Chapter 38: Return of The King
On that moment… everyone in the altar room froze as Ash rose from empty pool after being struck by a bolt of pure energy. Questions filled in the air. Though some were happy to see the boy alive and awake, there was something different about him. The posture he was giving resembled that of a child who just learned how to walk. When Rosa saw that he was about to fall, she miraculously manage to pull out some strength to her legs and jolted towards the boy before he fell towards the floor.
"Your majesty! Are you alright?" she asked worryingly.
But before anyone could even think of a reply, Rayquasa tore through the roof of the altar room and ripped the stones off from the wall like paper. Its roar was so frightening that made a Rhydon's roar sound like an ant squeaking. In fact, it was so frightening that Max nearly wet his pants. With the ceiling gone from the top and with no marbles between them the giant dragon, the gang could see Raquasa's face as clear as day. It was a beautiful sight, but at the same time horrifying.
"Ahhhhh! A Raquasa!" Brock yelled. Then he noticed that the giant dragon was about to unleash one of its attacks, "Everyone, get down!!" the gang ducked for cover, but it seemed hopeless. No one could possibly survive a point blank shot from Rayquasa's hyper beam.
As the dragon charged up its power through its mouth, the gang ducked for cover, Rosa blocked Ash with her own body hoping to save him from the destruction, but Pallet…… that boy… only grinned.
(Back down below)
A mighty explosion boomed out the altar room causing both the Guardians and the councilor's eyes to go nearly as wide as frisbees. Raquasa may have been a wild strong Pokemon but Azal didn't really thought that the dragon would actually go that far. The debris from the explosion caused the Pokemons around to shield themselves from the small particles and rocks that had been lucky enough to survive the blast.
At that point the councilors began to hope that the attack was strong enough to destroy everything… if that should happen, and then at least their deaths would have some meaning.
But once again, the gods seemed to have lost favor on those four illusions. As the smoke some-what cleared up from the ruins of the altar room, the whole army gasped in shock as a blue energy shield blocked Rayquasa's awesome might. Sha-hear, Hagard and Chaucer opened up their jaws and let them dangle freely like there were no bones left in them.
(Back in/on the altar room)
The gang heard the explosion and felt the impact like an earthquake rumbled just beneath them. The flash of light of the hyper beam attack seemed so surreal that it nearly shattered the very core of the planet. But after a minute later… they realize that the blast never came. Seeing that the attack was done, the gang lifted their heads to see an even more shocking sight.
Ash had pushed Rosa away from him and used his arm to generate some sort of force field that was strong enough to hold against a nuclear attack. "A… Ash?" Misty muttered under her breath. But she did not get a reply from the boy.
Rayquasa was not pleased to have some human block his attack so easily. With a roar from the mighty dragon, Rayquasa lifted away from the palace and prepared an even stronger attack. But Ash wasn't gonna let that happen. The moment his feet left the ground, everyone's eyes grew in complete shock. He was flying… the boy was actually flying!
"RAAAAAARRRRRR!!!!" Rayquasa roared angrily as it stared upon the tiny figure in front of its face. Though Ash maybe small, the long green dragon could see the overflowing power originating from the little boy. It glowed with the pure essence of magic and if someone would touch him, it would almost feel like they were touching the gods themselves.
Taking all that into consideration, Rayquasa wasted no time in launching another hyper beam attack, but this time, Ash only blocked the blow with just one hand. But the young boy didn't just block it this time. Two seconds after the attack hit the shield the boy created, the beam deflected, slamming right back at Rayquasa itself. The mighty dragon roared in anger of this and was now afraid of the little shrimp. Seeing that its regular head on tactic wasn't gonna work against the resurrected king, Rayquasa tried a different maneuver. With its long mighty body able to move swiftly across the area, the mighty dragon encircled Ash trying to get the boy confused.
But Ash was not one to get so confused so easily. With one swing of his marked hands, the giant light emitted the boy's nearby surroundings, damaging them with an invisible attack. Rayquasa felt like it was being hit by a hammer, a whip, a bomb and an axe a hundred times per second. With all that pain coming and going like a decease spreading all over its body from the head to the tail, the green dragon submitted to the greater power and fell from the skies like a snake falling from a tree branch. Luckily for those below, Rayquasa only fell on top of an unpopulated area thus there were no casualties.
A few moments later Ash decided to turn around to meet his friend's faces. His eyes were hidden under a lock of his hair which gave him that cool-silent-type look and he no longer had his Pokemon league trademark cap. Misty and the others quickly perked up with a slight bit of happiness to see the boy alive and well… and not to mention those cool powers he got. But their smile soon faded when the boy's features began to change. His hair suddenly began to turn white. Every last strain of black raven color vanished from sight leaving nothing but silver linings across the center. The next thing that happened was the tattoo mark on his right arm. It soon began to grow in an alarming rate going all the way to his torso and face. If one should see him now, they'd almost believe that he was some kind of cultist leader.
"Ash? Is that you?" Dawn asked in a worried tone. But the boy simply walked passed them and approach Rosa and Pallet who seemed pretty winded.
When Ash got into hearing distance, Rosa quickly bowed her head in respect. Pallet simply grinned goofishly. The two of them exchanged silent looks which seemed to speak way louder than words. "ASH!" Richie yelled out which caught the boy's attention annoyingly, "It's us, we've come to save you!" Ash stared at Richie with a hateful look for a quick moment, but after seeing that he was human, Ash raised his arm and began sending out a blast of power.
"WAAHHHH!" Richie and the others ducked behind covers as they barely manage to dodge the attack. "Ash, what's wrong with you?! You could've hurt someone!" Misty yelled out giving him an annoyed look, but with one click glance at Ash's face, they knew, that this wasn't the boy they were looking for.
Realizing their situation, Anabel made a quick thought, "Metagross, I choose you!" her Metagross appeared just near the edge of the room overlooking the whole battlefield. "Everyone, get on!" the Salon Battle Maiden ordered which everyone complied. Just when Ash was about to charge another attack, the whole group held onto Metagross as it glided down the air like a paper with too much weight on its shoulder.
"They won't get far your majesty" Pallet said grinning, "The Guardians have surrounded the entire fortress surrounded. It'll take a miracle for them to escape" Ash didn't reply. He only walked towards Rosa who looked badly injured. The pink Lucario tried to look up but for some reason, she could not. The shame of her defeat had tainted her honor. She never wanted to see the king see her in this kind of state.
"Rosa…" he said her name in a different voice. The young Pokemon would've jumped with joy if she could, but her injuries deny her that pleasure. She recognized that voice. It was indeed him, it was indeed… her king. "Rosa…" he said again kneeling down to her height level. He extended his hand and reached her head with a gentle touch. A moment later, the wounds around the girl vanished, as if they were never inflicted at all.
"Y… your majesty… I am here for your return" the girl said finally holding all of her emotions back. Ash smiled and slowly made her way towards the ledge. With Pallet and Rosa by his side, the three of them JUMPED off the castle keep and floated down through the levels like a bird making a landing.
(Back with the gang)
When Metagross finally hit down to the ground with its tired body, the gang quickly got off to get themselves some fresh dirt on their feet. Having one's foot far from the surface wasn't exactly a cheery experience for anyone. "Everyone ok?" Brock asked which they all replied positively. But then their answers quickly changed when a bunch of armored Pokemons appeared around them. They were barely able to take down one of these soldiers how much shorter can they last against an entire army?
