention: "Everyone, please calm down! There is nothing to worry about—this facility is equipped with the best in earthquake safety, and I can assure you all that you will be safe until this all blows ov—"

Baoba was unable to finish his statement when another quake that was close to the same magnitude as the first one hit, and the entire room shook as a deafening roar rang out from outside. The lights flickered inside the bunker as dust fell from the ceiling.

Lyra cringed in fear of what was just heard outside and started to shake as she clung to me even tighter. Someone called out, "What the fuck was that?!"

"What the hell is going on out there?" another one shouted.

"Everyone, calm down!" Baoba called out again, trying to keep the situation under control.

But it did little to help, for the Trainers around us were too scared as the small tremors continued to wreak havoc.

As people panicked, I couldn't stop thinking about the bizarre nature of these earthquakes and the sandstorm that Lyra saw. None of these made any sense, and it was eating away at me that I didn't know how to explain it.

There had to be a way to know what was going on out there, but how? I thought to myself as the situation seemed to become more unnatural by the second. It was then that I remembered that Lyra's Pokégear could receive live TV.

Realizing this, I said, "Lyra, I need your Pokégear."

Looking up at me with terror in her eyes, it took a moment before Lyra nodded and let go of my arm. She looked into her bag and handed the Pokégear to me with shaky arms.

With the Pokégear in hand, I hastily opened it; Lyra grabbed my arm again as another slightly stronger quake hit again, and the people around us panicked even more.

Determined to figure out what was happening, I tore through the apps and found the one for the local news stations. Without hesitation, I opened the app and tuned in.

After a few seconds of loading I got a broadcast from some news station on the island.

Lyra looked to the screen along with me as we saw a live feed of the sandstorm on the beach. It looked like it was being shot from a helicopter. The sandstorm was closer to the city than it was when I last saw it. It was definitely moving, and it was faster than I thought it was. At the north end of the beach I saw a massive hole in the ground that gave a glimpse into a cave system that ran under the island.

Soon the live image minimized and moved to the top right corner as a male reporter from the news station appeared onscreen.

"For those of you just joining, at approximately five fifteen today, an earthquake hit the island of Cianwood after a massive explosion was spotted on the north end of the bay. But in a strange turn of events, a sandstorm has begun to rage on the beach and is moving toward the city. As of now, we are unsure as to the cause of these events."

As the news report continued to play, some of the other Trainers took notice to what we were watching, and they began to crowd around us to see the tiny screen. Noticing this, I tried to position the Pokégear so that everyone could see.

"We advise all citizens of Cianwood to find your nearest shelter and await further instruction and . . . wait." The reporter on the screen paused as he looked to someone off-screen, then looked back to the audience. "This just in from our chopper crew, we're getting strange images from the sandstorm, and I'm being told that our cameraman has spotted something inside it."

As he said those words, the live feed from the helicopter came back onscreen and paused as it zoomed in towards the heart of the swirling mass of sand, stopping as a dark, hazy triangular shape came into view. Whatever it was, it was massive, and it . . . it looked alive! I was astonished when I could make out vague shapes in the dust cloud that looked like a pair of arms and a triangular head. The head was attached to a broad body with spikes of some sort running down its back. Although only the top portion of this creature was visible, from what I could see, it was gigantic!

"What the hell is that thing?!" someone panicked behind me.

"Is that a Pokémon?!"

"What the hell is it?!"

"Where did it come from?!"

I tried to silence everyone as more was being said on the situation. With everyone quiet once more, I could hear the news report as it said, "We've just received word that the Rangers have dispatched emergency response teams and are inbound from Olivine Headquarters. In the meantime, we've learned that Cianwood Gym Leader, Chuck, will be spearheading an assault on the Pokémon inside the storm."

Upon hearing this, chatter over the situation went back and forth among the Trainers that crowded the small screen.

"You here that?! Chuck's going to fight the monster!"

"We're saved! There's no one stronger than him on the entire island!"

Soon the entire room was ecstatic as they cheered with the knowledge that their island's Gym Leader was going to fight the creature causing all of this.

Confused as to whom Chuck was, I asked one of the other Trainers, "Who's Chuck?"

"He's the Gym Leader here, and he's a Fighting-type master. No one can beat him. Ever since this year's season for the Pokémon League started, he's been undefeated."

"Yeah, there's nothing that can stop him!" another Trainer cheered.

"Look, there he is now! Go Chuck!" someone else cheered as he pointed to the Pokégear in my hand.

