Everyone looked around for the source of the feminine, though thick voice that had called out to us earlier. With her evolution complete, Lola was able to concentrate on other things now and tested her new body. The only problem? She was now they. Lola's two heads snapped at each other, though they still put most of their concentration on helping me. I explored both minds, which had very different attitudes and an inherent grudge against each other. Despite the animosity they had towards each other, true to her earlier words way back when, both heads agreed that helping and loving me was more important than anything else.
'Over there Vixen!' Said Lo, the gruffer right head.
'Directly in front of us!' Said La, the gentle left. I turned around as the floor vibrated in tandem to the stomping of a big pokemon. In one of the tunnels in front of us, a large pokemon stood, staring at me with buggy eyes.
'I must say, that was the most entertaining thing I have seen in a long time. But the pink human is wrong. Not all Zweilous evolutions are that tragic.' Said the voice. Caitlin huffed indignantly as the pokemon stomped towards us. I blinked as I quickly grabbed my pokedex out of Keldeo's mouth, bringing it up to scan the pokemon that lumbered towards us.
"Heatran, the Lava Dome Pokemon. Heatran's body is made of rugged steel that has melted in places by its own, magma-like blood that courses through its veins. Heatran like to make their homes inside volcanoes and are capable of controlling the activity of its home." It said as the pokemon stopped in front of us, lowering its body to rest.
'Only improperly educated Zweilous go through the violent evolution of Hydreigon. Young dragon, don't be afraid of dying and tear yourself over it. If you two are calm and decent to each other, your heads will become one again, just like when you were a Deino.' It said softly to them. Lola hummed as her two heads nodded at Heatran, and they laid down to get some much-deserved rest. Heatran turned its attention to the rest of us and focused its eyes on me, more precisely my bloodied hand.
'Come with me, dear. As thanks for letting me watch the exciting evolution of your pokemon, and all that went into it, I'll take you to a secret spring that can fix your hand.' It told me. I blinked and looked around at the others, but Heatran just laughed.
'Yes, they may come too. Let's go.' It said, turning around. The wall in front of us started glowing as it melted into molten lava. The wall pulled inward as though something was sucking it in, and it cooled again, creating a new tunnel. Heatran started towards the new tunnel, not stopping to check on us to make sure we followed. Colress took out his tablet and started tapping the touchscreen while he followed Heatran, Keldeo, Caitlin and Gothitelle close behind. I was about to follow them when Lola stood up, and I felt something pull at my shoulders and pick me up. Lola carefully grasped me in her two mouths and set me across her back, and the pokemon started following the crowd.
'This is another reason we wanted to evolve.' La said as the left head crooned.
'You've been so nice and carried us everywhere. We wanted to return the favor. We're big enough to carry you now.' Lo said proudly, the right head snorting. I smiled and reached to pet the two heads, but my injured hand started throbbing now, and I felt that touching anything with it would make it worse. I just watched as Heatran led us deeper into its new tunnel, going further under the mountain until we came into a wide, and very hot room.
The walls pulsated a deep red, showing that while not liquified, they were still very hot, but the floor seemed cool to the touch, since Heatran's feet steamed with every step, and everyone else seemed fine walking on it. There were Heatran of all shapes and sizes scattered about the room, watching us in apprehension as our guide stalked confidently towards the center of the room, a large bowl that cast a bright blue glow on the ceiling. Heatran stopped at the foot of the bowl and turned around to look at us.
'I am the queen of this colony. You have my permission to use our spring to wash away your injury. When we drink from it, it restores our spirits. When others use it, it erases their wounds, but I suggest you just dip your hand in. It's quite hot, but I promise it will be a false pain. This water is meant for healing, not hurting.' She said, and Lola began charging towards the spring, almost bowling over our friends as they dodged out of the way. Caitlin and Gothitelle huffed while Colress adjusted his glasses and Keldeo giggled, but Lola paid no mind as they started scaling the side of the bowl, Lo reaching back to grab me and keep me on while La focused in front of us. We got to the edge of the bowl, and La reached down, touching the water with the tip of her nose. She abruptly pulled her head up with a yelp and looked around frantically.