"Uh… guys?" Drew began, "Does anyone have a box of Pokechow?" this was probably one of the worst times for him to crack up a joke but it was probably better to die laughing huh.
As the Pokemon soldier came closer, the gang pinned themselves around Metagross hoping that someone would come and rescue them. And by the gods their hopes were answered. Before those Pokemons could even lay a finger on them, Azal and Furo came out of the blue and began swinging their staffs like crazy. "Back! Back you little munchkins! Back I say!" Furo shouted. "Go on get out of here! Human meat are off the menu, now get going!" Azal barked.
"You!" Dawn quickly recognized Furo once he took off his hood. She could still remember the time when he burned down the mall back in Petalburg city. "Aren't you that guy…" she didn't get to finish when the councilor grab her hand. "No time to talk. Right now we need to get all of you out of here! Come on follow me!" Furo then turned to his partner, "Azal, cover our backs!" with a reassuring nod from the guy, Furo led the way towards the main gate.
But then suddenly, three Registeels came out of nowhere and blocked their escape route. "Whoa!" the whole group halted on track. Soon later, they found themselves completely surrounded from left to right.
"Furo… please tell me you have a plan B" Azal asked holding up his weapon.
Furo paled for a moment at first but when he looked up, he grew a smirk, "Ok… how about… GET DOWN!!" the whole group immediately ducked after noticing a bright light coming from above. In a matter of seconds, two hyper beam shot down to the ground forcing the Pokemons to move back a few paces. The gang then saw another two figures wearing the same hood as Furo and Azal drop by armed with staffs as well.
"Furo, Azal! I thought I told you to take these kids out of here?!" Noeh yelled but continued to stare at the Pokemons that were approaching. Suddenly, a shadow ball came out of nowhere which was bounced back by Loin with baseball like stance. "I would be worrying about myself if I were you… councilors" said Sha-hear as he walked out of the crowd. "Because in a matter of time, neither one of you will live to see the next sun rise"
"Let the kids go Sha-hear" Loin demanded, "There's no need to draw any collateral damage"
The white Lucario simply chuckled, "You should've thought of that before using them as tools for your plans" he then raised his paw to signal the attack. "Soldiers… atta"
"NO!" that single voice alone shuddered the very core of the earth itself. Sha-hear was quite angry to hear someone demanding him to stop, but soon all his anger vanished when he saw who it was.
Ash, Pallet and Rosa landed majestically at the center of the battlefield making almost no noise at all. Once his appearance became clear, the whole army lowered their heads in respect of their king. The gang quickly turned their attention to the boy. With confusion and riddles written all over their faces, the king could only smirk at their pathetic existence. But then the councilors hastily block his path making a human wall with their own bodies.
"Hsa… leave these kids alone" Loin asked politely. Though he showed no fear with his face, you can tell by his eyes that the man was afraid of the king.
Again, the king remained silent to all of them. He did not even bother responding to Loin's request. He just starred at them, like they were figurines on a private display.
"There's no point in fighting or escaping councilors" Pallet spoke for the king, "Now that the king has returned, the war will now resume to its final phase!" he paused and grin evilly at them, "The fall of mankind starts right here!" but Furo didn't quite agree, "Not as long as we're around!" he was about to charge but Loin halted him.
"Now now Furo…" Loin began as he tightened the grip on his staff. "We don't use threats in negotiations"
"We don't?" Noeh said sarcastically. He noticed Loin giving out a wink sign which meant that he had a plan.
"Of course not" a smirk grew over Loin's face as said those words. "WE USE FORCE!" with a wave of his hand the three other councilors followed his example and shot out a hyper beam attack from their hands which gave a good amount of breathing room. "Azal, take the kids out of here now!" Noeh ordered which he followed immediately. "Come on kids. Follow me, this way!" with Azal leading the gang out of the fortress grounds, the rest of the councilors found themselves in a very bleak situation.
"Ok… now what?" Furo asked.
"We make our stand right here!" Loin replied. With one galliant charge, another battle ensued, marking the beginning of the end of a very long war.
"It is futile Loin…" said Pallet as he continued to grin maniacally, "You cannot hope to defeat the empire that you once destroyed" but that only made the man smirk, "If I want to know your predictions Pallet, I'll ask for. But for now… I think I'll write my own future"
(With Azal and the others)
The fourth member of the old council rushed through the Forest of Mists followed by the gang and some of their Pokemons as well. By the time they reached the old campsite, Azal le out sigh of relief. "Ok… this should be far enough. Let's rest here for a moment and catch out breaths" he sat on a flat shaped rock and breathed normally as he was slightly winded by the sudden sprint. The boy and girls however were totally gasping for air. After running up to the castle, and escaping from the person they sought to rescue, the list of questions seemed to pile even more upon their aching heads.
A few minutes later, Azal stood up from his sitting position, "I'm heading back" he said, "All of you should head directly south from here. You'll reach the east side of the island. Once you get there, you'll see a small raft that should be able to take all of you to safety" just when he was about to leave, a certain friend of Ash suddenly blocked his path. "Hold on!" Richie said with a dead serious tone, "Where are you going?"
"I'm going back to the fortress to do what I can" Azal replied moving around the boy to get pass him. "If we're lucky… Loin might think of something to stop the process"
"Process?" Max said in a questioning tone, "What process?" but Azal simply sighed in return, "Sorry… I don't I can explain evey… errrgggg…" a sudden pain came across his chest as he remembered the jump he made from the sky. Free falling from a hundred feet from a giant green dragon wasn't exactly something you would call a relaxing jump. He limp the first few steps until he finally lost balance of his own foot. But before the man could fall onto the hard surface, Brock managed to catch him by the shoulders.
"Whoa… are you ok? You look pretty beat up" the squinty eyed man said as he helped him up. "I… I'm ok. Just give me a few minutes rest" Azal then took a seat back on that flat rock he was sitting a few seconds ago. "I guess I must've pushed my body a little too much there" he let out a soft chuckle as he took a water canteen from his jacket and drank from it with large gulps.
As a moment of silence pass by, Azal began to feel a bit uneasy as he noticed everyone was starring at him with confusing eyes. They didn't really know if he was an ally or an enemy to be truthful. "What's wrong?" the man said finally with a smile on his lips, "Do I look like one of your circus clowns or something?"
"Well not really…" Brock replied professionally, "It's just that…… well…… we don't really know what's going on. So we're kinda hoping you could tell us" Azal looked at all of them. All their eyes radiated the same things. First was confusion, then followed by puzzle, after that is even bigger confusion, but on top of all of those emotions, laid one feeling he could not ignore……
Determination…
It did not matter how confusing the situation was to them. As long as they had a common goal they wouldn't even mind going to the world of madness just to accomplish it. As long as the gang stuck together, they were practically a force to be reckoned with.
"Oh boy…" Azal sighed, "I should've guessed why Noeh sent me to lead you out of there" he exhaled slightly, inhaling more oxygen to his lunges. It was gonna be a long time before this bed time story ends. "Tell me… does anyone here know of the Pokemon king?"
(Back with Loin and the Guardians)
"Gahhhh!!!!" Noeh grunted as he flew across the battlefield towards the dirt pile near the fortress gates. Apparently, his old friends were giving the councilors the old way to show their 'unwanted' guests out the door.