Looking down at the device along with everyone else, I saw another live image from the helicopter. It was looking at a portion of the beach where a large man wearing only the pants of a torn-up karate uniform and a black belt stood next to a large, imposing Poliwrath. They stood at the ready as the sandstorm drew closer and closer to them.

The people around me cheered as they saw the mass of churning sand slowly begin to engulf them as they both took on a fighting stance. Soon they disappeared from view as the sandstorm swallowed them into its maelstrom.

"Go Chuck!" multiple people cheered.

Nothing much happened for a few moments as the sandstorm halted and remained fixed in its position just a mile outside of the city. It seemed almost deadly silent, since all the small tremors from before had ceased, almost as if the creature inside the storm had stopped. This remained unchanged for a minute or two.

"What's going on in there? Is Chuck fighting it?" Lyra asked as she mustered up the courage to let go of my arm and look at the Pokégear's small screen.

"I can't tell," I muttered as I studied the live footage for any sign of something happening.

But then, as I looked closely at the footage, I saw three or more quick flashes of light emit from within the sandstorm, like how lightning looks in a storm cloud. Suddenly, a bright flash of light temporarily illuminated the inside of the sandstorm; then a concentrated beam of light shot out from within the maelstrom and struck the side of the plateau we were on top of.

I felt the ground quake from the following explosion that erupted from the beam's impact. Unable to keep myself upright, I along with a few other people fell to the concrete floor. The power then went out inside the safe room, and the only light that remained came from the Pokégear's screen.

I tried to get back up as what I could only guess was the emergency power came on, for a red light illuminated the room.

"What the hell was that?! What just happened in there?!" someone called out as I looked to the screen, and Lyra immediately latched herself onto my arm once more.

The helicopter's camera was fixed on the spot where the beam of light hit the side of the plateau, and I could see tons of rock and debris falling from the impact spot. The camera then focused on the sandstorm once more as the flashing lights began again.

"Oh my God," I muttered as another beam of light struck the ground somewhere inside the sandstorm, and another explosion rang out from the impact.

This time the impact was farther away, and only a small tremor was felt from where we were. Everyone who looked at the screen was dead silent as they witnessed the sheer destructive power that the Pokémon inside the sandstorm possessed.

Soon the sandstorm grew more chaotic as massive boulders flew out, landing on the surrounding beach. Then shockwaves of the mighty attacks rang out from within the sandstorm. They continued one after the other until a large quake shook the ground, and the roar we heard earlier tore through the sky; we shortly felt the effects of the quake, and the room shook once more.

Once the ground ceased to move, I was able to hold up the Pokégear to see what had happening. More flashing lights emitted inside the storm, and another beam of light shot out from within and tore across the beach in front of the city, leaving behind explosions in its wake. When the attack concluded, more shockwaves rang out from within the storm like something was fighting back. Then another quake rang out, and giant stone pillars began to sprout out of the beach, surrounding the perimeter of the sandstorm.

No one said a word, since we were all in shock and awe of what we were witnessing. The storm grew more furious as more shockwaves rang out, one after the other. Small explosions of rock and rubble began to fly out of the storm, like whatever was inside was trying to hit something but failing. More chaos unfolded as something struck one of the pillars of stone that surrounded the storm, and it toppled over with a loud crash. Finally, more flashing lights were seen, and a beam shot out, causing another explosion inside the storm. Then it all went still. No more quakes, no more shockwaves—nothing at all.

"Wait . . . what happened? What's going on?" I whispered fearfully.

"Did he win?" someone asked.

"Then why is there still a sandstorm?" another asked before we saw the stone pillars recede back into the ground, and the sandstorm was on the move again. Only this time it veered away from the city and toward the sloped hillside that led up the side of the plateau we were on.

"No way . . . it's—it's moving again!" I exclaimed as my heart sank in terror.

"What?!" multiple people who couldn't see the Pokégear exclaimed in disbelief.

"It's still moving and . . . and it looks like it's heading up the side of the mountain!" someone behind me told the others.

"What?! That's impossible! Isn't Chuck fighting that thing?!" someone else proclaimed.

"No . . ." I mumbled when I saw something on the Pokégear's screen that made me cringe.

As the sandstorm left the area and began to scale the hillside up to the plateau, the spot on the beach where the beast inside just fought was revealed. I saw a scarred landscape littered with massive smoking craters and gigantic boulders that looked like they rose out of ground. And lying in the middle of it all was Chuck, alongside what looked like a badly wounded Poliwrath, and there was blood on the sand.

"Oh my God! He can't be . . . is he dead?!" some girl Trainer screamed as she recoiled from the screen.

"Are you shitting me?!

"Chuck's dead?!"

"That thing killed Chuck?!"