'It hurt!' She said in a panicked voice.
'Of course it hurt! Heatran said it would! Now let's hurry and get Vixen in it.' Lo said as we inched towards the water. La yelped and dug her claws into the side of the bowl, preventing us from going forward.
'Are you out of your mind?! I'm not going to put Vixen in that!' La argued. The two heads growled at each other and began arguing, but the throbbing in my hand started to intensify.
"Do I have a say in this?" I asked through gritted teeth.
'NO!' They both yelled in sync as they turned to look at me. I rolled my eyes and got up on Lola's back while they continued to argue, and without another word I leapt into the water, making Lola cry out in fear. I didn't blame them in the slightest.
I felt like I had jumped into boiling water, and as far as I knew I really did. I should have considered the implications of what kind of water a pokemon that lived and breathed volcanoes drank. I screamed underwater and shut my eyes as tightly as I could, and I was in too much pain to try and swim up.
'Stupid girl, hold on, your friends are coming to get you.' Heatran's voice said. I felt something pull me up from the water, and I felt myself floating in the air and gliding down. I landed on a soft surface and felt a pair of arms encircle me while a sudden chill engulfed me. Feeling safe, I opened my eyes to see Keldeo in front of me, it's mouth open and little blue snowflakes coming out. It smiled as it continued its Icy Wind, and I looked to see I was laying on Lola's back in Colress' arms, who looked at me worriedly.
"At what point did it seem like a good idea to jump into a hot spring inside an ACTIVE volcano?" He asked, sarcasm and relief oozing from his voice. I chuckled sheepishly as I sat up, looking around to find Heatran, Caitlin and Gothitelle looking at me with the most unimpressed expressions I have ever seen. They could have been triplets with how much their expressions looked like each others.
"I uh, guess I got carried away. My bad." I said awkwardly.
"Well you are very lucky Gothiltelle and I were here. If it weren't for Gothitelle's Psychic, either someone else would have been burned or you would have drowned." Caitlin said haughtily. I shrank into Colress, who hugged me tighter before letting me go as Keldeo stopped its attack.
"Don't worry about it Vixen, even if she wasn't here, Keldeo, Lola and I would have helped you, risk or not. Besides, you're fine. Look, Heatran was right." He said as he dismounted Lola and gestured to my arm. I looked down and saw that my once bloody arm was now perfectly fine, and it didn't hurt in the slightest. I raised it and studied it in wonder, and Heatran laughed as though I were a child who just got a piece of candy for the first time.
'I told you it'd be okay. The water is hot, but it's only temporary. The Dragon of Legend imbued it with healing properties, but our temperature is what makes it hot. it is supposed to be a deterrent so that no one can steal it without our permission. Believe it or not, the water is normally hotter than that.' She said as she approached me and Lola. I blinked at her as I remembered what I came here for, and I got off of Lola and stood up, bowing to the Heatran.
"Excuse me, your majesty. I was actually looking for you and your colony when Lola's evolution distracted us." I said, and Heatran gave me a curious look as it narrowed its eyes at me.
'Oh? What for?' She asked apprehensively, the rest of her colony hissing and backing away.
"The Unova region is in trouble, and I want to help it. I wanna learn about the legends of Unova to see if there is a way to stop whatever is coming." I said, and Colress looked at me with interest briefly flashing in his eyes. I didn't have time to dwell on it as Heatran huffed at us.
'Very well. I will tell you of the legend of Reversal Mountain.' She said as she roared. The small crest on her forehead began to glow, and energy began to collect around it, twisting and shifting in multiple colors. The colors separated and formed shapes, and Heatran began to speak.
'Long before the separation that created Reshiram, Zekrom and Kyurem, there was a war that was tearing the region apart. The Dragon of Legend descended from its place by The Original One and came to two brothers who held their two values the best. And with their combined efforts, the storm of war began to calm.' She said as the colors of her flames gave a visual aid of her story. I started to sit down, and Lola ran over to me to act as a chair while the others gathered closely.