"Noeh, Furo!" Loin commanded their attention, "Focus your attacks on Hsa! No matter what happens, we cannot allow him to recover back to his full strength!" the two of them nodded and quickly charged back at the king. But with Rosa completely healed of her injuries from her last battle, she was like a living shield for both Hsa and Pallet. "Not this time humans!" said the pink Lucario as she lodged another shadow ball at them. The councilors dodged it but now felt like they were gonna have a rough time just getting to the king.
"Pallet!" Sha-hear barked out as he unsheathed his blades from his paws (they look more like katars rather than blades) "Take his majesty to the chambers and complete the ritual! We'll deal with these pests!"
"PEST?!!!!?" Furo snapped at his insult, "Ok that's it you little K-9 freak! The gloves are now officially off! I'll make you think twice before calling ME a pest!" Furo didn't like taking insults that much and was one who had a very short fuse for those kinds of things. "Come on Sha-hear!" the man shouted as he approached the Guardians, "Why don't you come over here and say that in front of my face!" he taunted back angrily.
"I always knew he had a short temper" Chaucer mocked, "I guess you humans just don't know how to control your emotions nowadays huh?"
Seeing how angry Furo was, Hagard smiled and chuckled under his breath. The green Lucario then turned to his comrade, "Well… he's your student Chaucer. Why don't you deal with him?" the two of them giggled.
"Focus you two!" Rosa barked which jolted their nerve for a moment. With Pallet slowly making his way towards the castle keep with Hsa by his side, Loin felt like their chance of man's survival was slowly slipping away. "I need to do something fast, or everything we've done will be for nothing!" he thought. But with so many Pokemons surrounding them and not to mention the Guardians and their Chosens, things seemed pretty bleak for them right now.
And then it hit him! (not literally) He turned his attention to the downed Rayquasa that was still healing on the ground. The poor beast was so badly beaten by the king's attack that it nearly lost an ear back there. Putting the last of his magical energies to good use, Loin telepathically communicated with the mighty dragon and healed it. "Come on Rayquasa" he began, "Obey to my command. I am Loin, your new master! You will obey!" with some of its wounds gone from its body, Rayquasa opened up its fierce eyes and once more took to the skies with a mighty roar not far behind. "Good… now go… destroy everything on this island!" with that last command, the long Pokemon roared like a mad beast and quickly began destroying the castle which he luckily made as its first target.
Rosa knew if the castle was leveled down to nothing, their plans would be set-back for another twenty years or so. "Articuno!" she called out her favorite Chosen. The ice winged bird hastily made its way to her side with a quiet squeak. The pink Lucario then stood on its back and quickly ordered it fly high. With both Moltres and Zaptos aiding her with their awesome powers, a victory against the powerful dragon might just be possible.
"Hagard, Chaucer, you go and help Rosa!" Sha-hear commanded, "We cannot allow it to destroy the castle! GO!" with the green and yellow Lucario off to aid their comrade, Sha-hear knew that was one mistake he just had to make. Alone against three councilors, he knew that he would stand no chance against them even with the Pokemon army by his side. But despite the major odds against him, he was still determined to hold them back with his own life.
"You two go on ahead…" Loin said suddenly. His two other companions looked at him confusingly at first, but with a reassuring nod from the man, Furo and Noeh hastily took a side step and moved on ahead. But Sha-hear wasn't gonna make it easy for them. "None of you will get pass me that easily! Soldiers, attack!" but when he gave out the order to his army, Loin gave out a leap and swung his staff right at him, but Sha-hear managed to block it but just barely.
"Sorry captain…" Loin began, "But I'll be your opponent today!"
(Back with the gang and Azal)
The fire in the old campsite gave out a cracking sound as it burned the remaining firewood with its intense heat. Brock had spent the last ten minutes fixing up Azal's sprained ankle while the man explained the story to the gang.
"The Pokemon king?" May replied to the Azal's first question. "Yes, the Pokemon king. Does anyone know of the story?" the gang nodded slowly not taking their eyes off him. "Well then… I guess that saves me the time to explain the whole story"
"Yeah… but what does that have to do with Ash and the Pokemons?" Misty asked after taking her seat on a log. Azal looked at her normally and replied with a smirk, "They're very much the same thing young lady. Very much indeed" this caused everyone to tilt their heads with even more questions. It was then May remembered that she still had that history book that she was supposed to give to her dad from Professor Ivy. "But according to this, the Pokemon king died at least two million years ago" the young Ms. Maple inquired to them.
"Correct…" came Azal's reply. The other looked at him as he inhaled some air to begin a story… long long ago.
"I know I may not look it…" he started as he gazed at the night stars, "But I'm actually two million and twenty-six years old" they all gave a glare of disbelief. "The part of your story is probably just the beginning on how the boy became Pokemon king yes?" they all nodded, "But… do you know what happened after that? (silence) I thought not…"
It was then Max raised his hand, "Umm excuse me… no offense. But you don't look old enough to even become my dad"
"Max!" his sister nudged him with her elbow and gave him a look that said, 'Be quiet and listen!' But Azal simply laughed at his comment, "Hahahaha… Well…… traveling through the afterlife can give you that kind of experience friend…" he put down his staff and rest on his backside against the rock he was sitting on.
(Back with Loin and the others)
"Keep the Rayquasa away from the castle!" Hagard shouted as he jumped onto Zaptos's back. "Aim for its head and center body! That's its weak point!" with the information given out, Chaucer acknowledged his position and quickly jumped off Moltres. "Understood!" the yellow Lucario barked back.
With Chaucer attacking the green dragon directly, Rosa supporting with her Articuno and Hagard coordinating the attack, the three of them truly showed that they were not named Guardians just because of their looks.
As the king stood on the steps of the ruined castle along with his long lost friend Pallet, the little boy grew out a grin so big that it reached both of his ears at the same time. "How is it Hsa?" Pallet asked the king who still remained silent after all this time. "Does this entertain you?" the king still did not reply to him. He just continued to look at the battle as Sha-hear and Loin fought for their very existence.
"Come on Sha-hear!" Loin yelled out trying to get the Lucario's attention, "I thought you always wanted to be free from the empire's service"
"True… being in the service of the empire was painful" he admitted, "But to see my fellow Pokemons enslaved by you humans is a thousand times more painful than life in service!" Sha-hear quickly charged out with his katar blades only to miss the councilor just by an inch. "For six years Loin. Six years, I had served you. For six years you had been one of my most trusted friend" a tear escaped his eye holding an abundance of emotions, "But when you turned against my king and my people, you have crossed the line!"
(Back with the gang)
Even with such an intense battle ensuing back at the castle, Azal kept telling the story of his past to the gang, so that hopefully, it would be able to answer some of their questions. "Loin and I were once a part of a great group of people called the Councilmen. We were the brains and idealists of every city the old empire. With our guidance, and the powers of the great king of all Pokemons, the empire flourished beyond anyone could've expected"
"So, what was his name?" Drew asked as he took a seat on the hard pile of dirt.
Azal nodded to his question and answered truthfully, "His name… was Hsa. Though he may just have been a ten year old boy, the child was more intelligent than each of us put together. Even though he was small, the boy could stop a war with just a wave of his hand" Azal made the old king sound like a god rather than a boy.
"Wow…" one of them replied
"Yes… 'wow' indeed" the councilor spoke, "Now where was I? Oh yes… The empire…… (ahem) Food was bountiful, and the country was rich. People and Pokemons from all over the world flocked into the empire by the thousands. Lands were fertile and were forever green with the soft touch of grass. Meadows in deep forests echoed with the sound of birds, rivers and lakes so crystal clear that you could see the bottom of the waters. We were content with what we have and no one wanted anything at all. In was a heaven built on the face of the earth"
"It really does sound like paradise" said May who could already imagined the place that the man was describing.