Soon, panic unlike anything I'd ever seen before quickly issued around me, and I felt Lyra become stone cold as she practically crushed my arm. Pure terror filled her eyes; she started cry and buried her face into my chest.

I dropped Pokégear, too afraid to look at the screen anymore as I wrapped my arms around Lyra.

"It killed him!" Lyra sobbed as I held her close. "What are we going to do, Gold?! It's heading right for us, and it's going to kill us too!" she panicked as the thuds of the creature's steps were becoming more intense as it drew closer up the mountain path.

Unable to come up with an answer, I looked away from Lyra and saw that the entire room was eyeing me. They all watched me with the same fearful eyes that Lyra had. It then hit me that I was the most powerful Trainer here, and they were all looking to me for any ray of hope.

I felt myself choking up from everyone staring at me. They looked at me like I knew what to do, but I didn't. Fear began to consume me as the gravity of the situation sank in. But within the chaos of my mind, I felt my mind shift pace, like it always had before.

Knowing what I had to do, I sharply snapped my head toward Baoba, who was presiding over in the corner, and pointed to him. "You! Is there any other way down the plateau?"

"What? I, eh . . . I, uh—" Baoba stuttered; he was scared, too.

Angered that I wasn't getting an immediate answer, I shouted, "Spit it out, you greedy old man! Is there another way down the fucking plateau or not?!"

"Yes—yes, there is!" he quickly exclaimed, almost as if he was more scared of me than the incoming creature.

"Where is it?!"

"It's . . . it's just on the other end of the Safari Zone. It's a path my workers take to reach the western harbor."

"Good. Let's get the hell out of here, then," I declared as I looked toward the steel door. "Someone get that door open, now! We're getting out of here!"

There was a slight hesitation, but soon the other Trainers did what I said as the few who were next to the door rapidly tried to unlock it. But try as they might, the door's locking mechanism wouldn't budge.

"It's no good—the door's stuck!" one of the Trainers called out.

"Shit—the earthquakes must've caused the door to jam!" one of the workers cursed as he examined the door.

"Everyone, stand back!" I yelled as I reached for a Poké Ball and beckoned for the people to get out of the way as I released Nile into the room.

"Nile, bust down that door!" I commanded as I pointed to the steel-plated door.

"Got it," Nile complied as he instantaneously smashed into the door, making a dent in the steel frame. He tried over and over again, but hardly made any more progress.

With the footsteps of the titanic beast continuing to grow louder, panic ensued among the Trainers as Nile did everything he could to bash the door down. But the progress was slow, and based on how fast those steps were growing louder, it didn't seem like we would get out before it reached us.

There had to be a faster way! I thought to myself as I looked at the door for any weaknesses before I spotted the several steel supports that kept the door locked in place.

"Nile, take out those supports!" I ordered.

Spotting the steel beams on the door, Nile speedily did what he was told and clamped his powerful jaws down on one of them. He tore it off the wall and then smashed his fist into another one, seized it with his other hand, and ripped it off. He continued this until all the supports were off, and he bashed into the door again, knocking the thing off its hinges.

"Good, let's get out of here!" I declared as I hurriedly returned Nile to make room for the others. I took Lyra by the hand and ran out of the shelter.

The rest of the visitors quickly followed after me, and we urgently left the building and ran into the Safari Zone. All the while the thuds of the creature's stride drew closer and closer.

"The path down to the western harbor is on the other end, just past the central mountain," Baoba pointed out to everyone.

"That's over three miles away!" I growled as I looked to the short, fat man. "How the hell are we supposed to get over there before that thing does?!"

"Look, I'm sorry—it's only other way down from here," he replied.

"Fine, everyone make a run for it! Before—" I declared to everyone as another powerful quake shook the ground and a thunderous roar rang out, shattering the sky.

As I tried to steady myself along with Lyra, I looked behind me to see the top of the sandstorm rising over in the distance.

"Shit, we need to leave now!" I shouted as everyone ran from the pavilion and out into the Safari Zone.

We weren't the only scared ones, for as we desperately traversed the safari, I could hear the voices of hundreds of terrified Pokémon as they ran away from the incoming sandstorm. I wanted to help them, but the only thing I could think about was getting Lyra out of there. I had to keep her safe; I had to make sure nothing happened to her; I had to—

It was then that I looked behind me, and I stopped when I saw that the sandstorm was moving faster than we could run. It was right outside the entrance to the Safari Zone. There was no way we could outrun it—no matter how fast we sprinted, there was no escaping it.

Terror filled my heart as the booming steps echoed behind me and the ravenous gale flowed around us. Holding Gold's hand, I ran with him until he stopped and stared behind him.