'Though many yielded to the power of the Legendary Dragon and its humans, others were unconvinced. One mating pair of humans, a lusty king and queen, coveted the power of the Dragon of Legend, and resisted the brothers attempts to make peace. With their dragon by their side, the brothers tried to reason with the king and queen and make them see the pain they were subjecting their underlings to. But they did not listen, and with the full force of their brutal army, they took the brothers to war.' She continued, and I watched in fascination as the rainbow globs of fire charged towards the dragon-shaped gray fire.
'But they underestimated the Dragon of Legend, and in a flash of fire, ice and lightning, it became a one-pokemon army in and of itself. The clash between the two forces created this mountain range, and after a long, drawn out war, the Dragon wiped out their massive army. The brothers claimed victory over the king and queen, and with their defeat, peace finally reigned in the Unova Region. As a reminder of their victory and to help the scholars of the future, the brothers named this place, Reversal Mountain. The mountain where the erasure of the scars of war began. From here, other humans and pokemon worked together to restore the region and wipe out all traces of the great war that brought forth the Dragon of Legend. The rest is common knowledge and history. We Heatran now make this our home, and make it a point to teach others the magnificent history behind it.' She said as the fires faded with the end of her story. We sat in silence as we considered her words, and I found myself smiling at Heatran, reaching into my bag to pull out my pokeblock.
"May I ask one more thing?" I said, and Heatran tilted her head ever so slightly.
'Yes?' She asked with a nod.
"So, I understand you guys hold the lava in and keep the volcanoes asleep, but where did the water come from, and why do some parts of the caverns glow purple?" I asked. Heatran hummed as she considered my question.
'The waters of Reversal Mountain are the direct result of the Dragon of Legend. Its ice covered every inch of the land for miles, and the fires melted it while its electricity melded together with the land, like in Chargestone Cave. The glow is from the residual electricity that runs through it even to this day. Is that all, young human?' She asked. I smiled and nodded quickly at it, holding out the remainder of my pokeblock to it.
"Thank you, your majesty. Your story is incredible, and it answered a lot of questions for me. Please, take these. I know it isn't much, but this pokeblock is all I can offer you as thanks." I said as I held the candies out. Heatran leaned over my hands and sniffed the treats before she opened her mouth, allowing me to drop them in.
'You're welcome. We will halt the construction of tunnels so that you may find your way out. Good luck in your quest, young humans.' She said, turning away. With another bow to her, I climbed back on Lola and pulled Colress on beside me while Caitlin mounted Keldeo, Gothitelle floating behind them.
"We'll get out quickly, thank you for your help Heatran." I said. The queen only grunted at me as she retreated further into her domain. As Lola and Keldeo quickly ascended the tunnels, I couldn't help but feel a sort of dread. It was the same feeling I got way back in Castelia City before Grimsley disappeared, and I wanted to be prepared this time.
'Lola?' I asked, and the two heads perked up, showing me I had their attention.
'Can one of you keep an eye out behind us? I've got a bad feeling.' I told them. Lola's head nodded, and after a quick discussion between them that I was uninvited to, it was decided that Lo would walk us while La kept watch, since she seemed to be the more paranoid of the two heads. La's neck twisted until her head was facing me, though focused behind at the tunnel as we climbed up. Knowing my pokemon was on guard, I noticed that Colress was being awfully quiet, and I turned to see him thinking long and hard on something.
"Everything okay?" I asked him, snapping him out of his trance. Colress looked up at me with guilt flooding his eyes, but I had no clue what was wrong with him.
"I'm fine. I have a hypothetical for you." He said. I tilted my head and blinked at him, tuning out Caitlin, Keldeo and Gothitelle who seemed to be in a heated argument about something.
"Alright, let's hear it." I said. Colress took a deep breath and sighed as he organized his thoughts.
"What if you knew someone in Team Plasma? What would you do?" He asked, and I blinked several times at him in confusion.
"Well I'd first ask if they knew they were in a group of zealots who tried to kill me on a daily basis. Colress, are you trying to tell me something?" I asked. He opened his mouth to respond, sadness clouding his eyes, but then La roared suddenly, and Lo stopped, growling. Keldeo and Gothitelle stopped as well and looked around, and Keldeo started to run forward, leaping over us with Gothitelle in hot pursuit.