"Yes… it was paradise… until we became stupid…" Azal bluntly spoke as he lowered his head in shame. And as if an anchor had pulled them, the heads of every member turned to him faster than the speed of smell. "Five years after Hsa became king, a great famine shadowed over the northern part of the country. At first it was all's well since it did not harm anyone but the crops. But after a few months…… it began to spread even further south, leaving nothing but starvation along the way. As the famine continued to grow, a plague followed not far behind, leaving the entire country on its knees" the man stood up, making every moment he felt last an eternity. "By the time we acted upon it… it was already too late. Food began to dwindle at an alarming rate. Families began to fight over petty things like crumbs of bread littered on the floor. People die with every passing second, civil unrest grew among the people, it was chaos!" he fumed the last part out with a yell.
Everyone around him felt like they were campers hearing a camping story from the head ranger. They said not a word and made no sudden sounds. Their eyes and ears were plainly focused on Azal and Azal alone.
"It was then… till the bond of our empire… began to weaken" he continued as he remembered how all this war started in his mind. "Pokemons and humans began blaming each other for this curse. The humans say that the Pokemons were the cause of all this, because they did not worship the gods like they did. The Pokemons blamed the humans because they were the ones who were ruining the land with their constant improvement of technologies. By the time before the king could interfere, everything went down the drain" he paused and looked at the ground, "War……" he said fearfully.
(Back with Loin and the other Guardians) [Special Scene adapted by movie making
Just as Rayquasa unleashed another hyper beam attack against Rosa's Articuno, Hagard shifted Zaptos's wings making the legendary bird take a sharp turn avoiding the powerful attack. Since Rosa specialized in these kinds of battle, she practically had no problem in dodging and dishing out attacks at the same time.
"War?" Misty asked with some hint of disbelief in her tone.
"Yes…" Azal replied. "But why would the humans start a war?" this time, Brock asked.
Azal sighed because he knew that they wouldn't really like the answer. "When we humans are do not understand something, it is only logical that we fear it"
As Chaucer quickly made his way from the tail of the long green dragon of the North Pole, he signaled Moltres with a whistle to give him covering fire, just in case Rayquasa should decided to eat its own behind just to get him off his back. As he approached the center portion of the body, the yellow Pokemon readied his paws for a smack he wouldn't forget. "Come on, just a little bit more!"
"… When the war first began, it was obvious that the Pokemons held the advantage over the humans" Azal continued, "With their supernatural powers overshadowing our every move, it was certain that we stood no chance. The king knew of this and thought that the war would be over without any bloodshed" he gave out a short pause making the atmosphere look a little more dramatic, "But then… after two months of no fighting……… a madman came to us…… with a weapon that could change the course of the war. A genius inventor named: Galyoken" his name along put fear into the man's voice.
"Grrr!" Noeh and Furo were trying to make their way towards the king at the top of the steps. They weren't worried about him nor his little friend Pallet. Getting to them was the easy part… the hard part was plowing themselves though the almost infinite numbers of Pokemons blocking their path. "Ok…" Furo began as he kept the grip on his quarterstaff tighter than before. "Why don't we split this evenly Noeh? You take on half I'll take the other?" but then he noticed that his friend was already busy dealing with another group behind him. When Furo turned his eyes back to the pact that was coming towards him, he let out a soft smile, "Alright then… I'll take them all!"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Sha-hear flung across the battlefield as one of his more powerful Chosens flung right towards him. Quickly exploiting this opportunity to his advantage, the old councilor took out his canteen and quenched his thirst with a couple of gulps before continuing the fight. A man can get thirsty too you know. "You know…" Loin wiped the drip from his lips and crouch down for a little bit of rest while Sha-hear tried to recover from the fall. Both of them looked equally wounded and exhausted to a near state of collapsing. "Fighting with you like this does bring back old memories does it?"
"Yes… it does" came the Lucario's faint reply. "The final battle at the king's palace, near the capitol city…… who could ever forget that place?" the Pokemon pushed his Chosen away from his body and let it sleep for a well deserve rest. When Loin saw that the captain was back on his feet, he readied himself as well. "If I remember correctly… it only took fifty of us to take down every last one of you" he chuckled with a hidden agenda to taunt his opponent into attacking him first, "If you are attempting to trick me Loin, then you are sadly mistaken. Besides… I have heard better taunts coming from a Jiglypuff"
This conversation truly wasn't going as planned as Loin wanted. With Sha-hear not taking the bait, he had to enact his plan before it falls into ruins. Putting his canteen down, he placed his hand into his wide pocket and pulled out an old contraption that resembled much like a Pokeball. Its shape was still a sphere, more like an oval if you looked at it at a closer perspective. The strange markings that bore around surface of the device looked as if they were magical runes of some sort. Though it may just look like an old piece of relic…… that object alone was able to make Sha-hear raise his perceptions. "What are you hoping of accomplishing with that infernal device councilor?!" he asked, sending out a shockwave of killing intent towards the man, "Are you attempting to capture a Pokemon and bringing it into your service?"
"Oh this old thing?" Loin giggled as he played with the old Pokeball for a moment, "Sorry… but this thing isn't meant for you. I'm saving this for someone more special" he let out a grin which was half the length as Pallet's. "Furo! Think fast!" with a little nudge on his arm, Loin threw the device like a professional American Football quarter back player.
Sha-hear was caught a little confused at first, but when Loin tossed the old Pokeball to Furo, the plan was showed right in front of him. They weren't planning to capture any Pokemons with that contraption, instead… they were planning to use it on Hsa. "No… not that…!"
"That's right, you got it" Loin said as he blocked the Lucario's path. "Since Hsa is half Pokemon, there's a slight chance that the Pokeball might actually work" with the plans fully explained to him, Sha-hear ordered to his Pokemons, "All units, protect his majesty at all cost! Don't let the councilors near him!" in an instant, the Pokemons that were badly wounded from the fight began to rise up on their feet with determination to stop Furo from getting anywhere near his majesty.
"Galyoken was a genius, a madman, and a prophet… but a genius nonetheless. When he came to us, he declared himself to be the savior of man (tch!) We were fools to believe him. (pause) With his talents and scientific knowledge… he developed a weapon you all now call… the Pokeball" Azal sighed as he continued, "With the help of that strange device, we were able to convert any Pokemons we wanted to our side and with it… the war was turned to our favor. With victories occurring all over the empire, Hsa asked us to stop this senseless fight. But it was too late………… Loin and the other including myself were in too deep to stop. With total victory so close at hand we were powerless to stop it"
"Furo, over here, I'm open!" Noeh shouted as he waved his hand to signal his partner where to throw the Pokeball. Furo looked at him first. He took aim and quickly threw the old Pokeball before pulling out his quarterstaff to knock back a Weavile that was about to sneak up on him. If anyone should look at this chase, they would probably think that this wild goose chase resembled something like Rugby.
"Go Noeh, I'll cover you!" Furo cheered. With Noeh closing in on the Fortress keep, Sha-hear began to panic. "NO!" the white Lucario then turned to the skies, "Guardians, his majesty is in danger! Protect him with your life!" he sent out a telepathic communication which the three Guardians responded immediately.