"Gold, why'd you stop? We need to run!" I exclaimed as I tugged on his hand, trying to make him move.

As I looked to him, I saw that he was staring at the sandstorm that was drawing nearer as the beast inside scaled up the side of the plateau. It couldn't have been any further than a hundred yards from the Safari Zone, and it was coming in fast.

"Gold, what are you doing? We need to run!" I begged as I pulled harder to get him to budge.

"There's . . . there's not enough time," Gold muttered as he stared at the rapidly approaching maelstrom. He then turned and looked at me for a few seconds before he let go of my hand and said, "I'm sorry."

He then turned around and bolted away from me, back toward the pavilion we just left.

"Gold, stop! What are you doing?!" I screamed as I ran after him, thinking he was insane.

But he wouldn't stop, and he sprinted towards the glass doors of the pavilion. He was too fast for me to keep up, and he only stopped for a moment when he reached the doors, hastily opening them. That was when I had the chance to catch up to him, and I grabbed his hand to stop him.

"Gold, what the hell are you thinking?! You're going to get yourself killed!" I yelled at him as he looked back at me.

"That's the idea," he said as he tried to shake his hand loose, but I refused to let go.

When I heard his response, I felt my heart sink. "W-w-what?"

"Lyra, I want you to run—run as fast as you can. I'll keep it busy long enough for you to get away."

"What?!" I screamed as every fiber of my body rejected Gold's insane plan. "Gold, I won't let you! We can still run! Please don't do this!"

"I'm not asking." Gold he kicked me square in the gut, forcing me to let go of his hand as I fell out of the doorway and onto the ground.

Gold slammed the door shut and locked it as I scrambled to my feet. I threw my fists against the glass, screaming with tear-filled eyes, "Gold, no! No, please don't! Please no! You're going to die! Please don't!"

I banged my hands on the glass as hard as I could over and over again, crying uncontrollably, begging him to stop. But he didn't listen.

"Lyra," Gold said as he placed his hand on the glass. He looked me in the eye as he said, "I'm sorry."

He then lifted his hand off of the glass and turned away, running toward the exit of the building and leaving me behind.

"No! Gold, no!" I shrieked as I fell to my knees, watching him leave my sight. "Come back! Please don't do this!"

But he was gone, and that was when my heart shattered.

"No, please no! Please!" I screamed over and over again as I collapsed to the ground and cried uncontrollably.

This isn't happening! This can't be happening! Gold, please come back! I can't lose you! I yelled inside my head as I curled up on the ground while fear and terror overwhelmed me; the tremors and wind became more ferocious by the second.

"Gold, please come back! Please come back! Come back!" I screamed pointlessly, for he could no longer hear me.

It can't end like this—not like this! I can't lose him! Not him! Not like this! Not like this!

"I can't lose you. Please come back . . . please come back . . . I . . . I . . . I love you . . . p-please . . . please c-come b-back," I cried as I felt powerless to do anything else but sob.

I continued to weep hysterically as the conditions around me grew more terrible. He's going to die; he's going to die and there's nothing I can do about it! My best friend is going to die!

As I lay there at the foot of the doorway, too afraid to move, I unexpectedly heard Dien's voice yell, "Lyra! Lyra, you need to run!"

Suddenly, a flash of light escaped from my bag, and my Riolu formed next to me.

"D-Dien?" I sniveled in utter confusion; I was baffled as to how she got out of her Poké Ball on her own.

"Lyra, please, you need to run!" Dien repeated as she grabbed my hand and tried to make me move as the thunderous footsteps drew nearer.

"No—I can't leave him!" I shrieked.

"Lyra, he wants you to run! Please!" Dien yelled as she pulled harder to get me to stand.

"But . . . but . . . but he's going to die," I wept.

"And so will you if you stay here! Can't you see he doesn't want that to happen to you?! Please, run while you can!" she begged me.

I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to know. I didn't want any of this to happen—I didn't want Gold to die! I felt like I was in a nightmare, and all I wanted to do was wake up. I want to wake up, I want to wake up, I want to wake up! Someone please wake me up! I want to wake up in Gold's arms and have him tell me everything is okay! Please, Gold, wake me up!

Guessing what I was thinking via her aura sense, Dien shouted, "Lyra, snap out of it—this isn't a dream! This is real! Please, we need to run now!"

I didn't want to. Everything thing in my being didn't want to leave him. But after Dien tried over and over again to make me move, something made me get up and run. And so I ran. I ran as fast as I could with Dien by my side, but I hated every moment I spent leaving Gold to die.