'Lola, move! Move now! We're in trouble!' It cried, and both heads focused on Keldeo.
'Hold on tight Vixen!' They said in sync as they started moving faster. Lola didn't have the speed she had as a Deino since her body was bigger and heavier now, but she was still pretty fast. I held onto La's neck tightly as the dragon ran, and I felt Colress encircle my waist with urgency.
"Lola, you've gotta go faster! There's an eruption in the tunnel that's coming right for us!" He cried out, and I turned to see that there was indeed a sea of lava rushing toward us. Lola saw the truth in Colress' command through the fear she felt from me, and the Zweilous pushed harder, her skinny wings flapping hard to try to take flight, and I looked forward to see Keldeo and Gothitelle ahead.
"Caitlin! Keldeo! Help!" I cried. Keldeo stopped and turned around, and both it and Caitlin gasped and rushed back towards us, leaping over us. Caitlin dismounted Keldeo and pulled out a pokeball, calling out a Musharna that floated beside her and Gothitelle.
"Vixen, you guys keep going! My pokemon and I can hold back the lava until you get out!" She said as a visible, light colored aura surrounded her and her pokemon. A wall of energy appeared in front of them, and they grunted with the effort of holding it up as the lava struck it hard, pushing against it.
"But what about you!? We can't just leave you here!" I cried, Caitlin growled from annoyance, but Keldeo snorted and stayed by her side, tail swishing.
'Don't worry. When you are safe, I'll whisk her to safety. No fire in any form can catch a Sword of Justice!' Keldeo said as it reared up, blasting a massive stream of water from its hooves at the wall of lava that was being held back by Caitlin and her pokemon. It first went right into the lava down the middle, but I could see that it was starting to cool, and as much as it pained me to do so, I knew there was nothing I could do to help, and I dug my heels into Lola's back.
"Come on Lola! Get us out of here! I know you can do it!" I commanded. The Zweilous roared as she started clawing her way back up the tunnel, her wings beating fast and hard to give her a boost of speed. I clutched her down in my fingers tightly, and I felt Colress' arms tighten their grip around my waist, more out of a desire to comfort me than fear.
"Lola, let Vixen return you to your pokeball! I promise I can get her out of here faster, and we can save Keldeo and Caitlin!" He yelled suddenly. Lola growled as she continued to climb, but both heads agreed that they were too slow to fully rescue me on their own. They stopped then and bucked me and Colress off, rushing forward and butting Lo's head against the pokeball on my neck. Lola was pulled inside, and another pokeball was tossed in front of us while Colress grabbed one of my pokeballs off my belt.
"Hurry! Let's go!" He said as Sorrel and a Magnezone appeared. Colress picked me up and threw me onto Sorrel's back while he leapt onto Magnezone. I followed his lead and turned on Sorrel, gripping his fur tightly.
"Run Sorrel! Run as fast as you can!" I commanded. Sorrel did not hesitate as he dropped to all fours, running through the tunnel at a much faster rate than Lola did. I briefly looked back to see Colress kneeling down on Magnezone, gripping its antenna tightly as they followed close behind. In no time at all, we made it to the network that all the tunnels connected to, and I could see daylight out of one of them.
"Sorrel, stop here!" I called as the fire badger quickly obeyed my command. Magnezone flew past us, turning in its path and floating beside me and Sorrel, and Colress gritted his teeth.
"I'm out of ideas. What do you have?" He asked as he dismounted, turning to me as I jumped off Sorrel's back, snatching his hat.
"A gamble. KELDEO! GRAB CAITLIN AND GET OUT OF THERE!" I called. Colress' eyes widened as a light appeared in the tunnel, the clacking of hooves against rock getting closer and closer until Keldeo and Caitlin were right beside us.
"It didn't work! Psychic and Hydro Pump didn't do a thing! We gotta go!" Caitlin cried as the wave of lava got closer. I grabbed another pokeball and called out Sarah, who slammed down next to her partner and snorted, though she looked scraggly and torn up.