Rosa was the first to react, "I'm going back! Hagard, cover me!" the green Lucario nodded and quickly ordered Zaptos to provide cover for Chacuer who just arrived at the center of Rayquasa's body. "Chaucer, you'd better hurry up, we got a situation!" Hagard said telepathically. "We need to get to ground level, fast!"
But the yellow Lucario really wanted some time to catch his breath. Walking up a miniaturized Jormunganda (a snake in Norse Mythology) isn't exactly a walk in the park. Just walking slowly on the mighty beast required so much concentration that even one small mistake can send you down in the dumps. "huff huff… Alright then… huff huff… I'll see you on the ground!" with a smack on the center bone of the giant green dragon, Chaucer held onto one of Rayquasa's scales as it plummets down towards the surface (again)
When Hagard saw that he had completed his task, he wasted no time in diving down with Zaptos flying him back to the castle keep.
As Loin continued fighting against Sha-hear and his never-ending waves of Pokemon soldiers, Rayquasa came down in the most crucial moment which caused everyone to get stunned for a few short seconds, which gave Furo enough time to get to Hsa and put him into the ancient Pokeball.
"NO!" Sha-hear barked out endlessly. As he attempted to get pass Loin, the old councilor blocked every means for the white Lucario to get through. They battled each other endlessly, making their weapons clash, giving out a frightening sound. Both of them were exhausted with no energies left in reserve. They had pushed themselves way pass their limits and if they do anymore sudden moves, it would probably cause a week worth of pain around every inch of their prehistoric bodies.
As Noeh quickened his pace by adding more pressure to his feet, he was finally able to make it pass the huge gauntlet of Pokemons that blocked his path. Now comes the easy part: throwing the Pokeball at Ash…… or at least he thought that it was the easy part.
But just when the guy could become a hero for all of humanity, an ice beam attack caused the area in front of him to turn into a small mountain of ice. "What the heck!?" the man cursed. But then it all became clear when a voice from the sky shouted out with an angry female tone, "Articuno, ice beam!" Rosa ordered. The great legendary bird quickly charged up another attack and laid it directly towards Noeh. The man dodged the attack, but just barely. Half of his left leg was frozen solid making popsicles up to his knee. "Noeh!" Furo called out from behind, "Are you alright?" the other man simply scoffed and chuckled at the end, "Don't worry about me. Here (gives Furo the old Pokeball) whatever happens…… do not stop until the king is inside this Pokeball. The lives of an entire planet are counting on us!"
"Great… no need to worry about pressure huh?" Furo remarked sarcastically. Without wasting another second of his precious time, the man quickly got up and made his way up the stairs avoiding all unnecessary contacts. As Hsa came into view, he knew that he made one wrong move here, it will be all over.
Noeh limped out of his sitting position with his frozen leg and tried standing holding both his feet together. Immediately he began using his quarterstaff as an ice pick to drill his leg out of its chilling state. "Tch… I've heard about chilling out, but this is just plain ridiculous" he grunted
Back on the battlefield, Sha-hear had been given a blow to the arm leaving it temporary crippled, "GAHH!" he groaned in pain. Loin did not smile when he delivered that last blow. Fighting against a dear old friend from the past wasn't exactly something anyone would call a joy ride. It was actually more painful than the bruises and bumps that were laid on his face. Trying to ignoring the pain embedded in his heart, Loin caught the sight of Furo who was just about to reach the king. "GO Furo! You can do it!" he cheered.
When Pallet saw one of his oppressors approaching at an unusual but amazing speed, he immediately grew angry and began dishing out attacks from his arm. But Furo was too agile for a kid who 'nearly' as old as him. The king however… strangely did not react to his movements. It was like he was stuck there, starring at the battlefield for almost ten minutes now. His eyes unwavering with emotions and his body unmoving like a statue made of steel.
As Furo drew closer, Rosa unleashed another shadow ball attack from her paws towards the councilor, making a thick gust of smoke. "Gotcha!" the pink Lucario smirked with victory, but that smirk soon faded when the smoke vanished, revealing nothing but an empty pile of stones and marbles. Rosa quickly looked both left and right from her Articuno and scanned the area. It seems like the old councilor used the smoke to mask his attack.
Pallet looked around and told the remaining Chosens to keep an eye out. But when he was five feet away from the king, a shout came from behind which caught all of them completely off guard.
"I got you now shrimp!" Furo leaped out from behind catching the Pokemons with their pants down (metaphorically speaking). With a little swing of the councilor's arm, he activated the Pokeball and threw it harder than your average baseball.
The little contraption smacked against the king's shoulders which made all three councilors smile with victory. But again, that smile faded when five seconds past with nothing happening. The Pokeball activated… but the king didn't even seem to react to the impact. Instead, Hsa just picked up the little device with his hand and crushed it like paper. This either made Loin very scared or very confused…… perhaps maybe even both.
"No… it can't be!" Loin stated in disbelief, "I was sure that the Pokeball would work!" but then he was rudely interrupted by a Pokemon's voice, "Heh… it seems like you made a miscalculation in your plans there… Loin" said Sha-hear as he struggled to get up.
But as Furo tried to conjure up a solution up his head, Pallet took this opportunity to strike him with one of his hyper beam attack. The blast hit the man directly, sending him off towards Noeh who was still trying to get his leg out of the ice. The two of them rolled down the long steps hitting each pavement with either their heads or their backs. When they finally reach the bottom, they felt like their bodies just came from a Tauros stampede. "Oooohhh… I'm gonna feel that in the morning" Noeh said as he pushed Furo off him.
"Our Pokeballs were very different than the ones you use today, young trainers. During that time, our Pokeballs were equipped with a spell that turns any Pokemon inside completely under mind control. With it… any Pokemon that is captured inside immediately turns to our side like a puppet"
"That's awful…!" May gasped.
"Aye… it was terrible… but very effective" Azal continued, "But we had to do it. For the sake of all humanity, we had to do it……… or so at least we thought" along pause filled the air, making it almost impossible to breath through the growing intensity of pressure. "When both our armies clashed at the final stronghold of the king, Hsa made no attempt to fight back. Even after being shunned away by his own people he still refuses to hurt them… tch. Our victory over the defenses were swift and palace fell into our hands in minutes" he paused again, catching his breath for some much needed air. "Even when he was outnumbered and victory was beyond his grasped……… that idiotic boy acted like a king till the very end. With the power of the artifacts, he split the northern part of the empire and cast it away into the sea! And with the country split in two…… the king made sure that no one would remember… anything………"
"He wiped away their memories?" Duplica guessed
"No… even though he had the power to do that, he knew that wiping other's memories is wrong. So instead of taking the memories away… Hsa sealed it within a box"
"Loin!" Furo shouted, "Please tell me you have a plan C" the entire group of councilors was completely surrounded by the Pokemon army both from the ground and the skies. With the three great titans of fire, ice and lighting hovering over them and the Guardians and their Chosens glaring at them on the surface, victory seemed to be pretty bleak. "I'm open for suggestions" Loin replied holding his half broken quarterstaff.
Just when the Pokemons were about to tear them to shreds, a loud majestic voice perked up from behind saying, "STOP!", which caused all of them to fall into a deep silence. Rosa and the rest of the Guardians turned their noses to the king. It was his first word to speak after hours of silence. As the wind flew by carrying the leaves straight towards the sky, the lone figure stepped down from his position and glared at the councilors who were about to face their doom. "Bring me…… the box…" Pallet's grin grew even wider if it was even possible. With a snap of the boy's finger, a Registeel appeared carrying a small rectangle box on its hands.