"I know! Let's go guys! Sarah, Dragonbreath! Sorrel, use Blast Burn! Push back that lava!" I said. Sorrel covered himself in white-hot fire and threw it all down the tunnel along with Sarah's Dragonbreath, and Lola appeared from her pokeball again, standing between the two and snarling. Both threw their heads forward to release a powerful Dragon Pulse from both mouths, joining Blast Burn and Dragonbreath in the pokemon's attempts to hold back the lava. Keldeo trotted up to them and growled as its eyes glowed, stones rising up from around us and pelting them at the lava in the most powerful Stone Edge I have ever seen.
"Magnezone, Flash Cannon!" Colress commanded as his pokemon joined the fray, launching a silver beam of energy at the lava.
"Now what!?" Caitlin asked me dryly.
"I'm working on it! Let's start backing up towards the tunnel with light. Guys, stay with us! We'll go out the tunnel and try to get as close to the sides as possible. If this works, the pressure we're building up will shoot it straight out of the mountain!" I said. The pokemon nodded as they continued their onslaught against the volcano, and we all backed up as quickly as possible. Even under stress Colress was still able to run calculations in his head, and he kept us going in the right direction.
When we made it outside, Colress, Caitlin and I threw ourselves at the sides of the cliff until the angle blocked our view of the entrance to the cave. On my signal, the pokemon jumped to our sides and shielded us as lava shot out of the mountain at a high speed until it slowed to a trickle that was easily cooled by Keldeo's Icy Wind. We heaved a sigh of relief, and Colress and Caitlin looked at me in gratitude. Well, as grateful as a pompous princess and a slightly detached scientist could manage.
"That was brilliant Vixen." Colress said, putting a hand on my shoulder.
"Grimsley would be proud." Caitlin chirped as she crossed her arms. I smiled at the two of them and turned to all of the exhausted pokemon.
"Don't thank me, thank them. They saved us all. You guys were great." I said as each pokemon preened under my praise.
'How sweet, but don't celebrate yet humans.' Said a low, gravely voice. We stiffened as we heard something stomp towards us, and we looked up to see Heatran clinging to the side of the mountain, glaring at us.
"Heatran? YOU did that?" I said incredulously. It snorted at us, a puff of smoke leaving its nostrils, as it regarded us angrily.
'You might be able to trick the queen, but not me. If you think I'm going to just let you get away with all of our secrets, then you've got another thing coming. Prepare to die, Humans and Human Slaves.' It growled at us as its mouth opened, the making of a fire attack starting up. A stream of water rushed up from the cliff and twisted, slamming into Heatran and almost knocking it off the mountain. I quickly turned to see Dragonair floating up with a calm expression. It slithered over and coiled around me, looking up at Heatran with what I can only describe as tranquil fury.
"Naaaaaaaaair." She moaned at Heatran, and its glare intensified.
'You would fight to protect these humans who steal my secrets? Then you will die as well.' It said. It was my turn to growl as I grabbed one of my pokeballs.
"Now just wait a second. What makes you think we're gonna stand by and let you kill us?" I yelled suddenly, and Colress and Caitlin followed my lead, grabbing their own pokeballs.
"I concur. I am far too beautiful and powerful to fall to such an ugly thing like you. My pride as a member of the Elite 4 won't allow it." Caitlin said haughtily.
"If it is a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get. Klang, let's begin." Colress added. We all threw our pokeballs up, Zachary, Gothitelle, and another pokemon that looked vaguely like Klink appeared. As Heatran glared at us, prompting my comrades to glare back, I found myself feeling something I had never felt before in all my near-death encounters. It wasn't just me in danger of dying this time. My pokemon and my friends were also on the line, which meant I would show Heatran no mercy. The fight for our lives was about to begin.
And I was ready.
TBC
Vixen, Colress, Caitlin, Keldeo, Dragonair, and all the trainer's pokemon versus Heatran. Which side will win?
In case anyone was wondering, no, the cover and story description won't change. It's still about a midget and a Deino's rise to greatness, it's just that the Deino hit the first milestone XD.
Yeesh, this Zweilous business is gonna be complicated. I hope you guys aren't anywhere near as confused as I am about nouns and pronouns for Lola XD. I'll do my best to help you guys stay on track.
The next chapter will be out soon.