"There it is Loin" Noeh whispered to his partner, "The box of memories…"
"More like Pandora's box to me" Furo spoke up. But this only gave Loin time to conjure up a plan. "We'll have to take the box away from here as far as possible" he then turned to Furo, "Furo, do you think Rayquasa can fire another hyper beam attack?"
Furo quickly took a small glimpse at the green dragon that laid on the ground aching painfully. The wounds inflicted on the back of the great Pokemon was so severe that it would take more than just medicines to heal that thing. "I don't know Loin. That thing doesn't look like it could handle another fight"
"We don't need it to fight" Loin replied, "We just need it to fire one last hyper beam attack" Furo took another glimpse at the Pokemon. After a few seconds, he nodded to Loin signaling that it might just be possible.
While the councilors conjure up a plan to save mankind, a voice interrupted their conversation, "You should consider yourselves lucky councilors…" said Pallet as he grinned evilly at them, "You are about to witness the end of mankind"
As the box was placed on a pedestal, Hsa, Pallet and the Guardians approached the object and surrounded it from all sides. The box was probably the size of your average laptop except that it was much much thicker and on the sides of the box were four keyholes, each with its own unique shape and functions. "Guardians…" Pallet began, "Present your keys" with that single order, the four Lucarios nodded and began the ritual to open the box of memories.
First came Hagard, who pulled out a key with the tip in the shape of castle tower (chess game rook) he then put the key in its respective slot and slid it down to the maximum. Second, came Chaucer, who pulled out a key in the shape of a paw without hesitation, he slid the key into the socket and turned it down with a defining 'clunk' sound. Next came Sha-hear, whose key turned into the shape of a shield. With no words or emotion coming from the white Lucario, he quickly slid it to the socket and turned it with a jerk.
The last but not the lease came from Rosa, who already had her key in front of her face. Her grip on that small object was so tight that it would actually match p against a giant mechanical crane. Though her mind was telling her to put the key and end all of humanity, something in her heart was telling her not to. What could possibly hold her back now after all these years?
She had waited patiently in slumber for more than two million years and fought against opponents far larger than her in everyway. For decades she had been waiting for this moment… for decades she had been waiting for her king, her sovereign…… her love. Whatever was bothering her mind sure was making her take her sweet time.
"Rosa!" Sha-hear barked out which snatched her out of thought, "What is the matter?" the girl lowered her head in shame for thinking, "I'm sorry…" was her reply, "I was just… thinking…" this made Hagard raise a brow of suspicion, "You'll have plenty of time to think when this is over. Now. The key…" the pink Lucario nodded and forcefully put the key into its socket. Once the last of the four Guardian keys were in, the first group of locks on the 'Pandora's box' released themselves, falling onto the solid ground in the process.
A few seconds later, the box began to rumble as if something really wanted to come out.
(Back with the gang)
"A box?" May asked, hoping that everything she's hearing so far was a total lie. But alas, Azal did not look like he was kidding at all, "Correct…… a box. Pandora's box if you would call it that" he paused and took out his canteen for another gulp of water, "All the anger, hatred and despair of every Pokemon is sealed in that tiny box. And if it should ever be open, every Pokemon in the galaxy will rise up, waging war against human till the very end………… That is why Loin and the others are doing everything in their power to stop that box from opening. To prevent Armageddon from occurring"
"But why Ash?" Misty asked.
"Yeah, it's not like he's royalty or something" Max added
"He may not be of royal blood, but regardless of his lineage, the boy was picked among billions of people. Perhaps it was fate… or maybe even destiny. We'll just have to wait and see how things unfold" just as he finished his story to the gang, a great beam of light surged out from the fortress catching the whole group's attention.
"Oh no…" Azal gasped, "I've overstayed my rest! You kids head south immediately! Take the raft and get out of here quickly! None of you are safe on this island" but Richie was too stubborn to listen a two million old man. With a quick pounce on the boy's feet, Richie dashed off towards the fortress with hopes of getting his friend out of there. "Hey!" Azal yelled out, "Didn't you hear what I said? You have to get out of here now!"
"No way!" was the boy's reply, "I came here to get a friend and I'm not leaving without him!" with no words left to give, Richie dashed off towards the light along with his Sparky and Ash's Pikachu.
"Ah… hey Richie, wait for me!" Drew yelled as he followed the boy's example. Just before Azal could even speak, the whole gang ignored his warning and left with smiles on their faces. "Tch… friends huh……? Tch… ok… I'll go with that" he quickly followed their trail towards Fort Gregro, where the last battle was about to be held.
(Back with Loin)
As the beam of light gushed out of the box, Pallet continued to grin as he put in the next set of keys on the second group of locks. With all keyholes undone and unlocked, all heads turned to Hsa, who still strangely remained quiet after all this time.
But as the king moved his hands, every Pokemon seemed to lose their breath slightly. It wasn't really shocking since the boy's arms had enough power to destroy the world with a move of pinky. Hsa, waved his hand in a circular motion like he was casting some sort of a spell. And within seconds, a key with the tip in the shape of sphere materialized before them. Now the Guardians were certain… this was their king, this was their true king.
But just when the king was about to insert that last key into the final socket, several strange voices began to ring up behind his head. They were somewhat familiar but he could not tell who they belonged to.
"Hey Ash, don't forget your Pokedex, you'll need it for the registration" the first one sounded like Brock, but of course, the king couldn't tell.
"Hey there Ashy boy, still dreaming of becoming a Pokemon Master? Hahahah!" the second one sounded like Gary who was taunting him.
"Come on Ash! We're going to be late for the boat!" the next one sounded like May and on the background, you could hear Max's voice as well.
"Hey Ash…… if we get to battle each other again, don't hold anything back… ok? Cuz you know I won't hehehehehe" the following one was definitely Richie's. You could actually see the smile as he gave out those comforting words.
"Ash… don't forget to change your you-know-what everyday" this one was obviously Ash's mother, Delia.
As all the voices came together in his head, a mixture of sad emotions began pouring into the king's mind. Sadness, joy, hardship, determination… everything just seemed to be so mixed up that it almost looked like jigsaw puzzle with hundreds of missing pieces.
"Ash… you do your best…… ok?"
Misty……
What were these strange voices going around his head? What were these pangs of guilt building up inside his chest? But before the boy could cut through the painful uncontrollable tears, Loin quickly ordered his plan to get into motion, "Rayquasa, NOW!" with a defining yell from the head councilor, the green dragon raised its head from the dirt and quickly fired a hyper beam attack the size of San Francisco (metaphorically speaking)
"Everyone, take cover!" Sha-hear quickly ordered and took the ground as well. With the mighty green dragon so beaten and wounded by hundred of attacks, the accuracy of the beam was pretty much awful, but that did not make it any less dangerous than it truly was. The beam soared around the remaining troops that were still conscious. It tore the courtyard garden into pieces, the castle keep's west lounge and the statues that decorated the place.
As the attack move somewhat further away, from the king and his Guardians, Furo took this opportunity to snatch the box away with his cunning speed. "Gotcha!" he smirked as he grab the box.
"Alright, let's run for it!" Loin suggested, which they agreed right away. By the time Pallet realized that the box was taken, his anger grew out in a considerable amount. "NOOO!!!" the boy yelled, "They're escaping with the box of memories! Destroy them! NOW!!!!" with a roaring order from the 'man' himself, the whole army got up from the cover position and once again began a massive chase for the councilors.
"Tell me…" Furo huffed, "Why didn't we get the box in the first place?"
"Because of I just thought it now" Loin replied exhaustedly, "Now just keep quiet and RUN!" the three councilors immediately head for the gate that was probably their ticket out of this hell hole. When the Guardians caught sight of where they were heading, Sha-hear wasted no time in ordering its closure, "Close the gate! Don't let them out! Rip them to pieces, and bring me back the box!"
"Rarrrrrrrr!!!!"
Just as the order was given, the Pokemons who were stationed at the gates began to work the mechanical contraption on closing the marbled gate. Loin saw this and quickly hastened his pace, "Come on you two, pick up the pace!" he commanded his companions. "We need to get out of here now!" they rushed faster and faster and faster again! They were about a few more meters until they reached home base.
Ten meters…
Nine meters…
Eight meters…
Seven…
Six…
Five…
Four…
Three…
Two…
One…
BANG! The door shut with a loud band sound, telling all the inhabitants the gate was now officially closed.
WHAM! POW! PLUNK! Loin, Furo and Noeh all simultaneously smashed onto the door with speed of light. They were not able to make it through the door in time.
"Ok… next time we run like that… I'll remember to wear a helmet" Furo joked as they all got up. And that guy couldn't have cracked up a joke at the worst possible time too. Because when they got up, the first thing the three of them had to do was dodge for dear life. The Pokemons wasted no time in formations and column strategies, they just move in and attack without any remorse. "Furo, I'm open!" Noeh yelled at the top of the rampart. Once his companion heard his voice, he tossed the box towards the man, but unfortunately for them, Moltres managed to snatch it whilt it was still in mid air.
"No!" Noeh yelled, "Come back here you bird! I'll barbeque you even if it's the last thing I do!" some were now wondering how do you actually cook a bird that was already on fire? "Grrrr! Oh no you don't!" just when Noeh was able to slip pass the defenders, he jumped off the rampart of the fortress wall and clinged onto the Moltres's wings. "Aha! I got you now!"
"Kweeeeeee!" Moltres shrieked for a moment. Having that extra weight on its wing threw the bird off balance and turned its course directly onto the mountain interiors. "Kweeeeee!" it yelled to Noeh with anger. "Oh 'kweee' all you want! But I'm not letting go until I get that box! Now hand it over bird brain!" the titan of fire didn't take that last insult very lightly. Having rage take over its mind, Moltres charged up a flame thrower attack which made the guy regret was he just said. "Hey now… there's no need to get angry. Now just give the box and we can have…" but before he finished his sentence, he immediately let go of the wing.
By the time the fire bird understood why the councilor let go of its wing, the fire bird smashed onto the mountain rocks, sending it to dreamville with one quick swap.
Noeh dusted himself for a few seconds and quickly caught the box as it intentionally fell right into his hands. Before he left, he gave one last remark to Moltres, "Remember to always watch where you go or you'll crash" but when he finished, a flash of black and pink caught his eyes which made him duck almost instantly.
"Give me back the box!" shouted Rosa as she dished off punches and kicks at Noeh. But the councilor was more agile than she had thought. The white haired man quickly pulled out some sort of a break dance move out of nowhere and dodged all of her blows with just one smooth go. But the guy knew that he couldn't avoid Rosa forever.
"Noeh, over here!" Furo shouted waving his hands. Noeh saw this and quickly tackled the pink Lucario down. With strength that would rival a Slaking, Noeh threw the box of memories with such precision that Furo managed to catch it without any harm. "I got it!" Furo stated as held firmly onto the box, but before he knew it, a dozen Pokemons of every size came from behind and plunged the boy into ground like a squashed watermelon on the beach.
The box drifted a few yards away making a loud 'thunk' sound on the hard surface. When it finally stopped, a yellow figure flashed through the area faster than the speed of smell itself. The councilors knew that it was Chaucer, since he was probably the only Guardian who could move that fast. With the yellow Lucario running off with the box, Loin appeared out of nowhere and began attacking him with his half broken stick. But once again, Chaucer showed the reason why he became one of the Guardians. He threw the box in mid air and began dishing out several jabs at Loin which he skillfully blocked.
By the time the box began making its way back down, Sha-hear popped out of nowhere and grabbed it before it could hit the ground, but in turn, Loin threw out his stick which caused the white Lucario to fall and dropping the box of doom onto a small pile of snow (its still winter remember?)
With Chaucer fighting Loin
Rosa battling Noeh
Furo under a lot of pressure
There was no one around to get the stinking box! But this only raised one question that's been hanging around the back of the councilors mind: Where the heck was Azal?
And their question was soon answered when a massive explosion pieced through the main gate. All actions froze for a mere ten seconds until a single figure walked out carrying a quarterstaff on his back. "Hey guys…" said Azal with his favorite smirk, "Did anyone miss me?" he was soon followed by several other figures who were obviously the kids he was supposed to escort out of the island. "Azal!" Noeh yelled, "What are they doing here? I thought I told you to bring them out of the island!"
"Yeah yeah yeah, I heard you the first time old timer" Azal jerked his hand and waved his companions off, "But who am I to stop them from saving a friend?" he quickly scanned the area around and noticed that the fortress in a complete and total mess. "Whoa… this must've been one heck of a party that I missed" he wasn't kidding. Every Pokemon around him were tattered like they've all been through a whirlpool of punches all day long. The walls were damaged, the garden was a mess, and the castle keep was destroyed in so many ways that you can't really tell if it was a either a building or a huge pile of rocks.
But as the remaining Guardians and the Pokemon army converge on the humans, the gang knew that this was going to be a battle they have to win…………… or die trying.
Every member of the gang quickly pulled out their strongest Pokemon out for battle and readied it even though their chance of victory was slim. May called out Blaziken, Anabel called out Espeon, Brock called out Steelix, Drew called out Absol, Richie was of course, Sparky and (temporary) Ash's Pikachu. Dawn chose Piplup and Buneary, Tracey called out Scyther, and last but not the least, Duplica…… who's her entire Ditto family morphed into the strongest Pokemon they could lay their eyes on.
"Hey what's this thing?" Max suddenly ran over the box that was lying on the ground and picked it up with great curiosity.
Once everyone saw the box being held by a mere human a massive power of killing intense waved out from across the room sending chills to the entire country populous. Seeing that the kids were ready to give it their all, the councilors withdrew from their opponents and formed a line formation to fill in the gap in the exposed areas. "Next time Azal, when I ask you to take the children AWAY from the island, I want them AWAY FROM the ISLAND" Noeh growled as he glared at the man in question. Azal simply shrugged and gave out a 'hn' sound to notify the guy that he didn't have a care in the world on what he was saying.
As the Guardians all glared at them with eyes glowing with crimson color, a single yell from a very angry boy silenced them all like someone pressed the mute button. "ENOUGH!!!" that was definitely the voice of the king, and from the tone he was using, they were sure that his patience had finally reached its end. "His majesty's patience has reach its limit" Pallet continued for him, "Return the box and your lives will be spared…" that was probably the worst lie that kid could ever conjure up from his brain.
"This box?" Max asked with a confused look on his face. "It doesn't look that unusual" he began shaking it and tapping at the sides to see what was inside. From what he could guess from the weight and the hallow sound inside, it felt like the box was empty.
"Yes… that box. Now give it!"
Max quickly tightened his grip on the box and pulled it into a cover, "Where's Ash!? What have you done with my brother!?" Pallet simply smirked as his so called plea. With a flash of a second, Ash /Hsa reappeared from behind and stood right next to Pallet with an expressionless face.
With one look at the old king, they immediately knew that it was Ash, but with some slight differences. First of all, was his strange hair that suddenly turned from black-raven to snow-silver-white. Another was his eyes. They weren't shiny and golden like they used to be…… in fact, it looked almost like he wasn't even there anymore. If one should look at his pupil-less eyes, you would actually believe that he was now just a shell of a man.
"Ash… is that you?" Misty asked hoping to get some sort of reply. But the king simply looked at her with a cold expressionless face and shrugged her words like they meant nothing. "Ash… it's us. Don't you remember?" the Cerulean girl tried to get his attention but all attempts seemed to have fallen under deaf ears. She was going to try again but a hand grabbed her shoulder telling her to stop before she goes to far from the group. "It's no use young lady" said Azal, "Ash isn't there anymore. He's now replaced by another soul that simply looks like him"
"Ah… so you've noticed" Pallet grinned again showing some of his teeth in the process. "Now…… let me rephrase that offer: Give me the box, or we'll take it from you" But Azal pushed Misty and Max back putting himself between the Guardians and the gang. "I'd like to see you try…… shrimp" to everyone's surprise, Azal dashed off from his position and rushed towards Ash with speed that would match against Chaucer's. He put his quarter staff behind him like a heavy bat and when he finally got into swinging range, he swung and……
Gasp!
That was probably the only word everyone gave out when the bat nearly touched Hsa's face. Apparently, the tip of the staff stopped just millimeters before impact. Azal struggled as hard as he possibly could, but no matter how much more strength he put, the staff just won't seem to move any further. "What in Mew's name?" the attacker hicked before suddenly being blasted off to the ground with an invisible force.
A blue aura began coursing its way through Ash's body. It resonated in such a majestic color anyone who saw it would already believe the kid to be a god. The councilors stepped back in fear of the king's anger. The Guardians were a bit frightened as well. The sight of their sovereign being infuriated was indeed a rare treat for their eyes.
"Ash!" May called out to get the boy's attention, "Don't you recognize us? We're your friends! It's me May, Max, Brock and everyone! We're here to save you!" the brown haired girl called out again and again, but nothing seemed to be able to snap the boy's attention away from his goal. "Ash, come on. Wake up!"
(Unknown)
"Wake up… come on now… wake up. You can't sleep forever…" came a calm voice, which sounded a lot like a female
"Ohh… my head" mumbled Ash as he slouched out of his sleeping position.
"Come on… wake up… you don't to miss breakfast now do you?" the voice said again with a calming loving tone. "We made you your favorites" a chuckle was followed by the phrase, "Hurry up, you don't want to be late now. Come on… everyone's waiting for you"
"Just five more minutes…" Ash mumbled as he kept his eyes closed. The voice suddenly became irritated to the boy's laziness, "Oh don't me that excuse. Come on, wake up… your majesty, please wake up. Your majesty…"
Your majesty?
"Oh come on Rosa, he's not gonna wake up like that" came another voice which sounded male to the boy's ears. "To wake a sleeping beauty, you must do this…" suddenly, Ash felt something hit his head like a mallet or something.
Ash quickly opened his eyes to the open space, letting his eyes adjust to the morning light. His mind was in a complete blur at the moment, like nothing made sense to him. Where was he? Who was he? And who just called him 'your majesty'? All these questioned rushed through his head like a bunch of arrows running through the field in a marathon or something. It must've happened when his head made contact with a hard object.
By the time the boy got onto his sitting position, he reopened his eyes and glared at the Yellow Lucario in front of him. "What the?" he muttered.
"Chaucer!" Rosa scorned him, "How dare you hit your king! I should have you hanged in the gallows outside the castle and skinned you of your flesh!" that really sounded gross for many ears. But the yellow Lucario simply laughed joyfully, "Oh come on Rosa. You know how hard it is to wake this boy up? It'll be supper before he even leaves the bed. You should be thanking me"
Rosa quickly clenched her fist and prepare to put her companion out of commission for a week or two, but before she could deliver the blow, another voice popped in behind them, "What's taking you two so long?" said the white Lucario, "His majesty should've been in the dining room ten minutes ago!"
"Sha-hear!" Rosa jolted from her position, "Chaucer just hit his majesty with a vase!" she pointed at the suspect who was whistling innocently on the corner. "We should hang him!" but then a green Lucario chuckled not far behind, "Now now you three, we shouldn't be giving his highness such a disturbing morning" he then turned to Chaucer, "Chaucer, why don't you go and tell the servants that the king will be having his breakfast in his room today. I believe his majesty is still exhausted from last night's work"
The yellow Lucario simply gave a 'hn' sound and walked out of the room with a polite bow to Ash.
Once the door closed, Rosa took a look at the boy who was starring at everything like he was a complete stranger to the place. "Your majesty… are you alright?" she said in a worried tone, "Here… let me look at your head" she quickly took a small look at the bump on the head and healed it using some sort of special power in her body. "There we go… good as new" she remarked as she stepped down from the bed.
By the time the pain subsided, Ash felt a row of memories were flooding into his heart like a whirlpool that had just ended. After a few seconds of silence, he remembered everything… "Y… yeah… thank you Rosa" the pink Lucario blushed as she bowed, "It is my duty to see you unharmed my lord. There's no need to show your gratitude" Hagard simply cracked a chuckle as he never got tired of seeing Rosa so modest.
By the time the laugh ended, Sha-hear and Hagard left the place to attend to their duties. A few minutes later, a Chancy came by with a tray of food in its paws. "Your majesty, your breakfast is here" the pink round Pokemon said with a smile.
The dish she laid on the table was indeed an exquisite one. Though it was just mainly basic food groups, it was more than enough to fill the boy's stomach with much happiness.
(Back in reality)
A moment had passed since May had tried to get the boy's attention with her constant plea for an audience. By the time she lost her breath, Hsa became irritated
"I've had enough of this…" he growled demonically. With a wave of his hands, all the Pokemons that the gang summoned out began to glow in a red aura. A few seconds after they began to glow, they suddenly felt their stamina sipping away from their bodies like water. "You humans…… should just…… DISAPPEAR!!" the moment he yelled the last word, Hsa charged out an attack so strong that it would've wiped half the mountain clean off from the face of the earth. May and the others shielded their eyes and prayed that their death would be swift. The councilors knew that they would not survive this attack so they quickly dropped on their knees and hoped that humanity would somehow survive this disaster.
Darkness ensued their visions as an explosion caught their ear's attention. They could feel the heat the attack gave out but as the seconds pass by, no one seemed to feel any pain at all. Like they were protected by some mystical barrier or some sort. When the attack ended, the Guardian's eyes nearly flew out their sockets when they saw the humans still standing like they weren't even harmed.
How could this be? The most devastating attack was stopped by just mere humans? Could it really be possible?
Their questions were soon answered, when a telepathic voice interrupted the battle.
"It looks like we've made it just in time…" every life form on the surface hastily turned their heads to the source of the voice which was strangely originating above them. By the time their eyes made contact with the new intruder, their hearts sank like the Titanic itself.
"We… have returned…" said Mewtwo… the strongest Pokemon in the world.